Four judgments have unfolded within the Book of Revelation since the beginning of chapter eight, each heralded by the sound of a trumpet. The first trumpet brought widespread environmental devastation. The second trumpet unleashed destruction upon the planet’s marine environment, aquatic life, and seafaring vessels. The third trumpet rendered one-third of the earth’s freshwater supply undrinkable. Finally, all natural light was reduced by one-third at the sound of the fourth trumpet.
Each of these judgments had one thing in common: they each brought large-scale ruin to the natural realm. But now, as we move forward into Revelation chapter nine, we will encounter God’s spiritual adversaries as they begin to unleash their terrifying power upon humanity…
“Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit” (Revelation 9:1-2).
Earlier in Revelation chapter eight, we read of “…a great star, burning like a torch, [that] fell from heaven” (Revelation 8:10 CEB). While a cursory glance at these passages might suggest a relationship between these stars, a closer examination of our text from Revelation 9:1 reveals something very different.
First, the imagery of a star clearly plays a prominent role in each narrative. But in Revelation chapter eight, a blazing star plunges to the earth, while Revelation nine depicts a star that opens a bottomless pit. Our text from Revelation chapter nine also tells us that this star had “…fallen from heaven to the earth.” This indicates that the events pertaining to the fall of this star had taken place in the past. On the other hand, the appearance of the star from Revelation chapter eight was a contemporaneous event for those who experienced it.
We should also note that the star in Revelation nine “…was given the key to the bottomless pit.” This tells us that we are not dealing with an inanimate object or cosmic phenomena like the star of Revelation chapter eight.
Finally, the star of Revelation chapter nine “…opened the long shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit)” (Revelation 9:2 AMPC). Unlike the star from our previous chapter, this star possessed the ability to think and interact. The passage also makes use of pronouns like “he” and “him,” thus identifying this star as a personal being.
We’ll seek to identify that being next.