Question 1

Who is the fallen star with the key of the bottomless pit?

Accepted Answer

The passage speaks of a “star” that has fallen from heaven and is given the key of the bottomless pit. This is not a literal star but a person or spiritual being given permission to open the pit. Faithful readers have understood this in more than one way, often seeing it as a picture of a fallen leader or antichrist figure whom God allows to open the way for dark teachings and spiritual harm. The key shows that this power is limited and still under God’s control, not equal to Him.

Question 2

What do the locusts with scorpion stings represent?

Accepted Answer

The locusts that come out of the smoke are not ordinary insects. They are pictured like armed horses, with faces like men, hair like women, teeth like lions, and tails like scorpions. They are allowed to torment people who do not have God’s seal, but not to kill them. This points to painful spiritual and mental misery brought by false beliefs and evil powers. Their strange mix of beauty and fierceness hints at teachings and systems that look attractive yet wound the soul.

Question 3

Why are only people without the seal of God hurt by the locusts?

Accepted Answer

The locusts are told not to touch grass, trees, or anything green, but only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. This shows that God knows those who belong to Him and sets a clear difference between His people and those who reject Him. The sealed are kept from this kind of spiritual torment. The harm here is mainly inward, not outward: darkness, fear, and confusion for those who have turned from the true God, while those marked as His are guarded by His grace.

Question 4

Who is Abaddon or Apollyon, the king over the locusts?

Accepted Answer

The locusts have a king, called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. Both names mean “destroyer.” This points to a ruling evil spirit who leads forces that ruin rather than give life. He is called the angel of the bottomless pit, which ties him closely to the place of darkness the locusts come from. The picture reminds us that behind false worship and dark teachings there is a real personal enemy. Yet even this destroyer cannot act beyond the limits God has set.

Question 5

What happens when the sixth angel sounds the trumpet?

Accepted Answer

When the sixth trumpet sounds, a voice from the golden altar before God tells the angel to release four angels bound at the great river Euphrates. Once they are loosed, they lead an enormous army that kills a third of mankind through fire, smoke, and brimstone coming from the horses’ mouths and tails. This shows God using great powers and even nations as His tools of judgment. The numbers and images are huge and fearful, to make clear how serious God’s judgments can be.

Question 6

Why do people still not repent after these plagues?

Accepted Answer

The passage ends by saying that those who were not killed by these plagues did not repent. They kept worshiping demons and lifeless idols made of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. They also did not turn from murder, magic arts, sexual sin, or theft. This shows how hard the human heart can become. Even when God’s judgments fall and death is close, people may still cling to their sins and false worship. The warning is that suffering alone does not change us if we refuse to bow to God.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about God’s control over evil?

Accepted Answer

From start to finish, this vision shows that God rules even over dark powers. The fallen star must be given a key. The pit can only be opened when God allows it. The locusts are told exactly whom they may and may not harm, and for how long. The four angels at the Euphrates are bound until a fixed hour, day, month, and year. None of this is random. Evil is real and painful, but it is never outside God’s reach, and He uses even His enemies to carry out His just purposes.

Question 8

How have people understood the locusts and the great army differently?

Accepted Answer

This passage has been read in more than one way because the pictures are so intense. Some see the locusts and the great horsemen as symbols of false teaching, corrupt religion, or harsh rulers that hurt people’s souls. Others connect them to certain empires, invasions, or new weapons of war in history. What all these readings share is the sense that God allows strong, painful forces to rise as judgment for long-standing sin and unbelief, while still keeping exact control over how far they can go.

Question 9

How can this vision speak to believers today?

Accepted Answer

This vision warns us that turning from the true God has deep costs. False worship and false teaching bring real damage inside people, not just outward trouble. It also reminds believers that God marks and keeps His own, even when dark times come. Today this calls us to stay awake to spiritual danger, to hold fast to Christ, and to turn quickly from sin rather than harden our hearts. It also helps us trust that God rules over history, even when evil seems strong.

Revelation 9:1

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

The Fifth Trumpet

The Sixth Trumpet

The Fifth Trumpet

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Revelation 9:1

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

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