The Sounding of the Fifth Angel Revelation 9:1

As John the apostle continued to write about the “tribulation” that was to come upon the earth, he shared concerning the first six seals Jesus removed from the “scroll” in God's right hand. He also wrote concerning when Jesus, “had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets … And the first angel sounded, and the second angel sounded, and the third angel sounded, and the fourth angel sounded” and each of these blasts brought forth judgment upon the earth. John also wrote, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”, and in chapter nine and verse one John saw what happened when “the fifth angel sounded” where we read:

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 verse reads, “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth:” John began with the words, “and the fifth angel” which means “and the fifth messenger, envoy and one sent” “sounded” or “blew and blasted their trumpets”, “and I saw” which refers to “and John perceived, noticed, discovered and discerned” “a star fall” or “a star in the sky descend from a higher place to a lower” “from heaven” which means “out of the aerial heavens or sky and the region where the clouds and the tempests gather where thunder and lightning are produced” “unto the earth” or “toward the arable land, territory, country and region”. John watched as the “fifth angel” blew his trumpet and another “falling star” descended from “heaven” to the “earth”.

The verse continues, “and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” John added the words, “and to him” which means “and to this fifth angel” “was given” or “was granted, bestowed and provided with” “the key” which means “the device through which power and authority to open and shut” “of the bottomless pit” which is the Greek word “abyssos” and means “the unbounded abyss, pit or very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons”. John saw as this “angel” was “granted” the “key” or “power and authority” to manage the “bottomless pit” located in the center of the earth.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we see how great authority was granted to this “angel”. Having the power to “open and close” this horrific place of endless falling had to be entrusted to someone worthy of the responsibility. This “pit”, in the center of the earth, shall play an important role in the judgment to come, and although even more cataclysmic events are destined for the earth at this time, God still has in mind “saving” people from experiencing them. When a person receives Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, they are promised to escape God's “wrath” being poured out upon the earth, but should they resist God's offer through Jesus Christ His Son, beware, an “angel” of God will hold the “key” that will open the doorway to the “bottomless pit” and unleash hell.

Next time we John sees what happened when the angel, “opened the bottomless pit”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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