Revelation Again

2005-10-13 05:17:00

We will go back to interpreting the Book of Revelations. We left in the middle of Chapter Nine. Below I am posting again part of the interpretation of the chapter so we can recapture where we were. Then I end with verses 13-16. Study these verses over and post your interpretation.

The Unveiling continues:

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. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.< 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.  Revelation 9:1-12

The Key of Authority

The next verses to consider are:

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. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Revelation 9:1-3

First we need to examine the phrase "bottomless pit." It is indeed an intriguing wording that has captured the imagination of many, including the non believers for many years.

"Bottomless" comes from the Greek ABUSSOS which is translated as "deep" or "bottomless." Variations of this word often refer to the sea which was seen as very deep or bottomless by the ancients. The equivalent Hebrew TeHOWM is usually translated as sea or a word like the "deep" referring to the sea or a deep place.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep (TeHOWM) And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  Genesis 1:1-2

The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep (TeHOWM) is frozen.  Job 38:30

Obviously Job was referring to a body of water for it was "frozen."

Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep (TeHOWM) places.  Psalms 135:6

Here we are told that deep places are found in "heaven" "earth" and the "seas."

In the New Testament this word was used by the evil spirits that named themselves Legion who Christ cast out of a man and entered the bodies of pigs. It is written:

And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep (Greek - ABUSSOS). And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.  Luke 8:30-32

Along this same line the words is used in Romans:

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (ABUSSOS) (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) Rom 10:6-7

In Luke ABUSSOS refers to a place where evil spirits do not want to go and in Romans, a place in the opposite direction of heaven.

Before the Book of Revelation comes along ABUSSOS appears by itself but this book adds the descriptive word "pit" which comes from PHREAR. Strong says it represents "A hole in the ground (dug for obtaining or holding water or other purposes) A cistern or well or abyss (as a prison)."

Usually this word merely refers to a well, but sometimes a deep pit.

PHREAR is used to describe a well in this account:

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well (PHREAR) is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well (PHREAR), and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?  John 4:10-12

In reference to the earth the "bottomless pit" would be a deep well that seems to have no bottom. If bottomless were to refer to the sea then it would indicates a submergence in the bottomless sea. That covers an intellectual look at the "bottomless pit," but what does it really mean in connection with this scripture?

Water here is a symbol of the emotional nature as well as the multitudes of people who are governed and motivated by emotion.


The bottomless pit is therefore the emotional world ...


The bottomless pit is therefore the emotional world of people on this earth as well as the next world. The bottomless pit for the demons would be the lower astral (emotional) world after death where there is no bottom (earth or physical bodies) for them to find rest.

That said, let us start the interpretation with the first verse:

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 angel sounding signifies that the disciple is prepared to use the full energies of the heart center including the energies of the soul which meet in the heart.

The star that fell from heaven represents the disciple and his teachings which teachings came from heaven through the soul and are brought down to earth - or to the people who are seeking spiritual salvation.

"... and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit."

The key represents authority and power. The disciple has shifted his attention from the emotional desires and selfish love to spiritual desire and unselfish love. In doing so he has authority and control (the key) over the emotional world (bottomless pit).

The lower emotions no longer direct him, but he directs them. This control requires an act of divine will manifesting through the disciple for the emotional self has been brewing and fomenting for many lifetimes and does not rest in peace for some time.

Emotional Smoke

Let us look at the next verse: 9:2

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

"And he opened the bottomless pit." What does this mean?

The only one who can open the bottomless pit of the emotions is he who has mastered them, or has the key. Once the disciple obtains power over the emotional self and the emotional world he can then examine it from the top down rather than as one immersed within the bottomless world of emotion.

When immersed in the emotional world the seeker is as one in darkness with no top or bottom. He cannot see to solve the many problems brought on by the upside down emotional directions he perceives.

Things are much different when the emotions are mastered. The angel fell to the earth where he could stand on solid ground to examine the emotional world from grounded common sense (the earth) as well as through the use of the intuition (from heaven).


Opening the emotional world which has been suppressed or misdirected for lifetimes is a little like opening Pandora's Box.


But opening the emotional world which has been suppressed or misdirected for lifetimes is a little like opening Pandora's Box, not only for himself but for all trapped in the bottomless pit of emotional focus. He must remember this injunction from the writings of Alice A. Bailey: "Let the magician (disciple) guard himself from drowning at the point where land and water meet. The midway spot which is neither dry nor wet must provide the standing place whereon his feet are set."

The disciple standing upon the earth, but linked to the soul, sees the problems created by suppressed emotion and pronounces the right words to stimulate and release them. When he does this "there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace..."

When the pent up and previously uncontrolled emotions are released and examined in the light of day a great emotional fire ensues and the smoke of that fire blurs the vision of all except the angel with the key.

The disciple works through his own emotions that were previously unseen and unrecognized as well as many others that he contacts. He finds that simple statements of truth create powerful emotional reactions among those polarized in the emotional world around him. It seems as if he creates an emotional fire in the hearts of friends, family and contacts and the smoke of that burning blurs the vision of all so nothing he says is understood correctly.

"and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit."

The sun (truth) and the air (reason/mind) were darkened because of the smoke of powerful emotional reactions.

To Hurt like a Scorpion Verses 3 reads:

And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

There are four symbols to keep in mind as we continue. They are :

  1. Heaven, symbolizing spirit, revelation, intuition etc.
  2. Air, symbolizing mind and thought.
  3. Earth and vegetation symbolizing seekers who appear to be grounded with worldly wisdom.
  4. Water. The seas and the deep waters of bottomless pit symbolize emotion as well as those grounded in emotion.

The smoke came out of the emotional world (bottomless pit) and the locusts came out of the smoke, or indirectly from the pit itself. The locusts symbolize the destruction and disturbance caused by the release of suppressed or fomenting emotion and guilt. These released negative emotions have power like a mindless scorpion. They hurt but do not kill.

Verse four reads:

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Just as a locust normally goes after anything green to consume even so will a negative emotion attack any aspiring life (green thing) that gets in its way.

In this case, however, the disciple, under the direction of the fifth angel (heart center, spiritual love), has power to direct destructive emotion to a desired end. In this case, he directs the emotion to not mindlessly attack any life that aspires to know God with the mind and common sense, but only those who do not seek to know him, or do not have thoughts of the spiritual path in their minds (foreheads).

Keep in mind that the forehead, or mind and common sense, are emphasized. Those who are vulnerable are not only the godless but the religious ones who do not know God with mind but only seek him through emotional feeling with reason not being a factor.

Negative emotion loses its power when the mind knows God but increases in power when God is only sought through non thinking emotion.

Verse 5:

And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

Negative emotions which are released when truth is presented include fear, jealousy, hurt feelings, hate, anger, worry and most potent of all guilt. These do not kill a person, but torment those who do not seek God for a long time (five months) and guilt especially is like "the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man."

Verse 6:

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

To him who does not seek God with the mind (seal in the forehead) will come such devastation through negative emotion and guilt that he will desire to die rather than live, but will fear taking his own life so "death will flee from them."

Destructive Emotions

Here are the next verses:

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. 12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.  Revelation 9:7-12

First let us examine verse 7: "And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." Actually, if a locust is magnified it looks a little like a horse prepared for battle. Many have read this and feel that the locusts represent John's attempt to describe the modern day helicopter.

It is true that many correspondences to modern day happenings and inventions can be seen in this book. This happens by using the Law of Correspondences with any inspired work. However, if one attempts to predict a literal unfolding of the future from this or any other book he will always go amiss. It is useful to look at the signposts through analogy and use them as common sense dictates, but to expect to accurately predict any end of times from this on a literal basis is to miss the point of the book.

And what is that? I will repeat for this is an important point. It is the unveiling of Jesus Christ, or the unfolding of the consciousness of the disciple and its effect on mankind as he treads the path of becoming as Christ.

Paul spoke of this when he said:

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.   Colossians 1:27

When Christ is "in you," then the Revelation of John will present a Key that will make the path understandable.

So what does it mean that the "locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle?"

Remember that the locusts represent released guilt and negative emotion. The horse here represents intelligence applied with passion. The fact that the locusts are like horses prepared for battle tells us that the intelligence of those who are releasing negativity will use their minds to channel their emotion as if they are in as personal war and attack those who stimulated its release.

Again, we see this in the life of Christ. He opened the bottomless pit of suppressed emotion and guilt among the authorities and these people used their intelligence to guide their emotions to battle against him, seeking to take his life.

and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold ...

Notice it says "as it were," meaning that they did not have real crowns, but symbolic ones. Powerful emotion is seen as a sign of authority. If a person feels with enough intensity he then feels he has the right to act. If another commands him with enough emotion he feels he must obey or at least respond.

and their faces were as the faces of men.

Here is a revelation that the powerful emotion has "the faces of men." Indeed the released negativity comes from our own fellow men (or women).

Verse 8:

And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

I remember when long hair came in style in the sixties. A lot of people thought the fulfillment of this verse was at hand. Many visualized a great war where helicopters would be manned by hippie-type soldiers with long hair. Hair is a symbol of strength, as in the case of Samson, and long hair great strength. The fact that it looked like the hair of women tells us that powerful emotion is connected with the female side of our being.

and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

Powerful negative emotion indeed has teeth that has the force of a bite of a lion.

Verse 9:

And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

Those who are in the process of releasing negative emotion have a breastplate of iron over the heart center. They have great feeling, but the spiritual love of the heart has a barrier over it as strong as iron.

Wings pull the consciousness to the plane of mind and reason, but in the midst of great emotion any attempt at logical thinking is drowned out the sound of many conflicting thoughts (many horses) mixed with illogical feeling.

Verse 10:

And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

This repeats the thought that negative emotion, especially guilt has a power to cause hurt as the sting of a scorpion.

Verse 11:

And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Abaddon and Apollyon mean "destroyer." Because of this and the fact that the angel directing the locusts fell from heaven to the earth most interpreters assume this refers to the devil or Satan. Many forget that the Son of God also descended from heaven to the earth as noted in this scripture:

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.  John 3:13

The disciple who treads the path of Christ is a destroyer as well as builder. When he teaches he stimulates the release of powerful negative emotion and before it is dissipated is destroys all in its path just as a swarm of locusts. Negative emotion, on the other hand, is indeed the adversary of Christ. When we keep in mind that Satan means "adversary" we see another thought surfacing.

Fortunately, the consciousness of Christ has power to give the command to the negativity to not hurt any "green thing," thus preserving spiritual life as negative emotion is transmuted into positive.

This section ends with:

One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

The next verses to interpret read:

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.  Revelation 9:13-16

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.  Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)