CHAPTER
NINE
Here
in
verse 1 we see “A star fall from
heaven unto the earth”,
that is, according to our authorized version. All other versions known
to me
say “fallen from heaven.” Here we
see the last of a series of stars falling. This began in 6:13
where we
saw the stars of heaven falling. Then in 8:10 we saw the great
star
falling, and in 8:12 the third part of the stars were darkened.
Now, in 9:1
we see the last of this line of illustrious stars (in the eyes of the
religious
world). When we come to this one, even such literalists as Larkin and
Newell
and Seiss are forced to admit that he is a person. In verse 1
this star is addressed as “him”, and in verse 2 it is “he”. So what
could the literalists do but admit that this star is a person?
The
Berkley
Bible footnote tells us that this star is Christ Himself. But I am
persuaded
that the translators of this version are not much better at
interpreting the
Scriptures than they are at translating them. In the first place, why
would the
Lord of glory permit Himself to be arrayed in line with the stars in Revelation
6 and 8? And in the second place, who would be giving Him a
key?
Then in the third place, why was He fallen from heaven unto the earth?
Let us
keep in mind that this star must be a church dignitary in order for him
to fit
in with our Lord’s line of interpretation set forth in the first
chapter and
verse 20. In 6:13 we found the stars there to be the
lesser
dignitaries of the Catholic Empire. In 8:10 the great star can
be none
other than the pope himself. In 8:12 the stars that are darkened
there I
hold to be the preachers and professors among apostate Baptists. Then
what
other great church dignitary that has fallen from heaven unto the earth
could
fit in with this motley crowd of stars?
In
Revelation
12:9 we read, “And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth.”
So, to
me, this is the star that is fallen from heaven unto the earth. In 2
Corinthians 11:14 we see that this one who is to be cast down to
the earth
during the great tribulation is today an angel of light. And certainly
no one
should deny the fact that he is a great church figure. He has started
so many
churches that are popular with the world that our Lord’s true churches
have
come to be looked upon as an enemy to everyone.
This
fallen one is given a key to, or for the bottomless pit. This pit is
not the
abode of the wicked dead in this age. The Greek word for their abode is
HADES while the word for the bottomless
pit here in this verse is ABUSSOS.
This ABUSSOS, or bottomless pit, is
the demon’s hell, that is, it is the place where the demons are
punished. In Luke
8:31 we hear the demons begging our Lord not to command them to go
into the
bottomless pit. Our authorized version says “into the deep”,
but this word “deep”
is from the same word ABUSSOS which
means bottomless pit, or the “abyss”,
and it is so translated in other translations.
The
word “key” (KLEIS) in the New Testament
does not mean an instrument that is
used to open a lock. The key that was given to Peter (Matthew 16:19)
was
a system of teaching. In Acts 2 beginning with verse 14
and in
Acts 10 beginning with verse 34 we see him setting forth
that system
of teaching. In Luke 11:52 the lawyers are seen as having
taken away the
key of knowledge. That is, they have discarded the true system of
teaching and
have supplanted their false system in the souls of men. Here in Revelation
9:1
the key speaks of the fallen star’s authority, or maybe we should say
his
permission to set forth his system of teaching without any restraint
except
that it was not to cause injury to the elect.
The
smoke
from the pit speaks of the results of this system of teaching. Satan’s
false
doctrines will literally flood the world to the extent that all
spiritual light
will be shut out completely so far as the non-elect are concerned. In 2
Thessalonians 2:7-12
we see this terrible smoke hovering over the people “because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that
they should
believe a lie; that they all might be damned”. God sends
this
delusion upon this wicked people by giving old Satan permission to turn
his
system of teaching loose upon them. Sometimes we wonder if Satan does
not
already have that permission. His doctrines are sweeping the world
today like a
sage brush fire on a windy day. But, in the light of the Scripture
before us, I
am persuaded that we have not seen anything yet compared to what lies
ahead.
But what we do see going on all about us should cause us to lift up our
heads
for our redemption draweth nigh.
If
we
listen to the literalists we will be forced to look upon the bottomless
pit, or
the “abyss” as an insect hatchery.
But I do not believe the climatic conditions in this terrible place of
torment
prepared for the demons, and for a time, for the devil himself, would
be very
conducive to insect reproduction. The “locust”
(AKRIS) is an insect. Those found in
the Bible lands are larger than ours here in America and are more able
to fly
through the air for great distances. In Matthew 3:4 and in Mark
1:6
we find that John the Baptist ate them. Today the Arabs take off the
head, legs
and wings, stew them in butter and call them good. In the Eastern
hemisphere
these locusts travel in great swarms, or hordes. Sometimes they are so
numerous
that they almost shut out the sun like a cloud. When they come to a
man’s farm
they devour everything green that is found on it. Here in America our
species
of locust can only sail through the air for a few feet at a time.
Therefore,
they do not go in swarms as they do in the Orient. Here we know him as
the
grasshopper.
Since,
according to Revelation 1:20, the candlesticks represented the
churches
and the stars represented the pastors of the churches, would we be
changing the
manner of interpretation set forth by our Lord here in 1:20 if
we say
that the locusts represent the neo-orthodox seminary professors, the
so-called
higher critics of our day? We are told that these locusts come out of
the smoke
which arose out of the bottomless pit, that is, they come out of the
false
system of teaching that is so prevalent in our day. This simply means
that
these neo-orthodox teachers are the product of this new system of
teaching. The
fact that these locusts are not to eat the green grass, or any green
thing
should prove to us that they are not literal locusts.
In
Matthew
24:24 we read, “For there shall
arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect”.
Here in the Scripture before us we see these false christs and false
teachers
deceiving the non-elect to the extent that in verse 6 they seek
death.
But though they seek death they are not able to find it. There is
absolutely no
suffering to be compared to that brought on by mental suffering and
anguish of
soul in the spiritual realm. Sometimes God’s own saints do some of this
kind of
suffering needlessly. How vividly do I recall the mental agony and
anguish of
soul that I suffered for months before I finally severed my relations
with a
religious system that I knew I could never be a part of. The ties that
binds
one so securely in these religious systems, such as the fear of losing
the
friends who have meant so much to you through the years, the fear of
losing the
seeming benefits that these systems have to offer, in some cases the
fear of
the loss of business, and the strongest tie of all, the fear and dread
of the
persecution that comes from those you love so much. These ties are very
real,
and they hold many of our Lord’s saints in these systems until they
suffer much
anguish of soul. But these people in verse 6 who seek death are
not the
Lord’s people. Rather they are demon possessed people like the one
found in Mark
5:1-5. In verse
4 we see this man
that no man could tame, or help. He was so possessed with demons that
he
continued to go day and night in the mountains and among the tombs “crying, and cutting himself with stones”.
What suffering and anguish of soul is brought on by being demon
possessed. And
the religious teachers will prepare these people for demon possession
just as
the farmer prepares the soil for the seed.
These
neo-orthodox teachers do their terrible work though their tails. In
verse 10
we are told that these locusts had tails. And in Isaiah 9:15 we
read, “The ancient and the honorable, he is
the head; and the prophet (or preacher) that
teacheth lies, he is
the tail”. These professors are the product of the false
system of
teaching, the preachers who teach lies are the product of the
professors and
the demon possessed people who wish they could die are the product of
the
preachers who teach the lies. In all this we see the poor Gadarene of Mark
5
multiplied by the millions.
In
verse 7
we see these locusts like horses prepared unto battle. This can very
well speak
of the rapid progress these professors will make when once the Holy
Spirit has
removed Himself from the role of the hinderer (2 Thessalonians 2:7)
at
the time of the rapture of the saints. Also in verse 7 we see
that these
professors have “crowns like gold”.
Please note, they are not gold. They just look like gold, that is, they
are
just an imitation. Gold speaks of our Lord’s glory. These “crowns
like gold” speak of a glory that is not the Lord’s glory,
therefore, it is their own glory. We are told that these locusts have
faces
like “the faces of men” which speaks
of their great intellect. These professors, even in our day, sway their
pupils
with their great intellectualism. They are smart and shrewd to the
extent that
they are able to put over their damnable teaching, and make the
religious world
love it. One of Theodore Clarke’s former pupils said to me that Clarke
was not
really as atheistic in his teaching as some of the others who taught
with him.
According to him, Clarke was not nearly so rank in his neo-orthodox
teaching as
St. Amant, Frank Stagg, Eric Rust, or Dale Moody and many others like
them, but
that he was just not smart enough to put it over. So, Clarke was
dismissed from
the faculty at the New Orleans Seminary while the others who
are smart enough to rip, tear and deny God’s precious Word and
get by with it are still on the payroll.
Then
we
are told that these locusts have hair “like
the hair of women”. In Song of Solomon 7:5 one version
says, “Your head crowns you like Carmel, and your
flowing locks are like purple; a king is held captive in the tresses.”
As the king is held captive by the tresses of hair, so the pupils of
these
professors are held in the net of intellectualism. Then in 1
Corinthians 11:15
we read, “But if a woman have long
hair, it is a glory to her.” As the woman’s hair is her
glory or pride,
so the professor’s false system of teaching is his pride and joy. It
proves, to
him that he is of the intelligentsia and therefore, he is too smart to
believe
what God has said in His Book. Their teeth like the teeth of lions
speak of the
awful agony and suffering they bring to men. Their breastplates may
very well
speak of their seared conscience that prevents any real truth of the
Word from
getting through to them.
In
verse 11
these “locusts” (or professors) have
“a king over them”. And please note
that he is not the King of kings, but rather he is the destroyer which
is none
other than old Satan himself. How awful it is to find that so many of
these who
are being held up before the world as authorities on the precious Word
are nothing
but the instruments of Satan who rules over them.
We
are
too prone to jump at conclusions and give words a meaning they should
not have.
In the case of “the four angels who are
bound at (not in) the Euphrates
River” William R. Newell says they are Satan’s most powerful
princes. H. A.
Ironside says they are angels who are restraining the Asiatic hordes
from
pouring themselves upon Palestine and Europe. That would make them good
angels.
Clarence Larkin calls them bad angels. Edward A. McDowell, though he
purports
to give us the meaning of Revelation, gives absolutely no meaning at
all.
Others say this and still others say that which shows the fallibility
of us
all. In the light of all this divergent teaching I feel so incompetent
to even
try. But with a prayer on my lips that I may not cause my Lord’s people
to err,
and begging Him for, and trusting in Him for light, I shall try to shed
what
light He may give to me on this part of this wonderful book.
If
these “four angels” are good angels who have
been restraining the enemy, why do they slay the third part of mankind?
If they
are bad angels, why are they bound at the Euphrates rather than under
darkness
in TARTARUS, 2 Peter 2:4?
Maybe we are too quick to think of these “four
angels” as super natural beings. I know that when we see the word “angel” our first thought is of the
angels of heaven. But there are other angels which we must consider. If
we
study closely the use of the word ANGELOS
in our Bible we will find that it refers to men as well as to
supernatural
beings. In Luke 7:24 the messengers of John are just as much
John’s
angels as Gabriel is God’s angel. This word “messengers”
comes from this very same word ANGELOS. In Luke
9:52 we see our Lord sending “messengers” into a
village of the
Samaritans. This word “messengers”
also comes from the word ANGELOS.
These men who were sent on a special mission by our Lord were just as
much His
angels as are the heavenly angels. The difference is in their nature.
One is
heavenly, the other earthly. The same is true of the word “apostle”.
Some seem to think that this word means the twelve and
Paul and no one else. But the word “apostle”
comes from APOSTOLOS which is also
translated “messenger” as in Philippians
2:25. Here Paul says that Epaphroditus is the “messenger”
of the church at Phillipi. And this word “messenger”
comes from APOSTOLOS the same word that is in
other places translated “apostle”. I
am not trying to teach a lesson in Greek. I could not do that if I
tried. But I
am trying to show you that the word “angel”
which comes from ANGELOS means a “messenger”,
or one sent by God, or by
man, or by Satan. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul tells us that his “thorn in the flesh” was “a (not the) messenger (or angel) of
Satan”. One of old Satan’s preachers kept buffeting Paul and
thereby he was
kept humble.
In
the
light of all this, I contend that the four angels here in Revelation
9:14
are men. That is, they are the rulers of the countries over across the
Euphrates River who would like to pour across this river and destroy
Palestine
and the surrounding country. They are not the ones who are restraining,
but
they are the ones who are restrained. They are restrained by our Lord
from
doing what they want so much to do until His time comes to permit them
to do
it. The kings are in His hand, Proverbs 21:1. The Euphrates
River is the
natural boundary between Asia and Europe, or the East and the West. No
doubt
the Russian hordes along with her satellites would have destroyed
Israel and
the surrounding territory long before now had it not been for God’s
restraining
hand. He may be using the fear of America to restrain these hordes. He
can do
it any way He chooses. But when the hour, the day, the month, and the
year (God’s
appointed time) comes He will remove that fear from their hearts, they
will
throw all restraint to the wind and plunge the Biblical world into a
holocaust
such as this old world has never dreamed of. The word “men”
in verse 15 is rendered “mankind” in most other
translations. And this would seem to be
saying that one third of all people then living will die as a result of
this
terrible war.
Verse
16
gives us the number of men who will take part in this awful war as two
hundred
million. Larkin says this great army is invisible, and Newell says they
are not
human beings. If these brethren are right, then I surely am wrong. I am
utterly
unable to see how they come up with such a line of thinking. It is true
that
verse 20 speaks of these people having been slain, or killed by
these
plagues. But verse 18 makes it very plain that these plagues
are to be
fire, smoke and brimstone. This word “plague”
comes from PLEGE which means a
stripe or wound, and our English word “plague” means to
affect with disease or
disaster. Here in the Scripture before us it means to affect with
disaster.
The
horses in verse 17 speaks, no doubt, of the army’s mode of
conveyance
just as the lampstands in chapter one speaks of the churches. If we
think of
these horses as being tanks, fighter planes, etc., we should have no
trouble in
seeing fire, smoke, and brimstone coming from their mouths. The tails
are like
serpents, that is, the gun in the tail of the plane can be moved up and
down,
left or right just as an animal’s tail can be moved. Verse 19
tells us
that they do hurt with these tails. Many an enemy plane has been shot
down by
the tail gunner in the plane.
The
breastplates in verse 17 are presented as being actual fire,
jacinth and
brimstone in our authorized version. This cannot help but confuse the
reader.
But if we read it “breastplates the color
of fire, jacinth (or hyacinth) and
brimstone” we will get a better understanding of these
breastplates. They will be red, blue and yellow, red being the color of
fire,
blue the color of jacinth, or hyacinth and yellow the color of
brimstone, or Sulphur.
In
Revelation
6:15-16 we found that
the suffering and sorrow brought on by the great tribulation did not
drive
people to Christ for salvation, but rather it drives them to the dens
and rocks
of the mountains. So here in verses 20-21
we see the people who are left alive still refuse to
give up their devil worship. You just simply do not scare people to
Christ with
graveyard tales, or fear of death. You may scare them into the church
and be
able to count heads. But Jesus said, “No man can come unto me except
the
Father which hath sent Me draw (literally drag) him.” And I
am
persuaded that He knew what He was talking about.
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