Revelation 9:es 1 to12. 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.
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 there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. And unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. 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.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented 5 months. And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
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.
And they had hair as the hair of women. And their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 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. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is a badon.
But in the Greek tongue hath his name Apolon. One woe is passed, and behold, there come two woes more hereafter. John, the man who was exiled to the island of Patmos, was given a divine vision of the end times.
Among the many terrifying and prophetic revelations he received, one stands out as especially chilling. The moment when the bottomless pit is opened and an army unlike anything the world has ever seen is unleashed upon the earth. And at the head of this army is a king, a being, a destroyer.
His name in Hebrew is Abaden in Greek, Apolon. This isn't just a mysterious character introduced in Revelation 9. The name Apolon has echoed through films, stories, and ominous myths.
You might have come across the name before, perhaps in a video or a short film with dark undertones. But do you truly know who or what Apollon is? Do you understand the power behind this being and the role he will play in the last days?
Some have mistakenly thought Apollon is just another name for Satan based on the title the destroyer. But the Bible gives us clues that Apollon is not Satan. He is another dark entity, one of Satan's chief commanders, likely bound in chains for a specific time now waiting.
The stage is set in Revelation 9 where a series of trumpet judgments are being unleashed upon the earth. These trumpet blasts are not mere sounds. They are announcements from heaven that yet another wave of divine judgment is coming.
Each trumpet brings more intensity, more horror, and more judgment than the last. When the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, something horrifying happens. John writes, 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.
" Notice that the star is referred to as a him, a being. He is handed a key. Not just any key, but the key to the abyss.
The bottomless pit is not a symbolic place. It is a realm, a prison for demons, a holding cell for some of the most vile spiritual forces that exist. Revelation 20:3 tells us that this is where Satan himself will be bound for a thousand years.
But before that happens, it is opened briefly during the sounding of the fifth trumpet. And what comes out is nothing short of apocalyptic. Even if Hollywood filmmakers were given a budget of $100 billion, they still couldn't come close to recreating the terrifying and supernatural events described in Revelation chapter 9.
When most people think of the Earth, they only consider what can be seen on the surface. mountains, oceans, and cities. But scripture suggests that beneath the surface lies a hidden world that is spiritual, mysterious, and disturbing.
The Bible doesn't describe the underworld as empty or silent. Instead, it is a realm inhabited by beings and forces beyond human comprehension. It was considered a place of confinement, not just for the dead, but for rebellious angels and bound spirits.
Peter speaks of angels being cast into chains of gloomy darkness in second Peter 2:4, while Jude refers to them as being held in eternal bonds. There is so much about the abyss that remains a mystery to us. The Bible gives glimpses just enough to awaken our awareness, but not the full picture.
And truthfully, that's not just the case with the abyss. There's a vast amount we do not understand about the entire spiritual realm. Angels, demons, the workings of the heavenly courts, and the invisible battles that rage around us.
These are realities that exist beyond the limits of our human perception. Even the physical world we live in holds secrets we've yet to uncover. The oceans remain largely unexplored.
Scientists estimate that we have only mapped about 20% of the world's oceans. That means over 80% of the Earth's waters are still a complete mystery filled with depths we've never seen and creatures we've never encountered. The depths of the earth are still a mystery and there are countless things happening in both the natural and supernatural dimensions that we cannot see.
In all honesty, we are only scratching the surface of reality. Our understanding is limited. But one day when we leave this world and stand before God, our eyes will be opened.
We will see clearly. We will understand how much we misunderstood, how little we truly knew, and how gracious God was to guide us despite our limited knowledge. On that day, every mystery will make sense, and every unanswered question will finally find its answer.
Remember this, the Bible says there are some strange things beneath our feet. As the pit is opened, smoke billows out like the smoke from a great furnace. And with it comes an army described as locusts, but clearly not ordinary insects.
They are not here to consume grass or trees. Their mission is more sinister, to torment mankind. These beings are described with vivid, terrifying features like horses prepared for battle, faces like men, hair like women, teeth like lions, and breastplates of iron.
Their wings roar like many chariots charging into war, and their tails like scorpions with stingers to torment. These are not ordinary locusts. These are not hallucinations or metaphors.
John is describing a demonic army so hideous and so precise in their torment that people will seek death and death will flee from them as stated in Revelation 9:6. The natural cycle of life and death will be paused. This is a supernatural punishment under divine jurisdiction.
And leading this demonic horde is a king. Revelation 9:1 says, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaden, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apolon. " This detail is critical.
Proverbs 30 27 tells us that natural locusts have no king. These creatures are supernatural. They have a ruler, Apollon.
Apolon means the destroyer. He is not just one of the demonic spirits. He is their commander, a prince of the abyss.
A high ranking being in Satan's dark hierarchy. Perhaps one who fell with Lucifer but was bound for a specific time. And now during the tribulation, that time has come.
He is not working alone. He commands. He rules.
he leads. Some confuse Apollon with Satan, but they are distinct. Satan is described as the dragon, the serpent, the accuser, the deceiver.
Apolon is described specifically as the angel of the abyss. This suggests he has jurisdiction over that realm. Satan during this time is operating through the beast and the false prophet working deception on the earth.
Apolon, on the other hand, is a general of destruction, unleashed for a short, terrifying window to bring judgment through torment. And it is all under God's sovereign hand. Make no mistake, this isn't Satan acting freely.
The angel who opens the abyss was given the key. He didn't take it. He didn't break in.
It was allowed, permitted, orchestrated. This is judgment. This is God allowing the wickedness of the world to be repaid in kind.
The torment lasts 5 months, not six, not four, because even the duration is under divine control. This is not an outofcrol moment. It is a planned pre-ordained period of divine retribution.
The creatures that emerge are not just random monsters. They are part of a structured demonic army. And this structure, this hierarchy tells us something important.
Evil has an order. It has leadership. Apolon is the king and his army is prepared, waiting, restrained until the appointed time.
Revelation 9:es 7 to10 offers a disturbing description of their appearance. 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.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 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. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men five months.
This level of detail is no accident. These creatures are designed to strike fear. They are engineered, perhaps even by God's judgment itself, to inflict torment, not to kill, but to cause unbearable suffering.
And the fact that they look so bizarre and unnatural suggests they are not to be understood as literal insects. John likely used the term locusts to emphasize their overwhelming numbers and destructive purpose. And their leader Apollon ensures they do so with purpose.
He is not just a symbol. He is real and he will be unleashed. Revelation 9 isn't just poetic, it's prophetic.
It's warning us of a time coming upon the earth when demonic forces will be granted permission to physically afflict mankind. And it is not the end of judgment, just the beginning of the three woes. And through it all, God remains sovereign.
The key was given, not stolen. The pit was opened not by force but by permission. Every moment in Revelation 9 unfolds according to a divine timeline that was written long before the foundation of the world.
The torment is limited. The duration is set. The targets are defined.
Not one locustlike creature moves outside of the boundaries that God himself has established. Even Apollon, king of the abyss, with all his demonic authority, fury, and power can do nothing unless it is allowed by the one who sits on the throne. Passage is not merely a horror story.
It is a revelation of God's control over chaos, a sober reminder that the God of mercy is also the God of judgment. For centuries, mankind has indulged in sin, laughed at righteousness, and trampled on the name of Jesus. But the time is coming when the heavens will no longer be silent.
When the patience of God will come to its end, when mercy will give way to wrath, and justice will roar like a lion. The creatures from the pit are real. The torment is real.
Apolon is real. He is not a metaphor for chaos. He is not a symbolic figure of destruction.
He is a being appointed for an hour, a day, a month, and a year. And he is coming. And his name means one thing, destruction.
But even destruction itself is under the rule of God.
