Useful Bible Studies > Revelation Commentary > chapter 9
This ‘star’ is called an ‘angel’ in verse 11. The angels are usually God’s special servants in heaven, but this ‘star’ had fallen from heaven. In other words, he had lost his position in heaven.
There is a similar description in Isaiah 14:12-15. That passage describes a great and powerful king who proudly tried to make himself like God. Then God acted against him and he lost all his greatness and his power. Ezekiel 28:14-17 is another similar passage.
Revelation 9:11 gives the name of this angel as APOLLYON, which means the destroyer. It seems to be a name for the devil; in fact, all these passages seem to describe the devil. God does not create anything evil, and he did not create Satan (the devil) to be his enemy. Once Satan was one of the greatest angels, but then he chose to oppose God. He lost his place in heaven, but, for a certain period of time, God has permitted him to be active on earth.
God has also permitted the devil to have some power, still. The devil controls a terrible part of hell, called the abyss. It is the place where the most awful and evil spirits belong. The word ‘abyss’ means a deep, dark hole; it is so deep that it has no bottom.
At some future time, as an act of judgement, God will permit the devil to open the abyss. Then, the awful spirits that the abyss contains will come out. John saw that they were like the dark, thick smoke of a great fire. They will block the sun’s light and they will fill the air with darkness. Then they will start to carry out their evil work against the people who live on the earth.
Next part: An attack by evil spirits against the world (Revelation 9:3-4)
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© 2016, Keith Simons.