When the Bottomless Pit Is Opened

Scripture: Revelation 9:1–12

Central Message

Darkness may be released for a time, but it can never take the place of God’s throne.

Introduction: When Darkness Is Actually Opened

Brothers and sisters, we now come to Revelation chapter 9.

At the close of chapter 8, an eagle flies high overhead, crying out loudly:

“Woe, woe, woe!”

For three more angels are still to sound their trumpets.

Now the fifth angel sounds.

The first woe has officially begun.

From this point on, the scenes in Revelation change noticeably.

The first four trumpets mainly show us the created world being shaken:

The earth is struck,
the sea is struck,
the rivers and springs turn bitter,
and the sun, moon, and stars lose part of their light.

But with the fifth trumpet, we see more than a disturbance in nature.

The bottomless pit is opened.

Smoke rises from the pit, the sun and the air grow dark, and then a terrifying swarm of locusts comes out of the smoke.

When we first read this passage, we naturally ask:

“What exactly are these locusts?”

“Are they some kind of modern weapon?”

“Are they helicopters?”

“Are they military technology from a future war?”

But if we focus entirely on these speculations, we may miss what John really wants us to see.

Revelation is not a codebook that invites us to guess at modern military weapons.

First and foremost, it unveils a spiritual reality to the church:

There is more to the world we live in than what our eyes can see.

Paul says:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, … against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
— Ephesians 6:12, KJV (excerpt)

Evil is real.

Spiritual warfare is real.

The powers of darkness are real as well.

But Revelation chapter 9 is not intended to make Christians live in fear.

For when John shows us the bottomless pit, he also shows us a far more important truth:

The bottomless pit may be opened,

but the throne has never been lost.

I. Darkness Is Released — Evil Is Real, Yet Still Limited by God

After the fifth angel sounds, John says:

“I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”
— Revelation 9:1, KJV (excerpt)

Two details here are especially important.

First, what John sees is a star that has already fallen from heaven. The original language uses the perfect tense, emphasizing that when John sees it, it is already in a fallen state.

This readily brings to mind other passages about the fall of spiritual powers for readers familiar with Scripture.

Jesus once said:

“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
— Luke 10:18, KJV (excerpt)

Revelation chapter 12 will also describe the dragon and his angels being cast down to the earth.

Yet we must be careful: Revelation 9:1 itself does not explicitly tell us that this star is Satan. We therefore cannot dogmatically equate the two.

But one thing is very clear:

This is not a being who possesses ultimate sovereignty.

For the second detail is even more important:

“to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”

Notice:

“was given.”

The key is not his own.

The authority he possesses is permitted authority.

He can act only within boundaries already established.

And here we find a beautiful contrast within Revelation itself.

In the first chapter of Revelation, the risen Christ declares:

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
— Revelation 1:18, KJV

Brothers and sisters,

this is what we must remember.

Revelation 9:1 says that a key “was given” to that fallen star;

but Revelation 1:18 tells us:

The keys of death and Hades are in the hands of the risen Christ.

We need not simply say that “the keys of Hades” and “the key of the bottomless pit” are exactly the same key; the passages do not refer to precisely the same things.

Yet together these two passages reveal a very clear truth:

The powers of darkness do not act independently; ultimate sovereignty belongs to Christ.

Verse 2 says:

“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.”

Smoke rises.

The sky grows dark.

Then:

“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.” (9:3, KJV)

Notice again:

Verse 1—the key was given.

Verse 3—the power also was given.

Although evil is terrifying,

it is not unlimited.

Although darkness is real,

it is not independent.

Satan and the powers of evil have never formed a kingdom equal in strength to God’s kingdom.

The Bible does not teach dualism.

It is not as though God stands on one side and the devil on the other, while we wait to see who wins.

No.

Revelation has already told us:

The throne is there.

The Lamb has already overcome.

The final outcome of history is already certain.

Therefore:

Do not take darkness lightly,

and do not overestimate it.

Darkness may be released for a time,

but it can never take the place of God’s throne.

II. The Harm Is Limited — God Knows Those Who Belong to Him

Something very strange happens next.

Verse 4 says:

“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.”

What do ordinary locusts eat?

Plants.

Grass.

Trees.

But these locusts are commanded:

They must not harm the plants.

This further shows that John is not describing an ordinary agricultural locust plague.

Nor can they harm whomever they please.

The passage says:

“should not hurt.”

Earlier:

The key was given.

The power was given.

Now:

The people they may harm are also limited.

Verse 5 even says:

“And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months” (KJV, excerpt).

Even the duration and the degree of harm have boundaries.

So the whole passage keeps repeating the same truth:

Darkness has power, but its power is not unlimited.

Darkness has boundaries.

The power of these locusts is like that of scorpions.

Verse 5 further describes the torment they inflict:

“their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.”

Verse 10 mentions them again:

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

At the very least, this shows us:

The harm inflicted by this darkness brings severe and sustained torment, yet it is limited and cannot take life at will.

Verse 6 even says:

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

This is a deeply sobering description.

We may draw pastoral connections from this, but we must make a clear distinction:

The text itself does not explicitly say that “the scorpion’s sting is anxiety, depression, accusation, or despair.”

We should therefore not directly equate any particular mental illness with an attack by the devil, much less make someone experiencing depression or anxiety feel that they must be “under demonic attack.”

Yet this picture does remind us:

Evil not only tempts people; it also torments them.

Lies torment people.

Sin enslaves people.

Accusation robs people of hope.

In Revelation 12:10, Satan is called “the accuser of our brethren.”

Sometimes the enemy says to a person:

“There is no hope left for you.”

“God will not forgive you.”

“Your past determines your future.”

“You are not worthy to come before God again.”

Brothers and sisters,

these voices are not the gospel.

For the gospel tells us:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”
— Romans 8:1, KJV (excerpt)

And Revelation 9:4 contains another very important phrase:

“but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

Do you remember chapter 7?

Before judgment went any further, God had already said:

“till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:3, KJV, excerpt)

God does not wait until darkness appears and then suddenly begin searching:

“Where are My people?”

No.

Before darkness comes,

God already knows those who belong to Him.

Jesus says:

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”
— John 10:14, KJV

But here, too, we must be careful.

God’s seal is not a charm that exempts us from every kind of suffering in this life.

It does not mean:

After believing in Jesus, we will never become ill,

never lose a job,

never suffer persecution,

and never shed tears.

The people in white robes in chapter 7 are themselves those who:

“came out of great tribulation.”

So the seal expresses, first of all:

Belonging.

Whose am I?

To whom does my life belong?

Who is my ultimate Lord?

The Christian’s greatest security is not:

“I will never encounter darkness.”

It is:

“Even when darkness comes, I still belong to the Lamb.”

III. The Destroyer Rules — Freedom Apart from God Ends in Bondage

From verse 7 onward, John describes these locusts further.

Like horses prepared for battle,

with what look like golden crowns on their heads,

faces like human faces,

hair like women’s hair,

teeth like lions’ teeth,

breastplates like iron,

and the sound of their wings like many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

This is a complex and terrifying symbolic picture.

We do not need to match every detail to a piece of modern military equipment.

The overall impression John intends to convey is already very clear:

This is a terrifying force of destruction.

In verse 11, the passage finally tells us:

“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.

Apollyon.

Both names point to one meaning:

Destroyer.

This gives us a profound spiritual reminder.

Since the garden of Eden, humanity has kept believing a lie:

“Apart from God, I will be freer.”

The essence of the serpent’s temptation of Eve was this:

You do not have to trust God’s boundaries.

You can decide good and evil for yourself.

You can be your own master.

It sounds like freedom.

What was the result?

Shame.

Fear.

Hiding.

Blaming one another.

And finally, death.

Today the same voices are still with us:

“My life is mine.”

“My body is mine.”

“I can do whatever I like.”

“As long as it makes me happy, nothing is off limits.”

It all sounds like:

Freedom.

But Jesus says:

“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”
— John 8:34, KJV (excerpt)

The most dangerous thing about sin is this:

When it comes in, it looks like freedom;

in the end, it becomes a chain.

At first:

“I am just trying it.”

Later:

“I can control it.”

And later still:

“I want to stop, but I cannot.”

This is the deceitfulness of sin.

And Revelation chapter 9 brings before us two utterly different names.

One is:

The destroyer.

The other is:

The Lamb.

The destroyer ultimately leads to destruction.

But Jesus says:

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
— John 10:10, KJV

So the real question is not:

“Do I want to have a master?”

The real question is:

“Who is my Lord?”

Conclusion: Who Holds the Key?

Brothers and sisters,

Revelation chapter 9 is not meant to send us home endlessly speculating:

“What exactly are the locusts?”

“When will the bottomless pit be opened?”

“Is this some kind of future weapon?”

These questions can be studied.

But they are not the most important questions in this passage.

The most important question is:

When darkness comes, to whom do I belong?

Today, remember these few expressions from the passage:

Verse 1:

“was given.”

Verse 3:

“was given.”

Verse 4:

“should not hurt.”

Verse 5:

“should not kill.”

Together these words tell us:

The powers of darkness have limits.

Why?

Because the one who truly sits on the throne is not the destroyer.

The one who truly rules history is:

The Lamb who was slain and rose again.

And do not forget those words in the first chapter of Revelation.

Jesus says:

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”

The cross appeared to be the triumph of darkness.

Jesus was crucified.

The tomb was closed.

The disciples scattered.

It seemed as though the destroyer had won.

But on the morning of the third day,

The tomb was empty.

Christ had risen.

So we know:

Darkness is not the end.

Death is not the end.

And the bottomless pit is certainly not the end.

Perhaps today you are going through some kind of darkness.

It may be trouble in your family,

struggles in your marriage,

bondage to sin,

longstanding fear,

or the enemy’s relentless accusations:

“You have no hope.”

“God will never accept you again.”

“Your past can never be washed clean.”

At such a time, do not fix your eyes only on the bottomless pit.

Look up to the throne.

Do not listen only to the voice of the accuser.

Listen to the voice of the Lamb.

For the gospel says:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, KJV, excerpt).

You do not have to prove by your own strength that you deserve God’s love.

Your hope is in the One who is:

The Christ who died for you, rose for you, and still reigns today.

So, as you step into this world filled with darkness, remember:

The bottomless pit may be opened, but heaven’s throne has never been lost;

Darkness may obscure the sky, but the light of Christ will not go out;

The destroyer may roar, but the Lamb has already risen from the dead;

Death may appear powerful, but the keys of death and Hades are in Christ’s hands.

Therefore:

Do not surrender to darkness.

Do not mistake sin for freedom.

Do not accept the accuser’s lies.

Remember to whom you belong.

Hold fast to Christ.

Keep praying.

Keep resisting sin.

Keep following the Lamb faithfully.

For:

Darkness may be released for a time,

but it can never take the place of God’s throne.

The bottomless pit may be opened,

but the Lamb still reigns.

Amen.