‘And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven, fallen to the earth, and the key of the pit of the abyss was given to him. And he opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke from the pit went upwards like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened as a result of the smoke from the pit.'
We are now specifically in the realm of the supernatural. The four winds of earth are doing their work and now the further elements of the spiritual world will also be called on to intervene. What follows is not to be seen visually by mankind, who will only know of it by its effects, although it is seen by John because he is in vision. It is often assumed that such dreadful events have not yet occurred, but such an idea is without foundation. The invisible activity of the powers of evil have occurred right from the beginning (compare Daniel 10). Within limits placed by God Satan has constantly attacked both the world and the church. These descriptions put his attacks in vivid and pictorial terms. Because we are cushioned from them we should not think that they have not happened. And the first began around the time of John and has continued through the centuries.
‘The abyss' is another term for the place of the dead, for Jesus Himself descended to the abyss (Romans 10:7). It includes the abode of evil spirits, a place which they seek to avoid at all costs (Luke 8:31). It is therefore a general term for the world of the dead and of spirits, both good and bad. We are not told that John saw ‘the star' fall. He describes it as already fallen. This may suggest that he has in mind the words of our Lord, ‘I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven' (Luke 10:18). It would indicate that the fallen star may be Satan himself. What John sees as happening at this point in time is the consequent giving of the key.
That this is our first introduction to Satan in Revelation, apart from in the letters to the churches, is suggested by the fact that this angel is king over the abyss (Revelation 9:11). Furthermore the key of the abyss would only be given to someone very important, just as, in contrast, the keys of death and Hades were given to Jesus. During this age Satan is bound (Mark 3:27 and parallels) but he is given a certain amount of licence by God to carry out his evil intent on the world.
The smoke going upwards like the smoke of a furnace parallels Genesis 19:28 where the same description is given of the smoke going up from Sodom and Gomorrah after God's judgment has come upon them, and we are justified in seeing in it an impending warning. (It is also paralleled in Exodus 19:18 of God's appearance in fire on Mount Sinai, warning the people of Israel not to enter the Mount). But its primary reference here is to what follows. The rising of a great cloud of locusts was often seen and described in such fashion. (It therefore does not tell us anything about what the abyss consists of e.g. fire). Vast amounts of smoke are seen to rise and are then discerned to be a huge cloud of locust like creatures. Often in the Middle East people have thought there was a great fire as a result of seeing thick smoke in the distance, only for it to turn out to be a vast cloud of locusts. Such a sight struck terror in men's hearts as they considered the effects.
If not Satan ‘the angel' may have in mind the one described under the third trumpet in the previous chapter as having fallen from heaven, but in our view this is less likely. Either way the end result is the same. Such angels are servants of Satan. For the idea of the angels as stars see Job 38:7. They are also called ‘the host of heaven' (1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 18:18; see also Psalms 148:2; Joshua 5:14), a name given to the heavenly bodies as well (Isaiah 34:4; Jeremiah 33:22; see also Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 45:12). They are further called stars in other non-canonical apocalyptic literature, including Enoch (Enoch is quoted by Jude demonstrating that the early church utilised apocalyptic literature, while not on the whole accepting it as part of ‘the word of God').
This angel, whom we consider is probably ‘the angel of the abyss' (Revelation 9:11), is permitted by God (‘was given the key') to release evil spirits on the world, although the people of God will have special protection from them (Revelation 9:4). So God tells John that soon (from his point of view) there is to be a release of powers of evil on the world. The binding of Satan is to be relaxed a little. Compare Revelation 12:12 (‘the ‘short time' is essentially from God's viewpoint. Satan does not know how long he has, but like man assumes it to be a short time). In all that happens it is made quite clear that God is over all. Paul has a similar idea in mind in Ephesians 6:10-18 where he describes the armour provided for God's people, armour that can protect the mind and heart, armour that can divert the fiery darts of the Evil One, which is found in salvation and in the effective use of the word of God and prayer. So Paul there sees a multitude of evil spirits at work which aim to make things difficult for God's people. ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the spiritual realm' (Ephesians 6:12). Paul describes the human side of the situation in order to encourage the putting on of the armour of God. Here in Revelation the divine side of God' protection of His people is found in the seal which is put upon them marking them as His.
‘The sun and the air were darkened as a result of the smoke of the pit'. The darkness is clearly ominous, warning of the dreadful things about to happen. The rulers of the darkness of this world are emerging. Huge clouds of locusts which blotted out the sun regularly brought fear into the hearts of men. In vision John recognises here a greater threat.