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The fifth angel sounded, and I saw "a star" having fallen from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
We need to understand, in order to grasp the vision that John saw, is the meaning of the term “bottomless pit.” Let me illustrate: “He’s a liberal.” “He’s a conservative.” He’s a radical.” “He’s a capitalist.” “He’s a socialist.” “He’s a terrorist.” “He’s a freedom fighter.” “He’s religious.” “He’s spiritual.”
What do these words mean? To one person they bear one meaning, while to another person they may mean something else altogether. That’s why we have dictionaries which endeavor to define terms. But even with a dictionary at hand, we all have our own ideas about what particular words mean.
“Spiritual” probably means something very different to many who read these lines than it does to a Buddhist or a Spiritist! Often discussions and arguments end in confusion because we use the same words but invest them with different meanings. When we do this we cannot properly communicate with each other because we are not on the same “wavelength.”
For the student of the scriptures one of the toughest word nuts to crack is the term “bottomless pit”!
What do we mean by a bottomless pit?
The Greek word for bottomless is abussos which is derived from a root word meaning “depthless.” In Greek it is called the “pit of the abussos” from which we derive our English word abyss!
Perhaps it would be better translated as the “pit of the abyss” or the “pit of the unfathomable depth.” “Bottomless” is a good translation of this word, for the thought of the Greek is that it is that whose depths are unmeasurable. As soon as one attempts to suppose a physical or literal reality corresponding to this picture-image, he falls into endless difficulty. My impression is that we have here a spiritual picture of a character and nature. It is true that righteousness and truth are related not only with light, but also with height, and evil and error are associated not only with darkness, but also with depth.
Tracing backward to the root of the word abussos, it is interesting to note that abussos is a variation of buthos which means “profundity.” It becomes, then, a profundity which in its spiritual meaning signifies a thought or a nature — so deep as to be beyond the comprehension of the natural mind!
Bro. Preston Eby writes... Armed with these meanings of “bottomless” “depthless,” “unfathomable depths,” and “profundity” it is revealed as a pit which has no bottom! Therefore, there is no substance, no foundation, no ground to stand upon. What that really says to us is that it has no reality — that is, no basis in fact. Now, it appears to have a bottom, a foundation, for does not every pit have a bottom? Yet it does not. Therefore the pit represents a lie!
The next thing we need to remember in order to understand this great mystery is that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Jesus said it so plainly and powerfully, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (Jn. 8:44). What is a lie? A lie is error. It is an untruth. It is an unreality. It is that which appears to have substance, but in fact is an illusion or imagination. It’s a mirage. It looks like something, but is actually nothing. That’s a lie!
A study of the scripture passages in which the abyss is mentioned will reveal to us that it is always associated with the waters of the earth.
At the dawn of God’s creation darkness was upon the face of the abyss. Then the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2). The deep springs of the abyss were broken up at the great flood (Gen. 7:11; 8:2). Again we read of the waters of the great deep, or abyss (Isa. 51:10). And in our text (Rev. 9:1) the word “pit” comes from a word meaning well. It could be translated “the well of the abyss.” It indicates an immeasurable depth of water!
The abyss is portrayed as the farthest extreme from heaven and the heights of the mountains (Gen. 49:25; Deut. 33:13; Ps. 36:6). In other passages it is used as a reference to the deepest parts of the sea (Job. 28:14; 38:16; Ps. 33:7).
In other places it is pictured as subterranean rivers and vaults of water (Deut. 8:7; Job 36:16). The crossing of Israel through the depths of the Red Sea is repeatedly likened to a passage through the abyss (Ps. 77:16; 106:9; Isa. 44:27; 51:10; 63:13). Looking at the natural shadow or type of the higher spiritual truth, we find that the ocean covers seventy-two percent of the earth’s surface. Its average measurable depth is 11,500 feet. Its greatest measured depths are the Nares Deep, 28,200 feet in the Atlantic and the Nero Deep, 36,614 feet in the Pacific. Off the coast of Japan, there is a spot so deep…they just gave up, marked how much line they had dropped and logged it “deeper than that.” That, my beloved, is a truer picture of the abyss!
I repeat again the great truth that the book of Revelation is a spiritual book, and like everything else in the book the scenes John beheld in chapter nine are all symbols standing for spiritual realities, both positive and negative. As we progress from trumpet to trumpet there is an ascending scale in the depth of our Father’s dealings in the lives of His elect! When the first trumpet sounded hail and fire mingled with blood were cast into the earth, the soulical realm of mind, will, emotion, and desire. This dealing of the Lord is with the “good” of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The natural mind, while appearing intellectual, moral, sophisticated, and even religious, is really “enmity against God.” At the sounding of the second trumpet a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, the body realm, with all the gross sins of the flesh. Then the third trumpet sounded and a great star from heaven fell upon the rivers and the fountains of waters, turning them to wormwood — bitterness. The judgment of God came into our lives and made bitter to us all the “streams” and “fountains” which flowed through the surface areas of our earthly, soulical lives, streams of man’s wisdom, politics, business, religion, and all the worldly concepts and ways which supply refreshment, or a sense of knowledge, understanding, direction, accomplishment, entertainment, and well-being to the natural man.
As the fourth trumpet sounded a third part of the sun, moon, and stars were darkened, signifying that those dominating things, movements, people, ideas, and powers from without — the rulers in the symbolic heavens of the old creation — begin to lose their authority and hold over our spiritual lives. Can you not discern the progression as we move from trumpet to trumpet?
Now, as we come to the fifth trumpet we are faced with an abyss — something deeper, more hidden, and profound than any of the four realms that preceded it!
The abyss is deeper than the earth, deeper than the rivers, deeper than the fountains of waters, and deeper even than the sea!
It is the lowest realm, and it is locked up — unseen, unknown, and only a mighty angel or messenger with the key is able to open it! Therefore, the great mystery and the great truth that the Holy Spirit is seeking to reveal to those who can receive and understand it is that there is a dimension of man’s being which is not a result or a manifestation of anything else, but lies so deep within us that it is indeed the secret and hidden root and cause of all that pertains to the natural man. This is the realm of which John the Baptist spoke when, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, he said, “Now also the axe is laid upon the root of the trees” (Lk. 3:9).
The bottomless pit or the abyss is downward, lower, in those regions beneath anything that can be observed or understood in our human lives. It is lower than heaven, lower than the mountains, lower than the plains, lower than the rivers and fountains of waters, and deeper than the deepest sea! It is within this abyss that Satan finds his abode in mankind. In this subterranean region of darkness abides the bestial nature of man and the lying spirits of the false prophet. While it is a dark, evil world within us, it is also a religious world. That is the mystery!
What is this pit?
It is a bottomless pit. Many persons laugh at the idea of a bottomless pit! They say, “How can there be a pit that has no bottom to it?” Well, now, I can simply give you a natural illustration of a bottomless pit. Suppose the earth was hollow, as some scientists think it is. Now suppose you could bore a hole in the earth, and drop something right down in the middle of this world, and there was a great cavity inside. Will you tell me where the bottom of that place would be? The exact center of that hollow space would be the center of the world. Should you drill the hole all the way through the earth, if you go up on this side of the world, you are on the top of the pit; if you go to the other side of the world, there is the top; and where is the bottom of a conclave surface, like the hollow earth? Gravity will meet in the center, and nothing will be able to fall out of the hole in either direction. It is indeed a bottomless pit!
But do you know that in its spiritual meaning there is a higher and greater significance to the term “bottomless pit” that comes closer home, and that is our own selves!
Man is a sphere, the natural man is “earthy” and is a world within himself; he is a microcosm of the macrocosm; and when man falls from the life of the spirit and the consciousness of God, he naturally gravitates into his own self, and falls, falls, falls, deeper and deeper into the depths of his own human consciousness and earthly identity. hat is what the “fall” of Adam was all about! He fell from God-consciousness into human-consciousness. He descended from life in the spirit and by the spirit into life in the flesh and by the flesh.
He came down from the lofty wisdom and glory of the mind of Christ and took on the mind of the beast. The fall of man is not merely an historical event. Oh, no! It is that which happens every day. Man is forever gravitating to the center of his own being, and never finding it. And there is in man’s natural constitution, just as in the hollow of a globe, a bottomless pit. It is the deepest depths of the bestial nature. Suicides find it, haters find it, murderers find it, psychopaths find it, alcoholics find it, melancholists find it, criminals of all classes find it, swindlers find it, and most mysterious of all, religious racketeers, deceivers, manipulators, cultists, and fear-mongers of all kinds find it!
Think of the awful horror of just simply devouring yourself, falling into self, discovering the darkest depths of yourself. Man can never find righteousness, peace, and joy within himself! You can never find a place of rest in your own natural constitution. Your natural life, earthly consciousness, and Adamic identity have no more place for a rest or for any worthwhile accomplishment than a hollow world has; and if you were tumbled into a hollow world, where would you find any light, and where would you find a place to put your foot on? The only way a human being can find rest is to find reality! When man ascends and gets out of himself he will find the life and light of God in the spirit! If like Adam, we cut away from the life of God in our spirit, we are forever sinking down into our own self, into our own thoughts, our own imaginations, our own delusions, our own mistaken identity, our own bestial nature, passing the days like a piece of iron in a hollow world. We can never find rest! We can never see light! We can never be free! We can never touch reality! And so, my beloved, the worst hell is the pit that man carries in his own being — to be continually tumbling and falling into your own self, gravitating from God, without finding any rest, and peace, and satisfaction; going down, down, down, falling farther and farther away from the sanity of reality, from the light of truth, from the image of God, and from life full, abundant, and eternal! ~Tom Wray
The occurrences of "bottomless pit" in holy scripture.
Rev 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.
Rev 9:2, 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.
Rev 9:11, 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.
Rev 11:7, And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 17:8, The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life
from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Rev 20:1, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:3, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
These scriptures do not speak of the depths of the heart of man;
However I will agree with the idea that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9).
Sin that sinners want to keep is taken away when the sinners, with their sins, will be cast into the lake of fire.
This is the belief of a man who cannot comprehend the plain speech of the interpretation of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Absolutely everything that was against us was defeated at the cross. So, if you are allowing the the defeated enemy to defeat you, rather than experiencing the wonderful feeling of everything that was against us, then there is no one to blame for your experience.
Jesus Christ in defeating, sin death and the devil, saved mankind from the belief in separation from the source of life, to live the life of Jesus Christ(I almost said the life of Riley, which would be an improvement on what bible idolators are serving up).
This is the belief of a man who cannot comprehend the plain speech of the interpretation of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Absolutely everything that was against us was defeated at the cross. So, if you are allowing the the defeated enemy to defeat you, rather than experiencing the wonderful feeling of everything that was against us, then there is no one to blame for your experience.
Jesus Christ in defeating, sin death and the devil, saved mankind from the belief in separation from the source of life, to live the life of Jesus Christ(I almost said the life of Riley, which would be an improvement on what bible idolators are serving up).
Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Jesus did indeed defeat sin death and the devil;
However, to appropriate what He did for you, you must place your faith in Him and in what He did for you.
Those who do not place their faith in Jesus and what He did for them on the Cross will be cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:10,15).
Also, God has magnified His word above all His name (Psalms 138:2);
And those who believe Him when He says that are not idolaters any more than a bride is making an idol out of love letters sent to her by her bridegroom from a far away location.
Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Jesus did indeed defeat sin death and the devil;
However, to appropriate what He did for you, you must place your faith in Him and in what He did for you.
Those who do not place their faith in Jesus and what He did for them on the Cross will be cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:10,15).
Also, God has magnified His word above all His name (Psalms 138:2);
And those who believe Him when He says that are not idolaters any more than a bride is making an idol out of love letters sent to her by her bridegroom from a far away location.
When I started reading jbf's reply, I was wondering to myself, how many words until I see the word 'however'. Then the 10th word popped up before I could provide an answer. I was going to guess around 20 or 30 words before it came.
There is a cliche I like that is 100 percent accurate...the truth comes after the but. (in this case, the however).
When I started reading jbf's reply, I was wondering to myself, how many words until I see the word 'however'. Then the 10th word popped up before I could provide an answer. I was going to guess around 20 or 30 words before it came.
There is a cliche I like that is 100 percent accurate...the truth comes after the but. (in this case, the however).
Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Jesus did indeed defeat sin death and the devil;
However, to appropriate what He did for you, you must place your faith in Him and in what He did for you.
Those who do not place their faith in Jesus and what He did for them on the Cross will be cast into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:10,15).
Also, God has magnified His word above all His name (Psalms 138:2);
And those who believe Him when He says that are not idolaters any more than a bride is making an idol out of love letters sent to her by her bridegroom from a far away location.
You still don't get it because you have not experienced the salvation of the Lord(nothing to do with being saved from hell), you have experienced salvation from a belief in the fear of hell. Faith takes us into the salvation of Lord, not having faith does NOT keep us out of it.
You still don't get it because you have not experienced the salvation of the Lord(nothing to do with being saved from hell), you have experienced salvation from a belief in the fear of hell. Faith takes us into the salvation of Lord, not having faith does NOT keep us out of it.
You don't know me, friend.
I have experienced the salvation that is given by the Lord; which has to do with being saved both from iniquity (Matthew 1:21, Titus 2:14-15) and the furnace of fire (Matthew 13:41-42, 13:49-50).
And yes, if faith takes us into salvation, not having faith means that you do not have salvation!
I have experienced the salvation that is given by the Lord; which has to do with being saved both from iniquity (Matthew 1:21, Titus 2:14-15) and the furnace of fire (Matthew 13:41-42, 13:49-50).
And yes, if faith takes us into salvation, not having faith means that you do not have salvation!
All I can go by is what you are posting. Your beliefs are based on the doctrines and traditions of men and not upon the Grand theme of scriptures that God never ever fails to perform his will and his will for all , is for all to be saved.
All I can go by is what you are posting. Your beliefs are based on the doctrines and traditions of men and not upon the Grand theme of scriptures that God never ever fails to perform his will and his will for all , is for all to be saved.
He does in fact desire all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4)...He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Unfortunately, not all men actually do come to a place of repentance in their lives.
God has given to every man a degree of sovereignty; for He is all about freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).
However, those who do not submit to the Lordship of His kingdom will not be allowed to enter in.
Because they have not been born again; and their sin nature has never been dealt with; therefore they will sin throughout eternity.
Sin being the cause of all death, sorrow, crying, and pain; those who commit it will not be allowed into the kingdom in order that heaven might be truly heavenly.
God has provided a simple remedy for the problem of sin....His precious shed blood on the Cross of Calvary.
He does not make it a difficult thing to appropriate that shed blood to your life so that your sin can be dealt with.
The problem is pride.
The very thing that caused the devil to fall from his position in heaven, keeps men from receiving the only remedy for sin.
These doctrines are not based on the traditions of men but have been given to us through the inspiration of holy scripture.
The Grand Theme of the scriptures is that God offers salvation to all men.
If all men were saved, the offer would not need to be made.
If all men will be saved through the methods that God has set forth, it remains that you have set before you a decision as to whether or not you will be saved; and if you delay, you will be surely cast into a "furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42, 13:49-50) regardless of the duration of the fire.
Would it not be expedient for you to appropriate the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to your own life today rather than wait until after you die?
Because, even though the Universalist promises that you have an eternity to make that decision, there is the distinct probability that he is offering to you a false hope.
Heb 9:27, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
2Co 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2Co 5:11, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Rev 20:10, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11, And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12, And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13, And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14, And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
He does in fact desire all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4)...He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
Unfortunately, not all men actually do come to a place of repentance in their lives.
God has given to every man a degree of sovereignty; for He is all about freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).
However, those who do not submit to the Lordship of His kingdom will not be allowed to enter in.
Because they have not been born again; and their sin nature has never been dealt with; therefore they will sin throughout eternity.
Sin being the cause of all death, sorrow, crying, and pain; those who commit it will not be allowed into the kingdom in order that heaven might be truly heavenly.
God has provided a simple remedy for the problem of sin....His precious shed blood on the Cross of Calvary.
He does not make it a difficult thing to appropriate that shed blood to your life so that your sin can be dealt with.
The problem is pride.
The very thing that caused the devil to fall from his position in heaven, keeps men from receiving the only remedy for sin.
These doctrines are not based on the traditions of men but have been given to us through the inspiration of holy scripture.
The Grand Theme of the scriptures is that God offers salvation to all men.
If all men were saved, the offer would not need to be made.
If all men will be saved through the methods that God has set forth, it remains that you have set before you a decision as to whether or not you will be saved; and if you delay, you will be surely cast into a "furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42, 13:49-50) regardless of the duration of the fire.
Would it not be expedient for you to appropriate the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to your own life today rather than wait until after you die?
Because, even though the Universalist promises that you have an eternity to make that decision, there is the distinct probability that he is offering to you a false hope.
Heb 9:27, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
2Co 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
2Co 5:11, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Rev 20:10, And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:11, And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12, And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13, And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14, And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15, And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Right off the bat you are denying the ability of God to perform his will but supporting the ability of man to perform his will over God's. You bible believing "unbeliever" christians are a mockery to the good news that Jesus Christ IS, not potentially, the savior of all men
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