We move on to Chapter 9 today and the blowing of the fifth trumpet.
"The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss." (Revelation 9:1) Right away we notice something unusual about this star. Unlike the previous times John has mentioned stars, (which may have represented meteor showers or other objects from outer space falling to the earth), in this case he seems to be using the word "star" to describe a being.
It's interesting that John doesn't refer to him as an angel, but some scholars believe this is a fallen angel, not an angel like the ones John sees going about God's business in heaven. There are two reasons they think so. First, we are not told that John sees this star fall to the earth, but instead he says he sees a star that had fallen to the earth. This "falling" took place some time in the past, not during the time John has been receiving visions of the end times. This may indicate that the star of Chapter 9 is one of the angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God. When we get to Chapter 12 we will be told that when Satan rebelled, he took a third of the angels with him, and the Scriptures will refer to these fallen angels as stars who were flung to the earth. Second, the star who has the key to the Abyss may be the same angel of Revelation 9:11 who is king over the terrible things that come out of the Abyss and whose name means "Destroyer". We wouldn't expect a faithful angel of God to have a name like that.
Other scholars think the star is a good angel who has been sent to earth to do the Lord's bidding. He may have been on the earth for quite some time---maybe ever since Christ ascended to heaven---waiting for the Lord's command to open the Abyss and release the fifth trumpet judgment upon the world during the end times. Remember, the Lord Jesus said that no one but the Father knew the day and the hour when the church would be called out of the world. Since no one but the Father knows this, and since the church is to be called out of the world prior to the Great Tribulation, the angels of heaven don't know the day or the hour when any of the things in Revelation will take place. This angel may have been standing ready ever since Christ ascended to heaven, because ever since Christ went home to the Father's house to prepare a place for us, we have been living in the last days that are leading up to the last days.
The third theory about the identity of this star is that he is not only a fallen angel, but that he is Satan himself. They use the following two verses because of their similarity to verse 1 in our study today. When the prophet Isaiah spoke of Satan, he referred to him as a falling star, saying, "How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!" (Isaiah 14:12) The Lord Jesus told His disciples about having witnessed the fall of Satan, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18) The Lord's words cause us to imagine a streak of light falling from the sky, in the way that we often refer to meteors as falling stars.
So we see that there is Scriptural evidence that fallen angels, and Satan, are referred to as stars in the Scriptures. There are some good reasons for believing the star John talks about in Chapter 9 is a fallen angel. However, there is a good reason for believing he is not a fallen angel, because he may be the same angel we will see in Chapter 20 who has the key to the Abyss and who chains Satan and throws him into the Abyss. If the star of Chapter 9 is the same as the angel of Chapter 20, then he cannot be a fallen angel. If he were, we wouldn't be likely to find him binding Satan---his king and lord---and throwing him into the Abyss. The Lord Jesus once pointed out how ridiculous it was to expect evil beings to punish other evil beings. At that time His enemies were accusing Him of performing exorcisms by the powers of darkness and not by the powers of God. They refused to believe He was the Christ, so they sometimes resorted to making preposterous accusations against Him. When accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan, He replied, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" (Matthew 12:25-26)
We can't come to any certain conclusion about the identity of the one John refers to as a fallen star. But he is going to perform a duty that allows the woe of the fifth trumpet to invade the earth. He is going to open the Abyss, and horrible things will come out of it. John will compare these things to a horde of locusts, but it will be clear that they are supernatural creatures, possibly demons. In tomorrow's study we will take a look at the opening of the Abyss and we will learn what these creatures do when they are released from it.
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