Before we even think of deciding who or what the locusts represent, i think that we must first try to decide who or what is represented by the name Apollyon, "a king over them"
It is necessary to reason and know, on which side does Apollyon stand, the right or the wrong ?
Considering who or what Apollyon represents, there seems to be no middle ground, either he is a servant of God or he is a variation on the devil or Lucifer
So to know who or what Apollyon, "their king", is, would make it easier to think about who or what his, shall we say, subjects, the locusts, are.
We know that Apollyon is greek for "destroyer"
Ark i wrote from what his idren told him that, " it was Selassie I who was given the keys to the bottomless pit."
I do not know about that
As far as i know the first time that the words bottomless pit are used in the bible is right here in 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."
So i do not see anything to suggest that Christ was given the key to the bottomless pit.
Ofcourse we already know from Rev. 1:8
"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."
This is spoken by the voice that says, I am the Alpha and Omega..; I am the first and the last.
So we can be sure that Christ holds the keys of "hell and death"
The keys of hell and death, does not mean, the keys to the bottomless pit
Death and hell are not meant to signify places where one goes, but are states of being
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" Rev.20.14
So when Christ says, "I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death", i think that it is more akin to what He says in Matthew 16:19, than to the bottomless pit
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Going back to Apollyon. Who is he?
In the song Armaggedon, Bunny Wailer sings
"In the beginning, there was but one concept,
And that's the concept of I.
Then arose Apollyon, the Devil
- Satan! Satan! -
claiming that it's you and I."
This is one side of the opinion.
In Rev 9:1, it says, "I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth"
This line is very reminiscent of the passage from Isaiah
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
Is this why Bunny Wailer sings those words?
Another thing that we can call to attention is the word "given", when the bible says, "and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit"
As we can see from Rev 13, that the beast with the name of Blasphemy is GIVEN unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
or in Rev 6
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was GIVEN unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
So, is this beast who is given (allowed) a certain time to make war against the saints, this death who is given (allowed) power to kill, the same lucifer/satan/fallen star who is given (allowed) to hold the keys to the bottomless pit for a certain time ?
On the other hand....there are problems to this opinion
Apollyon, this "king" of the locusts is also mentioned as "the angel of the bottomless pit"
This would beg the question, is the angel mentioned here, the same angel from Rev. 20 ?
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years"
If that is the same angel, then clearly, the angel of the bottomless pit cannot be the fallen lucifer, but rather, a servant of the Most High God, an angel.
Ofcourse anyone thinking about locusts cannot escape thinking about Exodus and the plagues of Egypt.
But if we can find locusts in both the books of Exodus and Revelation, then, can we also find Apollyon in Exodus, as we find it in Revelation ?
There is no direct mention, but there might be a reference there....remembering that Apollyon means destroyer
Interestingly, it is not where one would expect to find it, i.e, the plague of locusts, but instead during the last plague, the death of the first born of Egypt.
"Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the DESTROYER to come in unto your houses to smite you.
Agian, is this a variation on lucifer, or is it a servant of God performing the Most High´s will and command ?
Or is he the same lucifer who is just being allowed to bring this plague upon Egypt?
If we approach the word "destroyer" in this manner, then reading from Psalm 17
"Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer."
This would again suggest that it is a variation on the personification of evil and wrong, satan.
Personally, i find that , although we cannot be sure that it is the same angel that is mentioned in Rev 9 and Rev 20, i think it is the strongest indicator of who "Apollyon" represents, although i see that my thinking that it might be the same angel is not without its problems.
For one, the angel in Rev 20 is said to have a great chain in his hand. There is no mention of a chain in Rev 9
And two, and more importantly, the angel in Rev 20 is said to "come down" from heaven while the angel in Rev 9 falls from heaven.
But i still think this is the best clue to the identity of Apollyon, since both are afterall, angels, and both have the keys to the pit
Besides, we are told about the fallen angel with the keys to the pit only after the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, which he does after the first four angels sound their trumpets, with two more angels to follow.........seven angels which stood before God with golden trumpets.
This is happening right as the seventh and final seal is opened.
It is a time of Judgement, a time when the wrath of God shall come upon the earth.
why do i say this?
If you look at the book of Revelation, and particularly, the opening of the seven seals, you wont fail to notice that the opening of the first six seals, and the opening of the seventh seal are two distinct events
After the fifth seal is opened, "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God" cried out saying
"How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? "
After this, the sixth seal is opened, and what happens ?
"And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
Why ?
"For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
Only after this is the seventh seal.
Therefore, i think that everything that happens at the opening of the seventh seal, when the seven angels sound their trumpets, it is all a discription of what God will do, hail and fire mingled with blood, third part of the sea becomes blood, third part of the sun smitten, etc.....including the locusts with their king , the "destroyer", followed by the four angels which are to slay the third part of men, which are loosed only after the very voice of God tells the sixth angel to "Loose the four angels....."
As it says, "one woe is past, and behold, there come two more woes after. "
These are the woes that God will bring down upon an unrepentant world.
This is the vengeance that "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God" are crying out for, and it shall not go unheard
so for now, all things considered, i will disagree with Bunny Wailer
just an opinion
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