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Matthew 25:41. “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;


2 Corinthians 11:13-15. ¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.


2 Corinthians 12:7. "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself!"


1 Peter 3:22. "...Jesus Christ, ²²who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him." It was through Jesus' death and resurrection that God subjugated (hupotasso,  5293) to Him angels (aggelos, 32), authorities (exousia, 1849),  and powers (dunamis, 1411). All three of these words refer to different levels of angelic beings, whether they be good or evil. Various combinations of these and other words are found in other Scriptures (Rom. 8:38 [angels - aggelos -32; principalities - arche - 746] ; Eph. 3:10 [rulers - arche - 746; authorities - exousia - 1849]; Eph. 6:12 [rulers - arche - 746; powers - exousia - 1849]; 1 Pet. 3:22 [angels - aggelos - 32; authorities - exousia - 1849; powers - dunamis - 1411]). In Ephesians 6:12, all the references to angelic beings are cast as evil angels against whom Christians battle. In addition to the terms mentioned, Paul also said we Christians battle "against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."  Return to Index.

2 Peter 2:4. "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;"  This is a cryptic passage difficult to interpret. It contains more than one problem, not the least of which is the fact that the aorist participle tartaroo (5020), translated  "cast them into hell", occurs only here in the NT. Let us make several observations:


Jude 1:6-7. ⁶And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, ⁷just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

In what way did these angels "not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode?" We are not left to wonder. Jude tells us what they did in Jude 1:7.
 

Revelation 9:11. "They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon." Revelation 9:1-11 records what happened when a fifth angel blew his trumpet, and a painful, but not fatal plague afflicted all of mankind who did not possess the seal of God on their foreheads.

When the fifth angel sounded, John saw a star from heaven which had fallen to earth (Rev. 9:1). In the symbolism of Revelation, this star most likely refers to a once good angel who had joined in Satan's rebellion against God and had been cast down to earth (see Rev. 12:3-4). To this angel was given the key to the "bottomless pit." More literally, he was given the key to the pit (NIV = "shaft")  (phrear, 5421) of the abyss (abussos, 12). With the key, he proceeded to open the pit (phrear) of the abyss (abussos) (Rev. 9:2).

Out of the pit (phrear) there came smoke that darkened the sky. From the smoke there emerged (demonic) locusts that had power to torment for five months men who did not possess the seal of God on their foreheads (Rev. 9:3-6). John graphically described the appearance of these (demonic) locusts (Rev. 9:7-10). Then he stated (Rev. 9:11) that these (demonic) locusts had a king over them -- the angel (aggelos, 32) of the abyss (abussos, 12), whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon ("Destroyer"), and whose name in Greek is Apollyon ("Destroyer").

From this passage we learn that there are fallen angels, or demons presently confined in the pit or shaft (phrear) of the abyss (abussos). These particular demons have the appearance of unusual-looking locusts with a painful sting. They also have a king who rules over them. He is the angel (aggelos) of the abyss (abussos). That fact helps us interpret these beings who have the appearance of unusual locusts that sting like scorpions as, in fact, demonic locusts. At the right time, during the Tribulation period, these demonic locusts will be released to afflict with excruciating pain men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Men will long for death to escape the pain, but will be unable to die.

We learn that, just as there are different ranks of angels, apparently with leaders (such as Michael, Rev. 12:7), so there appear to be different levels of authority in the demon world. Even confined in the pit of the abyss, there is a fallen angel who is king. His name is Abaddon / Apollyon. Perhaps the abyss has more than one compartment or pit or region where different demons are confined for different reasons. Return to Index.

Revelation 9:14-15. ¹⁴"one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind."

By the time the sixth angel blows his trumpet during the Tribulation period, there will be four angels who will have been bound at the great river Euphrates (Rev. 9:13-14). Are they bound there now? We do not know. When will they be bound there? We do not know. Why will they have been bound there? We do not know. But the fact that they are bound (deo, 1210) leads us to believe these are fallen angels, not God's angels who are free to serve Him. The sixth angel, upon being instructed by a voice from the horns of the altar of God in heaven, will release these four angels from the bonds that restrict them. The Euphrates River originates in Eastern Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq before it finally merges with the Tigris River and then empties into the Persian Gulf (which Arabs much prefer to call the Arabian Gulf). The Euphrates River is a significant boundary that will one day form the Northeastern border of the land of Israel (Gen. 15:18; Ex. 23:21; Deut. 1:7; 11:24; Josh. 1:4; 1 Chron. 18:3; 2 Chron. 9:26; Micah 7:12). It would appear, therefore, that the unloosing of these four fallen angels may have something to do with unleashing demonic forces in that region of the world upon all of mankind. (Note, for example, the future power of a Babylon-based religion that temporarily wields enormous political influence as recorded in Rev. 17. Babylon is situated on the Euphrates River.)

We learn in Rev. 9:15 that these fallen angels had been prepared for a precise moment in history. This moment John identified as "the hour and day and month and year." The purpose for their release was in order that they might kill , literally, "the third of the men." Already a fourth of humanity has been killed by the breaking of the fourth seal (Rev. 6:7-8). That amounts to 1.75 billion of the earth's 7 billion people. That left 5.25 billion. Now an additional 1.75 billion of the remainder are killed (see also 9:18), leaving now only half of the earth's population, or 3.5 billion people left alive. The carnage in the Tribulation period will be unimaginable!

We are told in Rev. 9:16 that the unloosing of the four angels resulted in the appearance of armies of horsemen numbered at 200 million! This number is to be taken literally, for John wrote, "I heard the number of them." Here is how John described the armies he saw (Rev. 9:17-19):


These do not appear to be ordinary horses. With heads that look like lions’ heads, with deadly fire, smoke, and brimstone (sulfur) issuing from their mouths, and with tails that look like serpents with heads that can harm people (Rev. 9:19), these appear to be demonic horses and riders. The language seems too specific to apply easily to modern-day warfare. If, for example, John had meant to describe modern day tanks with rear-firing machine guns as well as forward-firing cannons, he would never have called them horses ridden by soldiers. He would have at least attempted to describe the vehicles as having wheels around which the tank tracks traveled (see, for example, Ezekiel’s description of swiveling wheels in Ezekiel 1:15-21).

Sadly, those humans who are escape the onslaught of these demonic horses and riders will desist neither from their demon worship nor from their idolatry, nor from their murders nor from their sorceries nor from their immorality nor from their thefts (Rev. 9:20-21).

We learn, therefore, that, in the future, demonic forces will be unleashed at a precise time in the future upon the world from the region of the Euphrates River. These demonic forces will kill a third of the survivors upon the earth. Despite this carnage, people will not repent of their evil. Return to Index.

Revelation 12:7-9. ⁷"And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, ⁸and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. ⁹And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."  Return to Index.

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¹ "These" in Jude 1:7 refers back to the angels of Jude 1:6. See Bible.org's translation of Jude 1:7, and note in particular footnote 37, which reads, "tn “Angels” is not in the Greek text; but the masculine demonstrative pronoun most likely refers back to the angels of Jude 1:6." Return to Text.

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