REVELATION 9:1

Although we would love to be in the know concerning the meaning of all the bizarre symbols and events taking place in this final book of the Bible, when it comes to this puzzling verse involving a falling star the best we can do is list some of the possibilities without being too definite in our opinion as to which is the one and only interpretation.

Firstly, we must always keep in mind that Revelation is filled with symbolic and non-literal language. As Hagner says, “Out of the 28 occurrences of the words [aster and astron, i.e. stars, in the Bible], only five may be described as ordinary or literal...The real meaning of this language is theological … Momentous events have occurred and are yet to occur – all of which are part of the same fabric of judgment and blessing, and call for the most exalted language.”

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery goes on to say, “Virtually all the biblical star motifs converge in the book of Revelation, where more than a dozen verses contain images of stars...Amid the cataclysmic events at the end of history, stars fall from the sky (Rev 6:13; 8:10; 9:1; 12:4) and refuse to give their light (Rev 8:12).”

To demonstrate the diversity of opinions regarding the identity of the one fallen from heaven who is given the key to the abyss, I will first quote from Morris, who says, “Angels were sometimes called stars (cf. 1.20) and it seems likely that this star was an angel. Some take 'fallen' very literally and think of a 'fallen angel'. But this is probably reading too much into it. On the basis of certain apocryphal passages Charles argues that when the imagery is that of a star there is not much difference between falling...and descending...So this verse will mean much the same as xx.1.” Morris reviews previous scholarly opinions on the subject of the star's identity, which include such diverse suggestions as: Nero, a fallen angel, an evil spirit, Satan, the Word of God, an angel such as Uriel, or Christ Himself. Morris' succinct conclusion is “With the experts so divided it is unwise to be dogmatic: John does not identify him and we simply do not have enough information to supply the lack.”

This same fallen personage appears in Revelation 9:11, where we are given a little more information to go by, but still not enough to pin down his identity. As Davids puts it, “The identity of this ruler is unclear. Is he an angel, perhaps the one who opens the pit and then is sent to control the host he allows out? John normally uses 'angel' for one of those loyal to God; there is also plenty of evidence in Scripture to accept the idea of a destroying angel. Or is he one of the host allowed out, himself a fallen angel or demon? The evidence is fairly well balanced, but given John's use of the term 'angel,' we suspect that the first suggestion is correct.”

Below are quotes from a number of other Bible scholars offered to demonstrate how divided the “experts” are. Based on the disagreements between them, we would probably be best to take Morris' advice and exercise a little humility regarding the subject.

Ford: “The seer did not see a star falling from heaven to earth but a star which had already fallen. The author probably identified the star with an angel (cf. II Enoch 30:14), but stars may also represent men...Here in ch. 9 the fifth and sixth trumpets are blown, introducing hostile powers from the nether world and from the earth. Yet everything is still under the authority of God.. This is indicated by the bestowal of the key to the abyss in vs. 1...the prophet records having seen a fallen star, probably an angel who has transgressed the commandments of God and whose realm is now not heaven but earth.”

Beasley-Murray: “The fifth trumpet introduces a plague of demonic locusts. The fact that the star seen by John has fallen from heaven to earth does not necessitate its being a 'fallen' angel. The movement is narrated merely to show that the 'star' came down from heaven to earth to open the abyss, wherein dwelt the demonic hordes.”

“God's final acts of redemption and judgment are foreshadowed by astronomical signs. The prophets and our Lord foretell such signs; and in Revelation they are prominent.” (Fermer)

Ruiz identifies this personage by citing v. 11 as well as other pertinent passages such as Isaiah 14:12 and Luke 10:18. He adds, “The name Abaddon which means 'Destruction,' denotes the depths of Sheol (Job 26:6; see Prov 15:11; Sheol and Abaddon are the abode and state – destruction – of the dead).”

Bruce's opinion is that he is “Probably a fallen angel (cf. 12:4), possibly identical with Abaddon-Apollyon, the angel of the abyss (verse 11). In Enoch 86:1 'a star fell from heaven' refers to the first fallen angel, who was followed by other 'stars'...”

“Finally, in chapter 9:1-12, there is even the unchaining of the Abyss, that is to say, the return to chaos, the plunge again into nothingness. Abaddon is absolute destruction, the decreation. It is the triumph of chaos, the return to what was before the Spirit of God installed order in this disorder; it is Sheol that prevails. In all we are here in the presence of the opposite of that which was the creative act of God.” (Ellul)

Mounce: “Jewish thought readily symbolized living beings as stars. Many expositors take the next step and concede that in Jewish thought the stars were held to be celestial spirits possessing conscious personalities. The usual passages cited in support of this position are Judges 5:20 ('From heaven fought the stars, from their courses they fought against Sisera') and Job 38:7 ('When the morning stars sang together'). In that both verses occur in poetic sections it would seem unwise to press upon them such a literal interpretation. Elsewhere Israel is sternly warned against worshiping stellar deities (Deut 4:19; Jer 7:18).”

Contrary to many of the opinions offered regarding the nature of the star in Rev. 9:1, Mounce feels, “It is more likely, that the star-angel is simply one of the many divine agents who throughout the book of Revelation are pictured as carrying out the will of God...He is probably the same angel who in 20:1 comes down out of heaven with the key of the abyss.”

Walvoord begins with a rather obvious observation when he states: “Because of the he in verse 2 and 'king' in verse 11, the star that fell to the earth was a person rather than a fragment of a star (cf. Isa. 14:12-17; Luke 10:18)...But from that point on, Walvoord represents a decided outlier in his opinion that “This star, probably representing Satan cast out of heaven of the beginning of the Great Tribulation (Rev. 12:9),...will be confined for a thousand years in the Abyss during the reign of Christ on earth (Rev. 20:1-3).” One seeming difficulty in his conflation of this verse with the imprisonment of Satan is the fact that it would mean that God actually gives the key to unlock the Abyss to Satan, rather than imprisoning him there. But there are ways of getting around that problem.

Payne's somewhat similar interpretation is expressed more tentatively: “The star must...have symbolized a personal being, and probably an angel, as in 1:20 – perhaps the elect angel who is to have the key of the abyss in 20:1, but more likely the fallen angelic ruler of demons, 'the angel of the abyss,' who is Abaddon, or Apollyon, namely Satan the destroyer, 9:11; cf. 12:9.” He also notes that 9:3 parallels the eighth plague of Egypt in Exodus 10:14.

Phillips expresses much the same thought more colorfully when he says that “the fallen star is Satan, who is now given authority to open the abyss and unleash the terrible beings incarcerated there. The imagination cannot picture what the earth will be like when the church is removed from the scene, when society, having completely corrupted itself, is handed over to the malignant attention of the most horrible fiends of hell. These wicked spirits, long mercifully chained by God, are now let loose upon the earth...”

In Beale's commentary of Revelation, he discusses this one verse for four pages. I will not attempt to capture all that he has to say on the subject, but just a few thoughts from the beginning of his interpretation.. “The main debate is whether this is a good or evil being. It could be either the archangel Uriel, was was chief 'over Tartarus,' or the archangel Saraqael [of the Book of Enoch). But I Enoch never calls those figures 'fallen stars,' Instead, this description is reserved exclusively for fallen angels under the confinement of the archangels. The star should rather be interpreted in the same way as the star in 8:10 because of the parallel wording ('a star fell from heaven'). We argued that the star in 8:10 was either an angel executing judgment or, more probably, in line with Isaiah 14, an angel representing sinful people, undergoing judgment along with those people. The portrayal of a heavenly being 'falling like a star from heaven' elsewhere also represents judgment of either Satan or his angels...Jesus uses virtually the identical expression to describe Satan's judgment in Luke 10:18..The expression in Rev. 9:1 may be another way of saying that 'Satan...was cast to the earth, and his angels with him were cast' (12:9; cf. 12:13).” The rest of his detailed exposition is spent defending that thesis.

As a final aside, several places in C.S. Lewis' writings he reiterates in different ways his understanding that, as he expressed himself in The Problem of Pain, "I willingly believe that the damned are, in one sense, successful, rebels to the end; that the gates of hell are locked on the inside." It is certainly an interesting perspective to consider.