1The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him. 2He opened the pit of the abyss, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke from a burning furnace. The sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke from the pit. 3Then out of the smoke came locusts on the earth, and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4They were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those people who don’t have God’s seal on their foreheads. 5They were given power, not to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a person. 6In those days people will seek death, and will in no way find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.
7The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people’s faces. 8They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. 9They had breastplates like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots and horses rushing to war. 10They have tails like those of scorpions, with stingers. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months. 11They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.
12The first woe is past. Behold, there are still two woes coming after this.
13The sixth angel sounded. I heard a voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Free the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates!”
15The four angels were freed who had been prepared for that hour and day and month and year, so that they might kill one third of mankind. 16The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million. I heard the number of them. 17Thus I saw the horses in the vision and those who sat on them, having breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the horses’ heads resembled lions’ heads. Out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and sulfur. 18By these three plagues, one third of mankind was killed: by the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur, which proceeded out of their mouths. 19For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents, and have heads; and with them they harm.
20The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can’t see, hear, or walk. 21They didn’t repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.
The bottomless pit was opened by an angel, described by John as a star which fell from heaven. The identity of this angel has been suggested by some to be Satan. They note that this angel “had fallen” to the earth. The perfect tense verb would be describing an event that happened previously, Satan’s fall (Ezek 28), and continues to the present. Later, in 12:9, Satan’s fall is described. The better view is to see this as an angel who serves God. Satan’s fall in 12:9 is yet future in relation to this event. “Had fallen” need not refer back to Ezekiel 28. This angel is “given” a key to what is identified as a prison house of God’s, under His dominion. This is the same prison house the legion of demons feared when Jesus cast them out of the Gadarene demoniac (Luke 8:31). This is the same prison where Satan will be bound for 1000 years in Revelation 20. Also, the key represents authority, and this angel controls access into and out of the bottomless pit. It is unlikely that God would give Satan or a demon access to His prison for demons. This indicates that these creatures are a judgment from God, not an attack by Satan on the inhabitants of the earth.
Is the description of the smoke literal or symbolic? Most interpreters do not believe that people on the Earth at that time will see either the smoke or the locust-like creatures that arise from the pit. John is just seeing this as it portrays some form of God’s judgment. Many interpreters see these creatures as symbolic of demons who are released from the abyss and sent out to torment humanity.