9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from the heavens unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
The angel with the key to the bottomless pit symbolizes the stage in spiritual development where the deep seated forces of our lower nature are brought to the surface of our mind to have the Light of God shone upon them to bring about their destruction. This is sometimes referred to as “Crossing the Abyss”. The abyss is described here as “the bottomless pit”.
9:2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Angels symbolize spiritual influences\forces of God’s Will, and each one of them symbolizes specific operations in spiritual development.
9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
The locusts symbolize the unredeemed thoughts that have been kept buried in the subconscious. They are fears, things that are hated, etc. They are the forces within the individual that, through the person clinging to them, prevent them from growing spiritually.
9:4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of gods in their foreheads.
The people without the seal of gods on their foreheads represent the unredeemed\unenlightened parts of our consciousness. It is only they that are threatened by the forces represented by the locusts.
9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Until these thoughts are transcended and the person spiritually evolves toward
Union with the Divine, these thoughts continue to torment the individual, holding the person back from Enlightenment.
9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
These thoughts create personal misery, causing the individual to become weary of life. However, death will not save the person from this type of torment, a karmic burden that pursues them life after life, until it is transcended.
9:7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
These creatures with human faces and crowns on their head symbolize the human thoughts, fears and desires of the lower nature. The crowns symbolize the power the individual gives them over their lives.
9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9:9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
The dark pit of our heart and mind must be opened and cleared of all its darkness in order for the All-Knowing to fully come in our consciousness. The number five symbolizes Spirit. This purification process can be painful, but it is necessary in order to allow more of the Divine consciousness to manifest within the individual.
9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Abaddon\Apollyon symbolizes the destruction of all those things within us that are not in harmony with the Spiritual consciousness that is growing within us by the time this stage of spiritual development is reached. To transcend these things is to “cross the Abyss”.
9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before Gods,
9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
The spiritual force of this experience comes from the Third Eye or Sixth chakra. Remember that this is the seat of all the spiritual facilities of Consciousness.
9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
When the sixth trumpet is sounded, heaven releases four angels who have been prepared for this very “hour and day and month and year” to further cleanse a third of the earth, symbolizing the purifying of the self of the last traces of the lower nature.
9:16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Two Hundred signifies Insufficiency. One Thousand signifies Divine Glory. Thus, Two Hundred Thousand signifies that, as far the individual has come in applying the prophecy up to this point, they have still not done enough and must continue working through the process of spiritual purification.
9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
The fire, smoke and brimstone symbolize the purifying, illuminating force of
9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
The Spiritual Consciousness destroys (purifies) the remaining traces of the Lower Nature.
9:19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
The serpents tails’ symbolize wisdom, whereas the fire and brimstone symbolize illumination. It is with these that the ignorance of the Lower Nature is destroyed (purified).
9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
It is those thoughts that continue to empower the lower nature: craving money, being greedy, etc., that are destroyed by this power.