Is the fallen star in Revelation 9 the same as the angel in Revelation 20?

Question

Revelation 9:1 NASB

[1]Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.

Revelation 20:1 NASB

[1]Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

Could these two mysterious figures be one & the same, one falls from heaven & the other comes down from heaven but both have the key to the bottomless pit.

Any further insight into the identify of these two figures?

Answer 1

The Angels

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.
-- Revelation 9:1 (KJV)

Jesus' words to the seventy-two disciples he sent out ahead of him, provide the clarity:

¹⁷... the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
¹⁸ And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
-- Luke 10:17-18 (KJV)

Given this, there can be little doubt that Satan is the "star" of Revelation 9:1, and that:

1. he is the one responsible for releasing the inhabitants of the pit; and

2. the pit is part of the earthly realm.

¹ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ³ And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
-- Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV)

This angel doesn't fall from heaven, since John writes, "I saw an angel come down".

This passage, besides distinguishing the angel here from the one in Revelation 9:1, confirms the location and purpose of the abyss: a place of confinement in the earthly realm for those heavenly powers who are bent on destruction.

The Keys

Consider, from the story of Job, Satan's response to God's esteem for Job's diligent practice of his religion:

Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
-- Job 1:10 (KJV)

The only characters in the story of Job who are aware of this "hedge", are God and Satan. God knows about it because He put it there, and Satan knows about it because he has been confined to the region outside of its bounds (on all sides), which has hitherto kept Job beyond his reach.

Contrary to the understanding of some, Job, like all men, sinned. However, because his sin is not related to adherence to the Law, which we know was impeccable, it often goes unnoticed. Job's sin was related to the fact that he'd forgotten the "purpose" of his Law keeping, which is to advertise God's goodness and bring glory to Him.

Now, in order to give Job the opportunity to realise and repent of his sin, God needed to allow access to the powers of destruction, through the hedge. So, He gave the "keys" of the hedge to Satan.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
-- Job 1:12 (KJV)

The scenario depicted in Revelation 9 is the same scenario depicted in Job, the only difference being, the scale is global -- not just a single man in a small town in the ancient east, but the entire human race dwelling upon the face of the entire planet.

Answer 2

Revelation 9 depicts a plague that is happening after the sealing of the 144,000 and after tons of other plagues (including the "stars" falling from heaven[rev6:13]and 1/3 of the stars being struck [rev8:12])that will happen after Jesus opens the seals and some of the trumpets are sounded. This angel (star) was given the key to the bottomless pit and unleashed locusts (another plague) onto the inhabitants of the earth similar to what happens when Egypt wouldn't let the Jews out of captivity in Moses time.

I don't see a valid point in my brothers opinion above proving that satan was given the key to the bottomless pit in rev 9. We know that the verse right after names the angel of the bottomless pit (ruler over the locusts) abbadon or Apollyon

“And they had as king over them "the angel of the bottomless pit", whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭9:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Now in rev 12 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭12:7-9‬ ‭NKJV

And rev 20:1 states “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, HAVING the key to the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

In rev 9, the angel "was given" the key to the pit, and in rev 20, the angel already had the key. And it doesn't say "a" key, implying that there's more than one, but it reads "the" key, implying that there's only one key.

i don't believe that there is a clear enough answer to your question. But I also don't think the angel in rev 9 is satan, that just doesn't really make sense to me why satan would be given the key to the same pit he was about to get cast into.. i also don't know why God would allow him the privilege to serve Him again. And the Angels don't come out of the pit to torment people, those are locusts like the plague in Egypt. The Angels that rebelled against God were cast down from heaven, they did not ascend from the pit. that is their destination.

Answer 3

Summary:

What I hope to show is that the angel of the bottomless pit is NOT the king of the army that emerges from the pit. Not that the pit, key, smoke are necessarily literal, but I account for the figures and context as saying that God, through his Messiah, is unleashing the armies of Rome on Jerusalem and the temple in judgment.

In Revelation 1 John claims to be an eyewitness (via an angelic tour) of God's visitation of judgment on the Jews of the first century (66-78 AD) for violation of their agreement with the LORD (the Torah):

[Rev 1:1-2, 9-11 NLT] 1 This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John, 2 who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ... 9 I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God's Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord's Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 11 It said, "Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."

He also is provided with a glimpse of the event from the perspective beyond the clouds:

[Rev 4:1-2 NLT] 1 Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this." 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it.

On the ground you have war, famine, persecution, martyrdom, prophets being beheaded, Jews living like animals in caves, wishing they were dead, etc. In seeing Jerusalem and the surrounding empire from the sky you realize that the reason that the Jews are losing despite the home town advantage and a massive army is because it is the time for Israel's visitation. The Romans are acting as God's instrument (as Assyria and Babylon had done before):

NLT Deut 32:

28 "But Israel is a senseless nation; the people are foolish, without understanding. 29 Oh, that they were wise and could understand this! Oh, that they might know their fate! 30 How could one person chase a thousand of them, and two people put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?

YHVH explains that in the latter days He will be at war with Israel and will make Israel's enemy army supernaturally effective at defeating Israel):

NLT Deut 32:

31 But the rock of our enemies [IE: apostate Israel's rock, which is Baal or some other deity] is not like our Rock [IE: the Rock of the heavenly armies, which is Christ], as even they recognize. 32 Their [IE: apostate Israel's] vine grows from the vine of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison, and their clusters are bitter. 33 Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.

This is the divinely designed day of vengeance is for their last days. "In due time" it will arrive:

NLT Deut 32:

34 "The LORD says, 'Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury? 35 I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.'

Jonah's experience and others inform us that this dire prediction is not in and of itself necessarily void of hope that Israel might repent and receive their king:

[Rom 11:15 NLT] 15 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!

However, time was quickly running out because God had set a limit one final generation:

[Luk 13:1-9 NLT] 1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?" Jesus asked. "Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too." 6 Then Jesus told this story: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. 7 Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.' 8 "The gardener answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'"

[Hos 9:10 KJV] 10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their] abominations were according as they loved.

[Hos 9:10 KJV] 10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: [but] they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto [that] shame; and [their] abominations were according as they loved.

[Mat 21:19 KJV] 19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

This is describing the war:

[Rev 12:9-10 NASB] 9 And 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. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

The accusers are the Jews, being expelled from Jerusalem, their covenant negated and their temple destroyed. Over a million Jews died of hunger and exposure and such.

In the first chapter of Isaiah God shows that he thinks the Israeli theocracy is NOT a source of pleasure to God but rather a lightning rod for his wrath. He shows that he views them as just as toxic and abominable to him as Sodom and Gomorrah ever were and their fate will be the same:

[Isa 1:2-10 NASB] 2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, "Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me. 3 "An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, [But] Israel does not know, My people do not understand." 4 Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him. 5 Where will you be stricken again, [As] you continue in [your] rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, [Only] bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. 7 Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. 8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. 9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.

It is on the Lord's Day that John watches from the ground and from the throne room and the one being visited upon is the same apostate Israel as Isaiah cried against:

[Rev 11:8 KJV] 8 And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Now, with all these colliding images of what Rome will do and what Michael/Jesus and the heavenly army do and God behind it all it is hard to pick the passage apart to tell who opens the pit because I believe it represents in different images, the Messiah sending the Roman army to destroy the Jews.

• the angel with the key is Rome unleashing its army is the stuff coming out of the pit
• the angel with the key is also Jesus/Michael unleashing the heavenly army - because they are cooperating
• Israel is the "Satan" that has been the adversary against the new covenant Jews!

Note:

The fact that the star "falls" could be taken to refer to Satan's fall. However, I take it as neutral because we are talking about a meteorite arriving and meteors arrive by falling. The one with the key of death and hADES/Sheol is the Messiah:

[Rev 1:18 KJV] 18 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.

[Rev 3:7 KJV] 7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

The one in charge is God's Messiah, not the Satan.

Also,

It is tempting to see the "army" here as referring to an "army" of deceivers. However, I think that the parallel with Joel 2 should lead us to see a true invasion.

Please see also this related answer.

In Acts 7:56 why does Stephen see Jesus "standing"?

Bottom line:

The angel in both places in Revelation refers to the Messiah.

Answer 4

Is the star fallen from heaven the same as the angel coming down from heaven ?

---

First, consider the source.  REVELATIONS

The end times, A time of great trouble, unlike the nations have ever witnessed. the time when MICHAEL will stand up **** The time of the second coming.

Now consider this, when Jesus said he would return, he mentioned it would occur after a FALLING AWAY..

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" 2 Thessalonians:2

"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians:2:4

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." 2 Thessalonians:2:7

---

Note the "being seated in the temple proclaiming to be God" Also note "he who leteth will let until he be taken out of the way"

(What I am trying to show here is that all these verses are about being seated in the BODY OF CHRIST, that CHRIST HIMSELF comes back to us by falling away and eventually being revealed to the nations)

Also note the son of man taking a far journey.. (notice how this would relate to revelations "leaving thy first love")

"For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." Mark:13:34

Notice all of this is from the same chapter. Again, notice the FALLING STARS.

And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken." Mark:13:25

and similarly.. For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey: Proverbs:7:19

He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. Proverbs:7:20

Now realize how this verse applies.. the "king" BEING that fallen away man.. simply continuing to destroy himself.. continuing to be fallen.. An abomination causing desolation, Standing in the holy place (standing IN THE TEMPLE, IN THE BODY OF CHRIST)

"And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done." Daniel:11:36

NOW REALIZE WHAT THIS MEANS.. and the fact it is CHRIST speaking it "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, IT IS DONE" Revelation:16:17

Notice how perfectly applicable this idea is to this verse :

"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:" Mark:13:14

"STANDING WHERE IT OUGHT NOT" IS the temple, the body of Christ

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)" Matthew:24:15

ALSO NOTICE.. How Jesus always spoke of the second coming, as the son of man.. (thus, the angels ascending and descending on the son of man, is no different than the son of perdition being revealed, a "man doomed to destruction")

And that this far journey, could very well be, the falling away.. Which is WHY... he must suffer many things.. Because he is the one who must stop sinning. Hence Christ being the READER from Mark, understanding.. Him being "he who now leteth" He is the one who must wage war with the dragon, HIMSELF. CHRIST BEING MICHAEL

"For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. Luke:17:24

But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. Luke:17:25

Also note.. the woman in travail parable.. (which Jesus alluded to just before he died) A woman trying to give birth..  and how a dragon waited to devour her child as soon as he was born...

A child set to rule all nations (AFTER HE "OVERCOMES")

"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born." Revelation:12:4

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Revelation:12:5

NOW REALIZE..  This child must first OVERCOME..

And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: Revelation:2:26

Already, as I have almost proven using scripture itself, there are several hints towards a single man.. being born into sin... "rebuilding the temple", falling away... only to be revealed and forced to overcome a CURSE (WORMWOOD MEANS CURSE IN HEBREW)

Then go back to Revelations And another star, or ANGEL falling from heaven

WORMWOOD An event or truth making the waters bitter The waters being the nations

Also realize.. robes being made white in the blood of the lamb Being edified.. edification.. Cleaning the sanctuary.. There are hints of it everywhere A clean temple...

THIS ENTIRE THING, IS ABOUT CHRIST HIMSELF FALLING AWAY.

Read the bible, or REVELATIONS...  moreso as a message from Jesus, TO THE SON OF MAN. like a book of CLUES that would only make sense to him.. Hence the Revelation of Jesus Christ

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." Revelation:2:4

"Remember therefore from whence thou art FALLEN, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly"

ALL OF IT.. BECAUSE..

"And I will give him the morning star." Revelation:2:28

HE WAS GIVEN THE MORNING STAR/ LUCIFER, TO OVERCOME.

HENCE THE ENTIRE BATTLE AGAINST THE DRAGON AND "SATAN" THE ACCUSER FINALLY BEING CAST DOWN

SATAN LITERALLY MEANS, ACCUSER. The original Hebrew term sâtan (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן‎) is a generic noun meaning "accuser" or "adversary",

AND PLEASE, don't waste your time trying to tell me Christ is promising to give "himself to him that overcometh"

Because that person whom overcometh, IS CHRIST.. because its ONLY HIM who ends up with power over the nation's. That's not a message to man from Christ.

Its a message TO THE SON OF MAN To the second coming...

TO The child born before the dragon.. which is why he falls away.. Yet is caught up to Gods throne just in time.. snatched away from the Dragon..

All of this might just be why there is so much confusion between these figures..

And between Lucifer and Christ himself being the morning star Or the star of the morning

And why Lucifer means bearer of light Yet Christ IS THE LIGHT

Answer 5

Wormwood is the fallen star given the key to Abyss in Rev 9. This parallel the "lucifer" fallen in Isaiah 14 and also Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Light-bringer is personified as a male bearing torch which parallels wormwood blazing like torch. This is the same angel of yahweh/lord, the destroying angel that kill many in the OT. This "entity" is interestingly relabelled as "Satan" in Chronicles that slain 70k people. Abaddon is literally the Destroyer and also king of the Abyss. All of them have the same theme personified differently. Satan = Wormwood = Angel of Lord = Abaddon = Lucifer = Dragon. This same "entity/object" is doing different things/under different circumstances thus assuming various identities. Like Peter is a husband to his wife, father to his child, employee for his boss, and taxpayer for his government.

Best not to take Bible historically and literally. It's written in veiled language.

Answer 6

Is the fallen star in Revelation 9 the same as the angel in Revelation 20?

Thw answer to your question is YES

Revelation 9:1 NASB

[1]Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him.

Revelation 9:1 NET

9 Then[a] the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky[b] to the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the abyss.[c]

John sees a star fallen from heaven, holding the key of the bottomless pit. Why is he holding the key? The holder of this “key to the pit of the abyss" is later described as hurling Satan into “the abyss.”

Revelation 20:1-3 NASB

Satan Bound

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain [a]in his hand. 2 And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

Answer 7

Star that falls from Heaven (Rev 9) is the same (morning) star that falls from Heaven in Isaih 14, and the dragon that is cast down from Heaven in Rev 12 as the result of war with Michael and His angels. These are all the same even seen under different angles. The star is given the key to the bottomless pit to reliese king of the bottomless pit, Abbadon. This creature is the beast that comes out of the pit in Rev 11 and 12 and 17. This is antichrist - embodiment of demon Abbadon. The people will worship these two creatures, the beast and the dragon who gave power to the beast (reliesed from the pit). Thus we have a caricature of Heavenly Holy relationship, the Father and the Son, Jesus. Olly these are demonic father and son relationship that mimics the heavenly one.