Revelation of John 9:2 · Bible study
Revelation 9:2 Commentary: The Abyss Opened
Greek · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What does the smoke from the pit symbolize in Rev 9:2? Explore false doctrine, hell's opening, or demonic forces in this apocalyptic vision.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Opening the abyss releases smoke that darkens the sun and air, signaling the beginning of a demonic plague.
- Key words: φρέαρ (pit/well), ἄβυσσος (abyss), καπνός (smoke), σκοτόω (darken). The smoke originates from the place of confinement and spreads rapidly.
- Main debate: Whether the smoke symbolizes false doctrine and church corruption (Gill, Wesley) or the literal/figurative opening of hell releasing torment (Barnes, Lange).
- Theological theme: God permits evil to be released for a limited time as judgment; but even in judgment, there is restraint (the torment is not final destruction).
- Best use: As a sobering reminder of the reality of spiritual darkness and the urgency of repentance, while pointing to the hope that the locusts cannot touch the sealed.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
WEB World English Bible 2000
He 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.
KJV King James Version 1769
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.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And he opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up 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.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and he did open the pit of the abyss, and there came up a smoke out of the pit as smoke of a great furnace, and darkened was the sun and the air, from the smoke of the pit.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And it opened the pit of the abyss; and there went up smoke out of the pit as [the] smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And he opened the bottomless pit: and the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y abrió el pozo del abismo, y subió humo del|strong="G1537, G3588" pozo como el humo de un gran horno; y oscurecióse el sol y el aire por el humo del pozo.
E o poço do abismo foi aberto; e subiu fumaça do poço, como a fumaça de uma grande fornalha; e o sol e o ar se escureceram por causa da fumaça do poço.
et elle ouvrit le puits de l’abîme. Et il monta du puits une fumée, comme la fumée d’ une grande fournaise; et le soleil et l’ air furent obscurcis par la fumée du puits.
Und er tat den Brunnen des Abgrunds auf; und es ging auf ein Rauch aus dem Brunnen wie ein Rauch eines großen Ofens, und es ward verfinstert die Sonne und die Luft von dem Rauch des Brunnens.
En zij heeft den put des afgronds geopend; en er is rook opgegaan uit den put, als rook eens groten ovens; en de zon en de lucht is verduisterd geworden van den rook des puts.
Ed egli aprì il pozzo dell’abisso; e dal pozzo salì un fumo simile al fumo di una gran fornace; e il sole e l’aria furono oscurati dal fumo del pozzo.
I otworzyła studnię przepaści; i wystąpił dym z onej studni, jakoby dym pieca wielkiego, i zaćmiło się słońce i powietrze od dymu onej studni.
Она отворила кладязь бездны, и вышел дым из кладязя, как дым из большой печи; и помрачилось солнце и воздух от дыма из кладязя.
它開了 無底 坑，便有 煙 從 坑裡 往上冒，好像 大 火爐 的煙； 日頭 和 天空 都因 這煙 昏暗了。
And he made the great deep open and a smoke went up from it, like the smoke of a great oven; and the sun and the air were made dark because of the smoke.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 9:2
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that verse 2 describes the outcome of opening the abyss: dense smoke rises like from a furnace, and the sun and air are darkened. The smoke is the immediate result of releasing something that has been confined. Barnes notes the image echoes Sodom's destruction (Genesis 19:28) and suggests the pit had been sealed until now, so that not even vapor could escape. Gill and Wesley interpret the smoke as false doctrine and idolatry, spreading from the antichristian systems, whether papal or Islamic, that obscure Christ's light. Lange sees the region of the abyss as a place of tormenting fire, whose smoke darkens the earthly realm. Despite these varied lens, all connect the smoke with the coming plague of locusts in verse 3. The darkness that follows is both literal and symbolic: a sign of judgment that disorients and threatens, preparing the stage for the torment that will strike those without God's seal.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Historical – allegorical (false doctrine): Smoke symbolizes false teaching, idolatry, or heresy that obscures the gospel (Gill, Wesley, Clarke).
- Literal – eschatological (hell opened): Smoke is the literal vapor of torment from the abyss, opening a demonic prison to unleash judgment on the earth (Barnes, Lange).
- Symbolic – apocalyptic motif: The smoke is a stock symbol for judgment and chaos, drawing on Exodus 19:18 and Genesis 19:28, without a single referent (many modern scholars).
What is clear: The opening of the abyss unleashes something that brings darkness and torment to the earth, but even this judgment is limited and followed by hope for the sealed.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the star (v.1) | The star is a figure, either an angel, a human leader, or a symbol, who is given authority over the abyss. | Some identify the star as Christ or a good angel (early church); others as a fallen angel or Satan (Reformation); others as a historical person like Muhammad or the Pope (medieval/post-Reformation). |
| Symbolic meaning of the smoke | The smoke represents something negative that spreads from the abyss, evil, deception, or punishment. | Gill, Wesley, and Clarke read it as false doctrine and idolatry; Barnes and Lange see it as the vapor of torment emanating from the place of punishment itself. |
| Literal vs. figurative reading | The passage is apocalyptic, filled with symbols, but describes real spiritual realities. | Some (like those cited by Lange as literalists) expect a future physical fulfillment; others interpret the entire vision as symbolic of ongoing church history or timeless spiritual warfare. |
| Historical referents | The vision speaks of judgments that affect the earth; it is not limited to one event. | Wesley ties the smoke to Persian oppression of Jews; Gill and many Reformers apply it to the Papacy or Islam; others see it as a general end-times scenario with no specific historical counterpart. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The abussos (abyss) in Jewish apocalyptic literature, seen in 1 Enoch and Luke 8:31, is a subterranean prison for fallen angels and demonic spirits. John draws on this tradition: the pit has been shut and sealed (Revelation 9:1), and the key given to a star fallen from heaven. When opened, smoke billows out, matching theophany language from Exodus 19:18 where Mount Sinai smokes at God's descent. The comparison to 'a great furnace' also recalls Genesis 15:17 and 19:28, reinforcing judgment imagery.
First-century readers would recognize the darkening of sun and air as a sign of divine judgment. Joel 2:2 and 2:10 portray a day of darkness and gloom; Exodus 10:21, 23 describes a palpable darkness over Egypt. This smoke, thick, suffocating, obscuring, creates an environment where the locusts from the abyss can operate. Some early interpreters (like those cited by Wesley) connected the smoke to Persian idolatry that oppressed Jewish communities. Other voices (Gill, Matthew Henry) saw it as the spread of heresy under the Papacy. The point is the smoke originates from a place of punishment and spreads corruption to the realm of the living, preparing for the five-month torment that follows.
Textual Notes
The Greek text of Revelation 9:2 is stable across the major witnesses. The Complutensian Polyglot reads 'of a burning furnace' (καμίνου καιομένης) where most manuscripts have simply 'of a great furnace' (καμίνου μεγάλης). This variant is minor and does not alter the sense. The consulted sources note no other significant variants.
Reception History
Early church interpreters like Bede saw the star as an angelic figure and the smoke as the spiritual darkness heresies bring. Medieval commentators often identified the star with Muhammad, reading the smoke as the spread of Islam obscuring Christian truth. During the Reformation, Protestant exegetes (Geneva Bible notes, Gill) applied the verses to the Papacy: the key of the bottomless pit was the Pope's claimed authority, and the smoke was the false doctrines and practices that darkened Christ's light. Wesley saw a connection to Persian idolatry. In modern scholarship, the tendency is to treat the passage as apocalyptic symbolism for the unleashing of demonic forces in a future tribulation period, drawing on Old Testament judgment language (Joel, Exodus). The variety of interpretations shows how Revelation speaks to each age's sense of cosmic darkness.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Opening of the Abyss. The star uses the key to unlock a prison that was meant to stay shut. Sin and evil are not self-contained; when restraints are removed, everything that was trapped comes out.
- The Smoke Ascends. Smoke from a furnace, black, choking, pervasive, fills the air. It obscures the sun and turns day into murk. This is not clean fire but the exhaust of torment. It represents the reach of evil: it darkens truth, joy, and hope.
- The Sun and Air Darkened. The light that gives life is blocked. The atmosphere, which humans breathe, becomes poisonous. The judgment is experienced as the absence of what sustains, a preview of final separation from God.
Five-point outline
- The Key and the Star. A power outside the abyss authorizes its opening; what follows is permitted, not random.
- The Pit of the Abyss. A place of confinement for demonic beings and the dead (Luke 8:31; Romans 10:7).
- Smoke like a Furnace. Not ordinary smoke but the output of a great furnace, intense, voluminous, and connected to divine judgment (Genesis 19:28).
- Darkened Sun and Air. The two sources of light and life for the earth are compromised. Creation groans under the weight of released evil.
- Preparation for Locusts. The smoke is a curtain that hides the coming attack. It disorients the world before the direct torment begins.
Illustration hooks
- Smoke from a wildfire. The sky turns orange, breathing becomes dangerous, and the sun is hidden. You know the fire is real even before you see the flames.
- A locked basement door suddenly swung open. What was sealed, damp, mold, old sins, rushes out and fills the house.
- Thick fog at sea. Navigators lose their bearings; what was visible is now hidden. The darkness feels disorienting and threatening.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is this smoke literal or does it symbolize something else, like false teaching?
- Why would God allow evil to be unleashed from the abyss? Doesn't he restrain it?
- How does the hope of the gospel fit into such a dark chapter?
Leading a Discussion
The image of smoke rising from the abyss and darkening the earth is disturbing. It forces us to ask: what happens when God allows evil to be unmasked? Revelation does not flinch from showing the consequences of sin and the reality of judgment. But even here, the torment is limited, five months, not eternal destruction. Discuss these questions together, letting the text shape your understanding of God's justice and mercy.
Discussion questions
- What is the abyss in Jewish and early Christian thought? How does Revelation use that image here?
- The smoke is compared to smoke from a great furnace. What Old Testament passages come to mind? What do they add to the meaning?
- Some commentators see the smoke as false doctrine or deception. Others see it as the atmosphere of torment itself. Which reading do you find more convincing from the text? Why?
- Notice that the sun and air are darkened. What does darkness typically symbolize in Scripture? How does that help you understand this verse?
- The smoke precedes and enables the locusts. How does this order shape your view of how evil operates in the world?
- How does knowing that the fifth trumpet is part of a larger sequence (the seven trumpets) affect your reading? What hope appears later?
- What comfort does the gospel offer to those who fear being overwhelmed by darkness?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 15:17 | It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. |
| Genesis 19:28 | He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace. |
| Exodus 10:21 | Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.” |
| Exodus 10:23 | They didn’t see one another, and nobody rose from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. |
| Exodus 19:18 | All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. |
| Isaiah 14:31 | Howl, gate! Cry, city! You are melted away, Philistia, all of you; for smoke comes out of the north, and there is no straggler in his ranks. |
| Joel 2:2 | A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations. |
| Joel 2:10 | The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that different interpreters identify the angel and bottomless pit with Satan, Mohammed, or Luther. He then offers his own reading: the smoke rising from the pit represents false doctrine that obscures the heavenly light of truth.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes emphasizes that the smoke rising from the pit is the vapor of burning sulfur, linking the image directly to Scripture's picture of hell as a lake of fire. He argues this plague appears to burst forth from the underworld itself, and stresses that the description must be taken symbolically, not literally.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note identifies this star as a minister of the gospel who falls from his high calling into error. The key to the bottomless pit represents the authority God permits him to have over spiritual darkness and false doctrine, warning against unfaithful leaders.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the smoke from the pit as false doctrine and superstitious worship springing from papal decrees and the Quran. He argues that both the Roman Catholic system and Islam obscured Christ the sun of righteousness and darkened the Scriptures, which are the breath of God.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange interprets the fallen star not as a literal angel or Satan but as a psychological state—repentance without faith, or remorse that becomes self-torment. This faithless sorrow, like Cain's or Judas's, falls from heaven to earth and receives the key to open the abyss within human consciousness.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that these demonic locusts act under strict divine restraint: they cannot touch the grass, trees, or the sealed, and they cannot kill, only torment for a set time. Their king, named Destroyer in both Hebrew and Greek, rules a realm whose power is real but carefully bounded by God.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent draws attention to the specific phrase "smoke of a great furnace" as one that echoes key Old and New Testament judgment scenes, including Sodom, Sinai, and Jesus' parables of the furnace of fire. He groups these passages to show how the image recurs across Scripture.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley identifies the smoke from the pit as the Persians' detestable idolatrous doctrine and false zeal, which broke out violently. The darkening of the sun and air is a figurative expression for the heavy affliction this smoke caused over the Jews in Persia.