October 22: IMMEASURABLE DEPTHS OF DARKNESS
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 (NASB1995)
This same fallen star was mentioned in the third trumpet (8:10). Satan presented himself as if he were a lamp or a light for the express purpose of misleading the world and displacing Christ in the hearts and minds of people. This was accomplished during Constantine’s reign by bringing paganism into the church under a Christian guise. In the third and fourth trumpets, the rise of the papacy comes as a judgement against the apostasy in the established church. This apostasy came in a tidal wave of compromise. Unbiblical practices were allowed to prosper (Daniel 8:12).
In the fifth trumpet, something about Satan’s activity through the papacy is revealed to us: he is given the key of the bottomless pit. Having the key symbolizes control (Revelation 3:7). What is this bottomless pit that Satan is given control over? This is easily traced back to Genesis 1:2: And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep (KJV). The word translated deep comes from the Greek word abussos, the English being abyss. The bottomless pit is a term for this world in darkness, as it was before the Spirit of God moved upon it. The rest of the verse states: And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters leading into His mighty power to create. The list of synonyms for bottomless pit includes: immeasurable depths, deep places, abyss, sea.
Daniel’s prophecies make it clear that the fourth kingdom, Rome, would continue until the second coming of Jesus (Daniel 2:34,44; 7:11, 25-27; 11:45). But history records that the Roman Empire fell in 476AD. What gives? John the Revelator, a prisoner of Rome at the end of the first century AD, saw in vision Rome resurfacing in a different form, just as Daniel prophesied (7:24): its papal form with a man at its head speaking pompous words (v.8). John sees it rise up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1). These things show the world in a state of darkness, in great need of the Spirit of God to move upon it. As the papal apostasy gained power, Satan gained more and more control. This is the context of our opening verse. The world was plunged into the Dark Ages. The papacy had control over the minds and hearts of kings, rulers, and the masses of people while claiming infallibility!
“A striking illustration of the tyrannical character of the advocate of infallibility: his treatment of the German emperor, Henry IV. For presuming to disregard the pope’s authority, this monarch was declared to be excommunicated and dethroned. Terrified by the desertion and threats of his own princes, who were encouraged in rebellion against him by the papal mandate, Henry felt the necessity of making peace with Rome. He crossed the Alps in midwinter, that he might humble himself before the pope. Upon reaching the castle whither [pope] Gregory had withdrawn, Henry was conducted, without his guards, into an outer court, and there, in the severe cold of winter, with uncovered head and naked feet, and in a miserable dress, he awaited the pope’s permission to come into his presence. Not until he had continued three days fasting and making confession, did the pontiff condescend to grant him pardon. Even then, it was only upon condition that the emperor should await the sanction of the pope before resuming the insignia or exercising the power of royalty. And Gregory, elated with his triumph, boasted that it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings. How striking the contrast between the overbearing pride of this haughty pontiff and the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” THE GREAT CONTROVERSY by E.G.White (pp. 57-58)