“ He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.”
The verse refers to the beast who shall make his entry, “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” (Re.11:7) The bottomless pit is distinct from the pit ‘whence ye are digged’. Those names counted as born in Zion shall have a rock hewn tomb which is new. It is this newness that ties the earthy to the heavenly places. New creation is placed in new heaven and new earth. The bottomless pit is where the beast emerges from and it is to be spiritually understood.
Ps.119:89. Sovereignty of God is set which is the Law so there is no place from where one can hide. Ps.139 illustrates it. “In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.” Bottomless is diametrically opposite to the eternal word settled in heaven. It is thus outer darkness in the lexicon of the Spirit the children of disobedience are sent to.
Bottomless consequently is the natural habitat of enemies to Christ of which the beast is pre-eminent. St Paul refers to the beast as the wicked. “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:/ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,/ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 The.2:8-10) The nations that perish all have their place when the saints redeemed from the earth meet Christ in his glory in mid-air. In Re.19 we have mention of his destruction, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army./ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.(19:19-20). ‘The war in heaven’ consequently has consequences on earth. Michael has his counterpart in Apollyon. “And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit.” (Re.9:11)
Alongside four river heads we can add four angels who are sent to quell the kings of the earth. In the vision of Zechariah they are four carpenters. (Ze.1:18-20). How do we interpret the prophesy “Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.” (Ze.1:11) The Spirit cues us in with “the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees,” and he stands there as the risen Christ. “I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies’ refer to Zion and New Jerusalem and not the old. Myrtle tree signifies resurrection. In Re.22: 1 the tree of life for example is validation of the covenant.
GuidetohisWord 