“The Great Unveiling: Woe!”
Revelation 8:13-9:21
As chapter 8 ends we learn that there are some woes yet to come upon those “who dwell upon the earth.” The next three trumpets bring them to us. Keep in mind that we are moving from the realm in which we live into the realm of the spirits. We are dealing now with demons –with the invisible not the visible, with the spiritual not the material. So it may sound strange and different, even impossible.
Our task is not to ask, “How is this possible?”, but “Who is responsible” and “Why?” What’s really taking place? How does it fit into the picture of God’s history and plans? 8:13 sets it up for us as the eagle cries out the woes. That, in itself, is a warning that chapter 9 announces that death and doom is on the way. Let’s take a look at the first two woes – trumpets 5 & 6 – and see what we can learn.
The chapter paints a powerful PICTURE OF JUDGMENT. Certain elements in this picture stand out. First, we see (1) THE ABYSS. It’s a place completely inhabited by demonic mobs. Remember Jesus’ encounter with the man named Legion? The demons pleaded with Jesus not to send them into the abyss. It is not a place of punishment; it’s the place where Satan will eventually be temporarily incarcerated. And once it is opened and these hostile beings are set free, great smoke billows forth – smoke so intense that it clouds out the light so the darkness of evil presides. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HUMANS HAS NOW HAPPENED TO CREATION. Humans were created to reflect the image of God, but because of the Fall their hearts are full of sinful desires and motives. So the world was made to reflect God but, because of the Fall has been infected by sin and now harbors demonic forces of rebellion and destruction in its core. Woe!
From the smoke of the abyss we see next (3) THE LOCUSTS that swarm the earth. And the locusts “”…were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.” Notice their description. They have HUMAN FACES – SYMBOLIZING INTELLIGENCE; they use more than brute force. They have WOMEN’S HAIR, which may stand for antennae, meaning they are perceptive and hear and know about their surroundings. Their TEETH ARE LIKE LION’S TEETH – meaning they are cruel, even inhumane. The mention of BREASTPLATES points to the fact that humans cannot defeat them. And the SOUND OF THEIR WINGS means they have great, terrifying power.
Their task is to sting like scorpions, which is usually not fatal but is very painful and causes great suffering. In the Old Testament, locusts are always a symbol of destruction from God. But here, rather than attacking land and produce, the locusts sting like scorpions – THEY ATTACK PEOPLE! It would be devastating, destructive, horrible, terrifying! It’s a scene we really could only create in Hollywood. Woe!
Could it be that injuries from war and fighting, crippling affects of disease, dependency from drugs, or emotional damage from crimes and abuse are our locusts? Perhaps the best way to think about it is to throw together all your worst nightmares and try to imagine them all coming true without warning and at the same time. The angel has unleashed incredible, monstrous, demonic forces. Woe!
The scene of the locusts leads to the picture of PAIN AND SUFFERING (6). The effect of people being devastated is sheer torment and agony. Those who have not yet turned to God in repentance, who oppose Him, will suffer unbearably! Just notice the reaction of those who are tormented: “During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” Even DEATH IS PREFERABLE! The torment is so terrible, the suffering so great that people seek death – and cannot find it! Woe! What a contrast to Paul who said he couldn’t wait to die because of the glory ahead! For him it was the glory of heaven that made death seem great; for those opposed to God life is so terrible that death seems great! It all depends on a person’s relationship to Jesus Christ!
The next focal element in the picture is THE KING (11) who has great authority. His name Abaddon/Apollyon literally means destroyer. He is THE PERSONIFICATION OF DESTRUCTION. These demonic beings do not just run helter-skelter over the earth. They are not a disorganized mob; rather they are well-oiled and following a carefully planned strategy of tormenting those who “dwell upon the earth.” Abaddon/Apollyon is their king, the mafia boss who is in charge. Woe!
So just what does all of this symbolism point to? What will the tormenting and death look like? Who knows? Perhaps death will come through tanks and planes; maybe it will be through cancer, accidents, malnutrition, terrorist’s bombs, suicide bombers, murder. We don’t know for sure. All we know is THERE WILL BE MASS DEATH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. These will be events of fantastic proportions. And it will not be secret. An army of 200 million denotes something visible and massive – something noticeable to be sure! It will be a time of widespread massacre that will be inconceivable, horrifying, and revolting. Woe!
It’s not a pretty picture, is it? In fact, it’s rather morbid. So what do I as a preacher of the Gospel – a preacher of the greatest Good News – do with all of this? What, more than nightmares, can we take home from all of this? There are at least four LESSONS FROM THIS WOEFUL JUDGMENT that are important for us to grasp.
First, through it all, GOD REMAINS SOVEREIGN. His sovereignty is evident throughout this chapter. For example, EVEN THE ABYSS IS UNDER GOD’S CONTROL. Verse 1 – consider the STAR. Whoever the star is – most likely an angel – it is a divine agent. How do we know? Vs. 1 – he “was given the key.” Verse 3 – the locusts were given power…” Also, darkness is normally equated with evil – but the darkness here is more reminiscent of God’s descent on Sinai where his appearance put forth smoke “As the smoke of a furnace…” The darkness is a sign of God’s presence. It is God who is pouring forth his intentional wrath!
Then, too, we learn that THE DEMONS’ POWER IS LIMITED. These agents of doom have limited authority! God is in control from the start. Authority comes from the seat of all authority in heaven. Verses 4 & 5 - “They were told not to harm…They were not given power to kill…” The demons have this power for only for a period stated as 5 months. Now 5 MONTHS IS THE LIFETIME OF A LOCUST. Also, 150 DAYS IS THE NUMBER OF DAYS THERE WAS WATER ON THE EARTH DURING THE FLOOD. In each case, it signifies a period of limited duration.
Look also at verse 14: “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” The great Euphrates River was the limit to the Promised Land. It’s where the Garden of Eden was, where sin was first introduced; it’s where Babel was building its tower; it’s where Babylon ruled; it’s also where Abraham was called from to lead God’s people. Here was the fountainhead of idolatry, where Satan reigned; THE EUPHRATES IS THE ARENA OF SATAN! But now God will come forth and destroy Satan’s influence! And notice that – vs. 15 – it will only happen when they are released; it will be on God’s time! God will do his judging in his way and in his time. It’s already laid out! Judgment will not occur without Him!
We see this sovereignty again in verse 18: “A third of mankind was killed…” The beastly horses and horsemen are sent out to kill, not torment! From the mouth of the horses comes fire, smoke, and brimstone. Even as Sodom was destroyed by fire and brimstone, so 3 separate plagues will destroy people. But they are to kill 1/3 – A LIMITED NUMBER – in hopes that more will repent and return to the Lord Jesus Christ!
A second lesson is in verses 20-21. “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Certainly the plagues of God’s wrath will bring many running to the throne of mercy to claim Jesus Christ! No! In spite of all the warnings and signs, PEOPLE WILL STILL REJECT THE MESSAGE! Those who dwell upon the earth will center their lives on anything but God! They will hear of and experience pollution, inflation, dwindling resources, and rampant evil; but yet they will not admit that the trumpets of judgment are sounding! Then they will be tormented; they will see thousands – millions – killed, perhaps even family and loved ones. Still they will not repent! It’s unbelievable, but true! There are none so blind as those who will not see. Woe!
John pointed out the effects of this lack of repentance: those opposed to God would continue to: worship demons – we know this as the occult; serve idols that cannot see, hear, or walk; continue to promote a culture of murder – when the Gospel is rejected life is cheapened; practice magic arts, sorcery, which comes from the Greek word for drugs – drug use and addiction will be rampant; and sexual sin and perversion will be even more widespread than it is today! These are signs we see today multiplied and increased by those who oppose God. In spite of the message and the judgment, people will continue to harden their hearts. The more the Gospel is preached, the more God sends his wrath – and the more sinners resist and oppose God. Yet isn’t that the nature of sin? Doesn’t that just point out its depravity? People would rather destroy themselves than turn to God. A HEART SET ON SIN GETS MIRED IN IT. Once a person’s heart is firmly set against God, he or she will not repent! It’s like pouring wet cement over our feet; for a short while you can still move and turn around. But once the cement hardens, you’re stuck! So it is with hearts standing in sin.
Yet still THERE WILL BE OFFERS OF MERCY. I like Leon Morris’s comment on the fact that the word repentance occurs in verse 20: “God uses the evil results of our sins to call us to repentance. John sees the release of the demonic forces from one point of view as the result of human sin. But from another it is God’s chastening, and God’s chastening is not aimless. Rightly received it should lead to amendment. John sees God, not the demons, as in control.” (1) WICKEDNESS WILL BE JUDGED; BUT WRATH IS GIVEN FIRST TO WARN AND GIVE TIME FOR REPENTANCE!
Some wonder, “Isn’t this all predestined? Aren’t we saying some have no choice?” No, not at all! People still have a choice. The choice is clear: (Jn. 3:36): “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” Remember Pharaoh. God finally hardened his heart, but only after a great deal of patience, and only after Pharaoh had indicated he would not repent! (Romans 9:14ff.) God is still waiting – over 2,000 years after the crucifixion of His Son – so that all people have a chance to repent and be saved! God will not send his wrath without a chance for mercy!
The third lesson here is that GOD’S PEOPLE ARE SECURE. In verse 4 the demons were told they could only harm those who do not have the seal of God upon their foreheads. We will be safe, for WE HAVE THE SEAL OF GOD! Wrath is directed against the opposition and evil is limited; we are secure! Even the power of wrath cannot destroy us, if we stand with Jesus Christ!
E. F. Palmer gives us a good word of caution. “It is very important that the power of cosmic evil, the devil, not be overrated. Evil always weighs less than it looks. It always masquerades with threats and promises that it cannot keep. This is the very essence of temptation by the devil. When we overrate the devil’s power to harm us, we have fallen for his temptation just as we have when we trust in his luxurious promises to help us. Both are false, and both temptations have one goal—to lure us away from confidence in God’s faithfulness and God’s love toward the world He created.” (2) It’s a good time to recall the words of Ps. 91 we recited a few weeks ago: “You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight…You have made the LORD your defender, the Most High your protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.”
So how should we respond to all of this? Lesson number4: GET BUSY EVANGELIZING. We must boldly proclaim the message of judgment and mercy. Remember John is writing to the Christian Church. He’s reminding us that this hostile world is the one in which we live. We must not expect our witness to be received with open arms and love. THE WORLD WILL NOT WELCOME OUR WITNESS! No matter how great our witness, no matter how severe the judgments of God, the hostile forces will continue in their sin and rebellion! It sounds like sheer folly – but it’s true. Even Paul said the cross would be folly to them! Occasionally someone will say that the reason our world’s in the shape it’s in is because the church lost its voice. But if we believe Revelation the reason the world’s in the shape it’s in is precisely because the Church has not lost its voice. Because the Church did raise its voice, loud and clear, the world rose up in opposition against her. So we must continue our witness in the face of that opposition.
Our task is TO EVANGELIZE ANYWAY – to evangelize now, before the end arrives! Once it arrives, there will be no turning back. Again, I appreciate how Leon Morris analyzes this. “‘St. John’s vision likens the Word of God to a star that falls out of Heaven and opens the bottomless pit of human nature … Preach the Gospel and keep on preaching it, and either men are ashamed and converted or the bottomless pit is opened. Surely this is what has happened in the western world, in civilized Europe, as well as in the land of the Mau Mau, for example. The Cross of Jesus Christ has provoked such a reaction against it that all the latent evil in men has been pushed to the surface in unbelievable wickedness and bloodshed. The very bottomless pit has been opened in our midst, so that heaven and earth have been darkened with the fumes and the whole atmosphere of the world has been poisoned.’” (3)
Surely you, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, know someone still wallowing in sin. What have you done? What will you do? Will you go empty-handed? How many will not repent later because they weren’t given the chance or message of judgment by you now?
And what of OUR CHURCH? How many drive by here each week, or live near here– and never hear the Gospel because we’ve been too silent? There will come a time when they must take responsibility for their own choice – but we must see to it they know what that choice is!
We will be safe. But there will be woe for unrepentant sinners. If we fail to evangelize and spread the Gospel, well, woe to us also! We’ve been given the precious gift of eternal life – to share! I pray we never need to say, “Woe is me!” Preach the Gospel. The moment we’re done today, begin to share. Tell your story of Jesus Christ who died for you. Don’t just feel sorry for a lost and sinking world – throw out the lifeline so they can be saved! “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” (Rom. 10:14-15) Consider yourself sent! There’s still time – there’s still one woe to come! Then it will be too late! Amen!
(1) Morris, L. (1987). Vol. 20: Revelation: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (126). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
(2) Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. The Preacher’s Commentary Series (180). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.
(3) Morris, L. (1987). Vol. 20: Revelation: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (125). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
