When bad things happen - storms, tidal waves, earthquakes, pandemics - people suffer and mourn loss - but often we console ourselves by saying that it is nothing personal - just "an act of God." I would argue about that - the creation fell along with man and so we suffer the curse put on it. But I understand the sentiment.
Here in Chapter 9 of Revelation the tragedy that befalls humankind is far worse than a "natural disaster" because it is very personal. This chapter records the releasing of forces bent on destroying man or inciting him to destroy each other. To think about a being with that much hate directed towards us is truly frightening.
And yet it is also revealing - because despite the attacks of our true enemy - Lucifer and his demons - mankind will not turn to the only alternative - the Lord God.
We are in the midst of the seven trumpet judgments - all taking place under the seventh seal of the title deed of earth, opened by the Lamb of God: Jesus Christ. Today we see two trumpets - just two - that bring with them horrible consequences.
Verse 1 The Fifth Trumpet
Notice that it is one of God’s angels that opens up the pit. There apparently are some demons that God locked away, but will now be allowed out to follow their nature - the same nature as their master: to steal, kill, and destroy.
There is some debate about the identity of the "star" but the most reasonable interpretation is that it is an angel - mostly because the key he uses belongs to God.
Verse 2
The "Bottomless Pit" is Abuso in the Greek - "The Depthless Hole". 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude 6 talk about this place - a terrible prison where demons are held until the end times. In Luke 8:31 the Legion of demons begged Jesus not to send them to the Abyss. From the description it is a place of fire and smoke - perhaps God even imprisons them inside volcanoes. When it is opened - so much smoke comes out that it once again obscures the sun (like happened in chapter 8).
Verse 3
We don’t know exactly if these are demons - but I would venture a guess that they are, since they come out of the Abyss. Locusts are bad enough - a locust can eat it’s own weight in food every 24 hours - and they eat nearly anything - but these are not ordinary locusts - they eat nothing green. This plague is similar to that over Egypt, but is actually the fulfillment of Joel 1:6-2:11. Imagine a locust that not only swarms around you but has the power of a scorpion.
Watch what they do, what they look like, and who they belong to:
Verses 4 - 11
In my years growing up in northern California we would often find scorpions down near the lake where my parents had a cabin. They were rather small, brown, scorpions. They never stung me, but I was told if they did you’d get pretty sick. All scorpions we know of are poisonous. Their venom contains a neurotoxin that interferes with neurotransmission. Among the most dangerous scorpion known to man is the Leiurus quinquestriatus, which is able to kill a small child or elderly person.
Though normally scorpions do not sting - these scorpion/locusts purposefully target certain people - those who have not been sealed by the Lord. This would certainly apply to the 144,000 Jews sealed in chapter 7 - but I think also to any who receives Jesus during the Tribulation.
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
So it’s interesting that these locusts were sent to attack their own. They are described as having human faces - probably indicating they are not mere insects but intelligent creatures. The description is actually pretty good for locusts on close observation. They live for 5 months - the lifespan of a locust.
They sting those who have rejected God - and the sting is so bad that men long to die, but they can’t.
We get the biggest clue as to their identity from who their king is: Satan. Now here it calls him the "angel of the bottomless pit" - and it’s possible that it is Lucifer who opens the door to the pit to let these forces out - possible. We know it is him - whether he opens the pit or not - by his names: Abbadon means destruction, and Apollyon means destroyer.
I’d add here too that in Hell, men will long for death - for relief from the torment of the fires, but they too will be unable to find it. But instead of lasting for 5 months, it will last for an eternity. This is something we should avoid at all costs and is very easy to do - but for some reason, as we will see, men refuse.
Verses 12 - 19 The Sixth Trumpet
We get into some pretty wild stuff here.
1. Four angels are released which have been held near Iraq. They are demons - because angels are never bound. Remember - demons are fallen angels. They are the source or inspiration for the battle described here.
2. 200 million troops ("two hundred thousand thousand" in Greek)- China boasted that it could field an army of 200 million back in 1965. It’s possible that this isn’t a human army at all - based on the descriptions, but another class of demons.
3. The weaponry is unlike anything we have seen.
Horses - could it be tanks?
Fire - conventional weaponry - bombs
Smoke - Gaseous weapons (like Sarin nerve gas)
Sulfur - chemical weapons
Lions head - big teeth, big roar
Serpents with heads - perhaps something flexible - reminds me of War of the Worlds
4. The destruction is unlike any of us have experienced. In World War 1 some 8 million died. A few years later 52 million lost their lives in World War 2. Now in this series of battles fully a third of all humans will die - that’s 2 billion people. One in three will lose their lives. This is in addition to the already ¼ of the earth’s population who have died from previous plagues and natural disasters. So roughly half of the world’s population is now dead.
5. Is this Armageddon? It could be if you overlap the next few chapters. Prophetic and apocalyptic writing isn’t necessarily chronological but thematic. We can’t be wooden about the exact timing of things.
Verses 20-21 The Result
You would think that - after recognizing that all this is punishment for sin coming from the Lamb (end of chapter 6) - that mankind would finally repent. But John goes into great detail to describe the things men continue to do:
Works of their hands - self determination
Worshiping idols (literally: "demons") - anything standing between you and God
Idols of gold, silver, bronze, and wood - greed
Murders - violence
Sorceries - drugs and spiritism (pharma-kee-ous - spell-giving potion)
Sexual Immorality - just what it says (pornea)
Thefts - (from verb: klepto - to filtch)
This isn’t an exhaustive list - but what you might call an "ad hoc" list - examples of the things people continued to do despite God pouring out limited but yet severe judgment on earth.
Conclusion
You Gotta Serve Somebody
We as humans like to think that we are independent and self-determinate. We want to just sit on the sidelines of this God vs Satan thing and wait till the dust settles before we decide which side we’ll be on. And if we don’t like either one then we’ll just go our own way in the universe.
It doesn’t work that way. By virtue of being born a human, you already belong to one side - and it’s not God. We were tainted with Adam and Eve’s rebellion from the womb - and our behavior certainly goes along with our nature. Even if we want to be good we can’t consistently.
Jesus said: "you can’t serve two masters." He’s right - you can only serve one. Which will it be - Lucifer? You’ve seen his plan for the planet - the scorched earth plan. So take God’s side - to do that, you have to just admit your sinful nature, realize God’s solution in Jesus, and bow your knee to Him as Lord. If you won’t do it now - you probably won’t do it then - so why wait?
And, by the way, this also shows that in his heart the enemy really hates humans.
Even Terrible Judgment is Measured
Notice that the destruction we see in this chapter was limited in scope, focus, and time. God’s aim here is not to allow Satan full reign to just wipe it all out - if Satan had his way we’d have pushed the button to send nuclear missiles around the earth long ago. God’s purpose is always redemptive. He wants repentance, not destruction.
We need to understand that that’s how He works in our lives as believers as well. Speaking of our earthly fathers:
Hebrews 12:9-11 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
So don’t despair if God places a heavy hand on you - or takes you out to the woodshed - it is for your good that He does it.
Despite all the warnings - sinful man will not bow
God sent plagues and war and wild beasts and earthquakes - and men, knowing it was from God, hid (chapter 6). God sent natural disasters from space, from volcanoes - which destroyed the grass and the trees and made water poisonous and the sky dark - and nothing. God sends the enemy - a demonic plague the likes of which we have never seen - but despite that men continue doing the evil things that are part of their sin nature.
As the book progresses - God performs warning after warning, judgment after judgment. Men know it is from God - if you knew that God wasn’t pleased with you and had the power to destroy you, wouldn’t you respond? Yet men will not.
God is love, He is kind and giving - and forgiving in his Son Jesus - and He is much patient than we are - but His patience has an end. Don’t wait!
Next week: God’s two mighty witnesses.
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