Lesson 21Revelation 9 |
In Revelation 8 the first four trumpets are sounded and 1/3 of the following were affected:
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Remember that the rider of the pale horse has already killed ¼ of those on the earth.
Finally John sees an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of earth, (the unbelievers remaining on earth). Here the angel is referring to the last three trumpets still to come, for he is aware of what is to come.(2 Thessalonians 1: 3-12)
In Revelation 9:1 the fifth angel sounds his trumpet and John sees a star falling from heaven to earth and to "him" is given the key to the bottomless pit. Some think that this is Satan. It is most likely the anti-Christ, who is Satan's administrator and has authority given to him by Satan. Satan appears in Revelation 9:11 as the king. This is a reminder that Satan is the ruler of the air. (John 12:31, 14:30 2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the leader or king of the demons.
Revelation 9:2 refers to this star as "he" who opened the bottomless pit (Greek meaning is abussos, where we get the word abyss, meaning bottomless). This is the place, where even the demons do not want to go (Luke 8: 30-31). However, this is exactly where the demons have been sent and held until God decides to release them for just this time and purpose. When he opens the bottomless pit so much smoke arose from the pit, that it darkened the sun. This demonstrates God's love for us, in that, He has held back this fierce fury and torment from the earth and the disobedient until this designated time. It is only meant for those who stubbornly disobey and reject Him. Those who love Him and accept Him are no longer on the earth. This great smoke may be that which is referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, as the "strong delusion" sent by God on unbelievers "…that they should believe a lie."
When the pit opens, and out of the smoke come locusts such as never seen before (Rev 9:3). These creatures are actually spiritual demons given the physical form of locusts and given powers as the scorpions. They will have stingers to attack the unbelievers and poison them. As the sting of the scorpions rarely kills its victim, these also will not kill, but will leave their victims looking for death to relieve their pain. The locusts are commanded to not destroy any vegetation, which is the natural food for natural locusts, and they have no authority to kill, but to torment those who do not have the seal of God. The description of the locust in Rev 9: 7-10 will outdo the imagination of any writers from the best sci-fi movies ever made. Even from the description in these verses, it is hard to imagine locust like this walking the earth. Locust, were like horses prepared for battle, they probably have been waiting a long time to be released and do their damage. With long hair, teeth like lion's teeth, tails of a scorpion, breastplates of iron, wings that sounded like chariots, and with the power to torment unbelievers for five months.
These characteristics of the destructive locusts have special significance:
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These demons have been locked up in hell because believers in their prayers to God have caused God to cast them into hell. They are truly angry with mankind and ready to inflict as much harm and torment as possible. There is no way that the unbelievers will be able to defend against or escape these demons. God is restricting their torment to 5 months. Why five months? The natural lifespan of natural locusts is May through September, five months. Or could it be that God is still looking for unbelievers to repent and come to him. God is showing that only torment and eventually death are the result of sin. This is a warning to repent.
Revelation 9:11 reveals that the locusts (demons) had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, meaning destruction, but in the Greek is Apollyon, meaning destroyer. This king over the locusts, demons, is Satan. An interesting point is that in the natural order of things, locusts do not have leaders or a king. They move with the currents of the winds (Proverbs 30:27). Satan is not only the king of these demonic locusts, but he is the very spirit of destruction. One woe has past, two more woes are coming (Rev 9:12).
In Revelation 9:13, the sixth angel sounded his trumpet and John heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. Remember that this is the same altar that the martyrs are under, and this reference to John hearing a voice must be Jesus speaking. Also notice that John said he heard a voice not an angel speaking. The voice announces to the sixth angel who had the trumpet to "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates". The river Euphrates is mentioned in Genesis 15:18 as one of the boundaries for the land God promises to Abraham. It's said to be where the Garden of Eden was, where Cain murdered Abel, and the seat of power for Satan (Many of the attacks against Israel came from this area because it is the border between Israel and its many enemies). So it seems a significant fact that the four angels are bound there.
These four angels were created by God especially for this assignment, have been waiting for the specific day to be released, so they could kill a third of the unbelievers left on earth. Some people think that these four angels are fallen angels. However, most scholars believe that these are God's angels created by Him for this particular purpose in His judgment against unbelievers. These four angels, waited for God to direct them to be released, and to kill 1/3 of unbelievers.
This great army under the control of the four angels, numbered two hundred million. The heads of the horses were like lions heads; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and brimstone. In verse 9:18, the fire, smoke and the brimstone are plagues, stating that by these plagues a third of mankind was killed. For their power " is in their mouth and in their tails: for their tails are like serpents, having heads and with them they do harm." This army will do what the demonic -locusts, were not permitted to do - kill. Many speculations are given for this army of the four angels. Some believe that this is symbolic of governments set on destruction and control (under the influence of the Anti-Christ), and some speculation stating that the description of the fire, smoke, and brimstone sounds a lot like modern day helicopters, tank, or other weapons of war. We all know from the events happening these days that many governments are setting up for destructive capabilities, for ex: North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and probably half of the Middle East. Maybe this army is an army of demons set on the destruction of mankind as Satan is. There is no indication that these are demons like the locusts that came out of the pit. We assume that they are demons led by God's appointed angels for judgment on the evil. Think about that these horsemen are actually good angels arrayed like those that formed the armies in the account of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6:15-17. These horsemen are not led by Satan.
In Rev 9: 20, the rest of mankind , who do not have the seal and who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. They did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts (9:21).
Those remaining on earth will still persist in their sins, refusing to repent and refusing to accept Jesus. Sexual immoralities and the worship of idols, is the same corrupt living that caused God's the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why are these unbelievers so stubborn and how can they not understand that God is the only true living God, the creator of everything that ever was. Why is it that Christians will not surrender totally to God and let go of their past sins and attitudes? When the Anti-Christ came promising peace, and after that promise came famine, earthquakes, destruction, plagues, creatures and demons from the pits of hell, and death, why did they not repent? Is it still possible that the people left on earth are still holding out for the Anti-Christ's promise of peace? Do they not realize that peace comes to those who are children of the one and only living GOD, those who accept His son Jesus as Lord and Savior!
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