"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. 2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them. We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord. It is a privilege to have you here We are especially grateful for those of you who have been continuing to share the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! I want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so thankful your prayers. Prayer is powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And
through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ.
Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily
to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory! Open your Bibles to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 9.
7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things."
It is a different world today than what many of us have grown up in. For example, many of the social graces which customary in the past, practically no longer exist today. Such as standing when a woman enters a room or a man removing hat while sitting at the dinner table. In my day, it was customary for a man to remove his hat when indoors.
I often wonder what previous generations would think of the advancements in the telephone, transportation and technology, let alone what they would think of the violence we so often see occurring in our streets. There were nearly 40,000 firearm deaths in 2018, more of which were suicides than homicides. Violent crime rates were reported down by 50% in 2019. However, the preliminary 2020 data from 64% of police departments shows murders trending roughly 20% above the 2019 levels. I am convinced, it's even higher today.
There is no doubt, that the moral code has dramatically changed within the hearts of many. I imagine my grandparents would be devastated, likely dropping to their knees in prayer and tears. If our moral standards continue to decline, how long will it be before our Constitution becomes inadequate, and no longer capable of governing our nation?
I do not believe there has been a more effective tool in limiting Christianity from our society than by
persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools. The moral decline of our society is all the evidence one needs. And, it shows no signs of slowing. Lawlessness and sexual immorality have significantly increased to levels once never before even imagined. Truth, right and wrong were once straightforward. It certainly is not that way any longer.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your truth. Lord, we pray that You would open the hearts of those who do not know Christ, if not today, before the coming judgement comes. May we be faithful to share the gospel to men so they may know how desperately they need salvation that can only come through Jesus Christ. As we look at the world today, and see how bad things are, we can only imagine what must it be like in hell for those who reject You and Christ. Help us to spend our time, energy and our effort praying for their salvation, hear our prayer Lord for the salvation of the lost. Help us to pray for those with whom we disagree. May Your church stand in the gap, for the world and one another, and function in spiritual duty and spiritual discipline, as You have called us to do. May it be the desire of the church to reach all men.
We ask and pray this in Christ’s name.
Amen
Today's Message: A Time Of Torment On Earth - Part I
Last time we looked at the first four trumpets judgements, in chapter 8 verses 6 to
13. The first trumpet was judgment on the land. The second trumpet was
judgment on the sea. The third trumpet was judgment on the fresh waters.
And the fourth trumpet was judgment on the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, one-third were darkened. The heavens and earth that had once declared the glory of God, now, are declaring His wrath.
As terrorizing as the first four trumpet judgements were, they do not even compare to the fearsome judgment that comes in the fifth trumpet. Before we begin our study of these three trumpet judgments, it is important to remember that these last three trumpets are called "woes," this is to draw our attention to the increased intensity, as the Tribulation draws closer to the end. Here in chapter 9, we make the shift from focusing on heaven to hell. As you will remember, at the end of chapter 8, an "eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!" You’re going to see that phrase "woe, woe, woe," repeatedly. It's a very important phrase. I believe this eagle flying around is a mercy warning. God is warning people that they still have time to turn, to repent, before Hell opens up. In fact, I believe there are over six hundred warnings in Scripture about Hell. God has always been eager to warn the lost about judgment that is to come. God is saying "There is still time, two more trumpets are left."
The fifth trumpet will begin to unmask Satan’s true character more clearly. It will become more evident for the whole world to see his true colors. I invite you to follow along with
"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. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things."
Here, we come to the frightening fifth trumpet. Verse 1 says, "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." The pit is unlocked. The fifth angel, who has been waiting patiently, finally sounds his trumpet. And immediately is says "and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth."
Most of us have seen our share of falling stars. However, this is not a star unlike any of those stars. This star is unique, he has the key of the bottomless pit given to him. I believe that this is some type of angelic being who could be identified in the terminology of Job 38. This star is from the spiritual realm, who has already fallen with ongoing results. In other words, the fall is in the past.
Isaiah says in Isaiah 14, "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son
of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened
the nations!"
And, in Luke chapter 10, Jesus says, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning." Satan, is identified as the fallen one. The serpent of old who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Satan lost his position as the anointed cherub when he sinned and rebelled
against God. This fall and the reasons for it are recorded in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. However, since that time, he has had access to go back, as the accuser of the saints. And he's still doing it today.
At some point, during the tribulation, all those demons who are engaged in the war with the holy angels and Satan, himself, are thrown
to the earth and the number of demons on the earth is multiplied. God, at His own discretion, has chosen to incarcerate certain demons, while others roam freely. We know from second Peter chapter 2, some were cast "into hell and committed them to pits of darkness." Because of their wickedness and nature of their sin, the Lord has plunged them
down, incarcerating them in chains in the pit down below the lowest
hell, the place of severest torment and isolation.
Revelation chapter 9, does not record the fall itself, but the aftermath of Satan’s fall to earth occurring in the middle of the tribulation. Knowing that his time is now short, he will intensify his efforts to bring pain and suffering to the earth including the greatest anti-Semitism the world has ever known.
In Revelation chapter 20, after their final sentencing, they’re thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone. You remember back in Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels came and men tried to have sex with them. There was also a time, when angels tried to have sex with women. And God drowned the whole earth.
Allow me to note, that key doesn’t belong to this angel, it belongs to Christ. It explicitly says that this key must be given to Satan, who has been given temporary authority to open the pit and release all the demons. It will literally be hell on earth!
Verse 2, "He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit." This draws our attention to Satan’s character, he is cruel and vicious. This demonic activity that will literally fill the atmosphere will become evident to the eyes of men. We can only imagine what John must have been experiencing as he saw all of this happening. I believe this is hell belching out its the vile filth and corruption, as the restraining hand of God has been removed. This is a literal darkness, however, it is also symbolical of the spiritual darkness. I'm sure the EPA is having a fit by now. And, this is only the first two verses of the pit being unlocked and the power unleashed.
That brings us to verse 3, "Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power." Remember in Exodus 10, the plague of locusts in Egypt, except this be ever far worse. The imagery here is very profound. When locusts descend to the earth in thick masses, they can literally make it look like night in the middle of day, even great buildings less than 100 feet away cannot be seen.
In 1951 and 1952, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia experienced the worst locust plague in modern times. They ate every green and growing thing down to the bare ground for hundreds of thousands of square miles. These special locusts are demons with scorpion stinger tails. Satan can’t create anything. So God has given them their form, these are locusts from hell and they’re not insects. The power given to them, is like the scorpions of the earth have power. They have been waiting for a long, long time and now they have the power to inflict excruciating pain on the inhabitants of the world.
While scorpion stings in the US are almost never fatal, with the exception of the very young and they very old. However, this is not the case worldwide. I have heard that the physiological response to a scorpion sting is similar to that which has been observed in many cases of demon possession. They foam at the mouth and grind their teeth in pain, rolling on the ground in pure agony. Except these are far worse than any locusts or scorpions on earth, these are from Hell. In Scripture, locusts are associated with divine wrath, a symbol of destruction and terror and that is what we are seeing here. They will have known the tribulation believers have preached the gospel all over the world and died as martyrs for it. They will have heard the gospel. This judgment is upon men who have rejected Christ, not for those who had believed the message of the 144,000. God allows these unbelievers to experience fellowship with the inhabitants of Hell. By now, you would think that they would be crying out for redemption.
Verse 4, tells us that this power that is unleashed is limited. "They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads." They're told not to hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing or any tree, instead, go after the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The Lord knows those who are His.
It is reasonable to believe that God’s not going to allow these demons to terrorize believers. Because back in Revelation 3, it tells us that the overcomer is going to have the name of His God written on him. So, this obviously puts limitations on who they are allowed to attack.
Notice verse 5, "And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man." They are not only limited on who they can attack, but they are limited on what they can do, they were not permitted to kill anyone. In other words, these demons can kill if God doesn’t restrain them from it. Satan would kill everybody if he could and send them immediately to hell. Remember Job, that’s the one thing God told him he couldn’t do, was to kill him. So, Satan has the power of death. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that demons can kill. However, they can torment them for five months. People living at this time are going to wish they were dead, but they won't be able to die.
By the way, five months is the normal life of a locust, they live from May to September. What astounding patience our God has, He's going to give them five months to repent. What amazing grace. I should note, these demons are not called scorpions nor do they look like scorpions, just they have the power to torment and cause indescribable pain, just short of death. Allow me to remind you, this is judgment with mercy. But for those who refuse to repent, there’s no relief; there’s no way out.
Look at verse 6 says "And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them." For five horrifying months people will attempt suicide, in every imaginable way, attempting to die. They just won’t be able to die, because death will elude them. Poisons and pills will have no effect, bullets will not be fatal, they will be unable to drown themselves, necks will not break, and hearts will not stop! All the while gospel preaching is going on. So in addition to the catastrophic plagues and devastating disasters that have afflicted the earth, now
men are directly attacked and tormented by these demonic creatures. The world is without a doubt, going to know it’s over, they know there is no future, no hope, and they just want to die and can't. Because God demonstrates His absolute authority. And they’re still not going to repent at all.
We'll look at that next time..
In Closing..
The indescribable pain and immense torment of this experience will not be something one just gets used to. This parallels the concept of inescapable Hell, where they will experience eternal death and torment. Forever separated from God.
I pray that if they are seeking death, then perhaps they will be ready to seek eternal life.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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