Woe to Those Who Dwell On the Earth

It's my joy to preach God's Word to you this morning.

If you are new and you don't know me, my name is Sean.

I'm one of the pastors from Trinity Cambridge Church.

And we are in a series in the book of Revelation.

Revelation is a difficult book.

We're not one of those churches that are overly fascinated with the end times in the book of Revelation.

It just happens to be the book that we are going through.

And all of Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for us.

And so we're in Revelation 8, verse 13, the very last verse of chapter 8.

Revelation 8:13

And we're going to go all the way through the end of chapter 9.

So if you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.

We'd love to bring a copy over to you that you could use and you could have.

Revelation is the last book in the Bible.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Father, we come to you recognizing how much we fall short of your glory.

And we thank you for the opportunity you give us for repentance and faith and salvation.

Lord, I pray for those who do not yet know you,

who have not truly repented of their sins here in this room.

Would you bring them to godly sorrow that leads to true repentance?

And Lord, I pray for those who have repented,

your people,

those who are sealed with the Spirit of God who are here this morning.

Would you encourage them and assure them of your protection,

your,

of how they have their identity in you

so that they need not fear

the great tribulation

and the judgments

that you will bring.

And remind us, Lord, most of all,

of Christ

and the work that he has done for us

to save us from

these dire judgments

that we will read about today.

Speak to us as you always do, God,

from your Word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand for the reading of God's Word

from Revelation.

Starting in chapter 8, verse 13.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Then I looked and I heard an eagle

crying with a loud voice

as it flew directly overhead.

Woe, woe, woe

to those who dwell on the earth

at the blasts of the other trumpets

that the three angels are about to blow.

And the fifth angel blew his trumpet

and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth

and he was given the key

to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit

and from the shaft rose smoke

like the smoke of a great furnace

and the sun and the air

were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.

Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth

and they were given power

like the power of scorpions of the earth.

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth

or any green plant or any tree

but only those people

who do not have the seal of God

on their foreheads.

They were allowed to torment them

for five months

but not to kill them.

And their torment was like

the torment of a scorpion

when it stings someone.

And in those days

people will seek death

and will not find it.

They will long to die

but death will flee from them.

In appearance

the locusts were like horses

prepared for battle.

On their heads

were what looked like crowns of gold.

Their faces were like human faces.

Their hair like woman's hair.

And their teeth like lion's teeth.

They had breastplates

like breastplates of iron.

And the noise of their wings

was like the noise

of many chariots

with horses rushing into battle.

They have tails

and stings like scorpions.

And their power to hurt people

for five months

is in their tails.

They have as king over them

the angel of the bottomless pit.

His name in Hebrew

is Abaddon.

And in Greek

he is called Apollyon.

The first woe has passed.

Behold,

two woes are still to come.

Then the sixth angel

blew his trumpet

and I heard a voice

from the four horns

of the golden altar

before God

saying to the sixth angel

who had the trumpet,

Release the four angels

who are bound

at the great river Euphrates.

So the four angels

who had been prepared

for the hour,

the day,

the month,

and the year

were released

to kill a third of mankind.

The number of mounted troops

was twice 10,000

times 10,000.

I heard their number

and this is how I saw

the horses in my vision

and those who rode them.

They wore breastplates

the color of fire

and of sapphire

and of sulfur

and the heads of the horses

were like lion's heads

and fire and smoke

and sulfur

came out of their mouths.

By these three plagues

a third of mankind

was killed

by the fire and smoke

and sulfur

coming out of their mouths.

For the power of the horses

in their mouths

and in their tails,

for their tails

are like serpents

with heads

and by means of them

they wound.

The rest of mankind

who were not killed

by these plagues

did not repent

of the works

of their hands

nor give up

worshiping demons

and idols of gold

and silver

and bronze

and stone and wood

which cannot see

or hear or walk

nor did they repent

of their murders

or their sorceries

or their sexual immorality

or their thefts.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

You may be seated

this time.

In his famous

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus gives us

a list of beatitudes

or the series

of blessed statements.

Blessed are they

or happy are they

who are poor in spirit

for theirs is the kingdom of them.

Happy are those who mourn

for they will be comforted.

Happy are the meek

for they will inherit the earth.

Happy are those

who hunger and thirst

for righteousness

for they will be filled.

Happy are the peacemakers

for they shall be called

sons of God.

Happy are those

who are persecuted

for righteousness sake

for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven.

Happy are you

when they revile you.

Others revile you

and persecute you

and falsely say

all kinds of evil

against you

because of me

for in the same way

they treated the prophets

who were before you.

but sometimes

as we live in this world

Christians

have a hard time

believing

that these beatitudes

are actually true.

Sometimes it seems happier

in this sinful world

to be rich

and proud in spirit

rather than poor in spirit.

To laugh

rather than to mourn.

To be pushy

rather than meek.

To be full

and self-righteous

rather than hungering

and thirsting

for righteousness.

To be fighters

rather than peacemakers.

To be praised

and admired

rather than

to be reviled

and persecuted

for Jesus' sake.

Have you ever felt

that way before?

And if you've been tempted

to think in these ways before

that temptation

is from our enemy

Satan

who lies

and hides

the true spiritual reality

of things.

We know from

2 Corinthians 11

11 and 14

that even Satan

disguises himself

as an angel

of light

which is where we get

the name Lucifer

which means

bearer of light.

It also comes from

Isaiah 14 12

which says

that the day star

which is a reference

to an angel

was fallen.

But he's only

a counterfeit.

He's not the true

day star.

He's not the true

morning star.

He's not the true

angel of light.

Revelation 9

says in Revelation 22

16 rather

that Jesus

is the true

bright morning star.

So Satan

is only a counterfeit

in imitation

a cheap imitation

that seeks to deceive

people

and lead them astray.

Revelation 9

the passage we're in today

unmasks

the hideous reality

the evil reality

behind Satan

and his lies

and his temptations

with the purpose

of showing

deleting sinners

showing sinners

the true reality

of things

so that they would

repent of their

worship of demons

and idols.

And so the main

point of this passage

is this

in light of God's

judgments

on those who

worship demons

we should repent

of our idolatry

and worship

the true God.

That's the main

point of our passage.

First we're going

to talk about

woe number one

the demonic

tormenting locusts

and secondly

we're going to talk

about woe number two

the demonic

killing cavalry.

After the first

four trumpets

which we looked at

last week

we get a brief

intermission here

in verse 13

like the seven seals

which were grouped

into four and three

the four horsemen

of the apocalypse

and then the three

last seals

here there's

an arrangement

of four

plus three

pattern again

the four

judgment trumpets

that affect

the creation

it's showing

kind of

the creation

of the world

and then the last

three woes

that affect

people more

directly

and

and then

this structure

is intended

to show

the escalation

it sets apart

the last three

to show

that there's

a greater

severity

to them

so these

three woes

are going

to be worse

than the four

trumpets

that we saw

last week

it says

in verse 13

then I looked

and I heard

an eagle

crying

with a loud

voice

as it flew

directly overhead

woe

woe

woe

to those

who dwell

on the earth

at the blast

of the other

trumpets

that the three

angels

are about

to blow

an eagle

flying overhead

is a picture

of a predator

hovering over

its prey

immediately

before it

dives in

for the kill

later in

revelation 19

the birds

that fly

directly

overhead

are those

who will

eat the

flesh

of kings

who have

rebelled

against

christ

and so

this is a

majestic

yet foreboding

picture

and this eagle

pronounces a

threefold

woe

when you

rebel against

and sin

and refuse

to repent

toward a god

who is

thrice holy

that we saw

in revelation 4

holy

holy

holy

the only fate

that is fitting

for you

is a threefold

woe

woe

woe

woe

a more modern

translation

would have it

doom

doom

doom

but before I jump

into the woes

I want to add

a bit more context

and structure

to what I shared

with you last week

going through the first

four trumpets

I suggested to you

both the literal

and symbolic

meanings

possible meanings

of the trumpet

judgments

and shared my

preference for

the symbolic meaning

but also told you

that I might be

wrong about

that

it's possible

that the more

literal meaning

of the four trumpets

are in view

and if that's the case

then the trumpet

judgments clearly

haven't happened yet

and in that case

while the seven seals

deal with the entire

church age

the seven seals

the first seven seals

we saw

in chapter 6

deal with the entire

church age

from the first coming

of Christ

to the second coming

of Christ

the seven trumpets

and the seven bowls

then would deal

more narrowly

with the end

of the end times

toward the

what would be

the sixth

and the seventh seals

I hope you guys

follow what I'm saying

if you guys

are just coming in

for the first sermon

this probably doesn't

make any sense to you

I'm sorry about that

and this would fit in well

with the fact

that the trumpet judgments

were God's answer

to the martyred Christian's

prayer for vindication

of God's judgment

in the fifth seal

and then you saw

the final climactic judgments

in the sixth

and seventh seals

and so it's possible

that all seven trumpets

and all seven bowls

line up with those

two last seals

if these are meant

to be fulfilled

more literally

this would also fit well

with the fact

that the seven trumpets

and the seven bowls

line up

almost exactly

they're very parallel

the first trumpet

and the first bowl

both affect the earth

the second trumpet

and the second bowl

both affect the sea

the third trumpet

and the third bowl

both affect the rivers

and the springs

the fourth trumpet

and the fourth bowl

both affect the sky

or the sun

and the heavenly bodies

and then

the fifth trumpet

and the fifth bowl

both involve demons

who cause anguish

or torment

and then the sixth trumpet

and the sixth bowl

both involve demonic forces that originate from the Euphrates.

So if they're all parallel and they're all referring to the end of the end,

it's possible that these things are going to happen in the future.

And if it's happening in the future and it's not already happening or has already happened,

then the literal interpretation is more plausible in that case.

So it's possible.

Honestly, there's so many different views points on this,

but I think these two that I'm presenting to you are probably the most likely.

I encourage you not to search on YouTube or Internet for the meaning of the book of Revelation

because I think maybe 90% or more of the stuff you're going to find is really not very helpful and not very biblical.

And so I would caution you against that.

It seems like almost everybody has an opinion about it.

And they think that they should publish their opinion online.

And I would encourage you to just search the scriptures carefully.

Read the book of Revelation over and over again.

Look at the Old Testament prophecies that are referenced in the book of Revelation again and again.

And that's the best way you're going to arrive at the right understanding of this book.

So if it's possible that the fifth trumpet and sixth trumpet are stuff that's going to happen in the future

or it's something that's going to happen.

Or the fifth trumpet at least is something that's happening already.

I'll preach with both of those things in mind.

Let's jump into the woes.

We'll cover only the first two woes today because the last woe doesn't take place until later.

But just keep in mind that there's three woes total, which are the last three of the trumpets, of the seven trumpets.

The first woe is the fifth trumpet.

And when it's blown, John sees a star fallen from heaven to earth.

I mentioned to you last week that a fallen star likely represents a fallen angel.

In chapter 8, verse 10.

Moreover, we saw in Revelation 1.20 that the seven stars that Jesus holds in his right hand,

we were told explicitly that they represent seven angels.

And in Luke 10.18, due to the proclamation of the kingdom of God by his disciples,

Jesus says that I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky.

So it's this idea of a star, something like a star falling from heaven to represent demonic spirits where Satan is not uncommon.

That's why Satan is called a fallen angel.

Here in Revelation 9, the connection between a fallen star and a fallen angel is even more clear and certain

because it says in verse 1, right after telling us that a star fell from heaven,

and he, personal pronoun, he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

So this star is no mere self-luminous celestial body of gas.

This star has personal agency.

This star receives the key and then opens the shaft of the bottomless pit in verse 2.

In fact, this star that has the key to the bottomless pit is explicitly described in verse 11,

a few verses down, as the angel of the bottomless pit,

who is king over the demonic locusts that we'll read about in a minute.

And this angel, like Wormwood, has a name.

This one is called Abaddon in Hebrew,

and Apollyon in Greek.

They both mean destruction or destroyer.

Abaddon is often parallel to death or the grave in the Old Testament,

and Apollyon is referenced to the destroyer, the thief,

that comes only to steal and kill and destroy, as Jesus said to describe the devil in John 10.

They're both an allusion going back all the way to Exodus, Exodus 12.23,

when the destroyer, God sends a destroyer to go throughout Egypt during the Passover

to kill the firstborn sons or the males of all of the Egyptian households

and all Egyptian animals that were not protected by the seal of God,

the blood of the Lamb.

And so it's a reference to that destroyer,

and that parallel is very suggestive because here, in verse 4,

the locusts, the demonic locusts that come out of this,

are explicitly forbidden from harming those who have the seal of God on their foreheads.

So it's reminiscent of the Exodus plague,

with the striking down of the firstborns.

I think it's likely that this fallen angel is nothing less than Satan himself,

the great dragon, the ancient serpent, which we'll see later.

He is thrown down from heaven to earth along with his angels, Revelation 12.9.

I think that's what this is depicting in another way.

This is confirmed by the fact that he has domain.

This is his domain.

He has key and authority over the abyss.

It's the bottomless pit.

This pit is so low underground, so to speak, that it's bottomless.

It's not like going down into our basements.

It's connected by a shaft because it goes down so low by a long pole,

and it's called the abyss.

It's the realm of demons.

Some people think that this is literally underground.

I mean, it's not impossible.

I don't know how scientists or geophysicists know this,

but they do say that if you go down to the,

to drill down to the core of the earth,

it's like the size of the moon.

It's basically a fireball that's hotter than the surface of the sun,

and it's made up mostly of iron or whatever.

I mean, I suppose that's possible.

It would fit the description,

but I think it's just as well.

It could be symbolic,

but it's a bad place.

You don't want to have anything to do with.

And you're not going to find this in your,

the English version of the Bibles,

because the book of Job in our English translation

is taken from the Hebrew version

and not the ancient Greek version,

but the Greek translation of Job in the Septuagint,

Job 41, 23 to 24,

this abyss is described as where Leviathan,

the Leviathan, the cosmic sea dragon,

the serpent,

who has the appearance of the morning star,

again reminiscent of the language of Lucifer,

the day star,

who is, quote,

king of all in his realm is said to live.

And it's said that this ancient dragon

considers the Tartarus of the abyss as his captive.

In Greek mythology,

Tartarus is the deep dungeon prison for the Titans,

in 2 Peter 2, 4,

we are told that God took the angels who sinned

and cast them into hell

and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness

to be kept until the judgment.

That phrase, cast them into hell,

is actually cast them into Tartarus,

literally in Greek.

This is not the eternal fire prepared for the devil

and his minions and all those who follow them

in Matthew,

that Jesus mentions in Matthew 25, 41.

It's not the lake of fire

that Revelation 20 mentions,

which is the final destination

of the dragon and the beast

and the false prophet

and all those who follow him instead of Christ.

So this is not that final destination.

Rather, it's the temporary place of incarceration,

where the evil spirits who had sinned,

or demons,

angels who had sinned,

transgressed their boundaries,

as Jude 1, 6 speaks of,

probably alluding to Genesis 6,

are imprisoned at the moment.

And in Luke 8, 31,

this abyss is mentioned again.

This is where you encounter the demon region.

A man gathering demoniac

is possessed by a demon named region.

And then when Jesus is about to cast the demon out,

he begs Jesus,

please don't send me into the abyss.

The bottomless pit

that even demons fear to go to.

But even here,

we see that the ultimate sovereignty

lies with our Lord Jesus Christ

and not with Satan,

who receives this key.

Look at the phrasing of verse 1.

He was given the key

to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

This is the divine passive construction

that indicates that

while God is never the direct actor in evil,

he is nonetheless completely sovereign over evil.

We were told in Revelation 1, 17 to 18,

who ultimately holds this key,

remember that?

Jesus said,

Fear not,

I am the first and the last

and the living one.

I died,

and behold,

I am alive forevermore,

and I have the keys.

Jesus,

Jesus,

the Son of God,

is the one person in human history

who did not have to die,

but he died for the sins,

for our sins,

to save people

and to save the world,

and so all who repent of their sins

and trust in him might be saved.

But because he died

and because he was raised from the dead

and he was the one person

in the history of humanity

who has ever defeated death

in that way,

he is the one who ultimately

holds the keys of death and Hades.

Now,

he decides

when to open

and when to close.

He decides

when he gives life,

when he takes life.

And so,

even though this fearsome demon

receives authority,

he only receives authority.

He's given the key

from the one who has ultimate dominion,

that is Christ.

Satan is king

over his demonic domain.

He is described as a prince

of this sinful world.

However,

in relation to King Jesus,

as you see here,

he's nothing but a lackey,

a warden,

a servant warden.

It's like basically

a prison guard here.

That's how gloriously powerful

and sovereign

our Lord Jesus is.

Satan,

remember that.

Satan is only a counterfeit

morning star,

a counterfeit

king.

Jesus is the true

and genuine one,

the amen,

the faithful

and true witness.

And yet,

so many people

in our world

are serving this

ancient serpent

who rules over

this bottomless pit

instead of serving

Jesus,

the Lord of life,

who is exalted

far above the heavens.

Which king

do you want to serve?

The prison guard

over the bottomless pit

or the one who reigns

at the right hand

of the Father?

The first woe unmasks

the grotesque

and macabre reality

of the demonic forces

so that people

who dwell on the earth

might be awakened

from Satan's deception

and see the truth,

the light of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Let's look a little

more closely

at the grisly picture

of the demons

in the following verses.

When the fallen angel

opens the shaft

of the bottomless pit,

smoke like the smoke

of a great furnace

rises from the shaft

and darkens the air

and the sun.

So imagine

if something is enough

to darken the sun,

it's not this kind of

transparent mist-like thing.

It's a thick,

dark plumage

of smoke

like the kind

that erupts

from a volcano.

There's so much of it.

And then out of that smoke

emerges,

it says,

locusts on the earth

and they were given power

like the power

of scorpions

of the earth.

This is an obvious

allusion

to the Exodus,

like the eighth plague

of Egypt

in Exodus 10

where a dense swarm

of locusts

came from the east

and covered all

of Egypt

so that the land

was darkened.

Again,

that's another parallel.

And it says

that they ate

all the plants

in the land

and all the fruit

of the trees

that the hail

had left

so that not a green

thing remained

in all of Egypt

except for where

God's people,

the Israelites,

lived.

We're so far

living here

in Boston.

We're so far

removed from locusts.

I don't even know

if you guys

have even seen

a locust.

I don't know

that I've seen

a locust.

I've seen grasshoppers.

And it's hard

to imagine

how devastating

they can be

but we're more

bothered by pests

like rats here.

But desert locusts

are often called

the world's

most devastating

pests

for a reason.

When locusts

begin to form swarms,

they say that

they multiply

twentyfold

in three months.

Imagine their population

growing twentyfold

in three months.

And they can reach

densities of

thirty-one million

locusts

per square mile.

And they could

occupy many square miles.

So imagine

what that's like

if they covered

like, you know,

let's say even

they covered

their swarm

of eighty million

locusts

covering maybe

three or

three square miles

or so.

They can consume

the food equivalent

of about

thirty-five thousand

people.

What thirty-five thousand

people will eat

on any given day.

They could eat that

on a single day.

So you imagine

that kind of swarm

going through

your farmland.

There's nothing left.

That's how devastating

and dreadful,

how dreaded

these locust swarms

were in that part

of the world.

And so that's

what you should see,

what you should feel

when you hear locusts.

Once again,

the key difference

here is that

these locusts

are primarily,

I think,

symbolic.

I think

that's why,

I mean,

in 2020,

there were locust swarms

in East Africa

that were so bad

that the BBC

called them

the biblical

locust plagues

of 2020.

I'm sure

some people

were crying out

that this is

a fulfillment

of the revelation,

but I just

don't think so

because these

are demonic locusts.

These are not,

those are real locusts

that eat plants.

And these locusts

are not interested

in plants at all.

Revelation 9, 45,

it says specifically

that these locusts

were told

not to harm

the grass of the earth

or any green plant

or any tree,

but only those people

who do not have

the seal of God

on their foreheads.

They were allowed

to torment them

for five months,

but not to kill them.

So these locusts

are not interested

in green things

at all.

They're just interested

in people

and in particularly

people who have

not been sealed

with the name of God.

Moreover,

another remarkable thing

about locusts

that we know

from Proverbs 30, 27

is that locusts

have no king,

yet all of them

march in rank.

But we are told

here in Revelation 9, 11

that these locusts

have a king.

They have as their king

an angel

of the bottomless pits.

These are not

literal locusts.

We can also tell

that these locusts

are symbolic

from the composite imagery.

And notice just how many times

the word like

is used

in the description

of these locusts.

Verse 3,

they were given power

like the power

of scorpions

of the earth.

Verse 5,

their torment

was like the torment

of a scorpion

when it stings someone.

Verse 7,

in appearance

the locusts

were like horses

prepared for battle.

On their heads

were what looked

like crowns of gold.

Their faces

were like human faces.

Verse 8,

their hair is like

woman's hair

and their teeth

like lion's teeth.

In verse 9,

they had breastplates

like breastplates

of iron

and the noise

of their wings

was like the noise

of many chariots

with horses

rushing into battle.

Like, like, like, like.

These are similes.

This is the language

of figurative comparison.

John's doing his best

to describe

what he saw

in his vision.

He's not telling us

exactly what it is.

He's just describing them.

It's a picture

for us to imagine.

And they are representative

of the thing

that's behind it,

the substance

that's behind it.

And because these

are demonic,

clearly,

I don't think,

as some people

have claimed,

that these locusts

are a description

of the Apache helicopter

or some other

modern warfare

contraption

that's going to come

as a whore

to attack people

or whatever.

You know,

I don't think

that's the case.

You know,

it's a composite picture

of what demons

are like.

And this description

of their appearance

exaggerates

various aspects

of the locusts

to make them look

as hideous

as possible.

Instead of these,

like, regular

things that,

you know,

stick out of their mouths

like you've seen locusts,

they have lion's fans

right there.

Can you imagine

what they can do

with that?

How much more

they can eat,

chew down with that?

And they,

like,

normally they have scales,

called,

like,

their thoraxes

look like scaled armor,

but they actually

have breastplate

of iron.

That's what that looks like.

These are, like,

these are locusts

on demonic steroids.

And they appear,

like,

their sound is like

rumbling of chariots,

like a powerful army.

And most of this image

is taken,

actually,

from Joel 1, 2,

which describes

the day of the Lord,

day of the Lord's judgment

when a locust-like army

will come.

It says,

and then,

and they're described

as having lion's teeth.

Their appearance

is like the appearance

of horses.

And like the war horses,

they run,

as with the rumbling

of chariots,

like a powerful army,

it says in Joel 1, 6.

So,

but here,

I don't think

it's a physical army,

but a spiritual,

demonic one.

And so,

whenever you're tempted

by the seductive power

of the enemy,

whenever you're looking

at sin

and saying,

oh, man,

that looks really good.

That,

that looks like

a really happy lifestyle.

That,

that looks blessed.

You look at

the enemy's temptations,

then that's what you feel.

Imagine these hideous,

demonic locusts.

That's what you're dealing with.

Not some pleasant sweets.

Do you want anything

to do with these creatures?

Of course we don't.

Three times,

in verses 3, 5, and 10,

we are told that

these locusts

wield the power of scorpions.

Scorpion's sting

is an apt comparison

because their sting

is intensely painful,

but they are rarely fatal.

I hear that the scorpions

in the Middle East,

their stings

are even more painful

than the small kinds

you see in Arizona

and different places.

And,

but they're still not lethal.

And so,

it really fits well

with this,

the limitation

that God has placed

on them,

that they're not allowed

to kill

but only to torment.

And they're limited

for a five-month period.

And like most numbers

in Revelation,

that's probably also

a symbolic number.

But it's a symbolic number

that's readily available

because locusts,

their lifespan

is normally five months.

That's usually

how long locust swarms

stay around.

And then they,

I don't know if that's

their entire lifespan

or not.

But even during those five months,

they would normally

only consume

for short periods of that.

But these demonic locusts

are active

for the entire

five-month season.

And,

God has sovereignly

put boundaries

around the extent

and the duration

and the object

of their demonic activity.

As I've hinted already,

their extent is limited

in that they can only torment

but not kill.

Their duration is limited

in that they can only torment

for five months.

So,

at least it's not

for an indefinite period of time.

There's a limit to it.

It's going to end

at some point.

Their object

is limited

in that they cannot

torment those

who have the seal

of God

on their foreheads.

This is hearkening

back to chapter 7

where the 144,000

representing

the true Israel,

the full number

of God's elect people

were sealed

with the name

of the living God

so that they can be

identified as belonging

to God

and so that they can be

protected,

spiritually protected

from these ensuing judgments.

So,

this is not a physical seal

that you write

with a sharpie

or it's not

a computer chip

that someone's

going to put

inside your body.

This is a spiritual seal,

the name of the living God

and it's written

upon our souls

as Christians

by the Holy Spirit

and those who do not

have the seal

of the living God

are sealed

instead

with the name

of Satan's beast

in Revelation 13, 17

and these unbelievers

who are then

tormented

by these demon locusts

and there's no middle ground,

there's a neutral ground.

You're either taking

the mark of the beast

or you're taking

the seal

of the name

of the living God

and Jesus Christ.

Notice the striking parallels

with this passage

in Luke 10, 18-20

which I already referenced earlier.

Jesus said to his disciples,

I saw Satan fall

like lightning

from heaven.

Behold,

I've given you authority

to tread on serpents

and scorpions

and over all

the power

of the enemy

and nothing

shall hurt you.

Nevertheless,

do not rejoice

in this

that the spirits

are subject to you

but rejoice

that your names

are written

in heaven.

So here,

Jesus is explaining

having authority

over serpents

and scorpions

as having power

over the enemy.

Having authority

over all the powers

of the enemy.

So scorpions

and serpents

are symbols

of evil

because they cause

so much pain.

And so this is,

I think this is what

John is referring to here

in using that image

in this vision.

And so over,

this is,

if you are then

hurt by scorpions,

I think most likely

that it's referring

in the symbolic sense

to the spiritual torment

that the enemy,

the powers of the enemy

inflict upon those

who do not know

the Lord

and those who have not

been sealed

with the name of God.

If this is,

if this is,

lies in the future

and has yet

to be fulfilled,

I mean,

it's also possible

that there will be

a physical torment

inflicted by these demons.

But it's something

that believers

will be protected from.

And that's really ironic

if you think about it.

You think that,

I mean,

who are,

who's,

who's Satan against?

Satan's against God.

He's against God

and his people.

And you think that

if Satan's out

to get somebody,

he would try to,

to torment

the Christians,

the ones who do,

have the seal of God.

I'm sure he wants to,

but he can't.

He has no authority to.

And that's the irony

of it here,

is that instead,

Satan torments

those who belong to him,

those who have

the mark of the beast,

so that they long

to die.

That's what Satan

does to his followers.

Sometimes I hear

Christians say,

oh,

it's so hard

to be a Christian.

It would be nice

to be a non-Christian

and not have to worry

about fighting sin

all the time.

You've got to be kidding me.

You'd rather be

enslaved to sin.

You'd rather be

under divine condemnation.

You'd rather have

no eternal purpose

or ultimate fulfillment

in life.

You'd rather be afflicted

with this tormenting

power of Satan.

Absolutely not.

Don't think,

don't think for a moment

that Satan

will give you

an easy way out.

He will do everything

in his power

to make your life

a living hell.

Satan's horde

of demonic locusts

torment those

who do not know

Jesus Christ

and make them

long for death.

Imagine how

painful this is.

They long for death

because life

is such a torment

yet they cannot

have it.

Death eludes them.

It flees from them.

This is such a

dire picture

of

futility,

purposelessness,

despair,

hopelessness.

This condition

of unbelievers

here forms

a stark contrast

with the way

the believers

are described

in Revelation 12,

11,

as those who

bore faithful

witness to Jesus

Christ and loved

their lives

not unto death

because they were

killed,

basically,

because of their

faithful witness

to Jesus

by the unbelieving

world.

They were persecuted

and martyred.

And so,

these believers

were killed

by these unbelievers

but now they're

in the eternal joy

of an eternal life

and these people

who killed them

want to die

but cannot die.

That's the stark

contrast.

It's a fitting

punishment.

Now,

I think

if this is

referring to

something that's

already happening

and it's of a

spiritual nature,

of course,

there are Christians

who can sometimes

fall into hopelessness

and despair as well

but then how do you

square this reality

with verse 4

which says that

those who have

the seal of God

on their foreheads

are protected

from the torment

of these demonic locusts

and the difference

is that the non-Christians

do not have

the seal of God

while Christians

do have the seal

of God's protection

over them.

Ephesians 1,

13 to 14 says,

when we heard

the word of truth,

the gospel of our salvation

and believed in Jesus,

we were sealed

with the promised

Holy Spirit

with the guarantee

of our inheritance

until God redeems

his possession.

The Spirit of God

guarantees our heavenly

inheritance to us

and so we have a hope

that has substance

regardless of how you feel

in the moment.

It's not a wishful thinking

but it's hope

that is based on

and grounded in reality

of something that will

actually happen

in the future

and Christians

all have that hope.

We all have that seal

as opposed to

non-Christians

who do not.

We have the means,

access to the shield

of faith

as Ephesians 6, 16

which we can raise

in order to extinguish

the flaming darts

of the evil one.

Now let's look at

the second woe

which is the sixth trumpet.

When it's blown

it says it releases

the four angels

who are bound

at the great river

Euphrates.

This is reminiscent

of Revelation 7, 1

where there were

four angels

standing at the four corners

of the earth

and were holding back

the four winds

of the earth.

I think

there's some parallels

there but I think

these are different

angels because

there's a series

of escalation.

We saw

of the four horsemen

kind of the demonic angels

earlier Revelation 6

as well

and they were permitted

to take a fourth

of life

kill a fourth

of humanity

and here

they have the authority

to kill a third

of mankind

Revelation 9, 18

so there's an escalation here

and the four winds

in chapter 7

were restrained

until God's people

were sealed

but this second woe

occurs after

God's people are sealed.

So it says

in verse 15

that the four angels

had been prepared

for the hour

the day

the month

and the year

when they are released

to kill a third

of mankind

and so

that seems to indicate

a very definite

planned time

that God has in mind

when these four angels

are going to be released

and because of that

I think

whether you take

all of the trumpets

as lying in the future

or

you know

or most of it

except for the last two

perhaps

lying in the

lying in the present

and happening in the present

I think this seal

definitely lies

in the future

I don't want to say

definitely

because it's hard

to say anything

definitely

about these seals

and the trumpets

and the bowls

but I think

most likely

this is lying

in the future

because there's

an appointed time

prepared for the hour

the day

the month

and the year

to kill a third

of mankind

and that would fit

because even in

the seal series

it's in the sixth seal

that we begin to see

kind of the climactic

judgments

that will occur

in the future

and likewise

in the seventh bowl

the seventh

in the seventh bowl series

the sixth bowl

actually has so many parallels

to the sixth trumpet

both the demonic sources

originating from Euphrates

and in that

and in that

judgment

in Revelation 16

they assemble

the demonic

beings

that are released

assemble

deceive the kings

in order to

assemble an army

to wage war

against

against God

at the battle

of Armageddon

and so I think

it's possible

that this trumpet

sick trumpet

is paralleling

that sixth bowl

that pen ultimate

the second to last

sign

of divine judgment

before Christ returns

and the seventh seal

and the seventh bowl

seventh trumpet

are all

unleashed

I think they're

the seventh

of each of those series

are referring

to the final judgment

when these four angels

are released

they will appear

with mounted troops

that number

twice

ten thousand

times ten thousand

which is

if you take it literally

two hundred million

but I think

that's probably

a figurative number

for an extremely large

demonic horde

I saw somewhere

that

apparently like

there was a times

magazine article

in 1965

that's

before I was born

so I don't know

but I looked it up

and they said that

I heard some preachers

say that

China

boasted of

having an army

of two hundred million

soldiers

and that

and that

that's

fulfillment

of this

revelation

prophecy

and I looked up

the article

and it actually

doesn't say

two hundred million

I think it says

something closer

to like

twelve point five

million

and so

I don't know

who made that up

but

just this kind of

misinformation

is all over the

internet

so just don't

look on the internet

for these things

and

I think

the

but it's just

an extremely large

demonic horde

their horses

have heads

I mean

they may involve

human

who are doing

the demon's

bidding

but what's described

here is clearly

demonic

the horses have heads

that look like

lions heads

when have you ever

seen something like that

their mouths

they breathe out

fire and smoke

and sulfur

which are called

the three plagues

that kill a third

of mankind

and these horses

also have tails

which are like

serpents with heads

with which they wound

so this demonic

cavalry

wounds with their

serpent head

tails

and kill with

their lion-like heads

and they spew out

fire and smoke

and sulfur

the collar

of their breastplates

correspond to

what they spew out

from their mouths

the color

of fire

of sapphire

and of sulfur

sapphire

is literally

in Greek

hyacinth

which matches

the bluish

the hue

of the smoke

the color

of smoke

and the physical

death

that these

demonic hordes

will bring about

leads to

eternal

spiritual death

the second death

and

because these people

die without

repenting of their sins

this is signaled

by the mention

of the fire

and the smoke

and the sulfur

which are symbolic

of divine judgment

in Genesis 19

if you recall

in Sodom and Gomorrah

when God brings

judgment upon them

what rains down

is fire

and sulfur

and fire

and later

it makes the cities

burn with smoke

so fire and sulfur

and smoke

you see all of that

in Genesis 19

and then fire and sulfur

are also together

mentioned as a pair

elsewhere in Revelation

to represent God's

final judgment

for unrepentant sinners

it says in Revelation 21

8

but as for the cowardly

the faithless

the detestable

as for murderers

the sexually immoral

sorcerers

idolaters

and all liars

their portion

will be in the lake

that burns