Christ Brings Judgment

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. Apollyon...: That is to say, A destroyer One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. for an hour...: Or, at And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. - Revelation 9:1-22

    ‘And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them’ (Revelation 9:6)

    The Lord God declares, ‘I make peace, and create evil’ (Isa. 45:7). In this chapter, we see the Lord Jesus Christ, as he continues opening the seventh seal, bringing the evils of providential judgment upon the earth. Because of his mediatoral obedience as our Savior, the Father ‘hath committed all judgment unto the Son’ (John 5:22), and has ‘given him power over all flesh’ to execute judgment in the earth for the saving of his elect (John 17:2). John is describing the seven trumpet judgments which he saw with the opening of the seventh seal (8:1). These are divine, providential acts by which the Lord God both vindicates himself and avenges his own elect. Four of the angels blew their trumpets in chapter 8. Then, John writes, ‘I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!’ (8:13). The voice was loud and clear. Its message was unmistakable. The three trumpet judgments that were yet to be revealed would be far worse than the four described in chapter eight. Two of the remaining three woes are described in chapter nine. In this chapter, we are clearly taught four important lessons.

    ‘We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God’ (Acts 14:22)

    Without question, Revelation 9 speaks of a time of great tribulation in this world. As long as time shall stand God's people in this world must endure great tribulation. Sometimes the tribulation is greater and more evident than at other times. But in this world, tribulation is our lot (John 16:33). And, frequently, the tribulations through which we pass are the direct result of God's judgments upon the wicked. Yet, the message of Revelation 9 is not one of gloom and doom. Tribulation must come; but God's elect shall not be hurt. That is the meaning of verse 4. Those who trust the Lord Jesus Christ have the seal of God upon them. Being chosen of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, the saints of God are always safe and secure. They shall endure to the end. Even these times of great tribulation shall prove to be for their spiritual and eternal good (Rom. 8:28). Even in his acts of judgment, God is for us; and he will do us good (Ps. 23:6).

    There will be seasons of great apostasy in the world until Christ comes again (vv. 1-12)

    This first ‘woe’ is, perhaps, the greatest of all woes in this world, though few realize it. Because they ‘receive not the love of the truth,’ because they will not believe the gospel, God leaves impenitent sinners to themselves, under the power of satanic delusion! Apostasy, falling away from the truth of God, has been the curse of multitudes throughout the history of the church, both in the Old Testament and in the New. Yet, as the end of the age approaches, the Scriptures warn of a general, universal apostasy. It shall be a deception so great that, were it possible, even God's elect would be deceived by it (Matt. 24:22-24; 2 Thess. 2:1-12; I Tim. 4:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 4, 12-19). In these verses, John shows us how and why these times of great apostasy come.

    John ‘saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth’ (vv. 1-2). This star is satan (Luke 10:18). This is the devil's present condition. Having rebelled against God, he lost his original position of holiness and splendor (Isa. 14:12-14). The key to the bottomless pit symbolizes authority and power over hell. But notice that satan had this key given to him. Satan has great power. But he has absolutely no power except that which has been given to him by Christ, who bound him with the mighty chain of omnipotent sovereignty at Calvary (John 12:31; Rev. 20:1-3). It is satan who opens the pit of hell and fills the world with demonic influence (v. 2). John sees hell belching forth the filthy, black smoke of a great furnace, polluting the earth. That black smoke represents the deception and delusion of heresy. Freewill, works religion is the religion of hell. It so blinds men with ignorance, superstition, and moral degradation that it blots out the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Let none be mistaken. These times of satanic delusion are acts of divine judgment by which God warns men of his wrath and calls them to repentance (Prov. 1:23-33).

    The locusts coming up out of the pit represent all false prophets, the messengers of satan, who promote the religion of antichrist (vv. 3-6). A plague more terrible than the plague of locusts is hard to imagine (Ex. 10:4-15; Joel 1:7-12). Locusts leave destruction and desolation in their path. But these hellish locusts do not feed upon vegetation, but upon the souls of men! (See 2 Cor. 11:1-4, 13-15). They are given power by God (v. 30). Notice again that their power is given to them. Like scorpions, they poison the men and women of the earth with heresy. But they have no power to hurt God's elect (v. 4). Christ, who has absolute dominion even over false prophets (2 Peter 2:1), commands them not to hurt God's sealed ones. God's elect cannot be hurt (deceived) by the heresies of men, because the seal of God is in their foreheads (1 Cor. 11:19; 1 John 2:20). Verse 5 tells us that these distressing times of prevailing heresy are limited by divine decree to specific periods of time. As God raised up men like Luther and Calvin to break the arms of papacy, so he will raise up chosen men to break the back of Arminianism at his appointed time. Though the power of the locusts is limited, they do great harm to the souls of men (v. 6). False religion never gives real freedom and peace. It thrives on, controls, and motivates by guilt. Those who have a religion of works, constantly reminding them of their guilt, are poisoned in their souls. Having no true sense of pardon, they soon grow weary of life. Their religion is a constant source of torment to them. Nothing but the truth, salvation by grace alone through the merits of Christ's blood and righteousness, makes sinners free and takes away their guilt (John 8:32; Heb. 9:14; Jer. 6:16).

    In verses 7-11, John gives us the characteristics of these hellish locusts. God's servants preach one thing - ‘Christ crucified’ (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:5). The messengers of Satan preach many things. But their message always makes salvation to be ultimately dependent upon and determined by the will, works, and worth of man. False prophets always have certain identifying characteristics too. They march through the world like horses prepared for battle (v. 7), presenting themselves as valiant warriors for truth and righteousness. They love the honor of men (v. 7), wearing crowns like gold, loving the praises of men. They are flatterers of human flesh (v. 7). Having ‘ the faces of men,’ they have a show of compassion. Having ‘hair as the hair of women’ (v. 8), they are alluring, charming, and impressive. Like harlots in gaudy clothes (Prov. 7), these religious hucksters attract simple souls by the gaudy ornaments of religious ritualism, emotionalism, and sentimentalism, pretending to love them. They are spineless, effeminate men, soft and luxurious. But they are cruel, devouring beasts with teeth ‘as the teeth of lions’ (v. 8). False prophets have ‘breastplates of iron’ (v. 9). They carefully defend and protect themselves; and their hearts are as hard as steel. Like locusts beating the air, they make tremendous noise (v. 9). When John says, ‘they have tails like scorpions’ with the sting of death (v. 10), he is telling us that their doctrines, the doctrines of freewill, works religion, are damning. In verse 11, we are told that the king of this hellish squadron is Satan, the Destroyer (Apollyon). With that statement, he tells us plainly that he is describing men, not a literal swarm of locusts, because locusts have no king (Prov. 30:37). This first woe has to do with spiritual matters, false religion and false prophets. There will be seasons of apostasy in the world until Christ comes again. The second woe speaks of physical judgments and earthly trials.

    The apostle shows us that times of sorrow, destruction, and death are divine judgments by which God warns us of wrath to come (vv. 13-19)

    The sixth trumpet describes war, not one particular war, but all wars, past, present, and future. Like all other things, the ravages of war are under the direct rule of our exalted God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the picture, not in isolated parts, but as a whole and learn four things. (1.) The powers of evil in this world are graciously restrained until God turns them loose to accomplish his purpose (vv. 13-14; Ps. 76:10). (2.) When sinners are ripe for punishment, the instruments of God's wrath will be turned loose upon them (v. 14). These angels of destruction are bound until the time of judgment comes. Then they are turned loose, but only to do God's bidding. (3.) The duration of wars and the damage inflicted by them is determined, not by men, but by God (vv. 15-19). The horsemen and the horses, equipped with all the machinery of war (guns, cannons, bombs, etc.), belching fire, smoke, and brimstone, have but one purpose - to kill and to destroy. (4.) The purpose of God in wars, as in all temporal, providential judgments, is to warn men and women of wrath and judgment to come (Jer. 5:3-4; Ps. 78:22-33; Amos 4:6-13).

    Fourthly, verses 20 and 21 show us that all men are so obstinately sinful and rebellious that judgment alone will never bring them to repentance. ‘It is the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance’ (Rom. 2:4). Neither the threats of the law nor the terrors of wrath will produce true repentance, but the goodness of God revealed in the crucified Christ will (Zech. 12:10).