Turn back with me to the book of Revelation. Chapter 9. I was thinking about
that scripture that Brother Scott just read. We read this morning out of Romans
4. verse 5, it says, ìBut to him that worketh not, but believeth
on him that justifies the ungodly.î Thatís what God does. He justifies
the ungodly. Okay. Revelation. Revelation chapter
9. Let's just pick right up where
we left off this morning. It was said in verse 5, and to
them it was given that they should not kill them. Life and death
is in the hands of Almighty God, but that they should torment,
they should test, try them. Try them by the gospel, by the
preaching of the gospel. These are tormented, tested,
as with a touchstone for five months. the duration, the natural
duration of a locust as representative of the natural duration of these
false preachers. And their torment was as the
torment of a scorpion when it striketh a man, when that man
realizes what will happen. And verse 6 actually brings to
light what was last said in the fifth chapter when it says, in
their torment, as the torment of a scorpion, in that day when
God Almighty reveals what has truly come to pass. And it says, in those days, verse
6, men shall seek death and shall not find it, and shall desire
to die and death shall flee from them." Now, when we consider,
first of all, in those days, for us to understand what those
days are talking about, we've got to look at some of the descriptions
concerning those days. There's no way of knowing what
days are you talking about in those days? Now, I don't speak
Greek. I don't speak good English. But
especially, I don't speak Greek. And the only thing that I know
about Greek is what I look up. And if that says that's Greek,
I look up that word and I say, that's the Greek word. And using
Greek words to impress you is not going to. So I'll bypass
except to tell you that the phrase, in those days, though it looks
like it's those days, there's really two thoughts that set
forth in those days. In those days, and the Greek
word for that phrase right there is meaning particular or yonder. When the Lord said to His disciples,
you stay here and I'm going to go yonder and pray. It was a particular place that
He meant. This word or this phrase, in
those days, those, that word those, that's what it means.
Particular or that one. Though it appears to be days,
it has a meaning of particular. In that day is the first meaning
of that. And you know that when we say
in that day, it means actually describing what was said in verse
5, and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he
striketh a man. And in those days, in that day,
in that particular day, in that yonder day, men are going to
realize the sting of being exposed by the judge. Now, to understand
why this speaks of that day specifically on the judgment, and then secondly,
I said there were two things involved, secondly, it means
and following, eternal, though days will be no more. But the
thing that we understand is that, think about this, you know that
first of all, that men are being tormented right now. In the sense, they're being tried
and tested. The gospel is being preached. The touchstone, the gospel of
free grace. Men say, I'm pure gold. I'm gold. I'm solid. Sixteen
ounces to the pound. That's me. Well, let's see. Being tormented. No, you've been
weighed in the balance, and you've been found wanting. Men are being tormented, tested,
tried right now in this world as we know it. And in those days,
in the great day of judgment, the Scripture says men shall
seek death. Now the next few things I said
to understand what those days meant, we've got to kind of look
in the rest of verse 6 and find out what is being described about
those days. In those days, men shall seek
death. Now, you know, if a man truly,
right now, if a man truly was seeking death, then there is
an alternative if he's got it within the power to accomplish
what he wants. He can't commit suicide if that's
what he truly desires to do. But let me tell you about these
days. These are being tormented as
a scorpion. God's people are sealed. They're kept. Kept from this
judgment right here. Before this judgment could come
out upon this earth, God sealed all of His servants and kept
them. But I'm telling you so that you
that believe can understand and think about the indescribable
mercy and grace of Almighty God. I know and I understand and I
see and I hear just like you do. There are those that will
say to a believer, do you honestly believe that you're the only
ones in this world that are Christians? Paul says, if any man preaches
any other gospel, if you believe any other gospel than that which
we've preached unto you, let him be accursed. Yes, that's
exactly what I mean. In those days, in that one, in
that yonder day, in that particular day, men shall seek death. That word, seek, right there,
means this, to worship. When the Scripture says, they
that seek Me, the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of Himself, you'll
find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. If God gives
a man a heart after Christ, he'll seek Him. He'll long after Him. He'll look to Him. In those days,
Men shall seek death, or they will make death that which is
the only thing to them. They will plot against life."
They will seek death. Seek means to worship, longing,
hungering after it. They will seek death, meaning
a separation of man from God. That's what that word means,
to be separated. This is what happened when Adam
rebelled against Almighty God when he ate of the fruit of that
tree. The Lord says, in the day that
you eat of the fruit, you are going to die. There will be a
separation. Man died spiritually, and he
did. And the Scripture says, in those
days men shall seek They shall worship. They shall long after
a separation from God. And they shall not find it. They shall not obtain it. They
shall desire to die. They shall covet and lust after
it. And death, the Scripture says,
shall flee from them. It shall escape them like a fugitive. Now, if this was talking about
any day, just one day, just some day, well, you'd say if they
truly wanted to die, they'd accomplish that. But this is talking about
something that's going to sting a man like a scorpion stings
him. He got him, for he knew it. Men
and women outside of Christ, though at this time They see
no need of Him, shall in those days wish that they had never
been born. It would have been better for
me to have never been born than to suffer the wrath of Almighty
God." That's exactly what that means. These locusts are sent
into this world out of the smoke, out of the pit of the bottomless
pit, out of the pit of hell itself. Almighty God in His indescribable
mercy and grace has sealed His people, kept them by His power,
that they should not be hurt. In verse 4, that these locusts
that were not going to hurt the grass or the green things, the
tree, but only those men that have not the seal of God. You
know what keeps you from believing a lie? The grace of God, the
power of God, the mercy of Almighty God. And then it says in the
shapes, verse 7, the shapes of the locusts were likened to horses
prepared unto battle. Now, the shapes or the form or
the resemblance gives us the characteristics of these hellish
locusts, which are actually preachers, false preachers in our time and
past, and if the Lord tarries in the future, that preach not
the gospel of God Almighty and His free grace. I tell you, I know that in a
sense that we don't think as Strongly as we ought to against
men that don't preach the truth. A man that stands up in a pulpit
and preaches a false gospel. The scripture says that man's
making a merchandise for men's souls. They're liars. I'm telling you how much was
set forth of the Lord Jesus Christ and then of the apostles when
they wrote concerning false prophets. Liars don't have... Don't bid
them Godspeed. Don't let them come. Don't let
them get in this pulpit. Don't do anything. They are liars. They'll lie to you. They're liars. But these descriptions, the shapes
of these locusts, likened to horses prepared unto battle,
these locusts, verse 4 says, it was commanded them that they
should not hurt. Well, verse 3, it says, it came
out of the smoke, locusts upon the earth, and unto them was
given power. So I know that they had some power. But the Scripture
says that these that were given power, in verse 3, they were
given power to hurt, verse 4, those that had not the seal of
God in their foreheads. These locusts are men, and now
these brazen women that stand in pulpits and think themselves
to be called of God, to be preachers, And you know, I'm not going to
get into that right now. I'll just get upset. These men
stand and they see themselves as valiant warriors for Christ
that they've created in their mind. They see themselves as
serving a God, a liturgy God, that needs them to do battle
for Him and bring souls into the kingdom of their creation. On Tuesday night, they'll make
men and try to get men to be soul winners and go through the
Roman road. Maybe you don't know what that
is, but it's just a cleverly devised program whereby men will
take Scriptures and try to use one Scripture against another
Scripture and try to get you to make a decision for Christ
so that you won't call God a liar. If you want to know what it was,
I'll try to remember and show you how it was. But these men,
the Scripture says, The shapes are like in the horses that are
prepared for battle. These men, the Scripture says,
concerning the Pharisees, they compass sea and land to make
one proselyt. And when he's made, you make
him twofold more the child of hell than they themselves. They're like horses. They're
given power. And if they come with a strong
delusion from the Lord Himself, God will send them strong delusion
that they should believe a lie. These locusts, the shape of these
locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. They come
forth powerfully and on their heads were, as it were, crowns
like gold. You see, these false teachers,
they see themselves as worthy of honor and wear in their minds
the crown of this Pseudo-gold. False or counterfeit gold. I want you to turn with me to
Matthew. Turn back to Matthew 23. Matthew 23. Matthew 23. Let's look at verses
1 to 12. Matthew 23. Then spake Jesus
to the multitude and to His disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees,
sit in Moses' seat. All therefore whatsoever they
bid you observe, that observe and do." What he was saying was,
what they are saying is the truth. But do not after their works,
for they say and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and
grieve us to be born, and lay them on men's shoulders but they
themselves would not move them with one of their fingers. But
all their works they do for to be seen of men. They make broad
their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments.
They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats
in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, to be called
of men Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi, for
one is your master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And
call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father
which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters,
for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest
among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself
shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be
exalted." Don't call any man father on this earth. Had somebody
come up to me the other day and said he was a preacher. I guess
he was. He introduced himself to me as Reverend So-and-so,
didn't he, Scott? Yeah, I'm Reverend So-and-so. It just kind of ruined my afternoon. The Scripture says holy and reverend
is God's name. Would you come up to me or come
up to any other gospel preacher and say, Holy, Holy, I know in
Christ, I know in Him, by the imputed righteousness of Him,
that I am found without blame. But don't call anybody the name
that is due God Almighty. His Father said, No, it's not. Call no man Father. Call no man
Master. You have one Master, God Almighty. These locusts, that's what they
are. They're locusts. They're shaped
like horses prepared to bite. On their heads was as it were
crowns of gold. Pseudo gold. False gold. And they see themselves as worthy
of something. They love the praises of men. And as hypocrites, they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets
that they may be seen of men," the Scripture says, they have
their reward. And it says, "...and their faces
were as the faces of men." Their visage, the way they appear. They look like they're sheep. They look like men, but they're
wolves in sheep's clothing. And though they see themselves
as above others, They are not what they think themselves to
be. Their faces, their countenance, their presence, their men. Men, at best, altogether vanity. And then in verse 8, it says,
"...and their hair as the hair of women." They had hair like
women. Now let me tell you what this
speaks of. This speaks of men that are shameful. They are as
prostitutes. Shameful men. Let me show you. Turn over. We've read this before
in Proverbs chapter 7. This is a description of false
religion, false church, liars on God. It says they have hair
as the hair of a woman. Shameful. Proverbs 7, verse 1,
My son, keep My words, and lay up My commandments with thee.
Keep My commandments, and live in My law as the apple of thine
eye. Bind them upon thy fingers. Write
them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou
art My sister, and call understanding thy kin's woman, that they may
keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth
with her For at the window of my house I looked through my
casement, and I beheld among the simple ones. I discerned
among the youths a young man void of understanding." Now you
listen to this. Here is the picture of a man
left to himself, a woman left to herself, fooled and beguiled
with strong delusion. The harlot, the great harlot
that we will look at later in this book, this great harlot
of false religion. These locusts, they said they
had long hair like women. They are harlots. It says, I
discerned among the youths a young man, bored of understanding,
passing through the streets near her corner. And he went away
to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black
and dark night. And behold, there met him a woman
with the attire of a harlot and subtle of heart. She is loud
and stubborn, Her feet abide not in her house. Now is she
without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.
So she caught him, kissed him, and with impudent face said unto
him, I have peace offerings with me. This day have I paid my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet
thee diligently, to seek thy face. I found thee. I decked
my bed with covering of tapestry, with carved works, with fine
linen of Egypt, I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloe, cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of
love till the morning. Let us solace ourselves with
love, for the good man is not at home. He has gone a long journey. He has taken a bag of money with
him, and will come home at the day appointed. And with her much
fair speech she caused him to yield with the flattering of
her lips. She forced him. He goeth after her straightway
as an ox, goeth to the slaughter as a fool to the correction of
the stocks till a dart strike through his liver, as a bird
hasteneth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life."
These locusts that they're talking about, John says they have the
hair as the hair of a woman. They're harlots, prostitutes,
religious prostitutes, alluring men as harlots do that attract
through the ornaments of emotionalism Sensationalism, the simple, the
blinded ones, and they pretend to love them, but they are nothing
but cruel, devouring teeth that John says next have teeth as
lions. They do as their father does,
going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The Scripture says in Matthew
23, 14, Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites,
for you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long
prayers. Therefore you shall receive the
greater condemnation. Who are they, these false preachers? Well, I'll tell you who they
are. They're prepared for battle, and on their heads they have
crowns like gold, and their faces are the faces of men. hair as
the hair of a woman, and their teeth as the teeth of lions. And verse 9 says, "...and they
had breastplates as it were..." I want you to notice how many
times when it says, "...and crowns as it were gold." And they had
horses, like unto horses, on their faces, as the faces. They had hair as it was. Never
anything definite. Here they had breastplates as
it were breastplates of iron. They had themselves convinced
of invincibility. Turn over to Isaiah 28. Isaiah
28, as they were, were strong, were
secure. Isaiah 28, 14, Wherefore, hear
the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which
is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, we've made
a covenant with death. And what that means, and with
death are we in agreement. What that means is this. I've
settled this thing with hell and death. I've made my profession
of faith. I've given my heart to Jesus.
I exercise my free will. We made a covenant with death,
and with hell we're at agreement. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come upon us, they said.
Why? Because they think they've got
breastplates that are like iron. I'm protected. Mark, there's
no way it's going to get me. But we've made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood if we hid ourselves Therefore, thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation of stone,
a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth
shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet." You know, when a man's
building something, if you want to know what's plumbed, if you
want to know what level Well, just get you a string and a plumb
bob and drop it. And I want to tell you something,
that plumb bob is going straight down. There's the standard. Everything else, whatever we
put up against that string, the wall, whatever, if it don't match
up to that string right there, then it's not plumb. That string's
plumb. Judgment also will I lay to the
line, and righteousness to the plummet, and the hail shall sweep
away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding places, and your covenant with death..." You said you made
a covenant with death. We're in agreement. We're okay.
"...your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your
agreement with hell shall not stand when the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, and then shall you be trodden down by
it." These back in Revelation 9. The Scripture says they had
breastplates as it were. of iron, and the sound of their
wings." They were like locusts, you know. The sound of their
wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. I want you to turn back now.
We looked at one verse in Joel. Look back with me in Joel. Ezekiel,
Daniel, Hosea, Joel. If you find Ezekiel and Daniel,
you're almost there. Joel chapter 2. Joel 2. Joel 2, verse 1, ìBlow ye the
trumpet and Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain.î Thatís
what weíre doing tonight. Weíre blowing the trumpet of
the Gospel, the truth. ìLet all the inhabitants of the
land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at hand, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds
and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains, a
great people and a strong one. There hath not been ever the
like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of
many generations." It's talking about, listen, it's talking about
these locusts. That's what he's talking about
right here. A fire devoureth before them, and behind them
a flame burneth. The land is as the garden of
Eden before them, and behind them desolate wilderness. Yea,
and nothing shall escape them except by the grace of God. The appearance of them is as
the appearance of horses, and as horsemen so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on
the tops of mountains shall they leap like the noise of a flame
of fire that devoureth the stubble, and as a strong people set in
battle array. Before their face the people
shall be much pained. All faces shall gather blackness.
They shall run like mighty men." That's what it said about them.
These were like horses prepared for battle. They shall climb
the wall like men of war. They shall march every one on
his ways, and they shall not break their ranks, neither shall
one trust or thrust another. They shall walk every one in
his path. And when they shall fall upon
the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and
fro in the city. They shall run upon the wall.
They shall climb up on the house. They will enter in at the houses
like a thief. The earth shall shake before
them. The heavens shall tremble. The sun and the moon shall be
dark. And the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall
utter His voice before His army. For His camp is very great, for
He is strong that executeth His word. For the day of the Lord
is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? Therefore also
now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart,
and with fasting, with weeping, with mourning. And rend your
heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God.
For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness
and repentance. Him of the evil. Who knoweth
if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind Him,
even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?"
These men, it says when they come through, they are going
to be the sound of their wings. They shall be as the sound of
chariots, of many horses running to battle. This thing right here,
this world has no earthly idea. the judgment of God that's on
it. And let me tell you, whether
you realize it, and I know that you that believe do, this is
a haven. You're talking about a haven
of rest. What a privilege to be able to,
number one, have a place to worship, have a heart to worship. I have a heart that would long
after Lord, teach me. Tell me one more time how You've
kept me from the evil of judgment upon this world. And the Scripture
says in verse 10, they had tails like unto scorpions. And there
were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men for
five months. We went over most of this and
that other, but as a scorpion stings with the venom of its
tail, these false preachers sting all who have not the seal of
God. within their foreheads with their heresy and doctrines of
devils. And men, they hear that, and
they believe it, and they hold to it, and they say, I've made
refuge. I mean, I've made myself a refuge
of lies. And they say, I've made a covenant
with death. Only a believer realizes what
God's kept him from. Only a believer sees the indescribable
mercy of Almighty God and the judgment that is actually going
on right now. This is happening right now. He is locusts out here. Verse 11, it says, 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 Now, Proverbs 30 verse 27 says this, The locusts
have no king, yet go they forth, all of them by bands. No locust has a king. There is
not a king locust as far as locusts are concerned. But these locusts,
they have a king over them. And I'll tell you who their king
is. He's the angel of the bottomless pit that fell in the beginning
of this chapter, Satan himself. Because the Scripture says this
is his name, Abaddon in the Greek tongue, Apollyon, the destroyer. Abaddon means destruction. Apollyon
means the destroyer. That's who their king is. They
move at His bidding, power that has been given Him by He who
is all-powerful, who does all things after the counsel of His
own will. And even in this destruction
that goes forth, we shall see in these later verses how God
Almighty uses even those that rebel against Him. in bringing
His own unto Himself. In conclusion, I want you to
turn with me to Psalm 91, and I want you to remember while
you are turning there, this is what verse 12 says, and I will
just read this. It says, ìOne woe is past, and
behold, there comes two woes more hereafter.î Here is the
If you remember the angel that came through at the end of chapter
8, it says, Woe, woe, woe. This is one of them. This is
one. This is a great woe in this world
today. There are men as false prophets,
false preachers that come out of the smoke. Divine constraint
is upon them. They are not going to be hurt.
They are not going to be able to hurt any. but those that have
not the seal of God in their foreheads." They can't kill them. God Almighty is going to do that.
But they will torment for five months. They'll test them. They're
going to show what they are. And in those days, it's going
to be like a scorpion that stings a man. When he hears God Almighty
saying to him, depart from me, they'll know. Then they will
in that day seek death, and they won't be able to find it. They'll
desire to die, and death will flee from them. These men are
like horses prepared for battle, on their heads as it were crowns
like gold, faces as the faces of men, hair as the hair of women,
teeth like the teeth of lions, breastplates as it were blessed
breastplates of iron, the sound of their wings as the sound of
chariots, many horses running and battling, tails like scorpions,
stinging their tails. Their power was to hurt men five
months. How did they hurt them? Heresy.
Heresy. And had a king over them, which
is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew
is Abaddon. In the Greek, it is Apollyon.
One wolf passed. Behold, two more wolves. More
hereafter. Now, Psalm 91. And with this,
I am going to close. Psalm 91, verse 1 to 11. Scripture says, He that dwelleth. And before I even read this,
this is a prophetic speaking, ultimately, as the psalm always
does, of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you that believe because
of Him. being found in Him, there is
now for no condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. But
I want you to look at the security of a believer because they're
sealed by Almighty God, by the Spirit of God teaching them,
protecting them of the Lord Jesus Christ. He that dwelleth in the
secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow
of the Almighty I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and
my fortress. My God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings
shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield
and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid. for
the terror by night, nor for the air that flyeth by day, nor
for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not
come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou
behold and see the reward of the wicked, because thou hast
made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high thy habitation.
there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come
nigh thy dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over thee
to keep thee in all thy ways." You know the comfort that a believer
has is that when he sees the judgment of Almighty God that
is upon this earth right now, he realizes, I am what I am. by the grace of God, that Almighty
God would call me out of darkness. Why would He call me? Why would
He give me a heart? Why would He give me a willingness
to come? Why would He reveal to me, I
have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore, have I drawn
you? Why? Because He chose to do so. You know, that will shut a man's
mouth. What is a man going to boast in save the Lord Jesus
Christ? Him and Him alone. If a man is
going to glory, let him glory in Christ.