Soon!

Here is a link to last week’s series, Soon.

Apollyon-destroyer.

The first woe is past. Behold, there are still two woes coming after this.

Revelation 9:12 (WEB)

We left chapter 8 as the fourth trumpet judgement has ended. The last three judgements faced by wicked people remaining on Earth will be like nothing the world has ever known.

God’s patience with sinful people has ended, yet He still shows a degree of mercy for those who have rejected Him repeatedly by shortening the time that these judgments will last.

God maintains control over the unfolding events, as Jesus holds the keys to death and hell (Revelation 1:18). The judgments are justified, and God is not responsible for the evil of mankind.

People have such a hard time wrapping their minds around this fact. God is holy and sinless, always. And the other fact is that even the best of mankind is not.

Even though the horrors of rejecting Christ are realized, the remaining people will not seek God’s offer of grace but instead will accept the mark of the beast.

Let’s look at the fifth trumpet judgement where a series of events unfold.

• The fifth angel blows his trumpet
• A demonic angel is thrown to Earth
• The demon, seen as a falling star, holds a key to the abyss.
• He opened the pit and thick smoke, and heat pour out.
• The smoke darkens the sun and the atmosphere.

Revelation 9:1 & 2 (WEB)

One day, that abyss will be occupied by Satan along with the antichrist and the beast.

The next three verses describe in graphic detail the horror that will begin once the pit is opened. One word used by Bible teachers to describe the demons and the evil unleashed is the word “malignant.”

When we think of that word, we think of disease, like cancer. The connotation is death, and it comes from the word “malign,” which means having evil intentions or being malevolent.

That is an apt description. These spirits will invade the world in all of their power, and destruction to harm people savagely.

These passages tell us that the demons are like locusts, but these demonic creatures are much more horrific. They will be known for their speed, subtlety, and number, and these creatures have the ability to inflict extreme pain and suffering.

However, the passage tells us that they will have no power to harm any green thing or the trees on earth, unlike real locusts. Locusts are known to devastate grass, trees and anything that would give sustenance to people.

The pain they cause is likened to a scorpion sting. People will desire death, but God will not allow them to die. For five months people will live in this horror but will never repent. The Bible tells us that the people who are suffering have accepted the mark of the beast.

Think back to this familiar verse.

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 6:12 (WEB)

The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people’s faces. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions.  They had breastplates like breastplates of iron. The sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots and horses rushing to war.  They have tails like those of scorpions, with stingers. In their tails they have power to harm men for five months. They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.

Revelation 9:7-12 (WEB)

Seed Basket will continue with the sixth trumpet next week.

Please, share the Gospel with your family and in your world. And pray for the Spirit of God to win many souls before these frightful days begin.

World English Bible (WEB)

by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.