Two of the Great Three Woes Revelation 9
Revelation 9 TWO WOES
When have you seen God use evil to accomplish His purposes?
How do you see God's authority over agents of evil in this passage?
What strikes you as most terrible about the description of the demonic locusts?
Why will people not repent, even after seeing the judgment of God?
"Idolatry is at the core of an unrepentant heart"? How would you explain this to someone who does not worship wood, metal, or stone idols?
How are idol worship and demon worship related?
Why does punishment spur sinful humanity toward greater rebellion?
Video: https://youtu.be/HGIG7CwHb-E
For older videos in this series on Revelation try Steve's zoom channel
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCNs0iOkWo_sL2u7vLPOCQ2Q
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Sources: Akin Christ centred Exposition of Revelation
Easley Revelation
Patterson (NAC) Revelation
Rogers Revelation Unveiling The End Times In Our Time
1 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. 2 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. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 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. 5 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. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
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, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 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. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 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.
12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 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. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 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 lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
20 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, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
The great reformer Martin Luther is credited with saying, "The Devil is still God's Devil." His point is that clearly Satan is both evil and powerful, but he is still under the authority of the sovereign Lord. There is only one sovereign God, and the Devil is not that God. The important truth is this: Ultimately nothing happens apart from the sovereign determination of God. Nothing! And when it comes to evil and the wicked, destructive devices of Satan, demons, and even human persons, God is not the author of evil even as He, for His good purposes, allows evil (Jas 1:13).
Remember how Satan had to get permission from God to pursue Job?
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.7 The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."8 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."9 Then Satan answered the LORD, "Does Job fear God for nothing?10 Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.11 But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face."12 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.
Job 2: 1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.2 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it."3 The LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause."4 Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.5 However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face."6 So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life." 7 Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
In Revelation 9, we even see our great God turning evil on itself. We see God using evil to judge evil, and He is rightly glorified in doing so.
Revelation 8:13 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 blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"
Of all the tribulation horrors, this may be the worst. It is called the three Woes!
Revelation 9: 1 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.
The star in this passage is not an inanimate star but an individual, a living "star."
Demons will be released from the bottomless pit upon the Earth.
The word translated "bottomless pit" is the Greek word for "abyss." Out of the abyss will come an invasion of demons upon the Earth.
These demons will be especially wicked, vile, hurtful, powerful and diabolical.
They are so vicious and destructive that God, in mercy, put them in a pit and locked them there. These are unlike other demons that still roam the Earth today. A special place has been prepared to hold these demons. And they are held there until this day of the first woe. A day that is yet to come. Enoch again mentions these demons held in these chains awaiting this day.
Luke 8:30-31 Remember when Jesus cast the demons out of the demoniac, they begged Him not to send them to the abyss.
There are certain fallen angels that are enchained. 2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
Jude .6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
2 Baruch 56 ≫For he 11 who was a danger to himself was also a danger to the angels. *For they possessed 12 freedom in that time in which they were created. #And some of them came down 13 and mingled themselves with women. ≪At that time they who acted like this were Gen 6:1-4 14 tormented in chains.0 ≫But the rest of the multitude of angels, who have no number, 15 restrained themselves. ≫And those living on earth perished together through the 16 waters of the flood.
1 Enoch 54:5,6 "For whom are these imprisonment chains0 being prepared?" • And he said unto me, "These are being prepared for the armies of Azaz'el, in order that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and as the Lord of the Spirits has commanded it, they shall cover their jaws with rocky stones.
The Watchers in 1 Enoch are consigned to a fiery abyss, and the sinners in the judgment share a like fate (e.g. lEn 90:23f.). Eternal fiery punishment of the wicked is a standard feature of the concept of the end-time of intertestamental Judaism.
They are doubly dangerous and are put into this penitentiary for evil spirits called the abyss.
The fallen star mentioned in Revelation 9:1 is Satan himself.
Lucifer, the star of the morning, son of the dawn (Isaiah 14:12), the anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28:14) was cast out of God's presence and heaven's glory when sin was found in his heart. Now as we move toward history's climax, he is allowed a diabolical freedom he was previously denied. The key (authority) to the bottomless pit (the abyss, mentioned 9 times in the New Testament), a prison house for demons (cf. Luke 8:31; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6) and the abode of the dead (Romans 10:7) is given [by God; divine passive] to him. Immediately he opens it (verse 2) and smoke, dark and hot, fills the air and darkens the sun. The beast, the Antichrist, will arise from the Abyss (11:7). Satan will be imprisoned there for 1000 years following the 2nd coming of Jesus (20:1-3).
During the Great Tribulation, Satan is given permission by Almighty God to open the door of the bottomless pit.
The vile, malevolent spirits that are incarcerated there will be set free.
There are eleven things we need to know about these spirits:
i) They are degenerate spirits. Infernal
They are the vilest of the vile. Qumran material demonstrates that the role of the angel of the abyss is like that of Belial, mentioned 33 times in the Dead Sea Scrolls and described about 27 times in the Old Testament as a worthless, good-for-nothing, base counselor of ruin. He was the military leader of the forces of darkness, who was allowed to be "unleashed against" Israel.
ii) They are darkening spirits.
Revelation 9:2
2 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
Satan is the prince of darkness, and there will be a choking demon darkness that will blot out the light during the Great Tribulation.
iii) They are devouring spirits. Insatiable
Revelation 9: 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 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.
These demons are described symbolically as locusts.
The Middle East has experienced swarms of locusts like great clouds that blot out the sun in the daytime and the moon at nighttime.
These locusts devour everything like an army.
Instead of feeding upon vegetation, these particular locusts will feed upon the hearts and souls of men.
They will inflict torment like a scorpion.
iv) They are debilitating spirits. Intolerable
Revelation 9:5 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. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
The torment will be so great that people who are alive at this time will want to die but will not be able to die.
v) They are dauntless demons. Irresistible.
Revelation 9:7 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
The Book of Joel, described Locusts that would invade the land of Judah.
What the locust swarm has left, the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left, other locusts have eaten.
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine; wail because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips.
A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees.
It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. Joel 1:4-7
Money cannot stop them, the military cannot stop them, no human ingenuity can stop them; they are dauntless.
vi) They are domineering spirits. Invincible.
Revelation 9: 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, 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
Satan has always wanted to wear a crown.
The world has said to the Lord Jesus, "We will not have You to rule over us."
So the world will have Satan and his demons to rule over them.
vii) They are deceptive spirits. Intelligent
Revelation 9: 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, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth;
In the Bible, the human face can be symbolic of intelligence.
This tells us that Satan is crafty, and he has a cunning plan. Satan is so subtle that when the antichrist comes upon the Earth, he will be able to make people think that up is down and down is up. People will gladly commit horrific crimes thinking that they are doing God a great service.
viii) They are defiling spirits. Insidious.
Revelation 9: 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 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.
"The hair of women" may be speaking of seduction and defilement. In many ways, these demons will seem alluring. They will have hair like women, faces like men and teeth like lions to rip, shred and devour. 1 Peter 5:8 These evil spirits are hideously beautiful and brilliantly deceptive.
ix) They are defiant spirits. Inescapable
Revelation 9: 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.
The groans and cries of their victims will be meaningless to them. Perhaps like Jet engines in noise. They will not be moved from their course of action.
x) They are durable spirits. Injurious.
Revelation 9: 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails.
Five months is the normal lifespan of a locust.
Five is also the number of completeness.
Until their deed is done, they cannot and will not be stopped.
Nothing but the hand of Almighty God will stop them.
xi) They are diabolical spirits. Indivisible.
Revelation 9: 11 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. 12 The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.
Both the names "Abaddon" and "Apollyon" mean destroyer.
They are organized, and there is a mastermind named "Abaddon," "Apollyon."
They have an internal guidance system that is moving them.
The Second Woe
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 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. 16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 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 lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
20 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, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
SATAN IS SINISTER, BUT GOD IS SOVEREIGN (Revelation 9:14)
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
If Revelation teaches us anything it teaches us that God is in control. He is Lord, He is sovereign. History has a purpose and that purpose is God's. History is following a plan and that plan is God's. We should never focus our eyes on the enemy's power. Revelation 9:14
The voice that speaks comes from the altar. This means that it is coming as an answer to our prayers.
The Euphrates River is both the cradle and the grave of human civilization. Genesis 2:14
The Euphrates River flowed out of the Garden of Eden. It was there that the first sin was committed. It was there that the first murder was committed. It was there that the Tower of Babel was built. It was there that Nimrod, a type and illustration of the antichrist, built the Tower of Babel. It is this river that divides the near East and the far East.
There is only so much these demon spirits can do.
God has restrained them until He is ready in the fullness of time to release them.
Satan cannot do whatever he wants whenever he wants.
God allows Satan to do certain things.
Satan is still on a leash; he is, in some measure, restrained.
Satan is sinister, but God is sovereign.
WITH GOD, TIMING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TIME (Revelation 9:15)
15 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.
In the original Greek, this Scripture reads, "prepared for the day, hour and year."
This pinpoints a specific day. God has a purpose, and everything is under God's control. Until that specific moment, it cannot happen.
"Release the 4 angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." These angels, I believe, are demons. Good angels are never said to be bound. The Euphrates marked to the east the boundary separating Israel from her primary enemies. Verse 15 reveals that God's plans are not accidental or willy-nilly. They had been prepared (perfect tense) for the 1) hour, 2) day, 3) month, and 4) year. This is a precise time. There is also a precise purpose. To kill 1/3 of mankind. Combined with Revelation 6:8, we discover that ½ of the earth's population will die as a result of the seal and trumpet judgments. The carnage is unfathomable. Verse 16 tells us there is a precise army 200,000,000 horsemen. John says, I heard the number. Some connect the army with the kings of the east in 16:12 and identify them with a human army.
Revelation 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
Armageddon 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.15 ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
The Euphrates marked the eastern boundary of the Roman empire in Asia Minor. On the other side of the river lay the Parthian empire which had inflicted humiliating defeats on the Roman legions in 53 B.C. and A.D. 62. So it is not surprising that the Romans were quite neurotic about the Parthian menace. 1 Enoch 56 envisions Parthians and Medes being stirred up by evil angels and invading Palestine like hungry wolves. John may allude to this widespread fear (cf. 6:2).. If you were part of the Roman Empire of the first century, you considered the Parthian Empire to be the evil empire. It perched on the east side of the Euphrates River, although its center of power lay much farther east of old Babylon and Persia, southeast of the Caspian Sea. The Parthian warriors were fearsome, regaining independence (after being defeated by Alexander the Great) in the third century B.C. They defeated the Roman generals Crassus (53 B.C.) and Mark Antony (36 B.C.), and were not subdued until the early second century A.D. The Roman people expected the Parthians to cross the Euphrates and attack Rome. In particular their bowmen in chariots were fierce, with the skill of shooting arrows both ahead and behind. Retreating from battle, their archers shot poisoned arrows over their shoulders causing the same effect as the poison of scorpion tails. According to some accounts Parthian warriors wore long flowing hair, but twisted the tails of their horses into snake-like ropes.
John explicitly noted that these four demonic angels had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year. Only when God's eschatological "hour" strikes, only then will they be released
God is strategically moving in the world at His own timing.
God is never ahead of time, and He is never late.
God is on time. With God, timing is more important than time.
WHEN RESTRAINT IS REMOVED, BATTLES BEGIN (Revelation 9:16-19)
16 The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. 17 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 lions' heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.
When God takes the leash off an incredible battle begins. This is may not be the battle of Armageddon, but it is setting the stage for Armageddon.
The battle depicted in Revelation 9 speaks of an army of 200 million.
This passage mentions "armies" plural.
The war that is described appears like a symbolic description of modern warfare.
But besides this, the Bible uses the word armies. Now we see it in verse 16 of Revelation chapter 9, "And the number of the army of the horsemen." Actually, that's plural. The number of the armies and the war that is described here it seems like a symbolic description of modern war. They have breastplates of fire and of jacinth. Jacinth is the color of hot, blue flame like would come out of the mouth of a gun. These instruments of war shoot fire, and smoke, and brimstone. They have tails like the tails of serpents. It sounds very much like modern tanks, and helicopters, and rockets that we would see today. Of course, nobody knew anything about helicopters or airplanes; nobody knew anything about tanks. They knew something about horses, prepared to battle.
The beast, the antichrist, will come out of the old Roman empire.
This ruler will make a treaty with Israel.
This treaty will incite the Muslim world, which is stretched along the Euphrates River.
There will come a war centered along the Euphrates where 200 million people will march.
Ezekiel 37, 38 and 39. As this northern power comes down and makes an alliance with all of these others round about. Turkey and others will come against Israel. Who will win in that battle? Rosh will come down Russia perhaps.
Well, the Bible says there's going to come a great shaking in the land of Israel. Will it be an earthquake? Will it be an atomic war? We'll see. But out of that, the West will prevail, and there will be a geo-political vacuum, and in that geopolitical vacuum, ah, the beast will move. And now he will be ensconced as virtually the world leader. All the world will wonder after the beast. And we'll say, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war against the beast?" All the world will wonder after the beast.
Then God will remove His restraining hand and let the four angels loose.
Man, who has wanted to live his own life in his own way, will now have his opportunity.
IF GOD'S LOVE DOESN'T BRING REPENTANCE, THEN GOD'S JUDGMENT BRINGS REBELLION (Revelation 9:20-21)
20 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, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
One would think that, in light of all these events, people would be horrified; in actuality, people will be hardened.
People are not changed because of punishment.
To "gnash their teeth" means to snarl; they are gnashing their teeth against God.
They are not asking God for mercy.
Repentance. You and I live in an age where we can repent. Repentance is turning from our sins. We see the sinfulness of mankind in so many ways today. But the sinfulness of mankind is reflected in our own human hearts. We each need to turn from those sins that get a grip on our human hearts. Repentance is not only turning from our sins it is also turning to the Lord Jesus Christ who is our great God and Saviour who came to die for our sins to make us right with God.
You and I need a new heart, a new birth to know the living God. And we must be faithful in helping others to repent before there comes a time when people would rather die than repent.
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