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On Oct 10, 2010: Revelation 9 Demonic Trumpet Judgments · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010. I'd like to remind you of something that we talked about back in chapter 1 of the book of Revelation, where in chapter 1 verse 3 it says, "'Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.'" And I call your attention back to that. I point you back to that to kind of encourage you and remind you. Sometimes I know it can be difficult. We read 21 verses this morning. And the reason why I make you stand up and read it together is specifically here in the book of Revelation. We're given this promise of blessing. He says, blessed are those who read and those who hear and those who keep the things that are written in this prophecy because the time is near. And I hope you came today, you know, you came this morning, you wanted to be blessed and so there you have it. You're blessed. You're welcome. You know, I did you a favor by having you stand up and read and I encourage you to, you know, to be faithful on your own as well, to read ahead in the book of Revelation and meditate on these things. There is blessing that's associated with these things, even though some of it, you know, we consider to be kind of dark or difficult. God has some blessings in store for those who will study these things and pay attention to what He has declared is going to happen. Well, as we've been studying through the book of Revelation... We've been looking at and following along the outline that Jesus gave us in chapter 1, verse 19, where he told John to write down the things which he had seen. That was the past things, the things that took place, and John recorded for us in chapter 1 of Revelation, the vision of Jesus Christ that he had there on the island of Patmos. Well, then Jesus tells them to write down the second part of the book of Revelation, and that is the things which are. That is the present time and the church age. It's the church age and that continues even to this day. We're living in that time frame. We're living in the midst of the things that Jesus was writing about to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. It's the present time. But the third part of the book of Revelation is the things that are yet future, where Jesus tells John to write down the things which will take place after this. And so as we study these things this morning in the book of Revelation, we're looking toward the future. We're looking to the things that have not yet happened, they've not yet taken place, but they are going to be fulfilled. And so in chapter 9, we're going through the tribulation period. We're studying part of this tribulation. Tribulation period. Now the things that are going to take place, we've been reviewing week after week to help us remember what those things are and what God has in store for us, His church, and for the world after the church is out of the picture. Because the thing that we're looking forward to We talked about in Revelation chapter 4, for us as believers, we're looking forward to the rapture of the church. Believing that Jesus said, you know, pray that you would escape these things. Understanding that we will be caught up to be with the Lord before the rest of the book of Revelation progresses. really begins to unfold. And so we will be with the Lord forever and ever from that point on. We will be with Jesus as we are caught up together to be with Him at the rapture of the church. Well, after the church is out of this world and out of the picture here on the earth, then the earth is going to experience seven years of tribulation like it's never seen before. Trouble, difficulty, calamity. We'll see a little bit of it today. We've been studying it for the past few weeks. And we'll be studying it for the next few weeks as well. Looking at all of the things that will be going on during that tribulation period. Lots of trouble, lots of death, lots of calamity. Lots of things to make us uncomfortable as we consider the time that will take place and the people who will go through those things. But that seven-year tribulation comes to an end. It ends with the return of Jesus Christ who comes back. He puts an end to the battle of Armageddon. He establishes his kingdom for 1,000 years. and he rules and reigns here on the earth for a thousand years. Satan is bound during that time. The believers who are caught up to be with the Lord come back with him to rule and reign with him for those thousand years. But at the end of that thousand years, there's a final rebellion. Satan is released for a short time, and he leads a final rebellion against God, which of course is not successful. He doesn't win. He can't defeat or beat God. God is victorious. And And then that will be the final judgment or the final doom for Satan and his demons. Revelation chapter 20 describes for us the great white throne judgment where Satan and his demons are cast into the lake of fire. It also goes on to declare that in chapter 20 verse 15, whoever's name is not written in the book of life will also be cast into the lake of fire at that time. And so that's the final judgment for those who have rejected God. Then as we finish up Revelation in chapters 21 and 22, we'll be looking at what God has in store for His followers, for His children. Starting with the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem that comes out of the heaven, and then the rest of eternity that God has in store for us. And so lots of things coming up. These are things that are going to take place. There's no escaping them. It doesn't matter what treaties are made or what wars happen or what battles take place. These things are going to happen just as God has declared. And so we're looking at future history. It's history written in advance. The things that are going to be taking place during the tribulation period. Well, as we're talking about the tribulation period, we've been looking at this seven-sealed scroll. We were introduced to it back in chapter 5. It was in the hand of the Father, and Jesus took it from the Father, and he was opening each seal. And as he opened each seal of the scroll, there were judgments that would come forth and go upon the earth. And so the first seal is opened, and the Antichrist comes forth. He rises to power, and he goes forth conquering. Then the second seal is opened and war breaks out upon the earth. There's battles going on, there's war like the earth has not seen previously. Then the third seal is opened and then famine hits the earth. It'll be at great cost just to survive, just to have enough food for the day during that time of famine. And then the fourth seal is opened and death will strike upon the earth in an incredible way. A quarter of the earth, the inhabitants of the earth at that time will be killed as that fourth seal is opened. Well, then the fifth seal is opened and John sees martyrs who have come out of the tribulation period and they're being comforted by the Lord and waiting for their number to be completed. Then the sixth seal is opened and catastrophic events break out upon the earth. Great earthquake, the sun is darkened, all kinds of things are going on and signs are happening all over the world. It's a global catastrophe that takes place as the sixth seal is opened. Then finally the seventh seal is opened. We studied that. and the silence that takes place on earth for 30 minutes. I'm sorry, it takes place in heaven for 30 minutes. And then the angels come forward with the seven trumpets. And so the seventh seal, part of that is the seven trumpets and then the seven bowls, which we'll get to. The seventh seal really extends to the end of that seven-year tribulation period. And so we're looking at the seventh seal today. We started last week looking at the first four trumpet judgments. And this week we'll continue on with the next two trumpet judgments as we continue on through the tribulation period. So the first trumpet sounded, the first judgment came forth from the trumpets and a third of the trees were burned as a result of that trumpet sounding and that judgment that took place. Then the second trumpet sounded and a third of the sea was turned to blood. These are things we all dealt with last week in chapter 8. The third trumpet sounded and a third of the water was made bitter. And many men died because they drank this water that had been poisoned. And then the fourth trumpet sounded and a third of the stars were darkened. Whether it be something happening in the heavens or something happening in the atmosphere, there was a third more darkness upon the earth at that time. And so those are the first four trumpets. Now as we continue on, we're looking at the next two trumpet judgments this morning here in chapter 9. The first four are really directed at the earth. The target is the earth. Men died as a result, but it's kind of like they weren't the direct attack. The trees were attacked, the sea was attacked, the fresh water was attacked, the stars were attacked. It resulted in death and hardship for mankind. But the target and the direct effects were on the things of the earth. Well, as we look at these next two trumpet judgments, though, the target has changed. It's not the earth, but now mankind is going to be directly affected and the direct target of the judgments that are about to come. And so these next two judgments are targeted at mankind and they're targeted at mankind by demonic forces. I call them the demonic trumpet judgments. Nothing in history can really compare to this time. It's hard enough for us to imagine what these four trumpet judgments would be like, but as we get into chapter 9, it is going to be difficult for us to really comprehend the things that John is describing. It's going to be difficult for us to imagine the effects of what he's talking about as these judgments are unleashed upon the earth. Twelve times here in this chapter, the Apostle John uses the word like, because as he's describing these demonic entities and forces, he's not able to just say exactly what they are, because we don't really have vocabulary that matches what was going on. And so he gives us some comparisons, some visuals to help us understand imagine and put together an understanding of what is happening. And so we'll be talking a lot about that imagery as we consider these demonic trumpet judgments. Well, there's six things I want to share with you from this chapter this morning in regards to these trumpet judgments. The first point is that locusts come upon the earth. Look at verse 1. It says, Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And so here is, we go into chapter 9, we're looking at the fifth trumpet judgment. As it comes upon the earth, now what John sees is a star that has fallen, and he's given a key to the bottomless pit. Now when he talks about a star fallen from heaven, he's not saying that he saw a star in the process of falling. He says he sees a star that has already fallen. And most likely this is a reference to Satan himself. You remember Jesus said, I saw Satan fall like lightning. And many times angels are compared to or related to stars. And so this is probably Satan. It also could be another angel that has fallen. But this angel has already fallen. And this fallen angel is given a key. He's given a key to the bottomless pit. Now, I really think it's important for us to take notice, and we see it quite a few times here in this chapter, that God is in full control of the events that are going on during the tribulation period. I think from the earth's perspective, it will seem like chaos, like it's just completely out of control. But as we look at it here from heaven's perspective, we see that God is in full control. We saw last week the third of the trees burned, the third of the seas turned to blood, the third of the waters made bitter. It's all measured, it's precise. God is not just completely wiping out the earth at this time, but he's incrementally dealing with mankind and measuring out these judgments upon the earth. Now we also see as this key is given to this fallen star, fallen angel, that this angel does not have authority on his own. Even if it's Satan, he doesn't have authority and complete autonomy. He is submitted to God and restricted to what God allows to take place. And so it's not allowed for him to open the bottomless pit until this particular time. God is in control and he gives the authority according to his timing and according to his purposes. And so as we look at these things, understand that everything is measured and it's precise because God is still giving mankind opportunity to repent. Well, going on verse 2, it says, And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. And so this angel was given a key, or the fallen angel or fallen star was given a key to the bottomless pit. And so he takes the key and he opens the bottomless pit. Now, the bottomless pit, literally it could be translated the shaft of the abyss. It was the opening or the entrance to what the Bible calls the abyss. The abyss is a temporary holding place for fallen angels. In Revelation chapter 20, when we get there, we'll see that Satan, when he's bound for the thousand years, this is where he's kept. He's kept in the bottomless pit. He's bound, he's incarcerated there in the bottomless pit. Also, we see in Luke chapter 8, as Jesus, you remember, was casting the demons out of the demoniac. And they said, we're legion because we are many. And you remember that they cried out to Jesus and said, don't cast us, don't send us to the abyss just yet. Cast us, allow us to go into those pigs over there. And And so they were afraid, they were fearful of going into the abyss, into this place of incarceration, this temporary holding place until the final judgment that is reserved for demonic creatures. The final judgment is not the abyss, but the final judgment is everlasting fire, the lake of fire. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 25 verse 41 that there was everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. That final judgment was not prepared for man. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. Some will go there. Many will go there. Why is the road that leads to destruction? But not because that's God's desire or will. He created that final judgment, that everlasting fire to deal with Satan and his angels. And so that's the final judgment. But this temporary holding place, this bottomless pit right now has this horde of demonic creatures that are going to be released at this point in the tribulation period. And so the fallen star opens the bottomless pit and it says that smoke comes out like the smoke of a great furnace. If you can imagine, you know, a really great furnace or a big bonfire and the smoke that comes off of that fire. In the same way, the bottomless pit is open and this great amount of smoke comes out upon the earth. So much so that it says the sun and the air were darkened. Now this is interesting because it seems to indicate then that what is happening here is physically impacting and affecting the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. This is really declaring to us that the bottomless pit is a physical place located somewhere on earth. I'm not going to really speculate on where it is because I know it's in the city of Norco. It's just right down the street from us. Just kidding. No, we don't know. We don't know where it is. But... Here it indicates that it's somewhere, that it's a physical place, and as it is opened up, then great billows of smoke, perhaps it's a volcano or something similar, and as it's opened up, then it puts out this great smoke that fills the air, that darkens the sun and the air. Then verse 3 goes on to say, Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth, and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And so this smoke comes out and then out of the smoke comes locusts. Now, a locust is something similar to what we would relate to a grasshopper. It's something similar to that, but locusts are a little bit different. There's all kinds of locust plagues around the earth that have taken place throughout history. Not really going to get into that, but these are not normal or natural locusts like we would consider or what you would find in the encyclopedia if you were to look it up. It's not, you know, the normal locusts, the natural locusts. Also, I should point out, it's also not helicopters or other like war machines that some suggest. Instead, these are demonic creatures and they're likened to locusts. Now, John says that they were given power and they were given power like the scorpions of earth have power. What kind of power do scorpions have on earth? Well, they have great power to inflict much pain. They have power to inflict harm, severe pain. Some have described it, and we'll get into that in a few more minutes, but it's just very intense pain like nothing else can inflict. And so scorpions are given power, and in the same way these locusts are given a similar power to be able to inflict pain and torment on upon mankind that continues to survive upon the earth. And that's the next point that we see in verses 4 through 6, that these locusts torment for five months, five long months, this torment is going to go on. Verse 4 says, They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth or any green thing or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Here again we see that these are not natural locusts because natural locusts do eat the grass, the vegetation, the trees, all of the things that grow, the products of the earth are stripped bare by a locust plague. But these locusts do not destroy the vegetation, they attack human beings. Again, humans, mankind, is the target of this judgment and of these creatures. They're attacking mankind. Not all of mankind, though. There are a few who are protected from their attack. Because here he says, only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And that takes us back to chapter 7. You remember there that God sealed 144,000 of his servants. The children of Israel, 12,000 from each tribe were sealed by God for protection. They were going to endure through the tribulation and God was going to carry them through. And so those who were sealed by God, they are not affected by this judgment. They are not attacked by these locusts. But but the rest of mankind that is alive on the earth will be affected and will be attacked by this demonic judgment that is unleashed. Verse 5, And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. And so they're not able to kill. Again, notice it's measured, it's precise. God is in full control here. They don't have authority to kill. They only have authority to inflict pain and torment. And for a limited amount of time, for five months. And during that five months, they're tormenting people. And he says it's like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. I don't know if you've ever been stung by a scorpion. I have not. And so I looked it up and read some stories about those who have been stung by scorpions or struck by scorpions. Now, the interesting thing about scorpions is there's a lot of different varieties and each one has slightly different venom. And so the effects are slightly different depending on which scorpion you were stung by. Also, it's interesting that there's, I think, 1,300 to 1,500 different species of scorpion, but they're usually not, they're very rarely lethal to a healthy adult. For children, it can be very deadly. For elderly, it can be very deadly. But for a normal, healthy adult, if you were stung by a scorpion, it would be very painful, but it would not likely cause death. And so it's kind of similar to the plague that we're looking at here, the judgment we're looking at here. They're able to inflict pain, but to not kill those who are on the earth. And so what would it be like if you were stung by a scorpion? Well, I looked up and I'd like to share with you some of the severe effects or the effects if you were stung by a very poisonous or a very deadly scorpion. And so if you were stung by a deadly scorpion, first of all, the local effects or the effects, you know, at the place you were stung would, of course, be pain and swelling. That's not a big surprise. I think we would expect that. But because the scorpion venom is, is a neurotoxin, the effects that happen locally at where you were stung are really not the big deal. What happens after that and what happens to the rest of your body is really what makes it so severe and painful. And so it affects your body's systems. And here's some of the early onset of symptoms that you would experience. You would experience severe sweating, paleness of skin, fast breathing, a heightened heart rate, hypertension, uncontrolled saliva production, that's a fun one, respiratory wheezing, blurred vision, uncontrolled eye movement, slurred speech, cannot swallow properly, you can't control much of the mouth, and drowsiness. And so kind of early on, if you were stung by one of these more deadly scorpions, These would be some of the effects that you would show kind of right away or early on. But then as the poison progresses in your body, then you would begin to experience some more symptoms. And these advanced symptoms or effects would include muscle twitching, incoordination, hyperactivity, seizure-like symptoms, chest pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. How would you like to experience that for five months? Five months. And so these stings that these locusts bring upon the earth or bring upon man are likened to, John says it's similar to what happens when you're stung by a scorpion. And so it's appropriate as we consider he uses the word torment. It's appropriate to call that type of thing torment. That you're in such pain that it's agonizing but you're not able to die. They don't kill you, they just cause you lots of pain. Verse 6, In those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die and death will flee from them. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that kind of pain, that level of pain, that intensity of being stung by this locust, scorpion, demonic creature, and being in intense pain, but not being able to die. Now the pain is so terrible that you want to, but you're not able to, even if you try. He says that men will seek death and will not find it. That is, they'll try to end their life. They will try to put an end to the pain by taking their own life, by putting themselves to death. They will desire to die. but death will flee from them. And so this five months will be five months of torment for So terrible that the desire to die will be there, but during that time, death will be on vacation. It will be a death hiatus. During that five months, there's not going to be death. People, even though they want to, will not be able to die. This is going to be something supernatural, that they'll be kept from killing themselves, kept from dying, and they'll experience that torment for five long months. Well, as we go on in verses 7 through 12, then John now describes for us these locusts. And he gives us a little bit of a picture of what they might look like. In verse 7, he says, "...the shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle." On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. Notice how many times he uses the word like here. He says, They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lion's teeth, and they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. And so he describes these locusts for us, these demonic creatures for us. And they're a little bit like horses, horses that are prepared for battle. That is horses, you know, that have the battle armor on. And so they're like these horses that are armed up for battle. On their heads were something kind of like crowns of gold. They have faces like us. So maybe, you know, you would imagine a couple eyes, a nose, a mouth, something similar to that. They have hair like women's hair, probably long hair and shiny and shimmery. You know, they use... I can't think of any shampoos, but... Teeth like lion's teeth, and so, you know, ferocious, deadly. They have breastplates of iron, so they're protected. And their sound is like this great roar, if you could imagine, you know, chariots and horses rushing into battle. And the sound that would accompany that, the roar that would be going on, that's how their wings sounded. And so it would strike terror in the hearts of men as they saw these weird creatures coming and heard this enormous sound as this judgment is unleashed upon the earth. Again, I would illustrate or highlight that it's not a natural locust. It's not a mechanical thing that John is describing. It's a demonic force, a horde of demonic creatures that torment mankind for five months. Now, there have been glimpses of such creatures and we caught one on camera for you so you can get an idea of what these look like. Just kidding, that's Hopper from Bug's Life. Here's an artist's rendition using the description here. You see the horse, the battle armor, the wings, the scorpion's tail, and the different things going on. Maybe it'll look like that, probably nothing like that. But just to kind of give you an idea, a general direction of what these demonic creatures will look like. All right, verse 10. They had tails like scorpions and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. And so these demonic beings have tails like scorpions and like a scorpion stings with its tail, they are also able to do the same. And again, he says their power was to hurt men five months. And again, let me just point out, this is measured, it's precise, it's a specific amount of time. It's for this five months only that they are allowed to bring harm and hurt to mankind. Verse 11 says, And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. And so this horde of demonic locusts or demonic creatures have a king. They have a leader who probably is bound with them. Now it's a possibility that this king is actually Satan and he's the one leading them. But it's also possible that they have a leader that's bound with them and when they're released, he comes forth and he leads the way in bringing this judgment upon mankind. The name Abaddon, the name Apollyon, both mean about the same thing. One means destruction, one means destroyer. That's what they come. They're destroying men's lives, not by killing them, but by making their lives unbearable. And you can imagine that type of destruction as it would go on. Verse 12, one woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Now if you remember back in verse 13 of chapter 8, we saw the angel flying through the midst of heaven saying, Whoa, whoa, whoa. Because of the remaining three blasts of the trumpets. And so we've seen the first blast of the trumpet and man, it was a reason for woe. Much sorrow, much judgment as a result of that trumpet blast. But now we're reminded one woe has passed. That's just one of them. There's still two more to come. And these next two judgments, we'll only look at one of them today, but these next two judgments will be even more reason to cry out woe, even more reason for sorrow, even more intense than the judgments experienced thus far. So now as we move on to the sixth trumpet judgment, we look at verses 13 through 15 and we find that four angels are released. Verse 13 says, Then 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 who had the trumpet, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. And so as the sixth trumpet sounds, now these four angels are going to be released. A voice comes forth from the altar and tells the angel who sounded that sixth trumpet to release these angels who were bound at the river Euphrates. Now we don't know a whole lot about these angels who are bound and the things that we'll go on to in the next couple of verses, you'll see as well, we don't know a whole lot about exactly what's happening here. We do know that there are these four angels, that they are not God's angels, but they're fallen angels in the fact that they're bound because they're not willingly submitted to God. And so they're bound there at the Euphrates River. Why at the Euphrates River? We don't know. Why are they bound? We don't know. But they're going to be released right now, and it's going to bring another judgment upon the earth. Now, some try to connect... These angels with the angels that Peter talks about in 2 Peter 2 that are bound because they didn't keep their initial estate or the place that God had given to them. And that's a possibility. But there's really no direct connection. And that's just kind of... on our part. And so we don't know who these angels are and what's so bad about them. But as we go on, we see what's bad about the judgment that is brought upon the earth. Verse 15. So the four angels who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. And so here we understand what's so bad about these four angels. What's so bad about them is the task that they've been given, that they are released specifically to kill one third of mankind. That is all the inhabitants that are left alive on the earth at that time will be killed as these four angels are released. They're four angels who are prepared for a specific time. The hour, the day, the month, the year. It's a very specific, it's a very exact time and it's a very specific task that they're given to kill one third of mankind. And again, I highlight, I illustrate, God is still in full control. Here the timing is perfect and the judgment is measured. It's not, you know, that everybody dies, but one third dies. It's not that it happens just any time, but at this specific exact time when the sixth trumpet is sounded, then these four angels are released and then this massive amount of deaths takes place. And in considering that, then I would suggest you looking back at the fifth trumpet as As horrible as that was, that fifth trumpet really is evidence of God's mercy. Because we haven't seen a whole lot of reference to time. But in the fifth trumpet, it's declared specifically that lasts for five months. It's torment for five months. It's excruciating pain for five months. But it lasts for five months. Why does it last for five months? Why does God allow that type of torment and pain to go on for so long? Well, because many of those who are tormented during those five months will be killed at the very next trumpet blast. And that five months is an opportunity for them to get right with God. See, many are going to die in this next judgment. And so God extends the fifth judgment, the fifth trumpet, so that they have opportunity. It's a chance for them to repent and to get right with God. Even though they've been in rebellion against God, even though they've come this far because their hearts have been so hard, God is... releasing a little bit more and a little bit more of judgment with each trumpet that's blown, with each seal that's opened. He doesn't just wipe them out completely. He doesn't just, you know, kill everybody at once because He's giving them opportunity to repent. He's giving them a final chance to get right with God, to turn and repent and follow Him. And so here as we see the four angels released, we understand that a quarter or a third rather of the earth is going to be killed. And so the fifth section here, the fifth point is in verses 16 through 19. And that is that the army kills one third of mankind. Verse 16 says, Now the number of the army of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of them. And so, coupled along with these four angels who are released, there is a massive army that goes forth. An army of 200 million. That is a massive army. I think, if I remember right, about 70 million was all of the military who were involved in World War II, if you consider all sides, all the different armies who were involved, the maximum was 70 million. So this army of 200 million is a massive army, bigger than really what the earth has seen before. Now, it's not very clear, it's not exact, we don't know, but these four angels are command this army somehow. They're related to this army. And it kind of gives us two possibilities that are suggested and two ideas that are discussed when talking about chapter 9 in this sixth trumpet. And that is that this army is an army of human beings. That there's a nation on earth that is put together that has amassed 200 million people and it's this massive army and that's going to go forth and kill one-third of the earth. And the things that John will describe, as we'll look at in a few minutes, then those who would think that it's a human army, they're describing modern warfare, modern artillery and those types of things. The second option, which I tend to prefer, is that this army is not of human beings, but it's another army of demonic creatures, similar to what we saw in the fifth trumpet, the demonic chord that goes forth, that these four angels that are bound at the Euphrates command a demonic force, a massive demonic force that goes forth at this time and kills one third of the earth. Going on to verse 17, it says, And thus I saw the horses in the vision. Those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. And the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions. And out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. And so here is these, this army is described. He says he sees the horses and those who sat on them had these specific breastplates. It was red, blue, and yellow. And these breastplates with these colors were riding these horses. And these horses, he says, had heads like lions. So not regular horses, but some type of, you know, ferocious horse with a head like a lion. And out of the mouths of these creatures came fire and smoke and brimstone. And so if you look at this and say, well, it's probably describing a human army, then the fire and smoke and brimstone, you would relate to weapons, cannons, rockets, those types of things perhaps. And that might be what John is trying to describe. If it's a demonic army, it's literally fire, smoke and brimstone that's coming out of their mouths. They're these demonic creatures that inflict punishment. Death with their breath and out of their mouth comes these things of fire, smoke and brimstone. Verse 18, by these three plagues, a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails. For their tails are like serpents having heads and with them they do harm. So he adds on a little bit more description of these creatures that they also have tails that are like serpents. So it's got the head of a serpent and so they're able to inflict harm with their mouth, which comes out fire, smoke and brimstone, and then also with their tails, which are like serpents, which are able to strike and to kill mankind. And so whether this is a human army or a demonic army, a third of mankind is killed at this time, whichever way you take it. And I want to take you back to some of the numbers that we talked about before, back in chapter 6. You remember the fourth seal is opened and a fourth of the earth is killed at that time. Well, we did the numbers, we did the math using today's world population of about 6.8 billion people and subtracting from that the number of Christians who would be raptured before the tribulation begins. And so we're taking 32% of the 6.8 billion because 32% is statistically the number of people who say, I'm a Christian. Now it's It's not an accurate number because reality says that everyone who claims to be a Christian is not actually a Christian and will not be caught up to be with the Lord in the rapture. That is made very clear in chapters 2 and 3. You remember that five of the churches are commanded to repent or they're going to miss out and only two of the churches are commended and told to continue to be faithful. And so it's not accurate. you know, true that everyone who says they're a Christian is indeed a Christian. But let's say, hypothetically, all 32% who say, yes, I'm a believer in Jesus will be caught up. That would be 2.1 billion people taken off of the planet the instant that Jesus returns for his church. And that would leave, heading into the tribulation period, 4.6 billion people. And so, still a good number of people heading into this time of tribulation like the world has never seen. And so, There is going to be lots of death as a result of the things that are going on, but there's some specific measurements of death that are given. And so we can use those to kind of come up with some calculations. And we know when the fourth seal is opened that a quarter of the earth are killed. And so you do the math on that and that's about 1.1 billion people that would be killed there under the fourth seal. Now, When I shared that with you back in chapter 6, I also shared, you know, if you can look at the last 2,000 years and you look at the number of victims from wars, from all the wars combined and all the genocide attempts combined and all the famines worldwide and so on and so forth, that you get to about 518 million who've been victims of those types of things. That's over 2,000 years. Now, in a short time frame during the tribulation period, more than double that, 1.1 billion people will be killed as the fourth seal is opened. It's a massive amount of death like the earth has never seen. So the population then after that, that number of people have died would be about three and a half billion people that would continue on through the rest of the tribulation period. So now if we take this three and a half billion and we, you know, kind of forget about the others who have died and the ones that aren't mentioned about how many, Then you take a third of that number and you come up with another 1.1 billion people that would die as a result of this army going forth. And so again, there would be this massive spread of death across the earth as this army goes forth and kills one third of the earth, leaving about 2.3 billion people left on the earth. Now, you'll notice the numbers are exactly the same, the number who are killed. I had to do the math a couple times to make sure it is actually accurate. And so in total, between the fourth seal and the sixth trumpet, half of the population will be killed as a result of just those two specific judgments, not counting the rest of the things that are going on and those who will die as a result. And so it's a great amount of calamity and a great amount of death and that's really illustrated and highlighted by those numbers. The final parts of this chapter is verse 20 and 21, which we see here that mankind did not repent. Mankind refuses to repent. Verse 20 says, And so what we see here at the end of chapter 9 is really a great tragedy. that even in the midst of all of this stuff going on and these demonic attacks happening, these trumpet judgments that are just worse than we can imagine, as all of this is going on, The rest of mankind, those who survived these things, refused to repent. God's giving them opportunity. He's giving them chance to turn back and to get right with Him, to have the hope of eternity. But they refuse to turn back to God. They refuse to repent, even in the midst of these terrible demonic trumpet judgments. Now, if you look at it the other way, Even these terrible demonic trumpet judgments are opportunities that God is giving for people to repent. And so all of this stuff is going on, but it's measured, it's exact, God is in control, and He's using these things as opportunity to reach men's hearts, to give them one more chance to turn back to Him. God is not willing that any should perish. He desires that all would come to repentance. The word repent, it means to change. There's another word in the Greek language that is also could be translated repent, but it's a repentance that it's a sorrow. It's a, it's a grieving over the consequences or being caught. It's, it's sorrow for, for what happened or the result of something that was done. But this word repent that's used here in the scriptures, it's, is a word that doesn't just mean that you're sorry for the consequences or that you're sorry you got caught or you're sorry what happened as a result. But it's a sorrow, it's a regret that's accompanied by a true change of heart, a real change of life. That is the kind of repentance that is required to get right with God. And at this time, those who are left, in general, John says they refuse to repent. Probably, yes, individuals do. But as a whole, in general, mankind says, no, we're going to continue to rebel against God. You know, we can look at this and we can think, man, that's crazy. You know, if I miss the rapture and I'm there in that situation, I'm for sure going to repent. I'm for sure going to get right with God. We would easily tell that to ourselves and consider that. In fact, some look at these events and say, well, hey, Well, the rapture is going to happen and then there's going to be opportunity to get right with God. Well, I'll just wait then and I can do what I want now. I don't have to be obedient to God and be so restricted. And in my life, I can just do whatever I want. And then later on, I'll turn and I'll get right with God after the rapture happens and I know it's real. And then it's real game time, right? Then it's really time to be serious. But I would encourage you to consider, as we consider this last portion here, that mankind did not repent. You know, the time to repent really is right now. It never gets easier to repent. It always gets harder. When we choose not to repent, our hearts get hardened. And your heart will become more and more hardened until it gets to the point where Where all hell is breaking loose. And there in the midst of the tribulation period, these judgments are being unleashed upon the earth like the earth has never seen before. And still the heart says, no, I refuse to turn, to repent, and to follow God. I want to encourage you this morning. This is a reminder for us. We need, even as Christians, we need to have soft and pliable hearts. And we need to be responsive when God speaks. We need to be obedient when He reveals to us those things that are going on in our lives that He doesn't want to be there. Those things that are happening, the things that we're practicing that He wants to change. We need to be obedient so that our hearts are not hardened. We need to respond. Because what can happen is if we refuse God when He's speaking to us, we harden our hearts. And we bring ourselves to a position where no matter what judgment is unleashed upon us, we refuse to repent. We see here mankind refuse to repent of idolatry. Now that's not just worshipping or bowing down before statues, although that is included, but it's giving priority, importance, passion, devotion to anything besides God. Whatever is most important in your life. If it's not God, that's idolatry. What is most important in your life? What dictates all of your decisions, all of your plans? Is it your family? Is it your work? Is it your career goals? Is it your TV schedule? What is it that is most important to you that your life revolves around? If it's not God, it's idolatry. They also wouldn't repent of murder. They also wouldn't repent of sorcery. Now, sorcery, it's the Greek word pharmakia. It has a connection with our word pharmacy. Sorcery was in connection with the use of drugs in order to obtain an altered state of conscience. Conscious. Conscious. I don't know. You know what I mean. And so sorceries, murders, immorality, that sexual immorality, that's fornication, that's adultery, that's pornography. They would not repent of those things and they would not repent of thievery as well. Listen, I would like you to consider as we wrap up this morning. What will it take for you to repent? What will it take for me to repent? What's it going to take for us to finally change our lives? Not just have a sorrow over the consequences, but to really make a change. What is it going to take for you To turn around, to turn away from idolatry and murder and sorcery and immorality and thievery and to turn towards God and follow Him with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength. What is it going to require? I would suggest to you that if God's Word is not enough for you to repent today, then nothing will be enough for you to repent tomorrow. You remember back in Luke chapter 16, the story, the account that Jesus gave of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus was a poor man, a beggar. The rich man had everything in life, but he didn't follow God. And so they both die and Jesus gives the account of how they're in two sides of Abraham's bosom. On one side was a place of torment. And the rich man was there in torment. And he looks across this great chasm. He sees Lazarus with Abraham in comfort and in peace because he was a righteous man. He walked with God. And so the rich man calls out and says, Abraham, send Lazarus over. Let him drop a drop of water on my tongue because I'm in torment over here. And Abraham explains, well, you can't cross. You can't go one way or the other. So then he says, well, okay, if you can't come over here, then can you send him back to my family? Bring him back from the dead, Abraham. Let him go to my family. Let him tell them about this place so that they don't come here, that they would turn and get right with God. And Abraham explains to that rich man, if they don't respond to the word of God, they will not respond even if someone rises from the dead. Listen, this is a reminder for us. We need to have soft hearts. We need to respond as God speaks to us. Because if His word right now, this morning, is not enough for us to turn and to reject our sin and to turn and follow God with all of our heart, then even judgments that are beyond belief later on will not be enough for us to turn and get right with God. We need to respond to His word. Sin creeps into our lives. It creeps into our hearts. Satan's pretty seductive. Our flesh and the world also are seductive. And we find ourselves involved in things and practicing things that are not of God. Sometimes it catches us unaware. But when God reveals, when He shines His light upon our hearts by His word and shows, hey, this is what's happening. There's some murder going on. There's some anger and hatred that doesn't belong. There's some bitterness there that isn't right. There's some sexual immorality going on in your heart. There's some practices. There's some thoughts. There's some imaginations. There's some things that you're doing that don't belong there. There's some covetousness. There's these issues in your hearts and as God reveals them by His Word, we need to be quick to respond, to turn and to repent. If His Word is not enough for us today, nothing will be enough for us to repent tomorrow. Today is our opportunity. Right now is our chance. to get right with God, to turn to Him, to give ourselves completely to Him. Today is the day of salvation. So the worship team is going to come up and close us in a song. And as they do, I would encourage you to consider those things and take this time to get right with the Lord, to make sure, to make sure that you are responding to those things that He is speaking to your heart. And if you've never been born again, if you've never been forgiven, if you don't have that understanding, that hope, that understanding If Jesus were to come today, you would be caught up to be with Him. Or if you were to die today, you would go to be with Him. If you don't know that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, I would encourage you, I would beg you, take this time right now to turn to Him. And you can simply do it right there where you're at. As we worship the Lord, you can cry out to Him and say, Lord, I need you. I'm a sinner. I believe that you died upon the cross for my sin. And I receive your gift of life and forgiveness. I turn from my sin now to follow you. And you follow the Lord and He saves you as you call out to Him. That's His promise to all who believe. So as we worship the Lord together, let's use this time to get right with Him, to respond to what He's speaking to our hearts. Because right now is the time that He's given to us that we might follow Him with all of our hearts. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.