[Revelation 8-9]
As some of you may know, I’ve been connected with an organization called Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge over the years. Each year we support the organization by raising money through a charitable fishing tournament. My family is connected with this organization because we have been impacted by the devastating effects of addiction over the years. I’ve watched friends and relatives struggle with addiction for years and years. I’ve had to watch relatives literally drink themselves to death. I’ve watched friends throw their lives away chasing the next high. I’ve sat with an addict who was about to commit suicide, convincing him not to take his own life. It’s one of the most challenging, heart-breaking things to walk through with someone.
If you’ve ever been there, there comes a point where you ask, “How much further do they have to fall before they realize they are on the wrong path? How much more damage do they have to do to themselves before they stop making these decisions? How much more hurt can they bring upon their family?” You get frustrated because what you thought was “rock bottom” for them wasn’t rock-bottom at all. They just keep falling further and further and further. They just keep making painful decision after painful decision.
This is the picture we’re given in these chapters of Revelation. These two chapters end on a somber note: “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, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:20–21, ESV). Just imagine the chaos that’s just been described in the previous two chapters. Just imagine the difficulty of those times and the trials. You would think these events would open people’s eyes. You would think these events would cause people to stop and evaluate their lives.
Yet, they didn’t. They didn’t repent. They didn’t stop worshiping their false gods. They didn’t stop doing the things that were destroying them. They kept on worshiping gold and silver—which don’t provide happiness. They kept worshiping demons. They kept up their sexual immorality. After all of the judgements, nothing changed for them. It’s pretty sobering.
As we dive into this chapter, I have to let you know that I am forced to deal with these things in a very general manner. There’s no way I can take the time to dive into all of the minute details and meanings of every image in these two chapters. So, as I’ve mentioned in previous weeks, if you’re curious about what a particular image means, look it up in the Old Testament. That will help you find its meaning. You can also use the study guide I produced. That will point you in some of the right direction.
There are two main themes we need to recognize as the trumpets blow in this chapter. First, when you think of trumpets blowing in the Old Testament, what is the first thing you think of? Jericho. This is a story we tell young children over and over again. As God’s people enter the promised land they come to Jericho. Here’s what God tells them to do at Jericho: “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” (Joshua 6:2–5, ESV). There are a lot of similarities here, but notice the seven trumpets and what happens when they are blown. The walls come a tumblin’ down. Trumpets are a sign of judgement.
Yet, there’s another image that is also connected. As the angels start blowing their trumpets, things start happening on earth that should sound familiar. We see fire and hail raining down on the earth. We see water turning to blood. We see darkness falling upon the land. Does any of that sound familiar? These are the plagues of Egypt. But these plagues are not simply happening to Egypt, they are happening throughout the world as a judgement on all who do not believe. And, sadly, the results are very similar. Did Pharaoh repent as plague after plague ravaged his land? No. We repeatedly read that Pharaoh’s heart was hard. Now, as we watch trumpet after trumpet blow, and judgment after judgement come upon the earth, do we see people repenting? No. The chapter ends reminding us that they didn’t repent. Their heart was hard and they refused to repent.
I also want you to notice the changing fraction. Remember when the first four seals were broken. How many people were affected as they were broken? One-fourth of the earth. Now, as each trumpet blows, how many people are being affected? One-third. Things are getting worse. The destructiveness is increasing.
This is what I keep talking about when I talk about birth pains. These same issues keep coming back again and again and again throughout history—the same pains and struggles. Yet, they come back with stronger force. Their destructiveness increases. These seven trumpets are not talking about a different time-frame than the seven seals. They are simply looking at the same time period from a different angle—with a different emphasis.
We know this for a couple reasons. First, remember what happened when the sixth seal was opened. The earth fell apart. The stars fell to the earth. The sky disappeared. The mountains were removed. Yet, look at what is happening when the trumpets are being blown. A mountain is thrown into the sea. A star falls from heaven. The sun goes dark. If the seven trumpets came after the sixth seal, NONE of these things would be around anymore.
And, besides, as you read through these descriptions don’t they sound oddly similar? They continually seem to be describing the same things. Remember how chapter six ended? It ended with people refusing to repent, asking for the mountains to fall on them. How does chapter nine end? With people refusing to repent. These are talking about the same thing from a different angle. They are talking about the period of time between Christ’s death and resurrection and his second coming. HOWEVER, these seven trumpets show that things are getting worse. The destruction is heavier. The judgements are increasing.
Then an eagle comes. And sadly, this is not one of the eagles from The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. Those eagles are always bringing good news or salvation. This eagle has some frightening words: “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!” (Revelation 8:13, ESV). He’s telling the world, they haven’t seen anything yet. They thought things were pretty rough, but things were about to get rougher. The last three trumpets are going to unleash judgements much more serious than the first four trumpets.
And, when the fifth trumpet blows, things get weird, right? Some would read this chapter and say that “all hell has broken loose,” and they’d be right. In some ways, that’s EXACTLY what is being described. “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. 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.” (Revelation 9:1–2, ESV). We know who this fallen star is. Jesus tells us who it is. After his disciples come back from their short-term mission trip, Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18, ESV).
Satan is given a key to open the bottomless pit. When he opens the pit, smoke billows into the earth. And from the smoke come these wild creatures. At first, they’re simply described as locusts—which reminds us of the Exodus plagues again. Yet, upon further description they are not just locusts. It says, “they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.” (Revelation 9:3, ESV). Then it says, “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, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 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.” (Revelation 9:7–9, ESV). The fact that these things are coming out of the bottomless pit that was opened by Satan, makes it pretty clear what this is describing. These are demonic forces. In contrast to the picture of God’s people arrayed for battle in chapter seven, we get a glimpse of Satan’s army arrayed for battle, pouring out of the bottomless pit.
Notice a couple things about Satan’s demonic forces. What do they look like? They wore crowns of gold. They looked like humans. They had beautiful hair. They had sharp teeth. They had iron armor. They sounded like a powerful army. Doesn’t this sound like a list of idols? Gold. Human strength. Human beauty. Human ingenuity. Armies. It also sounds a lot like the list of things people didn’t repent of at the end of the chapter. It says they “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, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:20–21, ESV).
Here’s what is crazy about all this. They didn’t repent of these things EVEN THOUGH they were destroying them—tormenting them. That’s the picture. It says, “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. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” (Revelation 9:5–6, ESV). These demons will stig people—torment people—bringing them to the point of desiring death but not being able to take their own life. These demons will destroy them. YET, these people will not turn away from them. They will continue to worship them. They will continue to seek them. They will continue to trust in them.
It’s devastating. These people are clinging onto the very thing that is destroying them. They are trusting in the very thing that is bringing them to the point of despair. Yet, they keep holding onto it. They refuse to let go. They refuse to turn away.
That’s the essence of all sin. Jesus tells us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” (John 8:34, ESV). One sin naturally leads to another sin which naturally leads to another sin which naturally leads to another sin. It’s a terribly destructive cycle.
And, to ramp things up even further, this is telling us that there are demonic forces at work in these sins and temptations. This is what Ephesians 6 is talking about when it says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV). The kingdom of Satan is at work in the world, seeking to destroy the Kingdom of God and it’s members. It’s a pretty gloomy picture.
Yet, there’s hope. We also have to notice something very powerful in this description. When describing the demonic forces, it says, “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.” (Revelation 9:4, ESV). These demonic forces were not given power to harm those who’ve been sealed by God. Demonic forces have NO POWER over Christians. They can’t harm us. They can’t control us. They can’t bring us to the point of utter despair. Why not? Because our God has sealed us and our hope and trust is in HIM. Also, our God has sealed us, marking us as a member of His Kingdom and His Army—we are on the winning team. He has already overcome sin and death and Satan. They’re defeated enemies. They are wounded. We don’t need to be afraid.
And, thank God, when we believed in Jesus, we were SET FREE from our slavery to sin. In Romans we read, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Romans 6:6, ESV). So, we no longer hold onto these things that destroy us and bring us to despair. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to wage war against these idols—these demonic forces— in our lives. In Christ, we are considered “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). And these promises are also true for ANYONE who repents, turns from their sin, and trusts in Jesus Christ.
There’s another part of these chapters that brings us hope in the midst of this gloominess. There’s a short interlude at the beginning of chapter eight that is very powerful. Before the trumpets start blowing, something powerful happens in heaven that affects the earth. We read, “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.” (Revelation 8:3–4, ESV). This is a picture of the prayers of God’s people rising into heaven—into the very presence of God. “Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.” (Revelation 8:5, ESV).
This is a picture of the power of prayer. Think about it. God’s people are praying on earth, in the midst of difficulty and trials, in the midst of battle. Their prayers are rising up to heaven—into the throne-room of God, into His very presence. Then, an angel takes their prayers from the altar and throws them back down to earth. And what happens? There’s thunder and rumbling and flashes of lightning and earthquakes. Then the trumpets start to blow. And all of this happens from the prayers of God’s people—ALL of God’s people.
This is a reminder to us that our prayers are not impotent and weak. They are powerful and impact the world around us. Herman Hoeksema says, “This is the entire purpose of this passage, to show us that our prayers are not lost in space, but that we can see their answer already here upon earth.”
This is an important reminder that brings us hope. It would be easy for us to despair as we watch judgement after judgment come upon the earth and see no repentance. It would be easy for us to curl up in a ball as Satan’s army attacks the earth. Yet, we shouldn’t lose hope. Satan’s army can’t touch us and our prayers are powerful. Our prayers are rising into the very throne room of God, where Jesus is seated, the one who has overcome and has sealed us so that we can also overcome.
This is a call to prayer in the midst of the battle. As things become difficult and times become hard, as God’s people come under attack, we should find ourselves on our knees more and more, praying: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.