November 21, 2012

SEE EVIL, HEAR EVIL, AND KNOW THIS IS EVIL.

Revelation 9

Lucina Thompson
Wednesday's Devo

November 21, 2012

Wednesday's Devo

November 21, 2012

Central Truth

This world is full of evil, right up to the bitter end. But even then, God is sovereign and in control, so Satan operates only under His permission. It gets bad on earth, but no matter how bad it gets, mankind refuses to repent -- unbelievable!

Key Verse | Revelation 9:20–21

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21)

Revelation 9

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. 1 9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11 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. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 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. 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.

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. 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. 2 9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer

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 3 9:17 Greek hyacinth 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.

Footnotes

[1] 9:1 Greek the abyss; also verses 2, 11
[2] 9:11 Abaddon means destruction; Apollyon means destroyer
[3] 9:17 Greek hyacinth

Dive Deeper | Revelation 9

The scenes in this passage play out like some fantastical sci-fi thriller. Our son Jordan is in LA, trying to make it in the film business. So as I read Revelation 9, I can't help having "films" come to mind. Remember the creatures in the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the "cons" in Transformers? Who knew that Megatron (of the Decepticon race) came straight from the pages of Revelation? It's hard to imagine, but the creatures in this prophecy won't be in movies, they'll be real.

Trumpets in this passage announce judgment: four have occurred against the land, sea, fresh water, and celestial beings. In today's reading, man is deeply affected: sadly, 1/3 of the world population dies. It appears that Satan, the falling star, is the instigator and one who unleashes the locusts.

Satan's doomed, and his goal is to take as many of "us" with him as possible. He uses nature: in the garden, it was a serpent, and in Egypt, it's locusts, just like we read here. Yet, these locusts are different. They appear like many things we're familiar with, but when you put their pieces together, they transform into something terrifying, inflicting torturous pain.

The amazing thing in all this is that God protects those "sealed" by Him: they don't suffer. It seems like those getting stung would take notice, but that isn't the case, and they remain unrepentant. Even so, they're shown mercy by being allowed to live (they long to die, but can't). Remember, "The Lord is . . . not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). Thank God for His mercy, even when it seems severe.

Like the unrepentant in this passage, I know I've done things that deserve God's judgment. I didn't always obey my parents, I've lied to look better, rebelled against my husband's leadership, and attempted to control my children. And that's only the beginning! Today, I pray I'm repentant, knowing that "[i]f we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) His faithfulness is great!

Discussion Questions

1. To learn more about Satan's fall from heaven, read Isaiah 14:12 and Ezekiel 28:11-19.

2. Have you thanked God lately for His mercy in your life? Make a quick list of some of the sins He's recently forgiven you for and then spend some prayer time thanking Him.

3. Do you know people who are unrepentant? Pray for them right now and then look for opportunities to restore their relationship to God who loves them and gave His Son for their sin (Romans 5:8).

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

November 19-23 (Revelation 7-11)

Read Revelation 7:9-17.

• This is a continued part of John's revelation about the end times. Who was standing in front of the throne?
• What does every nation, tribe and people mean? What were they shouting?
• What does the word salvation mean? (being rescued from something, saved)
• Who is the Lamb?
• How did the Lamb provide salvation to those who believe in Him?
• How do you receive the salvation that the Lamb provides?
• In verses 15-17, there is a list of things that God will do for the believers. What are they?
• Why do those things sound so great?

Activity: The believers were standing before Jesus and praising Him. What are some of your favorite praise songs? What about your favorite Psalms in the Bible? Take time as a family to write an original praise to Jesus. It could be a poem or a song.