"Demonic Triple Threat" Revelation 9, When The Lamb Stands, seriesby Sharon Clemens

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       The last Prophecy Chat ended with the Fourth Trumpet, a judgment diminishing the light of the sun, moon and stars by one-third. But the Fourth Trumpet also announced an even more terrible element in the judgments to come: the three woes, a triple curse targeting “the inhabitants of the earth.” The woes are terrible because they are demonic in nature.

       Satan, the prince of this world [John 14:30], walks the earth with his minions, but he is on a short leash [Job 1]. While he can, the Devil preys on those he may devour through slander, temptation, persecution and discouragement [Psalm 22:13; 104:21; 1 Peter 5:8]. Although the believers’ victory is assured through Christ, we are to be sober and vigilant against the enemy. However, Satan is allowed more leverage during the Tribulation. Demonic activity will take literal forms and Satan will destroy as many as God allows. The sad indictment is that “the rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not…stop worshiping demons…” [Revelation 9:20-21].

Even now, mankind is being conditioned to believe in Satan and his demons.

THE FIFTH TRUMPET [First Woe] – Revelation 9:1-11

* SATAN FALLS TO EARTH: Unlike the stars or asteroids that will have fallen [6:13; 8:8], this one will be an angelic being, possibly the fallen angel Satan himself or one of his most trusted demons. Satan will be cast down to the earth in defeat during the Tribulation [Revelation 12:10] after the war in heaven between the angels of God and the demons of Satan. * This angel is to open the bottomless pit, also called the Abyss, a place of confinement mentioned seven times in the Revelation. The Abyss or Pit always refers to the prison where some of the demonic hordes are incarcerated—a place of severe torment and isolation [2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6 and 7]. [See Luke 8:26-36.] * Satan does not rule over this terrible place and must be given the key; God controls the limits of Satan’s actions for His own purpose. In Revelation 1:18 our Lord said, “…I have the keys of Hades [Hell] and of Death.” Satan is a tool of God and his power extends only as far as God allows. * When the pit is opened, Wiersbe notes that smoke emerges as though from the door of a furnace. Jesus compared hell to a furnace of fire in Matthew 13:42. The smoke adds to the pollution and darkness that is already present from the first four Trumpets. What came out of the smoke terrorized mankind. It was a kind of army of demons, compared to locusts, except that they have scorpion-like stinging tails. They also differ from locust in that they do not devour the vegetation of the earth because they are commanded not to. Whether they are literal locust-like insects or a swarming army is still unclear. What is clear is that whatever form this army takes, they will be demonically controlled. * The eighth plague in Egypt was a devastating swarm of locusts [Exodus 10:1-20]. Locust are symbolic of intense destruction and judgment [Deuteronomy 28:38, 42; Joel 2]. * They are allowed to torment all who have not been protected by the seal of God, which excludes the 144,000 men of the tribes of Israel [Revelation 7:1-8]. It is likely that all who have trusted the Lord will be protected from this torment just as the Israelites were protected from the plagues in Egypt. * It is significant that the “angel of the bottomless pit,” their king [verse 11], directs this hoard. This demon king is directed by God as to how he can lead his army. So it is that they prey on fallen men, not vegetation, and are ordered to sting and torment only for a duration of five months. Henry Morris notes that the normal lifespan of the locust insect is about five months, usually May to September, and this is the length of time the judgment will last. Although this torment is temporary, the sting of the swarm is so terrible, men will seek death but the terrible pain tortures without killing. * WHY WILL THE DEMONS HURT THOSE WHO FOLLOW THEM AND THEIR MASTER, SATAN? The demon king’s name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon, both meaning “destroyer.” Satan and his demons are the very antithesis of God, our creator. By nature, they are destroyers. When ordered by God not to hurt believers, Satan will hurt those he can because that is who he is. Those who willingly follow Satan would do well to understand this. * J.V. McGee and Hal Lindsey both speculate that this locust hoard could refer to a literal, demonically-possessed human army with powerful armaments. But most scholars believe they are more likely demons in the form of insects with un-natural powers. Joel 2:4-10 is another description of this judgment, and the text indicates an insect infestation. The Trumpet locusts are described in 9:7-10—shapes like horses, gold-crowned heads, faces like the faces of men, hair like women’s hair, lions’ teeth, outer armor, wings and scorpion tails. Dr. McGee states that these locusts bear a striking similarity to the insects of Israel. The likeness of the locust is so like a horse equipped with armor that they are called “little horse” in the German language. The faces resemble men’s faces and the antennae are compared to hair. Joel compares the teeth of the locust with those of a lion in Joel 1:6, possibly to indicate their ferocity. The sound of a locust swarm is like a heavy rain; here, it is described like the sound of an advancing army.

TIME TO REPENT

* By God’s grace, the destroyers are commanded not to kill—just torment. This torment comes before the killing army of the Sixth Trumpet to again give man time to repent. “God’s long-suffering desire for their repentance [2 Peter 3:9] is probably the very reason He will not allow them to die during this unspeakable five months.” [Morris] 2 Peter 3:9—“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” * While God grants grace, Satan is seeking active recruits of his own to join his armies in the soon-coming battle of Armageddon. Morris: “He may frighten them into submission…people today are being prepared for an eruption of demons…[through] movies, television programs, and books with demonic themes, along with the latter-day mushroom growth of occult religions and practices, all…surely conditioning men to a widespread belief in Satan and his demons.” * The locusts vanish as suddenly as they had come, just as the Lord swept the locust from Egypt into the Red Sea, giving mankind another brief respite in hope that some would repent, as Morris sees it. But as with the plagues, this results in most people stiffening their necks against God. After the demons leave their host bodies, Joel 2:20 indicates that the stink of the bodies is intense. Man or Antichrist may take credit for eradicating the plague, but it will be the Lord who is responsible for limiting the duration. But a worse judgment is coming. * Revelation 9:12—“One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.”

THE SIXTH TRUMPET [Second Woe] – Revelation 9:13-21

* THE DEMONS OF THE EUPHRATES: Satan’s most colorful and horrible villains have been reserved for the final showdown of God vs. Satan. Dr. McGee states, “The angels who are bound are evidently evil. Why would they be bound if they were not evil? Releasing them turns loose a flood tide of destruction on the earth. They were bound away from the others [who were in the pit], I believe, because of the enormity of their crime.” * Wiersbe notes that these four demons have been kept for a particular hour, month and year for this purpose—to kill one-third of mankind. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.” [Acts 15:18] * WHO ARE THEY? It is speculated that these four Angels of the Euphrates are angels that have been imprisoned since before the Flood because they are particularly evil. Genesis 6:1-2 speaks of fallen angels that indwelt men in order to procreate with human women. Because they did not “keep their proper domain, but left their own abode,” Jude 6 states, they were “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day.” See also 1 Peter 3:19. These are heinous demons who enjoy destroying God’s human creation. They were imprisoned for attempting to pollute humanity with a demonic super race. Adolph Hitler also preached the demonic lie of a human super race through his Aryan, Nazi doctrine. * Each of the four is in charge of part of an army of 200 million, most likely another demonic army. This army is permitted to use LETHAL FORCE and is commanded “to kill a third of mankind.” The Trumpet intensity increases. * Since one-fourth of mankind has already been killed [6:8], this means that half of the world’s population [approximately 3.5 billion] will be dead by the time the Sixth Trumpet Judgment is completed.

A SIGNIFICANT LOCATION – The Euphrates River Valley, The Cradle of Civilization
Clarence Larkin notes that the fact that these Four Angels [demons] were bound at the Euphrates, where Satan’s seat was in ancient times, and where it is to be again in the City of Babylon (restored)[Revelation 18], makes it clear that this army is a part of Satan’s forces. Supernatural armies are not unknown to the Scriptures [2 Kings 6:13-17]. There is to be war in heaven between Michael and his angels, and Satan and his angels [Revelation 12:7]. Satan has his armies, and among them horsemen.

THE DEMONS RIDE TERRIBLE STEEDS
The demon army rides horse-like steeds with heads like lions and tails like a serpent. Wiersbe notes this may mean they attack from both directions, front and back. The heads spew fire and brimstone as in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah [9:18]; both heads and tails “do harm.” The army is dressed in breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue and sulfur yellow, an awesome and terrible aspect as they descend on mankind.

SATAN THE GREAT DECEIVER/THE GREAT DRAGON
In Revelation 12:9, Satan is referred to as “the great dragon…that ancient serpent…the devil.” The steed the army of demons ride resembles a dragon. The mythology of dragons may have emerged from an actual dinosaur-type creature called Leviathan that breathed fire. It is described by God in Job 41:18-21. The dragon steeds of Revelation 9 are similar to ancient dinosaurs, which may have been the true prototype of the dragon. Morris states that some dinosaur skeletons have an unexplained cavity on their snouts that may have been a mixing chamber for combustible gasses that ignite when exposed to oxygen, similar to the ability of the Bombadier Beetle which can shoot spurts of fire at its enemies.

* Although long extinct, such a creature’s form may be used by Satan as mounts, both to instill fear and awe and to be emblematic of himself. * Satan took the form of the serpent in the garden of Eden, and the dragon is similar to a large serpent but with feet. Recall that God cursed the serpent and caused him to have to crawl on his belly in the dust as punishment for deceiving Eve [Genesis 3:14]. Could the serpent have had legs before the Fall? The devil or Satan is both great serpent and dragon [Revelation 12:9].

DO THOSE WHO SURVIVE THIS JUDGMENT REPENT AND TURN TO GOD?  Morris says “Not so! Human ingenuity and power had once more conquered, they will rationalize. The invasion had been stopped, and now they were secure.”

Revelation 9:20-21 – “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons…Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” [NIV]

Mankind is slowly being conditioned, even now, to increasing natural disasters, war, violence and death. It is the nature of man to harden their hearts for the most part—this is the core of humanism, to put faith in man himself rather than God.

Morris believes the New Age lie that began in the Garden of Eden, that man can become God, will also deceive humanity TO THE VERY END: “No longer will there be atheists and humanists who deny the existence of God and His holy angels. They will have seen the latter flying across the sky and proclaiming judgment [Revelation 8:13; 14:6, 7], but will still reject God as true Creator, believing with Satan that even the angels and God Himself are mere evolutionary products of an eternal self-existing universe of matter and energy. They will thus have become set in their adherence to Satan’s monstrous self-deception that he can become God [Isaiah 14:12-14] and that they, through following him and his demonic hierarchy, will themselves become ‘as gods’ [Genesis 3:5], no longer restrained from anything they wanted to do [Genesis 11:6; Romans 3:18].” Just as Satan is seducing mankind with the New Age lie of godhood, so he is conditioning men to occult demonism. Wicca/witchcraft is now a recognized religion of the United States military. Pantheism, the worship of creation rather than the Creator, is common in extreme environmentalism and pagan/pantheistic nature religions. Open secular humanism or the worship of man has replaced Christianity in our schools and corrupted social morality. The truth that there are absolutes of truth or right and wrong based on the Bible has been replaced by relativism. Our children are being told right and wrong are relative to what they believe is right for them. Add to this moral chaos the introduction of psychic power, astrology, alien intelligences, mysticism, spiritism and metaphysical science being taught and accepted as legitimate studies in our universities and you have a toxic recipe for deception. All of these so-called sciences are doctrines of demons [1 Tim. 4:1]. The last step will be the actual invasion of the earth by the occult, demonic forces of Satan during the Trumpet Woes. Is it any wonder that the forces of Satan will be welcomed with open arms by the lost. [See also 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10; 1 John 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:13; and Matthew 24:4-5]

THE THIRD WOE INTRODUCES THE FINAL SERIES: THE SEVEN BOWLS OR VIAL JUDGMENTS. As the Judgments draw to a close, the return of Christ to restore all things to His original purpose and intention is the hope of the remnant. Thy Kingdom come!

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]