Justice is Not Removed By Love Except at the Cross
That God will judge humanity with the torment described in John's revelation is unthinkable to many. If God is love, as we rightly teach, how can He bring such suffering upon this world? At this point of the account of the last days, humanity is on the edge of time, as we know it. God is about to end a world in rebellion to Him. This world that has been inflicted with the evil torments of fallen humanity will soon be judged. Each one of us has played a part in the ongoing suffering of our world. Yet as we see in these two chapters, the vast majority of the human race has yet to face their own sin and its judgment to them. None will take responsibility for their hate against God and the false gods they have created that support their self-idolatry and their sin. This final outbreak of God's wrath will forever be the proof of why some must go to hell. Those in hell will not groan over God's injustice but their own folly. They all will have heard the gospel. They will have witnessed the rapture of the church, the protection on the 144,000 sealed servants of God, and the countless people who had repented and willingly died for their faith. Their own hard hearts will send them to an endless life, what they always wanted, with no God except what they had vainly created in their own minds. God's love has absorbed in Himself all the just wrath due sin. If our arrogance rejects this act of grace, then wrath is what we choose instead of the cross. | |||
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Revelation 9:1-10:11 1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 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. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 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. 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. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. 7 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. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 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. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 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. 12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Sixth Trumpet: The Angels from the Euphrates 13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is 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 and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 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. 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. 19 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. 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 10 The Mighty Angel with the Little Book 1 I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud. And a rainbow was on his head, his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little book open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them." 5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. John Eats the Little Book 8 Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, "Go, take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth." 9 So I went to the angel and said to him, "Give me the little book." And he said to me, "Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth." 10 Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter. 11 And he said to me, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings." | |||
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Revelation 9:1-10:11 v. 1 star – Though this word literally means "star," figuratively it can refer to an intelligent being such as an angel or divine messenger (1:16). What we do know is this being was given authority (or keys) to open the bottomless pit and his authority was delegated by God. fallen from heaven – possibly a fallen angel who sided with Satan and was cast from the presence of the Lord key – A "key" grants access and represents authority and privilege. This star would be the one to open the bottomless pit at God's appointed time and with authority from God. v. 3 locust – a species of grasshopper that infests many regions of the world. They are known for their ability to swarm and devour crops, trees, etc. very quickly. as the scorpions of the earth have power – The power of a scorpion is in its sting. It is said that a scorpion's sting is strong enough to drop a person to the ground foaming at the mouth in great pain. In most cases, the sting will not kill the person, but it is one of the most agonizing inflictions of an insect of the world. This is the power of the locusts from the bottomless pit. v. 4 the seal of God – A mark of ownership of God's people during this time of judgment. This refers to the 144,000 Jewish believers in 7:3, 4. Those who are not God's people are the ones who will be tormented by the demonic locusts. v. 7 horses prepared for battle – War horses were one of the most feared creatures in any battle of the ancient world. Their purpose was to run over any infantry set in their paths. These demonic locusts are fearsome creatures. Crowns – This may refer to their authority or purpose designated by God's sovereignty over them. like the faces of men –may indicate human-like intelligence or character v. 11 angel of the bottomless pit – Even though this is a king or authority over the authority over demonic locusts, we can see God's sovereignty and control over this being because he follows the guidelines of torment brought upon those who are not God's 144,000 chosen people. Abaddon (Heb.) Apollyon (Gk.) – this name means destruction v. 12 Woes – ouai (Gk.) an expression of grief or denunciation. These are times of intense suffering and pain. They follow the last three trumpet judgments. The third "woe" seems to extend into the coming bowl judgments. Unlike the first four trumpet judgments, those who dwell on the earth during this time will moan and cry out in agony because of their sufferings. v. 13 golden altar – This is heavenly version of the "altar of incense" found in the OT Tabernacle just outside the Holy of Holies (Ex. 39:38; Num. 4:11, Rev. 8:3). v. 14 four angels – Because these angels are said to be "bound" it is likely that these are demonic angels reserved for God's purposes. Their function is to administer God's judgment upon the remaining population of the world by killing one third of the population. v. 15 prepared for the hour and day and month and year – This phrase simply means preordained by God for a very specific time. At the time God has predetermined, they will be released from their bondage to fulfill God's plan of judgment upon the population of the world. v. 17 hyacinth – huakinthinos (Gk.) a dark blue gem v. 21 sorceries – pharmakeia (Gk.) the use of medicine, drugs or spells. Can refer to drug use or the practice of magical arts while worshipping idols. In either case the remaining population didn't change their thinking towards God. They kept practicing their previous conduct of rituals and sorceries. Sexual immorality – porneuo (Gk.) To indulge in unlawful lust, or spiritually or metaphorically to permit one's self to be drawn away by another into idolatry through lust. Revelation 10 v. 1 mighty angel – a angel with great authority Clothed with a cloud – or decorated with a cloud; this being was an angel from heaven (Rev. 1:7; 14:14; Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:9; 1 Thess. 4:17) A rainbow was on his head – the "rainbow" represents God's mercy and promise to never again destroy mankind by flood waters (Gen. 9:12-17). This is an emblem of the covenant of mercy to God's people, amid judgments on God's foes. face was like the sun – This mighty angel has a glorious description. These descriptions link our thinking to those already seen in this book describing Jesus Christ (1:6, 4:3). Because of the way he is described, some are convinced that this mighty angel is Jesus Christ. But Jesus is never described as an angel in the book of Revelation. He is seen as The Son of God (2:18) and as deity (1:8, 11). Angels are always found in the place of service unto God. There are also other "mighty angels" mentioned in this book (5:2, 18:1). And the description of being "clothed with the sun" is not always referring to deity (12:1). It is possible that this angel is Michael the Archangel or another mighty angel such as Gabriel (Dan. 10:21, 12:1, 12:6-7). His feet like pillar of fire – likely represents judgment here v. 2 little book – This refers to a scroll rather than an actual book. It's not clear what the scroll says, but it is possible that it is similar to the scroll referred to in Ezekiel 2:9-3:14. It likely reveals lamentations, mourning, and woes just like that of the scroll in Ezekiel. v. 3 seven thunders uttered – Thunder is a depiction of God's judgment in 8:5, 11:19, 16:18. v. 4 seal up the things – To "seal up" means to conceal, to not reveal, or talk about what was said by the "seven thunders." v. 5 raised up his hand to heaven – an expression of honoring God in taking an oath (Gen. 14:22-23, Deut. 32:40, Rev. 10:6) v. 7 the mystery of God – A mystery in scripture is a hiding of facts known by God but revealed in God's time to man. The Old and New Testament prophets have revealed much about what would take place during the end times. but the full mystery of God will only be fully revealed when the apocalyptic events are taking place. v. 9 Take and eat it – to lay hold of and fully digest the contents of the scroll (Ps. 119:103, Eze. 3:1-3) make your stomach bitter – The messages of this scroll contains bad news and much suffering (Rev. 11:1-13). sweet as honey in your mouth – Honey, sweet to the mouth, sometimes turns into bile in the stomach. The thought that God would be glorified (Rev. 11:3-6, 11-18) gave him the sweetest pleasure. Yet, afterwards the belly, or carnal natural feeling, was embittered with grief at the prophecy of the coming bitter persecutions of the believers (Rev. 11:7-10, also John 16:1, 2). The revelation of the secrets here are sweet to one at first, but bitter and distasteful to our natural man, when we learn the cross which is to be borne before the crown shall be won. John was grieved at the coming apostasy and the sufferings of the believers at the hands of anti-Christ. v. 11 You must prophesy again – John is told here that this prophesy of the end time is far from over. | |||
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"But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts." –Revelation 9:20-21 This is going to be a difficult time, God, for those who are left upon the Earth after the rapture of Your church. We pray today, Lord, for each soul in this world, that all would be able to hear, and that all would freely choose to come to You and receive the gift of life and life eternal. | |||
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