Revelation 9

Cody Westcott

Revelation • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Revelation 9

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The fifth angel sounded the trumpet. I saw a star from the heavens had fallen to the earth. It had been given the key to the pit of the Abyss. It opened the pit of the Abyss, and up came smoke from the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. The sun and the moon were darkened from the smoke of the pit. From the smoke came locusts to the earth, and they were given authority like the authority scorpions have over the earth. They were told, “Do not harm the grass of the earth, or the green, or any tree, only humans who do not have the seal of God on their forehead. It was given to them not to kill, but to torment for five months. Their torment was like the torment of scorpions when they sting people. In those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.

The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold. Their faces were like the faces of humans, and they had hair like the hair of women. Their teeth were like a lion’s, and their breasts were like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of many chariots rushing into battle. They had tails like scorpions with stingers, and in their tails they had power to harm humans for five months. They had as king over them the Angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.

The first woe has passed. Behold: The second woe still comes after this!

The sixth angel sounded the trumpet. I heard the voice of one from the four corners of the altar of gold before the throne of God saying to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels bound over the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels were released, who were prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year to kill a third of humanity. The number of the cavalry was 200,000,000, for I heard their number. This is how I saw the horses and their riders in the vision: They had breastplates of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths spewed forth fire, smoke, and sulfur. From this third plague a third of humanity was killed, from the fire, smoke, and sulfur spewing forth from their mouths. For the power of the horses was in their mouths and their tails, because their tails were like serpents, having heads, and by them they do harm.

And the rest of humanity, that is those who were not killed by this plague, did not repent from the work of their hands, and so did not give up worshipping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. And they did not repent from their murder, from their sorcerous drugs, from their sexual immorality, or from their thieving.

Idol of the Zealots

Jews in Jesus time expected a warrior Messiah, but Jesus subverted this expectation

Though God had revealed his Messiah, the Jews rejected him.

Many in Judea chose to reject God revealed in Christ, and instead decided to make God in their image

They wanted a God who would wipe out the Romans, and so they turned to false messiahs, and worshipped images of God that they had constructed

These weren’t necessarily physical “idols”, but they were nevertheless idols

The Siege of Jerusalem

Even in his day, Jesus could see where such things were headed.

Luke 19:41-44

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44 They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Vespasian’s war against Jerusalem

Initiated by Nero

Nero killed himself, Vespasian recalled

Luke 21

The New Revised Standard Version The Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold

(Mt 24:15–28; Mk 13:14–23)

20 “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it; 22 for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.

first four trumpets?

Titus’s siege

lasts five months (fifth trumpet)

afterward, storms city and burns it to the ground, including the temple, and killing many within (sixth trumpet)

The Unseen Battle

On the surface, this appears to be just like any other event in history. Revelation, however, invites us to “peer behind the curtain” and see it for what it really is: spiritual warfare

Firstly, these things did not happen by chance; they are judgement by God against Jerusalem for its misdeeds

Jerusalem had chosen to worship demons and idols by reconstructing the True God into a God of war and vengeance. So God unleashed just such a ‘god’ on them. The conquering spirit they wanted came, but against them!

These forces are themselves lead by the Angel of the Pit, Satan

Abaddon associated with sheol

Abaddon associated with the תהו (great ocean wasteland, c.f. Gen 1) and the great chaos monster Leviathan that lives within it

Abaddon called by another name to the Greeks: Apollyon

John hints at LXX OT, where אבדונ is translated as απολλευω

Greek word is related to the name Apollo, the Greek God of the sun, son of Zeus, and god most associated with Roman emperors

Thus John hints at the demonic nature of Rome, and the Satanic power that lies behind not only Rome, but many human empires who use violence and war to bring “peace” (Pax Romana)

God shows that, ironically, when the Jews wished for a violent warrior messiah and a violent God, they were wishing for God to be like Rome, who they hated!

Hardness of Heart

This destruction was well deserved. It was the same kind of destruction Jerusalem had hoped and prayed for on their enemies, now brought home to them.

Once they saw that the god they worshipped was, in fact, demonic, you’d think any reasonable person would turn away from it, yet John tells us no one did.