This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

We're continuing our study of Revelation chapter 9. This is day 3 of our study.
We're going to look at verses 3 to 12 today.

We're continuing our look at this fifth trumpet judgment, a judgment against
mankind. And the picture gets very serious. The Revelation gets very serious
today.

Let me read for you verses 3 to 6. "And out of the smoke locusts came down upon
the earth and were given power, like that of scorpions of the earth. They were
told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those
people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five
months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion
when it strikes a man. During these days men will seek death, but will not find
it.

They will long to die, but death will elude them. " Now, these are very serious
pictures. Before I go on with verse 7, let me just answer a question I heard
some asking about these verses.

It says that only those who were given the seal will escape this judgment. And a
few asked about this. Well, does that mean if believers happen to be on the
earth at this time and we're not one of those 144,000 Jewish believers that
we're going to face this?

Remember, when you interpret the scripture, it's vital to interpret unclear
passages in the light of clear passages. And in the clarity of the New
Testament, we know that we are all sealed by His Spirit. So in these verses,
we're either not here because of the rapture, which many people believe, and so
we're not facing what's going on here, or we have already been sealed because of
the blood of Jesus Christ, and we're just not mentioned in chapter 8 or here in
chapter 9.

But the idea that, well, because it doesn't specifically mention if you're a
Christian, this must mean I might have to face this. No, that's missing the
clear, clear teaching of scripture. You always interpret an unclear scripture in
light of a clear scripture.

And clearly, those who know Christ are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. Now,
with that in mind, hopefully taking that worry off the shelf, let's look at the
reality of what's going on here. Because I don't want that personal worry to
cause you and I to miss the terrible reality of what's happening.

In verses 7 to 12, the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their
heads, they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human
faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lion's teeth.

They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings
was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They
had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails, they had the power to
torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the
abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

The first woe is past, two other woes are yet to come. Here are these locusts.
And the first question, of course, is who are these locusts that are bringing
judgment upon the earth?

Some have seen them in terms of today and say that John was seeing exactly
what's happening in the 21st century, but he couldn't understand what it was.
So, they say that maybe they are helicopters that he's seeing here. I believe
there's a lot more here than that.

Are these real locusts? Well, what does the Bible say? The Bible says that
they're told not to harm the grass or plants, which locusts usually do, but they
instead are harming people, these people who do not have the seal of God on
their forehead.

And again, remember a couple chapters back, it was the 144,000 who received
God's seal. In this case, they are not harmed by these locusts. They were not
given power to kill in this case, but only to torture for five months.

Who are these locusts? They look like horses prepared for battle, but look
closely. They're wearing crowns, like crowns of gold.

Their faces resemble human faces. These are not sounding like insects, are they?
In fact, as you go on, they have breastplates like iron.

The sound of their wings is like many horses and chariots. They have these tails
like scorpions. They have a king over them who is named Abaddon, Apollyon in
different languages.

Satan is their king. So, I believe that these are demons. They could be people
who are completely given over to Satan, but they're certainly not machines, and
I don't believe that they're insects.

They are those with a personal choice who have chosen evil. You start to read
these verses, and you see that something deeply spiritual is happening here. The
demonic powers are coming forth to attack the earth.

These locusts are, in one sense, like locusts that God so often used in the Old
Testament. God used a swarm of locusts to destroy out of divine wrath and
judgment, hopefully to wake His people up to the reality of the fact they needed
Him. Exodus chapter 10 verses 12 to 20 talks about how God often used locusts,
the insects, in that way in the Old Testament.

But in this case, they are definitely a different kind as you see the
description. In this case, there is also a spiritual event that's happening.
Now, it talks about five months here.

What does that mean? It probably means five months. What it means to me is that
it's limited.

Five months they're given. They're only given a limited time by God. In fact,
they're limited in many ways.

They're limited in who they may strike. You can't strike those who have a seal
on their forehead. They're limited as to how far they can go and how long they
can go.

God is still in control. So God is allowing this to happen. Why?

Why is God allowing this to happen? This is a reminder to us of the purposes
that God has as this world comes to an end. You need to be aware of these three
purposes.

As you read through the book of Revelation, it causes everything to begin to
make sense. What are God's purposes in this time of tribulation? There are three
spiritual purposes.

Number one, to unmask Satan. Number two, to judge sin. And number three, to
invite salvation.

When you understand those purposes, you can see what's happening. First, his
purpose is to unmask Satan. These demons being released unmasks Satan for who he
really is.

In one sense, God is letting Satan be who he is so that the world can see who he
really is. The Bible tells us that now Satan often disguises himself, even to
believers, as an angel of light. And so sometimes it's difficult to ascertain,
is that evil?

Is that good? Unless you have God's spirit within you. So unbelievers have a lot
of questions.

Even you and I as believers have questions sometimes. Did Satan tell me to do
that? Did God put that thought in my mind?

Where did that come from? Well, if it makes you feel guilty, obviously it's
Satan every time. If it makes you feel fearful, obviously it's Satan every time.

Satan, though, is tricky. He is scheming. But here in the end, God is going to
let him have his way.

When you have locusts flying through and destroying people who are ugly and
scary in this kind of way, it's very clear, very clear, the kind of character
that Satan has. That is one of God's purposes in these end time events. Unmask
Satan.

Let him be seen for who he really is. Now, why will Satan do this? Why will he
destroy like this at the end of time?

Because it's his character. It's his name. He is a destroyer, a bad Napoleon.

And given the opportunity, he will destroy. People will see evil for what it
really is. The purpose is to unmask Satan.

It is also to judge sin. God is going to judge sin during this time. God is a
holy God who cannot live in the presence of sin.

And he wants to bring the world, he wants to bring all of us who are in the
world into his presence. Before he can do that, sin has to be judged. If I come
to Christ now, as we talked about yesterday, Jesus says, I've already passed
through judgment into life.

He has taken the judgment for me. I don't have to worry about that judgment
anymore. That's why Jesus came to this earth, to release us, to deliver us from
this judgment.

But if I don't depend on the judgment that's come upon God and the person of
Jesus Christ on that cross, then this is the judgment for sin that's going to be
faced at the end of time. God's going to judge sin as he creates a new heaven
and a new earth. And then there's a third purpose in this time of tribulation,
and that is to invite salvation.

Unmask Satan, judge sin, and invite salvation. When Satan really is unmasked,
when you see sin clearly for what it is, and this world begins to fall apart,
have you noticed how people get more interested in spiritual things when things
start going bad in their lives? This is going to be a time, at the end of time,
when people can see reality, and there's going to be an interest in spiritual
things.

Many of us came to Christ when things started going bad in our lives. That's a
habit of life. And God is going to allow these things to happen in the end so
that everyone gets the fullest opportunity to come to him to make a commitment
to him.

You might picture it this way. At the end of this world, as things come to a
close, we are reading about these trumpet judgments and this growth of evil
that's coming upon this world. And you see that clearly.

But I want you to see just as clearly that there's also good things happening.
There are the prayers of the saints being answered. God is working in answer to
those prayers for justice.

There are the 144,000 who are being sealed before God. There are people who are
being one to Christ, I believe, even to the end. What is the good?

The good is the people who are one to Christ. The encouraging thing about this
is that God has a plan to rescue the world from this. As you read about the
world falling apart here in the book of Revelation, it's easy to think why
should we even care about this world?

Why should we even care maybe even about the people in this world? God's going
to judge as he wants to in the end. He'll bring to him whoever he wants.

Yet the Bible tells us clearly he has chosen to use you and I as instruments to
carry the message of who he is. That's why this revelation was revealed so the
message can be carried. That's why the Church of Christ needs to be the Church
of Christ in every age no matter what's happening.

There is this awesome need to let people know the good news so that when the bad
news starts happening in their life, whether it's the great tribulation or it's
the trials of their everyday life, they will know there is good news in Christ.
Don't give up on sharing your faith. Don't let anything discourage you about
sharing your faith.

What if this is the last days? And what if God would take you early to go to be
with him in heaven but some witness that you shared was remembered by some
person who is facing a time like this and the seed that you planted even years
before is the thing that leads them to come to know Jesus Christ? I know
oftentimes when you share a witness you don't get the response you want in the
moment but it's good news and everyone in this world deserves to hear the good
news of Jesus Christ.

The book of Revelation is in one sense the greatest encouragement to share our
faith, to share the good news that I can imagine because in the end it's going
to be the only good news that I can hang on to. So as you pray today, just pray
for someone that you know that needs to know this good news. Maybe a friend,
maybe somebody in your family.

Lord help them to know the good news. Thank you Jesus for the good news that the
end of the story is not judgment. The end of the story is grace and promise and
inheritance with you forever.

But that end of the story only comes as I bow to you, as I worship you, as I
accept the good news that you want to give. God you've given his choice and so I
pray for my friend. Help him, help her to see the good news that's in Christ
even through difficulties and struggles in their life.

Help them to see God that you have good news to give. In Jesus name I pray,
amen.