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Revelation 9Demons--Hell on Earth1Title Slide2Two local pastors were fishing on the side of the road. They made a sign saying, "The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car.One driver who drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the one pastor said to the other, "You think maybe we should have just said 'Bridge Out' instead?"Unfortunately, that story, though humorous, contains much more truth that we would often care to admit. The end is in fact near, although none of us know exactly how near it is for us and for those around us. And there will indeed be a point at which it will be too late to turn around and repent. It is also true that as we proclaim that message to a world around us that is increasingly antagonistic towards Jesus that others will call us religious nuts and tell us to leave them alone.But in spite of that, we need a renewed urgency to take the gospel message to the world around us, both out of a profound respect and awe for the ways of God and a deep concern over the eternal fate of others.3Revelation 8:13The first four trumpets, represent God’s judgment against a portion of His creation for the purpose of extending an opportunity for people to experience His grace. But God is about to turn up the heat, so He sends an eagle to fly above the earth and send out one last warning. There is still time to repent before God releases the last three trumpet judgments. He is also warning that things are about to get much worse – the last three trumpets are also referred to here as “woes”-- which describes some really terrible things.4Revelation 9:1-25Do you believe in the existence of angels? Surveys show that most people do…but did you know that those same surveys also show that most people do not believe in the existence of demons?! If you believe in angels you MUST also believe in FALLEN ANGELS!…aka demons.6When Jesus walked this earth, He dealt with demons on many occasions. Remember in Luke 8, when Jesus confronted the demon-possessed maniac of Gadara? The demons begged and pleaded with Jesus, that he would not cast them into the abyss. Why were they afraid that He would send them there? Because they had friends in low places…that don’t get out much…that are crazy mad! And so they begged for mercy, and asked to be cast instead into the swine. And Jesus sent them into the pigs, and they went crazy and ran into the sea and drowned.7Deviled Ham8If you watch the news at all…if you ever leave the house, you have to agree, that the world we live in is controlled and influenced predominantly by Satan and His mighty army of fallen angels…demons. The Bible calls Satan the Prince of this world.9Ephesians 6:12We do not struggle against flesh and blood. Sometimes we focus on the abortionists, the pornographers, the godless politicians, the corrupt business leaders, the drug dealers, and the purveyors of filth, as if they were the source of our problems. Yet those people are unwitting dupes of powerful spiritual forces that they know nothing about. They are morally responsible for their choices, yet they are also in the service of evil beings that influence them in ways they do not realize.?Sometimes we are also used by these demons to accomplish Satan’s objectives. We use hateful words, and say critical things. We have to tear somebody else down to build ourselves up as if we are in some kind of competition with one another. We forget we are on the same team. If we fight we lose. The war was won at Calvary. 10Satan has a great army of evil spirits that assist him in his work…they are divided into 4 categories: principalities/powers/rulers of darkness/spiritual wickedness in high places.Many Bible scholars believe this to mean they are highly organized in their work, using a command structure, delegating orders, and organizing wickedness. ?It’s not clear how we should differentiate between them. Perhaps it is enough to know that demons are organized and serve different purposes in Satan’s service.?11As bad as things are today, as much influence and power as demons have, the worst of Satan’s demons have never been loosed upon this earth?! The worst of the worst are held in chains today. There are demons that are so evil, so insidious, so destructive, that God, in mercy, has kept them incarcerated ever since they followed Lucifer, and fell like stars from heaven with him.12Jude 613During the tribulation period, those demons will be liberated for a period of five months, for the purpose of tormenting mankind in a judgment that defies description.Obviously, demons are at work in the world today, but these demons, incarcerated for eons of time, are so vile, and filthy wicked, that they have been confined for thousands of years in the pit of the abyss…I don’t think they’ll be in a good mood. They will be loosed upon this earth, and they will unleash their venom in ways unimaginable.14America alone has approx. 2 million behind bars…one in every 125 American men is incarcerated. Worldwide estimates are astounding!What would the world be like if every prison opened its doors, and released every single prisoner and there was no police force in place to help?!What if at 8 p.m. tonight, every rapist, cut-throat, child molester, and thief were released? You wouldn’t leave your home, you would barricade yourself in and take up arms! And yet that is nothing like the Invasion from Hell which will occur during the tribulation. The demons of chapter 9 are not humans, they’re super-humans! They’re inhuman. Their release from the abyss will literally be Hell on Earth.15Revelation 9:1-2This is not just a star, but a “him”! This is Satan himself, granted permission from God Almighty to take the key to the bottomless pit, where demonic forces, perhaps more vicious than even him, are reserved in chains of darkness!At this point in the tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Who holds the keys of death and hell, gives the key to Satan for a period of 5 months. Satan opens the doors of hell, and for 5 long months, demons of the worst kind infest the world!Did you notice that GOD IS IN CONTROL? He is the One who hands off the key.16Revelation 9:3-617The destructive power of locusts is mentioned throughout the Bible. (Ex. One of the 10 plagues in Egypt).18Joel 2:1-519Raymond Dillard, in his commentary on Joel gives the following information about locust plagues:?“In our generation areas having the potential for a locust outbreak are monitored by international agencies using satellite reconnaissance and other technology; emerging swarms are met by aircraft and trucks carrying powerful pesticides. However, if the locusts are not destroyed or contained shortly after the hatch, control efforts are minimally effective--even today. 20For example, in 1988 the civil war in Chad prevented international cooperation in attacking the hatch, and a destructive swarm spread throughout North Africa devastating some of the poorest nations and threatened Europe as well. Such outbreaks have serious consequences for the health and mortality of an affected population and for a region’s economy. Scarcity of food for consumption, lack food for trade, and high inflation costs for food products result from the swarm’s attack. Disease outbreaks are further aggravated when swarms die; the putrefaction of the millions of locust bodies breeds typhus and other diseases that spread to humans and animals.21It was only in 1921 that the mystery of the locust was solved. Prior to this date researchers wondered what became of the locust during the years in which there were no outbreaks. In 1921 B. P. Uvarov demonstrated that the swarming locust was none other than an ordinary species of grasshopper. However, when moisture and temperature conditions favored a large hatch, the crowding, unceasing contact, and jostling of the nymphs begin to stimulate changes in coloration, physiology, metabolism, and behavior, so that the grasshopper nymphs make the transition from solitary behavior to the swarming gregarious and migratory phases of the dreaded plague. Plagues continue as long as climatic conditions favor the large hatches. Once entering their gregarious phase, swarms, of locusts can migrate great distances and have even been observed twelve hundred miles at sea. The swarms can reach great sizes: a swarm across the Red Sea in 1889 was estimated to cover two thousand square miles. A swarm is estimated to contain up to 120 million insects per mile.Locust facts: A locust can eat its own weight in food every 24 hours.?The lifespan of a locust is 5 months.?22So, why does John use the term locusts to describe these demons?It probably refers to the unbelievable number of them that are loosed. The Bible says that Satan was thrown out of heaven when he rebelled, along with 1/3 of the angels (fallen angels). Back in Revelation 5 we saw that just the angel choir alone in heaven is over 100 million strong! And that’s just the choir!!?And 1/3rd of them fell, and the most of them, the worst of them, will be loosed upon the earth for the first time, and will on that day pour out like a dark cloud of bats from a cave…to terrorize the earth. 23Revelation 9:7-1024They appear like horses armed for battle, powerful and eager to destroy. Unstoppable, like charging steeds, conquering everyone in their path. Resistance will be futile! There will be no escape!The crowns they wear are “victor’s crowns.” Just like they’ve always wanted…the very reason they were thrown out of the kingdom of God! They are the gods and the kings of this world! They are in full control, for a time, they are ruling the world. With the faces of men, they show they are intelligent rational beings not actual insects. They are highly organized, with the gift of reason, and intelligence above our own!The description of their hair being like the hair of a woman represents beauty. They may appear at first glance to be alluring and attractive. The Bible talks about “seducing spirits”, referring to demons! They are deceitful and cunning. They have the teeth of lions. Their real desire is to attack and devour! Their tails sting like scorpions, with power to torture people. Armor made of iron, designed to protect the vital organs and preserve the life of the solider, symbolizes the demon’s invulnerability; they will be impossible to resist or destroy.?There will be no weapon to harm them and no cure to make them go away for they have a mission from the Almighty God who sits upon the throne. Mankind will be placed in this situation and forced to make a decision—accept or reject Christ. The reality is that mankind will have to choose whom they will ultimately serve, themselves or the Creator, the passions of the flesh or the passions of God.The power and the length of the torment described, stresses that God is in control. He has the sovereign ability to protect His people as well as end the assault and send the demons back to where they came from.?25We cannot begin to imagine the physical pain that these demons will bring upon people. The strongest human instinct we have is self-preservation, but verse 6 says those on earth will desire to die, and will attempt suicide, and will be unable to do so…unable to escape the torment.26People will be devising all kinds of means and ways to die. But bodies won't drown. They'll jump into rivers and not sink. They'll drink poison but it won't kill them. Bullets won't be fatal. Falls won't crush them. They just won't die.27For 5 months of the tribulation Satan and his demons will have free reign to do what they so want to do to everyone.This five month period is best seen as the last hurray for those who wish to either repent or not. God will harden people’s hearts after this period and they will be permanently hardened in their unbelief (9:2-21; 15:9, 11). 28Revelation 9:11-1229Ezekiel 33:1130Reverences ................
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