Rev.9:1-21,The victors of spiritual battle (The wrath of 5-6 trumpets)

Rev.9:1-21,The victors of spiritual battle (The wrath of 5-6 trumpets)

Scripture
1.The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.
2.When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
3.And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
4.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.
5.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.
6.During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
7.The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.
8.Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.
9.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.
10.They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
11.They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. 
12.The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.

13.The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.
14.It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
15.And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.
16.The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number.
17.The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.
18.A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.
19.The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.
20.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, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood -- idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
21.Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Sermon by Rev. KyuS. Shim

  After the wrath of seven seals was completed, the wrath of seven trumpets began. In Chapter 8, the angels sounded four trumpets. 1) The first trumpet-wrath on the earth, a third of the earth and the trees were burned up 2) The second trumpet-wrath on the sea, a third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, a third of the ships were destroyed 3) The third trumpet-wrath on the waters, a third of the waters turned bitter 4) The fourth trumpet-wrath on the sky, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars turned dark These catastrophic events affects the nature. Today’s Scripture, Chapter 9 displays the wrath of two trumpets, the fifth and sixth trumpets. These wraths cause terrible woes and suffering on people.

  Verse 1 writes, “The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.” Abyss is like a dark dungeon where the evil spirits are imprisoned, it is a place with no end or bottom (Luke 8:30-31). Even the demons (legion) are afraid to go into the Abyss according to the story of Jesus restoring a demon-possessed man in the Book of Luke. Verse 2 writes, “When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.” Devil darkens the world and darkens our hearts. Verse 3 says, “And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.” They have destructive powers and cause tremendous pain on people. Verse 4 says, “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.” Those people refer to the unbelievers who did not receive the seal of God on their foreheads (7:3). Verse 5-6 write, “They were not allowed 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. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.” They are tortured to the point that they rather die, but they cannot die. But God’s children who received the seal of God are completely protected.

  Verses 7-11 describe the appearance of the locusts. They look like horses prepared for battle. They are destructive and ready to attack. They are wearing something like fake crowns of gold. Their faces resemble human faces. They are deceptive, appear to be wise, but sly. Their hair was like women’s hair (attractive), their teeth were like lions’ teeth (destructive, violent), they had breastplates like breastplates of iron (self-protection) and the sound of their wings was like the horses and chariots rushing into battle (swift, aggressive, systematically organized). They had tails with stingers, like scorpions and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months (temporary). They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, Satan, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon, that is Destroyer. We must defeat it with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

  Verse 13 writes, “The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God.” This is God’s answer to the saints’ prayers and the wrath of the sixth trumpet begins. Verses 14-15 say, “It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.” The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. This is more specific than the wrath of the red horse rider in Chapter 6:3-4. Verses 17-19 write, “The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur (Genesis 19:24,28 The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah). The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.” They kill a third of mankind. Satan uses cunning, crafty deception to murder people. There were many leaders who worked for Satan and they were perpetrators, murderers in the history of mankind. Under Mao Zedong’s reign, about 78 million were killed, Stalin killed about 23million, Hitler killed 17 million, Pol Pot (Cambodia’s killing fields) killed 2 million, Saddam Hussein killed 2million, Il Sung Kim and Jung Il Kim of North Korea killed 2 million. They were all subordinates and followers of Satan and made the world living hell.

  Verses 20-21 write, “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” Those who were not killed by these plagues still continue to sin since they do not repent nor do they recognize their sins. They do not have spiritual perspectives so they do not discern God’s hands, His judgment on the earth. They do not repent. This is the reality of mankind in the last days. In this day and age, murder, violence, sexual immorality, perversion, theft, divination, magic arts became so prevalent in movies, dramas, TV shows, and all kinds of entertainments. Even after the great tribulation, humans become more corrupt spiritually and morally.

  What is the lesson we learn from the wrath of the locusts and the battle on the great river Euphrates?
1. The locusts, the evil spirits obscure the light of the Word and darken the world. We must distinguish darkness with the light of the Word and conquer the evil spirits. God’s children must be equipped with God’s Word.

2. When we face hardship, we must repent and walk the path of blessing. Repentance leads to blessing for God’s children. May God bless you and give you victory in spiritual battle through repentance and prayer under the light of God’s Word.
Is. 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."
Amen.