Revelation 9:1-21

The trumpet judgments continue to come down upon the earth.  They continue to inflict pain and death all around the world.  What is most significant about these happenings is that despite what must have been unbearable pain coupled with a massive body count of dead people, those on the earth did not repent.  They continued to worship their false idols and continued to act in their sinful manners.  They have been confronted with their sin, they have seen that sin brings great pain and hardship, and they have seen that God is able and willing to punish sin; yet they still love their sin and refuse to turn from it.

SWARMS OF STINGING SCORPIONS: These very strange creatures com out of the bottomless pit and their numbers are so great that they cause the sun to darken.  They are actually called locusts, but they are different from any creature we know today.  They can fly, they travel in swarms, yet they look like small horses with the hair of a woman, teeth like a lion and they are able to sting like scorpions.  Perhaps the most amazing thing about these creatures is that they are able to discern between those who are believers that have repented of their sin and unbelievers that are loyal to Anti-Christ.  They only torment the unbelievers.  This plague lasts for a full five months.  I cannot imagine the pain and fear that this will instill.  The swelling and pain caused by just one scorpion sting is almost unbearable.  Most scorpion stings today occur on feet because they are creatures that scamper in the ground, however, since these creatures can fly so they will be able to sting all over the bodies of their victims.  I imagine that people will get stung multiple times and will have to go to extreme measures to protect themselves.  This kind of torture sends shivers down my spine, yet it is only a very small demonstration of God’s wrath towards sin.  He gives these demonstrations of judgment that men might understand His hatred of sin, His willingness to judge sinners and His ability to distinguish between sinners and saints in judgment.  One day He will judge sin eternally in the lake of fire, scorpions are mere child’s play by comparison.  God’s ability and promise to judge should spur all men everywhere to repent.

HEARDS OF HURTFUL HORSES: The sixth trumpet comes in the form of an army two hundred million strong.  This army is mounted on horses the like of which we have never seen before.  They have heads that look like lions and out of their mouths come fire, smoke and brimstone.  These sound more like fire breathing dragons than horses to me, but whatever they are, they and apparently the men that are riding them come across the Euphrates River and bring down death and destruction on all that are in their path.  As a result of this judgment, one-third of the population of the earth is killed.  If you are keeping track, so far about sixty percent of the population of the world that entered the tribulation is now dead.  That is a lot of death in less than seven years.  We would expect that in light of this kind of death and destruction that there would be surrender, but the real result is further rebellion and refusal to repent.  We must be very careful not to allow hard hearts to overtake us, for the results are tragic.  I am so thankful that God’s grace is so abundant through Christ, for His wrath against those who reject Christ is beyond my ability to comprehend.