FBC Daily Devotions

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 9:12-15.

Here we read about the 6^th trumpet and the second woe.  John heard a voice before the golden altar.  Remember from earlier in Revelation that the golden altar is where the saints offered up their prayers (Revelation 8:3-4).  This woe is part of the answers to prayers for judgment.

The 6^th angel released the four angels bound at the river Euphrates. It is interesting that these angels are kept at Euphrates.  The river Euphrates was at the edge of the territory promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18.  It was also the Eastern border of the Roman Empire.  So the incoming judgment is coming from a symbolic and significant historical place.

And what a terrible event – A third of mankind killed.  But something that is impressed upon me is the emphasis placed on the timing.  The four angels had been prepared for “the hour, the day, the month and the year.” (Rev. 9:15 ESV). 

This isn’t mindless destruction.  This is all part of God’s plan and it has been part of God’s plan for a very long time.  He knows when these different events are happening.  He knows when the people of this world deserve to be judged in such a serious way.  God is a holy and just God, but he is also a God of love. 

Even as we read of the destruction of a third of the human race, we can put our trust in God’s plan and that it ultimately is good.  God knows when the time will be for the world to be judged, just as we read in the New Testament how God judged Sodom and Gomorrah.  We may have questions about why it has to be this way, like Abraham did.  He wanted to know if God would spare Sodom if there were fifty righteous, or thirty or twenty or ten, and each time God said he would spare the city if there were that many righteous people… but there weren’t.  God had His plan and kept to His plan.  He knew best.

God’s knows the exact moment when he will unleash this second woe as part of His plan, but thank God that as part of His plan for this world He sent His only son to die for us.  We didn’t deserve it and it doesn’t make sense, but His plan is beyond our understanding, just like it was beyond Abraham’s.

(We are once again privileged to have Mako Kato, our summer intern, share his thoughts on our passage today.)

Read Revelation 9:11.

We read in this verse that the king over this destruction is Abaddon, or Apollyon, the destroyer.

We often think of Satan as a deceiver, and he is, but he is also a destroyer.  1 Peter 5:8 warns Christians to be alert.  “Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour,” it says. (ESV)

Satan wants to destroy.  He wants to tear people down.  We read of demon-possessed people in the gospels.  The demons cause these people to fall into fire and into water (Matt. 17:15) or cry out and bruise themselves with stones (Mark 5:5).

And Satan continues to destroy today.  A friend in Central Asia shared about Satan’s attacks on the believers there.  A nun became a Christian and shortly after was killed in a car accident.  Others have become sick or been poisoned for their faith.

People still worship Satan around the world.  When I went to Papua New Guinea some years ago, two of the believers there, Odaya and Suduwama, shared their testimonies.  They shared how they used to live in fear of evil spirits, who looked like short, red beings.  They wouldn’t let any light into their huts because they were worried the evil spirits would look in.  After someone died they would shoot arrows around the body to ward off the evil spirits.  They lived in fear of these beings.

Maybe we don’t realize Satan’s presence as much here in the U.S., but he is very much at work.  He wants to hurt us as Christians.  I know I had a period of struggling with evil thoughts.  Maybe you have had similar experiences or voices telling you were worthless.

It taught me I couldn’t fight it on my own strength.  I needed God.  I needed to pray, immediately, and I also asked my parents for prayer.  I would remember verses like James 4:6-8 which encouraged me to resist the devil, but draw near to God.

I believe that we cannot lose our faith as Christians, but Satan can try to make us doubt God.  He can try to make us Christians who don’t act on our faith and aren’t salt and light in the earth.

Going back to the verse in 1 Peter 5:8-9, after it describes Satan as a lion it says, “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (ESV)

Satan is trying to destroy both us and our Christian brothers and sisters around the world.  Let’s remember to pray for them.  And if you are having trouble being attacked by Satan and his demons… If you are having evil or depressing thoughts, please turn first to God, and also find someone you can confide in and pray with.

Read Revelation 9:7-10.

Here we see a description of the “locusts” of v. 3. Their description is an awesome picture of power and terror:

• Crowns of gold
• Faces of human appearance
• Hair as a woman
• Teeth like a lion
• Breastplates of iron
• Wings like the sound of thundering horses and chariots
• Tails and stings of a scorpion

Now picture beings of this description angrily charging into the world to inflict devastation upon the earth. This fiercesome force is Satan and his demon army released from the Abyss. It is possible that this is a description of Satan’s forces working through human forces; either way, it is Satan’s power at its source, and it will be intimidating. I think this speaks to the serious power of Satan. It is true that “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world (Satan)”, but that does not mean Satan is not a powerful force to be reckoned with. His power as seen in this trumpet judgment reveals that it will extend over the world and will inflict pain and suffering for five months. For those alive during that time, it would be wise to take his power seriously! But is that not true for us today?

Ephesians 6 says that our power is not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm (Eph. 6:12).  And according to Eph. 6:11, his power today is often carried out through schemes rather than the plainly visible devastation seen in the sixth trumpet. His schemes take the form of temptation, a dulling of the senses to sin, the minimization of his presence, the distractions of this present world, and so on. But he is real… and he is dangerous. It is a mistake to give him too much power, but it is perhaps a greater mistake to minimize him or marginalize him in our life. And as we grow closer to Christ, his influence will grow stronger. C.S. Lewis once said something to the effect in his Screwtape Letters that Satan loves it when he is marginalized because then he doesn’t have to do much to distract them from their walks with Christ. It is when a person knows he (Satan) is real and begins to pray that he turns up the heat to get them to give in.

How is Satan’s power influencing your life in Christ? Are you acutely aware of his scheming attempts to make you fall? Hopefully you are walking close to Christ and thus living in the power of His Holy Spirit and His Word to fight off the schemes of Satan. If not, consider:

1. When are you most susceptible to Satan’s scheming ways? (e.g. Do you tend to fall at certain times of the day or in certain situations?)
2. How can you better recognize when he is attacking your life? (i.e. Do you know when you are stepping into a mine field?)
3. What can you do to win the battle (e.g. prayer, Scripture memory, call a friend, etc.)?

Satan is a powerful force in our lives, especially for those who are fighting hard against him. If you have time, read Eph. 6:10-18 for more helps in this area.

Read Revelation 9:3-6.

Locusts – have you ever seen a swarm of locust before? I have never personally seen even one locust, but from what I know about them from the Bible, they can destroy crops and fields in no time at all (cf. Exod. 10:12-15). And scorpions – these were used in Old Testament times as a means of disciplining those who were out of line (cf. 2Chron. 10:11). Note here in this Revelation passage that the judgment is not inflicted by literal scorpions, but only that judgment will have the power of scorpions. The pain inflicted by this trumpet judgment will not come in the form of death, but rather in the form of torment and torture not unlike the discipline of scorpions recorded in the OT. In this fifth trumpet judgment, along with strong spiritual oppression will come an affliction that will be so miserable and painful, people will wish themselves dead. Some will seek suicide, but will be unable, giving rise to the speculation that perhaps the affliction itself will inhibit one’s ability or mobility.

Take note of something here. Who are the ones who will be afflicted? Based on v. 4, it will be those who do not worship the living God. Those who have the “seal of God on their foreheads” will be kept from the torment. This is significant because it should be clear that the ones being afflicted ought to turn to God… and yet despite being tormented for five months, there appears to be no turning. I am not suggesting there wasn’t any turning, but there doesn’t appear to be a significant turning to reveal it to John.

I’d like you to consider why after seeing Christ-followers immune to the affliction and only unbelievers being afflicted, why unbelievers wouldn’t turn to Christ. With what seems to be an ongoing escalation of destruction and personal suffering, one would think the lights would go on. I believe there is a reason, and that may be more apparent in the next trumpet. But for now, make this personal by asking yourself: Have there been times when God has tried to get my attention, but I refused to pay attention? IF so, why did you react that way? What finally got your attention? Is He trying to get your attention now? How are you responding?

Let’s begin this week of the passage by reading it in its entirety: Revelation 9:1-11.

The fifth trumpet is given considerably more explanation than the previous four trumpets. This is due in large part to the increase in the severity of the events coming upon the earth. What we have seen up till now is one physical catastrophe after another. In the fifth trumpet, we see an unlocking and unleashing of spiritual warfare as never before experienced on earth. According to Rev. 9:1, demons once locked up in the Abyss will be released to inflict great damage.

What is the Abyss? In Luke 8:31 we find Jesus prepared to send a legion of demons into the Abyss. The demons begged Jesus not to send them there. This would mean that the Abyss is a place not even demons like — a sort of prison or detention center. From this Revelation passage, the Abyss holds demons in such a way that prevents their influence upon the earth. But a terrible thing will happen in the fifth trumpet judgment. The Abyss will be unlocked, and the power of the demons within will be released like “smoke from a great furnace.” The darkening of the skies reflects the darkness of the world that will be characterized by spiritual corruption and oppression.

The judgments on earth begin with physical destruction and continue to escalate with greater impact as time goes by. What is interesting to me is that the escalation, while it began with an increasing amount of physical destruction, now rises to spiritual destruction. Spiritual destruction is seen as worse than physical destruction. And isn’t that true today? I find it true in myself that I will often reflect and respond to physical needs more than spiritual needs. But the truth of the matter is that our spiritual needs are more important than our physical needs. As Jesus asks (rhetorically), “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)

Thinking on your life, how have you found this to be true? When have you seen spiritual neglect bring greater disturbance in your life than say a physical need?