Revelation #29

Wee as you can see I didn't do a very good job of paying attention on my last devotion or I wouldn't have ended with only one verse to go in chapter 8! But it is ok as it does flow into chapter 9!



Revelation 8:13



13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"



Revelation 9:1-6



1And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.[a] 2He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.



In the last verse of chapter 8 John looked and seen an eagle flying and crying out in a loud voice. It was telling that more wrath and judgement is coming to the earth as that is what a "woe' represents. The angles are about to blow more trumpets and that leads us into chapter 9. With all that we have studied so far it is hard to believe it can get worse but oh it is going to get much worse!



We see in verse 1 of chapter 9 the fifth angel blows his trumpet and John sees a star fall from the heaven to earth. This star represents Satan. Look at Luke 10:18:



Luke 10:18

18And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.



Verse 1 goes on to tell us that Satan was given the key to hell. This shows us that God is in control not Satan! God allowed him to have the key! In verse 2 we are told Satan opens up hell and smoke rose out of the shaft. Then from this smoke came locusts. This is very similar to the 8th plague in exodus:



Exodus 10:14-15



14 The locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled on the whole country of Egypt, such a dense swarm of locusts as had never been before, nor ever will be again. 15They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.



But these locusts are much more powerful as we find out in the latter part of verse 3. These locusts have the same power as a scorpion....a venomous sting! In verse 4 we are told these locusts are not to do what they normally do which is to destroy the grass or plants, or trees, but they are to harm those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads! This not having the seal refers to those who are not saved! In verse 5 we are told these locusts are allowed to torment for 5 months! Oh my can you imagine the agony??? They could not kill anyone but just sting them like a scorpion! Look at verse 6...this torment along with everything else going on we have already suffered will be so horrible folks will want to die but they will not be able too. Suicide will not be an option...what a terrible time of suffering.



Think on these things today....it blows my mind!



Tom