Chapter 9
The sound of the fifth trumpet marks an escalation in the judgments once more. We have gone from the natural consequences of placing yourself under the curse by rejecting Love and Grace Himself to God using creation itself as a testament against the arrogant wickedness of humanity. But now, there is an added element again and that is demon armies and fallen angels are granted the power to do the evil they have long desired to do to God’s precious creations, the beings created in His image as chief worshippers and demonstrations of His Glory.
In this instance of a star falling from heaven to earth (9:1) it is phrased as a completed action which would lend itself to satan being cast down like lightning (Luke 10:18) but there is no identity given so we cannot be sure. Whoever it is, they were given the key to the bottomless pit and out of the bottomless pit arose severe demonic possession in various forms including tormenting humanity in such a horrific way that people long to die but can’t. Later we see a demonic army 200 million in size that kill a third of humanity left on the planet at that time.
Let me be abundantly clear. Even though demonic forces are tormenting and taking life and destroying humanity they are merely tools in the hand of God. Several times in chapter nine we read that the power and ability they do have is handed to them not taken by them. Even the timing of how long they can torment and when they can kill and/or torment is completely in the control of God.
For example, (emphasis mine)
- To him was given the key to the bottomless pit…(verse 1)
- And to them was given power (verse 3)
- They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (verse 4)
- And they were not given authority to kill them…(verse 5)
- Their power was to hurt men five months (verse 10)
- Release the four angels who are bound (verse 14) – These would be fallen angels hence why they are bound.
- So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. (verse 15) – In other words, permitted in God’s timing only.
Part of the reason for this is because evil is being exposed and satan is being exposed. Since Genesis 3 satan has been deceiving humanity into doubting what God has said and promised. He disguises himself as an angel of light (2Cor 11:14) and leads people and nations to destruction. This time, however, the destruction is being exposed as demonic in nature and used by God to not only bring into light the forces of evil but also to use them as an instrument of His judgement. God is completely in control and even in satans rage backed by all the evil emanating from the abyss, he is still completely helpless but to bring about God’s perfect justice in the world exposing himself as the originator of deceit and suffering.
With every move he makes in an attempt to tantrum against the sovereignty of the King, he mistakenly shackles himself in the ever-increasing glory of God’s sovereign majesty. Like a puppet being led around the stage, satan and his demons are fulfilling God’s will and just like Adam and Eve were left naked by deceit, lucifer is now left naked by the truth of Christ’s triumph (Col 2:15)
Even the timing is completely at the discretion of God. He determines how long the torment will go for (verse 10) and when the precise moment of His judgment will be implemented (verse 15). Despite this overwhelmingly outward display of supernatural evil being exposed the response of the people who survive is on the one hand shockingly surprising but on the other hand dismally predictable to those who have either placed themselves in the place of God or intentionally or otherwise, positioned the dragon and the beast as the object of their worship (Rev 12:4).
The response of those who live to see such days and have not already turned to the Lord? They continue idolising things made by themselves whether they be manmade philosophies, prideful intellectualism, consumerist materialism, occult practice or simply humanist spiritism. Any idols they deem more worthy of worship than God they stubbornly press even further into. Why? Because they did not want to turn from their love of sin and wickedness (9:21).
Humanity doubles down and increases in their love of substance abuse, sexual immorality, occultic worship and unfettered greed, both corporate and personal, implemented through every wicked imagination of the heart.
Just like Pharoh’s heart was hardened as he continued to pursue death in the midst of God’s judgments, likewise many people will also doggedly and intentionally love their sin to the inevitability of utter destruction.
This is why at this juncture we need to remind ourselves of the perfect justice of Jesus and the revealing nature of Almighty in this book. Almighty is the name used for God frequently in Revelation and simply put it means, to hold all things. Chapter nine shows us that even in the worst of God’s judgements and satans wrath, God is in control and holds all things.
Here’s what we can live from these verses:
- God is in complete control at all times throughout the Tribulation. No matter how evil satan is or how wicked humanity is in their pursuit of sin, God is in control and holds everything. He will remove the evil and judge the wickedness precisely when He decides and in the exact manner which He judges right. We can have confidence that even all of hell’s fury is under the complete control of Almighty God.
- Satan is Exposed to all. Like a rat being led through a labyrinth, satan and his demons will think they are making choices but with each decision, they simply turn down the exact path of God’s choosing and closer to the ultimate fate of destruction. Part of God’s judgment will be to expose satan and evil in order to highlight that the free will of their choice has not been forced on them by anyone else except for them believing the father of lies.
Isaiah 14:16 says
“Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
Once satan is exposed people will look upon him and be extremely disappointed as they realise he had no power outside of the power he tricked them into giving him. Those days of deceit will come crashing to an end as part of God’s judgement over satan.
- We Can Live Free Now. Jesus has not only defeated satan (Col 2:15), but he has also freed us from the power of sin. One of the saddest pictures in the bible is in this chapter when humanity, after seeing the power and majesty of Christ and having countless opportunities to turn to him still choose their love of sin over the love of the King. We can live in love with Jesus now and be free from the power of sin because of the victory of the cross. Sin will lead to destruction which is why Jesus destroyed sin.
