God's mercy in judgement

June 1, 2020 (Monday)

 

Here we are at a new month. The news in the USA has shifted from the virus to violent protests. The virus is still a problem, but there seems to be a much deeper issue surrounding the violence. One the surface, it seems many are expressing a deep anger, possibly hatred, for racial and social injustice. One protester last night was flying a Soviet flag outside the White House. I used to think we were better than this…

 

Revelation 9 starts with the fifth trumpet being blown. “Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.” [Revelation 9:1 NLT] The only mention in Scripture of someone “fallen” from heaven is Satan and his followers. Jesus claimed, “…I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!” [Luke 10:18 NLT] Some think this happened prior to the temptation in the Garden of Eden. However, in Job, Satan has access to the throne of God in heaven. Revelation 12 refers to a war in heaven against “the dragon” who is hurled to earth.

 

We don’t know, the time when Satan will be (or has been) literally (or metaphorically) cast out of heaven. We do know Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, as John claimed, “But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.” [1 John 3:8 NLT] It is difficult to think Satan should be given the key to the abyss (“bottomless pit”), but stealing, killing, and destroying are his nature. Jesus used this contrast, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” [John 10:10 NLT] If it is Satan who is given the key, it can only happen by the permissive will of God.

 

The fifth seal is the unleashing of the locusts from hell. These are probably not man-made, specifically they are described as originating from “the abyss.”  Their king is “Abaddon” (Hebrew) or Apollyon (Greek).  The name would translate into English as “Destroyer.”

 

The target and time frame of the locusts are specific. For five months they are given reign to torture but not kill humans. Their power is likened to the scorpion, whose sting is an intense burning sensation. Death will not be possible even though it is sought/desired during these five months. “In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!” [Revelation 9:6 NLT] The reality is that death would bring an eternity of misery worse than what they are experiencing. Even in wrath, God is showing mercy.

 

The sixth seal releases four angels from the Euphrates River. These have been prepared for this moment. They are given power to kill one third of the world’s population. In Revelation 6:8 one fourth of humanity is killed. This adds up to 58% of the world’s population (as of June 1, 2020 this would be over 4.5 billion dead). They command 200 million cavalry troops (notice this does not count foot, air, navy, or space troops). A tendency has been to mistakenly identify these as the number of troops at the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). Assuming the book of Revelation is sequential, they are not and more death is on it's way.

 

The words translated 200,000,000 is literally “two, myriad, myriad” or “two, ten-thousand, ten-thousand.” The latter translation would be the three numbers multiplied together to equal 200 million. The number could also indicate two separate groups of ten-thousand each. However the Greek understanding of “myriad” was “uncountable.”  The point is this number might mean “two infinities times infinity” as a dynamic equivalency.

 

What are these things? How would John, a first century writer, describe our war machines? He has no language to name them so he describes them in common images. Another idea is that John is describing creatures or machines that we have not yet begun to be able to think could possibly exist.

 

Despite God’s mercies, going to extremes to get people to repent before it is too late, a stubbornness sets in to humanity. “But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” [Revelation 9:20 – 21 NLT]

 

When this pandemic arrived, many felt it was the beginning of the end. I don’t know for certain, but it seems to be the beginning of something none of us want to see. Trouble is, this seems to be our destiny. What are you going to do about it? Add to the hatred and chaos that has been unleashed, or be an instrument of love and peace?

If God is speaking to you. Deal with it. Immediately.