By Pastor Greg...
A school teacher asked the class
to name their favorite animal. Young
Calvin said, "Fried chicken."
She said he wasn't funny, but everyone else laughed. Calvin said he was just being honest. Fried chicken is his favorite animal. He loved animals, especially chicken… and
pork… and beef.
Anyway, the teacher sent him to
the principal's office. Calvin told him
what happened, and he laughed, too. Then he told the young man not to do it
again.
The next day in class, the teacher
asked the students to name their favorite live
animal. When she came to Calvin, he told her it was chicken. She asked why, so
he told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken. She sent him
back to the principal's office. He laughed, and told Calvin not to do it again.
The poor child went home
confused. His parents had taught him to
be honest, but his teacher apparently doesn’t like it when he is. What was he supposed to do? The next day the teacher asked the class to
name a famous person they most admired.
Calvin told her, "Colonel
Sanders."
I guess every classroom has a
Calvin – that kid who never seems to change.
Teachers try and try to get through to them, but nothing seems to work.
Sometimes I wonder if this is how
God feels about humanity. He tries and
tries to reach people, but some just will not change. Take, for instance, the events in Revelation
9. At first He tried suffering; then He
tries war. But nothing seems to change
the hearts of the people. (Read Revelation
9:13-21).
The fifth trumpet brought
suffering; the sixth one brings death. 200
million mounted troops wage war against humanity and one-third of the people on
this earth are killed. They are killed
by the three “plagues” that billow from the mouth of these horse-like
creatures; the fire, smoke, and burning sulfur.
If you combine the 25% killed when the Fourth Seal is broken and this one-third,
at least 50% of the world’s population has been annihilated (100% - 25% = 75%. One-third of 75% is 25%).
It’s possible this army is the
same one mentioned in Daniel 11:40-45 and Revelation 16:12-16. It is clear that this army serves the antichrist;
this is a demonic army under the control of four demons (Holy angels are not
bound). In Daniel’s vision this army
wages war with another army from the south (the area around Egypt). Once the army in Africa is conquered, the
mounted troops turn back north, stopping in a broad plain between Jerusalem and
the Mediterranean Sea. There, this wild,
demonic army will meet its demise. In
Revelation 16, this broad plain is called Armageddon.
Like the creatures from the fifth
trumpet, these horses and their riders are demonic in origin, not some earthly
nation waging biological warfare. The
horses remind me of a dragon more than anything else. They can attack from the front and from
behind. And these creatures are just as
frightening as the locust-like creatures from the first “woe” (Revelation
9:1-12).
How are we supposed to respond to
these words? Why has the Lord given them
to us? As a Christian, why is it
important I know of these “Seals and Trumpets?”
Should I use them to warn my unsaved friends? Are they intended to scare someone into
heaven? If they do, then I guess that’s
okay, but I feel the whole reason the Lord revealed these things is to
demonstrate why the wicked people of
this world should be condemned.
The two trumpets in this chapter
reveal some of the greatest anguish the world has ever seen… will ever see
(these events are still in the future).
According to Jesus, “unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single
person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones”
[1]
(Matthew 24:22). You would think that
after 6 months of torment (fifth trumpet) and after the massive death toll from
a demonic army (sixth trumpet), the world would be beating a pathway to the
Lord. But instead of rushing to Jesus
and repenting of their sinful ways, these people continue in their sin. Even after these four demonic angels wipe out
1/3 of the population, humanity still worships demons and idols. They still murder one another, participate in
the occult, are sexually immoral, and steal from one another. Nothing changes.
Here, we learn an interesting
lesson about humanity. These people did
not repent during a time of peace, and they did not repent during a time of
strife. Repentance does not always
happen during a time of suffering. Oh, I
know it happens every now and then, but for the most part, suffering doesn’t
change a person’s opinion about themselves or about God.
People repent when they become
aware of their guilt, and when they become aware of God’s grace. Pain or anguish seldom produces this
awareness. Tragedy does not often lead
to revival. Sure, many people will turn
to God in a crisis, but not because they feel remorse for their sin. Rather, they want God to take away their
suffering. For example, only one of the
ten lepers healed by Jesus returned to worship the Lord (Luke 17:17). Here, the people suffering during this
demonic war continue in their sin; they do not repent.
For this reason, I believe, God
teaches us about these “Seals, Trumpets, and later, about the Bows of
Wrath.” He is revealing His future plans
so on the Day of Judgment, when all humanity stands before God, everyone will
know that the Lord’s judgment is justified.
He gave mankind every opportunity to repent. He called to humanity during times of peace,
and many refused to listen. He sent His
Son to plead with people, and instead, they nailed Him to a cross. He sent distress and suffering, yet humanity
continued to do evil. What more could He
have done (Isaiah 5:4)?
The Good News for you and I is
that this demonic-led army is something that will happen in the future. I don’t know how far in the future, but it
probably takes place about 7 years after the Church is called to heaven. The good news is that there is still time to
turn to God in this day of peace. God is
working today with a ministry of Grace.
Through Christ, God is redeeming those who admit their sin and turn to
Christ (to truly repent). Today is a day
of salvation; tomorrow it will be a day of judgment and plagues and suffering.
So, turn to Christ as your Savior
today; God is watching for the prodigal to come home.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Mt 24:22). Carol
Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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