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Do you believe in the existence of angels?
Surveys show that most people do…but did you know that those same surveys
also show that most people do not believe in the existence of demons?! If
you believe in angels you MUST also believe in FALLEN ANGELS!…aka demons.
When Jesus walked this earth, He dealt w/
demons on many occasions. “Well, I don’t believe in all that hocus-pocus!”
Jesus did! Jesus not only believed in them,
but He often confronted them…inc. the time He dealt w/ one individual who
was at that time possessed w/ literally hundreds of demons.
If you watch the news at all…if you
ever leave the house, you have to agree, that the world we live in is
controlled and influenced predominantly by Satan and His mighty army of
fallen angels…demons. The Bible calls Satan the Prince of this world, the
Prince of the power of the air.
Eph. 6 says Satan has a great army of evil
spirits that assist him in his work…they are divided into 4 categories:
principalities/powers/rulers of darkness/spiritual wickedness in high
places.
Many Bible scholars believe this to
mean there is a hierarchy involved here, not just a bunch of bad guys w/ a
leader, but that they are highly organized in their work, using a command
structure, delegating orders, organizing wickedness.
Rapists—not just of women, but even toddlers
of 2 or 3 years, or the elderly in their 80’s…now that’s depravity which
must be inspired by demons!
Child abusers—even parents…defiling their own
children in ways so horrible that they defy imagination…that’s depravity
which must be inspired by demons! Or a mother that would drown her own
children…that’s not natural, only a demon could accomplish that!
Murderers—not just killing their victims, but
brutalizing them, and in many cases, cannibalizing them… that’s depravity
which must be inspired by demons!
9/11 hijackers—train for several years to
die, as long as they can take innocent Americans w/ them. These are people
w/ an agenda so warped and a mind so brainwashed, they are the very
embodiment of evil…that’s depravity which must be inspired by demons!
Suicide bombers—(homicide bombers) have blown
themselves up hundreds of times since Sept., 2000…that’s Palestinian against
Jew. They’ve killed thousands in those attempts, and averaged only 3.5
killed by each bomber! What kind of person is willing to do so much w/ so
little result? A person which is possessed and controlled and inspired by
demons!
What kind of person tries to make a statement
to their government by harming and killing innocent people. (Timothy
McVeigh, who called children he killed “collateral damage” / anthrax / pipe
bomber who drew “smiley face” on US map!) I’ll tell you what kind of
person…a demon-possessed person.
Satanism is on the rise. And the Satanists
are not just the heavy metal rockers that we think of, or the members of the
church of Satan which sacrifice cows and goats and drink the blood.
Satanists are not just the people in NM where I grew up that put a small boy
into a coffin w/ a straw to breathe thru, then poured in thousands of fire
ants…and later referred to the 15 minutes of slow death torture which ensued
as a “sacrifice to Satan”.
No, Satanists are also in other
forms, like lost people who allow Satan in…they allow him in by the ear gate
when they listen to the aforementioned trash / eye gate when they burn
themselves from inside-out w/ pornography, or role play w/ today’s
mutilating video games, or Harry Potter books / thru the throat by means of
a bottle / or thru their nose or their veins, or even their reproductive
systems!
And some Christians, though not
possessed, allow themselves to be demon-oppressed when they take part in
some of the same acts of wickedness.
The goal is not to depress you today…so
here’s the point:
We all know the world is in bad shape /
Satan’s behind it…
…but did you know: that as bad as things are
today, as much influence and power as demons have today…do you realize that
the worst of Satan’s demons have never been loosed upon this earth?! That’s
right! The worst of the worst are held in chains today. There are demons
that are so evil, so insidious, so destructive, that God, in mercy, has kept
them incarcerated ever since they followed Lucifer, and fell like stars from
heaven with him.
During the tribulation period, those
demons will be liberated from the bottomless pit / the abyss for a period of
five months, for the purpose of tormenting mankind in a judgment that defies
description. It is literally an Invasion from Hell.
We studied the 4 horsemen of the
Apocalypse…who rode into town, ushering in the tribulation, some time after
the rapture ushers out the born-again Christians. The antichrist led the
way bringing his dominion, division, depravation, and death…and wars and
wholesale starvation leads to the deaths of 1/4th of the world’s
population, by today’s numbers, well over 1 billion people!
But as bad as that sounds, the worst
is yet to come!
We looked Wed. at the first 4 trumpet
judgments in ch. 8, where 1/3rd of the earth’s vegetation is
annihilated/marine life killed/ocean waters turned to blood/freshwater
poisoned/sunlight diminished…and the results include more famine, drought,
floods, mudslides, almost unbreathable air…and yet, as horrible as those
realities were, as we finished ch. 8, we were reminded that the worst is yet
to come!
8:13 If you thought the first 4
trumpet judgments were bad, hold on, because the worst is yet to come! You
see, the first 4 of the 7 trumpet judgments were aimed at ecology, the earth
itself, but the last 3 trumpet judgments are directed at man, himself.
We’ll only look at the 1st of the 3 right
now, in v. 1, then the last 2 tonite.
9:1 This is not just a star, but a
“him”! This is Satan himself, granted permission from God Almighty to take
the key to the bottomless pit, where demonic forces, perhaps more vicious
than even him, are reserved in chains of darkness! (Incidentally, this is
the very place where Satan himself will eventually end up for all eternity.)
Well, during the tribulation period, hell has
a holiday. At this point in the tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One
Who holds the keys of death and hell, gives the key to Satan for a period of
5 months. Satan opens the doors of hell, and for 5 long months, demons of
the worst kind infest the world!
Obviously, demons are at work in the
world today, but these demons, incarcerated for eons of time, are so vile,
and filthy wicked, that they have been confined for thousands of years in
the pit of the abyss…I don’t think they’ll be in a good mood. They will be
loosed upon this earth, and they will unleash their venom in ways
unimaginable.
Remember in Matt. 8, when Jesus confronted
the demon-possessed maniac of Gadara? The demons begged and pleaded with
Jesus, that he would not cast them into the abyss. Why were they afraid
that He would send them there? Because they had friends in low places…that
don’t get out much…that are crazy mad! And so they begged for mercy, and
asked to be cast instead into the swine. And Jesus sent them into the pigs,
and they went crazy and ran into the sea and drowned.
Did you hear that? Jesus sent the
demons into the pigs…the first recorded incident in all of history, of
someone making deviled ham!!
Their friends, the demons now held in chains
in the pit of the abyss, the bottomless pit, are loosed upon the earth…hell
has a holiday…it is literally, an invasion from hell!
Let’s look at the Bible description of these
demons, and we’re done. Here’s 7 words to describe them:
1.Infernal
v. 2 When the pit is opened, smoke pours
out, so much so that the sun is darkened. This once again reiterates the
point…the point made countless other times in scripture, that Hell is a
literal furnace of fire! (believe in Angels/demons…Heaven/Hell…which Jesus
spoke of twice as much as Heaven!)
Don’t listen to the liberal preachers who
tries to explain it away!
I don’t like to preach about it /
think about it…I wouldn’t want to imagine my worst enemy going to that
literal furnace of fire which Jesus Himself spoke of in Mt. 13:
Matthew 13:42
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire:
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus believed, and so do I, and if I care
for people at all then I will preach it, even if it’s not politically
correct!
I’m commanded to preach the WHOLE counsel of
God, and by God’s grace I will.
When I face my Lord someday, I’d
rather Him say to me, “Jerry, you took my Word too literally” than “Jerry,
you explained it away too easily!”
And it is a place of literal fire, as proven
by the rich man in Luke 16:
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, 24
and he cried and said… I am tormented in this flame.
That is the literal furnace of fire of hell,
out of which these demons ascend…they are infernal!
v. 3-4 These demons are described by
John “as” locusts…not literal locusts, this is symbolism.
Why does John use the term locusts to
describe these demons?
I think it refers to the unbelievable
number of them that are loosed. In the Middle East, locusts are known to
swarm, not by the hundreds / thousands / millions…but by the billions, and
they are known to be so large at times that they have actually darkened the
skies. The Bible says that Satan was thrown out of heaven when he rebelled,
along w/ 1/3 of the angels (fallen angels). Back in Rev. 5 we saw that just
the angel choir alone in heaven is over 100 million strong! And that’s just
the choir!!
And 1/3rd of them fell,
and the most of them, the worst of them, will be loosed upon the earth for
the first time, and will on that day pour out like a dark cloud of bats from
a cave…to terrorize the earth. They are hellish, diabolical, fiendish…they
are direct from hell, they are infernal!
2.Intolerable
4-6
v. 10 We cannot begin to imagine the
physical pain that these demons will bring upon people. “torment” = the
strongest word we have for torturous pain.
The strongest human instinct we have
is self-preservation, but v. 6 says those on earth will desire to die, and
will attempt suicide, and will be unable to do so…unable to escape the
torment. Those left on the earth during the tribulation will not be able to
pull the dirt over their faces!
Time out! The world has such a warped view
of Satan. The Devil and his forces have always desired to torment
people…that is their primary goal, to do evil! Why is it that so many
people have the mistaken idea that Satan is their “bro” and God is their
enemy?
For 5 months of the tribulation Satan
and his demons will have free reign to do what they so want to do to
everyone…torment them with pain and suffering…physical torment, emotional
and psychological torment! And Satan, that crafty Devil, tempts us w/ sin
which looks so alluring and so inviting, when he knows full well the end of
that sin will bring grief and sorrow, pain and torment to our lives!
Ill.—sheep at slaughterhouse -- to get sheep
to go up the ramp to where they are killed, they place a goat on the ramp,
trained to climb the ramp…and the sheep follow that goat / when the goat
gets to the top he is let thru a gate, and his life is spared, but the sheep
are turned the other way and are killed!
If we could hear that goat somehow…I
believe he’d be laughing, as he does this task time after time every day.
Young people, listen, Satan will
tempt you to do wrong, and he’ll make it look so alluring, and so promising,
but when you’re lying face down in your own vomit, or staring at a hospital
ceiling, or worse, if your life is snuffed out, don’t expect any sympathy
from the devil…the old goat will do nothing but laugh at you! His desire is
to bring pain…for he knows that sin bringeth forth death / the soul that
sinneth, it shall die / the wages of sin is death. Satan knows that lust,
when conceived, brings forth sin, and death…the most powerful form of LSD:
Lust-Sin-Death!
These demons are infernal, intolerable…
3.Irresistible
v. 7a
v. 9 They will be irresistible in the sense
of “unstoppable”…like charging steeds, conquering everyone in their path.
Resistance will be futile! There will be no escape!
4.Invincible
7b Crowns— this signifies that they are in
full control, they are ruling the world, just like they’ve always wanted…the
very reason they were thrown out of the kingdom of God! They are the gods /
the kings of this world!
Gay rights crowd will be here, and they will
have their chance to follow their kings / new age crowd / pro abortion crowd
/ and the Islamic terrorists, among many others, will be here, and will have
their chance to follow their kings…the only problem is, they will quickly
learn that their king’s desire all along was their destruction.
And all of those crowds just
mentioned are basically saying the same thing right now: “if we could just
get rid of those Christians / get those right wing fundamentalists out of
power / conservative, Bible literalists / fanatics out of the way, the world
would be a better place.”
I hereby serve notice by way of
reminder that at the rapture… they’re gonna get their wish! Those of us who
have been saved will be ushered out, and the tribulation of horrors we’re
reading about will be ushered in upon them! I take no joy in serving that
notice…we love them, and want them to be saved and avoid the wrath to come!
But for those who do not believe--there will
be an invasion from hell that will be infernal, intolerable,
irresistible, invincible…
5.Intelligent
7b “faces of men”—speaks of
intelligence…they are highly organized, extremely intelligent beings. They
are not just wild animals, but will have the gift of reason, and
intelligence above our own!
6.Insidious
v. 8 “hair of women” = represents beauty.
They may appear at first glance to be alluring and attractive. The Bible
talks about “seducing spirits”, referring to demons! But if you’re not
saved, and you’re left behind at the rapture, when you see this long-haired
beauty coming your way, you’d better look beyond the mascara and the curls…
end of v. 8 says they have “teeth as lions”!
Their real desire is to attack and
devour!
That’s how insidious these demons are…and
that’s how Satan is today…TV and billboards glamorize sin, but don’t show
you the end of that road, which is misery!
Satan is disguised as an angel of light, but
he truly is the demon of darkness, a roaming lion seeking to devour…and the
end is death!
So, they are insidious…
7.Indivisible
v. 11 This is not the devil,
this is a demon leader…a chief demon who leads the invasion from hell on
earth. Both terms mean “destruction.”
This general leads the rank and file
in an organized destruction of those left behind in the tribulation.
What would the world be like if every prison
opened its doors, and released every single prisoner? With no police
force?!
America alone has approx. 2 million
behind bars…one in every 125 American men is incarcerated. Worldwide
estimates are astounding!
What if at 8 p.m. tonite, every
rapist, cut-throat, child molester, and thief were released? You wouldn’t
leave your home, you would barricade yourself in and take up arms! And yet
that is nothing like the Invasion from Hell which will occur during
the tribulation. The demons of ch. 9 are not humans, they’re super-humans!
/ in-human!!
“You’re trying to scare me!”
“Uhuh!”
Fear of hell and judgment are not a bad
reason to get saved at all!
I’d rather scare you into heaven than lull
you into hell!
If you’re not saved, you’d better get
saved!
If you’re not saved, you
ought to be scared!
The worst is yet to come…you don’t want
to be here…
Tribulation—church gone, but most of world left behind to endure trib. “How
can you say that?”
Mt. 7, Jesus: wide is the gate…destruction
(estimates of 30-40% saved…not hardly)
Revelation deals in series of 7’s…
Rolled up scroll: title deed to earth,
given to Jesus…7 seals, 7th seal contained 7 trumpets
(alarm!)…first 4 dealt w/ earth itself: 1/3rd of vegetation
destroyed/sea creatures killed/ocean turned to blood/fresh water
poisoned/natural light diminished…
…then 8:13 (3 woes)
Last time we looked at the 5th
trumpet (1st woe), and we saw the worst of the worst of hell’s
demons loosed for first time in thousands of years of imprisonment. They
are so vile and filthy wicked, they’ve been reserved in chains of darkness
since their fall from heaven.
Satan was given the key to the
abyss, and he opened the doors…it became an invasion from hell!
Last time:
Infernal from pit of hell
Intolerable/Irresistible no one will be
able to run/withstand
Invincible cannot be defeated
Intelligent
Insidious deceivingly beautiful,
but ruthless
Indivisible united in purpose
Now the 6th trumpet sounds (2nd
woe)
1.Sacred power involved
v. 13 same altar as martyrs under
(6), and prayers of incense (8), but add’l detail: 4 horns
Horn represents power, sovereignty of God.
Another reminder that God is in full control…all is happening acc’d to God’s
schedule/plan. (He holds the keys)
2.Spirit persons involved
v. 14 Obviously, these are not God’s
angels, but rather fallen angels (they are bound). These 4 are significant
because of where they are.
The prominence of the Euphrates:
Garden of Eden (general vicinity of 1st
sin, then 1st murder/first war fought in this area/tower of
Babel: man’s first revolt vs. God.
It’s the Middle East, the cradle of
civilization, and also the fountainhead of evil! It’s the cradle and the
grave of Satan’s kingdom.
Birthplace of demon worship/occult.
4 diabolical kingdoms in history: all were
prototypes of the kingdom of the antichrist…
babylon/persia/greece/rome
These were counterfeits/substitutes
for kingdom of heaven.
Where did each start? (geographical)
General vicinity of Euphrates River!
Well, these 4 demons, I believe, are the
princes of these 4 evil kingdoms from the past. (babylon/persia/greece/rome)
Dan. 10:
2 In
those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I
anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 4
And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side
of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine
eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins
were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like
the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as
lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7
And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the
vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide
themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great
vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned
in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard
I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was
I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
10
And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the
palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man
greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand
upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto
me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not,
Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to
understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and
I am come for thy words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of
Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief
princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now
will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth,
lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
Rome—worldwide church, largest, most
dangerous, leading people by millions to false beliefs!
Greece—what about Prince of Greece? Quiet?
Or preparing for something big in the future?
You think the Middle East is a hot-bed now,
and has been for many years…remember, the 4 chief demons have not yet been
loosed!
Sacred power/spirit princes
3.Solemn purpose [back to Rev. 9]
v. 15-18 To kill 1/3rd of
remaining population
(1/4th were killed by one of the
4 horsemen of ch. 6)
How do they do this? By mobilizing a 200
million man army! (amazing to us even now…imagine in John’s day when planet
earth’s population didn’t even number that!) Could these be demons?
Possibly…but I don’t think so.
April 1961—Red Chinese boasted that they had
a standing army of 200 million. Coincidence? Many scholars believe it will
be an Asian coalition of nations like Red China/India/North Korea…perhaps
Japan (40% of world’s population right there), that make up the fabled
“yellow peril” which marches in to kill 1/3rd of population of
earth.
Rev. 16:12 says,
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great
river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the
kings of the east might be prepared.
The word east could be translated “rising
sun”! This is a clear reference to Asia generally, and China specifically.
For all of history, there’s never been a
full scale invasion of the west from the East…it’s like the Euphrates has
always been an invisible boundary line, restraining the Orient from
full-scale invasion of the west…
…until these 4 demons are loosed, and
assemble their army.
v. 17-18 John’s vocabulary described it as
best it could…but we should recognize it all as the modern implements of
war…w/ emphasis on fire power! Most likely a thermo-nuclear war!
So, you have Asia advancing into the Middle
East, perhaps a tactical maneuver (remember that he who controls the oil
reserves controls the world).
Asia is no longer a sleeping giant. It’s
awake, and their power and capabilities are equal to our own, and its
personnel number many times our own.
The stage is set, all the actors are in
place, and I believe the curtain will rise at any moment!
Sacred power/spirit persons/solemn
purpose…
4.Stubborn pride
v. 20-21 “yet repented not”
This is all a picture of hell.
Do you think those in hell are
repenting?/praying?/calling on His Name?
No, they’re cursing God…weeping/wailing/nashing
their teeth (growling like the demons themselves)
God’s judgment causes the heart to
become harder during the tribulation…don’t think for a minute that you can
reject Christ now and then be saved later.
I cannot guarantee all of these details, but
I know I’ve got the big picture right: Jesus is coming! Once for his own,
and then again for those left behind…as their judge.
Will you face him as Savior now, or judge
later?
Rapture ready? How about your loved ones?
Christians: it’s time to get serious like
never before.
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