We ended the last post with descriptives of locusts, which have stingers in their tails; they act like scorpions; and, they are led by a fallen angel, named Abaddon and Apollyon, which just happen to be the names for Sheol/hell. The clues that we are given are so obvious, that I suspect John wanted us to figure out who it is. We are told in Revelation 9:1, that this fallen angel had obtained the keys to death and hell.
Wow, first off, why would anyone give this loser the keys to hell?
The answer lies in Adam's actions, or lack thereof, in the garden. It was an act that was sealed when Adam bit into that fruit. In a sense, this is one of those great mysteries spoken of in scripture, but it is only a mystery to those who do not wish to understand.
Consider that Satan told Jesus, all these kingdoms of the world, are mine to give.
The question is, how did Satan obtain such power and authority?
And again, we are back to Adam. God had given the man complete authority over the earth, and he relinquished that authority to Satan. God had to honor the man's actions, no matter how destructive. That seems like a no-win situation, but Jesus, as Pastor JD Farag consistently says. So God had a plan, and the garden was the opening volleys that would put Satan away permanently, and sort out those who would choose to love and follow Him.
Does Satan still have these keys and therefore the power of fear over hell?
In the first chapter of the Revelation, John describes hearing a voice. When he turned to see who was speaking, he sees Jesus. It is the description of Jesus that is mind-blowing.
Revelation 1:13-18 DRB And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. (14) And his head and his hairs were white as white wool and as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire: (15) And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. (16) And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two-edged sword. And his face was as the sun shines in his power. (17) And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, (18) And alive, and was dead. And behold I am living forever and ever and have the keys of death and of hell.
In the process of His death and resurrection, Jesus stripped those keys out of Satan's hand.
Back to the locusts.
The sting is so severe that the victims will want to die, but they cannot.
Doesn't it seem odd that John would describe something as mundane as a locust with such detail?
I have never seen a locust much larger than about four inches, and yet, these have extensive details such as:
A gold-tone crown on their heads.
Bronze breastplates.
Human-looking faces.
Hair like a woman.
And, there is that stinger, which does not belong on a locust.
End of page one.
The locusts seem to form militaristic squadrons as they attack humans with their lion-like teeth. The finale to this horror is the fact that these locusts have stingers in their tails. Imagine a locust curling its tail over its head and stinging you.
One woe is past:
Since Revelation chapter six began there has been an onslaught of woes.
How does it get worse?
Revelation 9:12 DRB One woe is past: and behold there come yet two woes more hereafter.
How much time has passed at this point?
We have no known references to a calendar, and therefore cannot say. Nothing tells us that God's fury is being poured out in deliberate, five-month segments. We do know that the effects of the stingers cause the victims to suffer for five months; they will want to die, but they cannot.
When the wrath of God begins to be poured out in Revelation six, verse two, one of the first things we see is the entrance of the antichrist persona. Based upon this, all I can tell you is that if you, the reader is experiencing these things, then you are in the seven years of God's wrath.
Revelation 9:13-14 NASB (13) Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, (14) one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."
In Revelation 8:1, we are introduced to the trumpet judgments (it is really a shofar blast, but that only makes sense to a Jew, and so our Bible translations like to call it a trumpet blast.)
We are currently on the sixth trumpet blast.
“Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”
Are you kidding me; it only took one angel to kill all the unprotected first-born in Egypt that night.
What are these angry and most likely fallen angels, going to do?
Jude 1:6 NASB And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
Pay attention to the way the words are laid out. I could interpret this to be saying that these angels are being held so that they can help to bring God's judgment on the great day. The terminology forces you to understand that judgment will come, and that the phrase “the great day” is referring to, NOT just one day, but the time we understand as the seven-year period in which God's wrath is poured out in judgment.
Has God used a variety of methods to bring about judgment?
The answer is a decisive yes. For example, He used Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian empire to judge Israel for ignoring the Sabbath years in which they should have given the land rest.
How can we define this great day?
Joel 2:30-31 NASB "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. (31) "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
End of page two.
1 Corinthians explains that we, who are confirmed in Christ, are not lacking as we await our redemption, because Christ will find us blameless in the day of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:6-8 NASB (6) even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, (7) so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, (8) who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, that is good news, but why?
It is good because judgment, which is wrath, is not meant for the body of Christ, and that means believers.
2 Peter speaks of the day of the Lord, but here it is described with blunt honesty. We are told that the heavens will pass away and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, all while people continue to try to survive on the earth.
2 Peter 3:9-10 NASB The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
The Revelation itself gives us something that may explain what these angels will do, but we have to jump forward in this saga, momentarily.
Revelation 12:1-4 NASB A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; (2) and she was with child; and she *cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. (3) Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. (4) And his tail *swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.
When we get to Revelation chapter 12, it is best to understand this as a history lesson.
The woman clothed with the sun, is Jesus, giving birth to, not only Israel, but to Jesus as well.
This is not meant to push you into astrology, as that is the demonic version of astronomy, but we have a well-defined reason to understand the stars – astronomy, if you wish.
Isaiah 7:14 NASB "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
The Hebrew word for sign is 'ôth and means a signal, a flag, a beacon, or a mark. The language the Holy Spirit chose to use was common, and so those who heard these words understood what a virgin was; they also comprehended the process of birth, but these words would not come to pass, in a physical sense, during any of their lifetimes. This means that they were to look at the stars and their alignments, for they were well aware of the patterns and the meanings. Remember that I said we are looking at Astronomy, not astrology, as astrology is demonic.
End of page three
What do some of these scriptural examples look like?
For most, reading this paragraph immediately pulls them into the Zodiac, all of which is a perversion of what God designed to be prophetic beacons in the heavens.
It is evident that the purpose of the signs is multifaceted.
A touch of honesty, when someone explains a relationship between scripture and the associated astronomical signs, I find it fascinating, for at least a moment, and then I forget what I heard.
Genesis 1:14 NASB Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
The stars and their alignments, as I have already stated, are for signals.
Isaiah 66:7-8 NASB "Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. (8) "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.
When Jesus was born, is this when God, the Father, began pointing out the signs?
The answer is NO, and we have the Magi, who followed the signal that led them to Jesus, to confront such a question, as a portion of our evidence. Read Matthew 2:1-16.
Did the Magi hit the timing exactly and arrive at the moment of Jesus birth?
NO, but God did time it so that what the Jews deemed the lowest of humans, the shepherds, would be the first to see Him. The IVP Bible Background Commentary suggests this “Due to the proximity to Jerusalem, some scholars have suggested that the flocks here are the temple flocks raised for sacrifice. This narrative would have challenged the values of many religious people, who despised shepherds.”
The Magi, on the other hand, arrived at a time when Jesus was about two years old. We know this because, Herod, after interviewing the Magi, had all boys two years and younger, in the region of Bethlehem, killed.
One of the tremendous events, alluded to by Revelation 12 and these star signs were Israel and the birth of a nation.
This star alignment was recently brought forth, as Virgo had the sun in the area of her womb just as Revelation 12 spelled out.
End of page four.
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