It may seem like the powers of Hell dominate this world, but even they are under God's control & used for His purposes.
Read / Listen to the chapter:
Read the chapter in an outlined format
Previous DIG DEEPER posts on Revelation
Revelation 9 Summary
All Hell breaks loose in Revelation 9.
Literally. The Abyss is opened and enough smoke billows out to darken the entire sky. After that, locusts like scorpions with horse shaped bodies, human faces and teeth like lions come out to kill those who don't have God's seal on their foreheads.
Don't get too hung up on the details until you first understand the big overarching picture. As you read this chapter in particular, don't try and figure out if the locusts represent American Apache helicopters in the various Gulf Wars (yes, that's somebody's theory). Don't worry about figuring out whether the 200 million troops in v16 are under the command of Vladimir Putin (somebody else's theory). Remember that the point of John's vision isn't to explain every detail of God's plan, but rather it's to announce Christ's final victory over sin and death.
God sent these terrible plagues out from Hell for one big reason: to drive people toward repentance, but even with the end result of their insolence bearing down upon them in terrible ways, people still did not turn toward God. The human heart is so hardened with sin that it would rather face monster locusts and fire breathing lion headed horses than repent!
Dig Deeper
Believe it or not, this passage has bearing on the way you evangelize. There is nothing sweet enough that can attract an unregenerate heart, and nothing painful enough to warn a person of their doom if they have set themself against God.
All you and I can do is consistently present and live out God's truth, and pray that He through His Holy Spirit would soften hearts for the gospel.
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father who commands and controls power beyond our wildest imaginations;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will see the need for repentance in your life long before these trumpets are blasted (v20-21)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
