REVELATION LESSON 12

REVELATION

LESSON 12

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 9:7-9   ⁷ And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

⁸ And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.

⁹ And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

How would you describe these Locusts? Would you say they had a body like a horse, hair like that of a woman, two eyes like a man? That is the description of what John saw.

Personally, I don’t know what john thought he saw, but the word “like” appears eight times in these verses. Obviously, John is using comparisons and symbolic language to describe what these demon-possessed locusts will look like.

They will have bodies shaped like a horse prepared for battle. Something similar to a crown of gold will adorn their heads, and their faces will resemble that of a human. Their manes will be long like a woman’s hair, and their teeth will be small and sharp like a lion’s teeth.

They will have tails like a scorpion of today and their wings will sound like an army of chariots. In Italy and some other foreign countries, locusts are called horses and some of them resemble a horse. Demons and angels can take on an appearance of other than human. This description of these locusts who stung like scorpions does not fit any category of man or beast.

Strange that John would describe them as having breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron. Everything John was seeing in this vision had never been seen in Johns day. The things he saw were far into the future. That is why he used the term to describe them as Like.

Revelation 9: 10-13   ¹⁰ And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

¹¹ And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

¹² One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.

¹³ And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,

They had tails like unto scorpions and stingers in their tails, but they could only hurt people five months, which means someone had complete control over them.

This unnatural army of locust will be under the direction of an angelic king. Some say this angelic king will be Satan. It is more likely he will be one of Satan’s powerful assistants. 

Satan will not be one of the demons confined in the abyss. He is the fallen star who opens the pit to let tis angelic king and his ungodly army loose.

This must be one of Satan’s top demon (fallen angel), his name will be Abaddon, which means destruction, his Greek name Apollyon means destroyer.  Since his name is given in both Hebrews and Greek, he will probably be permitted to attack both Jew and gentile alike. His name is given twice, so it is a double warning of his destructive powers.

Most people including Christians underestimate the power of the devil. To do so is a grievous error. The misery Satan has brought into Gods creation and in mankind should be reason enough to recognize his power and evil mind.

Verse twelve is further proof that Revelation is sequence – oriented. The trumpet woes will not overlap, they will come in sequence. It is obvious why the angel called them woes. Tormented people will lose their minds and beg to die. 

Verse 13 is referring back to chapter eight where the angel mixes the incense with the prayers of the tribulation saints. The mixture rises to God and kindles His wrath. Then the sixth angel will stand up and sound his trumpet, a voice will be heard coming from the horns of the alter that will speak for the martyred saints.

The horns of the golden alter refer to horns like animal horns that were extensions or spires that were placed at the four corners of the alter of burnt offerings. These spires are pointed objects, somewhat like a pointed tower or steeple, however, not that large. 

Sometimes sacrificial animals were tied to the horns, and there are even two instances of men grabbing hold of the horn when they thought there were going to be killed. They hoped to receive mercy by doing this.

When Abraham prepared to offer his only son as a sacrifice, God stopped him and a ram was offered as the sacrifice. The entire story is a picture of Gods mercy. God sent His only begotten son Jesus to die on the cross as a substitute of the sins of the entire world.

I want to let you know these lessons only project what is to come. These things will only get worse for the ones who would not receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Even though Jesus does save people, you have to receive His saving ability to be saved.

That is why all these end time tragedies are coming upon these lost souls. Because they are rebelling against God and simply want their own way. Their way is rebellion of Gods way and leads to eternal death.

In case you don’t understand what eternal means, it means that after all these bad things people will go through they will spend forever, never ending torment in the lake of fire called Hell.

Until our next lesson,

Stay in the word,

Brother Andy