Revelation Chapter 9

Chapter 9:1-2 The remaining trumpets are supernatural judgments Star from the sky This IS the fallen angel – Satan (also called Lucifer and the devil) Satan is the primary figure from this point forward Key to abyss This key is given to him (Satan has no authority of his own) Satan is permitted to reign in/over hell (hades, Gahanna, the abyss, etc.) Many rebellious angels fell with him How do we understand this? Is this a past event being recalled? YES Is this a future event being predicted? YES Is this a present event happening now? YES REMEMBER: God exists outside of time. In God’s perspective, there is no past, present or future. John experiences a small taste of this in his visions.

Chapter 9:1-2 (cont.) Smoke arose Satan and his minions create a deep spiritual darkness over the world, ever since the fall St. John speaks of this darkness in John 1 Without Christ, the world is in deep darkness and remains so Only the light of Christ (His Word) can open the eyes

Chapter 9:3-6 Locusts Harkens to the plague in Egypt NOT literal locusts! These are the fallen angels which came with Satan to earth DEMONS! They are unleashed upon the earth to do harm to humanity Spiritual harm (not physical) The demons inject the poison of sin and unbelief The antidote is Christ and His Word given by Word and Sacrament They cannot harm the earth per se, but only the people

Chapter 9:3-6 (cont.) Those who do not have the seal/mark on their foreheads. The demons cannot harm the people of God, the chosen ones The mark of God is the name of God written on our foreheads in Baptism Note: we must remain faithful in our baptismal vows NOT: “once saved, always saved” or “I’m baptized so I can do whatever I want” As Christians, we find great comfort in this! But we MUST remain faithful and steadfast in the Word so that we do not fall from grace and become entangled in the devil’s poison How? Attend the Divine Service, study the Scripture, etc. Not to kill/torture for 5 months By God’s grace, the demons can only “attack” in intervals and not ongoing. The world has periods of peace and prosperity and periods of turmoil and suffering Why? To draw unbelievers to repentance and faith!

Chapter 9:3-6 (cont.) Seek death/not find As already stated, satan and the demons can only attack for periods of time, and cannot kill Christians ARE set free from death, but unbelievers will not find it (by their own efforts). It is only by faith in Jesus that anyone can be set free from death. Even in death, the unbelievers will live in eternity in hell

Chapter 9:7-11 Horses prepared for battle Crowns of gold Satan’s army is MIGHTY and formidable! We should NEVER underestimate or trivialize or forget about Satan It is foolish to say, “there is no devil”! They want to deceive and capture as many people as they can…so that they’re not lonely in hell?? (kidding), but because this is what Satan is all about. Crowns of gold Crowns of gold are used to symbolize victors in the world. But these are “like” and not actual crowns Jesus is the ONLY victor here!

Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Hair like women’s hair Teeth like lion’s teeth Their deceitfulness is attractive and alluring to all We can’t see them as they are: wicked and evil. We see them as good, nice, loving, even godly! The come to make sin look attractive and prosperous The unbelieving world longs for this and wholeheartedly believes it to be good Teeth like lion’s teeth Though attractive to unbelievers, they are, in truth, vicious and deadly and seek to devour their victims, to tear them apart thought by thought, sin by sin. 1 Peter 5:8

Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Breastplates of iron A strong and well guarded army Unbelievers are totally defenseless against the devil and his army Faith is the only sure defense against the devil! The “noise” they create brings fear and trepidation to all in their path Tails and stings like scorpions…five months Cannot harm unbelievers continuously but must take a break They do great damage to an unbeliever, then they leave, then they come back A king over them…Abaddon…Apollyon The angel of the abyss…satan…the devil Abaddon means “destroyer” in Hebrew; Apollyon means “destroyer” in Greek

Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Could also mean “adversary” Satan is the adversary of Christ – the “anti-Christ” Satan works, not only outside of the church, but IN the church! Satan’s main goal IS to destroy the Church How does satan infiltrate and destroy the church?? What do you think? ANY teaching or practice that comes from the world and finds its home in the church is NOT from God, but from the devil, because if it isn’t from God it can only be from Satan! There are no “sort of” true teachings or “half-true is good enough” teachings. There are no “sort of” true practices. It is either from God or it is from the devil. Thus we must ALWAYS be diligent!

Chapter 9:12 First woe…2 to come It’s getting even worse!

Chapter 9:13-16 Sixth Trumpet: Voice from the Altar This is Jesus’ voice (see chapter 7-8) He instructs the archangel to release the 4 angels (see chapter 7) This begins the “little season” of Satan (Rev 20:7) Satan is released to do great harm to humanity Kill a third of mankind Many people will die (from plagues, disease, famine, etc.) during this time This does NOT mean that 2/3’s of humanity will be saved (see following verses) As we get closer to the end, most of the church will reject Christ; few by comparison are saved 200 million The number of demons in Satan’s army. Real number? Doesn’t matter! Impossible number to fight against.

Chapter 9:17-19 Similar battle and armaments of the first woe, but more severe Even Christians will suffer Attacks are continuous Satan and his demons are given the freedom to deceive as much and as boldly as they can Satan and the demons can suppress the preaching of the Gospel, and the churches will be FILLED with false teachers! Fire, smoke, sulfur The great demonic delusion during the “little season” which will deceive many Like Sodom and Gomorrah, few will be saved

Chapter 9:20-21 Rest of mankind…did not repent Even after all this, still much of humanity will remain unrepentant and continue to live in sin and unbelief Even though God still has His remnant, most of the world will die What will this look like??? What are the hints of this today?