How Hard the Heart of Man?!

In today’s passage, the first woe has passed — the demon locusts from the pit of hell. I’m not sure that last week’s message the way I intended it to, because there were teenagers that wanted to make the locusts a sort of mascot for the youth group. I’m going to chalk it up to them being caught up in the start of college football season.

Now, the second woe is introduced and it releases four angels of judgment who ride upon these demonic warhorses. Again, crazy imagery that gets at the crux of spiritual warfare…it’s a reminder that the spiritual realm is deep and sometimes terrifying. You think of how oftentimes the response even when man sees good angels is to fall down in fear. I remember Dr. Mark Rathel talking abut exorcisms in theology class and him saying it’s neither a ministry he would ever want, nor a ministry he would wish upon his greatest enemy.

The sad thing about the second woe…as terrifying and ramped up as the judgment is, and it truly takes it up a notch, the people do not repent. Let’s read together and then pray before we get into the text.

Today, we’re going to work our way through the passage first, doing our best to make sense of what we’re reading, before getting into our points of application.

Rev.9:12 “The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.”

The transition to the next woes is a powerful rhetorical device, preparing the reader for the fact that what follows is a separate judgment from God.

Rev.9:13-14 “Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.””

An unidentified voice speaks from…before God. The fact that the voice originates from the presence of God indicates that it speaks with divine authority, likely an angel who is directing God’s purposes. The following judgments, terrible and accomplished by evil agents, do so at God’s direction to accomplish His purposes in judgment and salvation.

The golden altar harkens back to Rev.8 and the cry of the martyrs, evidence that the judgments that have ushered forth are God’s response to their prayers. The four horns protruding from the altar signify the strength and power of God, and were included in the original design of the Ark of the Covenant (Exod.30:1-10; 37:25). The fact that the voice comes from the four horns, without the specific mention of an angel, should underscore that the command comes with the full force of God’s sovereignty. The number four stands for completeness in the Scripture, and horns often represent power (here, the power of God). So, the image conveys the complete power of God responding to the prayers of the martyrs and saints in judgment of the wicked.

The sixth angel not only blew his trumpet, but was also involved in the actions that followed, being commanded to release the four angels of the judgment. This adds a certain rhetorical force to the event. The fact that they were bound may, but there is disagreement here, but it may indicate that these are not good angels but demonic, fallen, and evil.

The angels are bound at…Euphrates. There is an interesting OT parallel in Isa.8:7, telling how the Assyrian invaders came as “the waters of the River, mighty and many.” And, many invasions happened by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians as they crossed the Euphrates. In this way, the great river became symbolic of foreign invasion. There was also a paranoia among the Romans that the Parthians would invade from the east, crossing the Euphrates along the way. Regardless, Jew and Gentile alike, the threat was a menacing one.

Further, this passage could be an allusion to Jeremiah 46 where Egypt is judged by an army of horsemen that ride from the north, appearing as a serpent, wearing breastplates…an innumerable locust horde.

Rev.9:15-16 “So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.”

There are four angels, and they have been prepared for what is about to take place, an emphasis that this is God’s pre-determined will. They were standing at the ready to obey God’s command, and the time for action had come.

It is clear that God has a purpose and timing for the events of history, evidenced by the fact that the right hour…day…month and year has come. This is the only place that Scripture stacks these four measures of time. These events happen according to God’s sovereign timetable. Even the enemy’s involvement in the events of the eschaton happen on God’s sovereign timetable.

The purpose of the release is stated, to kill a third of mankind, and the natural flow of judgment comes into view:

Creation is judged in the first trumpet as a third of the earth was burned up.

The third trumpet sounds and Wormwood poisons the water so that many people died.

The demon locusts from the pit of hell are related to torture the earth-dwellers.

Finally, a third of mankind is killed by these angels prepared for judgment.

A little math would indicate that the four angels turn into a horde of 200,000,000 warriors who kill a third of the world’s population. Given a current world population of 7 billion people, that would mean each warrior puts to death thirty-five people. Consider the fact that over 2 billion people die at the hands of the enemy who is called a murder from the beginning (Jn.8:44).

There is more Parthian imagery, a military group feared by the Romans, who were particularly feared for their cavalry. Cavalries were particular feared as instruments of war in the ancient world, and the vast number of mounted troops would’ve certainly seemed like an invincible force to the first-century reader. This cavalry should be read in light of Jer.46:2, 4, 6, 10, 22-23. There, ‘the conquering armies ride on horses (v.4), wear armor (v.4), are compared to a serpent (v.22) and locusts (v.23), and are (significantly) of innumerable number.’

Rev.9:17-19 “And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.”

The breastplates could likely be worn by the horse and the rider alike, much like the Parthian cavalry which was covered with bright armor. Remember the demonic locust horde also wore breastplates. The colors correspond to fire…smoke and sulfur, giving the cavalry a menacing appearance. The OT often links fire, etc. with fatal judgments (see Gen.19:24; Deut.29:23; 2 Sam.22:9; Isa.34:9-10; Ezk.38:22), and God executes His judgment by a similar means (smoke…and fire from His mouth) in 2 Sam.22 and Ps.18:8.

The heads of the horses were like lions’ heads. This probably foreshadows the fact that their power is in their mouths (v.19). The head of the lion, and by association the teeth (9:8), are menacing. Lions were notorious for their strength and ferocity. The horses are ferocious with lions’ heads and tails…like serpents. The fact that they also breathe out fire and smoke and sulfur make them more reminiscent of dragons than horses. How should the release of these ominous creatures be understood? One scholar notes they’re ‘demonic forces unleashed against sinful humanity in the final days of tribulation.’ Numbers 21:6, God sends a plague of fiery serpents among Israel to judge them for their grumbling, and their bite kills many, as here. This passage is the background for John 3:14. These horses can wound with their tails, similar to the torturous sting of the locusts. The sixth trumpet mimics the spiritual torment of the locusts, but intensifies their judgment because they also possess the ability to kill.

Themes that run consistent and parallel other images in Revelation include:

Burning sulfur used in 14:10 in reference to the fires of judgment.

There is a fiery lake of burning sulfur in 10:20; 20:10; and 21:8.

Smoke shows God’s judgment in 14:11; 18:9, 18; and 19:3.

The demonic cavalry breathes out fire…smoke and sulfur, a twisted irony since they will become eternal torment for them (19:20; 20:10).

This could be understood as a summary of previous trumpets because the first three involve fire and the fifth involves smoke.

Finally, the fact that this proceeds from their mouths contrasts with the sword that protrudes from Christ’s mouth as He exercises judgment (1:16; 2:16; 19:15, 21).

A third of mankind is killed by the fire-breathing horses. Since the images of fire and smoke and sulfur elsewhere refer to eternal damnation, it seems clear that the physical death blow by the demonic cavalry also spells spiritual death as well.

This is a lot to take in…I get it. And, it could be a bit of a struggle to really wrap our minds around why God has shown this to John who now relays it to the church and reminds the entirety of the church…throughout the ages…that it is profitable to obey what is written. So it’s here that one scholar really sheds some light for me. Here’s what he notes: the ability to harm with their mouths indicates a manifestation of false teaching. If this is the case, mankind becomes so convinced of the false teaching of these demonic forces that it refuses to repent even though judgment comes. The false teaching narrative is furthered through the serpent imagery, reminding the reader of the great deception of the crafty serpent in the Garden.

Beale keeps the track of spiritual symbolism believing the images to be the deceptive destruction of false teaching (and I would argue that false religion could be included — as it stands, there are 1.6 billion muslims in the world, and the number is expected to grow to 2.2 billion by 2030). But, he sees this suffering as occurring throughout the church age, pointing to passages like Lk.10:17-19 where serpents and scorpions and…the power of the enemy will harm the church, a clearly symbolic reference. These demonic forces can and do harm unbelievers, but Christ-followers are sealed and protected by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 58:3-6 speaks of the wicked who speak lies…like the venom of a serpent. And, the deceptive nature of wine causing one to see strange things because it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder, leading to speaking perverse things is a woe of delusion according to Prov.23:29-33.

In this vein, unbelievers are devoured during the church age, utterly convinced to embrace false teaching, which ultimately leads to their death…the wages of sin is death…when sin is fully grown it gives birth to death. And, I think we can still say that in the final days, whatever and however death comes upon them as demonic forces wreak havoc, it is the culmination of it all.

Finally, Rev.9:20-21 “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

The rest of mankind has received these plagues not as an opportunity for redemption, but to affirm their damnation. Beale argues that God’s sovereignty over all matters is expressed here, and God’s character is magnified as well. The opportunity for spiritual reform through warning judgments are evident, but the heart of man only hardens toward God when His grace does not intervene.

The Greek wording for did not repent strengthens the fact that they did repent. Their hearts were hardened and they REFUSED to repent, a point that is further emphasized because John mentions it TWICE. Their guilt is two-fold, for they have rejected true worship in preference to idols and sorceries, and they have committed violations against their fellow man through murders, sexual immorality, and thefts. In essence, they have transgressed the two primary and basic commands.

The absurdity of idol worship is expressed by the fact that they cannot see or hear or walk. Paul would remind the Corinthian church that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but one. And, the embrace of idols prefaces all other moral corruption. Indeed, at the heart of man’s rebellion are the false gods he prefers to the one true God, even if those false gods only turn to devour him.

God will magnify His justice, releasing the demonic cavalry to bring deception and judgment on mankind. The hard heart of man will still prefer lies to the truth, refusing to repent.

Remember that God is Equally Gracious and Just.

Both of these are brought to light in this passage. The saved are protected, sealed by God, but the those who refuse to submit to good rule of our Great King Jesus, the hardness of their hearts is proved. There’s a lot theologically involved in this…it’s deep, but notice that both aspects of God’s nature are on display. His grace is evident in those whom have received His seal, and His justice is seen in the judgment of those who refuse to turn to Him.

As we worship God, we must worship Him in the fullness of who He is. We cannot take a buffet approach to the character of God…I really like His love and His mercy and His grace. We don’t get to craft a God in the image we would like Him. He is who He is, always will be, and He alone gets to determine that.

His grace gives us assurance to come boldly into His presence. His justice causes us to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Both are commanded of us in the Scripture.

Guard Against False Teaching.

Just because it sounds good or resonates with us, that doesn’t make it right. God determines truth and He has faithfully communicated that truth to us through His word. We have heard the words spoken from the fire and lived to tell about it.

But, one thing the church always has and always will struggle with is false teachers. From the very beginning, biblical authors address issues of heretics and false teachers…

The party of the circumcision…

The gnostics…

Those who would deny the deity or humanity of Christ…

False religions…

The prosperity teachers of today…

Those who deny the orthodoxy that has been handed down in order to embrace strange new orthodoxies…

Whatever it is, we must weigh it against the one rule we have received for thought and life. And, all of life must then be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus.

Beware the Allure of the Trappings of this World.

The harshest warning and the biggest take away to me is this: mankind will prefer the demonic worship of the created order and physical pleasure and selfish self-seeking more than Christ.

Let us heed the warning and weigh our hearts and see if there is any false stronghold taking hold in our lives. And if there is, may we deal with it swiftly and completely, in full understanding of how destructive they can be.