The Nature of Sin and Evil
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bibles please turn to Revelation 9:1-2
The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
This morning we are going to continue into the book of Revelation. This will be the start of chapter 9 and the will cover the first of the three woes. As we dive into this we are going to look at the nature of our own sin and the nature of evil, the fall of Lucifer.
The primary job of anyone that teaches and preaches the Word of God is to equip the saints. It is an important calling on anyone’s life and it needs to be taken with humility and a seriousness. It is our primary objective to prepare people for the world outside these doors. When we come to church we need to be refilled and we need to be educated so that we can discern what is going on out in the world.
I have said manly times from the pulpit that we are in a spiritual war. We are in a spiritual war not with people but with something much bigger. We need to be at war with our sin and with the devil. We need to understand what it is that we are up against. Yet as we are going through all this it serves to further point out the amazingness of God because despite sin and the devil. Jesus Christ has already secured victory over both of them. Furthermore you have power as followers of Jesus over these forces. Do not believe for one second that the devil is more powerful. He is cunning, smart and will tempt you. But by the power of Jesus, the devil has already lost.
As we dive into this chapter we first need to look at the book of Ezekiel. In chapter 28 we find verses starting with verse 11 that are a lament concerning the king of Tyre, as it is always with God there are two stories going on. These verses point us to the fall of Lucifer , this is the star that John is referring to in the first two verses of chapter 9 in Revelation.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
Satan walked among the angels and God. He lived a blameless life from the time that he was created until sin found him. This is where we need to have honest conversations about how corrupting sin is in this world. An angel created by God, that already lived in the heavenly realm. That already saw the glory of the living God. Sin corrupted everything. These passages need to serve as a history of the fall of satan but also as a stark reminder of how corrupting sin actually is in our lives.
Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom ,because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade ,you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
Pride is the genesis point of every sin, we see this play out here with satan. because of his pride, he corrputed his own wisdom and he was cast out of heaven. at the end there will be no more. Pride has causes people to do a lot sinful things in this world. It is one of the biggest reason Jesus calls for humility. We boast not of ourselves but of Jesus
Let us look at a few verses from Jesus concerning satan.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
He is speaking to the Pharisees here but we find out that Jesus confirms what we learned in Ezekiel that the wisdom is gone and satan is now the father of lies. Satan cannot create anything. Only God can create but what Satan does is corrupt things. He takes the things that God has created and he twists them and corrupts the truth. That is how we get tempted. Think about about the first sin of man in the garden of Eden. The serpent twisted the word of God and was able to twist Adam and Eve into sinning. The enemy is still doing the very same thing today.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
With the teaching of Jesus and Peter reinforcing that same teaching we find the true objective of our enemy. That objective is rather simple, to steal, kill destroy, or devour us. One thing modern society and the modern church has gotten wrong is not addressing this threat enough. We have written this off as the ancients trying to explain things that they couldn’t explain. This is prideful and foolish on our parts to think this. We can look at any number of things that the devil has placed in our society that are utterly devastating to our society. The ready availability of drugs in our society has not only sky rocketed deaths but it has ripped apart families from all walks of life. This isn’t just something that effects one demographic it effects all of us. Pornography has become imbedded in our society and has destroyed the lives of many men ripping apart families. It has had a massive effect on our women as well leading them into situations that are dangerous and life altering.
Meanwhile the enemy has infiltrated the church as their are wolves in the pulpits all across America that are leading people astray from the word of God.
This is why it is so important that when we read the Bible, we do not take worldly views to the Bible but we take Biblical views to the world.
So let us refresh our minds on Revelation 9:1-2
The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.
We see here that satan is given the key to the abyss. This is my theology here, God is giving people over to what they wanted. When we see this in Romans 1
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
We have already established that throughout the tribulation period that people are coming to Jesus throughout that time. However at the end of the day we reap what we sowed. This is only a lesson that can be learned through experience. The people that exchanged the truth for a lie , just like satan did will see what the true desires of satan are.
And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them
As David said last week, he locusts harken back to the exodus story. Here is what is interesting, satan even though he was given the key to the abyss to unleash these demons. God is still in control. They are not allowed to harm the grass, plant or tree. God protects those followers with His seal. God is always in control and God is always protecting us Those that do not find themselves with the seal will suffer agony. Again we reap what we sow in this life.
The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).
Now as we get a description of the locusts. These are demons that are ready for battle. This is what I mean by a spiritual war. John is giving us a glimpse at exactly what we are up against. satan has one objective to get you as far away from God as possible. He was doomed to eternal torment and he is looking for people to join him in that torment. the king of the locusts is called the Destroyer.
The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
As we looked earlier, Peter told us to be alert and sober. Paul tells us not to give the devil a foothold in our lives. Temptation follows us around every corner. I want to end on last scripture
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Always go to God, do not become prideful that you believe you cannot fall. But God is always faithful to us, even when we are tempted, He protects us and He provides a way out. That way out is Jesus Christ.
Let us pray!
