The Plague of Demonic Dominion
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Good morning,
If you have your bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation chapter 9.
We will pick up with where we left off last week in John’s unfolding vision of seven trumpet warnings.
John is now seeing a second series of 7 visions, each beginning with the blast of a trumpet.
The first four trumpets showed God’s wrath being poured out on creation itself.
The land, the sea, the rivers, and the skies have all been affected and corrupted by the wrath of God against sin.
This happened at the fall Of mankind,
but God’s wrath has continued to be revealed in the corruption, and the disasters, and the brokenness of the physical world.
Every hurricane, tornado, earthquake and tsunami are like trumpets sounding in the cosmos telling us that we must repent, and warning us that a fuller judgment is coming.
But the physical world is not the only kind of world that has been affected by evil.
And the physical corruption is not the only kind of difficulty we face as human beings in this age.
There is also a spiritual corruption,
There a spiritual world of darkness,
a spiritual world of demonic activity with their faces set against humanity.
It is to this world that John’s eyes now turn to at the blowing of the fifth Trumpet.
Remember that Revelation is very much a pulling back the curtain that separates the physical world and the spiritual world.
In imagery, and symbols, and visions we are seeing behind the scenes.
Verse 13 of chapter 8 serves as the transition between the first four trumpets which affect the environment..,
and the next trumpets that effect the unrepentant People Directly.
There is an escalation of severity here.
There is a sense in which these sufferings are even worse than the previously described sufferings.
Look at verse 13.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
In Revelation 4 we see flying beasts encircling the throne singing holy, holy, holy… is the Lord God Almighty.
but here the eagle cries out woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth.
The trumpets that are about to blow reveal truly awful spiritual realities that have been unleashed on the world as we know it.
So let’s read, and let’s pray for understanding.
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. 2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
Lets Pray
Lord open our eyes to the Spiritual war that we find ourselves in.
Open our eyes to the spiritual darkness,
equip us for the battle
embolden us with your promises
prepare us to do your will
and help us to persevere through this mornings reading and meditating on your word.
We pray all of this by our grace and for your glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.
The scene that John now sees is both horrifying and hard to describe.
We can see him grasping for words especially in the number of times that he uses the word “like”
What he is seeing is otherworldly,
but he grasps for earthly images to describe the spiritual vision.
It all starts with the falling of a star…,
but not the twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are kind of star…,
This star is a “he”
It is a spiritual being that falls from heaven to earth.
And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
So if you are taking notes, our first truth is simply a definition.
#1 Satan and His Demons Are Fallen Spiritual Beings
#1 Satan and His Demons Are Fallen Spiritual Beings
I think this fallen star is the first fallen spiritual being in the biblical story - Satan himself.
Later he, the angel with the authority over the bottomless pit,
is called by both a hebrew and a greek name which means destroyer
He is the destructive king over the demonic forces:
look at verse 11.
11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
Jesus tells the origin story of Satan like this:
18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
The prophets of the Old Testament sometimes speak about the spiritual decline of kings by comparing their fall like the fall of Satan.
Consider this prophetic warning to the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14:
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Notice the pattern,
The warning is that the king not become like a star in heaven who decides that they must be above God, that they must ascend to the place of the most High…,
because if he does… he is brought low down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Similarly a prophetic warning is given to the king of Tyre in Ezekiel,
and again the language warns him of a Satan like Fall from heaven.
11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me:
12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”
Some scholars infer from Ezekiel 28 that Satan was a guardian angel in the Garden of Eden,
and that his fall occurred when he tempted Eve,
so that humanity’s fall and Satan’s fall happened simultaneously…,
We primarily have the historical details of humanity, but their is another spiritual realm we know little about.
A Spiritual realm that Revelation pulls back the curtain on only slightly.
later in Revelation, we will see Satan’s fall along with his followers described with only a little more detail.
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
So, I believe this fifth trumpet in Revelation 9 is a symbolic telling of Satan’s fall and his reign on earth over the demonic forces of the world.
These beings have been cast out of the heavenly realm into a spiritual abyss,
a bottomless pit of spiritual existence,
a miserable spiritual realm outside of God’s presence
but disembodied,
and awaiting final judgment.
John sees this spiritual being fall from heaven to earth…,
but he sees that this spiritual being is not yet totally destroyed…,
In fact, he is given a degree of authority on Earth, symbolized in the key to the pit,
This fallen spiritual being exercises his authority to release a hoard of demonic beings upon the earth.
Look at verses 2-3.
2 He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth.
We need to understand the story of our world.
Just like thorns and thistles, and natural disaster, and pain, and death corrupted the world order when humanity rebelled against God.…,
So now the fallen angels, who went the way of Satan,
corrupt the earth
and attack humanity rather than protect and serve humanity.
In this vision, the evil spiritual beings at the command of Satan himself are compared to that of locusts swarming the earth like a spiritual plague.
#2 Satan and His Demons Are a Spiritual Plague That Torment Humanity
#2 Satan and His Demons Are a Spiritual Plague That Torment Humanity
They swarm the earth not to eat the vegetation, but to torment people.
The vision mixes imagery the same way that the prophet Joel mixes imagery of God’s judgment on Israel.
In the book of Joel, the people of God are warned that a coming swarm of devouring locust is coming as a judgment against them.
2 Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.
4 What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
Joel describes the locusts of God’s judgment by using military language… They function like an army against Israel for their sin and rebellion.
notice the parallels between Joel 2 and Revelation:
1 Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
3 Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.
Joel is describing the coming of a locusts swarm..,
But what John now sees a locusts swarm only with much more frightening imagery.
These locusts:
are like horses prepared for battle.
Their faces are like human faces
their hair like women’s hair
their teeth like lion’s teeth
their breastplates like breastplates of iron,
their noise like the noise of many chariots
they have tails that sting like scorpions
and they have a king whose name is destroyer
These locusts are told not to harm the grass or any green plant or any tree, but they are commanded to torment people.
The torment is described in this way in verse 5:
“their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone”
Scorpions were known for causing extreme pain, but the venom of their sting was not enough to be lethal.
Hence the follow up verse:
6 And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
The question we need to ask though is what kind of torment is this?
How does Satan and his demons torment people in this age of demonic plague?
When Jesus arrived on the scene, we see him confronting the demonic tormenters of the world.
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry we see demons driving men and women to the brink of insanity.
People oppressed or tormented by evil spirits in the gospels are driven to
isolation,
self-harm,
violence,
sometimes their effects are have visible and physical consequences like seizures, and convulsing, and screaming and physical pain.
But the primary expression of demonic activity in the world is deception.
They torment by blinding people from the truth, and deceiving people so that they pursue things other than God.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day did not show the signs and symptoms of demonic possession like the more dramatic visible expressions…, but look at what Jesus says to them.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The torment of the demonic most often takes the form of deception that leads people to their own destruction.
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
The world is a place that is plagued with deceiving Spirits like locusts who devour every sign of life.
And humanity finds themselves most naturally following after the destroyer as their king…, rather than the redeemer as their king.
Revelation confirmed this in the letters several times.
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is....
Paul comments on the condition of humanity in this way:
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
#2 Satan and His Demons Are a Spiritual Plague That Torment Humanity
But God…,
This is not the end of the story.
In fact, even in this vision we see that this demonic plague is not sovereign.
Yes they have authority and yes they have power…,
but its on borrowed time…,
its limited in scope…,
and its coming to an end.
#3 Satan and His Demons Have Power that is Limited and Days that Are Numbered
#3 Satan and His Demons Have Power that is Limited and Days that Are Numbered
Notice that even in the vision… this demonic plague is subject to the one true God.
They cannot go beyond the sovereign will of he who sits on the throne.
(v.1) The fallen one is given a key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.
(v.3) The locusts are given power
(v.5)They are allowed to torment and only for five months (symbolic simply for a limited and constrained time).
(v.5) They were permitted to torment but not permitted to actually kill
The demonic force of the world are a plague on sinful humanity.
Like the locusts of the Exodus story.
Like the locusts warned about in the prophet Joel.
They are awful and evil and destructive…,
but they are not a legitimate threat to God’s sovereignty.
They are not a competing spiritual force who could potentially take God’s throne.
Jesus proved his authority over all things with his ministry on earth.
Everywhere Jesus went:
the demons trembled in fear,
pleaded that final judgment be delayed,
fled from his presence,
and obeyed his command.
Demonic forces are a plague unleashed upon this sinful world, but they are not sovereign over our God.
In fact, they unwillingly accomplish the will of God.
When they attempt to do evil,
they accidentally accomplish the full and final plan of God to bring judgment and salvation.
When they possessed Judas in his wickedness and led him to betray Jesus,
they simply accomplished the will of God to send Jesus to the cross for the salvation of sinners.
The most significant sign of demonic limitation for us in this room according to Revelation 9, is seen in verse 4.
4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
This is not the first time we have seen God’s sovereign protection over those whom he has sealed.
We saw similar language in the vision from Revelation 7:
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Those who are sealed on the forehead in Revelation are those who have believed in Jesus.
They are those whom God has saved from their sins, and filled with his Spirit.
They are those who are now secure in their relationship with God for all of eternity.
This is something that God has done.
We hear it in the song of those sealed in Revelation 7.
10 ....“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
In the passover plague of exodus…
The wrath of God passed over the homes with the blood of the lamb on their door post.
Similarly those with the seal of God on their foreheads are those who trusted in the blood of Jesus…, and they will be passed over in the final judgment.
but not only are we passed over in the final judgment…,
We are protected and preserved from demonic power in the present.
Satan and his demons do not have the same kind of power over us that they do unbelievers.
We do not have to fear demonic activity as Christians.
We do not have to fear demonic possession or oppression…,
but we do have to fight it.
Before we are Christians, we are servants of the wrong King.…
We are servants of the destroyer.
He owns us and in many ways controls us.
Apart from the miracle work of Jesus in our lives, we are blinded, and we are following the wrong King…
But when we put faith in Jesus we are sealed, and we are enlisted in the army of the conquering king.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean that we are extracted from the spiritual war…,
it means that we are finally fighting on the right side.
We become participators in the battle with the power of Christ in us.
Notice how Ephesians begins by describing our state as followers of evil spirits working in us.
and then concludes with our warfare against Satan with the Holy Spirit working in us.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Christian,
We are more than conquerors through him who loved us…
The sovereign God of the universe has limited Satan overpowering those who have the seal of God through faith in Jesus.
and the sovereign God has numbered Satan’s days.
The book of Revelation very much tells the story of the spiritual war we are in and how it will end….
With Satan in the lake of fire forever,
and Christians standing as conquerors with their God.
So how do we respond to all this?
#1 Join the Lord’s Army
#1 Join the Lord’s Army
The demonic activity of this age is like a trumpet blast warning the world that their are two kinds of Kings…
One King that leads to life
and King that leads to destruction.
Every evidence of spiritual evil in our world that shocks our system is trumpet blast of warning and an opportunity to repent and turn to Jesus for safety.
Just like the locusts in the Exodus story were a warning plague of coming destruction, so is the locust swarm of demonic activity a warning of coming wrath.
There is only one way to find yourself on the winning team at the end of history…
It is to confess your sin to God,
and to entrust your life to the Savior he has provided.
Jesus paid the sin debt that was owed,
He sacrificed himself,
He took upon himself the wrath of God at the cross,
and if you turn to him and believe you will be saved.
You will be sealed by God forever.
You will be freed from the dominion that Satan has over you.
You can find that freedom today right where you are sitting.
Pray and ask for forgiveness.
Ask for faith that trusts Jesus for salvation.
#2 Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare
#2 Be Aware of Spiritual Warfare
Demonic activity is real.
People are being blinded to the truth about God by evil forces.
People are being tormented by evil forces.
Satan’s work is always a work of deception,
so be aware and keep on guard.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
#3 Fight with Spiritual Weapons
#3 Fight with Spiritual Weapons
God aims to be glorified through your conquering of evil forces with the spiritual weapons he has given you.
God is glorified when you rely upon him to resist the lies of Satan and share the truth with those who are blinded.
As a believer in Jesus, you are not Satan’s slave.
You can fight temptation,
you can push back darkness,
but through the means that God has provided.
Its in the strength of his might that we fight.
Its with truth
and righteousness,
and the gospel,
and the faith we have in Jesus,
in the security of our salvation,
with the sword of the word of God
and through prayer that we fight.
knowing that in the end we win,
not because of our battle performance,
but because of the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
#4 Fight with Confidence in Christ our Conqueror
#4 Fight with Confidence in Christ our Conqueror
Why did John need to hear this?
Why did the first readers needs to see this vision?
They needed to be reminded the tribulation they were enduring, and the fight they were fighting was a spiritual one…,
they needed to remember that the King of Kings has authority over the King of demons.
There is no need to be afraid,
when we realize that Satan is on a leash
and the Saints are sealed.
Praise God that this is true of us.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lets Pray
