Sermon Tone Analysis

Fallen Star

Fifth angel blew trumpet and a star fell from heaven to earth - when we look at the rest of this sentence “and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit” it makes us recognize this was a person - instead of an actual star or meteor.

Who (most likely) is this star?

Greek as-tare’ star - singular, masculine noun

Most likely Satan himself.

Isaiah 14:12–17 (ESV)

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.

16 Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,

17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’

This is probably a description of Satan being cast out of heaven at the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

When we evaluate the bottomless pit, or the Abyss, the AByss is the dwelling place of the demons.

(The following verse describes the demons possessing Legion)

What future event does this most likely describe?

This is the preparation for Satan to be confined for 1,000 years during Christ’s reign on earth, but until that time he set loose all the demons kept within.

Great Smoke - visual appearance of the rising of the demons.

There were so many it darkened the sky and the sun, and there were locusts with the deadly sting of a scorpion.

They were coming to claim the lives of those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Remember back in Chapter 7 where the 144,000 had been SEALED and their converts would be protected from the plague, the would not be harmed.

All others on the earth would be tormented for a period of five moths.

These locust - evil spirits, the demons from the bottomless pit, will be loosed and given scorpion-like power to afflict the ungodly and evil of this world.

However, God limits their power: they do not kill people; they mercilessly afflict and torment people.

They would be tormented so bad the would welcome death as a relief.

But note: this is a judgment from God.

It is not something man brings on himself.

God may allow the evil spirits to use something man has developed, but God’s judgment will be behind it all.

Locust

What do these descriptions tell us?

Horses prepared for battle

Golden crown

Human faces

Women’s hair

Lions teeth

The description used of the demonic locusts compared to horses prepared for battle, with human faces, women’s hair, lions teeth, and what appeared to be golden crowns on their heads.

Danny Aiken in Christ Centered Exposition commentary makes these correlations:

Horses prepared for battle - they are prepared for war against God and His people.

Gold crowns - point to authority and power.

Faces like men’s faces - have the appearance of humans and speaks of being rational/intelligent. Cunning, cruel, wise, and wicked.

Hair like women’s hair - may indicate the antennae of locust, alluring and enticing like women’s hair.

Teeth like lions - ferociousness and lethal power.

Could you imagine this image?

Now remember the plagues of Egypt, the destruction that would occur to the plants and trees in the eighth plague.

Now, we see a picture much more grim and gruesome.

Not only were they human-like in appearance, but they were dressed for battle with breastplates of iron - they would be invulnerable to mankind’s attack.

There were so many, their wings sounded like horse drawn chariots racing to battle.

Obviously, John could only describe what he was seeing as a whole, not in specific detail, however we know that these locust demons were coming for destruction and death.

What does this description say about the mission of these locust like scorpion demons?

They were coming in force, in power, and might.

Ready to attack, as conquerors, ready to do whatever they must to devour and destroy.

This goes back to enforce what was described in Matthew 24:21.

They are ruled by the king of the demonic locusts - he is an angel of the bottomless pit - the fallen angel.

Once an angel of heaven, a servant of God, he is fallen out of God’s grace, turned from God and looking to himself.

He rules over the power of darkness, and both the Greek and Hebrew name used to describe him means DESTRUCTION.

In my mind this describes Satan himself or possibly one of his commanding demons.

The first woe (condemnation and judgement from God) has passed - but there are two more coming.

4 Angels Released

There are the four fallen angels set loose.

What three things are given to us about the 4 fallen angels who are released?

1.

They are set loose by a command coming from the golden altar.

This is the altar of incense where the prayers of God’s people are kept (see Re. 6:9–10; 8:3–4).

Normally a place of mercy; as God responds to His people’s prayers, the altar will resound with a cry for vengeance.

This symbolizes a significant fact: God launches this judgment especially to vindicate the millions who will be slaughtered by the antichrist.

God is going to be perfectly just.

He is going to execute perfect justice against the antichrist and his followers who have slaughtered millions.

They too shall be slain by the judgment of God.

The very prayers of the golden altar cry out for the name of God to be vindicated against those who laughed, mocked, rejected, denied, disbelieved, disobeyed, and cursed God.

God is going to hear these prayers.

2. The four released angels are bound at the great river Euphrates.

Note the definite article used: the.

The four fallen angels are four specific angels.

One never finds holy angels being bound in scripture, so we can surmise these are fallen angels.

As will be seen in a few moments, they will be of high military rank.

Why would the angels come from the Euphrates?

Scripture does not say, but two reasons seem likely.

⇒ The head or spring of the Euphrates river flowed out of the garden of Eden and was one of for rivers that flowed through Eden.

It was there, of course, where Satan first tempted and overthrew man.

The first sin that resulted in the fallen human race took place at the head of the Euphrates river.

It was also there that the first murder took place and it was in the region of the Euphrates that the first organized rebellion against God took place.

(All this is pointed out by the excellent Bible expositor, Lehman Strauss.

The Book of the Revelation, p.194).

John MacArthur also states “Starting with Babel, this region has spawned many of the world’s pagan religions.

⇒ The Euphrates was the western boundary of the promised land that God promised to Abraham.

Therefore, beyond the Euphrates can be looked upon as the outer reaches of the earth, as the place where the spiritual enemies of man are kept.

As William Barclay says:

The angels, therefore, come from the distant lands, from the strange and alien and hostile places, from these very parts of the world from which the Assyrians and the Babylonians had in time past descended with destruction upon Israel.

So, then, the angels come from the quarter from which disaster had in ancient times come upon God’s people Israel.…

The four angels are Angels of Punishment; they come from the part of the world from which death and disaster and slavery had so often come (The Revelation of John, Vol.2, p.64).

3. The four fallen angels were loosed and they prepared to execute a judgment upon the earth: the judgment of slaying one third of the ungodly and evil population of the world.

Remember why: because the billions upon earth will follow and give their total allegiance and support to the antichrist and the policies of his government.

One of the major policies will be the holocaust launched against the believers of the world.

Literally millions will be slaughtered.

Simply stated, God will not be able to take the diabolical evil of ungodly people any more.

He will allow His justice to finally be executed and demonstrated: the diabolical, the ungodly and evil, shall reap the slaughter they have inflicted upon others.

Note one other fact: God has already set the time for this judgment.

There is an exact year, month, day, and even hour that this judgment is to fall upon the ungodly and evil.

The hour is already fixed and only HE knows when it will be.

There are the military horsemen and their demonic horses.