Please turn with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 9. We'll be looking at the whole of the chapter today. The book of Revelation helps us to understand more fully the world in which we live. It is not simply a description of the past, nor is it primarily a description of the distant future, its message is intended to help believers in every generation until Jesus returns. Our understanding of the world in which we live is not accurate without an awareness of the existence of the spiritual forces of evil. demons. C.S. Lewis writes concerning demons, there are two equal and opposite airs into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. If you believe the Bible is God's Word, then you must believe in the existence of demons. Demons are fallen angels. They are spiritual in nature. They were created by God, created good, as we were. They rebelled against God and have become purely evil. I think there's a little difference there between humans and them. None of us are purely evil. In hell, maybe, but in this life, humans are this mixture. But demons are purely evil. They are bent on the destruction of all mankind, but particularly the church. But we must balance understanding of demons with our understanding of Christ I Loved the whole sleeping in the boat. That was great 1st John 3 8 says that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil Matthew 4 and Matthew 8 tell us that Jesus came to free individuals who were oppressed by demons. It is the authority that Jesus possesses over Satan and over his kingdom that enables the preaching of the gospel to be effective. At the same time, the demonic world is an ongoing enemy for the church. Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 4 to beware of demons infiltrating the teaching of the church. He says in 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2, Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times And by later times, he means the times in which they were living right then. Some will depart the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons. That's pretty serious. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We wrestle against spiritual forces of evil, Ephesians 6. the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil. That's who we wrestle against. Now, obviously I'm going to talk a lot about demons today and hopefully answer a lot of your questions, but I could do a whole series on demons and I would never answer your question, maybe shouldn't answer all your questions. But I found an article written by a guy named Clinton Arnold, He's of the C.S. Lewis Institute, and he has a very nice short summary on balancing demons and how we should relate to them and different things. So I'd recommend this to you if anybody's interested. I got four copies, but I can make more if you're interested in that. Of course, you could probably just find it online as well. So anyway, just wanted to let you guys know that. In Revelation 9, we are going to look at the fifth and sixth trumpets. And these trumpets we see the unleashing of demonic powers against the unbelieving world. While the warfare of every Christian against the demonic world is real, demons do not have authority over Christians. But when it comes to unbelievers, God sometimes unleashes the forces of evil to torture the soul and eventually drive people to kill. Last week we ended with this eagle, and I think the same word for eagle is the word for vulture, so I think it might be better to think of a vulture, this vulture flying over the world saying whoa, whoa, whoa. The first four trumpets were unleashed against the creation, the land, the sea, the rivers, the sky, those sorts of things. But these trumpets are unleashed against unbelievers and they are spiritual forces of evil. As humans, you are both body and soul. First four trumpets, the physical world, fifth and sixth trumpets directed at the soul. And in spiritual oppression, there is a greater torment. It goes deeper to your heart than any physical torture could do. So with that said, let's read verses 1 through 12, because that's the fifth trumpet, and then we'll comment, and then we'll go through the, break it up, two readings. 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. 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. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass or the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 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. And in those days, people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. 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, their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lion's teeth. They had breastplates Breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots, with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he is called Apollyon. The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to come. The star who has fallen is best taken as Satan. There are at least five separate times in which Satan falls. When Satan originally rebelled at the creation, He was kicked out. He fell. 2 Peter 2.4. Satan fell in the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. When Jesus went around and the disciples said, hey, we're casting out demons, and Jesus says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. In their ministry, they were defeating Satan. Obviously, Satan fell at the cross. Satan also falls every time the gospel goes into the world and a new unbeliever is brought into the kingdom of God. And Satan will be crushed under our feet both in our sanctification, every time you take a step further in godliness you are crushing Satan, but then also at the return of Christ he will crush Satan. So this idea of Satan falling from heaven going on throughout all of history, but I believe that the verse in Revelation 9.1 is primarily focusing on the cross. Satan was defeated at the cross. The bottomless pit is the place where God holds the spiritual forces of evil as they await their final judgment at the end of the ages. You realize angels also will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. They'll have to give an account for all the evil they have done throughout history. So this bottomless pit is like going in a jail cell before your court date. They're there. They're waiting. Colossians 2 15 says explicitly he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame Triumphing over them in him. So this idea that Christ is victorious. This is why he's able to sleep in a boat Whenever the waves are crashing around him. He is in control. He is Defeated his enemy those sorts of things but in this trumpet in the fifth trumpet Satan is given the key to the abyss and And that means, under the authority and direction and guidance of Christ, Satan has a limited authority. And that authority is to torment unbelieving souls. Now there are many views as to when and where and how these forces are unleashed. And if you're not into all this, you probably just go right over your head. But if you are, that's fine. The preterist position is that these horrors are those that fell upon Jerusalem leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The futurist position, kind of left behind position, is that these are the horrors that will fall upon the earth during the final three and a half years of history. The historicist position is that these horrors are those that fell upon the Middle East with the rise of Islam in the 7th century AD. I am an idealist. You want to put me in a category? What that means is that the horrors described in the fifth trumpet may occur at various periods throughout the entire church age. There's no one particular age in view. Instead, we are given a picture, an unveiling of the spiritual world in which these spiritual forces are unleashed on humanity. Just as there are wars and rumors of wars throughout all of history, so there are times when the forces of evil are unleashed upon this world to a greater or lesser degree. The point for us in reading Revelation 9 is to accept the reality of these powerful forces of evil, but also to cling to Christ through persevering faith, and then to stand against these forces, both in the continued witnessing to a dying world and in persevering prayer. As we look at these images, keep in mind that John is describing spiritual realities using physical images, and they are designed to scare you. The existence of powerful forces of pure evil bent upon the destruction of the church ought to scare you. Not ultimately, but it's there to scare you a little bit. The smoke in verses two that is billowing up from the pit helps you to feel the presence of evil. The smoke darkens the sun. This is not a picture of physical darkness. It is a picture of the darkness where light is destroyed. Darkness seems to be growing, winning, those sorts of things. We are in a battle for truth. And every time truth is distorted, you see a darkening of the world. And that's going on all the time, but you can see an ebb and flow throughout history. John sees this demonic activity, describes them as scorpions. In verse 4, he tells us that they are not on the earth, not on the plants, but they are on people that they do their destruction. So we read in Joel this picture of locusts sweeping through a land and devastating every green thing. And then he says, it's not, I'm not talking about a physical locust plague. I'm talking about demons that ravish the souls of men. They were allowed to torment for five months. In this fifth trumpet, they are not given the authority to kill. They are only given the authority to torment the human soul. Scorpion stings are not usually fatal. They are usually painful. I'm not even sure a person is always aware when he is being tormented by a demon, but I think that he is miserable when it occurs. It is not a coincidence in our own day that we have seen a meteoric rise in depression, despair, suicide, all these sorts of things. In the sixth trumpet, these same demons will be given authority to orchestrate killing, whether this is through demon possession or just their influence on society. But only in the sixth trumpet are they given the ability to influence and actually take life. But here, they're just given the power to torment, which I want you to understand. is that Jesus determines the precise moment from torment to death. Before we go into the sixth trumpet, let's just think about how he describes these demons. We are given the image of a war horse, And if you've never seen horses, war horses in battle and the destruction that they can do, it was like a tank. They were unbelievable. So these demons are mighty and powerful and fear-invoking. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold. The scriptures tell us everywhere that the demons are rulers and authorities. They're not just a mass mob. They are ruled under authorities. They divvy up portions of the earth, and they are actually under this authority structure. Their faces were like human faces. That just means that they are highly intelligent. Let me tell you something, you never outsmart a demon. They have been working at twisting the truth to humans throughout all of history. You are a newbie on the, you're just coming in now. You do not outsmart them. Their hair is like women's hair. The point here is that they are beautiful. As gross and as horrifying as they are described here, when you encounter demons, they don't come to you that way. They come to you beautiful. And I'm not just talking about physical women's beauty. Anything in the world that is attractive, oh, that's what I want, and they lead people away from God. Their teeth are like lion's teeth, vicious, destructive. When you combine this beauty and intelligence with viciousness, you're like, oh my word. And then to top it off in verses 9 and 10, they have this armor on so that when you try to hurt them, you can't hurt them. The imagery of the five months is that their torment is temporary. I think the five months comes from the lifespan of an actual locust, which was about five months. But this sort of torment is temporal because permanent torment is reserved for hell. They have a king over them. It's obviously Satan, known by various names, but it is here the destroying one. As much as Satan constantly is telling you, oh, get rid of God's authority so that you can be all that you can be, you better believe his desire is to destroy you. Have you ever considered how miserable life can become? The torment of the soul is far more than the physical factors around us. When you are tormented by demons, it gets down into the very gut of who you are. Even believers, this is a fine point, even believers feel the inner struggle with demonic forces. But here's the difference. Jesus does not abandon believers to the forces of evil. He is constantly protecting you from the full weight of the demonic forces' hatred. Kind of think about our military that protects Americans on a regular basis from the full brunt of the evils that would come upon us. They are protecting us. We have Christ and his angels are constantly protecting you as believers. In fact, Revelation 9 tells you that you are under the seal of his protection. So that being said, let's finish it out 13 through 19. 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. 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 the mounted troops was twice 10,000 times 10,000. I heard their number, and this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them. They wore breastplates the color of fire and sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lion's heads, and the fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three Plagues, a third of mankind was killed by the fire and the smoke and the sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. 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 blowing of the sixth trumpet. There comes a voice and it's coming from the horns of the golden altar. If you remember from Revelation, this reminds us of the prayers of the saints. And I know it is difficult to understand how our prayers can inaugurate such terrible demonic destruction, but that's the image here in Revelation. The voice is either that of Christ or one who represents Christ. He gives the command to release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. In scripture, the Old Testament, the Euphrates is the boundary line between God's kingdom and the unbelieving world. And so it makes sense that he's using the Euphrates as that division between those who are protected in the church and those who are outside in the unbelieving world. The four angels remind us that this judgment is being poured out on the entirety of the earth. The mention that these people have been prepared for this very hour and day and month and year reminds us that God is very specific in the controlling of these terrible forces. To us they just seem like vast forces sweeping through, but God is very specific in as he controls even the evil demonic forces of the world. As in all the trumpets, and I don't take them sequentially, as in all the trumpets, a third of mankind is killed. The destruction is partial because it occurs throughout the time between Jesus' resurrection and his return, and it is not entire. The army of demons that he hears is, I don't think it's taken to be literal, but if you did count up the math, it's over 200 million. Again, I think this is intended to scare you. We're not just talking about little old Satan in a red suit going around. We're talking about millions and millions of evil forces. We're not told how people are killed, but we see a clear difference between the fifth trumpet and the sixth trumpet. And if you're not trusting in Jesus Christ when you're killed, you enter into an eternity of torment. that one of the biggest lies that perpetrates our world is people think that if they can just end life here, that things will be okay. It's not true. But it's not those who have died that is the focus. It is those who are still living. And if you see in verses 20 and 21, you see that the rest of mankind is not repentant. They go on practicing the same evils. They harden their hearts. And I would tell you that this is designed to help you understand that judgment never changes the heart of a person. People in hell will be just as angry towards God as they were before they died. The only thing that ever changes someone from hating God to loving God is the loving kindness of God when he reaches down and pulls them to himself. Anytime humans flippantly kill innocent life, there are spiritual forces of evil at work. Even when there are good and just reasons to take the life of another person, we should do it with great reticence. The devaluing of life is a sign of the spiritual forces of evil being unleashed on our world. These seasons have occurred throughout history, but there is little doubt that they are on the rise in our own day. I'm not saying this to tell you that I know Jesus will come back in our lifetime. I've told you over and over again, he could come back before this sermon is over, or he could wait another thousand years. Here's my applications, and they're a little bit lengthy. We must remember that the spiritual forces of evil are real. and that they are unleashed to a lesser or greater extent across the world and across history. Number two, appreciate the protection that God gives you every day. You may think that you're fighting against spiritual forces, and you are, but you are not getting the full brunt of those spiritual forces. They would wipe you out in an instant. Jesus is guarding you and protecting you, just like he did with Peter. Satan wanted you, Peter, but I have prayed for you. Remember and appreciate the protection that God gives you against the spiritual forces of evil. Three, you are protected from these demons, but you also must wage war against them in at least two ways. One, you must continue to be a witness to a dying world. Tell people about Jesus. And two, fight against your own sin. Without Christ's binding of the strong man, the gospel could not go forward. And two, you could not ever gain any ground in your sanctification if Jesus were not the one fighting for you. Also, four, remember, when you talk to people who are lost, they are individually responsible for their sin and need to repent. But don't lose sight of the fact that people are bound by Satan. And unless Christ releases them, they cannot come to know Jesus Christ. I find it really interesting that Mary Magdalene was described as the woman who was set free from seven demons. She's not described as the one who came to Jesus and believed. Oh, Mary's the one Jesus set free. Do you think of your own salvation that way? Satan was holding you and Christ set you free. Fifthly, God uses evil forces for his own purposes. Sometimes he will use them to torment, to prepare people to come to himself. But other times he is just executing judgment upon them. And either way, Christ is in control of the evil that you see around you. That's hard to accept. But otherwise you live in a world that is out of control. And Jesus sleeping on the boat was just foolish. While demons oppress individuals, they also steer whole societies away from Christ. Satanic lies are behind every evil. But when a whole society begins to promote terrible evils as if they are somehow good, we can be sure that there are spiritual forces at work. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Not in the sense of, oh, these people did this, and everything's a conspiracy. I am a big-time conspiracy theorist in Satan's work. He is always working to drive people away from Christ. The apostasy of the church in America from the most basic truths of the Gospels smells like the smoke of the pit of hell to me. The deception that darkens our minds on the issue of abortion smells of the pit of hell. I recently read in an article that worldwide it is estimated that somewhere around 2 million people are born every year and that there are as many as 50 million aborted worldwide. And I say that as someone who at one point in my life encouraged abortion. I'm not saying that to condemn someone. I'm just saying that these are lies that Satan is perpetrating. When a young person believes that they are in the wrong body and are willing through hormones or surgery to change their gender, there are forces of evil that are at work. When political loyalties drive people to levels of hatred such that they find pleasure in killing and maiming human beings, you can be sure that demons are at work. None of these things reduces our accountability, but it should help us to see that our struggle is not just against flesh and blood. Positive. Revelation teaches us that when we see these seasons of evil arise, they are under the sovereign control of Christ. As terrible as they are, they are not a threat to Him. The only reason that we do not live in fear is because we are under the authority of our Lord and Savior. He is our defender. He is our strong tower. While we must fight the spiritual forces of evil, I even feel in my own life where I give in to them at times, and I hate that. It makes my sin even worse when I think, I got deceived by Satan. You know, it makes it even worse to think that. But Jesus is protecting us. You know, Jesus is the only one who experienced the full brunt of what Satan had to offer. He did it in his temptations in the wilderness. He did it in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did it on the cross. And he conquered Satan every time. So our task is to fix our eyes on Christ. It is not to become enamored with demons. It is to remember Jesus Christ. And I think in particular, Satan works on you a little bit differently than he works on the unbelievers. Satan works to accuse you that your sins have not truly been forgiven. Satan works to entice you to sin. Satan works to deceive you into believing that it is your sin who defines you and not Christ. And Satan works in us as the church to somehow believe that Satan is winning the war. Because he is not. I want to read a little bit from Martin Luther, a man who fought against demons all the time. He says, when you're struggling with this feeling that you're not cleansed and forgiven, he says, you should tell the devil just by telling me that I am miserable, that I'm a miserable, great sinner. You are placing the sword and weapon into my hand with which I can decisively overcome you. Satan calls you a sinner? Say, oh, that's a great sword. Thank you, Satan. For if you can tell me that I am a poor sinner, I, on the other hand, can tell you that Christ died for sinners and is their intercessor. You remind me of the boundless, great faithfulness and benefaction of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him I direct you, Satan. You may accuse and condemn him. Let me rest in his peace, for on his shoulders, not mine, lay all my sins. Wow! A mighty fortress of our God. A mighty fortress is our God. A bulwark never failing. Our helper, he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing, for still our ancient foe seeks to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide our striving would be losing? We're not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. You ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He. Lord of hosts, His name from age to age the same, and He must win the battle. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. Jesus. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth. The spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also, the body they may kill. God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever. Brothers and sisters, the evil around you is great. You wrestle with a foe more powerful than you. But through the gospel, Jesus says in Romans 16, 20, that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. See, I'm going to break protocol. I'm going to ask John Avery to come up here today. Elder Emeritus can do this. Clark, come on up. And Dan Kienert, come on up. One of the beauties of the visible church is that in the sacraments, we believe that those are signs and seals. Now obviously the Holy Spirit is the real seal of anyone and the blood of Christ. But we believe that part of the reason that you partake of the sacraments is a reminder to yourself of the death of Christ. And how that death of Christ actually covers you with his blood and protects you from all the spiritual forces of evil. It will actually take you through the very wrath of God on the day of judgment and lead you into a kingdom of bliss as well. But even in this present realm, the blood of Christ covers you and the Spirit of Christ guards you. And that's a beautiful thing. So as you partake of communion, one of the things you can do today is just say, praise the Lord that I am in Christ and that I am protected. Now, not completely protected as we said, you have, Jesus kind of lets you spar with the forces of evil, but never so much as to destroy you. And that's a beautiful thing for which we should be thankful for. Paul says, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Pray with me. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are present here with us today. Holy Spirit, You dwell in the hearts of Your people. Lord Jesus, You reign over Your church. And Father, You are the giver of all good gifts. We give You praise today. We thank and praise the Triune God. that we can be free from the corruption of our hearts. We would willingly plunge ourselves into obedience to demons and hate you if it were not for your grace working in our hearts. We give you thanks. We praise you for dying for us. We ask God that you would bestow upon us through these sacraments faith greater faith in You, so that we would leave here stronger than when we came. Lord, we are weak, but in You we are strong. Amen. Partake of the bread as it's passed to you, because we must individually receive Jesus Christ. So, you Body of Christ, broken for you. Body of Christ, broken for you. Most of the sermon, the trumpets five and six, are the wrath that's poured out on an unbelieving world. But I know as Christians, your present struggle is even more pressing to you. And I guess as we reflect upon the blood of Christ, I just want you to realize two things. You're in a struggle against sin. And there are times when you lose that struggle. Just think about that. There are times when you give in to sin. You believe lies. You embrace that which is evil. And in that, it is so easy to think of your struggle of evil as separate from Christ's victory. And what I want you to think about is that even though you lose a battle, Christ is still winning the war. Because what He does, is in losing a particular battle, He drives you back to Christ. And you plead for Him to cover your sin with the blood of Christ. And Satan hates that because he wants you to just remain miserable in that sin. But every time you come back to Christ and you say, forgive me of all my sin, cleanse my heart, the blood of Christ has not reached its bottom. It can do that. But then also, Satan wants you to think that you'll never be free from the sin in which you struggle. And the blood of Christ Just as much as it promises complete forgiveness, it also promises full and complete victory over sin. So even though you've been knocked down to the ground, you can say, I am in Christ, and the blood of Christ has destroyed you, and Lord Jesus, lift me back up so I can continue in this battle against sin. That's the blessing of communion and the cross. As you think of the blood of the new covenant, he has taken the curse from you so that he can pour out his grace to you to help you in your time of need. You have a great high priest who will help you in your struggle against sin. Let's all hold the cup together and we'll drink together because It's not just an individual victory. Jesus has promised full and complete victory to all of his people. And that's something we can say amen to. so so Jesus says that this is the new covenant in my blood. The blood of Christ declares to you that the God who has conquered Satan is at work in you. to bring you to want holiness and to give you the power to have holiness. Let's drink of it. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I cannot imagine life apart from your protection. O Lord, pour out Your grace upon us. And Father, we too ask that You would even take those who are tormented and draw them to Yourself by Your grace. Even use us as we talk to those we love and those we don't even know. Lord, may our witness Be a true demonstration of Your powerful authority to save. In Jesus' name, Amen.