You are listening to a sermon by Dr. Richard Caldwell, produced by Walking in Grace. Walking in Grace is a listener supported ministry. Visit walkingingrace.org slash media to learn how you can help these messages reach more people. Good morning. If you would please turn to the book of Revelation The ninth chapter, Revelation chapter 9. As you're turning there, there are a couple of things that I need to share with you this morning. First of all, with great sadness, I need to tell you that our brother Seth Ditman went to be home with the Lord yesterday. The Lord gathered Seth to himself through a heart attack. Now grieving are his wife, Stacey, and his sons, Jerome and Levi, and I ask you to join with us in praying for them. And if you know them and if you have been able to get to know them, pray for them and encourage them as the Lord gives you opportunity. As I said to them yesterday, there are aspects of this that there is no hope from anyone except the Lord. No one can help someone except God Himself directly. And we pray for the great grace of God to be known by them in this very difficult time. But there are other ways that we as the family of God can love them and be available to them and help them, and we pledge ourselves to that. And so you join with us in praying for them. Also, in January of 2019, the Lord brought Aaron and Kirstie Ragg here to us and their family. Aaron has served now for six years as pastor to our students, junior high, high school, college-aged people. Aaron and Kiersey will be leaving us at the end of July, first part of August. We're not sure yet when their final Sunday will be, July 27th or August the 4th, but they'll be leaving us. He is going to plant a new church in Tampa, Florida. And he'll be planting that church through the ministry of his father's...or his father pastor's, Grace Emanuel Bible Church. So for Aaron, we are happy, we are joyful. This is, I know, in his heart to do. The Lord has gifted him for that, prepared him for that. We rejoice with he and Kirstie. We also are sad because we definitely don't want to see them go, but we will send them forth with joy. So we wanted to let you know now so that when you see their house on the market, you're not wondering what is going on because they have preparation to make over the next two months. This is also a great opportunity to take some time with them. And they'll forever have a relationship to this church. They'll be around here from time to time and we'll always love them and have a place in their lives. But join us in praying for them as they prepare to go. We do have a plan for the ministries that he has overseen, but we'll be talking about that later. So just remember them in prayer. All right, Revelation chapter 9. It's where we are this morning in our study of God's Word. We're going to read beginning at verse 12. We'll read down to verse 21. One woe is past. Behold, two woes are still coming after these things. Then the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. One saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, release the four angels who have been bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were released who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year so that they would kill a third of mankind. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sit on them. The riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions and out of their mouths come fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire. and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents having heads and with them they do harm. And the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons. and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts." Let's go to our God together in prayer. Lord, what would we do without you? Where would we be without you? In times of great sorrow, in times of loss, in times of a new phase of ministry where there's a mixture of joy and sadness, in all the tests and trials that we meet with every day, you are our sufficiency. You stand behind us, you go before us. We are surrounded by your love and care. Every element of our lives is planned with perfect wisdom and executed with perfect love. And in this we rest. This is where our faith chooses to reside even in times where our faith is challenged. Thank you that you've made yourself known to us. Thank you that you've reconciled us, your people, to yourself through the blood of your Son. Thank you that we know you in Christ, that we have the Comforter, the Spirit of God Himself who abides within us. Thank you for the truth of your words. This morning as we turn our attention to the preaching of Your Word, we pray for Your help. Help me to preach. Help us to listen. Do Your work in our hearts that makes for our conformity to the image of Christ. We are mindful even as we heard TJ's testimony from the baptistry this morning that some will hear us every week. For as long as the Lord Jesus tarries, who don't know you, some have grown up in the church who don't know you. Thank you, Lord, for saving TJ, and thank you for your mercy that has saved each one of us. And we pray today for that one, for those who are hearing me who don't know you. Lord, would you have mercy upon them? Would you open their eyes? Would you open their hearts? Would you reveal their lostness to them and grant them a penitent faith in Christ by your mighty right arm, rescue sinners. But Lord, we gather as Your church, we need this time for our edification and growth. May You use it to that end, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. There is nothing beneficial to be found in religious imaginations. In fact, Religious imagination is a very dangerous thing. When we imagine something to be true, when according to scripture, it is not true. When we're living our lives with a worldview emerging out of our own minds, instead of a worldview that has emerged from the careful study of Scripture. When we're living our lives based on ideas explained by sin and by demons and by us, instead of truth given to us by God in His Word, that is not a safe way to live your life. What we find in Scripture is the truth. What we embrace as spiritually true that isn't found in Scripture, that's imagination. And you don't need imagination. We've all known what it is to meet with someone who sees a demon behind every door, under every bush. They live their life. sort of mesmerized by the idea of the demonic. In some cases, responding to those imaginations with further imagination, so they've been taught, they've learned to deal with the realm of the demonic as they would define it in ways that would involve authoritative statements, binding demons, loosing demons, pleading blood over portions of their house, that sort of thing. I've often said to people, it's like going into a real battle with a plastic sword. You're trying to engage a realm that you have first of all misunderstood, but now you're trying to engage it in a way God never said to engage it, and so your weaponry is imaginary. There's no power in it. There's nothing real about it. That's dangerous. But those of us who recognize that danger, I wonder sometimes, do we recognize the danger that exists on the other end of the spectrum? Which is not the danger of mysticism, but it is the danger of materialism. Anti-supernaturalism. spiritual ways of viewing our world, treating everything as if the only thing that really exists is what you can see and touch and smell and taste and feel. Like there's nothing real in the spiritual realm. Is that dangerous also? To take something God has clearly set forth in His Word as being real And in fact, taking it a step further, telling us how to engage that very real world and we treat it like it doesn't even exist. That's dangerous too, isn't it? The Bible leaves us with no doubt about the reality and the consequential nature of the world that we can't see. In fact, the Bible tells us of spiritual realities that we would have no knowledge of, no access to information about if God had not told us. Our God has told us where we once lived before He saved us in a very real kingdom of darkness. Do you stop and reflect on that? You who know the Lord Jesus Christ, do you stop and reflect on the domain out of which the Lord delivered you. Colossians 1.13 says, for He delivered us. That's a power word, isn't it? Delivered us. Didn't just give us an assist, didn't just show us the way out, He delivered us from the domain of darkness. A realm, a dominion, a kingdom of darkness. He delivered us from that and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Again, He didn't just show us the way and we walked our way into the kingdom. No, He delivered us from one realm and transferred us to this other realm in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So we have to let this sink in. We've got to really believe this, that when we talk about demons, we talk about the devil, and we talk about demons, and we talk about from Scripture the hateful, evil, destructive nature that that domain represents. Do we stop and realize that was the realm that we were living our lives in spiritually We belonged to it. We were under the authority of it before the Lord saved us. That's real. The Bible tells us we still have a battle with that realm. We don't belong to it. We've been delivered out of it. In one sense, the enemy can no longer even touch us. And yet, we're told, that we every day battle in a very real way with that realm. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood. but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. And not only are we told that we have a very real battle with all of that, we're told of the armor that God has supplied for us that we're to actively put on every day to be able to stand in the midst of that battle. When you get up each day as a believer, Are you mindful that you're entering into, on this day I'm entering into a theater of spiritual warfare and the only way I can stand in the midst of this battle is with the armor that God has supplied for His people. And do we hear the Scriptures when they tell us that this domain of darkness is currently where all lost human beings exist? The realm to which they belong and the destiny toward which lost humanity is headed is more of that which is represented in that domain. an everlasting place of torment outside of God's accepting presence, a world of darkness from which there is no hope of escape. That's hell, under the wrath of God forever. What we're seeing in Revelation chapter 9, will take place during the great tribulation period coming upon the world. God is going to pour out His judgment upon humanity in an increasingly severe way during a seven-year period. What we're learning about now takes place from the midway point forward, increasing judgments from God, and a portion of that judgment is the allowance of demonic activity to be unleashed upon people with great and terrible force. In the fifth trumpet, we saw it is going to be a tormenting activity. Now when we come to the sixth trumpet, we see it will be a murderous activity. As one third of humanity will die due to that demonic activity. This is one of the woes Coming upon the world, one woe is past. Behold, two woes are still coming after these things." And immediately John is telling us about this next woe, and it has to do with terrible demonic activity. John is being told these things through visions. And so they're being depicted to him and he's depicting them to us in ways that he could understand, in pictures that he could process and then describe for us. How do you describe a 200 million demon army? Well, God is giving him a way to describe it and that's what he's doing for us in these verses. Spiritual realities being depicted in ways that we could understand. And so this morning we think together about these demons of death coming upon the world in the future. We'll look at this under three headings, I'll just note them as we come to them. First of all, in verses 13 through 16, we see the demons released. The demons released. Then the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice. from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet." So John being clear, he's distinguishing the voice that he's hearing from the angel that has the trumpet. One saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, release the four angels who've been bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were released who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year so that they would kill a third of mankind. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of them. The demons released with the fifth trumpet, we saw that last time, were specifically forbidden to bring death. Look at verse 3 of chapter 9. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them as the scorpions of the earth have power. And they were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months. And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. Remember, these are the demons released from the abyss. A key given to an angel, the abyss is open. Out come these demons described for John, or depicted for John like locusts, but locusts like mankind has never known. And so in that way, helping us to understand the character, the nature, the activity of these demons. Well now there's a voice that John hears and there's going to be another release. Four angels who've been bound to the great river Euphrates. This voice that John hears is coming from the altar of incense. This is the altar we met with back in chapter 8, verse 3 for example, and another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer and much incense was given to him so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. So this is that same altar, an altar of incense seen in this vision. Heaven depicted for John in a way he's describing. He sees this altar of incense and on it the prayers of the saints of God are offered. This ascends before the Lord. Our prayer is being represented in this kind of way, like a worship offering that arises before the Lord. This is the same altar, but now we are told what is emphasized is the fact there are four horns on this altar. I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God." And this would have matched what the people expected or what they thought of when they thought of the altar of incense. Exodus chapter 30 verse 1, you shall make an altar on which to burn incense. You shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. Exodus 30 verse 10, Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement, he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord. And so on these horns would be applied the blood of sacrifices that spoke of atonement. Horns, Old Testament picture of strength, power. And so these horns on the altar would speak of the strength of God, the power of God, the threatening judgment of God, blood applied to those horns so that the altar becomes a place of mercy, a place of salvation, a place of deliverance from the wrath of God represented by the horns and the strength that they would speak of. So you either meet with God in the strength and fury of His judgment or At this altar, you meet with God in mercy based upon a blood sacrifice. So the altar became emblematic both of mercy and of judgment. And on this altar, the prayers of God's people have been being offered and as you know, as we've already seen in Revelation, the people of God long for the justice of God. And so from this altar now comes a voice that says, let these angels loose, these four angels. And so where there has been mercy, there will now be judgment. Where there is atonement, there's mercy. Where there is no atonement, there's judgment. Where you've been reconciled to God, there's mercy. Where you are still an enemy of God, there's judgment. And so now this altar speaks of judgment. These four angels, verse 14, one saying to the sixth angel at the trumpet, release the four angels who've been bound at the great river Euphrates. Are these holy angels or are these unholy angels? I understand them to be unholy angels, demons. Why? Because nowhere in the word of God do you see holy angels bound. You see demons bound but you don't see holy angels bound. And so just as the abyss was opened and these demons were released, so now there's going to be a release of these four angels. Why the river Euphrates, bound at the great river Euphrates? I think what's happening in this symbolic message is God is taking things that the people of God, hearing John, would have associated in their region with certain things. This is not a regional judgment. This is a global judgment but it's being conveyed through symbols that they would associate with in terms of regional realities. And so the river Euphrates has an association with evil. This is the region. where organized idolatry, false religion in an organized sense had its start. This is the region where the Garden of Eden was, man's first temptation and sin. This is the region where the Tower of Babel was. This was the region where Babylonia, Babylon were situated on the great river Euphrates. Genesis 2.10, a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah where there is gold and the gold of that land is good. Delium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. So this is that land area where the great Euphrates is. an association with evil. It's also an association with fearful danger because the Euphrates marked the furthest boundary of the land of Israel to the east. And so oftentimes what you see in the Old Testament, the enemies of God attacking the people of God coming across the Euphrates. And so you would associate it with enemies and attack, danger. Alan Johnson commented, four angels. The instruments of God's judgment are held at the River Euphrates from where traditionally the enemies of God's ancient people often advanced on the land of Israel, Jeremiah 2.18, Jeremiah 13.4 and 5, Jeremiah 51.63. Later in this book, Revelation 16 verse 12. Johnson goes on to say, which was recognized as its eastern extremity, Genesis 15, 18, John here makes use of the ancient geographical terms to depict the fearful character of God's approaching judgment on a rebellious world. While the language is drawn from historical political events of the Old Testament, it describes realities that far transcend a local geographical event. So taking what the people of God knew, what they would associate with danger and evil, God uses these images to speak of something that's going to be global in nature, will transcend any kind of danger that they've ever known. What about the identity of these four angels? John writes about them almost as if we would know who they are, the four angels. that have been bound at the Euphrates, but we don't know for certain the identity of these four angels. Some have speculated that perhaps what is happening here is the release of demons that have been especially associated with four world powers that you see in Daniel 2 and in Daniel 7 that we know represent the movement of world history to the end of the age. So in Daniel 2 and in Daniel 7, Daniel's interpreting visions that speak of four great world powers that lead us to the end of the age. You have Babylon, followed by the Medo-Persian Empire, followed by Greece, followed by Rome. And it appears that at the end of the age, you have a revived Roman Empire made up of the joining together of more than one nation. And you do get a glimpse in Daniel 10, for example, when you have time, look at Daniel 10 and you'll see angelic battles that include demons identified with nations. And so perhaps these four angels represent these four world empires, these four world powers. They've been bound by God and now they're going to be released. Notice what we see about their release, verse 15. And the four angels were released who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year so that they would kill a third of mankind. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of them. Three things I want you to note about their release. First of all, the preparation for this. Verse 15, the four angels were released who had been prepared. for the hour and day and month and year. We meet again with the sovereignty of God. Listen, if you chafe at the truth that God is sovereign over everything, you will have to avoid your Bible because it is all over almost every page of Holy Scripture. God is sovereign over everything. He even overrules evil. And even evil forces, demonic forces, will ultimately accomplish God's perfect will. What is there in our world that God isn't sovereign over? Nothing. He is sovereign over everything. And here what is emphasized is the precision of that sovereignty. because they've been prepared for this very hour, on this very day, on that very month, in that very year. I think that's the sense of what he's saying here, that at this hour, on this day, on this month, on this year, this is what God planned to do all along. We don't know when they were bound, but their release is in perfect accordance with God's sovereign plan. They were meant to be released at this time. I just want to encourage you. You know, I prayed earlier and I think about this often. Our most sorrowful times, our most joyful times, all the events we meet with every day in our lives. Isn't it, isn't it wonderful to know, encouraging to know, hopeful to know that the God who loves us perfectly who has good things planned for His people, nothing harmful or destructive. Isn't it good to know there's nothing taking place today, this very hour, this very day, this very month, this very year, that God isn't sovereign over it? He's sovereign over everything. What is it that you've been struggling with that you're dealing with it as though life is just happening to you instead of recognizing, no, the God who has saved me by His Son and loves me perfectly is the same God who is in this, who is sovereign over this, who has ordained this and will walk with me through this? What a joy it is to know our God is sovereign. So their preparation is spoken of. Their purpose is spoken of. Why are they being released at this hour, on this day, on this month, on this year? So that they would kill a third of mankind. Now remember, there have been people dying previous to this through the judgments that were being unleashed through the the seals and now the trumpets. So people have already been dying. This massive loss of human life would represent out of the humanity still left. So after all of the ones have died previously, now we have the current population of humanity on the earth at this particular time, one-third of that population will be wiped out as a result of the release of these angels. Now we're not told exactly how the demons will inflict this death. We're given a description of it, but I think it's symbolic in nature. So we're not told exactly how they're going to do this, but we do know that they are the explanation for it. The release of these demons will explain the death that will follow so that they would kill a third of mankind. And their power is seen in their armies, verse 16, and the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of...some commentators believe that what you have here is demonic activity that will lead to human armies, battles that will result in the loss of a third of human life. But I lean toward the idea that what's being described here is a demonic set of armies, armies of demons, because the number, for one thing, 200 million. And John, I think he knows our temptation to say, well, maybe he's just, you know, saying a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, because at the end of verse 16, what does he say? I heard the number of them. Like, take this number seriously. Two hundred million, I heard the number of them. And as we begin to see the description of the riders and of the horses, I think it becomes clear we're not talking about any ordinary army. The number clues us into that and then the description goes beyond anything you would ever see in any kind of army. So I believe these are demonic forces. Just as demons were released from the abyss, so now you have these four angels released And the demons already loose and active in our world join with those demons that have been released from the abyss and this massive demonic army carries out a death work in this particular judgment. So the demon force is released. Second point, the demon force is described, verses 17 through 19. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sit on them. The riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions and out of their mouths come fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues. by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths, for the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents, having heads and with them they do harm." So described in a way that John could relate to an army of his day, yet in a way that clearly goes beyond any army of any day. He sees horses and he sees riders on these horses. And he begins by describing the riders in terms of their breastplates. The riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone. Color of fire, orange, red. Hyacinth, it's a flowering plant with varying shades of blue and purple. So when you have time, you can look it up on the internet, Ahiaseth, look at it. Blue, purple, plant. And then brimstone, yellow. Brimstone is just a word for sulfur. So you have orange, red, you have bluish, purplish, and you have yellow. These three together visualize the judgment of God. The bluish hue, I think, pictures smoke. So you have fire, smoke, brimstone. They carry these breastplates that speak of the judgment of God. Genesis 19-24, it takes our minds back to Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19-24, then the Lord reigned on Sodom and Gomorrah. and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife behind him looked back and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley. And he looked and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. What do you have at Sodom and Gomorrah? You have fire, you have brimstone, you have smoke. Luke 17, 29, but on the day when lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. So God telling us that in the time that leads to the return of His Son from heaven to earth, a judgment very much like what fell on Sodom and Gomorrah will fall on this planet. Fire, brimstone, smoke. Psalm 11 verse 5, the Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked, and the one who loves violence, let him rain coals on the wicked. Fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. So this is judgment language. And John, seeing this vision, sees this army of riders and their very attire, their breastplates, speak of the judgment of God. And then he describes the horses. The heads of the horses are like the heads of lions, and out of their mouths come fire and smoke and brimstone. Heads like lions, fierce, devouring. Mouths that deliver death. Tails like the heads of serpents, delivering deadly poison. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths, for the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents, having heads, and with them they do harm." And again, I think John is getting a vision that relates to something that he would see in his time, that the people would see in their time, but obviously goes far beyond anything they've ever seen. Leon Morris was helpful on this. He said, the mention of snakes points to the demonic. for demons and serpents were often linked in antiquity. Some see a reference to the Parthian habit of twisting the tails of their horses so that they looked like snakes. They recall also the Parthian skill in shooting arrows behind them as they rode. So the Parthians would twist the tails of their horses to look like snakes and they're firing just as skillfully behind them as they are before them. And so there's damage, there's death occurring at both ends of the steed. Morris goes on to say, such facts may have helped to shape John's imagery, but it is not this that he is describing. He sees demonic forces, and I agree with this. And so how do you describe demon armies? Well, in pictures people can understand. And so as you would see this fearful, massive army approaching, everything about it speaking of judgment and death, fierceness, destructiveness. This is what's coming, but from demons. Interesting, isn't it, that He refers to them as plagues, verse 18. A third of mankind was killed, emphasizing again, a third of humanity will die by these three plagues. That's the language of the judgment of God. Yes, demons are being made use of, but the judgment is coming from the hand of God, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. So we see the release of the demon forces, we see the description of the demon forces, but here's perhaps the most startling thing of all, verses 20 and 21. We see the defiance, the defiance of sinful mankind. A third will die. What about the two-thirds? What about the people who survive these three plagues? Verse 20, and the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood which can neither see nor hear nor walk and they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. I mean, if this doesn't get man's attention, what will? Surely this will get man's attention, right? Five months of torment? followed by a 200 million release of demonic activity that results in the death of a third of humanity, this will get man's attention, won't it? No, people still don't repent. Can I ask you, does that make any sense? If you think that makes sense, would you stand up and say amen? I wouldn't say that if I thought anybody would stand up. So I know you know that makes no sense. I want to remind you of something. Man's hostility toward God is not at its root an intellectual problem. Don't misunderstand me. Sin has affected all of mankind's person. That includes his thinking. There's darkness in man's mind. But in terms of doing the mathematical equations, in terms of connecting the dots, in terms of saying this should result in this, this makes no sense. But it doesn't have to for sinful mankind because his major problem is not a logical one, it's a moral one. It's not that he doesn't have the intellectual capacity to connect the dots, it's that he refuses to connect the dots. He refuses to draw the right conclusions. He refuses to acknowledge what is clear and true, self-evident. He refuses because he has no appetite for the conclusion. If this is right, then this must be my response. But I don't want that response, therefore I will deny what my own eyes tell me to be true. I will not acknowledge the truth because I do not want to repent." That is sinful mankind. It's not an intellectual problem, it's a moral problem. Which, by the way, ought to instruct all of the apologists among us that the way to win people to Jesus will not be ultimately your power of argumentation or your power of persuasion. What you're dealing with is much larger than something you can solve with your mind. It requires the power of God for people to be saved. It requires new birth for people to be saved. It requires deliverance. From a domain of darkness and transference to the Kingdom of God's Son, nothing less than the power of God will ever explain the salvation of a sinner. Nothing but the power of God will ever change his or her mind. Nothing but the power of God will ever break his or her will. Nothing but the power of God will ever give them an appetite for what is absolutely distasteful to them in their lost condition. Only God makes God lovers. Only God makes Christ lovers. Only God explains penitent faith. Man in his lost condition is a truth suppressor, a righteousness suppressor. He takes what may be known about God and he shoves it down, shoves it out of his sight, wants to get rid of it at every turn. Why? Because he has no appetite for God. And so what we meet with is mankind without repentance. And I hope you'll see this. He's being destroyed by what he worships. Man, in this text is being destroyed...destroyed by what he worships. He did not repent, verse 20, of the work of their hands. That is, you're being destroyed by what you construct, by the work of your hands, by a worldview emerging out of your mind. The mind of man in his lost condition is an idle factory, producing false gods in his own thinking that then he constructs with his own life that he serves. And so here you have humanity being destroyed by what he constructs, destroyed by his false religion. Didn't repent of the work of their hands, so as not to worship demons. Wow, he doesn't know he worships demons. But He does. Remember I talked about the danger of refusing to see what the Scripture says is real? Do you understand that all false worship is the doctrine of demons? Every human being involved in false worship is involved in the worship of demons, whether they know it or not. And here are demons destroying their worshipers. Destroyed by what he constructs, destroyed by his own false religion, destroyed by gods that are not gods. The idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. You talk about the true and living God. When we pray, He hears. As we live, He acts. Our God is the only true and living God, the God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the only real God that exists, and every other so-called God is no God at all. Demons in dress-up. And so what you're worshiping can't hear you, can't talk to you, can't protect you, will never lead you nor guide you. You worship gods that aren't gods. Amazing what men and women live for, isn't it? Wait until you're in the deepest, darkest part of your existence. Cry out to your money and see if it answers you. Cry out to your favorite sports team and see if they answer. See if they can help you. Cry out to your job and see if your answer is there. What are you worshiping? What are you living for? What is the main focus of your life? For to me to live is Christ. And then you can say what? To die is gain...gain. Destroyed by the real version of their imaginations. Didn't repent of their murders, notice, nor of their sorceries. People involved in witchcraft, people involved in all sorts of spiritual darkness. Theorizing about what might be and might not be and trying to delve into a spiritual realm you know nothing about. You're a fool. You're a fool. You know what's behind that curtain? Demons. You either live your life on what God has said or you're living your life as a fool. These demons are destroying people who have dabbled in the realm of the demonic. which manifests itself in the physical realm murders sexual immorality. Do you think it's any coincidence that as a culture moves further and further away from the truth of the scriptures, from the truth of the one true and living God, it always descends deeper and deeper into the realms of sexual immorality? Where do you think that encouragement is coming from? And so being destroyed, witnessing destruction, but still not finished with it. That's what you see in our verses. Being destroyed, witnessing destruction, but they still don't have an appetite for God. And so they just continue with what is destroying them. And so I finish with this question, what does this prove about mankind? What does this prove about mankind? It proves that since Adam's fall, we were all born into the world in a condition in which we were hopelessly ruined in sin, unsavable if salvation depends on us. There isn't enough suffering that could bring people to genuine faith, which means that the only hope for any sinner is the grace of God in Jesus Christ. That's it, God's mercy, God's grace. And God has shown grace and mercy by offering to this world His one and only Son. A few thousand years ago, you know what happened. The one who was predicted and spoken of and hoped for and looked for through all the ages that preceded His coming, the eternal Son of God stepped from heaven into the earth, taking to Himself an additional nature, a real human nature. The Messiah arrived. The Son of God stepped foot on the planet that He spoke into existence. And He lived a sinless life without sin under the law so that when He died on the cross, He wasn't dying for His own sins. He was dying in the place of anyone, everyone who would ever repent of their sins and place their faith in His sacrificial offering to atone for their sins. Died in the stead of sinners, put him in a tomb, his body in a tomb. Three days later, he was raised from the dead bodily, proving that he was who he claimed to be, proving that his offering for sins were accepted by his Holy Father so that now the door is open for the full, free, complete forgiveness of all the sins of anyone who will look to Christ as Savior and Lord. If you repent of your sins and look to Jesus as Lord and Savior, trusting His work, not yours, He will save you. That's the mercy and grace of God. But I know this, I can declare this to you. I can explain this to you. I can exhort you with all my heart to turn from your sins and trust in God's son. And the only people who will ever hear my voice and in my voice, hear Christ's voice and turn from your sins and trust in God's son are the people explained by the power of God. John 6, 44, listen to what Jesus said. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. Who will Christ raise up one day? On the last day, who will He raise up? Everyone drawn by the Father to His Son. It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God. That is, everyone who has ever saved, you know who taught you the gospel? Not the preacher. God did it. He may have used the preacher. He may have used mama. He may have used dad. He may have used a friend. But everyone who ever comes to faith in Christ, you were taught by God. God taught you. They will all be taught by God. Everyone, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God. He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. So there's the great news. I can say to you this morning, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you have eternal life. But I say, and this humbles every heart in this place, I say to you that if you have believed, you need to get on your knees and thank your Father in heaven because the reason why you believe is he taught you. He taught you the gospel of His Son and drew you to His Son so that you believed. This humbles the true believer, doesn't it? It fuels our worship. God has had mercy on me. And dear sinner, I say to you, if the Lord can save me, if the Lord can save us, He is able to save you. Would you turn from your sin today? Would you place your faith in Christ right now? Would you cry out to the Son of God right now? Because when hell is unleashed on the earth one day, and a world that we can't see, that some deny even exists, begins to manifest itself in death, and the people who've worshipped this realm without even knowing it are destroyed by that realm, Do you understand that is just a first taste of what hell will be like forever, everlasting death without escape, without the hope of forgiveness. And yet right now, forgiveness is set before you. Reconciliation with God is set before you right now while you still have breath in your lungs, while your heart still beats, while you're not yet in eternity. Right now, turn to Christ and God will have mercy upon you and give you new life, brand new life, eternal life. May the Lord do that for you. And may all of God's people worship our great God for his mercy to us. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you. Thank you for your mercy in Christ Jesus. Thank you that you have set before us not just a way, but the only way that sinners will ever be forgiven, that men will ever be reconciled to you, the way of eternal life, purchased, accomplished, finished by the Son of God. May sinners hear Your voice this day and live. May Your church hear Your voice this day and rejoice. We ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand together.