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Alright we're in Revelation chapter number 9 this evening and tonight we are actually going to go over the 5th and 6th trumpet and it's also respectively known as the 1st and 2nd. Whoa and I'll get into that in just a little bit as to why but let me just give you a brief summary of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th trumpet that we see in chapter number 8. Now keep in mind when we think of the wrath of God, when we think of the judgment of God found within the book of Revelation, the chapters that mainly speak about these events and these judgments being blown through the trumpets and also being poured through the vials is found in chapters 8, 9, 11 and then 16. Now in chapter 16 you have all the vials being spoken of in that chapter specifically all the way up until the millennial reign in chapter 16 but the Bible or God spends a lot of time in chapters 8, 9 and 11 talking about the trumpets because it's just more extensive. But we do know that they happen concurrently one with another and we see that because of the similarities of these events that take place. Now in chapter number 8 you know you have the opening of the 7th seal which is kicking off the wrath of God, right? You have the 7th seal opening and this is the introduction to the 4 trumpets that we're going to look at, that we looked at last week. You know if you look at chapter number 8 and verse number 7 it says the first angel sounded and they were followed, hail and fire mingled with blood and they were cast upon the earth and the third part of the trees was burnt up and all the green grass was burnt up. So immediately, by the way this is after the stars falling from heaven after the opening of the 6th seal in chapter number 6. So you already have like a meteor shower of some sort taking place in chapter number 6 right before or right after, excuse me, during the rapture but then here in chapter number 8 you actually have the trumpet sounding and then you have hail and fire mingled with blood. You see verse number 8 it says the second angel sounded and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea. This is basically destroying all marine life, turning the seas into blood. It's destroying the third part of the ships that were in the sea as well. And then the third angel sounds in verse number 10, there falls a star that was burning as it were a lamp the Bible tells us and it's called wormwood. It destroys basically all the actual drinkable water within the rivers and we see that men begin to drink it and they die because the waters are made bitter, it becomes poisonous. And then the fourth angel sounds in verse 12 and it tells us that the third part of the sun was smitten, the third part of the moon, third part of the stars and basically darkness falls upon the earth during this time. Respectively you then have also the fourth vial that is where the sun is smitten and what happens is the angels begin to scorch men with fire. We don't necessarily know how that takes place but this is part of the trumpets. Now this is pretty bad already. I mean trumpets 1 through 4, a lot of people are dying, all types of fire, blood is everywhere, it's very gory, right? And you think to yourself, man, can it get worse than this? Can it even get any worse than this? Look at verse 13 of chapter 8, it says, and I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of the heavens saying with a loud voice, whoa, whoa, whoa, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound. So what is he saying? You think this is bad, this ain't nothing. And in fact, even though there are four trumpets that have been blown and massive global destruction, it has already taken place, God is saying there's still other trumpets to come, the fifth, sixth and seventh and they're so bad that they're actually labeled as three woes. Now what is a woe? Well, a woe in the Bible can be defined as just grievous distress or affliction that is just beyond description. You know, when you have such cataclysmic events that take place where people are dying in massive numbers, fires falling from heaven, you have the blood turning to the seas, people are dying on a massive scale, you know, this is bad, but you know what? That doesn't compare to the woes that are coming, which this destruction that's coming upon the earth that is just beyond description. You know, what do you mean? How can you say beyond description? Well, let me just say this. You know, I'm going to try my best to describe the locusts that are coming from hell that are like scorpions have, you know, the body of horses, they have the faces of men, they have hair like unto a woman, you know, they can poison people and not die. That's hard to describe, but it happens for five months and you're like, how can that happen? Yeah, it's beyond description. This is why that's referred to as the first woe because it's such a grievous distress upon the population of the earth. You know, they're looking at these beings and saying, where is this even coming from? How is it that the earth can open, smoke and brimstones flying through the air and this swarm of creatures that no one's ever seen before is sent to basically destroy the population and put them through torment and such torment that they can feel the pain, but they don't die. Okay, this is really bad. The second woe is also found in chapter number nine, and this is even crazier because right in the second woe, you have the four angels that are loose from the river Euphrates and with that, they lead an army of 200,000 horsemen, okay, on these beasts that have bodies of horses, but their faces are like unto lions. They have the tail of serpents with multiple heads and these 200,000 horses and horsemen are sent and they're able to breathe out fire and smoke and brimstone and kill just a bunch of people. I mean, God really helps us to exercise our imagination as we're reading the book of Revelation, right? We don't see creatures like this. We never really been able to see anything. I mean, there's some weird creatures out there. If you go down to the very bottom of the sea, they have some very crazy and just unique creatures out there, but nothing in comparison to what we're gonna see in the book of Revelation. Nothing in comparison to what we see in chapter number nine when the second woe is open. You know, God is preparing such creatures for such a time as this to strike fear and to torment the population of the earth during this time. And then you have the third woe. And the third woe is basically a massive earthquake. You have hail falling to the earth, you know, the weight of a talent. You have the destruction of Babylon, an entire nation being destroyed. And then the greatest catastrophe of all times in the eyes of the world, the establishment of the millennial reign because nothing compared, none of these can compare to the third coming of Christ when he comes and just destroys his enemies because he's not coming with mercy. He's not coming with long suffering. He's coming to rule with a rod of iron. And none of these plagues, none of these animals compare to Jesus himself who's able to just destroy his enemies with the brightness of his coming with the sword of his mouth. It's terrifying, okay? Now keep in mind that during the second woe, we're gonna look at in chapter number nine, really bad stuff is happening. I mean, you have 200,000 of these soldiers, these horses that are going about, and I believe they're literal creatures, okay? You know, they're going out and they're destroying the third part of the people in the earth. But during this time, you have the two witnesses that are on the earth during this time. And in fact, we know that the two witnesses are here because of the fact that in chapter 11, it tells us that the witnesses actually show up when Jerusalem is trodden underfoot for 42 months. Now we know that takes place when the abomination of desolation is set up. That is the beginning of those 75 days that lead up to the second coming of Christ. So if they show up there and the Bible tells us that they prophesied for 1,260 days, that means you have them there from the abomination of desolation to basically the latter end of the second woe, beginning of the third destruction of Babylon. You say, why do you bring them up? Well, keep in mind that when the two witnesses are here, you know, they have power to, you know, shut the heaven that it rained not, to turn the waters into blood or if any waters were missing at that time, if you know, God was not able or did not want to destroy any of the waters, they can turn the waters into blood and they're able to inflict an issue the plagues that we see in Egypt in the book of Exodus on the earth as oft as they will. So what's the big deal with that? Well, if you remember, you know, the book of Exodus has 10 specific plagues that Moses was able to rain upon, you know, Egypt at that time. The same plagues are actually instituted in the book of Revelation during this time. And in fact, seven plagues are mentioned, or I believe it's seven plagues are mentioned, you have about three or four that maybe are mentioned vaguely, I believe those four are the ones that they start instituting, okay, whether it's the flies, you have, you know, the death of the diseased livestock, you have the frogs, you have the lice, these are things that they're able to inflict upon the world as oft as they will. And the Bible tells us that they kill men, right? So aside from these 200,000 horsemen that are sent throughout the world, you also have the two witnesses who are basically issuing these plagues upon the earth during this time as well, as oft as they will. So don't make them mad. You know, someone begins to call them out, he's like, well, I'm just going to go ahead and shoot a plague to that nation right over there, send lice, you know, send frogs or whatever. By the way, it's interesting that you have what I believe to be Moses and Elijah during this time, these are the two witnesses that are bringing these plagues. And then in Revelation chapter 16, the Bible actually tells us that the dragon, the beast and the false prophet all issue out unclean spirits like unto frogs out of their mouths, you know. And the Bible tells us that these frogs are sent out, these unclean spirits are sent out to deceive the nation. So it's very reminiscent of what Moses went through even in the book of Exodus where him and Aaron were doing these plagues and then you have Janus and Jambres doing the same plagues, right, kind of mimicking what they're doing but we obviously know that, you know, it wasn't going to work. Now, it kind of leads you to think, you know, these wonders that Janus and Jambres did in the book of Exodus caused the people to be deceived a little bit, right, because they saw Moses and Aaron do it and then, you know, they thought, well, maybe these guys are of God but then Janus and Jambres would do it and it would deceive the nations. So in like manner, you know, obviously when the world has seen all these wonders come to pass, all these deaths and all these plagues, the hail, the fire, the blood, all these events taking place, I'm losing my word here, you know, what's the word I'm looking for? Catastrophes, thank you. All these catastrophes, I'm trying to say it in Spanish, that would have sounded horrible. You know, all these catastrophes taking place and then what do the false prophet, the dragon and the beast do? They do likewise. So this causes the population to harden their hearts, right, and to believe a lie. I want to get ahead of myself. I'm going to talk about that in just a little bit. So and then, of course, as I mentioned, the third woe. Now let's get into the text here. Look at verse number 1 of Revelation chapter number 9. It says, and the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth. I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit and he opened the bottomless pit and there arose a smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit and there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. So we see that an angel descends from heaven. He has in his possession the key of the bottomless pit. The bottomless pit is basically simply another way to describe hell and we obviously know that this is not Satan because a lot of people say that, you know, Apollyon is Satan bad and it's Satan but we know that not to be true. Look at Revelation chapter 20. Hold your place there in Revelation chapter 9. How do we know that this is not Satan? Well, because of the fact that this angel is said to have the keys to the bottomless pit and look what it says in Revelation chapter 20 verse number 1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand and he laid hold on what? The dragon. Now who's the dragon? Satan. That old serpent which is the devil and Satan had bound him a thousand years. So obviously Apollyon, Abaddon, you know, this angel is separate from Satan from the devil because we see him actually binding Satan and casting him into the bottomless pit. It says in verse 3, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed a little season. Now go back to Revelation chapter number 9. Look at verse number 11. Who is the angel? It says in verse 11, and they had a king over them. These locusts had a king over them which is the angel of the bottomless pit whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. Now hold your place or go to Exodus chapter number 12. Exodus chapter number 12. Now this person or this angel, excuse me, this angel that comes down, his name is Apollyon in Greek, his name is Abaddon in Hebrew, I believe to be a very special angel. He's only called out to do some crazy work. So he's like the hired guns. He doesn't come to destroy an army. He doesn't come to strengthen anybody. He's the guy who's just a little rough around the angels who just comes to destroy people. Now I'm not going to go into all the verses. I'm sure many of you know Abaddon in the Hebrew tongue means destruction. You can reference that multiple times in the Old Testament and Apollyon in the Greek also means destruction. Multiple times in the New Testament where you see that. Now look at Exodus chapter 12 verse 21. It says, then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, draw out and take you a lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. And he shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike the lintel on the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians. And when he seeth the blood upon the lintel and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. I believe this is referring to Apollyon. You know I believe this is Abaddon, this is Apollyon and God basically just brings him out when it's time to do some real destruction, some real massive destruction. He brings him out and in fact these are the three times in the Bible where he's mentioned to come. He comes in the book of Exodus to smite Egypt, the inhabitants of Egypt with death. He comes in Revelation chapter number nine leading an army of locusts to torment men for five months and then he shows up in Revelation chapter 20 to bind up Satan. This guy's pretty hard core, okay? You know, I like the fact that God just names him destroyer. He doesn't name him anything else, he's like, you shall be destroyer, yeah. You know, I've talked to people, I talked to someone this afternoon and they just have this misconstrued perception of who God is, that he's all mercy and you know what? He is merciful and he is love, he's long suffering, he's forbearing but look folks, he's naming his creation destroyer. It's not because he's like some puppy who's going to like strengthen you when you're struggling. Those are other angels that are going to help you. He's not a minister to minister to those who are heirs of righteousness. He's not there, he's not a guardian angel. In fact, he's coming to destroy you from people who are guarding you. He's coming to just inflict punishment, that's all he's made for, is to destroy, you know, what's your name? I'm the destroyer. You know, what's your occupation, destruction. Just destroy. I'm only brought, you know, to three times in the history of mankind and every single one of those times it's in the negative manner, you know. It's an amazing thing to think about that this man is sent to do this or this angel. Now go back to Revelation chapter number nine if you would. So he comes in Exodus destroying, you know, smiting the firstborn, okay, and then he comes in Revelation chapter nine with the army of locusts leading them and then he comes in Revelation chapter 20 to bind Satan and to cast him into the bottomless pit. You see, he didn't struggle much to do that, shows you how powerful he is, okay. Look at verse number three, it says, and there came out of the smoke locust upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. Now picture this, because as I'm reading this, I'm trying to imagine this. You know, how many of you have ever seen a volcano erupt? You know, how many of you have seen just a massive volcano erupt where just literally fire and brimstone is shooting up and it shoots hundreds of feet into the air. I mean, the smoke just covers the entire sky, you know, whole countries are just, and towns and cities are just covered with ash, it just destroys people's lives, right. Well, just picture this, you know, when this is taking place, it could potentially be a volcano. Volcanoes come, you know, the lava and stuff comes from hell, right, it's the fire and brimstone from hell and so they use that as a means to just erupt, you know, this volcano, there's all types of smoke and ash that is covering the sun, okay, obviously people are going to choke from this, from the smoke and the ash and the brimstone that's spewing out of this volcano, but if it's not bad enough, then you have a swarm of locusts coming out of the earth, okay. And it says there that it was given them power as scorpions and it's going to, that's significant to understand because we're going to understand why is it that they're capable of doing what they're doing. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, nor any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their forehead, so guess what, they're environmentally friendly, right, to the trees and the grass, but you know what, they're actually coming from the human beings and I guarantee you these environmentalists at that point will say, no, no, no, eat the grass. Spare my life, right, too late. So out of everyone in the whole world, we know for a fact that at least 144,000 are not being affected by this and they're not being tormented, but I would gather to say that maybe there's other people in different pockets of the world that are not being affected by this either because even during this time, we have the two witnesses, as I mentioned, and they have power to kill the people who are basically trying to harm them, signifying that these people are not being destroyed by these locusts, so on and so forth. And so in order to protect the 144,000, excuse me, they had to be sealed in their foreheads. It's like what we saw in Exodus, right, where you had to have the blood on the lintel and on the post in order for when the destroyer would come that it would not affect them, so this is basically telling us the same thing. Look at verse five, and to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man, and in those days shall men seek death and shall not find it and shall desire to die and death shall flee from them. Now the question is, why is it that these people are incapable of dying? You know, some people will say, well, it's during this time that God allows for these five months for them to just be immortal, you know, they'll try to die, they'll try to take their lives and shoot themselves in the head, I heard Phil Kidd say something like that one time, it's just like, oh, they're gonna blow their brains out and they're just not gonna be able to die. I don't think that's the case because people are dying, the two witnesses are killing people, you know, people are dying. I think the reason it's stating this is because of the fact that it tells us that they have the power of a scorpion, and if you look up what scorpions are capable of doing, often when they're hunting and they want food, they sting their prey and it basically gives them like muscular paralysis, where their prey is incapable of moving, you know what I mean? And so there's scorpions out there that can do it. Now you say, well, there's not scorpions like that that can do that to human beings, well, yeah, there is, there's some right here. I found some, you know. These are actually capable of doing it, and look, even if a species does not exist in this world at this time, you know, doesn't mean that these don't exist, God can do whatever He wants. There's species in this world that we will never know about. They're just in the deepest part of the jungle, the deepest part of the ocean, we will never find them, and you know what, God is fine with that. And in like manner, these are so vicious, they're so strong and powerful and destructive, guess where they live, in hell. Think about that for a second. You know, these locusts, well, I don't think it's just like they're actual, I think they're spirits. They're locusts. And God said, you know what, I'm going to make you so powerful and strong and destructive that you're going to dwell in hell until the time that I bring you out. Now look, if you've been in hell since the time of creation, yeah, there's a reason why you're a little upset, right? There's no mercy on the population. Think about that. So more likely what it is is that they have the power of the scorpion, their venom is capable of producing severe muscular paralysis, you know, to their prey. And so if you think about it, you know, people, this is a terrible sight. You have the smoke coming up into the sky, it's covering the sky, and aside from that terrifying sight that you see, then you see a swarm of locusts coming at you. And I'm sure people are like, well, it's just locusts. They're going to eat the trees. But when they actually see them up close and they see they have faces of lions or the face of a man and teeth as lions, when they have scorpion tails and they're able to sting, at that point, it becomes even more terrifying. And you get, I'm sure one of them can paralyze a person, but you get like 50 of them on you. You're there incapable of fighting back, incapable of moving. And when the locusts get bored of you, then when they move away, guess what? They're probably going to come back even if you recover from that. They're all over the place. So people are running through their houses, they're trying to protect themselves from these beasts. If you have a swarm of locusts upon you, it's just overwhelming, period. I mean, I'm just talking about regular grasshoppers locusts, probably overwhelming. How much more when they're actually attacking you? And I don't think it's saying that they have teeth as lions for no reason. I think aside from stinging, they're able to bite, right? This is torment. Now think about this, because they're seeking to get everyone who doesn't have the mark, you know, upon their foreheads, right? Well during this time, you have two groups of people, aside from the 144,000, you have the reprobates who have already taken the mark of the beast, and you have those who have not taken the mark of the beast. Both of them are being affected by this. Now we can see why they would attack those who don't have the mark of the beast, right? How that can be used. You know, you have five months to think about this. As you're being tormented for five months, you're like, man, God is real. And you know, it's only going to get worse from here on out. And potentially some of them could get saved. Like be in heaven like, so how'd you get saved? I was stung for five months straight. You know, and then a soul winner came and gave me the gospel. One of these 144,000 showed up, and you know, as they're walking towards me, the locusts are just parting from them, because they're not like, why isn't this person being destroyed? And they come and they say, well, you're being judged. This is the judgment of God upon your life. This is what the world gets. But look, you don't have the mark of the beast on you, you still have a chance. Look, folks, if someone doesn't get saved after those five months, good night in the morning. So when that explains that, but what about the people who do have the mark of the beast? Why are they being so because God hates them. God just hates them. He's just giving them hell before they go to hell. What a miserable existence. What's the purpose of it? The purpose is just because he hates them. Because he wants them to suffer and be destroyed. He wants to inflict justice upon this world for five months straight. I mean, you're just paralyzed there as these swarms of, you know, locusts come in. I'm sure people are being dragged out, they're being put into hospitals to try to help them. But then as soon as they get better, or maybe that hospital gets swarmed with a bunch of locusts and it's just chaos for five months. And look, you know what? He probably gives them hope by being able to run and hide for a little bit. And as soon as they feel safe, they just crash through the doors, come through the windows, just burst through whatever protection that they have and just torment them even more. This is torment. Now, look, for those who don't have the mark of the beast, there's still hope. Because obviously they're not dying. They're just allowed to feel that punishment and that pain for five months. And look, when the Bible says torment, it's not like a little beast thing. It's not like a mosquito bite or a hornet. I'm sure God knows how to inflict pain in such a way that it'll make you think. And he does it for five months straight to break their will is what he's doing. What is he doing? He's humbling the nations. Because this doesn't even compare. This is just the first woe. Doesn't compare to the second woe, doesn't compare to the third woe, and it surely does not compare to just an eternity in hell. Thank God that we're not here during this time. These post-trip classical position type people, they believe they're going to be here during this time. I don't believe that for a minute. I think it's very clear what the Bible tells us about that. So we see that the first woe brings about these locusts. Look at verse number seven. Let's look at the description. John is beholding this, and he says, in the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. Hey, those of you who are obsessed with like Narnia and all these fairy tales, here's your fairies. Right? Because they're like locusts that have the faces of men. You know? But here's the thing. They ain't got pixie dust. They have poison. They have venom. And they're coming in such massive numbers that it sounds like horses prepared unto battle. Very terrifying sound. I'm sure this sound is deafening to the population. And when you see that they block out the sky because of how many locusts they are, the very sight, the sound, and the feeling is just going to be torment. Verse eight says, and they had hair as the hair of women. And their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron. And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. Now isn't that interesting that this trumpet blows and then you have this army coming. He's not coming to subjugate the world. He's coming to just destroy them. So you have this trumpet blowing. It's basically declaring war. And then you have these crazy creatures coming out. Verse 10 says, and they had tails like scorpions and there was a sting in their tails. And their power was to hurt men five months. So this is, this takes place for five months, okay. You know you think of people who are on the outskirts of the world and maybe they're under the radar. You know they're off grid. They're still hearing about, I'm sure they're hearing about these things. You know forget the coronavirus. What about the locust virus? You know, you know I'm sure people who are flying during that time you just look out the window and you see swarms of locust flying all over and just chaos everywhere for five months. So this is a five month campaign, okay. Skip down to verse 20. So as I mentioned, those who have taken the mark are reprobate obviously. They're reprobate concerning the faith. They can't repent and believe, right. Look at verse 20 says, and the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood which neither can see nor hear nor walk. I believe this is referencing that abomination of desolation, the image that is set up. So in spite of both of these woes being inflicted, they can't repent. Why? Because they are reprobate. And in case you're straddling the fence on this doctrine, this is proof right here. Oh, they need another chance. Well, you know, I would think that locusts for five months and 200 million horsemen that are just burning people with fire and brimstone and smoke would cause them to repent. But they're not because they're incapable of believing. And look, mark it down. God hates these people. Do you do this to people you love? Think about this. You know, these are obviously people who are worshiping the beast and his image. Hold your place or go to Exodus chapter 11, if you would. Exodus chapter 11. I'm going to read to you from Exodus chapter 4 verse 21. It says, And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return unto Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand, but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. He didn't do all those signs and wonders to try to win Pharaoh over. He was doing it to harden his heart, to make him mad, to hate God, so the punishment that comes upon him could be more severe. He already rejected the Lord. God is basically saying, now that you reprobate, I'm just going to cause your heart to be hardened that much more so that your punishment in hell will be more severe. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's hearts so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his hand. And look, obviously Pharaoh could be a picture of the Antichrist, and during this time he's seen all these things, and you know what, his heart is getting hardened. He's becoming more furious and anger and hateful, not just towards God, but towards Christians, or at least those who are saved during that time. Look at 2 Timothy chapter number 3, or I'm sorry, you went to Exodus 11, I already read it, sorry. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Now keep in mind, the Christians that are alive during this time, they're not, you know, they still get punished along with all these other plagues. It's just the price you pay for being in the wrath of God during this time. This is the price you pay for getting saved during the wrath of God, right, and you're in this time period. Now obviously we're not talking about those who were raptured, but there are people that are getting saved during this time. They get these punishments as well. Look at 2 Timothy 3, verse 7. How are the people in the end times ever learning? Well, they have the 144,000 and have the two witnesses. You know, it's no wonder that in the times when Moses was there with Aaron, doing all these wonders and miracles, that Pharaoh had his people come, Janus and Jambres, to do the same exact miracles in order to harden the hearts of the people. And this is why you have the false prophet doing the same wonders. This is why you have, you know, these things taking place where they literally mimic every single thing that Moses and Elijah are doing during that time. Every single thing that God is inflicting upon the world, they do the same thing. Why? To harden the hearts of the people so they can become reprobate. It says in verse number 9, Go to Revelation, chapter number 16, then we're going to go to 2 Thessalonians, chapter number 2. So this is either going to go one of two ways for people in the world. You know, it's either going to harden their heart or they're going to humble themselves before the Lord. Our hope, of course, is that those who have not taken the mark of the beast, that they would get saved. You know, that would be, that's the prayer and the hope that we have, because look, the reality is there might be people that we know who will be alive during this time. That's a scary thought, you know, and it's God's last effort to get people saved who have not taken the mark of the beast. This is why he's pulling out all the stops. This is why the destroyer is called out of retirement. You know, he's been an exit, he's like, hey man, we've got one last job for you, okay. Look at Revelation 16, verse 13, it says, And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. You know, kind of like the frogs that were displayed even in the book of Exodus, it says in verse 14, For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Go to 2 Thessalonians 2. So what is the purpose of these unclean spirits, these things that are likened to frogs, what's the purpose of them? It's to harden their hearts and to provoke them to go to war with God. Now how deceived do you have to be to be convinced that you can go to war with God and win? You are out of your stinking mind. I mean, how deceptive, how stupid, how reprobate do you have to be for you to believe the Antichrist during that time when he says we're going to go to war with God and we're going to win and the armies of the world to gather them to battle of that great day of God Almighty to go to war with Jesus Christ. So the Antichrist knows that this battle is coming because keep in mind, Satan, the Antichrist, they know the Bible. They know the events that are going to take place. So he knows that there's going to be a war at the end of these three and a half years, but they're so deceived, okay, that they think they're going to win. And this is why they bring out these unclean spirits. You think about the lion spirit in the historical books, right, that was sent in the mouth of the prophets to prophesy that they were going to win that battle, right, it's the same thing. This is just on a larger scale. You say, how deceptive is this? Look at 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 9, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. What's the lie? We can beat God. We can beat Jesus. We can win this war. I mean, you got to be super deceived. But God is the one who sends them that delusion, like, yeah, you know, you might have a chance there. You got the whole world unified, you might actually win this war. He sends them that strong delusion and look what it says in verse 12, why does he do that? That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness. So God allows the antichrist, he allows the dragon and the false prophet to bring out these lying spirits like unto frogs, these Janus and jambres of the end times to deceive the nations, to go to war with God, to go to war with Jesus Christ, to be a part of this battle that they all might be damned. I mean, I kind of like, it reminds me of Jehu, right? You know, where he says, Ahab served Baal little, I shall serve him much. And he deceives all these people. And what does he deceive them for? They believe that he's actually for Baal. Like, oh, okay, Jehu, you know, he killed some bad people, but it looks like we want him over. And he's like, come on in, we're going to hold the banquet, you know, to Baal, we're going to worship Baal. And as soon as they all meet in one spot, like Armageddon, he's like, all right, wipe them all out. He's like, if anybody goes free, your life should be, you know, for his, basically. Whatever goes free, if you lose anybody, your life shall go for his. You know, this is basically what God does, just on a larger scale. He's like, you know, he sends them that strong delusion, the delusion being that they can beat God, and they go to the battle of Armageddon, and Jesus Christ comes and just wipes them all out with the brightness of his coming, he wipes out the Antichrist with the brightness of his coming. It's a good tactic, amen? Go back to Revelation chapter number 9, it says in verse 11, and they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name, or excuse me, hath his name Apollyon. So you know, picture this for a while, you know, that this is a huge epidemic that's taking place throughout the world, where these locusts are coming, they're destroying people, they're causing them to be harmed and to be tormented for these five months. Now at the end of those five months, look what it says in verse 12, one woe has passed, and behold, there come two woes more hereafter. So keep in mind that the first, second, and third woe is basically describing the fifth, sixth, seventh, trumpet, and bile, and it's just gonna get worse from here. So you know, what a relief when they see all these locusts just go back home, right? Like, oh, they're gone, you know, and I'm sure the Antichrist is going to take credit for it, you know, he's going to take credit and say that it was through him and all these things to basically deceive the nations. Look at verse 13, and the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel, which had the trumpet, loose the four angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates, and the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year for to slay the third part of men. These are the cherubims that you see in Genesis chapter two and three, okay? Now they've been confined to the tree of life this entire time, you know, submerged underwater, so they're pretty pissed, you know? They've been there the entire time just doing nothing but just guarding the tree of life with the sword, you know, four of them. And so we see that they are released, and by the way, respectively, with this trumpet is the sixth vial where the river Euphrates is dried up. So this is what's happening simultaneously. So you know, I don't know how this is going to be, maybe it's a great tsunami where God causes the waters to part and to literally dry up the entire land of where that's located, and then these four angels burst out, you know? And what are they doing? Look what it says in verse number 16, it says in the number of the army of the horsemen were 200,000,000, and I heard the number of them. Now where did this army come from? I don't think they come from hell, I just think maybe they just come from heaven, okay? What is the identity of these 200 million horsemen? Because it doesn't really tell us a whole lot, right? You know, I don't think these are demons, I think that these are just creatures that God created, because you know, you have the beast in Revelation chapter 4, they're angelic beings but they're beasts, right? Well, in like manner, I feel like these are beasts as well, but I believe that possibly the ones who are riding the horsemen are believers. They might even be believers, okay? He said, well, you know, what makes you think that? Well, think about what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 when he tells the Christians that they're going to judge the world, you know, they shall judge angels, they shall judge the world, the Bible says. And is it any coincidence that in Revelation 19, you have believers also coming on horses with Jesus Christ into this world? You know, it could be that these are believers, I'm not dogmatic on that, but I think it's a big possibility. But I know for sure that this is a fulfillment of what we see in Zechariah chapter 1 and chapter 6, where you see the different horses, right, the one that is brave, the one that's red and black, so on and so forth, and this is the fulfillment of them coming in the end of days in order to torment people. Now it says in verse 17, and thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire and of jacinth and brimstone, and the heads of the horses, whereas the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. So this is what I'm picturing, you know those Clydesdale horses, those huge horses, right? Because you know, God's not going to use some pony. He's going to use a bunch of little ponies or whatever to like come torment the world. You know what God does is terrifying. Scary. I'm sure these red, these black, and grizzled horses are coming and they're massive. God's like, take his head off, I'm going to put a head of a lion on it. You know? Well you can't do that, he can do whatever he wants. If he can give a beak to an octopus, right, a bird's beak to an octopus, he can give, you know, a head of a lion to a horse. And then aside from that, he gives them tails of serpents with multiple heads, right? So he's got you from the front, he's got you from the back as well. So wherever he's going, if he misses you, don't worry, the tails are going to bite you. And you're killed by these serpents as well. And then to make matters worse, if you're in the distance, you're running, and he's not, you know, you're not in close proximity to it, it's okay. He issues out fire and brimstone and smoke from his mouth. Just a straight flamethrower that comes out of his esophagus and kills men with it. Okay? Like, well I would have done it differently. Well, I don't know, man. We say that until we actually view what this actually looks like. Where there's 200 million of these roaming the streets, neighborhoods, and they don't sleep, they don't need rest, and we don't know when they actually cease. They could actually be here for the remainder of those three and a half years. So they're allowed to just roam the streets, roam the neighborhoods, roam downtown, roam everywhere with one mission in mind. Just kill the third part of men. Now it could be that the third part literally finishes at those three and a half years, or maybe they just get it done in one day. Who knows? You know? This is terrifying. And look, folks, when you read the Bible, pause for a minute. Don't feel like you just got to finish your chapter. Pause for a minute and just think about this. Because here's the thing, you will never see this in your lifetime, right? We're not going to see this even if we survive the tribulation, but some people in this world are going to see this with their very own two eyes. And in fact, when they get buried, and if they could write a eulogy on them, it would say, killed by one of the 200 million horsemen that God sent to destroy the world. Some people literally exist and die at the hands of these 200 million horsemen. Not only they didn't die in a car accident, they didn't die because they drank too much, they didn't die over drug overdose, they died from some angelic being just scorching them to death with fire and brimstone. And look, it says by these three, men are killed. So sometimes they issue out fire, sometimes they issue out brimstone, or sometimes they just issue out smoke. So what's the deal with that? Well, you know, they can basically suffocate people. You know, you're running, you know, people are running, they run into their houses, and they're locking the doors, they're boarding the things up, and they just break through and just breathe smoke into the house. They fill the entire vicinity with smoke. And they have one of two choices, either inhale all the smoke and die, or go out and die. Your choice. This, did you say, that's, this is unbelievable, how can this happen? Yeah, this is called the wrath of God. Where God, you know, I picture these scenes, okay, maybe I would just watch too many Hollywood movies or something. You know, I'm like sitting, I'm just like, whoa, my cogitations are troubling me when I, when I think about these things, you know, you're like, well, maybe if people like run into their cars and just lock it or drive, well, you know, they can break through the windows and just, in an instant, just blow a bunch of brimstone and smoke, and they just incinerate you alive in your own vehicle. Yeah, think about that, right? Or they're like, whoa, now's the time to go to church. And they go, they get into the church and there's like five of those horses just chilling there waiting for you to, waiting for all the so-called believers to come, like, hey, we've been waiting for you, you know? Well, I think you're taking it way too far. I think I'm, I think my imagination is not even good enough. What do you mean? I'm just kidding. It was at this moment that Adam knew he messed up, I'm just kidding. This is torment. This is destructive. It says in verse 18, by these three was the third part of men killed by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails were like unto serpents and had heads and with them they do hurt. Don't get close to these things, you know? How many of you have ever been bitten by a snake? No one's ever, this is California, we don't have snakes here, you know? I've never been bitten by one but, you know, I can imagine that it's pretty painful. And I'm sure this is the type of bite that when it bites down, it doesn't let go. And if you pull away, it just rips flesh. I'm sure there's poison found within the mouths of these serpents because, you know, God's not gonna just like, he's not making these just harmless animals, he's gonna make them as painful and as destructive as he possibly can to get their attention. He says in verse 20, and the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands. So there's people who've taken the mark of the beast, they've already, you know, been tormented for five months. They were burned and scorched by the horses. They suffered at the hand of the brimstone and the smoke. They had the ventilator, you know, trying to come back to life, and yet in spite of all these things, they repented not. This shows you, you know, that there's people out there that no matter what you do, no matter what miracle they see, no matter how good your gospel presentation is, they're not getting saved. You're called Reprobates. This is insane. It says, the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and of wood, which neither can see nor hear nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their fornication nor of their thefts. You say, why is verse 21 there? Because he wants to leave within the mind of the reader, the mindset of these people during this time. That in spite of all these catastrophes, in spite of the judgment of God, murder is still taking place. Sorceries are still taking place. Fornication is still taking place. Thefts are still taking place. I mean, thefts is just another day in the office for San Francisco, but it's just going to go from 70 car thefts to like 140 a day instead of 70 a day. Nothing changes. And keep in mind, you know, one of the reasons it's saying this is because Babylon, which I believe to be the United States, is actually not being inflicted by these plagues as of yet. The reason we know that is because later on, you see that Babylon comes into remembrance of God, right, that we're not affected by it as of yet. This is why Babylon is given two chapters, right? You have chapters 17 and 18 dedicated to describing Babylon and his destruction. You know, why is it that God saw it fit to put the destruction of Babylon into the Book of Revelation? Well, because it's where Babylon is that there's murders, there's sorceries, there's fornication, there's thefts. There's all kinds of wickedness taking place there. And so God says, you know, at the end of this, he says, because Babylon is destroyed at the very end. He's like, I remember you. I haven't forgotten you. You know, because the United States is probably hearing about all these things that are taking place. And like, wow, God bless America, land of the free. See, God loves us so much, he's not going to judge us, and we're not getting affected by these things. It's those darn Muslim countries. They're the ones that are getting affected by it. Anybody who's not American is going to get affected by it, and then God says, oh, yeah, look, I have not forgotten about you. I'm giving you your own chapter. I'm giving you two chapters, and you're going to suffer a massive destruction beyond what anybody could ever imagine. And it's so massive that it's been foretold in the Bible, even in the Old Testament, foreshadowing it. So what can we get from Revelation chapter 9? This is what we can get. Thank God that I'm saved, amen? But we never have to experience this, number one. Number two, that God is awesome. He's awesome in every form of the definition. He's awesome because his destruction brings all, but he's also awesome because it's like, man, you make some pretty cool animals. You know, you're awesome, God. And you know what? Later on, even we see the remnant giving glory to God during the opening, during the blowing of these trumpets. It says the remnant gave glory, were in awe, and they give glory to God because they know they're like, man, God is awesome. This is what we should walk away, because look, this is not necessarily applicable to us. You know what I mean? Because we're not going to be here during this time. But what does it do? It causes us, first of all, to be terrified of God, or it should, right? Fear in the hearts of everyone, even if you're a Christian, because, you know, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, right? But it should, number one, you know, make us thankful that we're not going to experience this, and thank God that we're saved. But number two, God, you're awesome. And your judgments are righteous and true. May we never, you know, read the scriptures, read these judgments and say, man, I think God took it too far. Or why do people have to die like this? Because, you know, His judgments are righteous and true. This is how it's meant to be. Let's pray, Father, we thank you so much for your word. And thank you for laying out the judgments that are going to take place. You know, another thing that we can take from this is that we need to learn this, not necessarily because we're going to go through this, but so we can preach on it. And maybe someone will listen on the internet, and we'll scare the fire out of them. Someone's fear, such fear in their hearts that they would want to get saved and think, I don't want to go through that judgment. I don't want to go through that wrath. I need to get saved here and now. And I pray, God, that, Lord, this message would go out there and reach someone who just thumbles upon the sermon or the channel, whatever it may be, and may they hear the sincerity, may they hear the wrath. And they may not have to listen to any other sermon that I ever preached, but if they could just give heed to this one sermon and get saved because of it, the mission would be accomplished. And, Lord, I pray for those who are not saved, who maybe are going to survive all that tribulation, and they're going to survive some of the wrath. I pray that they would get saved, Lord, that in their hearts, they would humble themselves through these events, and I trust Christ as their Savior, and in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.