Revelation
The Lamb of God: On His Throne And Among His People
Playing with Fire - The Dangers of Idolatry
Revelation 9

•  Read or quote the verse of the week together:

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

• Before reading Revelation 9, read the five interpretive principles listed below:

This is a long portion of Scripture to read, so you might not want to read through all of it. If you do, it is always good to read it in sections and discuss what you have read. At some point in the session (if there is time – my goodness!), you might want to read the quote from G.K. Beale that is listed in the extra notes and look at the chart of OT references in Revelation. Interesting point – John references Isaiah more than any other OT book, or even sections of books. One of Isaiah’s biggest points of emphasis with the Judeans was the sin of idolatry. You do not have time for this, but the last verses of Isaiah and of 1 John are quite interesting ways to end books of the Bible. One thing you learn about John when you read his letters – the Apostle Paul, he was not. In other words, if you are looking for a logical flow like you find in Paul’s letters, you will be confused. That does not mean that John fails to follow a structure for his letters and his Gospel – just that his works will never look like Romans.

1. God always distinguishes between his people from those who are not his people – Jesus makes the difference
2. Satan can do nothing apart from the sovereign will of God
3. The judgments of Revelation are poured out on the enemies of God (i.e., unbelievers), not on his children
4. The worship of anyone or anything other than our Triune God is idolatry
5. Repentance is a beautiful gift that is only received by believers

• Believers are constantly reminded that this life is to be lived by faith (someone read 2 Corinthians 5:1-10). Why should we be comforted that the deliverance God promises through the horrors of Revelation is an eternal deliverance, not necessarily a deliverance in this life?

Faith is kind of the point – if we live for the applause of the world, the pleasures it offers, the idols it worships (money, fame, etc.), then we have missed the point. We walk by faith, not by sight! 2 Cor 5:1-10 should generate good discussion.

• Satan has a role in God’s sovereign and divine plan. Does this trouble you? Can God be guilty of sin? We know the answer is to this is “no,” but how can we grow in trusting a God whose thoughts and ways are higher than our own?

I have heard it said that God uses Satan to do his dirty work. The problem with such a statement is that we cannot think of it in any way other than what we are acquainted with in this world, and that does not sound like a good God. BUT – his ways and thoughts are higher than ours. You will find Isaiah 55:8-9 in the Scripture section of the extra notes.

I know this is an unsatisfactory answer for many, but we will understand all this in the sweet by and by (in heaven, for the young). Do you think heaven will be better with a knowledge of hell or without? I think with! Somehow, God is more glorified with hell than without. I am not certain how this works, but one day it will be glorious in our hearts, and we will praise God and Jesus with every increasing delight for his marvelous plan of redemption, which includes judgment.

We should remind one another that God is sovereign, and God is good.

• How have you seen God use what Satan or others intended for evil toward you turn out to be for good instead? (Genesis 50:20)

In addition to Joseph’s statement to his fearful brothers, Paul and Silas being beaten and thrown in jail in Acts 16 is another great biblical example of evil turning to good. In addition to the Philippian jailer being saved, when Paul made the officials come and publicly apologize to them, it likely allowed the church to operate without fear of the local government for the near future.

• From Dennis Johnson: What examples have you seen of people’s proneness to cling to self-destructive choices, even when the negative consequences become more and more obvious? Why do we persist in sinful ways of living, rather than repenting and casting ourselves on God’s mercy?

While we are free from the penalty of sin and from the bondage of slavery to sin (Romans 6), the old man still lives in us and has a strong impact on our thinking and behavior. If we do not constantly submit to Jesus’ rule in our lives, we will live in ways that are sad and frustrating to us. Jesus lives in us, making it possible for us to live in freedom. Galatians 5:16-25 is a great text to understand this struggle, and you could even go back to the beginning of Galatians 5 for knowledge and encouragement.

• Is there anything you would like to discuss from the application points from the message? See below.

Extra Notes

Quotes and Thoughts

Abaddon and Apollyon in Revelation 9:11 both mean “destroyer” and refer to Satan, the king of the abyss (bottomless pit).

G.K. Beale: To attempt to find the dominant model for the locusts first in the realm of modern warfare (for instance, helicopters, as one popular writer suggests) instead of OT imagery is not the best approach. Rather than first going forward from John’s time into our present or future, the commentator should first go back from John’s time to the OT, since this is the first clear source from which Revelation derives its images and determines their meaning.

Steve Moyise, Professor of NT at Birmingham Newman University in Birmingham, England, identified OT allusions in Revelation (Taken from The Old Testament in Revelation, by Michael Heiser):

Pentateuch           82
Psalms.                  97
Isaiah                    122
Jeremiah.              48           
Ezekiel                  83
Daniel.                  74
Minor Prophets    73

That is a total of 579 OT passages that are alluded to in Revelation, according to one man! Your assignment is to find each of these allusions. Just kidding.

The sad state of the unrepentance of unbelievers in Revelation 9:20-21 should remind us as believers, “This is not who you are! You have been given the gift of repentance, and your life should be one of continual repentance rather than living in your sin and/or with bitterness toward God because of the challenges in your life.”

Application Points from the Sermon

1. Be serious about your faith in Jesus
2. Trust God when your life is good and when your life seems out of control
3. Live a life of continual repentance

 Scripture Associated with Revelation

Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Revelation 1:17 When I (John) saw him (Jesus), I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”

Luke 8:30 Jesus then asked him (the demon(s) in the demon-possessed man), “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss (bottomless pit).

Ezekiel 9:4 And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity.

Joel 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

2 Hear this, you elders;

    give ear, all inhabitants of the land!

Has such a thing happened in your days,

    or in the days of your fathers?

3 Tell your children of it,

    and let your children tell their children,

    and their children to another generation.

4 What the cutting locust left,

    the swarming locust has eaten.

What the swarming locust left,

    the hopping locust has eaten,

and what the hopping locust left,

    the destroying locust has eaten.

5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,

    and wail, all you drinkers of wine,

because of the sweet wine,

    for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation has come up against my land,

    powerful and beyond number;

its teeth are lions' teeth,

    and it has the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has laid waste my vine

    and splintered my fig tree;

it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;

    their branches are made white.

Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion;

    sound an alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

    for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

2 a day of darkness and gloom,

    a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

    a great and powerful people;

their like has never been before,

    nor will be again after them

    through the years of all generations.

3 Fire devours before them,

    and behind them a flame burns.

The land is like the garden of Eden before them,

    but behind them a desolate wilderness,

    and nothing escapes them.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,

    and like war horses they run.

5 As with the rumbling of chariots,

    they leap on the tops of the mountains,

like the crackling of a flame of fire

    devouring the stubble,

like a powerful army

    drawn up for battle.

John 16:33 I (Jesus) have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Genesis 50:18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Connections between the trumpets and the plagues of Egypt

The first trumpet (Rev 8:7) = the seventh plague (Ex 9:23-25) – hail and fire

The second trumpet (Rev 8:8-9) = the first plague (Ex 7:20, 21) – water turns to blood

The third trumpet (Rev 8:10-11) = the first plague (Ex 7:19) – rivers, canals, ponds turn to blood

The fourth trumpet (Rev 8:12) = the ninth plague (Ex 10:21-29) – pitch darkness for unbelievers, but God’s people were not afflicted with God’s judgment

The fifth trumpet (Rev 9:1-11) = the ninth and eighth plagues (Exodus 10 – the whole chapter) – locusts and darkness

The sixth trumpet (Rev 9:13-21) = possible the death angel in the 10^th plague?

The trumpets at Jericho – read Joshua 6