“Revelation 9:7-12”

Sunday, December 17, 2017

“The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things..”

---End of Scripture verses---

We must be careful to not be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Just as “the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness” in the Garden (2 Corinthians 11:3), he continues to make sin look attractive and beneficial, even though it is abhorrent and destructive. At first glance, the locusts that arose from the smoke of the abyss looked appealing to the eye. They had the strong, gracious shape of horses, golden crowns upon their heads, faces like men and beautiful hair like that of women (verses 7-8). But, upon closer inspection, their beautiful appearance hid the ferocious teeth of a lion, impenetrable breastplates of iron and tails like scorpions (verse 9-10). Once again, we see that there is a painful, deadly stinger concealed inherently within sin and corruption.

The “king over” these agents of evil is “Abaddon” and “Apollyon” (verse 11). The Hebrew word means “Destruction,” and is associated with death and the grave (Job 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11). The Greek words means “Destroyer”. There is much debate among scholars as to whether this “angel” refers to Satan himself, another lesser evil, demonic being or merely the spirit of evil and deception that drives these locust-scorpion-menaces forward on their destructive quest. Either way you choose to look at it, Satan, the serpent of old and great red dragon (Revelation 12:3, 9) is the source of all evil, and is the ruler over the wicked realm which is, and long-since past has been, at war with God and His creation. The devil was “a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). He is the destroyer and his single-minded resolve is to destroy all of humanity for eternity and his instrument of destruction is sin.

“The symbols described in the fifth trumpet as darkness and locusts causing pain, led by the Destroyer, seem to represent the consequences of moral corruption. One of the leading factors in the demise of the Roman Empire was self inflicted by its indulgence of Satan’s evil influence. The ungodliness of the Roman era is summarized by Romans 1:18-32. Greed, and all the evils that feed its fulfillment such as dishonesty, theft, and murder, characterized the Gentile world. Even the heathen temples promoted priestesses who committed sexual gratification in the name of religion. Divorce was common and the moral fabric upon which strong societies are built was undermined. Men gave themselves ‘over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness’ (Eph. 4:19), but these sins, unrepented of, led only to pain, sorrow, and ultimately the downfall of a strong empire.” (Harkrider)

Please read Revelation 9:13-19 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed Lord’s Day!

-Louie Taylor

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