Revelation 8:13
Pain Like No Other
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying
through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the
trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to
sound!
We have moved deeper into the pages of this book and deeper into the
seven years of Tribulation. It is not possible to know for certain
how far into the seven years we are because this book does not give
enough time markers to do so; however, I believe we are reading of
events that will happen so close to the middle of the Tribulation
that some of them will bleed over into the last half of the
Tribulation.
As inconceivable as it may be, the further into the seven years we
go, the worse the judgments become. Many of the Seal Judgments—
although responsible for 1/4 of the world’s population being
killed—could have been caused by mankind’s own actions against
himself. Beginning with the sixth Seal Judgment and going through the
first four Trumpet Judgments, the judgments are taken up a notch and
seem to be nature attacking mankind, but the last of three Trumpet
Judgments take us to a whole different level of fear and anguish. In
them, God releases the very worst demons of creation upon the earth.
These judgments are so horrendous, that before they begin, one of
God’s angels warns the earth.
Rev 8:13 … Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of
the earth …
Each of the three last Trumpet judgments is described as a "woe" to
the earth. The word "woe" warns of grief, of pain, of great
suffering, and of death.
Let’s read what happens what the first woe entails. It happens when
the fifth trumpet is sounded.
Rev 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a
star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him
was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 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.
3 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.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not
hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green
thing, neither any tree; but only those men which
have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 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.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and
shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and
death shall flee from them.
7 And 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.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and
their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 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.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and
there were stings in their tails: and their power
was to hurt men five months.
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 Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two
woes more hereafter.
I mentioned earlier in this series that to understand prophecy, we
must look through several lenses, one of which is current events.
However, this prophecy is so far beyond us, that much is still a
mystery. Let’s look at these creatures from what we can know.
I. \\#1-3\\ Their Soul Is Demonic
A. There is much here that I cannot explain.
1. I do not know for certain what is symbolic and what is
literal;, but I do know that no matter which it is, the
overall message of this passage is clear.
2. Some of the most powerful and wicked demons that exists
are being loosed upon the earth.
B. The Bible says a star or an asteroid falls to the earth with a
key to open the bottomless pit.
1. The "being" that opens the pit is described as a "him" in
verse 1 and a "he" in verse 2.
2. Those pronouns added with the fact that the star "unlocks"
the pit, makes me think it could be an angel.
3. Whether this is an angel from God or a demon from the
devil, I don’t know for certain; but I do know that
the only way he got the key to the bottomless pit is that
God gave it to him.
C. The star unlocks the Bottomless Pit.
1. Understand, this is not the only place the bottomless pit
is mentioned.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and
a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old
serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years,
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.
2. The bottomless pit is a prison for demons, a holding cell
for demons so bad that God had kept them locked away for
a long time.
3. I believe Jude tells us why these demons had been locked
away.
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their
first estate, but left their own habitation, he
hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
a. They did not keep their "first estate" or the first
charge that God gave to them.
b. Instead, they left their place, their habituation it
is called here.
c. "everlasting chains" - These demons would stay locked
up forever unless they were released.
d. I think "the judgment of the great day" is not the day
when the demons will be judged but the day when they
will be used to judge mankind.
4. There is still much we do not know about them, but it
appears that these demons were too powerful and too
wicked to be released on mankind--until now.
D. Lest you think this is a mob of wild demons attacking in a
hap-hazard way, God told us they are not.
1. \\#11\\ They have a king over them, a ruler.
a. In Hebrew, his name is Abaddon.
b. In the Greek, it's Apollyon.
c. In both languages, the names means the same thing.
d. Destroyer, killer, slayer, the one who makes things
perish
e. A form of this Greek name is actually used 86 times in
our New Testament so we have no doubts what it means.
2. Most believe that is a code name for the devil himself.
a. The devil is controlling this army of demons.
b. Think about it.
(1) The Christians are gone. The church is gone. The
Holy Spirit although still present is no longer
abiding inside of people.
(2) The devil has already released his anti-Christ
upon the world. He, the devil himself, will
eventually possess and completely control that
man.
(3) Mankind is rejecting God and following the devil
like they never have.
(4) Things have never been so good for the devil.
(a) He is more powerful and accepted than ever
before.
(b) He is getting everything he has ever
wanted.
(5) But this is HIS army of demon. They are under
HIS control.
(a) God may release them, but HE commands them.
(b) And His command is to torment the world’s
population with pain like they have never
experienced before!
(6) Why? Because that is what the devil is, EVIL.
(a) The devil has never cared for a single
human.
(b) He flirts with the human race like he loves
us, but he hates us one and all, with a
despicable hate.
(c) And no matter how many people follow him, no
matter how many people turn against God for
him, no matter how evil the people of this
world become to please him, he will still
be the liar from the beginning, the
murderer, the thief that breaks in to kill,
to steal, and to destroy for he can be
nothing else.
(d) He is the devil.
II. \\#7-10\\ Their Bodies Are Armored
A. We have not seen or heard of anything like these creatures.
1. Does man create these physical beings in the laboratory
with DNA splicing and atomic meddling?
2. Or are these creatures already alive somewhere under the
crust of the earth?
3. Of will God create a body for these demons to inhabit?
4. We don’t know for certain, but the Scripture indicates
that spiritual beings need a physical body to interact
with people on the earth.
B. Even with the description of these creatures given, we still
do not know for certain what they will look like.
1. In this section, "as" is used 9x and "like" is used 3x.
2. Those words mean that the creatures art not locusts with
the hair of women and the teeth of a lion but they are
like locusts with the hair of women and the teeth of a
lion.
C. Let’s get a general image:
1. \\#7\\ "the shapes of locusts"
a. That means they are small grass hopper-like beings.
b. Their size makes it easier for them to get into houses,
automobiles, beds, shoes, and wherever else they want
to go.
2. \\#7\\ They are like horses prepared for battle. They look
fierce and their bodies are protected.
3. \\#9\\ It is like they have breastplates of iron.
a. Don’t waste your time trying to stomp them.
b. You can’t crush them.
4. \\#7\\ "on their heads were as it were crowns like gold"
And if you do step on them, those bright, shiny barbs
are going to stick your foot.
5. \\#8\\ They have teeth like "the teeth of lions."
a. At the least I am supposing they bite chunks out of
your skin and maybe far worse.
b. But even if their teeth are not used on people, no
wooden wall could stop a swarm of them.
6. "their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses"
a. They fly, probably like locusts.
b. Locusts can fly great distances.
c. On the National Geographic website in a post dated
April 11, 2010. the article states, " In 1954, a
swarm flew from northwest Africa to Great Britain.
In 1988, another made the lengthy trek from West
Africa to the Caribbean."
https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/
invertebrates/group/locusts
7. \\#7\\ They will have the face of men, probably meaning
that their eyes are not on the sides of their heads like
most bugs but in the front and that their eyes, nose, and
mouth are in the general configuration as a humans.
8. \\#8\\ They will have the hair, probably on the top of
their heads, like a woman’s hair, presumably, long and
flowing.
9. \\#10\\ They have "tails like unto a scorpion" with
stingers in them.
a. A scorpion’s tail is long and can stand up on its
rear so that the top droops slightly toward the
creature’s head.
b. Even in our world today, the scorpion is a feared,
painful, and lethal bug.
c. For example: The Deathstalker
The Deathstalker is a species of scorpion, a member of the Buthidae
family. It is also known as Palestine Yellow Scorpion, Omdurman
Scorpion, Israeli Desert Scorpion, as well as numerous other
colloquial names. It is regarded as a highly dangerous species
because its venom is a powerful mixture of neurotoxins, with a low
lethal dose. Residing primarily in North Africa and the Middle East
is responsible for over 75% of scorpion related deaths every year.
Although healthy adults usually only feel unbearable pain, children
that are envenomed suffer fever, coma, convulsions, and paralysis
before their lungs fill up and they drown in their own fluids.
https://www.wonderslist.com/10-most-terrifying-insects-in-the-world/
III. \\#4-6\\ Their Mission Is to Torment
A. \\#5\\ We are told specifically that they are not a killing
creature but a tormenting creature, inflicting pain like a
scorpion does.
Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they
should not kill them, but that they should be
tormented....
1. \\#6\\ The pain will be so great that those stung will
want to die.
2. That is actually the effect of scorpion stings.
3. However, God has designed the scorpion's venom so that
it opens the pain pathways in the brain, causing an
intense and abiding pain.
https://phys.org/news/2017-08-scorpion-painful.html
4. If that is the case with a normal scorpion sting, we can
only imagine how severe the pain will be when these
creatures are released.
B. \\#6\\ Even more, the text implies that its victims will have
difficulty dying after being stung.
1. The text says "death will flee from them."
2. At this point, I do not know what to make of that wording.
a. They are creatures indwelt by demonic spirits.
b. It is possible that the sting of these creatures
strengthens other aspects of the victims’ health so
that the venom actually wards off death by other
diseases and ailments while the it torments him.
C. \\#5,10\\ Both verses say that these creatures will have power
to torment men for five months.
1. Again I am not sure whether that means these demonic
creatures will only live for 5 months, then die, and be
gone or whether the torment of their victim after being
stung produces the excruciating pain in their victims
for 5 months.
2. Since the first would be the more merciful of the two
interpretations, I imagine it means the latter.
3. The poor people who get stung by this creature will suffer
unimaginable pain for five, long months.
You say, Preacher, I thought your God was a merciful God. Not once
He starts judging. When God starts judging, He will show no mercy.
Every sin that is not paid for, will be paid in full and with
interest.
Is our God sadistic, malevolent, maniacal? No, God may have provided
the key but the devil commands the army. He could have commanded the
demons to plant daisies around the globe if he had wanted. He did not
want to. You want to follow the devil? You want him to be your god?
Good luck with that.
But if you want God’s mercy, this is the day to grab hold of it. God
sent His Son to die for you. He will change your life, change your
future, and change your destiny. If you want to ever see God’s
mercy, take it today.
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