Revelation 9:13-21 - “Turning up the Heat”
The sixth trumpet intensifies the distress caused by the first five. In fact, it almost seems like overkill, after the events heralded by the first trumpets. How much more distress and calamity can God rain down upon the earth? And why does he want to?
First, a quick review. The trumpets began to sound after the scroll containing God’s will had been opened. We’ve seen that each of the trumpets announces another part of God’s plan taking place. But so far, the plan has been pretty gruesome. The first four trumpets destroyed a third of the major elements of the world: the land, fresh water, ocean, and sky. The fifth trumpet unleashed tortuous suffering upon the people who hadn’t been sealed by God. Everything that the trumpets brought about has been suffering and destruction.
The sixth trumpet announces even worse devastation. After it sounds, a voice from the altar issues a command. This altar, by the way, is the one that is before the throne of God in heaven. We’ve seen it a couple of times earlier. In Chapter 6, the souls of the martyrs were under the altar, demanding retribution for their suffering. In Chapter 8, the prayers of the faithful were presented to God on the altar, and were mixed with fire from the altar so that they could return to earth with the power of God. So the altar appears to be a connection between God and his people. And it’s where God’s power issues forth upon the world. The voice from the altar is the voice of God, announcing his will to be done.
The voice from the altar commands that God’s four avenging angels be released to attack the sinful people of the world. The number of angels indicates that they go about the entire world (to the four corners). Their location by the Euphrates River can indicate several things. And since this is symbolic language, it probably means all of them! First, Genesis 2:14 tells us the that the Euphrates was one of four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden. And Genesis 3:24 describes an armed angel who guarded the entrance to the garden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. Perhaps this angel, the first indication in the Bible of God’s wrath against sin, is one of the four that now travels throughout the earth to attack that sin. Second, the most devastating military blow to people of God was the attack of the Babylonians against Jerusalem. Babylon was along the banks of the Euphrates. And according to Old Testament books like 2 Chronicles and Habakkuk, the Babylonian army was sent by God to punish a sinful and rebellious nation. The angels here are continuing the work that the Babylonians began. It was bad enough before; it’s going to be even worse now. Third, in the days of John and his first readers, the Euphrates River marked the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, beyond which was fearful lawlessness and violence. In particular, the Parthians would stage raids from across the river into the Roman territory. The Parthian raiders were known particularly for their mounted archers, who would shoot arrows at you as they approached, and then could turn around and shoot again from behind as they left. This may be part of the inspiration for verse 19’s comment about the horses who attacked with both their mouths and their tails. Put all three of these images together, and you get the sense of terrifying destruction coming from God to punish the sin of the world.
Verse 15 is very specific. God had the angels’ release planned to the very hour, day, month, and year to begin their dreadful work. History is in God’s hands, as he controls the events that take place when and how he plans them.
The army of 200 million is not something different from the angels; it is the same deadly force perceived in a different way. The four angels are a universal spiritual force, and the massive army is an earthly reflection of that force. Even by today’s standards, an army with 200 million soldiers is inconceivable by human standards. Imagine what it would have meant in John’s day; historians estimate that entire population of the world at that time was about 200 to 300 million! The population of the entire Roman Empire at the time was about 55 to 60 million. So this is no ordinary army; it can only come as a component of spiritual activity. 200 million is also a symbolic number: 4 (all of creation) X 5 (not total) X 1,000 X 1,000 (a vast number). Put these numbers together and you get a description of the army: a vast force unleashed upon the entire world, but not one that will cause total destruction.
John provides some interestingly specific details about the horses and their riders. Their uniforms were red, blue, and yellow. Sorry, but I don’t know what these colors mean! The best I can do is look at the three “plagues” that the army produces: fire, smoke, and sulfur. Fire is red, smoke can sort of be blue, and sulfur is yellow. Maybe it’s nothing more than that. The horses have elements of lions and of snakes: fierce and dangerous animals, to be sure. Some commentators wonder if the snake-tails are meant to evoke images of Satan the serpent.
The locust army we saw in verses 3-10 was bad enough. But there was a limit to what it could do. The locusts could torment but not kill. That restriction is lifted for the army of the four angels. They slaughter a third of the human population, a number that echoes the one-third destruction of creation caused by the first four trumpets.
We’ve seen the previous destruction caused by the trumpets to be a summons for repentance from sin and the consequences of not leaving it. That summons is intensified here. But the response of the survivors of the army’s attack is not one that leads them to God. Rather than being “scared straight,” they continue in their sin. And unfortunately, this is a common feature of the human condition. Even when we see the nasty consequences of what we’re doing, we do it anyway. Everyone in our country knows that smoking kills, and that it’s a hard habit to break. And the “sin taxes” on cigarettes make them more and more expensive. And yet, people continue to start smoking. We know that fatty, greasy food will clog our arteries. For the first time in human history, life expectancy has dropped because people are eating too much food. We know that eating too much food, and the wrong kinds of food, is bad for us. But we do it anyway. And here’s the craziest statistic of all: violent crimes are higher in states that have capital punishment than in states with no death penalty. You’d think that people would be less likely to commit crimes when they know they could be executed for them. But that’s not the case. The Dutch have a great word for this human characteristic: eigewiest (I’m sure that this is totally misspelled, since I never learned to read or write the language of my forebears). The closest we get to it in English is “stubborn.” Or maybe “contrary.” A refusal to get with the program, for no other reason than that you don’t want to. Even if it will cause grief for yourself. Something like biting your nose to spite your face is part of it all. It’s part of our sinful human nature. Even when we see the deadly results of sin, we continue in it.
Why? Well, there can be all sorts of reasons, just as there are all sorts of sins and sinners. The description in verses 20-21 of the sins that people continue in suggests a few of the reasons. In the face of calamity and destruction, people don’t turn to the Lord who can save them, but all sorts of other things (demons, idols, etc) that they think can help them. And it’s still true today. Don’t get me wrong: technology is great. But do we put our trust in electronics, medical breakthroughs, and engineering marvels when they really can’t give us the help we need? We murder to get rid of people who anger us or who stand in the way of what we want. Sexual immorality and theft are two expressions of self gratification: getting what you want, and what makes you feel good. Even if it’s wrong and others may suffer as a result.
So what brings about repentance? Ultimately, it’s God’s work in the person’s soul. The survivors of the army of 200 million had hardened hearts, just Pharaoh after the plagues devastated Egypt but he continued to defy God. This is where we Presbyterians see predestination at work. If God touches a person, nothing can ever get in the way of their faithful devotion to him. But unless God calls that person by name, nothing will ever bring them into the fold.
Which person are you?
First, a quick review. The trumpets began to sound after the scroll containing God’s will had been opened. We’ve seen that each of the trumpets announces another part of God’s plan taking place. But so far, the plan has been pretty gruesome. The first four trumpets destroyed a third of the major elements of the world: the land, fresh water, ocean, and sky. The fifth trumpet unleashed tortuous suffering upon the people who hadn’t been sealed by God. Everything that the trumpets brought about has been suffering and destruction.
The sixth trumpet announces even worse devastation. After it sounds, a voice from the altar issues a command. This altar, by the way, is the one that is before the throne of God in heaven. We’ve seen it a couple of times earlier. In Chapter 6, the souls of the martyrs were under the altar, demanding retribution for their suffering. In Chapter 8, the prayers of the faithful were presented to God on the altar, and were mixed with fire from the altar so that they could return to earth with the power of God. So the altar appears to be a connection between God and his people. And it’s where God’s power issues forth upon the world. The voice from the altar is the voice of God, announcing his will to be done.
The voice from the altar commands that God’s four avenging angels be released to attack the sinful people of the world. The number of angels indicates that they go about the entire world (to the four corners). Their location by the Euphrates River can indicate several things. And since this is symbolic language, it probably means all of them! First, Genesis 2:14 tells us the that the Euphrates was one of four rivers that flowed from the Garden of Eden. And Genesis 3:24 describes an armed angel who guarded the entrance to the garden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. Perhaps this angel, the first indication in the Bible of God’s wrath against sin, is one of the four that now travels throughout the earth to attack that sin. Second, the most devastating military blow to people of God was the attack of the Babylonians against Jerusalem. Babylon was along the banks of the Euphrates. And according to Old Testament books like 2 Chronicles and Habakkuk, the Babylonian army was sent by God to punish a sinful and rebellious nation. The angels here are continuing the work that the Babylonians began. It was bad enough before; it’s going to be even worse now. Third, in the days of John and his first readers, the Euphrates River marked the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, beyond which was fearful lawlessness and violence. In particular, the Parthians would stage raids from across the river into the Roman territory. The Parthian raiders were known particularly for their mounted archers, who would shoot arrows at you as they approached, and then could turn around and shoot again from behind as they left. This may be part of the inspiration for verse 19’s comment about the horses who attacked with both their mouths and their tails. Put all three of these images together, and you get the sense of terrifying destruction coming from God to punish the sin of the world.
Verse 15 is very specific. God had the angels’ release planned to the very hour, day, month, and year to begin their dreadful work. History is in God’s hands, as he controls the events that take place when and how he plans them.
The army of 200 million is not something different from the angels; it is the same deadly force perceived in a different way. The four angels are a universal spiritual force, and the massive army is an earthly reflection of that force. Even by today’s standards, an army with 200 million soldiers is inconceivable by human standards. Imagine what it would have meant in John’s day; historians estimate that entire population of the world at that time was about 200 to 300 million! The population of the entire Roman Empire at the time was about 55 to 60 million. So this is no ordinary army; it can only come as a component of spiritual activity. 200 million is also a symbolic number: 4 (all of creation) X 5 (not total) X 1,000 X 1,000 (a vast number). Put these numbers together and you get a description of the army: a vast force unleashed upon the entire world, but not one that will cause total destruction.
John provides some interestingly specific details about the horses and their riders. Their uniforms were red, blue, and yellow. Sorry, but I don’t know what these colors mean! The best I can do is look at the three “plagues” that the army produces: fire, smoke, and sulfur. Fire is red, smoke can sort of be blue, and sulfur is yellow. Maybe it’s nothing more than that. The horses have elements of lions and of snakes: fierce and dangerous animals, to be sure. Some commentators wonder if the snake-tails are meant to evoke images of Satan the serpent.
The locust army we saw in verses 3-10 was bad enough. But there was a limit to what it could do. The locusts could torment but not kill. That restriction is lifted for the army of the four angels. They slaughter a third of the human population, a number that echoes the one-third destruction of creation caused by the first four trumpets.
We’ve seen the previous destruction caused by the trumpets to be a summons for repentance from sin and the consequences of not leaving it. That summons is intensified here. But the response of the survivors of the army’s attack is not one that leads them to God. Rather than being “scared straight,” they continue in their sin. And unfortunately, this is a common feature of the human condition. Even when we see the nasty consequences of what we’re doing, we do it anyway. Everyone in our country knows that smoking kills, and that it’s a hard habit to break. And the “sin taxes” on cigarettes make them more and more expensive. And yet, people continue to start smoking. We know that fatty, greasy food will clog our arteries. For the first time in human history, life expectancy has dropped because people are eating too much food. We know that eating too much food, and the wrong kinds of food, is bad for us. But we do it anyway. And here’s the craziest statistic of all: violent crimes are higher in states that have capital punishment than in states with no death penalty. You’d think that people would be less likely to commit crimes when they know they could be executed for them. But that’s not the case. The Dutch have a great word for this human characteristic: eigewiest (I’m sure that this is totally misspelled, since I never learned to read or write the language of my forebears). The closest we get to it in English is “stubborn.” Or maybe “contrary.” A refusal to get with the program, for no other reason than that you don’t want to. Even if it will cause grief for yourself. Something like biting your nose to spite your face is part of it all. It’s part of our sinful human nature. Even when we see the deadly results of sin, we continue in it.
Why? Well, there can be all sorts of reasons, just as there are all sorts of sins and sinners. The description in verses 20-21 of the sins that people continue in suggests a few of the reasons. In the face of calamity and destruction, people don’t turn to the Lord who can save them, but all sorts of other things (demons, idols, etc) that they think can help them. And it’s still true today. Don’t get me wrong: technology is great. But do we put our trust in electronics, medical breakthroughs, and engineering marvels when they really can’t give us the help we need? We murder to get rid of people who anger us or who stand in the way of what we want. Sexual immorality and theft are two expressions of self gratification: getting what you want, and what makes you feel good. Even if it’s wrong and others may suffer as a result.
So what brings about repentance? Ultimately, it’s God’s work in the person’s soul. The survivors of the army of 200 million had hardened hearts, just Pharaoh after the plagues devastated Egypt but he continued to defy God. This is where we Presbyterians see predestination at work. If God touches a person, nothing can ever get in the way of their faithful devotion to him. But unless God calls that person by name, nothing will ever bring them into the fold.
Which person are you?
posted by Rev. Peter de Vries, Old Union Presbyterian Church @ 12:39 PM
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