GETTING THE MESSAGE/God’s grace is sufficient
We are looking at the 6th trumpet judgment in the 2nd half of Revelation chapter 9. In verse 14, John hears a voice from the throne of God saying, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” Then, “the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.”
These angels who are released are wicked angels, and in verses 16-19 we see the horrid description of the demonic army they unleash to wreak havoc on earth. The emphasis on the appointed time tells us this is a significant event.
God is sovereign over all events, but some are magnified in redemptive history. “In the fullness of time, Christ was born.” When it was time for Jesus to go to the cross, he said, “What shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.’ Jesus also called that day the “the hour of darkness.” It was both an event of evil and a victory over evil.
There is a similar theme in Revelation. God’s people will go through tribulation as their Lord did, but some times will be especially dark, especially as the day of Christ’s return draws near. The 6th trumpet points us to an intensification of demonic activity and oppression on earth. Nevertheless, the Lord will enable his people to endure by faith.
The mention of the Euphrates River is also important. The region beyond the Euphrates was often the place in the Old Testament where terrible armies came from, powerful and destructive, such as Babylon and Assyria. The reference to the Euphrates in Revelation is not about a geographical location, but symbolic of the evil nature of the army inspired by the demonic spirits.
The Euphrates is also symbolic of God’s people being redeemed to leave idolatry to serve the living God. In Joshua 24, Joshua delivers a message to Israel from the Lord that reviews their path to the promised land. The Lord took Abraham from beyond the Euphrates where Abraham’s father Terah served other gods. God delivered Israel that they might serve the living God and put away idols.
In like manner, Paul says to Christians, “God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Faith is the spring that sets the Christian to resist the darkness when it invades. The idolatry of the world is a constant reminder to keep a vigilant faith.
John describes the forces of evil as having heads of horses that were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed” (verses 17-18). This is symbolic language pointing to the demonic influence upon men to kill. That the plagues come out of the mouth’s points also to deception.
God permits this woe on the earth as the just punishment for idolatry, but also to glorify the power of his grace in preserving his people. When the apostle Paul was under assault from the devil, the Lord told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
That the Lord’s strength is made perfect means it will be shown and manifested; his hand upheld Paul through this terrible assault. The greater the pressure, the harder the way, the more visible and conspicuous is the perfection of divine assistance. The more Christ is glorified. If you suffer from temptation, call on the Lord. Depend upon him; his grace will be sufficient.
In verses 20-21, we see that the rest of mankind, who didn’t die from the plagues, did not repent of their idolatry, nor their immorality. All the misery and death they witnessed did not change the course men were set on. Idolatry is a powerful lure, and a deadly one.
Paul reminds Christians that we all have an enemy within our own hearts: “Put to death therefore whatever is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”