End Times: Back to the Future
Lesson 12Revelation Chapter 9
In our previous lesson (Revelation Chapter 8), we encountered images of a burning mountain being hurled down into the sea, the destruction of ships, the loss of light from the sun, moon and stars, a star that fell from heaven, and so on. We determined during our study that this possibly represented the casting out of Satan, and his time on earth beginning to come to an end.
We also learned, based on our earlier End Times lessons, that peace has been taken from the earth. There is great unrest on a worldwide scale, war is raging, famine and disease are present and growing, and one-fourth of the earth will die from these judgments.
In our current lesson, we will see that man has not changed, even in the light of these judgments. His heart does not turn to God, but rather follows after all manner of evil desire. At the end of Revelation Chapter 8, three "woes" were declared. Now, in this lesson, we will examine the first one, as the fifth trumpet sounds.
Read Revelation Chapter 9, and consider the following questions:
- In order to understand why God is about to bring such harsh judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth, consider first what was happening on the earth before, and by the time of, these judgments. Read specifically Revelation 9:20 and describe what was going on by the time of these judgments. Also describe the people’s reactions to God’s judgment.
- After reading Revelation Chapter 9 completely through at least once, read Joel Chapter 2:1-10. How does the passage in Joel compare to what we have read in Revelation Chapter 9?
- Now read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. How does this passage relate to Revelation Chapter 9?
- What is the state of the star mentioned in Revelation 9:1? Is it falling? Or is it to fall sometime in the future? Or has it fallen from the sky already?
- What do these locusts look like and what is their mission?
- Who do they attack? Is it the followers of Christ?
- How many people die from the attack of these "horses dressed for battle"?
- What is the difference between the horses and riders described in Revelation 9:7-11 and those described in Revelation 9:13-19?
So, described for us in this chapter is some of the most unbelievable and unimaginable evil ever released on unrepentant and unrighteous mankind living on the earth. All manner of evil will be common everyday life at that time. Truth will have been abandoned for lies, and the truth of the Gospel will be hard to recognize because of this thick cloud. Satan, through the Antichrist, will be doing all that he can to deceive and mislead millions upon millions; and he will succeed, resulting in the death of at least one-third of the world’s population. And two more "woe"s are still coming.
Thanks for studying with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2011]