1. Revelation
Chapter 9

2. Chapter 9:1-2 The remaining trumpets are supernatural judgments
Star from the sky
This IS the fallen angel – Satan (also called Lucifer and the devil)
Satan is the primary figure from this point forward
Key to abyss
This key is given to him (Satan has no authority of his own)
Satan is permitted to reign in/over hell (hades, Gahanna, the abyss, etc.)
Many rebellious angels fell with him
How do we understand this?
Is this a past event being recalled? YES
Is this a future event being predicted? YES
Is this a present event happening now? YES
REMEMBER: God exists outside of time. In God’s perspective, there is no past, present or future.
John experiences a small taste of this in his visions.

3. Chapter 9:1-2 (cont.) Smoke arose
Satan and his minions create a deep spiritual darkness over the world, ever since the fall
St. John speaks of this darkness in John 1
Without Christ, the world is in deep darkness and remains so
Only the light of Christ (His Word) can open the eyes

4. Chapter 9:3-6 Locusts Harkens to the plague in Egypt
NOT literal locusts!
These are the fallen angels which came with Satan to earth
DEMONS!
They are unleashed upon the earth to do harm to humanity
Spiritual harm (not physical)
The demons inject the poison of sin and unbelief
The antidote is Christ and His Word given by Word and Sacrament
They cannot harm the earth per se, but only the people

5. Chapter 9:3-6 (cont.)
Those who do not have the seal/mark on their foreheads.
The demons cannot harm the people of God, the chosen ones
The mark of God is the name of God written on our foreheads in Baptism
Note: we must remain faithful in our baptismal vows
NOT: “once saved, always saved” or “I’m baptized so I can do whatever I want”
As Christians, we find great comfort in this!
But we MUST remain faithful and steadfast in the Word so that we do not fall from grace and become entangled in the devil’s poison
How? Attend the Divine Service, study the Scripture, etc.
Not to kill/torture for 5 months
By God’s grace, the demons can only “attack” in intervals and not ongoing.
The world has periods of peace and prosperity and periods of turmoil and suffering
Why? To draw unbelievers to repentance and faith!

6. Chapter 9:3-6 (cont.) Seek death/not find
As already stated, satan and the demons can only attack for periods of time, and cannot kill
Christians ARE set free from death, but unbelievers will not find it (by their own efforts). It is only by faith in Jesus that anyone can be set free from death.
Even in death, the unbelievers will live in eternity in hell

7. Chapter 9:7-11 Horses prepared for battle Crowns of gold
Satan’s army is MIGHTY and formidable!
We should NEVER underestimate or trivialize or forget about Satan
It is foolish to say, “there is no devil”!
They want to deceive and capture as many people as they can…so that they’re not lonely in hell?? (kidding), but because this is what Satan is all about.
Crowns of gold
Crowns of gold are used to symbolize victors in the world. But these are “like” and not actual crowns
Jesus is the ONLY victor here!

8. Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Hair like women’s hair Teeth like lion’s teeth
Their deceitfulness is attractive and alluring to all
We can’t see them as they are: wicked and evil.
We see them as good, nice, loving, even godly!
The come to make sin look attractive and prosperous
The unbelieving world longs for this and wholeheartedly believes it to be good
Teeth like lion’s teeth
Though attractive to unbelievers, they are, in truth, vicious and deadly and seek to devour their victims, to tear them apart thought by thought, sin by sin.
1 Peter 5:8

9. Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Breastplates of iron
A strong and well guarded army
Unbelievers are totally defenseless against the devil and his army
Faith is the only sure defense against the devil!
The “noise” they create brings fear and trepidation to all in their path
Tails and stings like scorpions…five months
Cannot harm unbelievers continuously but must take a break
They do great damage to an unbeliever, then they leave, then they come back
A king over them…Abaddon…Apollyon
The angel of the abyss…satan…the devil
Abaddon means “destroyer” in Hebrew; Apollyon means “destroyer” in Greek

10. Chapter 9:7-11 (cont.) Could also mean “adversary”
Satan is the adversary of Christ – the “anti-Christ”
Satan works, not only outside of the church, but IN the church!
Satan’s main goal IS to destroy the Church
How does satan infiltrate and destroy the church??
What do you think?
ANY teaching or practice that comes from the world and finds its home in the church is NOT from God, but from the devil, because if it isn’t from God it can only be from Satan!
There are no “sort of” true teachings or “half-true is good enough” teachings.
There are no “sort of” true practices.
It is either from God or it is from the devil.
Thus we must ALWAYS be diligent!

11. Chapter 9:12
First woe…2 to come
It’s getting even worse!

12. Chapter 9:13-16 Sixth Trumpet: Voice from the Altar
This is Jesus’ voice (see chapter 7-8)
He instructs the archangel to release the 4 angels (see chapter 7)
This begins the “little season” of Satan (Rev 20:7)
Satan is released to do great harm to humanity
Kill a third of mankind
Many people will die (from plagues, disease, famine, etc.) during this time
This does NOT mean that 2/3’s of humanity will be saved (see following verses)
As we get closer to the end, most of the church will reject Christ; few by comparison are saved
200 million
The number of demons in Satan’s army. Real number? Doesn’t matter! Impossible number to fight against.

13. Chapter 9:17-19
Similar battle and armaments of the first woe, but more severe
Even Christians will suffer
Attacks are continuous
Satan and his demons are given the freedom to deceive as much and as boldly as they can
Satan and the demons can suppress the preaching of the Gospel, and the churches will be FILLED with false teachers!
Fire, smoke, sulfur
The great demonic delusion during the “little season” which will deceive many
Like Sodom and Gomorrah, few will be saved

14. Chapter 9:20-21 Rest of mankind…did not repent
Even after all this, still much of humanity will remain unrepentant and continue to live in sin and unbelief
Even though God still has His remnant, most of the world will die
What will this look like???
What are the hints of this today?