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The Fourth and Fifth Trumpets
RV139-01© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
Please open your Bibles with me to Revelation 8:7 through Revelation 9:21. We are studying "The Trumpets of Doom," and this is segment number three.
The apostle John is in a vision in heaven. He is observing the unfolding of the divine judgments under the guise of the seven trumpets. As an angel
blows each trumpet, a judgment of God is released upon the tribulation world. The time historically is, of course, in the future from where we live
today. It is actually past the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation era at the time that these trumpets are being blown. The divine judgments
released in the early years of the tribulation, under the symbols of the seven seals are, at this point in time, passed.
The trumpet judgments now intensify God's punishment of the anti-God humanity, which is under the rule of the antichrist. We found that the first
trumpet judgment that we looked at rained down on this earth hail which was mixed with fire and blood, and which destroys the grass and the trees
on one-third of the surface of the earth. The second trumpet judgment brings a flaming meteorite from space into the saltwater areas, turning
one-third into blood; destroying the marine life therein; and, causing great havoc with the ships at sea. The third trumpet judgment brings a
burning star from space into the fresh water areas and the freshwater sources – again, on one-third of the earth, so that the waters become
poisonous and they kill all who drink it.
While the people of the antichrist world are reeling from these terrible judgments on nature (and all these three thus far have been on nature) the
fourth angel blows his trumpet to release yet another divine judgment on the earth itself, again against nature.
The Fourth Trumpet
So, we pick it up in Revelation 8:12: "And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon,
and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day did not shine for the third part of it, and the night
likewise." The fourth angel here blows his trumpet. Again, there is a divine judgment against nature. This time, it is against the luminaries of
space. They are against the sun very specifically; they are against the moon; and, they are against the stars that are out there in space. We're
told that these are "smitten." The Greek word looks like this: "plesso." "Plesso" means "to strike" or "to wound."
The Sun, Moon, and Stars
So, at the point that the fourth trumpet blows, something is done to these heavenly bodies, as if somebody reached out and struck out at them,
and cause a wound upon them so that there was a change in them. Then the blow against the luminaries in the skies is, of course, a supernatural
act of God. So, the scientists here on earth have no explanation whatever as to what is taking place, nor do they have any power whatsoever to
be able to do anything about it. This striking, we're told, has a purpose. The purpose is so that a condition of darkness can be created. The
word in the Greek Bible is "skotizo," which means to black out. What the Scriptures indicate is that one-third of these heavenly bodies cease to
deliver light to the earth for a certain period of time. This happens when this trumpet is blown. It's the result of God's acting upon these
heavenly luminaries.
This is a judgment you will immediately recognize which is comparable to the intense darkness which was upon the earth during the ninth plague on
Egypt. Exodus 10:21 tells us about that. It was a burdensome, psychological problem for the Egyptians under the darkness of that condition.
We're told that this reducing of the sources of light will affect a third part of the day and a third part of the night. It says that what is
going to happen is that these luminaries will not shine. This is the word "phaino." "Phaino" means "to give off light." So, very specifically,
for a third of the night, the stars are not going to shine. For a third of the day, the sun is not going to shine. So, instead of having the
light that these luminaries in the sky usually give off, the span is going to be shortened. It's not just going to be kind of a twilight condition,
as if an eclipse were taking place. It's going to be rather like you're in a room and the light bulb burns out, and, suddenly, the sun turns off;
suddenly, the moon turns off; and, suddenly the stars (for a third of the night) turn off.
That is going to obviously catch the attention of people. The day is still going to be 24 hours long, but the daylight portions and the night
portions of illumination are what are going to be reduced by one-third. Such a condition is, of course, going to create a weird and frightening
effect on everyone on the earth. The attention of people will be riveted to outer space, and to what is taking place at that time. Who knows?
Perhaps by this time, there may be considerable more human activity out in space. The space program may have progressed to a degree where there
is considerable habitation out there. And all of a sudden, these people who are out there see these things taking place upon them.
This kind of a condition is actually referred to in Luke 21:25-26, where the Lord says, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and
in the stars." And He is describing this as conditions that you can expect immediately preceding his Second Coming – not the rapture, but His
Second Coming to this earth: "And upon the earth, the stress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Men's hearts failing them
for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken." This is exactly what the
Lord Jesus was talking about. This is exactly the condition that you see portrayed here in the book of the Revelation.
Of course, such destruction of these heavenly luminaries isn't going to be news to the Jews who are living at the time. Those who remember anything
about their Old Testament Scriptures will remember that the prophets of old predicted that this sort of thing was going to happen. In Isaiah 13:9-10,
for example, we had that precisely set forth. The prophet Isaiah says, "Behold, the Day of the Lord comes, cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger,
to lay the land desolate, and He shall destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of heaven, and the constellations thereof, shall not give their
light, and the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine."
If you consider the context in which Isaiah writes at this particular point, you will see that what he is talking about is this era of the
tribulation judgment of God. That's what the phrase "the Day of the Lord" means. It's the time when God is now finally bringing judgment down
upon rebellious humanity.
So, it's going to be a very sobering effect to see the sun turn off for a third of the day; and, to see the stars and the moon turn off for a
third of the night. Of course, when that happens, you have a thermal effect, so that there's going to be disruption upon the earth in terms of
temperature drops around the world. And the result will be not only coldness to intensify the misery on the earth, but it will also affect the
movement of air masses which are going to cause severe storms to further complicate the distress of mankind.
Of course, we're not told how long this will continue, but it will immediately, to some degree, affect vegetation, as well as the biological cycles
in men and animals, and also thereby creating certain psychological disruptions, because the normal course of light and night have been disrupted.
So, the first four trumpet plagues have struck against nature, destroying a third of the trees; destroying a third of the grass; destroying a
third of the marine life; destroying third of the shipping; and, destroying fresh water; solar light; and, heat. The food supplies in all of this,
you can see, will be destroyed. The distribution will be greatly affected, causing hunger. The water supply will be contaminated, and will be
affected, causing thirst. The production of new food will at the same time be greatly hindered.
When you come to Revelation 8:13, you have sort of an interlude here in which God the Holy Spirit, says, "Now get set for the worst." And people
are going to say, "The worst? We think that we've already experienced the worst. You mean to tell me that this is nothing?" And that is almost
what the Holy Spirit is saying: "You ain't seen nothing yet. Now, here's what's coming."
The Three Woes
And he describes this under three woes. What happens is that Revelation 8:13 says that John says, "I'd beheld, and heard an angel flying through the
midst of the heavens, saying with a loud voice." John is looking over this overall scene now that is taking place before him. He observes, in a
panoramic view, something taking place before his eyes. All of a sudden, he "hears" something. That's the word "akouo," which is the word for
"hearing" with the human ears. At some point in time, John actually hears with his own ears.
An Eagle
The King James says, "An angel," But that is not correct. What he hears is an "aetos." An "aetos" is an eagle. What he hears is an ego. What he sees,
as well as what he hears, is an eagle flying. In the Bible, eagles are often associated with divine judgment. You can see that in Matthew 24:28, and
in Deuteronomy 28:49. John here and sees a single eagle, and he sees him flying; that is, the bird is on wing. And he sees him flying through the
midst of the heavens, which means that he sees a lone eagle circling overhead. That is an attention getter in itself.
Furthermore, he hears this eagle speaking, saying something with a very strong, loud voice. What he shouts out is the word "Woe." The Greek word is
"ouai," and he does it three times: "Ouai, ouai, ouai:" "Woe, woe, woe." To whom? To a certain group of people. This expression of imminent grief
and doom is directed to what the Bible calls the inhabiters of the earth. The word "inhabiters looks like this: "katoikeo." "Katoikeo" refers to
those who dwell on the earth.
In the book of the Revelation, this expression occurs in varying ways: "Those who dwell upon the earth." It is really almost a technical term.
Anytime you see "those who dwell upon the earth" or "the inhabitants of the earth," it is referring to unbelievers. Very specifically, it is
referring to the followers of the antichrist.
These people are told that they are facing three dramatic woes, and these by reason of the trumpets of the three angels which are yet to sound.
We began with seven trumpets. We have seen the results of the blowing of four of them. Now, before the last three are blown, this eagle flies
through the air shouting out, "Woe, woe, woe to all you people who are on this earth," because something is about to sound, and again, he is
referring to the blowing of that trumpet. Three terrors are yet to come to be experienced by the tribulation humanity.
So, as we read this account, there is simply no respect for the tribulation humanity. Remember that you have passed the midway point of the
seven-year period of the tribulation. You are now in the last three-and-a-half years and you are probably well into that second three-and-a-half-year
period. So, things have been piling up very, very rapidly. The tribulation began on high enthusiasm of the New Age movement's belief that they have
finally conquered, and secured the removal of all the Christians that have been their irritant. I suspect that that will be the basic response to
the rapture of the church. It will not be so much dismay as relief that all these Christians are out of the way, which are holding back mankind
from taking charge of his life; from taking charge of his world; and, from taking charge of his future. So, they will be glad to see the Christians
go, because the leading writers of the New Age movement have repeatedly said, "The fundamental biblical Christians must be rounded up and removed
from an influence upon the society." They're going to be taken off into a reprogramming location. When they have gotten oriented to the objectives
of the New Age, they will be permitted to rejoin society.
Well, they will feel that God, in effect, has confirmed their judgment by taking the Christians out for them. In any case, this terrible condition
of three more woes now comes upon them at a time when everything is coming apart. By this time, a lot of people are going to begin losing confidence
in the high hopes with which this new age and the new order began. This will be a time, however, of no turning back for rebellious humanity. Now God
is, as He was in the days of Noah, when finally 120 years were up, and then there was no turning back. God was now ready to go ahead with the plan,
and there was no stopping it. The plan of judgment was exercised upon that Noahic world.
People Saved during the Tribulation
So, at this point in time, there's not going to be any stopping of divine judgment. I do want to emphasize something. As a matter of fact, I had a
question this morning from someone who was concerned for some relatives, who said, "Can they be saved in the tribulation?" This person was looking
ahead, and expecting these relatives to be left behind when the Christians are removed. And of course, the answer to that is, "Yes." People will be
saved in the tribulation. Indeed, those who have been given a testimony may then stop and say, "You know, this is exactly what I was told. This is
exactly what this person in my family kept drumming away at me. And I realize now that they were right, and I was wrong." They will then turn to
Christ.
They will, of course, be the eternal losers, because they will not be able to be part of the body of Christ at that point. They will not be
able to join the church body, which is the bride of Christ. They will be back on Old Testament ground, and they will be back in that lower echelon
level of the organized world of the millennium that the Jew will be in. So, while they will be saved, they will have bypassed an enormous
relationship that only those who are members of the body of Christ, and saved in the age of grace, will experience. But yes, it is still possible
to be saved during the tribulation.
But God's judgments, as always, are long in coming. In Noah's day, it was 120 years. But then it finally arrived, and everybody drowned, and there
was no turning back. Evil people throughout history (a classic example is Jezebel) have ridden high and flourished for many years. But finally, the
horses were sent to trample on her body, and the dogs were called out to gnaw her royal bones. God eventually exercised His judgment.
The Fifth Trumpet
Beginning in Revelation 9, we now have the introduction of these final three woes – the most terrible of all the judgments that the
tribulation humanity has experienced up to this point. Revelation 9:1 says that the fifth angel steps up now; he lifts his trumpet; he moistens
his lips; he blows the water out of the horn to be sure that it's nice and clear for a clean blast; and, he sounds off.
A Star Falls
Suddenly, after he makes his triumphant announcement (the sound), a "star" falls from heaven to the earth. What is the word? It is the Greek word
for "star:" "aster." This is the normal word for star. But in this case, this is not a literal star that falls out of the sky at this time. In one
of the previous trumpet judgments, it was a literal star. This time it is not. How do we know?
The Key
We know that because, as you see in verse one, it refers to him with a personal pronoun: "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from
heaven onto the earth, and to him was given the key of the pit of the abyss." So, we have here a star personality. This is a rational
creature. It is, in fact, an angelic being to whom this key is given. And the identification of this angelic being is given to us in verse 11,
where we come up with two of the names that belong to Satan: the name "Abaddon," and the name "Apollyon." He is identified as the one who has the
key.
So, suddenly, by God's decision, here is a star which is actually an angel. He is given this key, and this specific angel is Satan himself. The
Bible does refer to angels by this word "star." You can look that up and see that for yourself in Isaiah 14:12 and in Job 38:7, where angels are
referred to under the term "star."
I just said that this angel (this star) personality is seen to fall from heaven to the earth. The word fall looks like this in the Greek Bible: it's
the word "pipto.' "Pipto" means not so much that he came tumbling down, as that he simply came down to the earth. It is in the perfect tense. In the
Greek Bible, that tells us that when John saw this star personality, he was already on the earth from some previous condition (from some previous
event), and that he was continuing on this earth. When John sees Satan step up and receive, under God's authorization, this special key, he is
already on this earth, but he is there because of a condition of being excluded from heaven.
This is what we have referred to in greater detail a little later in Revelation 12:7, where John writes, "And there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon." Michael is now the archangel, replacing Satan who was once the archangel. The term "dragon" is referring to
the devil: "And the dragon fought, and his angels (referring to the demons), and did not prevail." Satan and his demons lost the battle. "Neither
was their place found anymore in heaven." There was no more access to them in heaven.
You see, the devil today can walk into heaven, like anybody else of the angelic hosts. In the book of Job, you have an extended description of how
periodically God indeed does require Satan, as well as perhaps various numbers of the demons, to report into Him. There's an examination, and
there's a confrontation with God. They are still under control, if for nothing else, for God to make it clear that they still are under His
control, and they must obey Him.
So, periodically, Satan has been in heaven. As a matter of fact, one of his favorite pastimes in heaven is to call attention to God; to the Lord
Jesus; to the Spirit of God; and, to all the heavenly hosts who are present, the sins of individual Christians. That's why we are told that he
accuses the believers day and night. And that's why we're told that Jesus Christ acts as our lawyer to defend us against the accusation of Satan,
which is to the charge that we do not deserve to come to heaven. We deserve, as individual believers, to be cast into the lake of fire with him,
and the Lord pleads our case, because he has irrefutable evidence that the price has been paid, and He has the evidence of the wounds in His body.
Satan is Cast out of Heaven
Verse 9 says, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. And he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast with him." This is the very situation that preceded John's vision here of seeing that Satan now has been
removed from heaven, and he is on this earth. That is because of this battle which he lost. Now, at this point in time, he will no longer have
access into God's presence whatsoever.
This was actually anticipated in the Old Testament. You can read about that in Isaiah 14:12-17. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as a matter of fact,
in looking down the centuries, and looking to the future, and speaking about this very event, said in Luke 10:18. "And He said to them, I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven." What he was talking about in that context was, down in the future, Jesus Christ, in His prophetic vision,
saw what was in store for the devil.
So, that's the background here of Revelation 9:1 – that this mighty angel, the archenemy of God, is cast out of heaven as the result of the
battle with Michael and the elect angels, and he is then thrown down into the earth.
The Key to the Pit of the Abyss
He is, however, at that point in time given a key. The Greek word is "kleis." A "kleis" is exactly what we think of as a "key." It's an instrument
to open the door. This key, however, is to (what the King James calls) "the bottomless pit." It is a pit, but it is more like a well rather than
a bottomless pit. The Greek word for "bottomless" is "abusso." The proper translation is "the pit of the abyss."
It is true that this is, in some respects, a bottomless pit. Let's just jump ahead, because as we shall see, there is, in the middle of the earth,
a place which the New Testament refers to as Hades. The Old Testament refers to as Sheol. What we are discovering here is that some place on the
surface of the earth, there is an opening. Nobody knows where it is, but there is some access via a shaft into this pit (into Hades) in the center
of the earth. When you are in the center of the earth, you are at the bottom, and there is no place to go. You are bottomless, as it were, at that
point, because any direction you would go from there is up. Therefore, it is not entirely wrong to think about it as a bottomless pit. But it is
more accurate scripturally to refer to it as the pit of the abyss.
The Pit of the Abyss
We know from the Word of God that this pit of the abyss is the abode of demon angels as well as other created beings. In Luke 8:31, the Lord Jesus
Christ is at a place called Gadara. You remember the story of His coming upon the man who is possessed by demons. He's a wild creature, and lives
among the corpses in the cliffs. He has been under chains and restraints, and every time he breaks loose. He's literally a wild man that terrifies
everybody in the countryside around it. The Lord Jesus Christ heals him by commanding the demons who indwell him to leave. The demons, at that point,
are "legion." I mean, if we may interpret this "legion" as the military term that it is, you're talking 6,000, 7,000, or 8,000 men. So, this was an
enormous number of demons who had dwelt this one human being. When Jesus Christ commands them to go out, they go into panic. Notice what they're
afraid of.
"They besought Him, that He would not command them to go out into the deep." Into the what? The "abusso:" They said, "Please don't send us into the
pit of the abyss." They did not want to go there (as they felt) before their time. There was something very fearful about being sent to this place,
and they pled with the Lord not to send them there. As you know, they said, "We'd rather go into all those pigs that are out here," and He let them
go into the swine. The result is that when they got into the herd of swine, the swine went over the cliff and drowned in the sea and died.
Revelation 20:1-3 also refers to this particular place in the center of the earth, the pit of the abyss. We're told that this is the place where
Satan is going to be incarcerated during the millennium: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit (the same
place – the pit of the abyss), and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent who is the devil and Satan,
and bound him 1,000 years, and cast him into the pit of the abyss, and shut him up, and set, a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations
no more, till 1,000 years should be fulfilled. After that he must be loosed a little season." So, he will be there all during the millennium.
They're going to open this door once more, wherever it is on the face of the earth. They're going to throw him down into it, and they're going to
slam it shut.
We're going to find in a moment that this is a hot place. It is flames; it is smoke; and, it is an inferno. For all I know, the opening may be
someplace here in west Texas, like Terlingua or someplace, that would be an appropriate place to have this kind of an opening to a hot spot. But
in any case, it is (from all we gather in Scripture) not a very pleasant place. So, Satan, I can assure you, is not looking forward to this point
in time.
However, we're told in verse 1 that he's given the key to this pit of the abyss. Then in verse two, we're told what Satan does with this key.
He goes up to this pit and he opens it. He opens the pit of the abyss with this key. And out of it, there comes billowing up smoke out of this pit.
All of these words mean just exactly what you're reading there in English. Out of this pit comes smoke. It is smoke, it says, "As a great furnace.
Smoke
Every now and then, there's a fire someplace in town. There was one the other day on television in Dallas. You could see these huge clouds of black
smoke billowing up. Well, that's what's happened. This thing is opened. And, suddenly, out of the pit comes clouds and clouds of smoke billowing up
all over everything. The thing keeps spreading out in all directions, we're told, until it has covered the earth so that it actually blocks out the
sun. The air is darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. That is immediately identifying something very significant about what's here in the
middle of the earth. It is what we may, in short, call hell itself.
Locusts
Verse 3 tells us that something very dramatic is happening. As the smoke comes billowing up, there are people who are standing there watching this.
They suddenly see that in the midst of the smoke is something that the Bible calls about an "akris." These are grasshoppers, or locusts. They
suddenly see that huge swarms of locusts are coming up out of this pit through the smoke. They see these swarms of locust-like creatures. They come
out of that pit, and there is power given unto them – power that a scorpion has to wound; to sting; to hurt; and, to cause torment and
suffering. They have this power given to them over the earth itself.
As we shall, see what is here in the pit of the abyss are demons who've been incarcerated, and these demons are now released. As we shall see,
these are demons of a special category who have not seen the light of day for centuries. They're mad; they're angry; and, they're indignant. And
Satan has been thrown out of heaven. He came to a conflict with Michael at this point in time. He has been defeated. He no longer has access into
heaven itself. He comes down to the earth, and God allows him to have this key. He goes up to this opening. (He knows where it is.) He opens the
shaft, and he releases these angels that God has incarcerated centuries and centuries ago. He's mad, and they're hopping mad, because they have
been restrained, and now they know that their leader, Satan, has been defeated. They know that the time is short. They know that the clock is
ticking out against them. What can they do here?
The Power of Scorpions
Here they begin to come to reality, realizing they're not going to bring God down. Satan is not going to replace God as the Supreme Being of the
universe. So, when you know you're finished, there's only one thing left to do. These creatures that come out of the pit of the abyss are going to
go out full of vengeance. They have, we were told, the power to create the torment and the suffering of scorpions.
There are some kinds of scorpions that can bite you, and it's painful, but it doesn't create any great problem. But there are other scorpions that
create enormous pain and create enormous illness. And there are probably some which are even lethal – that they can kill you if you're stung
by them. These scorpions are of a kind that have tremendous power, and that have tremendous capacity to impose suffering upon this tribulation world.
Hades
Exactly what are these particular creatures? This is a background to refresh you on something that you know. Hades, as, we read in the Scripture,
is constructed of two basic compartments with a great gulf between them. That is clearly told us in the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus
found himself over in the side that the Jews call Abraham's Bosom, but which in the Greek was called Paradise. It refers to the side where the
saved were kept. All of this was before the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That was another side called Torments, and that's where the rich man was.
That's where that incident took place as he looked across this gulf from his place where he was in Torment and suffering, and saw Lazarus in
Abraham's bosom. He asked them, "Please bring them over here and give me a drop of water." Then he says, "Well, if you can't do that, please go and
tell my five brothers that hell is real, and that it is a terrible place to be in." The answer to him was, "We can't do that. If you don't believe
the Bible, which has told you about this place, you will not believe it even if somebody is raised back to life from the dead."
I recently read another discussion of New Age thought. It was a report of what life is like on the other side (and the devil always wants to make
it look good) through one of these channelers, like J. Z. Knight, and some of these other people who are speaking purportedly from the masters of
wisdom speaking to them. And indeed, if they are under control of any being, it is a demon being. But one of them was channeling, and they brought
up John Lennon. And John Lennon was speaking to them from the other side. He says, "Over here, I've met Carole Lombard, and Carole Lombard and I
have sort of taken a shine to one another, and we can have sex over here. We're having a lot of fun. So, the picture coming through is, "Hey, it's
not so bad to go over to the bad side. I mean, over there, it's all different than what we've been told."
Well, I'll tell you something from all we can conclude about what John Lennon believed three hours before he was killed. He said, "We've come
through such a wonderful time. We need to make the future even better. And we hope that God, or whatever there is out there, will help us carry
through." Well, he found what's out there, and that doesn't sound like a man who's trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'll tell you what Lennon
is doing. He's screaming out in pain, and wishing that he could do what the rich man wanted – that he could send a message back and say,
"Hey, all those of you who followed me, all you Beatle fans, we were wrong. We misled you. There is a terrible place, and that terrible place is
Hades."
Paradise
Well, when the Lord Jesus Christ came the Bible says that He went down to Hades, and He made a proclamation. The Book of Ephesians tells us about
that. He proclaimed that salvation had now been paid for. Up to then, it was on credit. Now, the price had actually been paid. So, He took the
whole section of Paradise up to heaven, and He removed all the believers. So, all that's left now is the torment side of Hades.
Tartarus
However, there was another division in Hades called Tartarus. Tartarus was a special division that was created in Hades to keep a special kind of
angel – an angel who had been guilty of a heinous crime, which is reported to us in Genesis 6. This is a place of total darkness. This is a
place of total suffering and pain. These angels have been put out of operation. Most of the angels of Satan have not been put out of operation.
They are actively involved in the world today, as they've always been. But this special group has for centuries been in this misery; in this
darkness; and, getting more enraged as time goes by. It is this group that is now released to come up through the shaft to the surface of the earth
with all the rage and all the vile evil that possesses them, to strike out against humanity.
That background is necessary for you to understand now what this Scripture is talking about in the subsequent events that are described here. Now
when a person dies who is a Christian, he goes directly to heaven, into the Lord's presence. There is no longer a holding tank. But this is why
the Bible also says that Jesus Christ is going to cast Hades and death into the lake of fire.
See, nobody is yet in what we call hell today. They're in this holding pen until the time when the final judgment is executed after the Great
White Throne judgment. It has always been the plan of Satan to frustrate God's plan of salvation. After mankind sinned in the Garden of Eden,
the problem that mankind faced was that there was no way to reverse the consequences of that act, and God had to come into the picture to make
a promise to change it. The problem was that all human beings, after that point in time that Adam and Eve sinned, were born in the image of
their parents. And from their father, we have all inherited a sin nature.
So, Genesis 3:15 tells about a promised Seed coming through the woman who is going to defeat Satan. This seed had to be not only God, but it had to
be human, because this man had to die for the sins of the world. So, the God-man, Jesus Christ, was brought on the scene of history. He was born of
a virgin. Therefore, He did not have a human father; He was free of a sin nature; and, it was possible for Him now to provide payment for the sins of
all the rest of humanity.
Satan knew what was coming on the scene of history. When this promise was made in Eden, he knew that if this ever happened, if this God-man could
ever be born through the virgin, he would be in very deep trouble. But he also knew that if he could prevent this birth, God could not execute
judgment against him. He also knew that if the God-man was born, and if he could lead Him into sin, or if he could destroy Him in some way, God
could not execute this judgment against him.
Satan tried his best to prevent the pre-incarnate Christ from coming into the human realm. When He did come, he tried to destroy Him as an infant
child, but he made his efforts really well before the time that the Lord Jesus Christ came on the scene. Then he came up then with a tremendous plan.
It was a very, very clever plan. It occurred to Satan that if he could possibly somehow contaminate the line of humanity so that there wasn't a pure
human source from which Christ could be born, he would frustrate the plan of God. So, what did he do? He called together a certain group of demons
angels, and he outlined to them a plan that he had for contaminating the human line. It was very simple. He said, "I want you angels to intermarry
with human women (whatever their marriage ceremony is, and wherever they're living), and I want you to cohabit with them. And I want you to produce
a race that is a half-breed. It is half-demon angel, and half-human beings.
Genesis 6 gives us the description of that precise event taking place. When we come to the New Testament, in the book of Jude and in the book of
2 Peter, that incident is described to us in considerable detail, and the judgment of God that was imposed upon these angels is explained. Next
time, we're going to look at that in further detail – severe judgment tied up down here in Tartarus.
You can begin to suspect what is going to happen when, on the face of this earth upon which you walk now today in such peace and prosperity, the
demons in Tartarus are finally turned loose to wreak their vengeance upon the human beings of the tribulation world. Thank the God who saved you
that you will not be there. Next time, we'll continue the completion and the climax of this fifth trumpet judgment.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1984
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