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LESSON 14 - CHAPTER 9:1-21
R E V E L A T I O N
Charles Caldwell Ryrie, p. 85-91
A
REMINDER
These lessons are written as an accompanment to
Charles C. Ryrie's [1996] Book
REVELATION
Everyday Bible Commentary
Moody Publishers
Chicago
ISBN: 978-0-8024-1825-8
(You Must Own your own copy)
(Ryrie's book text is not included in these
lessons)
WOES ON THE EARTH
9:1-21
Ryrie, Pg. 85 Top
The First Woe – The Fifth Trumpet, 9:1-12
Like arrows from a bow,
the locusts of judgment of the first woe
are discharged upon the earth.
Destruction by the Locusts, 9:1-6
The
Visualized Text
I saw
a star
from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and
the
key of the bottomless pit was given to him.
Ryrie Pg. 85
The agent who
discharged them, v. 1.
Our Comment
There’s lots of
conjecture about this individual, but Ryrie makes the best case for this very
powerful heavenly (as opposed to evil/satanic) angel. Ryrie’s last sentence here
gives us the biggest clues. Rev 1:18 tells us that God Himself holds the “keys
of death and Hades,” so it is more likely He gives this authority to one of His
most powerful angels for control over the pit. Revelation 20:3 also makes it
pretty clear that these actions are brought forth in order to chastise unbelief
in the world. This same angel will bind Satan for a thousand years while Christ
rules, and then he will be finally delt with.
The Area from which they are discharged. 9:2
The Visualized
Text
2 He
opened the bottomless pit, and
smoke went up out of the pit,
like the smoke of a great furnace; and
the sun and the air were darkened
by the smoke of the pit.
Ryrie, Pg. 86 mid
OUR COMMENT
“It is evident that this event causes that which is contained in the pit of the abyss to erupt, polluting the air and darkening the light of day. It seems to portend the spiritual corruption which will be caused by these demons released from their confinement, and it identifies the character of the judgment involved in the fifth trumpet as that of demonic and satanic oppression.”[1]
[1]
Walvoord, John F., The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Press, Chicago,
p. 159.
Ryrie, Pg. 86 near bottom
Their Activity, 9:3-6
OUR COMMENT
None
1
– Their Description v. 3
The Visualized
Text:
3 Then out of
the smoke
came
locusts upon the earth, and
power was given them,
as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Ryrie, Pg. 86 bottom
The destruction
these demon-insects inflict is described to be like that of scorpions.
Our Comment
“Now these descriptions of heaven and hell were meant by the author to be very literally taken. They are not figures of speech… they are uncanny denizens (citizen adapted to a new place) of the abyss, locusts of a hellish species, animated by devilish instincts and equipped with infernal powers.[2]
2
– Their Limitations 9:4-5
The Visualized
Text
4 They were
told
not to
hurt the grass of the earth,
nor
any green thing,
nor
any tree,
but only the men who do not have the seal of God
on their foreheads.
5 And they were
not permitted to kill anyone,
but to
torment for five months; and
their
torment was like the torment of a scorpion
when it stings a man.
Ryrie, Pg. 87 last
paragraph
OUR COMMENT
I have
highlighted the word God in Ryrie’s comment because I didn’t want you to
miss the absolute fact that God is in charge of even the worst things happening
in this book. He is always in-charge of time-space-creatures and man. This is
the story of God’s wrath against all who will not believe in, and love, His Son
– the plan of the ages for all mankind.
3
– The Effect, v. 9:6
The Visualized
Text
6 And in those
days men
will
seek death and
will
not find it; they
will
long to die, and
death flees from them.
Ryrie,
Pg. 88 top
Our Comment
“The Fate Worse
Than Death Itself!”
The Description of the
Locusts, 9:7-11
As John now
attempts to describe these uncommon locusts, these verses abound with the words
of comparison – “as” and “like.”
Their Likeness, Ch. 9:7-10
The
Visualized Text
7 The
appearance of the locusts was
like horses prepared for battle; and
on
their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and
their
faces were like the faces of men. 8
They
had hair like the hair of women, and
their
teeth were like the teeth of lions. 9
They
had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and
the
sound of their wings was like the sound of
chariots,
of many horses rushing to battle. 10
They
have
tails like scorpions, and
stings; and
in their tails is their power
to hurt men for five months.
Ryrie, Pg.
88 2nd paragraph
Our Comments
None
Their Leader, v. 9:11
The
Visualized Text
11 They have as
king over them,
the
angel of the abyss;
his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and
in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
Ryrie, Pg.
89 Top
Our Comment
This angel as king (the destroyer) has the character of Satan himself and those who affiliate with him as wicked or fallen angels – they are the destroyers of the souls of men. They will instantly manifest the true character of the evil one.
The Second Woe – The Sixth Trumpet, 9:13-21
The Command, 9:13-15
The
Visualized Text
13 Then the
sixth angel sounded, and
I
heard a voice from
the four horns of the golden altar
which is before God,
14 one saying
to the sixth angel who had the trumpet,
“Release the four angels
who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And
the four angels,
who had been prepared for the
hour and
day and
month and
year,
were released,
so that they would kill a third of mankind.
Ryrie, Pg. 89,
2nd Paragraph
OUR COMMENT
None
The
Count, 9:16
The
Visualized Text
16 The number
of the armies of the horsemen was
two
hundred million;
I heard the
number of them.
Ryrie, p. 89
bot
Our Comment
None
The Characteristics, 9:17
The Visualized
Text
17 And this is
how I saw in the vision
the
horses and those who sat on them:
the riders had
breastplates,
the
color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and
the heads of
the horses
are
like the heads of lions; and
out of
their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone.
Ryrie, Pg. 90
mid
Our Comment
None
The Consequences, 9:18-21
The Visualized
Text
18 A third of
mankind was killed
by
these three plagues,
by the
fire and the smoke and
(by)
the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths.
19 For the
power of the horses is
in
their mouths and
in
their tails;
for their tails
are like serpents and
have heads, and
with them they do harm.
20 The rest of
mankind,
who
were not killed by these plagues,
did not repent
of the works of their hands,
so as not to worship
demons, and the idols
of gold and
of silver and
of brass and
of stone and
of wood,
which can
neither see
nor hear
nor walk; 21 and
they did not repent
of their murders
nor of their sorceries
nor of their immorality
nor of their thefts.
Ryrie, Pg. 90
Mid
Our Comments
“The rest of
mankind did not repent”
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