Bad Boy Abaddon (Revelation 9)

"I just wanted to be bad." Spoken to me over twenty years ago, these words still ring in my ears. Why would a kind, intelligent, and respected young adult make a selfish, reckless, and irresponsible life choice that would have negative consequences, perhaps, for a lifetime? In this age of never taking personal responsibility, left leaning progressives want to blame everything under the sun except what (or who) is really at fault. The left like to blame a person's bad choices on their socioeconomic position, lack of education, or merely running with the wrong set of friends. However, the simple truth is that bad choices always yield negative consequences, and the fault lies squarely on the choice-maker's depraved heart. Sin is not a mind matter, it is a heart matter. Simply, a person will sin because they want to. They may not want to admit it, but people know exactly what they are doing when they chose to reject God's laws. Revelation 9 is a portrait of of God's mercy, grace, and patience. It is also a depiction of God's justice. Three and a half years of The Great Tribulation has passed, and one-third of the earth has been destroyed. God has allowed the devastation in order that people would have one last chance to turn to him. This is the ultimate, last chance at salvation.

I. The Creatures of the Abyss

Revelation 9 opens with the fifth angel sounding his trumpet and opening the Abyss. The Abyss is a bottomless pit that burns with smoke so great it blocks out the sun and sky. Out of the pit, came locust that stung the people who did not have the seal of God. Abaddon, the angel of the Abyss, was king over the creatures of the Abyss. Abaddon had limited power, as God is in control of every one of these events. The locusts' bites were tortuous, but they did not kill. The stings were so painful, people longed to die, but death would not come. This scene is a warning to those who are not sealed by faith in God, but it is also a comfort to those who are. For believers, comfort should not be our satisfaction. This scene should sober us and lead us to share the Gospel with radical abandon. It should stimulate us to teach others that time is short, and none of us are the victims of luck or karma. God will never rely on chance or randomness. He is the God of carefully measured judgement. Everything happens by God's providence, never by chance or luck. God's judgement is sure and inevitable.

II. The Judgement

A sixth angel sounded and the four angels who were bound at the Euphrates River released a massive army of 200 million. This army's horses and riders had breastplates of fiery red, dark blue, and sulfuric yellow. The horses had heads like lions' and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and sulfur. Their tails were like snakes, causing deadly harm. The army's purpose was to kill one-third of the world's population. What a frightening scene! God's reckoning is now fulfilled. Those with a depraved heart are eternally destined to be separated from God for eternity. A believer's heart should be both saddened and motivated to be the light of the Gospel.

III. The Reason for Judgement

In my personal opinion, verses 20 and 21of Revelation are the most astounding verses in all of scripture. When a believer reads these verses, a chill of stark reality should overcome him or her. Those that were not killed did not repent of the work of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons. They kept their idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. They did not repent of murder, sorcery, immorality, or theft. What a sad commentary. Today's world is filled with people who never intend to live for anyone or anything other than their own selfish desires. They are running the rat race of working solely to obtain more "stuff." They are stressed and use drugs to relieve or escape their fast-paced existence. When they realize that stuff or substance abuse will not satisfy, they look for satisfaction through immoral practices. In the end, they suffer devastating consequences that affect not only themselves, but also significantly affects their friends and family. How lonely seeking and never finding must be! Being alone, separated from a loving Savior is a terrible thing. Living for the world is a cycle of a depraved heart. The truth is that only Jesus Christ can satisfy. Nonbelievers fail to understand that all they have to do is surrender to someone who loves them even more than they love themselves. The second they surrender, they are saved from eternal separation from God, and they escape the torture of The Great Tribulation and a very real hell. Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is more deceitful than all else, and is desperately sick." Man is fallen and has a depraved heart. We cannot save ourselves. We are in desperate need of a Savior. Jesus Christ is the only way by which salvation is possible. God gives us this freedom to choose, but he is just and fair, and does not free us from the consequences of our bad choices. Repentance is the key. Accept him and find a waiting Savior with outstretched arms. Reject him and you are on your own. Being alone is a terrible thing.

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