The sad defiance of people of Revelation 9
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| English: Repent window, Mathon church, near to Mathon, Herefordshire, Great Britain. Beneath the left side: Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" and the right: "Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness". (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
And 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; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. (Revelation 9:20–21)
The death of one-third of the earth’s remaining population will be the most catastrophic disaster to strike the earth since the Flood. Yet in an amazing display of hardness of heart, the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent.
It is unimaginable that after years of suffering and death under the terrifying judgments from God, coupled with the powerful preaching of the gospel by the 144,000 Jewish evangelists (7:1–8), the two witnesses (11:1–14), an angel in the sky (14:6–7), and other believers (Matt. 24:14), the survivors will still refuse to repent.
Like those who rejected Jesus despite seeing His miracles, hearing His powerful preaching, and the preaching of His resurrection, they will “fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: ‘Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ‘He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them’ ” (John 12:38–40). Having failed to heed the Bible’s warning, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7), they will perish (cf. Rev. 16:9, 11). Tragically, they will choose to worship the dragon and the beast (Antichrist) instead of the Lamb (cf. 13:4–8).
As he concludes his account of this amazing vision, John lists five sins representative of the defiance of those who refused to repent. First, they 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 (cf. Deut. 4:28; Pss. 115:5–7; 135:16–17). Ever since the Fall, men have practiced idolatry, worshiping the works of their hands. That phrase is used throughout Scripture to refer to idols (cf. Deut. 27:15; 31:29; 2 Kings 19:18; 22:17; 2 Chron. 32:19; 34:25; Ps. 135:15; Isa. 2:8; 17:8; 37:19; Jer. 1:16; 25:6, 7, 14; 32:30; 44:8; Hos. 14:3; Mic. 5:13; Hag. 2:14; Acts 7:41).
As he concludes his account of this amazing vision, John lists five sins representative of the defiance of those who refused to repent. First, they 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 (cf. Deut. 4:28; Pss. 115:5–7; 135:16–17). Ever since the Fall, men have practiced idolatry, worshiping the works of their hands. That phrase is used throughout Scripture to refer to idols (cf. Deut. 27:15; 31:29; 2 Kings 19:18; 22:17; 2 Chron. 32:19; 34:25; Ps. 135:15; Isa. 2:8; 17:8; 37:19; Jer. 1:16; 25:6, 7, 14; 32:30; 44:8; Hos. 14:3; Mic. 5:13; Hag. 2:14; Acts 7:41).
In ancient times (and even in some cultures today) people actually worshiped idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk (see God’s scornful denunciations of such sinful folly in Ps. 115:1–8; Isa. 40:19–20; 44:8–20; Jer. 10:3–5; Dan. 5:23; cf. Rom. 1:18–32). But to worship any idol or false deity is in fact to worship demons (Deut. 32:17; Ps. 106:37). The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) rendering of Psalm 96:5 reads, “All the gods of the peoples are demons.” The apostle Paul declared that “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons” (1 Cor. 10:20).
When people worship idols, gods that do not exist, demons who do exist will impersonate those gods and hold those idolaters captive to their demonic power and deception. False religions are not void of the supernatural; they are full of it—because they are the best opportunities for demons to capture souls. They are the fortresses of 2 Corinthians 10:4–5 which must be assaulted with the truth if souls are to be delivered.
At that future point in world history, idolatry, mysticism, spiritism, satanism, and all other forms of false religion will become pandemic, as demons lead people into more wicked and vicious behavior. Unbridled, unrestrained, escalating wickedness will run amuck as never before in human history (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1–5, 13). As a result, in addition to idolatry, violent crimes like murders will be rampant. Bereft of any sense of morality, evil, unrepentant people will imitate the demon horde’s murderous blood lust. Believers in the true God will no doubt be their prime targets, as they lash out seeking revenge for the disasters God has brought on them.
John describes a third sin his vision revealed will characterize that tragic time as sorceries, a Greek word from which the English words “pharmacy” and “pharmaceuticals” derive. Drugs were and still are believed to induce a higher religious state of communion with deities. (For a discussion of such practices, see Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1986], 229–34.) Pharmakōn can also refer to poisons, amulets, charms, séances, witchcraft, incantations, magic spells, contacting mediums, or any object that is tied to pagan idolatry to elicit lust or to seduce. People will dive deeper into the satanic trappings of false religion.
The fourth sin from which the unregenerate will refuse to turn away is immorality. Porneia (immorality) is the root word of the English word “pornography.” It is a general term describing sexual sin of every variety, including fornication, adultery, rape, and homosexuality. Indescribable sexual perversions will be running rampant in that day.
Finally, people will refuse to repent of thefts. Like morality, honesty will be nonexistent, as people compete for the increasingly scarce supplies of food, clothing, water, shelter, and medicines.
Under the influence of the massive demon forces the world will descend into a morass of false religion, murder, sexual perversion, and crime unparalleled in human history. It is sobering to realize that the Lord will one day come “to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 15). In light of that coming judgment it is the responsibility of all believers to faithfully proclaim the gospel to unbelievers, thereby “snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1999). Revelation 1–11 (pp. 272–274). Chicago: Moody Press.
At that future point in world history, idolatry, mysticism, spiritism, satanism, and all other forms of false religion will become pandemic, as demons lead people into more wicked and vicious behavior. Unbridled, unrestrained, escalating wickedness will run amuck as never before in human history (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:1–5, 13). As a result, in addition to idolatry, violent crimes like murders will be rampant. Bereft of any sense of morality, evil, unrepentant people will imitate the demon horde’s murderous blood lust. Believers in the true God will no doubt be their prime targets, as they lash out seeking revenge for the disasters God has brought on them.
John describes a third sin his vision revealed will characterize that tragic time as sorceries, a Greek word from which the English words “pharmacy” and “pharmaceuticals” derive. Drugs were and still are believed to induce a higher religious state of communion with deities. (For a discussion of such practices, see Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1986], 229–34.) Pharmakōn can also refer to poisons, amulets, charms, séances, witchcraft, incantations, magic spells, contacting mediums, or any object that is tied to pagan idolatry to elicit lust or to seduce. People will dive deeper into the satanic trappings of false religion.
The fourth sin from which the unregenerate will refuse to turn away is immorality. Porneia (immorality) is the root word of the English word “pornography.” It is a general term describing sexual sin of every variety, including fornication, adultery, rape, and homosexuality. Indescribable sexual perversions will be running rampant in that day.
Finally, people will refuse to repent of thefts. Like morality, honesty will be nonexistent, as people compete for the increasingly scarce supplies of food, clothing, water, shelter, and medicines.
Under the influence of the massive demon forces the world will descend into a morass of false religion, murder, sexual perversion, and crime unparalleled in human history. It is sobering to realize that the Lord will one day come “to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 15). In light of that coming judgment it is the responsibility of all believers to faithfully proclaim the gospel to unbelievers, thereby “snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23).
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1999). Revelation 1–11 (pp. 272–274). Chicago: Moody Press.
