Revelation 9
November Memory Verse: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me." Revelation 3:20 (NIV)
Revelation 9
In Revelation 9 we are continuing the narrative of the 7 trumpets that bring apocalyptic plagues that are reminiscent of the plagues that God brought against the land of Egypt.
When I was reading this, the question that came to my mind was…
WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR GOD TO GET OUR ATTENTION?
The saddest part of this chapter to me is found in Revelation 9:20-21…
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
It is here we see the stubbornness and seductiveness of sin. If we are not careful, we can get so enveloped in sin and so mesmerized by it that even the grandest of circumstances will not get our attention.
It says here that they did not repent from their idols - which were never worthy of their worship (v.20b).
We all are worshipping something… the question is “Is what we are worshipping worthy of our worship?” ANYTHING other than worshipping God Himself will fall short.
We have to ask, If this did not get their attention… would anything? Would they ever see God for who He is... How worth it He is… How amazing He is… before Philippians 2:10-11 came to pass?
This should break our hearts and this should cause us to check our hearts.
This should break our hearts because there are real people in our world that we live with, work with, go to school with, that struggle to see the goodness of God over the goodness of sin. God has placed us in their lives to be a witness and a testimony to the goodness and greatness of God. We should look at how to pursue them, share with them, and love them well.
This should also cause us to check our hearts. Is there any way that God is trying to get our attention? Is there any way that we are valuing sin over God? What do we need to repent of? Is there any way we can more fully live for God this week?
What else stuck out to you from Revelation 9? Any other thoughts?
By: Nick Parsons
Revelation 9
In Revelation 9 we are continuing the narrative of the 7 trumpets that bring apocalyptic plagues that are reminiscent of the plagues that God brought against the land of Egypt.
When I was reading this, the question that came to my mind was…
WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR GOD TO GET OUR ATTENTION?
The saddest part of this chapter to me is found in Revelation 9:20-21…
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
It is here we see the stubbornness and seductiveness of sin. If we are not careful, we can get so enveloped in sin and so mesmerized by it that even the grandest of circumstances will not get our attention.
It says here that they did not repent from their idols - which were never worthy of their worship (v.20b).
We all are worshipping something… the question is “Is what we are worshipping worthy of our worship?” ANYTHING other than worshipping God Himself will fall short.
We have to ask, If this did not get their attention… would anything? Would they ever see God for who He is... How worth it He is… How amazing He is… before Philippians 2:10-11 came to pass?
This should break our hearts and this should cause us to check our hearts.
This should break our hearts because there are real people in our world that we live with, work with, go to school with, that struggle to see the goodness of God over the goodness of sin. God has placed us in their lives to be a witness and a testimony to the goodness and greatness of God. We should look at how to pursue them, share with them, and love them well.
This should also cause us to check our hearts. Is there any way that God is trying to get our attention? Is there any way that we are valuing sin over God? What do we need to repent of? Is there any way we can more fully live for God this week?
What else stuck out to you from Revelation 9? Any other thoughts?
By: Nick Parsons
5 Comments
“struggle to see the goodness of God over the goodness of sin.”
Sometimes scripture doesn’t just step on our toes, it crushes them. This statement about my / our sin struggles is SO true. Sin is seductive and looks so good until we are caught in its trap and begin to pay the price for momentary pleasures. Thanks for the commentary today Nick. Praise God we have a Savior who is always there when we repent and seek His face.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR GOD TO GET OUR ATTENTION?
This is a good word. We keep seeing this over and over in Revelation—that people will endure extreme hardship, torture, and even death before submitting to the Lord. This is how bad sin really is. This is a good check for me too.
I’m not going to lie… these locusts sound terrible!
- They looked like horses prepared for battle.
- They had gold crowns on their heads
- Their faces looked like human faces.
- They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion.
- They wore armor made of iron
- Their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle.
- They had tails that stung like scorpions
- They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
So thankful that God has sealed me, through Christ, and I will not have to experience such beasts.
I realize I have a hard time making sense of the timing of things, but I have a question. If all the green grass was burned up when the first trumpet sounded (8:7) what was left to be left unharmed when the fourth trumpet sounded in 9:4? Is there a significsn
The wrath of God is a very serious thing!
I was trying to say "is there a significant amount of time between the sounding of these trumpets?"