Revelation 9

Bible Passage:  Revelation 9

It was with great joy that I learned upon my return home after a couple of weeks away that a few of my Junior Youth students had received the Holy Spirit during the recent Spiritual Meeting or during the Short Term Theological Seminar now going on.

Indeed, now that they have the seal of God on them, I am sure when they read today’s passage, they will feel a little more relieved because the torment handed out by these scorpions on those without the seal of God on their foreheads indeed sound so terrible and frightening and I am sure no one wants to be that position (vv. 4-6).

In a way, reading the book of Revelation at the end of a year seems quite good, because it does give us a chance to reflect upon ourselves and see where we stand… before the great judgement of God comes.  The past few blog writers have spoken about their reactions and reflections when reading Revelations and I echo how and what they feel.  But as I came to end of this chapter, I was a bit alarmed as I wondered… am I like these people here?

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. 

~ Revelation 9:20-21

Now, what went on for 5 months when the scorpions and locusts were unleashed on the earth was terrible.  The torment was so bad that even when men sought death, they could not die (v. 6).  But when the 5 months had passed, in verse 20 we read that the men did not repent of the works of their hands…

They did not repent of the works of their hands!

Incredible!  Didn’t they just witness what happened?  Weren’t they suffering?  Didn’t they ask for death so that they could escape the great sufferings?

And yet… when the torment ended… so did any of their intentions to repent and return to God.

They still wanted to worship the gods of this world.  They still wanted to kill.  They still wanted to practice sorcery.  They still wanted to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh.

In short… they still wanted very much to do what they liked in their own eyes.

It reminded me of the book of Judges where it was said,

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes

~ Judges 21:25

During the period of the Judges, we see how the people continually sinned against God, was oppressed by their enemies and then they called out to God – who raised Judges to deliver them.  But once they received peace, they went back to their Godless ways again.  And the people described here sounded almost like them.

It was not stated if the people without the seal of God who were tormented called out to God during these 5 months.  But we do know that for most people, when they meet with calamities or disasters, will naturally call out to the heavens – promising and swearing on all things so that they can be protected and remain safe.

I do not know what your life has been like this year.  I do not know whether you have done all that you promised God you would do this year?  I do not even know if you are alright with your faith right now.

But I do know about myself.  And in my self reflection, I can see that while God has been good to me this year, there are many areas that I could do much much better.  And there are also areas where I have wandered back to my old rotten ways.  I have already forgotten what God had done for me and not doing what I wanted very much (in the beginning) to do for Him!

David’s famous prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 is something we should all feel rather than just know.

What I mean is that while the words of David are so poetic and beautiful and heart wrenching, his actions show that he had true repentance, and it was not just lip service.

His appeal to the mercy of God was accompanied by honesty and understanding that his sin was very severe before and against God.  And that there were no excuses or justification of what he had done.  Instead, he now longed for the chance and had the desire to truly change.  But he recognised that if God were to forgive Him, it was done not because he deserved it, but it is done purely out of grace, and grace alone.

Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
         And cleanse me from my sin.

~ Psalm 51:1-2

In Psalm 51:1-2, David wanted to be separated from his sin in every way possible. He is not clinging onto it.  No, he is rejecting his sin to the uttermost.

And in his prayer, David acknowledges his sin “nature” and heknows that he has no hope at all that he will be able to avoid sin in the future alone.   He does not use the oft used human excuse that “I am only human” to explain his sin.  Instead his expression of brokenness and need for God’s help and deliverance shows his sincere desire not to repeat the wrongs of the past.

So let’s take some time as we close out this year to truly look at ourselves and see where we stand.  And may we never be like these men here who chose not to repent of the works of their hands despite being given  severe warning over their actions, and receiving grace and mercy for not being killed.

Instead, let us be like David – to learn from our wrongs and have a true desire to become a man after the heart of God.