Greg Laurie - When All Hell Breaks Loose (04/01/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie dives into Revelation 9 with the message "When All Hell Breaks Loose," describing the terrifying demonic torment during the Great Tribulation when the bottomless pit opens, unleashing locust-like creatures to sting unbelievers for five months. He stresses God's control, the urgency of repentance, and the sweet-yet-bitter call to share the gospel before judgment intensifies.
Why Study Bible Prophecy and Revelation?
Let's grab our Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter 9. And the title of my message is "When All Hell Breaks Loose." So are you glad you came to church today? What? When all hell breaks loose? Do I really want to hear this? Actually I think you do. Let's begin with a word of prayer.
Father as we open once again the book of Revelation, the unveiling of things that are yet to come, help us Lord to read with an understanding. Again you promised a blessing to those that would read, hear, and keep the words of this book. So Lord as we read and hear it help us keep it. Speak to us from Scripture today we would pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Have you ever been seated in a restaurant where the tables are very close to one another and you are hearing the conversation of the people next to you? You don't want to hear their conversation but they are so close you can't help but hear everything they are saying and you are trying to tune them out and maybe talk with the person you might be with.
But then one of those people says to the other, "I am going to tell you a secret now and I don't want you to share this with anyone." Now let me ask you this. Are you listening to their conversation? Well sure. Because we all like to hear a secret. We like the inside scoop.
It is sort of like with my granddaughters. I will say, "Do you want to know a secret?" Sometimes I will just make up random things. Or we will be leaving someplace and I will say, "Now we can go out the normal way or we can go out the secret way. Who wants to go the secret way?" "I do, Papa." They all raise their hand and I just take them out a side door. But you know, it seems to work.
We all like to know secrets. Well here is what the Bible says in Psalm 25:14. "The secret of the Lord is with those that fear Him."
And I bring this up because we look at a world today in many ways in chaos. Especially in the Middle East. We see the moral meltdown in America. We wonder what is happening.
And here is what we need to know. It is no secret. God has predicted so many of the things we see happening right now. And here is the secret we all need to know. God is in control and nothing is happening that surprises Him in any way.
The Bible's Unique Ability to Predict the Future
You know the Bible is the one book that dares to predict the future. Not once. Not twice. But hundreds of times. Now anybody can predict the future. But we don't know if they are on the money until some time transpires. And we can see if the thing that they predicted actually comes true.
Well in the case of the Bible we have a lot of history to look back at. Things that the Bible said would happen and have happened exactly as God said they would. So we don't have to be afraid.
And that is why we are studying the book of Revelation together. And why we should study the topic of Bible prophecy in general. There are many distinct advantages to it.
Number one. The reason we should study Bible prophecy is it will unlock the mystery of history. Again it will unlock the mystery of history.
In Eastern religions history goes in a cycle. That is why adherents to these religions believe in reincarnation. Effectively if they mess it up this time they will get it right next time.
But Bible history is not cyclical. It is linear. Christians are moving toward a goal. It is like when you play checkers. And you move your man into king's row and then you say crown him.
That is exactly what God is doing. He is going to move his son Jesus Christ into king's row and say crown him. Revelation 11:15 says "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah and He will reign forever."
Secondly the reason we should study Revelation and Bible prophecy is because it will bring sense to our suffering. It will bring sense to our suffering.
What about the person who is critically ill? What about the person who has a severe disability? What about the person who has recently lost a loved one? What do we say to them? We say this is not God's final plan.
Because Revelation 21:4 says "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer. Grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer. Because the previous things have passed away."
Benefits of Studying Revelation
I heard this story about a guy that, excuse me, I love these moments when I have to clear my throat and you are all just looking at me. I heard about a guy that liked to study the book of Revelation. And he was not known for his great intellect. But he believed the Word of God.
He had some friends that considered themselves very intelligent and great theologians. And they said, "Now why would you even bother studying the book of Revelation? No one can figure it out. It is an enigma. It is a puzzle. No one can ever understand the book of Revelation."
And this guy said, "Well I understand it." "Oh yeah" they said. "Then explain it to us. What does the book of Revelation mean?"
His response? "It means that we win." That is what Revelation says. We win in the end.
Number three. We should study the book of Revelation and Bible prophecy in general because it will cause us to live more godly lives.
You see if we really believe that Christ is coming we will want to be more prayerful. First Peter 4:7 says "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear headed and disciplined for prayer."
If we really believe that Christ is coming it will help us to persevere through trial. Because James 5:8 says "You must persevere and be patient. Strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near."
Because we all go through hardships in life that don't make sense. And sometimes we feel like giving up. But instead we need to look up. Because the Bible says when you see these things begin to happen look up for your redemption is drawing near.
And if I really believe the Lord is coming it will cause me to want to live a godly life. Because 1 John 3:3 says "He that has this hope will purify himself even as he is pure."
And fourth and finally the reason we should study the book of Revelation and Bible prophecy in general is it shows us there will be justice in the world one day.
There are wicked people that do wicked things and seemingly get away with it. But according to Revelation there is going to be a reckoning one day.
But unfortunately it is going to get worse before it gets better.
Entering the Great Tribulation in Revelation 9
So let's pick up where we last left off. Where are we now in the prophetic puzzle? Well as we land on Revelation 9 we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the most horrible time that this planet is ever going to experience. It is known as the Great Tribulation Period.
Speaking of this time Jesus said in Mark 13, "There will be great anguish in those days. There has ever been at any time since God created the world. It will never be so bad again. In fact unless the Lord shortened the time of calamity not a single person would survive. But for the sake of the chosen ones He has shortened those days."
Know that God takes no delight in this whatsoever. We have pointed out that God is loving. God is merciful. God is gracious. God is ready to forgive. But listen. God is also just. And because He is just wrongs need to be righted. And He needs to honor the laws that He has set in place. As in, you will reap what you sow.
Now as we look at the world at this time, and all the things that are going wrong, we still find God reaching out to humanity. The fact of the matter is millions of people are going to come to Jesus Christ in the tribulation period.
This is due in part to 144,000 Messianic Jews that will spread across the planet preaching the gospel. 144,000 kosher Billy Grahams if you will.
And interestingly the Bible teaches that they are protected by God. In other words they are effectively indestructible. And the Antichrist can't lay one finger on them. So they are able to lead thousands and thousands and even millions to Christ.
And then God is also going to raise up two powerful witnesses that will be able to work wonders and miracles. And we will talk about them in our next message.
But here it is. It is all happening. And the devil knows that his days are numbered. Revelation 12:12 gives us an insight into why the devil is wrecking so much havoc at this time. We read, "The devil has gone down to you. He is filled with fury because he knows his time is short."
See even if some liberal theologians don't believe it, and some untaught Christians don't understand it, the devil knows Christ is coming back again soon.
Now if you are a true believer that means that you will want to be about your father's business. Getting the gospel out. But if you are not a believer, or in this case if you are the devil, you are going to want to create as much misery as you possibly can and wreck as much havoc as you possibly can.
The Church's Absence and Removal of Restraint
So here in Revelation 9 the church is not on earth. The church is in heaven. In Revelation the church is caught up to meet the Lord in chapter 4. In chapter 5 there we are in heaven and we don't really reappear again until later on in chapter 19 when Christ comes back again and the second coming and we return with Him.
We are safe and sound in glory with the Lord. But with the absence of the church, the preservative on the earth if you will, the restraining force that the Holy Spirit works through, you see that all these standards will be gone.
I mean people push against it all the time. We don't like the way you Christians think. We don't appreciate your beliefs, you hate mongers, you puritanical, narrow minded, bigoted people. And we are tired of your rules. And we are tired of your regulations.
And so effectively we are out of the picture. God says, "OK. What is it you guys want? I am going to lay it on you thick."
Mind you some of the plagues that came against Egypt back in the book of Exodus. Remember that Moses went in and demanded the release of the Jews. The Pharaoh basically said no. And so a series of plagues came against Egypt.
But did you know that those plagues were directed toward gods that Egyptians worshipped? You see the ancient Egyptians worshipped thousands of gods. And so God actually, I think with a touch of humor, gave them their gods back to them.
One of the gods they worshipped for instance was a frog god. Ancient name Heqet. I made that up. Translated Kermit. Kermit the Frog. Sesame Street News here. Yeah. No, no. It was actually Heqet was the name of their god.
So the Lord said "OK you are into Heqet. You are into the frog god. Here you go. Frogs galore." And a plague of frogs came. There were frogs everywhere. There were frogs in the beds. There were frogs in the ovens. There were frogs everywhere you looked.
And then eventually the Lord killed all the frogs and they stunk the place up. So the Lord said, "Is this what you want? I will give it to you."
The same is true in the book of Revelation. God is saying, "OK, you want sin? You want to indulge in these things? I am going to give you what you are asking for. Have at it. By the way, let me know how that works out for you."
C.S. Lewis made this statement. "There are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done.' And those to whom God says in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell."
So now God is saying to humanity, "OK, Thy will be done. Here you go." As all hell breaks loose.
The Fifth Trumpet: Opening the Bottomless Pit
Let's read about it. Revelation 9 starting in verse 1. "Then the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit."
Verse 2. "And he opened the bottomless pit. And smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit."
"And out of the smoke locusts came on the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power."
"They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads."
"And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion. When it strikes a man,"
"In those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them."
"The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold. And their faces were like the faces of men."
"And they had hair like woman's hair. And their teeth were like lion's teeth. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron. And the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, with many horses running into battle."
"They had tails like scorpions. And there were stingers in their tails. And their power was to hurt men five months."
"And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon. But in Greek he has the name Apollyon."
Understanding the Fallen Star and Demonic Forces
Now we have heard about great actors or singers that have become very successful. But often their lives spiral out of control as they get into alcohol or drugs or things of that nature. And we refer to them as a fallen star.
Here we are introduced to a fallen star. Not the kind we read about in Revelation 8, where we saw an asteroid or a meteor most likely hitting the earth. This is a different kind of fallen star. This is referring to an angelic being.
And I believe it is a reference to Lucifer. Because Satan is a fallen angel. Isaiah 14:12 says, "How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning. You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world."
In Ezekiel 28 the devil is described as once being the model of perfection, until wickedness was found in him, and he lost his exalted position.
So God gives to Satan the key to the abyss, or the bottomless pit, in verse 1. Now what is a bottomless pit? Well basically it is like a prison for fallen angels, where certain offenders are kept.
Apparently this bottomless pit is for the worst of the lot. In Jude 1:6 it says, "I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority. God caused them to be sent to this place where they are securely chained, in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment."
So even in the ranks of fallen angels, it appears that what some do may be worse than others. Hence some are in the bottomless pit.
Remember the story of the two demon possessed guys? And Jesus asked the demon to identify himself. And he said his name was Legion, for he was many.
And then as you recall, the demon then went on to say, "Don't cast us into the bottomless pit before our time." And Jesus actually did not do that. But here we find this bottomless pit that this demon feared, is being opened up.
Imagine if every prison and jail globally released their prisoners on one day. If every terrorist being held right now was released. Now take it a step further. Imagine if they were armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction.
Now take it a step further. Then they were deputized and encouraged to go and create havoc. That gives you a sense of what is happening here. As this bottomless pit is opened up, and all of these super bad demons come crawling out.
Now it says they are locusts, but I don't think this is literal in verse 3. You will notice John uses the word "like" nine times in his description. Like this. Like that.
It is not that John was a teenager using the word like a lot. You know teens. "I am all like." "Are you going to come to the mall?" "He is all like, No I am not coming." "I am all like." "I can't believe it." "He is all like." You know that kind of thing.
Now John is not that at all. John is probably in his 90s at this point. So he is not saying, "It is all like." No. He is just saying, "Look. I have limitations here. I am using first century Greek."
Though a fantastic language has its limitations. He is effectively caught up in God's spiritual time machine, catapulted into the future, and sees things that a man of his generation has never seen. So he is trying to describe it.
I believe that these locusts that John is speaking of are spiritual demonic creatures, not animals. They are not insects. They are supernatural soldiers in the kingdom of darkness.
In fact the symbolic descriptions that John gives of them having hair like a woman and the breastplates and so forth communicate aggression as well as power, intelligence, and ferocity.
And they have a leader and he is called Apollyon or Abaddon. And Abaddon is one bad dude. For sure.
Now we do not know if this is a reference to the devil here. Or a reference to a powerful demon power that works under the devil. Just as God has His high ranking angels in His army like Michael and Gabriel, the devil seems to have the same.
The Nature and Limitations of Demons
I told a story in our last message about an angel that was dispatched as an answer to the prayer of the prophet Daniel who was overcome by a more powerful demon or fallen angel. And then the Lord dispatched an even higher ranking angel to free that other angel up.
And this demon that overcame the angel sent by God was called the Prince of Persia. So this is a demon that apparently had some influence and control over the ancient nation of Persia at that time.
So here we have Apollyon or Abaddon, a general in the devil's army backing this thing up.
Now we know where the devil came from. He is a fallen angel. Where do demons come from? Well they are fallen angels too. And we know that when the devil left heaven he took one third of the angels with him. So demons are fallen angels.
Now Satan is nowhere near to being the equal of God. But he is still very powerful. But he is not omnipresent, meaning that he cannot be in two places at one time. If Satan is in New York he cannot be in L.A.
So he has a network of demons doing his dirty work. His minions out there doing what he wants them to do.
The purpose of demons seems to be twofold. They want to hinder the purposes of God and extend the power of Satan. Again the purpose of demons seems to be twofold. They seek to hinder the purposes of God and extend the power of Satan.
A reference for this is found over in 1 Thessalonians 2:18. Paul wanted to go to a certain city and preach. And he writes, "But Satan stopped us."
And sometimes that happens. Paul of course had his Thorn in the flesh. You recall that he had the privilege of being caught up to heaven and seeing glory. Saw the third heaven.
And then he says, "And lest I would be exalted above measure, there was sent to me a Thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me." And the word that Paul uses there for buffet means to wrap or strike with the fist.
So he had to face this demonic opposition. As believers we can be hassled. We can be tempted. We can be oppressed by the devil. But he certainly cannot control us.
Now let me add. If you are not a Christian you have a big bullseye painted on your chest. There is nothing you can do to stop Satan from getting a foothold in your life.
"Well I have a crucifix." He doesn't care about crucifixes. "Well I have silver bullets." That might work on imaginary werewolves. "I wear garlic around my neck." That will do it. Let me keep your friends away. I won't keep the devil away.
You know the only power Satan fears is Christ himself. That is why a believer is safe and why a non-believer is vulnerable.
Three Key Truths About the Devil and Demons
Let me tell you three things you need to know about the devil and his demons. You might write these down.
Number one. They are real and aggressive. They are real and aggressive. There are people that will say, "I don't really believe there are demons." Well you are a fool. Because they are out there.
C.S. Lewis summed it up this way in his book The Screwtape Letters. "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devil and demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight."
That really sums it up, doesn't it? Some don't believe at all. Some are obsessed with demons and are always looking for demonic activity and so forth. But yes they are real and aggressive. They are looking for trouble.
Remember that story in Job 2 when the angels of the Lord appeared before God and Satan was among them. And the Lord said, "So where have you been, Lucifer? What have you been up to?"
The devil responds, "I have been going back and forth across the earth, watching everything that is going on." That is so creepy, isn't it? He is like a stalker. He is just looking. "There is an area I could get into. There is a vulnerability."
Peter takes it a step further and describes Satan as "a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour."
Number two. Though powerful, demons have clear limitations. Though powerful, demons have clear limitations.
Let me tell you something the devil doesn't want you to know. His power is considerable, but it is clearly limited.
Coming back to the story of Job. The Lord allowed certain calamity to come upon his servant, as initiated by Satan, with limitations.
Satan accurately said that God had put a hedge of protection around his servant. And you know what? God has put a hedge of protection around you too.
And listen to this. He will never give you more than you can handle. First Corinthians 10:13 says, "There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. But God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it."
One night Jesus was sitting around with his disciples. He was next to Peter. He said, "Peter, Peter, Satan has been asking for you."
Now let me ask you a question. If you were hanging out with Jesus and he said that to you, would that freak you out just a little bit? "Hey Greg, Greg." "Yes, Lord." "The devil has been asking for you." "Uh, what?"
And then he went on to say, "He has been asking, Peter, that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God."
Now I would be shaking in my sandals. The devil has singled me out by name, and he has asked that I be taken out of the care and protection of God.
Jesus didn't say a demon did it. He said the big guy, Lou himself, showed up. Satan himself wants you, Peter.
But then he went on to say, "But I prayed for you, that your faith would not fail. And when you have returned you will strengthen your brothers."
Wow. Good thing to remember, when the devil comes knocking at your door, you might just say, "Jesus, would you mind getting that?"
See you are no match for Satan. Nor am I. But yes it is true. He has clear limitations.
These demonic creatures in Revelation 9 have power to sting, but not to kill. Verse 3 and 4. They are given power. The word power means permission. It looks like the swarm is out of control, but they have to get permission.
In particular they can't touch the ones who are sealed. Look at Revelation 9:4. "They are commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads."
Who are these people? They are believers. These are people that have come to Christ in the tribulation period. God has sealed them. He has put his ID tag on them. And he said, "Devil, hands off. Don't touch these people."
Here is the good news. When you believe in Jesus, God has put his seal on you as well. His ID tag. And the devil can read. And when he sees "property of the Lord Jesus Christ," he knows he is really limited in what he can do in your life.
Listen. The devil is afraid of God.
Demons Flee at the Name of Jesus
Bringing me to point number three. Devils flee at the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us in James 2:19, "The demons believe and tremble." They know the power of that name.
Going back to that story of the demon possessed guys. Have the demons cast out. "Don't throw us in the bottomless pit" they said. Jesus said, "All right."
There was a herd of pigs feeding. And he cast the demons into the pigs. Poor pigs. They just went crazy. And they ran to the edge of a cliff. And they all went off the side of a cliff and committed mass suicide.
Get it? Suey. Suey. It is not that funny is it? First case of deviled ham in history. I have been using that joke for a long time.
So. But that just shows the power of the Lord. He can say to a demon, "Go." And they go.
But really this shows us the devil's end game. You want to know what it is? Look at verse 6. "Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion. In those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die and death will flee from them."
There will be many suicide attempts because the pain is so great, but none will be successful. Someone will try to shoot themself and they will survive it. Another will try to jump off a bridge. They will survive it. Another will try to hang themself. They will survive it.
It is still obviously bearing the effects of that attempt. What a horrible time this is.
But that is the devil's plan. To torment. You know the devil is smart. He does not come and tell you his end game.
But Jesus summed it up for us in John 10:10. Speaking of Satan he said, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy."
The devil doesn't walk up to you and say, "Hi, I am the devil, Lucifer, Satan, the great dragon. Maybe you have heard of me. Hey listen. I want to ruin your life. I hate you. I hate your family. I hate everything about you. And I want to just bring misery. I want to bring pain. And effectively I want to torment you. So let's get started."
Now how many people are going to go for that? Probably one idiot. Okay here we go. You know. Most people. Not going to buy that.
So the devil comes with all of his enticements. "Hey. What are you into? What gets you excited? You like women? Men? Stuff? Drugs? Alcohol? Pleasure? I have got it all. Here. Check it out. Pick."
But really what you are picking is a hook with a line attached to it. Here is Satan's end game. He wants to blind you. He wants to bind you. And he wants to grind you.
If you don't believe me ask Samson. Is he here? No he is not here. So I will have to speak for him.
See Samson was a powerful judge leading Israel. He is known for his supernatural feats of strength. Destroying thousands of his enemies, the Philistines, on the battlefield. No one could stop Samson.
So the devil sized him up. Realized he couldn't bring him down on the battlefield. So he got him in the bedroom. And he brings along a woman whose name was Delilah.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Delilah. Tom Jones in the background singing, you know. Remember I used to be a cartoonist, right? Okay, so I have these weird little ideas. Ah, Delilah.
Whose name by the way means delicate. She was probably really cute. Very petite. And very seductive.
But I will give her credit. She was up front. "Hey Samson. Hi. I am Delilah. I want to have sex with you. But I am kind of hoping that you will tell me the secret of your strength. That I might torment you."
Interestingly she uses that word. You would think Samson would be thinking, "Is this a good relationship? A girl says. Should I get involved with this girl?"
Well they would have sex. And then they would engage in some pillow talk. And Delilah would say, "Okay, tell me the secret of your strength."
"Oh, well you know." And he made up a bunch of stuff. None of them were the answer. And finally she wore him down. And he took her bait. Hooker, line, and sinker.
And he revealed the secret of his strength. Which was his commitment to God symbolized by his long hair. His strength was not in hair. Fortunately for people like me.
But it was in a commitment to God symbolized by the vow of the Nazarite. Which among other things was to grow your hair out. And not cut it.
So he says, "You know if you cut my hair off I will be like any other man." "Really? Okay." And off it comes.
And he wakes up. And the Philistines are upon him. And they bind him. And then they put him there at a wheel. And he is going around in circles. Grinding their meal. And they watched him for entertainment.
Sin blinds you. Then it binds you. Then it grinds you. See that is how it works.
In contrast Jesus says, continuing in John 10, "I have come that you might have life. And that more abundantly."
See the devil. He wants to ruin your life. He wants to steal. He wants to kill. He wants to destroy. But I have come to give you life to its fullest.
And yet ironically most people choose the devil over Christ.
The Prominent Sins of the Tribulation Period
You will figure. Here are the five big sins now of the tribulation period. It is worth noting that these five sins are very prominent today.
Verse 20 Revelation 9. "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 or idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. Who can neither see nor hear nor walk."
"They did not repent of their murders. Or their sorceries. Or their sexual immoralities. Or their thefts."
So what are the prominent sins of the tribulation period?
Number one. Idol worship. Idol worship. What is the first commandment of the ten? "You shall have no other gods before me." What is the second commandment? It is related to the first. "You should not have any graven image" the Lord says.
We say "Well I have never committed that sin." Well hold on. Idol worship is putting anyone or anything in the place of God.
You see it is an image perhaps. But it could be something else. I remember hearing Chuck Smith tell the story of a tribe in New Guinea. That had a birth defect within their tribe. They had intermarried. And everyone in their tribe had one leg shorter than the other.
And they found that the little god that they made that they worshiped also had one leg that was shorter than the other. Because really what is a god with a small g? It is you. You worship yourself. You see.
And people worship idols all the time. In fact if anything that is the direction America is going in right now.
"Well we say things like this. I am spiritual. I am just not religious." That is code for I am making it up as I go.
I read an article in USA Today this week about the fastest growing spiritual group in America. The article says and I quote, "For decades if not centuries America's top religious brand has been Protestant. No more."
Where did they go? Nowhere actually. They didn't switch to any new religious brand. They just let go of any religious affiliation or label.
This new group is called the nuns. They are now the nation's second largest category after Catholics and outnumber the top Protestant denomination the Southern Baptists.
What do nuns believe? Answer. The article continues. "Nothing in particular. They are just open to spirituality."
One so called nun was quoted to say she was once a Christian but let go of her belief. She said, "There is so much I cannot prove. So instead of saying I believe I say maybe or who knows."
Nuns believe in astrology and reincarnation. And 58 percent say they feel a deep connection with nature and earth. End quote.
That is a slippery slope. G.K. Chesterton made this statement and I quote, "When a man stops believing in God, he doesn't then believe in nothing. He believes in anything." End quote.
And that is what this is all about. I effectively make a God of my own image.
Let me illustrate what I mean. When someone says, "Well my God would never judge a person. My God would never condemn two people of the same sex to live together in a committed relationship. My God..."
Okay you know what? Guess what? Your God is you. Your God is fake. Because you can't edit the Bible. You can't go and say, "Well I like this part of the Bible and not that part."
Because you are going to end up with a God that is different than the God of the Bible, which is effectively an idol.
One of the sins of the end times in the tribulation period is idolatry.
Number two, it is murder. In the last thirty years there has been a 560 percent increase in violent crime. It seems like every time we turn around we read of another senseless killing.
A little girl just killed tragically in Colorado, the same place where they had this shooting not all that long ago in a movie theater. These senseless acts of violence are only going to escalate.
Number three, we have sorceries. And by the way the word sorceries here is from the Greek word pharmakeia. We get our English word pharmacy, pharmaceutical from it.
And a literal translation would be druggies. In both ancient as well as modern times sorcery and witchcraft are always connected to drug use.
It is no coincidence that the counterculture of the sixties that was so into drugs later turned to eastern mysticism and occultism in the wake of their drug use.
But in the tribulation period drug use escalates. It gets even worse. People are probably ingesting drugs by the handfuls in a vain attempt to escape the severe realities of the tribulation period.
Number four, sexual immorality is a prominent sin. This is from the Greek word porneia. We get our English word pornography, pornographic, porn from this word.
You think standards are low now. Wait till the tribulation period. Wait until the restraints are removed. Up is going to be down. Down is going to be up. Right is going to be wrong. And wrong is going to be right.
Finally there is thievery. This often follows in the wake of any kind of tragedy. You know whenever there is a hurricane or an earthquake or a natural disaster often the National Guard is called in. Not always to distribute food and water but really to arrest looters.
People who will exploit a situation and go to a home that has been damaged and try to steal what they can or break into stores. All this will happen in the tribulation period.
The Hardening of Hearts and Lack of Repentance
Now you would think with all of this wickedness happening that people would turn to God. Not so.
Verse 20 and 21. "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. They did not repent."
Their hearts got harder and harder.
Here is a modern paraphrase of Revelation 9:20-21. "The remaining men and women who were not killed by these weapons went on their merry way. They did not change their way of life. They did not quit worshipping demons. They did not quit centering their lives around lumps of gold and silver and brass and hunks of stone and wood that cannot see or hear or move."
"There was not a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways."
That is right. It reminds us of Pharaoh who saw all those miracles. And we read, "And Pharaoh hardened his heart." It got harder and harder.
As we close now I want us to just look briefly at Revelation chapter 10. There is an interesting picture here of a mighty angel with a little book. A mysterious little book.
Have you ever seen a really large man walking a very small dog? Probably his wife's dog taking it out for a little walk. Sometimes it looks like they are walking a rat. A little thing.
I look at the guy and think, "What is wrong with you?" No. But you know. Come on. Have a little respect. Just put it in your pocket or something. I don't know.
So here is a mighty angel with a little book. And the angel says to John, "Ask that angel to give you the book." And John says, "Ok."
Revelation 10:9. "And he said to me, 'Take and eat it, and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.' So I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it my stomach became bitter,"
"And he said to me, 'You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.'"
Have you ever eaten something that was sweet going down, but it made you sick? Let me restate the question. Have you ever eaten eight Krispy Kreme donuts in one sitting? I have. I got a little carried away.
I haven't been to Krispy Kreme in so long. But the sign was lit up, which means the donuts are fresh and hot. And I walked in there with these glazed donuts just coming down this little conveyor belt just glistening, you know.
And they are a little smaller than a full sized donut. So I bought a dozen. I got some cold milk, mandatory. And first one, second one, I ate of them. In one sitting. They were great going down. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
And you are kind of buzzing on their sugar. Oh yeah. And then about eight minutes later, oh. What have I done? I think it is kicking. It is kicking. Here. Put your hand here. You can feel a kick. It is like alien. You know.
How many got that joke alien? You can't forget it. Okay. But it was pleasant going down. But then bitter.
And this little book is the same. Well what does this represent? Well this message that we believe, it is sweet to us, but it is bitter to others.
You see, this is the word of God to us. Right? And we eat it like food. Job said, "I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."
Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."
So for us to have a Bible study, it is like a feast. Oh yeah. Bible study. Love it.
For someone else, misery, torment, they do not like it. It is a lot like cologne. Some love it. Some hate it.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:16, "To some we are the smell of death. To others the fragrance of life."
You know some they hear the gospel and they say, "I love that. I believe it. I want Jesus." Others say, "Not only do I not like it. I hate it. And I hate you for saying it. And I oppose you."
That is how people react to the gospel. And you know it is like a person wearing cologne. You know the one that has it on. They think it smells so great.
Just a word to you that like to wear a lot of cologne. Something to think about. Less is more. Some people it is like, I do not know what they do, but it is like they reek of cologne. You know.
I do not know. But you know, they are drinking it. I do not know. All I know is if they hug you, you smell like them for two days.
It smells good to them. So what is an aroma to one is a stench to another.
So this book, it is sweet and it is bitter. We could say it is bittersweet.
Well, these are four shocks of what is to come in the Great Tribulation.
The Call to Repentance and Sharing the Gospel
What do we need to do? We need to take the message of this little book and we need to give it to people. And if they love it or if they hate it that is really up to them.
But our job is to get it out to as many as we can.
But if we are not a believer we need to think carefully about verse 20. It says they did not repent.
Do you need to repent of any sin? I talked about sins of the tribulation period. I wonder if you are doing some of those sins right now.
Worshipping another god? Immorality? Drugs? Stealing? Are these an area of your life or an issue in your life right now?
Is there something you need to repent of? Here is the problem. As long as I continue in a sin my heart can get harder and harder to God where I get to a point of no return.
Yes. There is a point of no return where your heart is irreparably hardened.
Listen. God will not violate the free will of mankind. He gives you a choice.
It is interesting going back to the story of Pharaoh. We read that "Pharaoh hardened his heart." "Pharaoh hardened his heart." "Pharaoh hardened his heart."
Then all of a sudden we read "God hardened Pharaoh's heart." What? Well God hardened. God says, "Ok. What do you want to do?" "I don't want it." "What do you want to do?" "I don't want it." "What do you want?" "I don't want it."
"Ok. You don't have to have it." God strengthened Pharaoh in the decision he had already made. That would be a good translation of God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It would be God strengthened.
It is not that God wanted Pharaoh to reject it. But God will respect the decision you make.
So God says you want to believe? Yes. You want to believe? Yes. I am going to strengthen you in your belief.
You want to reject it? Yeah. Are you sure? Yeah. Are you certain? Yeah. I will strengthen you in your rejection.
You make your choice. And then your choice makes you.
Do you need to repent of a sin right now? If so do it.
Say "Well you know. Maybe next week." Yeah maybe. But what if you went into eternity before next week? What if this was your last week on earth?
Or what if the Lord were to come back and we were caught up to meet Him in heaven and you were left to face this tribulation period we have been reading about? You do not want that to happen.
So if you need to get right with God here is an opportunity to do it as we all pray together.
Invitation to Commit or Recommit to Christ
Let us all bow our heads if you would.
Father I pray for any person here watching, listening. If they need you Jesus help them to come to you we pray.
While our heads are bowed and we are praying. How many of you would say today Greg I need to get right with God. I need to repent of my sin. I need to ask Christ to come into my life and forgive me now. Pray for me.
If that is your desire. If you want to believe in Jesus today. If you want to be ready for His return. If you want to go to heaven when you die. Would you lift your hand up right now wherever you are sitting and I would like to pray for you.
Just lift your hand up and I will pray for you today. God bless you. Lift it up. God bless you. God bless you. There in the back. Up in the balcony. Raise your hand up if you want to make this commitment to Jesus.
God bless you. In the overflow area. Out here in the courtyard. In the amphitheater. At Harvest Orange County. Harvest Orange Crest. I can't see you guys? It doesn't matter. God sees you. Raise your hand as well.
If you need to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus raise your hand up. There might be some of you that have fallen away from the Lord and need to come back to Him again. Raise your hand if you would please. Let me pray for you.
God bless you. God bless all of you.
Now I am going to ask you that have raised your hand if you would please stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment.
Just stand up. You that raised your hand. Even if you did not but you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus. Stand to your feet wherever you are. Stand up.
God bless all of you that are standing. Stand up right now. And I will lead you in this prayer. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. One final moment. If you want to stand, stand now. God bless all of you standing. Anybody else? Stand.
All right. Now you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. And this is a prayer of turning from your sin and committing your life to Jesus.
Again pray this out loud after me.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for my sin. And paid the price for every wrong I have ever done. I turn from that sin now. And I choose to follow you Jesus from this moment forward.
Thank you for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.