Revelation 9:13-21
The Sixth Trumpet
13 The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the golden altar that stands before the throne of God, 14 saying to the sixth angel, “Release the four mighty demons[c] held bound at the great River Euphrates.” 15 They had been kept in readiness for that year and month and day and hour, and now they were turned loose to kill a third of all mankind. 16 They led an army of 200,000,000 warriors[d]—I heard an announcement of how many there were.
What would it take
for you to cry out to God?
17-18 I saw their horses spread out before me in my vision; their riders wore fiery-red breastplates, though some were sky-blue and others yellow. The horses’ heads looked much like lions’, and smoke and fire and flaming sulphur billowed from their mouths, killing one-third of all mankind. 19 Their power of death was not only in their mouths, but in their tails as well, for their tails were similar to serpents’ heads that struck and bit with fatal wounds.
20 But the men left alive after these plagues still refused to worship God! They would not renounce their demon-worship, nor their idols made of gold and silver, brass, stone, and wood—which neither see nor hear nor walk! 21 Neither did they change their mind and attitude about all their murders and witchcraft, their immorality and theft.
As God's judgement continues on the inhabitants of earth, we see demonic forces unleashed and a mighty army marching out to destroy mankind. Their power to anhilate man is limited to 1/3 of the population, but the devastation is horrendous.
The most interesting portion of this passage for me is that in the face of all this, people still refused to worship God. The world is coming to an end. Plagues, death and destruction surround them. Their one hope is God, who, should they call out to Him, would quickly forgive their sins and accept them as His own, but they refuse to do so. Instead, they cling to their idols, their wealth, their security. They continue in their wicked ways, still believing that they don't need God.
It's hard to believe that people would refuse to turn to God in the midsts of all this, but isn't that just what's happening today? We are hearing of increasing horrors across the globe. Our financial security is fading fast. Every foundation we've built our lives on is shaking. This is the beginning of the end, my friends. God is trying to get our attention. He wants us for His own...and if that means allowing or bringing tragedy into our lives in order for us to recognize our need for Him and His love for us, that's what He's willing to do.
It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. God has a timeline. There is a "year and month and day and hour" appointed for the events of the end times to occur.
My heart's cry is for each of you to know God. To enjoy the incredible joy that comes from having a personal relationship with Him...now. Not sometime in the future when your life is crumbling all around you. Reach out to Him, now and invite Him to come in...to be the Lord of your life. Surrender your all to Him. You don't need fancy words. You don't need words at all, really. What you need is a heart that cries out to Him. He will meet you where you are. You can do that right now.
I pray you will.
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