Sunday School Notes: Revelation 9:20-21

²⁰ And the rest of the men, the ones who were not killed in these plagues, they did not repent from the works of their hands so that they might no longer worship demons and golden and silver and bronze and stone and wooden idols, which are not able to see, or to hear, or to walk, ²¹ and they did not repent from their murderings, or from their sorceries, or from their sexual immoralities, or from their theivings.

This is the third and final part of John’s discussion of the sixth trumpet, which I title “the deeds, or the hearts, of the surviving unbelievers.” John told us that only one third of mankind was targeted by the horses’ lethal breath, so we know not all the godless were killed. But what of those that remained? We would expect, after such a supernatural display, they would recall the preaching of the Christians, maybe even the prophecies of Ezekiel and Daniel, and fall on their faces in repentance. If we believe there are still Christians around, surely they are proclaiming the gospel to these people? So we might expect to see huge revivals, and churches packed full of worshipers as millions of people turn to the Lord, yes? Sadly, that’s not the case.

Before digging into the passage, we considered the scope of “the rest of the men”–who is included in this? All the text says is “those who weren’t killed by the plagues.” In 9:4, we’re told the locusts only afflicted those who were not sealed. This implies there are still Christians around. If this pattern continues, then it seems reasonable that only the unsealed were targeted by the plagues. This means there are Christians around, but they are not the focus of this judgment, in which case we should understand “the rest of men” to refer to “the rest of the unsealed.” Certainly, the people under discussion in verses 20 and 21 are not Christians. Christ’s promise to the churches was to protect them spiritually, that they may inherit eternal life fully. Therefore, they wouldn’t be engaged in the activities listed in these verses. Only unbelievers would take pleasure in these things instead of running to Christ.

It’s this hard-heartedness that amazes those of us who know Christ. How could people who have seen incredible, supernatural judgments like this not flee to Christ? We’ve observed how, in contrast to the seemingly “natural” calamities unleashed by the seals, the judgments inaugurated in the trumpets are much harder to explain in terms of natural phenomenon. Trumpets five and six particularly have introduced creatures that defy rational explanation. Granted, we are talking symbolically, and we can’t necessarily take the descriptions literally, but nevertheless, there is clear and unmistakable demonic activity going on. And Christians remain unaffected. How can anyone not be at least curious to know what the Christians have that protects them, how they can stay firm and confident when the world is collapsing around them. It reminds us of Pharaoh, after seeing miracle after miracle, refusing to let Israel go. And then, when the final plague takes his son’s life, he appears to relent. But even then, as Israel leaves, Pharaoh chases after them. He never truly repented.

Why would God bring these horrific judgments to bear but without causing global revival and repentance? What was the point of all that death and destruction if two-thirds of people are still carrying on in their sin? We need to remember that when God brings judgment, it has two effects: 1) on the elect, His people, it causes repentance, and a reflection on the mercy of God, knowing that apart from Christ, they are worthy of the same judgment; and 2) on the non-elect, their hardness of heart shows that God’s judgment is just. So in judgment, God demonstrates both his grace and his justice. Believers ought never to forget that they are not spared God’s wrath because they deserve to be spared, but because Christ took the full measure of God’s wrath upon himself on their behalf. And the rest will get the judgment they deserve, because of what we see in verses 20 and 21, which is the true disposition of their hearts.

As we started looking at the specific sins mentioned in 21 and 22, someone in the group pointed out the self-destructive nature of rebellion. We’ve already noted the fact that God used the demonic against the godless to bring judgment upon them. Now we see them continuing to engage in things forbidden by God because they are harmful. But these people don’t care; they want to do what seems right in their own eyes, and what makes them feel “happy.” And, as we will see, they will eventually suffer the consequences of their rebellion.

John says the rest refuse to repent of “the works of their hands,” presumably meaning the idols he then lists. His list is fairly inclusive of all the materials used to fashion idols at that time: gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood. Similar lists are given elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., Daniel 5:4, 23; Psalm 115:4-7; Deuteronomy 4:28). John says these idols cannot see, hear, or move, echoing popular Jewish criticism of pagan idols, as exemplified in the Epistle of Jeremiah, which is not Scripture, but fun reading nevertheless.

These idols are impotent images created by the hands of men, hardly worthy of worship, we would think. And yet these people continue to do so, even in the face of blatant evidence of God’s power and sovereignty. Why? I think John gets to the heart of it with the very first thing on his list, before he gets to the idols: demons. Idol worship is, fundamentally, demonic. We mentioned previously how one of the chief weapons of demonic forces is deception (also signified by smoke, which we’ve just seen described as one of the plagues). These people are under a demonic deception, given over to thinking that they can go on as they were, worshiping their idols, and no harm will befall them. They don’t want to repent, because that would mean turning away from the sin they love. And isn’t this what idolatry is really about? The statues of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood are merely external representations of real idolatry–the desire in one’s heart to disobey God, to ignore Him and follow one’s own desires. In other words, to become god (Genesis 3:5).

Following the list of idols, John gives a list of sins from which these people refuse to turn away. We should only expect that if they are worshiping idols, then many other sinful acts would form the pattern of their lives. These are just the natural outpouring of rebellious hearts shunning God’s law and His loving commandments in favor of their own pleasures. It goes without saying that merely stopping these activities won’t bring salvation. These are symptoms of a deeper heart issue, and only God by His Holy Spirit can bring about that kind of heart transformation. And I don’t think this list is exhaustive, but representative. Maybe the “worst of the worst.” It is their hardness of heart that leads them to conduct the kind of lifestyle that produces murder, stealing, etc.

We looked briefly at each of these. Our time was running out, so we might go back over these next time:

• Murders (Greek: phonos): unlawfully taking the life of another. Jesus uses the verb form of this noun in Matthew 5:21ff when he says anger and insulting one’s brother is worthy of the same punishment as physical murder.
• Sorceries/Witchcraft (Greek: pharmakeia): seeking after the supernatural in ways not permitted by God in Scripture (necromancy, Baal worship, etc.). In other words, pursuing “spiritual things,” trying to find spiritual satisfaction, and craving after spiritual experiences outside of God. For the Christian, the supernatural experience of a changed heart and the gift of eternal life in Christ by means of the Spirit is sufficient. We don’t need any other spiritual or supernatural experience. Indeed, from the Christian worldview, we see God’s supernatural hand at work in the restraint of sin, and countless other ways the world takes for granted. God may grant us extraordinary experiences (e.g., miraculous healings, or other acts of providence), but these are not necessary for us. Anything supernatural outside of God and what He allows in Scripture, is demonic, and, therefore, pharmakeia.
• Sexual Immorality (Greek: porneia): the Greek is a broad term that covers everything from fornication through adultery to homosexuality, bestiality–essentially, all forms of sexual activity prohibited by God. Our culture seems to believe God’s prohibitions on various kinds of sexual activity are arbitrary, antiquated, and oppressive. In fact, God’s prohibitions are for our own good, given as they are by the One who made us and knows how we best function and flourish. It is the heart disposition that wants to throw of God’s sexual restraints and do whatever “feels good” and “feels right” that is the heart of the sin of porneia. Once again, this is self-worship: idolatry.
• Theiving (Greek: klemma): taking that which does not belong to you is an aggressively selfish act done with no regard for the person stolen from. It is another manifestation of self-idolatry, since one is considering one’s own needs greater than the needs of others. Not only is this a violation of most civil laws, but it is a violation of God’s Law (Exodus 20:15), and a violation of Christian humility. No Christian who is trusting God for his provision, and who considers others better than himself (Philippians 2:3), and looks to the interests of others more than his own (Philippians 2:4) could ever consider stealing.

These activities are marks of those who refuse to repent. The fact God tolerates their survival is not an endorsement of their behavior. God is revealing to us the true nature of their hearts, and how much they really do deserve His righteous wrath. And that wrath is about to fall–but first we have a break. Just as there was a pause in the action between the sixth and seventh seals, so we have a pause between the sixth and seventh trumpets. Once again John takes us out of the narrative, because there’s something God needs to show him before the seventh trumpet sounds.

Next time: Questions/comments on the Sixth Trumpet, then we’ll start chapter 10.