Revelation: The Locusts From Hell
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 9:1-12 The seventh seal on the great heavenly scroll introduces the seven trumpets of judgment. The seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls of final judgment. The first four trumpets bring calamity on earthly elements … land, sea, rivers, and light. The fifth and sixth trumpets … the first two of three ominous 'woes' … unleash demonic powers of destruction. Reminiscent of the prophet Joel, John describes demonic activity in terms of a plague of locusts (Rev 9:1-3). The grotesque imagery points to the diabolical power and...
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Revelation: Silence in Heaven
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 8:1-13 The opening of the seventh seal on the heavenly scroll, leads to seven trumpets of increasing divine judgment on the people of the earth … which, in turn, lead to seven bowls of further divine fury of God's holy justice against earth's wicked rebels. With the opening of the seventh seal, Revelation 8:1 says, "there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." After all the loud sounds of praise and songs by the inhabitants of heaven (cf. Rev 4:7; 5:2,9-12; 6:10), this long silence seems to be the silence of awe and anticipation of the coming...
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Revelation: Sealed By God
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:1-8 In Revelation 7, we have an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals. The chapter has in mind two groups of Christians … 144,000 servants of God who are given His seal, and a "great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages." A literal and future interpretation of the 144,000 servants sees this as Jewish Christians, who are raised up, and protected from the earthly calamities, in order to proclaim the gospel during the great tribulation. They are chosen from the twelve tribes of Israel...
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Revelation: From Every Tribe and Tongue
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 7:9-17 Since 1996, one Sunday in November has been designated the "International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church." Exact statistics are hard to determine, but continuing into the 21st century, worldwide, even on the low end of estimates, tens of thousands of Christians are killed every year for the Christian faith … in places like Pakistan, Sudan, North Korea, China, Indonesia, and Iran. Revelation 7 reveals yet another scene in heaven where there is a great assembly of people "from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing...
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Revelation: The Wrath of the Lamb
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 6:9-17 In this passage, the fifth and sixth seal of the great scroll are opened, and the unleased suffering on the earth continues. The fifth seal reveals that, during this time there will be an extensive martyrdom of Christians. In this heavenly scene these martyrs are praying for God's justice to be brought, in full, on His enemies. The sixth seal releases both cosmic and natural disasters. The inhabitants of the earth, great and small, begin to realize that the horrendous troubles, relentlessly being experienced by everyone, are actually...
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Revelation: Six Seals of Earthly Horror
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 6:1-8 The focus in the book of Revelation changes sharply from chapter 5 to chapter 6. Chapters 4 and 5 pictured the throne of God in heaven, but in chapter 6 the scene shifts to the earth. There is a stark contrast between the glories of God's presence and the darkness of His wrath, beginning now to be described in chapter 6. Most of the remaining chapters in Revelation have in view what will take place on the earth during the wondrous and horrible time of tribulation that will befall the earth near the end of history, as we know it. The troubles...
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Revelation: Worthy to Open the Scroll
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 5:1-14 One thing that is revealed to us in Revelation 4,5 is this … at the center of the universe, the Almighty is seated on His throne, ruling over everything He has made. The world we live in is filled with horrors of every kind. And yet, God is governing everything that happens in the world, so that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without the hand of a sovereign God. Revelation 5 is an exaltation of God the Son, as He takes from His Father's hand a seven-sealed scroll. No one, in heaven and on earth, is able to break the...
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Revelation: The Centrality of Worship
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 4:1-11 In Revelation 4, the entire focus of the book changes … from the churches that existed during John's day, to the events which will take place in the future, indeed, at the end of human history. Before John writes about what will take place at the end of time, he describes for us the glory of God in heaven, as he saw the throne of the Almighty in his vision. Revelation 4 describes the glory of God the Father and chapter 5 describes the glory of God the Son. What is revealed in Revelation 4 is the worship that is going on in heaven … performed...
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Exodus: Introducing Our Holy, Infinite, Faithful Savior Who Knows Our Sorrows
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Exodus 3 Have you ever thought of what preparation might go into meeting someone new? After providentially blessing and multiplying his people for some 430 silent years in Egypt, God re-introduces himself to Moses and to the people of Israel that have now multiplied to some 2.5 million people. How does He describe Himself in this re-introduction? God reveals Himself as a holy God, that is, a God who is pure, unique and supremely worthy of worship. He even commands some preparation for meeting with him so that we physically prepare for spiritual realities. I wonder if more of...
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Revelation: Laodicea - Lukewarm Poverty
Bethel Baptist Church
Scripture Reading: Revelation 3:14-22 If ever there was a church in the Biblical setting which mirrors the church in America today, it is the church in Laodicea. Laodicea was a wealthy city, with a clothing industry, a flourishing money changing trade, and a famous medical school which was known for the development of ointment for the eyes and the ears. Banking, industry, medicine, education … Laodicea had it all. But there was a very serious problem in the church in Laodicea. Spiritually they were lukewarm (Rev 3:15,16). There was no fire in their soul for God. ...
info_outlineScripture Reading: Revelation 9:1-12
The seventh seal on the great heavenly scroll introduces the seven trumpets of judgment. The seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls of final judgment. The first four trumpets bring calamity on earthly elements … land, sea, rivers, and light. The fifth and sixth trumpets … the first two of three ominous 'woes' … unleash demonic powers of destruction.
Reminiscent of the prophet Joel, John describes demonic activity in terms of a plague of locusts (Rev 9:1-3). The grotesque imagery points to the diabolical power and destructive intent of these evil, spirit beings (Rev 9:7-11).
In our culture there is an increasing interest in the supernatural, but it is not, for the most part, honoring to God. There is a supernatural realm, but it is cleanly divided between two domains: that kingdom which glorifies God and that kingdom which opposes Him at every turn.
Satan is a real being and demons are the powerful agents of his evil will. Demons are angels who fell, along with Satan, from their position in heaven (2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6). They are called 'demons' (Mt 8:28-34), 'spirits' (often evil or unclean spirits - (Lk 8:2; 10:17-20), and even 'angels' (Mt 25:41).
Let us be ever vigilant because we have an enemy who is powerful and cunningly opposes the work of Christ in the world. "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against . . . cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:12).