Summary: This message deals with the Army of 200 Million, Locusts, the Drying of the Euphrates, and other detals.

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

A STUDY OVER THE BOOK OF REVELATION & THE END TIMES: PART III

INTRO: This upcoming study on Revelation is obviously a lot of guesswork. Although is information is entirely Biblical and comes from theologian type sources, it still cannot be correct 100%. But the following is only the best try considering all the details and facts as we know it in this year at such a time as this.

BACKGROUND:

The Table of Contents:

The Opening The Judgment

Seal #1 The Antichrist

Seal #2 War

Seal #3 Famine

Seal #4 Death

Seal #5 Martyr’s Prayers

Seal #6 Great Earthquake

Seal #7 Announcement of 7 Trumpets

Trumpet #1 1/3rd of Earth Burned Up

Trumpet #2 1/3rd of Sea Becomes Blood

Trumpet #3 1/3rd of Rivers/Lakes Become Bitter

Trumpet #4 1/3rd of Heavens (Outer Space) Becomes Dark

Trumpet #5 Bottomless Pit is Opened

A. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:1-12 (may not want to read it all, was read last week)

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. And he opened the bottomless pit; and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and the power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die and death flees from them. And the appearance of locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads, as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. And they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is the power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon. The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

Trumpet #5 (also called the First Woe): We see Bottomless Pit (or the Abyss) is opened, Satan is unmasked so everyone knows who he is, demons are let loose, torment of those without the 777 on their head, and locusts.

1915 Locust Plague: In the Middle East, a locust plague birthed out of nowhere and took over Palestine, stripping it of all vegetation. Potatoes went up 6 times the price, sugar & petro could not be found, money ceased to even circulate. All males aged 15-60 were ordered by law to pick up 20 kilograms of locust eggs or face heavy fines (which was enforced).

1874 Grasshopper Plague: Took place in USA and extended from Northern Texas to the southern tip of North Dakota, including all of Kansas. The sun was blocked and all crops were eaten. Tree bark was barren, the wool was eaten off of sheep, wooden tool handles were chewed to pieces, and people lost their clothing as the bugs attacked and stripped them bare. At spots, grasshoppers were inches deep and trains couldn’t run because the railways were too slippery from squashed bug juice.

Locusts: This gives a pretty accurate description of the all-consuming force of locusts, if only these locusts described in Revelation 9 were bugs. But they’re not. They are demons. John describes them with 8 evil attributes and they rise out of captivity for their only 5 months of freedom they ever get in all of world history. How punishing and evil do you think they will be? These 5 months are going to be a literal “hell on earth.”

B. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:13-21

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great River Euphrates.” And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they might kill a third of mankind. And the number of their armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke, and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads; and with them they do harm. And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

Trumpet #6 (The 2nd Woe): Release of the Four Bound Angels.

Four Horns of the Golden Altar: This is the same altar mentioned in Rev 8:3 in the same scene of the offerings of incense with prayers of the saints. The voice is probably that of the priestly angel and the implication is that this judgment like the earlier one is in “answer to the prayers of the saints.” Meaning, all the deceased saints crying out for justice, get there answer here. And what is the answer? The release of four “angels” (actually fallen angels) that have been bound for millenniums by the Euphrates River.

Euphrates River: The Euphrates River is 1780 miles long, exists in the original Fertile Crescent which is where civilization began. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis when the Garden of Eden is described, and believes that this event is in literal terms. Meaning, there for some reason, are 4 demonic hosts that have been tied up in the Euphrates forever and will be unleashed at this point in history and used to torture the humans still alive because God is answering the prayer of the fallen saints. It is interesting to note, that in our 6000 plus years of history and hundreds of empires have come and gone, no empire has ever been over to cross over the river from east to west ever (the closest one to doing this was Alexander, and his attempt was hardly a success). Could it be because of the four beings?

Side Note Debate (for teacher only): If the question comes up about the release of these “4 angels” actually being “angels,” make the note that nowhere in scripture is any other one of God’s angels held in captivity, and that bondage is a typical punishment for demons after they fell from heaven with Lucifer.

How do the 4 Angels Kill? Through an Army of 200 Million!

C. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:16-18

The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard the number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.

Who Are the 200 Million? John has never seen a tank. But he certainly describes them here pretty well. Later in the scriptures there is mention that this massive force is connected with a leader known as the “King of East” who will eventually lead a massive invasion through a dried up Euphrates River to fight the battle of Armageddon. What am I getting at? Well, since Time Life Magazine estimates that the standing army of Red China is over 200 Million soldiers, that is exactly what theologians are predicting.

Recap: We learned earlier that the nation of Russia is going to form some type of alliance with the Arab nations, and even attempt an invasion into the Middle East specifically Jerusalem. The invasion and even perhaps a second one is going to fail big time because of God’s intervention. Then, the “King of the East” combined with some type of European federation run by the Antichrist is going to make their move. And as they make their move, they will march their 200 Million soldiers by tanks to the Promised Land.

How Big is 200 Million? BIG.

Here’s a visual for everyone. If an army had 1 Million soldiers lined within a mile of each other, it would be the biggest conglomeration in history. Now imagine that it takes about 200 miles to get from St. Louis to Kansas City. This force is going to be so big that their movement will fill up about every inch of every mile from here to St. Louis.

If the force was placed closer together, like on an open 4 or 6 lane highway, it would stretch from here all the way to Denver, Colorado. That is the force coming.

The death toll of this force says that it is going to kill a 1/3rd of mankind. Since 1/4th of mankind has already been killed after the opening of Seal #4, this means that the Earth’s population has already been reduced by one half. This means that in a 4 year time period or so, 6 Billion people have been reduced down to 3 Billion. Comparing 3 Billion dead people to the 60 Million dead people of World War II for the same 4 year time period would be like comparing apples and oranges. The world has never seen nor could ever imagine that kind of carnage and lost of human life.

D. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:20-21

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

1. Works of Their Hands: People will refuse to repent of their “work.” What? Yes, people are going to place their emphasis of their work, their job, the stuff that they buy because of their work, and the stuff they make through their work, way above Christ. Actually, if we’re being honest, it will be placed in place of Christ. Can you see this happening currently? WORK

2. Worshipping Demons & Idols: People worship demons through false religions, fake theories, and mad philosophies. Notice that around the world these images will be taken on by actual statues and other items created by mankind. RELIGIONS

3. Murders: The key point here is that it says murders, plural. In the end times, the world will think that killing someone will be like nothing, sort of like the law of the jungle prevailing. Murders and how people die will actually become a source of entertainment, or funny to those who are still alive—with nobody wanting to accept punishment for this crime. MURDERS IS PLURAL

4. Sorceries: Key Word: pharmakon (we derive our word pharmaceutical from it). It means a drug, an incanation, an enchantment. It applies a reference to magical arts such but directly means getting high or getting stoned, or whatever the common phrase is. Even with 3 Billion people dead, humans will still refuse to give up drugs. PHARMAKON

5. Sexual Immoralities: Key Word: porneia (we derive our word pornography from it). The sexual sins are and will be unbelievable, almost nothing will be limited. Pre-marital sex, post-marital sex, homosexuality, multiple wives, transgender, cross-gender, non-gender bisexuality, beastiality, polygamy, you name it, it’s all coming in the end (just think how accepting our society has become of making adult porn stars legitimate, it wasn’t long ago that the whole industry was considered as prostitutes). PORNEIA

6. Thefts: The Greek transcribes the meaning “a thing stolen, or theft.” Essentially, the moral breakdown will be complete as mankind will lie, cheat, steal, defraud, and whatever else at any turn. Property rights will be completely ignored, what a frightening picture. PROPERTY RIGHTS

CLOSE: On the “Butter Head” story, the man in O’Fallon we just recently had a manhunt for. He shot and killed a 12 year old in a drive by and led to a manhunt. He stole and murdered, but still claimed his innocence (or close on a different story like the Shawn Hornbeck kidnapping).

NEXT TIME: We will begin the opening of the 7th Trumpet, and talk about 2 amazing ministers.

Sources:

Keathley III, J. Hampton. Studies in Revelation: Christ’s Victory Over the Forces of Darkness. Biblical Studies Press: 1997. bible.org. hamptonk3@bible.org.

NAME: ___________________________

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

A STUDY OVER THE BOOK OF REVELATION & THE END TIMES: PART III

BACKGROUND:

The Table of Contents:

The Opening The Judgment

Seal #1 ___________________ Seal #7 Announcement of __________Trumpets

Seal #2 War Trumpet #1 1/3rd of Earth Burned Up

Seal #3 Famine Trumpet #2 1/3rd of ___________ Becomes Blood

Seal #4 Death Trumpet #3 1/3rd of Rivers/Lakes Become ________

Seal #5 Martyr’s Prayers Trumpet #4 1/3rd of Heavens Becomes Dark

Seal #6 ___________________ Trumpet #5 CONTINUED

A.BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9: 1-12

Trumpet #5 (also called the 1st Woe): The _________________________________ is Opened

Locusts: ______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

B. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:13-21

Trumpet #6 (also called the 2nd Woe): Release of the ____________________________________

Euphrates River: _______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

C. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:16-18

The number of mounted troops was ________________________________________________________; I heard the number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their _________________________________.

The 200 Million: ________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

D. BIBLE VERSE: Revelation 9:20-21 (Sins Listed in Judgment):

1. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________

2. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________

3. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________

4. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________

5. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________

6. ______________________________________________ key: _____________________________