Revelation 9 offers us an explanation for what will happen when the fifth and sixth trumpets are blown. The first will result in a plague of locusts, with stings like scorpions that will hurt but not kill those who are stung. The second will result in the death of one third of humanity. I once had a professor who called the fractions of people killed by the various attacks in the end times as “fractions of grace.” God could simply wipe out everyone and everything on earth, as He did during the time of the flood in Genesis 6-9, but He promised not to do that. It’s striking to notice the reaction of those who experienced the plagues and the attacks: they did not repent. Fallen humanity, of which we all start out as a part, seeks to blame others, to deny responsibility, and to reject God’s grace. Thankfully, some of us do accept it and receive the forgiveness of sin that has always been the only hope we have for living life in its fullness now, and forever.
Revelation 10 tells of another angel who came down from heaven with a scroll. He stood with one foot on the land and one on the sea. (We have a similar image in one of Daniel’s visions in the Old Testament.) In this case, the scroll causes seven “thunders” to speak, and John was about to write down what he heard, but he was told not to record it. Then John was given the scroll to eat. He was told it would be sweet in his mouth, but it would be sour in his stomach. This reference to sweet in the mouth and sour in the stomach is one we read fairly often among the prophets of the Old Testament. The point is sometimes a message of judgement “tastes” good as we offer it, but when we consider the consequences of it, it sours our stomachs. Once we have tasted the grace of God in our lives, it is no longer possible to experience His judgment without some sorrow for those who must experience it.
Revelation 11 starts with a record of two witnesses, who are Moses and Elijah. They will testify for “1260 days.” This number is significant in the Book of Revelation, and in the Book of Daniel. It is also recorded as three and a half years, or as a time, two times, and a half time. Each is a way of saying a short and indefinite period of time, because it is half of seven, the number of completion and perfection. After Moses and Elijah’s time of prophesying against those who have rejected God, the beast or anti-Christ is released to kill them. After they were dead for “three and half” days, God resurrected them and called them back to heaven. Following this the seventh trumpet was sounded, and worship is proclaimed forever and ever. If the Book of Revelation ended here, we wouldn’t miss not having the rest of it, except that Revelation 21-22 tells us some amazing things about heaven. The intervening chapters 12-20 tell us again and again of the judgment on those who reject Jesus.
Revelation 12 offers us a fantastic description of two crucial events: Jesus’ birth, and the devil and his demons being cast down from heaven. The first part of the account seems to happen after the first, because the devil couldn’t have been waiting to kill Jesus, before he became the devil! In any case, the descriptions in the book of Revelation cause a great deal of challenge to those who seek to interpret every image literally. The dragon has long been an image for the devil, but he is a fallen angel, who even now can appear to us as “an angel of light,” as the Apostle Paul reminded us. The scariest thing about the devil these days is how many people he has convinced he doesn’t exist. It’s extremely challenging to fight an enemy we don’t believe exists. Revelation 12 reminds us he does exist, and his goal is to destroy anyone and anything who serves Jesus.
As we return to Luke 22, Judas leaves the group to meet with the religious leaders. He agrees to betray Jesus. This is followed by Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples, followed by Jesus praying in Gethsemane. After this is Jesus’ arrest, Peter’s denial of Jesus, and the soldiers mocking Jesus, and His trial before Pilate. All-in-all, next to Jesus being crucified, this was the worst day in the history of humanity, because we conspired to crucify our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. When I say “we” conspired, “we” weren’t there physically, but it was our sin that put Jesus in that place, and if we were in that time and place we know we would either have ignored Him, denied Him or betrayed Him, because that is what those closest to Him did!