“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their 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. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping 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.”

The Heart That is Hostile Toward God

1. Hostile Hearts Still Glorify God

“Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God…”

As the sixth trumpet is blown, we see something different take place than we’ve seen with the previous five. Rather than the trumpet sounding and an event immediately taking place, we see a voice speak and give a command. Where the voice speaks from is significant, and it took me a moment to realize what I was reading, because we’ve gone from talking about trumpets to talking about horns, but this is referring to a feature on the altar of God where the prayers of the saints have been offered up. This visual can be aided by looking back at the instructions given for the altar of incense that was to be made and placed inside the tabernacle in Exodus 30:1–2,

“You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square, and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it.”

Similar to how the altar of burnt offerings was constructed, the altar of incense had horns (presumably four, as with the other altar), which are worked into and part of its very structure. As we saw in Revelation 5:6 in the description of the Lamb of God with His seven horns, a horn or horns are used to indicate power or authority. This is a theme that is seen heavily in Daniel 7 and 8, and one we will see repeated again as we progress in Revelation. We’ve seen voices come from other places as we’ve read Revelation up to this point – from the living creatures, from the martyrs, from various angels, from the multitude in white, and even from the eagle flying over the earth – but this voice that speaks at the sixth trumpet is different, it carries a different weight and implication, as it comes from the horns, the authority of the altar of God. What this voice commands reflects, as did the actions of the angel who flung the golden censer upon the earth after the seventh seal, the prayers of the martyrs that God’s justice be leveled against the fallen world.

“saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.”

We’re again reminded that despite its severity, God’s judgment is in no way arbitrarily determined. As I’ve previously quoted from James, the anger of man does not produce righteousness as the anger of God does. We’re not witnessing the Lord’s wrath, built up beyond control, and then vented in excess upon the world – this is planned, it’s precisely measured. These four imprisoned angels, these demonic forces that have been sealed away for untold ages, firstly are placed beneath a river as old as creation itself, seen in Genesis 2:10–14,

“A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”

Last week we discussed the matter of the abyss, this dark and bottomless prison where the locusts were set free from. During the sermon on this passage in church, we were pointed to the passage I shared of Jesus casting out the Legion, and the demons begging not to be sent to the abyss. We were also given passages from 2 Peter and Jude that address this matter of incarcerated forces of darkness, with Jude 5–7 saying,

“Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”

And 2 Peter 2:4,

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”

We’ll return to the section of 2 Peter more fully later on, but for now we can clearly see this precedent of imprisoned demons continue on from the first half of Revelation 9 as we dealt with the locusts, into today’s passage and these four angels. Jesus famously tells the disciples in Matthew 24:36,

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

This affirms that for everyone who claims to know exactly when Jesus will return – no, no they do not. We do not know precisely when, but what this also clearly communicates is that God does know exactly when. We can look at today’s passage and be reminded that it’s not only this event that God has precise knowledge and control over – the four bound angels were placed there, prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year. Paul writes in Romans 9:21–24,

“Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”

This passage (referring to Jews and Gentiles) is clearly about humanity, but we’re wrong to think that it only applies to humanity. Paul writes in Colossians 1:15–17,

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Looking back to Jude, we can again appreciate the precision of God’s plan, the work He has done so that even what is unrighteous may glorify Him through the example of His righteous Judgment. Repeating a theme we’ve seen recurring in Revelation, the enemies of God are destroying the enemies of God – those who have hated the Lord, who have despised their Creator are still serving His perfect will in His infinite power, despite their rebellion. Humanity is given the will to remain in our sin, to fight against God, to wage war against the providence of the Almighty – but sinful man, nor the angels who have fallen, nor any who might work against His name are permitted to claim even a scrap of victory, not even a shred of glory – there is no taking of what rightfully belongs to God and God alone.

“The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number.”

As with other numbers we’ve addressed, some see this as being symbolic or metaphorical. My issue with this is the same as with the 144,000 – when Scripture provides us with a number beyond counting, it says so. It makes reference to the sand of the shore, or simply calls the number a multitude that can’t be counted. If John is writing of a specific number and then even specifies, “I heard their number,” then it seems perfectly reasonable to take this at face value. The four angels are unbound from the Euphrates, and liberated beyond what the locusts were permitted to do. Rather than being limited to harm and torture, the army brought forth by the four angels kills, slaughtering a third of the earth’s population. As with the other plagues and judgments we’ve seen, there are reduced, humanistic explanations of how these events might unfold, but as we continue on we’ll look at the profound, supernatural display of the destruction of the sixth trumpet, and what it means.

2. Hostile Hearts Face Condemnation

“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.”

We’ve talked about this before, but it’s something that I believe merits repeating. There is a vast difference between trying to understand what Scripture says through the lens of what God has created, and trying to dilute what Scripture says to diminish God’s ability or make the text more palatable to the human mind. An easy example would be evolution. If someone thinks that based on fossil records and scientific evidence that God created all life on earth through the process of evolution (we’ll set the timeline aside entirely for the sake of this hypothetical case), that is a conversation I’m perfectly willing to have. I don’t believe what they believe, but I understand that they’re trying to line up observable qualities of the world around us with the creation account, not trying to diminish God’s power or dominion. Conversely, if someone thinks that God creating everything is too much, too miraculous a feat, but they find the idea of Him creating the original micro-bacteria and evolution taking the reins from there acceptable, I have a problem. Naturalistic explanations, while often flawed, can be worth talking out – it’s not as if God can’t work within the natural order that He Himself created. But a naturalistic explanation that serves to diminish or limit God’s power and control is on the wrong track from the start. This is relevant as we approach this army which sweeps across the earth and kills a third of mankind. Some interpret this passage as a vast human army, 200 million strong. My issue with this is the same as my issue with people reading of the locusts and saying that what John is actually describing is a helicopter – it simply doesn’t fit. It’s not what Scripture says, and symbolically, it’s not even what Scripture suggests. First, bear in mind that an army of 200 million would likely be the single largest army in history. It’s hard to know off of ancient reports for forces like the Persians and the Mongols, but in terms of modern history, the largest army we’ve ever seen was the Soviets, who had an estimated 34 million personnel over the course of World War Two. To but is in perspective, 200 Million would be roughly double all the combatants who took part in World War Two. Not only is it a large army, it’s also a mighty one. We talked last week about chariots and how in the ancient world they were a symbol of great power – much the same could be said for horses. A horse gave you a speed and height advantage over a foot soldier, not counting the fact that independent of its rider, a horse can trample unmounted men. There was a distinct upper hand given to a mounted army over those on foot, and this is how John explicitly describes this force – 200 million mounted troops. While not impossible, I find it unlikely that the world as we see it in Revelation – ravaged by the tribulation, would be able to organize and produce a force of this magnitude when it’s never been done in history. But while that gives me pause, the numbers and resources are not the primary reasons that I don’t believe this describes a human army. Over a course of a single sentence, any question on this matter should be resolved as the horses and their riders are described.

“They wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur…”

On this alone, maybe we could be talking about a vast, human army, perhaps using poetic language to describe their armor.

“… and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads…”

This pushes us a little farther from the idea of something naturally explainable – I can find no breed of horse that has a head like a lion, and this seems to clearly describe something beyond the natural, but again if you want to really push the poetic language envelope, we can go to the next line,

“…and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.”

This is not describing a human army, this is not describing any horses human eyes have beheld – these are monsters, unleashed demons, dark tormentors that were sealed away and are now unbound that the world might suffer in some semblance of the manner it actually deserves. This defies what we know as the natural order because God’s judgment is not something we can reconcile as “natural.” We have to remember that everything we observe, the very lives we live out, what makes up our “natural” world is an existence that unfolds under common grace. Yes, the wicked are punished – Paul’s words in Galatians 6:7 are true,

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

But this doesn’t happen immediately, as Paul goes on to say in verses 8–9,

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

There is a timing, a season as things unfold. Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:44–45,

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Common grace brings with it blessings – those who curse God do so with the tongue He has given, with the air in their lungs that He has provided, and in doing so they mock their Maker in His patience. The tribulation does not show us what we understand as “natural.” We are witnessing a reduction in common grace, we’re seeing as the framework of creation is rattled, and the world begins to collapse. Our natural minds can’t fathom bottomless pits, can’t grasp a swarm of vengeful, tormenting locust-demons, can’t rationalize an army of demonic, implacable, fire and sulfur breathing horses. We also can’t naturally account for manna from heaven, water from the rock, the fourth man in the fire, the incarnation of Christ, or the resurrection. God does not only operate within the bounds of His creation, He is not limited in any way by the natural order that governs humanity, and His judgment is not hampered by what we who are His creation deem explicable. Trying to force God into a box, trying to wall in His Word with naturalistic account for every event is a fool’s errand, and an insult to our Maker – because as we see displayed again and again, His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways, and both His blessings and His judgments are far greater than our minds can truly grasp.

“By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.”

It’s interesting to note that the locusts were described as having “teeth like a lion’s,” yet we didn’t see them mauling people, rather their power was in their scorpion-like tails. We now see these horses described as having heads like lions – again giving an image of a powerful predator – but they don’t do anything like what a lion would, not biting, no mauling, there’s no indication that they eat anyone or anything, they simply kill brutally. There are two passages I want to draw your attention to in regard to these horses and the suffering they bring to bear. First is Genesis 19:23–25,

“The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

After the Lord has acted to rescue Lot and his family from Sodom, judgement is poured out upon the wicked city and its neighbors who have become like it. We see the means of destruction – the sulfur and fire that rains down out of heaven. The horses kill in a similar means – fire, smoke, and sulfur. The burning of fire is easy enough to understand, as is the blindness and suffocation that comes along with smoke, but sulfur is interesting. Firstly, sulfur is used far more commonly than I’d realized, being within the top ten most abundant elements on the planet. In its brittle, yellow, rock-like state, it’s relatively harmless. It can have a mild irritant effect, it has a low toxicity when ingested in small amounts, and is used in a variety of applications. However sulfur is flammable, and when it’s set on fire its risk factor changes quite a bit. Acute exposure immediately causes irritation to the eyes, airways, and lungs. High exposure causes severe breathing difficulty, fluid build up in the lungs – in short, this is something that can easily prove fatal, as we see in these Biblical accounts. What’s interesting is that sulfur smoke also has disinfectant properties, it destroys bacteria and mold, it purifies what it comes in contact with. We can understand this as part of the judgment that unfolds, both against Sodom, and as the horses and their riders kill a third of the remaining population with the fire, smoke, and sulfur of their mouths. We can also understand that the plagues of judgment that are unfolding upon the world now are preparing things for what is to come. A specific use of sulfur in the first century was in the preparation of wine vessels. The common practice was to burn a sulfur candle or wick inside of wooden casks or clay vessels, leaving a thin layer of sulfur dioxide on the inside before adding the wine. This act of preparation prevented the growth of mold and bacteria, and helped to stop the wine from browning, or turning into vinegar. This is so relevant, because as we will see later in Revelation, there are two wines that those left on the earth who are rebelling against God will drink of. First is the wine of Babylon, the wine of sexual immorality that intoxicates the nations of the world and leads them to delight in the one who in Revelation 17:5 is called, “the mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” The world does not need to be prepared for this wine, either by fire or sulfur – this is something readily accepted by sinful man. But there is another wine that is presented to the wicked, one that the sulfuric burning we read of in today’s passage heralds and prepares the world to receive. Revelation 14:9–10 says,

“And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

Humanity has been warned, the hearts that are hostile toward holy God have been shown, the children of men who hate the righteous One who made them are blind, and yet they have been prepared for what is to come. Because in the face of unparalleled calamity, as the world crashes down around us, there remain those fools who, rather than turn and be saved, continue to cling to and cherish their sin, gnashing their teeth against the righteous will of God, as they suffer through the preparation, condemned to drink fully of the wrath of God. The second passage I want to direct your attention toward is Numbers 21:4–9,

“From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.’ Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.”

For those who face the sixth trumpet, what happens to those who avoid the mouths of the horses, who escape the death that burns its way across the earth? In the face of demon horses that are killing a third of the population with the fire, smoke, and sulfur that pours from their mouths, the matter of their tails could be an afterthought – if their tails weren’t snakes. Revelation makes it clear that by the snakes they wound, they harm – this is the fate of those who don’t die, to face the wounds of the serpent. Now, the Numbers passage I cited clearly says that the bites of the fiery serpents were killing the people, so why bring that into this situation? Because the Israelites, for all their many flaws, did what you’re supposed to do in the face of suffering, they did the only acceptable thing to do when you have transgressed and earned the condemnation of holy God – they repented. When Jesus’ ministry first began the core of His teaching was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In Acts 2, when Peter preaches the gospel at Pentecost and the people are cut to their hearts and they ask what they are to do Peter tells them in verse 38, “

“… Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Psalm 147:3 tells us,

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

God will bind up the broken, He will heal the wounded, He will wash away the sins of the guilty – if we repent. But for the unrepentant, they stand condemned, wounded by the serpent’s bite, bathed in caustic smoke, a vessel prepared for the wrath of God to be emptied out upon – and as we continue on we read that this is how they will remain, completely, willfully unrepentant. 

3. Hostile Hearts Refuse Repentance

“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons…”

Sometimes hardship seems to bring out the best in people. A catastrophe is often just the thing that causes people to reassess their priorities, and turn their attention to what really matters. The greatest example I’ve seen in my lifetime was in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I was still a kid, but I watched as a nation went from wounded and reeling, to immensely patriotic. In uncertain times, we fell back on our founding principles, on American tradition, and in many cases (because the American tradition has a largely Biblical core), we turned to God. This is something I’ve taken note of today, as the world has become more and more frameless, with reality supposedly defined by the individual, there has reportedly been an uptick in Catholic and Orthodox conversions, two interpretations of Christianity that, despite their many flaws, are highly structured. There can be, in the midst of uncertainty and chaos, a deep thirst for the foundation and stability that can only come from God and His Church, whether or not people accept that as it truly comes, or twist their own version of it seems to depend largely on the individual. But all this begs the question – if in our current world, we can see events that drive people to seek God, where do we find the world in the midst of the tribulation? Where are the people who have suffered through events of unparalleled agony as the world is shaken apart placing their faith. It may come as a shock, or it may be just what you’d expect, but as we read, they are still proudly locked in complete rebellion. The first thing we read is that the people have not repented of the works of their hands, of their sinful acts, and this is bad enough, but then we immediately move past that, onto what are progressively worse things. We have to understand that God, in His infinite holiness and perfection is worthy of all praise. When mankind offers up worship to anything that is not God, this is sin, it’s an offense to God, and it serves as an open act of rebellion against Him. But we are varied in our transgression – all sin is wicked, but that doesn’t mean it all functions the same. What we can see is that under the continued judgment of God, mankind who was tortured under the locusts, is now burned and suffocated, and yet remains entirely committed to their sin in every variety. As the list grows more specific in addressing their transgressions we read that they have not repented of their worship of demons. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:18–21,

“Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

This helps clarify that there’s no “harmless” idol worship – it’s either in devotion to God or to the demonic. But we also read in today’s passage that the worship of idols is broken off into its own category, which suggests that what the people aren’t repenting of is the willful worship of demons. This isn’t a matter of someone thinking they’re honoring Zeus or Apollo, and what they offer is actually going to a demon, it’s purposefully bowing down before demons – it’s not pagan, it’s satanic. While they’re certainly two sides of the same coin, one is more purposeful, more intentionally wicked, and for this act there is still no repentance.

“… and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk…”

Moving along from intentional demon worship, we see that the people are also willfully worshiping empty idols of every variety – they’re not just offering themselves up to what they imagine as the powerful dark forces of the demonic, but are bowing down before images that they themselves have crafted. Isaiah 44:9, 13-20 says,

“All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.” … “The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’ They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, ‘Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?’  He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’”

And Jeremiah 10:5, following the same message says,

“Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”

The one who worships an idol is too much of a fool to see the irony that they bow down, place their faith and their fear in something made by human hands. It begs the question – is it worse to willfully offer up worship to a demon, or to something that you yourself have made? It’s like asking if you would rather have your kidneys or your liver removed – the options are different, but neither are desirable, and both are extremely deadly. In a world that has never been in greater distress, where the desperate need for God has likely never been more obvious, the people maintain their same rebellion, and whether they strike at God with their right hand or their left, their hearts are full of rebellion.

“… nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

Earlier we addressed the matter of the four imprisoned angels that were sealed beneath the Euphrates, and how this cross referenced with information given in 2 Peter 2. It seems relevant now to return to this same passage consider it more fully in verses 4–10,

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); [9] then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones…”

God is not blind, He is not mocked, His arm is not too short to reach, His power is not insufficient – His justice will be leveled. The people cling to their sin, they covet their hatred for God, they cut off their nose to spite their face, and dig the grave of their condemnation ever deeper. Revelation 21:6–8 shows us the leveled justice, the righteous punishment of those who have spurned the continued offering of mercy that God has given in delaying total destruction,

“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”

God is perfectly just, and despite the fact that He has offered grace and mercy, the narrow gate to redemption is not one that remains open forever. A day of reckoning will come, a day when His wrath is poured out, and those who drink of it will drown in it for eternity. This is not a scare tactic, this is not a “turn or burn” gimmick – this is the reality of things, the one and only Truth. We are fallen, stained by sin, and there is one path of redemption. God is real, His Word is true, and we will all stand in His presence one day, either as children who are welcomed into the kingdom of our Father, or as rebels, convicted of our unrepentant hearts and cast into the outer darkness.

Pastor Chris’ sermon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpqlTdTR3Lc