July 29: CONVEYORS MULTIPLIED
For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. Revelation 9:19
John’s description of the sixth trumpet plague—of three plagues—can seem perplexing, apart from the information given us in the Word of God regarding the archenemy’s operations. The picture of tails made up of serpents with heads that talk seems bizarre to the extreme! Let us take a few moments to notice something else: it is not the riders of these strange horses that are doing the talking. It is the horses, i.e., the mode of transportation that is used to convey a convoluted set of messages intended to confuse the undiscerning hearer. The riders are merely guiding the horses into locations where the messages will be propagated.
For their power is in their mouth and in their tails. Words have power to persuade. Lies can be especially persuasive when presented in a way that appeals to the senses. The first mouth that spoke a lie was the mouth of that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world (12:9). Eve believed the lie, but Adam did not. He simply chose to go along. Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression (1 Timothy 2:14). Adam may have reasoned that, because Eve would begin to die that very day, he would die along with her. At the time, he knew nothing of the plan of salvation, just that he did not want to live without her. This notion could be romanticized into a story of great love, but as soon as Adam was confronted by the LORD, he threw both Eve and God “under the bus” so to speak (Genesis 3:12). There is nothing romantic about blaming others. By contrast, the story of the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) is one of unfathomable love for His bride. Indeed, He chose to die rather than live without her.
Following the fall of our first parents, Satan made a concerted effort—working through his angels—to instill a universal belief in man’s natural immortality, whispering “You shall not surely die” in every ear. In receiving this idea, the various religions of the world have been built around it. The idea of a soul that cannot die goes directly against Scripture.* It is the foundation of Babylonian philosophy, hence the imagery of horses with lion-like heads. Christians who believe in an undying soul go on to believe and teach that sinners are immortalized for the purpose of living in eternal misery. This paints God as a cruel, merciless tyrant who takes pleasure in causing the unrepentant to feel His ceaseless wrath (compare Psalm 118:1 and Revelation 15:1). This widely-taught notion is so repugnant to man’s sensitivities that it has caused untold millions to totally reject God: the very definition of atheism. We cannot fathom the evil that has been wrought by the heresy of eternal torture.
Thus, from a single mouth, via a carrier or conveyor, goes a tail (Isaiah 9:15) with a multiplicity of “talking heads” that repeat the lie, leaving behind a broad path of destruction. Their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. No, we do not possess immortality. It is a conditional gift, the condition being surrender to Jesus as the only Ruler, forsaking of sin, and obedience to Him, fueled by love. We are called by God to pursue it: …eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. (Romans 2:7)
“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the LORD God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” Ezekiel 18:23
*Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Psalm 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 3:20; 9:5,10; 12:7; Isaiah 41:12; Jeremiah 51:39; Ezekiel 18:4,20; Obadiah 16; Romans 6:23