March 26, 2022

Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” Revelation 9:13-14

This voice from the altar of incense in the heavenly sanctuary takes our minds back to this same altar (Revelation 6:9-10) where John heard the voice (prayers) of those who lost their lives because of faithfulness to the Lord. God remembers our prayers and pleas. Here we are shown an advance in divine response to the cries of His oppressed people. The heavenly voice commands the sixth angel: “Release the four angels . . .” These same four angels had restrained demonic forces earlier (7:1-3). But now the scene intensifies as they receive the command to loosen their hold.

That the four angels are posted on duty at the great river Euphrates is significant. In the Old Testament, the Euphrates river was the boundary between God’s people and their enemies. Now, at the symbolic river Euphrates the angels who restrained the demonic army organized against God’s people are releasing their hold. This reinforces that even the demonic forces are under God’s sovereign control. Our next verse bolsters the concept further:

So the four angels who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. v.15

Demonic forces may not act until God allows it. This verse indicates that there is a divinely appointed moment in time. The loosing of the demonic forces began in the fifth trumpet plague, but they were limited to torturing the wicked, not killing them. But now in the sixth trumpet these forces engage in widespread killing. The time is nearly upon us when God will remove all restraints, allowing demonic forces to exercise activity like never before in history, carrying out God’s judgements on the inhabitants of the earth. The extensive influence of the media (news, entertainment, music, etc.) is already seen all over the world. Most people, including professed Christians, are already so callused to the evils of the media that they won’t even notice when that moment has arrived. Let us pray the scripture below for ourselves and each other:

Give me understanding and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me on Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You . . . Revive me in Your righteousness. Psalm 119:34-38,40