March 28, 2022

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 9:20-21

With this passage we come to the close of the sixth trumpet. The above verses state a lack of response to the previous events described. In the fall of literal Babylon, which foreshadows the fall of spiritual Babylon to come, the list of idols that we see above are named. But in Revelation, the list is preceded by the statement that they did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons. How fascinating that it was the hand of God, from whom all blessings flow, that wrote the message of their demise on the wall. The Babylonians squandered their opportunity for repentance, shrugging at the generous length of time that had followed the humbling conversion of Nebuchadnezzar (who became the author of Daniel chapter four). Daniel, now an old man,  speaks to the Babylonians:

“And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified…God has numbered your kingdom and finished it.”  Daniel 5:23,26b

The God of love cannot permit sinners to operate indefinitely. Daniel’s words pronounced that their window of opportunity for repentance was rapidly closing! But the frightening handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5)—combined with the authoritative, explanatory words of Daniel—was resisted by the Babylonians. This illustrates the hardness of hearts that comes with sin, and also the accompanying spiritual blindness.

Throughout earth’s history, God has never left the objects of His love without a witness. It is no different in the end times. Those who take a stand for truth, while smaller in number than the “army” of the enemy, will have an impact, not of their own power, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of His mighty Word. God’s people are provided with the firm assurance that His gospel message will ultimately triumph: Let’s revisit an illustration of this truth:

And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand… After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  Revelation 7:4,9