October 10, 2022
They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. Revelation 9:4
We are still examining the fifth trumpet plague. Vitally important is to make a distinction between the fifth plague as opposed to the first, where a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. In both cases, trees and green grass symbolize the professed people of God. But at the first plague (God’s judgement upon Israel as a nation) one third of the apostate Jews perished as the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The principle that judgement begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17, see also Ezekiel 9) meant that those who called themselves God’s people in possession of the Holy Scriptures, were being punished for their rejection of the Messiah, the preeminent subject of all Scripture (see Luke 24:27). The fact that only one-third perished shows judgement mingled with mercy.
Now, in the fifth trumpet judgement, the newly released demons are restrained from harming the grass . . . or any green thing . . . or any tree. This is an indication of the willingness of God’s people of this later time to adhere to the Scriptures and to follow the Lamb wherever He leads. They are protected.
Only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads are subjected to the torment of these locust/scorpion demons. This should make it imperative to Christians to learn what it means to have the seal of God on their foreheads. The torment inflicted by the symbolic locusts with tails like scorpions is spiritual and mental. There can be no doubt as to the intensifying of supernatural demonic forces in the last days. Many are driven into suicidal anguish while others are in complete denial of the reality of these negative influences. Both delusional extremes bring equally catastrophic consequences.
On the heels of the great awakening happening in pockets all over the world—as sincere Christians were awakened and receptive to a brighter revelation of the Gospel through the work of the Reformers—there was another counteracting occurrence, ironically called the “Enlightenment”. It is the aftermath of the Enlightenment that is addressed in the fifth trumpet plague. This movement gave rise to a number of “isms”: humanism, liberalism, rationalism, relativism, skepticism, and ultimately secularism. Human-centered philosophy has no room for God. It promotes self-centeredness and simultaneously alienates people from God and from each other. A collapse of mental and spiritual health brings the heartbreaking results of emptiness and meaninglessness. Only a personal relationship with Jesus and full acceptance of His gospel can fill the empty void and give meaning to life.
As frightening as the woe of the fifth trumpet is, the worst will follow in the next two woes of the sixth and seventh trumpets. The power of God’s word to restore and maintain mental and spiritual health needs to be told. Brothers and sisters, are you pointing people to the Bible?
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2