October 23: BY REASON OF THE SMOKE (part 1)

And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. Revelation 9:2 (KJV)

Let’s consider what smoke is symbolizing: As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, So is the lazy man to those who send him (Proverbs 10:26). Laziness is idleness. And now they sin more and more, and have made their molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, and all of it is the work of the craftsmen… Therefore they shall be as… the smoke out of the chimney (Hosea 13:2,3). Here smoke symbolizes idols and idolatry. Both idleness and idol worship increased within the church as the papacy continued its rise to power. The two are directly related and hold great appeal for the unregenerate heart. Compromise with pagan rituals took the place of true repentance, overcoming sin and building character. The sinner was instructed to occasionally go to the priest, confess sins, and do penance. Lighting candles in front of an idol was (and is) part of the ritual: a repetitious cycle with no heart change. Many have followed these instructions their entire lives and are continuously taught that they have fulfilled their obligation to God. Yet between the confessions, they go right back to the way they’ve always lived. Laziness and idolatry are “bedfellows” that convince a lost person that he/she is saved. Someone who claims to love Jesus while ignoring His word is a walking contradiction. Thus, the enemy’s deceptive smokescreen is multiplied among the masses.

True Christianity calls for a genuine effort – even a struggle – to overcome sin and self. It is one battle after another, and we are called to take up the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13). The overcoming of self is the greatest fight of all. Jesus promotes the building of excellent character in each of us. The practicality of Christianity—in being credited with the righteousness of Christ—teaches us to humbly acknowledge our need for continued character development by the power of His Spirit. As we journey with the Lord, in the light of His word, His righteousness is a covering. Our present cooperation and obedience spawn future understanding (see John 13:7). As we go in alignment with His instructions (see Luke 17:14), what a glory He sheds on our way! The Father looks upon us and sees the righteousness of His Son.

This smoke out of the pit, intended by the great deceiver to spiritually blind us, is overcome if we allow the Spirit of the Lord to work in us. But apart from Him, it has the potential to become a judgement that cannot be reversed: as the smoke of a great furnace, a reference to what Abraham saw after judgement fell upon the cities of the plain. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace (Genesis 19:28; see also Jude 7). God’s judgement upon these cities was against manifold wickedness, including laziness, idleness, idolatry, sexual perversions. This was the state of affairs in the midst of God’s people in the fifth and sixth centuries. It was the state of affairs in Ezekiel’s day. And it is also true of the world today.

Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. Ezekiel 16:49