All articles

From Kristos Vocabulary Booster

On Fri, 3 Jun 2005 21:05:58 +0000 (UTC), "dell12345"
wrote:

>
>
> Many believe that the wicked will go to a fiery hell and be tormented
> forever. Is this teaching logical and according to God’s love and justice?
> The human life span is limited to 70 or 100 years. Even if someone
> perpetrated extreme wickedness for his whole lifetime, would everlasting
> torment be a just punishment? This is like saying that someone gave you
> a gift of $80.00 and after sometime the giver of the gift will charge you
> back not only 80 million nor 80 trillion dollars for not using the $80
> gift wisely. Now this is somewhat the same with man’s life. It is not fair
> and just to charge a man who have lived let’s say 100 years and will be
> literally tortured not only 100 million nor 100 trillion years but
> forever. Do you think this is fair and just? If you say it is, then I
> would love to lend you $100.
>
> Besides, Ephesians 5:1 stated that we should become imitators of God. If
> charging somebody for an unpayable amount is just/fair to you, then why
> don’t fair humans do that? Because it is obviously not fair nor just.
>
>
> The principle in Matthew 18:34 is a good text to prove that God won’t
> LITERALLY torture someone forever.
> It states “ With that his master, provoked to wrath, delivered him to the
> jailers, UNTIL he should pay back all that was owing.”
>
> And as Psalms 37:38 states
> But the transgressors themselves will certainly be
> annihilated together;
> The future of wicked people will indeed be cut off.
>
> And finally as God stated in Job 40:8 -
> Really, will you invalidate my justice?
> Will you pronounce me wicked in order that you may be in the right?
>


The Fifth Angel

The fifth angel, who sounds the fifth trumpet, is the subject of
Revelation 9:1-12.

Revelation 9:1: And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall
from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the
bottomless pit.

Evidently this star is an angel. The angels of the 7 churches were
called stars.

Revelation 1:20: The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in
my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are
the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches.

Revelation 9:2: 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.

The bottomless pit indicates there is no limit to the evil that
emerges from this source. The sun being darkened means the truth of
the gospel is obscured, as the sun is the clothing of the heavenly
woman in Revelation 12, who pictures the Church, and so is identified
with the promise of the gospel, that in Christ all families of the
earth will be blessed. The fifth angel portends an ominous false
teaching from the "bottomless pit" that is pictured here, one that
obscures the gospel.

Note: It is not describing worldwide pollution due to the industrial
revolution, because it generates locusts that do no harm at all to the
grass, or any green plant; these locusts represent something else. The
prophecy of Joel 2 also speaks of locusts. These locusts promote
destructive teachings.

Revelation 9:3: And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the
earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth
have power.

See Joel 2, which describes an army of destroying locusts. It
evidently spreads false teachings, changing a garden of Eden to a
wasteland, (Joel 2:3) and is a strong people in battle array, Joel
2:5. The army in Joel 2 also causes the sun and moon to become dark,
and the stars to withdraw their shining (Joel 2:10). This is one of
the saddest of all the effects caused by the devastating army.

Daniel 12:3: And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of
the sky; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for
ever and ever.

When stars withdraw their shining, it means that the people of God,
the saints, are not turning many to righteousness as stated by Daniel.

Revelation 9:4: And it was commanded them that they should not hurt
the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but
only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

The seal of God is the Spirit of God. Those who are sealed with the
Holy Spirit are immune, which shows that this plague of destructive
locusts indeed has something to do with false teaching, but it is a
teaching that only affects unbelievers!

Revelation 9:5: And to them it was given that they should not kill
them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment
was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

What is the 5 months? The time period is equal to the 150 days of the
flood.

Genesis 7:21-24: And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of
fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the
breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every
living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground,
both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the
heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained
alive, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters
prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Five months is the time that the flood waters were on the earth, and
it is the time in which all people and animals died, who were not
saved by being aboard the ark. The "torment" is a teaching about the
fate of the unsaved. It pictures the hopelessness of those who do not
believe the gospel, and who lack the assurance of salvation that is
pictured by the ark of Noah. But since the victims are not killed, it
pictures the false doctrine about their torment after death!

Revelation 9:6: And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not
find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

Could this refer to the idea of immortality of the soul, the common
belief in never-ending punishment and suffering after death? Perhaps
this prophecy pictures men wishing that this life were all there is,
and that there is no judgement, no "hell", no torment, and nothing to
worry about after death, but not understanding the the truth of the
gospel, they fear that such is their fate. Joel says,

Joel 2:6: Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces
shall gather blackness.

Revelation 9:7: And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses
prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like
gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

In Joel 2 the army of locusts is compared to an army of horses and
horsemen, and it is curious that at one stage in their development,
locusts appear remarkably similar to horses prepared for battle. This
is also mentioned in Joel 2:4: "The appearance of them is as the
appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run."

An interpretation of this metaphor of horsemen riding horses has been
suggested in a recent post by David Matthieu P.P., who says: "These
horses are anointed men, and the horsemen are the fallen angels riding
on them." They have "faces of men" which indicates these are actually
men, but their teachings have a devastating effect, comparable to the
effect of a locust plague.

The crowns picture some kind of government, or authority, for which
Matthieu offers the following explanation: John in Revelation 1:5 says
Jesus has "made us kings and priests unto God"; also in Revelation
5:10 the 24 elders say the Lamb "hast made us unto our God kings and
priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Paul writes sarcastically
to the Gentile believers at Corinth, in 1 Corinthians 4:8-9: "Now ye
are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I
would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I
think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were
appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to
angels, and to men."

Matthieu writes, "There are two distinct details that will allow us to
discover the identity of these Horses: have you ever seen horses with
Crowns like gold or horses with breastplates? These horses strangely
remind us of the sons of Aaron, the anointed Levites of the temple of
the Lord who also had holy golden crowns and breastplates."

Aaron the priest was crowned with a holy crown, Exodus 29:6. It was
made of gold, Exodus 39:30. Matthieu writes, "The anointed Levites
were clearly called horses by the prophet Zechariah, but these Horses
of the chapter nine of Revelation are not the Levites. Even though we
can read in Revelation that these horses have faces of men, they are
anointed men like the Levites, but they are anointed by the Devil."

Revelation 9:8: And they had hair as the hair of women, and their
teeth were as the teeth of lions.

Not losing one's hair is a figure for being safe:

2 Samuel 14:11: Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the
LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to
destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD
liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.

Their confidence in their own safety leads to the "hair like the hair
of women" symbol; not that they have long hair, but that they are
assured of their own safety in the afterlife. Having hair like the
hair of women pictures confidence one's own safety. These people
believe that they themselves will not suffer after death, but teach
that such is the fate of those who do not believe!

Lion's teeth picture a carnivore, with sharp teeth, very dangerous.
Satan is compared to a lion in 1Peter 5:8: "Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour:"

Revelation 9:9: And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of
iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of
many horses running to battle.

What are their wings? They make a noise with their wings, like horses
going to battle. The locusts in Joel 2 also make a noise like
chariots. The "noise" perhaps pictures the prevalence of the false
teaching about the fate of unbelievers; everyone has heard of it. They
have breastplates of iron, but Paul says Christians need to have a
breastplate of righteousness, Ephesians 6:14: "Stand therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness;"

Revelation 9:10: And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there
were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five
months.

The tail is indeed what one should beware of: Isaiah 9:15: "The
ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth
lies, he is the tail."

The power to hurt men five months is evidently a reference to the fear
of torment after death. This is not something that believers worry
about, just those people who are not believers.

Revelation 9:11: "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of
the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in
the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

The name Abaddon indicates the nature of this plague. It is a false
teaching about the state of the dead. Caird writes [Caird, G.B., 1984,
A Commentary on the Revelation of St. John the Divine, A.C. Black,
London, p. 120]: "Abaddon occurs six times in the Old Testament as a
synonym for Sheol or Hades, the universal graveyard, the land of
death, darkness, silence, and oblivion, the destroyer of life and
hope. John has personified Abaddon, just as earlier he personified
Death and Hades; and the three are all variations on a single theme."

Apollo was the god of prophecy. Apollyon is apparently a play on the
name Apollo, along with apollymi which means to destroy. The tails of
the locusts are false prophets, who teach suffering and torment of
unbelievers in hell. Of course this teaching is not true. Their king
is Apollo, the pagan god of prophecy, as their teachings are not of
Christ. The following is from the Anchor Bible Dictionary.

"Apollyon
Apollyon is no doubt the correct reading. But the name Apollo (Gk
Apollon) was often linked in ancient Greek writings with the verb
apollymi or apollyo, "destroy." From this time of Grotius, "Apollyon"
has often been taken here to be a play on the name Apollo. The locust
was an emblem of this god, who poisoned his victims, and the name
"Apollyon" may be used allusively in Revelation to attack the pagan
god and so indirectly the Roman emperor Domitian, who liked to be
regarded as Apollo incarnate."

Certainly the passage in Revelation 9:1-12 seems to portray those who
believe a false gospel, as Apollo was considered a god of prophecy.
The doctrine of infernal punishment after death is not the gospel of
Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:19: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
unto us the word of reconciliation."

Thankfully, this plague will end. Revelation 9:12: "One woe is past;
and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter."

Doug
http://vinyl2.sentex.ca/~tcc/Angel_5.html

((( s.r.c.b-s is a moderated group. All posts are approved by a moderator. )))
((( Read http://srcbs.org for details about this group BEFORE you post. )))