Revelation 6:12-17, Revelation 9:1-21, Revelation 16:8-9, Luke 13:3, Luke 15:7, Acts 26:20
Summary: The book of Revelation is God’s final warning to the sinner to repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation before His wrath and judgment come upon this wicked world. Even in the midst of hell on Earth, there will be many who will not repent to their eternal peril. Where do you stand?
Some time ago, I participated in an online study of the book of Revelation with a fellow pastor and dear friend in the LORD. He was explaining some of the possible scenarios that will appear on the earth during the time of what Scripture refers to as “the Great Tribulation” (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:21), a specific period of time where God will judge the world for its rebellion, wickedness, and hatred of all things holy and sacred as pertaining to the Gospel and its message of redemption solely through the work of Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12, 16:31; Romans 5:6-11, 10:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:7-12; Revelation 1:8).
It is during the period of excessive judgment and wrath that God will allow evil and the devil who birthed it to run its course in the person of the Antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22, 4:3; 2 John 7; Revelation 13:1-10). Sometime before this period of judgment is poured upon the earth, all people who have genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation will have been taken away to heaven by the Lord Jesus in the event known as “the Rapture of the church” (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, 4:13-18).
In reading Revelation, we see that there is a specific flow of historical and supernatural events that occur on Earth and in the portals of heaven. When the saints of God arrive in heaven, we witness, as did John and Paul (2 Corinthians 12:1-10; Revelation, Chapters 4, 5), the magnificent glory, wonder, holiness, and majesty of God Almighty and the heavenly realm offering Him praise and worship. We will see with our own eyes the Sovereignty and plans of the LORD come to pass and be fulfilled for His glory and grace.
In the book of Revelation, we read that He will not tolerate sin and sinful people and beings any longer. His justice will come upon the rebels of both Earth and the underworld who have maligned, blasphemed, denied, and hated Him and His plans since the Fall in Eden. His promise to make all things new will come to pass (Revelation 21:1), evil will be judged and punished (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15), and the Paradise that was in the beginning (Genesis 1, 2) will be created again and last for eternity.
From the point where the redeemed enter heaven, God opens the floodgate of a series of judgments on the world that progress in their intensity. For a period of seven years, the unredeemed will both witness and suffer with plagues upon the wildlife, plants, waters, and overall living conditions. Upon reading what He has posted in the Scriptures, these coming judgments and their eternal consequences ought to terrify and awaken every person in this world. Everyone should tremble over their sins, repent, and surrender their lives to the saving grace, mercy, and peace offered by God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to listen to the guiding voice of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 6:2).
There will be multitudes in the period of the Great Tribulation who will come to Christ (Revelation 7:9-17). These people were non-believers who had been left behind at the time of the Rapture, and by the mercy of God the Holy Spirit, had their eyes opened to what has occurred. They lost loved ones who were saved beforehand, or had read one of the many copies of the Scriptures that had been left behind, or watched a video on social media (provided that none of these had been confiscated by the governing powers at that time), or other means that the LORD used to draw them to the cross and to salvation. These are the “Tribulation Saints,” and many of them will be killed for their faith (Revelation 20:4). These dear brethren in the LORD are part of the redeemed but at a great cost.
What amazes me as I read through Revelation is that even with all of the literal hell on Earth that God promises is coming, there will be a majority of people who will nonetheless harden their hearts and turn against the very God who loves them and offers them an eternal home free from sin, sorrow, wickedness, and all the ills that cling to us like a loathsome sore that will not heal.
What I want to do from this point on is focus on one chapter in Revelation that perfectly illustrates the progression of demonic evil in this world and the fate of those who foolishly decide to embrace it and reject the only hope of rescue that God Almighty offers during that terrible time.
Chapter 9 of Revelation describes the ascension of an angel to the earth to open what is referred to as a “bottomless pit (9:2), a symbol of the horrors and abandonment of hope that is eternal hell, and allow fierce demonic beings to bring torment upon the wicked population of the world who have rejected the saving offer of God. These beings are given an order not to touch the foliage of the world (what’s left of it by this time) but to hit the unredeemed with pain that is equal to that of a severe scorpion sting. This will be an agonizing pain that will be so unbearable that people will want to die in order to relieve themselves from the agony.
For a period of five months, these horrid malevolent beings from hell will continually hurt and torment all who will not surrender their lives to Christ nor acknowledge the truth of God.
This is all bad enough, but reading further, four malevolent angels who had rebelled against God at the start of history and been bound at the River Euphrates since that time are now released to slaughter a third of humanity. On top of this, an army of 200,000,000 marches upon the world, along with an outbreak of plagues. Whether this is an actual human army or one of demons is a point of discussion. But whatever their origin, the consequences of this demon-led onslaught is that — out of a population estimated as of 2021 to be 8 billion — the body count is over 2 billion at this point in Revelation, and the full force of judgment is yet to come.
You would think that common sense and the obvious collapse of everything around them would bring people to their knees begging God for forgiveness of sins and embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I am afraid not, and the trouble is that many of you who come across this sermon will perfectly fit into what Scripture describes about this situation:
“And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, DID NOT REPENT of the works of their hands, so as to not worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor their immorality nor of their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21, NASB).
Let me put it to you as plain as day, friend:
- If you have spent your life in denial of God’s existence,
- or have used His Holy name only to curse someone or something,
- or have only used Him as a weapon to protect your political ideology or lifestyle,
- or have turned against Him in order to serve Satan and his so-called “offers of power and control” over people and events,
- or have done a host of things to denigrate, revile, blaspheme, slander, and mock Him or deny that He even exists, no matter that creation and your own conscience tell you otherwise (Romans 1:18-22),
- and you deliberately through indifference, disbelief, or outright rebellion turn Him away, along with His free offer of salvation and grace (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:28-30, 11:25, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:25),
then you are in the group that will witness this taste of eternal hell on Earth, and it won’t affect your conscience or soul one little bit.
God Almighty, in His Holy Word (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21), has given you a written warning of what awaits you eternally as you go through the horrors of the Great Tribulation. The release of these wretched beings from the pit, along with the death and misery they will inflict upon you, will be a preview of both the torment you will endure and the company you will keep in hell when all is done, judged, and made final at the end of days according to Scripture. This chapter is describing just a few of the horrors to descend on this world, and the time is fast approaching for everything to fall into place. Don’t deny it, and do not doubt me.
Right now, there are many of you who have “just found” this website and these messages who are dabbling if not totally absorbed in witchcraft, Satanic worship, and all kinds of unspeakable evils, and you think you will get away with all of the malevolent deeds and thoughts you have committed in your life and be rewarded by the devil for your faithful service. You have been the victim of a lie, a con job, and an assault on your eternal soul by the devil, who is nothing more than a created, limited, spiteful creature (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19). He has nothing to gain from his rebellion and wickedness except to somehow think that He can “spite” God by taking you to the same hell he and his demons will head at the end of time (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
God does not take any pleasure in the death or judgment of a wicked person (Ezekiel 18:23), but at the day where you and all who reject Jesus Christ stand before Him at the Great White Throne for final judgment and sentencing, He will put you in a place of your own choosing, having rejected Him and His offer of mercy and grace.
The reason you will end up in hell is because you chose to rebel, follow the devil and your wicked ways, and paddled your own canoe down to perdition forever.
Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to prevent you from ending up in hell and facing eternal judgment. He took your sins and mine upon Himself willingly to rescue us from the sin debt that we cannot pay in our own strength or ways (Ephesians 2:8-9). He offers you forgiveness of sins that will no longer be remembered or held against you (Psalm 103:12). He offers you cleansing from your sins, a new life, a new purpose, and a new world to come. Why would you choose to throw that offer of love and compassion away? Why would you want to stay in a state of rebellion and witness the approaching hell on Earth that is the sum and substance of God’s wrath, of which we are seeing a foretaste right now?
I implore you as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ — and probably the only person who is willing to be truthful and honest with you at this moment — to PLEASE repent of your sins, seek the forgiveness of God, and surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ right now! If what we read in Revelation is true (and it is), why would you want to delay or deny what is obviously upon us? All this, and yet you will not repent? Do not make that foolish and eternally deadly decision.
My YouTube broadcasts titled “The Reality City Review” will be posted on Facebook, GETTR, Parler, and on my website when completed. My main area of discussion will be on the basics of the Christian faith but will also deal with prophetic issues and other topics as the Lord impresses upon me to handle.