Abandon Hope All Ye Who Miss Redemption

Hymns for those that seek and those that have redemption in the blood of Jesus Christ.  

Charles Wesley, 1747

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,

Into every troubled breast!Let us all in Thee inherit;

Let us find that second rest.

Take away our bent to sinning;

Alpha and Omega be;

End of faith, as its Beginning,

Set our hearts at liberty.

All of us have a sinful nature--what Wesley called "our bent to sinning."  I was reminded of this when I was watching the Vice Presidential debates last week.  The journalist who acted as  moderator brought up women's issues (read "abortion rights") in light of both candidates' identification with the Catholic Church.  Republican candidate Rep. Paul Ryan quickly pivoted away from religion, probably to keep from alienating non-Catholic voters, but he gave a pretty good explanation of why abortion is wrong,  He said that science has shown that abortion stops a beating heart, and the taking of innocent life at any stage is wrong, morally, scientifically, and hopefully one day, lawfully.  Democratic incumbent Vice President Joe Biden demurred even further, saying that though he identifies with the Catholic Church, he could not in good conscience demand that others fall into line under his morals or his church's orthodox teaching.  Like the true Evangelical that I am, I shouted at the television that neither man had the courage of his convictions.  The Vice President, especially, could not make me believe that he knew the Truth (in this instance), because he failed to insist that others believe it.

If, like Wesley wrote, Jesus Christ is to be the Alpha and the Omega, then the end of our faith should be like the beginning.  We should all be willing to sacrifice our lives for the souls of others.  Sadly, when the End arrives, men will harden their hearts and stiffen their necks, and not turn from their wicked ways.

The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God.  It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."  And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind.  The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million.  I heard their number.  The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur.  The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths cam fire, smoke and sulfur.  A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.  The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.  The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk.  Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. --Revelation 9:13-21

In the Old Testament, the Temple and its furnishings were designed by God to mirror the exact same building and furnishings in Heaven.  The altar was made with four horns, projections on each of the four corners.  When making a sacrifice, the priest would smear the blood of the sacrifice on the horns of the altar.  Those fleeing judgment could seek mercy by taking hold of the horns.  1 Kings 1:50-51 says, "But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, went and took hold of the horns of the altar.  Then Solomon was told, 'Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the horns of the altar.  He says, "Let King Solomon swear to me this day that he will not put his servant to death with the sword." ' "  Later in that same narrative, another man was in the same place.  "When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the Lord and took hold of the horns of the altar." (1 Kings 2:28).  But the days of seeking refuge at the altar of God will one day come to an end.  Amos 3:14 says, "On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground."  Even the last refuge for a condemned person will afford no protection to the sinner.

John says that he heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar of God.  The voice said to release the four angels who were bound at the Euphrates river.  I think of the garden of Eden, that was situated at the headwaters of four great rivers.  The Euphrates was one of those rivers.  And when Adam sinned and disobeyed God, he and his wife were banished from the Garden.  God set his angels to guard the entrance to the Garden, from the North, South, East and West.  Are these the same angels that were released with a different purpose? I don't know.  But I do know that they were prepared for this very moment in time.  You see, God has his own schedule.  Every event occurs at the precise moment He commands; and He knew what would happen before the beginning of time.  Nothing can happen to you that God did not know about before-hand.  Nothing takes Him by surprise.

At this precise moment in John's narrative, the four angels release an army that is bigger than any army ever seen on earth.  Two hundred  million mounted troops may have been an estimation ("ten thousand times ten thousand", an inestimable number to a Jew in Bible times--probably more than the population of the entire earth at that time).  The mission of this army is to destroy a third of mankind.  A world-wide cataclysm of this scope at any other time in history would have driven most people to their knees, beseeching Almighty God to bring an end to the bloodshed.  After the tragedy on September 11 more people were in church than in any time in the history of America.  But at the end times, not one convert will be found among the survivors.

The individual troops in this huge army wore the colors of hell: sulfur is yellow, but when it burns it has a blue flame, and when heated to create coals, the coals glow a red color.  This sulfuric fire, heat and smoke emanated from their mouths like dragons, but their head resembled lions' heads. The horses on which they rode had tails like snakes, with poisonous fangs to inflict injury.  These were the horsemen released by the four angels; these were the troops that killed a third of mankind.  Yet John says those left did not repent of the work of their hands.  Revelation 2:21 says, "I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling."

How many of us would be willing to forego what we had spent our whole lives creating? What would it take for us to abandon our life's work?  I believe if I saw a huge army of lion-headed horsemen, breathing fire, I would run away from anything my hands had made.  But not these who are left.  They cling unmercifully to:

Demons
Did you know that anyone who worships any god besides the One True God is worshiping a demon?  Allah is not God--he is a demon.  Buddha is not God--he is a demon represented by a fat idol.  Sadly, when the final battle is fought, men will not turn to the One True God, but will run to their false gods.  The idols that represent these spiritual beings--and they are spiritual beings, they are just not powerful to save--these idols cannot see what is happening to you; they cannot hear your prayers; they cannot walk to lead you to safety.  The idols are  powerless.  But do not be deceived, friends; the demons which they represent are more powerful than you and me.  Thankfully, they are not as powerful as the One True God.

Gold and Silver
Many will rely on their riches to save them.  They will try to buy freedom or safety when the world falls apart.  Maybe they fly to some private island in their private jets.  Maybe they will be like the rich men on the Titanic, trying to bribe their way onto lifeboats.  But when the end comes, there will be no solace; no one with any power or magic that can be bought or sold.  Satan's army is mightier than the earth.  Thankfully, God is more powerful than Satan and his army.

Bronze, Stone, or Wood
These are elements of ancient weapons, as well as building materials.  When the end is near, many will muster armies to fight against this spiritual horde.  Others will seek shelter behind bunkers made of strong metals, thick rock, or hard woods.  But we know that the mounted troops described in John's vision will overcome any human army that stands against it.  And those that seek shelter may as well be like the Three Little Pigs  against the wolf--but this wolf will be able to blow down the brick house, or even one made of metal.

No, people at this time will not forego what they have made in order to follow God.  Some will even be hedonists, who follow the creed, "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we must die."  They will not repent of the sins that men do: murders, magic arts, sexual immorality.  And if they do survive, they will plunder the dead for their sustenance.

It is important to point out here that this fate does not belong to those who follow Christ.  Some believe that before this cataclysmic event, the Church will be raptured out, called to Heaven by God.  Others believe that the people that John is talking about here do not include Christians, who are safe from all harm--even if they are still on earth during this time, they will not fall victim to the spiritual forces of evil, because they are marked with the sign of the cross on their foreheads.  Revelation 14:9-10 says, "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.  He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.' "  Not only will they suffer the brunt of Satan's fury, but they will also endure an eternity in hell.  Revelation 21:8 says, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death."

If you have not repented of your sins, if you have not called out to God for His salvation before it is too late, I urge you to do so today.

Full salvation! full salvation!
Lo! the fountain, opened wide,
Streams thro' ev'ry land and nation
From the Saviour's wounded side.
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full salvation! full salvation!
Streams an endless crimson tide. 

O the glorious revelation!
See the cleansing current flow,
Washing stains of condemnation
Whiter than the driven snow;
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full salvation! full salvation!
O the rapt'rous bliss to know! 

Love's resistless current sweeping
All the regions deep within;
Thought and wish and senses keeping
Now, and ev'ry instant, clean.
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full salvation! full salvation!
From the guilt and pow'r of sin. 

Life immortal, heav'n descending,
Lo! my heart the Spirit's shrine!
God and man in oneness blending—
O what fellowship is mine!
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full salvation! full salvation!
Raised in Christ to life divine! 

Care and doubting, gloomy sorrow,
Fear and grief are mine no more;
Faith knows naught of dark tomorrow
For my Saviour goes before.
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full salvation! full salvation!
Full and free for evermore.

The thundering horde

Worse than any wound is the wish to die and yet not be able to do so.--Cornelius Gallus, Roman Poet, ca.26 B.C.

In heavenly armour we'll enter the land
The battle belongs to the Lord
No weapon that's fashioned against us shall stand
The battle belongs to the Lord

We sing glory and honor Power and strength to the Lord (repeat)

The power of darkness comes in like a flood
The battle belongs to the Lord
He's raised up a standard, the power of His blood
The battle belongs to the Lord

When your enemy presses in hard do not fear
The battle belongs to the Lord
Take courage my friend, your redemption is near
The battle belongs to the Lord

This post begins with multiple images, and dueling quotes signifying opposing sides in a spiritual war.  It is important to remember the first verse of the song written by Jamie Owens-Collins, because when the second verse plays out, the enemy will take the form of evil beings that combine the three separate images into one terrifying species of invaders.  Either you despair of life, like the poet Gallus, or you place your hope in the Lord.

Here is what I mean.  In Revelation chapter 9, the first four Trumpet Judgments have taken place, but a vulture-like creature has warned us that the worst is yet to come: "Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!" (Revelation 8:13).

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth.  The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss.  When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.  The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss.  And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.  They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months.  And the agony they suffered was like that of a sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.  During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.  The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle.  On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth.  They had breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.  They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.  They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.  The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.--Revelation 9:1-12

Wow!  What a terrifying scene.  Let's look a little closer.  The star of our show is a heavenly being, probably an angel.  Remember Lucifer was once an angel in heaven before he fell from heaven.  This angel may or may not be Satan.  What we do know is that this angel is subject to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Revelation 1:18 says, "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!  And I hold the keys of death an Hades."  When Jesus was on earth, he said, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:18).  On earth, Peter was given the keys to heaven.  In the last days, this fallen angel will be given the key to the Abyss.  More on this later.  It is important to keep in mind, however, that later in Revelation, the key is taken back, because Revelation 20:1 says, "And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain."  That chain will bind Satan forever, and he will be thrown into the lake of fire.

What is the Abyss?  It is usually conceived of as the subterranean abode of demonic hordes.  The Greek word means "very deep" or "bottomless", and it is used in the Septuagint (the pre-Christian Greek translation of the Old Testament) to translate the Hebrew word for the primeval deep.  Genesis 1:2 says, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 8:27-28 that Wisdom said, "I was there when He set the heavens in place, when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep."   And remember when Jesus cast the demons out of the possessed man who had been living among the tombs--when Jesus spoke to the demon and asked its name, the reply was "Legion--for we are many".  As Jesus commanded the spirits to leave this man, Luke 8:31 says, "And they begged him not to order them to go into the Abyss."  Jesus instead ordered them into a herd of pigs, and the pigs immediately ran off a cliff and into the lake.

But in our text, when the Abyss was opened, thick smoke came out, like the smoke from a gigantic furnace.  I can't help but think about the faithful Hebrew men in Daniel chapter 3, who refused to bow down to the image of king Nebuchadnezzar.  The king was so angry that he made the furnace seven times hotter than it had been, and he had the three Hebrew men thrown into it.  But when he looked, he saw four men, and the fourth looked like the Son of God.  God was with them.  Like the Psalmist said, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there." (Psalm 139:7-8).

But the inhabitants of the Abyss were not sleeping.  They were waiting for the day that they could come out and torture mankind.  In Revelation 9, the image turns from black smoke to a dark cloud like a locust swarm.  We mentioned before how many references there are in Revelation to the plagues of the Exodus.  You remember the plague of locusts in Exodus chapter 10.  Well, there are also references to other Old Testament scriptures.  The prophet Joel described another locust plague, that he said had been sent on Israel because of their sins.  But the way that Joel described the locust swarm is telling: "A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.  Like dawn spreading across the mountains, a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old, nor ever will be in ages to come....Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine." Joel 2:2, 10.  The way Joel describes the massive locust swarm is very similar to the description of the thundering horde in Revelation.  There are so many that the cloud of them black out the sun, the moon and the stars.

As we take a closer look at them, we get a description of demonic forces never before seen on earth.  The locusts individually looked like horses prepared for battle.  Joel 2:4 says, "They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry."  But their faces resembled human faces, indicating that they were intelligent beings, not insects or animals at all.  They had cunning, and did not simply use brute force.  On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their hair flowed in the wind like women's hair.  They had teeth like lions' teeth.  Joel 1:6 says, "A nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness."  Can you imagine such a fierce, fearsome creature?  I can't even imagine a Halloween costume this scary.  They had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings against the iron breastplate sounded like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.  And on their tails, a scorpion's stinger.  A multitude of these creatures was loosed from the Abyss.

What was their mission? They were told not to harm green plants or trees, but only those people that did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.  If you were not sealed by God, look out!  The creatures would not kill you, but they would torture you with unspeakable pain, like being stung by a scorpion.  The pain and torture will be so bad that people will wish they were dead, but they will not be able to take their own lives.  This torment will last for five months.  This is about as long as locusts usually live, I think.  Or maybe the time period corresponds to the growing season, spring to summer, when locusts are a danger.  Or maybe it is prophetic of something else, I don't know.  What I do know is that the time is limited.

Who is the leader of this massive horde of tormentors?  He is described as the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon (Destruction), and in Greek, Apollyon (Destroyer).  Most likely this is a general in Satan's army, who is waiting for the day to be loosed from the pit to wreak havoc on the earth.  Even so, he cannot touch those with the seal of God on their foreheads.  Job 28:22 says, "Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it (wisdom) has reached our ears.' "  I said that the demonic creatures were cunning; I did not say they were wise. This is the first woe--misery, sorrow, affliction, distress.  There are two more coming.

I know this is creepy stuff, and most preachers today will not touch this subject.  But the facts are clear, and spelled out very clearly in the Bible--if you do not know Jesus personally as your Redeemer and Lord, and if you do not have His name written on your head and on your heart, then your fate will be worse than death.  You may not face the end of the world in your lifetime, but you will spend an eternity outside of the presence of God.  And without God, the spirits in charge of your future are Satan, the Destroyer, and Destruction.  Call out to Jesus today, and ask Him to save you from sin and Death.

Savior, more than life to me,
I am clinging, clinging, close to Thee;
Let Thy precious blood applied,
Keep me ever, ever near Thy side.
Refrain
Every day, every hour,
Let me feel Thy cleansing power;
May Thy tender love to me
Bind me closer, closer, Lord to Thee.
Through this changing world below,
Lead me gently, gently as I go;
Trusting Thee, I cannot stray,
I can never, never lose my way.
Refrain
Let me love Thee more and more,
Till this fleeting, fleeting life is o’er;
Till my soul is lost in love,
In a brighter, brighter world above.