Hell On Earth

Revelation 9. The final three trumpets summon three woes to call attention to the severity of the last three judgments (8:13). The bowl judgments, that are yet to come, will be even greater in intensity. We will look at just the fifth trumpet. As the fifth trumpet sounded, "a star fallen from heaven to the earth", apparently a demon, unlocks the "bottomless pit", releasing demons like locust with the sting of scorpions. In the Bible, locust are always associated with judgment. And for five agonizing months they will torment those without God's seal (v.4-5). Their victims will want to die, but death will elude them (v.6). They will commit suicide, but they will not be able to die. Their torture is not fatal. This will be as close as you can get to hell on earth. For in hell you continue to die, but you never die. That is how it will be from this point on during the tribulation.
The judgment of God is real, and it is coming. This section of Scripture is not a place of amusement. And as these judgments increase in intensity, man becomes even more wicked. He refuses to repent (v.20). But the good news for the child of God is "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus..." (Rom.8:1). If you are reading this, and you are not a child of God, then you need to place your faith in Jesus Christ today! You don't want to be left behind in what we are reading today. For you see, it only gets worse. "One woe is past, behold two more woes are coming..." (v.12). It only gets worse!