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The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, is a very unfamiliar book. It is difficult to read and even more difficult to understand and interpret. The reason behind that is actually very simple. We're not understanding the literary style. In other words, the Bible, which contains 66 books, is not written in a single monolithic literary style. And yet oftentimes we read it as if it is. For instance, the five books of Moses or the historical writings or the wisdom literature, these are all different literary styles. We should not be reading the book of Psalms as if it is written in the same manner as the gospels or the letters. Well, relatively speaking, that the book of Revelation is a pastoral writing written to encourage uh Christians to repent and to come back to the heart of God. So once again, with that in mind, let's uh dive in and take a look at Revelation chapter nine. As the fifth and sixth uh trumpets sound, the judgments intensify. These are no longer natural disasters, but terrifying plagues beyond our realm, revealing the deeper realities beyond human rebellion that we can see. So when the fifth angel blows his trumpet, a star falls from heaven. It is given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit, verse one. Smoke pours out, darkening the air, and from the pit emerge demonic locus and terrifying power not to kill but to torment those without the seal of God for five months. Now these locus are symbolic description of the realm. These locus represent spiritual deception and oppressive forces unleashed upon the unrepentant. Then the sixth trumpet sounds verse thirteen, and four bound angels are released to kill a third of mankind. A massive army of horsemen appears, breathing fire, smoke and sulfur. Now these symbolic images recall the plagues of Egypt and the power of death. Yet despite all this, the chapter ends with a haunting statement. The rest of the mankind did not repent. Did not repent. All of these calamities, all of this uh this reality uh beyond our imagination, becoming uh our present reality, and yet people refuse to repent. This is a a terrifying passage and it is also deeply theological. What the passage is saying is that the evil is real. Um however, uh God uh is sovereign over uh even the the evil realm. God sets boundaries on the power of evil. Now, even terrifying judgment is ultimately meant to call sinners to repentance. It's important for us to realize that uh God is sovereign over all these things, uh even evil, and yet God is not the source of evil. Uh let's talk about God a little bit. Uh God is sovereign over all things here, including the rebellious and dark demonic beings. God is not the source of evil, and yet evil does not run free apart from God. The fallen star is given the key to the obys. Uh the locusts are allowed to torment but not to kill. The angels of death are released at a specific hour determined by God. Evil is not unleashed randomly, uh, every movement is under God's control. So Satan is not God's equal. We need to clearly see that. It's not the forces of uh right versus left, it's not the it's not like the new age theme, forces of good versus evil. No. God is in charge, God is sovereign over all matters. Um God rules over all, even as He permits the forces of evil to reveal human sin and bring justice. God is also holy and patient. The horror of these judgments is not the final word, they are partial, restrained, and aimed at awakening a slumbering world, uh, even the covenant people of the world. God could have brought destruction, but instead gives time to repent. His patience is meant to lead to salvation. What is our guilt? We're guilty of living in spiritual blindness. The people tormented in this chapter are those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. So they're vulnerable because they live apart from God. The locus represent the spiritual agony of those enslaved to idols of the world, false religions, and of course the inner conflict and inner torment. Yet even after divine warnings, humanity refuses to repent. This is remarkable in my opinion. Um this is our most profound guilt, stubborn idolatry. We worship evil spirits, um demonic beings, trust in created things, possessions, pleasures, and power, and persist in our sins, and we call good evil and evil good. We're unbothered by the judgment of God. The list of sins in verse twenty-one is sobering murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft, of course. Now these are not just personal failings, uh they are signs of society under judgment of God, one that clings to sin despite divine warnings. Um and in this passage though, even in this passage, grace shines. Grace shines in the limits. Uh the demonic uh forces are restrained, their power is great but not ultimate. Their time is limited, they cannot touch those sealed by sealed by God. For believers, the torment is not for them because they belong to the Lamb who already bore their judgment. Grace also shines in the call to repent. Even amid these horrors, the goal is not vengeance but redemption. The very fact that the rest of mankind did not repent implies that repentance was still possible. God's desire is that none should perish, even those walking in deep rebellion. May we be mindful of this. And grace shines most clearly in the cross. Jesus entered the darkest pit, bore the curse, and triumphed over demonic powers, death and sin. For those in Christ, the plagues of revelation are not wrath but warning signs, reminders of what we've been saved from and what others still need saving from.