Receiving Truth
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Rejoicing always before Him.
18/11/2025
When the fifth trumpet sounds, the bottomless pit is opened. Scripture doesn’t call it a pit. It calls it the bottomless pit. A specific place. Smoke rises out of it and then locusts come forth. These locusts are unlike any natural swarm we’ve seen. They carry the power of scorpions. And if you’ve ever studied the sting of a scorpion, you know it’s painful but not fatal. That detail matters. Their assignment is not to kill, but to torment.
Their target is clear. They cannot touch the grass, trees, or anything green. They can only touch the people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. This takes your mind back to Exodus. The plague of locusts that devoured Egypt’s fields. And it also connects to Jesus’ words in Luke 10:19 when He told His disciples He had given them authority to tread on serpents and scorpions. The same picture. The same symbolism. Scorpions represent tormenting forces, spiritual powers that hurt but cannot destroy those under God’s protection.
These locusts torment for five months. And their victims will long for death, but death will flee. Because the one ruling over these locusts is the angel of the abyss. Scripture calls him Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek. His name means destruction. Yet even under his rule, these creatures are forbidden to kill. Their torment is controlled by God. Death itself refuses them because it recognizes they are under judgment, not release.
Their appearance tells you everything. They don’t look like locusts. They look disguised. They wear crowns like people with authority. They have human faces, which makes them familiar. They have long hair like women, which makes them appealing and soft on the surface. But their teeth are like lions. Their breastplates are iron. Their movement is loud and forceful, like chariots rushing into battle. What they present on the outside is not who they truly are. And that is the deception.
This is why the angel called it the first woe. Because it’s not just destruction. It’s deception so deep that people embrace the very thing tormenting them. These locusts look normal. They look harmless. They look powerful, beautiful, familiar. But their sting comes from behind. Their tails carry the pain. And their victims won’t leave them because they don’t recognize them as the source of their suffering.
The chapter ends with something sobering. Even after all this, the people still do not repent of their murders, sorcery, immorality, and theft. They remain in their sin because their hearts cling to deception. They prefer what appeals to them over what the Word requires of them. They want a god who agrees with them. A god who never confronts their lifestyle. A god made in their own image.
That’s the danger of a familiar gospel. It looks like truth. It sounds like truth. It comforts the sinner instead of transforming them. It gives crowns, faces, and beauty—but behind it is a sting that torments the soul. People succeed outwardly but feel empty inwardly. They live well but can’t find peace. The doctrine that seems pleasant is quietly destroying them.
That is the fifth trumpet. A judgment of deception, torment, and hardened hearts.
16/11/2025
When the second trumpet sounds, something like a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the sea. One third of the sea becomes blood. One third of marine life dies. One third of ships are destroyed.
This connects to God’s judgment in Egypt when the Nile turned to blood and the fish died. But this trumpet affects the broader ocean. Ships sail on seas, not rivers, and only large vessels travel the ocean. People who own ships tend to handle trade, commerce, wealth, and military logistics. This judgment hits global systems, not just a single region.
Blood is thicker than water. A ship cannot move through a sea that has turned into blood. This means the destruction of one third of the sea disrupts trade routes, transport lanes, shipping networks, and military movements. The world economy feels this judgment.
When the third trumpet sounds, a burning star called Wormwood falls from heaven. It strikes one third of rivers and springs. The waters turn bitter and many die from drinking it.
This again reflects the plagues in Exodus. But unlike oceans and seas that link nations, rivers and springs support internal communities. Springs rise from the ground and feed rivers. Rivers support farms, households, energy use, and local travel. Streams feed rivers, rivers feed seas, seas feed oceans. Everything is connected.
If these lifelines become bitter, entire communities suffer. A bright “star” falling and corrupting pure water becomes both a literal judgment and a picture of moral collapse. When a local leader becomes corrupt through greed or the love of power, the community under them feels the bitterness. They steal resources. They block development. They destroy futures. Those who drink from their leadership suffer. The corruption that they pour into others becomes their own undoing.
The fourth trumpet strikes one third of the sun, moon, and stars. Light is removed for one third of the day and night. This mirrors the plague of darkness in Exodus 10. A disruption this large produces a darkness that stops movement and slows life. It creates a blindness where people cannot see what is right in front of them.
Symbolically, this is moral blindness. People live in darkness. Their hearts harden. They cannot discern right from wrong. They do evil and feel nothing. This is the same judgment Pharaoh faced when God hardened his heart until he destroyed himself.
After these trumpet blasts, an eagle flies through the sky crying “Woe, woe, woe” because the next three trumpets will be far worse. Even with all the destruction around them, many still refuse to repent. They keep walking deeper into darkness.
We stop here in Revelation 8. When we enter chapter 9, we will study the fifth and the sixth trumpets.
The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia — Revelation 3:7–13
Philadelphia was a prosperous city in Asia Minor (modern-day Alaşehir, Turkey). It was known for its fertile soil and vineyards that rivaled those of Rome. Around 17 AD, the city was devastated by a massive earthquake that also destroyed nearby Sardis. Because of this disaster, Emperor Tiberius granted the city tax exemption for several years to help it rebuild.
Despite the relief, the people of Philadelphia lived with fear and insecurity, as aftershocks continued for years. Many residents moved out of the city to live in surrounding areas, feeling abandoned and unstable.
Philadelphia’s economy depended heavily on its vineyards. Emperor Domitian (around AD 81–96) ordered that many vineyards in Asia Minor be cut down to reduce competition with Roman vineyards. This decision crippled Philadelphia’s local economy and deepened their sense of betrayal.
For the Christians in Philadelphia, life was even harder. Many were excluded from the Jewish synagogue community. In the Roman Empire, Jews were exempt from emperor worship and from publicly declaring “Caesar is Lord.” They maintained a registry of names, and Jewish believers who followed Jesus were struck out. Losing this status meant loss of protection under Roman law, and exposure to persecution.
When Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia, “I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut,” they would have understood it deeply. Being shut out of the synagogue meant exclusion from social, religious, and economic life. But Jesus reminds them that He holds the “key of David.” The door He opens, symbolizing salvation and eternal life, no one can close.
He tells them that because they have obeyed His command to persevere, they will be kept safe during the great testing that will come upon the world, to reveal who truly belongs to Him.
Jesus promises that no one will take their crown (their salvation and eternal reward). He says those who overcome will become pillars in the temple of God, a powerful promise to people who lived in a city prone to earthquakes and instability. Unlike their trembling city, their place in God’s presence will be permanent and secure.
He will write on them:
• The name of God
• The name of the city of God (the New Jerusalem)
• His new name
These mark their identity as citizens of heaven, forever belonging to Him.
So, the message is clear:
People may shut us out. Systems may exclude us. Communities may reject us. But Jesus opens doors that no one can close.
Those who persevere in faith will never be shut out of His presence.
The Letter to the Church in Sardis — Revelation 3:1–6
Sardis was the capital of the ancient Lydian kingdom before it was conquered by Cyrus of Persia around 547 BC. It later came under Greek rule when Alexander the Great liberated the region in the 4th century BC.
The city was wealthy and well-fortified. It sat on a high hill and was considered almost impossible to conquer. Yet history records that Sardis fell twice because of carelessness, once to Cyrus and later to the Persians again after it was rebuilt. So when Jesus said, “I will come like a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you,” the believers in Sardis would have understood this warning clearly. Their own city had been taken unexpectedly in the same way.
Sardis was a center for the worship of Artemis, and it also had the largest Jewish synagogue ever discovered outside of ancient Israel. The synagogue stood right next to a Roman gymnasium, where people often exercised naked, which shows how closely Jewish life had blended with Roman culture.
The church in Sardis was not facing the persecution seen in other cities. Instead, they had grown comfortable. Jesus said they had a reputation for being alive but were actually dead. Outwardly, they looked active and respected, but spiritually, they were lifeless.
It seems the believers in Sardis had begun to tone down their message to fit into their culture. They preached just enough to be accepted but not enough to offend anyone. They avoided confrontation with pagan customs and the imperial system. Their message was inclusive and tolerant, but powerless.
Jesus called them to wake up, strengthen what remained, and repent. He warned that if they didn’t, He would come upon them suddenly, like a thief. Yet even in that church, there were a few who had not “soiled their garments.” These faithful ones represented true believers who refused to blend in with the world.
Jesus promised that those who overcame would be clothed in white garments, a symbol of purity and salvation. He said He would never erase their names from the Book of Life and that He would confess their names before the Father and His angels.
This message speaks strongly to our time. Many churches today try so hard to appear accepting that they end up changing the truth. Compassion must never become compromise. We can love people without denying what Scripture calls sin. Jesus said “woe to those who call evil good.”
So, we must ask ourselves:
Are we truly alive in Christ, or do we only have the reputation of being alive?
Are we holding fast to the truth, or are we trying to fit in with the world’s systems?
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