People without a Savior will beg to die instead of living for Him.
Revelation 9:20 But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood--idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!
In the last blog post we saw the incredible amount of trouble that was reserved for the unbelievers during the Great Tribulation. So far the earth has been subjected to all kinds of catastrophic events that have affected the people, these events are similar to what happened in Egypt when Pharaoh wouldn't let God's children go.
That is about to change as the misery becomes a result of physical torture that is applied directly to the unbelievers. The first few rounds of torture were the result of events that take place on the earth. (earthquakes, famine, water becoming blood)
The agents to administer this torture are released when the key to the bottomless pit is handed over to their leader. The bottomless pit is opened and its demons receive their orders, they are released but they are restrained, they are told what they must do and they cannot do anything else.
For five months the unbelieving world will have non-stop stinging pain like a scorpion inflicts. The pain will be so extreme that the people will wish to die but God does not grant them their wish, man has always had the ability to self destruct, but in the Great Tribulation suicide will not be an option.
The seals and trumpets are a gradual start of God's judgment that allows people some more time to change their minds but instead they are still rebellious even after being constantly tortured for five months. That's 216,000 minutes of non-stop, extreme suffering without any hope of relief.
To live without hope is a very sad place to be, you would think that this misery would be enough to get them to turn from their wickedness but instead of changing their ways they prove that they love their sinful ways and just seek to die. (Proverbs 2:14, 26:11, @ Timothy 3:1-5
Instead of seeking life they seek death but how is dying without a Savior going to make things better?
After five months of torture one-third of the earth's population gets their wish. God allows another group of wicked angels to be released and there is another outbreak of demonic activity that will bring widespread death to the people that were so anxious to die.
Again, I must ask you, even if you are being tortured continuously for 216,000 minutes, how does dying without a Savior improve your sad condition?
Back in Revelation 6:8 one fourth of the earth have already died and now another one third of the population dies in Revelation 9:15. There are thousands upon thousands of bodies lying around that needed to be disposed of, there are great wars, famine and evil demonic torture. No wonder mankind's only hope is to die.
It is unnecessary to try to “spiritualize” these symbols, or to interpret them in light of modern means of warfare. John is heaping image upon image to force us to feel the horror of this judgment.Again, I must ask you, even in these terrible conditions, how does choosing to die without a Savior improve your sad condition?
-Warren Wiersbe
There must be another option, there must be time to make the right choice and accept the Savior, otherwise why would John tell us that man refused to repent. It seems to be implied that they have a choice but they refuse to choose wisely. (Revelation 2:21, 9:20)
You know that Cain and Abel must have heard their parents tell them about life in the garden and that God judged them for sin. When Noah and his family left the Ark they all immediately run back to their sinful ways.
Deuteronomy 30:15, 17-18 Now listen! Today am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. 17 But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, 18 then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.
When you read about it in scripture it seems like the correct choice is so obvious. After everything that happened on the way to the promised land God's children should have been able to make the right choice. They suffered severe consequences that are as big as some of the events in Revelation and many of them refused to repent just like the people in the end times.
Proverbs 1:22 "How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?
We are all just one step from stupid. We can all be known as a simpleton that enjoys his own rebellion and pride. The chances of success in this area are greatly increased when we truly love God and his book of instruction that he has given to us.
