In the Book of Revelation’s ninth chapter (as well as all three chapters of the Book of Joel), God’s Word details a coming plague.
BUT, this plague is not of disease OR insects: the plague written about in both Joel and Revelation is a plague of the DEMONIC, who torment those who mock and scoff at God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
One EXTREMELY interesting point made is that this horde of DEMONS is part of GOD’S end times army–not Satan’s.
” And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
–Joel 2:11
There are those who pretend to be Bible teachers who call the beings in Joel “a plague of locusts.”
And, while God’s Word does characterize those bringers-of-torment as “locusts,” the careful reader can KNOW they are NOT insects, but last days DEMONIC hordes controlled by God (NOT Satan).
How can the reader determine this?
By STUDYING God’s Word.
“And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”
–Revelation 9:1-3,5-6
NOW, the reader can name NO locusts which originate from the bottomless pit.
BUT, there is another, MORE CONVINCING piece of evidence.
“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”
–Revelation 9:11
[Apollyon means ‘a destroyer.’]
The reader can KNOW that these are mere characterizations of beings who are CALLED ‘locusts.’
The reader can KNOW this by recalling Proverbs 30:27.
“The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands”
The reader can KNOW that the beings described in Joel are NOT locusts from some past locust affliction. Joel 1:15 CLEARLY tells the reader when Joel’s vision is taking place.
“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.”
–Joel 1:15
The ‘day of the LORD’ is an expression used in God’s Word for the day of God’s judgment during the end times; the return of Jesus Christ to earth.
The reader can KNOW that the demonic beings in Joel and those in Revelation are the same by a bit of comparative reading.
“The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.”
–Joel 2:4
“And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle”
–Revelation 9:7
“For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.”
–Joel 1:6
“And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.”
–Revelation 9:8
EVEN the sound this crew makes is the same.
“Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.”
–Joel 2:5
“and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.”
–Revelation 9:9
One of the most interesting pieces of information in Joel and Revelation is that it is GOD who controls this demonic horde, NOT Satan–as God has controlled these spirit entities from the very beginning.
From the vivid descriptions in both the Book of Joel and the Book of Revelation, it is clear that God’s Word was employing a bit of artistic license when it calls the DEMONS in Joel (and Revelation) “locusts.”
MORE: Devils, Demons, Evil or Familiar Spirits: Ten Observations
MORE: A Few Thoughts: Beelzebub, Unclean Spirits and Demons
MORE: The Many Stories Told By Satan’s Storytellers to Stroke Satan’s Ego
Who does the reader believe controls evil spirits: God (who created them) OR Satan (who makes frequent use of them and their powers)?
It is not YET too late: there is still a LITTLE time to change direction (repent), place your faith (hope) for the future entirely on Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of heaven.
DOES the reader believe he is saved?
Make Your Calling and Election Sure: End Times Survival
DOES the reader believe he is NOT saved?
Time is Running Out: Today is the Day of Salvation
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. ”
–1 Corinthians 15:1-8
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
-–Romans 1:16
A Reminder: The Gospel is Simple
MORE: Eternal Salvation Through Jesus Christ: Salvation Messages from End Times Prophecy Report
[Portions of this piece appeared originally in End Times Prophecy Headlines: 11, 2022.]
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by Jeremiah Jameson
–with Mondo Frazier
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