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THE 3 WOES: Satan and The Spirit of Death

The fallen angel called the spirit of death is named Abaddon in the Old Testament and Apollyon in the New Testament. I suspect that this fallen angel was among the 1/3 who fell to the earth at the time of the war between God and Satan, a war that destroyed all life prior to God’s creation of Adam and Eve. Jesus gives a clue when He revealed to His disciples that He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. As Satan fell to the earth, Apollyon was locked up in the pit. He serves Satan from his headquarters beneath the earth to kill, steal and destroy.

For additional clues regarding Apollyon , let us examine the meaning of his name. Like the great dragon was once Lucifer, —-the angel of light in heaven before his fall—-, so too was Apollyon an angel of light, yet hideously transformed into the Angel of death, for his name literally means Death, the Destroyer. As Satan is the prince f the powers of the air, Apollyon is the prince of hell, a place where he tortures the unsaved dead. We read about him in Revelation 9

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer). The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come. Revelation 9:1-12

Yet, Apollyon will be released: When? At the time of the sounding of the 5th trumpet.

TAKE NOTICE OF THE LAST VERSE. “THE FIRST WOE IS PAST. TWO OTHER WOES ARE YET TO COME. So what are the second and the third “woes?” THEY ARE THE RELEASE OF FOUR MORE ANGELS WHO FELL WITH SATAN!

The second woe is revealed after the sixth trumpet judgment.

This woe begins when a voice commands, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates” (Revelation 9:14). These four angels are in addition to Apollyon, original spirit beings cast from heaven DURING THEIR WAR WITH GOD! . Satan has NOT YET BEEN bound like these other angels were but his time is short! God is right now keeping those angels additional imprisoned until their appointed time of release. (Revelation 9:15; cf. Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4). These angels and their armies are released to kill a third of mankind (Revelation 9:15-16).

After the second woe passes (Revelation 11:14), the victory of the elect is at hand, with the announcement from heaven, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). In other words, this final stage of judgment will be the end, and righteousness will be restored to the earth.

The third woe is revealed after the seventh trumpet judgment. This third woe marks the completion of God’s judgment on sin; it occupies the book of Revelation through the 19th chapter, when Christ’s Kingdom is established on earth. Incorporated within this third and final woe are the seven “bowls” of God’s wrath, described in Revelation 16:1-21. This series of judgments is the greatest horror the people of this planet have ever witnessed. Jesus said, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (Matthew 24:22).

So where do the plagues, namely Covid-19 fit into all of this? I suspect it marks the time of the tribulation. We could overcome Coronavirus. Nevertheless, this plague sets the stage and remains a sign that the Lord Jesus Christ is standing up, looking down and preparing to descend and return to earth.

Come Lord Jesus!


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