Revelation 9:4

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4 And [kai] it was commanded [rheo] them [autos] that [hina me] they should [adikeo] not [hina me] hurt [adikeo] the grass [chortos] of the earth, [ge] neither [oude] any [pas] green thing, [chloros] neither [oude] any [pas] tree; [dendron] but [ei me] only [monos] those men [anthropos] which [hostis] have [echo] not [ou] the seal [sphragis] of God [theos] in [epi] their [autos] foreheads. [metopon]   KJV-Interlinear

4 And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.    NASB

These demons have been penned up in the Abyss for a very long time.  We are not told the duration of their incarceration. 

When they are released, what appears first is the dark smoke representing their attitude, which is totally devoid of truth.They are filled with hate and evil to the core and worse.

However, God controls everything, and in our verse, these demons are given a command (orders) from God, and they obey them.

One would think that these demons would want only one thing when released, and that would be to go out and kill and do whatever destruction that they could.   Perhaps it was this group who sent the universe into its groaning state, eons ago?  But, again, Jesus Christ controls everything, and they comply.  It is an interesting contrast in attitude for the demons.They are full of hate, but still hold a greater regard for Christ’s power, which they fear even more.

We are still in the introductory verses of the demons.We have not yet made it to their tormenting capabilities.

With a picture like a locust and scorpion, they are certainly not pretty, but rather ugly and repulsive, and scary to have around.If you saw several billions of these demons coming at you, then you might stop and reconsider your attitude toward Christ.  At least one would think that.

The demons are given orders to ignore the plant life, namely the grass and crops and trees and such.Normally locusts will devour all of the plant life in their area, and then move on to the next area with vegetation and destroy it.

The typical characteristic of a locust infestation, is that they swarm in huge numbers that cannot be counted.They are massive in number.They descend on their target, typically plants, and cover it and devour it all.  So they have mouths and bite and chew, obviously.Locusts do not have stingers in their tails as do scorpions, but then these demons are a unique group.

And their marching orders are simply this – to ignore the plants, and torment unbelievers only.

Those who do not have the seal of God ‘in’ their foreheads, is an expression for unbelievers.

‘In’ the forehead is a reference to their decision, or rather their lack of a decision to believe in Christ.

Seal, ‘sphragis,’ means a protective fence, and do not enter fence, a protective barrier which prevents misappropriation.  And this seal exists within the soul when a person believes in Christ.You have a seal in your soul, but you will not be able to see it in the mirror.

This is not a tattoo on the forehead, but the designation of the soul, for those who are saved, verses those who have not believed and therefore are not saved.

Now, you and I cannot go around and look at someone and determine whether they are a Christian or not, just by looking at them.But it would appear that God will make it very clear as to just who is a believer in Christ and who is not.It could be too, that most of the world population is an unbelieving population. 

In any case, if someone during this assault, believes in Christ, then they would no longer be an unbeliever, and therefore would be off limits to the demon assault.

So keep that in mind when we cover the next few verses.The assault can be stopped instantly, with the act of a mere thought – faith in Christ.How difficult could that be?

Also, the next assault by demons will bring death.So, this could very well be the last opportunity for many people to believe in Christ, lest they harden their attitudes against Christ, and then face death and permanent loss of their eternal future.

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