The locusts come out to torment those that don't have the seal of God.
True.
In what way would false prophets and false christs be tormenting those those that don't have the seal of God? The text says they are tormented for 5 months wishing to die but death flees from them. Your interpretation doesn't even remotely help make sense of any of this. IOW, your interpretation is not on the same page with what John saw at the time.
And why would satan be attacking his own ppl via these locusts? After all, anyone that doesn't have the seal of God would already be in satan's camp. Therefore, it is God, not satan, who is behind the releasing of these locusts.
A little background on the king of the Bottomless pit first...
Revelation 9:11
- "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."
Actually, Satan is not an angel, he is a spirit the "messenger" of evil, and Apollyon (
or Abaddon) is Satan, that very same spirit and king ruling over the deceived. Satan doesn't give command to Apollyon, Satan "IS" Apollyon. That word means destruction, and that is the epitome of what he does here.
He is the king or ruler of this spiritual army from the abyss, and what he brings is death to these people. This Hebrew word [
abaddon] only occurs here in the New Testament and 5 times in the Old Testament (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Prov 15:11 ) and
always relates to death, which this messenger from hell/hades brings to the unfaithful congregation (those in it who are not truly sealed).
Satan's interest is
absolutely in attacking the church, and in Revelation 20 when he is loosened, God makes that point even more abundantly clear. It's the evil spirit Satan's "whole persona" and reason for existence. He is the absolute quintessential adversary of the church,
not the world which is his domain. The world is his own, it's already his kingdom that he's not fighting against because a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The word of God encourages us to make our calling and election sure
not because Satan has no interest in attacking the church, but because that is his whole character, his entire modus operandi. Satan isn't loosed to attack his own kingdom, but as
judgment upon the
unfaithful church, just as in the old Testament God loosed wicked empires upon Israel as judgment for their rebellions. The fact is, the judgment and
apostasy comes specifically because Satan is loosed by God upon a rebellious church that will not receive His truth in the love wherewith it was given. Apostasy is a falling away of the church, not a falling away of the world. The world is already fallen.
2nd Thessalonians 2:9-11
- "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
- And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
- And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
- That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
The false Christs and false prophets that come to deceive are attacking the church, and who do they deceive there? Under rule of the Apollyon, the great destroyer Satan,
they bring the rebellious church to desolation by deceiving those men within it that do not have the seal of God in their foreheads.
Revelation 7:2-3
- "And I saw another messenger ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four messengers, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
- Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."
That's the whole reason Satan was bound in the bottomless pit, so that He could not go forth deceiving the nations
until after the 144,000 of Israel (symbolically all and every believers) were all sealed (secured) with the Spirit of promise. But once the church has done its job, their testimony finished, then he is loosed as "locusts" upon the grass. The point being
NOT until God has sealed/saved everyone that He intends to save FIRST!
For example, those who claimed to be part of God's Church
have not made their calling and election sure (2nd Peter 1:10). God brings this spiritual judgment of delusion upon His Temple because these are those who would not receive the love of truth (2nd Thessalonians 2:12), instead getting their pleasure from unrighteousness. The destroyer comes up against the camp of the saints, not his own camp and his own people and his own kingdom.
I understand that the wicked are already ruled over by Satan, they are his slaves, they are fully in bondage to him and
his will they will do. Satan is not loosed to attack them, he is attacking
his adversary by deceiving those
in the house of God who call themselves of the Kingdom of Christ, but who lack the seal (security) of God. Thus he thinks to bring the kingdom down by
infiltration.
This is a spiritual battle of kingdom against Kingdom, nation against nation, family against family, the generation of evil against the generation of righteousness, warfare of the wicked
against the camp of the saints, the house of God--not his own house.
Matthew 12:25
- "And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:"
So again, Satan isn't attacking his own kingdom (world). And indeed as Christ illustrated this, the congregation of national Israel was brought to desolation
specifically because it was a kingdom divided against and at war with itself. The election thus come out of her (the harlot church) standing far off, while those who were not sealed of the Spirit of redemption are brought to desolation within. The evil spirits were, are and always will be at war with the congregation, for that is its adversary, not its own kingdom, its own house, its own army or its own people. The interpretation presented here has Satan's army loosed to go forth to conquer a camp that he already rules over. That doesn't ring true or Biblical. He gathers together his people as an army and goes up against the camp of the saints, God's congregation.