When Man Refuses To Answer To Heaven
Matthew Maher
• The point isn't to be mesmerized by demonology but to marvel at God's sovereignty.
Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." — Revelation 9:13-14
• To continually reject God's mercy is to eventually receive God's wrath.
So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. — Revelation 9:15-16
And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. — Revelation 9:17
By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouth. For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. — Revelation 9:18-19
• Sin begins with deception, but it always ends in destruction.
But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. — Revelation 9:20-21
• The root problem of the unrepentant is not a lack of evidence but a hardened heart.
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." — John 3:19
• False worship always produces false living.
• A culture that rejects the Author of life eventually authorizes death.
Additional Scriptures Referenced: Exodus 30:10; 1 Kings 1:50; Luke 8; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Genesis 6; Genesis 15:18; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 115:4-8
Discussion Questions
Discussion questions were submitted, so I'll follow Path A — format only, preserve wording and order exactly.
1. The four angels had been prepared for a specific hour, day, month, and year. What does that level of divine precision teach us about God's sovereignty—and how should it change the way we trust Him with the details of our own lives? (Revelation 9:15; Psalm 139:16)
2. The altar that once proclaimed mercy now announces judgment. What does this teach us about God's patience, and why is it dangerous to continually delay repentance? (Revelation 9:13; Hebrews 10:26-31)
3. Pharaoh witnessed the plagues. Israel crossed the Red Sea. The Pharisees saw Lazarus raised. Revelation records billions dying under God's judgments. Yet people still refuse to repent. What does this pattern teach us about the human heart? (Revelation 9:20-21; John 3:19; Romans 1:18-21)
4. John begins with idolatry before listing murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft. Why do you think false worship always leads to false living? What modern idols are most likely to compete for your worship? (Revelation 9:20; Romans 1:21-25)
5. The first woe revealed what happens when hell answers to heaven. The second woe reveals what happens when man refuses to answer to heaven. Where is God calling you to surrender rather than resist Him? (Revelation 9:12-21)