A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM JACK VAN IMPE

www.jvim.com

We want to finish out our study on the sixth trumpet by studying in-depth the five sins mentioned in Revelation 9:21-22:

Rev. 9:21   And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their immorality(sexual) or their thefts. (NLT)

Rev 9:21

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication(sex sin), nor of their thefts. (KJV)

Occultism

The Tribulation will be a time of pronounced devil worship. Anton LaVey began the church of Satan movement in San Francisco. Estimates reveal that tens of thousands in California alone are connected to this or some other type of occult organization. Stores where satanic objects may be purchased are presently springing up everywhere nationally and internationally. God hates this sin!

Listen to the Almighty: Regard not them that have familiar(evil)spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:3 1). And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people (Leviticus 20:6). Anything that smacks of demonic-related practices has the anathema of God upon it. Look at the listing found in Deuteronomy 18:10-12: There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times [astrology], or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer (talking to the DEAD!). For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.

In addition to worshipping devils, earth dwellers of the Tribulation hour also use idols made of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood. God hates idolatry! This practice breaks His holy law-the second commandment-given to Moses in Exodus 20:4,5 which declares, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for l the Lord thy God am a jealous God.

There are those today who, knowingly or unknowingly, break God's commandment by worshipping lifeless, man-made idols. Their worship, however, is meaningless to God. The psalmist says in Psalm 115:4-8, Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them [helpless and hopeless]; so is every one that trusteth in them. God condemns idolatry-past, present, and future!

During the Tribulation hour, the world-steeped in occultism and idolatry-progresses to the worship of the image of the beast, or Antichrist, who proclaims himself as God (see 2 Thessalonians 2:4).

This image, made in his likeness (see Revelation 13:15), is undoubtedly the abomination of desolation spoken of in Matthew 24:15, which is placed in the Temple in Jerusalem and which brings great heartache to the Jews of that day. One can see that the world's present surge of occultism is paving the way for the coming of the greatest religious imposter in history (The Antichrist).

Murder

During this same time, murder becomes a sport and judgment does not change the situation. The wicked refuse to turn from their brutalistic manner of living. They find pleasure in killing people, perhaps because terrorism is rampant. Jesus said, But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:37). Noah's day was characterized by violence: The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence (Genesis 6:11). Our twentieth century is certainly leading us to this terrifying hour.

Drugs, fornication, and stealing

The final three sins prevalent during the end time are interrelated and have to do with sorceries-drug abuse, fornication (the practice of every conceivable sex sin), and theft. These sins indicate that bodies are being sold (through prostitution) and burglaries are being committed in order to support the drug kick. Present news headlines indicate that this day is already dawning! Surely our time as the Church upon earth is about to end and we must prepare to meet [our] God (Amos 4:12). In concluding this chapter, let's spend some time on the matter of drugs.

There are a number of words used in the Bible to describe the subject of sorcery. Altogether there are at least twenty-seven references to sorcery, sorceries, sorcerers, witches, witchcraft, and the art of bewitching. Of these, at least five in the New Testament are especially pertinent, for they have a direct bearing on the day in which we live-the present day of drugs and drug addiction.

In the books of the Old Testament and the Book of Acts the term sorcery always means "witchcraft" or "magic"-and one should note that the practice is continually and constantly condemned! Five occurrences of the word sorcery in the New Testament, however, have to do with drug addiction. In these instances, the original Greek word is pharmakeia- from which we get our English term pharmacy or drugstore. The literal meaning of the Greek is an "enchantment with drugs," or to "get high on" or "get a kick out of" drugs. Medications prescribed by doctors are not part of this condemnation. The literal rendering of verse 21, then, is that men repent not of their enchantment with drugs during the Tribulation hour. Each of the five references must be carefully considered in the light of its context. Collectively, they clearly reveal:

1. The present world condition as foretold in the prophetic scriptures;
2. The inevitable result of drug addiction;
3. The certain and definite judgment upon the drug pusher as well as
4. The drug victim; and finally
5. The appraisal of this terrible sin in the sight of God Almighty.

As previously stated, we can already see the dawning of the day of drugs in the spread of drug use throughout all levels of society. Such a widespread use of drugs cannot help but bring its own destruction. Even amid all the trips in mind expansion propaganda, not one user has ever been able to actually do more or be more efficient than he was before experimenting with drugs. This steady downward retrogression will be climaxed at the close of the Great Tribulation, when the full cup of its own judgment is measured.

The closing chapters of the Book of Revelation graphically portray the terrible consequences of mankind's enchantment with drugs. What we are presently witnessing is only the beginning of the coming disintegration of society during the Tribulation period. Revelation 18:23 states: For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. The Greek word for sorceries, as already mentioned, is pharmakeia. Thus, "by their enchantment with drugs, or getting high on drugs, were all nations deceived." This is the result of mankind's first mass usage of drugs.

Now there is a change in the next occurrence of the word translated sorcerers. This change reveals a class of people who are doomed and is found in chapter 21, verse 8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. The Greek word for sorcerers in this text is pharmakeus. Whereas the word pharmakeia meant "enchantment with drugs," pharmakeus means "the enchanter with drugs"-the pusher or the seller of drugs. This text plainly declares that eight distinct groups of people will never get into heaven but will rather be assigned to the lake of fire (a description of a literal hell). One of these groups is composed of those who are enchanters, or pushers of drugs. What a solemn warning against having anything to do with the soul-damning drug traffic of the present hour!

But wait! There is another reference to sorcerers in this book of the Bible-chapter 22, verse 15: For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Here again the word is pharmakeus. Although the word is the same as the one found in chapter 21, verse 8, it has a deeper meaning in this context. By extension, it includes both the drug pusher and user! Take notice-these individuals are kept out of heaven. (Heaven would not be heaven very long if they were admitted.) There is only one place to which they can go and that is the place of eternal separation from the presence of God- the place prepared for Satan and his angels (see Matthew 25:41).

The Bible is explicit in stating that there is no heaven for those who refuse to repent of their sins. In hell, they will keep on sinning forever. They never repent or get saved there. Notice also that of the six groups named in chapter 22, verse 15, sorcerers (drug pushers and users) occupy second place-immediately following the term which describes outlaws as wild dogs. Oh, God hates this sin!

An additional word, witchcraft, with the same meaning is found in Galatians 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. The word witchcraft in our English Bible is again pharmakeia in the Greek. We also see that this sin is number six in this listing of seventeen kinds of sinners who shall not-shall not-inherit the kingdom of God. The drug user and the drug pusher are both excluded from heaven!

Is there no hope or escape from the clutches of this binding habit? Praise God, there is a source of liberation-it is the Lord Jesus Christ: For this purpose the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Beloved, it is by the way of the cross of Calvary that Jesus has broken Satan's grip. Now, when any-any-guilty sinner calls upon Him for salvation, Jesus Christ immediately frees that person from the shackles of sin and death which bind him. Try Him. There is no limit to the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.