And the four angels [by the great river Euphrates], who were prepared for that very hour, day, month, and year, were released in order to kill a third of the human race. Rev. 9:15.
In the larger picture of the sixth trumpet these four angels call up an "army from hell," dressed in red, blue, and sulfurous yellow. The angels and their army have one purpose and one purpose only--to kill human beings in massive numbers. You could say that they are the ultimate agents of mass destruction. The powerful weapons they direct, emanating from the mouths and tails of 200 million cavalry horses, kill a full third of the human race. In the background of all this destruction lurks the "angel of the abyss" (Rev. 9:11). The urge to kill and destroy ultimately arises from the proud and vengeful heart of Satan himself.
A friend of mine, Gordon Retzer, tells the story of Frank Taitague, who knows this from personal experience. A resident of Guam, Taitague was a teenager when the Japanese army took control of Guam during World War II. In an attempt to gain complete control of the island, the occupiers decided to kill all the residents. Taitague managed to escape to the hills, but not before he saw his 8-year-old niece thrown to the ground and brutally kicked. When the war ended and the Americans liberated his country, he remained a prisoner of hatred, determined to get revenge.
Taitague carried a rifle with him wherever he went. Like the four angels of Revelation he had a set purpose, and that was to kill. One day he came upon some Japanese soldiers who had not been able to leave the island when the war ended. Immediately he took aim, prepared to kill without remorse. But before he could pull the trigger someone grabbed his arm. It was perhaps the one person who could have stopped him at that moment--his father. A dedicated Seventh-day Adventist Christian, his father reminded Frank that he had always dreamed of being a pastor. The set purpose of the pastor is to bring life, not to kill. Together they decided that Frank would leave the island and go to Pacific Union College to study to become a minister.
But God was not finished with Frank Taitague. When he arrived at the college, the men's dormitory dean assigned him to a room and informed his that his roommate had already arrived. Frank reached his room and knocked on the door. A Japanese student opened the door! Instinctively Frank raised his fist, prepared to do serious damage. But God worked a miracle in his life. He and his roommate became the best of friends. God's purpose to love and give life replaced Satan's purpose to hate and kill.
Lord, You are the giver of life. You are the one who can change the way I think about others and behave toward them. Help me to see others through Your eyes of love.
In the larger picture of the sixth trumpet these four angels call up an "army from hell," dressed in red, blue, and sulfurous yellow. The angels and their army have one purpose and one purpose only--to kill human beings in massive numbers. You could say that they are the ultimate agents of mass destruction. The powerful weapons they direct, emanating from the mouths and tails of 200 million cavalry horses, kill a full third of the human race. In the background of all this destruction lurks the "angel of the abyss" (Rev. 9:11). The urge to kill and destroy ultimately arises from the proud and vengeful heart of Satan himself.
A friend of mine, Gordon Retzer, tells the story of Frank Taitague, who knows this from personal experience. A resident of Guam, Taitague was a teenager when the Japanese army took control of Guam during World War II. In an attempt to gain complete control of the island, the occupiers decided to kill all the residents. Taitague managed to escape to the hills, but not before he saw his 8-year-old niece thrown to the ground and brutally kicked. When the war ended and the Americans liberated his country, he remained a prisoner of hatred, determined to get revenge.
Taitague carried a rifle with him wherever he went. Like the four angels of Revelation he had a set purpose, and that was to kill. One day he came upon some Japanese soldiers who had not been able to leave the island when the war ended. Immediately he took aim, prepared to kill without remorse. But before he could pull the trigger someone grabbed his arm. It was perhaps the one person who could have stopped him at that moment--his father. A dedicated Seventh-day Adventist Christian, his father reminded Frank that he had always dreamed of being a pastor. The set purpose of the pastor is to bring life, not to kill. Together they decided that Frank would leave the island and go to Pacific Union College to study to become a minister.
But God was not finished with Frank Taitague. When he arrived at the college, the men's dormitory dean assigned him to a room and informed his that his roommate had already arrived. Frank reached his room and knocked on the door. A Japanese student opened the door! Instinctively Frank raised his fist, prepared to do serious damage. But God worked a miracle in his life. He and his roommate became the best of friends. God's purpose to love and give life replaced Satan's purpose to hate and kill.
Lord, You are the giver of life. You are the one who can change the way I think about others and behave toward them. Help me to see others through Your eyes of love.
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