Have you ever read a scary book? It is apparently quite enjoyable because many people read them. I’m not sure why scary books are such a big hit, but they always have been. Maybe it’s the suspense involved in not knowing what is going to happen next. Maybe it’s the rush experienced when one is scared. I don’t know, but many are drawn to them.

One good thing about a scary book is that it is all fantasy. Horror books are fictional stories that are quite ridiculous, and mostly unbelievable. That may be why people can enjoy them so much. They know that once the book ends, the horror is over as well. But, what if you read a book that depicted something real? Now that would be a scary book, wouldn’t it?

There is such a book. It’s a book in the Bible. You might guess the book I am referring to is the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is a scary book, but not for the reason most people think. Most people think the book of Revelation depicts future events that pertain to a period of great tribulation which ends with the battle of Armageddon. That futuristic approach to the book, however, is unwarranted and, for that matter, unscriptural. The book of Revelation contains events that were to shortly happen (Revelation 1:1, 3). There may someday be a World War III, but it is not described in the book of Revelation.  

The book of Revelation describes the fall of a nation that was guilty of persecuting God’s people. Many non-millennial scholars believe that the book depicts the fall of the Roman empire. I’m inclined to believe this is a correct assessment of the book. But why is the book of Revelation so scary? After all, if the contents of the book have, for the most part, been fulfilled, which I believe they have been, why should they bother us so much? The answer is because the book not only depicts the fall of the Roman empire, it also reveals how and why the empire fell.

Within the book of Revelation, we find seven seals being opened, seven trumpets being sounded, and seven bowls of wrath being poured out. All these signs and symbols depict judgments of God falling upon Rome for her ungodliness and mistreatment of the saints of our Lord. The trumpets that are sounded are found in chapters 8-11. While they represent judgments from God, the judgments are only partial and meant to turn the ungodly to repentance. The first four trumpets point to judgments that befell Rome by way of natural calamities. Historians agree that natural disasters played a role in the downfall of Rome. The fifth trumpet shows the part that internal moral decay played in the fall of Rome, while the sixth trumpet point to the outside military invasion that contributed to Rome finally falling.

To me the fifth trumpet is the most alarming. The language is highly figurative, but the message is real. Rome fell because of the self-inflicted wound of moral corruption. Paul, in the book of Romans, described the ungodliness of the Roman empire 1:18-32. Revelation 9 shows that while Rome is hurt by the judgments of God, she refuses to repent. The final judgment is then inevitable and will be revealed by the bowls of wrath to come.

The book of Revelation shows us that no matter how powerful an empire may seem, and how indestructible it appears to be, moral corruption can bring it down. Yes, there were other factors involved, but moral degradation was one of the major reasons for Rome’s demise. Let’s observe some of the scary details of Revelation 9.

John speaks of a fallen star to whom was given the key (authority to open) to the bottomless pit (9:1). The star is Satan (Luke 18:10; Revelation 12:9). The pit is the realm where demons abide (Luke 8:31), and out of which comes that which is devilish and wicked. When the pit is opened smoke comes out and darkens the sun and the air (9:2). Smoke blinds and contaminates and here symbolizes the moral decadence which contaminated the Roman empire. The darkness is the veil Satan uses “to blind the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Out of the smoke came a horde of locust. These were no ordinary locusts (9:3-10). These locusts had stingers like scorpions and teeth like lions. They had faces like men, hair like women, and bodies shaped like that of horses. They were well dressed too. They had on crowns of gold and breastplates of iron and their wings sounded like chariots of horses running to battle. What do these locusts represent or symbolize? Some premillennialist say that they are mutant locust with demons in them, while others say that they are Cobra helicopters used in the battle of Armageddon. That is all nonsense. Remember, this fifth trumpet ushers in a judgment of God upon the ungodly. The locust is a symbolic picture of the consequences of sin experienced by a nation consumed by ungodliness and unrighteousness.

The picture of these locusts is one of the deceptive nature of sin (Hebrews 3:13). At first glance there are many appealing features about these locusts. They are strong like horses, and they have on crowns of gold indicating victory. They have the hair of women, signifying the softness and beauty of women. The problem with sin, though, is its beauty and pleasure only last for but a season (Hebrew 11:25). Sin promises things delightful and pleasant, but in the end, it delivers torment. In the end, the consequences of sin are terrible and torturous. We notice that aside from the more appealing qualities of these locusts, there are the characters that represent pain and suffering. They have the teeth of lions, indicating their ability to overpower and devour. They have the tails of scorpions, indicating their ability to inflict pain and sorrow.

All of this is an apocalyptic picture of the problems Rome experienced due to her obsession with sin. Indeed, the Roman empire experienced the gratification of the flesh by indulging in the degradation of sin, but in the end that degradation lead to her demise. “Greed, and all the evils that feed its fulfillment such as dishonesty, theft, and murder, characterized the Gentile world. Even the heathen temples promoted priestesses who committed sexual gratification in the name of religion. Divorce was common, undermining the moral fabric upon which strong societies are built. Men gave themselves ‘over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness’ (Ephesians 4:19). These sins only led to pain, sorrow, and, ultimately, to the downfall of a strong empire” (Robert Harkrider, Truth Commentaries, Revelation, pp. 108, 109).

What does all of this mean to us today and why should the context of Revelation 9 scare us? It is because it appears the United States is following the same path of moral corruption. Do we really think that if the Lord doesn’t return first, the great empire of the United States won’t someday meet the same fate as Rome? Sin prevails in this country. Homosexuality is accepted as a legitimate lifestyle. Fornication is everywhere. Millions of babies are slaughtered every year. Immorality seems to be the rule among our leaders in Washington, rather than the exception. Yes, I think there is something to worry about for citizens of the United States.

There is something encouraging for the Christians though. In Revelation nine, the locust was not permitted to harm those who had the seal of God in their foreheads (the seal of God represents the redeemed – Revelation 7). Moral corruption, and the consequences of sin, do not affect the Christian the same way they do the ungodly. Christians are spared much of the pain and agony that comes because of sin. This is surely motivation to obey the gospel and continue in the paths of righteousness all the days of our lives.