I have been reading through the Bible for some time, and when I finally came to Revelation I decided to read John MacArthur’s Because the Time is Near along with it. I put the study on hold for 1-2 months as I was reading some other things. On Monday, I picked up where I left off in Revelation. Yesterday I read chapter 10, and was really blown away by the wickedness of mankind and how easily man is deceived. John is telling about the trumpets and the plagues released on the earth during the Tribulation. Verse 18 says “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed …” Wouldn’t you think that after people have seen the most horrible destruction known to mankind, they might start to wise up a little bit? No … instead this is what happens …

“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.” (Rev.10:20-21; emphasis mine)

Mankind has just witnessed the judgment of God … but it has no effect on them. The section of Revelation I’m reading is rather depressing. But it causes me to think about the Gospel and the urgency to tell people the truth of God’s Word! That is my prayer as I read Revelation … Lord, grant me a sense of urgency to preach the Gospel to a very lost and dying world!