Even the Devil Is on a Leash

Martin Luther once said, "The Devil is still God's Devil." It's a phrase worth sitting with — because the more you turn it over, the more it becomes one of the most stabilizing truths a Christian can hold onto, especially when the world feels like it's coming apart at the seams.

This past Sunday, the message came from Revelation 9:1-21 — and it's not an easy passage. It's dark. It's intense. It's the kind of text that makes you want to look away. But what waits on the other side of that discomfort is something worth fighting for: a God who is absolutely, completely, unshakably in control.

Nothing Happens Outside God's Sovereign Determination
Before getting into the locusts and the armies and the destruction, there's a foundational truth to anchor to: ultimately, nothing happens apart from the sovereign determination of God.

Not a rogue demon. Not a runaway nation. Not even Satan himself. They are all, in some mysterious and terrifying way, operating within the boundaries God has set. He is not the author of evil — James 1:13 makes that crystal clear. But He is sovereign over it. He allows it. He directs it. And He uses it for purposes that are entirely His own.

That's not a small thing. For those living in a moment that feels increasingly chaotic, it might be the most important thing.

Spiritual Warfare Is Real — and It's Intense
Revelation 9 opens with the fifth trumpet, and what follows is a picture of demonic activity that is frankly hard to put into human words. Locusts from the bottomless pit with scorpion-like power. A darkness that fills the air. And people so overwhelmed by torment that they actually long for death — only to find that death won't have them (v. 6).

This is apocalyptic writing, and it's meant to convey something beyond what normal language can carry. But the point is unmistakable: the spiritual battle happening in our community, our nation, and our world — it is real, and it is beyond our wildest imagination.

The good news? Verse 4. The demonic locusts are told not to touch those who have the seal of God on their foreheads. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). The enemy has a mission. But he has limits. And those limits are set by God.

When God Removes His Restraining Grace
The sixth trumpet brings something even more staggering — a demonic army of incomprehensible size, released at a precise moment in history: the hour, the day, the month, and the year (v. 15). God's timing is that specific.

A third of mankind is killed. The scale of it is almost incomprehensible. But the theological weight of this moment is clear: this army can only do what God permits. God is not the author of evil — but He directs and determines what evil does. He is sovereign over every atom of the universe, past, present, and future.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 1 that one of the most sobering expressions of God's wrath is simply letting people go — handing them over to the consequences of their own rejection of Him. What Revelation 9 shows is that principle playing out on a cosmic scale.
When God removes His restraining grace, hell, in a very real sense, comes to earth.

The Utter Depravity of the Human Heart
This is where the passage becomes the most heartbreaking.

After all of it — the torment, the death, the destruction — Revelation 9:20-21 tells us that the rest of mankind still did not repent. They kept worshiping idols. They kept on with their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, their thefts.

W.A. Criswell said it well:
John Calvin put it another way:

Paul tells us in Romans 1:22 that those who claim to be wise by doing this become fools. And Revelation 9 shows us the terrible, logical end of a worldview built without Christ — unimaginable suffering and a heart that, left to itself, only hardens further.

Sin gets easier with practice. It doesn't lead people to repentance — it leads them deeper in.

So What Do We Do With This?
God is always on His throne.

Satan, demons, and evil are real and powerful — and if you're alive right now, you know it. But they are on a divine leash. God, in His grace, imposes limits on what even the powers of darkness are permitted to do. The difference between the total depravity of humanity and the utter depravity we could descend to is nothing less than the restraining grace of God.

The question this passage ultimately raises isn't about demons or armies or trumpets. It's simpler and more personal than that: Are we listening? We are made to worship. Every one of us will worship something. The question is whether it's the Creator — or His creation.

If you've never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, this passage is a warning and an invitation wrapped in one. The gospel is particularly comforting when hell comes to earth. There is a seal of protection for those who belong to Him — and no protection outside of Him.

The Devil may be active. But he is still God's Devil.