Revelation 9:20-21 meaning

Revelation 9:20-21 depicts the fallout of the plagues upon the human race, and the survivors’ unwillingness to repent. The destruction of the sixth trumpet is that a third of mankind would be killed by the smoke and fire and brimstone that comes out of the mouths of the apparently demonic fire-breathing horses with heads of lions and tails like snakes. God’s power has been on display throughout this destruction, as He has authorized and set boundaries upon each plague.

But John tells us that in spite of this severe divine judgement, the people of the earth do not repent:

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts (vs. 20-21).

One would think that the natural response to the vast display of God’s majesty and power through the judgements being wrought upon the earth would be for humanity to turn from their wickedness and follow God. But instead, mankind is stubborn and did not repent of the works of their hands.

This is similar to Exodus, where it took ten plagues for Pharaoh to finally relent to let the Israelites leave Egypt and go to the Promised Land (Exodus 7-13). However, it is different here in that Pharaoh finally relented. In this case, the people’s hearts remain hardened. Perhaps this is why God has finally chosen to judge the earth at this time. It would seem that all hope of repentance has passed (2 Peter 3:9).

The specific sins that mankind did not repent of are worshipping demons and idols, murders, sorceries, immorality, and theft.

It seems it is the same basic list of sins being repeated over and again throughout Revelation: worshipping idols, murder, sorcery, immorality, and lying or theft.

Let’s look more closely at the root of each of these sins.

First, idolatry (worshipping demons and idols). Idolatry is refusing to acknowledge God as He is. It is refusing to put God in His proper place. It could mean literally worshipping idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk (v. 20). Or it could mean looking to anything else as your authority and object of worship other than God.

We see repeatedly throughout Revelation the reminder that God is on the throne and that He alone has the power to authorize what is to happen. It is the constant temptation of humanity to prefer instead to worship a false god that we believe we can control—causing us to live an illusion that it is us who ultimately control all things.

In the Old Testament, the temptation to turn to idols was rooted in the desire for control and to “get what you want.” The pagan gods were like a vending machine; if you worship the rain god you get rain and if you worship the fertility god you get pregnant. But the one true God doesn’t work like that. We have no control over what He does, and worshipping Him does not ensure that we will get what we want.

Rather, we worship Him because He is the creator. He is God. He is the One actually in control. He made us and has our best interest at heart. Rather than giving us what we want, which is often self-destructive, instead, God leads us to green pastures and waters of life (Psalm 23). God gives us what is in our true best interest.

The sin of murder is also an attempt to take control of what only God should be in control of: life and death. When we take aim to kill another person, we assert a right that is God’s alone. Lying or theft involves exploiting others for our own gain. Both behaviors are centered on coercion and control. In each case, we improperly claim an authority that is not properly ours. In doing so, we bring others harm and also bring destruction to ourselves.

Likewise, sexual immorality involves exploiting others and asserting our own desire to be in control. We tend to believe that we are in control of our own lives, and therefore we don’t have to follow God’s moral law about what we should do with our bodies. However, just as God made physical laws, He also made moral laws. In each case, His laws have an unavoidable consequence.

1 Corinthians 6 provides explanation for why God cares about how we treat our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:15-19 tells us that sexual sin is worse than other sins because sexual sin is a sin against our own bodies.

We should flee sexual immorality because it is self-destructive and unites us with more than one person, robbing us of the great benefit of pursuing oneness.

Even though it seems that the people being described as refusing to repent are unbelievers destined for the lake of fire, believers can make application from these passages as well. 1 Thessalonians 4 speaks to believers, and tells them:

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)

The will of God is for the sanctification of each believer. This means that He wants us to be washed clean, be set apart from sin, and become like Him. And part of the process of sanctification which is laid out here is to “abstain from sexual immorality.” The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, refuse to repent of their choices to walk apart from God’s ways. As a result, they are receiving God’s judgment. Although believers have been delivered from judgment, we can choose judgement if we continue to walk in sin (Romans 6:16).

If we go back to Revelation 2, we see that the church in Pergamum is called out for eating food sacrificed to idols and committing acts of immorality (Revelation 2:14). Similarly, God tells the church in Thyatira that “I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (Revelation 2:20).

Jumping ahead to the end of Revelation, we see that:

“He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
(Revelation 21:7-8)

Likewise, a chapter later, we are told that:

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
(Revelation 22:14-15)

There are consequences for sin for anyone who sins (Galatians 6:7-8). But for the believer who overcomes by resisting sin and temptation, there are immense rewards (Revelation 3:21).

Finally, sorceries involve abuse and substances as a means of escape. It creates a false reality where we can control our environment. There is a false promise of power over our circumstances. What sorceries actually deliver is death and slavery to sin. Sorceries yield a false reality because we are not in charge, God is. What He wills will be first and foremost above all else.

This reality that God is God is manifestly resisted by the people suffering plagues at the hand of God. Unlike the ancient Egyptians who ultimately gave God glory and repented of their abuse of the Israelites, these people refuse to repent. Their sinfulness is in full defiance of God and of reality.