And the rest of men who were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and the golden and silver and brazen and stone and wooden idols, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.
The plagues of the sixth trumpet have killed a third of mankind. This verse turns to the survivors, and the shock is not the plague but their answer to it: they keep bowing to gods they made with their own hands.
This verse stands at the end of a long chain of blows. It measures their effect on the human heart, and that effect is nothing.
A humbling lesson, and one we need to remember! God has been sending judgment upon judgment. First He struck men's circumstances, then the men themselves — in this last case torment, and finally death itself. But it is in vain. Such is man after all this, that he repents not of his evil, either religiously or morally. Satan's last effort remains.
This is not a one-off. One writer traces the same pattern from Egypt through to the judgments still to come.
We never find that God's dealings in judgment produce reformation. In Egypt God dealt with Pharaoh, making His blows harsher and harsher. Did that soften his heart? No, it hardened it. Of judgment still to come, Revelation 16:11 tells us more. Men will curse the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and will not repent of their deeds.
The phrase is not a general description of human effort. It carries a settled meaning.
"The works of their hands," of which they did not repent, is a phrase peculiar to heathen idolatry (Isaiah 2:8; Jeremiah 1:16; Psalm 115:4-7).
How could educated modern nations ever end up there? One writer says the drift is already under way.
Here and elsewhere we learn a humbling truth. What "the progress of the age" is drifting towards, in the end, is the setting up of idolatry, in some shape or other, among the civilized nations of the earth. No doubt it will take some plausible and intellectual form, appealing to natural religious feelings, as it always does in its early stages. But God simply classes it with other heathen abominations.
The verse names two objects of worship, and commentators keep them apart. (Older translations read "devils" where the ESV has "demons.")
"That they should not worship demons," not "devils" as older translations have it. Demon worship here is different from the worship of lifeless idols made of various materials. Demons are living spiritual beings who dread a judgment to come (Matthew 8:28-29). The abyss is their proper home (Luke 8:31). They are a class of wicked spirits (Revelation 16:14). Satan is their leader, "the angel of the abyss" (Revelation 9:11). In the lands called Christian, people will yet practise, openly and everywhere, the Gentile idolatry Paul condemned so sternly (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).
The verse ends by listing what the idols cannot do. The point of that list is what it does to the worshipper.
What were they, these idol-images? Simply matter — silver and gold — shaped by men's hands! Mouth and eyes are there all right... But the idol gives no response to his worshipper by word or look. He takes in nothing. He does not hear the voice that cries to him. He does not smell the incense or the sacrifice. He can stretch out no hand to help, and no foot of his will stir to bring relief. What can these senseless deities do but degrade the men who bow before them into beings as senseless?
The materials listed run from gold down to wood, and the list is read as covering the whole of society. Verse 20 gives their religion; the crimes of verse 21 follow from it.
Idolatry has taken over the whole scene. The rich have their gods of gold and silver. The middle class have theirs of brass and stone. The poor have their own as well: idols of wood. The worship and the conduct of the worshippers must always match. If people give up God, who is light and love, for Satan, a murderer and a liar, Satan stamps his own character on his followers and worshippers. Verse 20 gives their religion; verse 21 shows their deeds.
One writer draws the line from this verse to our own day.
We must not think that demon activity has stopped. The call is: "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." 1 John 4:1. This agrees with the statement that "in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons." 1 Timothy 4:1... The world and the professing church are plainly ripening for these things.
- Plague — Judgment falls again and again, first on people's circumstances, then on the people themselves. It produces no repentance. Scripture never shows God's blows reforming anyone.
- Survivors — "The rest" are the ones the plagues leave alive. They see the judgment fall and still will not turn.
- Religion — What they will not give up is "the works of their hands," a phrase the prophets keep for idolatry. Gold, silver, bronze, stone, wood — one for every class of society.
- Reality — Behind the lifeless images stand living spirits. Their home is the abyss and their leader is Satan. The worshipper takes on the character of what he worships.
- Result — Verse 20 gives their religion, verse 21 their deeds. The same drift runs on today, so the call to test the spirits still stands.
And they repented not of their murders, nor of their witchcrafts, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Plagues have just swept away huge numbers of people. This closing line records what the survivors still refused to give up, and forces one question: why did suffering on that scale change nothing?
Idolatry runs through every level of this society, from the rich to the poor.
The whole scene is given over to idolatry. The rich have their gods of gold and silver. The middle class have theirs of brass and stone. Even the poor have their idols, made of wood. The kind of worship and the behaviour of the worshippers must always match. reason
The word translated "sorceries" is not the usual New Testament word for magic.
Revelation uses another word for sorceries: pharmakeia. It refers to drugs — "to stupefy with drugs" — and then to any system of sorcery by spells... Sorcery ranks with the grossest of sins, and the same word describes the professing church in mystical Babylon. Galatians 5:20 translates it "witchcraft."
The last of the four crimes is theft. One commentator traces what happens once every restraint is gone. (Where older translations read "fornication," the ESV has "sexual immorality.")
"Thefts." The bonds of society are loosened. All mutual respect for each other's rights is completely gone, even in the most sacred relationship. What follows? Greed will lure on the mass of men "not killed" to enrich themselves at the expense of society. "Each one for himself" is the order and motto of these coming days. Some respect for property and for other people's goods may still exist, but theft will be part of the settled life and history of these terrible times. A world without God, given up judicially by Him, and Satan received as its prince and ruler!
The words "did not repent" close both verses. Kelly draws the lesson from the whole run of judgments behind them.
"The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent," and so on. A humbling lesson, and one we most need to remember! God has been sending judgment after judgment. First on men's circumstances, then on the men themselves — torment in this case, and at last death itself. But it is in vain. After all this, man is still what he is: he does not repent of his evil, in religion or in morals. Satan's last effort remains.
This collapse does not belong to a backward age. It comes at the peak of everything men count as progress.
Notice, too, the awful moral condition that will characterise the people of this day. God is refused, idols are accepted in His place; all ties between man and man are broken, and the flesh runs riot in every kind of abominable sin. And this is the outcome of modern progress and civilisation! This is what perfected methods of education produce, and enlightened laws meant to improve government and reform society! Remember, this revived Roman empire, where this "woe" falls, is the expression of man's highest ideal — the outcome of all his striving to perfect the human race. Look at the result!
The chapter ends in flat refusal. What God does next matters.
The close of Revelation 9 showed us rebellious men whose depravity and self-will could hardly go further. Chapter 10 opens with a vision of an Angel of unusual majesty and glory. He announces a speedy end to God's mysterious dealings with the earth. So before the final blow falls, God in His mercy gives solemn and ample warning.
- Repent — the missing word. The word closes both verses. Verse 20 names what they kept in worship; verse 21 names what they kept in daily life.
- Worship shapes conduct. Give up God, Who is light and love, for a murderer and a liar, and you take on the character of what you worship.
- Sorceries means drugs. The word is pharmakeia. It means to stupefy with drugs, and then any system of sorcery by spells. Elsewhere the same word appears as "witchcraft."
- Judgment cannot soften. Blows to circumstances, then torment, then death itself — all fall in vain. Judgment shows what man is; it does not change him.
- Warning still follows. Even after this refusal, the next chapter opens with an announcement. God gives full warning in mercy before the final blow.