In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the fifth angel sounding the season in the book of Revelation. The sermon begins by discussing the outline of the paragraph, highlighting the revelation given to John and the commission given to the mighty beings. The speaker then delves into the controversial expression in verse six, which describes a time when men will seek death but not find it. The sermon also touches on the description of the events that will occur during this time, as outlined in verses seven to eleven. Overall, the sermon emphasizes the movements of demons and the power of God in defeating the devil.

Book of Revelation tonight, Book of the Revelation, chapter nine. And we're doing the first twelve verses this evening. Book of the Revelation, chapter nine, and we're doing the first twelve verses. And I want to say that this is one of the most important passages in the Book of the Revelation. I would think this chapter, chapter nine, when we do it all, and chapter thirteen and chapter seventeen are the great chapters of the Book of the Revelation. This one has to do with demonology, and that's quite a subject on its own. Chapter thirteen has to do with the business of the beast, the man of sin, the Antichrist. Chapter seventeen has to do with the scarlet woman, the Roman Church, for these are three great chapters. I believe that this is one of the greatest chapters in the Book, and I believe the portion that we're at this evening is one of the greatest portions in the Book. Now, we're going to take it very carefully. We've got a long way to go tonight, and I'm not cutting it short. You might be out for a minute or two before midnight, and you're not lost. But we're finishing it, come what may or what must. You remember last week we were looking at the first four chapters, and you remember they all had to do with the fury of the fire. How that a third part of everything on the earth, and everything around the earth, and everything under the earth, and everything above the earth, how that a third part of everything was burned with fire. Now, in this chapter we have the sixth of six trumpets being sounded. The fifth one is the one we're looking at tonight, and then we begin next week at verse twelve, verse thirteen, and the sixth angel is sounding the trumpets. Now, why the first four had to do with the fury of the fire? The fifth and sixth trumpets have to do with the doings of demons. That's what makes this chapter such a remarkable one. And so we're looking at this fifth angel sounding this evening. I want you to notice the outline of this paragraph. You can see in verses one and two and three that you have the revelation that John hath been given. He can see many things here that will go into in detail. And then you notice in verses four and five that you have the commission given to these mighty beings that are here, and it was commanded them. This is the commission that God gives to them. And then, of course, in verse six you have this great expression that's been argued about so many years now, and in those days shall men seek death and shall not find it. Of course, you know that the modernists say this cannot be true, this cannot be the word of God. If a man was seeking death, he could surely find it. He could shoot himself. He could take poison. I remember an old schoolmaster arguing with me about this. I said, don't you open your mouth at times and reveal your ignorance. He only saw the text, he never saw the chapter. But we'll see the chapter, and we'll see in those days what it really means, and what it's really talking about. The revelation, the commission, the expression, and then there is the description. What does the description appear? Verses seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. So, that's the outline of the portion, the revelation that John was given, and the commission that was for these beings. And we must really look at this expression in verse six, and we're going to look very carefully at the description that's given. But let's do it like this, so that we'll get the truth out of it. Verse one, and the fifth angel sounded. We've already looked up these other four, and as each one sounded, fire fell upon this whole planet of ours. And now the fifth angel is sounding, and John says, and I saw a star fall from heaven onto the earth, unto whom was given the key of the bottomless pit. And I've called this the symbolic star, because this is symbolism that's here. You know, this word star needs to be very carefully handled, both in the English language and in the Bible. Supposing I said that I was going with Patrick Moore to California to see the stars, well you would guess that I was going because Patrick Moore was with me, to see these twinkle, twinkle little things that's in the sky. But you see, if I went to California, I could be going to see Elizabeth Taylor. She's one of the stars. Ah, you thought I didn't know her. I've known her a long time, Susan Horton also. You see, with this word star, it's a tremendous wonder. You know that George Best is a star in a particular realm, and he's not shining as brightly now as he used to do. So you see that you've got to be careful with the word star. In the English language, the context of what you're saying will tell you whether you're going to see the stars who are actors, or whether you're going to see the stars that are planets in the sky. And it's the very same with the Bible. You must be very careful. Let's go back to the first chapter of Revelation again. And you remember John was on the Isle of Patmos, and you remember that he heard a voice behind him. And the voice behind him was the voice out of a trumpet saying, verse 11, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And verse 12 says, and I, that is John, turned to see the voice that speaks with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. It's a great phrase, you know. That's the title our Lord Jesus had while he was here on earth. He was called again and again, the Son of Man. And the Russellites should note that the Son of Man is the one who says, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And if they must verse it, they would get the truth. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, which was, which is to come, the Almighty. I am the Almighty. Who is the Almighty? The Son of Man. I thought they could read, but maybe they can't. There is no quibbles about that, not in my mind. And you notice that John looks at them here, verse 14, his head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in the furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters, and he had in his right hand seven stars. He's got the word now. You're not allowed to think. You're allowed to read what it means. You could imagine all God never left the interpretation of this book to your imagination. See what it says in verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. You see, when we were looking at these churches, each message began like this, chapter 2, verse 1, unto the angel of the church of Ephesus right. And again you see the word angel needs to be carefully dealt with, because John is not commanded here to write to a shining angel in heaven. It's the old Greek word, and it means messenger. And here's the truth, Christ had the messengers of the churches in his hands. He hadn't any problem with that at all. But you can see the word stars being used in a symbolic sense for the seven messengers to the seven churches. Hasn't any problem there. And of course if we read carefully where we are this evening, we're at chapter 9, and I tried to emphasize it when I was reading. Just look carefully at verse 1. It says, And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven onto the earth, unto him. Oh, it's a him now. Is it one of the twinkle, twinkle things, or is it a person? Well, if you could read, you would know. Unto him. This is an intelligent being. Yes, to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. Now that's really something, isn't it? Something that we're going to look at very carefully in a moment. You see, I believe that the person in verse 1 of chapter 9, is the person that's in verse 11. It says, And they had a king over them, and we'll get to they in a moment, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue half his name, Apollyon. And the word Apollyon and Abaddon simply means a destroyer. This is a fallen angel, and you'll find that this is the king of fallen angels, and you'll find that this is the destroyer. Oh yes, the symbolism comes out as you take your time. You don't need to get worried about it. You just need to learn to read. Unto him. Was given. But watch the next verse for a moment. And he, you'll underline the he of course, as he opened the bottomless pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And I call this the diabolical smoke. You know, in a moment we're going to see that the bottomless pit was the prison of the angels who left the first estate. These fallen angels who fell when Satan fell, of course they're reserved for judgment. But there's coming a time in the not-too-far-distant future when Christ takes the church away, and the Antichrist struts across this planet of ours, thinking that he's everything, that God is going to open the bottomless pit and let these demons out, because fallen angels become demons. And you know, just as they come forth, there comes out a smoke. It's called the smoke of the pit. You know, it takes away the very life we have. And it infests the very air we breathe. Sometimes when I listen to some of the statements of these modernists, I would almost call their statements the smoke of the pit. You know, old Super, and I don't apologize for saying that just like that, because I mean every word. Old Super said that my Lord flirted with Mary and Martha all the days of his life. If that's not the smoke of the pit, I wouldn't know, you know. And Wellerhead said that John the Baptist's father, Zacharias, shut the Virgin Mary in the temple and kept her there until he met her pregnant, and that's where the triumph came from. And if that's not the smoke of the pit, I wouldn't know. If the man that the church of England has exalted to almost its highest station, and it's just a year ago that he said that Christ was the home of Exodus, for he ran about with twelve men. If that's not the smoke of the pit now, you've got to come and teach me. And if the smoke of the pit is beginning to be seen today, we're not far from finding the demons. The Lord's going to come one of these days and take us away before these demons are at us. If I could get the hold of this now, I think you've got the symbolic of star all right, and this diabolical smoke, which would take away the very light we have. Now, let's get this bit quite clear. Verse 3, And there came out of the smoke lucas upon the earth, and I've called this the satanical swan. But I think the word lucas is used in a metaphorical fashion, and what a wonderful metaphor it is. You see, if you were an intelligent person at all, you would see at a glance that these just cannot be ordinary lucas, and I'll tell you for why. I'll read it for you. And there came out of the smoke lucas upon the earth, and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth of power, and it was commanded them. Now, you don't think for a moment, do you, that you can command lucas, ordinary lucas, do you? The word is just used in a metaphorical sense, and metaphorically speaking, it's a very wonderful one to use. For some of my friends who have been in the far east, when a swarm of lucas have come, they tell me that there are so many, that at that particular locality where they pass between you and the sun, they put the place into complete darkness. The swarm is so great. So, I can see why the spirit of god choose this word, metaphorically speaking, because you're going to find out that these are not lucas. These are intelligent personalities who can be talked to. Oh, I know evil ones. These are demons. But we'll get it all tidied out in a moment. Verse four, and it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of god in the forest. They were intelligent enough to differentiate between those whom god had sealed and those whom god had not. You see, these are not ordinary lucas. What would they know about who was sealed or who was not? Yes, this is the pit being opened, and there's going to come a swarm of demons, and they're going to indwell and possess many folks on the face of this earth. What a day it will be when demon possession will be all over this globe at the one and same time. We've got to tidy it out a little bit further. Somebody said to me once, who is commanding these ones here? I said god's commanding them. Then they said to me, isn't it strange, isn't it god's commanding them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing? Because in the last chapter all green grass was burnt. So that's very true, you know. I don't know if you've ever tried to clean a path with one of these glorified blow lamps or not. You know, you can buy a great big glorified blow lamp now, and you can burn the whole garden fire. You'll burn all the grass and all that. I'll tell you a wee thing about them, because I used to be a boss of the gang who handled them. Their neat grass grew quicker than anything else. You'll burn it today with your only fertilizing the soil, and up the grass come in the next day or two. And this is what they found out at Hiroshima, you know, why they had grass there and have it still like they never had before, after the fertilizing of the earth by fire. And so you can see that these are not ordinary locusts, quite easily. They spied, and to them it was given that they should not kill them. You know, they're only allowed to go so far and no further, but that they should be tormented five months. That's those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. You know, they were not allowed to touch the 144,000. Of course, you know that, don't you? They were sealed off. Because when you begin to get the grasp of this, you can see that these are not ordinary locusts, because they've got to obey the Creator, and they're not allowed to kill. We'll be going over to the book of Job in a moment or two, and we'll find that the devil was in the same fix. He could only go so far and no further. But they're going to torment these men for five months, and their torment was as the torment of the scorpion when he strike of the mouse. And in those days, but we'll keep the expression for a moment or two, in the days when the demons are let loose, in the days when demon possession is rampant on this planet of ours. And we'll get into the depth of that in a moment or two. Have a look at the description of these locusts. Do you see where it's written? This is absolutely wonderful writing. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. Now, what would you make out of that? Did you ever see horses prepared unto battle? I remember when I used to go to the pictures in my early days. I remember seeing films with the Arabs lining up with all these great Arab horses, trained, looking across the desert, ready to move forward. These horses were trained for battle. You know what God is letting us see here? He's letting us see a diabolical trained army. That's what we're looking at. A full army of demons. Ah, but don't you think it is just quite wild? Who goes to town like this? They're a trained army, and they're going to make an attack that is planned by the devil himself. This is a mighty thing, you know. Let's have a look at this painting that's here, verse 7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. And on their heads were crowns of gold. Now, they were not crowns, but gorgeous crowns as well. I think that God is letting us see this trained army, this diabolical trained army, and he's letting us see the authority that's given to them. Because God is giving them authority to do things. He's going to allow them to torment men for five months, no further of course. And he's going to allow them to torment, but he's not going to allow them to kill. But they have a certain amount of authority, which may well be brought out by, as it were, crowns of gold. You notice them again, and the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. And on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold. And their faces were of the faces of men. Now, that made me kneel before the Lord, because I've thought about that a long time. Why the faces of men? You know, I've got to say this. I believe a man's face is more defective than a woman's. I believe if you were cornering a woman and putting questions to her, her face will give her away. But I believe a man can put on different faces. And I think that what God is showing us is that there is a diabolical army prepared to make an onslaught on themselves, and God is giving them certain authority, and they're going to deceive many. And we'll get into the deception in a moment or two. And you notice this. It says, And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle. And on their heads were crowns like gold. And their faces were of the faces of men. And they had hair of the hair of women. Now, why that now? Wonderful piece of writing. You would never think of stringing things together like this. You see, I believe that a woman's hair is her glory. That's what the Bible says. Because I'm talking about days when women had hair. You got that? Because when I was being brought up as a boy, my mother could sit on her hair. She had hair way down her back. She could sit on it. Now, the ladies can hardly sit on their skirts, never mind their hair. But what I want to tell you ladies, that a woman's hair is her glory. And the thing that makes her more attractive than anything else is her hair. It's her glory. Because I believe what God is telling us is this, that here is a diabolical trained army to whom he has given certain authority. There's a defectiveness about them, but there is an attractiveness about it. And once we start on the doctrine of demonology tonight, I shall prove that there is a certain attractiveness about it. You notice this, verse 8, And they had hair of the hair of women, and their teeth were of the teeth of lions. You see, there is an authoritativeness about them, and there's a deceptiveness about them, yet there's an attractiveness about them, yet there's a fierceness about them. I'm not an ordinary locust. You're beginning to find that aren't you? What a piece of writing it is. You notice that verse 9 says, And they had breastplates of it were breastplates of iron. You know, there's a powerfulness about them. And when we begin to think on demons, when we look at demonology properly, you will find that the demons, when they're let loose, they will be a diabolical army, trained to do battle against men. God's going to give them a certain authority for a certain time. There will be a deceptiveness, and there'll be an attractiveness, and a fierceness, and yet a powerfulness. They're powerful beings, these. And it goes a bit further, And they had breastplates of it were breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses, running to battle. You know, there's a scarefulness about that. A scarist world, you know. Why isn't God writing things for us? We don't pay attention, that's our trouble. And you'll find this, verse 10, And they had tails like on the scorpions, and there were stings in their tails, and their power was to hurt men five months. There's a hurtfulness. And yet it says, And they had a king over them, this angel of the pit. There was an orderly mess about it. You know, when the devil's making the deck, it isn't the right. Won't you make any mistakes about that? The army that we move out against tonight, they're our principalities and powers. They're the rulers of the darkness of this world. They're wicked spirits in high places, but they have perfect order. They don't stampede the crowd, you know. We are moving against a very skillfully trained diabolical army. And this world's going to meet the full fury of this, you know. God will take the church home when Christ comes. The Antichrist will think it's all his. It will be a song of doom. God will burn the trees and the ships, and then God will open a pit. God pity anybody this year. Demons will take possession of them. It's a mighty panograph, isn't it? But we want to go into this demonology very carefully this evening, because this is something that I've paid attention to and have studied for years. And I have written many treks on demonology and have been questioned in many countries about this. Now, let's get this settled in the class just now. We're taking our time now. We're starting on the doctrine of demonology, and you'll need to listen. Let's get this quite clear in our minds that demons are personalities. Remember, the devil is a person. This book talks about the devil and says, in the days of thou art created. He was the created being. In fact, he was the head of the cherubims. He was the anointed cherub that covered the throne of God. He was a mighty being. He was a great character. He was full of wisdom, and he was full of beauty. And, of course, the day that the devil fell, he brought with him quite a host of angels who left our first estate. And, of course, God put them in chains immediately. Not the devil, just the angels. Because the devil is going about tonight as a roaring lion seeking whom he may divide. But when God takes the Jecks away and the Antichrist thinks that this planet is his, then God's going to throw a spanner or two in the works. Because in spite of all the powers of the Antichrist, God is going to seal off 144,000 Jews. And neither the Antichrist nor the demons can touch them. But God is going to give the key of this bottomless pit from this angel of the pit. And this diabolical army is going to be let loose. Let's get this into our hearts tonight, that these are beings, these are personalities. Now, I think that there's two things we should underline when we think about demonology and the doings of demons. You know, in this day and hour, we're being influenced at times by principalities and powers. They're not all the same. You know, there's a crowd up there somewhere, and sometimes they come very near to this platform, and I can't see these beings, but I know they're there. And they're called in this book, the rulers of the darkness of this world. And if I'm determined to bring life to this world, I'm in deadly combat with them. There's always a battle going on. And they try to cramp my mind, and they try to influence my thinking. And I've got to keep my nose close to the book, or I'll be led astray. Yes, you know, this influence goes on, and we're going to see what it can do. But the influence of the rulers of the darkness, these principalities and powers, the influence has only to do with the mental part of you. And sometimes I find people coming to me, and they're not too well, and they've got mental troubles. And I can tell you a big bit of it's the devil. I can tell you that. This I know from a long experience. But when we talk about demon possession, we're differentiating between demon possession and demon influence. Because demon possession has to do with the physical as well as the mental. He's taken the whole man over now. And that's what's going to happen in the day to come. These demons are going to be let loose, and they're going to take over countless thousands, probably millions, of people on the face of this earth. Yes, you know, the influence is only mental, but the possession is both mental and physical. I don't think that we know exactly the power that the devil has, and the power that demons have over the human body. Let's go back to the book of Job for a moment or two. Job. Now to save a little time, let's read in verse 6. Chapter 1, verse 6. And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came also among them. I don't think you'll have any trouble with the phrase here, the sons of God. They were definitely the angels. And you know, they had to come to present themselves before the Lord to give an account of what they were about, of the messengers of God. And you're standing in the line with Satan. Verse 7 says, The Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? I wonder that the Rossellites and the Jehovah's Witnesses never read this, because they tell me that Satan is not a person. Who was God talking to himself? He said, Whence comest thou? You can't talk to an influencer. You can't ask an influencer questions. God is speaking to a person. Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it, and he was a liar. He was a liar from the beginning. He wasn't going up and down through there. He was in Job's backyard all the time, trying to get in on. Of course, he gives himself away, as he always does. The Lord immediately said, And the Lord said unto Satan, Hath thou considered myself and Job? That there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil, keeps away from evil. Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Job, fear God for naught. Cast not thy lid and hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side. How does he know that now? He'd been trying to get in. He'd been up every conceivable part of the hedge. He wasn't walking up and down in the earth. He was in Job's backyard. And then he said this to God. He says, verse 11, That put forth thine hand now, and touch all that they hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. You know, he was slandering Job. He says, You know, this wee man just loves you because you've given him a big farm, and you've given him plenty of children, and you've prospered his business. You just put your hand and touch him, and he'll curse you to your face. God says, I'll take you up on that. You just go and touch his farm, and I'll just let you see. Now remember, Job doesn't know this is going on. He's a way down at the farm. This is up in the heaven sea. And God is going to curse Job now. Let us get a hold of that. Sometimes God will curse you with trouble, because he's going to vindicate your faith. Oh yes, he does, you know. He's just going to curse this man. He says, You just go ahead now. And you know, to make a long story short, in one day, because of the devil, of course, he lost 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels, and $3. What a day it was. My, if I lost my two sons tonight, and all that I possess, it would be a terrible day. And there's some of you here, and you've got some who's in the police tonight. And if the news came to this meeting, that one or other of them were shot, it would be a terrible moment. I can tell you that Job lost 7,000 sheep, and there's not a man in the north of Ireland who owns 7,000 sheep. There's a fellow up the back of Ballymena there who owns about 3,000, and he's the biggest sheep farmer around. And if he lost the whole 3,000 tonight, he'd grow out of his mind. But when you lost 7,000 sheep and 3,000 camels, and seven sons and three daughters in the one day, you're getting a bit of a rough topping, aren't you? I'll tell you what happened at the end of the day. Job got down on his knees, closed his eyes, lifted his hands, and he said, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. Virtue gave the name of the Lord, and the devil would defeat it. Well, the devil didn't know where to look. This wasn't beating this wee man. So the devil had another go at it in the second chapter. Verse 1. Came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan came also among them to present themselves before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth, from walking up and down the earth. He's a liar. He had killed Job's sons and the sheep. The Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered myself in law? And then Satan said in verse 4, And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine heart now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. You see, he's back at the old tricks. He says, You know, you let him off scot-free. He only lost the sheep and the camels and the children. You touch him, do you see? That's what God said. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hands, but save his life. Can you see something? Can you see that Satan's not as big as he thinks he is? He can only go as far as God will let him. He just can't do what he likes, you know. I don't think he can, I doubt he does. He says, I'd rather let you have a go at him, but don't you touch his life. You're not allowed. And it's the same with the demons that come out of the pit. They're allowed to torment, but they're not allowed to kill. They're the biggest of us all. So God's still the boss, you know, and this is... Now, I want you to watch this, because this is most important. Very thick, the game of chapter two. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hands, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smooth Job... What's the word smooth? Smooth Job, that sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Now, I want you to get this into your mind. This wee man's on the phone. He's all alone now, starting over again. He's working out in the field somewhere, and Satan comes, you can't see him. But you know, he just touched this man, just put his thumb on him. And from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet, he's covered immediately with burns. You never saw such a mess in your life. Do you see what Satan could do to the body if he was alive? This wasn't the virus, you know, that the medical folks would talk about. This was the devil. Just put his finger on you like that, and you're in a mess. And God's going to allow the demons to just come out. Dr. Barnhouse, who was a great character, and who was a very dear friend of mine. My eldest son, Donald, is called for Donald Barnhouse, whom you can see just how great a friend he was. Walking along to Stuart's farm one day, he said to me, did all these boils just come up immediately that Satan touched them? Yes. He said, do you think Satan could have healed them the next day? That's a good thing, because I think he can do it. And you have to watch the healing business too, because the devil will be at it. And you'll be sitting like a fool, you'll not know. Because there's a day coming when there's going to be lying wonders. My, what a phrase, lying wonders. Oh, yes, I said to Barnhouse, the devil couldn't have touched them again. You know, we've got to get down to this very carefully. Let's go to Luke's Gospel, chapter 13 for a moment. Luke's Gospel, chapter 13. Verse 11, And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. That's what the folks called it anyway, a spirit of infirmity, eighteen years, and was bowed together and could in no wise lift herself up. This poor creature was bent in two. They called it the spirit of infirmity, eighteen years she was like this. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work. In them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered them and said, Thou hypocrite! Oh, I like the way the Lord talked to some of these boys, because he didn't put a truth in it, you know. This is the ruler of the synagogue, this is the rabbi. Ah, you are a hypocrite, he says. Watch what he said. Thou hypocrite! Doth not each one of you on the Sabbath day lose his ox or his ox from the stall, and leave him away to watering? And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound? Lo, these eighteen years. Ah, that's a different picture. It was the devil that had bound this poor creature. I hope you are learning just now as you sit there, that the devil has power that can put this body into a mess, that can blemish it or bind it, if God allows it. What a mess hope will be in when God really allows an army of demons to come to this world. Yes, I think you can see that, can't you? Do you remember this? Let's go back to Luke's Gospel, chapter 11. Just back a couple of pages there. Chapter 11, verse 14. And he was casting out a devil, and it was done. The wording should be, and he was casting out a demon, and it was done. And it seems to pass, when the demon was gone out of the dumb stick, and the people wondered, you know, demons can do this too. You see, I believe that when the pit is opened, and these demons come forth, and men and women are demon-possessed, that some of them will be in a mess from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet. Some of them may be bent in bones, and some may be dumb, and some may be blind, and some may be deaf. Ah, we're beginning to think about the powers of demons now. Go back again to Luke's Gospel, chapter 8. Verse 1, and it seems to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village preaching, and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him. And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, they recalled Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils. What a mess this woman was in. This woman was possessed by seven different demons. Now, this book doesn't tell me what kind of demon. Remember, there are different kinds of demons. But this book doesn't tell me what kind. But this poor woman was indwelt and possessed by seven demons. What a mess she was in. Demons just seem to love to take over bodies. And they don't even mind quite a number of demons being in possession of the same body. Because I think they're all going to work different things on that one person. What a mess she must have been in. No wonder Mary Magdalene loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart and soul. Because I can tell you from the day she was healed, she followed him every step of the way through all the villages. And when he hung on the cross, she was standing at the cross. There stood by the cross of Jesus, Mary Magdalene. And when he was laid in the tomb, she sat over on the rock when they laid him in the tomb. And on that resurrection morning, she was the first of the tomb. While it was yet dark. Yes, she knew exactly what he had done for her. Let's go back to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 12. Matthew, chapter 12, verse 43. Chapter 12, verse 43. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. And you'll notice the word is gone out. He wasn't cast out, you know. He's just letting this fellow reform a little bit. Then he says, I will return him to my house, sir. He still believed the old myth. Because reformation wouldn't save you. From whence I came out, and when he is come, he findeth it empty, sweats and garments. Now this fellow has reformed a lot. Then God be, and taketh with himself seven other spirits. What's with this? More wicked than himself. Shall I tell you, they have degrees in wickedness. Ah, yes. You know, friends, we've got a lot to learn about this subject. We're just learning that the devil with the touch, if God allows him, could make a mess of anyone else. We're just learning that he could bind us until we're bent in two. That he could make us dumb tonight, or make us blind. That he could make any life on this planet into a terrible, sinful mess. And that wicked spirit can become more wicked than ours, can take hold of you. It's a dreadful thing, isn't it? You know, there is coming a day when the pit is going to be opened, and the demons are going to be lifted. You know, our Lord Jesus talked about this whenever he was here. He said, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be. Let's go back to the days of Noah now, just for a moment or two. We're right back at the book of Genesis, and we're at chapter six. Book of Genesis, chapter six. I want to read a verse or two here very carefully. Verse one. And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair. And they took them wives of all which they choose. And you'll notice the word, wives, there. It isn't that they took a wife. They took wives. So we'll get back to it now in a moment. The Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with mine, for that he also will flesh it as days shall be in a hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days. And I think you know that we read into this that these were men of great stature. And from some of the old translations, I don't think that is the truth at all. These were giants in wickedness. It says the same became mighty men which were of old. They were mighty in sinfulness. They were renowned for their depravity. You see what I mean when it says, and God saw that the wickedness of man. Oh, he's not looking at the bridge of his shoulders, or if he's six feet thick for seven or eight feet high at all. Now watch what God saw. God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth. And that every, get the word every, imagination of the thoughts of his heart. Every man, you have every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, was only, only, did you get the word, only evil. Continually, did you get that one too? Because you just simply can't imagine what that's like sitting there. You know, we've all had evil thoughts, every one of us. But we haven't had only evil thoughts. Yes, God, we've had some good ones, some blessed ones, some holy ones. But can you guess what it means when the whole world, when every imagination of the thoughts of man are only evil continually? Every man, every thought, every day, every night, only evil continually. We're in a mess, you know, but we're not as bad as that. Somebody said to me once, why did God destroy the world? How could a holy God do anything else? Of course, he never saw the world. He was trying to talk left hand and the usual. If the world got into that state, what could a holy God do with it, only destroy it? You see, there were giants of evil, and giants of wickedness, and men renowned, and they'll tell you they came because these sons of God had gone in onto the daughters of men. So if you know that there's been a battle raging round, this phrase, the sons of God saw the daughters of men. And there were two great schools of thought here, you know. If you know the chapters that go before, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 of Genesis, you'll know this. That Adam had three sons, not two. He had Cain, and Abel, and Seth. I think we sometimes forget this. Of course, you know that Cain killed Abel, don't you? That just leaves Cain and Seth. Now, if you follow the line of Cain down through these chapters, you will find that the line of Cain became a line of sinful man and woman. They were all terrible, dreadful, horrible sins. If you follow the line of Seth, you'll find that the line of Seth produced folks on the earth. And some folks think that when it says the sons of God, that it's the sinful men from Seth going after the sinful daughters of Cain. Now, I can't accept that. I'm very sorry. You can't tell me, and you'll never get me to believe, that all the sons on one side go wrong and all the daughters on the other one. You can't tell me that because I don't believe that. And I'll tell you, sir, if it is only the sons of Seth and only the daughters of Cain, why did God destroy the world? There must have been good daughters and bad men on the other side, and good men on the other side. Oh, you can't get that over to me. You'll have to have a world that's no good, sir. Then, of course, we have the other great line of things, that the sons of God here are the same as the sons of God in Job, who were angels where the devil came to stand. Now, I believe that the sons of God here were really angels. I believe fallen angels, demons, if you'll like the word. Of course, I don't go in with the thing that the demons married the daughters of men. Oh, you can't get that over on me. I'll tell you that angels are neither given of marriage, or neither marriage nor given of marriage. You know, I believe, I got to say a few plain things here in this meeting just now. I believe that angels have no sex organs. Did you ever think about it? Therefore, they can't produce children. I don't think they can have sex at all. So, I don't think we ought to argue about it anymore. But, you know, I do know this. That they have a way of interfering with people who are having sex. As you sit and think now, as I'm said in on Pentecost, and I don't want to do anything wrong, but maybe if we use some of the orgies that go on in this world, maybe you would know that the devil comes into the bedroom at times, or the demons come. You know, there's a thing that happened in Britain today, just today. There's two wee lads arrived down there, ages are 14 years of age. They're supposed to be great singers. I never heard them. I'm sure they are. But all the policemen at London couldn't save them this morning from 14-age girls drumming in the thousands after them, screaming. What we laugh at the 14-year-old and mad about. Two wee fellas singing. Now you're not getting that over on them. There's something else going on here. We've always had wee lads of 14 in this world, and we've always had wee lasses of 14 too. But it happens to be today they're on a march. Oh, I can tell you that demons work in a very subtle way. And I can tell you that I preached at a certain place once, and the lady came to see me afterwards. In fact, I preached on demonology. The lady came to see me and said, Clifford Simone, I need to talk to you for about an hour, or maybe two. What about? About demonology. See me in the morning. So I wasn't too sure about this, so I got the old fella in the house to stay in with me. I don't mind talking to a lass on their own sometimes, but they're for very suspicions they'll get somebody else. She was all right. She was a very nice woman. But she had been prepared for some sort of a demon that time. And the thing she told me that took place in the bedroom, when there wasn't even a man there, shocked the life out of me. She said there was somebody else. Yeah, I know that demons can do terrible things. You know, there's something going on in London just at this moment. It is called bioscientists. It is called genetic surgery. You know what genetics are, don't you? And again, I've got to talk to you plainly. What they're doing, they're taking the seed of man, the seed that produces a child, and they're putting the seed under the microscope, and they're going to work surgically on it. They know every part of that seed. And they can cut bits off. It's a tiny little thing. They can cut bits off. And then they can exterminate a woman with this seed that has been worked on by this genetic surgery. And they can produce a child with hardly any body and only brains. Actually, the terrible thing, if they can get a license for this, to set up shops in the not-too-far-distant future, and you can buy the insemination in the shop. It'll be in a package. And the colour of the boy's hair or the girl's hair, if you want a girl, will be there. The colour of her eyes. You can buy it, take it to your doctor, be inseminated, and you can have the kid you want. They're also thinking of working on this seed with this genetic surgery until they produce somebody with only a head and hardly any body, so that they can send them to the moon. And they can get all the data. Do you think this is clever? Because I think the demons are helping the scientists. There's a man in Italy, he calls himself a protector of surgery. He has made a glass womb, and he has stationed the seed that he needs. And he produced the child in here. And he was going to grow it until the country came. The child, if I'm right in my figures, was almost four months. And then the country made them destroy it. Now the trouble, did he murder them? Where are we getting to? You know, we're just seeing the fringe of things. The schmucks from the pits have been around for a day or two. I think we're beginning to see the movement of demons. When the Beatles were singing, poor fellows, women get up and slit themselves naked, throw their clothes all over the place. What do you think's going on? Singing never did that to anybody that I know. But certainly all the singing the Beatles could do would never do it to nobody. I could sing better myself. Friends, I think we've got to see this. You know, when we come to examine what demons can do, there's the man in the scriptures. He's in the tombs. He's engulfed by a legion of demons, thousands of them. I'll tell you, he wears no clothes. He just walks among the tombstones. He wears no clothes of the church. And he kicks rocks, and he tears his face, he tears his breath. You can see the blood oozing out. You can see that he sleeps out all night. He's not getting any food or anything. He doesn't take pneumonia, or he doesn't die. Oh, there's a sort of a power inside that insulates him against everything. There's a little lad in the scriptures, and he's engulfed by a demon. And the demons throw him into the water, often. And there's a fire up to there. He's neither drunk nor burnt. You see, we're going to come to a day. We'll not be here, thank God. But this world is going to come to a day when the pits will be open, and the demons will be let loose, and they'll indwell people, and people will seek for death. Ha ha. You can't do it. You can drink poison till you're sick. The demons will... you can't shoot them either. Oh, no, there are demons taken over inside, because the old fool that came to talk to me, he doesn't know the chapter. Friend, there was a woman in the town on Sunday. She was out in the little mission hall there on the other night. And she admits freely that she was... she was caused death by demons. And on one occasion, she threw herself across a blazing fire that was blazing 10 or 12 feet into the air, and lay there, and was never even bursting. This is about the time now. I think that some of the missionaries could tell you a thing or two. There's Joan Byrne knows a thing or two about it. Is that right, Joan? Right. Yes. Joan's been away in the jungle before some of you were born, and knows more about it than I do. Friend, what I want to get out of the chapter is this. I think we're in the last of the last days. I think the Lord is going to come soon. Seeing that we know these things, seeing that we know the pit will be opened, seeing that we know that demons will be let loose, seeing that we know that man and woman will be possessed, what are we doing about our kids? Do you go to the prayer meeting? Do you give the Lord any money for His work? Or do you just warm a seat there? I know some of us got a bit of a shake, you know. Dear, wouldn't it be a terrible thing if your own mother was possessed of demons at the end of her days? Would you let your wee daughter to be left behind for demons to take on her? My God, we should all be on our faces. It's time the church of Jesus Christ woke up. Sure, I can see in the terrorism that's going on. Take the young UDR man from Ralph Ryland. I saw some beasts or some ferocious bodies to compare no loss. And stripped him naked and staked him out with a nail through every finger. With a nail through his feet, staked him out. And then cut his ears off. Then cut his tongue out. Then cut parts of his mouth. I don't know what you're talking about. You don't tell me that that's man. Ah, below me, that's the demons at work. My dear, we're beginning to see it. It's time we woke up, I tell you. Lord, oh, come one of these nights and take us home. And God help your people and God help your children. Why we're preaching like this? We ought to have a prayer meeting as soon as the Bible comes. And we will not do it. May God await us. Now, next week's second part of the chapter is demonology again. And we'll be back there. Let's sing a couple of verses. What are we singing? Eight hundred and forty-eight. We'll sing the first and last verses. Eight forty-eight. Tis the grandest thing through the ages run. Tis the grandest thing for a mortal tongue. Tis the grandest thing that the world has sung. Oh, God is able to deliver thee. Eight hundred and forty-eight. Oh, dear Lord God, end thy fear. And with thy blessings, take us to our homes and safe stay. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.