Revelation 9: God First

“The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk.” -Revelation 9:20

While there is much debate regarding how the visionary language of Revelation should be interpreted, one spiritual principle stands out regardless of how other matters of the book are handled. The harsh reality is that despite God’s offer of eternal life through Jesus through both positive offers of salvation and judgments upon the earth, there are many who will not stop their worship of what they can see rather than the unseen God.

We traditionally think of these idols as statues or spirits, but many of our consumer-focused possessions could fit into the same category. Television, video games, college football, and fantasy sports come to mind when I think of those on the male side of the matter. Females certainly have their obsessions as well, whether shoes or purses or other pursuits that can stand in front of one’s pursuit of God.

If an outsider landed at an American rock concert or sporting event, he or she could easily conclude the activities fall under the category of worship. This doesn’t make music or sports wrong, only something we are to consume with caution–lest they consume us.

Simply put: Nothing must stand before our worship of God. He is our Maker, our Lord, and the only One worthy of our utmost devotion.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.