“The rest of the people, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands to stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk. And they did not repent of their murders, their sorceries, their sexual immorality, or their thefts.” (vv. 20-21)

The harshest reality we face, evangelistically, is the hardness of human hearts.

There are some—in fact there are many—who remain utterly hardened against the Gospel. They reject their Creator. They spurn Christ. They, by counting the truth as a lie, blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

And that’s really hard for us to get.

Please know that their rejection is not of you or your church or your invitation. Their rejection is of Holy God. And, if someone is wholly in love with darkness rather than light, there is no message or sign or ministry that will convince them otherwise.

Revelation 9 ends with a horrifying picture: As judgment unfolds—as death and destruction rend the earth—there are many who still refuse repentance. They cling to their idols. They sit put in their sin. They know, by then, what all of that earns. They simply keep choosing it.

Like I said, it’s horrifying. But it is also clarifying: Like them, so many today choose the same.

Grieve that, and don’t give up—but also know that salvation belongs to the Lord, and there are (and will be) many who deny Him to the end.

— Tyler