Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 9:20-21

"And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not 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 repented not of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." — Revelation 9:20-21 (ASV)

And the rest . . .—This means: And the rest of mankind who were not slain in these plagues did not even repent of (or, out of—that is, so as to forsake) the works of their hands, that they should not worship the demons (evil spirits), 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 (or, out of) their murders, nor of (or, out of) their sorceries, nor out of their fornication, nor out of their thefts.

These verses make one or two points clear.

First, they show us that, whatever the nature of the plagues might be, they were afflictions designed to bring about repentance and to rouse people, whether nominally Christian or not, from the lethargy into which long-indulged sin had plunged them. Those terrible revolutions, which are the growth of years and which startle people with their apparent suddenness and violence, are the great appeals of God, asking people to see the meaning of sin; they are the trumpet blasts calling to repentance. But we are told more: the remainder of the godless did not repent. We are not, indeed, told that they did not feel terror, or remorse, or momentary qualms and misgivings, but that they did not show that which alone is regarded as genuine repentance: the repentance out of sin, the repentance that turns away from sin.

We always need that wholesome caution. We need it most in times when hysterical and emotional religionism is fashionable, and it is forgotten that true repentance is a repentance whereby we forsake sins. These people did not repent out of their sin.

Their sins are enumerated, and the enumeration again takes us back to the history of Israel as the historical basis that the sacred seer enlarged and vivified. For the sins are just those against which Israel was warned and into which Israel fell (Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalms 106:34–40; Acts 7:41). The sins are demon-worship and idolatry: They served idols; they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils. (Compare to 1 Corinthians 10:20; 1 Timothy 4:1).

It is necessary to trace these sins in the history of Israel, as it has been argued that these are heathen sins and that therefore these plagues must be plagues that fall on those who are literally heathens. But if we bear in mind that the series of visions describe features that will accompany the advance of Christianity in the world, we will remember that it is against worldliness, wherever found—idolatries of whatever kind, murders, and thefts, called by whatever name—that the true genius of Christianity makes war. Christ is king, and king of righteousness, and in righteousness does He make war; and the heathenisms that are called Christianity are as much the objects of His displeasure as the most obvious Paganism.

It is necessary to remember that Jews are addressed as if they were heathen, yes, very habitues of Sodom (Isaiah 1:10), and that the Christian Church is warned against sins that are little else than idolatries. Covetousness, the very essence of worldliness, is called idolatry twice over by St. Paul (Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5).

It seems, therefore, foreign to the purpose to try to limit these plagues only to the non-Christian world. To do this is to arrive at a narrow, improbable (may we not say an impossible?) interpretation, for the greatest strength of the world-power would be left untouched. It is true that the visions are not showing us the plagues that fall on apostasy and fornication within the Church; but it is true that we are beholding visions that show how terribly the world-spirit avenges itself on all who harbor it, whether called Christian or not.

Gross sins, gigantic frauds, complacent familiarity with crime, followed by a blunted moral sense, are heathenish, whether found in Pagan or Christian society. Heavy woes must inevitably await the society that tolerates such works; but the worst omen of the coming doom is seen when society has lost the power to repent because it has lost the power to hate evil. Such an incapacity is invariably significant of advanced moral decay. It is the climax in the growth of sin that the Psalmist noticed, where people lose the sacred abhorrence of evil (Psalms 36:4). To such, repentance is becoming impossible.