Revelation
15:7 – Revelation 16:21
The Seven Last Plagues
Begin Text:
Today, we begin our study
with the 8th prophecy in the book of
Revelation. This prophecy begins with Revelation
15:7 and it ends with 16:21. This prophecy
contains, “The seven last plagues.”
This is a very compelling
topic and at first glance, it appears to be a
very horrible subject.
Preachers don’t talk
much about this topic for two reasons. First, it
is scary and expressing and second, it has
nothing to do with the present time. However, I
see this topic in a different light. I am
convinced that the time has come to understand
the books of Daniel and Revelation.
Of course, any pursuit to
understand truth is subject to God’s
timetable. We can’t discover things that God
withholds. But this much is certain: When the
time comes to discover a new truth, God sees to
it that new truth is discovered! You have heard
me say many times, “On or about the time of
fulfillment, prophetic truth is always
understood.”
Every effort we put forth
to discover Bible truth produces wonderful
discoveries – surprising results – even
though we may not fully reach the objective of
our studies!
Because the Great
Tribulation is about to begin, the seven last
plagues are an important topic. This subject
involves a number of things about God’s
character and government that He wants us to
understand. And by the way, this topic is rather
easy to interpret, but it can be a challenge to
align it with God’s character of love if you
don’t do your homework!
Chart on the seven bowls
is drawn and discussed….
Because God is
changeless, the seven last plagues will not be an
out-of-character behavior nor an “end-time”
appendage to the Great Tribulation. No! The seven
last plagues are a revelation of an important
aspect of God’s changeless character.
In other words, once we
understand the role of the seven last plagues
during the Great Tribulation, their necessity and
justification, we will better understand other
portions of Scripture because God is changeless.
>>>God’s
policies for dealing with people and nations
never change.
If you remember back a
few years ago when we were studying the book of
Ezekiel, I
Tried to demonstrate that
God’s treatment of ancient Israel was but a
mirror – a mirror reflecting His treatment
of all nations.
God is no respecter of
persons or nations. He treats all human beings
and all nations the same! For example, look at
this text: God told Abraham,
Genesis 15; 16
“In the fourth generation your descendants
will come here [to this land], for the sin of
the Amorites [who occupied the land] has not
yet reached its full measure.”
God is not a thief. He
did not “steal” land from the Amorites
and give it to the descendants of Abraham. God
waited until the Amorites had become degenerate
before removing them for His land. Here’s
the story:
After the flood, Noah’s
son Ham had a son named Canaan. Canaan settles in
a territory that eventually bore his name. Canaan
had 11 sons and these sons became known as the
Canaanites. Amor was one of Canaan’s sons.
And the land God generously gave to the Amorites
a wonderful land that flowed with milk and honey.
God gave all of Canaan’s sons, including the
Amorites a period of grace to exist as great
nations.
But, what did the
Amorites do? They became sexually immoral. They
offended God by doing disgusting things. If you
want to review Leviticus 18 in its entirety you
will notice toward the end of the chapter this
warning which God gave Israel:
Leviticus 18:24
‘’Do not defile yourselves in any of
these [sexually immoral] ways, because this is
how the nations that I am going to drive out
before you became defiled.
Leviticus 18:25
Even the land* was defiled; so I punished it for
its sin, and the land vomited out its
inhabitants.
Leviticus 18:28
“And if you [Israel] defile the land, it
will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations
that were before you.”
Notice:
God’s policy for the
Amorites is the same policy for the Israelites.
Please consider this
point:
By right of creation,
every square inch of land on Earth belongs to our
Creator for it was He who separated the land from
the water on the third day.
In fact, to keep Israel
from thinking that the Promised Land was theirs “no
matter what,” notice what God told Israel:
Leviticus 25:23
“’The land must not be sold
permanently, because the land is mine and you are
but aliens and my tenants.”
Leviticus 26:14
“’But if you will not listen to me and
carry out all these commands,
Leviticus 26:15
and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws
and fail to carry out all my commands and so
violate my covenant…
Leviticus 26:33
I will scatter you among the nations and will
draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will
be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.”
Profound Point: Down
through the ages, a changeless God of love has
treated all nations with the same generosity and
kindness.
He has granted every
government some land and a cup of grace and when
that nation fills up its cup with sinful and
disgusting behaviors, the land vomits out that
government. God destroys the Amorites because
they became hopelessly degenerate and decadent.
Centuries later, God also
destroyed the nation of Israel, His own people, for
the same reason. And, you can be sure that in the
coming days He will justifiably destroy the
United States of America and the whole world for the
same reason.
God is changeless. His
policies are changeless.
One more point.
Remember the fiery hail
that fell upon the sexually immoral cities of
Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you know why that event
was recorded in the Bible?
2 Peter 2:6 “….He
[God] condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
by burning them to ashes, and made them [an
example] of what is going to happen to the
ungodly.”
Now you know why the
first trumpet is fiery hail that burns up a third
of the Earth. God is about to do the same thing
to notoriously wicked places all over the world
that He did to Sodom and Gomorrah long ago.
God’s policies never
change.
Look at the big picture:
Israel, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and
hundreds of lesser empires have risen and fallen
through history because God destroyed them!
Yes, historians can tell
us how they fell, but the Bible tells why they
fell. Fallen nations have a common
characteristic. When they fill up their cups of
sin, God raised up a destroyer to take them down.
Look at this prophecy concerning King
Nebuchadnezzar. Israel was about to
be destroyed and God told Israel through
Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 4:7 A
lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of
nations has set out. He has left his place to lay
waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins
without inhabitants.”
Now you know why the
devil and his demons will be released from the
spirit realm…
Revelation 9:11
“They [the horde of demons] had a king over
them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew
is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.”
A destroyer will be
released at the appointed time. Lucifer will
force everyone into making a difficult choice and
those who side with him will receive the seven
last plagues.
As I said, the seven last
plagues are consistent with God’s changeless
character. The seven last plagues are not a
sudden nor last minute deviation from God’s
character of love. The seven last plagues are
fully consistent with the policies of His eternal
and changeless government.
The seven last plagues
are theologically helpful to us right now in the
sense that we can clearly understand their role,
their purpose, their justification and most of
all, their function within God’s government before
they come to pass. And once they are properly
understood, God’s actions throughout the Old
Testament will not seem strange.
Profound statement: The
God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. Same
God!
Here are two points for
your consideration:
1. The
prophet John says that God is love. (1 John 4:8)
And, the prophet John also tells us that God
Himself pours out the seven last plagues on the
wicked during the final days of the Great
Tribulation. Question. How does one reconcile
“A God of love” with seven torturous
plagues? What is legal justification for this?
2. The seven
last plagues are seven “designer plagues.”
They are designed for specific groups of people
that will live at the end of the world. Question.
Who will make up these groups of people?
I’ll try to answer
both questions shortly….
As I calculate it, the
seven last plagues will span 70 days (7 x 10).
Each plague will last 10 days and large amounts
of wicked people will die as the plagues proceed.
Those surviving until the 1,335th day
will also be killed.
Think about this: Once
the Great Tribulation begins, all of the wicked
will be dead meat within 1,335 days. You may
think I am being flippant when I say “dead
meat.” No, the Bible says,
Revelation 19:21
“the rest of them [e.g., the wicked who were
not thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur]
were killed with the sword that came out of the
mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the
birds gorged themselves on their flesh [dead
meat].”
Ok, let’s go back to
the question of legal justification. God has a
diverse universe. God has created different forms
of life. In Heaven, for example, there are at
least, two different types of angels. There are
cherubim (Exodus 25:20) and seraphim (Isaiah
6:2). On Earth, there are three forms of life:
plant life, animal life and human life.
Every form of life is
subject to laws of conduct. Angels, plants,
animals and human beings have marvelous bodies
that behave in orderly ways. The science of
biology is only possible because life itself
conforms to law and order. For example, when you
step on a bug, the bug dies because the order
necessary for life within the bug is destroyed.
Billions of dollars are
spent each year by medical researchers to search
out and understand the various laws that govern
human life. Even in society, the phrase “law
and order” puts both elements in their
proper order. If there are no laws, there is no
order – only chaos.
God is the great King of
the Universe and He rules with sovereign
authority. No one else is capable or worthy of
taking His place on the throne. God’s wisdom
is beyond comprehension. He is trustworthy, fair
and firm and most of all, God lives within the
parameters of His own laws. He is not above His
own laws!
Even though God has
incredible powers such as omniscience,
omnipotence and omnipresence, these powers are
not used by an egoistical God to keep anyone else
from being King of the Universe. (This
magnificent point is proven by the fact that when
the time came for the Father to hand over the
book sealed with seven seals, everyone in
Heaven and on or under the Earth was
considered to be a eligible candidate. Revelation
5:3)
The point here is that
God uses His infinite powers for one purpose: He
insures that the universal rule of love will
never end. God is selfless. Everything He does,
He does for the benefit of His creatures.
Unlike Lucifer, God does
not lord His authority over His subjects. God
does not put His interests above the interests of
His children because unlike Lucifer, God is love.
And even thought He has created different types
of children, (such as angels and human beings)
God’s “laws of love” are
universal, changeless and applicable to all
beings.
All of God’s
children are responsive to love. They can
understand, demonstrate and submit to love. They
can also express love.
Every being in God’s
universe has the power of choice and every being
can choose to harm another being if he wants to.
For example, Lucifer deceived a third of the
angels, Lucifer deceived Eve, Cain killed Abel
and the Jews killed Jesus. However, every injury
will receive justice because there is one simple
rule that governs justice. I call this rule the “Same/Same
rule.”
Notice how this amazing
rule was applied in ancient times. God told
Moses:
Exodus 21:22 “If
men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she
gives birth prematurely but there is no serious
injury, the offender must be fined whatever the
woman’s husband demands and the court
allows.
Exodus 21:23 But
if there is serious injury, you are to take life
for life,
Exodus 21:24 eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot,
Exodus 21:25 burn
for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”
But wait, there’s
more!
Notice how the Same/Same
Rule was carried out on false witnesses!
Deuteronomy 19:18
The judge must make a thorough investigation
[into the alleged crime], and if the witness
proves to be a liar, giving false testimony
against his brother,
Deuteronomy 19; 19
then do to him as he intended to do to his
brother. You must purge the evil from among you.
Deuteronomy 19:20
The rest of the people will hear of this and be
afraid, and never again will such an evil thing
be done among you.
Deuteronomy 19:21
Show no pity; life for life, eye for eye, tooth
for tooth, had for hand, foot for foot.”
Of course, the Same/Same
Rule does not prevent harm from taking place.
Every creature has the power of choice so any
creature can harm another creature. However, the
Same/Same rule guarantees justice in due time.
Paul wrote,
Romans 13:1 Everyone
must submit himself to the governing authorities,
for there is no authority except that which God
has established. The authorities that exist have
been established by God.”
Governments are created
by God to oversee the various needs of their
subjects. They are to govern wisely and fairly.
Those who serve in government are accountable to
God for the authority He has put in their hands.
When the trustees of a government become corrupt
and dishonest, God will eventually destroy that
government. And, sooner or later, God will also
deal with each official. In other words,
government authority comes with strict
accountability to God.
God has given governments
the same means of applying justice that He uses:
It is called the Same/Same Rule.”
Life for life
Eye for eye
Tooth for tooth
Hand for hand
Foot for foot
Wound for wound
If someone hurts or harms
another person, the offender must be hurt or
harmed in the same way.
The Same/Same Rule is
part of God’s changeless rule of love.
Jesus said:
Matthew 7:2 For
in the same way you judge others, you will be
judged, and with the measure you use, it will be
measured to you.”
Matthew 7:12 So
in everything, do to others what you would have
them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets.”
In other words, you
should not hurt others because if you do, God
will see to it that you will be hurt in the same
way.
Same/Same Rule is
universal.
In God’s system of
justice, no one gets away with murder or any
other crime. God sees everything and He will see
to it that at the appointed time, justice will be
fully served if justice was not served by human
beings.
Incidentally, now that
you know about the Same/Same Rule, you know why
Jesus had to come to Earth and be executed.
>>>The Same/Same
Rule required our Creator to suffer and die the same
penalty that would be imposed upon
sinners.<<<
And, the good news! The
gospel of Jesus Christ is this: Our Creator
willingly submitted to the demands of this
unchangeable law in order to save us from eternal
destruction. He did this out of love. There is no
other reason. Period.
God’s changeless
laws, God’s rule of love and God’s
demand that justice be served are highly
important topics. These topics have to be
addressed within this study on the seven last
plagues because the seven last plagues are a
function of the Same/Same Rule.
KJV/Psalm 89:14
“Justice and judgment are the habitation of
thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy
face.”
We know that God grants
every being the power of choice. Lucifer and the
angels could sin and he and many angels chose to
sin. Adam and Even could sin and they chose to
sin. You and I sin and we do sin. All beings have
the power of choice.
Therefore:
God holds every being
fully accountable for his choices.
Ecclesiastes 12:13
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of
the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, including
every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”
Now that we have
discussed a few things about our power of
choice, the operation of the Same/Same
Rule and God’s demand for justice, there’s
one last point we have to examine before we look
at the seven last plagues.
God demands restitution
for every wrong deed.
Before God can forgive us
of our sins, we have to make wrongs right (as far
as possible) with the people we have wronged.
Exodus 22:1 “if
a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it
or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle
for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
Exodus 22:5 “If
a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard
and lets them stray and they graze in another man’s
field, he must make restitution from the best of
his field or vineyard.
Exodus 22:6 “if
a fire breaks out and spreads into thorn bushes
so that it burns shocks of grain or standing
grain or the whole field, the one who started the
fire must make restitution….”
As a practical matter,
restitution is a strong deterrent for wrongdoing.
If every judge forced
felons to first make amends to their victims before
punishing them for breaking the law, there would
be far less crime in the world.
Profound statement: God
cannot forgive our sins until there is genuine
repentance and genuine repentance does not exist until
the sinner becomes willing to confess his sin and
make restitution. Period. Jesus said:
Matthew 5:23 “Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar and
there remember that your brother has something
against you,
Matthew 5:24 leave
your gift there in front of the altar. First go
and be reconciled to your brother; then come and
offer your gift.”
Ok, here’s the
point:
During the Great
Tribulation, wicked people are going to do wicked
things:
(1) They are going to
torture and destroy most of God’s people.
(2) They will
openly insult and defy God’s authority and
to show their hatred toward God, they will kill
most (if not all) of His 144,000 prophets and
saints.
God will respond to the
actions of the wicked using the Same/Same Rule. This
is the role and purpose to the seven last
plagues. Listen closely: God will torture the
wicked because (a) they chose to reject
the plainest evidences of Truth and (b) they
chose to torture His people who surrendered to
the demands of His law. The Same/Same Rule
demands the wicked to be tortured.
Romans 12:19 “Do
not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for
God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is
mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the
Lord.
Then, at the Second
Coming, Jesus will destroy the wicked because
they refused to accept “the rule of love”
that governs the universe. Listen closely: God
doesn’t destroy the wicked because they
insult Him or reject Him. God doesn’t have a
huge ego that demands respect.
Actually, God is totally
selfless. God is the most humble being in all the
universe. God is a servant to all of His
creation. When Jesus wrapped Himself in a towel
and washed the feet of the disciples, the humble
character of the Father was demonstrated in
Christ.
This is why Jesus said,
John 14:9 “….Anyone who has seen me has
seen the Father….”
When we look at the
cross, we see Jesus humbly submitting to the pain
and shame of the cross in order to save us from
the penalty of sin. God is the King of humility! God
is the King of selflessness! God is the King of love!
God is the King of forgiveness and longsuffering.
There is no one like Him! Long live OUR KING!!!
The Godhead holds the
position as Trustees of the Universe’s
Government. This means that they manage the
universe from the perspective of what is good for
everyone. The point I’m trying to make is
that God destroys the wicked at the end of the
Great Tribulation because they willingly and
knowingly refused to submit to the law of love.
The wicked will be like
their father, the devil. Wicked people are
narcistic. They love themselves; they think only
of themselves, everything they do is for
themselves. The carnal heart is wrapped up in a
world whose axis is self.
During the Great
Tribulation, the whole world will be informed on
the love and the will of God. The wicked will
hear and defy two eternal laws of love: (1) Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
mind and soul and (2) thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thy self.
Therefore, God will justifiably
destroy them – not because He is personally
angry with them for the insults they directed at
Him, but rather because the wicked refused to
submit to the laws of love – the righteous
and eternal laws that govern the universe.
This is why God’s
wrath is defined as righteous indignation instead
of a temper tantrum. For the benefit of the whole
universe, God has to destroy those people who
will not submit to the laws of love. They were
given every chance. For 1,260 days the Holy
Spirit did everything possible. But, they chose
to rebel.
Therefore:
The wicked will be
destroyed because they are and clear and present
danger to the eternal universe and universal
happiness, joy, peace of God’s children.
By the time the seven
last plagues begin, all of the wicked will have
committed the unpardonable sin and they will be demon
possessed. Their decent into demonic possession
is predictable: First, they will reject the first
angel’s message. There is no love nor
respect for their Creator. Second, they will join
with the leaders of Babylon to avoid
embarrassment, punishment and persecution. They
love self more than truth. Last, they will submit
to the authority of a glorious devil to avoid
torture – only to suffer the seven last
plagues from God in the end.
Ok, now that my justification
for the Seven Last Plagues is completed, let’s
examine the seven last plagues. Notice Revelation
15:1:
Revelation 15:1
I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign:
seven angels with the seven last plagues – last,
because with them God’s wrath is completed.
The Great Tribulation is
called “a time of wrath.”
Daniel 8:19 He
said: “I am going to tell you
what will happen later in the time of wrath, because
the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.”
Daniel 11:36 “The
king [Lucifer] will do as he pleases. He will
exalt and magnify himself above every god and
will say unheard-of things against the God of
gods. He will be successful until the time of
wrath is completed, for what has been determined
must take place.”
A Time of Wrath
/-----------------A----------------/---B-----/
A = Seven first plagues
B = Seven last plagues
There are two essential
differences between the seven trumpets and the
seven bowls. First, the seven trumpets are
redemptive in nature whereas the seven bowls are
totally destructive. People can repent and be
saved during the seven trumpets; however,
salvation will not be possible during the seven
bowls because the door to salvation closes on the
1,260th day of the Great Tribulation.
Second, the seven first
plagues are called “seven trumpets” in
the book of Revelation because these redemptive
judgments are designed to shatter the religious
paradigms of the world much like a military bugle
shatters the silence of early dawn with Reveille.
The seven first plagues
will enable people to thoughtfully and
intelligently consider the testimony of Jesus
that will be spoken by the 144,000. On the other
hand, the seven last plagues are called “seven
bowls” because those receiving the mark of
the beast will be forced to “drink”
from God’s “medicine bowl.” The
bitter dregs of God’s wrath will be poured
out of each bowl on the wicked.
The seven trumpets are redemptive
in nature whereas the seven bowls are punitive in
nature. God will force the wicked to suffer
according to the Same/Same Rule. There will be no
mercy from God when the seven bowls are poured
out because the wicked chose to hurt God’s
people and even worse, they willfully and
knowingly rebelled against the law of love.
Consider this: There won’t
be any “good hearted people” receiving
the mark of the beast. Anyone who stands in
rebellion against the plainest evidences of God’s
truth and rejects His love doesn’t have a
good heart.
Last, but not least.
When the seven bowls
begin, the devil will be on Earth masquerading as
Almighty God. The devil will sit on his throne
claiming to be God, and billions of wicked people
will believe that he is actually God.
After the 144,000 are
taken to Heaven, the devil will urge his
followers to hasten the destruction of God’s
saints during the first four bowls. The devil
will urge his followers to exterminate God’s
saints saying, “these horrible judgments are
curses from the devil.” How clever of
Lucifer!
Billions of wicked people
will believe that the devil is God and that the
God of the saints and the 144,000 is the devil. Keep
this twisted deception in mind as we examine
the specific purpose and nature of each dreadful
bowl.
Plague #1. Revelation
16:2 The first angel went out and
poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and
painful sores broke out on the people who had the
mark of the beast and worshiped his image.”
The first plague will be
a plague of painful boils. Remember the boils
that Lucifer put on Job? Remember those huge,
tender, inflamed, puss oozing sores all over his
body? God puts similar sores on every person who
receives the mark of the beast. These are two
interesting ironies here.
First, many people will
receive the mark of the beast thinking that they
are avoiding further suffering, but the first
bowl inflicts a painful suffering on them that is
beyond description! In an effort to save their
lives and escape persecution, millions will bow
down confessing the devil is God and they will
gladly receive the tattoo after he “spares”
their life.
But, their expedient
efforts to save self will be foolish because everyone
who worships “the devil and receives his
mark” will have to drink the dregs of the
first bowl! There will be no escape from the
first bowl. Painful boils will befall those who
thought they were escaping pain!
This brings me to the
second irony.
When the first bowl is
poured out on the wicked, they will be engaged in
an intense campaign to find and kill the few
saints of God who remain alive. The first bowl
will only slow down their efforts. You would
think that evil men and women, covered with boils
from head to foot would give up the pursuit. But,
they don’t. They have demonic hearts.
The irony is that what
few saints they do find, they can’t harm.
God does not allow His children to suffer at
their hands after the seventh trumpet sounds.
This is the deliverance promised in Daniel 12:1.
Plague #2. Revelation
16:3 The second angel poured out his
bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like
that of a dead man, and every living thing in the
sea died.
The second bowl is a
curse against the sea and the land. When the
second bowl is poured out, everything living in
the oceans of the world dies. Why would God pour
out his wrath upon the oceans?
I can think of three
reasons.
First, the oceans produce
Earth’s fresh water. The Sun evaporates
millions of square miles of ocean water each day.
This sterile vapor rises and becomes clouds.
Winds move the clouds over mountains and valleys
and this distilled water falls in the form of
snow or rain as condensation occurs.
By turning the sea into a
substance like the clotted blood of a dead man,
there will be no more rain. Zero. The whole Earth
will quickly die without cycles of refreshing
water. The point here is that the Earth itself is
cursed – doomed for destruction, the stench
of death and decay will be everywhere.
Second, because a third
of the trees and all of the green grass
(including crops) were burned up during the first
trumpet, seafood will likely become an important
source of food during the Great Tribulation. If
so, the destruction of everything that lives in
the oceans means worldwide famine has come.
Last, two-thirds of the
world’s population lives within 100 miles of
an ocean. When the wicked behold this awesome
judgment, you would think that some would
question their choices? You would think they
might reconsider their actions, but they don’t.
This “silent plague”
speaks with deafening authority. It says,
“The glorious and majestic being which you
worship is not God. He cannot protect you or save
you. He cannot prevent a higher power from
destroying you or the Earth.”
Plague #3. Revelation
16:4 “The third angel poured out
his bowl on the rivers and spring of water, and
they became blood.
Then I heard the angel in
charge of the waters say: You are just in these
judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy
One, because you have so judged; for they have
shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and
you have given them blood to drink as they
deserve.’
And I heard the [angel at
the] altar respond: yes, Lord God Almighty, true
and just are your judgments.’”
The third bowl will force
the wicked into a sickly spiral of thirst that
ultimately leads to an agonizing death. There
will be no recovery from this plague. Human
beings cannot live very long without water.
Everywhere the wicked will search for water, they
find blood. Picture this if you can. Millions of
bloodthirsty people drinking blood in order to
survive!
It’s a repugnant
scene, but it is a true picture. Helpless, the
wicked will turn to their God, the Antichrist,
for miraculous help, but there will be none.
The devil cannot undo
these judgments! Lucifer will be powerless to
turn the blood into water and Jesus will have no mercy
upon the wicked.
Every wicked person was
given 1,260 days to hear and understand the
gospel of Jesus. They were informed of Christ’s
sovereignty and they willfully aligned themselves
with the evil forces because there was no love
for truth and righteousness within them,
therefore, they have to suffer the consequences
of their choices.
The angel that turns the
drinking water into blood declares God to be
“true and just.” In other words, he
says that Jesus is consistent and fair using the Same/Same
Law. These people thirsted for the blood of the
saints and prophets and God gives them blood to
drink!
Even the martyred souls
under the altar speak out saying, “true and
just are your judgments” upon the wicked.
(Of course, those
martyred under the fifth seal don’t actually
talk, but personification allows their innocent
blood to cry out for justice as did Abel’s
blood. See Genesis 4:10.)
1. Sores /
boils
2. Oceans
have turned to blood
3. Drinking
water to blood
4. Searing
heat
God puts “the heat”
on the enemies of His people.
Plague #4. Revelation
16:8,9 “The fourth angel poured
out his bowl on the Sun, and the Sun was given
power to scorch people with fire. They were
seared by the intense heat and they cursed the
name of God, who had control over these plagues,
but they refused to repent and glorify him.”
At this point, thirty
days have passed since the seven bowls began. The
misery index is off the chart and the wicked
people of Earth are struggling in a great
quandary. Why doesn’t God (actually, the
Antichrist) stop these plagues?
They reason, “Our
God can do anything, he even called fire down
from the sky, therefore, he must immediately stop
these awful judgments or we shall all perish!”
The fourth bowl could be
caused by a catastrophic solar flare from the Sun
or perhaps it could be a very brilliant gamma-ray
burst coming from the direction of the Sun.
Either way, the net effect is intense, oppressive,
searing heat. Think about this plague for a
moment.
What would happen if you
climbed into the attic of your house on a hot
day? What would happen if the ambient temperature
of Earth stayed around 140 degrees for several
days?
Remember, there will be
little or no electricity on Earth at this time.
The earth was badly broken up when the second
global earthquake occurred at the seventh
trumpet. (Revelation 11:19)
So, there will be no
mechanical relief from the heat. Furthermore, all
of the oceans and rivers will smell awful.
Billions of dead sea creatures have washed up on
the shores. There is no water to drink; only
blood that tastes and smells so badly it causes
people to vomit.
In this setting the Bible
predicts two interesting things. First, the
wicked will curse the God of Heaven. They will do
this because their minds are twisted. Lucifer
(masquerading as Almighty God) will tell the
wicked people of Earth that these plagues are
coming from the devil!
Second, even though the
wicked will be suffering in the extreme, the
Bible says they refused to change or repent. This
is an important point. No one can change their
ways or repent of their sinful ways unless the
Holy Spirit brings this change about. The wicked can’t
change because there is no desire within them to
change. They have committed the unpardonable sin.
The Holy Spirit refuses to speak to them. Even
torture cannot change the carnal heart! Wow.
This brings us face to
face with a profound truth: Unless we give the
Holy Spirit an opportunity to change us, a human
being cannot come to repentance of reformation on
his own. The carnal nature will not permit it.
As the 4th
bowl comes to a close, so does the 42 months of
persecution. The wicked finally give up trying to
destroy the saints. The wicked have no strength,
but God’s people have no boils, they have
food and drinking water and they are protected
from the searing heat.
Plague #5. “The
fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of
the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into
darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed
the God of heaven because of their pains and
their sores, but they refused to repent of what
they had done.” (Revelation 16:10,11)
The fifth bowl is
directed at Lucifer’s government. Darkness
and sores fall upon the throne and kingdom of
Lucifer. The fifth bowl serves two purposes.
First, Jesus unmasks
the devil with this plague. In this message, the
beast is a reference to the beast from the abyss,
also the lamblike beast. At the time of the fifth
bowl, the devil will have been masquerading as
Almighty God for little more than a year (since
the beginning of the fifth trumpet). His
masquerade is now over. Everyone will see who he
really is.
Second, Jesus imposes
painful and agonizing sores on those who have
inflicted great suffering upon the saints. (Same/Same
Rule.) These painful sores will suddenly “pop
out” on everyone who serves in Lucifer’s
global government.
From the lowest paid
clerk to the ten kings, everyone will be
afflicted. Evan though they’re suffering
will be off the chart; the wicked will refuse to
repent of their evil deeds and will remain loyal
to the devil to the bitter end.
(This proves that loyalty
can be totally blinding, loyalty even transcends
intelligence.)
Here’s a scenario:
When the fifth bowl is poured out, Jesus silently
but suddenly turns everything upside down within
Lucifer’s government. One night the devil
and his angels, those glorious beings who
deceived the whole world with dazzling glory will
suddenly lose their glory and they will appear in
their natural state before mankind as grotesque
demons of darkness.
The devil who was thought
to be Almighty God is no longer the glorious
being that he once was. His brilliant glory is
gone, his throne room is dark and everyone who
serves in his evil government will be scared to
death when they see Lucifer and his demons as
they really are. On top of this, Lucifer’s
global government will be afflicted with horrible
and painful sores.
Those having the mark of
the beast (excluding the employees of the devil’s
government) will behold these mind-boggling
phenomena.
They will ask each other,
“Why would the glory of God suddenly go
dark? Why would God curse everyone who works for
Him with more of these horrible boils?”
An involuntary answer
will form on their lips. “Un-oh. . . .
The 144,000 were right! Our god is the devil!”
This dark is not God at
all! We were deceived! But, wait! We can’t
call him “the devil” or we will be
killed just like the saints and the 144,000 were
killed! What should we do now! Oh, no….”
This is one of those rare
moments in Earth’s history when darkness
causes the truth to shine brightly and nothing
can be done to hide it. The wicked inhabitants of
Earth are forced to recognize the deception of
Lucifer and even more, their cowardice and willingness
to go along with him.
Plague #6. The
sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great
river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to
prepare the way for the kings from the East.
Then I saw three evil
spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of
the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast
and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
They are spirits of
demons performing miraculous signs, and they go
out to the kings of the whole world, to gather
them for the battle on the great day of God
Almighty.
[A comment by Jesus to
the saints:] Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed
is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with
him, so that he may not go naked and be
shamefully exposed.’ [In other words, don’t
despair, I shall return!]
Then they gathered the
kings together to the place in Hebrew is called
Armageddon.” (Revelation 16:12-16)
The meaning of this bowl
is not too difficult if one understands the
context and setting of this future event. The drying
up of the great river Euphrates [the
northern most boundary in ancient Israel] is a
phrase meaning that the arrival of the two kings
coming down from the North (the Father and the
Son) is unstoppable. Destruction always comes
from the north!
In ancient times, enemy
kings could not cross through the Euphrates
because the great river itself was a barrier.
But, the river is now dried up, and there is
nothing to stop destruction from the North. I
believe the sign of the Father and Son will first
appear in the sky during this time. This sign
will be a small cloud drawing near to Earth.
(Matthew 24:30)
Remember, divine
destruction in ancient times came out of the
North (Jeremiah 51:48, Job 37:22), but
physically, because of the rotation of Earth on
its axis, the Father and Son (the two kings) will
appear from the East. (Matthew 26:64)
Daniel 11:44 But
reports from the east and the north will alarm
him, and he will set out in a great rage to
destroy and annihilate many.
By the time the sixth
bowl is poured out, the wicked will be suffering
in the extreme. Every wicked person will be
wearing the devil’s inescapable tattoo. Even
more, the wicked now know that the devil and his
demons are not Almighty God and His angels as
they claimed.
The wicked will realize
they are looking at the embodiment of evil.
Emotionally speaking, the wicked will be at a
point of utter discouragement. Everything they
wanted to avoid during the Great Tribulation has
befallen them.
Now that his incredible
deceptions have been exposed and the wicked know
who he really is, the devil plays his final
card. It’s a pathetic situation because
the devil already knows the outcome of this
battle (he knows what the Bible predicts).
Nevertheless, he incites
the kings of the Earth to make war on Jesus in an
attempt to kill Him as He nears Earth. (Remember,
Lucifer did the same through Herod.)
So, three miracle-working
demons are sent to the ten kings of Earth bearing
a grim message. These powerful demons are sent
out by Lucifer, who has three identities in
Revelation’s story: the dragon, the lamblike
beast and the false prophet.
The Bible uses these
three descriptors of Lucifer because these
three caricatures describe him with perfection.
As the great red dragon who was cast out of
Heaven, he is the original Anti-christ. As the
lamblike beast who rose up out of the Earth, he
is the final Anti-christ. As the false prophet
who led the whole world astray, he is the father
of lies and liars.
Lucifer demonstrates his
hatred for God one last time by sending three
miracle working demons with a pack of lies to
visit the ten kings of Earth.
(These demons looked like
frogs to John – perhaps representing the
fact that frogs catch their prey with their
tongues and these ‘lying demons’ do the
same.)
The message to each king
will be simple and direct. The demons will say:
“You have but one chance to save yourselves
from the approaching cloud in the East. If you
will join with us in destroying Jesus and the
Father as they draw near Earth, we can defeat
them.
You have atomic bombs. We
have the power to work miracles. Do we have a
deal? If so, arm yourselves for immediate battle.”
The ten kings of Earth will have no other option
but to combine human effort with miracle working
demons.
They prepare for battle.
“They [the kings of
Earth] have one purpose and will give their power
and authority to the beast. They will make war
against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them
because he is Lord of lords and King of kings and
with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful
followers.” (Revelation 17:13,14)
This last battle on Earth
is called Armageddon because this contracted word
means “on the mount, god will prevail.”
[In ancient times descriptive words were often
made up by joining two words together. In this
case, the words ‘ar (which means mountain)
and Megiddo (which refers to an embarrassing
event in Jewish history) are used.]
See if you can make sense
of this logic:
Since this is the only
place in the Bible where the word Armageddon is
used ….
Since the war will be
universal (that is, demons and the armies of
Earth) fighting against the arrival of God. . .
Since the two words that
make up Armagegeddon are ‘ar and Megiddo….
Since good king Josiah
went out to fight Neco, king of Egypt against God’s
command and Josiah needlessly lost his life on
the plain of Megiddo…
And since the sixth bowl
indicates the kings of Earth and demons unite to
destroy Jesus as He arrives . . . The
meaning of Armageddon is rather simple.
“On the mountain
– the dwelling place of deity, Jesus will
prevail and He will be the undisputed King of the
mountain.”
Plague #7. “The
seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air,
and out of the temple came a loud voice from the
throne, saying, It is done!’
[I believe this voice
comes from one of the four living creatures.
See Revelation 8:13.]
Then there came flashes
of lightening, rumblings, peals of thunder and a
severe earthquake.
No earthquake like it has
ever occurred since man has been on earth, so
tremendous was the quake. The great city [Babylon
the Great] split into three parts*, and the
cities of the nations collapsed.
God remembered Babylon
the Great and gave her the cup filled with the
wine of the fury of His wrath.
Every island fled away
and the mountains could not be found.
From the sky huge
hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell
upon men. And they cursed God on account of the
plague of hail, because the plague was so
terrible.”
(Revelation 16:17-21)
When the seventh bowl is
poured out, the ten kings, encouraged and
emboldened by the lies and miracles of the three
demons, are armed and ready to destroy the Father
and Son with all of the nuclear power they can
muster.
Before they can get the
first ICBM in the air, the whole planet goes into
a violent spasm. A global earthquake rips up the
Earth and the empire of the devil is torn into
three parts.
The islands and mountains
are moved out of their places as Earth vomits
from the nausea of degenerate sin. The cities of
the Earth collapse into rubble and fiery
hailstones weighing a hundred pounds each fell
upon the enemies of the Lamb.
“They called to the
mountains and the [falling] rocks, Fall on us and
hide us from (a) the face of Him who sits on the
throne [the Father] and (b) from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of their [plural] wrath
has come, and who can stand?’”
(Revelation 6:16,17,
insertions mine)
“Then I saw the [false
prophet/lamblike] beast and the kings of the
earth [composite beast with ten horns and seven
heads] and their armies gathered together to make
war against the rider on the horse and his army.
But the [composite] beast was captured, and with
him the false prophet [who is also the lamblike
beast] who had performed the miraculous signs on
his behalf. With these signs he [the lamblike
beast] had deluded those who had received the
mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The
two of them [lamblike beast/false prophet and the
composite beast/ten kings/seven heads] were
thrown alive into a fiery lake of burning sulfur.
The rest of them [the
wicked of Earth] were killed with the sword that
came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse,
and all the birds gorged themselves on their
flesh.”
(Revelation 19:19-21)
The seventh bowl marks
the end of human life on Earth for 1,000 years.
The saints leave Earth to spend the next 1,000
years living and reigning with Jesus in their
Father’s house.
(John 14:14:1-3)
“The phrase, “The
great city split into three parts” is
significant. It means complete destruction of
Babylon, the global city whose citizens make up
the harlot, will be divided into thirds and
totally destroyed.
No mercy will be shown to
the evil empire. Throughout the Bible, there is
language describing the use of one-third and
two-thirds. We have discussed this many times.
The idea in Revelation 16
is that of no mercy. Nothing will be left of
Babylon to spare. Three thirds will be destroyed.
(Revelation 19:21)
The violence described in
the sixth and seventh bowls shows the truth about
sin. At its core there is violence against God
and everything righteous.
This is the heart of
Lucifer and all who do evil.
End Text:
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