Revelation Study Series 21 - God’s Mysterious Plan Fulfilled (Chapter 16)
04.24.22
Message…
Last week we celebrated Easter…Russia & Ukraine celebrate that this weekend. Putin rejected a 4 day ceasefire requested by Zelensky.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/zelenskyy-says-russia-rejected-easter-083256286.html
So, a Jewish leader wanted his people to be able to have time to worship God…while an evil ruler hardened his heart against the worship of God! Sounds like that has happened before! Some people just don’t learn! Some people don’t know their Bible!
Revelation 16:1
1 Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”
God’s full/complete wrath will be poured out during the last half of the Tribulation period.
Forty-two months, three-and-a-half years, unrepentant mankind on earth will experience God’s righteous, perfect judgment for his/her choosing to worship the antichrist, rather than Jesus Christ. It will be a time unlike any before it.
The apostle John saw seven angels with seven bowls. These seven bowl judgments reveal the wrath of God poured out upon the earth, and all unbelievers.
The Lord makes plain in His Word what He will do during the last half of the Tribulation.
Revelation 16:2
2 So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.
This first bowl judgment will be one of boils/sores upon man.
“The first bowl of wrath compares to the sixth plague in Egypt and is the same type of sore or “boil” (see Exod. 9:8–12). It is interesting to note that Moses predicted coming judgment upon Israel similar to this. It has not as yet been fulfilled.”
“This prediction is found in the Book of Deuteronomy: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee” (Deut. 28:15).” McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2000, c1981.
Also, notice that this only afflicts those who have taken the mark of the beast/who worship his statue.
Revelation 16:3
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.
97.3% of all of the world’s water is salt…oceans and seas, which covers 71% of the earth’s surface.
Revelation 16:4
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood.
This would be a judgment on the fresh water as well.
Revelation 16:5-7
5 And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying, “You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because You have sent these judgments.
6 Since they shed the blood
of Your holy people and Your prophets,
You have given them blood to drink.
It is their just reward.”
7 And I heard a voice from the altar, saying,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
Your judgments are true and just.”
The angels declare the judgments of God are just. They agree. “Amen”… “so be it” to what God has done.
“...God sets His own standard of justice. He uses His power according to His own moral perfection. Thus, whatever He chooses or decrees is fair, even if we don't understand it or like it. Those who rebel and reject God are not rejecting a "lifestyle option"; they are rejecting truth and justice itself.” -Life Application Notes
Revelation 16:8-9
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.
9 Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give Him glory.
Your worst sunburn will not come close to comparing what they will feel.
“The scorching heat will melt the polar ice caps, which some estimated would raise the level of the world’s oceans by 200’ inundating many of the world’s major cities and producing further catastrophic loss of life.” -JMSB
Interesting verses in the OT… (prophetic)
Amos 9:5-6
5 And the Lord GOD of hosts is He that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
6 It is He that buildeth His stories in the heaven, and hath founded His troop in the earth; He that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is His name.
Notice… “…They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give Him glory.” vs. 9
This indicates just how wicked mankind is. They would rather endure this, then repent.
Revelation 16:10
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish,
11 and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.
Where the beast holds his seat of power there will be darkness. It may not be limited to this area only…but, all of his dominion.
Again we read…
“But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.” Vs. 11
God’s judgment can harden you, or break you!
Woe to the person it hardens! Blessed be the one whom it breaks to repentance!
Revelation 16:12
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.
“The prominence of the Euphrates River in the Word of God should not be overlooked. First mentioned in Genesis 2, it is designated over twenty-five times in the Bible. … It was the cradle of man's civilization and obviously will be the grave of man's civilization.”
…
“The Euphrates River will be miraculously dried up, thus erasing the border between East and West.”
—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
It will allow kings and armies access to the Battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 16:13-14
13 And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
14 They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.
J. A. Seiss, in his book, The Apocalypse, Lectures on the Book of Revelation, comments on the frogs…
They are spirits; they are "unclean spirits;" they are "demon spirits;" they are sent forth into activity by the Dragon Trinity; they are the elect agents to awaken the world to the attempt to abolish God from the earth; and they are frog-like in that they come forth out of the pestiferous quagmires of the universe, do their work amid the world's evening shadows, and creep, and croak, and fill the ears of the nations with their noisy demonstrations, till they set all the kings and armies of the whole earth in enthusiastic commotion for the final crushing out of the Lamb and all His powers.
As in chapter 9, the seven Spirits of God and of Christ went forth into all the earth to make up and gather together into one holy fellowship the great congregation of the sanctified: so these spirits of hell go forth upon the kings and potentates of the world, to make up and gather together the grand army of the Devil's worshippers.
—J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
Revelation 16:15
15 “Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for Me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
16 And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon.
*(pic-Jezreel Valley), (located 60 miles north of Jerusalem) -JMSB
This is the only occurrence of the word Armageddon in Scripture, although there are many references to it. It means "Mount of Megiddo." It is a compound word made up of the Hebrew words Har, meaning "mountain," and Megiddo, which is a mount in the plain of Esdraelon. … It is a place where many battles have been fought in the past.” —J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible
It is said that over 200 battles have been fought here throughout history. “Napoleon called this valley the greatest battlefield he had ever seen.” -JMSB
Revelation 16:17-19
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!”
18 Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth.
19 The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and He made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of His fierce wrath.
(Jerusalem - “great city of Babylon”)
“Jerusalem will be split into three parts (Zec 14:4), not as a judgment (cf. Rev 11:13), but as an improvement. The additional water supply (Zec 14:8) and topographical changes (Zec 14:4-5) will prepare the city for its central place in the millennial kingdom. Jerusalem is the only city to be spared the judgment (cf. 1Ch 23:25; Psa 125:1-2; Mic 4:7) and will be made more beautiful (Psa 48:2), because of her repentance (see Rev 11:13).” -John MacArthur Study Bible
Revelation 16:20-21
20 And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled.
21 There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
Life Application:
Revelation 16:15
15 “Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for Me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”
2 Peter 3:8-9
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
How do we live in light of these truths?
2 Peter 3:11-15a
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,
12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.
13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.
15a And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. …
Blessed are all who are watching for Me (Rev. 16:15)…
1 John 2:28
And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.
Hebrews 12:1b-2
1b “...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Live Peaceful Lives (2 Peter 3:14)…
Someone told me not long ago of a church auction. One member was bidding on an item…and another member was bidding against them.
They were in a bidding war because they both despised each other! The winning bidder who paid thousands for something not worth thousands was thrilled the other member didn’t get it! They would have even paid more if needed for them not to get it! They actually said, “Well, at least the money is going for a good cause!”
-Unspecified Source
That kind of perspective/attitude is not peaceful, and very hypocritical…
…You can’t live how you want (the way of the world), and impress/glorify God!
James 3:10 “...blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!”
Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
John 14:27
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!
We have peace with God through Christ!
Those who live peaceful lives get their peace from Christ!
They share that peace with others!
Pure and blameless (in His sight - 2 Peter 3:14)...
1 John 2:6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
1 John 4:17
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Pure and blameless…live like Jesus! Live in God and for God!
Also, understand…
Live in God’s Patience… (it allows time for people to be saved, and for you to allow Him to use you in seeing people come to salvation!)...
Jude 20-23
20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,
21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
22 And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
Watch for Jesus!
Live Peaceful, blameless lives!
Live for Jesus!
Share Jesus with others while God is patient, before His righteous wrath comes!
