Study of End Times wk 38
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· 2 viewsPreparation for the the bowls of wrath October 19th
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Preparation for and the Bowls of Wrath
Preparation for and the Bowls of Wrath
Last week we finished looking at chapter 14, and the 6 angels in it, that brought proclamations to the earth, the first three gave warnings, the second three gave instructions to harvest the earth.
Angel 4 brought instructions from God the Father to Jesus to harvest the lost people of the earth, Angel 5 had a sickle like Jesus did, and Angel 6 gave instructions to Angle 5 to harvest the grapes of the earth, that then went into the wine press of God’s that then was made into the wine of God’s wrath.
Tonight we are going to hear of seven angels, that are being prepared for the bowls of wrath, that God is preparing to pour out on the earth and the unbelievers of the world.
We will also then look at those seven bowls and what happens when those bowls are poured out.
We will be looking at chapters 15 and 16 in their whole tonight as there is only 8 verses in chapter 15, and 21 verses in chapter 16 but these seven angels are preparing to be sent forth with the seven bowls of wrath and these seven bowls of wrath are then poured out on the unbelievers, those that follow the beast, the Antichrist.
I. The Reliant Word of God
I. The Reliant Word of God
1 Then I saw another great and awe-inspiring sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven last plagues; for with them God’s wrath will be completed. 2 I also saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had won the victory over the beast, its image, and the number of its name, were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.
This passage tells us that a group of people in heaven will praise God because they have gained the victory. How did they get the victory?
Well the key verse here is verse 2: we see there, they stand on a “sea of glass.” This sea is not an ocean. Instead, John sees a great basin similar to the one in Solomon’s temple.
23 He made the cast metal basin, 15 feet from brim to brim, perfectly round. It was 7½ feet high and 45 feet in circumference.
Before the priest went into the temple to worship, he washed in a basin. It symbolized the Word of God that cleanses man from sin.
Ephesians 5:26 tells us how Jesus Christ (the Word made flesh) cleanses and sanctifies the church: Ephesians 5:26
26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.
In that day people washed in the sea. In the book of Revelation, these people do not wash in it because it has crystallized. They stand up it.
6 Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne.
Four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were around the throne on each side.
The saints who have come out of the great tribulation are now standing on the Word of God.
When Joshua was going into Canaan, God gave him a formula for victory. It is older than the Dead Sea Scrolls, but as fresh as tomorrow’s newspaper. Here is what God told Joshua (and what He is telling us today): Joshua 1:8
8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.
Victory comes by the Word of God, which according to Joshua, is to be in our mouths. The New Testament affirms this: Ephesians 4:29
29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.
Do you want victory? Learn to quote the Word of God, not just in your head but out loud. And when you verbalize it, you vitalize it.
John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, was convicted and converted by listening to a conversation between some women about the Word of God.
If someone were to eavesdrop on one of your conversations, would it lead them to Christ?
Not only is the Word of God to be in your mouth, but it is also to be in your mind. Joshua said we are to meditate on it day and night.
Meditation is like a song you can’t get out of your mind. When you meditate on the Word of God, you think God’s thoughts after Him.
And when you do that, you will find out that you have incredible wisdom. As problems come (and they will), the Word of God will give you the wisdom you need.
Finally, you and I need to have the Word of God in our manner of life. God told Joshua that he was to do all that is commanded in the Word of God.
Reading and meditating on the Word of God is important, but obeying the Word of God causes the Bible to burst into flame in your life.
When God speaks to you through His Word and gives you a command to obey, you need to stop right there if you are not obeying that command. Don’t read any further.
Jesus said, John 14:21
21 The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.”
All the rest is just religious talk. You can read and write all manner of notes in your Bible, but when you hear God’s Word and obey it, Jesus said, “You love Me.”
Reading the Bible gives you knowledge about God; obeying the Bible gives you knowledge of God. God will become real to you.
Would you like to live in victory today? I don’t mean in the sweet by and by; I mean in the nasty now and now.
You will live in victory as you learn to plant your feet firmly upon the solid Word of God.
II. The Redeeming Works of God
II. The Redeeming Works of God
3 They sang the song of God’s servant Moses and the song of the Lamb:
Great and awe-inspiring are your works,
Lord God, the Almighty;
just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
When the Israelites were in Egypt, they weren’t singing; they were groaning. But God brought them out of Egypt and redeemed them by the blood of the Passover Lamb.
Their song is found in Exodus 15 after they crossed through the parted Red Sea. It is the first recorded song in the Bible.
The last recorded song in the Bible is the song of the Lamb. Both of these songs speak of redemption.
Thank God for singing! Thank God for music! The way you celebrate the Lord Jesus is to sing of His works.
Only in Jesus can we sing a redemption song.
May God have mercy on you if you do not offer praise to God with a joyful noise during a song service.
When the Israelites were going into the promised land, they asked God which tribe should go first.
Judah was chosen because the name Judah means “praise.” Praise precedes every victory; praise follows every victory.
You may say, “I have problems. I do not feel like singing.” That is all the more reason you ought to sing.
When Paul and Silas were arrested for preaching the gospel, they were thrown into jail.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
Talk about Jail house Rock!
What is victory’s song?
It is not singing about what we have done, but it is singing about the redemptive work of Almighty God.
III. The Righteous Wrath of God
III. The Righteous Wrath of God
Many people ask where is God when there is so much sin in the world - wickedness, rape, arson, child abuse, blasphemy, and war.
Where is God?
He is on His Throne!
And you can be certain that every sin will be punished. Yours will be punished. Mine will be punished.
The only question is: Who will bear that punishment?
Every sin will be pardoned by Christ or punished in hell, but it will never be overlooked.
Nobody’s sin is ever overlooked. All sin is dealt with.
These people who are standing on the sea of glass understand that a day is coming when God will put the final period on the final paragraph, on the final chapter, on the final book of history.
Our God is a mighty God!
4 Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come
and worship before you
because your righteous acts
have been revealed.
5 After this I looked, and the heavenly temple—the tabernacle of testimony—was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, dressed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes wrapped around their chests. 7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. 8 Then the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Seven angels will come from the temple to give four judgments:
A righteous judgment because they are wearing white robes;
A sovereign judgment because they are wearing golden sashes, which represent the priests and king;
A solemn judgment because they have bowls of wrath; and
A sure judgment because the Bible says no man can enter into the temple until God is finished.
The place will be filled with smoke (which speaks of the judgment of God consuming the sacrifice), and the Bible says that no man could approach.
It is almost as if God were saying, “Stay out. I am busy. Don’t interrupt me. I am going to judge this world.”
Now we make our way to the seven bowls of judgment
Bowl 1
Bowl 1
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2 The first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and severely painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.
Do you see the irony here?
The mark turns into cankerous, contagious sores that is putrefying and incurable.
Bowl 2
Bowl 2
3 The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like that of a dead person, and all life in the sea died.
Here is a dead world lying in its own gore.
We all have heard of Red Tide, it seems to happen every summer or two somewhere on the Gulf Coast here in Florida.
This is caused by microorganisms called dinoflagellates or Karenina breves. By some strange alchemy this one-cell organism turns the water red, poisons the sea life, and produces potent chemical neurotoxins. These toxins cause extensive fish kills, contaminate shellfish, and create severe respiratory irritation to humans along the shore.
As the organisms approach the shoreline, you can begin to see and feel the obvious effects: dead fish, the characteristic burning sensation of the eyes and nose, and a dry, choking cough.
Could this be what John is talking about?
I do not know, but the seas will become contaminated.
Bowl 3
Bowl 3
4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 I heard the angel of the waters say,
You are just,
the Holy One, who is and who was,
because you have passed judgment on these things.
6 Because they poured out
the blood of the saints and the prophets,
you have given them blood to drink;
they deserve it!
7 I heard the altar say,
Yes, Lord God, the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.
Here fresh water is already in short supply as the world has been in a prolonged extreme drought, and now the fresh water will suffer the same results as the oceans - they will become blood.
In addition to suffering from thirst, the worshippers of the beast - the Antichrist, the false prophet, Satan - will have no clean water to wash their sores that they developed from the first bowl of judgment.
Bowl 4
Bowl 4
Global Warming is coming!
8 The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun. It was allowed to scorch people with fire, 9 and people were scorched by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God, who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
When Jesus died, the sun hid its face and refused to shine.
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three, 45 because the sun’s light failed. The curtain of the sanctuary was split down the middle.
When Jesus is manifest in all His glory, there will be erupting flames of fire and judgment. Scientists try to call this solar flares, which we already hear of now at times.
But whatever they are, the heat will be intense.
Will it cause people to repent?
No it won’t cause them to repent. According to this passage of Scripture, it will only cause them to blaspheme God.
If the love of God does not bring you to repentance, then the judgment of God will not bring you to repentance.
Bowl 5
Bowl 5
Their beloved beast will not be able to help them now.
10 The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues because of their pain 11 and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they did not repent of their works.
A cascade of hurt will culminate in a crescendo of hate, as these confounded sinners lurch forward in their hatred against God. The darkness described here doesn’t speak necessarily of physical darkness but of moral and spiritual darkness that will engulf the world.
Bowl 6
Bowl 6
12 The sixth 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. 13 Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming from the dragon’s mouth, from the beast’s mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are demonic spirits performing signs, who travel to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle on the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 “Look, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who is alert and remains clothed so that he may not go around naked and people see his shame.” 16 So they assembled the kings at the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
These demon spirits are already working to draw the nations to the final decisive battle of mankind.
How are they doing that?
They are going into the hearts and minds of people. Do you ever wonder how people can follow through with suicide bombings?
They are pawns in the hands of the evil one that is driving men to a cataclysm of wickedness. And if you think it is bad now, just wait until the church is taken out of the world.
The Euphrates River is the dividing line between the Near East and the Far East. It is eighteen hundred miles long, thirty-six hundred feet wide, and an average of thirty feet deep.
On the eastern side of the Euphrates are the multitudes from Asia, India, and Japan.
The Euphrates actually flows past modern-day Iraq, which is biblical Babylon. Special demon spirits reside there.
Bowl 7
Bowl 7
All of these things Climax in
17 Then the seventh poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
Correspondingly, Jesus poured out His blood for our sin, then bowed His head and said, “It is finished!”
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
At Calvary redemption was completed. In Revelation retribution will be completed.
18 There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. And a severe earthquake occurred like no other since people have been on the earth, so great was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; he gave her the cup filled with the wine of his fierce anger.
Don’t forget that one of the secrets of our victory is the wrath of God. Apart from the wrath and righteous judgment of God, there can be no ultimate victory. Sin must be dealt with.
20 Every island fled, and the mountains disappeared. 21 Enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.
During this period of time, men will have crushing missiles of ice falling upon them.
In verse 19 we see that God gives the cup filled with the wine of his fierce anger, we talked about this cup of wine last week in the end of chapter 14, now we see this cup of wine again.
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked God the Father if there was any other way allow the cup to pass, this is the cup He was referring too.
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Jesus took the cup of God’s wrath that was meant for those that will accept the forgiveness of sins, the gift of salvation, the Free ransom that He has already offered for us, all we have to do is accept it, because He has drank of that cup for us, but if we do not accept that free gift, we will have to drink of that cup of wrath that will be poured out on all unbelievers.
13 I will take the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
Because Jesus drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath, you can drink the loving cup of God’s grace and mercy. If you fail to drink the cup of salvation, you will drink the cup of the wrath of God. God will never overlook sin, no matter what people may say or want to think or believer, God is love, but He is also just.