Journey through the Revelation10 (final)

Journey through the Revelation

Part 10

“The Last Three Bowls”

Last time we saw John describing the proclamations of six Mighty Angels in Chapter 14.

Then in Chapter 15 we observed the seven bowls of judgment being handed to seven Angels.

And in Chapter 16 the bowls of judgment are poured out. We saw last time the first 4 bowl judgments which were:

Bowl One: Malignant sores on everyone that received the mark of the beast.

Bowl Two: The oceans become like blood and all marine life dies.

Bowl Three: The springs and rivers-sources of natural, clean water—become like blood.

Bowl Four: The ozone layer is destroyed causing men to be scorched by the heat.

FINAL THREE BOWLS:

UNDENIABLE JUDGMENTS OF GOD

The next three bowl judgments are such that no one can blame them on anything but the very hand of God.

Next, the 5th bowl is poured out:

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…”

In chapter 17 we will look much more closely at the rise of Antichrist’s kingdom. But John here is jumping forward to give us a preview of how it will look toward the end.

The 5th bowl is followed by a strange, cosmic darkness, possibly caused by dark clouds of interplanetary debris. The 5th bowl especially affects the throne and domain of the antichrist with this strange darkness.

Now, the inhabitants of earth begin to recognize that this is the judgment of God. The kingdom of the antichrist is coming apart at the seams. And what do they do?

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.”

Is there anywhere in the Bible where the wicked heart of men is more prominently displayed than here!

Next, the 6th bowl is poured out:

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 sixth bowl judgment dries up the Euphrates River. Why does God do this? It is simply stated: “that the way of the Kings from the East might be prepared.” God will make a way for the land armies of the vast eastern Asian continent to surge through the Middle East enroute to the Land of Israel and the final battle of the Great Tribulation.

The enemies of Israel will march against her for one last, massive assault against the Jews. The final battle of that great day of God Almighty, the Battle of Armageddon, is now imminent.

Remember: The Euphrates River is 1,800 miles in length, and 3,600 feet wide and 30 feet deep. With one judgment act of God its bed becomes dry ground!

These “kings of the east” could include leaders from Russia, Iran, India, China, Japan and other Far Eastern powers. Evidently, the antichrist will not be able to maintain total control of these Asian powers, even though “the whole world” is wondering after the beast.

In this end-time scenario, God is bringing the forces of Satan across the dry River bed to be utterly destroyed by none other than Jesus Christ, Who will be followed by His heavenly forces.

Notice in the next verse a “satanic trinity” described by John:

13 And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

FROGS were symbols of filth and dirt to the ancients. The frogs John sees are evil spirits that are energizing the unclean words of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet.

And these evil spirits have a diabolical purpose:

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.”

Yet God is in charge of it all! Zechariah predicts in 14:2:

2 “I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women ravaged.”

But Zechariah also goes on to predict that this will be the time when the Jewish people begin to turn in droves to the real Messiah, just prior to Christ’s return:

3 “Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.”

This is a description of the 2nd Advent of Jesus Christ.

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.”

In the midst of these final moments in history, God makes a final appeal to the end-time believers to hang on; it will soon be over:

Rev. 16:15 “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.”

Finally, the 7th bowl is poured out:

16 And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon (the Valley of Megiddo). 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!”

With this final bowl, the thumos, or “hot fury” of God is complete.

18 “Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth.”

Think about this: Of all the horrific earthquakes to ever strike earth, this is the worst. This earthquake will not be measurable by the Richter scale. It literally rips Jerusalem into 3 parts:

19 The great city was split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble.”

It is a global earthquake. Cities all over the world will crumble like a house of cards!

“And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”

(We will look more closely at Babylon in Chapter 19).

20 “And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled.”

This earthquake—possibly the consequence of a nuclear blast—decimates the islands of the sea, perhaps through multiple tsunamis. And this awesome quake brings ALL MOUNTAINS DOWN.

Next, something incredible and horrifying:

21 “And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent fell from the sky onto the people below.”

A talent weighs one hundred pounds. A one-hundred pound piece of hail would be at least the size of a basketball!

FACT-O-GRAM: In the aftermath of WWII, atomic devices were set off causing the ocean waters to rise 30 to 60 thousand feet. When the boiling water began to fall, it created hail the size of basketballs. This hail was so huge and deadly that it damaged the ships placed in the lagoons, denting the ships armor!

All of these awful judgments are punitive, not rehabilitative. Once again we see unrepentant mankind continuing to blaspheme God!

“And men cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.”

Next time: The Riddle of Mystery Babylon and the Great Harlot