10 - The Last Three Bowls 2009

1 “Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.”

Chapter 14 again introduces us to the 144,000 we first met in Chapter 7. They have the name of the Father on their foreheads. This is the “seal” mentioned in 7:3. Now they are seen in heaven, for probably they die martyr’s deaths when Satan, “the dragon,” makes war with the “remnant” (12:7).

2 “And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.”

These majestic sounds are none other than the greatest choir ever assembled. It is the song of those who have been redeemed from the Great Tribulation. They are the fruit of the preaching of the 144,000. John says:

 3 “This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.”

Next, John describes their purity—“they are virgins.” Let’s read:

4 “They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. 5 They have told no lies; they are without blame.”

This doesn’t mean that they have never married, but that they are pure and holy through Christ and in spiritual character, undefiled by immorality.

SIX ANGELS

Next, John sees six angels, one after the other, all with unique messages of warning and judgment.

FIRST ANGEL: 6 And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 “Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.”

This angel’s message is a gospel message. Think of it: Right in the middle of the most horrific time earth has ever seen, the mercy of God yet reaches out to the lost!

SECOND ANGEL: 8 “Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.”

BABYLON represents the city, the system, and the regime of the final times. We will see much more on this in Chapters 17-18.

It is likely both a physical place and a spiritual condition of rebellion against God.

Babylon first appears in the Bible in Genesis 11, where we find Nimrod leading the charge in building The Tower of Babel, the Hebrew name for Babylon. God thwarted the effort and confused the people’s languages. The Tower represented pride and rebellion against the will of God.

As for the place, Ancient Babylon was located where present day southern Iraq is. The Bible predicts that Iraq will flourish and once again become a major city on the world stage. It could be that the Babylon John sees is that revived city where the infamous Iraq war has taken place!

THIRD ANGEL: 9 “Then a third angel followed them, shouting, ‘Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand 10 must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. 11 The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.’”

Once again, God sternly warns against refusing the mark of the beast. To receive it is to perish eternally.

Then the Holy Spirit speaks to those who will belong to the Lord in the Great Tribulation:

12 “This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH

IN the closing verses of Chapter 14, the Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) is seen seated on a cloud:

14 “Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.”

GOLDEN CROWN: represents authority

SICKLE: not representing a good harvest but one of judgment.

What is about to take place is the answer to the prayers of the martyred saints who had asked for vengeance on their persecutors.

FOURTH ANGEL: 15 “Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.’ 16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.”

This is the fulfillment of Matthew 13: 40-43,

40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

NOTICE: Verse 16 shows that, first, it is the Messiah reaping. “The one sitting on the cloud…”

FIFTH ANGEL: 17 “After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.”

The fifth angel simply appears from the heavenly temple ready to harvest.

SIXTH ANGEL: 18 Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”

THE FIRE this 6th angel has power over is the fiery wrath of the end time. This 6th angel instructs the 5th angel to thrust in his sharp sickle.

The “vine of the earth” is the false vine. Jesus said in John 15 that He was the “true vine” by which we are saved. No doubt, the vine the angel is addressing is the false vine of the antichrist.

When this 5th angel thrusts in his sickle, the Lord Jesus will tread the winepress of divine wrath. The Prophet Joel predicted this very thing:

12 “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.” 14 Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.”—3: 12-14

Keep in mind that this picture of “treading the grapes” is Old Testament symbolism. As grapes in the winepress were trodden by the feet of the workers, so God will tread down and crush His enemies like grapes.

Next, we have the first glimpse of the War of Armageddon that we will look at much more closely in Chapter 19. But here is the initial description:

19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.”

The War of Armageddon will be the war of all wars. So horrific will the carnage be that the blood will flow like a river up to the horses bridle (4 ½ feet deep) as far as 200 miles outside the city of Jerusalem!

Chapter 15

The Seven Vials of Wrath

Once again, John is taken from this horrific scene to one of splendor and beauty as he is transported to heaven. He sees a great sign and a beautiful sea of glass:

“Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.”

So here we have the final seven judgments of God, making twenty-one in all. The word “wrath” is the Greek word “thumos” meaning “hot fury.” JOHN reports:

2 “I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire.”

GLASS represented permanence to the ancients.

FIRE is representative of something purifying. In this case it is righteous judgment.

John continues: “And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name.”

These are the Tribulation Saints that have been martyred under the reign of antichrist. They had refused to worship him, and had refused the mark of the beast. John records:

“They were all holding harps that God had given them. 3 And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

MOSES and the LAMB both represent deliverance and salvation. They sang:

RESPONSIVE READING:

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”

The Seven Bowls of the Seven Plagues

 5 “After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the testimony of the witness in heaven was opened.”

The “Temple of Witness” is probably where God remembers the death of martyred Tribulation Saints. Notice how personally and seriously God takes it when His children are mistreated!

6 “And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.”

These are very elevated angels, clad in white and gold, both symbols of purity. They seem to pause before the temple.

7 “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.”

The FOUR LIVING CREATURES are the angelic beings called Cherubim, and we looked at them in Rev. 4:6-9,

Cherubim/cherubs are angelic beings involved in the worship and praise of God. The cherubim are first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 3:24, “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Prior to his rebellion, Satan was a cherub (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

When one of the Cherubs handed the seven bowls of judgment to the seven angels:

8 “The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

So horrendous are these seven last plagues that the heavenly temple is filled with smoke, closing any access to this heavenly sanctuary—as far as John’s view is concerned—until the seven plagues are fulfilled.