Revelation - Part 17
Notes
Transcript
Tonight, we will attempt the impossible…
We’re going to cover two chapters in one lesson.
The good news is that chapter 15 is only 8 verses.
It is sort of a preface or intro to chapter 16 which contains the 7 bowls of wrath.
So, let’s go ahead and read chapter 15, and then briefly discuss it.
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
4 Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And 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, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Let’s look back at verse one.
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
As I mentioned, this chapter is an introduction to the next chapter.
In chapter 16, we are about to read of the 7 bowls of God’s wrath.
In verse 1 of chapter 15 we find that those bowls contain 7 plagues.
Like the 10 plagues God poured out on Egypt
God has reserved 7 last plagues.
And they are certainly the last plagues
as this verse says, they are the last, and with them, the wrath of God is finished.
I know when it comes to Revelation, many people are looking to determine the timing of the Rapture.
Of course we know this is an operation of futility
Because Jesus said we’d never know the day or the hour
However, One key passage that people use to frame up the endtimes is from Paul’s 1st letter to Thessolonica.
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
In this passage, we find that Paul is showing us 4 things.
We don’t need to worry about the times and seasons
The world will be caught off guard by the timing
The church will not be caught off guard.
And Finally, God has not destined us for wrath…
So, we can either interpret this to mean that we will not be here when the wrath is poured out,
meaning the rapture will occur before the 7 bowls are poured out,
or it can also mean that we will not be inflicted by those plagues
Just like God’s people were protected in the Land of Goshen
When God poured out His wrath on Egypt
He could put us in a place or state of protection during this season.
What a testimony that would be if the church is the only ones who are unharmed by these 7 plagues?
However, if you want my opinion,
I think this is the part of the story where the church bows out.
And that is because of the second verse from our text.
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.
So, while John sees the 7 angels getting ready to pour out God’s wrath
He sees the church standing beside the crystal sea.
Now, where is this crystal sea?
I believe it is a place of protection, somewhere away from Earth.
However, according to this same chapter
It seems as though we are just outside the gates of heaven.
And the church is singing the song of Moses according to verse 3 and 4
Which is a song that ties us back to the Exodus
If we’re singing the song of Moses,
We must be out of Egypt, which in this vision must represent the Earth
Since the whole Earth is where the wrath of God is about to be poured.
But are we fully in Heaven?
Look at verse 5
5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened,
So, the sanctuary of Heaven is opened
6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.
So, the angels come out of the Sanctuary
7 And 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,
They get ready to pour out the wrath of God
8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
But here, non one could enter the sanctuary until the 7 plagues were finished.
So, what does this mean?
I think it means we will be by the Crystal sea
Waiting to go into Heaven
But we will not be on the Earth when the wrath is poured out.
This tells me that Justice has to be paid
Before we can enter into our rest.
I know I have warned us about putting things into chronological order in this book
But the telling of this vision right after the vision of the Harvest
Leads me to believe that the Rapture happens before the wrath of God.
Paul said we are not destined for the wrath
and John sees us by the Crystal sea before the wrath
Will have to endure the Antichrist?
John said the ones he saw were the ones that conquered the beast.
So, maybe that Day 1,335 that Daniel spoke about has something to do with this vision.
I don’t know for sure now
But when the time comes, we will know then
Because Paul said it won’t be a surprise to us
We are the children of the day.
Okay, so Chapter 16.
I won’t preread it this time
We will just go one bowl at a time.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
Notice the painful sores only came upon those who took the mark and worship the idol of the beast
This tells me that either we are in Heaven by the Crystal sea
Or we are in some sort of “Goshen”
Perhaps the Antichrist has rounded us all up and put us in a prison
or several prisons
and this sickness goes all over the Earth
Except in prisons.
This plague does match the 6th plague on Egypt
3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
We lost 1/3 of the sea creatures when the angel blew the 2nd trumpet
So, this bowl seems to be finishing that up.
The second bowl lines up with the 2nd trumpet.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
This 3rd bowl aligns with the 3rd Trumpet and also the 1st plague on Egypt
5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”
So, there is a break in the vision after the 3rd bowl to acknowledge that God is the source of the plagues.
Despite this, the ones on the Earth continue to resist God and do not repent.
So, God keeps turning up the heat
Literrally…
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
The 4th trumpet darkened part of the sun, moon, and stars
Here, the 4th bowl brightens the sun
And the heat of the sun is so hot it begans to scorch people with fire.
I asked Chat GPT how much hotter the sun would need to be in order to cause human skin to burst into flames.
It said, about 41% hotter than it is now.
It also said that if the sun were 41% hotter, then a typical Alabama summer day would have a …
Heat index: ~200–250°F (93–121°C)
Human survivability outdoors: Minutes, if not seconds without protection
You would not be able to step outside without:
Full thermal protection
Immediate cooling systems
You think it is hot now?
However, this is just an appetizer for how hot it will be in eternity for these people
And yet… they still don’t repent
They still do not glorify God
The God that should have given them this judgment right way
but held it off for thousands of years
And when he finally does what He said he would do
They refuse to repent
They will certainly be without excuse on Judgement day.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
The 5th bowl targets the Beast.
His kingdom is plunged into darkness.
So, he is dethroned somehow
but people continue to follow him instead of God
They blame God for the pain and the sores
and instead of asking for mercy
they curse God and refuse to repent.
The Bible show us God is a merciful God
If Nineveh could be saved, these people could be saved
They just need to do what Nineveh did
However, instead of repenting, they double down and curse God
They blame God
But they are entirely at fault
Because they refuse to repent, they get what they deserve
As verse 6, rightfully says…
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
12 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.
Here, the 6th bowl lines up with the 6th trumpet
They both are about a battle
Only this time, the battle is about the final battle, as we will see in verses 13-14
13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
And, we are starting to see this pattern of each Trumpet being a warning blow, and each bowl being final blow.
Satan is now getting all his troops lined up for battle
The people have had enough
They don’t want to be rule by a God that is judging them
Instead of avoiding judgment by repenting
They are ready to fight the God who holds mercy in his hands
Verse 15, is God’s response to assembling of the opposing forces.
15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)
So, here He says he is coming like a their.
This means when they least expect it.
But there is a blessing for the one who “stays awake”.
This verse really lines up with Paul’s words that we read earlier
The church is not caught off guard
We have seen this coming
We have been saying that it is coming for centuries
and Now, the final battle is here
The battle of Armageddon…
16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Armageddon is a valley near mount Megiddo.
The OT prophets spoke of this place and this battle thousands of years ago
Even Deborah’s song mentions this battle prophetically in Judges chapter 5.
It is the final battle
Here at the 6th bowl of wrath
But there is a seventh bowl coming…
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
This final bowl comes with a shout from the temple
“IT IS DONE”.
Jesus shouted “IT IS FINISHED” from the cross
And this shout surely echoes that one
It is really the same one shouting it here
Really this battle was finished long before these troups step into the valley of Armageddon.
It was finished on the cross.
That’s when this victory was won.
Now it is being signed, sealed, and delivered to the devil.
After God speaks,
There are signs following, as usual.
18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
So, the enemy lines up, likely with guns and tanks
Ready to fight
and God simply says “It is done”
And an earthquake comes and swallows up all their cities.
This Earthquake was promised before.
It is common for an earthquake to accompany the voice of God
There was an earthquake when Jesus said “it is finished”
There was also an earthquake when God spoke to Moses from the mountain.
Here, the final earthquake was spoken of by the prophets
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
Also, the writer of Hebrews speaks of this day
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.
So, everything that can be shaken will be shaken
and what is left is a kingdom that cannot be shaken
The kingdom of God.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
Here God remembers Babylon
We were briefly introduced to her in chapter 14
and this vision points to her again
but chapter 17 will dive deeper into her identity.
Because, these visions are not always chronological
as we have shown time and time again
They give overviews, then dive deeper into certain specifics
and the fall of Babylon will need to looked at in greater detail
so there is a whole vision dedicated to it in the next chapter.
20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
This lines up with the 6th seal
So, we are seeing the end of the world as we know it after this battle
If you recall, way back in chapter 6
The 6th seal was the end.
14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
And here, in chapter 16 we see the 7th bowl came just before the end.
20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
So, our method layering the bowls and trumpets into the seals appears to be accurate.
However, verse 21 in a bit perplexing since it appears that people are still being plagued…
21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
So, verse in 21 it appears that people are still being plagued
However, it doesn’t say that these people are on Earth…
Since, we just read that the Earth seems to be gone by this point
The hailstones might be falling on the souls of the sinners
And, they might also be the fulfillment of prophecy.
17 And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
“The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies”
according to the prophet Isaiah.
And here at the very end,
we see great hail stones doing just that.
So, the 7 plagues are finished
The end came, again
We already saw the end a couple of times
but we are viewing it from multiple angles
It is as if John is looking from a plane to the earth
then looking from the earth
and then looking at it with a microscope
and we get more and more details each time he sees specific events.
In the next chapter, we will look at Great Harlot in greater detail
And see what her punishment will be
