Bitter Waters.1986
Bitter Waters
Ref. 1986
Bible Reading: Numbers 5:12-18
Introduction:
After putting dust from the tabernacle floor into the cup, the Cohen Gadol would write down all the curses on paper. The Cohen Gadol would then pour the bitter water over the paper, washing them down into a jar or cup that the accused adulteress would drink of. The sins of the woman were now symbolically contained in the cup. When the woman drank this water, it was symbolic of the woman drinking up her sins.
Rev 8:10-11
10 Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.
11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made BITTER.
The third shofar plague of Revelation turns the rivers and fresh springs of water to wormwood, or bitter water. Wormwood is portrayed in the Scriptures as the penalty for committing idolatry or spiritual adultery. Like the adulterous woman of Numbers, all of the nations that do not worship Hashem, and are therefore guilty of committing spiritual adultery with the god of this world, will have to drink of the water that brings a curse. In Numbers the water was FIRST turned bitter by putting dirt from the tabernacle floor into it, and then the Cohen Gadol would write down the sins and curses into a book and would wash them off with the bitter water which trickled down into the jar or cup that the adulteress would drink of. Just as in Numbers, the waters in Revelation are first turned bitter, then the sins of the people are written in a book in heaven and the bitter water is poured over them washing off the sins from the book into the rivers and streams that the
people must now drink.
Rev 16:4-6
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the RIVERS AND SPRINGS OF WATER, and THEY BECAME BLOOD.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O L-rd, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due."
Now, after the waters are turned bitter, the people must drink of their sins (which is the water that symbolically contains them), to atone for their transgression. The water is turned to blood because this punishment is symbolic of the sins that they have committed, namely the slaying of G-d's people. In heaven, Yeshua our Cohen Gadol has written down the sins of the people in a book and will pour out the bitter water over them, washing the sins into the rivers and springs of water that the people must now drink.
Once we understand that the punishment that is given to the adulterous woman of Numbers is symbolic of the punishment of all who commit fornication with the world, we can come to a deeper and more profound understanding of the meaning of this temple ritual.
Rev 17:3-6
3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden CUP FULL OF ABOMINATIONS AND THE FILTHINESS OF HER FORNICATION.
5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw the woman, DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS AND WITH THE BLOOD OF MARTYRS of Yeshua.
This cup that Babylon the Great was holding was the cup full of the sins that she was guilty of committing. Just as when the adulterous woman in Israel would have to drink of the filthiness of her fornication, symbolized by the curses being washed from the paper into the cup, so too will Babylon the Great have to drink up her sins of spiritual adultery. The cup that she is holding in the above verse has already had the sins washed into it from G-d's book. As her punishment, Babylon the Great (the nations of the world) will have to symbolically drink the blood of the saints, since this is her crime against G-d. This is why the rivers and fountains of water are turned to blood as demonstrated by Revelation 16:4-6.
Rev 14:9-10
9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand,
10 "he himself shall also DRINK THE WINE OF THE WRATH OF G-D, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
As we know from the Gospels, wine is symbolic of blood. Therefore, drinking the WINE of the wrath of G-d is the symbolic punishment of all those who are guilty of shedding the BLOOD of the saints. Not only are these people guilty of killing the saints, but they have also committed spiritual adultery with the god of this world, Satan. Therefore, as described by the Torah, these people must drink of the bitter waters that bring a curse. As
demonstrated by Revelation, the waters are first turned bitter, and then their sins are washed into this bitter water which in turn must be drank by those who have committed this fornication. This cup that is full of the "wine of the wrath of G-d" is the same cup that the adulterous woman had to drink of in Numbers. Below are some examples in the Scriptures where this "water that brings a curse" can be found.
Hosea 5:10
10 "The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will POUR OUT my wrath on them like [bitter] WATER.
Jer 25:15-17
15 For thus says HaShem G-d of Israel to me: "Take this WINE CUP OF FURY from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.
16 "And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them."
17 Then I took the CUP from HaShem's hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom HaShem had sent me:
Job 21:20
20 Let his eyes see his destruction, and let him DRINK of the wrath of the Almighty.
Ps 75:8
8 For in the hand of HaShem there is a CUP, and the WINE is red; it is fully mixed, and He pours it out; surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down.
Isa 51:17
17 Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of HaShem the CUP of His fury; you have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, and drained it out.
Isa 51:22
22 Thus says your L-rd, HaShem and your G-d, who pleads the cause of His people: "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of My fury; you shall no longer drink it.
Every one of us has a choice, we can either drink of the cup of G-d's wrath, or we can drink of the cup of G-d's covenant. The cup of G-d's covenant can be referred to as the "water of life," as opposed to the "bitter water," or the "water that causes a curse" that Satan offers. We must drink one cup or the other.
1 Cor 10:21
21 You cannot drink the CUP OF THE LORD and the CUP OF DEMONS; you cannot
partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons.
As we all know, when Yeshua was hanging from His execution stake (tree) He asked for something to drink and they gave Him vinegar. Although we may have never realized it, there is profound significance in the fact that Yeshua's last act was drinking vinegar before yielding up His Spirit on the tree. Vinegar can be described as sour wine. A synonym for sour is bitter, therefore vinegar could be called BITTER WINE. This vinegar that Yeshua drank of was both symbolic of the BITTER waters that the adulteress would have to drink of at the temple, and the WINE of the fury of G-d found in the hand of Babylon the Great in Revelation.
John 19:29-30
29 Now a vessel full of SOUR WINE was sitting there; and they filled a
sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth.
30 So when Yeshua had received the SOUR WINE, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Matt 27:45-50
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
46 And about the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My G-d, My G-d, why have You forsaken Me?"
47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is
calling for Elijah!"
48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with SOUR WINE and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
49 The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."
50 And Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
Mark 15:36
36 Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of SOUR WINE, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."
What was the purpose for Yeshua drinking the water that brings a curse? According to the Torah, any wife that has committed adultery had to drink of the bitter water. We are the BRIDE of Yeshua. Being imperfect humans, we commit sin, which is in reality spiritual adultery, all of the time. So we, being the bride of The Messiah, are guilty of committing spiritual adultery. If we were to obey the Torah to the letter, we would all have to drink of
the waters that bring a curse (BITTER water) since we have committed spiritual fornication. But G-d in His infinite mercy has given His only begotten Son to take the punishment for His bride in our stead. He drank the BITTER wine so that we don't have to. Although we didn't drink bitter waters, we died according to the requirements of the Torah by being buried into water and our sins were washed off into the water, not unlike the sins of the adulteress being washed off from the book into the cup for her to drink. This vinegar that Yeshua drank was also symbolic of the wine of G-d's wrath which is given to Babylon to drink. Every one of us is guilty of killing Yeshua since we have all sinned. Therefore, by rights, our sin is not only spiritual adultery, but we have also shed the blood of the Son of G-d. Therefore we must drink of the punishment for shedding the BLOOD of the Son of G-d, which is the WINE of G-d's wrath. But as stated above, Yeshua has drank of this punishment symbolically portrayed as bitter WINE, so that the only atonement we have to make is to drink the cup of His blood every year at Passover. This cup that He drank at the very end of His life is the same cup that He spoke of throughout His three year ministry.
Matt 20:22
22 But Yeshua answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the CUP that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" They said to Him, "We are able."
Matt 26:42
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this CUP cannot pass away from Me unless I DRINK it, Your will be done."
Mark 14:36
36 And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this CUP away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."
John 18:11
11 Then Yeshua said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not DRINK the CUP which My Father has given Me?"
The cup of the adulterous woman spoken of in the book of Numbers has proven to be a key to great insight. This same cup is the one spoken of in Revelation that Babylon the Great has been given to drink from. Yeshua Himself drank of this cup so that we, His Ekklesia, can be found righteous, and are as a result, capable of standing in the day of His return. Let us hold this knowledge in remembrance as a testimony to G-d's endearing love for all of His people. As I said, I have covered this topic very briefly, but I hope I have explained it well enough to provide insight into this amazing act of selflessness that was demonstrated by Yeshua.