Revelation 16
This chapter is one of the most exciting chapters in the
Bible. One of the reasons it is thrilling
for the believer is because it tells us the future in language we can
understand.
John heard a mighty voice.
It was coming from the Temple.
Some scholars think there will be a Third Temple here on earth. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has
prepared every piece of furniture needed.
One of the last times I was in Israel I took a picture of the Menora, which
is about six or eight feet high and made out of solid gold. The estimated value of this one piece of
temple furniture is nine million dollars.
But the voice John heard probably emanated from the Heavenly
Temple. This voice spoke to seven
angels. Their job was to “pour out” God’s
wrath upon the earth. So most of this
chapter explains in detail what will take place on earth when each angel pours
out the “vials” or “bowls”.
The first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on
the earth. Every human who had the mark
of the beast and who worshiped his statue broke out in malignant sores. This would include almost everyone on the
planet, because only a few of God’s people will refuse “the mark”. Many people are curious about what “the mark”
will be. But that is a complete
different study from the one we are considering here.
The second angel will pour out his bowl on the sea and it
will become “like the blood of a corpse”.
Think about this for a moment. I
personally believe that some of the huge oil spills we have observed are like prophetic
events pointing to this much larger catastrophe. The result will be that everything in the sea
will die!
The third angel will pour out his bowl on the rivers and
springs. This will cause them to turn to
blood. Can you imagine what it will be
like when every river and spring becomes blood?
The Scripture says here that God gives the human race blood to drink as
a pay-back for all the blood of holy people and prophets that was shed
throughout history. Blood to drink?
The fourth angel will pour out his bowl on the sun. Scientists tell us that if the sun was just a
few feet closer to earth we would burn up.
And if it was just a few feet farther from our earth we would freeze to
death. My guess is that whatever the
fourth angel does to the sun, it will cause its heat to become almost
unbearable to the inhabitants of our planet.
Everyone will be scorched! The
result: people will curse the name of
God. And they certainly will not repent
of their sins!
The fifth angel will pour out his bowl on the “throne of the
beast”. The result of this judgment
will be darkness. We already have great
spiritual darkness in our world. But it
will become so dark that men will grind their teeth in anguish. And they will curse the God of heaven because
of their pain and sores. But they will
not repent of their evil deeds. And they
will not turn to God.
The sixth angel will pour the contents of his bowl on the
Euphrates River. This is a very, very
interesting one! For the first time in
history it is possible to dry up this river.
In 1990 the Turkish government completed a huge dam. It is called the Ataturk Dam. Formerly it was called the Karababa Dam, but
it was renamed in honor of Mustafa
Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Now . . . with merely the
push of a computer button the mighty Euphrates River can be dried up. The Bible tells us that this will make it
possible for the “Kings of the East” to march their vast armies to Israel without
hindrance. There will be no need to
cross bridges. Within days, or merely a
few weeks, the armies of China, India, Iran, Russia, and “all rulers” will
enter the valley of Armageddon. They
will gather for battle against the Lord!
When Jesus crushes them their blood will flow up to the horses’ bridles
for about 180 miles (Rev. 14:20)!
When we read other parts of the Bible we discover that this huge stream will be a mixture of hail, overflowing rain, mud, and blood.
When we read other parts of the Bible we discover that this huge stream will be a mixture of hail, overflowing rain, mud, and blood.
The seventh angel
will bring judgment on the very air we breathe.
A this point in time the greatest earthquake that has ever occurred will
level every mountain. Think about
this! Many, many cities will fall into
heaps of rubble. Every island on the
planet will disappear! During this same
time there will be a cataclysmic hail storm with huge hail balls weighing
seventy-five pounds each! But do the
inhabitants of earth repent? No! You guessed it. Instead, they continue cursing God.
All I have to say
in conclusion is this: Get your heart
right with God by believing in His Son Jesus Christ. God has made it so easy to get saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will
be saved. I’ll tell you one thing. I want everyone I love to get saved before
that great and terrible day of the Lord.
The Bible declares, “Today is the day of salvation.” Do not harden your heart. Pray to him right now . . . today! If you pray and ask Jesus to save you . . . send me an email right now: wesed.blog@gmail.com
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