So last week, I mentioned about the plagues. Today we look at them more and the focus is on destruction and God's final judgement, and it's a long one....
Ch15 v5- Ch16 v7
5 Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. 6 The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests. 7 Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. 8 The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.
So the angels are holding the seven plagues (it's that magic number 7 again). They are clothed in white linen, and just as I was looking at in the previous chapters, the white clothes symbolizes purity and that they have been made clean through the blood of Christ. Their clothes are similar to that of what Priests would have worn, they are free form corruption and injustice.
The smoke that fills the temple was God's glory and power. Once there is smoke, there is smoke, it doesn't disappear until it has spread out so far to evaporate. God's glory and power will not just fill the temple with his wrath, but also the world outside.
Our reign with Christ won't begin until all evil is destroyed by his judgement. But we must WAIT and be patient for it to come...even if that means just a little bit more suffering and persecution, or suffering for the rest of your lives. Put your trust in him, and you will be kept safe during your time of suffering, earning eternal glory with Christ.
1 Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”
2 So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth,and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue.
3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,
“You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was,
because you have sent these judgments.
6 Since they shed the blood
of your holy people and your prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is their just reward.”
7 And I heard a voice from the altar, saying,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.”
If any of you remember the trumpet judgments I looked at in Chapters 8-11, there are three main differences between those judgments and these bowl judgments....
- These judgments are complete and the trumpet ones were partial
- The trumpet judgments still gave unbelievers a chance to turn back and repent, these don't
- People were differently effected by the trumpet judgments, but punished directly by the bowl judgments
The main targets of God's fair judgement and wrath are those who rejected Jesus and are on the beasts (Satan's) side since they have his mark on their foreheads.
The sea is turned into blood and everything in it dies. I remember when we used to walk to primary school and we walked past a pond every day. It's one of those ponds were you have a look at the fish and sometimes there's ducks...and ducklings! (the joys of primary school). But we were walking past one day and we say a fish just lying at the top of the water, the next day a few more and so on. It wasn't very nice to see and it made headlines in the local paper (not much happens in our area :P) But God is making a statement here by punishing all of those who shed the blood of believers, through persecuting them and making them suffer. He sets his own standard of justice and uses his power according to his own moral perfection. Whatever he does is fair....now this doesn't mean that we can go round causing those who have persecuted and made fun of us..it means that God's has overall judgement and revenge...(Romans 12v19)
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
Ch16 v8-16-
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire. 9 Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory. 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, 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.
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.13 And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. 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.
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.” 16 And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon.
We know that the people know these judgments are coming from God since they are cursing him for sending them. But they still refuse to repent and a recognise God's authority.
In the face of all these events, our response should be to stay awake and alert, neither giving up or becoming complacent even in the face of what is happening in the world right now.
Remember that this is only a vision, so don't go expecting some massive full on battle. This is a spiritual battle....and Christ has already won!!
v17-21-
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!” 18 Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth. 19 The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath. 20 And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. 21 There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
Instead of describing the massive battle, the scene switches to God's final judgement. It's horrific, I mean, the world wouldn't really be a pretty happy place to live after all this had happened to it! Yet people are still cursing God and are still unrepentant.
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