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Screen 2 “The Seven Bowls” :1-21 June 13, 2021

In this chapter of the Revelation, we now come to the final series of numbered plagues. Somebody say, “Amen!” Once again, we encounter the four and three structure in which the first four plagues are closely related, and the final three intensify the entire series. Now thus far we have discussed the in thru 8:5; the in :6 thru 11:19. Now we have the seven bowls of God’s wrath. It parallels between this series of judgments and the trumpet plagues are readily apparent. In each series the first four plagues are visited upon the earth (see Island Waters and Heavenly Bodies respectively). The fifth involves darkness and pain (Revelation 16:10; 9:2, 5-6). The sixth involves enemy hordes from the vicinity of Euphrates (cross referenced Chapter 16:12 with :14 ff). Both series draw heavily from the symbolism of the ten Egyptian plagues:

1. The turning of water into blood – Revelation 8:8; 16:3-4 parallels the first Egyptian plague where Moses struck the water of the Nile turning it into blood in Exodus 7:20. 2. The darkening of the sun – Revelation 8:12 (cross reference with 16:10). Its counterpart is in the ninth Egyptian plague in which darkness prevailed over the land for three days in Exodus 10:21-22.

In this sermon we will discuss other parallels as well. Now while it is true that while both the seven trumpet plagues and the seven bowl plagues deal with the same crucial period of time just before the end, there are some significant differences in the two series:

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1. The Trumpet Plagues ae partial in their effect. One third of the earth is burned (8:7); one third of the sea becomes blood (8:8), while the bowls are universal. Every living thing in the sea died (16:3) every island fled away (16:20). 2. The trumpets are to a certain extent are a call to repentance, while the bowls are a pouring out of divine rath. 3. People are affected indirectly by the first four trumpets but are directly attacked from the outset of the bowls. All this being said, I believe Wolvvord, on page 967, explains this best by saying, “The seven bowls are an expansion of the seventh trumpet, just as the seven trumpets are an expansion of the breaking of the seventh seal. The order is climatic, and the judgments become more intensive and extensive as the time of the of Christ approaches. The seven bowl judgments fall a trip-hammer rapidity on a world that is reeling under previous judgments and a gigantic war.”

All this to be said, God hates sin. God has already meaded out his judgment against sin in Christ when he became sin so you and I could become righteous. Anyone outside Christ is headed toward eternal destruction and damnation. It is not all right that we keep quiet about our faith at this time in the world’s history. We must be continually sounding the alarm as we see the day approaching.

OPTIONAL: PRAY HERE

Revelation 16:1 “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven Screen 3 angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

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The voice of God speaks and says, “Go” just is the voice of the God man, Jesus, who said in:

Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Ghost/Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

It is imperative that we go and make disciples, and quickly, because one day we will not get to anymore. “The world as we know it is passing away,” according to John 2:17. The world is coming to judgment and one day the church will be snatched away, and the world will be totally condemned as we have already studied. Time is short!

Revelation 16:2 “So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, Screen 4 and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of and worshiped its image.”

This is most likely/definitely occurring in the final three and a half years of the . Those who once bore the mark of the beast are now visited by the marks of God. This first plague parallels with the sixth Egyptian plague in which sores in the form of boils and abscesses break out on people and beasts throughout the land (Exodus 9:9-11). Job spoke of the pain and irritation of such affliction in Job 2:7-8, 13.

Those who had formally accepted the mark for economic and physical protection now discover the beast is unable to provide security for them in the wrath of God.

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Satan never delivers what he promises in the end. He is a liar from the start. He always over promises and under delivers.

Revelation 16:3 "So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, Screen 5 and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.”

This parallels the first plague of Exodus 7:19 ff in which the waters of the Nile turn to blood. It also parallels with the second trumpet in which a burning mountain fell into the sea turning it to blood in Revelation 8:8-9. Notice in all these instances it is water, one of humanity’s basic requirements for life. Blood of a corpse that is coagulating and rotting. All of sea life dies. This certainly is an expansion from the second trumpet that we discussed earlier.

Nothing to eat ever again from the ocean, and later the rivers, streams and lakes.

Revelation 16:4 “The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the Screen 6 springs of water, and they became blood.”

This corresponds with the trumpet plague where one third of the rivers and fountains of water were made bitter by a great burning star that fell from Heaven in Revelation 8:10-11. The parallels that exist between the first four trumpets and the first four bowls display an intensification of divine recompense in which the second series share the same imagery. *If all the fresh oceanic waters here on earth are contaminated mankind cannot survive very long, so Jesus must really be at the door in regards to His return.*

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Revelation 14:5 “And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are Screen 7 you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.”

“the angel in charge of the waters” – the Jewish thought the elements of nature were held to be under the jurisdiction of appropriate angels. “Spiritual powers represented and controlled earthly things.” In :1 angels restrain the four winds of the earth. In :18 an angel was in charge of the fire. The angel says something similar to the Song of Moses in :3-4. Jeremiah 12:1, Isaiah 49:26 and other various passages are included in this song/saying (verses 5-6). God brings these judgments. God is love and He is just.

Revelation 16:6 “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”

The world rulers/powers who shed the blood of the saints and prophets are now made to drink blood. They have refused The Living Water and will now be given the water of death.

“it is what they deserve!” – “deserve” is the same word used to describe the worthiness of the Lamb in :11. Just as wicked Rome 2000 years ago declared war on Christ and His followers, so shall an revived, Rome world-wide empire do the same with ferocious intensity and in the end they will get what they deserve.

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

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The punishment will always fit the crime.

Revelation 16:7 “And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, Screen 8 true and just are your judgments!”

“the altar saying” – this represent the corporate testimony of the martyrs in Revelation 6:9 and the prayers of the saints in Revelation 8:3-5. (Prayers all throughout the Revelation are presented as sacrfices.) This altar may also be “God’s altar” – the cross, where his greatest sacrifice was made. This altar is where God in his love offered a way of escape fro their judgments.

Revelation 16:8 “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.”

After the blast of the fourth trumpet, one third of the sun, moon and stars were darkened for one third of the day and night (Revelation 8:12). But now, intense heat comes. Global Warming will intensify – but man will never stop it in the end. Fire also, throughout the Revelation corresponds with/to judgment.

Revelation 16:9 “They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the Screen 9 name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.”

Somehow, at this point, the people on the earth understand the precise cause for all of this – God – and instead of repenting, they “curse” literally “blaspheme” the name of God who had power over these plagues.

In Luke 16, “the rich man and Lazarus” account, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers so they could avoid torment, but Fther Abraham told

6 him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someoe rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31). In other words, rebellion against God has nothing to do with the evidence. The people of the earth understand perfectly where these plagues/judgments are coming from yet their fury against God only increases.

Revelation 16:10 “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the Screen 10 beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish”

Caird believes the last three plagues are a “triad of political disaster” – internal anarchy, invasion and irreparable collapse. But this plague sounds like the ninth Egyptian plague in Exodus 10:21-29 only. Was the ninth Egyptian plague literal? YES and it also had remez – i.e. symbolic/hidden meaning – as most all of Scripture does – the literal represents/points to the spiritual. People “gnawed” (literally “chewed”) their tongues in agony.

Revelation 16:11 “and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They Screen 11 did not repent of their deeds.”

These followers/slaves of the beast have become just like the false god they serve (Satan), whose most charastic activity is to blaspheme God and his followers (13:5-6: cf. 13:1; 17:3).

“pain and sores” – evidently, the previous plagues continue one top of the other. The opportunity for repentance has gone! (ENDED)

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Spurgeon quote: “This is real penitence, when the man gives glory to the justice of God, even though it condemns him. Oh my hearer, do you thus repent? Is sin really sinful to you? Do you see its desert of hell, if not, your repentance needs to be repented of.”

Revelation 16:12 “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.”

The Euphrates River, today, runs approximately 1,728 miles (in First C.A.D. it could have been about 1,800 miles long). There is at least a literary parallel between the sixth bowl and the sixth trumpet. When the sixth trumpet sounded, four angels bound at the River were released to lead a vast army of grotesque horses to the slaughter of one third of the world’s population (Revelation 9:13-19). The River marked the boundary of the land given to Abraham (Genesis 15:18) and separated the Roman Empire on the east from the much feared Parthians – whose empire spanned from the Euphrates all the way to India. “Its water was dried up.” God’s great redemptive acts were often associated with the drying up of water in the Old Testament - Red Sea – Exodus 14:21; Jordan River Joshua 3:14-17 cf). *Today dams have been built across the river to divert water for irrigation so that at times there is little or no water in the river.* (Isaiah 11:15 predicts this as well.)

“the kings from the East” – as many as 50 different intrepretatons have been advanced for them. Anyone East of Israel is fair game! >Ultimately, the nations are coming against God!<

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Revelation 16:13 “And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of Screen 12 the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the , three unclean spirits like frogs.”

“dragon” – Satan (the False Father)

“the beast” – (Gentile) the (the False Son)

“the false prophet” – (Jew) the False Holy Spirit

“unclean spirits like frogs” – frogs were unclean animals

Leviticus 11:10 “But anything in the seas or the rivers that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is detestable to you.”

And drove/drives people cray because they never stop croaking.

Revelation 16:14 “For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad Screen 13 to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.”

“demonic spirits” – are very real according to the and according to Jesus.

“performing signs” – satanically inspired signs and wonders which are there for purpose of deceiving and here, gathering the kings of the world together (1 Kings 22:19-23; :24; Ezekiel 38:39; Zachariah 14; Joel 2:11; 3:2).

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Revelation 16:15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays Screen 14 awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

“I come like a thief” – see Jesus in Matthew 24:42-44 and Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

“Blessed is he who stays awake” – This is the third of seven beattitudes found in the Revelaton (:3; 14:13; here; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14). Stay awake beloved!!! Jesus is coming soon! We must maintain purity and righteousness before God.

“naked” – is untimate shame and humiliation going all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

Revelation 16:16 “And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called .”

“Armageddon” – this is actually a combination of two words: har – means “mountain” and Megiddo – a city located in the Valley of Esdraelon, also called the Plain of Jezreel. As far as we know, there is not a mountain of Megiddon. Screen 15

• The rivers of the ancient city lay close to the beginning of Mount Carmel and • at the other end of the valley are the Mountains of Gilboa where King Saul and his son Jonathan were slain. • To the south of Megiddo are the Montains of Samaria. • To the north is Mountain Tabor.

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So, in essence Megiddo is surounded by mountians. This most likely includes the 184 miles mentioned in Revelation 14:20. It was the scene of many battles in the Old Testament (Judges 5:19; 7; 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:22, etc.). And the place of no fewer tha 200 battles between 1468 B.C. to 1917. This is a literal battle – really war – centered at Megiddo consisting of the armies of the world against God – “a final showdown.” [Many, many battles have been believed to have been Armageddon including even Waterloo. . .]

Revelation 16:17 “The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a Screen 16 loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’” 18

There are a number of similarities between the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl. Following the seventh trumpet loud voices in Heaven proclaimed”

• the realization of the kingdom of God (11:15); Screen 17 18 • the 24 elders announced the arrival of the time of judgment (11:18); • the temple of God in Heaven was opened (11:19); • and there were flashes of lightening, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm (11:19-21).

“into the air” – Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).

“It is done” – it has been done with effects that linger into the future.

Revelation 16:18 “And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of Screen 18 thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.”

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“lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder” – the same storm – theophany we encountered in similar scenes in Revelation 4:5; 8:5; 11:9 (cf Exodus 19:16-18).

“a great earthquake – There were many great earthquakes in the First Century A.D. just as there have been in our lifetime, but this one is greater than them all. (The most deadly earthquake in history was in Shaanx, China in 1556 A.D. It killed more than 830,000 total. Port-Au-Prince in Haiti [2010] is the second deadliest earthquake, killing an estimated 316,000 people total.)

Revelation 16:19 “The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the Screen 19 nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.”

Some have posed that this speaks of Jerusalem, Rome, or literally Babylon on the Euphrates River in modern Iraq. Take your pick – but I believe this s referring to “Babylon the Great” later in the verse which speaks of a revived Roman Empire’s headquarters.

Revelation 16:20 “And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be Screen 20 found.”

When the sixth seal was broken there followed a great earthquake, dramatic cosmic disturbances, and “every mountain and island was removed from its place” (Revelation 6:12-14). Some writers see in the reference to “every island” an allusion to Patmos (possible), the island that John was on when he wrote the book. Others see hostility toward mountains due to prophetic denunciation of high places (where pagans worshiped).

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Revelation 16:21 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.

“great hailstorms” – hail is frequently a tool of judgment against God’s enemies in the Old Testament (Exodus 9:24; Joshua 10:11; Isaiah 28:2; Ezekiel 38:22).

“about 100 pounds each – could be anywhere between 100-130 pounds a piece. The heaviest hailstone ever fell was in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, in April 14 1986, weighing 2.25 pounds (the storm killed 92 people).

“they cursed God” – Spurgeon said,

“Sickness and sorrow are no helps to salvation. Pain and poverty are not evangelists; disease and despair are not apostles. There is nothing in pain and suffering that, by their own natural operation, will tend to purification.”

In closing, Revelation 16 – The Seven Bowls - is a “great” chapter:

1. It describes great evil, a great city, great Babylon (vs. 19) 2. It describes great tools of judgment, great heat (vs. 9); a great river dried up (vs. 12), a great earthquake (vs. 18), great hailstorm and great plagues (vs. 21). 3. It describes, most importantly, a great God: His great voice (vs. 1, 17) and His great day of victory (vs. 14).

Put your faith in this great God who is greater than any evil and destruction coming to this planet. He is greater than all our sin.

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INVITATION Screen 21 Salvation prayer Prayer for the believers to be ready at all times for Christ’s return. (We have a “refuge” in our God. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”)

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