The bowls which contain the prayers from God’s people are now being poured out onto the world in judgment. Here’s part 2 of some thoughts this morning:
- The judgments of God were never intended for humanity but for Satan and his demons. But those who take on the nature of Satan and build their lives around him they will receive what he gets also. Why would people do this?
- Revelation is a vision of suffering either for the faith or from judgment but the latter is fair, it is just, it is the right thing, v7. But not everyone who is dying does so crying out for salvation. You can die and curse God whilst it happens. Why would anyone not cry out to God at those times?
- The battle for truth intensifies as the world gets older. We know out of the mouth of Jesus Christ comes the sword of the Spirit, He is the way, the truth and the life. Equally out of the mouth of the dragon come lies, he is the father of lies. In a parody of the trinity, evil spirits looking like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon and the 2 beasts as propaganda to deceive people to not repent. Why do we build our lives around lies and deceptive news?
- It all seems to be heading to Armageddon (literally Hamageddon). This again is a symbolic place though Mount Megiddo (not really a mountain) was the place for many battles in the Old Testament. So the story is not heading necessarily to a place but to an event. The enemy thinks it will be for a battle against God. But we have read the end of the vision many times and actually there is never a battle of Armageddon. Why?
- “It is done!” John has already written “It is finished!” in 15:1. Of course our minds go to his gospel in John 19:30 “It is finished!” When God calls time, it is over. What is over? Ultimately sin is dealt with and sinners can now find God. Secondly, the last resistance of the Anti-Christ spirit of the world known as Babylon the Great before Christ comes is ended. Why would God ever have to enter a battle when He completed everything through Jesus Christ? He doesnt and He won’t.
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
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 agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
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. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
Missions Paul 