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The Beginning of the Plagues
of The Seven Bowls
< Revelation 16:1-21 >
"Then I heard a loud voice
from the temple saying to the seven angels, 'Go and pour out the
bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.' So the first went and poured
out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came
upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
his image. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea,
and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature
in the sea died. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the
rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard
the angel of the waters saying:
'You are righteous, O Lord,
The One who is and who was and
who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
For they have shed the blood of
saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to
drink.
For it is their just due.'
And I heard another from the altar
saying, 'Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your
judgments.'
Then the fourth angel poured out
his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with
fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed
the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not
repent and give Him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl
on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness;
and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed
the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did
not repent of their deeds. Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl
on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that
the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw
three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the
dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs,
which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to
gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 'Behold,
I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his
garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.' And they gathered
them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. Then the
seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice
came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'It is
done!' And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and
there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake
as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city
was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup
of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled
away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven
fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague
was exceedingly great."
Exegesis
Verse 1: Then I heard a loud voice
from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out
the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth."
With the plagues of the seven bowls
of wrath, God will bring His wrath upon the servants of the Antichrist
and his people who are still living on this earth. All the creatures
and men will be swept up by the storm of God's wrath, exploding
after so many years of His patience, and they will suffer from the
great plagues that will ravage through for the remaining years of
the Great Tribulation. At this time, this world will be reduced
to ashes as it is broken apart, smashed to pieces, and destroyed
into oblivion.
Revelation 16 is the chapter where
the plagues of the seven bowls are poured. Those who, until this
final moment, have neither known nor believed in the gospel that
bears the testimony of salvation, which would have allowed them
to be lifted up to the air by the Lord-that is, the gospel of the
water and the Spirit-will all be destroyed by these plagues.
Verse 2: So the first went and
poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore
came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
his image.
The plague of the foul and loathsome
sore that God would pour through His angel will descend on those
who have received the mark of the Beast. This plague of sore is
an incurable skin disease that would fester on the skins of the
inflicted, whose infection would also spread around beyond the festering
skins. How great would the suffering be, when the inflicted are
to be tormented by this plague of the foul and loathsome sore until
their death? But God will not only pour down the plague of sore
on all those who received the mark of the Beast, but He will also
pour down six more plagues on their heads afterward. As such, all
must find the way to escape from these plagues in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, and avoid these fearful plagues by believing
in this gospel right now, at this very moment.
Our Lord says that He will pour down
six more plagues on those who worship the Beast and his image. What
is the sin that God hates the most? This sin is making images after
something or someone other than God, deifying them, and surrendering
to them. We must therefore know exactly who our Lord God and Jesus
Christ are, and believe in and worship Christ Jesus. Nothing and
no one in this whole universe, other than the Lord God Himself,
can ever be our God.
If you really want to avoid the plague
of sore and the additional six plagues, learn about and believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord. A countless
number of people who have stood against God in their everyday lives,
and who have refused to believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, will all suffer from these plagues until they are ultimately
destroyed.
Verse 3: Then the second angel
poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead
man; and every living creature in the sea died.
The second plague is where the sea
turns into the blood of the dead. God will kill off all the creatures
in the sea with this plague. From this plague of the second bowl
poured by God, the sea will rot away and all its creatures will
no longer be able to live in it. No man will therefore be able to
eat the sea's harvests when God brings this second plague. Through
the second plague, God will make it manifest that He is alive, and
that He is the Lord over all life.
This second plague is God's judgment
rendered on all the people of the world who, rather than worshipping
the Lord God for His creations, instead bowed to the image of the
Beast, God's enemy, and shed the blood of the saints. This second
plague is also most appropriate. God shows us that He will thus
take away the richness of nature from those who do not thank the
Lord for all its creatures made by God.
Verses 4-7: Then the third angel
poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they
became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You
are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to
be, Because You have judged these things. For they have shed the
blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink.
For it is their just due." And I heard another from the altar
saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are
Your judgments."
The third plague that would turn the
rivers and springs of water into blood is indeed one of the most
terrible plagues. This plague, coming as the punishment for the
sins of all those who do not believe in God, will turn springs into
blood and make it impossible for them to live on this earth. God
will turn all the springs and rivers on this earth into blood. This
plague, too, is the judgment rendered on the people of the world
as the price and punishment of their standing against God, who had
given them water, the root of all life.
The reason why God would bring this
plague on those who had stood against Him is because they had murdered
His saints and prophets while on this earth. They are the ones who
had not only refused to believe in God as God, but also stood against
Him in union with the Antichrist.
Overwhelmed by the power of the Antichrist,
those who stand against God's love in this world will persecute
and murder God's most beloved saints and His servants. Those who
do not believe now in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which
our Lord has given us to deliver the people of this world from sin,
will murder many saints and prophets of the end times and shed their
blood. God will therefore pour His third plague on this world where
His enemies are living, turn its water, the root of all life, into
blood, and thus destroy them.
This is the just judgment of God,
and for it the saints in the air will all rejoice. Why? Because
with His righteous judgment rendered on the enemies who had killed
the saints, God would avenge the saints' death on them. As such,
the saints and servants of God must not fear, but instead defend
their faith in the Lord God, and look toward God's promise and His
power when they face their martyrdom.
Verses 8-9: Then the fourth angel
poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch
men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed
the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not
repent and give Him glory.
As the fourth angel pours out the
bowl of the fourth plague on the sun, people would be burnt to death
from its scorching heat. God will bring the plague of the sun's
scorching heat to those who have stood against Him. Because this
earth orbits around the sun precisely, if the earth were to deviate
from this orbit and get closer to the sun even by the smallest distance,
its inhabitants would all be burnt to death. As such, when this
fourth plague is poured, people still living on this earth will
all suffer from burning.
Yet they would still not repent of
their sin of standing against God. Why? Because by standing against
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, they had already been destined
to destruction. As soon as possible, therefore, everyone must now
prepare their faith that can allow them to escape from the wrath
of God. This faith is to believe in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit as one's salvation. Everyone must therefore believe in
the truth of the water and the Spirit.
Verses 10-11: Then the fifth angel
poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom
became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of
the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains
and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
The plague of the fifth bowl is one
that brings darkness and pain. God will pour out this bowl of the
fifth plague on the throne of the Antichrist and bring the plague
of darkness and pain. From this plague, people will gnaw their tongues
because of its pain and suffering. God will make sure to avenge
the saints' sufferings on them with twice as great pain.
God will make them suffer, in other
words, just as much as they had made the saints suffer before. And
yet they would still blaspheme God and not repent, even as they
suffer from their sores. As such, they are to receive the eternal
punishment of hell burning with fire and brimstone.
Verse 12: Then the sixth angel
poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water
was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be
prepared.
The plague of the sixth bowl poured
by God is the plague of famine that would dry up the Euphrates River.
The mankind will face its greatest suffering from this plague. The
plague of famine is the most frightening plague for everyone's life.
This plague, which will be poured on those who had rejected the
gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord, shows us just
how great the punishment is for those who had rejected God's love
and stood against Him. Later on, God's army of Heaven and Satan's
army of this earth will wage the final war on this battlefield.
Satan and his followers, however, will be seized upon and destroyed
by God.
Verse 13: And I saw three unclean
spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
This verse shows us that the works
of all unclean spirits and demons originate from the mouths of Satan,
His Beast, and the false prophets. The works of demons will prevail
throughout the world when its end nears. The demons will deceive
the people and lead them to their destruction by performing miracles
and signs through Satan, the false prophets, and the Antichrist.
The world of the end times will thus become a world of demons. But
their world will all be brought to its end with the plagues of the
seven bowls poured by Jesus Christ and His second coming.
Verse 14: For they are spirits
of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth
and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great
day of God Almighty.
The spirits of demons will incite
the hearts of all the kings of the entire world to gather together
in one place to battle against God. In the world of the end times,
everyone's heart will be ruled by the spirits of demons, and he/she
will thus be turned into Satan's servant doing the Devil's works.
Verse 15: "Behold, I am coming
as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest
he walk naked and they see his shame."
The Lord will come to this world like
a thief, and those who defend their faith and preach the His gospel
until the pouring of the plagues of the seven bowls are greatly
blessed. Our Lord tells the saints living in the end times' world
that they must live by their faith in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit given by Him and defend this faith until their last day.
Those who defend their faith in the Lord before the pouring of His
plagues of the seven bowls will receive great rewards from Him.
Our Lord will surely come again to find those on whom He would bestow
His blessings.
Verse 16: And they gathered them
together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
The Bible prophesizes that the final
war between Satan and God will be waged on a place called Armageddon.
But because God is omnipotent, He will triumph over Satan and throw
the Beast into the lake of fire and brimstone. We must realize that
Satan has always been a deceiver, and we must keep our faith in
the Lord in steadfastness until the day we stand before God.
Verses 17-21: Then the seventh
angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out
of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there
was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had
not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was
divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And
great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of
the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled
away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven
fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men
blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague
was exceedingly great.
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As God pours the plague of the seventh
bowl into the air, thundering and lightening will ravage the sky,
while a great earthquake and great hail, the likes of which have
never been seen before, will strike this earth. With these disasters,
the first world will disappear without a trace. After this, the
saints will live in glory with Jesus Christ on this renewed earth
for a thousand years to come.
When the thousand years pass by and
the time to fulfill God's promise of the New Heaven and Earth for
the saints comes, God will make the first world disappear and give
the saints the second heaven and earth. The saints will then reign
with God in this New Heaven and Earth forever. The saints must believe
that they are to live in Christ's Kingdom of one thousand years
and then live forever in glory in His New Heaven and Earth. They
must live in this hope, waiting for the Lord's return.
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