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Subject 10 : The Revelation (Commentaries on the Revelation)
[Chapter 16-2] All That You Have to Do Before the Pouring of the Seven Bowls Is… (Revelation 16:1-21)
Of the plagues of the seven bowls, the first plague is that of sore, the second plague is that of the sea turning into blood, and the third is that of fresh water turning into blood. The fourth plague is the one where people are burnt to death from the sun’s heat.
The main passage tells us, “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.” This tells us that God will move the sun nearer to the earth and burn its life forms to death. When God permits this to happen, no one will be able to escape from the scorching heat of the sun, even if one were to dig a deep cave beneath the ground and hide there. Nor by turning on high-efficiency air conditioners prepared for this plague would they be able to stop God’s plague. All of them will have no choice but to die.
We can just imagine what will happen to them when the time of this plague comes—their skin will peel off; their inner flesh will literally be cooked red, crumbling and rotting away. Everyone will then die from skin cancer.
And yet, even as they are burnt to death from the sun’s scorching heat, people will still not repent of their sins. God’s plague is amazing, but so are these people who refuse to repent even as they undergo this plague. As they refuse to repent, the plagues of God will continue on.
The main passage says, “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.” When we look at today’s world, do we not see a countless number of people who should be judged by God right now? But because God is holding His wrath in patience, they are not judged yet. However, if they were to die without having believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by Jesus Christ, they will be brought to life again by God in undying bodies, and face eternal suffering in the forever-burning fire of hell.
When this happens, people will want to die, as their suffering would be too great to tolerate. But the suffering of hell lasts forever. The time will come when those who are to be judged by God will desire to die, but death will flee from them, for God would prevent them from dying so that He could judge them forever.
The sixth plague is of the war of Armageddon. And the seventh is the last and finishing plague of a great earthquake and great hail.
Verses 17-21 tell us, “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.”
The above passage tells us that as God pours the seventh bowl, a great earthquake would strike the planet, the whole world would split into three, and the buildings still standing on this earth would all be brought down, leaving not a single one of them left intact. As this world is subjected under the fierce wrath of God, all the islands and mountains would disappear.
Would the Himalayan Mountains still be standing when this happens? Of course not! All the high mountains will disappear right before the eyes of the alive. Every mountain in this world will simply evaporate away without a trace. The passage also tells us that huge hailstones, each weighing as much as 100 pounds (45 kg), will fall upon this earth. Would there be anyone who could survive through these earthquakes and hails?
Revelation 18 tells us that the wrath of God is brought upon those who had not believed in Him and who had ignored His Word. Some people in this world claim, as if they were divine, “I will never be subjected under the wrath of God, nor would I ever be judged by Him.” However, God’s judgment is brought upon precisely this kind of people who are full of their own pride and arrogance. We must believe that this world will disappear when it is struck by the plagues of the seven bowls poured by God.
We Must Have Faith in the Word of God
God tells us that He will make this world disappear. This world therefore will not last forever. As such, all those who are facing its nearing end must believe in this truth even more firmly and pursue their spiritual faith. All the people of this world must therefore be awakened from their spiritual sleep. I don’t know with what kind of faith you might have lived your life so far, but now is the time for you to concentrate your attention on what will be going on in the end times, and to wake up and to believe. You must therefore have the exact knowledge of the plagues prophesized in Revelation, and you must be alert.
Our Lord has told us that this earth will soon be under the plagues of the seven bowls of God. As such, we must wait for the Lord while continuing to preach the gospel, even if people do not receive it well.
The fate of this world is now at risk. Today’s world is exposed to all kinds of danger, from the threat of war to precarious weather, environmental degradation, multiplying social conflicts, and all kinds of diseases. God therefore told us that the present era is like the time of Noah. If the present time is like Noah’s time, it only means that this world has now entered into its last days. The sign of the end times is that people would be interested only in the things of the flesh, such as eating, drinking, marrying, and other such petty affairs. They therefore deserve to be judged by God. In Noah’s time, too, such people did not listen to what Noah had told them, and so they were all destroyed, except for Noah and his family of eight. The world to come would be like this as well.
Almost all the things that God has promised have been fulfilled as they were recorded in the Bible. Of these, about 5 percent still remains to be fulfilled, but the rest of them have all been fulfilled already. The Word of salvation and of the redemption promised by the Lord has also been all fulfilled. In the Word of God, only the judgment reserved for those who do not believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit remains. And for the born-again saints, only the Millennial Kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth, where the righteous shall enter and live in, await them.
God is merciful, and He stands on the side of the righteous. However, to those who deserve His wrath, God will most surely bring His wrath to bear upon them, while on those who deserve His mercy, He will most surely bestow His mercy.
When will these plagues happen? The plagues of the seven bowls will come after the saints’ martyrdom, as the mark of 666 is thrust upon this world and is resisted by the saints. After the plagues will come the first resurrection, the Millennial Kingdom, and the final judgment of Jesus sitting on the great white throne. This will be followed by the opening of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. Through the Bible, we must attain the knowledge of God’s providence.
Do you believe in the fact that Jesus rose from the dead again? Do you believe that the Lord has made all the sins of mankind disappear through His baptism and blood? Our Lord took away all the sins of mankind with His water and blood, rose from the dead again in three days, and is now sitting on the right side of the Father’s throne. As such, the sins of those who believe in Jesus Christ have clearly disappeared, and as Christ rose from the dead again, so will they be resurrected.
The saints will therefore be glorified with the Lord, but while on this earth, they will also face many sufferings for the Lord. But the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that awaits them, for this glory is the only thing that awaits the born-again saints. The saints therefore have nothing to worry about the future. All that the righteous have to do is live the rest of their lives for the gospel and by their faith. We must dedicate ourselves to the work of saving souls, and not follow the world.
Let’s Devote the Rest of Our Lives to God
I am worried that there might be someone among us who would betray the gospel. Whoever betrays the gospel of the water and the Spirit will deny the Lord Himself in the end. Though we are weak, if we believe in and follow the gospel of the water and the Spirit accomplished by the Lord, we will all be able to live by faith. The saints cannot live only by their own wisdom and strength. If they were to do so, they would end up betraying their faith and facing their own destruction. To avoid this, we must live by faith.
Why would our Lord allow mankind to receive the mark of 666? This is to separate the grain from the chaff. Before allowing the saints to be raptured, the first thing that God must do is to clearly separate the grain from the chaff.
There are spiritual battles to be fought by the saints. As such, the saints must not avoid fighting against God’s enemies. If they hesitate to fight against Satan, they might receive a fatal blow from Satan instead. Therefore, all the saints must and can fight spiritual battles even for themselves. All the spiritual battles fought by the saints are justifiable. To follow God, every saint must fight and overcome Satan and his servants.
The saints must fight for the Kingdom of God. They must also be persecuted for God’s Kingdom, and be hated by the people of the world. That the saints are given the opportunity to fight for the Lord is a good thing in itself. If this opportunity to fight for God was given to you, you should thank Him for it. Such a fight is a good fight, for it is a fight for the righteousness of God.
God helps the righteous. There are not so many days left in our lives, and my hope and prayer are that we would all live our remaining lives fighting the spiritual battles and doing the spiritual works until we stand before the Lord. No matter what the people of this world say to us, we should fight the spiritual battles, bear the spiritual fruits, and offer these fruits before our Lord. When the day of our Lord’s return comes, let us all stand before Him confidently. When this day comes, the Lord will wipe away our tears and let us live in a place where we will no longer cry, nor suffer pain ever again, nor find sin any longer.
Let us all live by faith, and by this faith let us all enter the Kingdom of God.
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