02.47. LECTURE No. 47 -- Rev_16:1-12
LECTURE No. 47 -- Revelation 16:1-12
Many People Willing to Hear and Heed the Words of This Book - The Unbelieving Violently Opposed - We Are Studying About the Seven Last Vials of the Wrath of God - Principles of Interpretation Very Important - Those Who Will receive the Mark of the Beast to Suffer for it - What Happened in Egypt - Under the Second Vial the Sea Will Be Turned to Blood - Under the Third Vial Men Will Be Given Blood to Drink- Men Will Be Scorched with Great Heat Under the Fourth Vial - Only One Way of Escape - To Great Heat Will Added a Plague of Great Darkness Under the Fifth Vial - The Prophets Confirm This Fact of Coming Darkness - The Euphrates River to Be Dried Up to Prepare the Way the Kings of the Fast As They March to the Battle of Armageddon
AS we continue our study of this wonderful Book, we are finding many people, who have open minds and receptive hearts to receive the light and truth which its pages contain.
On the other hand, we find some even among professing Christians who are violently opposed to a study and consideration of those things which have been recorded here for our instruction. Frankly, I feel sorry for anyone who takes this attitude toward the wonderful things recorded in this last Book of the Bible.
By refusing to study and to believe the things which are given to us here, in this Book, people are robbing themselves of a personal blessing and are exposing themselves to the displeasure of God for we have been warned, in Revelation 22:19, that “If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this Book.”
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation 16:1-21 where our present lesson will begin.
In our last lesson which was based upon Revelation 15:1-8, we discovered that in due course of time in the on-going drama of events of the tribulation period, there will be poured out upon the earth the seven last vials of the wrath of God.
We learned also that those who will gain the victory over the Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, will stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God,
“And that they will sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
We learned, also, that the temple in heaven will be opened at the time when the seven vials of the wrath of God will be given unto the seven angels to pour out upon the earth.
We are now ready to advance in our study of Revelation 16:1-21.
Lesson Text In Revelation 16:1-2, the Apostle John said,
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”
Before taking up a discussion of these things, let us remember that the judgments which will come to pass under these seven vials are declared to be the seven last plagues, for in them, we are told, is filled up the wrath of God.
From this standpoint, they are very interesting and very important, because when they shall have been poured out upon the wicked of the earth, and shall have run their course, the end of God’s terrible judgments will be passed, and then we may look for and confidently expect the dawning of a new day upon the earth and the ushering in of God’s kingdom of righteousness.
The terribleness of these judgments is indicated in the fact that they are called the “vials of the wrath of God.”
These words would seem to indicate that in these seven last plagues, God will pour out His wrath upon the wicked of the whole earth without admixture, and without mercy.
Principle of Interpretation
We remind you again that the only safe principle of interpretation in studying the Word of God is to accept every passage at its face value.
In other words, we must accept the plain meaning of the text in its literal sense, unless there is some reason why we should not do so. If the text is symbolical and warrants a spiritual interpretation it is generally inferred in the text itself.
Acting upon this principle of interpretation, we are compelled to accept the judgments indicated under the pouring out of the seven vials of the wrath of God as literal. A Plague Upon Those Who Receive the Mark of the Beast In other words, when it says “The first (angel) went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image,” we believe that it means exactly what it says and that this is exactly what will come to pass.
Why should we have difficulty in believing this when we have a historical example of this very same thing; for instance, in Exodus 9:10-11 it says of Moses and Aaron, that,
“They took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.”
Indeed, this was what happened by the power of God when Moses and Aaron brought the plagues upon Egypt. It stands to reason, therefore, that what God did perform locally in the Land of Egypt, He could bring to pass upon the inhabitants of the whole earth who will take the mark of the beast upon them and who will worship his image. We must confess that such a judgment brought to pass upon those who will be guilty of these things will be justly deserved.
In Deuteronomy 28:1-68, through Moses, God gave a list of conditions which would bring chastisement upon the people in the land. In Deuteronomy 28:15, He said:
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.”
And in verses Deuteronomy 28:27; Deuteronomy 28:35 of this same chapter, it says,
“The Lord will smite thee with the botch, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.”
Understanding these things, we need not wonder if God sends a grievous sore upon the men who receive the mark of the beast and who worship his image. The Sea to Be Turned to Blood In Revelation 16:3 of our lesson text, it says,
“And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.”
Certainly, my friends, these few words present to us a terrible picture of what awaits the world in the future. When this comes to pass, the people of the world will already have had a touch of these things for in chapter 8 under our study of the seven trumpets in Revelation 8:8-9, it says,
“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.”
It would seem, therefore, that under the second vial the judgment referred to under the second trumpet will be enlarged to include all of the sea instead of just a third of it. Whether the sea referred to here is the Mediterranean Sea or to the Seven Seas, we are unable to determine.
Blood Instead of Water to Drink In Revelation 16:4-7 it says:
“And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, and righteous are thy judgments.” An Historical Example
Again we should have no difficulty in believing what is stated here, because a similar miracle was performed by Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt. This is confirmed in Exodus 7:20-21, where it says:
“And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.”
Such a Judgment Will Be Deserved When God brings this terrible judgment of turning the rivers and the mountains of waters into blood, we note from the lesson text that He will be justified in doing so. In Revelation 16:5-6 the angel of the waters is, quoted as saying:
“Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”
Indeed, my friends, no one who suffers the judgments of God will ever be able to rightfully accuse God of injustice. On the contrary when these things come upon them they will only be receiving what they justly deserve.
Men Will Refuse to Repent Under Judgment
Again in Revelation 16:8-9, it says:
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”
These words present another terrible picture of conditions as they will be upon the earth during the tribulation Period under the fourth vial of the wrath of God, which we are told will be poured upon the sun. A Prophetic Announcement The fact that men will be scorched with great heat is confirmed in Deuteronomy 32:22-24, where it says:
“For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and hall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with anger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction.”
Also in Malachi 4:1, it says: “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
The very thought of these things fill one’s heart with fear and dread and I am sure that none of us would want to be upon the earth when these terrible conditions come to pass, but there is only one way to escape the judgments of God, whether here or hereafter and that is to accept God’s way of salvation, which means that we must accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as the Saviour of the world, and as the Messiah of Israel.
In 1 John 5:12-13 it says:
“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
In Revelation 16:10-16 it says:
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain.
“And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
“For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles which go forth unto 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 come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.”
Literal Not Symbolical
We remind you again that all of these plagues suggested under the seven vials of the wrath of God, which are to be poured upon the earth are literal, and not symbolical, as some would have us think. The possibility of their being literal is argued from the fact that many of the plagues were performed literally in Egypt long ago under Moses and Aaron, the servants of God.
The plague of darkness upon the kingdom of the beast, as announced under the fifth vial will be only a duplication, on a wider scale of the ninth plague which came upon the Egyptians as recorded in Exodus 10:21-23, where it says:
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
“And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
“They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
What Isaiah Said
Indeed, my friends, men do not need to be surprised if these things come to pass again upon the earth, for they have been prophesied in the Word of God.
In Isaiah 60:2, the Prophet said to Israel, “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.”
Joel The prophet Joel also said in Joel 2:1-2,
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
“A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains.”
Also in Joel 2:30-31, of this same chapter, it says:
“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.”
Nahum
Again in Nahum 1:6-8, it says:
“Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
“But with an overrunning flood, will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.” Our Lord Prophesied of These Things
Jesus also prophesied of these things in Mark 13:24-26, where He said:
“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
“And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” A Mysterious Darkness at the Cross For any who may be inclined to disbelieve these things, we remind you of the fact that as Jesus hung upon the cross; a mysterious darkness came and settled down upon the whole scene in the very midst of the day.
In Mark 15:33 it says:
“And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”
By reason of this darkness, they were compelled to sit down at the foot of the cross, until the full and complete tragedy of the crucifixion of Christ had been accomplished. In the midst of that darkness, which lasted for three hours, they had time to meditate upon the person and nature and works of Christ, and to search their own hearts and discover the wickedness that was in them. A Strange Thing
Indeed, my friends, let us not doubt for one moment that when the time comes, the kingdom of the beast will be full of darkness, and that they will gnaw their tongues for pain. The strange thing, however, is that even under such a judgment as this; men will refuse to repent of the error of their ways. We know this is true, for we are told in the seventh verse of our lesson text that they will blaspheme the God of heaven, because of their pain and their sores, and that they will not repent of their deeds.
It is characteristic of a wicked person to blame someone else instead of themselves for the very thing of which they themselves are guilty. And so, when, God undertakes to punish them for their sin and wickedness and unbelief, instead of blaming themselves, they will seek to blame God for their unfortunate condition. The Euphrates River to Be Dried Up In Revelation 16:12 of our lesson text it says:
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”
The words of this verse are of striking interest in view of what is now taking place in the Far East. In the Orient, there are six hundred million people in Japan, Korea, and China, to say nothing of the teeming millions of India. War is now raging in China, and nations who have been asleep and conservative for centuries are being compelled to awaken and become militaristic. No one who understands the situation can deny but what these teeming millions of the Far East are being Communized and Nazi-ized much faster than they are being Christianized by the so-called Christian nations of the world. The fact is that they are increasing faster by natural propagation than they are being evangelized with the Gospel, which means that heathenism is on the increase year after year.
Understanding these conditions, we can realize more fully the words of our lesson text, which speak of the fact that the great River Euphrates will be dried up, that the way of the Kings of the East might be prepared. The Kings of the East Will March to Armageddon
We know from other scriptures that these teeming millions of the Orient will join the other nations in their march to Armageddon. Before they can do this, however, the way must be prepared, and in order to do this, when the sixth vial is poured out upon the River Euphrates, it will be dried up. We do not need to question whether or not this is symbolical or literal, because we have every reason to believe, that it will be literal.
The same God who drove back the waters of the Red Sea, and permitted the Children of Israel to go over dry shod is able to dry up the waters of the Euphrates River when the time comes, if it is His will to do so. When will we cease to dishonor God and to limit Him in His mighty works through wicked unbelief?
In Isaiah 11:15-16, there is a passage which says:
“And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams and make men go over dryshod.
“And there shall be an highway the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it Israel in the day that he came up of the land of Egypt.”
Thus, my friends, we see that drying up of the Euphrates Rivera permit the remnant of God’s people to return from Assyria, and it will also make possible the march of the kings of the east and their armies to the Battle of Armageddon, which will take place in Palestine.
~ end of lecture 47 ~