You have just received an advanced warning. A disaster of cataclysmic proportions is coming. It is certain. It will happen in the next few years. It is impossible to avert. What are you going to do?
The survivalist movement has been quite strong in recent years. Many people are concerned about just this, a possible cataclysmic destruction of the planet or at least large areas of it. Note the interest in a devastating asteroid or comet strikes upon our planet. Scientists tell us it will happen; the only question is when. Note, too, the popularity of disaster films.
In preparation for what they believe is coming, many people are taking survivalist precautions. They are stockpiling arms and ammunition, bottled water, storable foodstuffs and other survival gear in preparation for a coming disaster. But how effective will any of these preparations be? For a day is indeed coming, a day of darkness, death and destruction! How can one adequately prepare for it?
We do not know when it will be. The day and hour are not revealed to any of us, but coming they are! We know that it is near, that the day is approaching. For us who now believe and have put our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as the only payment for our sin, there is little worry about preparations for that day, for we shall be spared the fate of facing it. While the earth is facing decimation, destruction, disaster, we will be participating in the most extraordinary coronation ceremony of all the ages, the coronation of Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings, the ruler of all the earth. This will take place in heaven before He returns to set up His kingdom upon the earth.
Yet, what about those who have come to believe after the rapture of the church, those who are on the earth, what about preparations they should make? What can they do to prepare for this time? The truth of the matter is that they have made the only preparation that will truly help; the have made preparations for death. They have placed their faith in the coming of the true and righteous king, Jesus the Messiah. For the rest of mankind, the only way to prepare for the physical disasters of the apocalypse is to repent and turn to the only true God, creator of the heavens and the earth. Nothing in the way of physical preparation will be of any avail. What is coming is the final wrath of God Almighty upon a rebellious world. There is no escape! There is no relief from it! There are no preparations one can make to live; the only preparation one can make is to die.
Revelation 15:1-16:21.
| 15:1 | Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. |
| 15:2 | And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. |
| 15:3 | And they *sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! |
| 15:4 | “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.” |
| 15:5 | After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, |
| 15:6 | and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes |
| 15:7 | Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. |
| 15:8 | And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished |
| 16:1 | Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” |
| 16:2 | So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. |
| 16:3 | The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died. |
| 16:4 | Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. |
| 16:5 | And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things |
| 16:6 | for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” |
| 16:7 | And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” |
| 16:8 | The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. |
| 16:9 | Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. |
| 16:10 | Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, |
| 16:11 | and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. |
| 16:12 | The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. |
| 16:13 | And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs |
| 16:14 | for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. |
| 16:15 | (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) |
| 16:16 | And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. |
| 16:17 | Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” |
| 16:18 | And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. |
| 16:19 | The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. |
| 16:20 | And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. |
| 16:21 | And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, *came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague *was extremely severe. |
In these two chapters, we see the seven last plagues or judgments upon the earth being delivered to the angels in 15:1-16:1, and then the angels pouring out these bowls of God's judgment in 16:2-21.
The Plagues Delivered to The Angels
John introduces this section by telling us he witnessed another sign in heaven, a great and marvelous sign. The stage initially in view then is heaven, although our view will shift back and forth between heaven and earth as it did earlier in chapters 6 and 8. What John sees literally takes place. These are literal angels with real bowls who do indeed pour them out. These literal events in heaven are a sign, that is, a symbol for what is taking place upon the earth. One must also keep in mind the temporal difference between the passing of time on the earth and the passing of time in the courts of heaven. In heaven, a short time passes as these angels pour out their bowls upon the earth, symbolically representing the last judgments of God upon the world in rebellion. On the earth, however, a more extended period passes as these real judgments strike hard and heavy.
The sign in heaven of the seven angels with the seven plagues is great and marvelous. Not only are these the most intense plagues yet to fall upon the world, but they are also the last, for these conclude the judgment of God, at least for the next one thousand years. Following these last judgments, Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords and set up His kingdom, restoring to the earth peace and harmony, safety and security.
The Introduction to this section is verse 15:1. John tells us he saw another sign in heaven, a great and marvelous sign, seven angels with seven plagues. The description of the pouring out of these plagues then follows in 15:2 through 16:21.
God’s righteous judgment of the world is preceded by His praise. John sees a group of people standing on a surface described as a sea of glass mixed with fire, probably the same expansive area described in chapter 4 that was before the throne of Almighty God. It now glows with a fiery appearance. On this surface stood those who had been martyred on the earth by the Antichrist. They are described as those that had been victorious over the beast, his image and the number of his name; that is, they had been killed because they refused to worship this man or his image or receive the identifying mark offered by this man. In the opinion of most on earth, they had lost, for they had been killed; in reality, they had won. They now stood before the throne of God and would sing the praise of the One who was about to execute His judgment.
They had musical instruments, harps, and sang songs of praise, in particular, the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. The song of Moses is found in Exodus 15. It is a song of praise for God's deliverance of His people in the crossing of the Red Sea and in the destruction of the Egyptian army in its waters. The Song of the Lamb is probably the song mentioned in Revelation chapter 15, verses 9-12, praising our Savior for His sacrifice and His right to rule as King of king and Lord of lords.
The message of their songs of praise, perhaps the words themselves or some of them are relayed to us by John. They sang:
| Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED. |
Although to all appearances on earth, the enemy is victorious, having established his man as ruler over all the earth, the one true God, the Lord GOD Almighty, will soon establish his kingdom. All nations will come and worship before Him.
The next thing John sees is the temple in heaven opened and seven angels exit. One of the four living creatures gives to each of these a bowl described as being full of the wrath of God. The wrath of God is His righteous judgment of sin. When this is done, the temple is filled with smoke described as coming from God's glory and power. This prevented anyone from entering the temple until the seven plagues were completed. God is about to execute His wrath, His judgment upon the earth; no created being can stand in His presence as He does this.
From within the temple where He sits obscured by the smoke of His burning glory and power, His voice commands, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
The Plagues are Poured Out
The First Plague
The first angel pours out his bowl upon the earth. Witnesses in heaven see this angel turn his bowl and pour out the contents. Perhaps we shall see space open up, an image of the world appear as it spins in space and the contents of the bowl representing God’s judgment disappear as they sink toward the earth. Perhaps we shall only witness the contents pouring out on the floor or disappear into space if the angel is suspended in space. In any case, what we in heaven witness is a symbolic act, but the reality of that act falls upon those on earth. What we in heaven will not see is the effect upon the earth. A loathsome and cancerous sore infests those who have received the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image.
The Second Plague
In heaven, the second angel empties his bowl upon the sea. Perhaps we see it falling into the sea, or perhaps only disappearing into space. The effect upon the earth is that the sea becomes like blood, and every living thing in the sea dies. This might refer to all the world's oceans or perhaps just to the great sea, the Mediterranean, the sea familiar to the people of John’s day and the one central to the kingdom of the Antichrist. Whichever the case, this is an ecological disaster, the likes of which have not been witnessed by man on this earth, more so if all the oceans and seas are affected. For those that depend upon the sea and its produce, it is almost a death sentence.
The Third Plague
In heaven, the third angel acts. He empties his bowl upon the freshwater sources, rivers and springs. These also become like blood. It is not so stated, but we can assume that the waters are poisoned, and all life in them also dies. One can only guess how many people will be devastated by this event. Can anyone adequately prepare for this kind of disaster? John hears this last angel speak, declaring the justness of God’s judgment. “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.”
The altar where atoning sacrifices were offered replies, “And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’”
The Fourth Plague
The fourth angel then pours out his bowl. He pours it upon the sun, and, we are told, it was given to it to scorch men with fire. God allows the sun to flare up. Some type of solar storm erupts on the surface of the sun. These storms or flares produce intense radiation that penetrates the earth’s protective atmosphere, severely burning those exposed.
Nevertheless, God’s judgment upon the earth does not bring repentance. Those on earth only curse God and do not glorify Him as God.
The Fifth Plague
In heaven, the fifth angel pours out his bowl. It is poured out upon the throne of the beast, that is his capital, the seat of his government, and upon his kingdom, all the nations that directly own him as their king. They become darkened. For some reason, the light of day is cut off from them. We are not told how this occurs or what causes this darkness. Perhaps it is a massive volcanic eruption that fills the atmosphere with ash. However, whatever it may be, it causes intense pain and aggravates the existing sores.
The reaction is the same as the last plague. There is no repentance. People only turn and curse the God of heaven and earth.
The Sixth Plague
Next, the sixth angel acts. He pours out his bowl upon a specific river, the river Euphrates. It dries up. The powers of the east will bring their armies quickly across into the land of Israel with this physical barrier removed.
Other armies also come. Satan by means of deceiving spirits sent out by him to the nations of the world, and the Antichrist and the False Prophet will gather the greatest army in the history of mankind to the land of Palestine, in the valley of Megiddo. There they will attempt to oppose the Messiah’s return as He comes to set up His kingdom.
The Seventh Plague
In heaven, the seventh and last angel turns his bowl, pouring out its contents upon the air of the earth. As this takes place, a loud voice out of the temple calls out, “It is done!” In heaven, the ceremony is complete. On the earth, where time flows at a different pace, great storms develop and rage upon the earth. These storms are unlike any storm before them, with lightning, thunder, hailstones weighing up to one hundred pounds. Along with this comes an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude, the most powerful to ever strike the earth in man’s history. The whole earth is affected. Every city on earth is devastated. Mountains disappear. Tsunamis sweep across every island on earth. Jerusalem is split into three parts. It is at this time also that God judges the city of Babylon. Chapters 17 and 18 will detail this particular judgment of God. Again the reaction of the world is not repentance but to curse God because of His righteous judgment.
How can one prepare for such global disasters, cataclysms of such magnitude? There is no way to prepare for them physically! Where could one go to escape them? There is no place, no safe haven, no protective bunker! The only way to be prepared is to prepare oneself to stand before God. Nothing we can do of ourselves can make us acceptable in His presence. All we can do, all we must do, is to accept the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, our sacrifice, and by relying upon Him be declared just in God’s sight.
There will be no way to make adequate preparations to survive and live. However, we can prepare to die! That is the real issue. Are you prepared to face death? Will you be willing to die for your faith? Those who attempt to save their life by worshipping the beast, by bowing to his image or receiving his mark will surely die and be lost for all eternity. Those who give their life refusing to bow to Satan will live again. How will you prepare to die?
