REVELATION 16
INTRODUCTION
·
The first angel poured out his vial upon
the earth;
·
The second angel poured out his vial
upon the sea;
·
The third angel poured out his vial
upon the rivers and fountains of
waters;
·
The fourth angel poured out his vial
upon the sun;
·
The fifth angel poured out his vial on
the throne of the beast;
·
The sixth angel poured out his vial
upon the great river Euphrates;
·
The seventh angel poured out his vial
on the air.
Relationship
between the plagues of Revelation and the ones of Egypt:
|
PESTS |
REVELATION |
EGYPT |
|
Bad
and malignant wound |
1St
plague (Rev 16.2) |
6Th
plague (Exodus 9.8-11) |
|
Water
turning into blood |
2Nd and 3Rd
pests (Rev 16.3,4) |
1St
plague (Exodus 7.17-21) |
|
The
sun is reached |
4Th
plague (Rev 16.8) |
X |
|
The
Darkness |
5Th
plague (Rev 16.10 - the Kingdom of the
beast is plunged into darkness) |
9Th plague (Exodus 10.21-23 - darkness shall cover the earth) |
|
The
Frogs |
6Th
plague (Rev 16.13
- three unclean spirits like frogs come out worldwide) |
2Nd plague (Exodus 8.6
- there were frogs throughout the land of Egypt) |
|
Hail |
7Th
plague (Rev 16.21) |
7Th
plague (Exodus 9.23,24) |
Just
as the plagues were sent with the objective to harden the heart of
Pharaoh (Exodus 9.16; Romans 9.17),
here in Revelation the plagues also contribute to the hardening of the
worshipers of the beast (Rev 16.11,21).
Revelation 16 is
a "great" chapter:
·
Describes a great evil: Babylon the Great (Rev 16.19).
·
Describes major methods of judgment: high heat (Rev 16.9), the
drying of a great river (Rev 16.12), a
great earthquake (Rev 16.18),
great hail and great plagues (Rev 16.21).
·
Describes a great God: His great voice (Rev 16.1,17) and
His great day of victory (Rev 16.14).
·
Describes a great day: the great day of God Almighty.
There isn’t the great day of man, of the Antichrist or of the dragon, but of
the Eternal.
See
where the vials are poured out:
·
1St Vial: in the land;
·
2Nd Vial: at sea;
·
3Rd Vial: in the rivers and fountains of
waters;
·
4Th Vial: in the sun;
·
5Th Vial: on the throne of the beast;
·
6Th Vial: upon the great river Euphrates;
·
7Th Vial: in the air.
Previously the
angel threw fire on the earth before the seven trumpets being played. (Rev 8.5).
When the angels
of judgment shed the vials, the nature will be full of thorns and thistles.
She, who should be friend of man, is attacking him. In addition to
not give him the necessary (such as when
Israel was being treated), the nature will fight against the man.
After
all, all other creatures will be seriously injured by the hand of the Eternal
before the human being.
·
"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." (Rev 16.1).
As soon as the
order was given, it was immediately obeyed without delay and
objection (different from what happened when Sodom and Gomorrah was to be destroyed (Genesis 18.23-32), as well as the
people of Israel (Exodus 32.31,32).
Once that nobody
could enter the temple (Rev 15.8), so the voice
coming from the sanctuary was of the own Eternal. From the heavenly sanctuary
leaves a great voice. There isn’t a voice shouted, but a voice with authority,
which shows that these plagues were not natural phenomena caused by men.
When the sin reaches
its maturity, the Eternal allows the evil that comes by this to manifest so
that all may see how terrible it is. The Eternal is able to see trends; we
only facts.
·
"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you
these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed
in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who
now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." (2Thes 1.4-7).
·
"Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the
proud. LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked
triumph? How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and
all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?" (Psalm 94.2-4).
Whereas the
Eternal has His vessels of honor and anger (Rom 9.22,23), therefore
these scourges were released on earth by evil angels. After all, from the same
source may not well bitter and sweet water (James 3.10-12). We
must never do evil in order that good may come (Rom 3.8).
You may ask: but
were the wicked angels not expelled by Michael and his angels in the
middle of the 70th week (Rev 12.7-12)?
Probably seven of them still will have access to heaven at this moment.
I know that it
is difficult to accept the idea of evil angels coming out of the heavenly
sanctuary, a place so pure and holy. Without considered that they wll be
dressed in pure and shining linen with gold belt. But all this was to
confirm that they are acting as a justice of the Eternal, although with evil
intentions.
And this is not
the first time that the evil angel has access to the presence of the Eternal:
·
"Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither
Micaiah the son of Imlah. " (1Kings 22.19).
But how can a
good God design the evil (Job 5.17,18; Isa 45.7; 54.16,17)? At
the first place, He does not delight in the suffering of anyone (Lam 3.32,33;
Ezek 33.11; Micah 7.18). In the Eternal there is not a
shadow of any variation or change (James 1.16,17). In
Him there is only light (1John 1.5).
The Eternal
designs the well, but there are some who cannot receive this good in themselves (see Isaiah 57.19-21) and
others who end up being affected otherwise by the same.
And that these
angels are bad, just think that they have the seven plagues, even before
entering the sanctuary (something unthinkable to a vessel
of honor) (Rev 15.1). What they receive from one of the four
living creatures are the vials containing the wrath of the Eternal, i.e.,
a testification for the worshipers of the beast about how the worship
of them will be annoying. This will be a way so that they have
no doubt that the scourges are part of the justice of the Eternal,
eliminating any doubt that there may be that He has nothing to
do with the Antichrist.
Note how the
order given to the evil angels was not to execute the scourges (they did not
need to receive such an order, since they had pleasure in it, different from
those who belongs to the Eternal, whose pleasure is in His salvation
- Psalms 9.14; 13.5; 20.5; 21.1; 40.16; 70.4; Luke 2.30; 1
Peter 1.10-12). One order is only given when, at first, the
individual has no disposition to fulfill. What these angels receive
is a permission to perform what they want to do.
·
"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." (Rev 16.2).
This recalls the
sixth plague in Egypt (Exodus 9.8,9)
Here is the
proof that there will be followers of Jesus at this time. After all, there
aren’t all who will be affected, but the worshippers of the beast.
Here are some
places where you see speaking of ulcers (or malignant
wounds):
·
"And I wanted to feed themselves with the crumbs which fell from
the rich man's table; and the dogs came to lick the wounds" (Lk 16.21);
·
"And it was the first, and poured out his vial upon the earth, and
became a bad and malignant ulcer in men which had the mark of the beast and
worshiped his image." (Rev 16.2);
·
"And because of their pains, and because of his wounds, blasphemed
the God of heaven; and they repented not of their deeds." (Rev 16.11).
·
"Then the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron, Take your hands full of ashes
of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of
Pharaoh; and shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a
boil breaking forth with blains ulcers in men and upon beast, throughout all
the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before
Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled to heaven; and it became a scab, which arrebentava
in ulcers in men and cattle; so that the magicians could not stand before
Moses because of scabies; because he had scabies in the scribes, and on all the
Egyptians." (Exodus 9.8-11);
·
"The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, with the
emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be
healed;" (Deut 28.27).
·
"The LORD will smite thee with malignant ulcers in the knees and in
the legs, that thou canst not be healed, from the sole of your foot even to the
crown of the head." (Dt 28.35).
·
"If the flesh also, in which there is a skin ulcer, heal, and, in
place of the pustule, comes a white or bright spot, somewhat reddish,
show-if-then the priest. And the priest shall look, and, behold, if it be in
sight deeper than the skin, and his hair turned white, then the priest
shall pronounce him unclean; for it is a plague of leprosy that has sprung from
the Pustule." (Lev 13.18-20).
·
"But if the stain stop in his place, and
spread not, inflammation of the SCAB is; and the priest shall pronounce him
clean through." (Lev 13.23).
This plague
resembles a little the first trumpet (by the fact
of having been released on earth - Rev 8.7) and
recalls the sixth plague poured out upon Egypt (Exodus 9.8-11), as
promised to those who did not hear the voice of the Eternal (Deut 28.27,35).
When the angel
pours his vial by land, the followers of the beast receive repugnant and very
painful ulcers ("noisome and grievous" in
the KJV version). Nothing surprising, given that the worshipers
of the beast and his image would drink of the wine of the wrath of the
Eternal (Rev 14.10,11).
The term
"malignant and pernicious" accompanying "ulcers" serves to
increase the intensity of the expression.
·
"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." (Rev 16.3).
This plague
resembles the second trumpet (Rev 8.8,9) and
the first plague of Egypt (Exodus 7.17,20). The
difference here is that the sea became as the blood of dead, i.e., a blood
rotted, so that all living beings who had at the sea died (and not only
the third part of them).
·
"And the third angel poured out his vial
upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood." (Rev 16.4).
Also note that,
unlike the trumpets that are consequences of the activities of man, the vials
are direct actions of these evil angels.
This plague
resembles the third trumpet (Rev 8.10) and
back to the first plague of Egypt (see Exodus 7.17,20; Psalm 78.44).
·
"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." (Rev 16.5).
·
At the time of
patience, the Eternal is praised by His power; at the time of revenge, by His
mercy.
The
Eternal is exalted:
·
Because
He is righteous;
·
Because He
is;
·
Because He
was;
·
Because He
is Holy;
·
Because He judged all things.
Note that,
unlike Rev 1.4; 4.8, where Jesus is the One who is, who was and who
is to come," now (and also in Rev 11.17), Jesus is only "one who
is, who was." This shows that, in both Rev
11.17 and Rev 16.5, Jesus came to rapture His church:
·
"Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God
Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee
thy great power, and hast reigned." (Rev 11.17).
Here is an angel
who has power over the waters, such as in Revelation 7.1 there
are angels with power over the wind and in Revelation14.18, angel with
power over the fire. This angel who has authority over the waters is responsible
to take care of them. He declares the justice of the Eternal through what He
allows it to be done with the waters. However, this does not mean that this
angel was happy with this, but that he sees this with something fair. After
all, who belongs to the Eternal never is happy with the suffering of someone. Instead,
laments the loss of a soul (Lev 10.6; 2Sam 1.17).
The Eternal is
recognized as the Righteous and the Holy for having brought all the wickedness
of the beast to trial, that is, for having leaded everybody to
assess the perfection of His Word. May it be clear: the Eternal is
not just only because of pests, but mainly by the fact of having given enough
time for all to see with clarity the outcome of the activities of the human
being on earth, as well as opportunity for everyone to repent and convert
and, finally, to give each one the reward what sought (hence Rev 13.10 -
remuneration in kind), confirming that there isn’t suffering that is
capable of bring salvation.
·
"For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." (Rev 16:6).
The Eternal
booking revenge for Himself. So, instead of taking the law into our hands, we
will give place to the wrath of the Eternal.
As the
worshipers of the beast and his image, along with the great Babylon (Jerusalem), killed
enough saints and prophets (Matt 23.34-35; Rev
13.15; 18.24), they will be rewarded with what they both like (Rev 11.18; Gen 9.6; Isaiah 49.26). That
is to say, since they are so fond of seeing dead individuals, now they can see
millions dying. You can see blood everywhere, to the point that they can make
this their drink.
Imagine having
to drink blood rotten.
·
"And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are
thy judgments" (Rev 16.7).
·
Note here a
voice coming from the brass altar, which was the place where the martyrs
were seen crying (Rev 6.9-11) (when it comes
to the altar of incense, it is mentioned that it is made of gold (as
in Rev 8.3; 9.13)). This voice shows that everything that was
happening responded perfectly to the cry of the righteous.
As well
as the Eternal opened the mouth of the ass to speak with
Balaam, He opens the "mouth" of the altar
to it confirms the cry of all saints.
Note how the
question of justice of the Eternal is well emphasized in Revelation:
·
By the angel of the waters when all waters will be transform into blood (Rev 16.3,4);
·
By the altar, representing the saints who have
died in Christ (Rev 16.7)
·
By a crowd when He judges Babylon the Great (Rev 19.2)
·
By Israelites who are martired in the Great
Tribulation when it is announced the judgment of the plagues (Rev 15.3).
Consider how the justice
of the Eternal is questioned in several places in Holy Scripture (Psalm 73;
Jer 15.15-18; Hab 1.2.4, 12-17; Mal 3.13-15). However, ever
it is exalted (Heb 1.9; Psalms 119,137).
This voice coming
from the altar calls the Eternal of Almighty, i.e., the One who has
all the power in the hands; there is nothing that it is impossible. This is
important because, many times, we tend to ask the Eternal small things (as if He was
weak or miserable). However, see that the Eternal says to Jesus:
·
"Ask me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the ends of the earth for thy possession." (Psalms 2.8).
And considering
that the Church is the body of Christ, then this applies to those who believe.
That is to say, recognizing the Eternal like Almighty, this voice,
representing the faithful ones, shows that finally they realize all the
greatness that is in the Eternal, as well as the veracity of everything that He
has promised.
Why has our
faith to be complete only when all the destruction that was promised over the
wicked have been fulfilled? Is it need someone to suffer the consequences
of their evil to believe in justice and truth of the Eternal? Can we not be
good simply by the fact that this is our reality? Until when we’ll depend on
the circumstances or the favor of the individuals to do well? Will we make well
only under pressure?
We need to forget
those things which are behind (the traumas and wickedness made
against us) and move on to what is before us (Phil 3.13,14),
that is, in seeking
more kindness to our heart. Instead of letting Ha-Satan with his
angels sour our source (see James 3.10-12), we need
to seek that our source is increasingly more sweet.
What should move
us is the pleasure of being who we really are (see 1
Corinthians 13.12), and not the sinister pleasure of seeing others
receive what we believe to be justice. No! Let’s see the justice of
the Eternal giving us what is most precious
and which does not exist in the world: the privilege of being good (and free of the
evil inside torture against the neighbor) regardless
of circumstance (hence 1Cor 2.9-12).
·
"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." (Rev 16.8,9).
This shows that
repentance is not in the power of man, but by the grace of the Eternal.
Although He may give space, however if He does not give grace to
repent, no man repent. Nor anything that man make in
favor of repentance will produce this (2Tim
2.25,26).
The effect of
the vials was not produce repentance, but show the
human being who, without Jesus, no one can repent, even though some of the
worst suffering. It is true that the wicked had to receive the reward of what
they were looking for. However, if the goal was simply to punish
the wicked, the vials wouldn't be necessary. It could go straight to the
battle of Armageddon. Or better yet: it could throw them immediately
into the lake of fire and brimstone.
The truth is that
there were many negligent elected who did not prepare properly for the
rapture (hence having been left behind) and
that, for this reason, they needed the vials as a stimulus to cling more firmly
to Christ.
Thus we
can summarize the issue of suffering: the whole trial tends to the good.
Who belongs to Christ is touched more deeply by Him in the midst of suffering
and just approaching oneself of Him. When the fear of the Eternal is not
present, the only thing that suffering will bring is more resentment with
relation to the Eternal.
·
"Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." (Isaiah 1.5).
Sorrow and
sickness, by themselves, are not out of some to salvation. Pain and poverty are
not evangelists; illness and despair are not apostles. And the proof is in
Revelation 16.9: even with so much suffering, there was no repentance. On
the contrary: They blasphemed even more His name.
The
adage says "warm cat afraid of cold water". However, the
worshipers of the beast, even after suffering some scourges, continue without
fearing the possibility of being the targets again from the wrath of the
Eternal. Something similar
occurred with Israel in the wilderness:
·
"Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation
in the wilderness: when your
fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years." (Heb 3.8,9);
·
"Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which
I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times,
and have not hearkened to my voice;" (Num 14.22).
They had every
reason to fear the Eternal, but still preferred to provoke Him. A
remarkable sign of perdition is when the man hardens even more against the
Eternal, even before His righteous judgments. If what is designed to lead
us to repentance leads us even closer to sin, what hope is there?
Note the
contrast between those who belongs to the Eternal and those who are not. While
these scourges will serve to soften the hearts of those who belongs to Christ
in the Great Tribulation, the other ones will become even more hardened.
Note that,
for three times in this chapter, it is said that they blasphemed the
Eternal (Rev 16.9.11.21). Here, in
particular, they will blaspheme the name of the Eternal, i.e., will defame His
character. But this is to show everyone that it isn’t suffering that changes
someone and, thus, we all realize that the Eternal is fair to send individuals
to the lake of fire and brimstone. After all, when someone takes pleasure in
wickedness" (John 3.19-21), this
does not accept that the Eternal reign, nor in the midst of the most severe
threats (Luke 19.14) (Belshazzar, for example, even
knowing everything that happened with his father, yet humbled not himself
before the Eternal - Dan 5.22-23). How could the Eternal allow
someone living together with their sons eternally, being that the individual
considers only good what is evil for the other?
The worshipers
of the beast, even knowing that the Eternal has authority over the bowls,
refuse to feel sorrow for their sins in order to give glory to Him, i.e., let Him
be all in all (1Cor 15:28; Col 3:11).
This vial
remembers the fourth trumpet (Rev 8.12),
since this also had an influence on the sun.
However, when
the fourth trumpet was played, there was a reduction in the brightness of the
sun, moon and stars. Now, the opposite happens: the sun will burn
with more heat.
·
"And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill,
rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the
towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the
sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days,
in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the
stroke of their wound." (Isaiah 30.25,26)
At this time,
which is the day of the great slaughter, it will be extremely difficult to get
out of the house. By this is that those who won the beast, its image and
its brand, it is promised to them that they will not be molested by thirst,
sun, or any specie of heat (Rev 7.16).
It is worth
noting that the sun, which has been the target of the fourth trumpet and the
fourth vial, was created on the fourth day.
·
"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," (Rev 16.10).
·
Darkness is a
symbol of apostasy. See the
following verses:
·
"Therefore is judgment
far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold
obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for
the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble
at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men." (Isaiah 59.9,10);
·
"Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause
darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye
look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it
gross darkness." (Jer 13.16);
·
"At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there
the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for
her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity." (Ezek
30.18);
·
"And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the
stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not
give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over
thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD" (Ezek 32.7,8);
·
"As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his
sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my
sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered
in the cloudy and dark day." (Ezek 34.12);
·
"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: a great people and a strong; there hath not
been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the
years of many generations." (Joel 2.1,2).
The fifth
trumpet (Rev 9.1,2), as well as the
ninth plague of Egypt (Exodus 10.21-23),
also bring darkness.
The fifth vial
falls upon the throne of the beast, i.e., on the authority of the beast. Who is
the throne of the beast from the sea? Sea represents multitudes, peoples,
nations and languages (Rev 17.15).
This transform
his kingdom in darkness, i.e., in a sea of deceit and hatred (see 1 John
1.7; 2.9-11). The Antichrist, who had been the promoter of
peace (1Thes 5.3), is now obliged to show his true
face. Unfortunately, instead of being able to turn against the beast from the
sea, they will be taken to a hatred so great for Jesus and His followers that
they come to bite their tongue because such anger. However, it is this
obsession that will lead them to challenge Jesus Himself in person in the
valley of Armageddon.
Once that
darkness does not cause pain, what kind of darkness this is that will make the
individuals bite their tongue? Besides the agony caused by dark, there is
still the torment of wanting revenge of the Eternal, but not be able to make
it. The wickedness and greed in the heart of individuals will
increase so much that any shred of love in their heart will goes out (1John
2.9-11) and all they will feel will be a terrible anger
by being deprived of what they wanted.
Three things can
be seen here:
·
It is said that they gnawed their tongues because of
the pain, whence we see that the Eternal makes the guilty conscience of the
wicked be their own accuser, condemner, tormentor and weight;
·
The tongue that they used to blaspheme the Eternal,
now they were having to bite it;
·
The glory and brightness that fascinated the eyes of
all who watched the kingdom of the beast (i.e. because
of ignorance, deception and idolatry that took account of them), now
all this shining became what really is: darkness. This teaches us that all
good, benefit, pleasure and advancement, which is obtained by sin, ending,
at least, on the contrary.
·
"And blasphemed the God of heaven because
of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." (Rev 16.11).
The expression
"God of heaven" is intended to emphasize the exaltation of the
Eternal and put more terrible contrast to the sin of those who decided to
blaspheme. The worshipers of the beast blaspheme the God of heaven (in contrast
with their god who was from the earth and only spoke of the things of this
world – Matt 16.23; 1John 4.4,5).
They preferred
to worship these torments to repent of their deeds (as Jesus
said in John 3.19-21), because they loved the award of injustice (as Balaam -
2Peter 2.15).
Here the poor
and malignant wound and pain are mentioned together and in the plural, in order
to show that they were greatly increased and multiplied.
Even here shows
that the plagues here were accumulative, unlike the trumpets that, with
the exception of fourth, were only successive (i.e., one ended
up and began the other. The effect was not permanent). As if it
were not enough the pain of ulcers, now still has the "ulcers" of the
heart.
·
“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." (Rev 16.12).
The Euphrates
River was the dividing line between Israel and Assyria, between Israel and
Babylon. Symbolically, it is the dividing line between the Israel of the
Eternal and his enemies, between the Church and the world, among the disciples
of Jesus and the powers of evil.
The
destruction of the Babylonian empire is expressed by the drying of
its sea:
·
"The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall
the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall
Jerusalem say. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy
cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her
springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons,
an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant." (Jeremiah 51.35-37).
The Euphrates
River is a river of Babylon, the seat of the antichristian power, which
carries the onslaught against the people of the Eternal.
As Babylon is
symbolic, there is the possibility of the Euphrates River will also be:
·
"Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the
river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and
he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks: and he shall
pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even
to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy
land, O Immanuel." (Isaiah 8.7,8).
Relationship
between drying of waters and the opposition to the kingdom of the Eternal:
·
"And the LORD of hosts shall stir up a scourge for him according to the
slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon
the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt." (Isaiah 10.26). - the drying of the Euphrates outside prophesied with
respect to the restoration of Israel (Isaiah 10.26; Zech 10.9-11).
·
"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." (Isaiah 11.15).
·
"And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far
countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will
bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria;
and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place
shall not be found for them. And he shall pass through the sea with
affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the
river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the
sceptre of Egypt shall depart away." (Zechariah 10.9-11).
The figure of
the drying of the waters is frequent among the prophets when they want to
express the steps by which the Eternal prepares the way for the deliverance of
His people:
·
"Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep;
that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?" (Isaiah 51.10).
The expression
"prepare the way" reminds us Isaiah, whose prophecy was
fulfilled by John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus:
·
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare
ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40.3).
Here you
see the taking of Babylon by Cyrus through the drying of waters:
·
"I say to the depths: drought, and I dry thy rivers. Who says of
Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, saying to
Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple: thou shalt be
founded." (Isaiah 44.27,28).
·
"One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another,
to shew the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, and that the
passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of
war are affrighted." (Jer 51.31,32).
Note: the drying
of the waters of the Euphrates does not mean that the Eternal approved the way
of the kings of the east. Just want to say that it was necessary that the Holy Scripture
should be fulfilled.
The sixth
trumpet also brought an invasion which came from the other side of
the river Euphrates (Rev 9.13-19). And
it is not of today that is prophesied drying of the waters of the
Euphrates River (see Jer 50.38; 51.36).
As well as the
path was prepared for the first coming of Jesus (Isaiah 40.3; Matt 3.3; Lk 1.76),
something similar will be at the Second Coming (Rev 11.3): the
path for the coming of the armies of the antichrist by the east will also be
prepared.
In an attempt to
destroy the followers of Jesus and the Israelites, Antichrist forces coming
from the four corners of the planet (which
reminds Dan 8.8) will surround them in the valley of Armageddon.
To ease the way for kings who come from the east, the Euphrates is dried.
·
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast," (Rev 16.13).
·
While Christ
expelled unclean spirits, the three enemies of the Eternal sends them to
the meeting of the kings of the world.
The plague of
frogs was the second to be launched against Egypt. When the plague ended, the
frogs died out of the houses, in the courtyards and fields (Exo 8.13). The
Egyptians, then gathered in heaps (Exo 8.14) and
the whole earth stink. Here the worshipers of the beast will be gathered
together in the valley of Armageddon as an immense corpse, where there
will be to gather the birds of prey, which shall come from far, such as eagles
who, by far, see its prey (Lk 17.37). The
call of the Eternal will make them to perceive, to the long distance, their
food (Ezek 39.17-20; Rev 19.17,18).
In the plague of
frogs, the magi Egyptians imitated the plague of Moses, in order to maintain
the heart of Pharaoh hardened. Here the false prophet is represented as leading
men in a bad way by his miracles (Rev 13.13,14). And
the unclean spirits will gather the kings of the whole world to
battle against the Lamb in favor of their distorted ideas about the true God
and His Word. Considering that the Hly Scripture is the good fragrance of
Eternal (2Cor 2.14-16), its distortion
is an evil smell.
·
The dragon is opposed to the Eternal, trying to obscure
the work of creation and lead individuals to love evil;
·
The beast from the sea is opposed to Christ, trying to
obscure the work of redemption and lead individuals to love the world and their
powers;
·
The false prophet is opposed to the Holy Spirit trying
to obscure the work of sanctification and lead individuals to cling to the
deceit of their hearts (to their flesh), as
well as the religious misleading vision about the Eternal and His Word.
About this
trinity of evil, it is a grotesque corruption of three forms
used by Eternal for dealing with humanity. The Father gave all His power and
authority to the Son (Matt 28.18) and
the Holy Spirit confirms this with signs and wonders (Mark 16.20),
never speaking of Himself (John 16.14,15). The
dragon gave the beast from the sea his power and authority (Rev 13.2) and
the false prophet confirms this by making signs in the presence of the beast from
the sea (2Thess 2.10-12; Rev 13.13,14),
does not speak of himself, but urging everyone to make an image to the
beast (Rev 16.15).
However, while
in the case of Ha-Satan has three distinct persons, in the case of the
Eternal, it is only He who is acting, only playing three different roles.
·
"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." (Rev 16.14).
The people of
Christ will be reunited in this moment as an army and does not need to fight,
because this is the great day of God Almighty.
As when Jesus
was born, Augustus Caesar forced all Jews to enlist in their hometown (Luke 2.1),
Ha-Satan with his demons will possess the kings of the world, which,
with the miraculous powers acquired (see 2Thes
2.9; 1Tim 4.1; Rev 13.13), haughtily will find to
be capable of defeating Jesus and His Church (Rev 17.14;
19.19).
·
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is
he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see
his shame.”
(Rev 16.15).
The narration is
interrupted, at this point, by a declaration of Jesus. Hence realize how
serious is this matter of religious deception. The fact of being
quoted, at this moment, that Jesus comes as a thief, indicates the
importance of being steadfast in Christ and it don’t accept to be seduced by
any of the three spirits mentioned above:
1 - Watch while
the others slept;
2 - Pray while others
amuse themselves;
3 - Working for
Jesus while others are idle.
·
"And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating
even the garment spotted by the flesh." (Jude 23).
The coming of
the Lamb is as follows:
·
Lightning (Lk 17.24) for
the world, but as the Sun of righteousness for the Church (Mal 4.2);
·
Thief for the world, but as the Bridegroom for the
Church;
·
A snare upon all who dwell on the earth (Lk 21.35), but
as the cloud of His own glory for the Church (Acts .1.11).
We must not be
naked, but we should not try to arrange our own coverage as Adam (Gen 3.7) or
the individual who tried to enter the marriage supper of the king's son (Matt 22.11),
which are filthy rags in the eyes of the Eternal (Isaiah 64.6).
Note how many
there are warnings about the importance of we watch (Matt 24.42-44; Lk 12.39,40;
2Pet 3.10; Rev 3.3.18; 1Thes 5.2,3).
But after all,
what is watching? Zeal for those who the Eternal gave us (Rev 3.16.19):
·
Buying the gold of truth (Prov 2.3-5;
3.13-15; 23.23) in order to guide them to what the Eternal has
for them (Psalms 23.2; 2Cor 11.2);
·
Buying the white robes of righteousness of saints in
order to serve as a model of faith in the face of adverse circumstances;
·
Anointing the eyes with eyesalve of character of the Eternal
so that we can conceive them exactly as the Eternal sees them and, in this way,
instead of letting any root of bitterness or hatred outbreak (Heb 12.15;
1 John 1.7; 2.9-11), we can see the flaws of them as an opportunity to
grow. After all, we have been for this (1Peter
3.8,9).
As important as watching
so that we can be ready to the call of Christ when He comes to them that He
gave us (Luke 12.36,37), it is to keep
the clothes (Rev 3.3; 2Cor 5.2,3). Whereas, after
Adam sinned, the Eternal sacrificed an animal to dress him (Genesis 3.21),
then we must always be clothed in Christ (Rom 13.14) and
His love (Col 3.14), so as to live as He lived in
favor of His sons.
Understand: the
only way in order not to succumb to spiritual deception is to stay loving
neighbor, ready to serve Him in what the Eternal wants to do in his life. After
all, for those who want to seek in Christ their interests, the Antichrist with
its operations seem to be something divine. Even because, without the love for
the neighbor, for the sacred truth and for the character of Christ, the
question of good and evil will seem relative. The well will be seen as anything
that does not harm what suits us. Eliminating the evil will mean to delete
everything and everyone that bring us evils
and disorders.
It isn’t in vain
that the justice of the Eternal is so exalted in the Revelation. After all, the
pattern of justice of antichrist always implies harm to encourage each other,
generating hostility, jealousy and, finally, the chaos that will easy him to reign
over everything and everyone.
While the image
of the beast (the satanic community) has the power
to kill those who do not worship it, here these unclean spirits transforms the
kings in semi-gods. And who really is not founded in Christ, knowing Him
very well, certainly will be deceived (Matt 24.4).
·
"And he gathered them together into a place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev 16.16).
Valley
of Armageddon is also called Valley of Megiddon (Zech 12.11), Valley of
Jezreel (see Hos 1.5-7,11), Valley of
decision (Joel 3.14), Valley
of Jehoshaphat (Jl 3.12). This
event was foretold by the prophets (Deut 32.43;
Jer 25.31-33; Jeol 3.2,9-17; Zeph 3.8; Ezek 38.39) in
which the Antichrist and his armies (Rev 19.19-21), as
well as all the wicked (Ps 110.5; Is 66.15,16;
2 Thess 1.7-10) will be destroyed.
Megiddo was
initially one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Jos 12.21) and
was one of which the Israelites were unable to take possession for a good time.
She was rebuilt and fortified by Solomon (1Kings 9.15).
Megiddo was
a city that belonged to Manasseh, albeit within the limits of
Issachar (Joshua 17.11). Mount Megiddo possibly
refers to the Mount Carmel, at the foot of which lies the Valley of Megiddo,
which was well known by every Israelite as a gathering place for malignant
hosts and like the scene for several battles:
·
Deborah and Barak on Sisera (Judges 5:19);
·
Gideon on the Midianites (Judges 7);
·
Pharaoh about Josiah (2Kings
23:29.30; 2 Chronicles 35:20-25).
·
To Ahaziah, king of Judah, fled when injured by
Jehu, and died there (2Kings 9.27).
From the moment
that the Israelites wept quite the death of Josiah, this place has become a
reference for serious lamentations:
o "And the land
shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and
their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives
apart;" (Zech 12:11).
·
"And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from
the throne, saying, It is done." (Rev 16.17).
·
How
much evil angels have to witness!
The voice which
comes from the throne with certainty is the Eternal, since nobody could enter
into the throne until the seven angels have poured out their bowls (Rev 15.8). Even
more whereas the voice came out of the throne.
The speech is
"done" implies that the series of trials was about to be completed.
The domain of the beast was about to finish. And the victory of Jesus is so
certain that the Eternal here speaks as if everything was already effectively
completed.
This phrase reminds
us of what Jesus said on the cross ("it is
finished" - John 19.30), as well as the sentence that
Jesus says after the final judgment, when He promises to give water of life at
no charge for those who have thirst (Rev 21.6).
This angel
poured the vial on the air (this reminds the chemical trails). This
is worse than smite the land, since we all breathe the air constantly and
cannot stand more than five minutes without breathing.
Why released in
the air? Perhaps because it is there that the prince of the power of the air
operates in the sons of disobedience" (Eph 2.1,2). The
air is the residence of the fallen angels.
Nothing in the
world of the mind finish in it (see Ecc 10.20). One
thought leads to another, a print produces another, etc. No one lives for oneself.
Each our step strum the strings that will vibrate
through the air and reach places that we neither imagined.
Detail: while
the bowls are direct judgment of the Eternal, the trumpets are consequences of
the activities of man. When this wish to have control over the whole nature,
the Eternal simply takes His hand and meets the desire of man. Whereas there is
the angel of the waters, the angel of fire, etc., I believe that there is an
angel for every law of nature. When the Eternal commands, the angel ceases to
keep firm a certain law. At this moment, what is ruled by this law simply lose
its control.
·
"And there were voices, and thunders, and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were
upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." (Rev 16.18).
The voices,
thunderings and lightnings, earthquake and hail will accompany the
voice that will be heard from the throne (Rev 16.21). Also it will accompany the seventh trumpet (Rev 11.19), and
also the seventh seal (Rev 8.5 except the hail).
Since there were
voices, this means that a final message was said before the battle
of Armageddon. In the sixth vial, the armies of antimessiah will go
out to the Valley of Armageddon. In the seventh the wrath of the Eternal
is completed and, in this way, considering that the people still remains
unrepentant, Jesus indicates His coming with lightnings, and voices, thunder,
earthquake and hail (Matt 28.30 - see that Jesus
comes with power and great glory).However, in spite of all the
tribes of the Earth mourn the earthquake that divided what remained of
Jerusalem (Great Babylon, the great city) in
three parts, and the cities of the nations fall, the only thing they do is
lament and blaspheme the Eternal (Rev 16.21).
·
"And the great city was divided into three
parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of his wrath." (Rev 16.19).
·
The wrath of the
Eternal is sometimes referred to in the Testament of the Law as a
"glass", "a glass of wine", "a glass of wine of fury:
·
“For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red;
it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof,
all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. But
I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob." (Psalm 75.8).
Even in the face
of the Eternal’s greatest judgment upon humanity falling, there is no chance of
repentance without His grace. And when the individuals are harden
before the righteous judgment of the Eternal, nothing remains but complete
destruction.
Falsehood, lust,
pride, ambition, wickedness, fraud and tyranny are incorporated in this city
and all not redeemed are citizens in it.
One tenth of
Jerusalem fell at the conclusion of the sixth trumpet (Rev 11.17) and
now the others nine parts will be divided in three parts. This division is
a reference to their destruction (Zech 13.9; 14.1,2).
Although the
description of the punishment of the great Babylon is described after the
seventh vial, the same starts after the rapture of the Church (three and a
half days after half the 70th week). Note how there
is a wrath especially for the Great Babylon and its followers (Rev 14.8,10). And
that the woman is Jerusalem, just see the prophecies:
·
"Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of
the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of
trembling, and wrung them out " (Isaiah 51.17).
Jerusalem begins
to drink and then the same cup is passed to all nations:
·
"For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of
this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink
it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword
that I will send among them" (Jeremiah 25.15,16).
·
"And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink,
then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the
city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall
not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the
earth, saith the LORD of hosts." (Jeremiah 25.28,29).
That is to say, first
Jerusalem is punished (see 1 Peter 4.17), and
then the seven plagues will be sent. The destruction of the Great Babylon,
which is mentioned after the seven plagues, actually begins before
the same.
The great
destruction of the great Babylon begins at the start of the second half of the
70th week, when many rejoice to see the Israelites and its system of
worship swept away to give place only to the murky political empire of worshipping
the beast.
It is good
to remember that after the destruction of the Great Babylon by the
Antichrist (Rev 17.16), it become
a habitation of demons, den of every unclean spirit, and hiding of all
bird unclean and hateful (Rev 18.2). The
only reason for unclean spirit be dwelling there is because there were
individuals:
·
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in
the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to
battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women
ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue
of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” (Zech 14.1,2).
In other words,
the antichrist, although it has killed many Israelites and even
burned their homes, yet he won’t go out of there, but will make the temple of
Jerusalem to be his house (see Matt 24.15; 2 Thess 2.4), so
that in addition to be center of the religious empire, Jerusalem will be also the
headquarters of political power, having as king and god the beast from the
sea.
Jerusalem
becomes a purely commercial center and highly profitable for many.
·
"But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his
fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious
stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds
with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory:
and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." (Dan 11.38,39).
After the
Eternal send the seven vials will happen this:
·
"Thus saith thy Lord
the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I
have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the
cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:" (Isaiah 51.22).
Understand: to
shed the seventh vial, Jesus will descend in the clouds on Mount Zion,
which on this occasion will be being the highest mountain in the
world (note that the mountains were not found). At
this time Jesus, for the last time, will ordain all His
followers who still insisted on staying there to come out:
·
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come
out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God
hath remembered her iniquities." (Rev 18.4,5).
The antimessiah,
angry, part against Jesus. But
Jesus acts:
·
"Therefore shall her
plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be
utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." (Rev 18.8).
·
"Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so
much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen,
and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." (Rev 18.6,7).
In order to
stimulate the antichrist and all who were permitted to live in that metropolis
to engage themselves personally in war, what remained of the Great Babylon
shall fall to the ground. It is when, then, the merchants and kings mourn the
injury that they will have (Rev 18.9-11).
After destroy
Babylon the Great (Jerusalem),
Jesus proceeds to the Valley of Armageddon. The antimessiah,
arrogantly, part to the Valley of Armageddon to find there with the rest
of their forces to fight against the Lamb.
To facilitate
the nations come to the valley of Armageddon, the river Euphrates will be dried
and:
·
"And every island fled away, and the
mountains were not found." (Rev 16.20).
In Rev 6.14
the islands and mountains are moved from its place. Here, they flee.
·
"For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that
is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he
shall be brought low: and upon all the
cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of
Bashan, and upon all the
high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up," (Isaiah 2.12-14).
The land back to
be a single continent (islands flee) and
the mountains and valleys are leveled to further facilitate things (it is very
likely that the own valley of Armageddon also is no longer a valley).
When the whole world is gathered around those who utter the name of Christ to
fight against them, and the Lamb, Jesus then annihilates with all the army of
evil.
·
"And there fell upon men a great hail out
of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed
God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding
great." (Rev 16.21).
This hail
recalls the seventh plague that fell on Egypt (Exodus 9.23-25). Also reminds Joshua 10.11:
·
"And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were
in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from
heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died
with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the
sword." (Joshua 10.11).
However, this
rain of stone weighs about a talent (which,
according to them, weighs approximately 12,600 ounces of gold).
With this plague, men blasphemed even more of the Eternal, since their scourge
was huge. Note that there is no punishment great enough for anyone who takes
pleasure in wickedness. No matter how hard the punishment, the only thing that
happens is the hardening even more from those who do not want to compromise with
the Eternal. Nothing is able to make them want the good inside
themselves.
In short: if the Eternal’s
reprimand don’t soften the heart, certainly it will
hard it even more.
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