Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ, my redeemer King I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock Then row, row, billows row Lord, I will praise you Lord, I will praise you Lord, I will praise your name.
If the sky and galaxies declare your holy name, if all creation finds the words your power to proclaim, then how can I articulate with words and with my days, your glory and your majesty and live a life of praise?
And live a life of praise? I will praise you O Lord, I will praise you.
My voice will join the chorus that all creation sings praise. I will praise you O Lord, I will praise you my master, my redeemer, my savior and king.
[00:01:44] Speaker B: Welcome to the Voice of Hope, a Bible teaching program produced by Heralds of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High.
In this episode, we continue our study through the Book of Revelation.
The wrath of Almighty God isn't something I personally enjoy talking about.
I can quickly tell you about the love of God and the incredible sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
However, the patience and long suffering of God does eventually come to an end.
And that's what we're going to be looking at today.
So join us as our Bible teacher, J. Mark Horst, teaches from Revelation, chapter 16, verses 1 to 10.
Let's open God's word together.
[00:02:33] Speaker C: There are certain words in English and probably in every other language that when you hear them, they provoke a spontaneous reaction. And that reaction can be positive or negative.
Let me give you an example. If I'm hiking through the woods with my grandchildren and someone calls out snake, there will be an immediate reaction. And that reaction affects the mind, the emotions and the body.
There are feelings of fear. There's an increase in the heart rate, the rush of adrenaline and the desire to protect. All of those feelings and reactions are part of the experience.
Torment is a word that evokes strong reactions, too.
It's used in the New Testament nearly 20 times now. The original Greek word referred to testing the purity of precious metals using something called a touchstone.
Because of its roots, many biblical scholars note that the word carries an inherent connotation of measurement, exposure and trial, rather rather than arbitrary pain.
And so when a person or spirit experiences biblical torment, they are being fundamentally evaluated and exposed by the absolute purity of God's presence, much like that fake gold was exposed when it was rubbed against the dark colored touchstone.
But then over time, the word came to mean severe physical or mental anguish. Torture, even severe distress, and it's used to describe demonic oppression and earthly suffering, and even divine judgment.
This word torment occurs repeatedly in the book of Revelation. And while the word doesn't show up here In Revelation chapter 16, the effects of it certainly do.
So as we work our way through this chapter and each of the seven bowl judgments, you will notice that these torments, or plagues, as they're called, are similar to earlier judgments in the Scripture.
In Egypt, the plagues that were initiated by Moses were localized, small geographic region.
Then the trumpet judgments In Revelation chapter 8 affected 1/3 of the earth. But these judgments will be worldwide, and they will be all encompassing.
You will notice as we go through this chapter that the bowl judgments are the climax of God's divine dealings with the blasphemous and rebellious people who are on ear.
The judgments seem to have a cumulative effect that implies that they come close together and they lead up to the second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I've titled our study today the Torments of God's Wrath. And because of the length of this chapter, we will use two episodes to expound on it.
So let's turn our attention to the text for today.
Revelation 16:1 11.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, go and pour out the bowls of wrath of God on the earth.
So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea died.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
And I heard the angel of the waters saying, you are righteous, O Lord, the one who is and who was and who is to be, because you have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, for it is their just due.
And I heard another voice from the altar saying, even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.
Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom became full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
As we examine each of these judgments, we should note several.
God's use of created things for his sovereign purposes, the hard heartedness of wicked men, and lastly, the finality of the righteous judgment of God.
So we'll look at these one at a time as they are listed.
We begin with the first bull.
As the text opens, John hears a loud voice that's coming from the temple. And since the voice isn't attributed to an angel, then we conclude it must be the voice of God. And he is commanding the seven angels to empty their bowls of his wrath on the earth.
So the first angel obeys, and the outpouring of his bowl results in a disgusting and malignant sore. It breaks out on those who have the mark of the beast and those who worship his image.
Now this confirms that these judgments occur late in the time of the Tribulation.
Why?
Because they fell on those who worship the beast and his image.
The image apparently is established in the early part of the last half of the seven years preceding the second coming. According to chapter 13 and verses 14 to 17.
From verse 8 of that same chapter, it appears that only a small fraction of the earth's population will resist the charming allurements of this beast.
The sore is described as an ulcer or a boil, something oozing, painful, nearly incurable.
You might recall that boils were the sixth plague in Egypt.
Now, I've never had a boil, but I know people who have, and they're nasty.
Think about Job's experience.
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
That's Job two, seven and eight. Job did not have just one boil. He was covered with boils from head to toe. And in his extremity he cursed the day he was born.
These worshipers of the beast had been previously warned, if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. That's Revelation 14, 9, 10.
While the imposition of this first plague is temporary, we note that the final Punishment for the beast worshippers will be eternal.
That brings us to the second bowl.
The second angel empties his bowl into the sea, and as a result, it became blood as of a dead man.
That's the literal translation.
What's the blood of a dead man like?
Well, I used to just think of liquid blood, bright red. But no, the blood of a dead man is coagulated or gelled.
That's gross.
And so, to the amazement and horror and despair of the world, the oceans will no longer be fluid. They'll become thick, dark and congealed.
Incidentally, I am told that sea water has an almost identical composition to that of human blood. So some small ingredient added to it by the angel could turn it into blood.
Exactly. How God will do this is not revealed. It could be literal blood. I don't doubt that at all.
But commentator John Phillips writes from time to time there's a phenomenon known as the red tide that occurs.
These red tides kill millions of fish and poison those who eat the contaminated shellfish.
Back in 1949, a red tide hit the coast of Florida.
First the water turned yellow, but then by midsummer, it was thick and syrupy with countless billions of tiny one celled organisms.
60 mile windrows of stinking dead fish fouled the beaches. Much of the marine life was wiped out and even the bait that was used by the fishermen died on the hooks.
Eventually, the red tide subsided, only to appear again the following year.
An unchecked population explosion of these toxic dinoflagellates would kill all the fish in the sea.
And that's the end of the quote.
Now, as you might imagine, in this polluted ocean nothing survives.
All sea life will perish.
And that will further poison the oceans and contaminate the seashores around the world.
Just as God created every living soul in the waters in Genesis chapter one and verse 21, so now every living soul in the sea died.
This plague will also have a worldwide impact on global maritime commerce.
Remember, more than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. And billions of dollars of merchandise are in container ships on the sea every day at any given time.
What will happen to them?
Painful boils and a toxic, disgusting, dying sea.
What's next?
What's next is the third bowl.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they too became blood.
So first the seawater salt water, now the fresh water is contaminated, apparently with the same devastating effects.
But we're not told the results of the judgment. We just assumed them.
We also know that people can't survive very long without access to drinking water.
And then we're given the reason why this plague is justified.
Notice it is announced by the angel of the waters.
In Revelation 7. One, we have angels in charge of the four winds. And in chapter 14 and verse 18, we have an angel that is in charge of fire.
This angel is apparently one who has jurisdiction over fresh water. And there is a remarkable variety of ministries that are assigned to angels. As it's recorded in the Book of Revelation, this angel loudly proclaims, you are the holy and righteous eternal one, because you have rightly judged those who have shed the blood of your people. Thus, because they poured out blood, you have given them blood to drink, and they deserve it.
Even as the saints are worthy of rest and reward, so the wicked are worthy of divine punishment and judgment.
Now, you probably noticed that in this statement, blood is the word that is emphasized.
There was no more pure drinking water, only blood.
The bloodletting during the great tribulation as saints are slaughtered by the thousands is without parallel in the history of the human race.
Jesus himself declares, it will be a time of trouble without precedent. You can read that in Matthew, chapter 24, verse 21.
The multitude of martyrs in heaven is revealed in Revelation, chapter 7, verses 9 and 14.
And then in response to the angel's proclamation, a voice from the altar states, yes, indeed, O Lord God, the Almighty. True and just are your judgments.
We know that God's judgments are not inconsistent. They're not unpredictable, like the judgments of the false pagan gods.
Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 32. Four, he is the rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are justice a God of truth, and without injustice, righteous and upright is he.
And then in Genesis 18:25, as Abraham plead for Sodom, he asked God rhetorically, shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?
You and I can be assured that whatever God does is just and right, because he is holy and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Painful boils, a toxic dying sea, and fresh water turned to blood.
Can it get worse?
It will.
Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
Earlier in Revelation, chapter 8 and verse 12, we read, Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
But this plague is different the him in this sentence is the sun, and he is given power to scorch men with fire.
Now, when you think about it, the sun is an amazing part of our solar system.
It generates a staggering amount of energy through continuous nuclear fusion every second, it fuses 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium.
In comparison, the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 are like fireworks, and they were devastating.
The sun's core reaches a blistering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. That's 15 million Celsius.
It unleashes the energy equivalent of billions of nuclear bombs every second.
And one solar flare, just one, releases enough energy to furnish electricity for the whole world for hundreds of thousands of years.
Even at 93 million miles away from the Earth, the sun is so powerful.
Apart from God's design, we would be burnt to a crisp instantly.
In addition to the distance, there are three layers of filtering atmosphere that protect the ionosphere, the stratosphere, and the atmosphere.
In that descending order, can you see how little God would need to change in order for this plague to begin?
And then what is man's response?
They blasphemed the name of God, who has power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.
Now, up until this point, only the Antichrist has been described as blaspheming. You'll find that in chapter 13, verses 1 and 5 and 6. But here, the world adopts his evil character.
You would think that after all of this suffering and the acknowledgment that these torments were from God, that there would be a cry for mercy and repentance for sin.
But you know something? You would be wrong.
How can that be?
Because even deserved punishment can harden an unrepentant heart, much like it did for Pharaoh.
Another serious consequence of the sun's intense heat will be the melting of the polar ice caps. And all that water needs to go somewhere. So the rising ocean levels will inundate coastal regions. They will flood areas miles inland with the putrid waters of the dead oceans.
Imagine the widespread damage and loss that will accompany that flooding.
It will add further to the unspeakable misery of the devastated planet.
You know, as I meditated on this awful and tragic reality, my mind went back to Luke chapter 16 and verses 27 to 31.
There we have the record of the rich man and Lazarus. And as you may remember, after his death, the rich man found himself in torment.
After he learned from Abraham that no relief was possible, he said to him. I beg you therefore, Father Abraham, that you would send him to my father's house. For I have five brothers that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.
And Abraham said to him, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.
And he said, no, Father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.
But he, Abraham said to him, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead.
You know, Abraham makes an especially astute observation.
If people don't believe the truth that is already revealed, then supernatural events will not convince them.
The law of Moses outlined how God's people were to show care for the poor and the needy. The rich man neglected to do that. That proved he didn't believe what the law taught.
And sadly we know that Jesus, resurrection from the dead, the greatest miracle of all time, was not believed then, and it is not believed now by most people.
That brings us to the fifth bull.
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.
Here God intensifies the suffering of the sinful world by turning out the lights.
This judgment reminds us of the ninth plague in Egypt recorded in Exodus 10:21 23.
Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.
So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt. For three days they did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days.
The darkness that's recorded in our text has no specified duration, but it is added to the existing torments.
Joel described this time of judgment as a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near. In the valley of decision, the sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness. That's Joel 2:2 and Chapter 3, verses 14 and 15.
Zephaniah also described the day of the Lord as a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
Some commentators seem to think the effects of this judgment are localized because it is said that it is poured out on the throne of the beast.
However, I want you to notice that his entire kingdom was plunged into darkness.
The beast is most likely the first one introduced in Revelation chapter 13, the one we call the Antichrist. And he will be as helpless before the power of God as anyone else.
And then, along with this darkness, there's further agony and torment.
The wicked in their suffering gnaw their tongues for pain.
What a graphic description of severe agony.
Think about it. The cumulative effect of the painful sores, the disgusting oceans, the lack of drinking water, intense heat, all engulfed in thick blackness that will bring unbearable misery.
And yet, incredibly, the wicked, unbelieving people of the world still refuse to repent.
And that's where we'll need to conclude our study for today. I hope you can join me next time.
[00:23:47] Speaker A: My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning.
My Lord, what a morning when the storm stars begin to fall.
O sinner, what will you do?
O sinner, what will you do?
O sinner, what will you do when the storms begin to fall?
You cry for rocks and mountains you cry for rocks and mountains you cry for rocks and mountains when the stars begin to fall.
O Christians, what will we do?
O Christians, what will we do?
O Christians, what will we do when the stars begin to fall?
We'll meet the Savior in the skies we'll meet the Savior in the skies Will be the Savior in the skies when the stars begin to fall.
[00:25:40] Speaker B: That concludes today's teaching in Revelation chapter 16.
The torments of God's wrath sound very painful and, to be honest, very unpleasant to discuss.
Thankfully, we don't need to receive God's wrath. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are given eternal life and not the eternal punishment of the wicked.
It's passages like Revelation 16 that remind me of Hebrews 2:3.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
Before we close, consider this sobering One in three people around the world lack access to Bible resources.
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One way that we're responding to this need is through Hope for Today, a Bible teaching program that's now available in nearly 50 languages.
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Until then, may God's Word strengthen your faith and remind you that his work in the world is far from finished. Thank you for listening to the Voice of Hope.
[00:28:54] Speaker A: It.
