So, how can any professed Christian? Not see. What Satan is doing It's all in the news. I mean who would who would try to? perform a sex change on a child.
What special kind of goal would do such a thing.
Well, somebody who has been embraced by Satan and has embraced him back, whether they know it or not. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Ricky is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching.
And now here's Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation, chapter 16, with today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio.
Well, those angels knew the deal. And they were committed to it. They were loyal to it. They did not let their feelings get in the way as so many Christians sadly allow to happen when it comes to. Things that are true and actually, in the end, Beneficial.
And the title this morning is their just due. And that's taken from verse 6. It's not a title that. I would have just taken out of the air. It comes out of our text.
the seventh trumpet sounded back in chapter eleven. And I want to also add in the middle of this. It is much easier to preach to people who love God's Word, who love the Lord, all of the Lord, and all of His Word. It's difficult to preach. especially such topics as this.
To those who just the Bible just doesn't move them. Or if you're not talking about what's Going on in their life at that moment, they're not moved. I hope that's not the case with anyone here. God always has something to say to us, but uh in his house. but back to this the seventh trumpet sounded back in chapter eleven.
And John was not shown the outcome of that. trumpet blast until now, here in chapter sixteen. In the middle, he's been telling us about what's happening with the saints, what's happening in heaven. And now he gets back to, in his vision, the revelation, what God was showing him about what's going to happen. at the end of human history, and this this is going to be uh these seven trumpets will be the final curtain.
In Galatians, Paul reminded those churchgoers He said, Do not be deceived God is not mocked for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Well, that makes sense. If you plant corn, you get corn back. You plant a peach tree, you're going to get peaches out of that tree.
Well, that applies also to behavior, but to the wicked. Because The righteous are under grace, and it's a little different. But to the wicked, especially so. No, I shouldn't use the word sew when I'm talking about sewing. But especially For example, Pharaoh tried to drown, all the Jewish boys But it was his own army that would drown In the sea.
King Saul refused to obey God and slay the Amalekites. An Amalekite Ultimately slew King Saul. Daniel was fed to the lions for praying And Daniel's prosecutors were the ones the lions ate. Haman, plan to impale Mordecai But it was more, but it was Haman.
Well, he planned to. planned to impale Mordecai and exterminate the Jews, But it was Haman who was impaled, and Haman's family who was exterminated. And thus the tie in to do not be deceived God is not mocked for whatever a man sows, that will he will also reap. Bible history is real. and the applications are unending.
They mean something. Whether the culture or the individual approves of them, knows of them or not, that's not they're really relevant. God had. God's truth is going to happen. Zephaniah says this.
God speaking through the prophet. Therefore, wait for me, says the Lord, until the day I rise up for plunder. My determination is to gather the nations to my assembly of kingdoms. to pour on them my indignation. And all my fierce anger.
All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. Not the type of jealousy that humans have, but a defense of one's rightful possession. And so this this wrath, the topic that we're dealing with, We don't sing about it. It's not with glee that we approach the subject. But we're sober-minded.
We know that it is true And the you know, back in chapter six, we read about the fourth seal being opened and a quarter of the earth destroyed. Then in chapter 8 we read about The first trumpet being the the blast of the first trumpet, and a third of the earth was destroyed. Here we are going to get the seven bowls or the seven outpourings and multitudes on multitudes will of course perish. But let me remind you: if this is heavy duty too much for you, let me remind you. No extra people died in the Great Tribulation period.
No extra people have ever died. All those who are appointed to death Die. They just die according to prophecy. And it is on behalf of those who will listen. Who will escape the wrath?
So back to Ezekiel. I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Turn from your wicked ways. Why should you die? It is what an altar call is: repent, come before God, have your sins dealt with.
Or You will perish Joel the prophet said, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the LORD is near. In the valley of decision. And he's talking about Armageddon, which will get. Likely next session in Revelation. We should, we won't get all the Outpourings from the seven trumpets this morning.
So whatever happens to those who die defying God, is not the worst thing that can happen to them. As you read about the multitudes that perished during this great tribulation period. The worst thing that can happen to them is they enter death in defiance of God. of Christ And so This is our message to people. And God's not fooling around.
He didn't send his son to be shamed and die on a cross. Just because there was some other way. to get into heaven. And thus the words of Christ, I am the way. I am the truth.
I am the life. I am it. That's what he means when he says, I am. when Moses said, Who shall I say sends me to you? God responded, Tell them I am.
The one that is The self-existent one, Is what it comes down to. And so, as we consider the hatred right now in our society. For the Jews Of course, the Christians. uh coming out of prestigious universities. Just this past week at MIT, at their graduation ceremony, their Class president, or whatever they refer to, that person, in the middle of their Uh speech begins to attack Israel.
They said, What is going on? And it's not just there, look at the Ivy League schools. Look what they're putting out, the hatred towards Christ. Universities have become Christ-hating factories.
Well, these are producing the future leaders of Antichrist regime. He's going to find a population on earth. That delight in his Anti-Christ life. They're going to delight in his devilish ways. Satan needs these.
Future world influencers to pull off his quest for power. And he needs otherwise intelligent people who are close-minded. to the fact that Satan is using them. And so it all comes together in this judgment. But it is judgment has happened long before this tribulation period.
So how can any professed Christian not see. What Satan is doing It's all in the news. I mean who would who would try to? perform a sex change on a child. What special kind of goal would do such a thing.
Well, somebody who has been embraced by Satan and has embraced him back, whether they know it or not. Do you know? The flood of Noah The judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah They were the outcome of provoking God. Finite men declaring war on an eternal God. Hurting other people in the process so that they could satisfy themselves.
That's one reason why we all hate a thief, right? A thief will take what you've worked for, what you need. for themselves. with no care for you.
Well, that is another introduction to this topic, and hopefully, it won't be wasted. We look at verse 1 and we listen to what God is saying to us. I didn't write this. God has preserved it for us. And I don't know why anybody would be indifferent about that.
Verse 1. From the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.
Well, the voice is the high priest, our Christ. We're taught that in Isaiah sixty six. A voice from the temple, the voice of Yahweh, who fully repays his enemies. Trying to get a person to understand that there is a debt to pay for being a sinner But there is a way out of that debt. is what really we're tasked with doing.
And what a fight that is. Because that individual that's hearing the gospel. They have a a a natural They have a nature that's contrary to God. And they're going to have to do war with their own nature. when they come to God.
God is not ashamed of his wrath on the wicked. And neither should we be, because it involves his justice. And that's what's being. said here, when he hears the voice coming out of the temple, Go and pour out the bowls. God is saying, I own this.
This is me. I don't want you to think this is some wild dream that John is having. or a concept that is foreign to Creation. It is the Creator Himself, so He owns it. that no one would mistake his position.
And of that, the Old Testament prophets, they just all over this, because they were living in a place with God's people who were not behaving like God's people. They were behaving as though Defying God was a good thing. And the prophets spoke out. That's why God raised them up.
So he says here, go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.
Well, this judgment is going to arrive in waves. It's going to be global. But The difference between the symbolic versus the actual confront us throughout the book of Revelation. Symbols are not as intense as the thing they symbolize.
Well, if you go to the beach and there's a sign it says No swimming riptide Well, you're not going to drown looking at that sign. But if you go into the water which the sign was warning you about, you may find yourself Dead. And this is true of all signs. If you have a sign, it says, you know, beware of dog.
Well, the sign's not going to bite you. The dog will. And so are the symbols in Revelation. And God is saying these symbols are supposed to speak to you. You're supposed to heed them.
Because to dismiss them is to invite The judgments, the punishments, the wrath. And it's so dumb. You have you have no reason to resist. What the Lord is saying Through the crucified, risen Christ and his disciples. Which again, back to Bible students.
Why are we called disciples of Christ? Because we love His Word, we study it, we look into it. It has the answers for life in this world. In the next one, And it gives us inspiration and direction. Oh, that's another point.
What happens if you're not inspired? What happens if the pastor doesn't do a dance, and sing a song, and tell a funny little story? How are you going to be inspired to do the work?
Well, if you're born again, you have the Spirit of God in you. Truth will inspire you, it will create passion. It will keep you focused on what you're supposed to do when you're not in the mood. I'm not in the mood to preach on the wrath of God. I'd rather speak about other happier things.
But I would be in a more foul mood. If I was derelict in my duty, And said, Well, I'm going to skip that, so I don't even want to think about it. Think about that. Every time we finish a chapter, in whatever book we're in, I spend a day trying to figure out if God wants me to continue to the next chapter or do a topical. Do you what do you want me to say?
And through Revelation, God has been making it clear: you're saying from the scriptures just what I want the people to hear. And so here we are. Twice before God's wrath has been released on a large scale, as I mentioned, Noah's flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah. There's a message in that. Look at the prophet Isaiah, and you know proph the prophet Isaiah is known as the gospel preacher of the Old Testament, and yet he is very sober in his delivery of truth concerning judgment.
Behold, the day of the Lord comes. with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and he will destroy its sinners from it.
Okay, no delight in that. Don't be one of them. A very simple message when Delivered to a very complex situation, the situation of sin.
So it can be difficult for us to accept. that some human beings have made themselves Unreachable. There's nothing you can do. They're determined. to live their own way.
against God. And that some are Full of the spirit. and others are full of hatred. Towards the spirit. Can be deplexing, perplexing, and it could even just make you want to give up if you're not careful.
That there are those who blaspheme his name. That is a direct attack on the very person of God. It is deliberate, it is vicious, and it's called blasphemy. You cannot blaspheme a human, a created being. but you can blaspheme the Creator.
And to resent that uh he holds the right to be God. is to line yourself up with this very wrath that we're trying to get people to avoid.
Now, I don't know how it is for you listening to this. You may be saying this is heavy. Or you might be saying, Hello, I'm with you. But I can also I can say to you It's not as though I haven't thought about it in preparation. I've thought a lot about this.
When you prepare to speak God's word, it sort of consumes you. You're thinking about it all the time. And you're trying to get it right and be interesting. And not repeat yourself, and not repeat yourself. Yeah.
So there are those, there are many of them, that hate. God's Accountability. And they advocate, if not practice, Anything That he condemns. It's sort of like a a wayward child that is determined to just disagree with their parents no matter how right they are. I'm just going to disagree with you.
so I can show you that my way I can do it without you, or some crazy thing. That's not necessary. Skip that step. If you've got good parents, get in rhythm with them and benefit from them. Get in rhythm with God.
And benefit from that relationship with God, which incidentally is rewarded in the next life. And not so much in this one. The word of God says it all. Repent, side with me, or there's going to be judgment. Don't bad-mouth God.
Don't badmouth God when he damns the defiant. Why is he wrong? You know, some people just have a problem with authority. Many of them say they don't have a problem with authority until they see that authority in action. You may be grateful for police.
But if you see one clumping cl uh clumping a bad guy upside his head, You might side with the bad guy, foolishly so. People do things like that. Be careful. Be careful when When you uh Right things are taking place in a hard way against bad things. Anyway, Verse two now.
So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the man who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image.
So here is the first outpouring and it is these sores on those Now everybody, most people are going to have the mark. But not everybody's going to be into worshiping the Antichrist. But those who are into Antichrist worship. they're the ones that will be targeted by this. Four of the seven trumpets, incidentally.
match the judgments in Exodus that were on Egypt. But I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that. That's kind of easy for a Bible student to trace. I'm going to use my time to make other points.
So that's the last I'll mention of that this morning.
So the seventh trumpet signaled the charge forward in the final waves of judgment. Intentionally first striking devotees of this beast. We learn in verse 10. that these Afflictions from God. They don't heal.
And they get angry about that. It says, upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worship his image.
So there is a direct link. To this Mark and this particular judgment.
Now with likely chip implants are going to be the mark. And if that is the case, They're likely going to require a power source to do all the things that The Antichrist is going to want them to do, to be able to track you, to be able to do banking, to have your medical history in it, to do all these things. They're going to have to have a power source. There are some implants already available, already put into people and animals. that have a power source.
Lithium ion.
Well, I'm what I'm s giving you is a scenario. That you know if there's a rupture if there's a leak If there's a negative reaction, this could produce those sores that are being talked about. It's still miraculous because God is limiting it to those who are actually worshiping the beast. On the other hand, This Affliction may have nothing to do. with the implants, it just me g be God.
afflicting them with his judgment. And I think it's not wrong. Two. Reason through some of these things, but it would be irrational. to factor out the miraculous when we're talking about God.
It's not like, well, let's be intellectual about that.
Okay, let's be intellectual about it. In the beginning, there was nothing. And then he said, let there be something, and there was something.
So I think we can't factor that out. of anything in his creation.
Well, verse 3. 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.
Well, the second one are the bloody seas. And this creates a miserable condition, of course, for anything that's in these salt waters, because he's going to make a distinction next outpouring between the fresh water and the salt water. But remember, God is blameless in this. This is something that could have been avoided. The word C here in verse 3 is singular in the Greek, and it may limit this particular.
outpouring to Israel's coastline. which is a hundred and twenty miles Presently along the Mediterranean Sea. Which John, being exiled to the Isle of Patmos, if he looked in either direction, he'd see. He'd see the sea. And it would be the Mediterranean Sea.
Also, Israel has six miles along the Gulf of Akba. And maybe because this is The final curtain, the final series of events, all converging on Israel ultimately, perhaps it is limited. Uh to that area.
So, in just trying to think these things through, water covers What, seventy per cent of the surface of the earth Containing three hundred seventy-one million trillion gallons of water. The quintillion Now how could anybody figure that out? I mean, you could just say that and you go, wow. I mean, maybe. I think that's lowballing it.
But you got all of these crevices and underwater caves. You've got the Mariana Trench and trenches all over the ocean. How can anybody calculate how many gallons of water? This is going to impact The fishing industry And it's going to impact. anything.
Yeah, out on the deep. Uh This has been Cross Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand. Just visit us online at crossreference radio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings.
While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Hello. I didn't run up to the bottom of the city.
