Truth Matters Weekend 010122: The Visions of John; The Seven Judgments; Armageddon; and More

Welcome to the weekend edition of Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis.

Heard daily on this station at 820 AM and 520 PM. Truth Matters is a ministry of the Truth Project whose mission is to empower men and women in the Christian faith to teach biblical truth in the culture and marketplace of ideas using the Bible as a sacred trust of truth in sharing the message of Jesus. Learn more about the ministry of the Truth Project at www.projecttruthmatters.com. Coming up, the visions of John, the seven judgments, Armageddon and more.

Let's join this week's extended edition of Truth Matters. This is prophesied by the prophet Joel in chapter 3 verses 11-16. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, the stars will diminish their brightness, the Lord will also roar from Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and earth will shake. The Lord will be a shelter for his people and the strength of the children of Israel. And this really goes in line with all of chapter 14 as we talked about how the Lord will rule from Zion and how the nations will be harvested by God just like clusters of grapes. But in verse 20 it talks about how blood from this bridal will spread out over 200 miles at a depth of 4 feet.

This holocaust will be like the world has never seen. So I bid you today in listening to the visions of what will happen at the end of the tribulation and how the judgment of God may not be swift but it is definitely certain. This chapter has given us evidence for the Christian who is living today. It tells us that our works are going to follow us into heaven so I bid you to remain faithful to the call even though it may be tough, even though it may be difficult. Fighting a war is not easy and a lot of us encounter spiritual warfare on a daily basis.

Probably the most prevalent battleground is even in our minds. So I just want to encourage you in these last days that we're living to remain faithful to God so that you do take your works into heaven with you. Also those that may be listening today that don't know the Lord as a personal savior that now is the time to be saved before the rapture.

As being saved in the tribulation will come at a tremendous cost. We'll begin in chapter 15 with the seven angels with the seven vials. We are still in the prelude prior to chapter 16. Chapter 15 is a very short introduction for chapter 16. It only has eight verses as chapter 16 is the final seven bold judgments. These are the last events before the coming of Christ in chapter 19 verse 11.

We are still in the prelude prior to chapter 16. Chapter 15 like I said is an introduction to the seven bold judgments that occur in chapter 16. We'll begin chapter 15 and read verses 1 through 8. Just and true are your ways, O king of the saints, who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name.

For you alone are holy, for all nations shall come and worship before you, for your judgments have been manifested. After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls, full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power.

And no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. So let's get into verse one. And this is the sign in heaven. There is, then I saw another sign in heaven, as John describes this, great and marvelous. Seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

Think about this. Why do we need seven more bowl judgments? Why is God judging? Why is his wrath being poured out? It is because the earth has failed to respond to his gospel of grace. Really, that is the source of his judgment for even history, is that we have failed to respond to his gospel of grace.

If you look in verse two, we see the sea of glass. It's those who have victory over the beast, the victory over his image, victory over his mark, and the victory over the number of his name. Who are these people? They are the saints who became Christians during the tribulation and who were unwilling to bow down to the antichrist. Their victory was their resistance to the temptation to worship the beast in order to live.

They refused to take the mark of the beast. They were slain for faithfulness to Jesus and that landed them in heaven. There are three groups of people who play in God's symphony. Raptured saints who are in chapter 5 verse 8, the 144,000 which we saw in Revelation chapter 14 verse 2. Now we see the martyr. The song of Moses and the song of the Lamb really is their song in verses 3 through 4.

Really, when you think about Moses, I don't think about him for his songs, but he was actually a songwriter. Let's read chapter 32 verses 39 through 43. Now see that even I am he, and there is no God besides me. I kill and make alive, I wound and I heal. Nor is there any who can deliver me from my hand, for I raise my hand to heaven and say as I live forever. If it were my glittering sword and my hand takes hold of judgment, I will render vengeance to my enemies and repay those who hate me.

I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives and from the heads of the leaders of the enemy. Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people, for I will avenge the blood of his servants and render vengeance to his adversaries, and I will provide atonement for his land and his people. The tribulation saints can see that God is about to let loose his final judgments upon his enemies on earth, so they are singing the song of Moses, which is consistent with the need for justice. You've got to understand that the martyred saints have a different redemption. God is different for them than for the raptured saints, or even for the 144,000. What God has done for us and our relationship with God really is who God means to us. If you look at the martyred saints, they have been killed, murdered for their faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

Because of this, they cry out for justice, and their song is different. If you read verses 3-4, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, O king of the saints, who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name. For you alone are holy, for all nations shall come and worship before you, for your judgments have been manifested.

This is the theme of the song in verses 3-4. The tribulation saints are saying that his works are great and marvelous. His worship encompasses a review of God's works and what he has done for the worshippers.

When you look at his ways, your ways are just and true. He is righteous in his judgment. He is being praised for preparing to exercise his kingship. They are praising him for they know that he is going to be faithful in executing his judgment given the fact that they were martyred. They keep saying over that God is holy. They are praising him for his worship. But the worship of God will be universal. All nations will come and worship God because of the manifestation of his judgments on the earth. In verse 5, it talks about a sanctuary that is in heaven.

I looked and behold something new not seen before. The Holy of Holies is where the mercy seat was. The priest entered yearly to offer a blood sacrifice on the Day of Atonement.

The wrath of God will be satisfied for one year historically. Here the angels are seen coming out of the Holy of Holies to execute God's judgment. I think this shows us that his judgment flows from his holiness. That is difficult to grasp to the world because most think that holiness is good and that judgment is bad. But because of the Lord's holiness, he is responsible to judge. He is required to judge because of his holiness. And then at the end we see the seven vowels and smoke in the temple.

These seven vowels happen very quickly like rapid fire action. We see the smoke in the temple in verse 8. The temple is filled with smoke from the glory of God and his power.

Smoke appears where the presence of God is made known. And we have seen that a number of times in the Bible. Exodus 19, 18 and Isaiah 6, 1-4 and Leviticus 16, 12-13. Let's just read Isaiah 6, 1-4 if you want to go to the other points in your spare time. Isaiah 6, 1-4.

I love this calling of Isaiah. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on the throne high and lifted up and his train of his robe filled the temple. And above it stood Seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face. With two he covered his feet. And with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said, Woe is me for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

And touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, thou hast touched my lips. Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged. I actually got a little carried away and read beyond verses one through four. But I really love this picture here that is created in the calling of Isaiah when he's called to be a prophet. And here we see where the house was filled with smoke and we see the presence of God and we see the voice of God even shake the posts of the door and where Isaiah was. So again this is a very short chapter just to summarize. We are in the prelude and we are finishing the prelude before chapter 16 of those final seven bowl judgments which are about to occur. The last events prior to the second coming of Christ that are characteristic of chapter 16 which are the final judgments before the coming of Christ. The book of Revelation is organized around three sets of symbols.

The first one are the seals, the second are the trumpets and the third are the bowls. If you remember in Revelation chapter 4 through 5 we covered the seal judgments when the world is ruined by man. In chapter 8 we covered the trumpet judgments when the world is ruined by Satan. And in chapter 16 we see the bowl judgments when the world is reclaimed by God. So here in chapter 16 we're going to see where the world is reclaimed by God. So let's read verse 1. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. In the bowl judgments God no longer works through intermediaries. And previously he's worked through intermediaries like man in chapters 4 through 5 and Satan in chapter 8.

But he takes control of the judgments himself. The bowl of judgment are poured out by his direct command. And here we see them come in rapid succession.

And some of them probably overlap each other. So the first bowl that we're going to discuss are the loathsome sores in verse 2. So the first went out and poured out his bowl upon the earth. And a fowl and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. The first bowl judgment is fowl and loathsome sores which by this description I would say is an abscess. These sores afflict all who have taken the mark of the beast upon themselves and all who have worshipped the image. But what we know is that a sore is an outward sign or evidence of some inward corruption. In this case the sores are a manifestation of the inner spiritual poison present in the person's heart.

These sores come upon people as a direct consequence of their spiritual hardness of their heart. That is the first bowl. And look how rapidly they come. There's no space in between. There's no interlude in between verses 2 and 3. The next verse comes and 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. So the second vial is called blood in the seas. The emptying of the second bowl results in the oceans of the world turning to blood causing the death of every living creature in the sea. This judgment is similar to the second seal and the second judgment. If you remember the second seal release was a fiery red horse in Revelation 6 through 4 and the second trumpet announced a burning mountain that was thrown into the sea turning a third of it into blood. All of this is very similar to the plagues of Egypt where Moses turned the Nile to blood.

And most of the fish died. Visit us at ProjectTruthMatters.com or if you'd like to send a letter the address is Project Truth Matters Post Office Box 159 St. Paul's, North Carolina 28384. You can hear Truth Matters devotionals on weekdays at 820 AM and 520 PM. Until next time let's all work together to teach a biblical truth to assist, equip, edify and encourage one another and bring the gospel to the world because truth matters. Music