Mm. Like the king who faces his conquered enemy to personally deliver the fatal blow. God Himself takes charge of the final round of judgments in the Tribulation. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah opens Revelation chapter 16.
To explain why God takes such a personal role in pouring out the seven vile judgments. To introduce today's message, the Earth's Worst Days. Here's David. And thank you so much for joining us today. Today's the last day in the month of June, and I want to just remind you: this is the last day you can order your copy of, in the words of David Jeremiah.
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It'll be sent to your home and you'll have it to enjoy and to share with others. But today's the last day, so don't wait any longer. Tomorrow, we will have a new resource for the month of July. And for all of you who are staying with us as we study the book of Revelation, there's more to come next month as we continue our discussion of the last book of the Bible. And we're learning much about what's going to happen in the future.
Today we're going to talk about Earth's worst days. Lately we have been watching on television the carnage that's happening in Ukraine and the destruction of a city and the ruins and the many, many people who are dying in the war. And recently as I was preparing for this message, I watched on television the rubble from our own country when the tornadoes went through Kentucky and People were piling up their houses, what was left of them in center places to be removed. And I think about how awful that is, how horrible that is. And then when I read the scripture, I realize much of that will be true, but much more.
And the devastation. That takes place from the judgment of God in the tribulation period. It's not something you want to experience. And let me just tell you up front: you don't have to experience it, you can go to heaven ahead of time. In that event, we call the rapture.
If you put your trust in Christ, you will not see the wrath of God in the tribulation period.
So don't wait too long to do that. Do it today. Here's part one of the Earth's Worst Days. The book of Revelation is organized very clearly around three major symbols. The seals, the trumpets.
and the vials or the bowls. The sealed judgments we studied in chapters 4 and 5 of this book, and they record a period of time when the world is ruined by men. The trumpet judgments take place in the majority in the eighth chapter of Revelation. And they give to us a record of time when the world is ruled by Satan. But the bold judgments or the vile judgments which are before us in the sixteenth chapter.
Record for us a period of history when the world is reclaimed by God. It's a good thing to remember that little outline because it will unfold a great deal of the truth of this book. Under the seals, we have the world ruined by man. Under the trumpets, we have the world ruled by Satan. And under the vile judgments, we have the world reclaimed by God.
And what God is doing is, He is taking control now of the process of judgment. No longer will he work through intermediaries, but he himself will judge the earth.
Someone has written that the voice that speaks in chapter 16 is the voice of God Himself. No angelic messenger is in His presence in this awful instant. The messengers bearing the bowls stand outside. The living creatures have there handed them the bowls of wrath. The smoke excludes all, yes, all from the Divine presence.
And then God, whose patience has lasted throughout the centuries, comes to the final end. He speaks. The great voice from the inner temple is the voice of the long-offended God. The messengers receive his direct orders. Go forth and pour out the seven bowls of wrath unto the earth.
The end of all earth judgment has come. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine. And the last of the grist is now to go through. The machinery of judgment has been set in motion. And the Creator Himself has said that it shall not be arrested until the last plagues of His wrath.
are finished. As you look through the 16th chapter, it is not hard to outline or identify its sections. The chapter is basically outlined by the seven vials or the seven angels that pour out the censors upon the earth. The first angel is mentioned in verse 2. The second angel in verse 3.
The third angel in verse 4. The fourth angel in verse eight. The fifth angel in verse ten, the sixth angel in verse twelve. and the seventh angel in verse seventeen. If you mark in your Bibles, you can just go through and underline the words.
First, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, and you've got the outline of the chapter. In between, there are a few parenthetical phrases, but not many. And we read in the first verse: 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.
Now we have in verse 2 the record of the first vial that is to be poured out upon the earth. Let me remind you that these judgments do not come deliberately with the long pause in between them. But the picture here at the end of the tribulation, which is pictured by the seven vile judgments, is a picture of one judgment coming rapid fire after the other, just one after another, before you can recover from the first, the second, many of them intermingle and come in connection with the one before it. But we read that the first vial in chapter 16 in verse 2 is like this: And the first angel 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.
Now remember again that God is judging the earth. God is judging those who have denied Him. God is beginning the eternal judgment upon those who have taken the mark of the beast, and the image of the beast, and the number of the beast, and have denied their Lord. And just as surely as the Christians are martyred and sent to heaven, those who have denied God are going to begin to experience the judgment of God upon their lives. And the first vial that is poured out.
Is a judgment of terrible sores that are inflicted upon those who have taken the mark of the beast and on them who have worshipped the beast. When we were looking at chapter 15, we learned the fate of all those who have taken the mark of the beast upon them. The sore that is inflicted upon them is simply the beginning of the torments that they are going to know for eternity.
Someone has said that it is as though these men are standing on the brink of hell. And a few flames leap out of hell to torture them prematurely. The significance of the sore is very important. A sore is an outward sign of some inward corruption. The sores inflicted on these rebels symbolize all that they are in their worship of Satan.
It is as if God has poured out this judgment and caused the poison of the rebellion within these people to surface and be manifested in sores all over their bodies.
Now, Jesus. warns us that it is wrong and dangerous to judge men from the outside. I remember the first time I ever preached through the book of Matthew, I came to the 23rd chapter where he pronounces all the woes upon the hypocrites. That is a scathing passage. This is one place where Jesus tells it like it is concerning those who aren't genuine.
In Matthew 23, verses 27 and 28, we read these words: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly. but are within full of dead men's bones. And of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
The men who have denied Jesus and have taken the mark of the beast up until this moment of time appear to be religious people. In fact, they have identified with the great religious regime of their day. But in this awful moment of judgment, when God turns the censer upside down and the first vial is emptied upon the earth, the sores that appear on these men will be another mark of identification to demonstrate that they have indeed rebelled against God.
Now, it is quite possible that the plague of sores is a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy. When God visited Egypt, with the plagues. The sixth plague was very similar to that which takes place right here in the 16th chapter. The Bible describes the plague as a boil breaking forth with blisters upon man and upon beast throughout the land of Egypt. Exodus 9, verse 9.
Now there is a prophecy given by Moses when he repeated the law before the people of Israel. And if you have your Bibles, turn with me and read that prophecy in the book of Deuteronomy. And in the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, we have a prophecy of Moses. And I want us to read verse 27 and then verse 35. It says in verse 27, and the Lord will smite thee with the botch.
of Egypt. and with the MRODS and with the scab and with the itch. Whereof thou canst not be healed. Verse thirty five The Lord shall smite thee in the knees and in the legs, and a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.
Now, if you go back and read the passage of Scripture, what you will discover is that this was a curse that God pronounced upon those who would refuse to follow the law and would follow instead after strange gods. What God said to the people of Israel through Moses when he gave the law was this: If you choose not to follow this law, and if you seek instead of it other gods, like the Antichrist. Then You are going to pay the penalty that was plagued upon Egypt. It is possible that this plague was what God sent to the people of Israel when they worshipped the golden calf. That Aaron built, you remember that experience?
This might also explain the lepros sores that came upon Miriam when she denied God in Numbers 12:10. But as far as I know, this prophecy of Deuteronomy 28 was never completely and totally fulfilled, and it will not be fulfilled until this moment in the tribulation when God sends the sores from heaven to plague those who have taken the mark and have given allegiance to the Antichrist. It is an outward demonstration of their inward corruption.
Now, notice in verse 3 the second censer that is turned upside down and poured upon the earth. 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.
Now the Bible says That this Next, vial, when it is turned upside down, causes all of the salt water to turn into blood. If you're keeping track of the record of the book of Revelation, you're already aware of the fact that the second vial is very similar to the second seal and the second trumpet. If you have your Bibles open, turn back to the sixth chapter of the book of Revelation and notice that the second seal has to do with blood as well. Revelation chapter 6 and verses 3 and 4. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
And there went out another horse that was red, symbolizing the blood. And power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. And there was given unto him a great sword. That's the second seal. Look at the second trumpet in Revelation chapter 8 and verse 8.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were, a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood.
Now we come to the second vial, and what was only partial in the second trumpet judgment becomes total in the second vial judgment, as all of the salt water now is turned into blood.
Now In the realization of this second vile judgment, all of the seawater in the entire world is going to be affected. The stench of death and blood will be worldwide. All of the fish in the sea waters will die. Hard for us to imagine. And it is not surprising to me that many commentaries have interpreted this in a figurative manner.
I read one commentator who said that this is simply a picture of mortality by violence upon an enormous scale. But once again, there is an Old Testament precedent for the interpretation of this plague. And the first plague upon Egypt was a plague of blood. Exactly like this plague in the tribulation.
Now we won't turn to it, but let me read it to you. If you're taking notes, you can write down Exodus chapter 7, verses 20 and 21. And Moses and Aaron lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants, and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that were in the river died. and the river stank, And the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river, and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
Exodus 7:20 and 21. Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse explains the significance of this plague. Listen carefully. He says that.
That then, which has always been the symbol of salvation in the midst of life, becomes the symbol of condemnation in the midst of death. But now the seas are turned to blood, the fish die, the winds of God blow death over all the earth. They had refused the salvation that would have come to them from the blood of the one who is life, and now they receive the condemnation from the blood that symbolizes death. The second vial is the changing of all the salt water bodies into blood. I heard a message some time ago about how here on the coast of California, periodically, there is some kind of a plague that comes that causes small little antibodies to fill the water and turn the water red.
They said that's how this is explained. And I understand there's even a rather putrid smell associated with that plague.
Some of you who are West Coast veterans could probably give me more information. I don't know about that. But I don't believe that's what's going on at all. I believe that when God said the water turns to blood, that's exactly what he means. I don't understand it, but I don't have any doubt about the fact that when Moses and Aaron stretched their rod over the waters in Egypt, the waters became blood.
And the Bible says the fish all died then, and the waters stank. That's exactly what's going to happen in the tribulation. That is the second vile judgment.
Now, notice the third judgment in verses 4 through 7, the third vile. And we're reading from the 16th chapter, verses 4 through 7. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood. 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. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy.
And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Now If you read this carefully, it seems as if the third vile judgment simply extends the bloody judgment beyond the salt waters into all of the other water bodies. If you read it carefully, you'll notice that what happens now is no longer is it just the saltwater seas that are bloody, but now all of the rivers and all of the lakes and all of the fountains and streams that feed the rivers and lakes, all of the water globally. Turns to blood. In addition, here we are told that the reason for this judgment is the shedding of the blood of the saints and the prophets. Notice what it says.
The reason God extends this third judgment upon the earth is because the earth dwellers have killed God's people. They have taken the lives of God's children who have refused to take the mark of the beast and be marked by the Antichrist. And because they have taken the lives of God's people, God now is going to require blood at their own hands. And as a preliminary judgment, he is going to surround them with blood on every hand.
Now listen to me. I don't want to make this so graphic that you dream about it, but it is like this. You go into the kitchen and you turn on the spigot, and instead of water, You get blood. You go to take a shower. You turn on the shower, and instead of the clean, clear water in which you have bathed your body in days past, red, stinking blood comes out of the faucet.
and out of the spigot. The people on the earth began to respond even as the people did in Moses' day. Asking somehow that God would remove the judgment. For those who may think that these judgments of God are not righteous, And I never preached through the book of Revelation, or even as I remember, preaching through the book of Daniel, but what somebody doesn't write me a letter or see me after the service or make an appointment to take me to lunch to say to me, Pastor, all this bloodshed. All this judgment, it just doesn't seem like that's the way God is.
But I want you to notice how clearly God has vindicated in this passage. The voice out of the altar speaks clearly to the effect that God is just in judging his enemies who had caused the martyrdom of his people. Once again, it is the altar that is the focus of the message. Remember the importance of the altar? The altar has been the shelter of the martyrs in the book of Revelation.
Back in the sixth chapter, we saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the cause of Christ. Where are they? Under the altar. And what are they saying? Lord, how long before you go and avenge our blood upon this earth?
And the Lord said, just wait a while until the cup is full and I will do it. And now the voice out from under the altar comes, and the voice says that the time of revenge and the process of answering the prayer has finalized and is here. Everyone who has criticized the Lord for judging his people is silenced as the result of this pronouncement. The Bible says in verse seven, even so, Lord God Almighty, True and righteous are thy judgments. That's heaven's answer to our questions about whether God is righteous in doing what He does.
One of these days, when we are able to see eternity in perspective. When we're able to see the outpouring of God's love upon this earth and the result of having spurned that love and trampled His invitation underfoot. Once and for all. Perhaps not until we are in our eternal place. We will understand that the judgments of God are true and righteous.
As hard as they are for us to swallow and to understand. As difficult as it is for us to coincide with a God of love and a God of justice and holiness, the Bible says for us as clearly as it can be written that God's judgments are true. and they are righteous, and we are never to question them. God does that which is right.
Now I just add to this a word from Habakkuk the prophet. Which seems to give to me great encouragement in preaching so authoritatively. This is what Habakkuk the prophet says in 2:20 of his letter: The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. Or let God be true and every man a liar.
In essence, what we are saying is that because he is God, he has the right to the last word. And the last word on judgment from God is that he is righteous and just in doing what he does. All right, let's look at the fourth vial, verses eight and nine. The scripture says, The fourth angel takes the censer, like the one from the altar, and he overturns it. And it says, 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 blaspheme the name of God which hath power over these plagues. Then they repented not to give him glory.
Now when God created the Son, We know that he created it in such a way that it would shine on both the godly and the ungodly. But here in the tribulation period, only the ungodly are going to feel the heat of the sun like it is described here. The heat is so intense. that many will die from its effect.
Some of us here know what it's like to have a terrible sunburn. The vast majority of the ungodly people will die from the effect of an overwhelming sunburn because there will be no protection from the sun.
Some scientists have believed that God will simply remove some of the protective atmosphere between the sun and the earth so that the absolute rays of the sun will be able to scorch. The skin. How he does that selectively is only answerable by the miracle power of God. He puts some kind of sun shield on his own. And yet the sun reaches out.
and scorches those who have not embraced him as their Lord. And I can hear some people saying, well, I just don't believe that could happen. I don't think that God would ever let that happen.
Well, you better read your Bible carefully. I think it's important for me to say that what you believe does not have anything to do with what's going to happen. Just because you choose not to believe something, doesn't make it untrue or does it discount the reality of its happening in the future. These are the words of God. Prove it out over the ages.
And the Bible is telling us the truth. As hard as it is for us to read it and understand it, it is given to us as a warning from God. To help us understand the importance of taking our own spiritual life seriously. Are you doing that? Have you accepted Christ?
Have you really embraced Him as your Savior? The only way you can bypass all that I've been talking about is to be in heaven having been raptured with the Church of Jesus Christ. Make your decision today. Don't wait any longer. I'll see you tomorrow.
Thanks for listening. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series Escape the Coming Night, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected: our monthly Turning Points magazine and our daily email devotional. Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org/slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org/slash radio or call us at 800-947-1993.
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This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Escape the Coming Night on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.
