III. THE FUTURE (“THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER"), PART
2b--6:1-22:21
C. The Second Half of the Tribulation, Part
4--15:1-16:21
5. The seven vials--15:1-16:21
a. The presentation
of the angels with their vials--15:1-8
(I)
The angels presented--v. 1
(A) Another sign (wonder) in heaven
(1) The first sign was in 12:1
(a) This was the sign of
the woman--Israel
(b) It reveals “God's
heavenly counsels concerning Israel." (Newell, 235-236)
(2) The second sign was in 12:3
(a) This was the sign of
the dragon.
(b) It set forth the great
opposer of God's counsels and "his opposition to God's plan of
governing
this earth
by His Son through redeemed Israel." (Newell, 236)
(c) This satanic opposition
took the form of his setting up a false christ (chapter 13) and leading
the
nations into
his devilish scheme of idolatry--worship of himself. (Cf. Newell,
Ibid.)
(3) This is the third sign.
(a) Appropriate in the light
of the preceding ones
(b) This is the sign of
the final outpouring of the wrath of God against all Satanic
opposition and
those who
followed and worshipped him.
(c) This sign is "great and
marvelous."
((I)) Great
because God's patience has come to an end (In contrast note 2 Peter
3:9--which
passage incidentally is in the context of the "Great and terrible
day of the Lord.").
((II))
Marvelous
((A)) First, because of the fact that an infinite holy and loving
God is fully capable of such
wrath--even
as it has been repeatedly told in His word.
((B)) Second because involved is all the promises made to the nation
Israel.
(B) Seven angels with the seven last plagues
(1) The number 7 is the number of completeness
and thus this signifies that these brings God's judgment
to a completion.
(2) These plagues fill up--i. e.,
complete the wrath of God.
(3) This does not in any way imply that this
is God's final judgment, for the great white throne judgment
must yet to come.
(a) The word in the Greek
is etelesthe, which comes from the verb teleo, to make an end.
(b) Thus this could be rendered,
"make an end of the wrath of God."
(4) One should note that this statement in verse
1 is a general one, for the actual giving of the vials to
the angels does not occur
until after verse 5.
(II)
The praise of the tribulation saints--vv. 2-4
(A) Their position--v. 2
(1) The sea of glass
(a) First seen in 4:6 where
it is described as "like unto crystal."
(b) From 4:6 we learn that
this sea of glass is before the throne of God.
(c) Its description
((I)) A sea--thus
vast
((II)) Like
of glass--"settled, unruffled, peace." (Newell, 237)
((III)) Like
unto crystal--speaks of "the purity of God's own Throne."
(Ibid.)
((IV)) Cf.
Exodus 24:10 and Ezekiel 1:22
(d) Here, the sea of glass
is mingled with fire.
((I)) In view
of the saints presence, it speaks first of the furnace of
trial through which they
passed.
((A)) Believers have three enemies whom believers are to oppose--the
world, the flesh, and
the devil.
((B)) These have a fourth--which in a sense is a mixture of the
other three--namely the
opposition of the antichrist.
((II)) Secondly,
this mingling fire reminds us that God Himself is "a consuming Fire."
((A)) Cf. Moses at the burning bush
((B)) Cf. Deuteronomy 4:24
((C)) See Hebrews 12:29
(2) The tribulation saints positioned upon the
sea of glass
(a) These are tribulation
saints, not church saints.
((I)) Seen
in the suggested meaning of the mingling fire
((II)) Seen
in the plain statement that these are those who "had gotten the victory over
the beast,
and over his image, and over his mark and over the number of his
name
(b) These truly have a glorious
position.
((I)) They
have the harps of God--"part of the instruments of heaven,
used solely for the praise
of God."--Alford, IV:694
((II)) Newell,
238; italics are his.--"Earth has bowed beneath the hideous blandishments
of
Satan's Christ; these resisted him unto death. They then
passed through fire, yea, all the
fires and agonies possible, and now they stand on that glorious crystal
sea, mingled with
heavenly fire, which celebrates their victory."
(B) Their song---vv. 3, 4
(1) The song of Moses, the bondslave of
God, and the song of the little Lamb
(2) Two or one song?
(a) Alford (IV:694) says,
"it is not meant that there are two distinct songs: the song is one
and the
same; and
the expression which characterizes it betokens, as do so many other notices
and
symbols in
this book, the unity of the Old and New Testament churches [See second
objection
below.].
Their songs of triumph have become ours: the song of
Moses is the song of the
Lamb. In
this great victory all the triumphs of God's people are included and find
their
fulfillment."
(b) Objections
((I)) This
writer has before shown that this group is in particularly tribulation saints,
not church
saints.
((II)) There
is nowhere in Scripture any .idea of an Old Testament church. The
church is an
entirely new and different entity from Israel. Alford's theology
on this point is not Scriptural.
((III))
Furthermore, the repetition of the word "song" would not only be
unnecessary, but
contrary to general usage. (Cf. Matthew 28: 19--"In the name of the
Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.")
(c) Two songs are indicated.
((I)) First,
the repetition of the word "song" strongly suggests that the songs,
though related, are
not the same.
((II)) The
use of Hebrew parallelism is evident here--The phrase, "Great and marvelous
. . . are
thy ways "are paralleled with "The song of Moses . . . of the
Lamb."
(3) The song of Moses
(a) See
((I)) Exodus
15:1f.
((II)) Deuteronomy
31:1ff.
((III)) Psalm
90
(b) Deals with the works
of God
(c) His works are great and
marvelous ( Thus, we rightly sing, "How Great Thou Art.").
(d) Note that the phrase
"Great and marvelous are thy works" is addressed to God the Father,
Lord
God Almighty.
((I))
Lord--Kurios in the Greek would correspond to the Hebrew
Jehovah (or Yahweh, if you
prefer), WHICH
expresses His personality.
((II))
Theos in the Greek doubtlessly would correspond to God--to the Hebrew,
Elohim--the
generic name for deity.
((III))
Almighty--In the Greek, pantokrator from pas, "all" and
krateo, "to be master of " or "to
rule." Thus it means to be ruler over all things. This
corresponds in the Hebrew to Shaddai,
which indicates Him as the bountiful Giver.
((IV)) Examples
in the Old Testament are Genesis 17:1, Exodus 3:14, Exodus 6:2, 3.
((V)) Some
occurrences in New Testament are Revelation 4:8; 11:17; 16:7; 21:22
(specifically
refers it to the Father); see also 2 Corinthians 6:15ff.
(4) The song of the Lamb
(a) Not so easy to identify
as the song of Moses, for the phrase does not occur elsewhere.
(b) Suggested passages
((I)) Revelation
4:11
((II)) Revelation
5:9, 10, 12, 13
(c) Deals with the ways of
the Lord
(d) Just and true are the
Lord's ways--Hosea 14:9
(e) Note that the phrase
"Just and true are Thy ways" is addressed to the King--This certainly is
the
Lord Jesus,
the Son.
(f) The phrase, "King of
saints"
((I)) A very
difficult textual problem exists here.
((II)) Three
possible readings exist: agiõn, saints;
aiõnõn, ages; and ethnon, nations.
((A)) The rendering, agiõn--saints, has little except
from late manuscripts, i. e., the received
text (However, this alone does not argue against it
except in highly textual critics.)
((B)) The rendering, aiõnõn, ages, has considerable
evidence for it, since not only do a
couple of so-called important manuscripts
(Aleph in particular) have it, but many of the
translations including the vulgate have it. Also
see 1 Timothy 1:1. However, it may be
that some of the copyists had this very verse
in mind and so that they construed it to be
aiõnõn. Also this form can
be explained as a simplification of the next one.
((C)) The rendering, ethnon, nations, seems to be best for several
reasons.
((1)) A variant form of this word is
aithnõn and the th could easily be confused for an
õ
which would be then changed to an
long o.
((2)) The confusion mentioned would be even stronger
for one well acquainted with 1
Timothy 1:17.
((3)) The context favors nations--see verse 4 (See
objections below).
((4)) Alford (IV:695) concludes "The title 'King of
nations' is especially appropriate, as it
is God's judgments on the
nations, and their effects on them, which are the theme of
Church's [See objections below]
praise."
((5)) Also the word "nations" is appropriate since the
Lamb is the one who redeems his
people out of the nations.
((6)) Cf. Jeremiah 10:7
((7)) Objections
((a)) This is NOT the theme of
the church; the tribulation in view.
((b)) The immediate prior context
deals with the song of the tribulation saints;
therefore, the rendering
of the King James Version of "saints," in spite of the
small and late
manuscript evidence may be correct.
((8)) NOTE: Whatever the correct rendering here
should be (not all evidence may be
in--note the Dead Sea scrolls, it
in no way affects any vital doctrine of the Christian
faith, and in no way affects the
inspiration of the Holy Scripture.
(5) The remainder of the songs
(a) "Who shall not fear Thee
, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?
((I))
Fear--reverential trust--true fear of God is the result of or
results in a trust of Him.
((II)) Fear
in the light of His coming judgment, but not a terror that paralysis
one
((III)) Those
that truly fear the Lord will glorify His name.
(b) The true basis of fear
of God (and the subsequent glorifying of God) is always the holiness
of
God.
((I)) Cf. Exodus
15:14ff.
((II)) Cf.
Isaiah 6:3, 5
((III)) Cf.
Hebrew 7:26
((IV)) Cf.
Revelation 4:8
(c) The grand results
((I)) "All
nations shall come and worship before Thee"--cf. Psalm 86:9 and Philippians
2:9-11.
((II)) The
phrase "Thy judgments are made manifest" may be a better rendering here,
some say,
as "God's righteous acts have been made manifest." Remember those who
sing this song have
just "passed through the horrors of the persecution, torment and the
fire of the beast, through
all the rage of Satan " (Newell, 239)
((III)) NOTE
: not one word of complaint or of fault is found with God.
"All" His acts (or
judgments) are righteous! Oh, that we would mull over this glorious
fact! When God passes
judgment upon people for their rejection of His Son, and they go to
Hell, and finally the Lake
of Fire, this act of God is perfectly righteous. (cf. Psalm 2)
(III)
The giving of the vials--vv. 5-8
(A) The opening of the temple--v. 5
(1) Note that this event occurs after the praise
of the tribulation saints--the text says, "after that"; this is
the phrase meta tauta,
after these things, which phrase was discussed before in connection with
1:19 and 4:1, and signifies
that which succeeds in time.
(2) The heavenly temple
(a) A literal temple--As
Newell (240) observes, "Unless this is clearly seen and believed, much will
be obscure."
(b) If it is not literal,
what is the sense of Hebrew 9:23?
(c) Note its full title:
The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony--this obviously
has Jewish
connotations.
Keep in mind that the Great Tribulation is God's dealings with His
people, Israel.
It also indicates
"that God is about to fulfill.His covenanted promises toward Israel."
(Newell,
241)
(d) This temple was seen
in Revelation 11:19.
(e) After the tribulation
is over, after the millennium, and after the Great White Throne judgment
in
chapter 20,
the temple is done away and no temple is needed in the New Jerusalem--cf.
21:22.
(f) Whenever this heavenly
temple is seen, judgment is in view.
(B) The seven angels described--v. 6
(1) They come out of the temple--this suggests
again, that they come out from the very presence of
God.
(2) Clothed in pure and white linen
(a) There is a fairly well
attested variant here which reads,"precious stones," instead of
linen;
however, the
evidence favors the Authorized Version, and there is no real reason for changing
it.
(b) The linen, pure and
white--speaks of the holiness of these angels.
(c) The Old Testament priests
were to were similar clothing to denote holiness.
(3) Breasts girded with golden girdles
(a) Reminds one of the
description of our blessed Lord in 1:13
(b) The girdle of the
breasts or waist speaks of judgment--in this case the judgment to be
meted
out by these
angels in these seven plagues.
(4) The phrase, "having the seven plagues" is
to denote which angels are being described and does not
state that they have then
yet, for the actual giving is in verse 7.
(C) The vials given--v. 7
(1) Given by one of the four living creatures
(a) From 4:6 you may recall
that these beings were full of eyes--these may well signify that
these
beings are
very intelligent of the purposes of God.
(b) Which one of the
four beings gives the vials to the angels is purely conjecture. Since
God does
not see fit
to reveal it, we need :not speculate over it.
(2) Given in solemnity
(a) The solemnness is suggested
by the very act of passing out these vials as well as by the
occasion
and purpose of the giving of the vials.
(b) The formality here of
giving these vials seems to tell us that God wants to make it very
clear that
His long-suffering
(cf. 2 Peter 3:9) has come to an end, and that He will no longer hold back
His
righteous
anger.
(3) Given golden vials or bowls
(a) This was a kind of
shallow bowl or cup without any stand (The word "vial" suggests some
sort
of
bottle-like container).
(b) Golden--suggests the
glory of God.
(c) Full containers
((I)) No longer
the full cup of mercy and salvation.
((A)) Cf. Psalm 116:13
((B)) Mixed wrath and mercy--Habakkuk 3:2
((II)) Full
of the wrath of God
((A)) Not the usual word for wrath, orge--John uses this word
in his gospel in 3:36.
((B)) This word here is thumos, from thuo, to rush along,
or to breathe violently; thus it has
the idea of passion or heated anger.
((C)) The difference in the words seems to be both as to speed of
build up and duration of
the anger.
((1)) The first term, orge, used in John 3:36
seems to be an indignation. or anger "which
has arisen gradually and becomes
more settled."--Thayer, 293
((2)) The word in our text, thumos, seems to
set forth anger which boils up fast and then
soon subsides.
((D)) The word in our text is very appropriate since the duration of
the judgment is very
short.
(d) Given in the name of
the Ever-living God
((I)) Such
a phrase adds not only dignity, but solemnity as well, to the scene here
presented.
((II)) This
phrase occurs several times in this book--4:9; 5:14; 10:6; our text.
((III)) This
phrase has to do with God's judgment.
(D) The smoked-filled temple--v. 8
(1) The cause
(a) From the glory of God
and from His power
(b) See
((I)) Exodus
40:34, 35
((II)) 2
Chronicles 7:1-4
(c) In the Old Testament
cases cited, the cloud-filled temple was evidence of unlimited
blessing;
here is a
fearful contrast, for it is not blessing, but the outpouring of His
wrath.
(2) The result
(a) None was able to enter
the temple.
(b) Newell (243; italics
are his.) well states, "God will so turn to anger, at last, that all
else ceases,
even in heaven!"
(c) See
((I)) Psalm
76:7
((II)) Nahum
1:6
(3) The duration--until the seven plagues of
the seven angels should be finished; until that time, God
can not be approached.
b. The pouring out
of the vials of the angels-16:1-21
(I)
The command to go forth--v. 1
(A) A great voice out of the temple--unquestionably this
is the very voice of God Almighty, for only God
Himself is holy enough to give such a command.
(B) The command is to go their ways--this phrase might suggest
that they all go at once, but the
following verses suggest they each depart in
turn; note that verse 2 says, "The first went."
(C) The command to pour out the vials
(1) Here is repeated the fact that these are
"vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."
(2) Notice the careful repetition of the
phrase "the . . . angel poured out his vial."
(a) The verses
((I)) Verse
2
((II)) Verse
3
((III)) Verse
4
((IV)) Verse
8
((V)) Verse
10
((VI)) Verse
12
((VII)) Verse
17
(b) This repetition demonstrates
the literal fulfilling of God's command.
(II)
The first three vials poured out--vv. 2-7
(A) The first vial--v. 2
(1) Poured out upon earth--that is on land as
distinguished from water.
(2) Causes grievous sore upon those who have
the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his
image.
(3) Reminds one of Exodus 9:9 --that was
real, and so will this.
(4) This sore will doubtlessly baffle the science
world which even Christendom so readily turns to solve
all troubles. (This is not
an indictment medicine or the many present day attempts to alleviate
misery
in general and disease in
particular, but rather to point up the fact that even in so-called
Christian
America, people turn more
quickly to science than to God in troublesome time. We must remind
ourselves that healing is
ultimately of God, and that no causes of ailments
are discovered apart
from God's will and God-given
knowledge.)
(5) The sore is noisome and grevious--hideous
to look at and incurable as far as the much touted
science is concerned.
Having an incurable cancer will be a picnic compared to this disease.
(NOTE: This is not
an indictment of science, but a recognition that science is often overrated
and
does not have all the
answers.)
(6) The sore breaks out on those who are beast
worshippers and have his mark--this suggests that any
tribulation saints remaining
will not be subject to these sores even as the Israelites in the Land of
Goshen were not subject to
many of the plagues God brought on Egypt.
(B) The second vial--v. 3
(1) Poured out upon the sea
(2) Changed the sea to the appearance of the
blood of a dead person.
(a) Another rendering
clarifies--"and it became blood as of a dead one."
(b) This would then say that
the sea actually turned to blood.
(c) Human blood is not primarily
in view here, but rather animal blood. However, the word
psyche
is used
here.
(d) That this vial causes
sea creatures to perish and their blood causes the sea to become blood
seems evident
to me; however, the reverse could also be true--that is, the vial changes
the sea to
blood and
all sea creatures die as a result.
(e) What sea is in view?
((I)) Some
would localize this to the Sea of Galilee or the Dead Sea.
((II)) Certainly
this is more general; and John may have in mind particularly the
Mediterranean
(Remember he was on the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea which
flows into the
Mediterranean); in this case all the oceans of the world would
be affected since they are all
joined together.
(f) Imagine the stench that
will arise from all the dead sea creatures coming to the surface and
rotting; imagine
the fearful possibilities of disease.
(g) Cf. the first plague
in Egypt--Exodus 7:19-21
(C) The third vial--v. 4
(1) Poured out upon the rivers and source water
thereof
(2) Apparently the rivers were untouched by the
second vial--this gives further evidence of God's
grace; God does not pour
out all His fury and wrath at once, but by degrees giving man an
opportunity to repent.
(D) The ascription of praise--vv. 5-7
(1) A brief pause occurs here between the third
and fourth vials.
(2) This ascription points up God's righteousness
and justice.
(3) The angel of the water gives this praise.
(a) God has an angelic being
in charge of the water supply of the earth.
(b) Herein God gives us a
peek at His administration of the universe.
((I)) Science
insists that the water cycle is easily explained in mechanistic terms. The
Bible tells
us, however, that behind this so-called mechanism is an angelic being.
((II)) Who
knows whether many of the so-called mechanistic explanations of
science are not
actually angels? Perhaps the force of gravity--which no
scientist has every been able to
completely explain--is the work of one of God's supervising
angels.
((III)) Is
this possibly the explanation of John 5:4?
((IV)) This
is not to disparage science which only considers what can be physically
observed;
this writer is just mentioning that perhaps behind that which is observed
are angels which
science (because it does not consider the validity of the spirit
world) ignores.
(c) Praise is ascribed to
God for His complete justice in pouring out blood upon those who spilt the
blood of
saints and prophets. Many believers in the tribulation will have
their blood shed and
God
will avenge them. This judgment of blood is also appropriate
for this world has shed the
blood of
the spotless Lamb of God in their rejection of Him.
(d) But God would warn even
us, particularly Christian America, that many man-killers are present
in this land.
Their form of murder is not of the physical, but of
the spirit--many are the
murderers
of souls who occupy pulpits in our land declaring that God is dead
and that Jesus
Christ died
only as a martyr. If their denial is not open, it is concealed
behind the words of
conservatism--which words they have emptied of all true Biblical meaning
(even as the Reds
did with words
such as peace).
(4) Another voice out of the altar
(a) Another angel?
(b) The Greek actually says,
"I heard the altar saying"--this would suggest that possibly all who
are
associated
with that altar, namely, the saints of all ages, are the voice.
One thing is certain that
this added
testimony to God's righteous judgment strengthens the angelic ascription.
(III)
The second three vials poured out--vv. 8-16
(A) The fourth vial--vv. 8, 9
(1) Poured out upon the sun and power is given
to the sun to scorch men with fire.
(2) Osborne (source unknown)--"The source of
light, warmth, comfort and beauty becomes a curse
and causes intense
suffering.
(3) Scientists have warned that the earth may
be in danger in the future of excessive solar flareups--this
will not happen until this
fourth vial is poured out. Of course, science also says the sun
is cooling
off, which only goes to prove
that science is inconsistent.
(4) Newell (252-253; italics are his.) points
out seven things concerning this vial.
(a) God has complete power
over His creation.
(b) Recall that our Lord
Jesus said that there would be signs in the sun--as well as the moon
and
stars. (cf.
Matthew 24:29; 2 Peter 3:10, 11)
(c) "Science says the sun
is cooling off which proves afresh God's words, that the wisdom of
men
is foolishness
with God."
(d) There is no refuge from
this plague--cf. Psalm 19:6
(e) "Men know well . . .
that the true God (Whom they have abandoned and hate) has 'power over
these plagues.'
Even Russia" in the past has cried "she will drag down God from His
heaven:
thus advertising
that she knows He is there!"
(f) These people are truly
God-haters, for "they repented not to give Him glory." "We see anew
the
folly of
those who claim that the fires of hell will 'purify' any one!
Every one who goes into
judgment goes
in sin's awful hatred and resentment against God. It is the goodness
of God that
leads to
repentance (Romans 2). Men not won by grace will never be
won."
(g) These people blaspheme
God. "Settle this, that men will increase in this fearful sin
till the Lord
comes. Do
not look for human nature to mend: it never will !" It is only
the restraining work of
the Holy Spirit
that keeps, literally speaking. all evil from breaking loose. (Cf. 2
Thessalonians 2)
(B) The fifth vial--vv. 10, 11
(1) Poured out upon the beast's throne and kingdom
(a) One would thing that
this would be the first thing.
(b) This also demonstrates
God's love and grace to the beast and his kingdom--God even gives him
time
to repent by delaying the outpouring of His wrath against the beast
till this fifth vial.
(2) Results in darkness--reminds us of the
ninth Egyptian plague--Exodus 10:21ff.
(3) Newell (253-254) again points out several
interesting facts about this plague.
(a) "The beast is a man (13:
8); therefore his throne is in a definite place; rebuilt Babylon on the
Euphrates,
we believe,--Satan's ancient capital, in the 'land of Shinar,' where
'wickedness' is to
be set on
its base in the end-time (Zechariah 5:5-10)."
(b) Darkness falls on the
kingdom, capital and throne of the beast. More than likely it
is very
similar to
the "thick darkness" of the plague in Egypt. (NOTE: Here again,
the tribulation saints
may
well have light.).
(c) "Men are shut in with
their horrid sores and pains; there is no alleviation." (Is it possible
that we
get some small
inkling of the outer darkness of hell here?)
(d) Mankind is very well
aware that "The God of Heaven" is doing this to them, for they continue
to
blaspheme
Him.
(e) These people are so set
in their evil that "they repent not." "If there is
no repentance under
God's hand
here, when men still breathe the breath of earth, how infinitely
less in hell! Yet fools
hope for
'repentance beyond the grave.'"
(f) This is not the darkening
of the sun and moon just before our Lord's return.
((I)) Cf.
Revelation 19:11-15
((II))
This is one of the signs--cf. Luke 21 and Mark 13
(C) The sixth vial--vv. 12-16
(1) Poured out upon river Euphrates--No other
interpretation can be or need be that the fact that this is
the actual, literal river,
which even to this day flows in Iraq
(2) Causes the drying up of this great
river
(a) Called the great river
five times and is mentioned as such in the Bible 21 times
(b) It formed the eastern
boundary of the land promised to Abraham as the Mediterranean was the
western boundary.
(c) It, together with the
wilderness that lies between it and Canaan, was a protection to Israel.
(d) Nearly 1780 miles long,
rising in the Armenian Mountains, flowing westward to within 100 miles
of the
Mediterranean, then turning southeast flowing on to the Persian Gulf. It
was navigable for
about 1200
miles; flowed through old Babylon--This was and may yet be the commercial
center
of
the world--see Chapter 18.
(e) This river is first seem
in connection with the Garden of Eden--Genesis 2, and last seen in
this
verse.
(3) The reason for the drying up of the
river--The reason is clearly stated in verse 12, namely, that the
"kings (rulers) of the
East might be prepared."
(a) One must realize that
the beast and his kingdom is western in its orientation--it is old
Roman
Empire.
(b) These Rulers of the
East are pagan hordes.
((I)) Much
missionary activity has been concentrated in the East in the past hundred
years.
Thus, many eastern people have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and have rejected it.
((II)) Red
China is a constant threat in the East, and may well be the leading nation
in gathering
these eastern rulers to march against the west. Newell (256)
states in this connection, ". . .
the greater part of mankind is east, not west, of the
Euphrates: witness in millions, China's
440; India's 330; Japan's 80; then Siam, Indo-China; the wild hordes
of Afghanistan, of
Turkestan, of Tibet; not to mention old Persia." These,
he further states, "are not
accustomed to travel as Westerners do. They come on foot and
horseback. So that the
drying up of the great military barrier, the Euphrates, will
'open their way' to Palestine."
(4) All of these people will push into
Palestine.
(a) Joel 3:9-14
(b) Zephaniah 3:8
(c) Zechariah 12:3, 9
(d) Isaiah 24:1, 2, 8
(e) Obadiah 15
(f) Many others
(5) The three unclean spirits--vv. 13, 14
(a) Come out of the
false trinity--the dragon, the beast (antichrist), false prophet
(b) Their origin is obviously
satanic.
(c) An INTERESTING SIDELIGHT:
Notice that Satan's attempt to form a trinity is doomed to
fail, for
here the Scripture clearly repeats the word mouth in connection with
this triumvirate; in
the baptismal
formula, for contrast, we baptize in the name (singular) of the
Father, of the Son
and of the
Holy Spirit.
(d) The unclean spirits are
from each--that is, one from each.
(e) They are like frogs--suggests
"the uncleanness and the pertinacious noise of the frog." (Alford,
IV:700).
The frog likeness also suggests that their work is done "amid the world's
evening
shadows."
(Seiss, quoted in Newell, 257)
(f) These spirits work all
sorts of miracles to persuade the kings and rulers to gather for "the
final
crushing out
of the Lamb and. all His powers." (Ibid.)
(g) These are gathered to
the "war of the great day of God, the Almighty”; this war
is described
more fully
in Chapter 19, verses 17ff.
(6) The reminder of blessing to the
faithful--v. 15
(a) The reminder is in the
light of Christ's coming.
(b) This reminder, or warning,
is to those tribulation saints who yet remain.
(c) Five things to note
here
((I)) The
Lord's coming is as a thief.
((A)) It is a surprise.
((B)) It is to despoil.
((C)) It is his coming to the world, not for the church.
((1)) Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 4
((2)) Cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
((II))
"The Lord faithfully keeps His saints posted as to where they are in His
dealings, (if only
they will hear!)."--Newell, 258
((III))
Watchfulness "is necessary at all times"--this is the hardest task.
(Ibid.)
((IV))
"Blessedness is connected with watching; shame, with carelessness."
(Ibid.)
((V)) No promise
of rapture here. but rather exposure to a godless world if they
fail to be
watchful.
(7) The gathering unto Armageddon--v. 16
(a) Some say that the better
rendering here is "They gathered" rather than “He gathered."
((I)) The
first implies that the unclean spirits are the gathering agents.
((II)) The
second implies that God gathers them.
((III)) Both
may be true, for verse 14 does state that this is their activity. whereas
it is ultimately
God using the situation to bring them to this place.
(b) Newell (259) well states:
"We cannot emphasize too strongly that in the three series of
divine
judgments--first
the seals, second the trumpets, third the vials (or bowls) of wrath--we
have
those preliminary
hardening actions of God upon an impenitent world, by which He
prepares that
world for the Great Day of wrath--at Christ's coming as King of
kings, as seen in
Revelation
19:11-15."
(c) Cf. Ezekiel 29:3--This
same self spirit exists now in our world and is daily increasing.
(d) Armageddon
((I)) The
place to which the Satanic agents, by God's appointment, gather the hosts
of earth.
((II)) The
name, more accurately Har-Magedon, means "Mountain of Megiddo."
((III)) Located
in North-central part of Palestine. Northwest is Mount Carmel;
the River
Kishon flows through this area; Mount Gilboa--where King Saul fell--is
southeast; and north
is Mount Tabor.
((IV)) This
area was the scene of two great victories for Israel.
((A)) Cf. Judges 4:15--Barak
((B)) Cf. Judges 7--Gideon
((V)) The
scene of two disasters in the history of Israel.
((A)) The death of Saul--1 Samuel 31:8
((B)) The death of Josiah --2 Kings 23:25
((VI)) The
reason God brings the host of the world here is for destruction. This
writer need not
apologize for God's destruction of the God-hating world; man
has continued to offend the
majesty of God in spite of His repeated offer of mercy
and grace; again, be reminded of 2
Peter 3:9 and its occurrence in the section dealing with the coming
of the Day of the Lord.
((VII)) Of
great .interest also that this gathering together against God and against
His Christ--
occurring as it does in the great plain of Esdraelon--is not.many
miles (perhaps three miles
and certainly not more than five) "from the very town where the Christ
they hate grew up."
(Newell, 261)
(8) Verses 15, 16 give a brief pause after the
sixth vial before the seventh is poured forth.
(IV)
The seventh vial--vv. 17-21
(A) The seventh angel pours out his vial into the air--vv. 17,
18
(1) This pouring into the air seems to indicate
the finality of the judgment.
(2) The great voice out of the temple
(a) Here is stated to be
"from the throne"--This adds great weight to it being God's voice here as
well as in
verse 1.
(b) "IT IS DONE"
((I)) This
states unequivocally the finality of God's judgment.
((II)) Newell,
262--"Men would not have the Savior's 'It is finished!' on Calvary; so they
must
have the awful "It is done!" from the Judge! Alas! Alas!
Oh, that men today would hear
and be warned to flee from the coming storm!"
(3) After the "It is done," strange things
occur.
(a) Voices are heard
--personally, this writer thinks that these will be heard on earth by the
God-haters
who worship the beast, and these voices may be the result of the pouring
out of the
seventh
vial.
(b) Thunders and lightnings--not
unusual in themselves unless the thunder occurs first--here are most
probably of
great intensity and accompanied by these voices.
(c) A great earthquake
((I)) A mighty
one, and so great
((II)) So
great and mighty that it is described as exceeding all that ever have
occurred.
((III)) So
great will be this earthquake that it will probably wreck most if not
all existing
seismographs.
(B) The results of the great earthquake--vv. 19, 20
(1) The great city divided
(a) Into three parts
(b) Which city?
((I)) Alf'ord
(IV:703) says that Rome is meant; he refers, then, to 11:8 and his note on
that
passage where he denies that it is necessarily Jerusalem.
((II)) Newell
(262) states, and this writer concurs with him, Jerusalem is in view particularly
in
view of 11:8, which--in spite of' Alford's argumentation--clearly
indicates Jerusalem.
((III)) In
view of 14:8, some may think that Babylon is in mind, but our text
clearly distinguishes
this great city from Babylon.
(2) The cities of the nations reduced to
ruins--a question may arise as to which cities, but it does not
say all, therefore, this
writer is inclined to think that only those nations most active in their
opposition
to the nation Israel will
be so affected.
(3) Babylon the Great comes into remembrance
before God.
(a) It is possible that this
city remains intact; or it might be that this entire passage is the general
statement
with the specific details to follow in the next chapters.
(b) Again what city is in
view?
((I)) Alford
(Ibid.) seems to equate it with the great city and therefore Rome.
((II)) Newell
(Ibid.) says .it is the restored city of Babylon which will
be the last great capital of
the world, before the Lord's return.
((III)) A
careful reading of chapters 17 and 18 will reveal that there are two Babylon
the
Greats--an ecclesiastical Babylon called "mystery Babylon the Great"
and a commercial
Babylon named simply "Babylon the Great". A great many similarities
exist between them,
but their destruction seems to be different.
((IV)) At
first this writer was inclined toward identifying this Babylon in the text
with that in
Chapter 17,
and therefore, with Rome. But, after more careful study, he is convinced
that the
Babylon in this text is to be identified with the one in Chapter 18.
(cf. vv. 5, 6). Note,
however, that this position does not preclude that Rome is still the
city in question.
((V)) In the
light of more recent history, the now fallen leader of Iraq,
Saddam, made some
attempt, or started, to rebuild Babylon.
((VI)) The
proof of which actual city is represented by "Babylon the Great" can
wait until
Chapter 18 is considered; sufficient is to identify this text with
chapter 18. It might be that
both are in view here with details given in the next two chapters.
((VII)) A
study of chapter 17 shows no place where mystery Babylon the Great
is given "the
cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath";
on the other hand, 18: 3 speaks of the
"wine of the wrath of her fornication" and verse 6 speaks
of rewarding her double and then
concludes "in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double."
(4) Every island fled and every mountain made
low--One can't even begin to imagine what a terrible
cataclysmal event this earthquake
shall be; but imagine, if you can, Mount Everest being leveled.
Of course, this may
only be localized in Palestine, but the force of this text would
indicate
otherwise. (Remember
also that John was not in Palestine, but on the island Patmos--a very rocky
isle itself, not to mention
the mountainous terrain on the main land to the north and east; thus John
would have more than
just a Palestinian outlook and would not even humanly speaking use the
word "every" let alone under
inspiration.)
(C) The plague of hail--v. 21
(1) One would think that so great an earthquake
would make men's hearts quake with fear and call
upon God, but it didn't;
therefore, the plague of hail.
(2) The hail is great, each hail stone weighing
a talent--roughly 100 lbs.
(3) Impossible? you may say. Yet even here
in America hail stones as large as baseballs have fallen; it
certainly would not take
much more to make a hail stone of 100 lbs.
(4) Obviously anything living outside hit by
one of those would be killed and only the strongest of
structures would withstand
destruction.
(5) This still did not cause men to repent but
rather to blaspheme God.
(a) The blasphemy would consist
of cursing God and attributing evil to Him. Do not men do so
today?
(b) It would here be not
only cursing God, but refusing to admit that His punishment of them
is just.