Revelation 16:10-16

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Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [ come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [ which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Introduction

Once again we must remind ourselves that “the time is at hand” for these seven vials to become a vital part of “the words of this prophecy”, which are only part of “the things written therein” which we are specifically told we are to “read, hear and keep”.

Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Since we must all live by every word of God, we are all first born blind from the womb of our first bondwoman mother. After we acknowledge that blind condition, then we are healed of our blindness.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

So it is at our own peril of being “hurt of the second death” in the lake of fire, that we put these seals, trumpets or vials off into the future or off in the past or off onto anyone else but ourselves. Scripture is not written to others. It is addressed to you and to me, if indeed we are granted to know God and His Son. It is addressed to those who are given eyes to see and ears to hear that we are the beast whose throne and whose kingdom is affected and destroyed by this revelation of Jesus Christ.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

This revelation is all about “the brightness of His coming” to judge our old beastly man within with the words of this prophecy which are “the spirit of His mouth”. It is all the revelation of our judgment, and our judgment is all addressed to the seven churches of Asia with all of their false doctrines within us. Those seven churches are shown that their judgment is in this revelation, which consists of a book sealed with seven seals. That book is the entire word of God, “the spirit of His mouth”, which is completely hidden with seven seals, from all who are not given to understand that all of mankind is destined to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” [Ecc 9:2 and Mat 4:4].
If even one of those seven seals is not fulfilled within each of us, then this entire revelation of Jesus Christ will remain completely sealed from our understanding. The seven seals are seven judgments which are expanded to include seven more trumpet judgments, which are expanded to include these seven vials which “fill up the wrath of God” against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness within all of us.
It is our armies who are gathered to the great day of God almighty. It is us while we are yet self- righteous sinners in Babylon, who are completely unaware of the coming of our Lord as a thief who will plunder and destroy the kingdom of our father the Devil, within us. With that in mind, let’s see what our Lord is doing within that doomed kingdom within us all, in the fifth and sixth bowls which fill up His wrath against our ungodliness and unrighteousness.
Here is this fifth vial:

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The first thing we need to notice is that this is the only one of the seven vials which does not use the exact same language as that used in the parallel seven trumpets. Let us remind ourselves of the fact that these vials are part of the seven trumpets, and that the principles found in the seven trumpets are also to be found corresponding with each of the seven vials. Here is a review of each to make this point:

First trumpet:

Rev 8:7  The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. (1Pe 1:24  For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:)

First vial:

Rev 16:2  And the first 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.

Second trumpet:

Rev 8:8  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;
Rev 8:9  And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Second vial:

Rev 16:3  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. (Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [ it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.)

Third trumpet:

Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:11  And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. (1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Rev 10:9  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.)

Third Vial:

Rev 16:4  And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Rev 16:5  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.
Rev 16:6  For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Rev 16:7  And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

The Word of God is sweet in our mouth, but it is both blood and bitter in our belly where we must digest and live by its every word.

Joh 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Joh 6:54  Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:55  For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Joh 6:56  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Fourth Trumpet:

Rev 8:12  And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 8:13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [ give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Fourth Vial:

Rev 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
Rev 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

When we are in darkness we are being “scorched with fire from the Sun.

Ecc 3:16  And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

But God is calling light out of darkness, and for those who are given to fear Him, the outcome is worth the pain.

Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

We have all been blasphemers who “did it ignorantly in unbelief”, and at that time we “repented not to give Him glory”. Instead we returned to our sins “as a dog to his vomit” (2Pe 2:22).

Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses [ also called the “seven angels” with the seven vials, Rev 19:10 and 22:8-9 “our fellowservants”], and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Jer 5:14  Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

Our old man, our first Adam, must be devoured by the fire of God’s word, the scorching heat of the Sun of Righteousness, before we become that heat and that fire. Once again, good comes through “keeping the things written therein”, and we have delivered ourselves from the curses which are placed upon those who either “add to” or “take from the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (Rev 22:18-19).

The fifth trumpet and the fifth vial

Now we come to the fifth trumpet. Up until now, everything in every trumpet is repeated in the corresponding vial. That corresponding work will continue in the fifth trumpet, but it will be done in a way which will reveal to us that the “bottomless pit” is what the scriptures call ‘the sea’ within us. It will also reveal that this is where the throne of the beast is located. Read the paper entitled What Is The Bottomless Pit? Here again is this:

Fifth Trumpet:

Rev 9:1  And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Rev 9:2  And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Rev 9:4  And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Rev 9:5  And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment [ was] as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Rev 9:6  And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Rev 9:7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces [ were] as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8  And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
Rev 9:9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Rev 9:10  And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. [Isa 9:15 – … the prophet that teacheth lies, he [ is] the tail.]
Rev 9:11  And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Rev 9:12  One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ [ This is what men seek “in those days”]: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Fifth Vial:

Rev 16:10  And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
Rev 16:11  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Both this trumpet and this vial are poured out upon the throne of the beast because the Greek word translated ‘seat’ is ‘thronos’, which everywhere else is translated as ‘throne’. The sea is our flesh where the beast sits on the throne which rightfully is Christ’s throne. The cleansing of the temple is accomplished in the sea of glass mingled with fire.
Once again we see how the events of this fifth vial correspond to the events which take place in the fifth trumpet. Both deal with the pain that must be experienced in our “bottomless pit”. Once again we see how the details concerning the purpose for and the administration of all of that pain which is poured out upon “the throne of the beast” are given to us in the fifth trumpet, while the filling of that wrath and pain is given to us in the fifth vial. It is through the details of the trumpets that we are given to understand the meaning of the symbols of the vials. In this particular vial we learn that “the seat [ throne] of the beast” is “the bottomless pit”, the ‘abussos’. It is up from this abussos that we all rise:

Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

The sixth trumpet and the sixth vial

Sixth trumpet:

Rev 9:13  And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14  Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Rev 9:15  And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Rev 9:16  And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Rev 9:17  And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18  By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
Rev 9:19  For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Rev 9:20  And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev 9:21  Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

The sixth vial:

Rev 16:12  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:15  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [ is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

In this trumpet, the great river Euphrates is the prison of four angels whose work is “to slay a third part of men”. As is always the case, the phrase “the third part”, reveals to us that the process of judgment is leading up to the “filling up of the wrath of God.” This “filling up” of God’s wrath we are specifically told is a “great and marvelous” work, which we are constantly reminded is the process of our judgment at the hand of our God. The excruciating pain of both the fifth and the sixth seals, is associated with the darkness of the lies which are associated with both the fifth and the sixth trumpets and the fifth and sixth vials.

Rev 11:18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 16:5  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.
Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

The events of the sixth vial are called “The spirits of devils working miracles” coming “out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet”, and they are the very doctrines and spirits coming out of the mouths of the false prophets of 1Jn 4 of whom we are instructed to “believe not” and to “try the spirits to see whether they are of God”. These are the doctrines we all have believed and to which we have all subscribed, and from which we must all, by the scorching heat of the Sun, repent and destroy.

1Jn 4:1  Beloved, believe not every spirit [ doctrine], but try the spirits [ doctrines] whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

These are the very doctrines to which we cling so fiercely that they “gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” It is at our “Armageddon” that we are finally stripped of all those things we have up to now been incapable of relinquishing. Armageddon is our old man’s ‘Waterloo’. It is at this point that the seventh vial is poured out upon us and the wrath of God is filled up within the kingdom and throne of our beast. It is now that “the seven plagues of the seven angels is fulfilled [ and] the mystery of God is finished”.

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

These seven vials are “the voice of the seventh angel when He shall begin to sound”. When we come to see the lies of Babylon we are “drying up the great river Euphrates”, which flows through and nourishes Babylon. The Sun of Righteousness arises in the east, and the east is the Biblical symbol for the rising light of understanding and of Truth, which will enter into Babylon via her dried up Euphrates river bed, and destroy her with all of her oppressive lies and false doctrines, which have been used by our God (Jer 29:4 below) to prepare us for the destruction of our old man.
The holy spirit here is alluding to one of the most famous military actions of all time, where Cyrus the Great diverted the waters of the Euphrates and entered the great city of Babylon by night while Belshazzar the Babylonian was partying. He took the city without a fight and slew Belshazzar that very same night.
Here is that story in Dan 5. It is the Biblical shadow of the fall of our Babylon, and the destruction of our Babylonian kings who rule us and want to keep us in Babylon.

Dan 5:21  And he [ Nebuchadnezzar] was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
Dan 5:22  And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Dan 5:23  But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Dan 5:24  Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
Dan 5:25  And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Dan 5:26  This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Dan 5:27  TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
Dan 5:28  PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
Dan 5:29  Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Dan 5:30  In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain [“Armageddon”, or ‘Waterloo’].
Dan 5:31  And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

Summary

So what is all of this? Is this all something we need to avoid at all cost? Absolutely not! This is “the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His servants”. These are all the things which are written in this book which must shortly come to pass and be kept by all who read hear and understand what they are reading. This is the patience and the faith of the saints, which is hidden behind the seven seals, which are upon the sayings of the prophecy of this book. Until that last seal is opened, this book is still sealed from our view, and we will weep with John because there is no one found worthy to take this book and open the seven seals upon it. Since the seventh seal is the seven trumpets, this book remains sealed until the seventh trumpet has sounded in our lives, and the sayings of the prophecy of this book are still sealed from our view. Since the seventh seal is the seven vials of the wrath of God, until the seventh vial of the wrath of God has been fulfilled in our lives, “no man can enter into the temple of God” and the sayings of the prophecies of this book are still sealed from our view.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
Rev 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Rev 13:1  And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [ the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [ is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Rev 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

So it is good for us to “keep the things written herein”. It is good for the saints to be overcome by the beast within them. It is good for us to “live by every word” in this prophecy. It is good that our old man is “scorched by the heat of the Sun”, and it is “great and marvelous” in each of us for that old man, who we are by nature, to be “destroyed by the brightness of His coming”.

Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. (ESV).

We must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and these seven plagues of these seven angels are those words. It was God Himself who instructed Israel to submit to and endure their Babylonian captivity, and it is while we are yet in the darkness which extends from the time before and continues through our time in Babylon, that the pain of these judgments is worked within us. Darkness produces excruciating pain in us all, and the throne of our beast is afflicted with deep darkness which causes us to “gnaw our tongues for pain”, while we continue to defend those things in our lives which keep us connected to Babylon. But it is all the work of God in our lives, and even the struggle to come out of her while we cling to her ways and her doctrines is all of God and for our good.

Jer 29:4  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
Jer 29:5  Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
Jer 29:6  Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
Jer 29:7  And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

So we will drink of the cup of God’s wrath, and we will be carried away into Babylon, and it is in “seeking the peace of that city and accepting its place and function in our development, that we will have peace. It is only in Babylon that we drink of the wine of the wrath of God which these seals, trumpets and vials all symbolize. All of the horrendous events described and “written herein” are ours, by God’s own commandment (1Co 3:21-22). We read it in Rev 13:10, and once again we are told a second time that all of this ” is the patience and faith of the saints” of God, and of those who “keep His commandments”:

Rev 14:9  And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. [ Is this a bad thing? Only in the sense that it is a necessary evil to bring about the destruction of the beast within, because we are told:]
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Is there any possible way to leapfrog these seven vials of God’s wrath? What is the doctrine of scripture?

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words [“the things written therein”], and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Jer 25:34  Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Jer 25:35  And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
Jer 25:36  A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.
Jer 25:37  And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Jer 25:38  He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

All of orthodox churches teach that they will not drink of the cup of God’s wrath. All of orthodox Christianity teaches that they will be either raptured away before God’s wrath, or supernaturally given a “place of safety” to avoid having to keep the things written in this book. All who tell you that you have no part in these things written in this 16th chapter are “the shepherds who will have no way to flee” when their lies are exposed, and the waters of that great river are dried up, and all the wealth which had flowed into Babylon upon those waters begins to dry up. In other words, it will be demonstrated that these “shepherds” have been teaching that these things written in this prophecy are not “the patience and faith of the saints”, and those who read hear and keep these things are not blessed at all, but rather are cursed. Nevertheless the truth remains:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Which things? The ones “written therein”, including this sixteenth chapter which fills up the wrath of God on our ungodliness and unrighteousness (Rom 1:18).
Next week, Lord willing, we will once again see how the seventh trumpet, which sounds in Rev 11 corresponds with, and helps to explain for us, the meaning of the experience of the seventh vial:

Rev 16:17  And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Rev 16:18  And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, [ and] so great.
Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Rev 16:20  And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Rev 16:21  And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [ every stone] about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

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