Revelation 16:4-9

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Audio Links

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Video Links


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.
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.

Introduction

There are two things we want to keep in mind as we continue our study the seven last plagues of the seven angels. First we want to remember that the mystery of God cannot be finished and we cannot enter into the temple of God until the seven plagues of these seven angels are fulfilled.

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.
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.

That is just how critical to the revelation of Jesus Christ within us these seven plagues are which “fill up the wrath of God” within us. That “mystery of God” is “Christ in you the hope of glory”:

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

We must be cleansed by the fire that is mingled with the sea of glass. Christ will not dwell in a defiled temple:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

We have all “defiled the temple of God” as the “man of sin” who is the beastly first Adam within us all, and that “man of sin” within us all must be destroyed by the brightness of the coming of Christ. That work is described in these verses as being “scorched with heat from the Sun”. It take all of these seven plagues to cleanse our heavens and make us fit to stand on that “sea of glass mingled with fire” and to make us fit for our Savior to sit together with us in our heavens.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised [ us] up together, and made us sit together in heavenly [ places] in Christ Jesus:

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come [ the days of the voice of the seventh angel], except there come a falling away firs t, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
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:
Rev 15:2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gottenthe victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [ and] over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

It is these seven plagues which “reveal the man of sin… sitting in the temple of God… in his time”. That is why we are told that these seven plagues “fill up the wrath of God”. God’s wrath simply must accomplish it’ judging and chastening purpose before Christ will “destroy our man of sin with the brightness of His coming” thus seating Himself in “the temple of God, which temple we are”.
That is the function of these seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness within us, and that is why these seven last plagues are called a “great and marvelous” event within our lives.

Rev 15:1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

So while the phrase “Here is the patience of the saints” is not in this sixteen chapter, we are told in the previous chapter that those who overcome the name, number and image of the beast, stand on a “sea of glass mingled with fire, having the harps of God, and singing the song of Moses. So it is clear that  those who stand on that sea of glass are those who have been cleansed by the purging judgment of these seven last plagues which fill up the wrath of God against our ungodliness and unrighteousness in which we have lived while knowing and holding the truth.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [ the beast, the man of sin, our selves], 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.
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.
Rev 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Because we all fail to realize that all of our names are blotted out of God’s “book of life”, we are led to believe that there are those who will not worship the beast. This is the lie that will rob so many of experiencing “the patience and faith of the saints”. Both Rev 13 and 14 tell us that our worship of our beast is part of that patience building. All men’s names are first blotted out of the book of life before they are reinstated simply because we have “all sinned against God”.
All of this, by way of remembrance, brings us to the second point we must not forget as we study the purpose and function of these seven last plagues which we are to “read, hear, and keep” (Rev 1:3) as “the patience and faith of the saints. That second point is that these plagues parallel and are an integral part of both the seven trumpets and the seven seals. They are so integral that this book cannot possible be opened until these seven plagues of these seven angels has been fulfilled in our lives. We demonstrated why that is and showed that the seven trumpets are the seven seals, and the seven last plagues are the seventh trumpet. What this means is that this book is still completely sealed and cannot be “read, heard, or kept… until the seven plagues of the seven angels has been fulfilled” in our lives.

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.

So before we get back to seeing just how interwoven these plagues with the trumpets and seals are, let us take heart in knowing that all of this is, was and will be true for all men of all time, and that “He which has begun a work in all of us will perform that work until the day of Christ”, and all of this, “things present and things to come” are simply part of that work being performed within us.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Exo 32:33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

The third plague and how it parallels the third trumpet in our lives

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.

This vial is poured out “upon the rivers and fountains of waters” of our lives. What was the concern of the 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.

The rivers and fountains of waters in our lives are God’s Word, which ought to be in our hearts and minds by this time in our walk. Instead we are in need of being taught the most basic doctrines of loving our enemies, and dying daily to the pulls of our flesh. We are, at this point, “Yet carnal… babes in Christ”, who “hold truth in unrighteousness”.

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk [ is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
Heb 6:2  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
1Co 3:1  And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [ to bear it], neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4  For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

When we “hold the Truth in unrighteousness” we “blaspheme the name of God among the heathen”. These seven plagues are the fulfilling of these verses of scripture concerning these same judgments of God in this part of our walk:

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
Rom 2:9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

If we are the true Jews of the 28th verse of this very same chapter, then these judgments must begin at “the Jew first”.

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise [ is] not of men, but of God.
1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

“He is not a Jew which is one outwardly… but he is a Jew which is one inwardly” is one of “the first principles of the oracles of God” which we “hold in unrighteousness” while these seven plagues are being poured out upon us. This is what turns “the rivers and fountains of waters” of God’s Word into blood. That blood we are given to drink is the blood of Christ which is now on our own hands, even as we profess to serve him.

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Like Saul of Tarsus, we are those who “kill you thinking we do God’s service”, before we become Paul the apostle who truly does service to God by “dying daily” to the things of this age.
It is very instructive that several of these trumpets are said to affect “the third part”, whereas there is no such language in the description of the seven last plagues which “fill up the wrath of God”. So the trumpets describe this ongoing process of judgment, while the seven last plagues describe the filling up in our lives of these judgments of God.
In the third trumpet the rivers and fountains of water become bitter and many men die, but in the third vial we are “judged thus” to have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and we are given blood to drink, and again we  are told “true and righteous are your judgments”.
The bitterness of the star which makes the rivers and fountains of waters wormwood, is the same perversion of God’s Word which we drink as blood in the third vial which is also dealing with our rivers and fountains of waters of God’s Word which we hold at this time in our walk “in unrighteousness”.
These plagues are God’s chastening judgments upon our own “ungodliness and unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18).
It behooves us to “read, hear, and keep the things written herein” because we are told:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

So those who teach that these seven plagues are not God’s chastening judgments, but are designed simply to harden hearts for destruction in the lake of fire, will be judged out of their own mouths, and will find themselves in that very position because they refuse to acknowledge that “all things are ours”, and that we “must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”, especially the “great and marvelous” words of this 16th chapter of Revelation.

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

These seven last plagues come straight out of the mouth of God:

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 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.

… and Yes, “the time is [ always] at hand [ for us] to keep… these seven last plagues… which are written in this book”, generation by generation. This is part of the “one event which is to all men” (Ecc 9:2), as is the fourth vial also.

The fourth plague and the fourth trumpet in our lives

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.

At this point the fourth vial or bowl is poured out upon the sun. With what is the fourth trumpet concerned?

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!

Again we see that the trumpets involve “the third part” whereas the vials “fill up the wrath of God” upon our sins and rebellions while we blaspheme the name of God. While we just naturally assume those who blaspheme the name of God do so knowingly, the scriptures actually reveal that we do so un knowingly.

Joh 16:2  They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

So how do the scriptures reveal that we will all blaspheme the name of God within our lives? Here is how we all blaspheme the name of God, before we come to even know we are doing so:

om 2:17  Behold, thou art called a [ spiritual] Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20  An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Rom 2:21  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

Romans two is addressed to Gentile Romans converts who Paul considers to be his spiritual “brethren”. This epistle is not written to people who don’t even know God and His Son. This book is addressed to those in Rome who claim to know Christ:

Rom 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

Paul is not accusing Caesar or his subjects of blaspheming the name of God. He is speaking to those who consider themselves to be God’s own people, who teach others not to steal, commit adultery and commit sacrilege, while they are doing the very things they have condemn in the lives of others. In other words, these words are all addressed to you and to me. We have blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles, and we continue to do so even as God judges us for all of our rebellious hypocrisy.
But when the seven plagues of the seven angels are fulfilled in our walk, we will repent of our blasphemous lives. We will have read, heard, and kept all these things written in this book, and then we will be cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire. Only the priests of God can stand on that sea with the harps of God, and through the fire mingled with that glass, they are given to enter into the temple of God which temple is us in Christ and Christ within us. In that day we will understand the meaning of this verse:

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

That too, is the mystery of God declared to us by His servants the prophets. It simply adds to our understanding of the same mystery spoken of by Paul in Col 1:

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

What John calls seals, trumpets, and vials, Paul simply refers to as “much tribulation”.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

This statement is made immediately after telling us that Paul had been stoned and left for dead, but he had been raised up to continue his testimony. This is an example of what is meant by the “sea of glass mingled with fire”. Those who are granted to stand on that sea, with the harps of God, have already endured the seven last plagues. Christ has entered in to His temple and has taken the dominion of their hearts and minds, and they will not be deterred by a mere stoning to death.

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

Summary
In this study we have seen that it is the pouring out of the seven last plagues of the seven angels which is essential to bring us to see our need for being cleansed in the sea of glass mingled with fire.  The fire that is mingled with that glass is the judgments of the Word of God upon all the blasphemous sins that are within us, even as we claim to be doing God a service. That fire brings on us the fulfilling in our lives of the seven plagues of the seven angels. They must be fulfilled before we can be cleansed and stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire and before we can enter into the temple of God.
We also saw that the destruction of the man of sin of 2Th 2, “with the brightness of the coming of Christ”, is the same event as the pouring out of these seven plagues. Both result in the same thing, ” the mystery of God should be finished”. That mystery is “Christ in you”, and we saw that “the mystery of God… as He has declared to His servants the prophets, commences where “the mystery of iniquity… the man of sin” holding the dominion in my body, ends.
We have seen that these seven vials are God’s judgments upon our ungodliness and unrighteousness, which fill up the wrath of God, while the seven trumpets, which perfectly parallel the seven vials, are characterized by the phrase “the third part”, signifying the process of judgment is ongoing and God’s wrath is not “filled up” in the trumpets as it is in the vials.
We have seen how we have perverted the truths of God’s “rivers and fountains of waters”, His own word, the lies which have been used to kill the prophets of God who have been sent to us with that truth. In this way we have been made to drink the blood of our own Savior and His Christ, thus being guilty of that blood.

Mar 10:38  But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
Mar 10:39  And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:
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.

We have seen that we have all blasphemed the name of God among the Gentiles for the plague of heat which as “the Sun” of the fiery Truth of God’s Word, is poured out upon  our old man and his doctrines. We saw that we do this by holding Truth in unrighteousness, even as we think we were serving God
We have seen that the mystery of God within us actually begins in the opening of the seals and should be finished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he begins to sound. In other words, “He that has begun a good work in us, will perform it until the day of Christ.

Php 1:3  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Php 1:4  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Php 1:5  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: [ The finishing of the mystery of God].

Nest week, Lord willing, we will see that the bottomless pit and “the seat of the beast are one and the same within us.

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.

Other related posts