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VISIONS, PROPHECY
Bible Teaching
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INTRODUCTION
 There are 3 sets of judgments. The 7 seal judgments which took
 place during the first 3 * years of the tribulation, which Christ
 called the beginning of woes. 


 The second was the 7 trumpet judgments which took place during the
 great tribulation period or the last 3 * years. Now the last set
 of judgments are the bowl judgments which take place right at the
 very end of the world, or at the end of th great tribulation.
 The seal judgments & the trumpet judgments were limited judgments.
 In other words they only did a limited amount of devastation.
 But the bowl judgments are total. Complete and final devastation
 will fall on the ungodly and evil of the world. No one left on
 earth, even in the deepest caves or the most hidden valleys, will
 be able to escape the effects of at least some of them.
 These plagues show that the day for salvation & repentance is past.
 

 Verse 1
 The 7 angels wait until a loud voice out of the temple commands
 them to go and pour out the seven bowls of God's fury on the earth.
 This great voice is either the voice of God or the voice of Christ,
 because remember from the last chapter no one else is allowed to
 enter the temple or sanctuary until the bowl judgments are over.
 There have been many who have tried to symbolize these judgments.
 Four of these 7 judgments occurred literally in Egypt during the
 history of Israel, when Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave
 Egypt during the time of Moses. If the plagues of Egypt were
 literal (and they were) why should we not expect these awful
 judgments likewise to be literal. 


BOWL 1 - PLAGUE of SORES, Verse 2

 This is the first bowl or vial which is used in the King James
 Version. Those who have taken the mark of the beast now receive
 marks of a different type now. This plague brings bad, foul, and
 angry sores on every one of them, men and women alike. So no one is
 spared. These sores are not ordinary, they are abscessed, ulcerated,
 and malignant. They are sores from which you cannot be healed.
 They will itch, hurt, smell terrible, darken the skin and
 disfigure so you can hardly be recognized. This plague is similar
 to the one which God plagued Egypt with. (Exodus 9:8) They will
 be more painful than those suffered by Job or the Egyptians.
 

BOWL 2 - WATERS, SEAS 'AS BLOOD' Verse 3

The second angel pours out his bowl upon the sea, the second plague.
 This again affects the water. This plague causes the sea to become
 like the blood of a dead man. This may not mean actual blood, but
 like the appearance of blood, blood that is decaying. The blood
 which under the Law represented life, here it becomes the means of
 judgment and death. Once again this will be far worse than the
 plague when Moses lifted his rod and struck the waters of the Nile
 river. John see's that every living soul in the sea dies because of
 the terrible pollution. Every creature in all the oceans and sea's
 of the world dies. Some interpreters have tried to symbolize this
 plague making the "sea" representative of the nations in general.
 If that were true then every person in the world would die but
 that is not the case as there are more plagues to come.





BOWL JUDGMENTS Revelation 16, Verses 4 thru 7

 This is the third bowl judgment. It is poured out on the fresh
 waters, rivers, streams, and springs to become as blood.
 Again there is no limits on this judgment. All source of water for
 drinking for washing are turned to blood. The Bible doesn't tell
 us but this plague must bring much suffering and death, because
 the people of Egypt were able to dig away from the river and find
 water that had been filtered by the soil and they were able to
 drink it. Exodus 7:24

 There is not indication that anything like that will be possible
 when this plague is poured out. Those who question God's
 righteousness in His judgments do not understand sin's terrible
 evil or God's intense hatred of it. Tim LaHaye made a statement
 I thought interesting. He says whether this means literal blood
 is inconsequential, for if Christ can turn water into wine,
 He certainly can turn water to blood.

 This angel of the waters justifies this terrible plague.
 He recognized God as righteous. He also knows that God is the
 Eternal One, which art, and wast, and shalt be. This angel also
 recognizes that God has demonstrated his nature by judging the
 unrighteous followers of the antichrist. God's righteousness and
 justice are demonstrated also in the inhabitants of the earth.
 They were all a part of the world system that shed the blood of
 saints and prophets. By the time of these final plagues if there
 are any believers they will have been martyred. All those who take
 the mark of the beast share in the guilt of their death.

 In verse 7 another voice out of the altar confirms the message of
 the angel of the waters. He says no one can question God's acts of
 judgment for they are true & righteous. He has the power to carry
 out that he is. The world does not understand the exceeding
 sinfulness of sin, nor do they understand the holiness of God.
 So those who reject this provision for salvation through the blood
 of Jesus must be punished. Those who do not deal with their sin at
 the Cross, by confessing it and accepting God's forgiveness must
 have it dealt with in the judgment. This is God's earthly
 vindication of the suffering martyrs from earliest time to the
 present, answering the prayers of the souls under the altar in
 Revelation 6. This judgment bowl is similar to the plague in Egypt
 where the rivers were polluted by God with blood. Exodus 7:17-25


BOWL 4 - SUN, Verses 8-9
 
 This is the fourth bowl judgment and it is poured out the sun.
 Severe heat and radiation from the sun will scorch the ungodly.
 There will be a heat wave unlike anything the earth has ever known.
 The sun will burn and scorch people with a blazing, fierce heat.
 This a supernatural judgment accomplished by the power of God.
 Fire in the Bible often speaks of judgment. It may be also that the
 great heart of this plague will melt the polar caps, raising the
 sea level and causing further devastation to many parts of the
 earth. The pain drives man not to repentance, but to blaspheme th
 name of God. The ungodly will not repent anymore than they do today.
 They seem though to realize that God, not Satan, or the antichrist,
 or the false prophet have control over plagues, but they still will
 not give God the glory or repent. This is a warning to those today
 who have heard the truth of the gospel but stubbornly persist in
 going their own way.

 Tim LaHaye made this statement in his commentary
 When we add the effect of this excruciating heat on the waterways
 and rivers that have been polluted, we find people almost tasting
 the torments of hell described by Jesus in Luke 16:23-24,
 without water to satisfy their thirst.


 Luke 16:23-24
 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham
 far away and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said,
 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he
 may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue,
 for I am in agony in this flame.'
  




BOWL  5 - SEAT of the BEAST (Rome?)
Verse 10 and 16


 This is the fifth bowl judgment. It is poured out on the seat or
 throne of the antichrist, meaning his headquarters. More than
 likely this will be the rebuilt city of Babylon, which will be the
 center of all commerce, religion, evil, and government. This puts
 the kingdom of the antichrist into total darkness, which in turn
 disrupts his rule. It also prevents those suffering from the
 previous plagues from seeking relief. They are suffering from
 sores, thirst, filth, and the awful smell of the water, scorching
 heat, and now pitch black darkness. Christ predicted that the sun
 and all other light would be darkened, pitch black darkness.
 
 Matthew 24:29 & Mark 13:24-25
 And again rather than repent they blaspheme God, and refuse to
 change their ways. There is an indication though that repentance
 could stop the judgments but no one repents. One thing is clear,
 no judgment, no purgatory, not even the lake of fire, will bring
 repentance to those who have rejected the mercies of God and His
 great salvation.


BOWL  6 - Euphrates River
 Verse 12 thru 16

 This is poured out on the Euphrates River, one of the world's
 greatest rivers. The reason for the drying up of the Euphrates
 river is to allow the great army of nations to form and march
 against Israel and to exterminate the jews. The drying up of the
 Euphrates means that it is no long a barrier for the kings of the
 East(the Orient) to come with their armies in the direction of
 Israel and the valley of Megiddo. The kings of the East are the
 nations east of Israel, apparently involving the Arabs, China,
 and all the other eastern nations.

 Tim LaHaye made this comment in his commentary on Revelation.
 One of the many signs that indicate we may be approaching the end
 times and the fulfillment of these prophecies in Revelation is the
 rise of China and its massive army. He went on to say not only did
 they have a population of over 1 billion but has an army of 200
 million. Since 50% of the world will have been destroyed by this
 time, it will be smaller. China is already moving in the political
 direction that will make it possible to march over the Euphrates
 river to participate in the Battle of Armageddon. This would have
 been impossible sixty years ago. But today it is not only possible
 but very likely. After the way is prepared for the "kings of the
 east" to come, the (dragon, Satan) the beast, and the false
 prophet are ready to go into action.