Wednesday, November 20, 2013

11-20-2013 Vol. 7 Part 38 Book of Revelation (Revelation 16:12-21)

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Psalms 115:1-18 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth. Why should the Gentiles say, "So where is their God?" But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, Both small and great. May the LORD give you increase more and more, You and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's; But the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the LORD, Nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD From this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!
Father God we praise you and ask that you bless us and our loved ones during this Thanksgiving Holiday. Keep us all safe in our travels to and fro. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Revelation 16:12-21 NKJV
In reviewing the past few lessons and looking ahead to the upcoming lessons, personally I believe these plagues will affect people from the four corners of the earth and not just the Middle East. These plagues are to get the Jewish people to repent and turn to God and at that time there will be Jewish people living around the world. Jerusalem, of course, will be the focal point because the seat of the Antichrist will be there at that time. These plagues are not spiritual things they will happen just as they are written. Bible Prophecy always comes true, but most of the time we fail to recognize worldly things that are happening because we are too busy with our personal lives, or we don’t understand what the Bible says, or the Bible is never read, or those that read the Bible read it as a history book and don’t believe what it says. When a person reads the Bible they need to seek the answers is holds, ask the Holy Spirit to unlock the scriptures, and open ones heart to the truth that it teaches and believe.
The sixth bowl involves the Euphrates River, as does the sixth trumpet. Revelation 9:14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." Both judgments deal with demonically inspired military forces. The army of two hundred million in (Revelation 9:15-16 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.) and the army in verse 14 of this lesson 14  For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. The Euphrates is in the center of all these activities that will become known. So let’s move on to our lesson and see what it holds for us this week.
12  Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up; The Red Sea was parted; Exodus 14:21, the Jordan was parted; Joshua 3:13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.", and here we see the Euphrates will be dried up for the nations of the East to come together to destroy Israel. Food for thought; will the heat that scorches man have an influence on the river drying up? Maybe, but probably not since this bowl is poured out and the purpose of this bowl is to dry up the river Euphrates.
So that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared; These are nations from the Orient that will participate in a great conflict driven by satanic power, the war of Armageddon. The sixth angel prepares the way for the final war of the age by drying up of the river Euphrates, allowing armies from the east to approach the vicinity of Israel.
13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
These unclean spirits that look like frogs will come from the mouth of the dragon meaning Satan and the mouth of the beast meaning the Antichrist and the mouth of the false prophet. These spirits will be demonic and can work miracles to deceive the nations of the east in order to get them to come together for the battle of Armageddon. These nations will be deceived to support evil, sin, and the Antichrist. These unclean spirits are of the spiritual world and will not be seen. They will be working behind the scenes in an attempt to accomplish Satan’s plan.
14  For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
During the tribulation rulers of the nations will be demonized. These rulers of other nations will be deceived by Satan with miracles in a scheme to plunge the world into turmoil and come against Israel. It will be Satan’s plan to bring them all together for that great day of battle with Jesus and His Saints. It seems these rulers will be utterly befuddled or their confidence is such that they reason, “Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4
15  "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
This verse it telling us to be ready at all times. Every morning when we get up in the morning we are to put on the Armour of God to ward off the wiles of temptation. We don’t know when we will die, but one thing is for sure we will die, unless the Rapture happens first. We can’t live our life thinking that we will have tomorrow, or next month, or next year to start living for Jesus. When one lives this way they are living a life of Russian Roulette and could end up in Hell for eternity. He will be caught without his cloak of armour on, be seen naked and shamed before the Great White Throne on Judgment day.
16  And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
The place of the battle spoken of in verse 14 is Armageddon, a Hebrew word literally meaning “Mount of Megiddo.” This will be the struggle of good and evil on the plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great slaughters; one of the Israelites and the death of Josiah 2 Kings 23:29 In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him., the other of the Canaanites, Judges_4:16; Judges_5:19. Therefore, it signifies in Revelation, a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. This battle will be at the end of the Tribulation with Jesus striking down those that are sinners and putting an end to evil.
17  Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
It is done! Just as Jesus said it is finished and gave up His ghost, the battle is over and evil is finished. John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. God is making a statement here that Satan; all of his evil spirits; all that live for the world; all that live to please themselves and have no time for God, are no more. They are gone and will not cause harm to God’s children any more. Those that are faithful and survive the Tribulation will be ushered into the Millennial Reign. There will only be one ruler at that time and it will be Jesus Christ. He will rule with an iron rod. There will be no more pleads of, “I had a hard childhood”. What a day that will be to live in total peace.
18  And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
The “voices, thunders, and lightning’s,” are similar to what is recorded at the close of the Seals, Revelation 8:5 and Trumpets Revelation 11:19. There was thunder, lightning, and an earthquake when Jesus died on the Cross too. Jesus said it is finished on the Cross and God is saying it is finished also. This earthquake will be one that could possibly be felt around the world. It will be one of such magnitude our scientist will not be able to record the severity of it. This earthquake will wreak terrible damage in the Middle East, destroy many cities, but perhaps the greatest destruction of all will be on rebuilt Babylon.
I feel it is safe to say that eternal life was born when Jesus defeated Satan on the Cross and here the gift of eternal happiness will be born when evil is wiped from this earth by Jesus. All we have to do is decide who we are going to follow, Jesus, or self.
It is very possible the seventh bowl and the Second Coming of Jesus could happen simultaneously, because Jesus said this in Matthew. Matthew 24:27-31 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.  29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:  30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. We know from verse 10 of this chapter darkness will be poured out of a bowl and envelop the Antichrists kingdom, there will be millions killed for the eagles to feed on, and there will be lightning when Jesus returns. What a glorious day this will be for those in Heaven.
This will probably be the earthquake that will split the Mount of Olives that Zechariah predicted. Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
19  Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
The great Babylon is referring to acts of idolatry, spiritual adultery, self indulgence, sin in general which is exactly what this world will be like when the Tribulation ends. It was Satan that inspired all that took place at Babylon and it will be Satan that will be responsible for the Antichrist, the erecting of his image, and the worship of the image. Therefore God will pour out His fiercest wrath on the city containing the seat of the Antichrist. He will remember what Satan did many years ago and He will pour out His cup of judgment upon her. This great city will be reduce to a pile of rubble with much of it, if not all falling into crevices that will open up from the earthquake. This wrath will no doubt be poured out on other cities of the Middle East that Satan has control of also.
20  Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
This verse goes on describing the power of this earthquake. It will level mountains whether the mountains are on land or in the sea. The shaking will sift the earth like a gold miner sifts a pile of soil. As the miner shakes the sieve the pile levels out and falls. We can’t imagine this happening, a whole mountain being leveled. We can’t imagine an EF5 tornado either until it happens. The one that just hit Washington, IL Sunday (11-17-2013) was only a F4, but it carried debris over a 100 miles. God is all powerful and can do things way beyond our comprehension. Just look at how He made this universe, He spoke it into existence. Anyone that does not fear God, does not know God!
21  And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
As if sores, blood water, scorching heat, no light, great earthquakes, severe lightning and thunder weren’t enough, God is showing more of His wrath by sending down giant hailstones. These hailstones will weigh 75 to 80 pounds each. People won’t have to worry about their cars or siding being dented a little, these hailstones will demolish cars, trucks, and buildings. Even if one is in a building it will be possible for one of these mammoth stones to fall on a person and kill them.
Does this put fear in you knowing these things will happen? If it doesn’t it should, especially if you are not saved. Some believe the Rapture could happen any time which will kick off the Tribulation. Those that are saved will be Raptured and will not experience these events. If these events scare you then why not pray the prayer below with the sincerity of a repentant heart and start living a life for Jesus?
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!

“Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner.  I confess my sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness of all of my sins.  I believe that only you can forgive sin.  I commit my life to you and ask you to come into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life.  I believe that you died to set me free from my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my Savior.”  I believe this and have faith you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”  (John 3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)

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