Day 364: Revelation 16-18

(We have seen the first explanation of the events for the Tribulation from beginning to end were given with six seals (Chapters 5 and 6). The seventh seal was not a continuation of the six seals, it contained seven trumpets. The first six trumpets (Chapters 8 and 9) gave a more specific explanation of the events for the second half of the Tribulation. Now, we have seen the seventh trumpet contained the seven bowls, which represented the seven curses that would occur in the last days of the Tribulation. The seals, trumpets, and bowls were concurrent explanations of events that occurred during the Tribulation, with increased focused on the end of the Tribulation. This is clearly seen in the following diagram with the "16 (Seven Bowls)"...however, the extent of the events are only as long as the "16." The events of the following chapter do not extend beyond the end of the Tribulation (the area covered by "(Seven Bowls)")...(click on diagram to enlarge).)

Revelation 16

(This chapter gave the curses of the seven bowls during the last days of the Tribulation.)

¹ And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.

(The seven angels were told to pour out the bowls (vials) of God's wrath on the earth.)

² And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image.

(The first bowl caused a "noisome" (of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be) and "grievous" (full of labors, annoyances, hardships) sore to come upon those who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. It appears that people will have an allergic/toxic reaction to the (electronic?) mark that is placed in their skin.)

³ And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.

(The second bowl was poured on the sea and it became blood as of a dead man (coagulated - from a liquid to a thickened mass; curdle). The oceans cover 3/4 of the earth's surface. Everything that exists in this part of the earth will die.)

⁴ And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood.

(The third bowl was poured on the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood (flowing blood).)

⁵ And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou, who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge:
⁶ for they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy.

(The second bowl made the salt water deadly. This third bowl made the fresh water deadly. The people of the earth will not have a fresh water supply, which will be God's response through Justice for the people of the earth martyring believers. The people of earth will require the blood of the martyrs, so God will give them blood in place of water. People cannot live very long without fresh water, so this would imply the timing of these events will be within days of the end of the Tribulation.)

⁷ And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

(The people under the altar were the martyred saints of the Tribulation (Revelation 6:9). They testified that God's response through Justice was Righteous.)

⁸ And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire.

(The fourth bowl was poured on the sun and the angel was given power to scorch men with fire. It appears the earth's ability to protect people from harmful radiation from the sun will be removed.)

⁹ And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.

(The men who were scorched blasphemed God and were unrepentant. In fact, like Pharaoh, these people of earth will harden their hearts.)

¹⁰ And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
¹¹ and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works.

(The fifth bowl was poured on the throne of the beast, the leadership. Notice, the first four bowls focused on the people. The fifth bowl then focused on the leadership. The curses on everyone were completed.)

¹² And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising.

(The sixth bowl was poured on the great Euphrates River and the water dried up. This was related to the sixth trumpet of Revelation 9:13. The reason for this curse was to make the battle of Armageddon possible.)

¹³ And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs:

(The "Anti-trinity" was mentioned together with the effect being three unclean spirits were released.)

¹⁴ for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

(The purpose of these unclean spirits will be to gather the armies of the whole world for the battle of Armageddon.)

¹⁵ (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walked naked, and they see his shame.)
¹⁶ And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-magedon.

(The sixth bowl completely facilitated everything necessary for the battle of Armageddon.)

¹⁷ And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done:

(The seventh bowl was poured in the air and a voice from the temple of heaven, from the throne stated, "It is done." (Revelation 10:7) The Tribulation could be ended.)

¹⁸ and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
¹⁹ And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

(Jerusalem will be divided into three parts from the earthquake.)

²⁰ And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
²¹ And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.

(Hail from heaven with each piece weighing about a talent (about 120 lbs.) will change the landscape of the earth, and men will continue to blaspheme God!)




Revelation 17

(This chapter was informational and gave a big picture perspective of the history of the false religion mentioned in Chapter 13.)

¹ And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven bowls, and spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters;
² with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication.

(One of the angels of the bowls talked with John and showed him the judgment of the great harlot (represented man's religions, all of them) that sits on many waters (peoples, nations, languages, races, etc. from Revelation 17:15). This was the false world religion.)

³ And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

(The beast system here was the same as in Revelation 13.)

⁴ And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations, even the unclean things of her fornication,

(This description of the woman upon the beast has been stated to be the Catholic Church because of the colors purple and scarlet. Whether it will be or not, this woman represented a false world religion that would associate itself with the beast system: seven heads and ten horns.)

⁵ and upon her forehead a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

(She is the mother of harlots. She represented all fornication; all idolatry; all giving of one's self to an image.)

⁶ And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with a great wonder.

(She was drunk with blood of saints and martyrs of Jesus.)

⁷ And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns.

(The angel told John the mystery of the woman. Again, when mystery was mentioned in the Bible, it was given to believers to understand the mystery. God did not want believers to celebrate not knowing the mystery.)

⁸ The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition. And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, they whose name hath not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast, how that he was, and is not, and shall come.

(The beast is Satan's system that was critically wounded during John's time by Jesus' resurrection. During John's time this system "is not," this system during John's time and today has no actual power. It works by deception. We have to choose to embrace it and let it into us. However, during the second half of the Tribulation, it will be given the ability to physically overcome believers. Unbelievers will wonder and be deceived during the Tribulation.)

⁹ Here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth:

(Some believe the capitol of this world religion will be in a city that has seven mountains/hills. Rome is built on seven hills, which is why some people point to the Catholic Church. However, there are other prominent cities built on seven hills including: Athens, Istanbul, Jerusalem, and Moscow.)

¹⁰ and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a little while.

(During John's time, the first five kingdoms were gone: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece. The sixth kingdom was the one that existed during John's time: Rome. The seventh kingdom is the one that will exist during the time of the Tribulation. This kingdom will only exist for a little while relative to the years that the previous kingdoms were in authority.)

¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goeth into perdition.

(The seventh kingdom is in charge for a little while and the eighth king (the Antichrist) comes from the seventh kingdom, before he goes to perdition.)

¹² And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour.
¹³ These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast.

(The seventh kingdom consists of ten kings that have authority for one hour (a little while), and then give it to the beast (Antichrist). Just as John the Baptist's purpose was to facilitate Jesus' Ministry (and took a little while), it looks as if the purpose of the seventh kingdom is to facilitate the Antichrist's authority.)

¹⁴ These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful.

(The ten kings will make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them at the battle of Armageddon which ends the Tribulation.)

¹⁵ And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

(This explained the meaning of waters in the first verse of this chapter: Revelation 17:1. The false religion would be used by the Antichrist to unite all the people during the first half of the Tribulation. This false religion itself was deceived: believing that it was doing something good because everyone was being united under its belief system while not realizing, like a harlot, she was being used for fornication...used to cause people to commit idolatry.)

¹⁶ And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire.

(It appears the seventh and eighth kings will use the world religion for the first half of the Tribulation. However, at the midpoint, the Antichrist takes over the temple and declares every other religion false, especially the world religion represented by the harlot.)

¹⁷ For God did put in their hearts to do his mind, and to come to one mind, and to give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God should be accomplished.
¹⁸ And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

(The woman represented a great city. During John's time, the great city that reigned over all other kingdoms was Rome. Again, another reason people point to the Catholic Church. The events of this chapter are denoted by the "17" and the arrow. The events of the next chapter are denoted by the "18." Notice, there are years between the two chapters (click on diagram to enlarge).)

Revelation 18

(Some people referred to this chapter as "The Harlot’s Obituary." However, this chapter covered an actual city that was different than the harlot from chapter 17. The harlot representing the false religion was destroyed at the midpoint of the Tribulation by the kings of the earth. This Babylon was a city that would fall at the end of the Tribulation by the hand of God.)

¹ After these things I saw another angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

(John saw another angel come from heaven with great power after the destruction of the harlot which occurred at the midpoint of the Tribulation.)

² And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.

(This angel proclaimed that Babylon had fallen.)

³ For by the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations are fallen; and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth waxed rich by the power of her wantonness.

(This was a city that became the center of commerce (traffick) during the Tribulation. Also, Lucifer fell and became Satan because of much "traffick": Ezekiel 28. In Isaiah 14, where Lucifer's five "I wills" were presented, verse 22 spoke of Babylon being cut off.)

⁴ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues:
⁵ for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

(God's people will be called out of this idolatrous city, just like Sodom. Verse 5 sounded like Genesis 18:20-21 where God said the cry of Sodom's sins had reached up to heaven.)

⁶ Render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her works: in the cup which she mingled, mingle unto her double.
⁷ How much soever she glorified herself, and waxed wanton, so much give her of torment and mourning: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall in no wise see mourning.

(Babylon was in pride. Notice, this Babylon claims to sit as a queen. The harlot sat drunkenly on a beast.)

⁸ Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God who judged her.

(This great city, like Sodom, will be "utterly burned with fire" (to be consumed by fire) in one day by God.)

⁹ And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her, shall weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning,
¹⁰ standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

(Another difference between the harlot and this seat of commerce: The kings of the earth burned the harlot with fire (Revelation 17:16), while the kings of the earth lamented over this Babylon's destruction by God. Again, the harlot from chapter 17 was a religion. Bablyon in this chapter was valued for its commerce which was expounded upon here...)

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their merchandise any more;
¹² merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;
¹³ and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men.
¹⁴ And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all.
¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning;
¹⁶ saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stone and pearl!
¹⁷ for in an hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any wither, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood afar off,
¹⁸ and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city?
¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
²⁰ Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.

(Again, her destruction occurring in an hour ought to have proven that it was God who did this, not man.)

²¹ And a strong angel took up a stone as it were a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all.

(The angel cast a millstone in the sea saying that Babylon will be cast down as the millstone. Again, the description was a sudden physical and violent destruction, not the destruction of the world religion as evidenced by the following description...)

²² And the voice of harpers and minstrels and flute-players and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft, shall be found any more at all in thee; and the voice of a mill shall be heard no more at all in thee;
²³ and the light of a lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the princes of the earth; for with thy sorcery were all the nations deceived.
²⁴ And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the earth.

(In this great city of commerce was the blood of prophets, saints, and of all that were slain on the earth. Again, whether this was a spiritual allusion to Satan or whether it was a statement that love of the physical over the spiritual has led to the killing of believers, the earth's economic system will be completely destroyed with God's judgment of the great city of Babylon. This post showed the systematic destruction of the earth by God which concluded the third and largest section of the Book of Revelation. The fourth and final section gave a chronological explanation of the events from the end of the Tribulation through eternity.)

Day 365