Tag: third angel

7.x. Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.

Revelation 16:1   Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”

God’s wrath is let loose on mankind.  All of those who have rejected Him, His message of repentance, and salvation through Jesus Christ will experience His wrath in ways that have not been known to mankind.  Know this, His wrath is furious as His love is full of grace and mercy.  We often think about His absolute pure and holy love but fail to see that His wrath, anger, and judgment are absolutely pure.  All of the judgments that have come at the hands of man and Satan are nothing compared to God’s wrath and judgment.  The first bowl is harmful and painful sores.  This afflicts all who have taken the mark of the beast, all who have rejected the message of His witnesses, and those who have killed the saints (those who have rejected the beast and have come to Jesus Christ.)  Even during the 7 seals and the 7 trumpets and all of the calamity, unrest, and wonders associated with these judgments, people still choose to deny Jesus Christ.  Do you ever wonder how hard a heart has to be to reject the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ and choose to be blind to things that are happening at God’s command?  We might understand how it happens right now in the US as we live during a time of prosperity.  People just don’t see a need for Jesus Christ, and if they do, it seems as though it is not with their whole heart, mind, and soul, but with a want for the benefit but without and change in their life.  How many times are we neglectful and complacent with our time in His Word, prayer, and humble service?  How many times are we chasing after things this world has to offer and not the things of God?  How many times do we choose the worldly stuff over Godly living?  We can read about God’s judgment against those who have willfully and knowingly rejected Him but how much more do we deserve His judgment for willingly and intentionally choosing to live lukewarm Christian lives that serve no more as a testimony to Jesus Christ than those who openly deny Him.  We do well to search our heart, mind, and soul for that which hinders us from humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying Him.

7.u. he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath

Revelation 14:9   And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

I found these comments in a commentary – Once Delivered APRIL 22, 2014: “A third angel follows the other two and pronounces woe on those who worship the beast and his image and receive a mark on their foreheads or hands. The consequences of rejecting God – who has revealed Himself in creation, conscience, Christ, and the canon of scripture – are spelled out plainly. The one who embraces the beast will experience the consequences of his or her rebellion.  Secondly, the beast worshiper will be “tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever”. There is little doubt that this is a reference to the everlasting consequences of rejecting God. While those who cast their lot with the beast will lament Babylon’s fall, they also will discover that their torment is just beginning. To make it clear, God does not delight in the torment of His adversaries. Rather, He allows them to be excluded from His kingdom by their own choice. And in their everlasting destruction, they will become aware of His dominion and ultimately acknowledge it.

The permanence of the unbeliever’s fate is punctuated in John’s words, “[A]nd the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever” (v. 11a). This should not be twisted to mean that only the fires of hell are eternal while the wicked are annihilated. Jesus describes hell as a place where the unbeliever’s “worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). Further, the same Greek words used to describe eternal life are employed in the depiction of eternal damnation. Rebellion against an eternal God who offers us eternal life has eternal consequences. In Jesus’ account of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), the rich man, Lazarus, and Abraham all are conscious and self-aware after their deaths – in Abraham’s case, hundreds of years after his passing. On the Mount of Transfiguration, the spirits of Moses and Elijah appear. And in Rev. 20:10, we are told, “The Devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  John intends the reader to see the contrast between those in verse 11, who find no rest day or night, and those in verse 13, who rest from their labors.  One final note: John offers hope. In fact, he prefers it. The door of grace is yet open, for he writes, “If anyone worships the beast …” This is a clear warning to those who choose to worship the beast, but it’s also a reminder that salvation is still within reach for those who take Christ’s nail-scarred hand into their own.”