Revelation Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen
(From Dr. Hyle's excellent book, Let's Study The Revelation)
INTRODUCTION: These two chapters should be one, so we are going to treat them as such.
Verses 1:
The words "FILLED UP " mean "completed. " In other words, God’s wrath will be completed with these seven last plagues found in chapter 16. As horrible as the previous plagues have been, they cannot compare to these last seven plagues which complete the wrath of God.Verses 2-4:
These verses are stated parenthetically, showing the joys of God’s people at the sight of the completion of God’s wrath and the nearness of the coming Kingdom.Verses 5-8:
A door opens to the Temple in Heaven.Seven angels having seven last plagues come out of the door. One of the four beasts (living creatures) gives to each angel a vial from which to pour the seven last plagues.
Revelation 16, Verse 1:
"VIALS " means "bowls, " implying that God’s wrath is going to be poured out on the earth, with no mercy whatsoever. Let us look at these seven plagues.Verse 2:
PLAGUE 1- "NOISOME " means "terribly destructive. " The word "SORE " means "boils or ulcers. " Imagine running boils and bloody ulcers upon the men who worship the Beast. Some say this cannot happen and cannot be literal. Proof that this can happen is that it did happen to the Egyptians in the Book of Exodus.Verse 3:
PLAGUE 2-The second plague is the death of every living soul in the sea. Imagine the dead carcasses of all of the fish, etc., in the sea floating on top of the water. In the second trumpet mentioned in chapter 8 one-third of the life in the sea died. Now all of it dies. Imagine the diseases that could come from such a catastrophe.Verses 4-6:
PLAGUE 3-In this plague all water becomes blood. Verse 6 tells the reason. They have shed the blood of God’s people and refused the blood of God’s Son, so they are reaping what they have sown. The word "worthy " in verse 6 means "deserving. "Verse 7:
The question arises immediately- "How could a righteous God do such a thing? " This verse explains that a righteous God must do such things. Justice and righteousness demand punishment for sin. That is what God is giving in these plagues.Verse 8:
PLAGUE 4-This plague gives power for the sun to scorch men with great heat. Many will die with heat strokes, many will burn to death.Verse 9:
People often say that when these days come, then they will repent. This verse says they will not repent. Repentance can only come by conviction of the Holy Spirit, and He will not convict those who have continually rebelled against Him when this day comes. They will curse God and repent not. That is exactly what is happening today.Verse 10:
PLAGUE 5-This plague is darkness and the kingdom of the beast. This darkness will be so great that the men of the earth will chew their tongues for pain. Will this cause them to repent? They will curse God more and repent not.Verse 12:
PLAGUE 6-This is a very interesting verse. You will notice that the Euphrates River is going to be dried up in order that the kings of the East might cross it and have a way to Palestine. "East " means "sun-rising. " The land of the rising sun is Japan and the East (China, etc.).This verse definitely teaches, along with other verses in the bible, that the kings from the East will also march on Israel. In our two previous studies we have found that the Battle of Armageddon will see the armies from the North (Russia, Turkey, etc.) invading Israel and the armies from the West (the revived Roman Empire, or the United States of Europe) invading Israel.
Now then, we find that the countries from the East will invade Israel, but something hinders them. The Euphrates River has long been a dividing force and a natural protection for countries east and west of it, so God will simply dry up this river to let the kings of the sun-rising march through. If that sounds foolish to you, you may study the history of Israel as God dried up the Red Sea and the River Jordan. The Euphrates River is 1,800 miles long, 300-1,200 yards wide, and 20 to 60 feet deep. God will dry it up to make ready for the great Battle of Armageddon.
SUMMARY THUS FAR: In our study of the Revelation we are now prepared for the Battle of Armageddon. We have studied how that Russia and her allies will come from the north, the revived Roman Empire under the Antichrist will come from the west, and China, Japan etc., will come from the eat upon the land of Palestine. Now, let us notice some concluding things about this battle.
Verse 13:
The word "SPIRITS " means "demons. " These demons come out of the mouth of the Devil’s trinity.You will notice the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, which compose the Devil’s trinity. The dragon is the opposite to God the Father, the beast (Antichrist) to God the Son, and the false prophet to God the Holy Spirit.
You will notice that the spirits are like frogs, denoting that these three personalities, like a frog, come from quagmire and dark, evil places.
Verse 14-15:
1. These demons will enable the Devil’s trinity to work miracles. Satan, you know, does have the power to perform miracles.2. These miracles will be used to deceive the nations in order to gather them together for the Battle of Armageddon.
Verse 16:
This verse tells the place where they will be gathered. They will be marching upon Armageddon, which means the "Mount of Slaughter. " Little does Russia realize today that as she plans her conquest, she is simply a tool in God’s hand to meet the appointment that she has with Christ at Armageddon. Little does Western Europe and the countries of the East realize that they are only preparing now for the appointment with Jesus at Armageddon.Verse 15:
We are placing verse 15 after verse 16 because we believe that it has an entirely different thought. It is inserted to warn us who read that Jesus will come as a thief.A "THIEF " comes to steal and carry something away. Jesus is coming to carry us away.
The word "BLESSED " means "happy. " Happy is he who watches for the Lord’s return.
Those who are not ready will be exposed shamefully as naked, because they have not been covered by the blood of Jesus.
Verses 17-18:
PLAGUE 7-The word "INTO " means "upon. " Hence, this vial is poured out upon the air.This plague concludes God’s judgment upon the earth. Notice the words, "It is done, "-the same words that Christ uttered on the cross.
When this vial is poured out upon the earth it caused thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes worse than have ever been in history.
Verse 19:
This verse explains the fall of Babylon which we will discuss in chapters 17 and 18. This verse summarizes the events of Revelation 17 and 18.Verse 20:
The earthquakes will be so bad that islands shall be moved, valleys shall become mountains, and mountains shall become valleys. The whole form of the earth will be changed. This fits in perfectly with Zechariah 14, which tells of the Mount of Olives being torn in two pieces at the final day of our Lord.Verse 21:
To conclude the plagues, great hail falls out of the Heaven. Every hailstone weighs a talent. (A talent is over approximately 114 lbs.) Imagine hailstones weighing over 100 pounds each. In Constantinople in 1831, the report came that hailstones the size of a man’s shoe fell killing animals and people, splintering houses, and causing havoc in general. These hailstones weighed around two pounds. Imagine the destruction of hailstones weighing fifty times that much.
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