There will be rejoicing when the angel pours out the seventh bowl. This devotional reading looks at the presence of God when the last bowl is released.
Nuggets
- In the fullness of His time, God will cease to allow sin to continue.
- The presence of God is always marked by phenomena.
- Babylon the Great – earth and mankind – will have its day in court.
- There will still be people cursing God on the Day of the Lord.
Okay, first things first. We need to look at the connections from the sixth bowl.
Then we get to move on with the seventh.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Bowl series
Making the Connections #1
Bradford had a very interesting take on the sixth bowl. He wrote,
“But, when we look at this passage in its original Hebrew we find something a little startling. It seems that both the CJB using Adonai and the other standard English Bible versions using Lord mislead us. Everywhere we find Adonai or Lord in these verses in actuality in the original Hebrew we find Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh; Yehoveh, God’s formal name as given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Or better, Yehoveh, who is God the Father. Thus we have Yehoveh who is coming, setting his foot on the Mt. of Olives whereupon it splits. It is Yehoveh who will go out to Armageddon and fight the nations. It is Yehoveh who will be king over the whole world. However in Christian Theology all of these attributes and activities are strictly assigned to Yeshua, God’s Son. Quite the mystery.”
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That puts everything into a different perspective, doesn’t it?
The Commander in Chief doesn’t just send His General out to fight the battle. He goes Himself.
I can see that. We said that the revelation itself recorded by John was from God, not Jesus.
The original sin was committed against God, not against Jesus. Jesus was only — and yes, it is a huge “only” — sacrifice.
God should be the One to defeat Satan. The offense was against Him.
Making the Connections #2
Okay, I have to process what Vaughan said. What he calls the final rescue is throwing me. He wrote,
“Frustrated by the final rescue which transfers the [imperiled] [Savior], by ascension, to the throne of God in heaven — and himself receiving a defeat in the war with the glorified Christ which hurls him back, wrathful and revengeful, upon an earth not yet regenerated — he [the dragon from Revelation 12] turns all his fury first upon the Church, which escapes from him into the wilderness, cared for by God Himself, who has prepared there her temporary home and her heavenly supplies — cared for by God, but helped even by the earth, who, in a sense wonderfully true to history, has sometimes even protected and [favored] her — first, I say, upon the Church herself, and then (by a slight modification of the metaphor) upon the individual Christian, represented as not yet sharing the full security of the Church as a whole, as having still to fight for his life, though the Church is guaranteed from the once threatened destruction.”
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Okay. Vaughan went back to Chapter 12. This isn’t the 1,000-year reign (Rev. 20: 1-6).
What about the “… himself receiving a defeat in the war with the glorified Christ which hurls him back, wrathful and revengeful, upon an earth not yet regenerated …” part?
If the dragon and the woman’s battle is Jesus’ coming the first time, Jesus isn’t considered the glorified Christ. He does hand Satan a defeat for the battle, but the war isn’t over.
If this is the battle where Jesus went to the cross to redeem us, I can see why it says “… upon an earth not yet regenerated …” The earth itself won’t be regenerated until the new Heaven and earth come in Revelation 21.
If it is meaning mankind on the earth, the Plan of Salvation has been accomplished. But it wasn’t an automatic salvation for ever living creature.
We have to accept the Plan of Salvation — just as Adam and Eve chose to commit the original sin. It is choice, not automatic.
What ascension Vaughan is referring to is also confusing me. What we call the ascension happened after Jesus’ resurrection 2,000+ years ago. That definitely wasn’t the final rescue. The world has spun on with mankind continuing to sin.
So, my opinion for what it is worth, Vaughan has some things right and some things wrong.
It Is Done!
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe” (Rev. 16: 17-21 ESV)
In the fullness of His time, God will cease to allow sin to continue.
Sin has gone on a long time. Many of us ask why God allows this.
The answer is simple. God knows not everyone will repent and submit to Him.
God wants to allow everyone who will ask for salvation to gain it.
But one day, God’s time will be fulfilled. We can’t gloss over the fact that the “… ‘It is done!’” (Rev. 16: 17 ESV) came out of the temple.
God proclaimed it done.
It reminds me of how Jesus proclaimed “… ‘It is finished’ …” (Jn. 19: 30 ESV) on the cross.
Finished — done. The plan to redeem mankind had successfully been completed.
We might be asking why the angel poured the bowl out into the air. Melvill helped us with that. He wrote, “The air which has received the last vial may be considered as the home or seat of the devil and his angels.”
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Well, that makes sense. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2: 1-3 ESV emphasis added).
God was going after Satan where he was. It matters not if this is where Satan actually lives. We are under his dominion if we are not a child of God.
But what does power of the air really mean? Melvill thought that to mean power over disease, which may lead to loss of life. Many of the diseases are airborne.
The mystery surrounding the gospel is going to be done. Sin is going to be done. Our separation from God will be done.
Lightning, Rumblings, Thunder, a Great Earthquake, and Hailstones
The presence of God is always marked by phenomena.
We’ve talked before about lightning, rumblings, and thunder.
This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about all the rumbling. We know this is the sounds from God’s throne and Mt. Sinai.
- “From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God” (Rev. 4: 5 ESV).
- “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Rev. 11: 19 ESV).
- “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder” (Ex. 19: 16-19 ESV).
This makes me wonder if this is Revelation 20: 12. Earthquakes in God’s Word represent significant changes.
We’ve talked before how the hailstones signifies persecution and tribulation. What greater persecution than the end of the age and the destruction of earth?
Babylon to Drain the Cup of the Wine of the Fury of His Wrath
Babylon the Great – earth and mankind – will have its day in court.
Think about all the people who have been alive since and including Adam and Eve. It would number billions upon billions of people from all nations.
If each of those people would have just one sin, it would be billions (one sin) upon billions (number of people) of sins. The kicker is each of us has a multitude of sins. So, that would make it billions times multitudes upon billions of sins.
That is a lot of sin.
Because of that much sin, God’s wrath will be significant. That would indicate Judgment Day.
Cursed God
There will still be people cursing God on the Day of the Lord.
Some people will just never get it. We know that will be a large number of people. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many” (Mt. 7: 13 ESV).
God is Sovereign God. Since He created us, He can judge us based on His standard.
They can curse God all they want. They will still be thrown into the lake of fire.
Making the Connections
Clemance gave us a good reminder. He wrote, “THE FACT THAT ALL IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD IS A GUARANTEE OF PERFECT EQUITY.”
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The word equity threw me for a second, but it is correct. A synonym for equity is justice. We’ve talked about that a couple of times lately.
We said that justice is bringing order back to God’s creation so that all people receive the rewards He has for His children.
We each have the opportunity to choose God. We each have the opportunity to exercise our free will to not choose God.
That is where the equality comes into play.
There will be consequences if we choose against God. That is where the justice comes into play.
How Do We Apply This?
- Choose which side you are going to be on: God’s or Satan’s.
- Understand you are picking your side even now.
- Focus on God through all the torments of this life.
- Wait for the fullness of God’s time.
- Never seek revenge.
- Be glad that we are redeemed and that we’ll be redeemed on the Day of the Lord.
Resources
Father God. One day, sin will be no more. Lord, we can’t wait until that day comes. We want to be in perfect submission to You. Amen.
What do you think?
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