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Saturday, 24 January 2015

Revelation 16 - The seven bowls of wrath

Not one of the jolliest chapters in the Bible! There are some similarities between these plagues and the plagues of Egypt, but after the first three any similarities disappear. Also, unlike the previous plagues in Revelation these ones are total in their effect. So this represents the final and complete defeat of the rebellion. These are the plagues of God's wrath, God's judgement on the world.
First ugly boils and sores break out on those who worshipped the beast. 
Next the sea turns to blood and everything in it died.
Then springs and rivers became blood. Then came the voice of an angel declaring that God's judgements are just. People complain that a God of love would not do such a thing, but such people are fools. When this happens it will be an act of justice, perfectly justified.
Then the sun became an enemy. Yet the people still refused to repent. Now one might object that if God had used love instead they would have repented, This is nonsense. For God did use love, He sent His only Son and we crucified Him.
Then the throne of the beast was attacked and great darkness came, yet the people still refused to repent.
Then evil spirits came out from the dragon and went into the world to prepare for the battle of Armageddon. 
Verse 15 strongly implies that we will still be around when this happens. There are also several references in the NT to Jesus coming like a thief in the night . 
Then there were earthquakes and lightning and hail. Human society collapsed completely.

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