The Fourth Vial Judgment (Rev. 16:8-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/15/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Fourth Vial Judgment

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                Reference:  Revelations 16:8-9

 

            Message of the verse:  “8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.  9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”

            The earth will really be in bad shape because of all of the previous judgments, and now comes this forth vial judgment when the angel pours out his vial upon the sun so that the sun will be very hot, hotter that it was before, so hot that it will scorch men with fire.  Again there is no repentance from the sin that these people have committed, and not only do they not repent, but they blaspheme the name of God who has the power over these plagues. 

            From my study of these verses there are a couple of OT passages that may fit with these verses.  The first one is from Amos, and there has to be made an assumption here for this to fit in, and that assumption is that because of this great heat that comes from the sun because of this judgment that the polar ice will begin to melt causing the oceans to rise, and some have said that it could be as much as 200 feet which will cover much of the costal lands.  Amos 9:5-6 “The Lord GOD of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, And all who dwell there mourn; All of it shall swell like the River, And subside like the River of Egypt.  6  He who builds His layers in the sky, And has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth—The LORD is His name.”

"For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."  (Mal. 4:1)   This verse seems to describe what this judgment will do.  It could be that some who know the Bible somewhat at that time may get this mixed up with 2Peter 3:10, but that verse has to do with how God will completely destroy the earth at the end of the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ, and then the new heaven and the new earth and the new Jerusalem will be created by God for His saints to live.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Again as I look at this plague or judgment that will come upon the earth I can see the awesome power of God and because of His awesome power I should fear Him more than I do.

 

The Word of God has challenged my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Step of Faith Today:  As I continue to hear about job possibilities I want to put my total trust in the Lord who, if He wants to, will send me where He would want me to go, and He is the One who will provide the necessary people to take care of things while we are gone on this job.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 27:1-3

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 

When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh; my adversaries and foes,

It is they who will stumble.

 

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Vial Judgment (Rev. 16:4-7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/14/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Third Vial Judgment

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                Reference:  Revelations 16:4-7

 

            Message of the verse:  “4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.  5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, ‘Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.’  7 And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’”

            In these verses there can be seen poetic justice, and there are other parts of the Scriptures that also show these types of justice.  Pharaoh tried to drown the little babies who were from Israel, and all of his army was drowned in the sea.  Haman tried to hang Mordecai as he prepared a great gallows to hang him on and ended up being hanged on it along with all of his family.  And in these verses the third vial judgment is poured out upon all of the rivers of the earth and the angel who is in charge of the waters praises God for sending this plague upon the earth-dwellers because they are the ones who have killed all of God’s children, the saints of God by shedding their blood and now they only have blood to drink. In verse seven there comes a voice from the altar praising God because His judgments are true and righteous.

           

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It might be easy from these verses to say that God is vindictive, but that would not be true because one of the purposes of these judgments in the tribulation period is to have people look at their lives and be convicted that they are living in sin and it is God who is going to judge that sin if they do not repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ.  No, God is not vindictive, He is merciful and full of love and compassion, and is patience too, however there will come a time when His patience will be finished and then judgment will come in a swift way, but before that judgment there comes a period of patience. 

            I am thankful for God’s patience with me, as He waited for four years after He saved me to bring me to the point of joining a local church, but when He called me to do so He had prepared my heart to take that step, and I am ever thankful for God’s patience with me for this and other things in my life.

 

The Word of God was comforting to my heart as I read it this morning, and it has also challenged my heart too.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to continue to trust the Lord through these trials that He has sent my way, and also listen to God as He speaks to me so that I may obey Him.

 

 

 

 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 27:1-3

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear.

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.

 

When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh; my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

 

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.    

The Second Vial Judgment (Rev. 16:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/13/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  Second Vial Judgment

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelations 16:3

 

            Message of the verse:  “3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.”  (NLT)

            One of the plagues God used in Egypt was turning the Nile river red like blood, and the second Trumpet judgment God turned one-third of the oceans red with blood, and now in this second vial judgment God will turn all of the oceans red and probably thick like the blood of a corpse, and this will cause everything in them to die.  This judgment will have a huge affect upon the earth as the oceans will certainly give off a horrible smell, and all shipping will be stopped which will greatly affect the buying and selling of goods throughout the entire world.  This is a very short verse, but it certainly says a lot.  This seems to be part of a progression in which eventually all water on the earth will be turned into blood as part of God’s judgment upon the evil people of the world. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at this verse I see God’s power and judgment at work on a sinful world, a world that seems to be more and riper for judgment from the Lord.  Men are proud of their accomplishments that demonstrate power, things like the weapons and bombs that they develop, but God’s power makes these types of things seem like children’s toys.  The power of the wave that came upon some of the nations in the East late last year killing many people in its path, and the power of hurricanes that have killed many people in our own country this year and damaged much property is all part of the power that God has and uses in judgments upon the people of the earth.  To look upon God’s power makes me feel very, very small, and it also makes me so happy that I belong to Him and will for all of eternity.

 

The Word of God has brought conviction and challenge to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord, and to praise His name throughout all of my life even though we are going through some trials at this time in our lives we know that God is on His throne and in charge of all things.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 27:1-3

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 

When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh; my adversaries and foes,

It is they who will stumble.

 

Though and army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Vial Judgment Number One (Rev. 16:1-2)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/12/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  The first vial judgment

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelations 16:1-2

 

            Message of the verse:  “1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.’  2 And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast and upon them that worshiped his image.”

            In this chapter is described seven vial or bowl judgments that are the last judgments that God will pour out upon the earth.  In verse one the call is given from the temple in heaven giving the orders to pour out the vials upon the earth and verse two describes the first vial judgments.  The first judgment is very painful sores, but it is only those who have the mark of the beast and have worshiped the image of the beast that will be affected by it.  This judgment is similar to the later judgments that God gave to Egypt in that not all of them affected the children of Israel, only the Egyptians.  The word used for these sores is the same word that is used for Job’s sores, and also affected those Egyptians in Ex. 9:9-11.  The word is also used for the sores that Lazarus had, (See Luke 16:21).  Of course this word in the OT is from the Greek translation of the OT called the LXX.  One more thing of interest is that when the fifth vial judgment is poured out upon the earth it seems that these unbelievers are still suffering with this first one.  (See Rev. 16:10-11)

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think the thing that strikes me in these verses is the fact that only the unbelievers get these sores and God protects His own when it comes to this judgment.  Another thing that is hard for me to believe, and maybe it should not be, is that these people who get these sores do not repent and turn to God.  After living through the first two sets of judgments these people certainly have to have a pretty good idea that these are coming from God, and instead of embracing Him and seeking forgiveness they curse Him and blame Him, when in fact these judgments are just from the Just God.  I would suppose that there have been many times when God is trying to get my attention and because I am not listening to Him I miss what He is trying to say to me.  This will have to be one of the things that I pray about today and in the days ahead, that I will have my spiritual ears wide open to God leading in my life. 

 

The Word of God has challenged my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To ask God to search my heart and to open my ears to make sure that I am listening to His leading in my life, and to repent of any sin that would prevent me from hearing His voice so that I can follow Him with all of my heart. 

 

 

 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 27:1-3

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; in whom shall I be afraid?

 

When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh; my adversaries and foes,

It is they who will stumble.

 

Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear;

Though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

 

The Last Judgments Begin (Rev. 15:7-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/09/2005

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  The Last Judgments Begin

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  Revelations 15:7-8

           

            Message of the verse:  “7 And one of the four living beings gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.  8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”  (KJ21)

            The seven angels each received a golden vial, which was a small saucer type shallow bowel that was the same type of bowl used in the OT temple worship of the Jews, and these bowls were filled with the last seven plagues of the wrath of God which will be thrown down upon the earth.  The angels were in the Temple area that is in heaven and it became full of smoke from the glory of God and from the power of God.  John then writes that no man would be allowed into this Temple area until all of the seven plagues were thrown down upon the earth and thus finished.

            Perhaps one of the reasons that no man was allowed in the Temple area is because of the awfulness of what was going to happen in that area of heaven and God wanted to keep it to those who were fulfilling these judgments.  I somehow want to compare this to the privacy of what went on in the Holy of Holies once a year when the temple was on the earth and only the High Priest was allowed in there once a year, but I am not sure that these two events have much in common.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to focus in on the way that God is working during these last plagues, and this is probably the way that He always goes about His work, and that is with a no nonsense way of doing things.  Even though these events may seem to be difficult to do, because of who God is He does them because these things are in His character.  With all of this been said I want to be able to make decisions and carry out items in my life in the same way, even though they may be heartbreaking to me, if they need to be done then I must do them. 

 

The Word of God has been very challenging to my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  As things seem to be getting worse in my life I want to continue to trust the Lord because I know of His great love for my, one of His children, and because I know He will work things out for my good and for His glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory verses for the week:                Psalm 27:1-2

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 

When evildoers assail me to eat my flesh; My adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.

God's Final Judgment Begins (Rev. 15:5-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/08/2005

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus: God’s Final Judgment Begins

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelations 15:5-6

 

            Message of the verse:  “5  After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.  6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes round their chests.”

            At the beginning of the chapter there was a reference to the seven angels who had the last judgments in their hands about to throw them down onto planet earth, and with these judgments God’s wrath will be complete.  Then there was a picture of those in heaven giving praise to God in the middle of this chapter, and now the final preparation for the deliverance of these final judgments.  Earlier in this book the saints who had been killed for their testimony about Christ had ask the question when would God judge those who had done these awful things to them, and now that question is answered.  God has always had a plan and His plan will be completed in His own time table.

            John now looks up in heaven at God’s temple, which is opened.  This is God’s Holy of Holies where He resides.  Out of this Temple comes the seven angels who will deliver these last seven judgments upon planet earth.  They are dressed is a similar way to which the OT priests used to dress.  They had shinning linen and wore golden sashes round their chests.  John Macarthur gives these meanings for their dress:  “The fabric represents holiness and purity (Rev. 19:14).  These are belts or girdles, running from the shoulder to the waist, that each of the 7 angels wear over his garments.  The bands demonstrate riches, royalty, and untarnished glory.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I continue to go through multiple trials in my life I know in my heart that God has a plan for all of these trials, and God has a time table for all the things that go on in my life, and I know from my reading in the Scriptures that God wants me to trust Him in His timetable for my life.

 

The Word of God has challenged my heart as I read and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Many times trust the Lord means waiting on the Lord, and there are far too many times that I am not good at this.  The Psalms help me out at many times in these trials that I am going through because the authors of these Psalms were so very honest with the Lord as they poured out their hearts to him.  This is one thing I need to get better at, and by His grace I will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praising the Lord (Rev. 15:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 09/07/2005

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Praising the Lord

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  Revelations 15:3-4

 

            Message of the verse:  “3 And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your actions, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.  4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.’”

            I spoke briefly about the song of Moses in yesterday’s SD; however there seems to be more that can be said in today’s SD.  If you look at the life of Moses and what he accomplished in his service to the Lord you can see kind of a picture of what Jesus Christ did while He was on planet earth.  Moses, through God did ten mighty miracles in order to show the people of the earth that God was who He said He was.  Jesus did many, many miracles while here on earth to prove to the people that He was the Messiah.  The Passover was started by Moses, and the lambs were slain in order to save the people from the death angel who killed the first born in everyone’s family who did not apply the blood to their door posts.  Jesus Christ became the Passover Lamb and shed His blood in order to save all those who applied His blood to the door post of their hearts from sin and eternal death.  As stated in yesterday’s SD the song of Moses was sang after the nation of Israel was delivered through the Red Sea on dry land and all the Egyptians who were chasing them were drowned in the Red Sea trying to catch them.  These believers were saved out of the Tribulation and those who were chasing them will all be sent, not into the sea to drown, but into the depths of hell to eternal punishment.

            John Macarthur writes in his study Bible that the song sung in Revelations 5:8-14 is also part of this “Song of the Lamb,” and that this portion here is only part of it.  In this portion that is here there is much praise given to Christ as He is called the King of the nations, of which He surely is, and it goes on to say that someday all of the nations will come to worship Him, and this is going to happen in the 1000 year reign of Christ upon the earth.  

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is a wonderful thing to be able to give praise and thanks to the Lord each and every day of my life.  I am learning more and more that it is not all about me as I live my life out on planet earth, but it is all about bringing honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ who deserves all of my praise and honor and glory because of His selfless, gracious, merciful, and loving act of dying on the cross for my sins and then being raised from the death because death could not hold Him in its grasp because He was the sinless Son of God. 

 

The Word of God was challenging to my heart and at the same time was refreshment to my soul as I read it and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to trust the Lord and to praise the Lord each and every day of my life for He is God Almighty. 

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 27:1-2

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; in whom shall I be afraid?

 

When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh; my adversaries and foes,

It is they who will stumble and fall.