August 4, 2020: What in the World is Going On? (Part 5)
This is my fifth article in the series titled “What in the World is Going On?” and it covers Revelation chapters 14 - 16.
NOTE: I am not a Bible scholar. While I read the Bible everyday and I’ve read the books of Revelation and Daniel many times, I very well may not have the perfect understanding of them. Therefore, I urge you to please read the Bible for yourself, asking God to pour out the Holy Spirit upon you before you do and to provide you with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of what you are about to read. I am very analytical and was a software tester for many years. I am all about the details, and I like things to have a clear understanding. However, in these books, I think in particular, there are some things that God just doesn’t want us to know exactly how they will play out. I think if we could figure them out, then many would not turn to Jesus Christ and would not be looking and ready for His return until the very last moment in time. I think this is one reason why Jesus always told us to be ready, and watching.
Jesus and the 144,000
John looked and saw Jesus standing on Mount Zion with 144,000 virgin men who had His Father’s name written on their foreheads. John heard music and the 144,000 singing a new song that only they knew and they sang it before the throne. They were redeemed among men and were firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. There was found no deceit in them, While the Bible doesn’t say these are the same 144,000 who were sealed from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, as mentioned in Revelation 7, it certainly could be those same men.
Proclamations of Three Angels
John saw another angel flying in heaven, “having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people - saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’” Can you imagine seeing this and hearing these words from an angel? And yet, how many people will still deny Jesus Christ and not turn to Him but instead take the mark of the beast?
Another angel was proclaiming that Babylon, the great city, had fallen because “she has made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” I will discuss Babylon in the next article that covers Revelation 17 and 18.
A third angel made a very important proclamation in a loud voice. I think it is so important that I have put all of it in bold because there are people today who are saying a person could take the mark of the beast and still be saved and go to heaven when they die. That is simply not true and is a bold-faced lie. Here is what the angel says:
“If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
I do believe that with the coronavirus, people are being conditioned for the mark of the beast and the world economies are being set up so that they are cashless. We are already seeing supposed coin shortages and businesses not accepting cash. By not having cash, all of our spending can be controlled and monitored. With cash, two people could agree to buy and sell something and no one else would know about it. While the Bible does not explicitly say there won’t be any cash, I do think it alludes to it.
John then says, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Based on this statement, I think it is clear that there will be people who are not raptured prior to the tribulation and who come to faith in Jesus Christ during the tribulation. They persevere in their faith in Jesus and do not take the mark of the beast. John then writes that a voice from heaven says, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” This means that they must die for their faith in Jesus Christ, meaning they must become martyrs. While it is horrible that they must be killed for their faith in Jesus Christ, it is better for them to die and have eternal life with Jesus Christ than to live and worship the antichrist but spend an eternity in hell. We can also remember others martyred for their faith in Jesus and how they did not fear as they were dying, such as Stephen.
Reaping the Earth’s Harvest and the Grapes of Wrath
John then saw someone I believe is Jesus Christ based on John’s description of Him. John describes Him as One like the Son of Man, sitting on a white cloud. He had a golden crown on His head and was holding a sharp sickle. An angel said to Him, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”
Then one angel said to another angel who was also holding a sharp sickle, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. The angel then trust in his sickle into the earth, gathered the vine and threw it into the winepress of the wrath of God. It says blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles for 1,600 furlongs, which is about 184 miles.
Some people believe Jesus’ reaping in Revelation 14:14-16 was that of Christians and the one in verses 17-20 is of unbelievers. However, others believe both reapings are referring to unbelievers. I have read several commentaries on this and of course the Bible itself and I can’t say with certainty that the reaping by Jesus is of believers or of unbelievers. but at least to me, it clearly contrasts with the next harvesting in verses 17-20. Jesus’ harvest speaks to the harvest of the earth whereas this harvest is referring to harvesting clusters of the vine of the earth and then throwing them into “the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Clearly, this is is for unbelievers and there is much blood as a result of it. We don’t see the word “wrath” mentioned in the harvesting done by Jesus.
Prelude to the Bowl Judgments
John then saw a sign in heaven with seven angels having the last seven plagues, and John says, “For in them the wrath of God is complete.” John saw something that looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and standing on it were those who had victory over the antichrist and they had harps of gold. “They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
“Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested.”
John then saw seven angels holding the seven bowls of wrath and a temple filled with smoke from the glory of God and His power. No one was able to enter the temple until the plagues were poured out.
The Seven Bowl Judgments
First Bowl - Loathsome Sores: A fowl and loathsome sore came upon those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. Today, there is speculation by some that the mark of the beast will change a person’s DNA composition and that this is why the sores would come upon only those who took the mark.
Second Bowl - The Sea Turns to Blood: Although the second trumpet judgment turned 1/3 of the sea to blood, which could be seen as a warning to unbelievers, this time, the entire sea is turned to blood and every creature in it died. Can you imagine having to see and smell this? It would be putrid.
Third Bowl - The Waters Turn to Blood: Unlike the third trumpet striking only 1/3 of the waters and making them bitter, this judgment turns them to blood, making them undrinkable and leaving mankind without any water to drink. The angel makes it clear why they were turned to blood:
“You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and You have given them blood to drink, for it is their just due.”
It is clear that the reason this is done is because they killed those who followed Jesus. They love blood, so God is giving them blood to drink.
Fourth Bowl - Men are Scorched: Power was given to an angel to scorch men with fire from the sun. Men were scorched, and what did they do? Did the repent of their sins, turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and give Him glory? No, they blasphemed the name of God.
Fifth Bowl - Darkness and Pain: The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the antichrist’s throne and his kingdom became full of darkness, and “they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.” We know that lack of sunlight can cause all kinds of health problems, including depression, bone and back pain, muscle pain, and other problems. Because they chose Satan’s evil darkness over God’s saving light, He is giving them exactly what they wanted. Once again, they did not repent but blasphemed God.
Sixth Bowl - Euphrates Dried Up: Next, the sixth angel poured out his bowl to dry up the great Euphrates River “so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.” Unclean spirits like frogs came out of the mouths of Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet. They are spirits of demons that performed signs that go out to the kings of the earth in order “to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon (Meggido). I believe this references the time when Jesus will destroy them at His second coming, as described in Revelation 19:11-21.
Jesus then speaks and says, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” Based on my understanding of the scriptures, I believe this to mean that we must always be looking and ready for His return. We should be drawing near to Him everyday, through prayer and by reading His word. We should pay attention to Bible prophecy and look for the things He told us would be signs of His coming and of the end of the age. We know that the rapture can happen at any moment and we must be ready to meet Him in the clouds.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11, it says, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day [the Day of the Lord] should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day, We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” Again, this emphasizes that believers in Christ are not of the darkness but of the light of Jesus Christ and we should be ready always for Him.
Seventh Bowl - The Earth Utterly Shaken: The seventh angel poured out into the air the last bowl judgment. A loud voice from the throne in heaven said, “It is done!” There were noises and thunderings and lightnings. I wonder if it could sound something like a tornado sounds when it’s approaching you. Then there was a great earthquake like never before since men were on the earth. As of August 3, 2020, the largest recorded earthquake in history was on May 22, 1960 in Bio-Bio, Chile. It killed 1,655 people, left 2 million people homeless, and caused a tsunami that killed even more people and caused major damage around the world. It is likely that even this earthquake won’t compare to the one mentioned here in Revelation.
Next, it says, “Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.” Some commentaries say this refers to Jerusalem in Israel, while others believe it refers to Babylon. I am not sure. Then it says, “And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” We’ll discuss Babylon in the next article.
It then says every island fled away and the mountains were destroyed. Clearly, the earth has been leveled at the hand of God. Finally, there were great hailstones falling from heaven upon men. The hailstones were about the weight of talent, which is between 75 - 100 pounds! Can you imagine the damage this type of hail would do? And yet, once again, men did not repent of their sins and turn to Jesus Christ and instead, they blasphemed God.
Are You Ready for What is Coming?
With everything going on in the world as I write this article, it is nothing compared to what is coming upon this earth. Never before have I seen people say things like, “What in the world is going on?” As I am writing this today at 11:15 am on August 4, 2020, I just read about an hour ago about a massive explosion and a huge shockwave in Beirut, Lebanon. It was horrific and brought back memories of 9/11 in the USA. It is clear that many must have been killed and many injured as a result of this explosion. As I read through some of the comments, here is what people are saying,
“This is just crazy! What is happening to this world?”
“2020 is the worse year.”
“I hope that the year 2020 will end quickly.”
“2020 is literally the worse year.”
“2020 is one of the worse year in human history.”
“2020 is worst for humans so far.”
“This just happened in Beirut, Lebanon. 2020 just won’t stop huh?”
The answer to that last comment is, no, it is not going to stop; it will only get worse, much worse.
If you have not accepted Jesus Christ, I strongly urge you to repent of your sins, believe in Him that He is the resurrected Messiah, the only One who can save you from your sins, before it’s too late. Things are only going to get worse, much worse, as you can tell from what’s written in the book of Revelation. Don’t wait another day; you may not have one more day.
My Next Article
Lord willing, my next article will discuss Revelation chapters 17 and 18. The scarlet woman, the scarlet beast, and the fall of Babylon the great and the world’s mourning of it.