Skip HeitzigSkip Heitzig

Skip's Teachings > 66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996 > What's in the Bowl? - Part 1

Message:

SHORT URL: http://SkipHeitzig.com/1741 Copy to Clipboard
SAVE: MP3
BUY: Buy CD

What's in the Bowl? - Part 1 - Revelation 16:1-11

Taught on

We now come to the "seven last plagues" of God in the Great Tribulation that is coming upon planet earth. These judgments come in the form of "bowls" being poured out swiftly and completely-the judgment will be swift and thorough. Yet through all the mercy as Well as wrath of this awesome era, people will persist in having a hardened heart. Open your heart 'right now to these truths.

Date Title   ListenNotes Share SaveBuy
1/26/1997
completed
resume  
What's in the Bowl? - Part 1
Revelation 16:1-11
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
We now come to the "seven last plagues" of God in the Great Tribulation that is coming upon planet earth. These judgments come in the form of "bowls" being poured out swiftly and completely-the judgment will be swift and thorough. Yet through all the mercy as Well as wrath of this awesome era, people will persist in having a hardened heart. Open your heart 'right now to these truths.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD

Series Description

Show expand

66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996

66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996

The book of Revelation exalts Jesus Christ as the soon-coming Lord over the earth. Skip Heitzig explains the amazing and mysterious prophecies that form God's final word to mankind.

FREE - Download Entire Series (MP3) (Help) | Buy series | Buy audiobook

Outline

    Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Hide contract

  1. The Releasing of God's Wrath

    1. 1st Bowl - Bodily Sores

    2. 2nd Bowl - Bloody Seas

    3. 3rd Bowl - Bloody Sources of Water

    4. 4th Bowl - Blistering Sun

    5. 5th Bowl - Blackened Sky

  2. The Refusal of Man's Will (9b and 11b)

APPLY THIS STUFF:

  1. Consider the awesome power of God over His creation. Make it your habit to thank God for his perfect balance in Creation: seasons of cold and warm, storms, wind, etc. (Read Psalm 148.)

  2. In what ways do you notice the World hardening its heart against God today? In what Ways do you harden your own heart against God? How will you change that?

Transcript

Open as Word Doc Open as Word Doc    Copy Copy to Clipboard    Print icon    Show expand

Good news ultimately, bad news before the good news comes. I'll make a confession to you. There are some truths that I find difficult to handle. There are some portions of the Bible that I look forward to preaching, teaching. There are others that I don't want to deal with. I have not looked forward to Revelation 16. I wasn't at home this week thinking, goody goody gumdrops! I can't wait to talk about all that wrath and judgment! In fact, this chapter really stretches the imagination as far as suffering is concerned and I can understand why some people would want to skip sections of Scripture like this altogether and just read a nice, comforting psalm or a Gospel story, a parable. And yet, we must remember that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. You say what is the profit of chapter 16? I think there is great profit in this chapter principally that people would realize God does know the end from the beginning, has called it, has written about it, and is warning people everywhere to repent, to change.

When you think about the future, if you are realistic things don't look great. As far as our immediate future is concerned. In a book written by Rob Nelson and John Cowan, in a section called 100 Harshest Facts about the Future, they talk about where we're going. 100 harshest facts about our future. Here's a few. Children born in 1994 will face lifetime tax rate of over 80%. A young black man in Harlem, New York is less likely to live until age 40 than a young man in Bangladesh. The average murderer serves less than 7 years because of prison overcrowding. The median home price has jumped 78% since the early 1960s, making ownership out of reach for many young families. 40% of high school seniors can't name three South American countries. 1/3 of today's ninth graders can't write a brief summary of a newspaper story. During every 100 hours on our inner-city streets, there are three times more young American men who lose their lives in gunfire than those killed during the 100 hours of Operation Desert Storm. Those are harsh truths. They're hard to swallow. And as harsh as they are, I have to disagree with the premise. They are not the harshest facts about our future. Chapter 16 has, not 100, but 7 of the harshest truths about our future. They are bowls that God will allow to be poured out upon the earth in the form of judgment.

We saw in chapter 15 that God was very reluctant, but finally the courts of heaven were closed. The smoke filled the temple. Seven angels were poised, ready to pour out their judgments. And finally, the decree went out. It is time. Let them go. These are the seven last culminating plagues of wrath upon planet earth. This difficult chapter was meant to warn people of the future so that they would turn to Christ. In fact, the tribulation, during that time, there will be several chances for people to change. But sadly, they will not. Some will. The world, however, large will not. A family moved to a little community and they were greeted by the pastor of a local church who invited them to church. The husband, the head of the household, said, well, maybe someday I'll come to church. Tell you what, when I get straightened out, I'll come. Well months went by and he never came and so the pastor called him again. It was the same excuse, well, you know, my life isn't straightened out and when things get straightened out, when I get straightened out, I'll be at church. Well he died a few months later and the wife asked the pastor to do his funeral. So he did his funeral and one of the members of the congregation asked the minister, was he a Christian? And he said well, I can't judge his heart, I don't know but I'll tell you one thing. He's a man of his word. He said he would come when he got straightened out and he did.

What a shame to get straightened out by rigor mortis than by righteousness. We come now to this culminating phase and today we're going to read the first eleven verses and consider, not also seven, but five of the plagues that come in this last blow of judgment. Five because these five are meant for a purpose---to change the world. Verse one: "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth." So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "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." And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 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. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds."

Five bowls are given and a reaction is given. Simply I want to sort of divide this up into those two categories. We want to look at the five bowls of wrath, which is the releasing of God's wrath, and then we want to consider the end of verse 9 and 11, the refusal of man's will. God is issuing forth judgment intended to wake mankind up upon the earth and He's done that time and time again during the tribulation, but man refuses. Now you'll notice, if you haven't already, that there is a similarity between these bowls of wrath, by the way the idea of a bowl, again, is a shallow saucer. Shallow, flat and it's got room for a libation or some kind of a drink offering, some liquid content. But because it's shallow and broad, it could be poured out easily, quickly, and the idea is that these judgments will come at the end very, very quickly in rapid succession, one right after the other. There were seals, there were trumpets, and now there are bowls, and you might really say this is the Super Bowl. These are God's bowls poured out upon the earth. But there is a similarity between these judgments and the seven trumpet judgments. For that matter, there's a similarity between all of these and the plagues in Egypt. Some of the plagues in Egypt seem to match the plagues that will go on during the tribulation period and they also match the seven trumpet judgments that we saw in chapters 8 through 11. But there is a difference. First of all, the plagues of Egypt came upon the Egyptians only. The children of Israel were exempt. They were in the land of Goshen and virtually untouched by any of these judgments so that the plagues that happened in Egypt were localized. The seven trumpet judgments are partial. That is, a third of the green grass is burned up, a third of the water is affected, a third of the seas are affected, and a third of mankind is affected. This now is total. The first was local; the second one was partial; the third is total. It's all of the terrors and the assembling of all of the horrors. The worst of the past plagues of God now completely inundating all of the earth. It is the final judgment.

Let's look at these bowls. The first bowl, in verse two, is a bowl that involves the physiology of people, bodily sores: "So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image." Notice that God is aiming this judgment and it's a bulls-eye. It's not just poured out on everyone, but on a certain group of people. They're targeted and God aims it at the worshipers of the beast. He's done that in the past. You may recall in the book of Joshua, in chapter 10, when Israel fought the Amorites and they were having a battle. It says that God sent hailstone from heaven on the enemies of Israel. And so God was really throwing rocks at them. And it didn't hit the children of Israel. It hit just the Amorites. It was very selective. And it says that more were killed by the hailstones that fell from heaven than the army of Israel. Then there was the worship of the calf in the wilderness and Scripture says the Lord plagued those people, those who worshiped the calf. Why is God judging the worshipers of the beast? Well remember the second commandment? You shall not erect an image and bow down and worship it? That was engraved in the Ten Commandments. They're worshiping the image of the beast. They're breaking the second commandment. They've already broken the first commandment. God is judging them for it.

There is an unfulfilled prophecy, I think; I want to read to you. It's in Deuteronomy 28. It has never happened in Israel's history and it could be that it's reserved for this period. The Lord will strike with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, with the itch from which you cannot be healed. The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed from the sole of your foot to the top of your head. Could be that this Scripture has its fulfillment here. The worshipers of the beast, those who bow down to the image of the Antichrist, that the second beast, the false prophet, erects, we saw in chapter 13. Now remember there was a prediction. If you go back just a couple chapters to chapter 14, look with me at a couple verses. There was a prediction that was made and it's partially fulfilled now, it will be totally fulfilled in eternity. Verse 9 Revelation 14: "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "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."

This bowl which includes a loathsome sore, the boil, reminds us of the sixth plague that came upon the Egyptians. It says that God told Moses to take some ashes of a furnace and sprinkle them up to the heavens and the wind carried it and it became a loathsome sore, boils upon the Egyptians. Literally, here the word boil means an oozing boil or sore. Now normally, a boil as such is an outward display of an inward problem. There's something going on inside the physiology that causes the boils to erupt. So, you look at somebody with boils and you think man, you know, it's not just a skin problem. There's something going on inside and there is a problem here. The problem is the worship of the beast, that's the real issue. It's visibly visible on the outward with these boils. Remember Jesus said to the Pharisees that they looked beautiful on the outside but they were whitewashed tombs or marked graves full of wickedness and all corruption? The fact that He called them marked graves, or whitewashed sepulchers, you know, here you guys are decked out but because of your self-righteousness, because of your hyper-legalism, that's the outward demonstration of the problem on the inside. You are filled with dead men's bones. So the boils erupt here.

Now as far as this bowl is concerned, for that matter all of the bowls, it could be that there is no natural explanation. It could be that God uses nature certainly. It could be just a supernatural thing that happens apart from any natural coincidence at all. But at the same time, it could be, we don't know, we're not told. For instance, this could simply be the result of nuclear fall-out. They say that people who, well look at Chernobyl in 1986, milk cows were contaminated, farmland was contaminated, and people suffered grievous sores, loathsome boils because of the fall-out. And that was just one nuclear reactor. Imagine if the whole world used nuclear weapons what that could do. There is another possibility and I really have been saving this for this chapter. In chapter 13 we talked about the mark of the beast and you may recall we talked about the little microchip that they have invented. They inject it in cattle or pets and you can identify pets around the world. You can identify where that animal or, for that matter, person might be and they're experimenting with these microchips in certain parts of the world, putting them into people and watching the results. I mentioned to you back then that the guy who developed it was named Dr. Carl Sanders who holds a Ph.D. in engineering and electronics. He developed along with a team of people this microchip to possibly solve some of the problems of missing children and thieves and criminals and so forth. And just if everybody had a number they could be tracked. Dr. Sanders, along with a team who developed this microchip for the purpose, said that there were nine levels of information that these designers wanted to have included in this microchip. Number one, the person's name and an image, or picture, of his face or her face. Number two, they wanted the social security number with extra international digits so it could be a worldwide system. Number three, fingerprint identification was to be included. Number four, physical description. Number five, family history. Six, your address. Seven, criminal record. Number eight, your occupation. Number nine, your income tax information. They'll figure a way. And doing a little bit of research on this off of the internet, I found this interesting little article, this microchip is powered by a tiny lithium battery which has a recharging circuit built in. the charging system operates and is regulated by the changes in body temperatures. Dr. Sanders said they spent 1.5 million dollars on research to determine an optimal primary and secondary place in the body for this chip. The data that returned said that there were two places in the human body that the temperature changes most rapidly. They were number one, the forehead, just below the hairline, and number two, the back of the hand. Dr. Sanders talked to a doctor at Boston Medical Center and asked what would happen if that concentration of lithium, if the chip should fail, the doctor told him that you would get "a grievous sore."

Could it be that the angel that goes forth from God in this judgment causes all of the lithium batteries to fail at one time in those who have taken this mark of the beast? Just a thought. Let's move on now to the second bowl in verse 3: "Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died." Again, this is like the plague of Egypt when the Nile turned to blood. The source of irrigation, the source of water, in Egypt became blood. And it's also like the trumpet judgment where a third of the sea died and became like blood. Back in California we had what we called the Red Tide and there were seasons of the year when this Red Tide would occur. Tiny microorganisms in the sea that would cause the death of fish and this appearance of red up and down the coast. You didn't want to go out into the water at that time. It just stunk so badly. And sometimes these red tides become very, very severe and can endanger the whole population of that area. For instance, in 1949 in Florida there was a red tide that encompassed a huge area---many, many miles. By midsummer, the sea had become red like blood and very viscous, thickened, because of billions of these one-celled creatures that are called din flagellates, caused miles of dead fish and anyone who ate fish in that area was poisoned. They said that it has the potential to destroy if people were to live off seafood huge numbers of population, huge numbers of people in those areas. I was reading something by an astronaut who walked on the moon. He was describing the earth and he said as he looked out, "Our world appears so big and beautiful---all blue and white. You can see from the Antarctic to the North Pole, the earth looks so perfect." It must be awesome. From that perspective to see the beauty of planet earth. Just like we look up and see the moon, to be on the other end and see the earth as the light of the sun would reflect upon it, blue and white, so beautiful. But that's a description of the earth before the tribulation. During that time, especially at the very end, it won't be beautiful to look on at all because of these judgments, the sea becoming red.

Look at the next bowl of wrath poured out, this is very similar to the one we just read but rather than the ocean, it affects the springs, the sources of water. "Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water; and they became blood." Experts are already telling us that one of the great crises in the future is the water supply. Right now, water is contaminated in parts of the world, especially underdeveloped countries. People, because of what's in the water, die because of the diseases that are carried by the water. But it's estimated that every nation in the world, to supply its population, needs 725 gallons of water per person---replenishable water. Now the earth has about ten times that but the problem is we are expending water more quickly than we are replenishing the water worldwide. Then we have pollutants in the atmosphere like acid rain, toxic waste, oil spills that cause a deterioration of water supplies. Add to that this supernatural plague and you've got major, major worldwide catastrophe. Now something else to keep in the back of your mind. Let me refresh you with something we read about in chapter 7. Turn over to chapter 7 of Revelation for just a moment. Also occurring during the tribulation, perhaps sooner than what we just read no doubt, chapter 7 verse 1: "After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree." Now as much as I don't like wind, we need it. It's part of the hydrological cycle. As the ocean evaporates into the air, the wind carries it across the land and it cools and condenses and, in the form of rain, it comes to the earth. Without wind to carry that moisture across the land, the world would become like a vast desert because of the lack of water. It could be that there's already a drought, already a water shortage, already contaminations around the earth. A third of the water has already been affected by one of the judgments we have seen and add to that drought this: worldwide the springs of water are now affected.

What would people do? Well, there are sodas and canned juices, but how long would that last? I know things go better with Coke but not for long, especially when that's all you've got. Water depleted. Now people will no doubt be driven to ask, perhaps even reading this would ask, how could a God of love even allow that? That is so unfair! That is so unjust! That is so unrighteous! And perhaps anticipating that, that's why the angel will say, the angel of the waters, in verse 5: "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." And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments." It sounds like what one woman said after a quake in Southern California when buildings were devastated and apartments fell down and homes crashed in and cars were affected and electricity went out. She walked outside and saw the effects of the earthquake and said, "Whose wrath could this be?" And perhaps people would, knowing it's from God, point the finger at God and say, how could a God of love allow this? The angel is quick to defend the righteousness of God and simply say, well, you've shed blood so God gave them blood to drink. Or they have shed blood so God gave them blood to drink.

Now this law, it's a spiritual law, we find throughout the whole Bible. That we get what we deserve. It's called the law of sowing and reaping. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. That's how Paul put it: don't be deceived, God is not mocked. You think, I'm getting away with a lot of stuff. I have sinned in this area and God hasn't done anything about it. No problem---yet. And that's the operative word: yet. Because whatever a man sows he will reap. We see that in the Bible. Pharaoh tried to drown young Hebrew babies who were male, right? That was his plan: drown all the young kids who are guys, diminish their population. How did Pharaoh die? He was drowned in the Red Sea. Haman built this huge gallows to hang Mordecai the Jew. What happened to Haman? He got hung on the gallows he built. Voltaire, back in the 18th century, who was a French atheist, wrote all sorts of things against Christians. At his home one evening wrote these words: In twenty years, Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took the twelve apostles to rear. Can you imagine saying that? I'm gonna destroy what twelve apostles built. I'm gonna destroy what Jesus built. In twenty years, Christianity will be destroyed and it'll be my hand that does it. Within twenty years after his death, his house from which he wrote that was a center of Bible distribution in western Europe. So God will give you what you deserve. Unless---unless---you allow Jesus to take what you deserve. If you would confess your sin and turn to Jesus Christ, then all of the wrath of God that God allowed to come on Jesus at the cross, He'll take it, remove it from you. See either He'll take it for you or you'll take it for yourself. And they are getting here what they deserve. It's not like they haven't had opportunity, right? The gospel has come in many ways and they have spurned it and they have killed the prophets who gave the message. They shed the blood of the prophets and the saints. God gives them blood to drink.

Let's look at verse 8. It's now the fourth bowl in rapid succession after the third: "Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire." Now this is sort of a contrast to one of the trumpet judgments where a third of the sun is darkened. You'll see in the very next bowl judgment that the sun is darkened, that darkness falls upon the kingdom of the Antichrist. But right now, power is given to the angel and the sun scorches men with heat. It sounds a lot like a burn that is a radiation burn. In the electromagnetic spectrum that measures the wavelengths of radiation, there are long wavelength radiations like radio waves and it's a very slight long sloping wave, and then there are short wavelength radiations like gamma rays which are very, very compacted. The shorter the wavelength, the more dangerous to the human body. It can alter cell structure. It can kick a photon. A photon can kick an electron out of orbit in the cell structure and cause all sorts of problems. It can destroy. So you could go to the beach, say, on a cloudy day and think it's mild today, there's a cloud cover. This is great. I could play outside all day. At the end of the day, you're a lobster. You're worse than if it was open sun and no clouds. Why? Because the long wavelength has been attenuated, stopped by the clouds and the short wavelength has penetrated the clouds and it's on your body. And too much exposure can cause all sorts of problems over a period of time. So this bowl may indicate some alteration in the earth atmosphere, it could be some alteration in the sun. They say that the core of the sun is helium and if it were to expand outwardly it would incinerate the earth. There have been some problems with explosion of sun causing outages already on the earth. People look to the ozone layer often when they read this passage of Scripture saying perhaps the ozone will become so thin that protective layer that it would scorch, the sun would, mankind.

It is a problem. Scientists for several years have talked about the ozone layer and global warming, the greenhouse effect upon the earth. One group called The World Wide Watch Institute said the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere that protects us from ultraviolet radiation is thinning. The very temperature of the earth seems to be rising posing a threat of unknown dimensions. Virtually all the life-support systems on which humanity depends could be threatened. Now we know that within the last 12 years, five of those years have been the warmest since 1900. You say well I'd never know that by this winter. Well that's here. But overall the globe is warming because carbon dioxide that is emitted by our use of fossil fuels gets emitted into the atmosphere or when we take out the aerosol can and emit all those chlorofluorocarbons that hinder, that deplete, the ozone. And so heat gets in but heat cannot be dissipated fast enough and you have that greenhouse effect. However it happens, it happens. We could explain it but it'll happen. And perhaps this is what Malachi meant, this is what he wrote in prediction: surely the day is coming it will burn like a furnace all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble and that day that is coming will set them on fire, says the Lord God Almighty. And so God allows the sun to scorch them. Perhaps to wake them up. This is a foretaste of eternity if you don't turn. This is a preview of coming attractions. That kind of heat would surely cause people to turn. Yet it says "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."

So now we get to the fifth bowl in verse ten: "Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on," notice this now, "the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain." I don't know if you've ever been in a power blackout. Well last summer we had, out west, several states were blacked out by that problem that was up in Oregon and California and New Mexico, Arizona, several states were affected by it. I was in Riverside during that day and it was about 110 degrees and there was a power outage so you couldn't get relief. Air conditioners didn't work and the lines clogged up and so it was black and it was hot. I'd been in India where for days things get blacked out and it's hot and it's dark. But here in this fifth bowl, it is directed at the kingdom of the beast or the Antichrist. His kingdom becomes full of darkness. Now again some people figure, well perhaps the intense heat in the previous bowl comes from the sun expanding into a supernova and after that phenomena occurs, a blackout, it becomes dark. Or some suggest nuclear winter if there was a nuclear problem, what would happen over the earth. Carl Sagan who recently died was afraid of this and said that nuclear age, if released, could plunge the northern hemisphere into nuclear winter, where a third of mankind would die with the descent of night around the clock, the drop of temperature by seventy degrees. But there's something deeper perhaps. It's darkness that comes upon the domain of the beast.

In the Scripture, the Bible says God is light and the absence of light, darkness is really a metaphor of evil, of Satan. Satan is called the prince of darkness. The first creative act of God was to dispel darkness. God said let there be light and He created the sun, He created the moon, and light was. In the New Testament, we are called to walk in the light as He is in the light and if we sin that we walk in darkness. And then the Scripture says put off the unfruitful works of darkness. So it seems only right that the kingdom of the beast, which follows Satan, would have darkness that would invade it. Also, it's interesting. The ancient rabbis in the Babylonian Talmud tell us that they believe that darkness would be God's judgment upon the world for an unusually wicked sin. Perhaps they were thinking back to Egypt. Remember one of the plagues that fell upon Egypt was a darkness that could be felt by people. It was so deep. And the final plague of the death angel that sprung the children of Israel from Egypt was preceded by a darkness that covered the land. And what was the greatest sin that the world has been guilty of? It was the crucifixion of our Savior Jesus Christ and when He was on the cross, darkness covered the land. And now darkness covers the domain of the Antichrist. This fifth bowl is predicted by the prophets and by Jesus. Isaiah said in chapter 60, darkness will cover the earth, deep darkness the people. Joel 2:2, the day of the Lord is coming, it is at hand, it is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Jesus in Mark 13 said in those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. And then we notice it says "and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain." It's difficult, it's impossible, to imagine. Except, have you ever been hurt somewhere on your body and to divert or to distract the attention from the pain, you inflict pain somewhere else? When I go to the dentist and he's poking around, I usually pinch the back of my hand. I've done that since I was a kid. You're like causing pain elsewhere to get your mind off of that and onto something else---to divert it. To send a different signal up there so that you're not just focusing on that area of pain. Gnawing or chewing their tongues because of the pain. It is said of Jesus Christ that He is the light of the world and light shines in the darkness but darkness does not comprehend it. And Jesus said men love darkness rather than light. It's like He's saying, you love darkness? I'll give literal darkness to all those who follow the beast.

Well these are five of the plagues and now I want you to look at the end of verse 9 and verse 11, the refusal of man's will. "And men were scorched with great heat, and they," changed and turned their lives to Jesus Christ. Wouldn't it be great if it said that? Don't you think it should say that? Don't you think people would go, duh, ok, I got the message? I'm not gonna keep going on in this pain. It says, "They blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory." It tells us first of all, they didn't repent. Secondly, they knew who was doing it. Now isn't that the height of arrogance and pride and stubbornness? I know it's God. I know what's going on. I'm not gonna change. I'm not gonna repent. Neither grace nor wrath can move these guys. William Newell once wrote, men who will not be won by grace will never be won at all. Even wrath won't move them. Why? Because the world will have become so accustomed to spiritual darkness and the Antichrist's deception, that's all they know, that they're just left now to curse the light. It's sort of like what happened back in the 1700s, the Bastille which was this huge castle-like prison in Paris, France, was about to be torn down. And they brought one of the prisoners out of the lowest, darkest dungeon where he had been captive and they were gonna release him. Because he was so accustomed to the darkness, the bright light bothered him to the extent that he begged to be put back in that prison till death. He'd become so accustomed to darkness. That's all he knew. That the bright light irritated him and he wanted his darkness once again.

In the same way, people can reject Jesus Christ so much their hearts become so hard against God that it's too late. By the way, verse 11 is the last reference to their unwillingness to change. You'll read about it no more. They blasphemed God. It tells us then that these first five plagues were sent by God in order to get people to wake up and repent but they wouldn't do it. And now they're set. Now they can't. Now it's too late. They've been unwilling and now the cement has dried. Many people are sorry for what they've done or I should rephrase that. There are people who are sorry for the consequences for what they've done. They're sorry for the condition they're in. they look back on their lives, the choices that they've made, the road that they've walked, they feel so full of remorse and sadness and sorrow but mostly because of where they're at. Our prisons are filled with people who are truly, truly sorry that they got caught. Not everyone. I'm not painting with a broom and saying that's the position of everyone but certainly many people can be caught and they're remorseful not for what they've done, but of the consequences. It's like the teacher in Sunday school said to her class, can anyone give me a definition of repentance? One little people said it's being sorry for your sin. A little girl piped up and said no it's not. It's being sorry enough to quit. That's repentance. And that was God's whole motivation with these plagues is to get the world to turn, to change, to repent. By the way, the word repent means not to go put sackcloth and ashes on your body necessarily, not to beat yourself with a whip, it means to change direction. That's what it means. To change your mind. It's as if you're walking down the street and God taps you on the shoulder and says, hey, you, turn around! Quit going that direction. Follow Me. Go My way. Go My direction. Follow My plans, My purposes for your life. If you were to say ok, I forsake living just for myself and going that way and I'm gonna follow Your direction---that's repentance. But they wouldn't do it. In fact, they blasphemed God. God has given them preachers, God has given them martyrs, God has given them miracles. They won't change. A heart can become so hard you can reject Him over and over and over and over. And pretty soon you can look at truth and it doesn't even bite. It doesn't affect you. Maybe you remember God knocking on the door of your heart when you were a child and you felt that pull, that tug, toward God to give your life to Jesus Christ but you said, I'm too young. I've got so much of life ahead of me! Later on you felt that tug as you had children in your 30s and 40s and your excuse was, I'm too busy. But later on I'll do it. And then when you're a little bit older and you said, I'm too old. Maybe a little bit later. And later, maybe later. And then you're dead and it's over. There are no chances left. Maybe He's trying right now. Maybe He's been knocking at the door of your heart for some time. Maybe you've considered Jesus Christ and maybe even now the Holy Spirit is touching some hearts who are listening right at this moment and you're battling with Him.

A famous rabbi was walking with his Jewish disciples and they were discussing repentance. They said, Rabbi, when is the best time to repent? He said, the last day of your life. They protested, the last day of your life? That could be too late for no one knows when the last day of his life is! He says that's my point. You should repent now. To solve the problem you should change now because you never know when the last day of your life is. And so we ought to live life in the present as we read about the future and make decisions accordingly.

Additional Messages in this Series

Show expand

 
Date Title   Watch Listen Notes Share Save Buy
6/9/1996
completed
resume  
Good News from a Bad Place
Revelation 1:1-8
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/16/1996
completed
resume  
Catapulted into the Future
Revelation 1:9-20
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/23/1996
completed
resume  
When Love Grows Cold
Revelation 2:1-7
Skip Heitzig
  Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
6/30/1996
completed
resume  
Postcard to Those in Pain
Revelation 2:8-11
Skip Heitzig
  Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/7/1996
completed
resume  
The Curse of Compromise
Revelation 2:12-17
Skip Heitzig
  Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/14/1996
completed
resume  
Corruption without Discernment
Revelation 2:18-29
Skip Heitzig
  Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/21/1996
completed
resume  
Church of the Living Dead
Revelation 3:1-6
Skip Heitzig
  Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
7/28/1996
completed
resume  
Body Building - God's Way
Revelation 3:7-13
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
The human body has become the obsession of our modern culture. Much like the ancient Greeks, people are madly trying to fit the contemporary ideal of what is an acceptable shape and size. The church is metaphorically called the "Body of Christ" and His desire is to see it built up spiritually. The church of Philadelphia is a good model of a healthy, faithful church. Their example provides for us a template to follow in building up the Body - God's Way!
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
8/19/1996
completed
resume  
Taking Your Spiritual Temperature
Revelation 3:14-22
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Ever since we were kids our moms stuck thermometers in our mouths whenever she suspected that we were sick. If our body temperature of 98.6 had climbed up just a few notches, it was always a good indication that an unhealthy condition was present. There is also a spiritual temperature that reveals the condition of our souls, and when the thermometer reads Lukewarm it indicates that something is wrong; it indicates the presence of danger. Let's see how Jesus, the Great Physician, treats his patient with this malady.
Watch
Watch and take notes
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Video (MP4)
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
8/25/1996
completed
resume  
Peeking into the Portals of Heaven
Revelation 4
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/1/1996
completed
resume  
History's Greatest Real Estate Deal
Revelation 5:1-7
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/8/1996
completed
resume  
Worship His Majesty - Part 1
Revelation 5:8-10
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
In heaven there won’t be just three services in the morning and one at night with a midweek tacked on. There will be no need to be sensitive to time so we can go to lunch. Words will not have to be printed nor projected. Worship leaders will have no need prompting people to sing. It will be an all-consuming experience that will involve our total cooperation and enthusiasm.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/15/1996
completed
resume  
Worship His Majesty - Part 2
Revelation 5:11-14
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
9/29/1996
completed
resume  
Four Riders with Bad News
Revelation 6:1-8
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/6/1996
completed
resume  
The Cries of Heaven and Earth
Revelation 6:9-17
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/13/1996
completed
resume  
A Blessed Interruption in a Tough Time
Revelation 7
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/20/1996
completed
resume  
Trumpets of Doom
Revelation 8
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
10/27/1996
completed
resume  
When All Hell Breaks Loose
Revelation 9:1-12
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/3/1996
completed
resume  
Angels of Mass Destruction
Revelation 9:13-21
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/10/1996
completed
resume  
A Big Angel with a Little Book
Revelation 10
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/17/1996
completed
resume  
Two Powerful Preachers
Revelation 11:1-14
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
11/24/1996
completed
resume  
Light at the End of the Tunnel
Revelation 11:15-19
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/1/1996
completed
resume  
The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 1
Revelation 12:1-6
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/8/1996
completed
resume  
The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 2
Revelation 12:7-17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
There aren't many people who like to fight. Confrontation is something most would like to avoid. But in the spiritual realm it's unavoidable. The question isn't, "Will I engage in spiritual warfare?" Rather, the question is, "How well will I fight?" As we saw last week, the war in the heavens makes its way to the theater of the earth. Let's see what else it entails.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/15/1996
completed
resume  
The Coming Global Leader
Revelation 13:1-10
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/22/1996
completed
resume  
Evil's Right-Hand-Man
Revelation 13:11-18
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
12/29/1996
completed
resume  
The Lamb Who Shepherds His People
Revelation 14:1-5
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
After all that john has seen in his apocalyptic vision, seeing the docility of a lamb standing with his overcoming sheep is a welcomed sight. Although the dragon pursues god's people relentlessly, although the beasts are bent on ruling the earth, the ultimate winner will be the lamb and his followers.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/5/1997
completed
resume  
Angels Set The Record Straight
Revelation 14:6-13
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/12/1997
completed
resume  
It's Harvest Time!
Revelation 14:14-20
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
One of the most common ways to make a living in ancient times was to "work the land." The early rains of October/November and the soft latter rains produced the wheat and barley harvest later on. Also, when vintage season began, almost the whole village could be found in the fields harvesting the crop. Such images would also provide a poignant way of depicting the final judgment of the earth, as in this section.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
1/17/1997
completed
resume  
Getting Ready for the Grand Finale
Revelation 15:1-8
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/2/1997
completed
resume  
What's in the Bowl? - Part 2
Revelation 16:12-21
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
What will the end of the world be like? What are the final events just before Jesus returns and takes over to set up His millennial reign? That's what this section tells us. There will be increased warfare activity in the Middle East, massive deception, and unheard of destructive cataclysms on earth. In the midst of foretelling these events, Jesus has a word of encouragement.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/9/1997
completed
resume  
The Coming World Religion
Revelation 17
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
It was Karl Marx who stated, no doubt cynically, that religion was the opiate of the masses. The fact is, he was right-it is! People are driven to worship something or someone. This desire will be exploited to the hilt in the Tribulation period and will be under the umbrella of the world dictator-the Antichrist. What are its roots and how does it end?
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
2/16/1997
completed
resume  
Get out of Babylon!
Revelation 18
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Someone once said, "Money can't buy you friends but your enemies treat you a little better." Though meant to be tongue-in­cheek, that won't happen when the entire world economy collapses. God's shakedown of the earth will include everything that the Antichrist's kingdom will embody, from the sacred to the secular.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/2/1997
completed
resume  
Marriage Made in Heaven
Revelation 19:1-10
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/9/1997
completed
resume  
The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 1
Revelation 19
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Even in the dome of our capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." It is that event which we will be studying in the next two weeks. This is what all Christians of all ages have looked forward to - His return and reign of His creation.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
3/16/1997
completed
resume  
The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 2
Revelation 19
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
Even in the dome of the capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "one far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." it is that event, that Christians of all ages have looked forward to-his return and reign of his creation. We will conclude our study of the return of Jesus Christ, today.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
4/6/1997
completed
resume  
Paradise Regained
Revelation 20:1-3
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
4/13/1997
completed
resume  
The Devil's Last Stand
Revelation 20:1-10
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
A typical question is, "Will evil ever get its reward?" What ever happened to ethics and justice? Well, we see here that God will not turn His back on this issue. He will deal with the source of all evil (the devil himself) and then judge those who revel in it. This section gives tremendous hope to anyone concerned about injustice in our world.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
4/20/1997
completed
resume  
Life, Death, and Resurrection
Revelation 20:5-6; 20:11-15
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
5/4/1997
completed
resume  
All Things New - Part 1
Revelation 21:1-3
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
5/11/1997
completed
resume  
All Things New - Part 2
Revelation 21:4-8
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
"It's like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before." That's how John describes the emotional experience of heaven. So that we can relate, he tells us that all of the pain, sorrow, and moaning we've endured here won't be there. By the way, only those who want to go there will go there. Heaven is not a destination by default, reservations are made here and now!
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
5/18/1997
completed
resume  
The City of the Future
Revelation 21:9-22:5
Skip Heitzig
Info
Message Summary
There is no architect or builder like God himself. Even the patriarch Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb. 11:10) he didn't find it in his lifetime. "You won't find you're "happily ever after" here either, but the New Jerusalem will be God's answer for man's longing to live in a perpetually peaceful stare.
Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Outline
Transcript
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
5/25/1997
completed
resume  
He's Coming - Now What!?
Revelation 22:6-21
Skip Heitzig
  Listen - Mini Player
Listen and Take Notes
Transcript Facebook
Twitter
Email
Audio (MP3)
Buy CD
There are 43 additional messages in this series.
© Copyright 2024 Connection Communications | 1-800-922-1888