Do you realize how much you depend on God? Think about how much He holds together and sustains. Every now and then we are reminded of our frailty and human-ness. If He didn't make me take a breath, I'm not sure I could do it myself some days. If you break it all down, He is our very life. When He withdraws His grace, as we will see, all "hail" breaks loose.
John hears another loud voice in heaven. This is Jesus, still directing the judgment of a rebellious world in the Great Tribulation. He is pouring out His seven bowls of wrath on the followers of the Beast. The "mystery of God" will be finished when the angel pours out the last bowl. From here on, Jesus will deal with Satan's religious system (Ch. 17), his political system (Ch. 18), his armies (Ch. 19), and the serpent himself (Ch. 20:1-3).
These plagues remove people's ability to sustain life themselves. They run out of options. There's no escaping. They are similar to the Old Testament plagues in Egypt, intended to impact Pharaoh to release the enslaved Israelites. The difference is these plagues in Revelation are world-wide, not localized. The sores are on everyone. All of the waters are turned to blood. Everything in them dies. The sun's heat increases, but yet its light diminishes to darkness. The great river Euphrates is dried up. This is a giant, 1,800 mile long, 300 yard wide river. Interestingly, even today, Turkey has dammed the Euphrates and can stop its flow for up to two years. Drying up will allow the kings of the world to congregate for the last war campaign of Armageddon, in a large valley twenty miles north of Jerusalem, some 20 miles long and 15 miles wide. Many historic battles have already been fought there. The demonic, frog-like spirits go throughout the world, convincing all armies to gather for war against Israel. Ever wonder why we get sucked into certain countries to promote democracy or join in a war campaign? Spiritual influences are at work. This war will be in the last three and a half years of the Tribulation and ends when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom on Earth.
Jesus interjects in the text to give us some direction. Followers of Christ should keep themselves from being polluted by the world. We should keep our garments clean. Whoever has this hope of the Lord's coming will keep himself pure. Let's make sure we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
Note to self: don't blaspheme God. Repent and glorify God. It's pretty easy to recognize that the world, even in the suffering of God's wrath being poured out, continues to blaspheme and refuses to repent. Let's not be like that. In Lev. 24:16, God directed the blasphemer to be stoned to death. Whether it's from a stone from the crumbling mountains in the earthquake or an 125 lb. hail stone, they will get what they deserve. God is right in His judgments.
It's interesting to note that in our culture, when people curse or blaspheme, it's always against our God. Why don't they curse Buddha or Mohammed or whoever else?
In Jer. 2:19, sin brings its own correction, discipline, consequences, and reproof. It's not God doing it, but it's a result of our deliberate choice to continue to walk in sin and not allow His influence in our lives. A dad may tell his children about things that are good and that those things bless them. He will also teach that bad things burn them.
The earthquake divides Jerusalem into three parts. This is very interesting. There has been a push, even with our current presidential administration, to force Israel to divide into three parts- Israel, Arab, and United Nations. Check out Zech. 12. Any nation that tries to divide Israel will be cut to pieces. He will destroy whoever tries to attack Jerusalem. This is serious business, concerning the future of our own country. We can already see a great spiraling of our country. We are not improving. We are getting dumber, more selfish, more immoral, shallower, and perverted, as a whole. If we will not show support for Israel, we won't be sustained.
Blaspheme means "blame more". It means to blame God. Here's a big personal application from this study: when we complain, gripe, or get sour and bitter because of our situations and circumstances, we basically are claiming that God isn't good. Remember that was one of Satan's oldest known ploys? He's always tried to convince people that God isn't good-that He just wants all the power and knowledge and control, as a power-tripping, manipulating, and corrupt dictator. We might be saying, "I'm so tired; I'm so poor; I'm so down; I've gone to church and still nothing changes; I've prayed; How come God allows...Why doesn't God..." Blaspheming is also self-pity, doubt, and questioning God. Don't do it. Simple as that. Be strong in the Lord and believe in His goodness.
Take a closer look at Rom. 8:28. It's a very popular verse and rightfully so. It is a truth we stand on in faith, as we walk through difficult times. It's a proclamation of belief that God is good and that He can work even tough situations into something miraculous and good. Now, it says He works "all things together". If we ate the individual items from a cake recipe by themselves we would be unimpressed and doubtful of the final product. Just eating the salt, we would be inclined to say, "what are you doing? this is awful!". Same with the flour, as our mouths became drier and drier. Then the ingredients are blended together and beaten. Then they are thrown in the fire. Of course, the hope is to produce a wonderfully tasting cake to enjoy. Don't blaspheme God if you are in one of the preliminary stages of a beautiful product being made. You are part of a glorious plan. Believe. Have faith. Trust Him. He is always good. He is always right. Don't complain or all "hail" will break loose!
