Join us for an impactful journey through Revelation 16 as we explore the weight of God’s final judgments on earth. Discover how the last act of divine wrath is prophesied to unfold, impacting nations with plagues that declare the ultimate endgame of human rebellion. This episode forms the first part of our comprehensive series on the end times, as foretold in the Bible, promising a deeper understanding of the tribulation and its significance.
00:23:15 Closing Thoughts and Spiritual Call to Action
SPEAKER 04 :
I think we better face something, that the believers in the tribulation period, and there’s lots of arguments as to who they are, it is important, regardless of a view, to understand that there are going to be thousands, perhaps millions of people killed during the tribulation. Now, everyone who does not receive the mark… at least Gentiles, because God only spares the Jewish remnant. So apparently all Gentile believers are killed in the tribulation. The false prophet sees to it.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is Hope for Today, Revelation 16, The Final Plagues. The last act of God’s wrath erupts, and the enemies of heaven have nowhere left to run. The earth, it’s devastated. The waters turn to blood. Darkness consumes the kingdom of the beast. And still, still, they curse the name of God. You know something, though? The time for mercy is over. The judgment is irreversible, and the holiness of God demands it. This is the endgame of rebellion. Well, today is day one of our study in Revelation 16 called The Final Plagues. And Bible teacher David Hawking delivers in mere moments. Stay tuned. First, did you know you can access a powerhouse of truth at the HFT Media Center on davidhawking.org? Listen, the Media Center is a digital armory, videos, audio teachings, prophecy studies, everything you need to go deeper, and it’s completely free. Go to DavidHawking.org, click on the Media tab, and see everything we have for you, Bible teaching by David Hawking. Now here’s David with day one of a message called The Final Plagues.
SPEAKER 04 :
Chapter 16, 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 or the bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there fell a noisome and grievous sore. Some translations read foul and painful sore. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, who art and wast and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun. And power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat and blasphemed the name of God who hath power over these plagues. And they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat or throne of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness. And they gnawed their tongues for pain and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores and repented not of their deeds. It’s almost hard to believe, isn’t it? The seven last plagues. Now we’re told in verse 1 that a great voice came out of the temple. We’ve reminded you of this several times, but the word great appears 84 times in Revelation. Interestingly, 11 of those times are in chapter 16. Things seem to be on a grander and broader and wider scale. Great voice from heaven, great judgments are falling upon the earth. Some believe that these seven last plagues are going to happen rapidly in just a few months’ time. There’s a lot of argument in regard to that, and I think it has much to say for it, that this is the end of the tribulation right before the battle of Armageddon, and these plagues are going to hit in massive dosages, one after another. And the whole world is going to be aware that the judgment of God is falling. It is obvious that these people know it’s coming from the Lord. That’s very interesting to me. There’s something about every one of them that is so awesome that the people know who’s bringing the judgment. And they’re going to all try to attack God himself and the Lamb of God. And it’s incredible to believe that this could happen. By the way, when it says a great voice out of heaven, we’re reminded also of the word loud. 20 times this voice from the temple, loud voice, is heard. Look back at chapter 15, verse 8, just the verse preceding it. It says, “…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.” And I heard a great voice out of the temple. My simple point here is that I think it’s the Lord God Himself. God, whose glory is Shekinah glory, is filling the temple to such a degree, it’s so thick, the smoke, no one can see anything, just like in the time of Isaiah chapter 6, when the glory of the Lord filled the temple, just like the time when the tabernacle was set up. and the priests couldn’t even minister because of the smoke, the thickness of the cloud of the glory of the Lord. Same thing happened when the temple was dedicated, and the priests couldn’t even minister. It was so thick they couldn’t see. They didn’t know where to go. They just didn’t want to move. It was so dark, and the smoke had filled the place, and that smoke was the Shekinah glory of God, the dwelling of God, a visible manifestation. And so in the temple in heaven, this majestic scene is there, and the voice comes out of the temple. I think it’s the Lord God Almighty. It is He who is speaking and says, Go your ways, for angels are simply His ministering spirits. sent forth to do what he wants them to do. Go your ways and pour out the vials of the bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. Now, God has been angry at different times throughout history, but this particular time is called the wrath of God. Go back to chapter 6, please, of Revelation. Chapter 6. And remind yourself of what it said when the sixth seal was open and a great earthquake occurred. The sun was black and the moon became like blood. The stars fell to the earth. The heaven was just rolled up like a scroll and every mountain and island was moved out of their places. verse 16 they said to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb now that’s almost an incongruous thought that’s a paradox a lamb with wrath i mean have you ever looked at some sheep on the side of a road and ever seen one of those little lambs turn to you and go i mean hey lion i believe lamb i don’t okay But God says the wrath of the Lamb, the Lamb who shed His blood on Calvary, is the one who’s going to bring the judgments of God on this earth. Really awesome. Verse 17 says, For the great day of His wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? We sing that song, Refiner’s Fire. Go back to Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. Malachi. And look at chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3. The great day of God’s wrath has come. And these verses are quoting from Malachi chapter 3. Look at verse 2. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap. And he shall sit like a refiner and purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them like gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. So that little passage is quoted in Revelation. Who can stand when the Lord comes, when he appears as a refiner’s fire? So when we sing that song, I always think, you know, refiner’s fire, and I know what it says, you know, to purge us and make us. But, you know, it’s really not a song for the believer. It’s talking about the judgment of God at the end of the tribulation period, a rather awesome thought. Go back to Revelation, please, chapter 16. Let’s begin with plague one. In each of these plagues, something major is being attacked. It’s like everything that we depend upon, God is going to smash to smithereens before the eyes of a world that’s turned their back on him. Plague number one is health. just going through the many health care agencies now in order to get something done. I don’t know if you’ve had that problem. If you’re in a company that has a particular health care plan and you have to go to your particular doctor who then in turn must recommend you to somebody else and then they have to send it to a management firm that’s going to decide whether or not this should be done, when and where, about the time they get around to it, you’re either dead or better. I pulled a muscle in my leg last first of February playing some tennis. And I pulled, I had a muscle tear. And so I was going to go for an MRI. That was the funniest thing. Eight weeks later. After it was already healed and fine, I went in. And the funniest thing about the guy, he said, why are you here? I said, well, I wanted an MRI to just check out everything about my leg that I had two months ago. He said, well, how’s it now? I said, fine. He said, well, then why do you need the MRI? I said, hey, I’ve gone through this so long now, I’m going to get it. I don’t care what. I want this MRI. You know, it’s just amazing, isn’t it? But you know, God’s going to come in the tribulation period, and you talk about blasting away at people’s health. The Bible calls it, verse 2, a foul and painful sore. Noisome and grievous, says the old King James. And boy, there’s a lot of study on this. But I want you to turn back to Exodus 9. This sounds kind of familiar. Exodus chapter 9, verses 9 to 11. Remember the ten plagues that came on Egypt? Well, look at what it says in Exodus 9, verses 9 to 11. It says, “…it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt.” And shall be a boil, breaking forth with blames. Now, some scholars tell me that that’s like a bleeding ulcer. So there’s boils now breaking forth like with bleeding ulcers, just bleeding upon man and upon beasts throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven, and it became a boil breaking forth with bleeding ulcers or some sort of bleeding sore upon man and upon beasts. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils. I like that. These guys were trying to duplicate all of God’s miracles, and God took care of them. He says, all right, guys, you have a few boils. And the boil was upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians, and the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had spoken unto Moses. So there was a sore on people, both man and beast, in ancient Egypt, in this terrible plague of God at that time. But as you come back to Revelation 16.2, it says it’s going to be upon the men who had the mark of the beast and upon them who worshipped his image. Now that’s a majority of people on the planet. Here are some possibilities. One. There are Bible teachers who say that it seems by the wording here that the malignant sore is the result of receiving the mark of the beast. Now wouldn’t that be an interesting judgment of God? That you’ve got some sort of mark in your forehand. and in the forehead, and that that actual mark that they put in there, whether by laser or however they did it, or chip or whatever, actually then becomes a painful, awful sore. And everybody who had the mark of the beast got it. So it’s very possible that God is going to bring that kind of a judgment for even taking the mark. Many people have suggested that this is a malignant sore, that the meaning of the terms, though they’re over 1900 years ago, in terms of Greek language usage, that they primarily refer to malignant sores that will not heal. That God’s going to strike the health of everybody who has decided to follow the world system and go along with the government, take the mark of the beast and just try to, you know, make it. And God’s going to judge them with malignant sores. something is really terrible. As a matter of fact, did you notice what it says down in verse 11? They blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. So in spite of all the rest of the stuff coming, the sores remain and they’re not healing. They’re like bleeding, cancerous sores, ulcerated sores, and they’re not healing. And it’s causing enormous pain to the people of the world. And it’s the judgment of God. Can you imagine everybody looking at everybody and realizing everybody’s got it? going into a doctor’s office and realizing it’s already full. And there are lines in the hall, people waiting to get treatment, when in reality everybody, including the doctor, has it. Everybody has a malignant sore. Everybody is in serious pain. And nobody can do anything about it. It’s coming from the Lord. It’s God’s judgment. It’s His first plague. He strikes at the thing that a lot of us realize is most valuable to us, and that’s our own health. Number two, plague two, verse three. The second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. It became like the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. Plague II hits the food supply of the world. Every living soul died in the sea. Talking with some people dealing with economic situations worldwide, asking what would happen if all that which is in the sea died. and they’re talking worldwide panic. That’s how dependent we are. Some of us who live in affluent countries like United States and Canada and others, we have so much by way of choice. We have so much to lean upon, but we forget how many people in this world are dependent upon life in the sea. And the Bible says all of it will die. Turn back to Revelation 8. This is similar to the trumpet judgments, but more extensive. Apparently, the judgments of the tribulation get worse, and near the end of the period, they’re just awesome. Revelation 8, 8 to 9, the second angel sounded as it were a great mountain burning with fire. Some say a meteor, some say a nuclear or atomic explosion was cast into the sea, and a third part of the sea became blood. In our passage, all Here a third. A third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died. And a third part of the ships were destroyed. But that could be just the Mediterranean Sea as well. Not counting the fact it’s just a third. But here every living thing dies. It’s an awesome judgment. It hits the food supply. Go to Exodus chapter 7. When you go back again to the plagues in Egypt, there’s another interesting parallel in Exodus 7. beginning at verse 19, as it relates to what happens to everything in the sea. In Exodus 7, verse 19… It says, The Lord spoke unto Moses, saying to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood, and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded. And he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river and the fish that were in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river, and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Now, again, it’s very similar, only it’s just Egypt in Exodus, but in Revelation, it’s hitting the entire world, and food supply is going to be deeply and seriously affected.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. He’ll be back in a moment to take us home, some additional teachings, so stay right there. First Davidson, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about a resource that may just change your life or the life of someone you care for. It’s all about hope.
SPEAKER 02 :
Matt, are you experiencing a difficult season, an overwhelming challenge, or several? Perhaps someone you know, someone you love, is suffering right now.
SPEAKER 01 :
Matt, it’s easy. It is so easy to be discouraged and defeated. you feel like your dreams, your expectations have come to an end. And for a lot of folks, and you’ve been there. Yeah, yeah. It seems like there’s no hope in sight. Yeah, where’s God in all of this? And does anyone really care? Well, Hope in Difficult Times, this is a great book by your dad, Matt. I’m so glad we’re offering this. What a perfect book for the times we’re in right now, what we’ve experienced as a nation, what many of our listeners have told us they’re experiencing. Hope in Difficult Times by David Hawking. It’s all about, Hope. Hope that God’s word provides in abundance.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, it’s not simply whistling in the dark, nor does it promise false comfort in serious times. Hope in difficult times. Jim, it’s a book about getting up when you fall down, starting over. Healing and restoration.
SPEAKER 01 :
Healing and restoration. Yeah, it believes in the God of the second chance. Right. Sometimes, Matt, we experience difficulties in our life that we have no part in creating. It just happens. Other times, it’s our own doing. Either way… God is a God of hope and he cares and he’s into restoration. He has everything we need in his word, doesn’t he?
SPEAKER 02 :
And during these times, you know, when you have to press on, look, we all know it’s not going to be easy. You know, people in circumstances may fight against you or, you know, you may just want to give up and all your failures might seem too great to overcome.
SPEAKER 01 :
But the Bible is a book of hope. Amen. Romans 8, 24 and 25 puts it this way, for we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet for? But if we hope for that we see not, then we do with patience wait for it. Hope in Difficult Times by your dad, David Hawking. That’s our featured resource this month. And Matt, it’s… It’s just $20.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s 195 pages of hope.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, yeah. And your purchase will also help the ministry of Hope for Today. And please, please pray for Hope for Today in these challenging times. If you’d like to be a part of this work and help meet our financial need, consider sending a donation as well. To order this resource, Hope in Difficult Times by David Hawking, or to send a gift of support, maybe share a prayer request, call us at 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also give safely online at davidhawking.org. That’s davidhawking.org. Your gifts make this ministry possible. Every dollar you give is an investment in lives transformed by the gospel and believers standing strong in difficult times. And we’d be grateful to hear from you. Write to us with your praise reports, your prayer requests, or to include a special gift, a donation. It’s another way you can stand with us. In the U.S., write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 8P1. And thank you for your prayers and thank you for your support. They make everything we do possible. And to God be the glory. Amen. All right. Now, though, here’s David with his closing thoughts.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks for listening today, and my, what a chapter! Revelation 16, 1-11. And according to verse 2, the very first angel poured out his bowl on the earth, and there was a noisome and grievous sore on upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image. Make no mistake about it. God will bring his judgment on all those who decided to follow the Antichrist and his mark of the beast and listen to the false prophet. Oh, my. What a day this is going to be on planet Earth. And I hope you’re ready by putting your faith and trust in the only one who can save you from sin, death, and hell. And that’s the Messiah of Israel, our blessed Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ our Lord. Are you ready for the rapture? He’s going to take all believers of this church age up to heaven? Wow! And we will not go through the tribulation. That’s God’s precious promise to us. Go back and read Revelation 3.10. He’s going to remove us out of that great tribulation that’s coming. And I say, praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for your great deliverance. But these plagues, they’re coming on planet Earth. You can count on it. Well, plan to stay with us. We’ll need a couple more days of broadcasting on Revelation 16. God bless you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, David. Now, friend, before we go, may I ask you to reach out to us? Let us know where you listen to the broadcast. This helps us in our efforts to be good stewards of the gifts you send our way. We don’t want to spend money on broadcast time unless it’s making a difference. God’s finances are not to be squandered. So do call us at 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada and let us know which radio station you tune into each day. And if you missed anything today, go to DavidHawking.org where you’ll find the latest broadcast for a limited time. That’s DavidHawking.org. Well, next time on Hope for Today, the final plagues unleash the full wrath of God. The enemies of heaven have no escape, no hiding place, no mercy left. God’s justice falls and nothing can stand against it. You know something? We want to share the gospel as much as possible to help you and anybody who doesn’t yet know Jesus Christ to avoid this time. But don’t miss our continuing study in Revelation 16 next time on Hope for Today.
