The third of the last seven judgment bowls full of God’s wrath will be poured out on rivers and springs, turning them into blood, just as that second bowl was emptied into the oceans, turning them into blood. But this time the angel communicated the reason for the blood-plagues. Ever since the fall of man, evil people have shed the blood of the saints and prophets of God, so God will be just in giving the last evil generation of men blood to drink. Heaven proclaims that the judgments of God are true and righteous!
From the earth to outer space, yet painfully affecting Antichrist’s kingdom upon the earth, the fourth judgment bowl will be poured out on the sun; after which men will be scorched with extreme heat. So, if you think it has been hot these last few summers, you ain’t felt nothing yet. And especially then will they blaspheme God Who has power over those plagues. So it seems that those under the Antichrist’s reign will know those events will not be happenstance, but divine retribution for their rebellion. Yet, they will still not repent. Good sense has been a rare commodity throughout history. Revelation 16:10-11—the fifth angel will pour out his judgment bowl directly on the throne of the beast—the Antichrist—and his kingdom will become full of darkness; the result once again being extreme pain. Now think how strange that will be. The sun will strike men with extreme heat—the sun being very bright—yet they will be in darkness! Although the Antichrist’s bunch will obviously be in spiritual darkness, that darkness will be literal as well. So, the Antichrist’s deceived, dedicated followers will have blood to drink; the burning sun will scorch them with heat; and yet they will be enveloped in darkness. And still, while they gnaw their tongues because of the divinely distributed scores and other pains, they will somehow manage to use their tongues to blaspheme God. And repentance will certainly be out of the question! Not too smart on their part! The sixth judgment bowl will be poured out on the Euphrates River, to make it dry up. That may result partly from the extreme heat of the sun. But, the why of that bowl judgement reveals something about world conditions during that Tribulation time. It is to make a pathway for the kings of the East. If the military has planes, helicopters and rockets, why would they need to use the Euphrates River bed as a roadway to get their armies into the Middle East? Such conditions suggest that modern war weaponry may be a thing of the past at the end of the present age. Put that together with the fact that for seven years after that battle of Armageddon, Israel will use the wooden weapons of the dead warriors for fuel (Ezekiel 39:9-10). They will not have to go to the forest to get wood for fire. Ezekiel even said those weapons will be bows, arrows, and spears. One cannot burn tanks, planes, and helicopters. So, those weapons will have to be made of wood. And add to that Ezekiel 39:3, where Ezekiel prophesied that God will knock the bow out of the Antichrist’s left hand and the arrows out of his right hand. Too literal a description to not be literal! That means the near future may hold some major changes in overall world conditions as we know them today—both militarily and geographically. For instance, national borders will have to be redrawn to reduce the more than twenty nations in the old Roman Empire territory to ten—over which the ten horns will rule in the Antichrist’s kingdom in those last days. Ten nations, not twenty-something as they are now. The ten nations will be the ten toes on the image in Daniel 2:31-32, 40-44.
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books; and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website you can even listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com)
