“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” –Jesus, John 14:1-3

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus, John 14:6

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” –Jesus, John 14:15-17

“I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me…” –Jesus, John 14:30

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”   –Jesus, John 15:1-13

Revelation 16, The Message

Pouring Out the Seven Disasters

16 I heard a shout of command from the Temple to the Seven Angels: “Begin! Pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on earth!”

² The first Angel stepped up and poured his bowl out on earth: Loathsome, stinking sores erupted on all who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped its image.

³ The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.

^4-7 The third Angel poured his bowl on rivers and springs: The waters turned to blood. I heard the Angel of Waters say,

Righteous you are, and your judgments are righteous,
    The Is, The Was, The Holy.
They poured out the blood of saints and prophets
    so you’ve given them blood to drink—
    they’ve gotten what they deserve!

Just then I heard the Altar chime in,

Yes, O God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Your judgments are true and just!

^8-9 The fourth Angel poured his bowl on the sun: Fire blazed from the sun and scorched men and women. Burned and blistered, they cursed God’s Name, the God behind these disasters. They refused to repent, refused to honor God.

^10-11 The fifth Angel poured his bowl on the throne of the Beast: Its kingdom fell into sudden eclipse. Mad with pain, men and women bit and chewed their tongues, cursed the God-of-Heaven for their torment and sores, and refused to repent and change their ways.

^12-14 The sixth Angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River: It dried up to nothing. The dry riverbed became a fine roadbed for the kings from the East. From the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet I saw three foul demons crawl out—they looked like frogs. These are demon spirits performing signs. They’re after the kings of the whole world to get them gathered for battle on the Great Day of God, the Sovereign-Strong.

¹⁵ “Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You’re blessed if, awake and dressed, you’re ready for me. Too bad if you’re found running through the streets, naked and ashamed.”

¹⁶ The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.

^17-21 The seventh Angel poured his bowl into the air: From the Throne in the Temple came a shout, “Done!” followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake—a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God’s raging anger—God remembered to give her the cup! Every island fled and not a mountain was to be found. Hailstones weighing close to a hundred pounds plummeted, crushing and smashing men and women as they cursed God for the hail, the epic disaster of hail.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

To “perish” is defined as suffering a torturous death. 

We learn that those who do not believe Jesus died for our sins and rose again to give us the gift eternal life—will perish.  Those who do not believe and repent of their sins in Jesus Name will forever be in bondage to evil—and will perish.   To those who mock and curse God will be put through the flames—and will perish. 

Those who refuse to believe in Jesus will never be reconciled to God—even though created in his image—and will perish.   

However, if we believe Jesus, repent of our sins to Jesus, build our faith on Jesus as the rock of our salvation who provided the way to reconcile with God who was, is and is to come, we will “be blessed” with His protection through it all.  It is up to us to, “Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You’re blessed if, awake and dressed, you’re ready for me.”

Satan’s entire system of manipulation, distraction, deceiving, destruction, with efforts to destroy God’s created from having a relationship with Him is about to be judged by God in the final “Day of the Lord”.  Are we ready for the “pouring”?

Respond by believing and following Jesus, the One who demonstrated God’s love perfectly.  Revel in Jesus who has prepared a place for us with Him in heaven!  Believe and be saved for eternity.  Stand firm on the promises of God.  Remain attached to the Vine that nourishes our souls.  Keep the Light burning brightly within us so others be drawn to the Light and  find the Way through the darkness of the Deceiver to the Truth who gives Eternal Life!

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus, John 14:6

There is no one like our God!  Why trust anyone else?  Why live unattached to Jesus, the Vine who gives life to the branches now and forever? 

Lord,

After all you have done for me, how could it believe in anyone or anything else?  I do not know.  But I do know whom I’ve believed and I will follow you all the days of my life. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins.  Continue to restore the joy of your salvation within me daily.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen.  I believe!

“For which cause I suffer also these things: yet I am not ashamed; for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 1 Timothy 1:12