Sermons and Outlines

Rev. 15:1-16:21 THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES

Intro: Ill. Have you ever heard the expression, "It couldn't get much worse."? Well,

for those who are still alive on the earth at the beginning of the last part of the

tribulation things can and do get a whole lot worse! The great God of grace, love and

immense patience has finally reached the limits endurance. It is time for His wrath to

fall upon the world and the events described here are awful in their descriptions, but

surely worse in their fulfillment. Thank God, if you know for sure that you will miss

this awful time. Let's look in on the time of the Seven Last Plagues.

I. 15:1-8 THE PRELIMINARIES BEFORE THE LAST PLAGUES

A. v.1-4 A Period Of Waiting - There is much to see here:

1. Seven angels carrying seven bowls full of judgment.

2. A gracious God whose wrath is about to be poured out.

3. The tribulation saints, and the song they sing. (Ill. The Song of Moses - Ex.

15 - A Song of Physical Redemption; The Song of The Lamb - A Song of

Spiritual Redemption.) They sing of God's Greatness, His Goodness and His Glory!

They sing of His Virtue, His Victory and His Vengence. (Ill. The songs of Heaven!)

(Ill. Will be a blessing to be there and hear that!)

B. v.5-8 A Place Of Worship - There is much here also

1. The Messengers Of Wrath - These come from the very presence of God

himself. They step from the place of absolute holiness to execute judgment upon the

place of absolute wickedness.

a. They Possess Divine Righteousness - (Ill. Linen) What they are doing is

right and just!

b. They Possess Divine Restraint - (Ill. Golden girdles) They have involved no

passion of their own. (Ill. A Surgeon) What they are about to do is painful, but

absolutely necessary!

2. The Mediators Of Wrath - One of the Four Beasts, (4:6-8); The cherubim

who ever guard the holiness of God. (Ill. They represent the totality of God's

creation, it is fitting that one should be involved in the redemption of the

planet, Ill. Rom. 8:19-21.

3. The Manifestation Of Wrath - The way into God is barred by a time as His

wrath blazes out against a world that has rejected Him and His Son Jesus.

Ill. The priest in the OT; Ill. The Blood of Jesus opened a way into the very

presence and heart of God. That way is now briefly colsed so that those who

have rejected that way and have served the Devil and his son, the Antichrist

can be judged.) God's own glory and holiness bars the way, (Ill. Egypt - Ex. 14)

II. 16:1-21 THE PROCEDURES OF THE LAST PLAGUES

A. v.1 Judgment Commanded - Here, the very voice of God Himself can be

heard He gives the command for judgment to begin! (Ill. What follows is literal!)

B. v.2-9 Judgment Commenced - (Ill. Picture divebombers in orderly formation

delivering their ordinance on target and on schedule!)

1. v.2 The Unexpected Cancer Of The Seal - Ill. A boil. Ugliness and pain.

2. v.3 The Unexplained Contamination Of The Sea - Ill. The clotted, rotting

blood of a dead man. (Ill. A place of life becomes a place of great death!)

(Ill. A Plague in Egypt)

3. v.4-7 The Unexaggerated Corruption Of The Streams - Ill. Very literal!

a. v.4 The Reality Of This Judgment - (Ill. A Plague!) Jesus' first miracle

was water to wine, something good to draw men to Him; now he turns

water to blood, to remind men of Him!)

b. v.5-6 The Rightness Of This Judgment - (Ill. Poetic justice!) God

always rewards men acording to their deeds!

c. v.7 The Response To This Judgment - The voice of the altar, where the

Blood of the Lamb was poured out, speaks and joins in agreement with the

deeds of holy God! (Ill. Many saints have shed their blood on the altar of

sacrifice bfore the Lord. That altar now cries out in gladness at the

vengence of their blood!)

4. v.8-9 The Unequaled Catastrophe Of The Sun - God allows the heat to be

turned up and the man on earth are scorched by the heat of the sun. (Ill. The

power of our sun.) Man's response to this plague is to blaspheme God and to

continue on in their sins. A true and revealing portrait of mankind's wicked

heart!

C. v.10-21 Judgment Completed - God's rescue of the world procedes in three

stages.

1. v.10-11 The Domains Of The Beast Are Ravished - Ill. Men chose

darkness over the Light of Life, the Lord Jesus and now God gives them what

they wanted! (Ill. This darkness is only a weak foretaste of what they face

in Hell - Matt. 8:12. (Ill. Gnawing tongues and intense pain!)(Ill. Blasphemy)

2. v.12-16 The Directives For The Battle Are Released -

a. v.12 The Euphrates is dreid up. The Kings of the east will come against

Israel. (Ill. China - 200,000,000 and Japan!)

b. v.13-14 - Demonic spirits are unleashed to deceive the world into a war

against the beast. This is Armegeddon!

c. v.15 - Man is again told that Jesus is on the way. Man is warned to be

ready!

d. v.16 - All the armies of the world converge on Jerusalem to stamp out the

last of the believers.

3. v.17-21 The Destruction Of Babylon Is Realized - The world system is

brought down.

a. v.17-18 Premonitions of disaster and a great earthquake

b. v.19 (Ill. Babylon) The city falls and the world is stricken by the touch of

God.

c. v.20 The calamity is so great that the mountains collapse and the islands

are moved out of their present places. (Ill. Some see nuclear power here!)

Whatever it is, it is the touch of almighty God!

d. v.21 Hail stones weighing over 100 pounds will fall on men. Again, men

blaspheme God. Man is totally depraved!

Conc: Are you prepared to leave before the hammer falls? You better be!