Expounding the Trumpet and Vial Judgments in the Book of Revelation (PART 2 of 2)

Expounding the Trumpet and Vial Judgments in the Book of Revelation (Part 2 of 2) [Print Document]

In the first part, we looked at the seven trumpet judgments and expounded on them a little. We saw how devastating they will be to the wicked, who will not repent from their sins during the seven-year tribulation. Now, we will look at an overview of the vial judgments, which are seven stages of the seventh trumpet judgment, and we will expound on these a little.

An Overview of the 7 Vial Judgments

The 1st vial — (Revelation 16:2) “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”

Noisome means “hurtful” and “destructive”, according to Webster’s 1828 dictionary. According to this dictionary, grievous means: “2. Afflictive; painful...” [and] “3. Causing grief or sorrow.” This noisome and grievous sore is a very hurtful and destructive disease that these wicked people will be struck with. Sores will likely rise all over their bodies. They will last for a long time (See the fifth vial).

The 2nd Vial — (Revelation 16:3) “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.”

The second vial and the second trumpet are similar, but the second vial causes all the animals in the sea that have a soul (but not a spirit) to die. All the world’s oceans will become as blood. The second trumpet caused just a third of all the ocean to become blood. Now, the judgment is stronger than ever because the people’s hearts are more hardened than ever. This will devastate the world’s economy.

The 3rd  Vial — (Revelation 16:4-6) “[4] And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. [5] And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. [6] For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”

(The Yangtze river became red on Sept. 11, 2012.
This is a sign of when rivers will be filled with blood.)

The third trumpet judgment saw a third of rivers, streams, and springs becoming poisonous. But, the third vial causes almost all of the rivers and fountains of water to become blood. The reason we know that not all of these water sources are turned to blood is that God’s people will be in wilderness locations where God will provide for them (Revelation 12).

And, the reason so many wicked people will perish during this period of time is that they hardened their hearts strongly against God, after seeing the powerful display of His judgments on the world. They also murdered many Christians because the Christians would not receive the mark of the beast or worship the beast.

The 4th Vial — (Revelation 16:8-9) “[8] And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. [9] And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.”

The sun is a source of blessing because it provides the proper amount of heat and sunlight this earth needs to exist. As you know, without the sun, plants would die, and the earth would freeze. But, during this vial, God is using the sun to judge the earth with intense heat. The heat will be hotter than it’s ever been and will scorch the wicked, but it will leave the righteous untouched, like how God protected the children of Israel in the land of Goshen. This fourth vial judgment is a picture of what Hell is like. The people in Hell are suffering from intense heat, and diseases, and are being tormented by demons.

The 5th Vial — (Revelation 16:10-11) “[10] And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, [11] And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”

The reason the wicked are gnawing their tongues in pain is that the 1st vial is still in effect. They still have noisome, (i.e. hurtful, destructive) grievous sores. In Exodus 10, God told Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven so that darkness would fall on the land of Egypt.

Exodus 10:22-23 says: “[22] And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: [23] They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”

God will provide light to all who are His children, and will protect and provide for them during the tribulation period.

Interestingly, the Bible records that Hell is a place of intense darkness. In Matthew 25:30, we read that Hell is a place of darkness and suffering: “[30] And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:41-42 records how Hell is also a furnace of fire. “[41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; [42] And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

Hell is a place of darkness, fire, and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is not a place anyone would want to go. But, only those who trust in Jesus Christ, and who desire to forsake sin, can enter Heaven. People who love sin cannot enter Heaven because they have chosen sin over God (Luke 16:13, Romans 6:16,23). When we seek God, He will change our desires.

The 6th Vial — (Revelation 16:12-16) “[12] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

13. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

Demonic spirits that look like frogs come out of the mouths of Satan (the dragon), the Antichrist (the beast), and the false prophet. These demons have the power to work miracles, but not miracles of God. These spirits are very manipulative and deceptive and can influence political leaders as well as anyone else. These spirits will gather many nations together to fight against Israel in the valley of Armageddon.

Lost souls do not lose their garments because they have no garments of righteousness to begin with. Therefore, Jesus is speaking (in verse 15) to Christians to warn them not to forsake Him for sin or the world. A former Christian loses his garments of righteousness if he rejects Jesus Christ and chooses his own will and sin over God’s will. (See Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 10 and Revelation 3:5). Jesus will not blot out the names of those who overcome, but He will blot out the names of those who love the world more than Him.

Revelation 3:5 says: “[5] He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

The 7th Vial — (Revelation 16:17-21) “[17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”

Voices, thunder, and lightning strike the earth just prior to a huge earthquake that literally causes islands to sink and mountains to collapse. The city of Babylon is divided into three parts by the great earthquake. All the cities of the world will collapse, and turn into rubble.

As this massive destruction happens, huge hailstones pummel the earth, each weighing about one talent. One talent (used during New Testament times) weighs about 58.9 kilograms (129.85 lbs). If we assume this is the talent John spoke of in verse 21, the destruction would be devastating. Imagine an object falling toward you that weighs over a hundred pounds. Going over two hundred miles an hour, each stone would plunge through any roof in a typical building, and likely break through all the floors of a three-story house. Almost no building would be safe from these huge hailstones. Undoubtedly, many will die from this plague.

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Footnote:

The velocity of a falling object is found by this equation below, where s=second, m=meter, g=the acceleration due to gravity, and t=time. The time refers to the time it takes an object to fall until the point of impact.

Velocity = -9.81 m/s^2 * time, or V = gt

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The Sword of the Lord

The next part of this seventh vial takes place when the armies of the Antichrist are gathered together to fight against Israel. The sixth vial took place as the armies under the Antichrist began gathering together to fight against Israel. When the seventh vial came, huge hailstones pummeled many of them. But, for those who survive the hailstones, Jesus Christ Himself comes back to destroy these wicked people with a sword that proceeds from His mouth (Revelation 19:11-21).

The rapture will take place just before Jesus Christ rides His horse down to earth, as the judge of all the earth. All the saints in Heaven will ride on white horses to observe Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, destroy His enemies. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He shall reign forever. Hallelujah! We Christians don’t rejoice that the wicked will be destroyed. Rather, we rejoice that Jesus Christ will reign over this earth and turn it into a paradise that will last for a thousand years, before He brings in new heavens and a new earth, which will last forever.

In Luke 17, Jesus Christ spoke of the tribulation period. One passage commonly used by the pre-trib view is Luke 17:35-36. Here, Jesus said: “[35] Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. [36] Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. [37] And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”

Compare that to Revelation 19:17-18, where multitudes of wicked people are slain by the sword that comes from Jesus Christ’s mouth. An angel calls birds of prey (which include vulture, owls, hawks, eagles, and others) to devour the corpses of these evil people. In Luke 17, Jesus spoke of how one person from each pair would be taken, and the other left. The person who was taken would be killed (i.e. taken from his body) and his body would be devoured by eagles and vultures. The Greek word for eagle in Luke 17:37 is aetos. It includes vultures, eagles, and birds of prey in its meaning.

The taking of one from each pair is not the rapture. Rather, it is judgment on the wicked. The people who are left alive are not as wicked as others. They are left alive because they have not received the mark of the beast and have not hardened themselves as much as others have. Even if the others, who were taken, had not ever received the mark of the beast, they would still be taken (killed) because of their rebellious, hardened hearts. God put on my heart that there are people in remote regions of the earth who will not receive the mark of the beast. Many of these people will be saved.

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If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Dear reader, we have a loving Creator God, Who made all things that exist, that did exist, or ever will exist. He loves us greatly and does not desire that any should perish in Hell (2 Peter 3:9). But, He cannot stop us from making wrong choices because He gave us a free will. He wants us to know Him personally and know His love for us, which He demonstrated by sending Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins (Romans 5:8-10).

This love for us is calling out to us every moment, gently and with conviction because the Bible says that the invisible things of God are clearly seen by those who are made, even God’s attributes and care (Romans 1:19-20). Therefore, we are without excuse. We cannot say we never knew that God was calling out to us. I encourage you and ask you, with concern for your soul, that you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

Only He can save you and only He can make you whole (Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, John 14:6). Only He can give you true life and eternal life in Heaven. Only Jesus Christ’s blood, which was shed about 2,000 years ago, can wash away all your sins, and mine (Hebrews 9:22). Won’t you make Jesus your Savior and Lord? You may not see tomorrow. What will become of your soul when you die? Trust Jesus, and you will have certainty of being in Heaven, and Abba God, the Father, will be able to love on you more than you could realize, and adopt you into His home.

2 Peter 3:9 — “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Romans 5:8-10 — “[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. [10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Romans 10:9-10 — “[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Acts 4:12 — “[12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

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Richmond Gyimah's Testimony of Heaven and Hell