“And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who have been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God.”
~ Revelation 15:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Seven gold bowls – each bowl held by an angel. Each bowl filled with God’s rage. Visions of the future that God – as God the Spirit, breathed on Apostle John during the period of time when he was an exile on the island of Patmos, detail the horrifying demise that some guys, gals and kids will experience who will be living on planet Earth during the final days when God begins to pour out His wrath on these guys, gals and kids. Pouring out seven gold, plague filled bowls will not be the only way that God is going to wrack havoc against every infidel – an infidel being a guy, gal or kid who is living on planet Earth who has not made the decision of faith in accepting Jesus Christ as being his or her Lord and Savior; God is going to already have had seven seals opened and seven trumpets blown with the seals and trumpets signifying or portending that life on planet Earth will soon come to an end. You will not want to be living on planet Earth when God begins wracking havoc on planet Earth. When God begins planet Earth’s final chapter – which will end with all evil and all evil perpetrators either being thrown into a bottomless pit or all evil and all evil perpetrators being eradicated from wherever they are in God’s created universe, the terror of these pending moments cannot be imagined. Revelation 15 introduces God’s seven gold bowls of anger – with each gold bowl having in it a different plague that He is going to pour out on the guys, gals and kids who will be living on planet Earth who have not made the decision of faith in accepting Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. At the same time that God is pouring out His gold plague filled bowls of rage on the guys, gals and kids who will be living on planet Earth who have not made the decision of faith in accepting Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior, the guys, gals and kids who have made the decision of faith in accepting Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior will be celebrating having escaped Satan’s clutches and God’s wrath. Apostle John scribed in verse 2 what he saw in this vision, “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who have been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God.”
Do you ever wonder about plagues? A plague can be a disease. Different kinds of diseases have been responsible for the deaths of millions of guys, gals and kids. Do you know of a guy, gal or kid who has died from a communicable disease? Your grandpaa’s ma’s dad’s dad and ma both died from tuberculosis. Your grandpaa heard on the news last night that well over a million guys, gals and kids are dying each year from tuberculosis. Tuberculosis affects the lungs of a guy, gal or kid. During the time that your grandmaa and grandpaa were the administrators of the Centro de Capacitación (Learning Center) that they implemented in Concepción, Nuflo de Chávez in Bolivia, the wife of one of the Learning Center students and one of the young daughters of another Learning Center student had tuberculosis. Eulalia Arandia and Anita Frey would go early each morning to the small hospital that is located in Concepción were they were given free medication. As long as Eulalia and Anita daily received medication, they were not contagious to anyone who was at the resident Bible education and leadership training center that was in Concepción. When your grandmaa made weekly work assignment sheets for the gals who were the wives of Centro de Capacitación students, your grandmaa would not assign Eulalia to help with fixing any of the meals. Malaria purportedly kills more guys, gals and kids everywhere each year on planet Earth than any other disease. Your grandpaa knows how really awful that it feels like having malaria – as your grandpaa had malaria when he was living in Guatemala. A little sis of your grandpaa’s dad died one winter during an influenza outbreak. Guys, gals and kids die each year from the flu. (Your grandpaa sent you this missive over seventeen years ago. In recent years, a covid transmitted pandemic killed globally millions of guys, gals and kids.) A plague can be insect driven. Grasshoppers within minutes can destroy acres and acres of crops. A plague can be weather driven. A lack of rain will turn large grass and crop covered regions into barren, bleak landscapes – causing famines that lead to the starving deaths of thousands of guys, gals and kids. Plagues enhance fear that . . .
Every guy, gal and kid who has lived on planet Earth, is living on planet Earth and will live one day on planet Earth has or will have a choice that he or she has made or will make. That choice will be to either accept or reject God’s truths that can be seen in His creation and firmament, heard from His witnesses and read in His Holy Word. Rejecting God’s truths will have guys, gals and kids being eternally rejected and condemned by God. Rejecting God ’s truths will have guys, gals and kids suffering through terrifying plagues. Accepting God’s truths will have guys, gals and kids playing harps and singing Moses’ song of praise to God. Accepting God’s truths will have guys, gals and kids reflecting on God’s marvelous and majestic deeds and on His just and true ways. It seems like a no-brainer to your grandpaa that every guy, gal and kid would want to have an eternal, joy-filled life in God’s glorious presence but . . . have you made a choice about your futures? Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior would be the right choice to make.
Revelation 15 (764)