Corona Chronicles - Crown of Gold

Here we are. We're carrying on in revelation 16 stick at it because this is there's some very strong stuff here. But it's really important for us to to listen to this. To see why God is speaking like this. And I you'll you'll you'll get a hint of it in this in this passage.

He's speaking like this so that we would listen and be prepared for this final day of judgment. So we're gonna start reading verse 8. From verse 8. The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent, repent and glorify him.

The fifth thing you poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and its kingdom was plagued with darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, but they refused to repent. Of what they have done. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the Great River euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way. For the kings of the East.

Then I saw 3 impure spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon. Out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They were demonic spirits that performed signs. And they go out to the kings of the whole earth to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

Look. I come like a thief. Bless is the 1 who stays awake and remains clothed. So as not to go naked and to be shamefully exposed. Some interesting things there.

And kind of turning up the intensity as well. We saw that in the first of the 3 bowls last side, we saw that God's wrath has now come on the earth. Kind of in its totality. So whereas originally it was a quarter of the earth and then a third of the earth, then we see God's wrath. Sort of covering the whole earth.

And now the sun is being allowed to scorch people with fire. It really feels like the God's trying to he's turning the dial up. They they're not listening. They're not listening. They're not listening.

And all of it is to try and get people as you said at the start. This is God's kindness to the world. The point of it is so that they would repent and glorify him. Mhmm. But they're refusing to do so.

It's unbelievable that they would still refuse 2, isn't it? Yeah. Yes. Because they want a God that's just gonna let them do what they want, but not this court of justice. Yeah.

And it's almost a pride thing as well, isn't it? You know, I will not repent how dare he be my god. I'm not I don't want anyone over me. I know how to live I'm not gonna have anyone telling me what to do. Mhmm.

I don't need to say sorry to anyone and, you know, 1 of the most popular funeral songs is I did it my way. Yeah. The people have at their funeral. It's appalling because it says regrets. I had a few.

But then again, too few to mention. But no, you didn't. Because you've done things that have offended a holy right, just proper Beautiful God. Yeah. And, you know, that deserves wrath.

Yeah. Yeah. I guess if you that you get the picture of these people here have convinced themselves that God is just cursing them that he's there's nothing good about him. He's just angry. Is just making it worse for them.

But if you don't if you don't have the theology, the understanding that this is part of God's love. He's trying to save you it's what he's trying to do. Yeah. He's not trying to do anything for their harm. He's actually trying to do something for their good that ultimately they would be snatched from the worst judgment which is coming.

Yeah. And that actually I mean, if you look at the end of verse 9, it talks about that they refuse to repent and glorify him, that actually that's how we'll create we're creative to glorify Yeah. That's the best environment for us humans to be in. Mhmm. And that's the best thing to be about.

Someone bigger and and beautiful and creative as God. Our job is to we're designed and made to to that swim like a fish in this water of glorifying him. That's where we're free. Yeah. But, no, I won't do it.

No. No. I've got about myself. And refusing to repent. And so there's this intense as you say.

Heat. But I mean, I don't know whether you've ever been burned by the sun. But it it's painful and and intense. And then this this next thing is people are gnawing their tongues. I mean, you know what it's like when you accidentally bite your tongue.

It really hurts. It's it's impossible not to go but now ignoring your tongue is is is people in intense agony. Mhmm. And instead of saying, God, I've brought this agony upon myself that this is your right judgment. Sorry.

Forget me. Just carry on lowering their tongues and then use their tongue to curse in -- Yeah. -- instead of glorifying it. That's extraordinary, isn't it? Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, the incredible thing here is that Christians are shielded from all of this because Christ has taken these sort of punishments on on himself. And there is a bit in chapter chapter 7 back in chapter 7 verse 16. It's talking about those who erode in white robes. It says the sun will not be down on them.

Nor any scorching heat. And so Christians are sort of shielded from this. So this is this is this God trying to get people into the fold under the shelter in a sense. There is shade available, but they're just they're just standing in sun -- Yeah. -- refusing to to come and stand under the lord Jesus groups.

Yeah. And the difference and it's interesting to say that because the difference between the tone of someone who's saying, ignoring -- Mhmm. -- and and the person who who's trusted in the lord Jesus is that they have a song to say. Yes. And it's fresh and new and you were great and, you know, marvelous on your ways and praise the lamb of God, who died on the cross.

You know, it's there's a praising and there's a cursing. Mhmm. And I don't have come in, people who are listed. Which 1 are you in? Yeah.

But then you get this 6 angel and he seems to gather together there's all this stuff about the beast and the dragon and the false prophet. Again, they've all sort of come together, the ones that have been lying to the world and but the whole sort of point is to come against God almighty in this sort of battle. Mhmm. And and and in a sense there Everything's revealed. You're either for god or against God.

Yeah. And sometimes at the moment, it looks like No. I'm not I'm not against God. But actually, sort of in this these last days in this last judgment -- Yeah. -- we're suddenly revealed.

We've listened to the false profits and, you know, the miracles of the false prophets and and suddenly, we see that actually, we're in the battle. Yes. We're we're in we're in the in the forces that want to oppose God. Mhmm. That's the frightening thing, isn't it?

Yeah. And you can imagine 1 of their ace cards in this moment. Is look how much God hates you. Look at the way he's cursing you. Yeah.

Look at look how evil he is. And and kind of twisting and distorting this feel theology that that God is kind in his judgments. These are merciful and warnings And that and that's why people are sort of refusing because they're listening to these messages. You know, God, if God was good, he wouldn't be like this. Yeah.

And again, you know, this is so easily applied to where we are at the moment. You know, this whole corona thing is, you know, stopped the planet. And surely, this is God saying. This world is never gonna be heaven. You are going to die anyway.

And as we've said before, corona doesn't doesn't bring any more death. It may bring it earlier than we were expecting but everybody's gonna die. Will you listen? Are you right with this just God? Have you lived a life that is pleasing to God?

How have you treated his son Jesus? You know. And then you get verse 15 where it says, look, I come like a thief. Bless is the 1 who stays awake and remains clothed. So as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.

I mean Jesus used these very words, really, that he's gonna come like a thief in the night. Yep. So keep awake. Yes. I mean, he gave a number of paragraphs about that.

Mhmm. Stay awake. Yeah. I'm coming. Yeah.

Because if you knew a thief was coming to your flat, he wasn't to go out, would you? No. We'd be there with your thing. Yeah. And I suppose it feels like we're waiting.

Doesn't it? We haven't reached this point yet. We're still in the period of time before all this sort of happens in its fulfillment. So it's easy to go how long Lord, isn't it? I suppose we're like the saints and the altar.

Yeah. Say when is this gonna book Jesus to say, keep going. Keep stay awake. Yeah. So I hope that the days that we're in have woken you up to think about a just God who is angry at sin and must judge it, but Christ is our Savior.