THE PROCEDURES OF THE LAST PLAGUES
Revelation 16:1-21

I.          JUDGMENT COMMANDED (V.1)
Here, the very voice of God Himself can be heard He gives the command for judgment to begin! ( Ill. What follows is literal!)

II.         JUDGMENT COMMENCED (VV.2-9)
(Ill. Picture dive bombers in orderly formation delivering their ordinance on target and on schedule!)

            A.        The Cancer Of The Seal (v.2)
Ill. A boil.  Ugliness and pain.

            B.         The Contamination Of The Sea (v.3)
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 )

            C.        The Corruption Of The Streams (v.4-7)
Ill. Very literal!

·        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!)

·        V.5-6 The Rightness Of This Judgment - (Ill. Poetic justice!) God always rewards men according to their deeds!

·        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 before the Lord. That altar now cries out in gladness at the vengeance of their blood!)

D.                 The Catastrophe Of The Sun (vv.8-9)

God allows the heat to be turned up and the men 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!

III.       JUDGMENT COMPLETED (VV.10-21)
God's rescue of the world proceeds in three stages.

A.                 The Domains Of The Beast Are Ravished (vv.10-11)

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. (Illus: Gnawing tongues and intense pain!) ( Ill. Blasphemy)

            B.         The Directives For The Battle Are Released (vv.12-16)

·        V.12 The Euphrates is dried up. The Kings of the east will come against Israel .  ( Ill. China - 200,000,000 and Japan !)

·        Vv.13-14 - Demonic spirits are unleashed to deceive the world into a war against the beast.  This is Armegeddon!

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

·        v.16 - All the armies of the world converge on Jerusalem to stamp out the last of the believers.

C.        The Destruction Of Babylon Is Realized (vv.17-21)

The world system is brought down.

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

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

·        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!

·        V.21 Hail stones weighing over 100 pounds will fall on men.  Again, men blaspheme God.  Man is totally depraved!

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