| The Royal Marriages, Summary continued The Seven Bowls: God's Wrath Poured Out on the Nations Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, And on the kingdoms that do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place. Psalm 79:6-7 My determination is to gather the nations To my assembly of kingdoms, To pour out on them my indignation, All my fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of my jealousy. Zephaniah 3:8 Rev. 15 - 16:1 "...the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven [is] opened." Seven angels come "out of the temple...having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is completed." "The glory of God" fills the temple. During the Exodus, the last event of the seventh Israelite rebellion involved the earthly Tabernacle, and Aaron's rod of authority and power. After God established his line of authority in Israel, that rod was closed back up in the Tabernacle "before the Testimony." Num. 17:10 Then, 371/2 years later,3 as God was preparing the Israelites to conquer (plague) the pagan nations, the first event involved taking the rod back out of the Tabernacle; at which time "the glory of the LORD appeared to them." Num. 20:6-9 [As we saw at the prelude to the Seven Trumpets, "Judgment begins at the house of God." In the Exodus era, the initial foreshadowing event for the Trumpets involved the judgment and death of Aaron's two eldest sons, both priests. Here, the initial foreshadowing event for the Bowls involved the judgment of Moses and Aaron, whom God likewise condemned to death. In both cases, the men presumed to act in an area of authority that the Lord has reserved to himself. Num. 20:10-12, 24; Deut. 32:48f.] Rev. 16:2-21 The Seven Bowls: The Seven Bowls and Seven Trumpets all directly involve God's people on Earth, and so were all foreshadowed by events during the Exodus. In contrast, the Seven Bowls of God's wrath directly involve the people of the Beast: they are named, or alluded to, in all but the Second Bowl. God's people Israel are directly involved only in the Sixth and Seventh Bowls, which (Sixth) bring the preparation for and (Seventh) the invasion of the land of Israel. Those are the only Bowls that are clearly foreshadowed by events during the Exodus. The corrupted and blasphemous nations of the Beast � a fallen angel � correspond to those nations of the Exodus era that God commanded the Israelites to destroy. Those nations, with one exception, were either Canaanite-related or Amorites: tribes that had intermarried with fallen angels. Descendants of those cursed marriages were known as Nephilim ("giants," Num. 13:33) and Rephaim (also "giants," Deut 2:11, 20; 3: 11, 13). The only nations in the area that Israel was not allowed to destroy � Esau, Moab, and Ammon � had no Rephaim among them. Deut. 2:9-12, 19-22 The one possible exception to this rule was Midian. Israel was allowed to war against the Midianites, because it was their counsel that brought the sorcerer Balaam to afflict Israel. He thereafter lived in Midian, where the Israelites killed him in the war. Num. 22:7f., 25:16f., 31:1-8; Jash. 85:42f. In all, the Israelites conquered and occupied seven lands: in order, the Negev, Heshbon, Bashan, Gilead, the plains of Jericho, and Canaan. [Rev. 17 - 18 Mystery Babylon: Revelation 17-18 are thematic, and therefore not concerned with the order of events in chapters 14-16. Most of 17-18 are about "Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." That city is 'burned with fire' at some point by the Beast's allied ten kings/horns (17:6), and seemingly destroyed again around the time of the great final battle (below). 16:19; 19:2? Mystery Babylon's destruction by the ten horns doesn't involve God's people, and so, appropriately, there is no evident foreshadowing event for it in the Exodus era. However, the later desolation was apparently foreshadowed by the war against Midian, whose cities the Israelites "burned with fire." Num. 31:10 Midian had recommended and helped finance the bringing of Balaam (Jash. 85:43; Num. 22:7), who taught the most beautiful Moabite and Midianite women to seduce Israel with idolatry and fornication. These women "dressed [up]...in gold and silver and costly garments" � the very same enticements of the "great whore," Mystery Babylon. Jash. 85:54; Rev. 2:14; Num. 25; Rev. 17:4; 18:16] Rev. 16:12-16 Sixth Bowl: "...the great river Euphrates...is dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the east, along with "the kings...of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" at Armageddon in Israel. At the end of their 40-year Exodus, the Jordan River was dried up before the Israelites. Joshua and the armies of the twelve tribes then crossed over and prepared to conquer the land of Canaan/Israel. Josh. 3:13-17 Rev. 16:17-20; 19:11-21 Seventh Bowl, The Fulfillment of God's Wrath: "...thunderings and lightnings...a mighty and great earthquake...great hail from heaven." Jesus Christ � Yeshua � and the armies of heaven descend to destroy the world's armies gathered together against them. The Beast and False Prophet are captured alive, and "cast into" the lake of fire. These things were well foreshadowed when Joshua � Yeshua � and the Israelites defeated the many armies gathered together against them on 'the day the sun stood still.' On that day "the earth trembled and shook" amidst a great storm (Jash. 89:15), great hailstones fell from heaven, and the armies gathered together against Israel were routed and slaughtered. Their leaders were captured alive (although later killed), and "cast into" a cave. Josh. 10; see also Part 4's "The Defeat of the Nations." This "battle of that great day of God Almighty" concludes the parallels between the foreshadowing Exodus/First Trump and culminating Day of the Lord/Last Trump. In closing, here are portions of the song of Joshua, which he composed after the great victory over the assembled nations of his day. These words could equally well be describing the great battle yet to come: Thou didst go forth for our salvation, with thine arm thou didst redeem thy people: thou didst answer us from the heavens of thy holiness, thou didst save us from ten thousands of people. ... All the princes of the earth stood up, the kings of the nations gathered themselves together, they were not moved at thy presence, they desired thy battles. Thou didst rise against them in thine anger, and didst bring down thy wrath upon them; thou didst destroy them in thine anger and cut them off in thine heart. Nations have been consumed with thy fury, kingdoms have declined because of thy wrath...thou didst turn their iniquity upon them and didst cut them of in their wickedness. ... Therefore our hearts rejoice in thee, our souls exalt in thy salvation. ... Thus shall all thine enemies perish, O Lord, and the wicked shall be like the chaff driven by the wind, and thy beloved like trees planted by the waters. Jasher 89:7, 9-12, 21-22 Continue Previous page Return to Index Return to Index page 2 |