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5. The Fifth Bowl of Wrath: Darkness Falls Over the Throne of the Beast (Revelation 16:10-11)
REVELATION 16:10-11
10 The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain, 11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They didn’t repent of their works.
The bowls of wrath judgments at first strike the environment of man and then aim at the centre of the anti-Christian power. Initially the earth was struck so that the worshippers of the anti-Christ received cancerous sores and tensions of the body, soul and spirit. Next the water in the sea, in rivers and in the springs got contaminated and changed into clots of blood. The fourth bowl of wrath struck the sun so that it increasingly emitted radioactive irradiation or the ozone layer of the atmosphere dissolved whereby the heat on the earth became unbearable.
The fifth bowl of wrath stroke the inner centre of the anti-Christian power, namely the throne of the beast on earth. The anti-Christ himself was thereby not struck yet, but his throne which was not his own but the throne of Satan (Revelation 13:2), who had given his headquarter to his evil son so that he could demonstrate his authority over all demons and his power over men.
Our Lord has a sense of humor! He turned out the light without further ado. At first an unbearable heat falls over him and then he is suddenly in darkness. May be that this blow affects simultaneously his whole power supply so that no one can see his neighbor any more, and all refrigerators and all other kinds of electrical appliances such as PCs, television sets and telephones are out of function.
Or it may be that a similar darkness breaks over the throne of anti-Christ likewise as Jesus suffered it when the wrath of God was upon him and all evil spirits attacked him (Matthew 27:45-46 and other verses). Jesus had suffered the attack of the darkness on our place. As the adversary rejects the cross and the Crucified One, he himself must now suffer the wrath of God.
Where is the Throne of Satan? In Revelation 2:13 we read that at the time of the patriarch John a “throne of Satan” was in Pergamon. There co-existed several anti-Christian cults as they came from the same source and tolerated each other. Satan as well as the anti-Christ each has seven heads and can advance at the same time seven different contradicting views. Only when the Christians in Pergamon testified that Jesus is the only way, the eternal truth and the immortal life, all hell was let loose so that one of the most zealous witnesses of Jesus was killed in Pergamon (Revelation 2:13-16).
The “throne of Satan” which is spoken of in Revelation 2:13 was a temple of the Greek father-god Zeus which was like a conspicuous crown on the top of the hill of Pergamon and dominated the town. Today this temple of Zeus is in a museum in Berlin! We hope that its stones now are like an empty seashell only and that no more demonic powers proceed from this cult centre. It is said that in Berlin during the time of Hitler, more sooth-sayers, psychics, and healers were registered at the Finance Office than priests and fathers of the Catholic and the Evangelical churches, combined.
May be that the throne of Satan has “wheels” like the throne of God (Ezekiel 1:15-21) so that it can move from one centre to the next. Charlemagne once had many royal estates in his empire and rode on his horse from one estate to the next so as to judge and rule on the ground. Satan and his son are even more mobile when they dominate men from their centers.
In the New Testament several times it is indicated that the anti-Christ at the end of the days will rule from Jerusalem. He will sit down there in the temple (2 Thessalonians 2:4), kill the two witnesses in the Holy City (Revelation 11:1-13) and first of all fight against Jews and Christians in Zion who refuse to worship his image and to bear his mark (Revelation 7:4-8; 13:15-17; 14:1-5; 15:3-4 and other verses).
Yet the anti-Christ does not only want to sit on the throne of God in the temple and prevail over the saints, but above all to dwell in men. In doing this he prefers a heart which is cleansed by Christ but not filled with his Spirit (Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26; John 8:43-45 and other verses). Satan may dwell also in churches and synagogues, if they do not remain founded solely on Jesus Christ, his blood and his Spirit (Revelation 2:9.24; 3:9; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11; 1 Peter 2:4-6 and other verses).
It is not likely that darkness around the throne of God in Jerusalem here means a brief total eclipse of the sun, as it is directed against the throne of the anti-Christ and his whole kingdom. Darkness means in Arabic also “justice that cries out to heaven", thus this term describes at the same time the injustice all around the kingdom of the anti-Christian adversary.
The Kingdom of the Anti-Christ: The man of sin, the anti-Christ, has quickly established in the short time of his rule a world empire. Every man and everything belongs to him in this empire. He has the full authority over his subjects. His empire is a cluster of his new world order, groups, control centres, his worldwide economy and innumerable worship temples with his speaking image. He changed the law and introduced a new justice. His empire is the opposite of the godly kingdom of our Father and his Son Jesus Christ. The anti-Christ with his claim to power is contrary to the authority and power of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of the Lamb of God is based on righteousness; it is full of love, joy and peace. The empire of the son of Satan, on the other hand, is an empire of darkness, which was deprived of the light by God. Every inequity, every impurity, every violence and every lie are legal under the son of Satan.
Men do not dare to say the truth. They would rather bite their tongues than utter any word of criticism. In this regime terror rules, may be particularly fear of demons or the indescribable horror of those who see the prince of this world personally. The monster with its seven heads, its iron teeth and jaws is not incarcerated in a zoo, but roams around in the darkness looking for someone to trample down and devour. In the empire of this prince rule neither love nor truth. Jesus said, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12, 13:42.50; 22:13; 24:30.51; 25:30; Luke 6:25; 13:28; John 16:20; James 5:1 and other verses).
Blaspheming: Men do not put the blame of the unbearable heat and the demonic darkness to their own wrongdoing; they do not realize their own sin or do not want to confess it. They blaspheme and accuse God because he created the sun, the air, the earth and the water, but now violates their vital functions decisively. At the end of times there will be no longer any atheism, but only hate-filled negative faith in God. Men do not deny the existence of God any longer, but curse him. The spirit of hell has filled them with a collective possession.
Even though nowadays news papers, magazines, radio-broadcasting and television to a large extend still keep quiet about God and mostly pretend his non-existence, the time will come when the ugliest and most impure verbal attacks against the creator are a daily occurrence. In the criminal code of the German Federal Republic the paragraphs against blasphemy have been abolished long ago. It is merely a matter of time before the consequences thereof come to the fore and became hearable. When aids, cancer, tuberculosis, heart attacks and other modern poisoning waves afflict and plague mankind increasingly, they will clench their fists against the Creator and Lord and blaspheme because of their growing ulcers and pains. These verbal attacks against God will the anti-Christ not bar but pre-formulate. The darkness is already increasing and will further advance.
Repentance: a Foreign Word? Nevertheless the Lamb of God has not destroyed mankind and is still waiting even in the time of the bowls of wrath judgments that they may change their mind and return to their God. In connection with the fifth bowl of wrath we read the last time in the book of Revelation about repentance and returning to God. All in all this fundamental returning to God is mentioned in the book of Revelation nine times as the last occasion to escape from the punishment and destruction (Revelation 2:5.16.21; 3:3.19; 9:20.21; 16:9.11). It must be pointed out that the invitation for repentance is addressed at first to the church leaders in Minor Asia and to the persons in charge of all churches of all continents. A comprehensive repentance movement starts at the pastors and preachers, bishops and priests (Isaiah 6:5 and other verses). If these leaders do not lead by example through a deep repentance, the churches cannot follow them.
Repentance and turning to God begin with the knowledge of the own sin in the light of the knowledge of the threefold holy God! It is grace to be willing to repent and than to do so. Many people cannot repent because they do not want to know their depravity in the light of the love of God. They were ready to listen to the father of the lie. Therefore they cannot hear any longer (Matthew 13:11-17; John 8:43-45; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 and other verses). Often hidden sins and bonds to anti-Christian spirits are the reason that men cannot hear any longer.
We should ask for the gift of grace of repentance for our churches, missions and the people who are far from God. They all need an opening of their ears and the desire to listen to the gospel. More than forty times we read in the New Testament about repentance (Matthew 3:2.8.11; 4:17; Luke 5:32; 15:7.10.32; Acts 2:38, 3:17-19; 5:31; 8:22; 17:30; Romans 2:4 and other verses). We ought to read these verses carefully and take them to heart as they are the key to the salvation for many people.
PRAYER: O Just Holy One, You will prove to antichrist that he is the darkness. Darkness grows in the world, and You cover him and his kingdom with deep darkness that everybody may understand that he is the son of the Evil One, filled with darkness. Forgive us if we did not preach his followers with the light of Your kindness and the grace of Your love that they might repent, be changed, and return to their Creator. Amen.
QUESTION:
- What are the reasons for the painful sufferings with the majority of the people in the last days?