TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY IN BIBLE PROPHECY
Lesson 45: The Bible's description of the long-term biological damage that
AWWI will inflict on the earth.
I The sign in heaven of seven angels who are assigned the
task of delivering the wrath of God on those who took the
mark of the beast.
A Directly following the sounding of the seventh trumpet,
the raptured Christians will celebrate with Christ in
heaven their deliverance from the anti-Christian world
government.
B God's promise that the anti-Christian "beast" would be
destroyed will then proceed without delay.
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous,
seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last,
because in them the wrath of God is finished
(Rev. 15:1, NASB).
A After Christ rescues His faithful followers, seven last
plagues will be unleashed on those who took the mark of
the beast.
B Collectively the plagues describe the final fall of
rebellious man and the overthrow of the planet's future
anti-Christian world government.
II The redeemed Christians in heaven will praise God for
delivering them from the beast.
2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with
fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image
and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of
glass with harps of God in their hands (Rev. 15:2, RSV).
3 And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God
and the song of the Lamb, saying, "GREAT AND MARVELOUS ARE
THY WORKS, O LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY: RIGHTEOUS AND TRUE ARE
THY WAYS, THOU KING OF THE NATIONS.
4 "WHO WILL NOT FEAR, O LORD, AND GLORIFY THY NAME? FOR
THOU ALONE ART HOLY; FOR ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND
WORSHIP BEFORE THEE, For Thy righteous acts have been
revealed" (Rev. 15:3-4, NASB).
A Those who walked with God through the relentless
persecution imposed by the world government will rejoice
and praise God for delivering them from the beast.
B Why will the redeemed Christians sing the song of Moses
and the song of the Lamb?
1 The song of Moses was a song of thanksgiving and
praise.
2 Moses taught the Israelites to sing this song after
God delivered them from Egyptian bondage (Ex. 15).
3 The Christians will also sing the song of the Lamb,
Jesus Christ, their great liberator.
4 Thus, Christ's rescue of the Christians from the
anti-Christian world government will parallel the
Israelites' rescue from Egyptian bondage.
III After John sees the redeemed Christians celebrating in
heaven, he sees preparations made for the seven final
judgments upon those who followed the beast.
5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened (Rev. 15:5).
A What is "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony"?
1 It is not the whole temple, but a very specific part
of the temple.
2 The first tent or tabernacle was erected by Moses in
the wilderness for the service of God.
3 Later, the Israelites applied the same word to the
temple which was built in Jerusalem.
4 It was called the "tabernacle of testimony" because
it was a testimony, or witness, of the presence of
God among the people.
B Why was "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony
in heaven" opened in this vision?
1 The word temple here does not refer to the whole of
the building called "the temple," but only to the
holy of holies, the residence of God.
2 This was the sacred dwelling-place of God, usually
closed from all access, that was now opened, implying
that God himself orders the command to execute the
judgment of the beast.
6 And out of the temple came the seven angels with the
seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, and their
breasts girded with golden girdles.
7 And one of the four living creatures gave the seven
angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who
lives for ever and ever (Rev. 15:6-7, RSV).
A The seven angels come from the presence of God and each
one is appointed a single plague to execute in judgment.
B "Clothed in pure white linen" represents their holiness.
C Having "their breasts girded with golden girdles"
symbolizes their high rank and God-given authority
to carry out their assigned judgments.
D The "golden bowls full of the wrath of God" alludes to an
ancient form of punishment in which a person drank a
goblet full of poison.
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of
God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple
until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended
(Rev. 15:8, RSV).
A The smoke symbolizes God's presence in the temple.
B Here, the smoke, or singular purpose of God's presence
to judge the beast, so filled the temple that no one
could enter it until the bowls of wrath were poured out.
1 That is, no one could possibly enter to intercede, or
turn away God's wrath.
2 The angels have been sent forth and will not be recalled.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the
seven angels, "go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls
of the wrath of God" (Rev. 16:1, RSV).
A The rest of this vision describes the seven last plagues
under which the world government will fall.
B Examination of the first five of the seven reveals that
they are a description of the destruction of the Earth's
environment from the long-term aftereffects of AWWI.
C Many questions pertaining to the extent of the Earth's
long-term biological damage from nuclear war are
simply overwhelmed by the infinite number of unknown
environmental interactions introduced by the long-term
effects of global nuclear war.
D Yet the Bible foretells the final consequences of AWWI
without hesitation, including the exact order of the
death of the Earth in the first five of the seven last
plagues.
IV The first bowl will be poured out on the earth.
2 So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth,
and foul and evil sores came upon the men who bore the mark
of the beast and worshipped its image (Rev. 16:2, RSV).
A Though the plague was poured upon the Earth, yet its
effects were seen upon men.
B This terrible skin plague will be a direct consequence
of the cumulative effects of hundreds of millions of
tons of AWWI's radioactive and pyrotoxin fallout
entering the soil.
1 Eating tainted crops grown on the befouled soil will
introduce a number of health problems.
2 Those left behind after the rapture of the Church will
eventually break out with "loathsome and malignant"
(NASB) sores from the cumulative build up of fallout
poisons in their systems.
C Note here that Christ's timely rescue will save
Christians from the full force of the long-term
aftereffects of AWWI.
V The second bowl will be poured out into the sea.
3 The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it
became like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing
died that was in the sea (Rev. 16:3, RSV).
A At the time John wrote this prophecy 1900 years ago, it
must have been hard to imagine that every living thing
in the oceans could die.
B But today the possibility of the oceans dying is readily
understood.
1 Back in 1971, Swiss marine explorer Jacques Piccard,
testifying before a United Nations symposium on the
environment in Geneva, warned that if nothing is
done, all the oceans will be dead before the end of
the century.
2 At the same symposium, French undersea explorer
Jacques Cousteau estimated that the vitality of the
seas, in terms of fish and plant life, had declined
some 30% to 50% in the previous twenty year period.
3 Prediction of the ocean's death in modern times is
based on the fact that they serve as the Earth's
largest dump.
4 The main danger to marine life comes from wastes that
are exceptionally long-lasting, or highly toxic--e.g.,
pesticides, radioactive materials, aerosols such as
those used in dry cleaning, and some resilient
compounds like the "degreasers" used widely by
industry to remove grease from manufactured parts.
C What two destructive post-AWWI forces will eventually
leave the world's oceans not only void of life, but a
color similar to the dark almost black blood of a dead
man?
1 The inexorable concentration of vast quantities of
toxic fallout substances in the oceans after AWWI.
2 At the same time light reductions brought on by the
post-AWWI smoke-clogged skies will essentially
terminate phytoplankton productivity--the support
base for many marine and fresh water animal species.
VI The third bowl will be poured out into the rivers and
fountains of water.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers
and the fountains of water, and they became blood
(Rev. 16:4, RSV).
A After "the third angel poured out his bowl into the
rivers and the fountains of water," John wrote down his
metaphorical observation: "and they became blood."
B Although God could turn the waters into blood if He so
desired, the meaning clearly parallels John's previous
description of the pollution of the seas: "and it became
like the blood of a dead man" (Rev. 16:3, RSV).
C Thus, plague three foretells the death of man's two
primary sources of water:
1 Rivers, which are dammed for the purpose of storing
water in giant reservoirs.
2 And fountains of waters, or wells and lakes, which
supply water to cities and communities that do not
have access to other water sources.
D This prophecy foretells the effects of long-term
continuing AWWI-fallout eventually fouling rivers and
subsurface water supplies around the globe.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art
righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be,
because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and
thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord
God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments
(Rev. 16:5-7).
A Christians are reminded here that a righteous God will
surely judge those who murder His people.
B The employees enforcing the world government's policy
of not allowing Christians to buy or sell during the
tribulation, will subject many Christians to slow
painful death from lack of food, water, and shelter.
C In the end those who take the mark of the beast will
find themselves reaping in kind, water as unfit to drink
as blood.
VII The fourth bowl will be poured out on the sun.
8 The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was
allowed to scorch men with fire;
9 Men were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the
name of God who had power over these plagues, and they did
not repent and give him glory (Rev. 16:8-9, RSV).
A In today's scientific terms what John called fire from
the sun is now called ultraviolet (UV) radiation, a form
of light invisible to the human eye that causes sunburn
and skin cancer.
B Since the main theme of the seven last plagues prophecy
is the long-term repercussions of AWWI, it is reasonable
to assume that the plague of intense heat from the sun
will be another delayed negative consequence of AWWI.
C Today's scientific findings show that pyrotoxins blasted
into the stratosphere by AWWI will destroy 70 percent or
more of the ozone shield that protects humans against an
overdose of solar UV radiation.
D According to John's report, the sun's fierce heat will
be so hot that people will be severely burnt if they
stay outside for even a short period of time.
E Yet instead of asking God's forgiveness for their hate,
which is what will ultimately touch off AWWI in the
first place, the typical person will blame God for the
heat and curse His name.
VIII The fifth bowl will be poured out on the throne of the
beast.
10 The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the
beast, and its kingdom was in darkness; men gnawed their
tongues in anguish
11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores,
and did not repent of their deeds (Rev. 16:10-11, RSV).
A The long-lived air pollution generated by AWWI will
apparently promote ideal conditions for a persistent
temperature inversion, which will plunge "the beast's"
capital city into darkness.
B (A temperature inversion is a layer of cool air held in
place by a layer of warm air above it--which prevents
polluted cool air from blowing away.)
C It is clear from the description of people biting their
tongues that Mystery Babylon's plague of darkness will
be especially frustrating for the city's inhabitants.
D Mention of their "pain and sores" here indicates
preceding plagues will continue.
- There will be an accumulation, not a mere succession, of
plagues.
E Thus, the plague of darkness will be the final stress
for a population already unable to cope with the
calamities engulfing them.
F At this point in the history of man, the world and its
inhabitants will be slowly dying.
1 The human race will be sitting in the middle of total
ruin that they alone created.
2 People will be eating food laced with poisons, smelling
an ocean full of rotting plant and animal life, drinking
water unfit for human consumption and either suffering
from a third-degree sunburn or taking extraordinary
measures to avoid one.
3 In addition to all this misery, the inhabitants of the
world capital will be breathing toxic air while they
grope in the dark with bodies racked with painful sores.
G One would think that people would repent for turning the
paradise God provided for them into a dying ash heap.
H Instead, they will blame God for what they have done and
curse Him all the more.