Revelation Chapter 16

VERSES 8 and 9 “And the fourth (angel) poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.”

The fourth angel was Peter Waldo

And the fourth angel POURED OUT HIS BOWL UPON THE SUN:

This fourth plague carries us to WWII. The purpose for this plague is stated to be to plague the SUN, i.e., the Gospel! This may seem strange. However, it is necessary to have men DOUBT THE SOURCE of religious profession in order to help further the collapse of Babylon. It must be noticed historically that since WWII the acceptance of the Bible as inspired has diminished greatly. Philosophies like Existentialism have thrived in its place. (This is very much true, so-called science, various evolutionary theories and their like have since this time quadrupled.)

Under the fourth trumpet, Jezebel smote Waldo’s Bible-based “heresies.” In the fourth plague, however, events make men smite the authority of Scripture and religion, thus further weakening the foundation of the old order. (Once again note the similarities between the trumpet and the plague further substantiating the belief that the proper course of study when studying the various stages of the Church is to examine the message to the Church, the seal, the trumpet and the plague one in conjunction with another.)

Events like the Holocaust, atomic warfare, Hitler’s and Mussolini’s agreements with Papacy, etc., all led to the weakening of men’s faith. Thus:

AND IT WAS GIVEN TO IT: — to this bowl (WWII) Remember the bowls are the media of delivery, specific EVENTS (in this case WWII) used to force truths to the attention of the old order.

TO SCORCH MEN WITH FIRE: — to test the validity of their faith, “tested by fire” (1 Pet 1:7)

VERSE 9 — AND MEN WERE SCORCHED WITH GREAT HEAT: they were tested as to the validity of their faith. They failed. There is here again, not humor, but a possible play on words. Two of the major events, which burned men’s faith because they couldn’t find answers, were the atomic bomb (the possibility of nuclear annihilation), and the holocaust (literally meaning “total burning”). Literal fires of bombs and ovens were too much for the faith of most.

AND THEY BLASPHEMED THE NAME OF GOD: They spoke evil of His character.

“Where is God in all of this? “If He really exists, why didn’t He do something?”

The “God is dead” movement flourished after the war. Doubts multiplied.

Men of faith began to question the so-called God of all wisdom and love. Would a “supposed” God permit such things, such as the attempted eradication of his own chosen people, a God who would permit men to come into possession of so devastating a weapon as that of the atomic bomb which could possibly destroy all life upon the face of the earth, both the good (so-called) as well as the evil. Likewise, as general education became more and more available to all, to the public in general, “so-called” science began to intruded upon and to erode the faith of many, such as questions concerning the immensity of the universe, and the possibility of life on other worlds, questions in regards to the fossilized remains of prehistoric life, dinosaurs and etc., questions as to where precisely these should fit into the picture of one’s faith as their evident existence at one time became all the more conclusive.

WHO HAS THE POWER OVER THESE PLAGUES:

What men (except the faithful saints) have failed to see is that God is in these plagues! It is he who is directing them to FREE men from their hideous captivity (to ignorance, superstitions, and the traditions and etc. of men).

AND THEY DID NOT REPENT SO AS TO GIVE HIM GLORY: These plagues do not make men know God. They only prepare men so that they can know Him. They (men) still, at least nominally, support the old order. Four plagues haven’t done the trick; it will take seven.”

We will take another look at this verse from R498 in our next post.