Turn in your Bibles please to Revelation chapter 16. As you're turning to Revelation chapter 16, I would like to highlight once again the catastrophe that is taking place in Los Angeles this weekend and last week. One of the pictures of the blaze there and the firefighters who are working in the midst of it. 16 deaths so far have been recorded as a result of the fire, which began as Santa Ana wind gusts up to 90 miles an hour whipped the fires into a frenzy last week. There's been over 12,000 structures destroyed so far in the fires and about 56 square miles of land. That's pretty unfathomable. One Hollywood reporter driving through the Hollywood Hills or the Palisades during the fire said it was like driving through hell. There may be small pockets of hell on earth in places like Los Angeles today and in other places around the world, but what we learn from Revelation chapter 16 is that there is coming a day, a short period in this world history, where God will turn the entire planet into a hell on earth. Revelation chapter 16 has been called the darkest chapter in the Bible. It's also the great chapter in the Bible, as the word mega comes across into English, meaning great, is used many times. We spent the last couple of weeks looking in chapter 15 at the buildup, the prelude to God's final wrath. And so in Revelation 16, we have the record, the prophetic history written in advance of the time period in which God will unleash the fullness of his wrath against all of Satan-led humanity. And that God will make this entire globe a hell on earth. You'll see what I mean by that as we go through the first five judgments in Revelation today, God's final wrath. Read with me verse one as we introduce chapter 16. Revelation chapter 16 verse one states this. 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. A loud voice, as we've made repeated note, this is the book of loud voices. 21 times we hear a loud voice in just 22 chapters in the book. But the question here in verse 1 of chapter 16 is whose loud voice is this? It's not identified, we're just told a loud voice from the temple. Now in light of the previous verse at the end of chapter 15, you see where no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished, that the smoke of God's glory had arisen and filled the tabernacle in heaven. The natural thought would be, well, this must be God's voice since everyone else has been expelled from the heavenly temple. However, the voice says, go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God. not my wrath, but the wrath of God. Now God could refer to himself in the third person, but I think that more likely this is one of the four living creatures that are around the throne of God, the cherubim or the seraphim, as they are pictured in other places in God's throne room. Now when the scripture says that no one could enter the sanctuary, it's accepting those who are already there. And this means that no one is entering in, but it doesn't mean that everyone has been put out. But that the angels who are constantly in God's presence in his throne room are probably still there, but that no human beings are going into the temple. None of the redeemed are going into the tabernacle at this time. Whichever voice it is, whosever voice it is, is not most important to notice here, but what is important to notice is what is commanded. That is recorded for us. Go and pour out. We talked about how we are in the midst of the judgments of God. that the judgments of God in the book of Revelation culminate, the finale is the seven bowls of judgment, but that the seven bowls are a part of the seventh trumpet. They actually constitute the seventh trumpet. And the trumpet judgments constitute the seventh seal, and so the seventh seal has the trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments all contained within that part of the scroll that Jesus Christ himself opened back at the beginning Now, the bowl judgments, I showed you last week a picture of the type of instrument that would have been in John's mind as he wrote about the bowls of God's wrath being poured out. This was a golden bowl, not a normal incense holder. but one that had the wide open mouth so that the incense could be poured out all at once. And this is the image of God's final judgment because throughout the Old Testament, whenever the prophets spoke about the culmination, the finality of God's wrath coming upon the nation of Israel or any of the nations surrounding Israel, they used this language of pouring out God's wrath, pouring out God's anger. For example, In Jeremiah chapter 44 verse 6, the prophet Jeremiah, speaking of God's wrath against his own people in his own time, records the words of God. Therefore, my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation as at this day. In fact, 24 times in the Old Testament, at least, this phraseology is used of God pouring out his anger, the full demonstration of his fury against sin. Another example in the same book of Jeremiah Jeremiah prays and asks for God to turn his wrath away from the people of Israel and instead to pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not and on the peoples that call not on your name. For they have devoured Jacob. They have devoured him and consumed him and have laid waste his habitation. In the words of Jeremiah later in the book of Lamentations, he also says, God has bent his bow like an enemy. With his right hand he is set like a foe, and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion. He has poured out his fury like fire. The historical judgments of God in the Old Testament, the pouring out of his fury and his wrath, bringing centuries of wrath down upon the people of Israel during the days of Jeremiah, during the days of Ezekiel, is a historical picture, a historical portent of the wrath of God that is going to be poured out on all of the nations at the end of the age. And that's what happens now in chapter 16 of Revelation that we are studying. All of the wrath that God has felt, all of the fury that he has experienced, all of the anger that is in the heart and mind of the Almighty, that has been stored up, that has been held back for millennia, is now unleashed. That gives you a proper preparation for the horrors of what follows in the seven bowls of God's judgment. Let's take a look at the first bowl. As we look at our outline this morning, we're going to just take a look at the first five bowls. We'll save bowls six and seven for future studies. But here we are in Revelation chapter 16, verses one through 11. And we're gonna take a look at the first bowl, which is malignant sores. You can see it there in verse two. Follow along, Revelation 16, verse two in your Bibles. So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. Go and pour out was the command at the end of verse one. And immediately at the beginning of verse two, the first angel went and poured out his bowl. As we sang earlier in our opening hymns, so as your will is done in heaven, so let it be done on earth. At prayer from the Lord's Prayer in Matthew chapter six verse 10, we see another example here. All throughout the book of Revelation, all throughout the Bible, God's will in heaven is carried out perfectly by his heavenly ministers. And let that be just an exhortation and an encouragement to you, that you continue to pray the Lord's Prayer, that you continue to put into practice His will in your life, not delaying, not waiting, not doubting, not second-guessing, but that when God's Word speaks to you, when the Holy Spirit convicts you, when God leads you and tells you what He wants you to do, that you immediately carry it out just the way that the angels do. What a great example holy angels provide for us in bringing God's word, God's will to pass with perfect and immediate obedience. The second thing we want to notice here about the angel pouring out the first bowl of wrath is the painful, harmful sores. This word harmful, it comes from a word in the original that has to do with evil. And so I think the best translation for this is malignant. Malignant means evil in nature, influence or effect, means injurious. And the word for evil in the Bible, multiple words, have this double connotation, just like our word does, of harmful. That which is evil is that which is harmful. So these evil, harmful sores are malignant sores that came upon those who bear the mark of the beast. God, in effect, puts his mark the malignant sores upon those who allowed the beast to put his mark on them. They took the mark of the beast, and now God is marking their skin, not with the mark of the beast, but with the mark of God's wrath, the mark of God's judgment. Remember how we read in our scripture reading about what Satan did? Well, actually, we hadn't read that part. That's where we get to in chapter two. After Job lost all of his wealth, after he lost his children, then God allows Satan to also touch Job's body. And in order to test Job, in order to see whether or not he will be faithful to God, Satan put a malignant sore all over the body, malignant sores all over the body of Job. We have a reversal here. Now instead of the righteous man being tested by the enemy to see whether he's going to be faithful to God, now we have God testing the unrighteous to see whether they will stay faithful to Satan and the beast. Very interesting. Harmful and painful sores, like those that Satan put on Job, now God puts upon those who have taken the mark of the beast. Who are those who have taken the mark of the beast? Go back to chapter 13, look at verse three. In learning about the first beast in chapter 13, we see that this beast is like the head of the kingdoms and his head has a mortal wound, but it's healed. But notice the second half of verse three. Who's following the beast? The whole earth is following the beast. Look at verse seven. The beast, he, was allowed, he was given, to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to him, the beast, over every tribe and people and language and nation. So who is the beast ruling over? What is the extent of his kingdom? Well, chapter 13 tells us it's the whole world. Every nation, every tribe, every language, every people. Look at verse 12. The beast exercises all the authority. This is the second beast, the false prophet. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast. So who is worshiping the beast? The earth. The whole earth is worshiping. And then again in verse 16, we come to the mark itself. He, the false prophet, causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead. So, who are those who are afflicted with the judgment of God on the earth? Who are those who receive the malignant, painful sores? It's the whole world. Anyone who has not taken the mark of the beast has been killed, and so those who are left at this final period of God's wrath are those who have taken the mark, and they all receive this judgment. It's a global, worldwide judgment. Notice how the bold judgments, not just this one, but as we continue, you'll see this in verse six and in verse 10 throughout the chapter, the bold judgments are directed against Satan's beast and all of his global followers. God hates, he will hate with a special hatred, the coming global kingdom of the Antichrist. It will be the ultimate idolatrous and blasphemous world power that is completely worthy of the outpouring of the ultimate wrath of God. That's why we studied chapter 13. That's why we read about the beast. That's why God introduced all of that information before moving into the bold judgments, because we need to know how God has prepared the world for these bold judgments. He's prepared the world for these judgments by allowing the world to have what it's always wanted. To allow Satan to have what he's always wanted, what has always been the spirit underlying the world forces. Now it is time for judgment. God has ripened the world for his wrath. And they have killed all who will not go along with it and who choose to worship God. Notice it says, The painful sores, in verse two, come upon those who worshipped its image. Not just who bore the mark, but who also worshipped the beast's image. To worship means to bow down in homage. To bow down before in a way that recognizes the supremacy of the object of worship. World rulers have always wanted this kind of worship, and they have always demanded it. In Esther chapter three, verse two, we had the historical example in the days of Mordecai and Haman. Haman, being the second in command in the kingdom, he also wanted all to bow down and pay homage to him. All the king's servants who were at the king's gate in Esther three, two, did do so. They bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. We are those who do not worship world rulers, world kings, world leaders, but we are those who reserve our worship. We bow down before no one but God. Worship only God. But for those who will not worship only God, but who through the sin in their own heart and through the pressure that is applied to them politically, do choose to bow down before the ultimate man of blasphemy, they will receive the outpouring of God's wrath in full measure. Let's compare this with the plagues on Egypt. The bull judgments are very similar to the plagues on Egypt. Here in Exodus chapter nine, verses nine through 11, we read that the fine dust over all the land of Egypt will become boils, breaking out in sores on man and beast through all the land of Egypt. So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it in the air and it became boils breaking out and sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils. For the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. What God did for a limited time and a limited place in Egypt to demonstrate his power, give a warning to the world so that they can know who is Yahweh, that we should listen to him, who is the God of Israel? Well, he is the God who has the power to judge those who hate him, those who destroy his people. I decided against showing pictures of severe skin ulcers and boils. This is incurable and unavoidable. It was threatened upon the people of Israel if they were to disobey his covenant. In Deuteronomy 28, 27, God speaking through Moses told them and warned them that the results of their idolatry would be the Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and scabs and itch of which you cannot be healed. Satan couldn't think of a way to make Job more miserable than to do this type of thing to him. And now God says it's time for Satan's followers to have this misery. That's the first bowl. The second bowl, ruin to the oceans. Look at verse three. Every living thing died that was in the sea. When it says the sea is turned into blood, first of all, let's talk about the sea. Does this refer to every ocean, every saltwater body in the world? I believe so. Some people would like to restrict this, perhaps, to the Mediterranean, since that was the main sea that would have been familiar to the author, the Apostle John, when he was writing it, referring to the sea. But here, the judgments of God are global in scale. I don't think there's any reason to restrict the sea just to the Mediterranean, but this is all of the oceans, all of the saltwater bodies in the world, turned to blood, like that of a dead man. This reference to blood like a dead man is probably a reference to coagulated blood. Blood that is no longer as liquid, but is now more viscous. When it refers to every living thing in the sea dying, the repercussions are unfathomable. How could life on the land survive without sea life? When you think about how all of mankind lives and thrives, all of our civilization is built on the sea. Look at the population of the United States, compare how many people live on the coasts compared to living in the central parts. How many people live in cities built on rivers? Most of humanity lives by water. And a large part of our human diet comes from the sea. All of the beautiful mansions that are built along the sea, who enjoy the view of the salt water and all the life and the beauty that's in it. Can you imagine the horrorscape? Living next to that stinking death as the waters that you paid so much money to live by are now turned to blood like that of a corpse. We can compare this disaster to the ecological disasters in the four trumpet judgments back in chapter eight. The first one affected the earth, but the next two affected the sea and the fresh water. And that's the same way it is with the bowl judgments. The bowl judgments also affect the sea, the second, and then the fresh water will be in the third. But notice that the trumpet judgments affected one third of the sea, but now it is the entire world, all of the sea and all of the springs of water and the rivers. devastating global cataclysm. And the question has to arise, will God miraculously bring back the sea life from extinction? Or does the extinction stop at some level before the event spreads to 100% of the oceanic waters? Well, time will tell. I can't tell you which of those is going to happen. We do know that during the millennium, there will be plenty of life in the seas. But for this period of time, We are told that the seas will become filled with dead things. The third bowl then follows as we said. Not just oceanic ruin, but now freshwater ruin. Let's read about that in verse 4. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. It's very easy to read over these and miss the impact, miss how catastrophic, how life-threatening these judgments are, and what a short time human beings would survive after these judgments came to pass. The destruction of all of the potable water sources. The rivers, the springs of water, also made like the blood of a corpse. The Nile experienced this judgment back in the judgment on Egypt. Exodus 7, 17, and 18 records, thus says the Lord, by this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold, with the staff that is in my hand, I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood. The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile. The Nile was the most important freshwater source for the land of Egypt. Here's a picture from orbit of the land of Egypt. Here's where the Nile Delta exits out into the Mediterranean, and here's the Nile River going into the interior of Africa. Do you notice anything about this picture? There's almost no life and vegetation throughout this part of the world except by the river and by the coastlines. Now you turn all the water in the coastlines into blood and then you turn all the river water into blood and what happens to all the life? It'll look like this. Here's a picture from space of the lights of civilization along the Nile. Notice all of the buildings, all of the lights following the course of the river. Notice all the lights along the coastline. What happens to human civilization when the second bowl and the third bowl are poured out on the earth? What happens to all these people who have been dependent upon the water source that God gave them? And instead of worshiping the God who created the oceans and created the rivers, they have followed after Satan's blasphemous beast. When God takes away the fresh water, how long will human civilization last? And what power does Satan or the beast have to help those who have chosen him? This judgment is so severe, it is so dire, it's so difficult for us to imagine having lived in centuries of God's grace and giving us the waters of the earth, that it calls for a response from the angels. It calls for a reassurance to God's people that these judgments are not undeserved, these judgments are not unfair, but that in fact the punishment does fit the crime. Look at verse five. I heard the angel in charge of the waters, very interesting, the angel in charge of the waters, say, just are you, O holy one, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve. They are worthy, is a literal translation of that last line. They are worthy. God is worthy of praise and honor and glory. What are blasphemers worthy of? What are the worshipers of Satan's beast worthy of? They are worthy of these judgments. The punishment does fit the crime. Notice what it says, they have shed the blood of saints and prophets. Do you know that word shed is the same word as pour out? as God has told the angels to pour out on the earth the seven bowls, and he does. One after the other, all seven judgments are poured out. Well, what has the earth poured out? They have poured out the blood of God's saints, the blood of God's prophets. This is a theme throughout the book of Revelation, starting all the way back in the letters to the churches, but as we came to the main portion, the cry of the martyrs in chapter six, the murder of God's prophets in chapter 13, and over and over again throughout the book, we see the animosity, the hatred, the violence, the bloodshed of those who are in the world against those who are true worshipers of the Lamb. Not only one angel, but now we also hear a voice from the altar. The altar in heaven speaks. This is something we've been prepared for earlier in the book when we heard a voice coming from the altar in chapter nine, verse 13. And the voice that is either from the altar or surrounding the altar or hovering over the altar, we don't know, it's all beyond us. There's a reassurance here that even though these judgments are unimaginable in their severity, even though it brings God's earth to a place where it is like hell, that this is a worthy judgment from the Holy One. The fourth bowl. Scorching heat. If the world wasn't hellish enough in these first three judgments, the fourth one should get your attention. Scorching heat. That sounds like hell. Read verse eight. The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. End verse nine. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. The sun had already been affected earlier in the book in the seals, the sixth seal brought darkness for a time upon the earth earlier in the judgment. But now we have a complete darkness, a palpable darkness, a perhaps even painful darkness that comes on the whole planet. picture of the power of the sun. Our atmosphere shields us from a lot of it and God has made our planet just the right distance and the sun have just the right power so that we have such a wonderful climate. Whether we are going snow skiing in Colorado in the elevation or whether we're going down to bathe on the beach in the sun's rays, God has set up the sun as a wonderful blessing to our planet. But during this fourth judgment, the sun is given power to scorch people with fire. And they are scorched by the fierce heat of the sun. That repeated emphasis of the power of the sun. Three times scorching is referred to, this word calma in the original, for the strong emphasis. This could be a change in the sun itself. It could be a change in our atmosphere. However God brings it about, whatever he does in order to give the power to the sun, in order to scorch people with intense heat, this is severe. Some people who like to make light of the literal interpretation of these judgments will say, oh, we're really worried because people are going to get really bad sunburns. This is not really bad sunburns. This is like the heat of hell. And where do you go? How do you escape it? God emphasizes how painful and how harmful this judgment is. We should not make light of it. As it says in Proverbs, what the wicked dreads will come upon him. The wicked of this world, they talk a lot about climate change. They're very worried about global warming. I've got news. It's coming. and there's nothing they can do to stop it. Reducing carbon emissions is not going to stop this judgment from coming. I'd like to contrast this with what God said in Revelation chapter seven, verse 16. Of those who have been martyred by the beast, those who because of their love for the Lord Jesus Christ did not love their lives even unto death and are now safe in God's presence, remember what was said about them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. The sun shall not strike them. That word strike is the same word from which we get our word plague. Plague means to strike. The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. God allows this world to rid his planet of everyone who loves God, and then God brings the plague of the scorching heat. Then God turns this beautiful climate into a hell on earth. Humanity will recognize that these judgments come from God. Humanity will recognize that they have sinned against God and that God is punishing them. And as it says in Malachi, I'll put this verse up once more. For those who are persecuted, for those who are hated, for those who are jailed, for those who are maligned, for those who are mocked for their faith in God, And you say, what good does it do to worship God? I've got all the pain and disease that the wicked have. I've got cancer just like the unbeliever, the blasphemer. I've got poverty just like others. And I've got extra problems because of my faith in God. What good does it do to serve God? You will see what good it does to serve God. You'll see the difference between those who fear the Lord and those who follow the way of this world. It's coming. They will recognize that this is from God. They will curse the name of God who had power over these plagues. The text in verse nine says that God is the one who has the power over these plagues. The angel in verse six is the one who said, you have given them this blood to drink. Verse five says you brought these judgments. The whole chapter 15 and the introduction makes it clear that all of this is from God. Satan is not in charge of hell. God is in charge of hell. Satan will not cast anyone into fire. God will cast the wicked into fire. Satan will not bring hell to this earth. God will bring hell to this earth. And they will curse God for doing it. As I said, this is a reverse of what we see in Job chapter one and two. God is now testing the sons of men to find out, is there any limit to their loyalty to the beast? Is there any limit to their hatred of God and their obstinance? If God pours out the fullness of his wrath upon people, surely then people will turn around and say, we repent, we give up, you're the almighty, we don't have power over the waters, we don't have power over the rivers, we don't have power over the sun, God save us. No, they will not. Just as Job could not be turned aside from his love for God no matter what was done to him, so those who love darkness will not be turned away from Satan no matter what is done to them. Circumstances don't make you what you are. Circumstances will only reveal what you are. And this is a revelation of the infinite obduracy of human sin. Heavy, very heavy. The fifth bowl. Palpable darkness. The world has scorching heat. The world will then be plunged into deep darkness. Similar to the judgment that we saw in Revelation 8, verse 12, but let's read it here first. Revelation 16, verse 10. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Remember, this is a worldwide kingdom. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and their sores. They did not repent of their deeds. Back in Revelation 8, 12, when the fourth angel had blown his trumpet, a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise, a third of the night. That was a severe, intense judgment. Remember when we talked about that, what kind of effect this would have on the world if you took away a third of the light that comes to it through the atmosphere? Well, now we have all of the light taken away. This is like the judgment and the plagues on Egypt also. Exodus chapter 10, verses 21 through 23, the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand toward heaven that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven and there was pitch darkness in the land of Egypt, three days. Very short time, but for three days, it seemed like a long time when they were going through it. They didn't know how long it was gonna be. They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived. This is also on the throne of the beast. Remember, who was it that gave the beast his throne? We're told in Revelation 13 too that it's Satan, the great dragon, who gives the beast his throne. Picture what it says there. People gnawed their tongues in anguish. How much pain do you have to be in to bite on your tongue deliberately and to gnaw it? Does the darkness itself somehow cause this kind of anguish? Are we talking about some mental anguish? Is this some physical anguish? Is this a culmination of all the judgments that have risen to this fifth one? The lack of drinking water, the intense heat, the painful sores. The sores are mentioned in this judgment, this plague, that they cursed God because of their pain and their sores. So it's clear that this is not like some of the previous judgments where one finishes and then the next one follows, but these are building up. They're having all of these one right after the other so that they're experiencing all of these together. The whole world. They cursed the God of heaven. Do you remember what Job was told in Job chapter two verse nine? As he had lost everything, Satan had thrown everything he had at him and he was there scraping his sores with the shards from the pot. His wife told him, curse God and die. Are you still holding on to your faith in God? You've lost everything, curse God and die. Now I can imagine the angels coming to the world full of people with all those sores like Job had. Burning with the intense heat of the sun and yet not being benefited by any of its light and pitch darkness, sitting there in complete misery. And the holy angels wondering, do you still hold on to your loyalty to the beast? Are you still going to follow after the prince of the power of the air? Bless God and live. But they won't, they won't. I don't think we understand the sinfulness of sin. I don't think we understand how deep it goes. I don't think we understand what a miracle it is that we are saved. You didn't become saved because of the experiences in your life. Experience doesn't save anyone. You didn't become saved because of the sorrow and the trouble that you experienced in your life. The consequences of sin will not bring anyone to salvation. You got saved by a miracle of God. Born again, regenerated. They did not repent, they will not repent of their deeds, their deeds. Judgment is always based upon works. When God reveals his righteous and just judgments in full force, the world will blaspheme God and refuse to repent. While God is giving them all of the blessings that he's giving today, our good health, life-sustaining water, a temperate climate, and the pleasant light of day, all of God's grace, all of his goodness, all of his gifts is not turning the world to follow after God. And when God takes away all of those gifts, that won't cause the world to turn back to God either. That's what's revealed in this chapter. Three points in conclusion. Number one, hell is coming to earth. For a short time. For a short time, the scorching heat, the intense thirst, the complete darkness, and the gnashing of teeth that is described in Luke chapter 16, verse 24, that's going to be the condition on this planet. Remember what Jesus said about the man who was dead and experiencing the torments and the fire? He said, And also in Matthew 8, verse 12, Jesus spoke about the outer darkness and the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All the things that we take for granted, the light of day, life-giving water, bodies free from painful disease, temperate planet, there's coming a time when God will no longer grant these things. For almost 42 months, God will withhold his anger and his wrath and allow Satan and the beast to blaspheme him as much as they want, to murder and kill as many of his children as they want for a time. And then God pours out the fullness of his wrath. So choose wisely who you fear. Choose wisely whose wrath you incur. God will not be mocked. He waits, but he does judge. Remember the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 12. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. Yes, Jesus tells us, his friends, to fear him. Fear the God who has the power over these plagues. Hell is coming to earth. It's unavoidable, it's written, it will be done. Number two, God's justice is unimpeachable. I'm not gonna go into depth on this one, but just remember verses five through seven. Read them again. Do you believe them? Do you believe that these judgments are what mankind will deserve in light of what God has revealed about their sin in the book of Revelation? Number three, wrath does not produce repentance. Therefore, it would seem that there is no repentance in the lake of fire, not only from this passage, but from many other passages as well. When the soul of the sinner is resurrected to eternal judgment and they are cast into the lake of fire, you might think, well, surely they will repent. Surely, after a thousand years of being in torment in the lake of fire, they will say, enough, I repent, I was wrong, you are right. Save me. They will not. There's no repentance in hell. Ultimate, final judgment cannot bring repentance. What does bring repentance? Grace. Grace brings repentance. Judgment doesn't bring repentance. Mercy. Mercy brings repentance. The gospel brings repentance. And today, today is the day of salvation. God's patience is being shown today. God's mercy is being shown today. God's warning is written here for us today. Today, repent. Today, believe. Today, be saved. Today, fear God. Today, turn away from the world and following after the prince of the power of the air. Today, be saved from this wicked generation. As we think about the fires that are going on in California, Here's a picture of a firefighter who's involved with what's called a backburn. A backburn is where you know a fire is approaching a certain area, so you burn it before the fire gets there, so that when the fire gets there, it doesn't have any fuel and it stops. I'd like to read you a story written by Paul Zoll from a book called Who Will Deliver Us? Paul writes, I am like a duck hunter who was hunting with his friend in a wide-open barren of land in southeastern Georgia. Far away on the horizon, he noticed a cloud of smoke. Soon he could hear the sound of crackling. A wind came up. He realized the terrible truth. A brush fire was advancing his way. It was moving so fast that he and his friend could not outrun it. The hunter began to rifle through his pockets. Then he emptied all the contents of his knapsack. He soon found what he was looking for. a book of matches. To his friend's amazement, he pulled out a match and struck it. He lit a small fire around the two of them. Soon they were standing in a circle of blackened earth, waiting for the brush fire to come, and they did not have to wait long. They covered their mouths with their handkerchiefs and braced themselves. The fire came and swept over them, but they were completely unhurt. They weren't even touched. Fire would not burn the place where the fire had already burned. The law is like the brush fire. I cannot escape it. But if I stand in the burned over place, where the law has already burned its way through, then I will not get hurt. Not a hair of my head will be singed. The death of Christ is the burned over place. There I huddle, hardly believing, yet relieved. Bow your heads with me. Father God, we don't understand because our hearts are full of unbelief. We don't understand because we do not share your holiness like you are perfect in holiness. Lord, we do not understand because we are too much of this world and we do not see with your eyes. Therefore, we do not understand the anger and the fury that is in your heart against sin. But we read about it. And we have to confess that you are righteous, that we are sinners, that we live in a sinful, wicked world full of blasphemous idolatry, and that your judgments should come upon this earth. Wicked sinners must be cast into the lake of fire. we recognize the justice of your wrath, and we confess it even though it's hard for us. We're too proud, we're too blind. And yet, Lord God, we thank you for the faith that you have given us, for the little bit of sight that we do see with, for with that little bit of sight, with that little bit of faith, we are saved. And our eyes and our faith are fixed upon your wrath that was poured out upon Jesus Christ. And in his death and his crucifixion, Father, we see and we learn and understand your hatred of sin. That if you would so thoroughly crush your son when he was the sin bearer, what hope would there be for us if we were to bear our own sin before you? And so Father, we thank you that we can huddle together at the foot of the cross and be free from the wrath of God because it is already burned there. And now we are safe in Jesus Christ for time and for eternity. We give you what thanks we can for that amazing gift. Amen.