The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16:4-7, NIV 1984).
My Musings – The third bowl extends the judgment of the second bowl on the seas (salt-water) to the fresh-water rivers and springs, which also turn into “blood.” John heard the angel in charge of the waters proclaim that God the Holy One is “just in these judgments.”
This judgment is God’s response to the shedding of the blood of the saints and prophets. In God’s system of justice, the punishment fits the crime. Pharaoh tried to drown all the Jewish boy babies, and his own army eventually drowned in the Red Sea. Haman planned to hang Mordecai on the gallows to exterminate all the Jews. But he was hanged on the very gallows he had built, and his entire family was exterminated (Esther 7:10; 9:10). King Saul refused to obey God and slay all the Amalekites, so he was slain by an Amalekite (2 Samuel 1:1–16) that he had spared.
My Advice – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7–8, NIV 1984). There is an awful lot of deceit in the world today, insisting that God will not bring about the judgments that are recorded in the Bible. In the end, all will be forgiven. If not, the eternal annihilation will take the place of eternal punishment. There’s an awful lot at stake here. Perhaps it time to seriously evaluate what you might be reaping. But listen to God’s word, not man’s.
Resources:
Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 967). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 610). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
The Brew Is A Musing 