The Fourth Bowl of Wrath: The Sun Scorches

RV202-02

Anyone who understands the essence of God will certainly see the wisdom of fearing Him. Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and good understanding have all those who do His commandments (who obey His truth). His praises endure forever." The fear of the Lord is the beginning of smarts. If you understand the essence of God; who God is; and, what He is, you'll know that it's very smart to have a fear for God. Fear of God means a reverential trust for the hatred of evil.

The angel of the waters, here in Revelation 16, and the voices from the altar have proclaimed certain things about the nature (the essence) of God, in order to remind us that these terrible things that God is bringing upon tribulation humanity in the final days of that period is not the work of some cruel despot, but is indeed the work of a very special person. It is the work of a God who is absolute righteousness. He never does anything wrong. He is the God of eternal life. He is eternal. He has always been. He is the God of perfect justice. He does what is fair. He can do no other. He is the God of omnipotence. He's in control of everything. This is not some deity gone amuck with His power. He is the God of veracity. He is true truth.

Such a God clearly has the authority and the character so that He can do no wrong in punishing the tribulation world with nightmarish plagues. And they are nightmares. It's going to be horrible. It's going to be terrible. And no sooner come some possible relief from one than another comes hammering down on the world's society.

It's very hard for us to imagine the agony that will exist as these bowls are poured out. But I must stress to you again that we're talking about time and space history. This is really going to happen here on the face of the earth.

So, the ultimate question, as we pointed out in the previous session, in all spiritual things is: what is the truth? Now when God's Word, as Jesus says is the truth, and when that truth is rejected, then God must punish the rebels to be true to His own essence. Tribulation humanity will be at the epitome of rebellion against God, and it will deserve, in every respect, the plagues which God will be sending in the form of these bowls for the simple reason that they would not believe the truth.

This is a very serious matter to not believe the truth. Well, but I think it is not good for someone to absent themselves from Berean Church services. I think it is probably a wise thing to do if that individual is in a state of rebellion and resistance to what is being taught from the Word of God. That individual cannot be as the Bereans of old. Listen. Have the mental integrity to listen, and then to check it out with the Word of God, and then accept it or not. If you can't operate on that level of maturity, then it is better to absent oneself, because the Word of God tells us that we're held accountable for what we know. So, the more you know of the Word of God, the more doctrinal instruction you have, the worse it's going to be for you when you account to God for your rebellion against the truth.

What we are seeing here in the bowls is a visual aid demonstration of how God really feels about people who turn their back against His truth. So, humanity does deserve these plagues, and those who will not accept god's truth, worse than ever, God says, will be allowed to believe Satan's lies. So, if it's true, we should believe it. And if it is not, we should not.

There's an article in The Dallas Morning News, Saturday, March 27th, and it has an item here entitled "Catholics Decry Fundamentalist Text." What it has to do with is the fact that there's a big frap over Bob Jones University publishing a fifth grade social studies book in which the Roman Catholic Church is described as a false religion with a false plan of salvation. Is that true, or isn't it? Is that truth, or is that not truth? Let me read the article to you:

"Chesapeake, Virginia. Some Catholics call it deplorable. Some Protestant fundamentalists call it truth. It is the description of Roman Catholicism in a fifth grade social studies textbook published by Bob Jones University Press of Greenville, South Carolina, and used by some other fundamentalist schools. Heritage Studies for Christian Schools, required reading at Greenbriar Christian Academy in Chesapeake, describes Catholicism as a false religion. Local Catholics aren't taking the insult lightly. Norfolk Catholic School, for example, has canceled sports events with Greenbriar, including baseball, football, and basketball games. A priest has mailed a letter to more than 1,000 parishioners warning them about the fundamentalist school. Officials at Greenbriar, which has more than 20 Catholic students, are unapologetic. 'We will not let the Catholic Church dictate to Greenbriar Christian Academy what we do or do not teach,' said Principal H. Ron White. 'We have an open administrative policy. You come here by choice'

"Mr. White said he had no plans to remove or reconsider the book required reading for the school's 43 fifth graders. The school has a kindergarten through 12th grade program. The textbooks denunciation of Catholicism appears in the section on geography, in which students are urged to become missionaries to Canada, a nation with many Catholics. The book contends that Catholics are taught that salvation is a matter of doing works, such as following the teachings and being members of the church. 'Catholicism,' it says, 'Does not preach the truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ paid for all our sins by His death on the cross, and that only by trusting Him alone can we be saved.'

"Don Olinger, Bob Jones University's Director of Product Development for Secondary Level Textbooks, said, 'When there is false teaching going on, we feel it is our duty to expose it.' He said the book is used by schools across the country, but he declined to name other schools or specific regions.

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, a Washington based anti-defamation group, has denounced the school's use of the textbook as deplorable. Patrick Riley, a spokesman for the League, said the book has it all wrong about Catholics. 'Whatever that textbook may say, we Catholics most certainly believe that our Lord Jesus Christ paid for all of our sins by His death on the cross,' he said. 'Far from denying that salvation comes from Him alone, we hold that only by trusting in Him can we find salvation.'

The book was also denounced by Keith Fornier, Executive Director of Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice in Virginia Beach. Mr. Fornier, a Catholic, is author of 'Evangelical Catholics,' which attempts to build bridges between Catholics and Protestants. This comes from the same school, Bob Jones University, that said a couple of years ago that the Bible requires a separation of the races. 'This uncovers an unfortunate truth – that there is a lot of hostility and prejudice against Catholics,' he said.

Mr. White said that if Greenbriar were as anti-Catholic, as it is being portrayed, it would bar Catholics from enrolling. 'I know for a fact that we have some Catholic families who are born again Christians, and professed faith in Christ,' he said. 'That's the only issue that matters to me.'"

Roman Catholicism

I'm always interested to see the same doctrine going through one religious system after another, because it makes me suspicious that I'm seeing the thumb print of Satan. This is exactly what Mormonism teaches. You must prove yourself worthy of salvation. Then you can expect to get it.

So, Roman Catholicism actually teaches that you must earn your way to deserving what Christ provided for the sins of the world, and for yours in particular. Furthermore, Roman Catholicism teaches that one secures merit to deserve the merit of Christ for their salvation through the rituals of the sacraments.

I was editing a tape recently that was preached several years ago, and in it, I spoke about a priest in Chicago who has a school in the inner city (a very low socioeconomic level), and he requires that parents who enroll their children in his school (and he has a waiting list of 1,000 students), must attend Mass. Well, there was a great furor from different parts of the nation: "How dare you?" And, of course, this had to be on the Donahue program, so we all heard about it: How dare you say that these parents must attend mass if they want their children to be in this superior school?" Well, he said, "It is very simple. I want people to get into heaven. That's why I want them to come to Mass."

Does that sound like to you like trusting in Christ alone for salvation? Yes, Roman Catholicism teaches that you get to heaven by eating the body and the blood of Christ, which has been magically converted to that in the ceremony of the Mass from the wine and the bread. Roman Catholicism teaches that salvation is secured by actually re-sacrificing Christ on that altar in a bloodless sacrifice each time the mass is performed. Does that sound like truth to you? Roman Catholicism teaches that water sprinkling baptism washes away the original sin that you inherited from Adam. And i you don't do that, you cannot go to heaven. Does that sound like salvation by grace – trusting in Christ alone? Roman Catholicism teaches that each person may expect a stay in purgatory to continue doing the penance needed to make himself worthy of receiving the salvation of Christ.

This is not to be saved. It's just to prove yourself worthy. And that's why you have to go to the confessional, to the priest, so that you have told him the sins that you have done. Then he will say, "This is what you must do to suffer for what you have done here so that we may remove this temporal guilt against you, so that you may deserve the death of Christ on the cross." Roman Catholicism, therefore, teaches praying for the dead to qualify them for heaven, and performing rituals in their behalf, like the Mass, because nobody knows whether you're good enough to go to heaven.

The Roman Catholic Church used to teach that they were only sure that there were two rational beings in hell. One was Satan, and the other was Martin Luther. They weren't sure about anybody else. Everybody else had a second shot through purgatory. Roman Catholicism teaches that the pope can dispense surplus grace, usually for a price, to qualify one for heaven. That's called indulgences. The pope can give you all the leftover good works that were not needed by other people. That's called super arrogation. And the pope has a treasury of grace. These who were declared saints of the Roman Catholic Church have far more good works than they need to go to heaven, so the pope can dispense that to your credit.

I have a lot of good things that I need to do, and I wish some of you would do it, so I could get the credit for it. Does that come from the Bible? No. Is that true? Not if it doesn't come from the Word of God.

Roman Catholicism, furthermore, teaches that only salvation only comes through the Roman Catholic Church. This is one of the principles of the Council of Trent. After the Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church had the Council of Trent, and it decided very specifically what it believed to identify and specified itself in contrast to Lutheranism and the Protestants. One of the principles was that anybody who says they can be instantly justified by trusting in Christ as Savior is to be anathema. He is to be under the curse of God, because that's what Luther was teaching. That's what the Protestants were teaching – that you can be saved by simple faith in Jesus Christ instantly, and be born again. Roman Catholicism teaches that you earn your justification gradually as you prove your worthiness. This pope, Pope John II, has declared that everything that was decided at the Council of Trent is still doctrine of the Catholic Church. They still stand by that. That means they stand by that principle that you cannot find instant justification through Christ.

Furthermore, they also still stand by the principle that states that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church. That also was stated at the Council of Trent.

So, what are we dealing with here when Bob Jones University says that Roman Catholicism teaches a false way to salvation? What we're dealing with is truth, because the Roman Catholics are not dealing with truth. They say that their access to salvation is through the church, and worse: through the mediation of the virgin Mary.

We are going to be increasingly under the gun. Bob Jones University has taught God's truth of grace salvation apart from human works. And the authority for whether they are right or the Catholic Church is right is the Bible. The Catholic Church says, "No, no, no. The church decides what's true. The Pope is the final authority. That enables the Roman Catholic Church to make up its own doctrines, and then to call it truth, whether it is or not. Someday Bob Jones University is going to be vindicated by God as having done the right thing in this issue, and in the publication of this textbook. While the Roman Catholics are squealing like stuck pigs, claiming to be misrepresented, the time will come when they will be condemned for the fact they would not believe the truth. I hope by this time today, with what we had in the previous session, I have drummed into the necessity of believing the truth. You have to decide, like the Bereans of old, what is the truth, on the basis of the Word of God. Once you have done that, you better believe it.

The First Three Bowls of Wrath

The Fourth Bowl of Wrath: The Sun Scorches

In Luke 21:25, Jesus says, "There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth dismay among nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves." This is what Jesus is referring to. This is one of the things that's going to take place in the heavens during the tribulation, which is going to be something that is going to strike fear in the hearts of people.

The Zodiac

The Sun

Sun Worship

Nimrod

So, Nimrod, as a cult leader, made himself the source of blessing to the people instead of the Creator God. Nimrod, we're told, was a proficient hunter. So, he used fear and murder to keep people loyal and obedient to him. Nimrod hated God, so he took great satisfaction in breaking God's laws, and he led others who followed him in great wickedness.

Cult Leaders

The sun, which Nimrod worshiped, was actually ultimately a symbol for Satan. What this apostasy did was led to the building of the Tower of Babel described in Genesis 11:13. The tower was actually a temple for the worship of the heavenly bodies. That was why they were building it. God judged this act by causing the one language spoken at that time to be broken up into many languages. This created confusion in communication so that people began finally to break away from one another and spread out on the earth. But as they scattered out across the earth, they took this Babylonian religion of Nimrod with them.

We have looked at this in greater detail in the past: Semiramis, the goddess; Nimrod; the death of Nimrod; and, all of the things that are associated with the Babylonian religion. It then had to go underground, and eventually went to Pergamum. We studied that when we were in the Pergamum letter. But everything that Nimrod told people, which was New Age religion (that man is god, and you can find your own deity) had certain practices, and one of which was the Mass. That's where the Mass came from. It was practiced in the Babylonian religion where the priests would convert bread and wine into the blood and body of their gods, which they would then eat. So, sun worship became the rallying point of all the false religions in the world created by Satan.

In the fourth century A.D., when the Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, Christianity then became mixed with this Babylonian religion and its concepts. And we've gone in great detail in the past on that. What resulted was the false mongrel religion, which we know today as Roman Catholicism.

When Israel was brought into the land of Canaan, this was the religion they found, and it had all kinds of gross qualities to it. One of the forms of this religion was the Baal form of the religion. Baal was another name for the sun as God. The Baal religion had high places. It had what were called "groves." And on these were the Asherah poles, which had the carvings of multiplicity of women's breasts. They would dance around this. It was a phallic religion. Therefore, they had male sex organ statues and images which were used in sexual activity. Animals were brought there for bestiality (sex with animals). Every conceivable perversion was practiced there, including homosexuality and lesbianism.

All this was done on the sacred grove, an elevated hill, in the process of worshiping their gods. That's why, in later centuries down the New Testament times of the church at Corinth, for example, all those temples followed the same practice of male and female prostitution. And you went to the temple in order to worship your God with sexual immorality.

When the people of Israel were brought into the Canaanite culture, one of the grossest things that was part of the Babylonian system was to sacrifice your infant to the Baal god, which was usually in the form of a Buddha-like fat character with an opening in the stomach in which was fired up an intense furnace heat, and then the babies were thrown in there, and they would get great glee and joy and emotional satisfaction from hearing the children scream and cry out as they were burned to death. The next time you hold your little infant in your hands, think of yourself doing that, and try to get a feel for the moral degeneracy that was in Canaan. For this reason, God said, "When I bring you into the land, all these Canaanite tribes, Hamitic descendants, are a cancer spiritually. They cannot be changed. They cannot be saved. The cancer has to be cut out."

Therefore, God said, "When you go through, leave no society alive." You do not leave their children alive because their children will remember what you have done, and they will remember how their parents used to act. And they will rise up to restore their heritage, and they will become a thorn in the side of your children who will be living after you." So, God was very adamant that they should destroy these Canaanite cultures. And one of the reasons, in addition to those I mentioned, was because they were worshipers of these heavenly bodies.

So, Deuteronomy was the last book that Moses wrote. It was a final summary before he died and had to leave the people. It was to guide them on their way. In Deuteronomy 4:19, we read, "And beware, lest you lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the hosts of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them – those which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven." The statement was simple: "Beware that you do not imitate these Canaanites. It will be impressive, and it will appeal to your sin nature the way they worship. Beware that you do not look up in the sky and follow their practice of declaring that these are gods. The sun is not a god; the moon is not a god; and, the stars are not gods. And that's the truth."

Asherah worship was in fact the worship of Satan, who is viewed as being symbolized by the sun. Worship of the heavenly bodies was, under the theocracy of Israel, punishable by death. Deuteronomy 17:2 points that out to us. This is an example of what we're told you can't do. You can't legislate morality. God says, "Yes, you can legislate morality, and you will legislate on this. Anybody who worships the heavenly bodies as deity will be guilty of a capital crime, and this will be the punishment."

Deuteronomy 17:2: "If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the Lord your God is giving you, out of these Canaanite cultures, a man or woman who does what is evil in the side of the Lord your God, by transgressing His Covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the heavenly host which I have not commanded, and if it is told you, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. And behold, if it is true, and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deeds to your gates (that is, the man or woman), and you shall stone them to death on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses. He who is to die shall be put to death. He shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. So, you shall purge the evil from your midst."

Capital punishment in Israel had to be thoroughly investigated. The court of law (the jury and the judges) had to decide that this was a true indictment (that people were guilty of it). And they had to do this on the basis of at least two or three eye witnesses. It could not be hearsay, and it could not be one witness who might be prejudiced, and have a reason for doing this. Then when it came to the execution, those who had acted as witnesses would be the first to throw the rocks to start crushing the life out of the individual. So, later it was discovered that they were lying, they themselves will have been guilty of murder, and be lined up immediately for execution.

The sun-god, in its most prominent form, as I've indicated, was under the name of Baal. This was a phallic cult brought to an epitome of worship under Jezebel and Ahab. Jezebel was, of course, in the tradition of Eve, where feminism began. It began in the Garden of Eden with Eve. It came down through the centuries, and Jezebel was a dominant figure. Her husband was pliable to her opinions and her desires. And the priests of Baale were well cared for by, of all things, the government of Israel. This was because Jezebel was the goddess that they looked to. Jezebel was the great feminist who was far more important in Israel at this time – far more powerful than her weak husband, Ahab. She was always running around getting Ahab what he needed. When he wanted the Jezreelite's vineyard, she worked out how to get that for him. She was a high-powered female type.

The Baal worship came to a climax, as you know, with Elijah, where they faced off at the altar, and God demonstrated that indeed this was a false religion. They killed 450 members of the Baal cult, which pretty well cleaned out Jezebel's religious support system. God demonstrated once more that truth has to be believed.

There's an interesting word in the Bible which God uses to describe how He feels about this kind of pagan practice of worshiping the sun as deity. It's a word that God uses when he wants to make it clear to us how He feels about certain other sins as well. Ezekiel 8:16-18: "And the angel brought me into the inner court of the Lord's House." He is being conducted here to show how Israel has degenerated morally: "And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold, at the entrance to the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar."

What we're talking about here is the entrance into the temple. Beyond that is this large brazened altar of incense. And he sees a line of priests, 25 exactly. The temple faced to the east. Ezekiel is led, and he observes that these men are standing with their backs to the temple, and their faces toward the east. The porch is the covered entranceway. Between the porch and the altar were 25 men with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east. They were prostrating themselves eastward toward the sun. What they were doing was worshiping the sun. Isn't that interesting? Their backs were toward the temple of God, the true source of spiritual knowledge; and, their faces were toward Satan up in the sky, and worshiping him.

These probably were priests. These were probably religious leaders, almost for a certainty, because the people could not go beyond a certain point. They could only go up to the altar of sacrifice. Beyond that was only priest territory. So, undoubtedly, these men standing up, lined up in front of the temple, were priests.

"And He said to me, 'Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the (and here's the word:) abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For there they are putting the twig to their nose (thumbing their nose at God). Therefore, I indeed shall deal in wrath. My eye will have no pity, nor shall I spare. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I shall not listen to them." Here God uses this word "abominations," and He uses it for something that he says, "He will bring judgment upon them without mercy."

These men are creating a feeling of abomination to God. What does that mean? Well, you could look it up in the dictionary? Let me see if I can create that feeling to you now. Are you listening? You're invited out to dinner. You are served a very light and fluffy soufflé. You're eating your portion of soufflé, and thoroughly enjoying it. And suddenly, you dig in with a spoon and find a dead roach in it. And maybe you pop it into your mouth before you realize it. The feeling that you just had is "abomination" – a loathsome reaction. Now that's abomination. That is what God feels toward worshiping these heavenly bodies. God says, "This is so disgusting to Me, and so revolting, and so loathsome that when I bring judgment upon them, there will be no mercy. There will be no holding back, even if they cry out to me with great agony." He says, "I'm going to bring down this judgment on the guilty."

Now that's the truth. If you weren't here in the previous session, you won't fully appreciate my punch line: "That's the truth." ... Right now, however, I think I need to point out, before we close the service tonight, another abomination, because it's big stuff, and we get a lot of flak for trying to put in perspective this particular evil, because our government has decided to make it a primary point of promotion, sustaining, and undergirding.

In Leviticus 18:22, God, in instructing the moral principles for the people of Israel, said, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination." There's the same Hebrew word. Now you know what abomination means, and you know what it feels like. That's the significance here of God's reaction. This is a very grievous sin in the sight of God. It is a loathsome thing. ...

You may know that what homosexuals do is sodomy, and you may know in very explicit terms what an act of sodomy is, so you know what homosexuals do. And you know why it is ... that these are people who are plowing through sewage, just as if you went in swimming at a beach that had been contaminated by sewage, and deliberately immersing yourself in it. You know what's going to happen? You know you're going to pick up disease. You know you're going to get sick. It's a deadly mixture. God says that this kind of infection is an abomination to Him. Now that's the truth. You must not be afraid to believe the truth, and you must not tell us that we cannot include religion in dealing with governmental matters. That is lie. We cannot afford not to include biblical principles in dealing with governmental matters. And here is one that God says is an abomination.

In Leviticus 18:24-28, God tells us something else that we should take note of: A nation who supports homosexuality brings itself under the judgment of God for national destructions. Leviticus 18:24: "Do not defile yourselves by any of these things, for by these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled." And He has labeled some before. He has talked about homosexuality. That would include lesbianism. He's also talked about bestiality in verse 23. And He says, "You must not do this. You must not tolerate this. You must not permit this to go unpunished in your society, because this is why I have thrown the Canaanites out who once were here that you replaced. I did it because this is a loathing abomination to Me. For the land has become defiled. Therefore, I have visited its punishment upon it, so that the land has spewed out its inhabitants." Isn't that an interesting phrase? The land vomits out its citizens. This is why in some countries there is vast death – in countries like India, who are totally degenerate morally. In countries like China, with its Buddhism, there is a huge decimation of population because the land is vomiting out its inhabitants because of their evil.

Verse 26: "But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native nor the alien who sojourns among you. God says, "Even if it's a foreigner, you don't let him do this. For men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled, so that the land may not spew you out, should you defile, it as it has spewed out the nations which have been before."

That is very fair of God and very clear. That is truth. If you do not believe this truth: any society; any national group; or, any government that promotes homosexuality and lesbianism is a country that is going to come to its national destruction. Now that's the truth. You must not be afraid to believe the truth.

In the New Testament, this same principle is emphasized in Romans 1:26-27: "For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural (lesbianism), and in the same way also the men abandon the natural function of the woman, and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts (sodomy) and receiving in their own persons the penalty of their error" (death). Lesbianism and homosexuality are under the condemnation of God, and they receive the death penalty. No, we're not a theocracy now, so the government does not execute that death penalty. That death penalty is now being executed by God Himself. And AIDS is one of the means by which God is doing that very thing. Do not be deceived by all the misinformation and lies the government puts out about AIDS. 90% of AIDS exists among homosexuals, and it's there because of what they do – 90% and more. Beyond that is people who are innocently trapped in, or foolishly bringing themselves in with contaminated needles and so on.

The sorry thing about this is that Romans 1:22 tells us that these people who are doing these things were professing themselves to be wise, and they became fools. They professed themselves to be wise, but they became fools. Why? Because they wouldn't believe the truth. So, at the end of the tribulation, it will be quite fitting that God should strike at mankind's sun-god to punish them for worshiping that sun through the agency of the antichrist, and thus to be worshiping Satan whom the sun represents.

This is an abomination to God, and what God calls an abomination in the Word of God is so loathsome to the God that we described in all the essence of perfection, that we described at the beginning of this meeting – it is that kind of a God to whom this is loathsome. It is not just some bluenose character who doesn't know how to have fun, and wants to bring misery to people. No, this is this is the God: the perfect, superb, supreme, unique person of the universe. To him, it is a disgusting, loathsome thing, and it merits the judgment of death. This is all because one will not believe the truth. You cannot get away with treating God as if He were a stupid fool who, doesn't know what he's doing and can't get things straight. That's why the passage in the previous session stressed that He is Almighty God. He has all the power to get it all together, and He will execute His judgments.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1992

Back to the Revelation index