As they deserve

“for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” (Revelation 16:6)

 

What does it mean, the saying “as they deserve” in the text? The words by an angel signifies they will be paid for the crimes of “the ones who made others kill.” That’s what it should be, but why are we paying particular attention to it? That’s because it’s a world in which natural things are rather not taken for granted. From the fact that tragic mishaps are so frequent, and that it’s perceived as insignificant, we even think that this world is almost over. Right, the fate of the Earth was close almost to the end of it. For it is self-evident, judging from the scientific, characteristic, environmental, and moral situations, and etc.

 

From the sanctum of Heaven, John heard a loud voice saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” The wrath of seven bowls means the total judgment of punishment to be made at the end of sinful world. The object identified by the bowl poured first is the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. They are the people who do not believe in Jesus Christ but serve all kinds of idols. The object of judgement by the second bowl is every living thing in the sea. When the bowl poured out, the water in the sea turned into blood like that of a dead person. That is like the first disaster that came in Egypt before the Exodus, as in Exodus 7:20.

When the water in the sea turns into blood, all the creatures that drink the blood are bound to die. That gives us a teaching about God’s righteous judgment. Those who persecuted people in Christ and made them bleed will be punished by the judgment of God. As the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, these also changed to blood. The rivers and springs of water mean all the foundations of water that reach the sea. The sea here symbolizes the collection of wicked groups as the place where everything flows and stays, and the rivers and springs of water represent false teachers who mislead the people falsely. The leaders of heresies, who teach falsehood to the people as if it were true, will be judged, as all the prophets of Baal who had gathered on the Mount Carmel were killed. No one can escape the judgment of God. Just as leaders cannot escape from an angel who acts like the hand of God, anybody can never escape the righteous judgment of God.

And the angel called God of judgement ‘Holy one, who are and who were.’ Man has a beginning and an end, and there is a processing time between those two. Progress is accompanied by change. Everything in the world changes, because nothing lasts forever in the world. But only God is eternal and holy. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, and the beginning and the end. Therefore, if a finite life stays in Jesus Christ, the finite being can live forever by Jesus’ Holy Spirit. This is a heavenly secret of spirit that Christians have.

Revelation 16:6 gives an interpretation of the fact that organisms die by drinking the water like blood. That is “for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” All the followers of demons as well as Satan and the heads of heresies and the false teachers will not escape punishment.

Whatever God does, it is always absolutely right. That’s inevitable because He is the Lord who created the world. The reason why there are any problems in our life is because people themselves have thought and judged something wrong. So, when facing a situation of judgement, what should we do? At that point, demons make us offer one’s own excuse. And they get us out of trouble in an irreverent way. That contains selfish greed and foolish tricks against God’s word. While Satan is so adept at playing with men, what a fool we humans are!

 

Now, let’s have what the answer to the problem is. In the end, we have to be the people of the Holy Spirit. There are many who cry out for the Holy Spirit, but it is not easy to find the sincere people who live in the Holy Spirit. We must heartly listen to God’s word. This is not just asking for a preacher’s sermon. It means that we must read the Bible which teaches us in the Holy Spirit, as the Book written through His inspiration. And then we will see our own changes, and we will be able to defeat Satan’s tricks.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Mar 15th 2020)