It is Done

But tonight we want to talk about the phrase, it is done. I was not at Calvary 2,000 years ago when Christ spoke and said, it is finished. John 19, 30, he bowed his head, did not slump over as a defeated foe, but he pillowed his head and said, It is Finished. What was finished was the work of redemption. In Revelation chapter 16, the voice from heaven comes from God Almighty and says, It is done, which is, of course, the work. Of retribution. If you have not been covered in the blood that was shed on Mount Calvary.

2,000 years ago, then you will be covered in your own blood in Revelation chapter 16 because you have not appropriated the blood of the Lamb on your behalf. Now, as we have gone through the book of Revelation, we've spent a lot of time talking about the wrath of God. Not a very popular subject. It doesn't really, you know, make friends and give you a big church necessarily. It's something that the Word of God speaks a lot about. And we need to be able to understand more of God's wrath and what that means for us as we understand the end times.

But why the wrath of God is not a popular teaching? It's a true teaching. But that's the way people are. They don't want to stand. They don't want to see the wrath of God coming upon the sons of disobedience. They want to interpret allegorically. They want to say, well, everything that is happening in the book of Revelation happened in 80-7 at the destruction of Jerusalem, and therefore this is really not going to happen in the future. And God's done with Israel, and God's just dealing with the church now.

In fact, 90% of all people who profess Christianity believe that view about the book of Revelation. Did you know that? There are very few people like us. Very few. Who believe in the literal interpretation of the book of Revelation that it is yet future? Very few of us are left. And so we want to make sure that we understand the text. We want to make sure we can explain the text to people to get them to come to grips with the truth of who God is and what God is going to do. The seventh bowl is where we are.

Revelation 16, verse number 17. Let me read it to you. And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were flashes of lightning, and sounds, and peals of thunder, and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth. So great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. And the great city was split into three parts. And the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each. came down from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely Severe. We have been looking forward to this time for many weeks as we have studied the book of Revelation. Back in Revelation chapter 10, verse number 7, it says that the mystery of God Was finished. It's done. Three things we want to cover: the dec, the destruction, the decision.

First of all, the dec. Look at three things: the violet. The voice and the violence. First of all, the vial or the bowl.

The direction this bowl falls is upon the earth. And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air. And a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne saying, It is done. Satan's last domain, he is the prince. Of the power of the air. And some believe that this is some kind of cleansing finally of the air in which Satan him ruled for so many years.

But I believe it's more than that. Because I believe that something's going to happen in the atmosphere. Something so great that's going to produce a hailstorm of An incredible magnitude, something that would never happen today, but will be able to happen then because of what's going to happen through the pouring out of that bowl upon the earth. The atmosphere is going to be completely altered. And we'll talk more about that here in a moment. But from the vial, I want you to see the voice. It's a loud voice, it's a great voice.

Seven times it speaks of that which is loud or great in these few verses from 17 to 21. It's great because why? It is the voice. Of God. And just like at Calvary, when Christ said it is finished, it is punctuated. With an earthquake. Remember at Calvary, Matthew 27, when he said it is finished, there was an earthquake that took place there in Jerusalem. Well, this earthquake is not a local earthquake. This earthquake is a global earthquake. This sh the ent world. Something that the world has yet to see.

It is one world shaking. Why? Because God is going to remake. Reshape, recon the earth to prepare it for the kingdom of Christ and His universal reign. See, we believe in a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ upon the earth. We believe that Jesus Christ will rule from the city of David on the throne of David. As the king of kings and lord of lords, as priest, as prophet, and we will worship him and adore him, and the worlds will come to Jerusalem to bow before him. We believe that's going to literally take place.

But in order for that to happen, the world is going to have to be rec. It will be rec at the end of the thousand years. At the end of the thousand years, after Satan's been bound, Satan will be released for one last ditch effort. We'll talk about that in Revelation chapter 20. And of course, the Lord God disposes of him and then totally gets rid of the world and recreates a new heaven and a new earth. This is a disposable plan. It's not designed to last forever. God's going to recreate it. But in the meantime, He is going to renovate it.

He is going to reshape it. And He's going to do that. Listen very carefully. I believe to the way it was before the flood, before the fall. I believe he's going to reconfigure the earth the way it was when it was originally created. And that's why this great shaking is going to take care of every island and every mountain and move them out of the way so that they are no more. Because God is going to do something very, very significant. He's setting the world up for his rule, for his kingship. As the prophets would talk about, where the children are able to play with the snakes, where a man, when he lives to 100 years old, he's like a baby.

How is that going to happen? The way it was before the flood. The way it was before the fall, when God had this atmosphere, where man lived a long time, that's the way it is going to be during the millennial reign of Christ. Man will live for a very long time. The third thing I want you to see is the violence.

It says, And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and there was a great, great earthquake. The violence, peals of thunder. It shows us the wrath of God being poured out upon the world. The blinding flashes of lightning burn and blaze across the sky. Deafening peaks. And peals of thunder crash and roll, and terrible voices go across the sky. God does things with a bang, loudly and greatly. That's the declaration. Look with me at number two, the destruction.

Two things: an enormous earthquake, and number two, an horrific. Hail storm. It says, Revelation 16, verse number 18: there was a great Earthquake. There was a great shaking, a seism, unlike the world has ever seen. such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth. So great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. Get the point? It was a great earthquake. It was so great, it was mighty. It was the repetition, as John says, of something so magnanimous, so incredible, unlike we could ever, ever imagine or ever, ever understand.

It's an amazing scene. It's worldw. Because of the curse, the planet needs to be restored. And God is going to do that. By shaking it with an earthquake. And as you recall, the whole solar system has been breaking up throughout the tribulation. The whole solar system has been coming apart. Why? Because God's doing something new here. Not only is He pouring out His wrath upon man. But what he's going to do is design the world to be a specific way during the millennial reign of Christ, unlike we have ever seen, but like it was before the curse.

Because God wants to restore the earth to be a place where He will rule and reign in a way that brings glory to Himself. It's a shaking design to put the world back the way it was. Go back and meet Revelation chapter 6. Remember Revelation chapter 6, verse number 12? What's it say? The sixth seal. Look, when he broke the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black. Sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as the fig tree cast its upright figs when shaken by a great wind, and the sky was split apart like a scroll.

When it is rolled up, and every mountain and island removed out of their places. And the kings, the earth, and the great men, and the commanders, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave, and free men. Hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks, the mountains. And they said to the mountains, and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come. And who? Is able to stand. If you go over to Revelation chapter 8, verse number 7, it says, And the first sounded, that is the first.

Trumpet sounded, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

And the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died, and a third of the ships.

Were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven. Verse number 12. And the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were smitten.

so that a third of them might be darkened, that the day might not shine for a third of it, and the night in the same way.

And all John could say was, Man, whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, this is unbelievable, man. The sky is falling. Everything in the atmosphere is turning. Now you're coming to the end when you come to Revelation chapter 16. And now, on top of all that's already taken place, the solar system already beginning to disintegrate, already beginning to fall apart. Now, what do you have? A great, great earthquake. Not since Genesis 6. Has there been an earthquake such as this one? When the earth first began to shake, go back and read the story of the flood, we talked about that, how God had the water gushing up out of the earth.

Through the plates that were moved, and there was an earthquake that would take place in order for all that to happen. That's the first time man had ever seen or felt the earth sh.

And now you come to Revelation chapter 16, and it's unlike anything they have ever seen before. But the effect of this quake, read on with me. It says this. Verse 19, and the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and Babylon the great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce Wrath. And every island fled away. And the mountains were not found. That's an amazing kind of earthquake. It says that this great city was split into three parts.

What is the great city? There are some people who believe that it's Babylon. I do not believe that view, although a lot of people, most people, take that to mean that the great city is Babylon the Great. The reason I don't believe that, for two reasons. Number one, it's distinguished from Babylon the Great in the very same verse.

And if you go back to Revelation chapter 11, listen to what it says in Revelation 11, verse number 8. It talks about the two witnesses and their dead bodies lying in the ground in the city. And it says in Revelation 11, verse number 8: And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the. Great city, which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was what? Crucified. Where was Christ crucified? Anybody? Jerusalem. Right? The great city is Jerusalem. Remember Zach chapter 14? Zach saw this.

Verse number 1: Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. Who's going to gather them? God is. Talked about this last week. He gathers them where? In the valley of Megiddo, a place called Har. He gathers them all together. Who does it? God does it. It says in Revelation 16 that the beast and the false prophet and the dragon have demons that come out of their mouths and influence and persuade the kings of the earth to come together.

But who does that? God does it. God persuades them. God causes all this to happen. God brings them all together. He gathers them all together. Why? Because God has a plan. And we talked about it last week. He's a sovereign ruler. Satan's got a plan. He's thinking he's getting all of his men together to do battle with God, but God says, no, I'm gathering them all together.

Because I'm in control. Z 14 says that: For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, and the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east. And on the Mount of Olives, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

Now, if you stand on the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Olives is split in two, what you're going to split is the city of Jerusalem. You're going to split the great c. Read on. Verse number 8. And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem. Half of them toward the eastern sea, and the other half toward the western sea. It will be in summer as well as in water. Excuse me, winter, not water. They do need water, and they're going to have plenty of it, but their water is going to flow.

God's going to split the city. There's going to be a spring that God's going to create on Mount Zion. It's going to gush permanently through the kingdom. And Jerusalem will be divided, and the water will flow in both directions, east to the Dead Sea and west to the Mediterranean Sea. And what's going to happen is this. The earthquake is going to enhance the city of Jerusalem. It's going to destroy every city but the city. It's going to plunder every building but the ones here. Why? Because God's going to raise that city.

God's going to rule from that city. It says very clearly these words: and the cities of the nations Fell. They all fell. And then it says, And Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of his fierce wrath. Now, it might be that it's at this time that Babylon also is destroyed. We look at Revelation 17 and 18.

We're going to understand that Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots, is not only a system in and of itself, but also a c. And we know that Saddam Hussein is already in the process of rebuilding Babylon. And Babylon becomes a very significant. Part in Old Testament prophecy. If you read Isaiah 13 and 14, you realize that Babylon was never really completely destroyed as Isaiah describes it in Isaiah 13, verses 6 and following. Because there's going to be another destruction. And that destruction happens in Revelation 17 and 18.

And we'll go into great detail with that in day to come. But the whole empire of the Antichrist is going to fall. And God's going to make sure it falls hard. And then at verse number 20, what does it say? It says, And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Now, can you imagine that? Every time I go home, I look at the San Gabriel Valleys, can miss them.

San Gabriel Mountains, can miss them. My house is, you know, looks at them. And they're not going to be there anymore. They're all going to be gone. Every m is gone. Can you imagine that? All over the world. There's also a horrific hailstorm. It says, and huge hailstorms, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven. Upon men. Can you imagine that? The speakers above my head are eighty pounds apiece. 80 pounds apiece. So they'll be a little bit bigger than the speakers above my head. Can you imagine those things hurling out of heaven?

Can you imagine that? Huge blocks of ice coming down upon man. Hundred-pound blocks of ice. The swiftness. The weight, the speed in which they fall is unlike anything man could ever experience. Amazing. Which leads us to point number three, the decision.

The decision. The decision then and the decision tonight. The decision then, very clear. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail. Because its plague was extremely severe. For those able to dodge the hailstones. For those who are able somehow to escape it, they blaspheme God. They blaspheme His name. They hate him for what he has done to them. Humanity hardens their heart. And that's the end. That's how it ends, except for one last ev. And that's the armies of the world who have gathered together there at Megiddo.

They've gathered there for a specific purpose that they might somehow fight against the King of Kings. And they will see Christ come and destroy them all. Revelation 19. We'll be there in a couple of months. Revelation 19, verse number 11. And I saw heaven opened. And behold, the white horse, and he who sat upon it, is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war, and his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadem. His name is written upon him which no one knows except himself.

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God, and the armies which are in heaven. Clothed in fine linen, white and clean, are following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may smite the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron, and he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There's one more event after Revelation chapter 17, or excuse me, 16, and that is the coming of Christ, his return, and all those people that have gathered in the valley of Megiddo.

Will see us coming and they will all perish. Then they blaspheme God. Tonight, you've got to ask yourself the question: do you believe? In God. You see, the Bible says over in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 these words.

Paul talks about those in Thessalonic as those who wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. That is Jesus, who delivers us from The wr of God. He delivers us from the wrath of God. That 's why it's so important for us to believe in Him. You see, you can't prevent what's going to take place from the book of Revelation. You can't stop it. You can't alter it. You can't put it off. But.

You can escape it. You can escape it. You can be delivered from this wrath. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The wrath of God can be escaped. The ear is just like the Titanic, it's going down. And when it goes down, it's going down big time because God's going to take it down. He created it, he'll uncreate it. And he'll create a new heaven and he'll create a new earth. You know that. You know what God's going to do. Whose cabin door are you knocking on? Who are you telling?

Who are you telling? Who are you explaining the future? You know it. You have no excuse. The people who live close to you have no excuse not to know the future because you know it. God gave it to you, and God has told us exactly what's going to happen. We need to believe what God says.

And we need to tell people how they can escape the wrath to come. How they can escape it. How they can miss it completely. And how they can come back with him in Revelation chapter 19 in robes that are clean and clear and bright because they're white. White as snow, and come back with him and rule with him and reign with him. That's our job. That's our responsibility. This book should motivate you to tell people that Jesus is coming. This is how it's going to happen. But you can escape the wrath of God by believing in the blood shed on Mount Calvary.

Let's pray together.