Babylon Digs Its Own Pit
Revelations Chapter 15
The Preparations of Heaven
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.
5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
The heavens prepare themselves for the wholesale destruction of the remaining Babylon whore, still sitting on the beast.
Revelations Chapter 16
Beyond Warnings
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
These vials of plagues are aimed at the same areas that were targeted by the trumpet blasts, namely: the earth (grievous sore), the sea (death), the fountains of waters (death), and the heavens (scorching sun). Zion will most likely not be affected by these events, therefore we can assume that they are not designed to totally disturb earth's ecosystems but to destroy the foundations of Babylon. It is difficult to predict the exact events, but given the nature of the trumpet blasts, we know that these events will natural consequences of an arrogant, debauched civilization. The Arabic nations are still in control of the oil and will continue to plague the whore of Babylon. Even while America has shepherded the establishment of Zion, the rest of the world will not learn from the warnings, mistakes, and examples of "fallen" America.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Reminiscent of the fifth trumpet’s acrid smoke of terrorism from the bottomless pit, this darkness afflicts the seat of the beast, possibly the seat of its government.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Reminiscent of the sixth trumpet’s war emanating from the Euphrates, this great war, the third woe, is also fought in the Middle East. The Arab kings of the east have their way prepared with the drying up of the water. Possibly this is symbolic of the spigot of oil being turned off. Nonetheless, the event sparks Armageddon, the great battle that involves the world of the whore.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
The seventh angel pours out the final plague and once again we have the voices, thunders, lightnings, and the greatest of all earthquakes since the existence of man. Symbolic or literal, these events represent the fierceness of his wrath. Once again, the final plague will probably be the earthquake. The symbolism of the islands and mountains not being found is similar to when the scroll of the heavens was rolled up in Rev. chapter 6. The implication in D&C 88:95-96 is that the saints – mountains and islands - will be caught up to meet Him and possibly avoid the final plague.
The balance of the Book of Revelations is significant because John reviews the lamentations of man over his precious Babylon and he reviews the glorious rejoicing of the saints when their faithful patience is rewarded with the presence of God’s glory. They are prepared in righteousness, symbolized with white apparel, for the marriage supper with Christ (Rev 19:7-9). Christ comes to rule as Lord of Lords and King of Kings (19:11-17). Satan is bound for a thousand years (20:2). During the Millennial reign, the first resurrection of the righteous occurs (20:4-6). At the end of the thousand years, the resurrection of the wicked occurs (20:5). Satan is released for the final battle of Gog and Magog, wherein he and those of the last resurrection deceived by him, are finally put in their eternal abode (20: 7-10). Chapter 21 describes the celestial glory of the earth, and the celestial reign of the saints who have overcome all since the beginning of the first millennium. It is a glorious ending.