Wrath Vial upon the Sun – New Testament Judgement

If you will recall from previous posts, the vials of wrath poured out in Revelation 16 represent the preaching of the gospel judgments against hypocrisy and sin.

“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 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.” ~ Revelation 16:8-9

Why was the fourth vial poured out on the sun?

This judgement is a reversal of what happened in the warning of the fourth trumpet. In the fourth trumpet, all celestial bodies symbolically representing things ordained of God to give light to people, were shown to have been impacted negatively.

“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.” ~ Revelation 8:12

The fourth trumpet warned that those who would corrupt the truth were working and they had darkened a third part of:

• The sun, representing the New Testament light (Jesus Christ)
• The moon, representing the Old Testament light (the foreshadowing light of the true light to come: Jesus Christ)
• The stars, representing the ministry who guide people to the light: Jesus Christ

When these things are darkened, you have a partial corrupted gospel that is preached by a ministry that has been corrupted in their understanding and motivation. They will cause people to believe a corrupted gospel that makes room for sin in their lives, and they will divide the people into groups and sects.

God hates it when people corrupt the gospel and when they divide God’s people: therefore the fourth vial of God’s wrath is designed to execute God’s vengeance on this spiritual condition. Therefore the Sun (gospel) is multiple times brighter in clarity and strong judgement!

“Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” ~ Isaiah 30:26

The fourth vial poured out on the sun shows that God has anointed a true ministry to pour out gospel judgement on the corrupted gospel and the divisions. And people who love their corrupted gospel and group get burned by the judgement preaching. And because they refuse to change, they instead

“…blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.” ~ Revelation 16:8-9

They specifically blaspheme the name of God by holding on to their own church identity. The church belongs to God, and no other. Therefore it is to be a reflection of God through the Spirit of God and the word of God being obeyed. It is blasphemous to create your own church identity in any form, even if you claim the name Church of God. If you separate yourself from others who obey the Spirit of God and the word of God, by your own church identity, you are blaspheming God.

So how do we respond to the wrath of God against a watered down gospel allowing sin and causing division? Do we get angry and blaspheme (showing disrespect towards God and the full truth of the Bible)? Or are we able to obey and rejoice with the truth, and with every blood washed one?

Who are we? A blasphemer, or a true and faithful believer?

Note: this diagram below shows where the fourth vial message is within the full Revelation message. These “vials of God’s wrath” messages complete the purpose of God to destroy the influence of hypocrisy. To better understand a high level view of Revelation, you can also see the “Roadmap of Revelation.”