Revelation 16:17 –
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!”
Interesting these are the same words Jesus spoke before He died on the cross. Although I initially thought it was the whole “end times” I realized it was just the end of the seven plagues being poured out on the earth. If you go back a few verses you will notice the fourth and fifth bowls had interesting comments on these plagues; (verse 11) “But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.” This says to me that even after all this misery and pain the “unsaved” will have an opportunity to repent before God
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From those two “outs” God offers mankind I derive that after the seventh bowl is pour out your time for forgiveness is over. If you will not submit to God by that point, it’s too late for your soul. So where Jesus completed His sacrifice for our sins, God appears to be putting an end to the grace given to those who will not submit to His authority. Even in “end times” God is not going to let those who want fellowship with Him to go, but there has to be a line drawn that say we are done. This is the point that appears to be that line.
This is similar to the example of the killer who is hanging on the cross with Jesus. Before he dies, he asks Jesus for forgiveness and it is granted. The “death bed” repentance is what many wait for so they can continue their “lifestyle” for as long as possible. But often that opportunity does not happen, our death come quickly and without warning. It may be “finished” and we were not able to do the “death bed repentance” thing.
That is why John repeats Jesus’ warning in verse 15 about coming like a “thief”. Death is never a planned event and we need to be ready no matter if it’s the sixth plague or just our eventual death. Salvation is a free gift that we just need to accept, and once accepted we should share it with others. The fun you think you may be missing is nothing to the joy you are missing with Christ. So make sure you are ready and prepare yourself for a life with Jesus, and not just eternity!!
NOTE – we have noticed that many words associated with judgment day are not actually in the Bible. Words like “purgatory” and the “rapture” have no Biblical basis. Also, we find that Lucifer is only used once in the KJV and it’s not clear if that’s the devil or one of his “henchmen”. We do find in verse 16 Armageddon is used, although to describe a place and not an event.