The river or sea, mixed with fire, represents God's anger during the Lastday's Outer Path events while God’s enemies surround Jerusalem on earth and the warnings of Seal Six continue.  These events anticipate the action of the Middle Path; (the wall) between moat and castle. The Middle Path covers the Three-Act Drama in heaven's Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony.

Satan will have been forever cast out of heaven as one of five Endtime Catalysts. Beginning with God's Kingdom Power coming to earth for 1260 days as of Rev.12:10, Satan no longer will have access to heaven. His activities will be confined to the earth. During the Outer and Middle Path, the Armageddon armies stretch out over an 180 mile area ... ready to destroy Jerusalem, the City of Peace. Rev.14:20, Rev.16:12-16.

The appointed "Hour of God's Judgment" occupies the Middle Path of the Three-Act Temple Drama while the appointed "Hour of God's Wrath" occurs during events of the Inner Path in which the Beast and False Prophet are cast into Hell, Satan to the Abyss and Beast-worshipers are "trodden in the winepress of God's anger and wrath." Rev.16:19-21, Rev.19:15-21. The transition from the Outer to Middle Paths occurs at Rev.15:5 with the opening of the Temple in heaven pursuant to the Three-Act Drama.

The Son of Man’s symbolic reaping of the wicked in Rev.14:14-19 (Outer Path) anticipates a literal “treading of the grapes of wrath” in Rev.19:15 (Anticipated by Rev.14:20). The armies are literally gathered to set the stage for the Outer Path. They are collected and cast symbolically to the winepress of God’s great anger to set the stage for the "Hour of Judgment". This symbolic event in the Outer Path reveals the turning point from God’s anger to "great anger" (mega-thumos). The Middle Path within the Temple reveals a Court action that convicts the wicked and sentences them and all Beast- worshipers to God’s eternal punishment. Rev.14:10-11.

The concentric actions of these Lastday Paths are required by Rev.14:10 where God’s anger has been exhausted by the Plagues but has not yet “mixed full strength in the Cup of wrath.” Three angels announce doom as they fly in the midst of heaven while the Son of Man goes from Mt. Zion with the Firstfruit “redeemed from among men” and stops with them on a white cloud to reap the wicked. The Outer Path covers His movements from that of opening Seal Six and rescuing the 144,000 to that of the Son of Man reaping the wicked and sitting on His throne over a river/sea of fire during the Hour of Judgment; the Court Scene of Seal 7 and Dan.7.

The 144,000 accompany the Lamb as He moves with them from Mt. Zion to the white cloud and then takes them "on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of days." Dan.7:13. God sits on a throne ablaze with fire over a river of fire as they come into His presence in heaven. The seven last Plagues will have “completed His anger” before the mixing of His anger and wrath. The Court’s Tribunal (Act Two of  the Middle Path's Temple Drama) follows the literal and symbolic incarceration of the wicked in the winepress of great anger. (Literal incarceration will be enforced by the astonishing atmospheric wonders of Seal Six and its great hurricane winds).

The Plagues will first exhaust God’s patience. Their completion of God's anger is cited twice in Rev.15 before the Plagues are described. Rev.16:1-17. The aorist indicative repeats in Rev.15:1,4 to indicate the Plagues were finished and God’s righteousness was manifested before they are actually described! This means the Great and Wonderful Sign (G&W) and songs of Rev.15:1-4 terminate the events of the Outer Path. They also anticipate the Temple Drama as of Rev.15:5.

For God’s patience to be exhausted, at the G&W Sign in Rev.15:1, the angels will have come out of the Temple prior to this Sign to receive their bowls and empty their plagues! No action occurs within the Temple until all seven plagues exhaust God’s patience and the smoke of God's glory and power clear the Temple. Rev.15:8. So the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony opens for the Drama of the Middle Path at Rev.15:5, the verse that closes the Outer Path and launches the Middle Path described from Rev.7:9 to 8:5 and Rev.11:15-19.

Another key to this phenomenon employs “after these things, I looked and behold” in both Rev.15:5 and Rev.7:9.  Seven angels had *exited* the Temple in Rev.15:6 to empty their plagues before the start of Outer Path events and before the Martyrs *enter* the Temple. So the "open temple" of Rev.15:5 does double duty by also concluding the Outer Path. While the angels empty their bowls, the Temple is filled with the smoke of God’s glory and power. Rev.15:8. The three concentric paths are not in sequential order. But the use of “after these things, I looked, and behold,” in Rev.15:5 and especially in Rev.7:9, indicates the Outer Path has terminated. The action shifts to the Middle Path within the Temple. This means the Throne actually moves, from the crystal-like river mixed with fire, to the Temple and the Altar. The smoke of God's glory and power clears from the Temple for Testimony, Tribunal and Triumph.

The change from aorist indicative in Rev.15:1,4 to aorist subjunctive in Rev.15:8 also verifies this concentricity. The anger of seven last Plagues "was finished" at the G&W Sign. Outer Path events are finished as the 144,000 Jews “redeemed from earth” join the Martyrs to present the Son of Man to God sitting on His throne over the river of fire. They sing two songs, while standing on this river, after those “redeemed from among men” come with Him "on the clouds of heaven and present Him to the Ancient of Days.” Dan.7:13, Rev.14:3-4, Rev.15:3-4.

According to Rev.15:7-8, the angels receive their Bowls and dispense the Plagues prior to the G&W sign and these songs! The aorist subjunctive in verse eight signifies a future action to that of the angels exiting the Temple. The pivotal verse, Rev.15:5, ends the Outer path but the Temple is open for the events of the Middle Path which begin at Rev.7:9. All the Martyrs come out from under the Altar for the songs that climax the Outer Path and immediately enter the Temple during the Middle path to praise God and the Lamb by name for the first time.

Having sung the song of the Lamb, the 144,000 again join the Martyrs in Act One of the Middle Path to praise both God and the Lamb. Their combined presence is acknowledged by the elder’s abrupt reply: “Who are these arrayed in white robes and from whence did they come?” Rev.7:13. The elder responds to his own question. He knows! This is the first audience of all the redeemed with both God and the Lamb!

Plague 7 and Seal 6 belong to both the Outer and Middle paths. Seal 7 and Trump 7 occur during the Middle path. My understanding of the order of events shows the armies of Plagues 6 and 7 crossing the Euphrates River before Seals 6 and 7 and that all four of these events occur between the 6^th and 7^th Trumpets!  However, the contents of Plague 7 remain suspended in midair during the Outer and Middle paths because the outpouring of the wine of God's cup of wrath does not occur until Rev.16:18-21. As Rev.15:5 is pivotal to introducing the Middle path, so Rev.11:19 and 16:18 with its 2nd and 3rd use of the Key Phrase of a storm Theophany, is pivotal to introducing the Inner path. Recognition of the movements from path to path has led me, as of this 39th Meditation, to clearly define and defend the placing of the last two plagues prior to the last two seals as underlined above.

With the Ark of the Covenant suddenly seen in the "open temple" of Rev.11:19, this verse and Rev.16:18 serve as the turning point from God’s anger to its mixture with and outpouring of the "wine of God’s Cup of Wrath." The storm Theophany of “voices, thunders, flashes of lightning and an earthquake” climaxes Act Two of the Middle Path. Rev.8:5. It terminates Act Three of the Middle Path with a 2nd storm Theophany and great hail. Rev.11:19.  The third aggravated phase of the storm Theophany introduces the consequences of the imploded 7th Plague. This should coincide with the "Hour of Trial".  Christ climaxes the Inner Path events by coming from heaven like lightning to destroy these armies of the Evil Trio and to destroy Babylon the Great in anger and wrath.

The Middle and Inner Paths are connected back to back by the third Theophany as well as “great hail!" The earthquake in the final Theophany becomes the greatest quake in history. That quake's aftershocks demolish the nations' cities, destroy their mountains and, after moving the islands out of place, displace them with nothing but ocean water. Rev.16:18-21, Rev.3:10, Rev.14:7.

The Inner path begins moments before Christ descends from heaven so that all heaven rejoices. They rejoice as the complete execution of God’s anger and wrath begins the Hour of Trial with the 2nd fall of Great Babylon ... even before heaven opens in Rev.19:10 (Rev.16:19, Rev.18:20-24). Twice during the Middle path the storm Theophany displays the growing intensity of the "great anger" of Rev.14:19 that suddenly mixes with His wrath. Rev.11:19; Rev.16:18.

There are 40 verses in the Outer path. Rev.16:16-17, Rev.6:12 to Rev.7:8, Rev.14:1 to Rev.15:4. The Middle path involves 22 verses with Rev.15:5 prefacing Rev.7:9 to Rev.8:5 and Rev.11:12-19. Just as the first Theophany climaxes the Court’s Tribunal of Seal 7, so its 2nd climaxes the crowning Triumph of Trump 7 to finish the path for the Temple Drama. At once the third Theophany starts the Inner path with Babylon’s fall, both city and system. The description ending at Rev.18:19 completes Babylon's fall by "fire" midway of Daniel's 70th Seven. With Christ having been crowed and God's wrath having come in Rev.11:18, Rev.16:18's quake and Rev.18:20's command immediately occurs: “Rejoice over her, O heaven and the Saints and the Apostles and the Prophets! God has avenged you.”

Inner path events are instantly set in motion by Rev.11:18-19; Rev.16:18-19 and Rev.18:20-24!

The Plagues are finished in Rev.15:1 before the angels are described receiving their Bowls or dispensing their Plagues. They must be finished before the Saints (including the 144,000) enter God’s presence even in the Outer path standing on the crystal sea mixed with fire! Dan.7:9-10; Rev.15:2. Then they worship God and the Lamb within the Temple where God’s anger, having passed the point of exhaustion, produces the "appointed (kairos) time" given in Revelation for God's wrath.  Rev.11:18; Rev.16:19; Rev.19:15. We will see again and again that, between Rev.16:17 and Rev.16:18, God's anger is about to implode the contents of the 7th Plague whenever the 40 verses of the Outer path and 22 verses of the Middle path are completed. 

The 7^th Plague remains suspended in midair for a short time after the great voice from the Throne within the Temple decrees: “The End has Come.” Rev.16:17. The Plague’s contents will not implode until God’s anger mixes with wrath in the Cup of anger and wrath. Rev.14:10. That waits on Rev.11:19 and Rev.18:20, the pivotal verses that launch the Inner path. We will see why Rev.16:18 also launches the Inner path as the Ark of the Covenant appears in Rev.11:19 and God calls on the Saints to rejoice in Rev.18:20. Babylon has fallen forever. The anger and wrath of the wine poured from the Cup in Rev.16:19-21 coincides with the wrath wreaked on all mankind during the Hour of Trial: “treading the winepress of anger and wrath”. Rev.19:15-21.

The Court in Daniel and Revelation is set for action during the Outer path. But the Court acts only in the Middle path. In the Outer path, the Lamb opens Seal Six, rescues 144,000 Jews from Mt. Zion and, as the Son of Man, reaps the wicked already gathered to the winepress of great anger. He takes the Firstfruits to heaven. They demonstrate in song that the Lamb is worthy of His Bride and the Martyrs sing the victory song of Moses. The Temple Drama fills the Middle path.

There are seven angels, with two groups of three angels who take part in the actions above the earth during the Outer path. One angel comes from the rising sun to seal the 144,000. Three angels fly in the midst of heaven to deliver their tumultuous ultimatums. This occurs while the Lamb takes the 144,000 with Him from Mt. Zion to the white cloud. There He and three more angels fulfill His own prophecy that, except for the Firstfruit of the Endtime harvest, the "sons of Satan" must be reaped before the sons of God are gathered to meet Him in the air. Believers rejoice at the "good news" that the Hour of Judgment has come and Babylon has fallen, fallen. Rev.14:6-11, Matt.13:30-42. (See Meditation #41).

These events with angels flying in mid-air display a gradual but rapid upward movement toward events taking place in heaven after the judgments on earth in the plagues. They warn in the Hour of Judgment across the skies that the end has come for Beast-worshipers. They help in reaping the wicked from the white cloud just before the G&W Sign appears in heaven. That sign and the songs complete the Outer path. The Temple opens for the Middle path’s Three-Act Drama with all the Saints praising God and the Lamb for the first time by name. Dan.7:9,10,13, Rev.7:9,10,13.