 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. And he said to John, I'm going to show you things that were, things that are, and things that shall shortly come to pass. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to do that today, with God's help, to try to alert you about the things that are going to shortly come to pass.