The Seven Bowls
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Good afternoon! We are continuing in our series on the book of Revelation. Look I know for most of us this study has not been easy. And I don’t believe that it should be easy. But we are almost done. After today we have only six more chapters to look at. And the last few are all super positive so just hang in there. It is almost finished. But Today we are going to be looking at Revelation chapter sixteen and the seven bowls of wrath. At first we are going to see some similarities between the bowl plagues and the trumpet plagues. However as similar as they are. They are far from the same. And I want us to be careful, because it is so easy for Christians to only see judgment upon humanity for worshiping the beast. This is not untrue. However, what we need to see today more than anything else is that the real struggle that is being shown is not between God and humanity. The plagues that we are going to see poured out today are representative of the struggle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. What we are going to look at today is the outpouring of Gods wrath upon the beast, who seeks to deter Gods divine purpose within this world, and also upon those who have pledged their loyalty to the beast.
The First Bowl
The First Bowl
The pouring out of the first bowl is found in verses one and two. In verse one we read.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
The loud voice from the temple appears to be God Himself Why do I say this? Because he is the one who dwells within the temple. Just makes sense to me, I think.
So what is contained within this first bowl.
In verse two we read.
So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
Unlike the first plagues of both the seals and the trumpets that affect the environment and so indirectly affect mankind. This one falls directly upon all of those who are faithful to the beast. At this point we have seen that all of mankind has declared itself as either faithful to Christ Jesus or faithful to the beast. And in the end it is only those who are faithful to Christ Jesus that will be spared from the outpouring of Gods wrath in the end.
I have mentioned several times throughout this series a very real truth that is revealed throughout the book of Revelation. And that is that all of humanity throughout history has been choosing to follow either the one true God, Jesus Christ, or they have chosen to follow Satan. There is no in between. No one gets to sit on the sidelines. Essentially if you choose not to follow Christ. Then the default is Satan.
The Second Bowl
The Second Bowl
The second bowl is found in verse three.
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
In the first plague in Egypt the Nile was turned into blood, and we saw something similar at the sounding of the second trumpet where we saw a third of the waters of the seas become blood and a third of the creatures of the sea died. This time there is no limitation placed upon the plague and every drop of water within the oceans and the seas of this world become blood and every animal living within them dies.
The Third Bowl
The Third Bowl
The third bowl is found in verses four through seven. In verse four we read.
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
The third trumpet plague affected a third of the rivers. This time, as we have already seen, there is no such limitation placed upon the third bowl. We were told with the third trumpet that the plague brought death to people due to the bitter water. We are not told here the immediate affects that this would have upon life. However, if all the water in the world turns to blood I think we can guess what the aftermath might be. And whatever we might imagine I suspect isn’t close to what this would really be like.
Then in verses five and six we read.
And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
The angel of water or as the ESV puts it here the angel in charge of the waters is an expression that is found no where else in scripture. However at this point we have seen several angels that oversee so to speak certain aspects of nature. In chapter seven we saw the four angels who control the winds, and in chapter fourteen we were introduced to the angel who has power over fire. This angel, the angel of the waters, declares that God is just to bring about such judgment upon humanity. Why does he say this? He explains. Because they are responsible for the shedding of the blood of the martyrs. And so he says, this is exactly what they deserve. That’s the last line that the angel concludes with. They deserve this judgment.
Then in verse seven connected to this proclamation we read.
And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”
This is the only time in the book of Revelation that we are told that the Altar speaks. We have heard voices come from under the altar, and these voices were calling for vindication for those who had been martyred. In another instance we see that the prayers of the persecuted saints rise up from the altar. What we should see or perhaps hear in these words is that Gods judgment is neither arbitrary nor capricious. Instead they are both true and just. God’s judgment is an act of vindication for the persecuted church throughout time.
The Fourth Bowl
The Fourth Bowl
The fourth bowl is found in verse eight and nine and we read.
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
This bowl causes a plague of intense heat which burns people. What I find most interesting about this bowl is that mankind recognizes the source of the plagues. They know where the judgment they are experiencing comes from. However, just as Pharaoh had hardened his heart against God. So many in the end as well as today have hardened their hearts to the truth of the Gospel. And as a result all that they experience in relation to God is anger and hatred. This is exactly what we see today in much of our culture. It is not some passive disdain that people have towards Christianity and the Church. It is anger and hatred towards God and His church. This is the hardening of their hearts towards God just as we see in our passage today. People would rather curse God and refuse to repent and give God glory. Because if they did then they would have to identify and admit to the sin within their lives.
The fifth bowl.
The fifth bowl.
The fifth bowl Is found in verses ten and eleven and we read.
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
This bowl is poured out directly upon the center of the beast’s power. This judgment is unique in that it is poured out upon the seat of government that has power over the world during the end times. Which is interesting because I suspect that Government from the beginning has sought to solve all the worlds problems. But that is not what government is meant to do at all. Government simply maintains civil structure and order. Period. It never has been able to solve most of the problems that we face. I mean honestly how much impact did our government have on the spread of COVID-19. They like to think they did. But they were pretty powerless in the face of the pandemic.
I digress.
This plague, the fifth bowl not COVID, plunges the kingdom of Satan into total darkness. And this darkness is accompanied by something that causes significant pain and sores and men literally gnaw at their tongues because the pain is so great. It is also possible that the extreme darkness and the anxiety and anguish that that would cause simply magnified the previous judgments that caused boils and searing heat. It’s not exactly clear. What really is important here is that again men recognize the source of their anguish as God Almighty and they curse God. When what they really needed to do is repent of their sin. Turn from their sin and the beast and turn to God. Now, I’ll be honest at this point in the end times. I do not believe that such repentance may even be possible. Just as Pharaoh comes to a point that repentance is beyond his ability. Mankind will also reach a point of no return we might say.
The sixth bowl.
The sixth bowl.
The sixth bowl is found in verses twelve through sixteen.
In verse twelve we read.
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
This bowl is very different from the previous bowls. It is not poured out upon mankind. Instead it is meant to completely dry up the river Euphrates. This is done in order to prepare the way, essentially for the final battle that is yet to come. We saw something similar in the sixth trumpet. There four angels lead a massive demonic cavalry across the Euphrates who killed a third of mankind.
One of the struggles of this passage is that the the kings from the east are never defined for us. The most natural, I believe, reading of this is that the kings of the east, who are somehow most likely a part of Satans inner circle or are supportive in some special way, are going to join forces with the kings of the whole world in order to do battle against the Messiah at His final coming. This joining of forces is seen in the drying up of the Euphrates which was seen as a barrier between Israel and the rest of the world. So God removes the barrier that keeps his enemies apart so that they might truly muster their forces against him and array themselves completely against Him.
We will se later a reference to ten kings that support the Beast in the next chapter, and it is very likely that these ten kings are the kings of the east.
And as quickly as these kings arrive on the scene they are gone from our story and in verse thirteen we read.
And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.
Okay so this is the first time that we get this reference to the false prophet. This is the second beast that essentially props the first beast up as a false messiah, thus making him the false prophet.
But what really matters is what the heck are these three unclean spirits that are like frogs that come from their mouths.
So, these are a way of representing the demonic inspiration of those that are arrayed against God in the last battle. These three are going to inspire fallen mankind to give their support to these three in order to wage war against Jesus.
We see this in the next verse. In verse fourteen we read.
For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
The great day of God the Almighty is that moment in history when the redemptive purpose of God will be made complete. And that completion will be seen in both salvation and in judgment. And it will be seen and experienced by individuals, by the church, and by creation itself. So complete is this final day. This is why often times the word consummation is used in reference to this last day. Consummation means the ultimate goal or end of something. Or that thing that brings final fulfillment to something. That’s why sex should only be experienced between two married people. It is seen as the act of consummation of the marriage. It is that thing experienced on ones wedding night that is meant to complete the act of getting married. Similarly the final battle between God and Satan and then the salvation of the saints and the judgment of sinners is seen as the final consummation of history. We are going to come back to this word consummation when we get to the final chapters of the book. So, it’s important to understand it’s meaning.
What we see in this verse is the hatred that has expressed itself throughout human history through the hostility and persecution of the people of God it now all comes to a grand finale when all the rulers of the world join together in one single final battle against God Himself.
Then in verse fifteen there is a brief shift and we read.
(“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)
This shift is often times seen in many translations in the parentheses being placed within the text. They are not present in the original writings. They are placed here in order to separate this verse from those around it.
So why does Jesus all of a sudden interject this statement within the passage. I believe that it is two fold. First it is a warning, but it is also a means of assuring His people of the realities that exist behind every historical event we experience both now and in the end times.
Look this war that is going to take place with every country in the world united against God is not the ultimate reality that we need to be focused on or worried about. We simply need to keep our eyes on the prize so to speak. Jesus, Himself, is coming back. This is supposed to be the focus of all of our hopes and expectations. This interjection within all of this junk about the world should help us gain a proper perspective.
Far too many of us are focused on what is happening in the government and the culture around us. That we have lost focus on the fact that Jesus is coming back.
And he will return like a thief. This is not about His return being sly or stealthy like a thief. And it is not relating is return to being sudden like a thief might be. But rather His return will be unexpected by most.
Paul refers to Jesus return as being like a thief in first Thessalonians chapter five. In verse two we read.
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
In this passage Paul wants to ensure that we are prepared for the return of Jesus. And in verse four we read.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
So long as we are awake to the coming of Christ we will not be surprised when He arrives.
Instead that day will be a glad deliverance from this messed up fallen world that we find ourselves in at present.
In the KJV and the NKJV is says that the blessed one is the one who watches. And unfortunately this has lead many to look for signs of the end. They are watchers for the end times. The NKJV in verse 15 reads.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
This translation fits well with the argument that we need to be ready at “any-moment” for the return of Jesus. However heres the problem with this translation. It make no sense to “watch” for something unless that event is capable of occurring at any time. And right now some of you are looking at me like I have lost my mind. I mean hey. The return of Christ could occur at any moment, right? Well if you are an amillenialist, which is the view that there is no seven year tribulation and that there is no millennial rule of Christ, he is going to simply resurrect the saints and return. However, if you’re like me a premillennialist. Which simply means I see a period of Great Tribulation still yet to come and then a thousand years when Christ will reign and that occurs after the Great Tribulation and then we see the final resurrection of all of humanity to face their final judgment and then the final reign of Christ here on earth.. So, if that is the case, then why am I watching for the return of Christ tomorrow if we are not in the Great Tribulation now. Oof. That through a wrench into the gears didn’t it. So, I don’t believe we are told to be watching for the return of Jesus.
Look the greek word here simply means to be awake. And I believe that what it means to be awake to an idea, or a concept, or some piece of knowledge. Simply means that you are aware of the reality that it is still yet to take place.
And I believe that verse three of 1st Thessalonians five supports this idea. We read there.
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Look when we lose sight of the ultimate issues of life and assume that security is found on some sort of human level rather than only in one’s relationship with Jesus. Then we are asleep to the reality of this fallen world that we live in.
And yet so much of the church is asleep. And the truth is that many of us here today are probably asleep in varied ways as well. Whenever we lose sight of the spiritual values laid out within the scripture we will slowly begin to agree with the values of the beast rather than the values of Jesus. And I suspect that right here, right now, the Holy Spirit brought at least one of those values to mind. And if he did I would suggest that you do something about it. Because he just asked you to.
Then in verse sixteen we read.
And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
We now return to our original story of the three unclean spirits who gather the kings of the world to battle. And we now see that the final battle is to take place at Armageddon. No the word doesn’t mean the end times, which is how many today use it. Instead it is the place of the last battle between the beast and Jesus. So this word Armageddon does present us with some difficulties. First thing we need to understand is that it is actually two Hebrew words slammed together. The first word is har which means mountain. And the second word is megiddon which is a reference to what we call Megiddo. So the mount of Megiddo.
But that’s a problem. Yep! Because Megiddo isn’t a mountain. Megiddo is the plains area that is located between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. It was however a very famous battle ground in the history of Israel with many battles being fought in the area. Barak and Deborah defeated the Canaanites there in Judges chapter five. Jehu in second kings chapter twenty-three defeated Ahaziah there as well. So why is it called a mountain here. No one knows. There are many guesses out there, but in the end they are all just that, and I have to admit that most of them are quite unconvincing but that’s why we call them guesses isn’t it.
All of that aside the plains of Megiddo will be the location of the final battle that will be waged. And it is here that the worlds government will array itself against Christ in a last ditch attempt to overthrow their creator. Which to be honest is what they have attempted to do every day of their lives from the fall until today and will continue to do until the end..
The seventh bowl.
The seventh bowl.
The seventh and final bowl is revealed in verses seventeen through twenty-one.
It is different than the previous seventh seal and trumpet. Both of those contained the next group of judgments.
There is not another seven judgments to be revealed. Instead this is the final judgment that is to be released. And this judgment is going to fall specifically upon what is referenced as Babylon. Babylon here represents essentially the base of the power of the first beast.
The next few verses are going to essentially give an overview of that judgment. And then in chapters seventeen and eighteen we are going to be given more details concerning the destruction of Babylon.
So lets begin at the beginning of the end. In verse seventeen we read.
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
This appears to be the same voice that we heard in the first verse. The phrase translated “It is done” is actually a single word in Greek that in it’s verbal form represents a completed action. And so what actually comes from the throne is simply the word “Done!” And so God has announced that everything that he has set out to do comes to it’s final conclusion in the pouring out of the seventh bowl.
We want to connect this to Jesus final words upon the cross where he says, “It is finished.” It is very similar and I do believe there are similarities and so connections. But there are some very significant differences. When Jesus states that it is finished, God Himself dies. Here when God says that it is done, then those who stand against the death of Jesus upon the cross will now face their own death.
Then in verse eighteen we read.
And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
All of what we see in this verse is simply the combined manifestations that we find in the scriptures of the glory and power of God. The lightning, the thunder, the earthquakes. These are all announcements to the very presence of the glory and power of God being revealed.
Then in verse nineteen we read.
The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
The result of the manifestation of the glory and power of God is the complete collapse of human civilization. The capital of the beast will be completely split into three parts by the earthquake. We have all seen the devastation that an earthquake can bring. Can you imagine what an earthquake powerful enough to split a city into three parts would do. Such an earthquake would simply flatten the city. Every building would crumble. And this violence is felt throughout the world, so that every city of the earth is left destroyed.
Look next time you read something on Facebook where someone says oh I think this is the end. This looks like it is straight out of chapters seventeen or eighteen of Revelation. Fro some reason people like to connect those two chapters in particular to history today. But now you can officially ask them if they are capable of reading. Or at least understanding what they’ve read. Because really come on. We are not in the end times. We have seen nothing even remotely close to this.
And then it says that God remembered Babylon. Oh such found remembrances of Babylon. Oh wait. That’s not it is it. This phrase occurs several times throughout the scriptures. However, what usually we see is that God remembers His judgment and then shows grace and mercy by removing that judgment. But this is very different instead it is saying that he remembers the sin of Babylon and basically forces Babylon to continue to drink from the cup of His wrath. When Babylon is doing all that she can not to drink of the cup of the wrath of God Almighty.
Then in verse twenty we read.
And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
Wow! This is the power of the fully revealed glory of God upon a sin filled world. God in his wrath against sin brings such destruction that the islands disappear and the mountains are laid flat not just cities. I mean cities are easy low hanging fruit. God brings islands and mountains to nothing. Now is this truly what is going to happen. Maybe not. But maybe. It is very possible that this is simply a means of hyperbole to describe God’s glory revealed. Either that or it is the complete destruction of everything as we know it today. Which is, honestly and this is a hard thing for us to hear and accept, this is the end goal of God’s plan. Everything that we see today is to be destroyed. And then by God’s grace our world is to be recreated without sin.
Then finally in verse twenty-one we read.
And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
Ok, so it’s funny how commentators want to go on and on about whether or not the hailstones actually weigh one hundred pounds. It says in the greek that they weigh a talent. And in todays measurements in America at least that would be about a hundred pounds. Here’s the thing these are the biggest hailstones ever seen, and hailstones the size of a baseballs have been known to kill a person that is struck in the head. Who cares what they actually weigh. This is what matters, they are so large that anyone struck by one is going to die and I don’t want to ask you to imagine what something a hundred pounds traveling at such speeds would do to a human body. Like I’ve got one word. Splat. This is going to be disgusting. But, here’s the thing, none of those details really matter. But we like so much to get caught up in the little details all to the detriment of what God really wants us to see.
Mankind knows the exact source of the hail. And they curse God because of it. This is how the beginning of the Day of the Lord is announced. Humanity curses God because of His justice upon their evil. We are all innocent when we look through our own eyes. Eyes tainted by sin and by the influence of Satan. But eyes tainted by the gospel of Jesus see the world and ourselves very differently.
So What?
So What?
Just one point today.
I want to discuss divine judgment and its purpose.
Divine Judgment
Divine Judgment
At the very outset our passage states that God’s judgments are just. They are the right thing from a righteous God. The world in which we live has always sought to oppress, in one way or another, the people of God. And in todays society any discussion concerning divine judgment upon sin is simply not allowed. As a result many who call themselves Christians even refuse to apply such realities to God at all. However, given the season, there is a phrase that I have heard used that is I believe fitting. This Santa Claus theology is incapable of coping with the reality of evil. But not only that. It is incapable also of coping with so much of the suffering that we see throughout the world. If we approach life with this kind of theology, which is what many of us often times do, it makes it nearly impossible to deal with the hardships of life. Why? Because there is no assurance that God has a purpose behind all of it. And when we see life like this it only leads to some form of fatalism. We cannot turn God into some kind, grandfather figure, who is never firm. To do so denies his lordship and omnipotence over a world that is full of so much suffering.
If we choose to see a God who never brings judgment upon this world for its sin, then what we have done is to create a false idol whose source is satan. Because this kind and only loving god is simply not the God of the Scriptures.
I want to be careful now. I am not saying that every suffering that an individual goes through is some sort of judgment that God is bring upon that individual. It is possible that the suffering being experienced may be judgment. But for many, and if you are a believer, it is most likely a test of ones faith in Christ Jesus. And this is the struggle that all of us always have. The specific suffering that we experience will never reveal the true purpose of the suffering. What the suffering is meant to do is to get our eyes off ourselves and the situation at hand and to cause us to turn our gaze upon Jesus. When we do this, I believe that we will then begin to understand the purpose of the suffering.
And so we shouldn’t simply see judgment as a means of correction or discipline. Though those are purposes behind Gods judgment. But it is also a way that God uses to grab the attention of the world with the goal of repentance in mind. Look, churches were overflowing after the suffering that we as a nation experienced during the tragedy that is remembered as 9/11. The world came seeking answers and most churches gave them exactly what they needed to hear, and guess what? Many of them did not like it. You see sinful mankind doesn’t want a righteous and just God. They think they want Santa Claus.
Santa Claus theology will always fail us though. And in the end they don’t really even want Santa Claus. Because for most it doesn’t matter if God brings justice or mercy they will refuse to believe. The story of Lot and Soddom and Gamorah is telling in this regard. Lot tried to warn them about the coming destruction, but they though he was just kidding around. In fact when Lot tried to prevent some of the men of the city from attempting to rape the angels that had come to warn Lot, they essentially accused him of being judgmental.
Look mankind doesn’t even want Santa Claus theology let alone the one true God of the Bible. What they want is what we might call self-theology. A theology in which all of us are our own gods and we make the rules and everyone else just needs to abide by our rules. But that just doesn’t work now does it.
In fact we are seeing the culmination of this reality in America today. And it just isn’t working. It is this idea of self-theology and everyone can have their own theology and that theology must be accepted by everyone else. And the result is that this though process has driven us to absurdity. Today we are completely incapable of defining with any certainty words any longer. It all started with the word truth. And once we lost the concept of what is true, everything else must, by the absence of any truth, fall.
But this isn’t simply about words. The inability today to actually define words is simply a small picture of the inconsistency and sin and hatred within the hearts of mankind. The end goal of all of this for Satan is to create enmity between His followers and the followers of Christ Jesus.
Truth is important. And the source of our truth can only be found within the Scriptures. This is why today more than ever we all need to live by the rallying cry of the reformation.
We are to live life:
By the word of God alone
By faith alone
By grace alone
By Christ alone
All to the Glory of God alone.
Amen.
Amen
Let us pray.
Benediction.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.