A Song in the Darkness: Seals, Horns, and Bowls in Revelation

A Song in the Darkness:

Seals, Horns, and Bowls in Revelation

Good morning, church. It's been a while since I have had the honor of delivering a sermon, so it feels good to get off the injured reserve list and back in the game! Today, we continue our series on the coming of Jesus, The Return of the King. Last week, Pastor Brandon spoke about a very dark figure in the story – the anti-Christ. We see this snaky figure – the satan, the accuser, the persecutor – wind his way throughout scripture, wreaking havoc and mayhem wherever he goes. He is dark and evil and spreads darkness and chaos wherever he goes.

Today's sermon will start equally as dark. Like most great literature and stories, the heroes and protagonists must endure darkness before resolving the story. Take, for instance, the novel for which this series is taken, The Return of the King. The Battle of Pelenor Fields seems unwinnable, the army coming out of Mordor seems undefeatable, and the ring seems indestructible. The book's darkest moment comes when Frodo can destroy the ring but chooses not to. With the Bible, the same is true. We must move through the challenging dark spaces to get to the light. I will be throwing you many scripture references, so I ask that you write them down and look them up after the service. This will add a bit more color to what I will be speaking about.

Part of the problem we often have with Revelation is the tendency to take one of two extreme views of the letter. On the one hand, some folks read the book literally. From that, charts and timelines come into play, and this event needs to happen before that event happens, and we get all muddled up in a series of mispredictions. On the other hand, there is the tendency just to avoid the book altogether. It's too hard. There are too many weird beasts. There is too much death and destruction. We are not meant to understand it anyway. With all due respect to those who take those views, I think both views are incorrect.

John's letter to the seven Jesus communities in Galatia (and then distributed to Jesus communities throughout the Roman empire), called the Apocalypse or Revelation, must be read first in its given context. As Dr. Michael Heiser reminds us, the Bible was not written to us, but it is written for us. So, to understand Revelation, we must understand two critical things. First, its genre. Revelation is poetic, prophetic, apocalyptic literature. By poetic, I mean that there is a rhythm and a connection throughout the book, not only to itself but to many OT passages, especially Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Poetry uses fewer words to say a lot. A Robert Frost poem says a lot and can be interpreted in many different ways in just a few words. We read a Frost poem differently than a news article – which uses many words and usually says very little. By prophetic, I mean that Revelation speaks a message from God to His people. His people in the 1st-century and His people today. By apocalyptic, I mean that John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses a particular way of writing, common in the ancient world, to deliver this message from God using fantastic imagery, symbolic numbers, and allegory.

And this brings us to the dark part of my talk this morning: the seven seals, bowls, and trumpets – what some call the Great Tribulation. Notice first that this is a set of three sevens. When reading apocalyptic literature, numbers are vitally important and have deeper meanings. Three is the number for God. Seven represents perfect completion. Through these three sets of seven, we see God is completing and bringing an end to all things. Before we get into the three sets of seven, I want to offer to you a particular way of looking at the contents. Most of the time, we see what's about to happen as God's wrath and anger spilled out onto the Earth. While that is undoubtedly true, I also want to posit that what we are also seeing is human sin unleashed to its fullest potential. In our Sunday School class a few weeks ago, when we were studying Genesis 3, we learned that the heart of sin is humans telling God that they will do things their way and not God's way. When we sin, we say to God, "I'm going to do what I want regardless of what you said I should do." In Revelation, we see the unleashing of human sin, combined with the unleashing of the anti-Christ, leading to the unleashing of God's judgment.

I want you to see that the seals, trumpets, and bowls are not running concurrently but parallel. Each tells the story of human sin and God's judgment with a different perspective and view. Each complements the other. The three sets of seven describe what the first century Jesus followers were going through then, what has happened since, what is happening now in our times, and what will ultimately happen in the future. It is a theological concept called "The already but not yet." The three sets of seven have been seen repeatedly in human history in different ways. Daniel had the Babylonian and Persian Empires; John had the Roman Empire. In the 20th century, through WWI, WWII, The Korean War, The Cold War, The Vietnam War, and the 21st Century War on Terror, we have seen tens if not hundreds of millions of people perish. The cycle of three sevens continues throughout human history but will someday end.

Starting with the seven seals, in Revelation 5, John sees a scroll that needs to be opened in that throne room scene that reflects Isaiah's throne room experience in Isaiah 6. He weeps because he cannot find one worthy to open a scroll. But an angel reveals to him a slaughtered lamb. That lamb is treated as a king and worthy to take the seven seals off the scroll. The first four seals are removed, and here we see imagery of four horses: white, red, black, and pale green. These images go back to Zechariah 1:8-11; 6:1-8. These horses represent political, military, and economic injustice. This injustice is followed by death – the result of sin and the ultimate decorative action. In the fifth seal, we hear the voice of the martyrs, those killed by the injustice and persecution of the four horses. They cry out, "How long will this go on?" God tells them that the end is coming soon. Remember, this letter is written to a church under heavy persecution. This scene must have brought comfort to those living through it. The sixth seal reveals more ecological terror ensues, and the prevailing theme is that this is the end. The seventh seal continues that theme and reveals the next set of seven, the trumpets.

The first five trumpets reflect the plagues sent to Egypt from Exodus.

Revelation Trumpet Exodus Plague 1st Trumpet Revelation 8:7 Hail and fire =Seventh plague Exodus 9:24-25 2nd Trumpet Revelation 8:8-9 sea turns to blood =First plague Exodus 7:20-21 3rd Trumpet Revelation 8:10-11 water made bitter Also, first plague Exodus 7:20-21 4th Trumpet Revelation 8:12 Darkness Ninth plague Exodus 10:22-23 5th Trumpet Revelation 9:1-12 Locusts and scorpions Eighth plague Exodus 10:12

Why would John, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, use this imagery of the plagues? Let's remember why they were sent in the first place. Pharaoh, one of the first satanic images in the Bible, believes himself to be a god. He came in direct conflict with God over the release of Israel from slavery. At every turn, Pharaoh shakes his fist stubbornly at God and says, "NO!" John tells his audience that humanity will reap the same plagues that Pharaoh received (only worse) because of our stubborn refusal to repent. The sixth trumpet signals a release of the four horsemen. Death and destruction ensue, but still, humanity does not repent. The seventh trumpet sounds, and the end of all things comes to pass with Christ's return.

Moving up to chapter 16, we encounter seven angels with seven bowls. Again, these bowls are spilled out onto the Earth and are, like the trumpets, closely linked to the plagues of Exodus. These bowls, the poured-out judgment of an unrepentant world, match the plagues set upon an unrepentant Egypt.

Revelation Bowl Exodus Plague 1st Bowl Sores Revelation 16:2 Sixth plague Exodus 9:10 2nd Bowl Revelation 16:3 waters become blood Repeat of 1st plague Exodus 7:20-21 3rd Bowl Revelation 16:4 more waters become blood Repeat of 1st plague Exodus 7:20-21 4th Bowl Revelation 16:8-9 scorching heat Not a plague but reflected in Ex 13:21 5th Bowl Revelation 16:10-11 Darkness Repeat of Ninth plague Exodus 10:22-23

Bowls 1-5 represent the judgment for unrepentance as trumpets 1-5. Things get even more violent and dark with the sixth bowl. A way is made for great armies to gather together for battle. The satanic enemy has convinced humanity that it must destroy itself in war. Then, as the seventh bowl is poured out, God shouts, "IT IS DONE!!" Babylon, which in the first century represented Rome, but today could represent Moscow, Beijing, Washington DC – take your pick – and could represent another major capital in the future, is destroyed.

At this point, you probably say to yourself, "Gregg, man, you are bummin' me out!" Well, in all of this darkness, warfare, bloodshed, violence, and destruction, we see a vital sign of hope. If you read the book of Revelation literally or you ignore the book altogether, you might miss a beautiful gift God gives us amid these dark images. Sprinkled among all of this violent imagery are nine songs.

The Nine Songs of Revelation:

Rev 4:8-11

Rev 5:8-14

Rev 7:9-12

Rev 11:15-18

Rev 12:10-12

Rev 15:3-4

Rev 16:4-7

Rev 19:1-4

Rev 19:5-9

I want to focus on the fourth song, Revelation 11:15-18:

The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying,

The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom

of our Lord and of his Christ,

and he will reign forever and ever.

The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, saying,

We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty,

who is and who was

because you have taken your great power

and have begun to reign.

The nations were angry,

but your wrath has come.

The time has come

for the dead to be judged

and to give the reward

to your servants the prophets,

to the saints, and to those who fear your name,

both small and great,

and the time has come to destroy

those who destroy the earth.

Christian Standard Bible Re 11:15–18.

This is the Word of God for the people of God.

Imagine you are a follower of Jesus in the first century, persecuted by Emperor Domitian and the community you live in. Imagine hearing this letter read, with all of the chaos and violence. You are probably very familiar with this violence, with this persecution. And in the middle of all of the hatred and death comes a song that pulls you back into the throne room of chapter 5. A song that reminds you who is in control. You may seem lost and hopeless, but out of the darkness comes a song, pulling you back into the presence of God.

Friends, that is where we are today. We read news reports from Israel, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Afghanistan. As Taiwan fears an overwhelming aggressor, as followers of Jesus in China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, and other countries are persecuted and sometimes executed for their faith, it is easy to feel hopeless and fearful. However, as Dr. Derwin Gray at Transformation Church in Indian Land has said, "What you fear is what you worship." 2023 was a rough year. Looking at 2024 and the election, I don't foresee it any better. So, do we sink our heads in our news channels and echo chambers, building on our fears? If so, then consider what or whom you really worship. All that will do is bring depression and despair. If you are a follower of Jesus, as the world turns increasingly angry, violent, unjust, and immoral, remember you have access to a song that will bring you back into the throne room of the presence of God.

We do not fear news of war.

We do not fear increasing violence.

We do not fear unrestrained political anger and rhetoric,

We do not fear the changing of the climate.

We do not fear these things because we do not worship these things. We worship the living God who sits on the throne, who profoundly loves His creation and His special creations – humans. Us, you and me.

What are you waiting for if you are not a follower of Jesus? By placing your faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, you will receive forgiveness, healing, redemption, and the Holy Spirit, God's presence and empowerment. Today is the day to lose your fear and worship the living Creator God.