Revelation Session 19 Part I
Notes
Transcript
The Bows of Wrath
The Bows of Wrath
The theme again is God’s final judgement and how it applies to us
This is an important transition. Chapter 14 ended with the earth being harvested and and the winepress of God’s wrath. Now chapters 15-16 gives us another vision of divine judgment, culminating again in the end.
1. Outline Slide
I. Introduction & Setting the Stage
I. Introduction & Setting the Stage
These two chapters bring us to the final series of judgments in Revelation
Chp 15 prepares us theologically to understand the actions to take place in chp 16.
It's as if John wants us to understand something before we see the severity of these judgments. He wants us to understand that the God who judges is holy, righteous, and just.
This becomes important because Revelation 16 contains some of the strongest judgment imagery anywhere else in Scripture.
If we do not understand that God is holy, righteous, and just, we will end up asking ourselves the question, "How could God do this?"
A. Where We are in the Story
I.A.1 The Sickle
In the previous chapter we ended with the harvest of the earth. John saw the Son of Man with his sickle. The earth was reaped.
The grapes were gathered and thrown into the wine press of the wrath of God and that certainly sounded like the end. Yet Revelation continues.
This is another important reason why we have been discussing this idea of recapitulation: That is, that the same period of history repeats multiple times but from different perspectives. Each cycle of judgment (whether it be seals, trumpets, or bowls) essentially takes you from Christ's first coming (or the beginning of the Church Age) to the final judgment and second coming, with each progressive cycle increasing in intensity and focusing on different spiritual realities.
John has already brought us to scenes of final judgment more than once. Now he begins another vision and shows us God's judgment again but from another perspective and with greater intensity. So rather than seeing the:
B. Seal → Trumpet → Bowl
B. Seal → Trumpet → Bowl
as one uninterrupted chronological timeline… there is strong reasons to see overlapping cycles that move through the present age toward the consummation. And as the visions progress the judgment becomes increasingly comprehensive.
The Seal: Reveals suffering, judgment, persecution, and upheaval throughout the earth. When the sixth seal is opened, humanity cries: “for the great fay of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand? (6:17).
The Trumpets: Here the imagery is intensified but they remain partial: we repeatedly see: “a third…” (earth, sea, waters, heavenly bodies). The limitation matters because the trumpet judgments function party as warnings. There is still opportunity for repentance. Yet Rev. 9:20-21 says that the rest of mankind did not repent.
The Bowls: here something changes. Limitations disappear. Judgment becomes comprehensive… no more “a third” and finally it says “it is done” (16:17
So even if we understand these cycles as recapitulating rather than strictly chronological, which I believe is the case, there is still progression and intensification with each recapitulation. Recapitulation does not mean simple repetition.
C. The Exodus Background
Another important thing to recognize before we enter the bowls is that John deliberately draws from Exodus. There are some incredible parallels.
I.C.2
In Exodus: God judges the oppressive kingdom, distinguishes his people from their oppressors, delivers his people, defeats the ruler who refuses to repent, and God's people respond by singing. (Ex. 15:3)
But there are other parallels as well, like Pharaoh and the beast. During the Exodus judgment Pharaoh repeatedly refuses to repent and judgment does not soften him.
We sometimes imagine that if people could only see undeniable evidence of God's power, they would surely repent. Yet Revelation shows otherwise.
There's another parallel: the sea of glass and the Red Sea. We need to pay attention to that.
Also for John's original audience, Rome possesses political authority, military strength, economic control, cultural dominance, and the ability to persecute Christians. This is the same type of imagery that all Israel would have seen from Egypt.
Lastly there's the parallel of the tabernacle and the language used comes directly from Israel's tabernacle. Now let us begin our reading, which is extensive.
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who have seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
2 Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
3 And they sang the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!
4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 And after these things I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,
6 and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
8 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who have the mark of the beast and who worship his image.
3 And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters, and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who is and who was, O Holy One, because You judged these things;
6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.”
7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
13 Then 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;
14 for they are spirits of demons, doing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)
16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, “It is done.”
18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.
19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His rage.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And huge hailstones, about one talent each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
II. The Victorious Saints & the Song of Moses and the Lamb (1-4)
II. The Victorious Saints & the Song of Moses and the Lamb (1-4)
A. The Seven Angels and the Completion of God’s Wrath (v.1)
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who have seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
This another sign is important because it connects us back to the 2 great signs of chapter 12:
1 And a great sign appeared in heaven…
This being the woman. Then:
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven…
which is the dragon. now:
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who have seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
John sees another sign and he describes it as great and marvelous. This signals that we are entering another major vision.
Seven angels, seven plagues, seven communicate completeness. The seven plagues present the fullness or completion of God's wrath against rebellious humanity. And John specifically calls them the last. Explaining that the wrath of God is finished. This becomes particularly important because by the time we finish, or close to the end of our reading in chapter 16, verse 17, it says that “it is done.”
The bows fit naturally within the recapitulation pattern we have been seeing. Revelation has brought us to the end before but now John revisits final judgment with even greater intensity and completeness.
II.A.3 - Recapitulation of the End
The seals brought us to the great day of wrath (6:17).
The trumpets brought us to the kingdom becoming Christ’s and the judgment of the dead (11:15–18).
The harvest brought us to the reaping of the earth (14:14–20).
And now the bowls bring God’s wrath to completion.
The visions are overlapping but the perspective and intensity develop.
B. The Sea of Glass Mixed with Fire (v2.)
2 Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire
We have seen this before. In Revelation 4:6 before God's throne was:
6 And before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal…
So John is again standing before the throne of God but now something has changed. The sea is mixed with fire. Fire throughout Scripture frequently accompanies God's holiness and judgment.
Daniel saw God's throne with flames of fire in Daniel 7:9 and then again a river of fire that flowed before God in Daniel 7:10. The imagery combines the majesty of God's throne with the judgment about to proceed from His presence.
C. Those Who Conquered the Beast (v.2)
…those who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass…
This is one of Revelation's great reversals. From the earthly perspective the beast appeared to defeat them:
7 And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them…
Yet here:
…those who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass…
We have an image of the saints who have overcome the beast so who actually conquered whom?
From Earth's perspective the Beast conquered the Saints. From Heaven's perspective the Saints conquered the Beast.
This becomes important. It is crucial for us to understand Revelation's definition of victory. Victory does not necessarily mean avoiding suffering. Victory means remaining faithful to Christ through suffering. This is exactly what Jesus said to the church at Smyrna:
10 ‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
The beast's greatest weapon is death but once death cannot cause Christians to abandon Christ, the beast has nothing left with which to defeat them.
This follows the pattern established by Christ Himself. Christ appeared defeated at the cross, yet the cross was His victory. The saints conquer in the same lamb-like manner:
11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witness, and they did not love their life even to death.
D. Standing Beside the Sea
And I want you to see this Exodorian imagery. Israel had been trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. God brought his people through the sea and destroyed the power pursuing them. And immediately afterward scripture says:
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh…
Now look again at Revelation 15:
II.D.4 John Sees God’s People
John sees God’s people:
Standing by the sea. Their enemy has been overcome. And what do they do?
They sing. This is a new Exodus.
Pharaoh becomes a pattern of the beast.
Egypt becomes a pattern of the oppressive kingdoms of this world
The Red Sea becomes a pattern of God’s judgment and deliverance
And God’s redeemed people once again stand safely on the other side and worship their Deliverer.
But Revelation takes the imagery beyond exodus and pushes it to the Lamb
E. The Harps of God
II.E.5 The Harps of God
We have seen harps associated with heavenly worship before:
Revelation 5:8 describes the 24 elders with harps.
Revelation 14:2 describes heavenly worship sounding like harpists playing on their harps.
And now we see that the ones that overcame the beast are holding the harps of God.
The picture here is not merely one of survival; it is worship. The saints have passed through persecution, suffering, and even death and the final result is not silence; it is worship.
The beast demanded worship. These people refused. Now they stand before God, worshiping the one to whom their allegiance belonged all along.
F. The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb (15:3)
3 And they sang the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb…
This, again, is very Exodorian for the language immediately takes us back to Exodus 15. After God delivered Israel from Pharaoh, Moses and Israel sang:
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to Yahweh and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
The song celebrated God's victory over the enemy and his deliverance of his people. Now Revelation combines the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.
Meaning that these are not competing stories of redemption. The Exodus and the work of Christ belong to the same redemptive story.
Moses's Exodus pointed forward. Christ accomplishes the greater Exodus and this is consistent with the way the New Testament represents Christ. At the transfiguration Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about his coming death. Luke describes what Jesus was about to accomplish at Jerusalem using the word "departure" or literally "exodus." (Luke 9:31)
So Jesus accomplishes the ultimate Exodus through his death and resurrection. He delivers his people from sin, death, Satan, and the judgment of God.
G. What the Saints Sing (3-4)
3 And they sang the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!
If you notice what dominates the song is not the saints… it is now about how I feel and how much I love or what I did but what dominates is God. (read it again)
The redeemed do not stand in heaven singing about how impressive their perseverance was. They sing about God's works, his righteousness, his truth, his kingship, and this is significant because we are about to witness terrible judgments.
Before the bowls are poured out, heaven declares, "Righteous and true are your ways." Revelation does not apologize for God's judgment. Heaven worships God because his judgments are righteous. This echoes the Old Testament:
4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.
This is appropriate because Deuteronomy 32 itself is called the Song of Moses. But John pushes it a little bit more. The song continues.
H. Who Will Not Fear, O Lord? (4)
4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy…
This directly echoes the proclamation of the first angel in Revelation 14:7.
7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.”
Again Revelation returns to worship. The beast demanded worship. Babylon seduced humanity into false worship but God alone is worthy of worship because He alone is holy.
Fundamentally this is the sin of idolatry: giving to creation what belongs exclusively to the Creator. This is the first commandment. And the song concludes with
I. All the Nations Will Come and Worship Before you (4)
…For all the nations will come and worship before You, For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
This portion of the song draws heavily from the Psalms:
9 All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.
This does not mean Revelation is teaching universal salvation. Rather the point is the universal recognition of God's sovereignty. No rival kingdom will ultimately remain standing. Consider:
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So before a single bowl is poured out, John shows us the final outcome:
II.I.6 The Picture John Has Given Us
The beast appeared to conquer.
The saints actually conquered.
The beast demanded worship.
The saints worship God.
The beast threatened death.
The saints stand alive before God’s throne.
The beast’s kingdom appeared powerful.
God alone is King of the nations.
And the persecuted church that once appeared powerless
now stands before God singing the victory song of the Lamb.
This is why Revelation 15 does not begin with wrath. It begins with worship and only after heaven has declared that God's ways are righteous and true are we prepared to watch his judgment unfold.
III. The Heavenly Temple & Preparation for Judgment (5-8)
III. The Heavenly Temple & Preparation for Judgment (5-8)
After showing John the victorious saints standing before God and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, the vision now turns toward the source of the coming judgment.
A. The Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony Is Opened (5)
5 And after these things I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,
Language loaded with OT imagery.
50 “But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall attend to it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle.
And the testimony is connected with the ark
21 “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you.
22 “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all which I will command you for the sons of Israel.
The testimony was God’s covenant revelation—particularly the tables of the covenant placed within the ark . So the imagery emphasizes more than God's presence. It emphasizes:
God's presence together with God's covenant word
God's presence together with God's covenant word
This is extremely important in a scene of judgment. The judgments about to proceed from heaven are not arbitrary. The world is being judged by the God whose righteous standard has been revealed.
B. The Heavenly Reality Behind the Earthly Tabernacle
John sees the sanctuary in heaven. That fits something that Hebrews has already taught us. The earthly tabernacle was constructed according to the heavenly pattern shown to Moses:
5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “That you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.”
and Notice what the writer of Hebrews tells us:
23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
John is not simply transported into an enlarged version of Israel's tent somewhere in heaven. The earthly tabernacle was itself a shadow, pointing toward the heavenly reality of God's presence. John sees that reality now opened and what proceeds from it is judgment.
This means that the Bows originate from the throne and the presence of God Himself. Let's continue.
C. The Seven Angels Come From the Sanctuary (6)
6 and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary…
John is establishing the source of the judgments. The beast does not control what is about to happen. Satan does not control what is about to happen. The nations do not control what is about to happen. The judgment proceeds from God's presence.
This matters because Revelation 16 will contain extraordinarily severe imagery. Before we see it, John establishes that these judgments proceed from the holy presence of God.
These therefore are expressions of divine justice and not divine instability. This is not a capricious God. This is not a wicked God and certainly not a permissive God. He is a just God. Now the angels are
D. The Clothing of the Seven Angels (15:6)
…clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes.
The imagery communicates purity, holiness, heavenly service. Similar clothing appears elsewhere in Scripture. We've already seen this kind of imagery before.
The agents carrying God's wrath are themselves pictured in purity. Nothing about the scene suggests uncontrolled rage or moral corruption. Everything surrounding the judgment communicates holiness.
E. The Four Living Creatures Give the Bowls to the Angels (15:7)
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God…
We first encountered the four living creatures around God's throne in Revelation 4. They continually worship God. Remember what they would say?
…day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”
Now one of those same creatures gives the bowls to the seven angels. The creatures that participate in the worship of God's holiness now participate in the administration of God's judgment.
This is significant because God's judgment flows from His holiness. His wrath is not contrary to His holiness; it is an expression of His holiness against evil. A holy God cannot ultimately treat evil as though it does not matter.
F. The Seven Golden Bowls Full of God’s Wrath (15:7)
Bowls refer to broad shallow vessels. Because of their shape their contents could be poured out quickly and completely. These judgments are not presented as a slow drip of divine wrath. The bowls are poured out and they are described as full of the wrath of God.
You see the contrast with the trumpets, which repeatedly affected only a third. But the bowls are full. The restraint that characterized the trumpets is disappearing as we approach consummation.
G. “The God Who Lives Forever and Ever” (15:7)
…God, who lives forever and ever.
This may sound like a simple description but it is more than that.
III.G.7
The beast appears powerful.
Babylon appears permanent.
Earthly kingdoms appear secure. But they're all temporary. God alone lives forever and ever. Every empire has an expiration date. Every ruler eventually dies. Every rebellious system eventually collapses but the one judging them is eternal.
H. The Sanctuary Is Filled With Smoke (15:8)
John now brings us even more explicitly into the Old Testament:
8 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power…
When Moses completed the tabernacle:
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.
35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had dwelt on it, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.
The same thing happened when Solomon's temple was dedicated.
10 Now it happened that when the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of Yahweh,
11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of Yahweh filled the house of Yahweh.
And Isaiah's temple vision gives us very similar imagery as well:
…house of God was filling with smoke.
So when John's original readers hear:
sanctuary + glory + smoke + inability to enter
They are hearing familiar biblical language. John is depicting the overwhelming manifestation of God's holy presence.
I. No One Can Enter the Sanctuary (15:8)
Revelation adds an important qualification:
…and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
This is more than merely another description. There is finality to it. The bows have been commissioned, the time for their execution has arrived, and nothing interrupts the process.
Earlier, prayers rose before God. Warnings were given. Trumpets sounded. The gospel was proclaimed. Calls to repentance went forth. But now division has reached the point where the decree of judgment proceeds to completion.
This does not mean that God has ceased being merciful in His character but mercy must never be confused with the indefinite postponement of judgment. There comes a point where God's righteous judgment is executed.
This is consistent with the pattern throughout Scripture:
In Noah's generation the ark eventually closed.
In Sodom judgment eventually fell.
In Egypt the final plague eventually came.
Jerusalem's warnings eventually gave way to its destruction.
Revelation says history itself will eventually reach such a moment.
J. The Exodus Pattern Has Now Become Even Clearer
III.J.8
Israel oppressed by Pharaoh
Saints oppressed by the beast
God defeats Pharaoh
God defeats the beast
Israel comes through the sea
Saints stand beside the sea of glass
Israel sings the Song of Moses
Saints sing the Song of Moses and the Lamb
Tabernacle filled with God’s glory
Heavenly sanctuary filled with God’s glory
Moses cannot enter because of God’s glory
No one can enter because of God’s glory
Plagues judge Egypt
Seven final plagues judge the rebellious world
John is not merely borrowing random Old Testament images. He is presenting the final judgment through the theological pattern of the Exodus.And that gives us an important principle for understanding what comes next:
The same act of God can simultaneously be judgment for His enemies and deliverance for His people.
The Red Sea was salvation for Israel. The same Red Sea was judgment for Pharaoh. That is precisely what we are seeing in Revelation.The saints stand victorious beside the sea while God’s plagues are prepared for the beast’s kingdom.
K. The Greater Exodus
Revelation does not simply repeat Exodus. It escalates it.
Moses has given way to the Lamb.
Pharaoh has become the beast.
Egypt has expanded into the rebellious world system.
The earthly tabernacle has given way to the heavenly sanctuary.
The Egyptian plagues have become the final bowls of divine wrath.
And the deliverance of one nation from one earthly empire has expanded into God's final deliverance of His redeemed people from every rebellious kingdom. So Revelation 15 represents the Exodus as more than an ancient historical event. It is recapitulated for it has also provided a pattern of God's redemptive activity:
III.K.9
God hears His oppressed people.
God confronts the powers that oppose Him.
God judges evil.
God delivers His people.
And God’s redeemed people respond in worship.
Notice that John has not yet shown us a single bowl being poured out. Everything in Revelation 15 has prepared us for what is coming. The saints are secure. The Lamb is victorious. Heaven has declared God's ways as righteous. The sanctuary has opened. The angels have received the bowls. The glory of God hath filled the sanctuary.
