Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction:
I like bowling!
I don’t know why exactly, but I do.
It is not like I am very good at it, but I find it satisfying.
Perhaps there’s something to throwing this big heavy ball down an ally to gain momentum before smacking into all these pins and making them come crashing down.
Maybe it’s the sound at first of the bowling ball charging down the alley building suspense and then the fast crackling sound of all the pins falling.
Or perhaps it is seeing these nice neat orderly set pins explode into chaos in an instant.
Maybe this could be a picture of God’s kind of bowling.
In our passage this morning, we find angels who go bowling but instead of a heavy ball, it is with heavy plagues that swift destruction comes.
Transition:
Last week we saw a pause, angel’s assignments, and worship in heaven.
Following the introduction of the bowl judgments in chapter 15, today’s chapter 16 provides details about each of the seven last plagues.
Today we begin to examine the destruction of this Earth-- This is done by a just a righteous God to Earth dwellers who won’t repent.
Scripture Reading:
Revelation 16
When viewed alongside the previous trumpet judgments, the differences are few and the similarities many--both the trumpet and the bowl plagues are patterned after the Egyptian plagues.
However, there are still differences.
While the trumpets kill a third of humanity, the bowls bring total destruction.
We are told in v.9 that God has control over the plagues.
In v.1, the temple voice of YHWH initiates the plagues, while in v.17 the voice from the throne completes them.
With the pouring out of the seventh bowl, God gives Babylon the Great the cup filled with the wine of his wrath, but the details of Babylon’s downfall await chapters 17 & 18.
In vv.5–7
A brief break comes to announce that God judges as one who is “just and true,” reflecting the principle known as "the law of retribution.”
In other words, God “will repay each of us according to our deeds” (2:23).
This theme runs through the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 62:12]]
and the New Testament [[Rom.
2:6]],
and it surfaces repeatedly in Revelation, with reference to both believers and unbelievers.
Throughout the Scriptures, God “remembers” and repays accordingly
Transition:
So John hears a voice giving specific orders in verse one to commence bowling.
John records the start of the game of divine bowling:
I. Three strikes is a Turkey (vv.2-4)
You can see the similarity between the 1st, 6th, & 7th Egyptian plagues in these first three bowls (some translations say vials)
The first three bowls are focused on those who worshiped the beast and took his mark.
The significance of turning the water sources into blood is clarified in verses 5–7.
Those who worshiped the beast are being judged for the martyrs’ blood, with which judgment the heavenly martyrs under the altar agree (6:9).
Since such vengeance was expected for the earth dwellers, the beast worshipers and the earth dwellers are the same group.
Illustration:
Transition:
This is the just suffering of those who have disobeyed God
II.
Bowling for 300 (vv.5-7)
Here is John’s literary break in the series of bowl judgments to comment on the reason and the goal of these plagues
Between the third and fourth bowl we encounter a spontaneous hymn of praise celebrating God’s justice and bringing comfort to those who have suffered.
In spite of the severe judgments, God is holy, eternal, just, and true.
Those who have shed the blood of God’s holy people are now made to drink a judgment of blood.
The law of retribution appears throughout Revelation, but perhaps nowhere with more force and clarity than here.
The altar, no doubt including the martyrs of chapter 6, responds with an affirmation of God’s character and sovereignty.
Illustration:
Transition:
III.
Bad Rack, Good Flush (vv.8-21)
In bowling, a bad rack is misaligned pins and a good flush is a solid, on target hit.
The fourth bowl intensifies the heat of the sun, but the ungodly fail to repent and glorify God; rather, they harden their hearts as Pharaoh had done and curse God —therefore, they are the “bad rack”
we are told that the ungodly respond to these divine judgments by refusing to repent of their evil deeds, including their demon worship, idolatry, murder, magic arts, sexual immorality, deception, and theft.
In spite of the judgments, they refuse to change their thinking or alter their lifestyles.
They never accept responsibility for their own sinfulness but curse or blaspheme God instead.
In spite of the severe suffering, symbolized by the gnawing of their tongues (v.
10), there is no hint of humility, much less repentance or submission in worship.
Even under the judgment of the most intense heat and darkness, the beast worshipers will not respond positively to the eternal gospel.
They will not repent or glorify God
This second to last judgment begins with the removal of the barrier between God’s people and their enemies, the “great river Euphrates.”
The “kings from the East” (16:12) and the “kings of the whole world” (16:14) represent pagan political powers allied with the beast.
The likely background is Ezekiel 38–39, where Gog and Magog depict enemies who war against God’s people.
The counterfeit trinity speaks forth demonic spirits resembling frogs that perform miraculous signs aimed at assembling the kings for battle.
The repetition of “mouth” indicates that their chief weapon is not military in nature, but demon-inspired rhetoric and propaganda that deceives.
This “parenthesis” provides the central spiritual message for us—in light of the coming battle, Christians should remain faithful and resist compromise.
Nakedness symbolizes shame, guilt, and liability to judgment.
Jesus has repeatedly warned his disciples (and by extension: us) to stay alert because his return would occur suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the middle of the night.
Illustration:
We better stay awake!
Human Experience: Have you ever hit the snooze button on your alarm clock, let your eye open a millimeter to check the time, and realized you must have hit that button more times than you realized?
Suddenly, you move from drowsy awareness to jump-out-of-bed alertness because you’re late!
How often do we exist in that hit-the-snooze-button-one-more-time state of existence when it comes to our readiness to do kingdom work?
They are to gather at “Armageddon” (v.16) for the “battle on the great day of God Almighty”.
Since Megiddo was the location of important ancient battles, “Armageddon” came to represent a specific geographical location of the final battle between YHWH and the forces of evil.
The seventh bowl brings history to a close.
YHWH’s voice from the temple declares that his purposes of salvation and judgment have been accomplished: “It is done!”
As with the seals and the trumpets, the storm theophany concludes the bowl judgments, yet with utmost severity.
Babylon the Great represents any great center of pagan power and certainly represented Rome in the first century .
God’s splitting of the city into thirds and the resulting collapse of the nations demonstrate its complete destruction.
So What?
So there are NO sleeper pins in this game!
In addition to reminding us that God judges evil, the bowl judgments also speak powerfully to those who profess Christ.
1. Christians should be prepared for Christ’s imminent return.
While Jesus’s statement in v.15 might seem a bit out of place at first glance, it actually gets to the heart of the matter for John’s audience.
As we will see in chapters 17–18, Babylon, with its political momentum and economic security, has the power to lull us to sleep spiritually.
Jesus intrudes to shock us out of our slumber and warn us that his return will be sudden and unexpected.
Most interestingly, in this third of seven beatitudes in Revelation, Jesus blesses the individual (“the one”) who stays awake and remains clothed.
“the great eschatological battle turns out to be an individual spiritual battle.”
In Jesus’s words, he warns his followers to stay alert and remain watchful (e.g., Matt.
24:4, 42, 44; 25:13).
In the parables that conclude the discourse in the Gospel of Matthew, he defines watchfulness as faithfulness.
To stay alert means to stay focused on doing what God has told us to do.
This Revelation passage offers a prime opportunity to help people discern what is most important when applying prophetic-portions of Scripture.
2. How people respond to judgment reveals the condition of their hearts.
Although these judgments are brought against unbelievers, we can still learn from their negative example about how not to respond to spiritual discipline.
At the end of the trumpet judgments people refuse to repent, and at the conclusion to the bowls they curse God three times.
The ungodly respond to judgment not by humbling themselves, changing their ways, and crying out for mercy but by blaming, even cursing, God.
Although the beast cannot sever the bond between God and His child—even when we curse, we have God’s name on our lips—satan can so warp the child that it hates the Father.”
The way a person responds to perceived discipline reveals the condition of their heart.
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