Lesson 21 Revelation 15 16:9 The Seven Bowls of Wrath

Lesson 21 Revelation 15 16:9 The Seven Bowls of Wrath

Lessons for Today There comes a point at which God s longsuffering reaches its limit. These had failed to repent before that happened. Do we try God s longsuffering? Is there sin that we continue in, and expect Him to continue to be patient with us?

The Seven Angels 15:1 Another sign in heaven Seven angels with the seven last plagues Why are these the last? Because the wrath of God will be completed by these His wrath has reached its full measure Plagues will be the final judgment on the beast and his followers There will be no more warnings

Victorious Saints 15:2 4 The glass sea Unique in that it is of glass and not water Further, it is mingled with fire Victorious saints Standing on this sea are those who have the victory over the beast Does this mean they killed the beast or defeated him? No. They prevailed in their spiritual conquest over him. Glass sea transcendence of God; the differential between creature and Creator Now, redeemed saints are able to approach the throne on this sea Mingled with fire several possible interpretations Best seems to be the fiery trials these had endured; that which they have come through to be in this place now (1 Pet. 1:6 7)

Victorious Saints 15:2 4 Harps Given harps that they may now give themselves entirely to praising God See harps several places (5:8; 14:2; 15:2) all symbolizing the great, swelling music of praise to God The song of Moses and the Lamb. Why the song of Moses? (Ex. 15:1 2) When people are happy what do they do? Often, they sing songs. That is the case here. It is the song of both Moses and the Lamb because the victory here was foreshadowed in Moses. What are they singing about? Praising God for His mighty works; giving Him honor for His justice and truth; calling on everyone to glorify His name; recognizing his holiness; praise for the fact that all nations will come to worship Him as His judgments are made known The time will come when, indeed, all nations bow before God (Phil. 2:10 11)

Seven Angels Come Forth vv. 5 8 From where do they come? The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven An allusion to the holy of holies in the tabernacle of old; where the ark was kept and the law or testimony was held within Implies that these angels are direct messengers of God; He is issuing them forth with judgments against those who have rejected the testimony Describe their appearance Clothed with pure, bright linen Girded with golden bands Indicative of high rank and holiness

Seven Angels Come Forth vv. 5 8 Bowls of wrath One of the living creatures then gives them each a golden bowl full of the wrath of God Divine judgments are expressions of God s righteous wrath at the wickedness of the beast and his followers (14:9 11) This will be the third group of seven images Smoke filled temple As the scene closes, temple filled with smoke from God s glory; reminiscent of God in the cloud descended on the tabernacle Divine majesty is symbolized God s presence is there and no one can enter until the plagues are carried out; everything ceases until that time is fulfilled No one receiving judgment will be able to enter the time for repentance has passed; God s longsuffering has reached its limit

First Bowl of Wrath 16:1 2 As Richard Lenski points out: The seven seals revealed The seven trumpets warned The seven bowls execute Judgment against the agent of Satan is about to be revealed There can be no more complete judgment until the final judgment, which is not introduced until chapter 20. Rather than pertaining either to the end of time or to events just prior to the end, the scene in this chapter deals with God s judgment against the dragon, the beast, the earth beast, and their associates. (Homer Hailey) A voice from the throne instructs all seven angels to pour out the bowls on the earth The source of the voice is not identified

First Bowl of Wrath 16:1 2 Worth noting here that there were three underlying reasons that led to Rome s downfall: natural disasters, social decay, and external invasion We will see these symbolized in the bowls of wrath as we did in the trumpet warnings The first four bowls strike at nature, and thus, could symbolize the natural disasters that led to Rome s downfall Of course, this did not happen in a day; this played out over many years At the time of John s writing, there didn t appear to be any danger of Rome falling These are prophecies to be understood by John s readers

First Bowl of Wrath 16:1 2 First bowl strikes directly at men Unlike the first trumpet. How? It also struck the earth but affected men indirectly harmed the trees and grass, and only a third at that This plague affects all the men who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image, and it affects them directly a foul and loathsome sore First plague not likely something literal or even symbolic of a specific event or disaster A picture of God s wrath as His judgments would play out against Rome We can visualize the awesome terror of His judgments

Second Bowl of Wrath 16:3 What is affected by the second bowl of wrath? The sea became as blood Every living creature in it died How does this compare to the 2nd trumpet? There it affected only 1/3 of the sea and the creatures that was a warning This is a full judgment As we ve seen in several places, the sea often symbolized society or the people of the world This judgment strikes directly at that and turns it to blood Death of the sea creatures results this would impact the people as well food source

Third Bowl of Wrath 16:4 7 3rd trumpet 1/3 of these waters; now, all the waters affected Became blood cutting off all water supply certainly, a judgment that would strike hard at these who are being judged V. 5 this angel proclaims the justice of God Some may not understand God s justice and view such ideas as harsh This is the nature of God; entire O.T. teaches us this V. 6 shed the blood of the saints Receiving the justice due them; forced to drink blood A righteous vindication against the empire that was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus (17:6) V. 7 Voice from the altar (perhaps the angel of fire at that altar) God s judgments as true and righteous Works are true (genuine), and His righteous judgments are infallible

Fourth Bowl of Wrath 16:8 9 This bowl affects the sun as did the fourth trumpet How is this one different from that trumpet? The trumpet warning darkened 1/3 of the sun and the other terrestrial bodies This one causes the sun to bring punishing heat that scorches men with fire The sun, which is normally the source of light, intended to guide, warm and cheer, is turned into an instrument of pain The men are scorched, but still they remain resolute in their wickedness These are so hardened they now join the beast in blaspheming the name of God They did not repent nor give Him glory; they will not turn from their idolatry Isa. 47:13 15

Lessons for Today There comes a point at which God s longsuffering reaches its limit. These had failed to repent before that happened. Do we try God s longsuffering? Is there sin that we continue in, and expect Him to continue to be patient with us?

Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

Review Summarize first 12 chapters by giving a title for each chapter 1 Christ among the lampstands 2 3 Letters to the 7 churches 4 God on the throne 5 The Lamb takes the Scroll 6 The Opening of the First Six Seals 7 Interlude; sealing of the saints 8 9 First six trumpets sound 10 The Mighty Angel and the Little Book 11 Two Witnesses and the Seventh Trumpet 12 The Woman and the Dragon 13 The Sea Beast and the Earth Beast 14 The Redeemed and the Reaping of the Earth

Review Name the 7 churches Which two had only good said about them? Which one had only bad said about it? What phrase closed out all the letters? Who is around the throne in Chapter 4? What is the dilemma presented in chapter 5? What did the first four seals reveal?