7 Bowls of Wrath (Rev. 16)
Call to Hear
Well good morning everybody! Today we are in the book of Revelation chapter 16 and we are looking at what John refers to as “the bowls of the wrath of God” (16:1).
In our previous chapter of Revelation we were introduced to the complete wrath of God as John described what he witnessed in heaven. There were three things that John made note of in chapter 15. 1) He saw the wrath of God in its fullness. 2) Almost as an interruption to the scene of God’s wrath, John sees the faithful followers of the Lamb worshiping God. 3) Finally, swinging back to the theme of the total wrath of God, John sees God being glorified in His temple.
In this life, men and women, boys and girls have taken it upon themselves, influenced by the spirit of Lucifer, to exalt humanity above the throne of God (Isa. 14:14). But God says in Isaiah 42:8,
Isaiah 42:8 NKJV
I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
Sooner or later God will be glorified even if He must beat it out of us.
I know that sounds harsh and that is exactly why sermons like these don’t get a lot of attention these days. It doesn’t make us feel good. It upsets our view of a meek and mild God who isn’t concerned with our character. A God who doesn’t make much of our sinful condition. We generally tend to view ourselves as basically good people, kind of like Azeem’s taxi driver who believed that he would pay for his sin for a little while and then go to heaven because wasn’t that bad of a person. We don’t usually like to be held accountable for our deeds. Oh, we have no problem holding others accountable, but we want grace applied to our sins.
Well, today we are going to find out what these “last plagues” of the fullness of God’s wrath will be. As always, if you have surrendered to the love and grace of Jesus Christ, placing the fullness of your faith and hope in Him, you have nothing to fear. Suffering may endure for a little while, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).
Martin Luther, once a critic of the book of Revelation, claiming that he couldn’t tolerate the book because he could not see Jesus in it, later changes his position and offers us these words of encouragement,
“If only the word of the gospel remains pure among us, and we love and cherish it, we shall not doubt that Christ is with us, even when things are at their worst. As we see here in this book [of Revelation], that through and beyond all plagues, beasts, and evil angels Christ is nonetheless with his saints, and wins the final victory” (LW 35:411).[i]
Prayer
A Loud Voice
(Rev. 16:1)
Revelation 16:1 NKJV
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”
Now, as we look at this first verse, we have to ask ourselves a question, “Whose voice is speaking to the angels?” Well, if you go back to Revelation 15:8, we’ve already been told that after the glory of God filled the temple “no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.” I’m convinced that this must be the sovereign voice of God giving instruction to the angels about the final plagues. Again, the word that is translated plagues comes from a Greek word meaning to hit, beat, flog or punish.[ii]
This is a very appropriate and justified response since Christ was treated the same way.
What we are seeing played out in this chapter is a fulfilling of what was spoken in chapter 14. In Revelation 14, John saw three angels. The first angel carried the everlasting Gospel which it preached to those who dwell on the earth telling them to fear God, give Him glory and worship Him (vv6-7). At that particular point there was still opportunity for salvation. The grace of God was still being extending to those wicked and rebellious unbelievers. Even now, the grace of God is available for you. Anyone who would believe the message of the Gospel of Jesus’ love and grace will be saved and their sins completely forgiven.
The second angel followed and declared the downfall of Babylon as a consequence for her making the nations drink the wine of her fornication (v8; Rev. 17:2). Later, in Rev. 16:19, we will see the retribution of God as He causes Babylon to drink the cup of the fierceness of His wrath.
Finally, a third angel came on the scene and declared that anyone having the mark of the beast, anyone who worships him, they will be made to drink “the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation” (Rev. 14:10).
Zechariah 14:12 (NKJV)
And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
In this chapter (16) we are going to see what the “full strength” of God’s wrath and indignation looks like.
Bowls 1-4
(Rev. 16:2-9)
Let’s begin with the first four bowls of this revelation.
Revelation 16:2–9 (NKJV)
So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”
And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.
And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
Again, Chuck Swindoll points out that these judgments will come “...with sudden impact - swift, severe, destructive, and fierce.”[iii]
If you listen closely, you can hear a reminiscent sound from the plagues that befell Egypt and those of the trumpet judgments. However, unlike the trumpet judgments, which were partial in nature, the bowls that will be poured out in the last days will be in full. Before now we had fractions of death as a result of God’s judgement, but here we are dealing with the whole number.
A couple things grab my attention even more than the judgments themselves. The first is the response from the angel of the waters and the voice coming from the altar. Listen again,
The New King James Version (Chapter 16)
And I heard the angel of the waters saying:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
The One who is and who was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
For it is their just due.”
7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
What we can learn from these pronouncements is that God is indeed justified in His punishing of the wicked. Listen to Gal. 6:7-8,
Galatians 6:7–8 (NKJV)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
So the angel declares, because they shed blood, they will drink blood. Because they have destroyed, they will also be destroyed. Because they have caused terror, they will be terrorized. Because they have shown no mercy, they will receive no mercy.
According to Daniel Akins,
“The Apocalypse is fully in agreement: God is never arbitrary, capricious, or vengeful in His judgment. He is always fair, just, and true. His is the only bar of perfect justice. There is a logic and rightness in His judgment. We glorify Him in His righteous wrath.”[iv]
The 8th amendment of the US Constitution states that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”.[v] That last part is a phrase we are somewhat familiar with. This amendment has generally been interpreted to mean that the punishment must fit the crime. You can’t give the death penalty to someone who only stills a bag of rice. However, this is not always how things work out in our judicial system. On the other hand, when God reins down judgement in the last days it will be “...an entirely reasonable and willed response to offenses against His holiness”.[vi]
Listen to me, you may choose to live your life without relying on the grace and mercy of God today, but you must also know that it will be without mercy and grace that you will stand before Him in judgement. God will hand you over to the reprobate life of your own choosing and watch you go down with the ship. But if you have thrown yourself on the mercy of the court, if you have trusted in the only sufficient payment for your sin debt, then you can take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ is the Anchor of your soul.
The second thing that grabs my attention in the first four bowls is the response from those who have rebelled against God. They are scorched with an unbearable heat and instead of repenting and asking God for mercy, they blaspheme the name of God. Now, you might be thinking to yourselves, “It would be pretty difficult to have an appreciation for God when He is causing people so much pain.” And I get it. But what about the many times when He showed mercy? What about the many times that God withheld His judgement? Rev. 9:20 tells us that those who were spared from the judgment of God still refused to repent of the works of their hands. They still didn’t repent of their murders or sorceries or sexual immorality or thefts. What reason then did they have to not surrender?
This is one of the most revealing chapters about the depth of human depravity. It confirms the words of Jeremiah and Noah. Jeremiah 17:9 ““The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked...” Genesis 6:5 “...every intent of the thoughts of [man’s] heart [is] only evil continually.” Notice that in the last days, there are no atheists. There are no agnostics. Although they do acknowledge God as the source of their suffering, they still do not surrender to Him. Before we wag our fingers at these apocalyptic rebels, we must remember that they will hear the exact same words that you are listening to today and yet, they will resist the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. But please, let me remind you of the words of the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 55:6–7 (NKJV)
Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Bowls 5-7
(Rev. 16:10-21)
Now let’s move on to the final three bowls.
Revelation 16:10–11 (NKJV)
Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
The darkness mentioned in the fifth bowl is similar to the darkness of the 9th plague of Exod. 10:21–23. With the OT being a shadow of things to come and an example for us to learn from, we see that while the unbelievers of Egypt suffered in darkness, the people of God were safe in the light. The fifth bowl is also, somewhat similar to the 5th Trumpet judgment (Rev. 9:1-6), but considerably more pronounced.
Again, as was mentioned with the fourth plague, three times ( Rev. 16:9,11,21) we are told that “men blasphemed the Name of God” and refused to repent and the reason for their blasphemes and stubbornness is their pain. How often do we allow our suffering in this life to cause us to reject God instead of run to Him? For many unbelievers today, this is one of the main objections to trusting in God. He allows suffering to happen. Instead of yielding to Him they yell at Him and accuse Him of being unfair, unloving and unjust. For the people of God though, suffering is an opportunity to testify about our God. Suffering aligns us with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 4:13 (NKJV)
but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
We have watched Mike & Ann Brown suffer while trusting in the Lord and our faith has increased. We’ve watched Karen Douglas suffer while trusting in the Lord and we have been encouraged. Melissa Huffman, confident in the Lord, causing us to hope in Him more.
Again, St. Silouan the Athonite, says that
“Suffering is thus seen as an unavoidable outcome of the believer’s fervent desire for the life in Christ. It is the condition without which there can be no participation in His life and hence no entry into His kingdom of love.”[vii]
The Believer’s suffering in Christ and for Christ is not like the suffering of these rebels in the last days. We have hope!
When bowl number six is poured out, the great river Euphrates is dried up to make way for the kings of the east. According to an article in the Smithsonian Magazine,
“Edgar J. Banks, an American diplomat and archaeologist, writing of ancient Babylon in 1913, noted that “great canals, as large as rivers, ran parallel with the Tigris and Euphrates, and scores of others intersected the valley, connecting the two streams. There was scarcely a corner of the entire country,” he continued, “which was not well watered; and more than that, the canals served as waterways for the transportation of the crops.” These days, though, there’s barely enough water to float a canoe.”[viii]
This great river will one day become a highway for the kings of the east who may think that they are gathering to do battle against earthly kingdoms (Ezek 38–39; Zech 14), when actually, they are unknowingly being summoned by God because He has waged war against them.[ix]
Listen to Revelation 19:17-21.
Revelation 19:17–21 (NKJV)
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,
that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The One who sat on the horse is Christ Himself. Now, we haven’t heard Jesus speak directly since His last letter to the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans in chapter three. But now, in Rev. 16:15 He speaks a familiar word of warning.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief.
This is the same word of warning Jesus spoke to the dead church in Sardis.
Revelation 3:3 (NKJV)
Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Joseph Exell shows how this highlights
“‘the goodness and the severity of God’ (Rom. 11:22): first, His goodness is show[n] in that He will give warning in all dangers; but here is His severity also: when warning will not be taken, then He comes with judgment.” [x]
This reminds me of a story I heard.
A pastor and deacon were on the side of the road holding up a sign that read, “The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it’s too late!” As they held up the sign car after car passed by without acknowledging them. Eventually, one driver came speeding by and yelled at them, “Leave us alone you Jesus freaks!” And then, from around the curve the pastor and deacon heard a big splash. The deacon then turns to the pastor and says, “Do you think we should just put up a sign that says ‘bridge is out’ instead?”
My friends, the grace and goodness of God is within your grasp this morning. Jesus has taken your place in judgment. He has drained the cup of the fierceness of the wrath of God on your behalf. According to Romans 5:1 we have been justified by faith and we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. That means that we are no longer in a losing war against God. Take heed to the warning of the Lord and save your life. Purchase from Him what cannot perish, rust nor rot. Cloth yourselves with the white and righteous garments that only His blood can cleanse. “Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15; Rev. 3:17-18).
The final bowl, bowl number seven, closes out this chapter with a period.
Revelation 16:17–21 (NKJV)
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
“Geography is not the major concern. Wherever it takes place, Armageddon is symbolic of the final overthrow of all the forces of evil by the might and power of God. The great conflict between God and Satan, Christ and antichrist, good and evil, that lies behind the perplexing course of history will in the end issue in a final struggle in which God will emerge victorious and take with him all who have placed their faith in him. This is Har-Magedon.”[xi]
Once the angel pours the seventh plague into the air, on the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit which is at work in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), a voice from within the temple and from the throne of God declares, “It is done!” (v17). We will hear these words again at the end of this Revelation in Rev. 21:6 once Christ has made “all things new” (v5). We’ve heard a similar declaration at Calvary where Jesus said, “It is finished!” (Jn. 19:30). At Calvary, He had done all that would accomplish our salvation (1 Jn. 2:2). He finished the work of putting an end to the deeds of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8). He had fully and sufficiently secured a place in His Father’s kingdom for those who had placed their hope in Him (Jn. 14:3-10). No other sacrifice would be needed. Jesus paid it all (Rom. 6:10-11)!
Call to Respond
Let me close by again, reminding us of the words of Martin Luther,
“If only the word of the gospel remains pure among us, and we love and cherish it, we shall not doubt that Christ is with us, even when things are at their worst. As we see here in this book [of Revelation], that through and beyond all plagues, beasts, and evil angels Christ is nonetheless with his saints, and wins the final victory” (LW 35:411).[xii]
And remember this as well, the same words you heard today, the same warning and encouragement that went forth from this podium will be given to those who come after us, some will trust in the Lord, even as they suffer in this life, and others will double down on their stubbornness. You may claim to be atheist or agnostic today. You may see no need for surrendering your life to Jesus now, but the day will come when there will be no such thing as an atheist or agnostic or unbeliever because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess to the glory of God that Jesus Christ is Lord!
The altar is open. If you hear the voice of God calling you into a relationship with Him today, please come.
If you would like for us to pray with you or if you would like to make BCC your church family, please come.
WORKS CITED
[i] Quotes from Luther come from Luther’s Works: Word and Sacrament, vol. 35, edited by E. Theodore Bachmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1960.
[ii] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). 4435 πληγή (plēgē), ῆς (ēs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 4487, 4804; Str 4127—1. LN 19.1 hitting, beating, flogging for punishment (Lk 12:48); 2. LN 20.29 wound, the result of a beating (Ac 16:33); 3. LN 23.158 plague, a pandemic disease (Rev 11:6); 4. LN 22.13 distress, great suffering (Rev 9:18; 18:4).
[iii] Swindoll, Revelation, p223
[iv] (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 256).
[v] Congress.gov
[vi] From D.A. Carson, “God’s Love and God’s Wrath,” Bibliotheca Sacra 156 (1999): 388–390).
[vii] Dr. Harry Boosalis, The Orthodox Spiritual Life According to St. Silouan the Athonite, p86.
[viii] Joshua Hammer, What Does the Future of the Euphrates Spell for the Middle East? | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com)
[ix] Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 257.
[x] Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: Revelation (London: James Nisbet & Co., n.d.), 520.
[xi] Robert Mounce, Revelation, p302
[xii] Quotes from Luther come from Luther’s Works: Word and Sacrament, vol. 35, edited by E. Theodore Bachmann. Philadelphia: Muhlenberg, 1960.
