Revelation 16 |
|
==revelation 16:1-6:
|
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.”
2 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. 3 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. 4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 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.” |
God brings a judgement of blood upon those who had shed the blood of His people through the ages. He is jealous over His people and will take revenge on those who treated them so cruelly in the world. And we see too that His wrath eventually affects everyone who despised His glory and built their own worldly kingdoms of sin. (vs 8-11)
What would readers in John's day have thought about these things? I think it would've been a huge encouragement to them to know that God was well aware of the suffering they were going through, and that He would repay His enemies (and theirs) as they deserved. Earlier in Revelation we read of the souls of those who'd been slaughtered for the word of God, and for the witness they had borne, crying out to God: “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10) They were told to “rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers was complete, who were yet to be killed as they themselves had been.”(Revelation 6:11)-Bethel Church Ripon O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. The dead bodies of Your servants they have given as food for the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those who are around us. How long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. (Ps. 79:1-7)
|
This is the famed chapter of the bowls; and what we have here is a "free adaptation, with modifications and amplifications,"(F1) of the series of trumpet judgments depicted in Revelation 8 and Revelation 9, which "the prophet wishes to emphasize by recapitulation."(F2) "These bowls are final but not complete."(F3) God's saints are not harmed by them. What they represent is the total corruption of earth's environment, not the physical environment which is here used as a symbol, but the moral, intellectual, religious, and spiritual environment. This perversion of the moral and cultural world of mankind will be the final culmination of evil upon the earth, presenting the true saints of God with their final and most effective challenge. -Coffmans Commentary on the Bible
==revelation 16:7-9:
|
7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 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. |
Yet another example of science taking the lead where the evangelicals have dropped the ball is on the topic of global warming.
Once again, it is worthy of note that it is the scientific community, not the evangelical community, that has been warning humanity for nearly 50 years that the earth is getting warmer, which will cause an increase in natural disasters. Both the Bible and scientists are warning the heat will increase, not decrease, in the years ahead. Scientists recently released a new “red alert” warning that the temperature of the atmosphere, land, and oceans is increasing at an alarming rate. So too, the Bible warns that the heat of the sun will increase dramatically in the last days so that it will “scorch” mankind with “intense heat.” (Revelation 16:8-9) The Bible says the world is going to get warm as God delivers his judgment upon the world. Science says the earth is getting warm and that extreme heat is a future threat to mankind’s existence. And yet ironically, it is the evangelical Christian who finds himself opposed to the prophecies found in his own Bible regarding the extreme heat that is coming to the earth. When Christians reject the words and warnings found within their own Bible in order to maintain a rigid allegiance to a particular political or economic worldview, what is left for God to do but cause the rocks to cry out? |
Theologically, Revelation 16 emphasizes the righteousness and inevitability of God's judgment. The transformation of waters into blood, reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt, not only signifies the judgment upon those who have shed the blood of saints and prophets but also serves as a stark reminder of the sanctity of life and the gravity of sin (Revelation 16:5-6). The refusal of humanity to repent despite the severity of the judgments highlights the depth of human rebellion and the hardness of the human heart (Revelation 16:9, 16:11). -Scripture Insight
==revelation 16:7-9:
Revelation 16:10-21:
10 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.
11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
17 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!”
18 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.
19 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.
20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 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.
10 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.
11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
17 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!”
18 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.
19 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.
20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 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.