We've learned by now that some people repent during / after the cycles of judgements in the book of rev, but some dont. We saw in the last episode a grain harvest (thats good, those are believers), and a grape harvest (that's bad, those are the people that lived intoxicated by evil and are now receiving what they previously dished out). All this has emphasized the choice each of us has to make - follow Jesus even though we may be oppressed or persecuted for it in this life, or go along with the beast system which ultimately leads to spiritual death.
Now In the next section, rev 15-16 We're starting off with a victory song (which some teachers place into the previous section of visions, but I've placed it in the new section bc the bowls get mentioned in verse 1, so the new topic has begun). Then we'll see the third cycle of judgements (out if three) - the bowl judgements. A final cycle of seven divine judgements in the book.
Seven Angels With Seven Plagues
15 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. 2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God 3 and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb:
“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.[a]
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Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”[b]
5 After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. 6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were;
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for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
BREAKDOWN:
15:1 saw another Sign in Heaven, huge and breathtaking: seven Angels with seven disasters. These are the final disasters, the wrap-up of God’s wrath.
We're gonna see that these disasters seem even more global than the previous cycles. So while the bowl judgements are a recapitulation of previously read judgements, there's also a final ramp up here. Bible teacher Doug Van Dorn says Revelation is like a spiral staircase; you keep getting a higher vantage point on the same topics.
2-4 I saw something like a sea made of glass, the glass all shot through with fire. Carrying harps of God, triumphant over the Beast, its image, and the number of its name, the saved ones stood on the sea of glass. They sang the Song of Moses, servant of God; they sang the Song of the Lamb:
Mighty your acts and marvelous, O God, the Sovereign-Strong! Righteous your ways and true, King of the nations! Who can fail to fear you, God, give glory to your Name? Because you and you only are holy, all nations will come and worship you, because they see your judgments are right.
The Song of Moses is from the story of the Exodus - a victory song when the plagues hit the enemy of God's people. Same thing here with the song of the Lamb - it's a victory song when these final judgements hit the Beast and his minions on the earth. What they're celebrating is: we believers will have ultimate and complete victory over satan (bc of what Jesus has done).
So this is the imagery we're seeing - the Lamb's army standing on the sea of glass that's got fire going through it at the moment, worshipping and praising God for victory and deliverance and declaring that He's the best.
Why is there a sea of glass and why does it have fire going through it?
I read several comments on this: one was a reminder that this might be the firmament from Ezekiel 1 that separates earth space from heaven space, and that signifies God's authority bc He's above it.
Another was a comment about how the sea is often a metaphor for chaos but the sea in heaven is still, calm, at peace - that's why it's smooth as glass.
And finally, the fire might be the sea beast's last, dragony thrashing about as he's defeated by the King of Heaven.
5-8 Then I saw the doors of the Temple, the Tent of Witness in Heaven, open wide. The Seven Angels carrying the seven disasters (plagues) came out of the Temple. They were dressed in clean, bright linen and wore gold vests. One of the Four Animals handed the Seven Angels seven gold bowls, brimming with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Smoke from God’s glory and power poured out of the Temple. No one was permitted to enter the Temple until the seven disasters of the Seven Angels were finished.
Remember, the ark of the covenant which held God's presence used to reside physically in the tabernacle. And the angels here are wearing outfits like the priests used to wear in the tabernacle. The smoke is God's presence. So if the reader of Rev is unfamiliar with Exodus they're gonna miss a lot of detail here.
Why is John harkening back to exodus? bc what happened in part in exodus is now happening in an even more complete way in Rev! Deliverance - being set free from oppression. God SAVING his people and bringing Him to the promised land.
the bowls are libation bowls - specific bowls used in rituals by the priests in the temple (libation bowls are mentioned 12 times in revelation!). they're being used here (as in every instance) to do God's will, which at this moment is: pour out wrath.
16:1 I heard a shout of command from the Temple to the Seven Angels: “Begin! Pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on earth!”
Another reiteration of the "it's time" moment; there's a God-appointed time, Nd when it happens the command comes from God in His temple to His servant angels and they will carry it out.
2 The first Angel stepped up and poured his bowl out on earth: Loathsome, stinking sores erupted on all who had taken the mark of the Beast and worshiped its image.
We're going to see in these plagues, especially the first 5 of the seven, that they're very much like the plagues of egypt back in the day, similar to previous judgement cycles in rev.
3 The second Angel poured his bowl on the sea: The sea coagulated into blood, and everything in it died.
That's the second plague. And it's a lot like the second trumpet. Cause both of them are based on Exodus 7.
The nile was the body of water God turned to blood in Exodus, and some people say it was a sign to the god of the nile, that He's the real God - cause many theologians map individual deities on to each plague like that, saying it was a sort of show of higher power.
So then in Revelation, we're to see this plague as a harbinger of God's ultimate and final wrath and judgement against sin.
4-7 The third Angel poured his bowl on rivers and springs: The waters turned to blood. I heard the Angel of Waters say,
Righteous you are, and your judgments are righteous, The Is, The Was, The Holy. They poured out the blood of saints and prophets so you’ve given them blood to drink— they’ve gotten what they deserve!
Just then I heard the Altar chime in,
Yes, O God, the Sovereign-Strong! Your judgments are true and just!
The third plague also has to do with blood.
I also just want to throw in there that blood is involved in a lot of sin. From all of the enemy's attempts to try and mess with human bloodlines to the bloodshed of violence and oppression. So this is a statement from the Righteous Judge that the beast system is going to lose its source of life supply, they're done. they're cooked.
Notice the measured justice - the fairness of the judgements is now being explicitly explained by the angel of waters. He says "they got what they deserve" bc of their actions against the saints.
In Psalm 79:10 the psalmist asks for this plague to come against Babylon, bc of what they did to the Jewish people. Now the spiritual chaos agent behind Babylon and Rome and every other oppressive empire is getting what's been coming to them.
8-9 The fourth Angel poured his bowl on the sun: Fire blazed from the sun and scorched men and women. Burned and blistered, they cursed God’s Name, the God behind these disasters. They refused to repent, refused to honor God.
The fourth plague is fire, maybe a sun flare situation?, and people are burned. But we see again this familiar theme of refusal to repent.
So, you may be wondering, is everyone getting burned, or only those who have the beast mark?? I thought this judgement was for those who follow the beast, but this sun flare thing would effect everyone!
That's why a lot of the commentators take the less literal stance when reading these judgements; they say John is probably just communicating the totality of every unbeliever experiencing judgement, not necessarily a literal weather catastrophe. IDK.
10-11 The fifth Angel poured his bowl on the throne of the Beast: Its kingdom fell into sudden eclipse. Mad with pain, men and women bit and chewed their tongues, cursed the God-of-Heaven for their torment and sores, and refused to repent and change their ways.
The fifth plague is sorta the opposite of the fourth - that sometimes happens when people pronounce curses like they did. Like "oh they dont want the sun ok"
When I read the description of the people in agony still refusing to admit their sin brought it on... I've known people like that. They love some particular sin so much (maybe it's self-preservation or victim mentality or pride or lust or perversion or greed or power or status or fame or being skinny or lying or gossiping or taking offense or alcohol or food or drugs or toxic relationships) that no level of torment or consequence or warning or suffering can get them to loosen their grip on it.
Just repent. That's all God's trying to get you to do is stop dancing with the devil that despises you.
12 The sixth Angel poured his bowl on the great Euphrates River: It dried up to nothing. The dry riverbed became a fine roadbed for the kings from the East.
The Euphrates used to block enemy armies. The idea is: Now the land is vulnerable to even more war.
13-14 From the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet I saw three foul demons crawl out—they looked like frogs. These are demon spirits performing signs. They’re after the kings of the whole world to get them gathered for battle on the Great Day of God, the Sovereign-Strong.
the dragon and the beast and the false prophet (aka the unholy trinity) gather the nations to make war against the saints.
And frog like demons (another nod to the plagues of egypt) come from their mouths and are able to do demonic miracles. This is in order to win people over to the beast army.
v 15 is in quotes: “Keep watch! I come unannounced, like a thief. You’re blessed if, awake and dressed, you’re ready for me. Too bad if you’re found running through the streets, naked and ashamed.”
Who's talking in this quote? It's Jesus. 1 Thes 5 teaches us that Jesus will return in the same manner as a thief in the night, meaning unexpected. It'll be at a surprise time, so we have to stay ready.
The blessing is in the expectant hopeful waiting - we stay ready cause we're confident our King is on the move.
16 The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.
Tim Mackey teaches that this Armageddon is the plane in israel where a lot of historic battles were fought. Other teachers say it's better understood as Har-Magedon which is more about a mountain - in fact Mt Zion probably.
Remember in my episode with Dr Adam Ayers I asked him about this and he said, this is about the valley of jezreel, which is the valley every army had to travel through. kinda at the foot of mt carmel.
Megiddo means "slaughter" - and the valley of megiddo was the valley of jezreel. a place that people associate with destruction. So in revelation, John might be talking about the place megiddo but he could also be talking more about the concept of megiddo.
John interestingly writes Har-Magedon which is Hebrew and it means Mountain of Megiddo. It's an interesting thing for John to write bc the place was geographically actually a valley not a mt. there's a close mt nearby but it has a name - Carmel.
That's why some scholars conclude that John is indeed referring to Mt Carmel here. They point out that Elijah's competition with the prophets of Baal happened there, which was all about YHWH winning and displaying power. Or that Josiah, God's king, lost his life right there.
Other scholars disagree with that and say it's a comb of Hebrew words that harken to a common prophecy: sheaves of gathered wheat (עָמַר aw-mar') in a valley (גַּיְא gah'-ee) for threshing or judgement (דִּין deen) - or in greek ΑΡΜΑΓΕΔΩΝ - Armageddon. Those scholars dont think it's a reference to a Mt at all. Joel chapter 3 is one example of scriptural support for this argument.
Heiser (who does think the first word is Mt) says this: "ultimately, we have a much greater amount of clarity if we take Armageddon not as a conflict over Megiddo sometime during the “great tribulation,” maybe or maybe not Armageddon... Throw all that out. If you understand Armageddon as a war for Jerusalem, because it’s the Hebrew tongue har magedon, har mo-ed (the mount of assembly, the place where God dwells and where God’s council is)... This is Zion. This is Zion theology from the Old Testament back and forth and three times over. If you understand it that way, then you can see how some of these things repeat. ... all of this is building to the climax for Zion. It’s a war between supernatural forces and human forces for God’s holy city, for Zion, for Jerusalem. That is what the book leads to—this conflict." - Heiser
So that's the discussion on the term Armageddon. It's more than just a box office hit from 1998.
I also want to mention that the Revelator is using a lot of imagery from Ezekiel. where Ezekiel describes rebellious nations as Gog - another Babylon type avatar. And yes it's just a coincidence that Gog rhymes with frog... or is it...
Some people think this battle is an actual future battle that's going to happen, others say it's a metaphor for God's final judgement coming forth.
17-21 The seventh Angel poured his bowl into the air: From the Throne in the Temple came a shout, “Done!” followed by lightning flashes and shouts, thunder crashes and a colossal earthquake—a huge and devastating earthquake, never an earthquake like it since time began. The Great City split three ways, the cities of the nations toppled to ruin. Great Babylon had to drink the wine of God’s raging anger—God remembered to give her the cup! Every island fled and not a mountain was to be found. Hailstones weighing close to a hundred pounds plummeted, crushing and smashing men and women as they cursed God for the hail, the epic disaster of hail.
So here is the Day of The Lord. (some listeners might say, i thought the day of the Lord already happened last episode? yep it did. that's of course an example of how Rev is not linear, it's cyclical. many scholars feel that this Day of the Lord judgement in chapter 16 is actually the fourth time the Day of the Lord final judgement happens in the text.)
People are cursing God indicating they know exactly where this stuff is coming from, implying that they understand He's the most powerful and sovereign. But do they submit or repent - largely no.
Have you ever watched the body cam footage of a drunk person getting pulled over, and they just keep ignoring commands and arguing and escalating, and you're like, this isn't going to go well for them. They're not thinking rationally, they don't know when enough is enough. At some point it's just belligerent and defiant, and that's the choice they're making. (side note i'm sure those specific instances are the ones released by police depts to garner a more favorable opinion from the general public. Just saying that in case i sounded too conservative for a moment bringing in a police example).
The 7th bowl is the final judgement: biggest earthquake in the history of earth, and hail.
It says the islands run away from the mountains - this personification seems like it's potentially the most poetic and non literal of them all in this chapter, like the blood up to the horses bridles in the last. many readers think the things like this are genre fitting hyperbole and extreme imagery. other readers hold more space for, God can do all this to the earth for real if He wants.
Either way, The takeaway after this is: evil has now been defeated among the nations for good!