PHIL HARRIS
Prelude
The book of Revelation is not the only place in Scripture where we learn about God’s wrath. Jesus, for example, told us that what happened to Sodom is a foreshadowing of what will happen when God’s final wrath is poured out upon this world:
Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:28-30).
We further learn that God’s wrath is already being poured out on ungodliness and unrighteousness. In fact, when He gives people up to their dishonorable passions, that very giving up is a manifestation of God’s wrath. So, we see the apostle Paul explaining this reality in Romans 1:18 where he warns us that God’s wrath is directed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness:
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error (Rom. 1:26-27).
As Christians we should reflect on Paul’s warning in the context of what is now happening in our own time. God’s wrath is already at work, but the day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like the days of Lot in Sodom when God destroyed them all.
Seven Angels with Seven Plagues
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished (Rev. 15:1).
Along with the events of Calvary, this is the most exciting announcement given in Scripture since the fall of mankind, because this appearance of the seven angels with the seven plagues marks the beginning of God’s promised end of all that is evil. John’s prophecy echoes Isaiah’s in Isaiah 13:
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger (Isa. 13:13).
Sea Of Glass Mingled With Fire
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands (Rev. 15:2).
In Revelation 4:6 where we were introduced to the “four living creatures”, we first read of the sea of glass like crystal that is before the throne of God. Here, as we read foreword to verses 3 and 4 of this chapter, it suggests that the “sea of glass mingled with fire” represents the righteousness of God combined with the fire of His wrath that is about to be poured out upon the earth.
In Revelation 6:9-11 the martyrs who have died at the hand of the Antichrist cry out to God; “How long before you will judge and avenge our blood”? In their jubilation they now sing two songs:
Songs of Moses and Of the Lamb
And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.
All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:3-4).
In Exodus 15, which records the first Song of Moses, we read of the joy of Israel when they had just escaped Pharaoh’s chariots at the crossing of the Red Sea. Now, in Revelation, Moses’ song is fully realized as the tribulation martyrs see that Jesus will accomplish the promised end of Satan and all that is evil.
Moses’ deliverance of Israel was the foreshadowing of Jesus’ final rescue of His people as He brings victory over their enemy. Psalm 22 also foreshadows Jesus’ victory His enemies, and the “new song” sung by the “four living creatures and the twenty-four elders” in Revelation 5:8-14 declares the Lamb’s worthiness because His blood has purchased men for God.
Golden Bowls Full of the Wrath of God
After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests (Rev. 15:5-6).
Clothed in the pure holiness and glory of God, seven angels of plague come out of the heavenly sanctuary.
And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished (Rev. 15:7-8).
One of the “four living creatures” gives out bowls filled with the wrath of God to the seven angels.
In Exodus chapter nineteen we learn that smoke symbolizes the presence God in his holiness, power and glory. In fact, the Israelites were stricken with fear when God’s glory and presence shrouded Mt. Sinai just before He gave the Ten Commandments. The giving of the Law came with physical manifestations of God’s wrath and glory, emphasizing the terms of the Mosaic covenant: blessings for obedience, and curses for disobedience. God’s wrath would deal with sin.
On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly (Ex. 19:16-18).
Later when Aaron built the golden calf, Israel saw God’s wrath again:
Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made (Ex. 32:35).
Now, in Revelation 15, we see that God’s wrath is about to be poured out on the unrepentant earth, and none in heaven could enter through the smoke into the sanctuary—meaning the throne of God—while the bowls of that wrath are being poured out. God’s holiness and justice and wrath are filling heaven as the bowls are emptied.
God’s Wrath Unleashed
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God” (Rev. 16:1).
Since none in heaven can enter the sanctuary, this likely is the loud voice of God speaking from his throne commanding the seven angels to pour out His final wrath. These seven bowl judgments of his wrath will occur in a very short period of time culminating with his “loud voice” saying; “It is done”!
- The First Bowl
So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image (Rev. 16:2).
Those who received the mark of the Antichrist and worship his image were warned in Revelation 14:9-11 that they “will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger”. They are given painful, putrid ulcers that, outside of the people’s repenting, have no cure.
- The Second Bowl
The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea (Rev. 16:3).
All the oceans of the world including all adjoining gulfs, bays, and harbors are turned into the likeness of the blood of a corpse, killing all that lived in the sea.
The irony of this plague is that Leviticus 17:10-12 teaches that “life is in the blood”, yet there is no life in blood that that is of a corpse:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life (Lev. 17:11).
The only blood that makes atonement for sin and gives us life is the sinless blood of the Lamb of God shed at Calvary, something that those who wear the mark of the Antichrist don’t have.
- The Third Bowl
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”
And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments” (Rev. 16:4-7)!
For those who have the mark of the Antichrist and thus have opposed the Savior and His body, the church, all the sources for fresh, drinkable water have been turned into actual blood. They are only getting what they deserve.
In Revelation 12:13-17 we learned that the “Woman” (all of Israel who have turned to Jesus as their promised Messiah) is safe from Satan’s attacks during the end times of the tribulation. As for the other saints, there is this promise of Jesus given to the woman at the well that has both a spiritual and literal meaning:
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 12:13-14)
Since those without water to drink can only live for a short time, it becomes clear that the bowl judgments of God’s wrath follow each other quickly in succession. Those who have the mark of the Antichrist will have no choice but to drink what is now blood, yet that will only add to their suffering.
The heavenly altar (Rev. 6:9-10 and 7:9-10) is where the martyrs who have been killed by the Antichrist are located. It is their collective voice that is heard. They clearly have an existence even though this is before their resurrection. Their presence and awareness shows that the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine commonly called “soul sleep” is nonsense. The deconstruction of Adventism’s physicalism also leads to the understanding that the Adventist Investigative Judgment/Sanctuary belief is also a false doctrine. All saints of God can know they are in God’s kingdom long before they appear at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
- The Fourth Bowl
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory (Rev. 16:8-9).
The scorching heat intensifies their suffering, yet they refuse to repent.
- The Fifth Bowl
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 anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds (Rev. 16:10-11).
The throne of the Antichrist along with those in his kingdom is the primary target of God’s wrath. Instead of repenting, the people who worship the Antichrist, in their anguish, curse God.
This plague reminds us also of the plague of darkness that God sent on Egypt prior to His release of the nation from their slavery to Pharaoh. Exodus 10: 23 says this:
They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived (Exodus 10:23).
However God is not willing that any should perish:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed (2 Peter 3:9-10).
God’s discipline and judgment is always for His glory and for the revelation of His sovereign power. This plague of darkness shrouding the unrepentant should remind us of the time when Jonah announced, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). The king of Nineveh and all the people did repent so:
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. (Jonah 3:10).
Even at this terrible time of the tribulation it is possible to repent because salvation is centered solely on the will and power of God. Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil of darkness covering their hearts is removed, and that person can see the glory of the face of Christ and believe in Him (see 2 Corinthians 3:12–18). We can rest in the words of Jesus:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).
Armageddon
- The Sixth Bowl
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 (Rev. 16:12).
While the pouring out of this bowl doesn’t overtly display God’s wrath, it is a strategic deadly military trap for the kings of the east in the same way that the parting of the Red Sea led to the destruction of Pharaoh and his army.
And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty (Rev. 16:13-14).
Three frogs rise up apparently out of the dried up mud of the Euphrates river. These frogs portray Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, an unholy trinity. Their purpose is to induce the kings of the of the east along with those of the rest of world to assemble in one place for a final attack against God. If this event is the same as was mentioned in Rev. 14:17-20, then their plan is to attack God outside the city of Jerusalem.
(“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed”) (Rev. 16:15)!
At this point, the Lamb Jesus Christ, the one giving this vision to John, interjects a reminder that when he returns, it will be “like a thief”. Therefore, God’s people are to stay awake and “keep your garments” on. This admonition contrasts with what happened when Adam and Eve sinned: they suddenly knew they were naked. Therefore God covered them with animal skins signifying that the nakedness of sin can only be covered through the shedding of sinless blood—and the sinner can only be clothed by our holy God Himself.
The prophet Isaiah also shares how our nakedness is covered:
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isa. 61:10).
At the pouring out of the sixth bowl of God’s wrath, the Lamb of God is saying to the remaining saints not to fear this gathering of the nations. Instead, they are to know they are covered with His righteousness and salvation.
And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon (Rev. 16:16).
The remains of the ancient city of Megiddo is now a ‘tel’ (archaeological mound} known as Tel Megiddo located in an open plain a little over eighteen miles southeast of the modern coastal city of Haifa. Many battles have been fought at this location, as it is an ancient natural trade route that intersects from all directions.
At the time these armies of the kings convene, the troops are not in good enough physical condition to be attacking anyone, much less God in His wrath. All are suffering with ulcerous sores, lack of good drinking water, and scorching heat from the sun. Before they can launch their attack, however, the seventh bowl of God’s wrath is poured out upon them.
- The Seventh Bowl
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe (Rev. 16:17-21).
As the seventh bowl is poured out upon the earth, a loud voice of God Most High comes from the throne in heaven saying, “It is done”. This declaration has the same meaning as when Jesus said; “It is finished” at Calvary. At Calvary, Satan, death, and sin were defeated and reckoned finished. God’s judgment against sin and evil was completely atoned for by Jesus’ blood all who would believe. That moment of atonement looked forward to this time when Satan’s kingdom and rule on earth does come to a literal, physical end. Compare this final moment with Jesus’ final moments of life on the cross:
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit (John 19:28-30).
Through the unlimited power of God there is world-wide lightning, thunder, and rumblings caused by a world-wide earthquake. The description of “every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found” evokes a reversal of what happened when God destroyed the earth in the time of Noah. As this cataclysm transpires, all the cities of the world are leveled. In his fury God remembers Babylon, which is addressed in the next two chapters of Revelation.
We learn from the prophet Zechariah that “the great city” is Jerusalem—the city which all the nations of the world intend to attack:
Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. (Zech. 14:1-3)
In Zechariah 14:9 we learn that the LORD will be king over all the earth. The Lord Jesus will defeat the enemies who gather to destroy His great city.
The seventh plague ends with great hail stones falling on the people who curse God, bringing an end to the armies of the world and their intended attack on Jerusalem.
Summary
- In chapters 14, 15 and 16 of Revelation we arrive at the termination of the rule of the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the Dragon.
- The singing of the song of Moses (Rev. 15:3 and Ex. 15) centers on the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, prefiguring both our escape from the bondage of sin and the sure hope of the final elimination of all that is evil.
- Our escape from the penalty of sin coupled with the hope of eternal life is centered on the death of Jesus at Calvary followed by his death and resurrection from the place of the dead three days later. Because of this victory over human sin and death, only Jesus the Lamb of God, we learn in Revelation, is worthy to open the scroll in heaven that has seven seals (Rev. 5:5).
- From the opening of the seals, to the blowing of the trumpets to the pouring out of God’s bowls of wrath, we see that the penally of not repenting of sin becomes increasingly severe. The wicked have the opportunity to repent but do not do so.
- When the seventh trumpet is blown (Rev. 11:15) a voice in heaven says; “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
- The pouring out of the bowls of God’s wrath consists of a developing sequence of events culminating with great hail stones falling on the wicked, thus ending any attack on the city of God.
- Revelation chapters 17-19 covers other topics before detailing in chapter 20 what happens to the Antichrist, his false prophet and the Dragon.
—All biblical quotes taken from the ESV
- Daniel 5: Babylon Is Fallen! - April 25, 2024
- Daniel 4: The Stump Bound By Iron and Bronze - March 7, 2024
- Daniel 3: The Fiery Furnace - December 21, 2023
My wife and I have been going through a podcast series called “Blessed” with Nancy Guthrie, as an excellent primer on Revelation. I would recommend it to anybody.