The Bible begins by showing how man fell away from God. In the rest of the Bible, it shows how God pursues man so we can be reconciled to Him. And the Bible ends by showing how God takes those who love Him and takes them to Heaven.
But the end of the Bible shows something else, too. It shows how God pours out His wrath on those who do not love Him; those who have refused to live for Him.
Today, I would like to spend some time in the book of REVELATION, the last book of the Bible; specifically chapters 15 and 16.
A young cadet was going through the police academy and was taking the final exam before graduation. The last question on that exam posed this scenario.
“You are on patrol in the city when a large explosion occurs on the next block. You rush over and find a big hole in the middle of the street, and a van turned over on its side.
“You rush to the van to find a man and a woman. You recognize the man as an escaped convict and you recognize the woman as the wife of your police chief. And they both smell of strong alcohol.
“Then you notice a man running out of a nearby house saying the blast has made his wife go into labor. At the same time, you see a man lying on the ground who has been injured in the blast, and then a motorist stops to offer assistance and you realize he is wanted for bank robbery.”
The question ends by asking the officer to write down what he would do in that situation. The officer writes, “I would take off my badge and join the crowd.”
The first thing we need to realize is that people of any time period are just like the people of any other period of time. Our basic feelings and instincts never change; when people don’t know what to do, they always seem to “join the crowd”.
Keep that in mind as we review the seven churches in Asia. Also, keep in mind that one of the worst things we can do when it comes to God, is to “follow the crowd” as the crowd is always walking away from God.
In earlier chapters, we see where God’s partial judgment will come upon the earth as the sounding of trumpets; all because of man’s sin and rebelliousness against God.
We see where the judgment is shown as reapers going out to collect the inhabitants of earth and throwing them into the winepress of God’s wrath, just as a farmer would do with grapes.
And in chapters 15 and 16, it shows us the full fury of God’s wrath against Rome. But before you think the book of REVELATION is all about God’s wrath and resultant punishment, it is also a book of God’s love and His wonderful promise. We see the victory those people have who didn’t just “join the crowd”, but who stood tall and followed the Lord, even in perilous and uncomfortable times.
We see where the saints of glory had been persecuted by the nation of Rome, which also represents our world today, and they were standing before the very throne of God. They were given white stones with their names written on them, which was God’s sign of victory! They are encouraged through death to receive the holy blessings of God.
Those saints were like the old janitor at a local high school. He would sit in the bleachers after school, reading his Bible as the high school students practiced basketball. One day, a coach, who was also a pastor, asked him what he was reading and he said he was reading the book of REVELATION.
The coach asked him if he understood what he was reading and the janitor assured the coach that he understood it very well. He said, “It means we are going to win, and that alone is what keeps me faithful to my Savior.”
Chapters 12 and 13 show the devil standing on the shore as a beast emerges from the sea. That beast brings chaos and pure hate against God’s people. But in chapter 15, John describes looking at a sea that is like glass mixed with fire. It is like a beautiful sunset reflecting off a calm sea. It is a picture of absolute tranquility and peace.
And upon this sea are those who have defeated Satan and gone on to be with God. They are holding harps and singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
REVELATION 15:3-4 give us the words to this wonderful song.
"Great and Marvelous are your deeds Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.
Who will not fear you, O 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."
That song is a song of deliverance. It is like the song that Moses and his sister Miriam sang in EXODUS 15 when they crossed the sea and were safe.
In this 15th chapter of REVELATION, John sees seven angels with seven golden bowls of wrath. The bowls are about to be poured out upon the earth. They represent God’s judgment against Rome.
Up to this point, God did not fully pour out His wrath because he was giving them chance after chance to repent and believe. Now, God has had enough and the end is drawing quickly to a close, so He is pouring out His full wrath upon the earth.
The angels are dressed in clean and shining linen and are wearing golden sashes around their chests. The bowls containing God’s wrath are of pure gold. The glory of God’s presence is portrayed as the temple is filled with smoke.
God’s judgment is not vindictive, but holy and righteousness. He has given thousands of years for mankind to turn from his sin and be reunited with God, but man has chosen not to; even though God has given us warning after warning of what was to come if we didn’t follow Him.
ACTS 17:29-31 substantiates this:
"Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
The warden of a Georgia prison was interviewed once, and one of the questions he was asked was if any of the staff found satisfaction or took pleasure in putting someone to death.
The warden said there were no such feelings; the only feelings felt by the staff was hurt. He went on to say that relationships develop between inmates and guards, and when an inmate is executed, the guards suffer at losing a friend. But they do their duty because it is just and fair and they know it must be done. In the same way, God’s judgment against the earth will not be vindictive. It will be fair and just.
We see proof of this as we see Jesus working in the world today. He is giving us every chance to repent and be saved. But when His judgment comes, it will only be after every effort has been made and refused, and His judgment will be final. That is the day when all second chances will be no more.
REVELATION 16:5-7 remind us,
"You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve." And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."
Today some ask, "How can a good God punish people?" We know from history and personal experience that evil left unchecked destroys everything in its path, like any crime.
We have a choice whether or not we are going to follow God’s law, just like we have a choice to follow the law in Oklahoma. If we choose to follow the law, no harm shall befall us from the judge. If we choose to break the law, then we are opening ourselves to have judgment cast down upon us. That is the same thing with God’s Law. We follow it or we face His judgment.
PSALMS 96:10-13 tells us about this.
”Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns.” The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.”
We mentioned the seven bowls of God’s wrath. Let’s talk a little more about them.
They are reminiscent of the ten plagues brought upon Egypt as Israel was being delivered. The first bowl of wrath is judgment directed to those who have the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. Some theologians say the description John uses is figurative and others say they are exact. Whether they are or not, they represent judgments that are very real.
The number seven is the number of fulfillment. Here, it represents God’s complete and full wrath has now come. Each successive judgment is harsh and comes quickly, on the heels of the one before. There is no time given between these judgments for repentance. That time has passed, and this is the time for justice to be served.
REVELATION 16:15 is a bold statement.
“Behold, I come to you like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Do you remember in our study of EXODUS, the Israelites were about to be delivered from Egypt, and at the Passover, they were told to be dressed and be ready? They were told that in an instant’s notice they would have to leave.
BOWL # 1 –
Starting in REVELATION 16:2
“The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.”
Let me stray a moment from our message on the wrath of God. In this verse I just read, notice how it describes the one who pours out the bowl. It is an angel, and it is a “he.” How many times have we seen angels depicted as beautiful young ladies or nice little floaty beings that shoot arrows of love?
I have never read anywhere in the Bible that I can remember where angels are depicted as women. They are depicted as warriors, and always as men. I do not say that to be chauvinistic, but to remind you to always pay close attention to the accuracy of what the word actually says.
So the wrath of bowl number one will be painful and ugly sores that cover our whole bodies. And before these sores can go away and healing begin, there was a second bowl of wrath poured out.
BOWL # 2 -
Continuing in verse 3
“The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.”
BOWL # 3 –
Verses 4-7
“The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:”
“You are just in these judgments, You who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
Ezekiel prophesied of God’s wrath hundreds of years before Jesus.
EZEKIEL 7:17-21
“Every hand will go limp, and every knee will become as weak as water. They will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered with shame and their heads will be shaved.”
“They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin.”
And in verse 22 it says God will turn His face away from us.
Keep in mind that this is after God has given us thousands of years and millions of opportunities to come back to Him through Jesus. And this is after man has rejected God during all that time.
BOWL # 4 –
REVELATION 16:8-9
“The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense head and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him.”
Their hearts will be hard and bitter, and instead of going to God for His salvation and protection, they curse Him and blame Him for the predicament they will be in. It is very similar to Job’s wife telling him to curse God and die.
BOWL # 5 -
Verses 10-11
“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.”
The fifth bowl of wrath is poured out on the political leaders; on Rome itself. Their kingdom was plunged into total darkness. This darkness was so great and so horrifying that men actually chewed their tongues in anguish and because of the terrible sores they had from the first bowl of wrath. But they were simply reaping what they had sown. They had nobody but themselves to blame for what was befalling them.
BOWL # 6 -
Verse 12
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepared the way for kings form the East.”
In the Old Testament, we read where God backed up the Jordan River so the Israelite army could cross and invade the land of Canaan. Here in the book of REVELATION, we see where God dried up the Euphrates River so the armies of the East could cross over and invade them. This is a prelude to the final battle; the battle of Armageddon.
At this point, demons are loosed and go out into all nations, gathering them to partake in this final battle, which will be for the rule of the earth.
Verses 13-14
“Then, I saw three evil 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. They are spirits of demons, performing miraculous 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.”
The frogs represent the evil spirits, and whom do they come out of? They come from the mouths of the evil trinity. This shows that everything God has done, the devil has tried to duplicate. Unfortunately, what God does cannot be duplicated.
And the end result is a war between the two spiritual principalities; The Creator God, and his creation, Satan. And this war will be the Armageddon.
It will be fought on the same battlefield where many Hebrew battles had been fought before. This is where Gideon and an army of 300 men defeated the Midianites who far outnumbered them.
This is where the Philistines defeated King Saul, and where Barak and Deborah overthrew the hosts of the Canaanite king, Jabin. So the final war on earth will be fought on familiar turf, and what brings it about is man’s ultimate inclination for sin.
And I will let you in on a not-so-secret fact. I read the end of the book, and God wins! In a few moments, we will ask the Praise Team to come forward to close today’s service, but first, let me go over the seventh bowl.
BOWL # 7 -
Verses 17-21
“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!’”
“Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on the earth, so tremendous was the quake.”
“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.”
“Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky, huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men.”
“And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.”
Those are the seven bowls of God’s wrath as described in the book of REVELATION. As you can see, each bowl is particularly severe. And as you should be able to see, each of them are called down upon man because of man’s refusal to follow God.
So, as we live here today, under the continual sway of the devil, constantly having our attention being pulled into the world and the sin he offers, don’t you think we need to make some serious decisions and make some concrete commitments – for our own good?
Will the Praise Team please come forward?
I would like to quickly tell you about a man who received an invitation to a large banquet. He was a man who wanted to give to God, but had absolutely nothing to give. He wasn’t a businessman or a politician. He was homeless and possenionless.
Well, he received a written invitation to attend this banquet, and the invitation said, come as you are, jacket and tie not required. So he went. When he got there, he looked in the window and saw many people, all dressed in nice clothes and looking clean and happy.
He looked down at himself. He was dressed in faded and dirty clothes that were worn about the edges, and he knew he didn’t smell very clean. As he turned to leave, he remembered the invitation, still in his hand. He looked at it again and read, “Come as you are … .” So, he decided to go in. The worst thing that could happen would be that they would throw him back out.
So he went in and was immediately met at the door by a very well dressed butler who took him by the arm and ushered him to room where he was fitted with the nicest of suits, and then he was taken to the head table. He was told to sit by the man, who was sponsoring this gala event, and he felt like bolting and running, but he sat as he was told to.
And the master of the banquet smiled at him and put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”
You are like that man. You are dressed in the sin of your life, and you want to follow God. But how do you do that? You start by making a decision; a decision to give Him what you are able. Not just once in a while, but all the time. And you stick by that decision as best you can.
Will you make that decision this morning? Will you offer God what you have? All that you have? As we stand and sing, leave your chair and come up here to make your commitment that you will start following God and stop following the crowd.
INVITATION
