Revelation 16
Notes
Transcript
Translation
Translation
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple which said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven offering bowls of the wrath of God to the earth.” So the first went and poured out his offering bowl to the earth. There came terrible, sickly sores upon humanity, namely those who had the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
Then the second poured out his offering bowl to the sea and it became blood as from a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.
Then the third poured out his offering bowl to the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. I heard the Angel of Water saying, “You are just, Who is and Who Was, the Holy One, because of these judgments, because they poured out the blood of the saints and prophets, and you gave them blood to drink, they get what they deserve.”
I heard a voice from the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, Your judgments are true and just.”
The fourth poured out his offering bowl on the sun. It was given the power to burn humanity with fire, and humans were burned with a great heat. They blasphemed the name of God who has authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to glorify God.
The fifth poured out his offering bowl on the throne of the Beast, and his kingdom became dark, and they chewed up their tongues from the pain. They blasphemed the God of Heaven from their pain and their sores, and they did not repent from their deeds.
The sixth poured out his offering bowl on the great Euphrates River. The water dried up, so that a way was made for the kings from the East. I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the false prophet. For these demonic spirits who work signs go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth to gather them for the War of the Great Day of God Almighty.
“Look! I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who is alert and keeps his garment, so that he does not go about naked and people see his shame.”
And they gather them to the place which in Hebrew is called Armagedon.
The seventh poured out his offering bowl on the air, and a loud voice came from the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done”. There came lightning, rumblings, thunder, and a great earthquake, like there had never been since humans were upon the earth, so great was this earthquake!
The Great City split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup of the wine of his furious wrath. Every island fled, and no mountain could be found. Great hailstones weighing about 100 lbs fell from heaven upon mankind. Humanity blasphemed God from the plague of hailstones, because the plague was exceedingly great.
Plagues and Trumpets
Plagues and Trumpets
Seven bowls mirror seven plagues of Egypt
Seven bowls mirror seven trumpets
Seven trumpets as judgment against Jerusalem, seven bowls as judgment against Rome
Punishment matches the Crime
“They get what they deserve”
Pharaoh killed Israel’s children, and so his children die too
Rome poured out the blood of the saints, and so they are given blood to drink
Rome destroyed Jerusalem, so now Rome will be destroyed too
God’s justice: turning evil back on itself
God Almighty
God Almighty
We sometimes think that evil stands a chance
Evil is immensely powerful in comparison to us, but is as nothing compared to the power of God
The judgments in Egypt, Jerusalem, and Rome show that the forces of evil cannot withstand God’s power and will
θεος Παντοκρατορ, יהוה צבאות
Evil poses no threat to God
Why, O Lord?
Why, O Lord?
So why the evil then?
Old man on island
“They did not repent” (here and in Rev 9, also in Exodus!)
Freedom and relationship
Free to choose, but choices do have consequences
God Almighty Again
God Almighty Again
Ultimately, our freedom does not come before God’s freedom
We are free to choose to act against God, but this is a foolish choice
We are free to choose evil, but God has chosen to eradicate evil
Judgement is a natural consequence of our own choices, but it is also the choice of God not to let evil win.
A- Plagues and Trumpets (Exegetical/Intertextual explanation)
and
B- God Almighty (evil stands no chance)
but
C- Why, O Lord? (theodicy: freedom and consequence)
but
D-God Almighty Again (God as agent too)