Home thoughts from abroad.wordpress.com

Revelation 16:1-9: ‘I like to think of God as…’

“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 worshipped 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:

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.NIV UK

I’m sure you’ve heard it. Someone says, ‘Well I like to think of God as…’ Then they go on to venture a viewpoint which is far removed from the Bible. Their concept of God is more a matter of personal opinion than divine revelation. When people imagine their god, you tend to end up with a deity who is soft and sentimental, not just and holy. The wrath of God gets omitted.

H.Richard Niebuhr, one of America’s most famous twentieth century theologians, described the message of much ultra-liberal theology like this: ‘A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.’

But you can’t read the book of Revelation without coming into close contact with the reality of God’s wrath. These ‘’bowl’’ judgments are total. With the seals and trumpets, only a part of the earth was harmed or destroyed. They were warnings to call people to repentance. But that note is now absent. John is drawing on the imagery of the Egyptian plagues. ‘These plagues are the beginning of that long process, which will end in chapter 20, by which God will rid his beautiful world, first (in this chapter) of those who have assisted in its destruction and decay, then (in chapters 17 and 18) of the great imperial systems that have set up massive structures of injustice, and finally (chapters 19 and 20) of the dark powers that lie behind those systems themselves, ending (as in 1 Corinthians 15:26-28) with Death and Hades themselves.’ Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for Everyone’, p.143.

PRAYER: Lord God, we stand in awe of your holiness and justice. We thank you that you will not permit evil to have the final say in human history, but you will judge with justice.

 Revelation 16:1-9: Costing the earth.

“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 worshipped 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:

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.” NIV

This morning, I read this short synopsis of a new book:

‘‘Based on his explosive whole-issue New York Times Magazine article of 2018, Losing Earth is journalist Nathaniel Rich’s revelatory exposé of how those in power have consistently failed to act in the face of clear warnings of catastrophic climate change. From misinterpreted science to government links with Big Energy, Rich’s sobering account pulls no punches, bringing to the fore evidence which, as the New York Times writes, ‘posterity will find hard to believe, and impossible to forgive.’ ‘’

I haven’t read this book and I can’t vouch for anything in it, but one thing we do know is that mankind has done serious damage to this planet. Like a dog treated with persistent cruelty, it is likely to bite back. Tom Wright, in ‘Revelation for Everyone’ says:

‘The point at issue in these first four plagues is fairly simple. God will allow natural elements themselves (earth, sea, rivers and sun) to pass judgment on the human beings who have so grievously abused their position as God’s image-bearers within creation. They are supposed to be looking after God’s world, and caring for one another as fellow humans. But God will call the natural elements themselves to turn on them and judge them for their wickedness.’ P.142.

Revelation 16:1-7: Watch what you sow.

“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 worshipped 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:

⁷ And I heard the altar respond:‘Yes, Lord God Almighty,                                                            true and just are your judgments.’ NIV

It seems to me to be a repeated Bible principle that we reap what we sow. It may take time for the harvest to grow, and some of the reaping may be in the next life, but as we sow, so shall we reap.

‘’Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows’’ (Galatians 6:7).

When Jesus comes again, ‘’All the nations will be gathered before him…’’ (Matthew 25:32). But even before He returns, there will be a working out of judgment in this world.

Revelation 15: Justice done.

I saw in heaven another great and marvellous 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:

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 round 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. NIV

The 7 last plagues reflect God’s last attempt to cause people to repent and turn to Him. They are His final warning. He is coming to judge the earth.

Psalms 96 and 98 are songs of joy and both conclude on the same note: ‘’He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth’’ (Psalm 96:13; Psalm 98: 9 says: ‘’and the peoples with equity’’).

Here we read: ‘’All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed’’ (4b)

‘When the Bible speaks about God ‘judging’, or putting into effect his ‘judgments’, it is just as much a cause for celebration as for anxiety.’ Tom Wright: ‘Revelation for Everyone’, p.137.

Why is it such good news that God will come to judge the world? Well, imagine you live day by day with the pain of injustice. You are its victim. It may be this is the real life experience of someone reading this. If government officials are corrupt, the police and judiciary can be bribed, and you are kept in grinding poverty by the greed of others. If crimes against you, your family, your friends and neighbours, seem to go unnoticed and unpunished, won’t you rejoice to know that God sees everything and a day of reckoning is coming. In the final analysis, no sin goes unpunished.

Revelation 15: Jesus put this song into our hearts.

I saw in heaven another great and marvellous 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:

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 round 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.” NIV

Praise God for a God-given song. I would not have a ‘harp’ to play if God had not put it into my hands. I know I need Him to constantly teach me to use it.  Singing is a significant expression of the Spirit-filled life (see Ephesians 5:18-20):

‘When your body is filled with alcohol, it affects your whole being. It is the same when we are filled with the Spirit, we can’t do anything without His influence. We open our mouths and God comes out because we are filled with Him.’ Spirit-filled people ‘are filled with praises for God, so when they talk to you, those praises come out.’ They are ‘singing and making melodies in their hearts because that is what the Spirit always wants to do. They are ‘’giving thanks always’’ (v.20) because the blessing of the Spirit’s presence makes them grateful.’ Francis Chan: ‘Letters to the church’, p.122.

In this life we sing when the Spirit controls us. But what songs will we sing in heaven? What music will there be when we have come through the battle unscathed? The imagery in (3) is drawn from the exodus, when the Israelites came through the Red Sea victorious, and the church in heaven like Moses and Miriam, stands on the other side of struggle, singing a new song of praise.

As so often, F.B. Meyer sums up this glorious scene with a few verbal brush-strokes:

‘This is the scene of the deliverance from Pharaoh on the shores of the Red Sea, translated into the imagery and language of eternity. The hosts of God shall emerge ere long from their long oppressions; by suffering they shall conquer; they shall come off victorious from the beast, and from his image, and from the number of his name.’He goes on to say later in the same piece:‘Israel broke into rapturous thanksgiving, as the people saw their enemies dead upon the shore. ‘’Sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously!’’ But those triumphant notes, though chanted by an entire nation, shall be a whisper compared with that song which shall break in thunder from the saints of all ages. Those who were brought up under the dispensation of Moses, and the followers of the Lamb in the present dispensation, together with all holy souls who have overcome, shall constitute one vast choir. But search the song of Moses as you will, you will fail to find one note that equals this in sublimity.’ ‘Great verses through the Bible’, p.467.

Revelation 14:14-20: Harvesting.

¹⁴ I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ ¹⁶ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.¹⁷ Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸ Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, ‘Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.’ ¹⁹ The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. ²⁰ They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.” NIV

It is, again, important to get the main message as you read this, and not drown in the detail. In the Bible the ‘’sickle’’ is a sign of judgment. A day of harvest – of separation and division is coming for the world. That is what the day of judgment will be. We would have to disembowel the Bible to remove the idea of judgment from it.  Other passages in the Bible feed into this and you may want to look at them: Jer.51:33; Mt.13:30. 36-43; Mk.4:26-29; Is.63:1-6; Joel 3:12,13; Rev.19:15. It will be worth your time to look at these. In fact, I strongly encourage you to do so. The Bible is its own interpreter.

Revelation 14:13: This life counts.

¹³ Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write this: blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them.’ NIV

This verse stands as a stark contrast to what we saw in yesterday’s section. It clearly is not a blessing to die outside of the Lord. But we are blessed if we die ‘’in’’ Him.                     I remember using this verse to speak at a funeral service a few years ago. A Christian man who was present on the occasion, and who had spent time at ‘All Souls’, Langham Place in London, told me what the late, great Rector, John Stott, had said about these words. Apparently he told the congregation to note that their deeds ‘’follow’’ them. They don’t go in front. They don’t pave the way for anyone to get into heaven. But they do follow on from faith, like the carriages coming behind the engine.

What this underlines is the fact that this life matters for the Christian. What we do here, sincerely, in Jesus’ Name, out of love for Him, has eternal repercussions. Good works will not get us into heaven, but they will be noticed in heaven, and will be rewarded when we get there.

Revelation 14:9-12: Faithful to Jesus.

⁹ A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, ¹⁰ they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.’ ¹² This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.” NIV

Whatever form ‘’the beast’’ may take in our generation; and regardless of whether or not we live through the final phase of history, it is always a fatal choice to worship him – a choice with eternal consequences. So let the message be given in a ‘’loud voice’’ that it may be heard.

‘We cannot understand the torment of those who are depicted in vv.9-12, except it be the remorse at having refused the love of the Lamb of God. Even Christ himself cannot save a soul from self-condemnation.’ F.B.Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.641.

The words ‘’patient endurance’’ in (12) show that it’s always going to be difficult and painful to move in the opposite direction to the prevailing system. But the pathway of faithfulness to Jesus, although it may come at terrible cost, is the wise choice when eternal destiny is at stake.

Revelation 14:8: Intoxication.

⁸ A second angel followed and said, ‘“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,”^[a] which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.’NIV

Ancient Babylon was the political, commercial and religious centre of a world empire. It was noted for its luxury and moral decadence.

In the book of Revelation, ‘’Babylon’’ probably represents the world system (of which Rome was the great expression at the time John). This verse is the precursor to a fuller description of Babylon’s downfall in chapter 18.

Babylon – the world system – operates like a prostitute, seducing people by intoxication. The world wants our hearts, but they rightfully belong to God. When we give them to other gods we are committing spiritual adultery. There is a very real spiritual power at work that, like an excess of alcohol, lowers people’s defences, distorts perception and makes them vulnerable to loving idols. After all, if there wasn’t something slightly delicious about inebriation, the temptation to get drunk wouldn’t be all that effective. Watch out for that seductive, luring, enticing influence of the world. It will make sin look remarkably attractive. The devil, using the world to entice, wants to win our hearts for himself.

So, in a nutshell, when people are drunk they are more likely to commit sexual sin; when we are drunk on what this world offers, we are more likely to commit spiritual adultery.

As Tom Wright says: ‘…the deep seduction of evil really can swallow people up whole.’ ‘Revelation for Everyone’, p.131.

One thing we can be sure of is that Babylon, though powerful, is doomed. Her time is short.