Today’s Reading: Revelation 15:5-16:21; Isaiah 49

Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests. Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues. – Revelation 15:5-8

SEVEN BOWLS CONTAINING GOD’S WRATH

The seven angels were positioned to carry out God’s judgment. At the sound of His mighty voice calling out from the Temple each angel left the Temple and poured out the contents of his bowl upon the earth.

ONE. The first angel left the Temple and poured out the bowl of God’s wrath on the earth. Everyone who had the mark of the beast and who had worshipped his statue broke out in sores. The adjectives used by various translations describe these sores as ugly, festering, grievous, horrible, disgusting, malignant, noisome, foul and painful.

TWO. The second angel poured out his bowl on the earth and it became like the blood of a corpse, causing everything in the sea to die — every fish, every mammal, every plant, every living thing. Consider the stench of death and the loss of everything of beauty in the sea; consider the lack of food supply caused by this plague.

THREE. The third angel poured out his bowl on the earth and all of the rivers and springs of water turned to blood. No more fresh water to drink; no more supply of fish in the rivers.

And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,
“You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was,
because you have sent these judgments.
Since they shed the blood
of your holy people and your prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is their just reward.”
And I heard a voice from the altar, saying,
“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just.” – Revelation 16:5-7

FOUR. The fourth angel poured out the contents of his bowl on the sun, intensifying its heat and scorching everyone with its fire. The people cursed the name of God in response, refusing to repent of their sins and turn to God. They chose to be angry with God rather than surrendering to His glory.

FIVE. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, plunging his kingdom into darkness. All who had become subjects of the beast ground their teeth in anguish, cursing the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They, too, refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.

SIX. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, causing the bed of the river to dry up so that armies could easily march from the east to the west. John saw three evil spirits resembling frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These demonic spirits had the ability to work miracles, gathering the rulers of the world together at a place called Armageddon in order to battle against the Lord on the great judgment day of our God Almighty.

“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.” – Revelation 16:15

SEVEN. When the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple — “It is finished!” Lightning flashed and thunder rolled as the earth began to shake. The city of Babylon split into three sections, and many other cities across the nations fell into heaps of rubble. God remembered the sins of Babylon and made her drink the cup of his fierce wrath. Every island disappeared and all the mountains were leveled. Hailstones weighing up to seventy-five pounds began to fall from the sky onto the people below. And still the people cursed God.

This passage reminds me of the moment Jesus died on the cross as he shouted, “It is finished!” At the moment his spirit was released, the curtain of the Temple sanctuary was torn in two, from the top to the bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs were emptied. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead with no explanation except to display the power of our God (Matthew 27:50-53).

Lord, we surrender to your authority and submit our lives to you. May our hearts never become so hardened that we stubbornly refuse to give you the glory for everything in our lives — the good and the bad, the easy and the hard. Father God, we place our trust in all that your heart desires, and we look ahead to our eternal reward with great anticipation. We ask for your protection against the presence of evil at work in this world today. We pray for those in this world who are still struggling against you or lacking the faith to believe. May their experience of you today draw them closer, and may they experience the joy of your salvation soon. Amen.

But the Lord says,
“The captives of warriors will be released,
and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
For I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.
I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
All the world will know that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.” – Isaiah 49:25-26