Chapters 15 -16
Chapters 15 -16
Chapter 15
The Seven Vial Judgments
After the break or parenthesis of chapters 12-14, we return to the pouring out of judgments. In out timeline Chapter 15 follows Chapter 11. These last judgments will be the quick and final blows which crush all that have rejected Christ. They take place at the end of the Great Tribulation.
“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous; seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.”
John once again sees a “great” sign in heaven. But this time it is given an additional adjective, “marvelous”. These last plagues bring God’s wrath to full force as they are spent on mankind. The breath and intensity of these plagues or woe judgments far exceed the others.
As in battle there is a first wave of attacks, followed by the heart of the battle and finally the crushing final blow, so are the judgments of God.
“2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.”
“3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying; Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!”
“4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship You. For Your judgments have been manifested.”
Once again we see the group from 14:2 that overcame the terrible struggle against Satan and his beasts. They are victorious over the beast and his idol that was given the ability to speak and kill. They suffered through the hardships of not receiving the mark of the beast and stood against his name.
They are standing in a place of tranquility, as they joyously sing praises to God. The sea may have reference to or be reflective of the bronze laver in the tabernacle of Moses and the bronze sea in the Temple.
Their song is one of celebration for redemption and deliverance, but it also praises God for His justice. (See Ex. 15:1-18). We clearly can feel the power of their declaration, “for You alone are holy”.
“5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened,”
This is the original heavenly temple from which the earthly temple was patterned (Heb. 9:23). It refers to the Most Holy Place.
“6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.”
The angels wear the robes of a priest and are equipped for duty. Their duty is to execute righteous judgment by which God will be glorified.
“7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowels full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever’”
One of the four living creatures hands a bowel to each of the seven angels. These bowels contain the full judgment of the Great Tribulation.
“8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”
Two of God’s attributed are brought to the forefront; His power and His glory. Man cannot stand is God’s glory. The last judgments are about to begin and once started with not be stopped until complete. No one can intervene to stop them.
Chapter 16
The Seven Vials or Bowel Judgments
The vials or bowels that are normally used in the temple for grace have now become instruments of judgment. The plagues that follow remind us once again of the plagues God used against Egypt in Exodus 7:20 – 12:30. They are similar in nature and order as the trumpet judgments.
In the past judgments we saw restrictions or limits whereby the judgments only affected a limited portion, for example one-third of a part of the earth. The Vial Judgments carry no such limitations. The final blow is universal in nature for all unbelievers. Everyone who has rejected Jesus will suffer.
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go pour out the bowels of the wrath of God on the earth.”
God now authorizes the ultimate pouring out of His wrath on earth and man.
“2 So the first went and poured out his bowel upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.”
I believe this to be a literal outbreak of sores and not some symbol of God’s judgment. These sores may manifest themselves as skin cancer, ulcers, or some other unsightly medical condition. Their ugly and repulsive image is a reflection of the ugliness of the inner man.
These conditions manifest themselves on every person who has received the mark of the beast and who has worshiped his image. No limitation this time! All those who are guilty will suffer.
“3 Then the second angel poured out his bowel on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.”
Like the lifeless blood of a dead man, the sea that was once filled with all manner of life, dies. I wonder what man will blame for this terrible turn of events. From the smallest organism to the largest inhabitant, live in the sea will cease.
“4 Then the third angel poured out his bowel on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.”
In the third trumpet, only a third of the waters were judged. The most precious and necessary element of life, water, is now taken from man completely. Man covered by sores has seen the destruction of all life in the sea and now all rivers and streams no longer give life but are literally turned to blood.
“5 And I heard the angel of waters saying; You are righteous, O Lord. The One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.”
“6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”
The angel gives us the reason for this specific judgment. Mankind has been merciless in its treatment of God’s faithful. It was blood they wanted so it is blood they receive.
“7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Recall that in 6:10 the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God “cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long O Lord holy and true until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
The reference to the voice coming from the altar is a clear connection with those killed for the cause of Christ.
“8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowel on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.”
“9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”
This too is literal. God uses the power of His sun to bring down intense heat and possible solar radiation on mankind. Even now God wishes for man to repent, but mankind continues to reject Him. And not only do they reject Him, they blaspheme or possibly curse God. Evil continues to blame God for its condition. “It’s not my fault” is the cry of fallen mankind. “I hate you God for doing this to me.” They will not yield their will to God’s. God longs to hear mankind cry out, “Forgive me for I have sinned.”
“10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowel on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.”
“11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.”
The fifth angel pours out judgment on the seat of power of the beast of Chapter 13 as we move toward the end of the Great Tribulation period. The center of the anti-Christian government is thrown into darkness. I see this as occurring after the resurrection of the two witnesses. No other place in Scripture does it express so intense agony and suffering.
Unrepentant mankind, Satan, the beast and Satan’s demons all continue to shake their fist at God.
“12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowel on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.”
There is considerable debate about the possible symbolic meanings of this verse. Some hold the river is not the Euphrates but the Tiber. Some see this verse as a reference of a past event dealing with the time of Daniel.
I agree with those that see this as preparing for the final battle at Armageddon. The rivers have always been a military obstacle. The drying of the rivers indicated opening the door to the powers of the east. The “kings of the east” are identified as variety of possibilities; from the Turks, to the powers of the Far East, such as China, Japan, and Asia.
“13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”
“14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out of the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
The three unclean spirits are not frogs, but are like frogs. Their purpose is to deceive the kings of the world and indeed of the whole earth to come together to battle with God Almighty. Satan, the false prophet and Anti-Christ unite the world beset by the judgments of God to do battle with Him. The world is knowingly following Satan rather than God.
"15 Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
Our Savior and Lord, the Lamb who was slain, now speaks. The believers of the Tribulation period are warmed to hold on, to be steadfast and are notified He is coming.
To the unsaved He will be as a thief, but to the saved He comes as King, Lord and Savior.
“16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”
We will discuss this more completely in Chapter 19. It is widely agreed that the location is the Plain of Esdraelon, with Megiddo on the southern rim.
Josiah met his death before Pharaoh Nechoh in the Valley of Megiddo, and Deborah and Barak won a great victory here. Napoleon I is credited with haven said of Megiddo; “What an excellent place into which all the armies of the world could be maneuvered.”
“17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowel into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
God declares that all the plagues have been poured out. Satan is described as “prince of the power of the air.” (Ephesians 2:2)
When Jesus had completed His ministry as the Lamb, He said, “It is finished.” Here the judgments are declared complete and we move on the final battle between God and Satan.
“18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.”
For the forth time we are told about thunder, lightning and earthquakes (4:5; 8:5; 11:19). This time there is the double emphasis of “great” and “might” in regards to the earthquake. This will be the earthquake of all earthquakes! Verse 18 puts an exclamation point to verse 17.
“19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”
Babylon is given the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. In 14:19 we saw the reaping of vine that was thrown “into the winepress of the wrath of God”. That evil city now drinks of God’s wrath.
There is debate over the identity of “the great city”. Some see two separate locations; the city Jerusalem and Babylon. Some view the city and Babylon both as Jerusalem. Some see the great city as Rome. There is even a disagreement among a few as to what is meant by Babylon.
Chapters 17-18 deal with Babylon at great length. Not to be missed in verse 19, God’s wrath is not solely directed at “the great city’ and/or Babylon. “The cities of nations” also fell. God’s final wrath is for all who have rejected Him.
Consider the following viewpoint. Verse 19 marks three locations; the great city, the cities of nations, and Babylon.
11:8 teaches that the bodies of the two witnesses lie in the “great city which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt”. We know this to be Jerusalem.
“20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”
“21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”
It is possible that verse 20 is a result of the earthquake of verse 18. In any case the physical world as we know it will be in total upheaval. Landscapes will be radically changed.
Think about the destructive power of 100lb hailstones. I was born and raised in New Madrid County in southeast Missouri. Tornadoes, hail, and earthquakes are common there. Hail that weights only a few ounces can do tremendous damage. I have experienced hail the size of softballs a few times in my life. Roofs were ripped apart, windows were torn from their cases, automobiles destroyed and livestock injured and killed by these hailstones. While working in a field I was struck by golf-ball size hail as I dived for cover underneath a cottonpicker. 100lb hailstones would smash everything in its path.
But once again instead of asking for God forgiveness, man blasphemes God. Man cannot bring himself to admit his sin against God, and is therefore worthy of God’s wrath.