The Bowls of Wrath

Revelation 16

Immanuel – 6/19/22

We humans are severely limited. We are only able to see things in this physical world. Our culture has given us further limitations, saying that only the things that can be seen are real things, are the true things.

But the Bible paints for us an entirely different picture. Certainly, the physical things are real things; but there is a reality even greater than what can be seen: the spiritual reality – or as they Bible so frequently categorizes it, heavenly realities. These are the unseen things.

Symbols help us see the things that we struggle to see. Symbols help us to understand God and see the spiritual realities that come from Him. The first century Jews understood this; they were born into, and freely swam in a sea of symbols.

Today we are going swimming, diving deep into the symbolic world of the first century. Hopefully we will see things beyond what eyes can see.

Purpose

Open the symbolism of the seven bowls of wrath.

Read Revelation 16

In chapter 14 a proclamation was made to gather the grapes of wrath – Apostate Israel. They had rejected God, crucified His Son, and killed the saints. The Risen Son, the Lion of Judah, would crush Apostate Israel in His winepress of fury. The plans were made and the time was determined.

In chapter 15 the blood flowing from the winepress of the wrath of God was collected into seven bowls: seven bowls now brimming with God’s wrath. The angel stood ready. The preparations had been completed. The storm of His fury was ready to break.

Read vs 1

The Time Has Come

From within the temple, from that awesome glory cloud, John hears the almighty voice of Yahweh. The time has come, He commands the angels to pour out His wrath. And the angels are to pour out His wrath upon the land. Likely, your version says that the bowls will be poured out on the earth, but I believe that Greek word should be translated as land.

Because, as you will see, all the bowls of wrath have covenantal significance. All the symbols and all the physical fulfillments of these seven bowls are pointing to a much greater reality; the reality that Israel has broken covenant with God and they have become cursed. They have become like Sodom and Egypt. They have become Babylon.

The great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. -Revelation 11:8

In Revelation, John uses the phrase “great city” exclusively for Jerusalem. The great city where God’s presence was most concentrated on the planet. The great city that was to lead the nations to God. But that great city had rejected God, crucified the Messiah, and killed the saints. The great city has become her own worst enemy: Babylon.

Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgement has come. -Revelation 18:10

The Israel that has rejected God now faces His wrath as all the covenant curses come upon her, just as these curses once came upon Egypt.

As we unpack the bowls of wrath, I want to show you a number of layers.

Each bowl of wrath corresponds to the plagues of Egypt.

Each bowl corresponds to the trumpet judgements.

Many of the bowls have a form of physical fulfillment.

All of the bowls have a covenantal fulfillment.

Also notice how the first four bowls are poured out on the elements of creation: land, sea, rivers, and sun. The final three bowls have a more political focus: a throne, a terrible alliance, and a final battle.

Read vs 2

First Bowl

Again we should read that the bowl was poured out upon the land, signifying the land of Israel. The painful sores pouring out of this bowl only affected those who took the mark of the beast.

In chapter 13 we looked closely at the symbolism of the mark of the beast. It was not something literally found on the forehead or hand. It was a mockery of the Shema from Deuteronomy 6; where instead of loving God with heart, mind, and soul, they loved false gods with total devotion. In Jerusalem, these were gods of self-righteousness and greed.

Which is why Jesus said…

“For [the scribes and Pharisees] preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees!”

-Matthew 23:3-5,25

With the pouring out of the first bowl of wrath, Israel’s devotion to idols, symbolized by a mark, had broken out into torturous sores.

As far as I can tell, there is no physical fulfillment to the first bowl. Rather, this bowl serves to set the covenantal significance of these judgements. Israel has become cursed like Egypt, for the sixth plague to fall upon Egypt were sores that broke into boils (Exodus 9:8-12).

Additionally, not all the bowl judgements are found in the list of covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28; but this one is:

The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed…The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. -Deuteronomy 28:27,35

The first bowl, poured upon the land, poured upon idolatrous Israel, symbolized covenant curses rushing upon them. They have truly become like Egypt.

Let us note that the first bowl judgement corresponds to first trumpet judgement (Revelation 8:7), which was also directed at the land.

Read vs 3

Second Bowl

The seas are turned to blood, but not just normal blood, the blood of a corpse. That means congealed, coagulated, blood – like a horrifying extra thick pudding. How awful the stench!

And since these judgements are centered upon the land of Israel, the oceans of planet earth are not in focus. What is in focus are the seas of Israel. For, like the first plague of Egypt (Exodus 7:14-25), and the second trumpet judgement (Revelation 8:8-9), the waters of the land in focus are turned to blood.

During the Jewish Revolt against Rome, the Jews had formed a large fleet of pirate ships that plagued the Mediterranean. During a particular battle at Joppa, the pirate fleet tried to escape the Romans, but a strong wind drove them back into the teeth of Rome. Many Jews were drown, other were dashed upon the rocky shore, and others killed by Roman swords. Josephus records that the shoreline was littered with bodies and that the sea was bloody “for a long way.” 4,200 Jews lay dead on the shore, countless more were lost to the waves (Josephus, Jewish War, Book 3, Chapter 9.3).

At a different point in the war, Rome slaughtered Jewish resistors at Tericheae, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Thousands of Jews tried to escape the legions by commandeering any boat, attempting to sail to safety. But the Romans had a navy waiting. 6,500 Jews were killed.

Josephus records, “One could see the whole lake stained with blood and crammed with corpses, for not a man escaped. During the days that followed, a horrible stench hung over the region, and it presented an equally horrifying spectacle.”

-Josephus, Jewish War, Book 3, Chapter 10.9

Despite these physical fulfillments, the symbolic meaning is greater. Israel is cursed.

Read vs 4-7

Third Bowl

Again we see a correspondence to Egypt’s first plague, when the Nile was turned to blood. The third trumpet judgement also turns the rivers and springs of water to poison.

The symbolism behind this judgement is powerful. As verse 6 says, instead of fresh water, Apostate Israel is being given blood to drink, and it is linked to the killing of the saints and prophets.

I’ve quoted it many times during this series, and you likely know where I am going now. Jesus said to Jerusalem’s religious leaders,

“You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the [land]…Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.” -Matthew 23:35-36

Additionally, we heard the voice of the martyrs crying out to God,

O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will you avenge our blood on those who dwell on the [land]? -Revelation 6:10

This is God avenging the martyrs. This is God pouring out wrath for crucifying His Son. He does not literally turn Israel’s rivers to blood, but He does make the place of life a place of death.

Flowing through the middle of the Garden of Eden was the River of Life. Through covenant with God, Israel’s promised land was to be Eden restored. Ezekiel even prophesied about a river flowing out of Jerusalem’s temple, turning the desert into paradise and bringing restoration upon the whole earth (Ezekiel 47:1-12).

But because of Israel’s rampant idolatry, because she drunkenly staggers on innocent blood, her once living waters have become her death. And as I have recounted in sermons past, terrible cannibalism broke out in Jerusalem during the Roman siege; where even mother ate their own infant children. The city, bloodthirsty for the saints, was given their own blood to drink. Their life became their death. As verse 6 ends, it is what they deserved!

At the end of Revelation you will see that the River of Life, taken from self-righteous Israel, has been given to the Church (Revelation 22:1-5). The symbolism of Ezekiel, and of Jerusalem, always pointed to this great reality: paradise and restoration would flow from Christ, into His living temple, and out into the world – rivers of living water (John 7:37-38).

Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgements!

Read vs 8-9

Fourth Bowl

In both the fourth trumpet judgement (Revelation 8:12) and Egypt’s ninth plague (Exodus 10:21-29), the sun was darkened. But with the fourth bowl of wrath, the sun’s intensity is severely amplified. Thus, not only is the fourth bowl linked to the trumpets and to Egypt, but also to the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28.

The Lord will strike you with wasting disease…and fiery heat, and with drought…They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

-Deuteronomy 28:22-24

Again, this is an upending, and undoing, of relationship with God.

Thus says the Lord: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion desolate heritages…They shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for He who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.” -Isaiah 49:8,10

But instead of shelter from the blazing brilliance of the sun, Israel is ruined. Indeed, all throughout this book, the sun is associated with Christ. His face shines like the sun at full strength (1:16 and 10:1), He ascended from the rising sun (7:2), He stands upon the sun (19:17).

Now Christ, the Son of God, the light of the world, scorches Israel; for our God is a consuming fire! It is He who is striking them. It is he who has come in judgement.

Notice the profound awareness mentioned in verse 9. Apostate Israel knows that at the bottom of all these plagues is the Almighty God. They know it, but they refuse to repent. But does that not also show us that the appropriate response would have been repentance? No, like Pharaoh on the brink of destruction, they hardened their hearts. Never would they accept a humble carpenter as their Messiah!

And thus Israel served to prove that the judgements of God are just. Apostate Israel was cursed and all the blessings of the covenant have come to the church!

About the elect we read,

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. -Revelation 7:16-17

Read vs 10-11

Fifth Bowl

Now comes the darkness. This is the only bowl judgement that is not directed at Israel. The throne of the beast – the throne of Rome – is plunged into darkness.

The eighth plague of Egypt was a locust swarm so terrible that it covered the land in darkness (Exodus 10:1-20). The fifth trumpet judgement released a black cloud of demonic locust that darkened the sun (Revelation 9:1-11). Likewise, with, with the fifth bowl, Rome descends into darkness.

Remember this form of symbolism from all over Scripture: the lights of a nation – like sun, moon, and stars – symbolize its political and religious systems. When the throne of Rome is darkened, it symbolizes some felling of its political and religious systems.

It is no coincidence then, that just before the destruction of Jerusalem, the throne of Rome is thrown into upheaval. Nero went mad. The senate, recognizing the existential threat that he had become, sentenced him to death; but before they could carry out the sentence, Nero committed suicide in 68 AD. For the first time in Roman history, the emperor had fallen.

Rome then fell headlong into civil war as different factions vied for power. Riots and slaughter and senseless debauchery broke out in the empire’s heart. And in 69 AD, in all that chaos and violence, the temple of Jupiter – Rome’s highest god – was burned to the ground.

Rome’s highest throne and Rome’s highest temple were plunged into darkness, just as declared with the fifth bowl of judgement.

Yet even while Rome’s future was suddenly uncertain, the Jews did not turn back to God. Still they did not repent.

And notice how those who have taken the mark are cursing God while they writhe in anguish from the sores. It’s as if the bowls of wrath are poured one on top of the other, with barely a breath in between. The land is flooded with the wine of the wrath of God, and there is no ark that will carry them away.

Here we learn that suffering, all by itself, does not produce repentance. Repentance is always a grace of God.

Read vs 12

The ancient city of Babylon had formidable fortifications. In addition to their massive walls, they used the Euphrates River to create a sizable moat around the city perimeter. The ancients thought Babylon to be impregnable.

So do you know how the Persian armies captured Babylon? They diverted the Euphrates. From the perspective of the Babylonians, all of the sudden, the great river dried up, and in came rushing the Persians.

Sixth Bowl

The sixth bowl of wrath draws upon this famous historical account; for Israel has become Babylon.

And set in parallel to the sixth trumpet judgement (Revelation 9:13-19), enemy armies come upon Israel from the Euphrates. It was an apocalyptic trope. Historically, all of Israel’s worst enemies came from the east, from the direction of the Euphrates: Assyria, Babylon, Medio-Persia.

Once, Israel had crossed the Red Sea, and later the Jordan River, on dry ground. Now the waters would part for Israel’s enemies.

Read vs 13-14

Frogs were the second plague to hit Egypt (Exodus 8:1-15). Now three demonic frogs emerge from the mouths of the unholy trinity: the dragon (Satan), the beast (Rome), and the false prophet (the Jewish religious establishment). The armies of many nations gather to war because of these three.

But these demonic frogs are symbols. They mirror demonic deception and hate and bloodlust. They mirror another time when God gathered armies through the deceptions of demonic spirits.

The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?…Then [an evil spirit] came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, “I will entice him.” And the Lord said to him, “By what means?” And he said, “I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all [Ahab’s] prophets.” And [God] said, “You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.” -1 Kings 22:20-22

Jewish magicians and miracle workers proliferated in the first century – as we discussed when looking at Revelation 13. But nothing compared to the wonders that Rome produced. Their wealth, their military might, their architectural achievements, their powerful government; the world had never seen such glories.

Therefore, when the Jews revolted against Rome, they only ended up inciting the scorn of all Rome’s loyal vassal states. So, when Rome gathered her legions to destroy the Jews, joining with them were countless allies from across the empire – from Syria, Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, France, etc. And yet, every combatant that gathered to Jerusalem was driven there by the great dragon himself.

All these deceptions – confidence and trust in beast and dragon – precipitated the greatest army ever gathered outside of Jerusalem’s walls.

Even so, though the Jews had false confidence, though Rome trusted in their might, though Satan thought he could win; all were serving the great purposes of God. They did not realize that they all gathered because God was changing the world, and a new covenant was being completely unfettered.

Jesus told a parable where a King sent servants to invite his friends to the lavish wedding feast of his son. But when the servants delivered their invitations, the friends violated them and killed them.

“The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.” -Matthew 22:7-10

Once Jerusalem was filled with people who claimed to be friends of God; but in reality they were a brood of vipers, hypocrites! And how they shed the blood of God’s servants! Now, pouring out His wrath, God burned that city to the ground.

Then, in the midst of this relentless flood of judgment, is a single verse of hope. Like the seven seals and the seven trumpets, here we find a brief interlude of salvation in the midst of the sixth bowl.

Read vs 15

Here we must remember Christ’s words to the church of Sardis.

“Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you…the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” -Revelation 3:3,5

Staying awake seems to connote two activities. First, be alert to spiritual realities: to the will of God, to the weight of sin, and to gospel truths. Secondly, repent. Wherever there is sin, forsake it, walk away from it, turn back to God. For if you do, God will cover the shame of your moral nakedness and clothe you in the purity and righteousness of Christ.

Yes, put on the garments of faith!

For our sake He made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. -2 Corinthians 5:21

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.

-Isaiah 61:10

Brothers and sisters, may we never be without our clothes of righteousness! May we never forsake Christ!

The Jews of first century Jerusalem were not clothed with such graces. They thought they could spin their own garments, but all their righteousness amounted to filthy rags. They were not just caught with their pants down. They had no pants. They were exposed before the Lord; and all there was to see, was shame and guilt.

Read vs 16

Now we come to it. The nations have been gathering for the infamous battle of Armageddon. In Hebrew, the word Armageddon means Mount Megiddo. But there never was a mountain named Megiddo in Israel. Rather, there was a city in the Jezreel valley called Megiddo. The place John names does not literally exist.

Yet, many ancient battles were fought in the Jezreel valley. Most notable to John was the battle where Josiah, the last good king of Judah, was slain. After Josiah there only came bad kings. In a way, when Josiah fell, so did Jerusalem’s temple.

But the closest mountain to the city of Megiddo? Mount Carmel: the place where God brought fire down upon the idol worshipping priests of Elijah’s day. These were Jezebel’s priests. In the very next chapter of Revelation, you will see John draw a strong parallel between Jezebel and the Jewish religious establishment.

Therefore, when John says that the final battle of Jerusalem is located at Armageddon, it is symbolic. It symbolizes the desolation of that which was once glorious. It symbolizes the defeat of God’s enemies. It symbolizes finality and fire and fury.

And the battle of Armageddon happened in 70 AD.

Read vs 17-18

Seventh Bowl

The seventh bowl is poured into the atmosphere, and God declares, “It is done!” The bowl is poured into the atmosphere precisely because this is where lightning and thunder and rumblings come from.

This should remind of how part 2 of Revelation closed.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever”…Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. -Revelation 11:15,19

Everywhere in Scripture, we see thunder, lightning, and rumblings accompanying revelations from God: nowhere is this more pronounced than at Sinai when God made covenant with Israel. Now, upon another mountain, the symbolic Mount Megiddo, God brings a final end to that covenant: this kingdom of priests have become the priests of Jezebel, the great harlot.

And the great earthquake is no more literal than the thunders and lightnings. It was the great cosmic earthquake of the new and eternal covenant. That’s what the writer of Hebrews taught.

At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken – that is, things that have been made – in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. -Hebrews 12:26-29

The revelation of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, shook the world like it had never been shaken before. Sacrifices are no more. The priesthood was ended. Ritualistic washings are unnecessary. The temple was torn down. All of those things happened in a spiritual sense through Christ. All of those things happened physically in 70 AD, when Rome burned Jerusalem.

Christ had forever changed the world, and He would not allow some man-made building in Jerusalem to try to raise a contrary claim. The earth had never seen a shaking so great as the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Read vs 19-21

The great city: we know that as nomenclature for Jerusalem. It was split into three. This is not about the aftermath of an earthquake. During the siege of Jerusalem, the Jews – trapped inside – broke into three violent factions. They warred against one another, slaughtered each other, and burned their own food supply. As Jesus said, a house divided cannot stand (Mark 3:25).

Just like ancient Babylon, Jerusalem was one of the most fortified, most impregnable cities of her time. But her the infighting severely weakened her.

Then there was the hail, like the seventh plague of Egypt (Exodus 9:13-35). John records that the hail stones were about 100 pounds each. Listen to Josephus’ account about the stones that the Roman siege engines would hurl:

The stone missiles weighed a talent [about 100 pounds] and traveled two furlongs or more, and their impact not only on those who were hit first, but also on those behind them, was enormous. At first the Jews kept watch for the stone – for it was white – and its approach was intimated to the eye by its shining surface as well as to the ear by its whizzing sound. Watchmen posted on the towers gave the warnings whenever the engine was fired and the stone came hurtling toward them, shouting in their native tongue: “The Son in coming!” Those in the line of fire made way and fell prone, a precaution that resulted in the stone’s passing harmlessly through and falling to the rear. To frustrate this, it occurred to the Romans to blacken the stones so that they could not be seen so easily beforehand; then they hit their target and destroyed many with a single shot. - Josephus, Jewish War, Book 5, Chapter 6.3

Look in verse 21. See how the Jews cursed God for the plague of the hail. In Jerusalem, the Jews were well aware that Jesus proclaimed the destruction of Jerusalem. His followers announced this also. In fact, James, the brother of Jesus, supposedly was martyred by Pharisees in the temple, just before Rome surrounded Jerusalem, as he was proclaiming the temple’s destruction.

Though Josephus doesn’t know it, I think that is why the Jews looked at the 100 pound stones being hurled by the Romans and in unrepentant mockery cried out, “The Son is coming!” Even at the very end they were cursing Jesus – they were cursing God.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the [land] will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.

-Revelation 1:7

When Jesus came on the clouds of judgement, there was nowhere to hide. All the mountains and islands fled away so that the condemned stood entirely isolated, naked, exposed before the almighty anger of Jesus whom they pierced. Upon that generation did God drain the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.

But that cup was drained on them so we could come to Christ and be healed; where He guides us safely through seas of judgement and leads us to rivers of living water. There we rest in the shadow of His wing yet we glory in Him who is the Light of the World. Only He can cloth us in righteousness. Only He can give to us an unshakable inheritance!

And these spiritual realities are given, today, to any who would come to Jesus in faith: to male and female, to rich or poor, to Jew or Gentile. Church, let us gather the nations through our proclamation of the gospel, that all people will know joy in God!