November 16, 2020
Bowled Over by God's Wrath (and Grace)
Revelation 16
Kristen Belveal
Central Truth
An increased awareness of God's right, just response to sin and man's hard-hearted rebellion should inspire a greater desire to share the gospel.
Key Verse | Revelation 16:10-11
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
Revelation 16
The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters 1 16:5 Greek angel of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed 2 16:9 Greek blasphemed; also verses 11, 21 the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.
10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
The Seventh Bowl
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, 3 16:18 Or voices, or sounds peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds 4 16:21 Greek a talent in weight each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
Dive Deeper | Revelation 16
When I first realized I'd be writing a devotional on Revelation 16, I was weirdly excited. While Revelation can be pretty intimidating, there are some interesting parallels in today's reading that can really spur us on in our faith.
In this chapter, God pours out His wrath on the people who bear the mark of the beast and live in its kingdom by sending plagues and calamities that, in part, mirror the plagues from Exodus: sores/boils (Exodus 9:8-12), water becoming blood (Exodus 7:14-25), fire (Exodus 9:13-26), darkness (Exodus 10:21-29), frogs (Exodus 8:1-15), and hail (Exodus 9:13-26).
In both parts of the Bible, hard-hearted people respond to God's wondrous signs with anger and defiance instead of repentance. And the same happens today. When some people face consequences for their sins, they rage at God (Proverbs 19:3) instead of humbly repenting. But how do we respond when we see that kind of hard-heartedness?
We pray for their salvation and share the gospel.
After all, we would all be rebellious, angry enemies of God if not for His divine, merciful intervention (Romans 5:8-11; 1 Corinthians 6:11; John 6:44). So we can faithfully plant and water gospel seeds and trust that God will inspire belief if it's His will (1 Corinthians 3:5-7). We are responsible for being obedient. He is responsible for generating results.
I'll end my devotional with one final parallel. In Revelation 16:19, the writer mentions Babylon the great drinking the cup of God's wrath—the metaphorical cup Jesus drank for us when He bore the weight of our sins on the cross (Matthew 26:39). In the end, every sin will be paid for whether by the people who committed them or by Him who knew no sin—Jesus! (2 Corinthians 5:21) With whom will you share that good news?
Discussion Questions
1. Who are ten people you can commit to praying for and sharing the gospel with? Watermark's Top 10 Card and the Echo Prayer app can help you remember to pray for and engage with them!
2. Do you feel confident in your ability to share the gospel? If not, check out this one-verse evangelism how-to and consider signing up for Unashamed, Watermark's a weekend-long urban discipleship trip, if you're in the Dallas area!
3. Do you ever struggle with reconciling God's just response to sin with His loving/gracious nature? Why?
4. In what situations do you have the most difficulty sharing your faith? Share your answer with a couple of mature believers and see what they recommend for growing in boldness or getting better equipped for those conversations.