Plagues and Bowls

Revelation 15:1-16:21 

Some people see the book of Revelation as a fictitious story.  Some see it as true prophecy but they see every element as figurative, and none of it as literal.  Others see every element as literal and none of it as figurative.  Some people see it as a hoax.  “After all,” they say, “it was a book written by men nearly 2000 years ago.  Men make errors, therefore, this book is only full of errors.  Countless additions and subtractions in this book have shown that it’s not a reliable source at all.”  How are we supposed to read Revelation?  As a myth?  As only figurative?  As only literal?  As a hoax?

        

We’re about to read some of the most disturbing images found in the Bible.  Will these things really happen?  Are they literal or just figurative? 

            

Before I answer these questions let me ask you a few questions to think about.  If you read a book that predicted the future accurately how would it change your view of it?  Do you think it would be possible that an all knowing, intelligent being who is not bound by time, is possibly behind that book?  At this point, I’m not asking if you believe in Revelation or if you believe in God.  But do you think it’s possible that an all knowing, intelligent being who is not bound by time could be the ultimate author behind the Bible?

            

If you, or your friends, say that Revelation is a hoax, fictitious, etc., then let me ask you this.  How sure are you about this?  Are you 100% sure?  Can you say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that God is in no way the ultimate author behind this book?  And where do you get your beliefs about Revelation or the Bible in general?  How do you know that you’re right?  You better make sure that your sources are more reliable than anything else.  Otherwise, you may be gambling your eternity on faulty, unreasonable and unreliable sources. 

            

I can’t answer every question that I’ve brought up this morning.  But I do want talk about whether or not the events listed in Revelation 15 and 16 will happen and how do we read it, as figurative or literal?  I’ve talked to many people who would say something like, “So, you don’t take the Bible literally do you?”   Or it may come out as, “You’re not one of those literal-Bible Christians are you?”  More than likely, what they’re really saying is this, “Do you think this is really going to happen?  Do you think there will be all this wrath and judgment that Revelation talks about?”  Or they may be thinking of other places in the Bible that bother them, such as Leviticus 20:10 which says, “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”  “Should we be killing adulterers today?” they ask sarcastically.  A lot of Christians don’t know what to say to that.  I mean, it’s in the Bible isn’t it?

            

At this point, I think it’s important to do two things.  First, address the fact that the Bible as a whole is reliable.  Second, help them understand the difference between literal and figurative.

          

It’s reasonable to say that you trust what the Bible says while at the same time admitting that you have questions about the Bible.  I have questions about Revelation.  I don’t know exactly what every action taken by God will look like.  Some of the descriptions found in Revelation are mysterious too.  We may not know what some of these things mean until they’re happening around us.

But this book had been tested by the early church.  They determined that John, one of the twelve apostles, actually wrote the book.  And he performed miracles, signs and wonders in which God used to confirm that He was speaking through John.  This is the principle found in Hebrews 2:3-4, “After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,  God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” (NASB)  These verses say that God was also “testifying with them…”  The “them” that’s talked about in this verse are the apostles (James, Matthew, John, etc).  God was using miracles, signs and wonders to show that John was a prophet speaking His words.  There are other reasons to trust the Bible as a reliable source but that’s just one to think about.

Another thing to do in helping people understand Revelation is to address the issue of figurative versus literal.  In Henry Virkler’s book Hermeneutics he states the following interpretation: “E.D. Hirsch likens various types of literary expression to games: to understand them properly it is necessary to know what game you are playing.  It is also necessary to know the rules of that game.  Disagreements arise in interpretation because (1) there is a question over what game is being played, or (2) there is confusion about the proper rules for playing that game.”

Sarah, Max and I play ball together.  There have been times that I’ve been sure that I won the game only to find out that Sarah was playing a totally different game.  And she changed the rules of the game three or four times during the process.  One game we played recently was to throw the ball into the clothes basket.  I didn’t find out later that one of the “rules” was that she could keep anyone from throwing the ball into the basket but no one else was allowed to keep her from throwing the ball into the basket.

            

In God’s sovereign wisdom He decided to communicate to us through a book.  He has communicated to people through visions, dreams, creation, etc.  But His clear will has been communicated through a book.  And whether we realize it or not we all have rules of interpretation.  You may not realize that you have rules, but you do.  We all do.  It’s just good to be honest and recognize what rules each of us have.

            

These rules of interpretation are called hermeneutics.  You might be asking, “Herman who?”  It’s commonly defined as “The science and art of biblical interpretation.”

            

So, what’s the game?  We are trying to interpret the Scriptures to understand what the author originally meant by what he wrote.  What are some of the rules of the game?  Let me share a few of the literary methods that are used by the Bible authors and authors of other books as well.  Many of you could talk circles around me in the subject.  So bear with me if I’m covering old material.  I just want to make sure that we’re all on the same page.  It’s amazing how many people, including Christians, don’t know anything about these “rules.”

            

Number one is a simile.  This is used to express a comparison.  You will often see the words like or as.  For example, in Matthew 13:31 Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…”  He didn’t say “The kingdom of heaven is a mustard seed…”  The subject and the thing that it’s being compared to are kept separate.

            

A second method or “rule” is a metaphor.  It also expresses comparison but it doesn’t use the words “like” or “as”.  The subject and the thing that it’s being compared to are not as clearly separate.  In John 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”  Jesus wasn’t literally “bread”.  A piece of bread didn’t bleed and die on the cross.  I’ve never seen bread bleed or die for that matter.  The gospels say that Jesus is God and that He put on the flesh (became a man).  Either he’s a man or he’s a piece of bread.  He can’t be both. 

A third and fourth method is a parable and an allegory.  Henry Virkler goes on to define these, “A parable can be understood as an extended simile.  The comparison is expressed, and the thing compared, explained more fully, are kept separate.  Similarly an allegory can be understood as an extended metaphor: the comparison is unexpressed, and the subject and the thing compared are intermingled.”

          

So, I try to take the Bible “literally” where it needs to be taken “literally” and “figuratively” where it needs to be taken “figuratively.”  That’s a different issue than someone asking the question, “Do you believe that the Bible is reliable?”  or “Do you think that God is communicating to us through the Bible even though imperfect men wrote it?”

           

So, what’s happening in Revelation 15 and 16?  Let’s read.

I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” –Rev. 15:1-4

Right away, John focuses on God’s character and qualities.  He says His deeds are “great and marvelous.”  He calls Him “Lord God Almighty”.  He says that His ways are “just and true” and that He is a “King.”  The NASB says that He is “righteous and true.”  He also states that God is “holy” and that his acts are “righteous.”  The plagues and bowls that we’re going to read about are very harsh.  But John is saying that everything that God does has a good reason that is completely “righteous.”  If we don’t understand why God does or allows certain things we can know that He is doing or allowing these things in total fairness and He is not going to do anything that would break His own rules.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God.  In Romans 1:17 it says, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed…”  Romans 1:18-20 continues, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” 

God is completely fair in the plagues and bowls He’s about to pour out on sinners who reject Him and who harm His children.  He gives everyone plenty of evidence that He exists and that He has a standard that they know in their hearts that they have broken.  The people facing God’s wrath in Revelation 15 and 16 are going to be “without excuse.”  Paul explains that God “will pay back trouble to those who trouble you…” (2 Thessalonians 1:6)

After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 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. 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.—Rev. 15:5-8

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.”

The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: ‘You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.’

And I heard the altar respond: ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.’—Rev. 16:1-7

In the first three bowls God is affecting mankind (sores) and He’s affecting things that mankind relies upon (seas and springs of water).  John reassures his readers of God’s character again.  He says that God’s judgments are “just” and that He is “the Holy One”.  Why is God doing this?  He has “given them blood to drink as they…deserve.”  You and I may not be able to understand exactly why God does what He does in this passage but we can be assured of a couple of things.  First, God is completely righteous in everything He is going to do, even if we don’t understand all of it.  Second, the people receiving the wrath deserve it.

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. 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.

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. –Rev. 16:8-11

 Two times it’s mentioned that the people “refused to repent.”  It goes to show that when people are engrossed in sin and they’ve made up their mind not to turn away from it, they would rather be destroyed than to let go of sin.  There was a point of time in my life as a teenager that I was bound by lust.  I didn’t want to let it go.  I was comfortable where I was…at least until God intervened.

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. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. –Rev. 16:12-16

The sixth bowl is God luring the rulers of the world into destruction.  We know that the “evil spirits” weren’t literal frogs but they “looked like frogs.”  There’s a simile.  The world goes to war against God but He lays the smack down.  The kings come together to the place called “Armegeddon” or “Har-Magedon” which is situated in the northern part of Israel.  (I think this is the part of the story where Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck show up to save the day.  Or maybe not.  Maybe some of you have seen the movie.)

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.—Rev. 16:17-21

God finishes with earthquakes, lightning, thunder, and huge hailstones that weighed about 100 pounds.  Should we believe that these things will actually happen?

           

I think there’s room in how to interpret Revelation 15 and 16.  But one thing that’s not negotiable is that God’s wrath is going to be poured out on people because of their unrepentant heart and because of their persecution of God’s people.             

           

What would give people reason to believe that these things won’t literally happen, that it’s all figurative or just a hoax or a myth?  One reason could be that they have a legitimate rule of interpretation that’s leading them to a particular conclusion about this passage.  Another reason could be that this passage doesn’t fit their view of God.  They don’t see God as someone who would judge sinners, therefore, something has to go.  Either their view of God has to change or they have to throw the Bible out as an accurate source about the character of God.  This is one of the reasons that people are rejecting the Bible in droves.  It doesn’t fit their idea of God.  But if this doesn’t fit their idea of God then how do they know that their view of God is the right one?

Other than a few examples like Revelation 16:3 that says that the blood is “like that of a dead man…” or in Revelation 16:13 that the “three unclean spirits” are “like frogs…” I don’t see that this story is an allegory or a parable.  The bowls are an extension of God’s wrath but they’re not being compared to God’s wrath.  And I don’t see where God’s wrath or the people being punished are being compared to anything else. 

I just want to encourage you rethink why you believe what you believe.  Do you believe that God is a certain way because you have a reliable source that tells you about Him?  Or are you relying on feelings or other peoples’ opinions about what God is or should be like?  If you’ve gotten to the point where you believe that this book is God’s communication to me, then will you be humble to let the Scriptures lead you to conclusions about God and His character?  If you or your friends don’t believe that Revelation will happen, why?  Is it because they interpret the passages differently using reasonable rules of interpretation?  Or do they interpret it differently because it goes against their pre-conceived ideas of what God is like?

Finding God and the truth is not built on the foundation of reason and rules of interpretation.  The Spirit of God is at work inside peoples’ hearts giving them understanding of the Scripture.  But it doesn’t mean that reason and rules of interpretation have nothing to do with our understanding of the Bible.  In Luke 10:25-26 it says that, “a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’”  How does Jesus answer?  “And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’” Jesus was challenging the way they interpreted the Law.  The worst problem for the Pharisees, and others who were following their teachings, was their hard hearts.  That was the foundational problem.  But because they decided not to give up on their ideas of what God was like, that led them to develop bad interpretation.  Because, after all, either pre-conceived ideas of God had to go or they had to let go of their sin and their own rules of interpretation.  Which of the two do you think they let go?