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Revelation
15-16
In 2005 in Ohio, Michelle Murray was
convicted of abuse against animals. She had dumped 35 kittens in a
forest. She was expecting a short
jail sentence for her crime. But
when it came to sentencing, the
judge, Michael Cicconetti, cut her jail sentence in preference for what
he calls “crime-appropriate sentencing.”
He made Michelle Murray, aged 25, spend a night alone in the
woods. In passing sentence he said
to her “How would you like to be dumped off at a metro park late at
night, spend the night listening to the coyotes… listening to the racoons
around you in the dark night and sit out there in the cold not knowing
where you’re going to get your next meal.” Well Michelle Murray was about to find out exactly what
that was like. A ranger drove her
off to a remote location and she spent the night alone in the woods to
think about what she’d done.
Judge Cicconetti has a history of these
creative crime-appropriate sentences.
He says he first saw it work when he began sentencing speeding
drivers. Whenever a driver was
caught speeding through a school zone he would order them to become
school crossing guards. And they
never reoffended. Since then he
has gotten even more creative in his sentencing. He once had before him two teenagers who
defaced a nativity scene by writing 666 on the Jesus figure. He made them walk through the town
leading a donkey: with a sign saying “Sorry for the donkey of an
offence.” He must like animals
because once a man whose crime was calling a policeman a “pig” was
ordered to stand on a street corner next to a 350 pound pig with a sign
saying “This is not a police officer.”
(He clearly cares for the pig’s reputation more than the
policeman’s!). These are
crime-appropriate sentences and we love to hear about them. We hear these stories and we
immediately warm to Judge Cicconetti.
At least I do, I think he deserves praise for his judgements
because the punishment fits the crime.
In this passage of Revelation we see the
world-wide judgement of the living God upon sin. And we also see people praising His
crime-appropriate sentences.
Chapter 15:3 the saints sing:
"Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just
and true are your ways, King of the ages
In verse 4 they
proclaim:
your righteous acts have been revealed
In Chapter 16:5 the angel in charge of the
waters calls out:
"You are just in these judgments, you who are and who
were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for they
have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them
blood to drink as they deserve." 7 And I heard the
altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your
judgments."
The punishment fits the crime. Here is the ultimate crime-appropriate
sentencing. And God is praised
for His judgement. These fearful
judgements that have just been read to us – they are the subject of
divine worship. It’s not enough
for us to move through these chapters of Revelation, to mumble something
about God’s anger against sin and race onto the happy ending. And it shouldn’t even be a case of
holding on in these chapters because later on we can rejoice when we see
the new heavens and the new earth.
These chapters, these judgements, are supposed to cause us to
praise. With Judge Cicconetti,
the little punishment of little crimes made us want to praise him a
little. But in Revelation 15 and
16, the terrible punishment of terrible crimes should make us want to
praise God a very great deal. How
do we feel about the Judge whose judgements are impeccably true and just?
Well verses 1-4 tell us how we should be
feeling. Here we see the saints
in glory. Verse 2 shows us those who in life were faithful to Jesus and
now in death they are described as victorious over the beast. They wouldn’t have looked like it on
the earth. They were harrassed,
persecuted and even killed by the beast and his agents, but now they have
won. And so they sing the song of
Moses and the Lamb.
Do you know what the song of Moses is? You can find it in Exodus 15, it’s
what the people of God as they stood by the Red Sea. It’s a song sung by people who had
endured the plagues of God. They
were God’s people who still suffered under the plagues that were sent to
judge the land where they lived.
Because they were slaves in Egypt, they were persecuted by an evil
super-power, and as they were saved by the LORD they were pursued by the
Egyptian army and they went through the Red Sea. The Egyptians followed the Israelites
into the Red Sea in a crazed bid to destroy them but the LORD drowned the
Egyptians. He brought full
judgement on the Egyptians in the sight of all Israel.
Now imagine yourself on the other side of the
Sea. Revelation 15 puts us in a
similar position. Standing by the
Sea having been saved from our enemies.
So imagine yourself back by the Red Sea: You’re no longer a slave,
you are free. You’re no longer
pursued, you’re safe. The LORD is
with you in the pillar of fire and the Sea is now red with blood – the
blood of those who sought your own.
You’re out of breath and stunned at the way the LORD has delivered
you. And so you sing:
Then
Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing
to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has
hurled into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and my
song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my
father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a
warrior; the LORD is his name. 4 Pharaoh's chariots and his
army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are
drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The deep waters have covered
them; they sank to the depths like a stone. 6 "Your right
hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered
the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you threw down
those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them
like stubble. 8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled
up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed
in the heart of the sea. 9 "The enemy boasted,`I will
pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge
myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.' 10
But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like
lead in the mighty waters. 11 "Who among the gods is like
you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory,
working wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand and the
earth swallowed them. 13 "In your unfailing love you will
lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling. 14 The nations will hear and
tremble; anguish will grip the people of Philistia. 15 The
chiefs of Edom will be terrified, the leaders of Moab will be seized with
trembling, the people of Canaan will melt away; 16 terror and
dread will fall upon them. By the power of your arm they will be as still
as a stone--until your people pass by, O LORD, until the people you
bought pass by. 17 You will bring them in and plant them on
the mountain of your inheritance--the place, O LORD, you made for your
dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. 18 The
LORD will reign for ever and ever."
That’s the song of Moses, and if you were
there you would have sung it with great gusto. Rejoicing in the judgement of God. Well Revelation 15:3 says we will sing
the song of Moses and of the Lamb – we will rejoice at God’s worldwide
judgement in just the same way.
So tonight we’re not seeking to apologize for
God’s judgement of the earth, we’re seeking to praise Him for judging our
enemies, for saving His people, punishing evil, for righting these
wrongs, for restoring justice, for exalting what’s good and banishing
what’s evil, for putting the world to rights. We will praise Him because we rejoice to have such a fierce
God who is fiercely committed to this world and fiercely committed to
making it the home of righteousness.
And when He brings the punishing, purging and purifying fire of
His wrath, we say “Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God
Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages”. My prayer is that we’ll see things
aright this evening so that we can begin to praise God the way heaven
does.
Let’s look at these judgements. Chapter 15, verse 1 begins by telling
us of the seven bowls filled with seven plagues. This is now the final cycle of seven
judgements in the book of Revelation.
We saw the seven seals broken, we saw the seven trumpets
sounded and now the seven bowls will be poured out on the earth. Each cycle of seven shows us the period
of time from Christ’s first coming to His second coming. This is our period of history in which
God’s gospel goes out to the nations, in which God’s people suffer
persecution and in which God’s judgement is visited on the earth. Each time we’ve cycled through these
seven-fold depictions of history, we’ve seen these truths from different
perspectives. Like a video replay
of the winning goal, the seven plagues show us God’s judgement from
another angle. And with the plagues
we’re focussing on the very end of things. Verse 1 says: “with
them God's wrath is completed.”
From verse 5 John tells us where these bowls
of plagues come from. Verse 6: “Out of the temple came the seven angels with
the seven plagues.” Revelation
has described heaven in very temple-like terms which is not surprising
because the temple was meant to be an earthly copy of heaven. In Revelation 5 we were shown the
sacrificial Lamb who entered the temple and sat down on the throne with
His Father. The LORD Jesus is
enthroned as God and King because He took God’s judgement as the
sacrificial Lamb. So Jesus has
gone into the temple and ever since that point in Revelation
judgement has flowed out from the temple. Judgement begins in the house of
God.
Imagine a pyramid with
Jesus at the top. Jesus Himself
was judged at the cross. And then
Hebrews tells us that by His death He even cleansed heaven (the house of
God). Now His followers who are
faithful to Him experience suffering which is ours in Jesus. For we who are in Jesus we experience
God’s judgement as a purifying fire.
But for those who do not belong to Jesus, they experience
judgement as a punishing fire.
John wants us to know
that this judgement is coming straight from the top. Right from the very house of God come these
plagues. One of the implications
is this – suffering is normal. In
fact it is God-given. Let me read
to you words from 1 Peter:
1 Peter 4
12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to
test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13
But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also
rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are
insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of
glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer
as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him
glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to
begin at the household of God (or better “from the house of God.”);
and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not
obey the gospel of God? 18 And "If the righteous is
scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 19
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their
souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
There’s so much wise
counsel here but do you see the pattern?
Verse 17 tells us judgement is from the top down. Judgement begins from the house of God. It begins with the Head of the
household, Jesus. We see in v13 how He suffered supremely. But then we share (v13) Christ’s
sufferings. This judgement passes
onto Christ’s followers as a purifying fire of suffering, and we should
not be surprised if we’re caught up in it. But as it flows on beyond God’s household it reaches the
ungodly as a punishing fire of judgement.
This is important to
get hold of because as we read on into Revelation 16 we will see plagues
falling straight from the throne room of heaven. And some of them fall specifically on
unbelievers but many of them are
plagues that affect all people generally. So it’s important to be clear, if you belong to Jesus and
you live on planet earth in this age between Christ’s first and second
coming, you will not escape these plagues. So don’t be surprised at the fiery trial. But if you do belong to Jesus you will
experience these not as judgement upon you but as a refining fire, and a
gracious sharing in Christ’s suffering.
Now let me ask the
question: why plagues? We’ve
thought about the seven seals, the seven trumpets, why is judgement
described here in terms of plagues.
Well I think because we’re meant to think about the Exodus. Do you remember Exodus from the Old
Testament?
There you have a bunch
of oppressed people who belong to the LORD. You have a godless super-power called Egypt with a beastly
ruler called Pharaoh. He is
enslaving God’s people and persecuting them, he is denying their right to
worship their LORD. But also you
have the LORD delivering them in a mighty way. How does He deliver them?
Well through 10 plagues.
Plagues of blood, of frogs, of gnats, of flies. Plagues on livestock, plagues of
boils, of hail, of locusts, of darkness.
And finally a plague upon the firstborn sons. Through these plagues the LORD
completes His judgement on Egypt and His salvation of His people.
And in Revelation 16
we see many similarities. First
we see many of the same plagues:
Same plagues:
Revelation 16 has
plagues of blood, of darkness, of boils or sores and also mention of
frogs and hail. All of which
happened to Egypt
Same targets
In Exodus sometimes
the plagues only affected Egypt and sometimes they affected God’s people
too. In Revelation 16 there are specific judgements against the beast and
his people but there are also more general plagues on the whole earth.
Same purpose
The LORD often says in Exodus and elsewhere
in the Old Testament: “So that you may know that I am the LORD.” His purpose through the judgements is
to show the believer and the unbeliever alike that He is the LORD. In Revelation 16 we see the godly
recognizing the LORD God Almighty and we see the ungodly refusing to
glorify Him like this. Clearly
the purpose is the same that the whole world know the LORD.
Same result
In Exodus, Pharaoh and his household is
hardened against the LORD through these plagues. Though actually we learn elsewhere
that many Egyptians do end up joining the Israelites. In the same way in Revelation 16 the
unbelievers who face these plagues are hardened in unbelief as a whole,
though from elsewhere in Scripture we know that many unbelievers do turn
to Christ in these circumstances.
The emphasis in both these places though is on the madness of
unbelief and the hardness of the human heart.
So it’s very Exodus
like but Revelation 16 is telling us that this will be a cosmic
Exodus. Judgement falls on v2 –
the land, v3 – the sea, v4 – fresh water, v8 – the sun, v10 – the throne
of the beast, v12 – the Euphrates, v17 – the air. Here is a worldwide judgement and it
culminates with an almighty earthquake in v18.
And it is a fearful
judgement. Verse 2: “ugly and painful sores broke out on the people.” Verse
8, people are scorched with fire.
Verse 9: they are seared by intense heat. Verse 10: “Men gnawed their tongues
in agony.”
Can you imagine the
pain that would make you gnaw your own tongue? Can you imagine (v21) 100 pound hailstones falling on
you?
Now does this mean
there will be literal hailstones – well no, not necessarily. Verse 13 describes frogs gathering
together the armies of the nations.
This is pictorial language but we mustn’t miss the intensity of
it. Whatever these images are
describing is no less intense than the scorching of the sun or the
pounding of these hailstones.
These are preliminary
judgements on the unbeliever – not hell, not the final judgement but
preliminary judgements straight from the throne of heaven:
It might not literally
be this but it will be equally as bad as people scorched with fire,
seared by intense heat, gnawing their tongues in agony. And that’s just a foretaste of eternal
judgement.
At this stage it’s useful to remember 19th
century preacher Charles Spurgeon’s advice. I’ll re-phrase it for Revelation 16: Spurgeon would say, Let us not judge
these plagues by our sins, let us judge our sins by these plagues. It’s too easy to look at these
judgements and think that they are not crime-appropriate. Perhaps we think God should simply
sentence the beast and his people to a night alone in the woods. But if we think like that we haven’t
seen the seriousness of sin. Look
at these plagues which are themselves only a foretaste of hell, and
understand that our sin does indeed deserve this.
I’m always tempted to think of my sin as
small things, foibles, weaknesses.
I feel sorry for my sin when it makes me look bad, but basically I
think of it as naughty but harmless.
God thinks otherwise. He
loathes sin. He counts it a
terrible enemy. He must punish it
and purge it from His creation
And every one of these plagues is another
warning to humanity – sin is serious, you are under God’s wrath. Repent. Do you see how often this comes up in chapter 16:
Verse
9: “but they refused to repent and glorify him.”
What are those who feel the awfulness of the
plagues meant to do? Repent and
glorify God. There needs to be a
change, they need to stop living for themselves and start living for
Jesus. Verse 11, here again is
what they refuse to do but what they need to do:
“[they]
cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they
refused to repent of what they had done.”
Again in v20 they curse God but there is no
repentance. Just as in Exodus the
plagues reveal the true LORD and people harden their hearts to curse
Him.
I remember speaking to a man who had come
into the church where I was working and within 5 minutes he’d told me
about all the people who owed him a big apology for the way he’d been
treated. After about 20 minutes of
this I stopped him and asked if there was anything he needed to say sorry
to God for. He looked
horrified. He said “Nothing, I
have never done anyone any harm.”
He kept talking and it turned out he’d just got out of prison for
throwing a man through a 2nd story plate glass window. The only reason he wasn’t still in
prison for murder is because the man miraculously survived. So me being clever enough to spot a
logical inconsistency in his argument asked again: “Is there anything you
need to say sorry to God for?” “No” he said “I’ve never done anyone any
harm.” Prison could have been a
wonderful judgement for this man.
It could have made him think “I need to repent, I need to glorify
God.” Instead his heart was hard
and he did indeed curse God for where he’d been brought.
What about you though? There will be people here who don’t
yet belong to Jesus. And if you’ve lived for any length of time you’ll
have felt some of the effects of these bowls of wrath. Each bit of suffering is a reminder
that you are not God, that this world is not as it should be, that you
are not as you should be, that sin has marred this world and it’s marred
us. Don’t curse God for reminding
you of that. We are such blind
creatures we never look up until we’re flat on our backs. And so God in His goodness knocks us
to the floor. And maybe you’re
flat on your back tonight, emotionally and spiritually. God has flattened you. He’s big isn’t He? Surrender. You want to know what repent means – how about that for a
word: surrender. Acknowledge Him,
glorify Him, join His household, befriend His Son who suffered for you
and who offers to shield you from the final judgement. Don’t curse God, repent, surrender.
And for Christians, verse 15 is our verse
isn’t it:
15 "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."
Jesus will return like a thief. He makes no appointment, He comes
unexpectedly and on that day He will bring these plagues to an end. He will judge His enemies and save His
people. Stay awake, stay dressed
for that day. It’s a little like
the LORD’s command to the Israelites about Passover. Eat it with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet
and your staff in your hand. Be ready because the LORD will lead you out
soon. We belong to the next age –
we belong to the new heavens and the new earth, don’t get caught up in
this passing age.
When Emma and I moved into the house across
the road, we were never really sure it would be our permanent home. There were problems with the house, it
was damp and certain things didn’t work and so we never fully made it our
home. The church only rented it
and we never fully unpacked because we had a sense that it wasn’t going
to be our final destination. And
that’s made it much easier now to move to a new place. This new place is not rented, the
church have purchased it and it’s a great house. Now we can unpack and make it
our own. But you know so often we live in this world like it’s our final
destination. But it’s only
rented, and there’s more than just a damp problem. We are seeking to make our home in a
place under the judgement of God.
We mortgage ourselves to a condemned property. It’s like we’re making our bed in the
rubble and keeping warm by burning the warning signs all around us. We’re trying to get comfy in a world
literally plagued by God. And for
some reason we expect comfort in a world of blood and sores. We expect convenience in a world of
darkness and earthquakes. We
expect ease in a place under God’s wrath. And Jesus says no.
He’s coming soon, unannounced, abruptly. This passing age will soon come to an end, don’t let this
world lull you to sleep, be awake to His return.
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