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Grace & Peace: Revelation 93

Douglas Wilson on April 3, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments (Rev. 16:4-7).

Now comes the time for third bowl of wrath to be poured out upon Jerusalem. The previous judgment was upon the ocean; with this plague the sentence falls upon the fresh water. Again, with the trumpet judgments, the affliction was partial. Now comes the end, when the sentence is final. So in this segment, the third angel empties his bowl of wrath. Far from objecting, another angel, the angel of the waters, declares that the judgment is righteous. The Lord is righteous, and He is the one who was, is, and is to be. *He* is the one who has determined this calamity. The next statement by the angel of the waters helps to confirm the place where this sentence must fall. As a city, the murder of prophets was characteristically Jerusalems signature item (2 Chron. 36:15-16; Luke 13:33-34; Acts 7:52). When it came to prophets and saints, this was a bloodthirsty city, and so it was fitting that God turned all their fresh water to blood.

Jerusalem richly deserved to have this happen to them. Jesus had predicted this would happen, and He said that the murder of prophets over generations is *why* it would happen.

“Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation” (Matt. 23:31-36).

Earlier the martyrs had cried out from under the altar, seeking Gods vengeance on their behalf (Rev. 6:9). The tribulation of the trumpets began to answer their cry for justice, and now the finalization of justice is imminent. And so it is that another voice comes from the altar, echoing the sentiments of the angel of the waters*. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.*

Grace & Peace: Revelation 92

Douglas Wilson on March 27, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea” (Rev. 16:3).

As numerous commenters have pointed out, the second bowl of wrath is similar to the judgment that was delivered through the second trumpet. The difference has to do with the extent of the judgment. With the trumpet judgment, when the great mountain was pitched into the sea, a third of the sea became blood (Rev. 8:8). The judgment was partial. Here the judgment is complete. Not only did the sea in its entirety become blood, but it was like the blood of a dead man—putrefying, coagulated, and clotted.

This is still the final horror falling upon the Jews in revolt, and it is reminiscent of the plague that helped destroy Egypt—with Judea now being the new Egypt. In the first plague to afflict Egypt, the Nile turned to blood (Ex. 7:17-21).

A part of the fulfillment of this prediction by John may have happened at the Sea of Galilee, where Josephus recalls one encounter. Remember that this Sea was where Jesus often taught, and where many of His disciples had made their living.

“They were killed by the darts on the lake; and the Romans leaped out of their vessels, and destroyed a great many more upon the land: one might then see the lake all bloody, and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped. And a terrible stink, and a very sad sight there was on the following days over that country; for as for the shores, they were full of shipwrecks, and of dead bodies all swelled; and as the dead bodies were inflamed by the sun, and putrefied, they corrupted the air . . . (Wars, III.10.9, emphasis mine).

Grace & Peace: Revelation 91

Douglas Wilson on March 22, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image” (Rev. 16:1–2).

No one could go into the heavenly Temple until after all seven bowls were poured out (Rev. 15:8), and so that must mean that the great voice coming out of the Temple here is the voice of God Himself. The fact that He gives all seven angels their marching orders all at once would seem to indicate that these bowls of judgment are poured out in quick order, in rapid succession.

The effects of these seven emptied bowls run parallel to the effects of the seven trumpets blown earlier. But while the seven trumpets tended to partial destructions measured in thirds, the impact of the bowls is more complete and total. We have arrived at the crescendo, and Jerusalem is about to be no more.

In addition, we see that there are similarities with the plagues that had destroyed Egypt at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 9:8-12), and the meaning of this appears to be that the old Jerusalem has become her ancient adversary Egypt, and that the hated Christians were about to be delivered through a new Exodus, and were to take their place as the new Israel.

Those Jews who had the mark of the beast—who had cried that they had no king but Caesar—were afflicted with grievous sores. They prided themselves on being free from idolatry, but they were in fact in bondage to idolatry. These sores appeared on those who “worshiped his image.” This particular plague in response to covenantal infidelity had been promised to Israel centuries before, and in a way that linked them with Egypt.

“The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed . . . The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head” (Deut. 28:27, 35).

Deuteronomy says that they are sores that cannot be healed, and that would appear to be the case here. The sores appear at the first bowl of wrath, but those afflicted with them are still suffering from them when the fifth bowl is poured out (v. 11).

Grace & Peace: Revelation 90

Douglas Wilson on March 15, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” (Rev. 15:5–8).

The final moments of Jerusalem are upon her. John looked, and the sanctuary was opened, and judgment came out of her. That sanctuary is described in quite an interesting way—the “temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven.” The word for temple may refer to the inner sanctum, the holy of holies, which the tabernacle in the wilderness had, just as Solomon’s temple did. Putting it all together, the angels came out of the holy of holies in the heavenly tabernacle. They came out of the holy of holies, where the testimony was kept—the ark of the covenant, capped with the mercy seat, was called the ark of the testimony (Ex. 25:22). When merciless judgment comes to you from the place of the mercy seat, you know that things are pretty bad.

The angels emerged, bringing the seven plagues with them. They were dressed in pure white linen, and had golden sashes wrapped around their chests. Although they came with the seven plagues, one of the four living creatures gave them seven bowls, filled up with the wrath of God. The wrath belongs to the God who lives forever and ever. The word translated vial in the AV is better rendered as bowl, and appears to match with the earlier bowls filled with incense, that is, the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8). Combine this with the prayers that the saints under the altar offered up (Rev. 6:9), and you can see the convergence of answered prayer and the wrath of God. Earlier they had asked, how long? And now that the bowls are handed out to the angels, God’s answer to their question is now.

The glory of God, and the power of God, were manifested in the temple in the form of smoke. This is what had happened at the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34-35), and at the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). In this instance, with no one able to enter the heavenly temple because of the smoke, it appears to be a symbolic way of saying that intercession for Jerusalem is no longer a possibility. The judgment is going to fall, and fall heavily now.

Grace & Peace: Revelation 89

Douglas Wilson on March 6, 2018

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” (Rev. 15:1–4).

Seven angels are introduced here, and we are given sort of a prelude to the next round of judgments. Their approach is said to be another “sign in heaven,” and it was a sign that was “great and marvelous.” These are described as the seven last plagues, meaning that we are now talking about the final and complete destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They bring with them the fullness of the wrath of God. This is it.

We will see in v. 6 that these angels come out of the heavenly temple, and so it is not surprising that we also see various aspects of temple worship described, which would include the crystal or glass sea. This is not a lake or an ocean out in front of the temple, but is rather the laver that in the Old Testament was made of bronze, in which the priests would wash themselves. The word here is thalassa, which is the same word used in the Septuagint for the bronze laver (1 Kings 7:23). As the laver was used for purification of the worshipers, the fact that the glass here was mingled with fire probably indicates cleansing in Heaven, as opposed to mass destruction on earth. The original laver for the tabernacle was small, in which the priests would wash their hands and feet (Ex. 30:17-21; 40:30-32). Solomon’s version was huge, resting on the backs of bulls. It probably represented the Red Sea, and the great victory that God had won for Israel there. The heavenly version was greater still, and represented a greater victory still.

Those who had gained the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name—meaning the believers who had stood firm in the Neronian persecution—were given the harps of God and they all stood on the sea of glass in order to be able to sing. They were purified at the laver, and then presented their praise.

We are told that these faithful ones sang two songs. The first was the song of Moses, indicating that Jerusalem was identified with the old Egypt that had fallen under judgment. Just as Egypt had been left a smoldering ruin, so also Jerusalem was going to be left the same way. The second song was the song of the Lamb, and we are given the content of that song.

This chapter began with the sign in Heaven being described as “great and marvelous,” and here that phrase is repeated. They sang that the works of the Lord God Almighty were great and marvelous. He is the King of saints, and His ways are just and true. His name shall be glorified, and they sing that no one will fail to fear Him. And why? Because He alone is the Holy One, and all nations will come and worship before Him. They will do so because His judgments, in all their severity, will be made manifest now.

Just as Miriam and the women with her danced on the shores of the Red Sea, so the faithful ones who stood against Nero will sing as they stand on the Crystal Sea. The thing they share in common is the fact that they know that the songs of the saints in Heaven provide the soundtrack for judgments on earth. The ferocity of God’s judgments when they finally fall upon the insolence of rebellious man is not “a problem” to be apologized for. The ferocity of God’s judgments are here celebrated, and we see that they are the basis for all the nations of men coming to their senses and streaming to the Lord of the nations, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why will the nations come and worship? Because the wrath of God has been made manifest.