Revelation 15-16

In the long and turbulent history of Mankind, there is a constant pattern that plays out in the affairs of Men. Man tries to break free of this constant, yet he cannot, for God and not Man rules the universe. We have seen this pattern over the last 2,000 years: The Holy Spirit, in and through the disciples of Jesus Christ, proclaims the Gospel of salvation to humanity, and churches are established. The dragon and his allies, working through men in rebellion, attacks those churches in various ways, through persecution and oppression, through deception and cunning, through enticements and bribes, but God’s purpose continues to move forward. God sounds the trumpets of warning to those who oppose Him, and they usually redouble their efforts like rebellious children. We know that in the end, God’s church will be consummated, and God’s judgment will befall those who refused to accept His offer of grace, and instead chose to oppose Him, but what happens in the meantime, will they keep on and on persecuting His people?

Believe it or not, the answer to that question is the classic lawyer’s answer: “Yes and no.”

As is so often the case in Scripture, there are really two answers to a question of this sort: On a “corporate” level, the Satan-inspired forces of this world will continue to oppose God until the very end of the age, but on an individual level, that isn’t necessarily the case. A few of those individuals will repent and change sides, all will die in the normal course of events, and God will, from time to time, pour out His judgment upon the wicked during this age. In this eventuality, we quickly discover that there is a paradox in God’s “final” judgment. I can illustrate this paradox as follows: Suppose I was an evil God-cursing, church persecuting character, and I went out later today and was run over by a truck. That might be God’s final judgment on me for my constant refusal to repent, and indeed it would be just as final for me as if it had happened on the very last day of the age, yet the age continues without me. That is the paradox that we will see in the next vision as six bowls of God’s wrath are poured out upon the earth before the Final Judgment on Judgment Day when the seventh is poured..

As was the case with the previous four visions, this one covers the period of time from the ascension of Christ to His second coming and final judgment. We know that it ends with the final judgment because of the very clear scene in 16:15-21, but the point of beginning isn’t quite so obvious at first glance. To ascertain the beginning, let’s do a little thinking…

First off, notice the similarities between the trumpets in 8-11 and the bowls in 15-16. The trumpets you will recall, were warnings to those in opposition to God, and the bowls are judgments for those refusing to repent: Trumpets warn; bowls pour out judgment. Since we know already that the trumpets warn throughout the age, the bowls would mark an ongoing judgment throughout the age.

Second, notice the similarity between 12:1 and 15:1: They both begin with a great sign in heaven, making it seem like John just started over again in chapter 15.

Next, notice also that as the fifth vision proceeds, the bowls of God’s wrath are poured out on those who have the mark of the beast. You will no doubt recall that this symbol was applied throughout the age in reference to those who “worshipped” the beast, and not specifically at the very end of the age.

Finally, notice that 15-16 contains the same characters as 12-14, the dragon, the two beasts and those with the mark of the beast are found in both visions, while the bowls and the trumpets correspond very closely, and thus it seems to me that all three visions must therefore cover the same period of time.

When we next get together, we’ll jump into the excitement and see what God has in store for us, see you then!