PONDERING... Another Look at the End (Revelation 15-16)

Another Look at the End

GIST: God will bring everything to an ultimate end and destroy sin. This reflects His justice, for which we should praise Him; and His power, purity, and glory, for which we should long.

SCRIPTURE: Revelation 15-16

This week, we’ve come to a passage very similar to those we’ve seen in the seven seals and trumpets. As we near the end of this book, we have several chapters in a row that are very interconnected. 15 gives us a picture of the seven seals from the perspective of Heaven. 16 zooms in on the final look of the judgments on earth before Christ’s return (which we have addressed are continuing to happen with increased intensity until His return and are not limited to one future event). 17-18 then give us an even more detailed look at the nature of these judgements.

Today, we’re going to try and take some big picture applications from this vision. God will bring everything to an ultimate end and destroy sin. This reflects His justice, for which we should praise Him; and His power, purity, and glory, for which we should long--and which we will experience if we are in Him.

I. God will bring everything to an ultimate end and destroy sin.

15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

Dr. Kim Riddlebarger pointed out “The first thing to notice is the way in which these judgments echo the judgments which came upon Egypt and the wicked Pharaoh, and the other is the great intensity of these judgments which far surpasses anything we have seen in Revelation so far.” He does a great job breaking this down, as well, so I’m just going to link to his article here as we have discuss this at greater length before.

Beyond these allusions and this intensity which points to their finality, I just wanted to make a few observations on this point.

1. Even with the intensity of these judgments, there is unrepentance. This is incredibly

sad, and as we’ve pointed out before, why it is so very important that we share our faith with those around us.

2. Though the Satan and sin seem strong, they are defeated soundly. Toward the end of

Chapter 16 (from verse 12-16), we see a picture of Spiritual Warfare--Armageddon. It seems as if this massive battle is about to take place. And, if this was a fictional narrative, the battle would be vast with casualties on both sides--until the “good” musters its last remaining strength and overcomes. This is not fiction, nor is the battle between essentially equal foes. The stage is set in verse sixteen, and in verse 17 Jesus says the same thing he said on the cross--“It is done!”, and it is!

II. This reflects His justice, for which we should praise Him.

15: 2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,

   O Lord God the Almighty!

Just and true are your ways,

   O King of the nations![a]

4 Who will not fear, O Lord,

   and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

   All nations will come

   and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

This passage and 16:5-7 both show the saints singing songs to God praising Him for His justice. Miroslav Volf, Croatian theologian, put this point better than I could. Chew on this:

Most people who insist on God’s “nonviolence” cannot resist using violence themselves (or tacitly sanctioning its use by others). They deem the talk of God’s judgment irreverent, but think nothing of entrusting judgment into human hands, persuaded presumably that this is less dangerous and more humane than to believe in a God who judges! That we should bring “down the powerful from their thrones” (Luke 1:51-52) seems responsible; that God should do the same ... seems crude. And so violence thrives, secretly nourished by belief in a God who refuses to wield the sword.

My thesis that the practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many Christians, especially theologians in the West. To the person who is inclined to dismiss it, I suggest imagining that you are delivering a lecture in a war zone (which is where a paper that underlies this chapter was originally delivered). Among your listeners are people whose cities and villages have been first plundered, then burned and leveled to the ground, whose daughters and sisters have been raped, whose fathers and brothers have had their throats slit. The topic of the lecture: a Christian attitude toward violence. The thesis: we should not retaliate since God is perfect noncoercive love. Soon you would discover that it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human nonviolence corresponds to God’s refusal to judge. In a scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die. And as one watches it die, one will do well to reflect about many other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind.--Miroslav Volf

God is merciful. But we have to be careful not to come to expect that at the cost of not appreciating His justice. It’s like an example I read from R.C. Sproul in The Holiness of God. There were three term papers in a class he was teaching. Though his policy clearly stated that late papers would receive a zero, for the first two, he mercifully gave his class extensions. However, because of this, more people were late the second time than the first, and even more were late for the third and final paper. However, for this last paper, he did not allow an extension. The students were outraged. Why? Because they took mercy for granted.

We should praise God for His mercy, but we should also rejoice that He is just.

III. This is the result of His power, purity, and glory, for which we should long.

5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

In this picture, we see His power (golden sashes), purity (pure, bright linen), and glory (smoke filling the sanctuary--His unapproachable glory). As Christians, we should want to see these. And, if we are His, we will. That should excite us.

Takeaways:

There is an aside in 16:15 that I feel functions as a solid takeaway for today. Again, it is almost as if in the midst of this picture of destruction Jesus knows we need reminded of His goodness and purpose.

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!”)