The seven bowls contain the final judgment that pours out God’s Wrath. This devotional reading looks at the first four bowls.
Nuggets
- The judgments come from none other than God.
- The first angel’s judgment is for those who chose to follow Satan.
- The second angel’s judgment attacks and kilsl all the sea creatures.
- The third angel’s judgment attacks rivers and springs.
- The fourth angel’s judgment attacks the sun.
The final judgments are on their way. We are winding up for the Day of the Lord.
The bowls contain the final judgments. They are also called plagues. In this devotion, we are going to look at the first four. In the next, we will look at the final three.
Let’s dig in.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in The Bowl series
Let's Put It into Context #2
Who were the Jews looking for in the Messiah. Abbott gave us some insight to that. He wrote, “They believed that the Messiah would appear suddenly, and the hosts of heaven would gather about Him and the hosts of paganism would gather against Him, and in one terrible last battle He would conquer and ride victorious over a bloody field.”
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Yeah, the Jews were expecting a military Messiah. But their idea of “the hosts of paganism” were more physical than spiritual.
Pour Out God’s Wrath
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God’” (Rev. 16: 1 ESV)
The judgments come from none other than God.
Don’t miss the start of the verse. The voice is coming from the temple.
Who resides in the temple? Sovereign God.
The wrath of God is coming from God. God tells the seven angels to pour out the seven plagues on non-believers.
God tells the angels to go their way. They could not begin their missions until God sends them.
God doesn’t give then step-by-step directions here. He already has done that. They already know what they are doing and have the plagues in their bowls.
They know the game plan – God’s game plan – and the equipment to carry out their mission.
Each angel has their own game plan – their own bowl. They don’t have to make a team to get the job done. They are going their separate way to a specific place.
Each bowl is different – not only in their contents. They do not have the same amount in them. Some are terrible, and some are extremely horrible.
Thomas reminded us that, while they have a purpose, they are merciful. Say what!!!!
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Let’s think about this for a second. The bowls bring punishment to the non-believers.
What have the non-believers done? In some cases, they have killed believers.
What does God have against non-believers? They follow the worldview instead of Him.
Thomas also said that the wrath that is poured out does not end upon contact. Those who are infected continue to function. He said that it festers into a sore.
Oh, isn’t that so true? Don’t some things – evil things – seem like they take on a life of their own and grow and grow and grow?
If it starts within us, it eventually comes out in some fashion.
The First Bowl
“So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image” (Rev. 16: 2 ESV)
The first angel’s judgment is for those who chose to follow Satan.
When we talked about the mark of the beast, we said that it identified followers of Satan, not his enemies – aka children of God. Everyone is going to be required to be marked.
Saints will have to choose to not follow that worldview practice. Allowing themselves to be marked means they are choosing Satan over God.
Benson thought this was going to be an inward sore, not a sore on the skin. I can see that.
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I could see that if it just said people would get sores. But the verse says they will be harmful and painful.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. There could be a lot of inward things going on that cause us harm and are very painful.
I just think the effects of the wrath will be more visible. I think God is going to attack the physical.
Well, God can’t attack the spiritual. They aren’t. They are worldview people.
Won’t God use these punishments to attack Satan’s kingdom?
This is reminiscent of the sixth Egyptian plague. “And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt’” (Ex. 9: 8-9 ESV).
The Second Bowl
“The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea” (Rev. 16: 3 ESV)
The second angel’s judgment attack and kill all the sea creatures.
The second bowl contains a punishment for earth. We know that earth is “… cursed is the ground because of …” (Gen. 3: 17 ESV) Adam and Eve’s sin.
God is not only redeeming His children through the judgments, but He is also redeeming the earth.
The sea turning to blood is reminiscent of the first Egyptian plague. “Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood” (Ex. 7: 20 ESV).
The Third Bowl
“The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, ‘Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!’ And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!’” (Rev. 16: 4-7 ESV)
The third angel’s judgment attacks rivers and springs.
Same plague, different venue.
But then we get a little break in the programming. The third angel has something to say.
The third angel gets that God is pouring out His wrath in the seven bowls, yes, to get retribution. But it is because of righteousness that He is doing it. He is getting justice – bringing order back to His creation so that all people receive the rewards He has for His children.
Okay, the “… you have given them blood to drink …” (Rev. 16: 6 ESV) is a little creepy. But, hey, they did kill the saints. That is sometimes termed as thirsting after their blood.
So, yeah. They are getting what they deserved.
Not only that, but they are getting what they wanted. Just it ended up not being what they really wanted.
It is interesting that the altar responds. It really isn’t the altar that is responding.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Rev. 6: 9 ESV). It is the martyred saints under the altar responding.
The Fourth Bowl
“The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they curse the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory” (Rev. 16:8-9 ESV)
The fourth angel’s judgment attacks the sun.
We have seen time and again in our journey through the Book of Revelation that God calls non-believers to repentance – and they refuse.
- “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality” (Rev. 2: 21 ESV emphasis added).
- “Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’” (Rev. 6: 15-17 ESV emphasis added).
- “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, 21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts” (Rev. 9: 20-21 ESV emphasis added).
We’ll see it in the next section, too.
I know. We shake our heads because they can’t see the love of God for them. They refuse to see that submitting to God’s Will is the best thing for them.
Making the Connections #1
I was really struck by something Thomas said. He wrote – not even a full sentence – “The overwhelming ruin of [organized] wrong.”
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Ooo, baby. Doesn’t that express the worldview today? They think the reliance on science gives them order.
Wrong. That is relying on their own understanding.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov. 3: 5-6 ESV).
If we are trusting on science rather than God, we are constructing the Tower of Babel. “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth’” (Gen. 11: 4 ESV).
This reliance on ourselves – therefore, giving our allegiance to Satan – is the reason God will pour out His wrath on this world.
We don’t want to be numbered among the worldview people at that time.
Making the Connections #2
Let’s go back to men not repenting when the angels and judgments start to fly.
Clemance said that bringing man to repentance is not the purpose of the judgments. He said the purpose is to bring anger.
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I can see where mankind’s anger will come into play. If we take Revelation chronologically, the seals and trumpets come before the Antichrist.
The judgments affect nature as well as people. That is going to bring anger.
That will set up accepting the Antichrist.
If the purpose is not repentance, then the purpose is not salvation. God will not give salvation without repentance – genuine repentance.
We need to accept Jesus as our Savior NOW.
How Do We Apply This?
- Sing of God’s mercy and judgment because our lives contain both.
- Praise God because trials He has us endure bring about His sanctification.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
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Father God. Your judgments are terrifying. We recognize our need for repentance and ask Jesus to be our Savior and Lord. We wait for the Day of the Lord. Amen.
What do you think?
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