Bible Study of the Book of Revelation, Study 9: Three Visions of Hope

In chapters 12 and 13 of Revelation we encountered three frightful visions. John saw a dragon, who was Satan; a beast arising from the sea and a second beast arising from earth. Now, in chapter 14, we will see three contrasting visions. The first, in vs. 1–5, is of the church in worship. The second, in vs. 6–13, is of the ministry of the church through preaching. The third, in vs. 14–20, is of the evangelistic harvest of men and women turning to Christ in faith.

First, John sees God’s people worshiping the Lamb of God. They are numbered at 144,000, but, as we have seen, this is a symbolic number. We have met these worshipers before, in chapter 7. There, immediately after their number is given, we are told that John sees a great multitude that no one could count. The number symbolizes the totality of God’s elect. The mark of their election is that they bear a name (v. 1). In contrast, those marked by the beast bore an impersonal number (13:18). Those who belong to God are known by name. Here, as in chapter 7, those who are God’s elect are shown as secure in the face of the troubles to come. Though an uncountable multitude, they are numbered nonetheless, to show that not one is lost, they are all accounted for. In v.4 we are told that God’s elect are sexually pure. The image is intended to suggest that Christ’s followers are loyal to him alone. Their purity is in contrast to one we will meet later, the great whore of Babylon. Here we see that God’s people are purely devoted to Christ, but they are not kept separate from the troubles of the world. In v.4 we are also told that those who bear the name follow the Lamb wherever he goes. There may be a military overtone to this image: like good soldiers they go wherever the Lamb may send them.

The second positive image of chapter 14 is of the preached word going out upon the earth. Three angels are sent. The first declares the gospel of salvation. The second declares the fall of the false world. The third declares God’s judgment upon the world, calling people to repentance. This is the three-fold task of the preacher: declare the gospel, unmask the world, and call persons to repent. The image of Babylon symbolizes the seductions of the world in general and the moral corruption of the city of Rome in particular. Rome stood for all that was opposed to the work of God: paganism, emperor worship, persecution, corruption, cruelty and immorality. Babylon is condemned (v. 8) for her fornication. She distracts the heart, divides the loyalties, and draws us away from God, the one who should be our first love.

The third positive vision is of the evangelistic harvest. It is the work of the gospel in the world. There are, however, two harvests described: grain and grapes, the sheep and the goats. The first is the harvest of the righteous, God’s elect. The second is the harvest of those who will bear the brunt of God’s wrath poured out. Two things mark this time of reaping. One is the revelation of Christ (v. 14). His coming divides the human community into two. The second is the readiness of the crop. Both the wickedness of the wicked and the righteousness of the church are complete.

Chapters 13 and 14 present two contrasting visions of the world. On the one hand is the work of Satan, the temptations of the world and the power of falsehood. On the other, against these three stand the act of worship, the power of preaching and the evangelization of the world. For the church throughout the ages, these are the only things we possess to stand against the dark forces. Yet, these three are enough. With them, the early church turned the world upside down.

Those who escape the bowls of God’s wrath poured out are those who have already borne the judgment and rescue of baptism. God’s wrath has already been poured out upon Christ. The baptized have already passed through the waters of judgment, having been buried with Christ in his death and raised with him to new life. Historically, the waters divided the saved from the judged in Noah’s time, in Moses’ time, and now here at the end of time. The worshipers here are singing the Song of Moses, which has now become the Song of the Lamb. God is not doing anything new. The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb are the same, for both are songs of God’s mighty deliverance and redemption. Those who know this song are those who have overcome the beast: his image, his mark and his number. The emphasis is upon what has already been accomplished, but has yet to be worked out in history.

The subject matters of the song are God’s mighty acts, his marvelous character, and the glory of his name. One of the marks of the worship songs we read in the book of Revelation is that they focus upon God, not the experience of the redeemed. This is a far cry from too much modern hymnody which tends to focus upon the experience of the redeemed, not the nature and character of God.

In v. 5 John sees the temple open. The temple is the place where God’s presence abides. Each time he sees the temple a different emphasis is placed upon its meaning and significance. Here the emphasis is upon divine judgment. Hebrews 10:31 says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The truth of that affirmation is about to be revealed. The bowls of judgment come from the hands of one of the four living creatures. As we learned in an earlier study, they symbolize nature, the created realm. The imagery is that nature itself is bringing forth God’s judgment. The number of punishment is seven, signifying a judgment that is perfect, complete, just.

The vision John gives us in chapters 14 and 15, just prior to the pouring out of God’s wrath, speaks of the work of the church and the assurance of the church. Our work is our worship, our message and our outreach. Our assurance is that those who sing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb have obtained victory, come what may.

Readying the Wrath of God

John sees, at the beginning of chapter 15, the seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended. At this point in his vision, however, the end is not yet. In chapter 15 the bowls of wrath are readied but not yet released. Instead, John sees again the imagery of worship. This time, the worshipers stand beyond a sea of glass. The image is baptismal. God’s judgment is about to be poured out upon the earth.

The Wrath of God Poured Out

In chapter 16 we enter the fifth of the eight scenes of revelation. The bowls of God’s wrath are about to be poured out. It is important to view their arrival in the context of the flow of the vision. The seals that were broken in chapter 6 unleashed the four horsemen of the apocalypse. In the popular mindset they are seen as apocalyptic, but in fact, within John’s vision, they merely symbolized the troubles of history: war, famine, disease and death. The seven trumpets in chapters 8 and 9 were an intensification of the ordeal of earth, but the destruction unleashed by each was still partial. The trumpets were warning, not wrath. Now, however, we find the bowls are not warnings, but punishments. The opportunity for repentance is gone. The sequence of the bowls of judgment is quite similar to the sequence of the warning trumpets. In each the sequence unfolding is: earth, sea, rivers, sky, torment, penultimate destruction and, finally, end.

First, there are several things that should be highlighted regarding the bowls of wrath. In v. 7 the heavenly altar is seen. Throughout Revelation there is a connection between the altar and judgment. In chapter 6:9–11 we saw the martyred saints of God below the altar praying for vindication. Here their vindication comes. The third bowl of wrath is specifically poured out because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, “you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” The first answer to the martyr’s prayers was a trumpet of warning. The final answer is a bowl of judgment. Second, when the seals were broken and the trumpets blown we saw that the fifth of each brought a qualitative increase to the drama unfolding. At this point in John’s vision, the fifth bowl is said to be poured out upon the beast. The imagery suggests that the world system is breaking down. Thirdly, the imagery of the sixth bowl has become part of our popular imagination. The kings of the world gather to do battle against Almighty God. The place of their muster is the Mount of Megiddo,1 better known as Armageddon. What are we to make of this imagery? We resist fanciful interpretations and note that conflict between God and the world is the mark of our time. There are seasons when the scope and intensity of that conflict increase. In v. 15 the Lord Jesus speaks, reminding us that he will come again, as a thief in the night. The imagery of this bowl is telling us that the climactic battle between God and the corrosive forces of this world will take place one day. There will be a final reckoning at the Second Coming of Christ. Lastly, note that the seventh seal (8:1) brought silence. The seventh trumpet (11:15–19) brought a proclamation of the kingdom of God. The seventh bowl (16:17–21) brings utter destruction upon the earth.

This study first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 8, No. 3 (May/Jun 2002).