The final verses of Revelation 16 conclude the fifth major section of Revelation. As we draw closer to the end of the book, we also focus more clearly on the end of history and especially on God’s judgment of His enemies. Christians may have become weary of the unrelenting scenes of divine wrath, as God brings down His enemies one by one. But Christians may find through careful attention that the bad news of God’s wrath on His enemies is organically tied to God’s good news for believers.

Looking ahead to upcoming chapters, we find that God’s judgment on Babylon avenged and vindicated “the blood of prophets and of saints” (Rev. 18:24). The casting down of the harlot Babylon precedes the arrival of Christ’s glorious bride for the marriage feast of the Lamb (19:6-8). A blood-drenched Jesus who slays His enemies is also the Savior, mounted on a white horse, who is called “Faithful and True” (19:11). Moving back unto our passage, as the seventh bowl of wrath is poured out; the voice from heaven’s throne shouts words that thrill the hearts of biblical believers: “It is done!” (v. 17).

There is a profound redemptive-historical relationship between Christ’s cry from the cross and this loud call from heaven. Having accomplished redemption by His atoning death, Jesus uttered the Greek word tetelestai, meaning “it is accomplished.” Now, from heaven at the end of the gospel age, at the brink of His return, Jesus shouts gegonen, meaning “It has come to pass.” This perfectly fits the redemptive relationship between the two events: the salvation that Christ accomplished on the day of His crucifixion will come to pass only in the crowning victory of His day of return.

What results, then, will occur at the end of this age when Christ returns? Our passage presents four endings that arrive with the coming of Jesus and the final judgment: the end of the world, the end of worldly society, the end of sin, and the end of the gospel opportunity for salvation.

First, a clear emphasis of these verses is that Christ’s return spells the end of the world in its present form. When the seventh bowl was poured, “there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, pearls of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake” (v. 18). These violent phenomena intensify descriptions that we have previously seen about the end of the world. Revelation 6:12-14 spoke of “a great earthquake” and the sky vanishing “like a scroll that is being rolled up.” Now, with the seventh bowl of wrath thrown into the air, the physical world is assaulted by lightning, thunder, and an earthquake to end all earthquakes.

Verse 20 tells how sweeping the upheaval of this final earthquake is: “every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.” Objects that symbolize permanence – mountains and islands – are swept away in destruction. The best way to understand this is that the present physical order will be shaken and purged so as to be renewed and glorified in the new age after Christ’s return. Jesus Himself referred to the new world as the “regeneration or renewal” (Matt. 19:28). Paul spoke of the undoing of the world as its “redemption” (Rom. 8:23), when “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption” (Rom. 8:21).

Even more pointed than the world’s end is the end of worldly society (v. 19). Scholars suggest that in John’s day, “the great city” would have referred to Rome. If that is so, Rome was identified as a symbol of the world system, together with Babylon, a city that had been deserted by then for centuries. It is not merely one city or one nation that falls under this judgment but “the cities of the nations,” that is, the entire corrupt world system in service to Satan and opposition to Christ. It’s not just Rome or some later great capital of evil that is decimated but all the worlds cultural, political, economic, and sociological centers.

This judgment reminds believers today not to be intimidated by the menacing power of the world or enticed by the seductive pull of its sinful pleasures. When Christians are tempted to desire worldly approval, we should remember this end that is in store for the city of the world. Paul urged Christians to realize, therefore, that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). Christian parents should thus be raising their children not for the world but for the kingdom of Christ. While believers live in the world, we must not be of the world so as to enter into its way of thinking and acting.

Together with the destruction of the worldly society, this passage also shows Christ’s return as bringing the end of sin. The reason that God remembered Babylon is that God keeps a close record of all sin. The Old Testament presents countless examples of God’s noting, recording, and remembering sin, as well as His obligation to punish it. Often God patiently provides a long opportunity for repentance and salvation through faith. Paul writes that “in his divine forbearance he passed over former sins” (Rom. 3:25), not fully punishing them immediately.

In the end, sin itself will be brought to an end. Paul wrote that after ascending to heaven, Christ “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor. 15:25). In the cataclysmic end of the world, including the final judgment and its punishments, we see the end of sin in the creation made by God. No wonder the angels sing, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Rev. 19:6). Knowing that sin will be defeated at the end of the age should decisively shape the lifestyles of those who look to Christ for salvation.

We have seen that the great cataclysm that accompanies the return of Christ brings the end of the world, the end of worldly society, and the end of sin. This being the case, it is evident that this same event heralds the end of the gospel opportunity by which sinners can be forgiven and cleansed through faith in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 9:27-28 the writer states that Christ’s first coming, culminating with His atoning death for sin on the cross, establishes a present opportunity for salvation, through faith in Him. During this age, sinners who die without believing in Jesus face the immediate prospect of divine judgment. Then, when Christ returns at the end of the age, the opportunity of salvation is no longer offered. Instead, Jesus delivers those who have been waiting for Him even as He brings a destructive end to all those who have rebelled against Him.

John’s vision showed that even as the terrible judgment falls on the last day, Christ’s enemies “cursed God” for this severe plague (v. 21). This reaction to God’s just punishment confirms their enmity to God. As unrepentant enemies and sinners, they are smitten to the ground with “great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each,” which “fell from heaven” on them (v. 21). Great hailstone attacks from heaven are a biblical symbol of wrathful judgment on the enemies of God (see Josh. 10:11; Isa. 28:2). Hailstones of this colossal size would easily have enough force to slay all those beneath them, utterly silencing the lips that curse their God.

This judgment shows the need for the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of God’s Word. Not even the cataclysms of the end of the age can motivate Satan’s minions to repent and give God the glory He deserves, even as the seconds of gospel opportunity flee from history forever. Their example should help persuade you that now is the time to repent before your heart is so hardened in sin and unbelief that you are no longer able to do so. This call is especially urgent if you angrily rise against God in response to minor trials and judgments that you have already experienced. Joy and peace can be yours by confessing you sin to Jesus and calling on His name for forgiveness. God’s covenant of grace promises all who seek forgiveness through Christ: “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Heb. 8:12).

Revelation 16:17-21 Study Questions:

Why does the voice from the throne announce “It is done!” after the seventh bowl of wrath is poured out (v. 17)?

As we consider this news of the impending collapse of the world’s idolatrous systems – economic, social, environmental and political systems – what does it mean to be faithful in the present?

As we have studied Revelation’s visions of the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls, we have noted that these generally refer to God’s judgments taking place throughout the church age. The sixth bowl in these series, however, refers to events shortly before the end of the age, and the seventh bowl brings us to the return of Christ. In considering the fourth and fifth bowls of wrath, and therefore, we should see them as characterizing the world’s ungodly response throughout the age as it leads up to the climatic final events.

The fourth bowl of wrath was poured out “on the sun,” to make it “scorch people with fire” (v. 8). The key to this bowl is to note it as the opposite of what the Bible promises to God’s faithful people. Psalm 121:5-6 says, “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” Similarly, Revelation 7:16 promised that the redeemed “shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.” Here, the Lord is doing exactly the opposite in judging the sinful world.

As a judgment for sin, the fourth bowl addresses the situation of Western society today. Our secularist world has deliberately rejected God and tried to bar His influence. As Revelation envisions, we have replaced God with the beast of all-pervasive government, the false prophet of secular humanism, and the seductions of the harlot Babylon. The fourth bowl depicts judgment by scorching the world with “fierce heat” from a divinely cursed sun. In sin, the world becomes harsh and painful.

What is the response of the sin-corrupted secularist to the misery that results from God’s judgment of sin? We hear the answer all the time today, as media figures unceasingly blaspheme against God. John writes: “They cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory” (v. 9). On this same basis, “religion” and Christianity are publicly maligned today. Angry atheists point to widespread poverty, ignorance, disease, lawlessness, and relationship breakdowns – all of which are rooted in sin – and then curse God for them. “Where is this kind and loving God that you Christians speak of?” the secularists revile. The answer is that man’s own idolatry and sin have turned God’s face away in anger.

God not only places His curse of judgment on a faithless world, but also targets the leaders of spiritual opposition (v. 10). This judgment is based on the fourth plague on Egypt in the exodus, when God brought darkness on the realm of Pharaoh. The plague of darkness in the exodus showed God’s sovereignty over Egypt, and God likewise shows His sovereignty over Satan’s rule by sowing confusion among his earthly servants.

Although sinful people would not “repent of their deeds,” they still “gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed” God (vv. 10-11). Having their sources of security toppled – whether financial, political, or ideological – they are portrayed by John as gnawing on their tongues, seeking to maintain self-control. “There is no peace,” the Bible says, “for the wicked” (Isa. 57:21). The anxiety of sin is especially intense when God’s shadow brings dismay to the dominion of Satan, afflicting the spirits of those who will not forsake their sin or give God the glory He deserves.

While the first five bowls show God’s judgment in striking satanic powers throughout the church age, the sixth bowl, like the sixth seal and the sixth trumpet, moves us forward to the climatic events preceding Christ’s return. The vivid picture of this penultimate vision begins with the angel’s pouring “out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east” (v. 12).

The Euphrates River was the border between the lands that God gave to Israel and her enemies beyond it. Similarly, in John’s time, the Euphrates was the border between Rome and the dreaded Parthian Empire. The city of Babylon was located on the Euphrates, and in Revelation Babylon symbolizes the idolatrous world system. In the Old Testament, the parting or drying up of waters was an act of God’s intervention in order to advance the cause of His people. Here, He dries up the Euphrates “to prepare the way for the kings from the east.”

We need to be reminded again that Revelation presents visionary symbols, not a straightforward narrative of historical events. This becomes clear when we see Satan’s response to this assault from the worldly powers in verse 13.By means of his unholy counterfeit trinity – the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, signifying Satan, the Antichrist, and false teachers in society and within the organized church – Satan unleashes a spiritual assault. Demons, called “unclean spirits,” go forth “like frogs.” This points to the exodus, when God sent a plague of frogs on Egypt (Exod. 8:2-14). The frogs penetrated every household, spreading defilement and making a mind-numbing sound. It is for both the corruption and the deception of their slick and slippery speech that the demons are compared to frogs.

Added to their success in misrepresenting truth, the spirits are “performing signs,” going “abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty” (v. 14). In this way we see both Satan’s and God’s purposes in these events. In response to assault from worldly powers, Satan deceives all the nations into gathering for the climactic battle against God. It was for this purpose that God dried up the river, which symbolizes the removal of His restraint that kept earthly forces from uniting against His church.

The name given to this final battle symbolizes the cataclysmic end of the world is “Armageddon” (v. 16). This place is commonly known as Mount Megiddo. Megiddo was a fortress city overlooking the plain to the north-west of Jerusalem that hosted great battles in antiquity and as recently as Napoleon and the British army of World War 1. Some scholars envision a literal battle taking place in the future at Megiddo, in which the armies of the entire earth will be gathered to assault a future Jewish state.

This approach does not fit the symbolic nature of Revelation’s visions. Moreover, large as the plain around Megiddo was for ancient warfare, it could not hold even a single large military formation today, much less the combined armies of the world. Moreover, Revelation specifies the symbolism at work in this passage. Chapter 17 states that the reference to the Euphrates River was a symbol for “peoples and multitudes and nations and languages” (Rev. 17:15). Even the name Armageddon, or Mount Megiddo, is symbolic, since Megiddo is not a mountain but was a city on a small mound.

While Mount Megiddo is a symbol, it depicts a very real future event. The Bible gives abundant witness to a final conflict in which the forces of the world unite under a satanically inspires Antichrist to wage war on God’s people. It is, verse 14 proclaims, “the great day of God the Almighty,” to which the Scriptures so often looked, when Christ returns to destroy Satan and his evil powers, to rescue His church, and through the final resurrection and judgment to establish His eternal reign over a rescued and renewed creation that will fully display His glory.

Revelation 16:8-16 Study Questions:

What is the target of the fifth plague?

Why are the kings of the earth drawn into such a foolish confrontation (vv. 13-14)?

Why does John suddenly issue an encouragement to his readers to “stay awake” (v. 15)?

How do we also need to “wake up” to what is happening around us in the world?

Most everyone struggles with the terrifying descriptions of God’s wrath in the Bible. Even the prophet Malachi bemoaned, “Who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?” (Mal. 3:2). It is hardly necessary, when studying the later chapters of Revelation, to argue that the Bible does in fact speak of God’s angry and violent judgment on sin. This is true not only of Revelation: hundreds of references to God’s wrath are found throughout the Bible. Yet one need only read Revelation 16:1 to prove the Bible’s teaching on this subject.

With the Bible’s teaching of wrath, the question turns to the moral acceptability of divine anger. This question is also answered in the opening section of chapter 16. Not only does the angel who speaks in verses 5 and 6 defend God, but he praises God profusely for His wrath (v.5). He further explains the reason why God’s wrath is to be praised in verse 6. The doctrine of God’s wrath and judgment on all sin needs to be proclaimed by Christians today.

Verses 1-4 describes the outpouring of the bowls of God’s wrath on the earth, beginning with His command in verse 1. Chapter 15 concluded with a picture of the inner sanctuary so filled with smoke that “no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished” (15:8). This being the case, none other than God Himself could be speaking from within His temple. This inner sanctuary is the most holy place in the entirety of creation. This fact tells us the most important thing for us to know about God’s anger: It is a holy wrath that responds in terrible violence precisely because of God’s moral perfection and the morally heinous nature of sin.

The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparably united. God’s wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. Here, the wrath of God is linked to His love, since He does not simply walk away in disgust from His fallen creation. The world belongs to Him and was created for the display of His glory. God in His love for His own work is utterly, irreconcilably opposed to sin, is resolved to stamp it out, and through His wrathful judgment is determined to cleanse the world for its holy destiny in the glorious return to Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:19-21).

Another aspect of God’s wrath is His vengeance against His enemies. Who are the recipients of God’s vengeful wrath? They are “the people who bore the mark of the beast and worship its image (v. 2). God’s wrath falls on the unbelieving world as servants and worshipers of His supreme opponent, the dragon and his beasts. Jesus said, “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Luke 11:23). Revelation shows this by depicting all mankind as bearing either the mark of the beast in idolatry or the mark of Christ through faith (Rev. 13:17-14:1). The world on which the bowls of God’s wrath are poured is a world that rejected God in rebellious unbelief and chose instead to worship the evil powers under Satan.

When we speak of the vengeance of God’s wrath, we are noting its necessity in saving His people from the wicked. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13), and it is by His wrath on the ungodly that God fully answers this prayer. Therefore, God’s vengeful wrath is also His redeeming wrath. The cataclysmic outpouring of wrath that will end the history of this age will have the result of finally delivering the people of God and granting them the victory of eternal rest.

The next feature that indicates God’s anger is the justice of His wrath (vv. 5-6). “True and just are your judgments!” adds the voice of the martyrs (v. 7). We may notice that the judgments of the seven bowls correspond closely to the previous judgments of the seven trumpets. The point for us to grasp is that these bowl judgments exact a just retribution for sin. They represent God’s justice acting in punishment for violations of God’s law. Verse 6 says that since the wicked shed the blood of God’s servants, they are given blood to drink in return. They receive in God’s wrath exactly “what they deserve” (v. 6). This is in keeping with the pattern of judgment taught all through the Bible.

One more way to see God’s wrath vindicated in these verses is to note that the testimony of the angel and the martyrs joins to rejoice in the beneficial results of God’s wrath: “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” (v. 7). God’s wrath is beneficial because it upholds God’s law for the well-being of all creation. The world cannot be whole, good, and at peace while evil is in play. What good news it is that God’s wrath is directed at all sin and evil so that the world will be cleansed in the end and that God’s righteousness will finally reign over all.

How blessed it is when divine judgment achieves this in history, and how completely wonderful it will be when God concludes history in a holy, vengeful, and just wrath that puts everything to rights! David anticipated this joyous achievement in Psalm 58:11: “Mankind will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.’” And because of the goodness of God’s wrath in judging evil, the redeemed people of God will add their voices to those of the angels in worshiping God with great praise: “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!” (vv. 5-6).

In the book of Romans, Paul started by saying that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18). He added, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). Paul summarized that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and that therefore all are under God’s wrath. But the good news that we need declares that God sent His Son, Jesus, to be a propitiation for our sin, that is, a sacrifice to bear the wrath of God in the place of those who receive Him in faith.

Before this statement, everything is bad news because of God’s wrath on sin. After this provision of God’s grace, everything is good news because of the saving sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Revelation 16 has answered complaints against the wrath of God by showing that it is a holy, vengeful, just, and beneficial wrath. But for sinners themselves who are under the threat of God’s wrath, the true solution is to believe in Jesus so as to be freed from the righteous judgment that our sin deserves.

Revelation 16:1-7 Study Questions:

What are each of the four bowls of wrath poured out on and what do they have in common (vv.1-9)?

What then, are the implications and significance of these four bowls?

Why does the “angel of the waters” burst out in praise when the third bowl of wrath is poured out on the rivers and springs (vv. 4-6)?

How does the picture of God we find in this chapter reshape the way we understand the nature of “love” and our idea of how God extends His love to us?

Revelation 15 begins the fifth section of Revelation, presenting the judgments of the seven bowls of wrath. We remember the relationship between the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. There is no question that the seven seals encompassed the entire church age, with only the seventh seal corresponding to Christ’s return and the final judgment. The same is true of the seven trumpets. The sense in which the seven bowls finish God’s wrath corresponds to this sequence. The bowls show God as delivering final judgment on His enemies in history. The bowl judgments show what happens when God’s initial and partial judgments are ignored.

Revelation 15 opens up the visions of the bowls of wrath with a remarkable scene (v. 2). We saw in Revelation 4:6 that the “sea of glass, like crystal,” was before God’s throne in heaven. The saints are now standing before that crystal sea, having arrived safely through the travails of earth. The sea is a biblical image for the powers of chaos and evil that rise up against God’s creation and rule. It was from the sea, after all, that the dragon summoned the first beast to terrorize God’s people. The raging sea waves have now been stilled, showing God’s permanent conquest over evil and sin. The crystal sea is thus a glorious vision of God’s sovereign power as Creator and His triumph as Redeemer.

The saints praising God alongside the crystal sea of heaven are identified as “those who conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name” (v.2). The “beast” refers to the tyrannical powers in service to Satan, which in John’s time were concentrated in the Roman emperor Domitian. The beast’s “image” refers to his desire to be glorified as God, as Domitian demanded throughout Asia, and “the number of its name” refers to perverted worship of man-centered idolatry.

Many of the saints arrived in heaven having been cruelly put to death on earth by servants of the beast. So how can they be named conquerors over him? The answer was given to John in Revelation 12: “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). The saints were victorious by holding firm in their faith to the only atonement for sin, God’s gift of His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross. Since the cost of fidelity to Christ was suffering and death at the hands of the world, their willingness to experience these was their victory over the world.

Revelation 15 joins the opening vision of the worshiping saints with a vision of the opened sanctuary of God, from which wrath comes (vv. 5-6). It is the sanctuary of the “tent of witness,” the heavenly counterpart to the tabernacle in which God dwelt during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, thus connecting the victory of God’s people with the presence of God that went with them. This is the true “tent of witness in heaven,” and its opening reveals the presence, power, and covenant faithfulness of God. The “testimony” of the tabernacle centered on the law of God written on the Ten Commandments kept within the Ark of the Covenant. It is in keeping with the testimony of God’s law that the final plagues come from God’s holy presence to judge nations given over to sin.

The tabernacle also bore testimony to the mercy of God, since atoning sacrifices were offered there for the forgiveness of His people’s sin. Now that same mercy of God for His people expresses itself in the final judgment of those who persist, like Pharaoh of old, in afflicting the church. The appearing of this heavenly tabernacle should comfort Christians who face the threat or reality of worldly affliction. It says that no one can persist in the persecution of the church without in due time receiving God’s terrible wrath. Today, Christians are menaced by the most savage violence in the lands dominated by Islam. In the West, radically secular governments are becoming increasingly intolerant of Christian truth and morality, so that “soft” persecution is likely to become much harder.

As a result, the Christian church faces a dire worldwide threat that would have been unimaginable a hundred, fifty, or even twenty years ago. But what is most important has not changed. God remains enthroned in heaven, so that nothing can transpire without His will. His holy character does not change, so that sin must always be judged, both in history and at its end. His covenant faithfulness ensures that His people will be upheld under persecution so as not to falter and that their oppressors will be cast down under plagues that come from heaven. His mercy, revealed in the Bible’s covenant of grace, ensures that believers in Jesus will personally be redeemed from sin and corporately redeemed to stand beside the crystal sea of heaven rejoicing in praise.

Verse 7 emphasizes God’s eternal being, which guarantees that His judgment of evil and His covenant faithfulness to His people will never fail. As a result, no nation or power that rebels against Him and persecutes His people will be able to stand. Either they will be judged in history and destroyed or they will face the ultimate fury of Jesus Christ on the day of His return to save His church. Coming out from the presence of the ever-living God and from the tabernacle where His holy law and covenant faithfulness to His people are recorded, these angels show that no individual or nation can defy the law of God without having to suffer the consequences. The opening of the tabernacle and the appearing of the wrath-bearing angels indicate that God holds people and nations accountable to His revealed Word in the Bible.

Verse 8 concludes the chapter by stating that “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.” Exodus 40:35 tells us that God’s glory visibly fell on the tent of meeting in a cloud of smoke and glory, so that “Moses was not able to enter” it. By saying that this glory cloud filled the sanctuary “until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished,” John indicates that nothing can halt God’s final wrath when it comes and that no mediation remains for those whose rebellion in unbelief has brought them under the plagues of God’s wrath.

The opening and the closing of Revelation 15 join in showing God’s saving His people by means of His judgment on persecuting nations and unbelieving people. The heart of the chapter’s message comes through the song that is sung in between: “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (v. 3). If the opening tabernacle in heaven provides a warning to the enemies of Christ and His gospel, this song provides the chapter’s application to believers.

First, this heavenly song urges believers to be preoccupied not with the changing events of earth but rather with the glory and might of the unchanging and holy God. What is true of the saints above should increasingly be true of believers here below. Second, the song of the redeemed above reminds us that we should fear only God, and not the Pharaohs of this world. Third, the song of Moses and of the Lamb reminds us to focus our labors on serving the kingdom of God that has now come into the world through Christ and is now advancing through history. This means that in addition to prayer, we should be zealous in our commitment to the witness of the gospel and world missions. Finally, the song of the redeemed church in heaven reminds us that the purpose of our salvation is the eternal praise of God, and that Christ reigns gloriously in us while we worship Him on earth, amid an unbelieving world, threat of constant, and expressing through faith in His Word our confidence in the victory of Christ, which is our own hope of salvation.

Revelation 15:1-8 Study Questions:

What is significant about the seven plagues the angels bring?

Whose song do the martyrs sing?

What are the “judgments” of God mentioned in verse 4 that have been revealed in Revelation, and how do they draw the nations in to worship the Lamb?

How might we explain God’s judgments in a way that will draw people to the Lamb?

What happens in the temple after the angels are given the bowls of wrath (vv. 7-8)?

How do we see ourselves differently when we pause to consider God’s immense power, glory and the reasons why He executes judgment on the earth?

The end of chapter 14 concludes the fourth major section of the book of Revelation. In the first section (chaps. 1-3), Christ revealed His glory and addressed the seven churches of Asia. The second section introduced the seven seals (chaps. 4-7), which showed Christ as reigning throughout history for the preservation of His people. Chapters 8-11 showed the seven trumpets, with judgments announcing Christ’s inevitable victory over the rebel world. The symbolic histories of the fourth section (chaps. 12-14) have shown the spiritual warfare raging behind the scenes of church history.

At the end of previous sections we have been brought to the very brink of Christ’s return in glory, but now for the first time we actually see the coming of the Lord. John earlier wrote, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7). Now John shows us what he saw: “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand” (14:14).

Jesus returns to earth bearing emblems of His glory and triumph. The white cloud reflects the dazzling glory of God. Without a doubt, the One who returns on the glory cloud is the same Son of Man throughout Scripture, who now returns to finalize salvation history. The color white reflects the absolute purity of God’s holiness, holiness so bright that in Isaiah 6:2 even the holy seraphim, the burning angels that attend God’s throne, cover their holy faces in awe.

Moreover, Jesus wears “a golden crown on his head” (v. 14). This is the Victor’s laurel wreath, which designates the Messiah as One who has conquered and thereby won the right to act in judgment. The fact that Jesus comes to judge is shown by the sickle in His hand. In his parables of the kingdom, Jesus foretold that He would return to judge, separating the righteous from the ungodly (Matt. 13:30). This depiction of Christ’s second coming is one of many in the New Testament that link His return with the immediate judgment of the world.

Jesus described the final judgment as a double harvest, in which believers in Christ will be separated to Himself for an eternal reward while those who rejected Him will be judged with an eternal punishment (Matt. 25:32-46). This twofold judgment is reflected in the vision of Revelation 14:14-20, the first half of which shows Christ’s harvest of the elect for blessing and the second half shows the harvest of the ungodly for the winepress of God’s wrath.

Verse 15 introduces “another angel,” that is, the fourth angel to appear in this chapter (see vv. 6,8,9). This angel comes “out of the temple,” meaning that it bears a message from God the Father, “calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud.” The angel announces the long-awaited harvest of the saints to be gathered into the eternal glory.

There are a number of points for us to notice in this call. First, we see Christ’s receiving instructions for the final judgment from an angel sent by God the Father. Remember that Jesus taught that even He didn’t know the day or the hour of His appearing and the final judgment (Mark 13:32). This is a remarkable instance of Jesus’ humanity and His subordination to the Father. It reminds us that we cannot know the time of the final judgment and therefore should always be ready.

Second, the godly are compared to wheat. This is made clear by the word translated as “fully ripe” (Greek, xeraino), which means “dried out,” a term used for grain that is ready to be harvested. In one parable, Jesus contrasted the godly wheat with the weeds that the enemy sowed in the master’s fields (Matt. 13:25-30). The point is that there is a qualitative difference between those who are saved and those who are condemned long before the final harvest. This difference is evidenced by their reaction to God’s Word. While many hard or worldly hearts reject God’s Word, believers receive it and bear fruit through faith. This qualitative difference does not result from any moral or spiritual superiority on the part of Christians, but only the grace of God at work in them. But this grace makes all the difference in the final harvest.

Third, the angel notes that the harvest has come because “the harvest of the earth is fully ripe” (v. 15). This statement indicates that Christ returns when the full number of God’s elect have come into the church through faith. We are thus reminded that there is a relationship between the final harvest and the ingathering of Christ’s people now. Speaking of the gospel mission of the church, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt. 9:37). This being the case, the great work of the church is the spread of the gospel through preaching, evangelism, and world missions (Luke 24:46-47). Every Christian is called to spread the gospel, through which God is gathering the harvest of His elect.

Fourth, if our work as Christians is like preparing a harvest, we are reminded of the hard labor that this agricultural metaphor involves. We live in an instant gratification age and we expect salvation to work the same way, and often arrange our ministries around this quick-results expectation. But salvation doesn’t ordinarily work this way. There must be careful plowing and planting, as a thoughtful biblical witness is given. Our message must be watered with prayer, often for long seasons. Early signs of growth need to be cultivated, pruned, and fertilized. This is why we should not be surprised when the growth of the church and the Christian nurture of our children require patience and endurance in doing God’s work in God’s way, according to God’s Word and by God’s sovereign power, all in God’s timing. Paul wrote: “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).

Fifth, although we are workers in Christ’s harvest fields, notice that Christ is actually the One who performs the harvesting. The Son of Man appears bearing His sickle, and at the summons from God, “he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped” (v. 16). Jesus will gather His people on the last day, and He is now calling each one with the gospel. To be saved is to personally hear Christ’s voice speaking to your heart through God’s Word, calling, “Follow me” (Matt. 9:0). To believe in Jesus is not to be saved by the church, by the preacher, or by the person who brought you the gospel. The believer in Christ has been saved by the Lord Himself and is certain to be gathered by the Lord when He returns.

All through Revelation, the good news of salvation includes the destruction of the enemies of Christ and His people. To this end, there is a second harvest, depicted in verses 17-20. John’s vision seems to follow the sequence of Joel’s prophecy (Joel 3:13). Jesus’ teaching on the final judgment spoke of separating the godly from the ungodly for their different destinies (Matt. 25:32). John’s vision thus depicts two different kinds of harvest. The second harvest began with “another angel” coming “out of the temple in heaven” with “a sharp sickle” (v. 17).

Yet “another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire” (v. 18). We remember that the souls of the martyrs were gathered beneath the altar of heaven and that their prayers were offered on it (6:9-11; 8:3-4). This association indicates that the judgment of the wicked will be in part a response to the prayer of Christian martyrs for God’s justice. This angel has “authority over the fire,” which probably speaks of his role in judging the wicked. He therefore brings God’s command to gather rebellious mankind (v. 18).

The angels’ gathering of the nations depicts the certainty of judgment on all unredeemed sinners in the end (v. 19). There is no way to evade the harvest of rebellious mankind for judgment. All sin must be and will be paid in the holy court of God’s almighty justice. If your sins have not been punished on the shoulders of Jesus Christ, as He died on the cross to pay the penalty that His people deserved, then your own shoulders will have to bear the infinite weight of God’s condemnation.

Whether or not we glorify God for His judgment, or even accept the reality of this passage, we will all face God’s violent wrath unless we repent and believe in Jesus Christ. The applications of this passage are both urgent and obvious. Christians are reminded that we must be willing to be different now from unbelieving people, since we hope for such a different end from that which awaits them. Not only must Christians gladly accept the cost of following Jesus in this world, bearing a cross as He did for us, but we must urgently warn the ungodly of the judgment that will soon appear. Finally, if you have not yet confessed your sin to God and turned to Christ for forgiveness and salvation, this is the most urgent matter of your life. Through faith in the cross, you will find that Jesus suffered God’s wrath for you, so that He might gather you into His harvest of eternal life.

Revelation 14:14-20 Study Questions:

What’s the meaning of the symbols mentioned in verse 14 that are used to describe the one like the Son of Man?

What if, in the face of the great evil and injustice that millions have faced in history, God did no more than say, “There, there; Boys will be boys”? What would be the reaction of the victims of that evil?

How then might we say that judgment is good?

God will take even the wickedness and rebellion of the world and make it turn to His praise and to the salvation of His people. How does this message bring you hope today?