GOD’S GLORY IN JUDGMENT __________________________ Revelation 15:5-16:21 ______________ P.C. Edwards Introduction “I do not suffer fools gladly.” This phrase is a particular favorite of mine that I find myself using from time to time. It comes from the William Tyndale translation of the New Testament in the mid-sixteenth century, where Paul accuses the Corinthians of tolerating and even indulging teaching that contradicts the message of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 11:13). Of course, over time we’ve come to use this phrase as a way of saying someone will not tolerate those who are consider dumber or beneath them. Again, I confess to sometime saying this when I get particularly frustrated with someone, using it as justification for ignoring them altogether. But when you think about it this is a terribly arrogant and condescending thing to think let alone say out loud. What this sentiment expresses is that there are people “beneath” me and, thus, are not worthy of a hearing or of my consideration. Again, what a terribly godless sentiment. Right, because consider how the Bible describes God’s attitude: “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” (Exodus 34:6). “But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth,” (Psalm 86:13). “And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation;” (2 Peter 3:15). God, who has every right in the universe to look down His nose at all people, God, who is clearly higher and greater and surpassing all in intellect, this God doesn’t refuse to suffer fools. Rather, He is longsuffering; He is slow to anger. And why? Peter says it is that we would recognize our foolishness and repent and be saved. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4) P.C. Edwards 1 I say all of this, this morning, to help us see the heart of God. As we’ve talked about over the last couple of weeks God doesn’t want anyone to experience His wrath. He desires all to be saved. This is why He is long-suffering, why He is so patient with us, because He wants us to recognize the folly of our ways. But at the same time, He knows that if He just lets us completely go about our ways, we will never turn to Him. In other words, it’s as if we need a wake-up call, a slap in the face, if you will, to say, ‘Hey! This is not the way it’s supposed to be! This is not who you were meant to be! Come back to me!’ Right? Judgment, discipline, God’s showing of wrath is meant to lead to repentance. It’s meant, as we saw beginning back in chapter 6 with the seven seals, it’s meant to lead us away from the City of Man to the City of God; it’s meant to lead us away from the dragon and the beast and to the Lamb instead. And because God is so slow to anger and so patient, because He gives so many opportunities for repentance, He is, thus, completely just and good when a person or system continues to reject Him and He judges them. Right? Who would say that a parent is unjust for reasonably punishing their child after repeatedly warning them and saying ‘Don’t do that,’? None would. We would say the child chose their fate. And so it is with God. As we enter into the fifth cycle of visions in Revelation this morning we see now a much more in depth and progressively heightened picture of the judgment of God against the sin of humanity. We see how God will not, has not, and does not abandon His world to the forces of evil, but sends plagues upon the wicked to liberate His people. And so, we see the justice of God on full display. But, again, we see God’s offer of mercy if there is repentance. The plagues upon Babylon are like the plagues upon Egypt, that all would come to know the Lord and surrender to His kingship. And that call is for us as well. Each week we’ve been shown the true character of P.C. Edwards 2 the City of Man in order that we would cling to Christ, we would persevere in our confession, and we would overcome and conquer. Thus, we see in all this morning that God demonstrates His glory through acts of judgment intended to demonstrate both His holiness but also His mercy to forgive. All must repent now and live with anticipation of the return of Christ. 1. God reveals Himself through His judgment 15:5-8 We ended last week, at the beginning of chapter 15, with the vindication, or final victory, of the church. Liberated from the City of Man they arrived in the Promised Land with the Promised One, singing a triumphant new song to the Lamb. And the next cycle picks up right there, in the heavenly temple, this language of tabernacle again connecting us back to the Exodus.1 But whereas earlier the living creatures brought the prayers to the Lamb in the throne room (5:8) now they carry bowls of wrath from the Lamb. You see the pattern of judgments to follow align with those with saw with the trumpets in chapters 8 and 9. The first four trumpets and first four bowls bring plagues upon the earth, sea, inland waters, and sun (8:7-12; 16:2-9). The fifth trumpet and bowl deal with the destroyer and beast (9:1-11; 16:10-11). The sixth trumpet and bowl portray hostile armies massing at the Euphrates. In other words, as Greg Beale observes, “The bowls go back in time and explain in greater detail the woes throughout the ages which culminate in the final judgment,” (G. K. Beale).2 Right, in the previous cycle in Revelation, chapters 12-14, we watched the course of history between the first and second coming of Jesus. The main message was of how the forces of evil seek to draw the church away from Christ, but why we should fight those temptations 1 Fee writes, “There can be little question that with the final set of seven which occurs next, John has deliberately chosen to echo both Israel’s first and second exodus –– the original one from Egypt and the second one from Babylon,” (Fee, Revelation, 215). 2 Beale, Revelation, 327. P.C. Edwards 3 knowing the destruction that the City of Man will face. The cycle ended in victory with the triumph of Christ and the judgment of evil. Here now in chapters 15ff we circle back to explore that judgment in greater depth, seeing how it unfolds over time and culminates in the return of Christ and final judgment.3 Why, though? Why this style of repeating visions and cycles? Well, as Craig Koester argues, “The visions are not simple descriptions of future events, but warnings that are designed to move the readers of Revelation to repentance and renewed commitment to the ways of God and the Lamb,” (Craig R. Koester).4 In other words, each series focuses on the issue of whether people will repent or refuse to repent in face of God’s judgment. Our text this morning, and the whole book, asks where our deepest loyalties lie. That’s why these next few chapters will focus so much on Babylon, the quintessential City of Man. Up to this point the leaders of the forces of evil have been Satan the dragon, the beast from the sea, and the false prophet, but they are joined in this cycle by Babylon the great harlot. Right, these chapters show us more specifically now how the world around you is being used by the evil one to seduce you away from Christ. 2. God judges wicked people for their rejection of Him 16:1-11 And so, jumping into chapter 16 and the bowls themselves we see that God judges wicked people for their rejection of Him. And I know that I’m beating a dead horse here, but 3 Koester writes, “Revelation’s scenes of celebration and warning encircle each other like links on a chain. The festive vision of the saints singing praises to God and the Lamb (15:2-4), which concluded the previous cycles of visions, is bracketed by the specter of seven angels preparing to bring seven final plagues upon the earth,” (Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, 147). We see the hardness of the hearts of the lost, God’s righteous judgment against evil, and God’s answer to pleas of the saints (16:2, 9, 11, 6). The world gets “worse” over time. As we’ve seen throughout this book, evil attacks the church, God demonstrates His wrath against evil, but it will ultimately be the suffering of the church which will lead to the salvation of many and will precede the return of Jesus. As Dennis Johnson points out, “The vindication and relief of the suffering church will coincide with the completion of its enemies’ violent aggression in the slaughter of the last martyr,” (Dennis Johnson, Triumph of the Lamb, 222). Greg Beale adds, “The result and goal of all seven bowl judgments is not only to demonstrate God’s incomparability and the just judgment of sinners, but ultimately the glory of God,” (Beale, Revelation, 328).