Daily Scripture Reading Revelation 15:1 - 16:11
Some Christians fall into the trap of thinking that anyone who is not a believer is a non-believer because they have not grasped the truth about God. They think if they present Jesus in the right way, then they can persuade anyone to become a Christian.
We will learn in today’s passage that some people do not serve Jesus because they don’t want to. In fact, some people deliberately refuse to repent of their sins, even though they know God exists.
Rev. 15:1 ¶ Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who have seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
Look at the words “last” and “finished”. The first 14 chapters of Revelation describe a lot of death, destruction, and punishment, but there is still more. The seven plagues will bring the wrath to an end.
Rev. 15:2 ¶ Then I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who have overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.
Ponder the phrase “overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name”. The thirteenth chapter of Revelation tells us people will not be able to buy or sell unless they put the name or number of the beast on their right hand or forehead. However, some will overcome that requirement. They will refuse to take the mark of the beast, and the result will be what we read here in the beginning of chapter 15.
Rev. 15:3 And they sang the song of Moses, the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,
“GREAT AND MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS,
O LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY;
RIGHTEOUS AND TRUE ARE YOUR WAYS,
KING OF THE NATIONS!
Rev. 15:4 WHO WILL NOT FEAR, O LORD, AND GLORIFY YOUR NAME?
For You alone are holy;
For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”
Verse 13 refers to the song of Moses. There are songs in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 which are known as songs of Moses. The songs of Moses essentially praise God.
The song in Exodus 15 was sung after the crossing of the Red Sea, an occasion when God delivered the Israelites from the threat of the Egyptian army. The song in Deuteronomy 32 was sung at the end of Moses’ life, after God brought the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land. This passage in Revelation tells us about people singing the song of Moses after God delivered them from the beast.
Rev. 15:5 ¶ And after these things I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened,
Rev. 15:6 and the seven angels who have the seven plagues came out of the sanctuary, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and girded around their chests with golden sashes.
Rev. 15:7 Then 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.
Notice the word “wrath”. The bowls will be full of wrath.
Rev. 15:8 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Rev. 16:1 ¶ Then I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
Once again we see the word “wrath”. God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth.
Rev. 16:2 ¶ So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who have the mark of the beast and who worship his image.
The only people who will receive the sores are people who have the mark of the beast and worship the image of the beast.
Rev. 16:3 ¶ And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.
Look at the words “every living thing in the sea died”. That is a stunning amount of death. Everything from shrimp and minnows, to sharks and whales will die. I assume the word “sea” refers to all bodies of salt water.
Rev. 16:4 ¶ Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters, and they became blood.
This verse has the words “rivers” and “springs”. In their culture, drinking water came from rivers and springs. This tells us humans will not have water to drink.
Rev. 16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who is and who was, O Holy One, because You judged these things;
Rev. 16:6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.”
This verse repeats the idea that humans will have blood to drink, not water.
Rev. 16:7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Rev. 16:8 ¶ And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
Rev. 16:9 And men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
The word “blaspheme” is very revealing. Men will know who is causing the pain and suffering. Instead of repenting and giving God glory, they will blaspheme Him.
Some Christians fall into the trap of thinking that anyone who is not a believer is a non-believer because they have not grasped the truth about God. They think if they present Jesus in a certain way, they can persuade anyone to become a Christian.
This passage makes it clear that some people don’t want to believe. They deliberately reject Jesus because they don’t want to serve Him.
Rev. 16:10 ¶ Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
Rev. 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.
Once again the phrase “they blasphemed the God of heaven” tells us they will know who is causing their pain and sores, but they will deliberately reject God and refuse to repent. This contradicts the belief of many Christians that anyone who is not a believer is a non-believer because they have not grasped the truth about Jesus.
Who are some non-believers you know who may actually know the complete truth about God, but they refuse to become a Christian because they simply don’t want to serve Jesus?
How can we discern when a non-Christian needs more information about the gospel versus when they know everything they need to know and they are simply refusing to believe?
How should we interact with those who are intentionally rejecting the truth about Jesus?
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”