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 cursed the
name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him
glory. The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its
kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and
cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their
deeds. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its
water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw,
coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out
of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they
are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole
world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (“Behold,
I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his
garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they
assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:8-16 ESV).
For God’s people, the Lord’s judgment is not something to fear. Instead, it is something for which we long for. Because His judgment is rooted in His perfect righteousness, His judgment reveals His wisdom and the true justice that we pray for. Thus, when the bowls of God’s final wrath are poured out on the earth, heaven rejoices and praises the Lord (vv. 1–7).
The final outpouring of God’s wrath in our
reading today is described in terms of the plagues that fell on Egypt at the
time of the exodus (cf. Exodus 7:1–12:32). This tells us that the enemies of
God in every era share the same wicked disposition as Pharaoh, who falsely
believed that he could defeat the Lord. These judgments’ recalling the plagues
on Egypt also encourages believers. At the time of the exodus, plagues fell
selectively on the Egyptians only; the Israelites, who were living in the land
of Egypt at the time, were spared. Those who trust in Christ alone have nothing
to fear when God pours out His final wrath on creation, for like the ancient
Israelites, we will be preserved from destruction. Only those who have the mark
of the beast and worship his image will suffer the wrath of God.
The wise response to the wrath of God
would be to repent; however, as we see in today’s reading, the servants of the
beast do not turn from their sin. They share in the hard-heartedness of
Pharaoh, whose rejection of the Lord grew stronger the more the plagues caused
him and his nation to suffer. Sin is manifestly irrational, which is why it
takes more than just suffering to get people to turn to the Lord. Their hearts
must also be changed by the Holy Spirit (cf. John 3:1–8). Those who serve the
beast respond not only with greater hatred toward God as His wrath is poured
out but also with greater hatred of His people. When the Euphrates is dried up
so that enemies from the east can gather, the forces opposed to God assemble “at
the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” In Hebrew, “Armageddon” means
“Mount of Megiddo,” but Megiddo is actually a plain located northeast of
Jerusalem where some important Old Testament battles took place and where many
Jews expected the final war between God and the forces of evil to occur. John
well knows that Megiddo is not a mountain; he is using language symbolically
not to tell us where the last battle will take place but to give a picture of
the conflict to come at the end of time. This accentuates to destruction. However,
with faith, there is nothing to fear! This is the time of final victory for all
the children of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment