Revelation 15:5 – 16:2

15:5     Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open.

15:6     The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests.

15:7     Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

15:8     The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed the seven plagues.

16:1     Then I heard a might voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, “Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.”

16:2     So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the best and worshiped his statue.

There are a lot of questions that I want to answer before we get into the discussion about the bowls and the plagues that are poured out. Here’s what I want to cover in case I did not cover them in a previous Revelation series:

• Who are the seven angels and the four living beings?
• What does the original language say about the “mark of the beast”?

The seven angels are representing God’s vessel to execute judgment on the earth. We first learn about them in Revelation 8:1 when they receive the trumpets that execute the first round of partial judgment. (see my series “The Trumpet Sounds”) We’ll touch more on the similarities between the trumpet and bowl judgments. The four living beings represent different aspect of God’s character (see Revelation 4):

• The Lion – symbolizing majesty and power.
• The Calf – symbolizing strength and service.
• The Human – symbolizing intelligence and spirituality.
• The Eagle – symbolizing swiftness and vision.

So, the different representations of God’s divine creation are handing over the judgments to cast upon the world to God’s executors of justice.

Let’s break down the “mark of the beast.” I will base this section on the mention of the Mark in Revelation 13:16, one of the first prevalent mentions of the mark. The mark is the Greek noun charagma (khar’-ag-mah). It’s defined as a stamp or an engraving. It’s a way to denote ownership and allegiance, often seen in the New Testament as an allegiance to the Antichrist. To think of it better, imagine a brand on a livestock or a seal on a livestock. It was common in Roman times to mark enslaved people or soldiers with a tattoo/brand to show allegiance or ownership. Note that this does not give a depiction of what the mark will look like. There are no parameters to say that this is what the mark can look like. It’s just an engraving, mark, stamp that represents that they are opposing who God is.

I do want to compare this to a seal mentioned in Revelation 5-8. The seal is the Greek noun sphragis (sfrah-GEES). It’s defined as a seal, the impression of a seal, or the proof. This was also used to denote ownership, authenticity, or approval. It’s often used to signify God’s ownership and protection of his people, plus the authenticity of his promises. In ancient times, seals were used to make an impression on wax or clay (connecting back to the verse about how we are the clay and God is the potter). They were signatures or marks of authority, used to secure documents or goods. Biblically, seals represent the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer, marking them as belonging to God.

Two different things. The mark is an engraving and branding to designate allegiance. The seal is a symbol of protection to denote ownership. The mark is a physical statement to say who’s side you’re on. The seal is given by God to his chosen people and followers. Alright, let’s dig into this latest round of judgment.

The imagery painted in this passage takes us back to the time in the wilderness after the Exodus story when the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Tabernacle. (see Exodus 40) The angels’ garments mentioned in verse 15:6 is reminiscent of the high priest’s clothing, show that they are free from corruption, immorality, and injustice. The angels are just the messengers of God’s wrath and judgment. They are still representing God’s goodness and divine justice, even when it appears disastrous and chaotic. God is still good, especially in times of trouble and divine retribution.

John saw the Temple filled with the glory and power of God. God’s glory and power reflect his holiness. His holiness shows how he is set apart from the part divine powers of the world. Christians understand God as the supreme above all other gods. While there can be other divine beings that exist with a divine purpose, it’s up to us remember that God is the ruler of all other divine beings that exist. We must keep our focus on God.

God’s glory reveals not only his strength but also his moral character. For nothing immoral can be a part of God. God is perfect on all accounts. God’s creation is always perfect. Unfortunately, his creation has been corrupted by seeds of sin throughout the history of humanity. Different temptations and evil spirits have corrupted the creation of God, causing creation to rebel against God thanks to the free will he gave us. God is still perfect in the midst of this downfall, and this should motivate us. It reassures us that we can trust him, yet it also places a demand on us. Our desire to be holy (set apart for God) is the only proper response. Our eternal reigns with Christ will start when he destroys all evil. We must wait for his timetable to be revealed. Remember, that we have 0 idea when his second coming will be and when we’ll see these coming judgments, so we must be prepared. How? Through doing what God commands and commit to following him as he is. We need to love God with all parts of our creation and to love his creation as he loves us.

The bowl judgments are God’s final and complete judgments on the earth. The end of the story of the earthly realm. What we see here and in the rest of this series is that these are full judgments that are shown in the Trumpets. While there are many similarities between the bowl and the trumpet judgments, there are three main differences:

• The bowl judgments are final judgments; the trumpet judgments were only partial judgments.
• The bowl judgments do not give unbelievers an opportunity to repent; the trumpet judgments did.
• Everyone is directly affected by these bowl judgments; people were only partially affected from the bowl judgments.

The first bowl poured out the following judgment: malignant sores broke out on those who gave allegiance to the opposing forces of God. Sores are the Greek noun helkos (hel’-kos). It’s defined as a sore or an ulcer. One way to understand these sores is as follows: “This usage underscores the severity and divine origin of the affliction, serving as a physical manifestation of God’s wrath against unrepentant humanity.” This almost reminds me of the thorn that Paul talks about in his testimony. It’s a ball of affliction, a sign of God’s wrath against unrepentance.

John describes his ball of affliction as malignant, or ponéros (pon-ay-ros’), meaning evil wicked, bad, or malicious. It’s a descriptive term used to highlight the nature of evil in the world and the moral struggle between good and evil. This affirms that this ball of affliction is a result of the evil actions an unbeliever has done. The intentional lack of repentance against the evil committed is shown as a physical manifestation as an ulcer-like physical affliction. It makes me think about how we, as humans, often get an ulcer. We often get one as a result of stress. Granted, it may be from the stress that we give to ourselves or stress that others give to us, but the understanding of all stress would be that it is a result of an actions that strayed away from who God is and how God wants us to act in the world.

Next Part: The End is Poured Out – Part 2

Associated Scripture:

Revelation 15:5          Revelation 11:19

Revelation 15:6          Leviticus 26:21

Revelation 15:8          Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10-11; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14; Isaiah 6:4

Revelation 16:1          Isaiah 66:6

Revelation 16:2          Zephaniah 3:8