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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After this I looked, and I saw in Heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
Revelation 15:5-8, 16:1-2
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the beginning of Revelation, chapter 15, we are introduced to seven angels who are seen by John in Heaven. We read where each had a plague which would represent a judgment from God to send on the earth and once each had dispatched their respected afflictions, the wrath of God would be completed (v.1).
This sighting was followed by a wonderful worship service as “those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name” played “harps given” to “them by God” and “sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb”, a song which went like this:
“Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” Vv. 3-4
And with that, the stage was set for the final judgments to take place. Here’s what we find in the closing verses of chapter 15 and the opening two verses of the next chapter:
After this I looked, and I saw in Heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened. Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
Here we find the seven angels being equipped and then dispatched to do the bidding of the Lord and as we read John sharing his vision, we learn that each angel was “dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests”. We then read where “one of the four living creatures” provided each angel a golden bowl that was “filled with the wrath of God”, the eternal One who “who lives forever and ever”.
As soon as this happened, John saw “the temple” fill up “with smoke from the glory of God and from His power” and because of this, “no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed” or in other words, until God’s final set of judgments had been carried out.
And with that, “a loud voice from the temple” commanded the “seven angels” to go and “pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth”, and the first angel got things started. The scriptures tell us that he “went and poured out his bowl on the land” which caused “ugly, festering sores” to break out on all “the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image”. They quickly learned there was a steep price to pay for sinfully giving their devotion to anyone other than the one and only God.
As I read this, I was reminded of the miserable affliction that Job endured, one that also involved sores all over his body from head to foot. If you’ve ever had one infected sore, you know how nasty and painful they can be. Imagine having your entire body covered with them and you can get a sense of the immense suffering this judgment will unleash on all unbelievers.
And to think that this is just the first bowl of wrath poured out. Six more remain and tomorrow, we’ll look at the second of the seven.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com
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