Wrath Poured Out | Revelation 16 | The Justice We Deserve, the Grace We Receive

Watch This Sermon: “Wrath Poured Out”

Revelation 16 is one of the most sobering passages in the New Testament—and one of the most revealing. In this sermon, Pastor Mark unpacks the seven bowls of wrath, showing that God's judgment is never reckless or arbitrary. Instead, it is just, precise, and righteous.

This message reminds us that without the grace of Christ, we too would face what we deserve. Yet in the gospel, we are given what we don’t deserve—mercy, forgiveness, and life.

📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon

Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week, we dig into God's word, trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us. So last week, I had you picture in your minds the familiar scene of a courtroom that was waiting to hear a verdict. And as we came to the end of chapter 15 last week, we saw that the verdict of judgment had been issued by God. So let's return to that courtroom imagery as we step now into Revelation 16.

So the verdict is in guilty. The room gasps, and then we see the gavel falling in slow motion to pronounce the judgment. Now imagine the judge calmly saying, I sentence you to exactly what you deserve. No more and no less. And we understand that really justice isn't about punishment. Justice is about setting things right. We try to achieve justice to make things the way they should be, not simply to punish the ones who have done the crime. Therefore, the sentence should fit the crime.

Now, no human judge, no matter how wise, can execute perfect justice all the time. But as we come to Revelation 16, we are going to see the judge of all the earth. And we see his verdict. And his judgment is not arbitrary. It's not impulsive. His judgment is precise. And each bowl of wrath that is poured out reflects the rebellion of those who have rejected God and those who have oppressed the people of God.

Now these are pretty hard verses to read because they remind us that justice and holiness go hand in hand. And God's justice, unlike ours, is always righteous. And we understand that we're sinners. We understand that we also are in need of judgment. So where will we turn? Where will our refuge be? So let's take a look at how Revelation 16 unfolds today.

And we're gonna start out thinking about this idea of God's wrath. Now, even though we've taken a week off, because that's how the Lord's day work, we only get one once a day. It's been a week for us since Revelation 15, but it it really moves right in. It's one block. We break it off into chapters to help us organize it, but this is one continuing thought here. It's a continuation of the previous scene. Cinematic way. Angels walking from the temple slowly, bowls in hand. These bowls are filled to the brim, and the wrath of God is nearly spilling over. And I said, but we have to remember it's not gonna spill here. His wrath is not for heaven. It's not for the presence of God. It's for a judgment upon the earth.

Well, chapter 15 ended with kind of a wide shot of the temple. And remember, it was filled with smoke. And I pointed out how the smoke from the incense in the old testament rituals and pictured here was mercy, because it veiled people from the holiness of God. Well, that image should be fresh in our minds. That God is holy, that he is just, and that it is absolute. Because what we see here is a voice from the temple, and it is the voice of God. So what happens next is by God's command. The angels are told to pour out the bowls of his wrath.

Now we live in a time where the idea of God's wrath is unpopular. But let's be be truthful. The idea of God's wrath has probably never really been popular because it's unsettling to think that God punished the sin. Especially because like I mentioned before, we know we're guilty. We know we're sinners. Now over time, many have tried to explain away the idea of God's wrath as primitive. They will say that it's only really found in the Old Testament. We're told that the idea of God's wrath is not really a New Testament idea, because the New Testament God, as if there's a different one, is more gracious and more gentle. But really when we think about this, this creates a serious problem because it softens grace itself. If there is no wrath to be saved from, then what is grace? In truth, the reality of God's wrath amplifies the glory of his grace. It more deeply shows us that he is merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

And most importantly, we have to remember that in scripture, the idea being saved from the wrath of God is not a peripheral side story of the story of God. It's central to the story of scripture because it reveals God's holiness, his righteousness, and his justice. It calls us to repentance. Grace is not a warm feeling. It's a rescue from judgment. So let's return to that courtroom scene once again. The the judge says, I sentence you to exactly what you deserve. No more, no less. And that's what we are seeing here in this chapter.

As the angels pour out the bowls of God's wrath, each one is a perfect response to human rebellion. These judgments aren't random, and they're not excessive. They are measured, and they are just. So as we move into the details, we need to remember here that these bowls reveal something greater than just punishment. They show us the holiness and righteousness of God as judge. Grace of Christ, we would be swept away by this same righteous wrath. We would stand condemned, receiving exactly what our sin deserves. So we need to have that sobering thought and sobering truth in mind as we move into this passage.

Now we're gonna move quickly through the bowls, because the point here isn't in the small details or in speculating what any of it means. What I want us to see here today and what I want us to feel is the escalation that is happening here in the book of Revelation regarding the judgment of God. And how again and again, those who are under those judgments refuse to repent. They have hard hearts.

So as we look at these bowls, we're gonna see some clear connections to the seven trumpets that we saw earlier in Revelation. And we're also gonna get repeated allusions to the plagues of Egypt. Now some of them are obvious, some are more subtle, and we're not gonna unpack every link between these things. But I want us to understand the overall picture that there is a full portrait of divine judgment being painted for us. It's drawn from the Old Testament and is now being moved into the New Testament to give us this full picture and to understand that this is how God deals with rebellion and sin.

And so we move into verses two and two through four, and we see that these first three bowls fall on the earth. The sea and the rivers and the earth all receive these judgments. And they bring painful sores, death in the sea, and blood in the water. Now these judgments clearly echo the plagues of Egypt. And they also reflect the trumpet blast we read earlier in Revelation. But with those trumpet blast, they were partial judgments. Only a portion of the sea, only a portion of the land was affected. What do we see here? Everything was affected. There is no more restraint. These are no longer partial judgments. This is the completeness of the judgment.

So what was restrained in the trumpet blast is now being delivered in full measure. And we're told in the next few verses that this is what is deserved. And this is key. God's judgment isn't reckless or random. It's just. The saints and the prophets, they were murdered. And now those who shed their blood are given blood to drink. And we see a declaration from the altar in heaven. True and just are your judgments. They're getting what they deserve. No more. No less.

And as we hear this declaration of God's judgment, it's important that we stop for a moment and think about what this means. Just as the saints and prophets face persecution, so too God's people today, they face encounter they face an encounter opposition for being faithful to the Lord Jesus. But passages like this one, they reassure us reassure us that God sees the suffering of his people. If we were to face persecution and tribulation ourselves, he is with us. He sees, he understands, and he will judge rightly. God does not overlook injustice against his people. He sets all things to right.

And so with that assurance firmly in mind, we're gonna move further into these descriptions of judgment. So these next two bowls, they bring scorching heat and suffocating darkness. The idea here with these two is that this is even more an expression of things that only almighty God can control. Who else can control the Son? So this is a sure sign that this is a judgment from Almighty God.

But how do those who are under the judgment respond? Rebellion. They curse God. He is clearly judging hit them, but they curse him to the point that they gnaw on their tongues in agony and yet they still do not repent. They are missing the point. And the big idea that we get here because of the the connection between what's happening here and the plagues in Egypt. The big idea that we get here, remember the hard heart of pharaoh? We know that story well. These hearts are just as hard as pharaoh's. The rebellion of pharaoh is alive and well in what is happening here.

And so as we move to verses 12 through 16, we see that the sixth bowl dries up the Euphrates, preparing the way for the kings from the East. And so this echoes with an old testament connection, the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing to the Jordan of the Jordan River into the promised land. Again, only God can do this. Those were moments in the Old Testament when God miraculously parted the waters. Either he was delivering his people or he was bringing judgment. Right? However, the miracle here does not prepare them for anything like going into the promised land. The miracle here is for confrontation, for judgement.

We see that the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet send out deceiving spirits to gather rebellious kings for battle. This in our minds, if we were to imagine, it seems like random chaos. But it's not. It's a sovereign hand of God moving. He's using these outside forces to bring judgment upon the people who have oppressed the people of God. The same thing happened in the Old Testament. God would use the movements of nations. He would use foreign armies to bring judgment upon the people when they were in rebellion against God. The kings and the armies didn't know that they were doing it. They thought they were just advancing their kingdoms. But God ordained in his sovereignty to use them to judge rebellion against him.

Like I said, they don't know that they are instruments of God's judgment. But this is all being done by the hand of God. That's what we're meant to see here, that only God can do this. In verse 15, it speaks with a clear warning from Jesus himself. He says he is coming like a thief. His judgment will arrive suddenly without announcement or delay upon those who have hardened themselves against God. This statement here, like a thief, conveys to us the urgency and the surprise of this.

If someone were to break into your house, do they send you a text? Did they give you a notification of their schedule? On the fifteenth, I shall arrive to pilfer your television at 3PM. That's that's not what happens. Thieves come unexpectedly. And so they are to be ready for this judgment. Now, we come to verse 16 and we read, this phrase here and they assemble them at the place and in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Now we often think about this. We know that word. We've heard that word and our mind automatically goes to a future battle. But I want us to learn something today important about Armageddon. There is great weight in here you and I can't feel unless we understand what happened in the Old Testament. So in the Old Testament, there was this King Josiah. He was the last righteous king of Judah, And he was tragically killed in a battle against Pharaoh at a place called Megiddo or Armageddon. And in the history of Israel, his death marked a turning point, and it led to deep national mourning.

So this name here isn't just about warfare. In the readers of Revelation, it is meant to bring feelings of sorrow, of loss, and the consequence of rebellion. Because Armageddon is more than just a battlefield. It's a symbol of devastating judgment from the hand of God.

Pardon me. And so as we move on to the seventh and final bowl, I want to first quickly pull the camera back and look at that full picture I was talking about earlier. So what generally happens when we read Revelation is we get bogged down in speculation and we zoom in on particulars, when actually it's the wide lens that helps us understand the book of Revelation.

You know? Most weeks, I have a bottle of water in my hand and I never drink from it. And today, I didn't get a bottle of water, and I need it. I'm sorry. You gotta love allergies. Right? Alright. So we wanna pull back the camera and see the big picture here, because when we bog ourselves down with speculation on the little details, we're missing the fulls fullness of the story. We miss that we're meant to feel how the people are refusing to repent. How they have hard hearts like I mentioned before that they're like pharaoh.

And so here as we move to verses 17 through 21, this seventh bowl falls. And the voice from heaven says, it is done. And so what follows this is total upheaval. Right? Lightning, thunder, earthquakes, hailstones. And we read that Babylon, the city of rebellion is made to drink the cup of God's wrath. And I want you to remember the turn that we saw in the book of Revelation earlier. Remember that in Revelation, Babylon is not Babylon, a city in Persia from the Old Testament. In Revelation, Jerusalem, the holy city has become Babylon because they have rejected the Messiah.

This judgment is not falling on Babylon in Persia. It is falling on Jerusalem because of their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. And we read that it's made to drink the cup of God's wrath. And what happens? The people curse God. Instead of turning to Christ in repentance and faith, they curse God. They continue in the rebellion. Their hearts are as hard as pharaohs riding into the Red Sea to be destroyed.

And I want us to think for a moment about that important sentence here in verse 19. Again, Jerusalem is Babylon because of the rejection of the lamb and because they have persecuted the people of the lamb. Those who follow Jesus as the Messiah have been murdered and have been persecuted. They're going through deep tribulation because of the rejection because they have chosen to follow Christ as Lord, and those who have rejected the Messiah are harming them.

And look how all of this is being described here. As we look at this, you get the feel for how all encompassing and how final this judgment is in these last two verses of the chapter here. In Revelation, naturally does something in us. It's so spectacular that we find ourselves trying to make predictions, and we speculate about all these little details, and we we often end up missing the point as I mentioned before.

The point here in this passage is that God's judgment is just. God does not judge in excess. He enacts justice that is deserved for rebellion against his holiness. No more. No less. He is holy and sin demands judgment. So as we see the images of John's vision, we see that this judgment is falling on Jerusalem, Babylon for the rejection of the Messiah and the oppression of his people.

And we need to feel the weight of what's happening here. But we also need to feel the comfort, the hope, and the joy that comes to us in the gospel because we are in Christ. Jerusalem received just judgment for their idolatry and sin here. No more, no less. But this is not the case for you and I. As the people of God in Christ Jesus, the full measure of judgment and wrath was poured out on Jesus at the cross. What we deserve for our rebellion against God is death and hell. But in Christ, we have forgiveness, and we're rescued from the righteous judgment that should fall on us for our sin.

And there is great application for us in this chapter as we close-up today. What did we see as we moved quickly throughout these bowls in this passage? Escalating judgment, increasing proof that God was at work. And yet, what did those who were under that judgment do? Just like Pharaoh, they hardened their hearts. Where's your heart today? Is there stubborn rebellion in you? Are we turning a blind eye to our sin? That's the question that comes out at us through this chapter of Revelation.

Do we have hard hearts? Are we letting God's word and spirit do its good work in us? Because as the holy spirit works in the hearts of the people of God, we understand what God has done for us in Christ. It calls us to humble ourselves, to repent of our sin, and turn toward Christ, and find our shelter in his finished work. In these bowls of wrath, there is no place to escape from the judgment of God, except in the lamb. Find your shelter in him, and in his finished work.

In this passage of Revelation is bound to spring up in your mind this week. These are some strong images that we've looked at today. So as they come up to you, as these sober images flash through your mind this week, I want to challenge you. Think about this idea of a hardened heart. And don't let your heart be hardened, but instead let it be softened because it shows us the mercy of God. Rest in the truth that through Christ you are not condemned. You have shelter from the judgment of God in the lamb. You are forgiven. You have the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, because you've been united to him by faith.

And let this gospel of grace empower you. And each day, may you walk in repentance, in gratitude, and in joyful obedience to the one who took on the judgment of God in your place.

Amen. Let us pray. Great and almighty God, we thank you for the images that your scripture has painted in our minds today. Images that remind us of the seriousness of your judgment and the greatness of your holiness. But we also thank you that we have the picture of the lamb who was slain, and that he is worthy to receive honor, wisdom, glory, and strength. And that as the people of God, we sing the anthem of heaven, worthy is the lamb who was slain. May this message of the gospel resonate within us this week, and may it move us towards living our lives to your glory. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reformed Church, head to our Facebook page or website edgertonfr.org.

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