Let's come together to the Book of Revelation in chapter 16 as
we seek to complete this chapter together.
By God's grace, it is done. What comes to mind when you hear
those words? Perhaps for many, they point
back to that sacred and triumphant moment when Christ
declared it is finished on the cross, His work being complete
there for our salvation. And rightly so.
But today we're going to be reminded that this is not the
only time the Lord would proclaim a work being complete.
We are going to see that He's going to share similar things
again in a future time, but for an entirely different reason.
What we're about to consider is the Lord declaring something to
be done in connection to what will occur when an appointed
Angel will pour out the 7th and final bowl of God's wrath upon
the earth. And we're going to read it
together here in Revelation 16, beginning at verse 17 down to
the end of the chapter before we seek to understand God's mind
behind it. The 7th Angel poured out his
bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple
from the throne saying, it is done, And there were flashes of
lightning, rumblings, peals of Thunder, and a great earthquake
such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so
great was that earthquake. The great city was split into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup
of the wine of the Fury of his wrath.
And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
And great hailstones, about 100 lbs each fell from heaven on
people. And they cursed God for the
plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.
Father, again we've come to a text where we encounter people
cursing you, but we come to bless you.
We come to honor you and praise you and lavish you with our
adoration. We pray that in this moment we
would worship you. And our listening and our
hearing and our receiving give us clarity, give us application,
and may every truth that is unleashed draw our hearts closer
to Thee. We ask these things in Jesus
name, Amen. So the reason why we read here
the Lord saying it is done from His heavenly throne is because
the 7th bowl of God's wrath that will be poured out will mark the
completion of God's judgments upon the earth.
In other words, everything that needs to be done before the
return of Jesus Christ to this world has been settled.
It has been achieved. And so the climactic event that
we have here essentially provides us the details of what
will take place in preparation for the ushering in of Jesus
Christ in his second advent. The curtains of the heavens are
about to be peeled back and it's going to be what we find here
that's going to see it happen. And one of the most interesting
things about the verses that we just read, this prophecy that
John provides, is how in the ESV the word great appears a total
of five times. It's emphasized great, great,
great, great. But what's more intriguing is
that if you read the original language, the word translated as
great, which in Greek as Megas, appears a total of seven times
in this text. Look back again here at verse 17
where it says the 7th Angel poured out his bowl into the air
and a loud voice came out of the temple.
See that word loud in the original?
It's megas. Scroll down here to verse 21.
Look at the very last word where it says here that something is
severe. It's going to be severe.
And that is in reference to the plague of this bowl.
And again, it's the word megas. Does that word sound familiar?
It's where we get the word mega. So clearly this is intentional.
This is John repeating this to amplify that the events under
this judgement will produce mega things.
Massive things are going to take place when this judgement is
executed. And for the sake of our time
today, I would love for us to consider at least three mega
things, 3 great things that will occur as the Holy Spirit
highlights them for us under this judgement.
The first thing that we have to consider here, though there are
others that we can investigate, is that there will be a great
earthquake. Look again at verse 18.
And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of
Thunder, and a great earthquake. Not just an earthquake, a great
earthquake, such as there had never been since man was on the
earth. So great was that earthquake.
I mean twice. You're saying it now.
Jesus, when He taught about the last days, informed us clearly
that some of the birth pains leading up to his return will in
fact be earthquakes. There will be literal shakings
beneath our feet, but this earthquake is the mother of them
all. At this juncture in the
Tribulation period, there will be a great earthquake, so
massive, so significant, that it will be historical.
John tells us plainly that man has never experienced anything
like this. And why that's important to
under score is because this is yet another confirmation that
what we're dealing with here in the Book of Revelation is still
yet to come. This is future, unless of
course, you are willing to interpret even this
allegorically, and some are willing to do that.
But I propose that that is very difficult to support because
following this description of this earthquake, we are given
physical and geographical dimensions.
So consider some of the impacts of this great earthquake.
Again, in verse 19, the great city was split into three parts
and the cities of the nations fell.
What are we dealing with here? Actual global impact, tangible
results, ramifications, consequences that you can see
and feel. And that is further confirmed
when we examine what else the Bible has to say about this very
earthquake. Because it's not just here.
In the Book of Revelation, John singles out one city.
He speaks about all cities. But in the beginning of verse
19, he brings to our attention the great city.
Which city is he referring to? Some would say Babylon because
in the coming chapters following this, Babylon is referred to as
the great city. But this can also speak of
Jerusalem, and that's probably more likely why, because
Jerusalem is separate from the other cities of the nations.
It's distinct, at least in this context.
And more than that, we know back in Revelation 11, verse 8, when
we studied about the two witnesses who will be preaching
from the streets of Jerusalem that it was also titled as the
great city. And so the great city in view
here is likely Jerusalem. There are unique things that
happen to it in comparison to every other city.
It will be split into three parts.
And I believe this conclusion is confirmed again when we bring in
the totality of God's Word to shed light what's before us.
I invite you to go to the prophet Zechariah in chapter 14.
We looked at this last week when we consider how significant the
city of Jerusalem in the land of Israel is to our eschatology,
how the events of the last days will in full unfold.
And we're coming back here to these verses that we didn't look
at last week to see how this will add more color to our
understanding. Zechariah chapter 14, one of the
most significant passages in all of the Bible, Chapters 12 to
chapter 14, don't come to a conclusion and how you
understand the last days without the book of Zechariah.
That would be a grave mistake. And I believe a lot of people
who have ideas about what the last days will look like are an
error because they ignore passages like this.
Look at verse 3 of Zechariah 14. Then the Lord will go out and
fight against those nations. Pause the nations that surround
Jerusalem. According to the previous verses
of this very same chapter, He will fight against those nations
as when He fights on a day of battle.
On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies
before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be
split in two from east to West by a very wide valley, so that
1/2 of the Mount shall move northward and the other half
southward. And you shall flee to the valley
of my mountains, For the valley of the mountains shall reach to
Azal, and you shall flee, as you fled from the earthquake in the
days of Uziah, king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,
and all the holy ones with him. So again, we discussed, we came
to this passage to see how Zechariah adds further detail to
the 6th and 7th bowls of God's wrath.
But I bring this up to us again because I want us to consider
the geographical aftermath of Jesus Christ returning to fight
against his enemies. There's so many details here and
and what we find here in relation to our study is that
there will be an actual earthquake caused by the return
of Christ that's inferred by verse 5.
Look what he says and you shall flee as you fled from the
earthquake and the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.
Now notice that this earthquake will alter actual terrain in
Jerusalem. You have the Mount of Olives,
they'll be split in two. You have this valley that will
provide a pathway for the Jewish people to flee from their
oppressors just before the Lord judges her enemies.
And we even see a thematic truth being established here, do we
not? When God delivered Israel out of
Egypt, He brought them through a valley between towering walls of
water. And in this final act of
deliverance, they will escape through a valley between
mountains. He's come to save his people.
And the reorientation of the landscape upon Christ's return
is even further fleshed out for us.
Scroll down to verse 8. You see where I'm going with
this. I hope on that day, the same day
that Christ returns, living water shall flow out from
Jerusalem, half of them to the Eastern sea, and half of them to
the Western sea. It shall continue in summer as
in winter, and the Lord will be king over all the earth.
On that day the Lord will be 1 and His name 1.
The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Giba, the
Ramon, South of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem shall remain aloft on
its side from the gate of Benjamin, the place of the
former gate, to the corner gate, and from the Tower of Hannanal
to the King's wine presses. OK, we can't examine every
detail presented here, at least for now, but I want us to at
least arrive to one simple thing.
At the very least, can you and I admit and acknowledge the
remarkable detail of what will actually take place, the
topography that will ensue at the return of Christ?
I bring this to your attention because again, there are some
who claim that what Zechariah describes, the very verses that
you and I just read are, you guessed it, allegorical that
they've been fulfilled in history.
Somehow. This doesn't save anything of
what's to come. All of what you just heard can
be spiritualized, apparently, but the position of these
physical changes do not allow for such an explanation.
It reinforces contrary to the growing trend today.
May I remind you that the land of Israel still has relevance to
the Christian faith, namely in how we understand the return of
Jesus Christ and His millennial Kingdom.
So don't be ashamed of what you believe because it's founded in
God's Word. It's found here in Scripture.
And just as there was a real earthquake at Calvary when Jesus
Christ died, there will be an earthquake when He comes in
majesty and glory. One that will bring down every
city, one that will change Jerusalem itself as Jesus Christ
prepares the very area, the very region of His throne where He
will rule and reign forever and ever.
Now before we move on, I'd like for us to consider, yes,
Zechariah's details here. His his prophecy is very helpful
in helping us understand the end, but his attitude about it
is what I want to speak about momentarily.
Something happens early in Zechariah's prophecy that moves
me and I hope it moves you. There's like this interjection,
There's this shift in his tone, almost in his language and his
grammar. In fact, look at the last part
of verse 5 of Zechariah 14. He says then the Lord my God
will come and all the holy ones with him.
Do you see what's happening? As he's describing this
remarkable prophetic sequence of what's going to happen when
Messiah returns to this world, he can't help but speak in the
personal and he wants. It's as though he's so
emboldened, he is so moved by this manifestation, through this
prophetic vision, that he declares his loyalty to this
Messiah. He is my God.
He's not just the Lord. He's not just the God of Israel.
He's not just going to rule over the entire world.
He is my God. And I want to suggest to you
today that Zechariah's attitude, his posture, his act of worship
here should be produced in us when we study prophecy.
You know why some people study prophecy?
So they can get more ammunition for debate about who has the
more accurate eschatology and framework of understanding the
last days. OK, you guys argue all you want
and there is time to debate, but I want to be like this prophet
who in seeing and understanding what the Lord will do, causes
him to say, Oh, he's my God. I'm unashamed.
This should make you and I fearless.
This should cause you to be moved.
This should cause you to bend your knee and say this is what
the Lord will do. And as we put these pieces
together, as we realize Zechariah 14 talks about the
Lord planting his feet on the Mount of Olives.
And then we connect with Acts chapter 1, where Jesus looks at
his own and he ascends on high. And the angels promise him that,
promise them that he will return the same way that he went up.
Oh, it's going to be the feet of Jesus that are kind of common on
the Mount of Olives. That's my God, who's given us
the playbook. So clearly for us to understand
exactly what's going to come to pass, there's going to be a real
earthquake and it's going to fulfill prophecy.
But Jerusalem is not the only city featured in this prophecy.
Come back to Revelation 16 and look at verse 19 once again.
And the latter part says the great city was split into three
parts, and the cities of the nations fell.
And God remembered Babylon the Great to make her drain the cup
of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
So another city is highlighted by John and it's Babylon the
Great. And we're given a preview of her
annihilation, her destruction. And so important to God is the
downfall of Babylon the Great, this future system that chapters
17 and 18 are dedicated to telling us how and what's going
to happen to Babylon. That's stunning to me.
This is important to God. What is Babylon the Great?
We've talked about this briefly in the past, and we'll look at
it in greater detail, as I just said.
But for now, you can know this for certain.
It is actually a literal future city that is going to be the
global hub of evil in the world during the tribulation period.
In case you doubt that, go to Revelation 18 and just peek for
a second and look at verse 9, Revelation 18, verse 9.
And the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and
lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they
see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear
of her torment and say, alas, alas, you great city, you mighty
city, Babylon. For in a single hour your
judgement has come. More to come about Babylon.
But for now, for the sake of our meditation, today I want to
highlight one thing from our main text.
God remembered Babylon. God remembered Babylon.
That's not to suggest that he's forgetful or that he loses sight
of certain things or things escape his knowledge.
On the contrary, this reinforces that nothing evades him.
Nothing is ever lost. He holds everything and everyone
into account, whether it's our humble service or the sin of the
unrepentant. And unfortunately, many
interpret God's silence and his lack of immediate response to
ignorance, indifference, approval, or even non existence.
But John reminds us that God remembers, even if he acts
later. And here's how that might be
helpful for you and I as the people of God.
There's many things that God's knowledge can aid us in.
And here's one simple thought for you to consider.
There is not a single injustice that's been committed against
you that will be forgotten by God.
Not one. Go back to Revelation 18, verse
20. Why did God judge Babylon, this
massive global international system that will export so much
filth and persecution? Revelation 1820 gives us one
reason. Rejoice over, O heaven and you,
Saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given
judgement for you, against her, for my people.
I'm going to judge Babylon. It's amazing.
One of the temptations that appeared throughout the Bible
concerning the people of God. Not the evil, not the wicked,
those who belong to God. Is that they would want to
avenge themselves. They would seek out revenge.
If you don't think that's possible, then make sense of
Paul's writings, like what he says in Romans 12 verse 19.
Brothers, never avenge yourselves.
Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.
You know what that really means. Make room for the wrath of God.
Give place to it. In other words, get out of the
way when somebody wrongs you. And I am fully aware that in the
room with people with this size, some of you have been greatly
wounded, not just by those who hate Christians, not just by
unbelievers, but those who profess Christ, who have bruised
you significantly because of their sin, their betrayal.
And I want to simply provide this remedy.
Leave room for God's wrath. He remembers.
He will not forget, even if it doesn't seem to be acting now.
There is a time coming, as long as they remain stubborn in their
sin. And perhaps you regularly
comfort yourself with the thought of how you can get even
with them. How I can pay them back.
Here's the problem with that. At least one of them.
As one person pointed out, when we seek to repay evil with evil,
we often do it with interest. We tend to go overboard, we tend
to go beyond, and we make a bigger mess for ourselves and
for others. So I want to encourage you with
one simple truth from the Scripture and revelation.
Find your comfort in the reality that God remembers.
He sees it all. Every word of gossip, every
slander, every physical abuse, every unfaithful act done by the
closest people to you, God remembers.
And if those who hurt you are children of His, He will
discipline them. And if those who hurt you are
enemies of Him, He will deal with them.
God remembered Babylon, and we're going to see exactly
what's going to happen to her in the coming days.
But we come to the final great thing for us to look at in this
passage, and that is in verse 20 to verse 21.
Let's read it again, shall we? And every island fled away and
no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about 100
lbs each, fell from heaven on people.
And they cursed God for the plague of the hail because the
plague was so severe. So we heard this already, that
the final effect of this earthquake that will take place
is that it's going to set the stage for the millennial reign
of Christ. And the extent of the damage
that it will cause goes beyond just cities falling and
crumbling. We actually read here that
islands, islands will flee and that everything else will be
made a plane. Mountains will literally vanish.
They will be brought low. And the way we're supposed to
understand this is that there is a shaking coming.
That's elaborated in the prophets and what we're going to
read in the coming chapters. But there will be some who will
escape the earthquake, who will not be directly impacted by it.
However, they will not be able to escape God's wrath at this
juncture because verse 21 says and great hailstones, about 100
lbs each fell from heaven on people.
So the final great thing we're looking at is a great plague, a
great plague. Hailstones happened today.
History records some massive hailstones that have really hurt
people, damaged property. The Bible records hailstones and
what we have here is something unlike we've ever seen.
Imagine a hailstone flinging from the sky around 100 lbs
each. That's God.
Those are God sized hailstones. But why hailstones?
That was my question. Why hailstones?
I mean, there's so many other things that we've seen in terms
of God's judgment, even his implementation of nature.
So why this? Well, here's what you discover
in your study of God's Word. Hailstones are frequently used
in scenes of God defending his people.
So in Joshua chapter 10, when that nation and that generation
entered into the Promised land early in their conquest, they
went to war with many kings. And in the chapter where the sun
stands still, we read that God sent great hailstones and flung
them in the direction of those who oppose God's work.
And again, in keeping with the theme of the Exodus, John seems
to recall and bring to our memory one of the plagues in
Egypt. Hailstones, the 7th plague more
specifically. In fact, you know what God told
Job? That one of His weapons of
choice, the top ones at least are hailstones.
Now you don't believe me, baby, Let me read it to you.
From Job 38, verse 22 to verse 23, Job 38, verse 22 to verse 23
reads. Have you entered the storehouses
of the snow or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, which I
have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle
and war. So with this in mind, when we
come to this seventh bull, we realize something.
God is going to war with the final generation of the wicked
just before Christ comes to earth.
But it doesn't end here. It ends here with the chapter.
It ends here, yes, with a description of what takes place
in the 7th bowl. But then there's this
parenthesis. There's there's this break in
chapter 17 and 18 and you can make a case at the sequence of
what we've just looked at continues where in Revelation
19, verse one. So we're going to have a break
here in the next two chapters of what's going to happen to
Babylon more specifically. And then it's as though John
presses the play button again in chapters 19, verse 11.
Just look at it because it's going to give you a preview of
something glorious. Revelation 19, verse 11.
Then I saw heaven open and behold, a White Horse.
You know who this is, right? The one sinning on it.
It's called, it's called faithful and true.
And in righteousness He judges and makes war.
I'm not sure how you've ever imagined Jesus Christ returning
physically because He will come bodily.
But one of the things that will go before Him before He does
come with His Saints are hailstones.
And in fact, did you realize back in chapter 16, verse 17,
how the 7th Angel poured out his bowl into where the air?
We've seen these divine heavenly saucers being poured out upon
what? The earth, the sea, springs and
rivers, even the sun itself. But now we read that it comes
upon and into the very atmosphere.
Why is that? You know what I thought
initially? Because what's left?
But it's more than that. If we have in mind that this is
going to swing open the gates of heaven, so to speak, for Christ
to actually come, then there seems to be some kind of
cleansing agent with this bowl as it's being poured out into
the air. Remember what Ephesians 2 tells
us about Satan, that he's the Prince of the power of what the
air. And we can almost say it's as
though God through this is, is removing and purging that domain
of his influence as the Son of God is ready to enter through
the heavens and he will. It is done.
We're studying about this future declaration of finality and
victory, but we've also come this Sunday to reflect on it is
finished. If you believe in the truth of
it is finished, you don't have to worry about that.
It is done in this chapter. If you understand the magnitude,
if you understand the soul saving grace that comes with
those 3 words that Jesus said with His cracked lips and
bruised body and hanging flesh, then you have no reason to fear
the wrath of God. If you have not put your soul
into that truth, if you have not surrendered the fate of your
eternal future into the truth of the Gospel, then you have every
reason to tremble throughout the series in the Book of
Revelation. But we are not those who
tremble. We tremble, yes, in joy.
We we tremble in awe, but we tremble knowing also the great
friggins that God has given us. I'm clean, I'm saved, I'm safe
forever. That is what we are going to
savor this afternoon, the fact that Jesus Christ helps us, yes,
but more importantly saves us from the wrath of a holy God.
Let's prepare our hearts to celebrate that truth
with all that we've heard. Lord, we now turn our attention
to the truth that brings us here to begin with the gospel, the
saving love of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you would
help us remember the great price you paid, that we freely
receive, so that we can be free, yes, for eternity, but free from
sin now, free from the power and dominion of all trespasses.
All iniquity, all rebellion can be broken off of our lives, and
it has been because of the power of the blood.
Lord, give us reverence, give us a fear of you in this moment,
and at the same time, may we rejoice in knowing what is our
inheritance because of the great price you paid.
We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
Amen. Let's stand.
We're going to sing and reflect on these truths and we will
partake in a moment.