The Seven Bowls
Another series of seven! But first we pause for another song of praise. Now the victorious martyrs have harps, and they sing “the song of Moses and the lamb.” The reference to the Exodus is clear, but the song is a bit different from that one (see Exodus 15). As the singers praise God for his judgments, they predict that nations will also come to worship—fulfillment of that prophecy remains to be seen. Although future and present get mixed up a lot in Revelation, it seems now that the singers are praising God for what is yet to come. Then, with smoke that hides the holy presence, the angels bring the final plagues of God’s wrath.
The first four plagues use the elements of nature as instruments of judgment, with echoes of the plagues of Egypt. While John encourages and expects the faithful to repent, evildoers are apparently not capable of repentance. While the plagues cause suffering and cursing, no one turns to worship the Creator. The plagues are instruments of punishment only—apparently God has reached the end of his patience because his wrath is unrestrained. Is God too angry to forgive? As the angel of the water explains (and the martyrs under the altar affirm), the evildoers are getting what they deserve. In the first four plagues the natural elements are the instruments of judgment. God’s people are safe, but this time destruction is complete—all the sea, all the rivers, and even the sun. With the fifth, judgment falls directly on the political monsters. With the sixth, the Euphrates is dried, leaving the Empire vulnerable. The unholy three send out demonic spirits who draw the powers of the world to their doom, as all the kings assemble on the battlefield of Armeggedon. Thus the dragon, the beast and the disguised beast (now called a false prophet) bring about their own destruction. Strangely, John interrupts his narrative with a wake-up call for his listeners—how could they be falling asleep now? Perhaps, with the Jewish War in such recent memory, he is concerned that they won’t recognize this war as a sign of the end, and they need to know that the time is short. Finally the last angel brings the series of judgment to a dramatic close. Again, we reach a conclusion that is not the end. Earlier we heard that Babylon had fallen (14:8), and we have heard again and again that God has judged the world, but the story does not end. Repetition makes the point that the heavenly reality is more important than the earthly one. Rome pretends to be in charge, but there is really only one legitimate power. Someday this truth will be seen by all. In the meantime, it is still true.
Thoughts to consider:
This part of Revelation requires that we grapple with the concept of divine wrath. John wants his churches to know that God is angry. Why is that a good thing to know? What do you think makes God angry in our day?
We tend to think that our faith calls us to work for social justice, but working for political change is not an option in Revelation. John encourages his churches to endure by promising that God’s judgment and their vindication are coming soon, but he does not imagine they or God can change the system. The only answer is to do away with the Empire entirely. Are there situations in our own day when apocalyptic hope may be the only hope?
It has been said that atheism is a luxury for the rich because only those who are satisfied with their lives now can live comfortably with the idea that justice done on this world is all the justice they will get. Do you think this is true or does a message of future justice simply get in the way of working for justice now? How important is it for you to know that God takes sides and that justice will one day be done?
The Fall of Babylon (Revelation 17-18)
The Whore of Babylon—does that sound just a tad judgmental? Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC is the pivotal event of the Hebrew Scriptures—everything in the Old Testament refers forward or backward from that point. Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, an event that was just as earthshattering to Christians and Jews of that time. John is not the only writer to equate Rome with the great Biblical destroyer (i.e. 1 Peter 5:13).
Earlier prophets described sinful Israel as a prostitute, and John’s point is the same: Rome is neither ignorant nor innocent. In prostituting herself, the Empire has deliberately perverted the God-given purposes of government. Illicit sex was also part of the Roman system, so John’s metaphor has some literal basis. Her crimes include killing the martyrs, but now John’s critique goes much further. The Empire has deceived others who fell for her false promises of wealth and security. The trade items listed in the merchants’ lament are primarily luxuries—here John describes a system that makes the rich richer at the expense of the poor. Humans are listed at the end of the rich cargoes suddenly lost with Rome’s collapse: John also condemns the system of slavery which was indeed essential to the Roman way of life.
The woman rides on the beast which is Rome, but it is difficult to equate John’s symbols with historical persons (except Nero). While John describes seven kings (Insurrectionists? A coup? Invaders?) who will do God’s will, John is not just predicting the fall of Rome at the hands of invaders as we know it happened in history. His prediction is of a complete destruction of the entire empire system, not a change of empires. Like Lot in Sodom, God’s people are commanded to leave. There is nothing good in the Empire, no way that God’s people can have anything to do with it or attempt to reform it; it must be destroyed. The angel who dramatically throws a rock into the sea in symbolic judgment mirrors the prophet Jeremiah who pronounced final judgment on Babylon in a similar way. Remember, the victory was won earlier by the Lamb. Now we are finally seeing the consequences.
Thoughts to consider:
For John (and earlier prophets), faithful communities are described as faithful brides (we will see this later), and idolatrous ones are depicted as prostitutes. Do you think these metaphors provide helpful imagery for today’s church? What should we do with them? You may notice that this is another section of Revelation that we don’t read in worship services.
John’s message is written to give hope to those oppressed by a seemingly invincible political power. To the extent that governments continue to pervert the purpose of government and power serves the rich at the expense of justice, Babylon has not fallen, even though Rome itself is history. Is there a helpful way to apply John’s imagery to political or economic entities of our own day, so that we can see, as John did, the Godforsaken reality behind (apparently) desirable power, glitter and wealth?
Come out of the city–have nothing to do with Rome and its perversions! Again, this command is given to people in a different situation than our democratic society. How can Christians today participate in a society that is not Christian? Is there a time when walking away is the only option?
One answer to the fact that John’s predictions have not come true is for the Church to pick up John’s prophetic vocation of denouncing the Empire system. Are there any examples in today’s world of someone taking up a similar task? What good does it do to criticize the system?