The fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened, and they gnawed their tongues on account of the pain.  And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their works.  Rev. 16:10, 11.
 
    My children constantly remind me that I'm now an "older person."  One of the things I have noticed about such "older people" is that they become more and more like whatever they have been before.  The person who has spent a lifetime being sweet and blessing others tend to become a really, really sweet old person.  On the other hand, a person who has lived for self and felt that the world owed him or her a living will increasingly grow more and more selfish and difficult as the years wind down toward the end.
 
    I remember bringing my wife along on a pastoral visit to an older woman.  The woman was bedridden that day and asked if my wife could feed her something.  My wife agreed and put some hot cereal together.  She then began to spoon the cereal into the woman's mouth.  Hungry, the woman ate with enthusiasm.  But at one point my wife didn't get the food to the woman's mouth as fast as she expected it, and so she bit my wife harshly on the wrist!
 
    I remember telling my brother about the incident and saying, "I want to get rid of all my hang-ups as soon as possible.  I don't want to become like that when I get old!"  As I said, as we age we tend to become more and more what we have been all along.  This has implications for what happens on earth after the close of human probation.
 
    In the face of the overwhelming judgment in this text, one would expect everyone to repent.  But that is not the way it will be at the end of time.  One survivor of a plane crash recounts that he had always expected people facing death to cry out to God for mercy in their final moments.  Instead, as the plane headed downward, out of control, he heard many respond with cursing.  In their "last moments" they were merely following habits that they had spent their lives developing.
 
    It doesn't matter whether God responds with judgment or mercy, because some will refuse to believe, refuse to repent, refuse to bless the name of the Lord (Rev. 16:9, 11, 21).  They are like the wicked in Sodom who laughed at Lot when he warned them of judgment to come.  And so in the end the wicked die unrepentant in the face of divine judgments.  In doing so they reveal a deep-seated obstinacy and a depth of human rebellion against God.
 
Lord, I realize that it would be a big mistake to wait until the end to repent.  I want to build qualities into my life now that will reveal themselves when the crisis comes.

 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and he was authorized to scorch the human race with fire.  And the people were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent in order that they might give Him glory.  Rev. 16:8, 9.
 
    Some people believe that television programs, television ads, and movies are lessening the quality of real life.  Real life can't seem to compete with Hollywood.  A single hour of television usually has more moments of suspense, more odd twists, and more romantic incidents than most people experience in a decade.  And that is not even counting the 15 minutes or so of commercials that remind everyone how inadequate real life is.
 
    Because of such human-made images people find it hard to look at the sky, the sea, or the forests with the wonder each deserves.  The media images seem a lot more interesting.  In real life, funny, heartfelt, profound, and even miraculous things happen.  But they occur in God's time, scattered in the midst of run-of-the-mill, everyday activities.  Compared to the dazzling array of experiences people have on TV, real life just doesn't seem worth writing home about.
 
    It makes one wonder what it would take for God to get through to most people in today's world.  Would it require something as big as the seven last plagues?  Or would even that hardly faze the hardened devotees of visual fiction?  But the above text reminds us that God will do whatever it takes to bring us back to reality.
 
    You see, the glitter of those false images rubs off sooner or later.  As that happens, we have to create more spectacular ones to produce the same impact.  Eventually we become disillusioned with the race for bigger and better images that really can't get any bigger or better.  When we tire of the things that "pacify" us, we will begin to look for something "real" that cannot be topped.  That is where we begin to search for God.
 
    People who have everything will eventually run into despair.  Their relationships become a wreck, because they have spent their lives pursuing things that don't give life true meaning.  They come face to face with the reality that the death rate is 100 percent.  At some point we have to get a grip on our limitations and look for something eternal.  But in a world filled with "virtual reality," it is that much harder to find the real--or even want it.
 
    God sometimes lets us experience everything that we think will make us happy, so that in desperation we will seek only One who can truly make us happy.  The sad thing is that some have allowed themselves to become so hardened that even God's loudest megaphone (the plagues) will not get their attention.  I'd rather start paying attention now.
 
Lord, do whatever it takes to get my attention today.

And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and he was authorized to scorch the human race with fire.  And the people were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent in order that they might give Him glory.  Rev. 16:8, 9.
 
    One of life's great miseries occurs when the temperature swings way out of control.  And this is particularly the case when you aren't used to one or the other extreme.  If you have always lived in Singapore, 90°F (32°C) with 80-90 percent humidity seems rather normal.  And those from Siberia can find 20° below freezing balmy.  But both places can feel miserable to those not adapted to the climate.
 
    A friend of mine had spent his whole life in southern California  When he moved to Andrews University, he experienced real winter for the first time. Cold waves of air swept over the windshield of the cars every night and covered them with ice.  Michigan locals all have ice scrapers handy to remove the ice off the glass in their cars.  But Jim had a "better" plan of attack.  On "cold" California mornings in his youth he had seen his father go out and put water on the windows, and that would melt the ice instantly.
 
    Feeling more than a little smug, Jim headed out to his frigid car one morning with a pan of cold water.  Imagine how dumb he felt when the water he poured onto the windshield immediately froze and added to the problem.  He discovered a major difference between the "cold" of California and the "freezing" of Michigan.
 
    But Jim confesses that he was slow to learn about the differences in climate.  When his family moved to the Philippines, people warned him that clothes and leather goods would get mildewed in the high heat and humidity.  He checked the closets after a couple days and everything seemed all right, so he did nothing about the advice he received.  A few weeks later enough mold had grown on everything that he could have performed scientific experiments with it!  He learned that he needed to rig up some low-powered lights in the closets to make the air a little drier. Now his closets emit a soft glow at night, and the clothes are nice and fresh.
 
    Jim has learned from such experiences the importance of a teachable spirit.  A great big world lurks out there, and most of us know very, very little about it.  The Lord "guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way" (Ps. 25:9, NIV).  The victims of the seven last plagues are those who have consistently resisted the Lord's teaching in their lives.  The plagues prove that no matter what God does for them, they refuse to learn and refuse to repent.
 
Lord, I want to have a teachable spirit today.  Instead of complaining when things are not comfortable, help me to see each discomfort as an opportunity to learn.

 And I heard from the altar, saying, "Yes! Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments."  Rev. 16:7.
 
    This is something new--an altar that talks!  A lot of strange creatures speak in Revelation, but this beats them all.  It reminds me a little of Jesus' comment about the stones crying out to honor Him if the people would not do it.  But why is the altar before the throne of God making a proclamation about God's justice?
 
    We find a clue in Revelation 8:3, 4.  There it tells us that the golden altar is the place from which the prayers of the saints arise, mingled with the incense of the altar.  The "prayers of the saints" is actually an echo of the souls under the altar in Revelation 6:9, 10.  These souls plead to God because of the unjust treatment they have received from those who live on earth.
 
    So the altar is the place that stores, so to speak, the prayers of all the saints who have been treated unjustly, killed, or tortured for their faith.  It is the place in heaven where all the requests for justice that have ever ascended from earth gather together.  Coals of fire, which symbolize God's anger regarding such injustice, fill the altar.  The book of Revelation portrays the time when the fire of God's judgment erupts against every perpetrator of injustice.
 
    But the altar represents something else as well.  It is also the place where the blood of sacrifice is brought, sanctified in a cloud of incense.  So the altar also symbolizes forgiveness.  Every sinner can go to it to have the weight of sin removed.  Even those who have done heinous crimes can come to the altar in repentance and receive forgiveness.
 
    The horrors that are poured out on the wicked are not inevitable for you and me.  God has made provision for every sinner to be forgiven and cleansed.  He forces no one to face His wrath.  The Lamb has died for those sins.  Christ has allowed Himself to experience the fires of divine wrath so that no one else need to, except by their own choice.
 
    If we lay our sins on the altar, they will be burned up there.  But if we choose not to repent--if we insist on clinging to our sins--the altar will draw those sins to itself, consuming us along with them.  Those who feel they are "good enough on their own" will not be separated from their sins or from the ultimate consequence of those sins.
 
    That's why we find so many plagues and so much bloodshed in the book of Revelation.  It is picturing the full, natural outcome of our daily choices.  Revelation gives us God's call to come back to Him before it is forever too late.  In order to get our attention, it portrays the consequences of not returning to our Creator and Savior.  The choice is ours.
 
Lord, I see more clearly the reality of sin in my life and the consequence of not seeking Your forgiveness and cleansing.  I choose to come to You today.

 And the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.  And I heard the angel of the waters, saying, "You are righteous, who is and who was, the Holy One, because you have judged in these ways.  For they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, so you have given them blood to drink, for they are worthy."  Rev. 16:4-6.
 
    We have seen that before the plagues are poured out onto the earth, the temple of heaven ceases to function (Rev. 15:5-8).  The glory of God is so intense that the seven bowl angels leave the temple, never to return.  The closing up of the temple in heaven suggests the end of human probation.  From now on there will be no more conversions.  Sinners will no longer come to Christ, and saints will no longer fall away from God.  So the sufferings experienced in the seven last plagues are not designed to bring anyone to repentance.
 
    What is the point of the plagues, then?  If they take place after the close of probation, why add to the world's suffering?  If people can no longer repent, it seems vengeful and capricious to torment them further.  But the answer may lie in the major underlying theme.  God is just when He executes judgment on the wicked, because they are receiving in kind what they have done to others (Rev. 16:5-7).  In other words, the punishment fits the crime.
 
    "Is God's judgment always perfectly accurate?" some might ask.  "Wouldn't the wicked change if they knew God better or had the same kind of opportunities as the righteous?"  The plagues will answer such questions.  They show that the wicked will continue to oppose God no matter the circumstances.  The worse things get, the more they resist Him.  Earlier plagues had brought people to repentance, but now the wicked refuse to return to Him, regardless of what He puts in their path (Rev. 16:9, 11, 21).
 
    The righteous also suffer many things in the last days (Rev. 13:9, 10; 17: 14).  But these sufferings do not turn them away from their course either.  They remain righteous, and the wicked stay wicked (Rev. 22:11).  The close of probation is not an arbitrary decree on God's part.  It is simply a time when world affairs reach the point that everyone makes a settled decision for or against Him at the very same time.
 
    The plagues also are not arbitrary, even though they come after the close of probation, because they also serve God's purposes.  The turning of the rivers and springs to blood corresponds in a natural way to the crime that is in view.  Those who have shed the blood of saints and prophets receive blood to drink as a just reward.
 
Lord, whenever I am tempted to put immediate pleasure ahead of Your will, keep me mindful of the horrible consequences of sin.

    And the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became like the blood of a dead man.   And every living thing which is in the sea died.  Rev. 16:3.
 
    This text portrays a worldwide disaster.  The waters in the oceans, bays, and inlets of the world transform into a bloodlike substance that kills the creatures of the sea.  The plagues of Revelation 16 carry out the promise of Revelation 11:18 that God will "destroy those who are destroying the earth."
 
    The earth is the Lord's (Ps. 24:1), so those who abuse it challenge God's rule whether they realize it or not.  God has placed us on a planet finely tuned to our comfort and support.  When we abuse His creation, we heap judgment on ourselves.  An example of this is the current situation of the earth's oceans.
 
    The human race is devastating them.  In the nineteenth century codfish were so numerous off the coast of the northeast United States that European visitors reported catching them simply by lowering baskets into the water.  "In relation to our present modes of fishing," the eminent biologist T. H. Huxley said in 1883, "a number of the most important sea fisheries, such as the cod fishery, are inexhaustible."  Today the abundance Huxley extolled is on the verge of disappearing.  Unless something changes soon, biologist Daniel Pauly recently warned in the New York Times, the next generation will have nothing left but "plankton stew."
 
    Twenty-eight percent of fish stocks worldwide are either overfished or nearing extinction, while another 47 percent are near the limits of sustainability.  The waters off New England and Newfoundland are by some measures the worst in the world.  A University of British Columbia team led by Pauly predicted recently that many large species "will be all but gone from the North Atlantic region within a few decades."  Humanity is setting off the aquatic equivalent of a neutron bomb, leaving the marine environment intact but killing off all its inhabitants.
 
    Meanwhile, the demand for fish continues to soar.  Population continues to grow, and rising standards of living lead more people to seek meat in their diets.  Fish consumption doubled between 1973 and 1987.  By 2020 the catch will have to increase again by nearly half just to keep up with demand.  The greatest demand comes from developing nations in Asia, whose citizens can hardly be told to eat less protein than their counterparts in the West.
 
    In His mercy God has created the earth to be self-cleansing and self-renewing.  It has taken much abuse and continues to treat us well on the whole.  But this life has no free lunch.  What we sow we will eventually reap.
 
Lord, teach me how to exercise stewardship in my relation to the earth.  I want all of my actions to exhibit my recognition that the earth belongs to You, not me.

And I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth."  And the first angel went away and poured out his bowl into the earth, and an ugly and painful boil broke out upon the men who had the mark of the beast and had worshipped his image.  Rev. 16:1, 2.
 
    Are the plagues literal or figurative?  It is difficult to know.  Images in the book of Revelation normally call for a figurative reading.  Most of the book, particularly the seals and trumpets, makes sense only in a symbolic way.
 
    Figuratively, the plagues could represent the consequences that come as a result of sin.  The Old Testament calls them the curses of the covenant.  The boils of the first plague resemble leprosy, a symbol of the putrefying effects of sin on the soul.  The waters turning to blood could conceivably be taken literally.  But it would take the total abandonment of law and order or a universal war to cause so much bloodshed that the ocean waters turn a bloody red.  If you take the image symbolically, it may represent that those whose hearts are set on sin lose access to the water of life.  The scorching sun could represent the intensified glare of God's Word as it points out sin and calls for judgment on those who oppose Him.
 
    But in the end, the plagues may simply be a fairly literal outline of the terrible experience of the wicked in the last generation.  They will suffer sores and diseases, extreme pollution, and weather now completely out of control.  Everything designed to make life worth living gets taken away.
 
    People today don't want to talk about God's judgment.  They feel that judgment is not what a deity is for.  But Santa Claus theology cannot cope with the reality of evil or seemingly senseless suffering.  To make God kind but never firm is to deny His Lordship over a world full of suffering.  Facing hardship without some sense that God has a purpose in it leads only to a fatalistic resignation.  A God who never inflicts corporate judgments on the world is not the God of Scripture--He is an idol of our own making.
 
    It is not to say that anytime someone suffers it is a divine judgment of some sort.  Some may experience suffering as a judgment, while others may encounter the same suffering as a test of faith.  Suffering rarely reveals its purpose to us, but it always summons our attention to the God who can help us understand the purpose in our suffering.  With all the wrongs that happen in this world, we should not find it hard to believe that our world needs God's judgments to bring about justice.
 
Lord, I thank You for the firmness of character that will right all wrongs in this world someday.  Give me the confidence to trust Your Lordship of this world until then.

 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.  And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple dressed in clean and bright linen, wearing golden sashes around their chests.  And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls, full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter into the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.  Rev. 15:5-8.
 
    In contrast to the smoke of the world's torment (Rev. 14:10, 11), we have here the smoke of God's glory.  It reminds us of the scenes that accompanied the dedication of both the wilderness tabernacle (Ex. 40:34, 35) and of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 8:10-12).  God filled both places with His glory to celebrate their dedication.  Here in Revelation 15 He does so in response to the worship of His saints (Rev. 15:3, 4), who suffered at the hands of the wicked ones who will now taste His severe judgments.
 
    After the Exile in Babylon, Zerubbabel raised up a more modest Temple (Hag. 1:12-2:9) to replace Solomon's, which Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed (2 Chron. 36:18, 19).  It too had a ceremony of dedication (Ezra 6:13-18).  A similar service occurred nearly 100 years later to celebrate the completion of the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah, which safely enclosed the holy precincts once more (Neh. 12:27-47).
 
    The Feast of Dedication as we know it (called Hanukkah today), however, did not originate in Old Testament times.  It celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its defilement by Antiochus Epiphanes (165 B.C.).  Among other things, Antiochus sacrificed a pig on the Temple altar, forbade observance of the Sabbath, and compelled many Jews to eat pork.  After the Maccabees, a group of Jewish insurgents, liberated Jerusalem from the clutches of Antiochus, they cleansed and rededicated the Temple.  The celebration that followed became an annual feast of Judaism (one that Jesus Himself attended--John 10:22).
 
    In our text we actually have something along the lines of an "undedication."  The glory of God drives out the angels.  But instead of returning in a short while to resume their temple duties, as would be the case for a dedication service, they move on to other, more painful tasks.
 
    God marks the unpleasant turns of life as well as the pleasant ones.  For the next few chapters of Revelation things will become very unpleasant indeed.
 
Lord, hold Your sanctuary open if that is not contrary to Your will.  I feel unprepared for the events of the end.  Bring me to a place of readiness for the close of history.

 After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.  And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple dressed in clean and bright linen, wearing golden sashes around their chests.  And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls, full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.  Rev. 15:5-7.
 
    John often echoes the language of the Old Testament in writing out his visions.  But he does not point the reader to specific Old Testament texts.  We will understand his meaning only by going back to the Old Testament and digging out the echo in its original context.
 
    Here's how echoes work: What is a lemon?  Well, it certainly is a citrus fruit with a fairly sour taste.  But the term has an extended meaning in American culture.  A lemon is a new car that doesn't deliver on its promise.  While it may be brand-new, it gives its owner far too many troubles and spends much too much time in the repair shop.
 
    Now, if you live in the United States, you are familiar with this symbolic use of "lemon."  In the context of automobiles, a lemon is a bad new car.  But you are probably not aware of how this meaning became popular.  About 35 years ago Ralph Nader published a book entitled What to Do With Your Bad Car.  The cover of the book had a picture on it of a lemon with four plastic wheels.  Reading the title and then seeing the photo had immediate impact.  "Lemon" as a symbol with automotive connotations became widespread.
 
    But most Americans don't need to know that piece of history to understand the extended meaning on "lemon."  You pick up that piece of information "in the air" of American culture.  And if you are writing or talking about lemons, your audience would automatically understand, whether or not they have ever heard of Ralph Nader.
 
    The seven bowls of wrath are a terrifying piece of Revelation's legacy to the world.  Along with the seven trumpets, they pile up images of suffering, assault, and unrepentance.  But "in the air" of John's Jewish world, bowls would have had a strangely positive ring.  The word for "bowls" appears repeatedly in texts describing the implements of the sanctuary in the Old Testament (Ex. 27:3; 38:3; Num. 4:14; 2 Kings 25:14, 15; 2 Chron. 4:8, 22).  They are also mentioned in Revelation 5:8 as containing the prayers of the saints.  When the wrath of God strikes the earth, He will still be listening to the prayers of His people.
 
Lord, in the midst of tragedy I want to pray all the more, to link up with You in Your purpose to save everyone.  You can, while limiting the sorrow and the dying.  Give me a heart to act as Your agent of mercy in the world, one person at a time.

 After these things, I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.  And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple dressed in clean and bright linen, wearing golden sashes around their chests.  Rev. 15:5, 6.
 
    This mention of the temple in heaven is one of many references to the sanctuary in the book of Revelation.  Each of Revelation's seven main sections begins with a scene based on the sanctuary.  Let me summarize them briefly.
 
    Revelation 1:12-20.  Jesus walks among seven golden lampstands (verses 12-20).  He is not in the heavenly sanctuary, but on Patmos (verses 9-12).  The lampstands represent the churches on earth (verse 20).  So God's church is a temple in its own right (1 Cor. 3:17; 1 Peter 2:1-10).
 
    Revelation 4; 5.  Revelation 4 and 5 contain a thorough mix of images from every part and service of the sanctuary.  The scene probably represents the inauguration of the sanctuary itself, when every item in the sanctuary was dedicated to God.
 
    Revelation 8:3-5.  The focus of this passage is intercession.  The prayers of the saints combine with incense to enhance their effectiveness before God.
 
    Revelation 11:19.  Here is a view of the Most Holy Place, containing the ark of the covenant.  It appears in the context of judgment.
 
    Revelation 15:5-8.  In Revelation 15 and 16 the temple empties and is not put into use again.  The heavenly sanctuary, inaugurated in Revelation 4 and 5, went through phases of intercession and judgment, and is here shut down.  Its services have ceased.
 
    Revelation 19:1-10.  We note a total absence of sanctuary furnishings in this text: no building, no censers, no altar, no ark of the covenant, no lampstand.  Worship is taking place, just as it does in Revelation 4 and 5, but without any direct reference to the sanctuary and its furnishings.
 
    Revelation 21: 1-8.  In Revelation 21:2, 3, the "tabernacle" is actually the New Jerusalem descending to earth.  The city is shaped like a cube, just like the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary.  God and the Lamb Themselves become the temple of the city. 
 
    The book of Revelation displays a completed sanctuary cycle.  The cycle begins on earth (Rev. 1) and ends on earth (Rev. 21).  Scenes 2-6, on the other hand, focus on the heavenly sanctuary throughout the Christian Era.  The sanctuary is inaugurated, goes through phases of intercession and judgment, then is abandoned.  When the plan of salvation comes to an end, the sanctuary will no longer be needed.
 
Lord, help me to take advantage of every provision You have made for my salvation.