Morning Sermon

March 9, 2008

It Is Done

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In Old Testament Israel, there was at the center of Jewish worship a temple. Inside that temple, in the most holy place of all, was the ark of the covenant. On top of the ark was the mercy seat and inside were the tablets of the law, called "the Testimony." This was the meeting place between God and his people on earth.

Ex. 25:21 "You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 "And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."

But that earthly tabernacle was only a shadow, a passing shadow. A symbol and a type of that true tabernacle of the presence of God in heaven. And so we read,

Heb. 9:11 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

So Jesus entered the greater tabernacle, the Most Holy Place of God's presence, the true tabernacle in heaven.

Heb. 8:1 "Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man."

That is the reference John makes in, Rev. 15:5 "After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed."

So it is that seven plagues of the seven angels shall be completed, those angels coming out of the tabernacle in heaven which was opened. And what of that temporary, earthly temple? It would be destroyed, torn down. With good reason.

Heb. 9:8 "The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation."

With the coming of Jesus in the flesh, that time of reformation had arrived. With the arrival of Jesus, the Old Covenant was transformed into the New Covenant. And what would happen to the people of the Old Covenant, the nation of Israel? They, themselves, as a nation, would reject the very Messiah whom God had appointed, and rather than receive the blessings of the New Covenant they would be cut off and destroyed. I believe that is the central focus and declaration of this whole book we have been studying. And we reach the climax this morning, the climactic declaration of the justice and wrath of God. With the completion of the seventh bowl of judgment from the seventh angel coming out of the temple in heaven, we read quite simply, "It is done!"

But what is done? What is accomplished? What is completed? Nothing less than the fullness of the wrathful judgment of God. In the symbolism and imagery of this great vision of John's, these seven bowls cover the same ground as the seven seals and the seven trumpets. v.1

Here it will be seven bowls, with clear parallels to the ten plagues of God's judgment upon the nation of Egypt as He delivered his people out of that land of slavery. Seven judgments corresponding to those ten plagues, ironically and grievously inflicted not upon the enemies of Israel but upon Israel herself. Now seven judgments corresponding to those ten plagues, ironically and grievously inflicted not upon the enemies of Israel but upon Israel herself. The sad reality is that this language was the type of language used in the Old Testament for all the heathen nations of the world. For example,

Ps. 79:6 "Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name."

Here we begin with,

I. THE PLAGUES OF JUDGMENT WITHIN GOD'S CREATION. We begin first with,

A. The plague of sores. v.2

Let me again repeat the theme of destruction to the beast. Just as God poured out boils upon the godless Egyptians, here gruesome and hideous sores are inflicted upon the unfaithful. This was pre-announced to Israel in the threats of the curses of the covenant, found in,

Deut. 28:25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 "Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed...35 The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head."

Not a whole lot needs to be said for this judgment. Next comes,

B. The sea of blood. v.3

Notice, however, that this blood is not flowing, but instead it is "as of a dead man." Namely, blood that is clotted, coagulated and putrefying. Clearly there are references in this image to the uncleanness of such blood and death, but there is also a fascinating but gruesome realization of a rather literal fulfillment of this curse in the actual events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. As bands of the Jewish rebels sought to escape the superior forces of Emperor Vespasian, the historian Josephus recounts their merciless slaughter: "The Jews could neither escape to land, where all were in arms against them, nor sustain a naval battle on equal terms...Disaster overtook them and they were sent to the bottom, boats and all. Some tried to break through, but the Romans could reach them with their lances, killing others by leaping upon the barks and passing their swords through their bodies; sometimes as the rafts closed in, the Jews were caught in the middle and captured along with their vessels. If any of those who had been plunged into the water came to the surface, they were quickly dispatched with an arrow or a raft overtook them."

It goes on, but I'll spare you the details, other than this conclusion, "One could see the whole lake stained with blood and crammed with corpses, for not a man escaped. During the days that followed a horrible stench hung over the region, and presented an equally horrifying spectacle. The beaches were strewn with wrecks and swollen bodies, which, hot and clammy with decay, made the air so foul that the catastrophe that plunged the Jews in mourning revolted even those who had brought it about."

A sea of blood did, in fact, come upon Israel! Then,

C. The just judgment of blood. v.4

The similarity with the plague upon the River Nile is obvious, but here the emphasis is, in the words of David Chilton, upon the reversal of the blessings of the flowing waters of life in the Garden of Eden: "In this plague, the blessings of Paradise are reversed and turned into a nightmare; what was once pure and clean becomes polluted and unclean through apostasy."

And John's revelation focuses upon the justice of God's retribution. v.5-7

Because they are guilty of shedding blood, as the Jews had clearly done with regard to Jesus and the prophets, because they were guilty of such an abomination, justice would be given to them in an appropriate fashion. Just look again at,

v.6 "For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due."

This, of course, was no surprise to Jesus, for he had already declared to his disciples,

Luke 11:47 "Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 "In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 "Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' 50 "that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 "from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation."

And so it was. God is faithful to his word. He is, "The One who is and who was and who is to be."

v.7 "And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."

Then we come to,

D. The curse of the sun. v.8-9

A couple of thoughts. First, again notice the idea of reversal, reversal of the blessings of God into a curse.

Ps. 121:5 "The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore."

The Lord shall preserve you. Most especially, from the heat of the sun. Is. 49:10 "They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them."

But it is all changed now. The fourth angel scorched men with the fire of the sun. And as it was in the days of Pharaoh, repentance did not follow. Only stubborn rebellion.

v.9 "And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory."

This was not a restorative judgment, nor will it be so at the last day. This was a judgment of God justly and richly deserved by wicked men.

Three more bowls left, these ones focused more broadly upon the political circumstances of the day, focused upon men and authorities without the references to the actual world of creation. These are,

II. THE FULLNESS AND COMPLETION OF GOD'S WRATH. There is, then, the fifth angel declaring most appropriately a,

A. Final judgment upon the beast. The great enemy of God and of God's true people. It was a judgment of triumph, Jesus triumphing over that great loser, whose failure was so fully embedded in the number of his name, the number of failure, 6. Failure upon failure upon failure. 6 upon 6 upon 6. So we read, v.10-11

So the lights are turned out, a clear reference in the Bible for political turmoil and the fall of rulers. And again, with direct historical reference, it is good to note with David Chilton, "It is also likely, however, that this judgment partially corresponds to the wars, revolutions, riots, and 'world-wide convulsions' that racked the Empire after Nero committed suicide in June 68."

Then the sixth angel.

B. Final judgment upon all those set against God. v.12

Again, as we saw in chapter 9, the Euphrates was the northern boundary of Israel, and the invading armies historically would descend upon Israel from the north, from the Euphrates.

Rev. 9:14 "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind."

Again here is the tragic irony, Israel themselves would be destroyed. As David Chilton notes, "the coming of the armies from the Euphrates 'surely represents nothing but the return of Titus to besiege Jerusalem with further reinforcements;' 22 and it is certainly more than coincidental that thousands of these very troops actually did come from the Euphrates."

The response to these invading armies are then identified symbolically as frogs. v.13

John leaves us with no doubt as to the spiritual condition of those frogs. v.14

These frogs are spirits of demons, performing demonic miracles in the attempt to deceive mankind. And thus we are ushered into the great day of God Almighty. And now there are all sorts of questions, for we come to that familiar reference to the Battle of Armageddon. v.16

That's a Hebrew word, "har" meaning mountain and "Megiddo" a well fortressed city on the plain strategically important for Israel. It was the location of several battles mentioned in the Bible. But it isn't a mountain! So there actually is not literal location for "Har Megiddo" or the mountain of Megiddo. There just is no such place. But it is near a mountain, Mount Carmel.

Now, the question is why this reference to Mt. Carmel and the fortified city of Megiddo. Mt. Carmel is most noted as the place of defeat of Jezebel's false prophets, and thus is a symbol of such a judgment upon all false prophets. And Megiddo is most noted as the place where King Josiah was mortally wounded, having disobeyed God's word in his confrontation with the Egyptian Pharaoh Neco. Thus Megiddo became a place of mourning and lamentation, a day symbolizing God's judgment upon their own disobedience.

2 Chron. 35:20 "After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you." 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am severely wounded." 24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments."

Then the Prophet Zechariah uses this image of Megiddo to represent the mourning in Israel for the death of the Messiah.

Zech. 12:9 "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo."

To sum that up as best I can, again quoting Chilton, "Megiddo thus was for St. John a symbol of defeat and desolation, a 'Waterloo' signifying the defeat of those who set themselves against God, as Farrer explains: 'In sum, Mt. Megiddo stands in his mind for a place where lying prophecy and its dupes go to meet their doom; where kings and their armies are misled to their destruction; and where all the tribes of the earth mourn, to see Him in power, whom in weakness they had pierced.'"

A symbol of defeat for all those who set themselves against God. That's Har Maggedo. As Derek Thomas puts it, "It is, then, altogether appropriate that Megiddo should symbolize the location of the battle of the Lord against the forces of darkness and that the final, cataclysmic battle should be pictured as taking place here, even though no such literal battle need be expected."

In the immediate context, I believe that applies to what happened in the first century. And yet I believe that first century judgment upon Israel is itself a representation of the final judgment at the end of the age. On that day, the forces of Jesus shall be victorious, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord.

And so we have a verse I've skipped so far, v.15

Here is a great and consistent biblical warning. Mat. 24:42 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

There is an obvious expression of that state of preparation, "Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." The idea, quite rudely, is not simply someone caught with his pants down but someone caught with his pants at all!

Phillip Carrington has a very useful explanation of that image: "There was an officer on duty at the Temple whose business it was to walk round and see that those who were on watch kept awake; if he found them asleep he beat them; if he found them a second time, he burnt their clothes. This is the only possible explanation of this passage. It means, Now is the time for those who are guarding the Temple to keep awake."

Keep awake. Keep alert. As we read in,

Rev. 3:3 "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you."

Well, finally, the conclusion.

C. The grand finale. v.17

That ought to remind you of another grand finale, too. The final declaration of Jesus himself, "It is finished." Here, in Revelation, the judgment of God upon unfaithful Israel is finished. And the grand finale, like the rousing conclusion of a good fireworks display, couldn't be missed. v.18

What is happening? What is being shaken? Why the whole order of the Old Covenant. Shaken, done away with. Destroyed. The writer of Hebrews gives us the conclusion of that shaking.

Heb. 12:25 "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, 26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." 27 Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire."

Thus the shaking of the great earthquake symbolized the inauguration of the new covenant, the kingdom that cannot and will not be shaken.

John Owen writes, "that all the ancient institutions of worship, and the whole church-state of the old covenant, were now to be removed and taken away; and that to make way for a better state, more glorious, and that which should never be subject to change or alteration."

Thus we read, v.19-21

Just a couple more thoughts. First, symbolically, it was the prophet Ezekiel who predicted that Israel would be split into three parts, represented by the prophet's own hair.

Ezek. 5:1 "And you, son of man, take a sharp sword, take it as a barber's razor, and pass it over your head and your beard; then take scales to weigh and divide the hair. 2 "You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them."

That passage concludes, Ezek. 5:11 "Therefore, as I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will also diminish you; My eye will not spare, nor will I have any pity. 12 'One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them."

Yet further, in history, the people of Israel actually divided into three factions, fiercely fighting among themselves within Jerusalem as Titus besieged the city with his Roman army. It was the presence of those three factions that clearly doomed Israel to defeat in that siege. v.20

And then, finally, v.21

Let me again read to you from history, this time the words of Josephus. The Romans used catapults to hurl huge stones into the city of Jerusalem, and Josephus records this account: "Watchmen posted on the towers gave the warnings whenever the engine was fired and the stone came hurtling toward them, shouting in their native tongue: "The Son is coming!"

What could explain that cry, "The Son is coming." Surely that was the expectation of the faithful Christians, and as one old commentator writes, "It seems highly probable that the Jews, in their defiant and desperate blasphemy, when they saw the white mass hurtling through the air, raised the ribald cry, 'The Son is coming,' in mockery of the Christian hope of the [Christ's second coming], to which they might trace a ludicrous resemblance in the strange appearance of the missile."

So as they were being attacked, they blasphemed God by making fun of the Christian's hope, that indeed, the son was coming! When they faced the wrath and judgment of God, they hardened themselves in their sin.

Let me conclude quickly, but very personally. I will conclude as Peter does, after his discussion of the great and terrible day of the Lord that is still to come.

2 Peter 3:7 "But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

Yet we as Christians have a great hope! That's the point of study Armageddon! We have a great hope. A great triumph and victory. And, as Peter continues,

2 Peter 3:13 "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless."

So all of this comes as a warning to those who harden their hearts in unbelief. There is nothing to come for them but the fullness of God's wrath and judgment. But to those who wait in faith, to those who are the recipients of God's covenant promise of the new heavens and the new earth, there is on the basis of that promise a call to holiness. And so I declare to you, "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless."

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