Bible Gem 2328 – Following Up On The Judgement Motif and Adding a Puzzle

And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood went out of the winepress as far as the bridles of the horses, from a thousand six hundred stadia. [LITV]

Revelation 14:20

¹Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion. ²I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them. ³And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. ⁴Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”

⁵Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. ⁶The seven angels who were holding the seven plagues came out of the Temple. They were clothed in spotless white linen with gold sashes across their chests. ⁷Then one of the four living beings handed each of the seven angels a gold bowl filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. ⁸The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

Revelation 15:1-8

There you have the last verse of Revelation 14 and the whole chapter of Revelation 15. Curious to say that least! It is all very strongly connected. What makes this all such a marvellous event of great significance?

Several of you have made some good comments or come up with some good questions. I will point you firstly to James Glover’s comment in the Comments section of Gem 2327 as well as Kev’s question which I left hanging from Gem 2325.

To make it easier for the rest of you I will place the pieces before you in this Gem.

James Glover’s Comment

Agree with most of this. Clearly Jesus coming in the clouds to redeem His Bride, now fully called and chosen. In that event sometimes referred to as The Rapture, is a reasonable interpretation of this first harvest. The second harvest, being the Tares, will endure great persecution prior to the Final Tribulation that will come upon all the living inhabitants of the Earth. Either these Tares refuse the mark and suffer death, or they accept the mark and go through the tribulation.

Kev’s Question

Great wind up and explanation. One question. Where does the rapture fit in . Lots of us have been taught that we Christians are going to be raptured out of here. A teaching that I have doubted for a long time. But it is there in the New Testament. What do we do with that. lgnore it or tear it out ???

One reader sees the rapture between the lines, the other wonders where it is and if it fits. While others of you are left with questions related to the confusion left behind in John’s wake. How does this all fit together? It’s complicated, but you knew that already – this is Revelation: apocalyptic, full of symbols and confusing imagery.

“Ian, it is so hard to follow the thread of Revelation. It just seems to meander all over the place while I get lost in the maze.”

Why have I given you the last verse of chapter 14 and all of chapter 15 together? In order to point out the connection between the two and to show you some puzzling things along the way. A couple of you queried the connection to the gematria related to 40 x 40 in the previous Gem with one asking if it had to do with 40 being the number which had something to do with judgement. Yes indeed, forty is the number which is used often in the context of testing. As one person asked me, “Is it because the first judgement of God upon the world was poured out over 40 days and 40 nights?” Yes, so often 40 is used when speaking of God’s judgement or testing. But it goes further than that.

The Hand of the Lord in Hebrew is יד יהוה – Yad Adonai (YHWH).

In Numeric Terms [Gematria]

י ד י ה ו ה

5 6 5 10 4 10 = 40

Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me.

Psalm 138:7

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

Hebrews 10:26-29

The inference is the Hand of the LORD can either be with us to save or with us to judge. It is we who set our path which determines whether the Hand of the LORD grants us protection or is the agent of judgement.

There is another deep truth hidden in God’s Word which I am currently grappling with and musing on. I will share it with you now in its stark reality and leave you to ponder it as I am. Then in the following Gem I will unwrap it for you to the extent God gives revelation. I welcome your reader input as well. I first noticed it in my Deeper Bible approach to reading the text of Revelation. As I have read further chapter by chapter I noticed an anomaly. My Greek professor frequently reminded us:

Class, every word of Scripture is there for a purpose. Take note of word switches or changes which stand out. It is likely something deep is hidden there in order to reveal a deeper truth.

Dr Basil Brown

A number of you have noticed how the text of Revelation appears to be teasing us. Judgement is near, here, almost at the door. We are on the verge of the terror.

Rev 8:13 Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

Rev 9:12 The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

Rev 9:20 But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.

Rev 11:14 The second terror is past, but look, the third terror is coming quickly.

Rev 11:15  the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

Rev 11:18 The nations were filled with wrath, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”

Well, come on, bring it on. We are waiting with bated breath. . . but instead we have a series of pauses, even after the dramatic pause of the thirty minutes silence in heaven of Revelation 8:1. From the end of Revelation 11 where we are waiting for judgement to fall we have a series of delays, more pauses. The terror will come when the last three angels blow their trumpets. The attitude of those in the world remains the same at the end of chapter 9, so we are awaiting the final trumpet. However proceedings are paused for the Angel with the little Scroll. (Rev 10) and the Two Witnesses (Rev 11). The seventh angel prepares to blow the seventh trumpet and bring God’s judgment, because it is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth (Rev 11:18). Only for Revelation 12 and 13 to fade into the great parody of satan which we covered through those Gems.

Revelation 14 gave us:

• The Lamb and the 144,000
• The Message of the Three Angels
• The Two Harvests

Now here we are standing on the brink once more waiting for the seventh angel to blow the 7th Trumpet only to find now we have Seven More Angels holding seven bowls of plagues. Oh come on John, put us out of our misery. Tell us the final coup de grace. Give us the final blow please!

I have noticed another repetitive element dispersed through the text at these pause points.

Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

Revelation 8:5

Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm. The seventh seal morphs into 7 trumpets.

Revelation 11:19

Then I looked and saw that the Temple in heaven, God’s Tabernacle, was thrown wide open. . . The Temple was filled with smoke from God’s glory and power. No one could enter the Temple until the seven angels had completed pouring out the seven plagues.

Revelation 15:5, 8

When seeing this curious refrain I also noticed something in accord with Dr Basil Brown’s comment related to word order changes above. Do you see it? I won’t tease you like John does to us. It’s the change to the natural order of lightning, thunder, earthquake.

• thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake. (8:5)
• Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake. (11:19)

Why does thunder come before lightning in an unnatural way? Why make that switch in the order of the words? That sent me looking through all the commentaries I have stacked behind me to see if anyone else noticed this unnatural change in the word order. Lo and behold, Gordon Fee came through for me once again.

Just as the vision of the seven trumpets (8:6-9:21) was introduced by the imagery of “reversed thunder” in 8:1-5).

Gordon Fee Revelation p. 207

Gordon Fee has seen it too and calls it “reversed thunder”.

But what’s the purpose of that change?

What is the significance of it in a passage which highlights the fact that John saw a marvellous event of great significance?

This is the matter I have been grappling with and pondering! Care to ponder and grapple with me, dear reader? Feel free to make your comments. I welcome them. Fill the Comments section with your wisdom. Give me a hand here! Those of you who have followed Gems for a long while know I will sometimes do things like this. Bring it on!

It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.  

Albert Einstein

I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.

Ian

Too many people ask God to be their Guide, and then they grab the steering wheel.

Rick Godwin

Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are willing to stick with a knotty problem long enough.

Ian