Revelation 15 & 16
In
chapters 6, 8-9 and now 15-16, we are introduced to, respectively, 7 seals, 7
trumpets and 7 bowls. It is common today, especially in America
A more ancient –
and in my opinion far more helpful – Christian view sees the various groups of
7 (Seals, Trumpets, Bowls) as simultaneous or ‘cyclical’ – each depicts in a
different way either part or the whole of ‘This Present Age’ from Christ’s
First Coming to his Second Coming.
This
view does not rule out the very real likelihood that there will be an increase
in the severity of God’s judgment in the very last days. Indeed, the Seals,
Trumpets & Bowls suggest just such an escalation – compare the 2nd
Trumpet’s effect on the sea (8:8) with that of the 2nd Bowl (16:3).
The
value of this simultaneous or cyclical model is in providing a pattern which
covers the whole of the middle section of Revelation (chapters 6 - 18). In this
pattern, 4 themes are interwoven: -
- God’s Activity (judgment
& mercy)
- Satan’s Activity
(wrath & deception)
- the fate of the
earth (destruction)
- the fate of God’s
people (redemption)
In
chs 6-18, John’s visions offer different viewpoints of the same events,
characters & future, seen from various angles. We see God’s people
variously as seen by God, Satan & the inhabitants of earth. We see the
inhabitants of earth in their political, religious & economic alliances
with Satan. We see Satan himself as he appears to the Church, to the
inhabitants of earth and to God. These visions are not intended to fit a date
& time sequence. John is not concerned to reveal an exact chronology of
“earth’s last days” (as a recent series of novels claims!) but rather to
provide a pattern by which to understand our calling as God’s people set
against the backdrop of the reality of evil in the here and now and the
certainty of Christ’s future Return to earth. John’s visions explain these
realities in vivid form in order that we might show ‘patient endurance &
faithfulness’ (13.10). In biblical prophecy, the future is only unveiled in
order to transform the present.
As
a general rule
- the Seals,
Trumpets & Bowls deal with God’s judgment / mercy & the fate of
the earth
- the insertions
deal with Satan’s wrath / deception & the fate of God’s people
So
it becomes possible to depict the pattern of Revelation 6 – 18 as follows
THE
SEALS, TRUMPETS, BOWLS
|
THE
INSERTIONS
|
6:1–17
= Seals 1 to 6
|
|
7:1–8
= 144,000 sealed
|
|
7:9–17
= A great multitude
|
|
8:1–5
= the 7th Seal
|
|
8:6–9:21
= Trumpets 1 to 6
|
|
10:1–11
= the angel & the little scroll
|
|
11:1–14
= the Two Witnesses
|
|
11:15–19
= the 7th Trumpet
|
|
12:1–13:1
= the woman & the dragon
|
|
13:2–18 = the two beasts
|
|
14:1–5
= the Lamb & the 144,000
|
|
14:6–13
= the 3 angels
|
|
14:14–20
= the harvest of the earth
|
|
15:1–8
= 7 angels with 7 Bowls
|
|
16:1–21
= Bowls 1 to 7
|
|
17:1–18
= the woman on the beast
|
|
18:1–24
= the fall of
|
(member of the clergy)