Series: Revelation: The Best is Yet to Come

Title: “What to Do With God’s Wrath”

Scripture: Revelation 15

(Main commentary helps listed at the end)

Bottom line:  The display of God’s holy justice in saving his people and winning their praise is meant to make us want to be among the redeemed, not the condemned.

Intro/Opening story: 

Our youth are back from a week of camp. Their theme was “The darkness and the light”. They broke it down over 4 days:

1. Let there be light: The God who creates (Creation)

2. The light came into the world: The God who cares (Incarnation)

3. You are the light: The God who calls (Sanctification)

4. Light the darkness: The God who commands (Mission)

In Revelation 15 we see God leveraging evil to judge evil justly. It feels very dark because the world will be covered in darkness. 

But God’s people will still be called and commanded to shine brightly in that darkness as God unleashes his holy and just wrath on all humanity that persists in rebellion to him. 

I love this quote: “Jesus didn’t give the Church the book of Revelation so we’d build ourselves bigger bomb shelters, but so we’d would build longer dinner tables” - @RayOrtlund

Today, we will see the precursor to the bowls of God’s wrath coming in Rev 16.

3 “I saw” or “I looked”:

I. God’s wrath will be finished. (15:1)

• Plagues remind us of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Bowls will be more plagues.

• When we think of wrath, we tend to think of losing control. God doesn’t lose control or his temper.

II. Victorious worship by the nations. (15:2-4)

• Songs of deliverance

  • From slavery in Egypt

  • From slavery to sin

    • Actions of God

    • Titles of God

    • Fear God and bring glory to his name. Why?

      • He alone is holy

      • All nations will worship him

      • For his righteous acts have been revealed

III. God’s glory and power will be displayed. (15:5-8)

• We broke the covenant law.

• He is holy and must punish sin.

• He will reveal his power and glory through his holy justice on sin.

  • Not social justice.

  • Biblical justice.

Conclusion

Early church documents show that the day of a person’s martyrdom was called the day of his or her victory because they didn’t succumb to the pressure of compromise. —Darrell Johnson. P. 225

“The victory comes in facing the worst the beast can throw at us and remaining faithful.” —Darrell Johnson, p. 225

Who’s side are you on?

The question is never, “Will I be a disciple?” 

The question is always, “Who’s disciple will I be?”

Let’s pray.

Other Illustrations:

Funny: “Everybody is talking about the apocalypse like there’s no tomorrow…”

“Keep your eyes on the clouds and the crowds.” —Greg Stier

Live in light of his imminent return.

“Jesus didn’t give the Church the book of Revelation so we’d build ourselves bigger bomb shelters, but so we’d would build longer dinner tables” - @RayOrtlund

Other thoughts wrt joy and circumstances and Jane / Nightbirdie

“Sow a thought, you reap an action;

Sow an action, you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, you reap a character; 

sow a character, you reap a destiny.”

-E. Stanley Jones

The Framed Picture of Revelation 11-16

144,000 sealed—6 trumpet plagues (7-9)

True Prophet John (10:1-11)

Persecuted Church (11:1-14)

Christ is King (11:15-19)

Persecuted Church (12:1-13:10)

Satan’s False Prophet (13:11-18)

144,000 sealed—7 bowls of wrath (14-16)

Notice the symmetry and how it purposefully points to the most important truth in the book of Revelation. Just another way God reinforces the idea that he’s purposefully revealing himself to us for our good and his glory.

Other notes:

Main commentary help: 

• Exalting Jesus in Revelation by Daniel Akin

• Revelation by Jim Hamilton

• Revelation by Paige Patterson, New American Commentary series

• Breaking the Code by Bruce Metzger

• 2020 Sermons by Matt Chandler

• ESV Global Study Bible

• Bible in One Year by Nicky Gumbel

• Bible Knowledge Commentary

• The Book of Revelation, NICNT, Robert Mounce

• The Outline Bible, Wilmington

• Bible in One Year reading plan, Nicky Gumbel

• Exalting Jesus in 1 Kings by Tony Merida

• Discipleship on the Edge, Darrell W. Johnson