In the previous lesson we saw how that the moral necessity to be fulfilled in the Book of Revelation was to include the vengeance for the martyred saints which God had promised, Luke 18:7-8. In the opening of the fifth seal, Revelation 6:9, the souls of the martyred saints cries out for this promised vengeance. And in the sixth and seventh seals, Revelation 6:12-17, the vengeance begins.

The Sixth and Seventh Seal

The sixth seal, Revelation 6:12-17 RSV, continues this promise of vengeance by proclaiming that “…the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?”

The seventh seal, Revelation chapters 8- 11, consists of the seven trumpets.  After the sixth trumpet, an angel proclaims: “That there shall be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God, as He announced to His servants the prophets, should be fulfilled,” (10:6b, 7, RSV).

When the seventh trumpet sounds, the promised vengeance will be completed. This is reminiscent of Ezekiel 12:25, performance of the predictions will not be delayed beyond the generation to which it was spoken.

The Seventh Trumpet

The seventh trumpet describes the translation of the fleshly kingdom into the kingdom of Christ. It opens with the scene in heaven and the proclamation: “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever,” (11:15 RSV).

This echoes Christ’s words from the Gospel of John 18:36: “My kingdom is not of this world.” The earthly, fleshly kingdom was fully translated into the greater, perfect kingdom of Christ.

This translation of the kingdom is accompanied by a time of wrath upon the earth, (11:18): “The nations raged, but thy wrath came.” God’s servants, prophets and saints, were rewarded by being avenged, while the destroyers themselves were destroyed. The true Temple was seen in heaven, along with the true Ark of the Covenant, (v. 19); the earthly copies were destroyed, and these symbols of the kingdom were translated into the heavens.

Vengeance Against Mystery Babylon and The Beast

Vengeance for the martyred saints would not be complete without the account of the wrath of God poured out upon the wicked city of Jerusalem. The theme of wrath resumes in 14:7: “…the hour of His judgment has come,” that fateful hour so long anticipated. The judgment is against Babylon, verse 8: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, she who made all nations drink the wine of her impure passion,” (RSV).

The judgment of the ‘beast,’ (that is, unredeemed flesh and the fleshly claim to covenant relationship without the spirit), and the reaping of the land, (Gk. Ge, Hebrew ’eretz), corresponds to the historical events of the wars in Judea which immediately preceded the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The land was reaped and cast into “the wine press of the wrath of God,” (v. 19), “…the wine press was trodden outside the city,” the outlying cities and villages of Judea.

The Song Of Moses

The theme of wrath builds until in chapter 15 the seven “bowls” fill up the full measure of God’s wrath. As a corollary, the overcoming saints in heaven sing “The Song of Moses,” Deuteronomy 32, and “The Song of the Lamb.” To complete this scene, one must read and include Deuteronomy 32 as a part of this text. It is a song about justice and judgment. It deals directly with God’s judgment upon Israel because of their fall into sin and idolatry, as foretold by Moses. After the indictment for sin, the theme is set forth which became so important to the early Christians suffering persecution from the Jews: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (See also Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30, etc.)

In the “Song of Moses” the fallen ones are no longer Israel: “They have acted corruptly toward Him, to their shame, they are no longer His children, but a warped and crooked generation,” (NIV Deut. 32:5).

Note also that Jesus used similar terms “faithless and perverse generation” as found in Luke 9:41 and Matthew 17:17, no doubt with this reference in mind. Romans 11:28: “As regards the gospel they are enemies of God.” The fleshly nation had become God’s adversary, but even so, God still had some persecuted servants in the midst of them: “For the Lord will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants, (Deut. 32:36).

“Praise His people, O you nations; for He avenges the blood of His servants and takes vengeance on His adversaries and makes expiation (or atonement) for the land of His people,” (RSV v. 43).

Time For Decision

These conditions had prevailed from the time of Christ’s ministry to the fall of Jerusalem. The nation as a whole had ceased to be His children. Furthermore, He had taken to Himself a nation “who were no people,” the Gentile believers, to provoke the Jews to jealousy. This was also predicted in the Song of Moses, (Deut. 32:21; see also Rom. 10:19).

The contents of the seven bowls are God’s wrath, but it is the promised wrath of the moral imperative and His justice is repeatedly praised; for example: “For men have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink. It is their due!” (Revelation 16:6 RSV).

Consecutive Periods of Judgment

The first bowl is poured out upon the ‘land’ (or ‘earth,’ fulfilled historically upon the land of Judea, but to be further fulfilled upon any nation that forgets God. The theme of wrath builds toward its climax in the seventh bowl. In the seventh bowl the cities of ‘the nations’ fell, (16:19). The twelve tribes were sometimes called ‘the nations.’

Next Lesson: To Avenge His People As Their Kinsman-Redeemer