Day of Atonement: Seven Plagues of God's Wrath
“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”
– Mark 13: 28-33
Background
The second of three feasts in the final festival of Ingathering, the Day of Atonement fell on the tenth of Tishri. The theme of this feast is purification through judgment and the removal of sin. This feast day was the most solemn day of the year, because it provided forgiveness through covering of the nation’s sins and judgment on the atoning sacrifice. The required sentence of death was carried out on two substitutionary sacrifices instead of on the children of Israel. The first sacrifice was the Lord’s goat, which purified the tabernacle, or temple. The cleansing blood of this sacrifice enabled the Presence of God to continue dwelling in the midst of his chosen people. The second sacrifice was known as the scapegoat, or ‘one who takes the blame for someone else.’ The priest symbolically laid the sin of the people on the scapegoat’s head, after which it was led out into the desert, removing sin from the camp. This day also marked the completion of treading the grape harvest to make wine. In Jewish theology, the Day of Atonement prefigures the Day of the Lord, with its vengeance against the wicked and judgment of the living and the dead.
The Day of Atonement, the sixth feast, is associated with the Ark of the Covenant, the sixth furnishing. The ark held the Ten Commandments, which were the foundation of God’s law. Since the law defined sin, it was the basis for God’s judgment of Israel. The ark is therefore symbolic of judgment implied by the law, as in Revelation 11: 19, when it appeared as the chorus of 24 elders announced the judgment of the coming third woe. So when it is seen here in Revelation 15 accompanied by lightning, thunder, hail, etc., it is once again indicating coming tribulation and judgment.
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Revelation 15 & 16 – Feast: The Day of Atonement
Theme: Purifying the Earth through Judgment
In the pattern of the feasts, chapters 15 to 20 of Revelation express different aspects of the judgment that thematically fulfills the Day of Atonement. Revelation 15 & 16 fulfill the purification of the blood of the Lord’s goat. In the Old Covenant rites of the Day of Atonement, the blood of the innocent sacrifice was sprinkled from a bowl onto the ark of the testimony, purifying the temple so the Presence of God could continue to dwell among the Israelites. In these two chapters, because the disobedient are not ‘covered’ by the atoning blood of Christ, they are judged. They atone for their sin with their own blood, making repayment for the blood of the righteous shed over the millennia. A cleansing judgment is a warning to repent; a purifying judgment is rendered when the warnings to repent go heeded. The world has already suffered through the partial judgments of Unleavened Bread (the first six trumpets) with little or no repentance. Since the judgment of the Day of Atonement works complete purification rather than just cleansing, the bowl judgments will be complete rather than partial judgments.
Revelation 15 begins with the sign of the seven angels and the saints on the crystal sea. Like the sign of the woman and the Dragon in Revelation 12, there are three components to this sign, providing context for the coming bowl judgments of chapter 16. Of the seven plagues of God's wrath, the first six judgments are thematically aligned with the previous partial cleansing judgments announced by the six trumpets of Unleavened Bread. Each bowl judgment shows the increasingly harmful results of the earlier trumpet judgment after it has had time to work through the earth, or brings a judgment that is similar to its respective trumpet judgment.
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Revelation 15
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God's wrath is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 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. 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. 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.
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Revelation 15 Commentary
v. 1-4 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them God's wrath is complete. And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”
It can be concluded that the angels and the saints on the sea of glass are both part of this sign. The grammatical construction confirms this. The seven angels in verse 1 and the saints standing on the glassy sea in verse 2 are both introduced in the original Greek with the phrase: “And I saw…” (Later, when the actual seven angels, as opposed to the sign of the angels, are coming out of the tabernacle in verse 5, the grammar reads differently: “After these things I saw…” This indicates that the angels and the saints are ‘these things,’ grouped together as part of the sign.) Like the sign of the woman and the Dragon in Revelation 12, the sign of the angels and the saints has astronomical, historic, and prophetic components.
The seven angels provide both the prophetic and astronomical aspects of the sign. Prophetically, they foretell the coming judgment when the seven angels will emerge from the sanctuary to pour the seven plagues of God's wrath on the kingdom of the beast. This takes place in verses 6 and 7. Astronomically, the seven angels have their counterpart in the constellation Pleiades, also called the seven sisters by the Greeks, and Kimah by the Israelites. (This cluster of seven bright stars is also referred to in Job 38: 31 and Amos 5: 8.) The Pleiades rises in the night sky relatively close to the pole star. Yet this was not always the case. According to the Talmud, the path of Kimah moved to a different place in the night sky just prior to the Great Flood. This shifting of the stars before the Flood was also noted by Noah, as recorded in the Book of Enoch. Whereas the sign of the woman and the Dragon indicates the season of Christ’s second coming, the sign of the seven angels indicates the imminence of Christ’s return.
Such a change in the position of the constellations can only occur with a geographic shifting of the earth relative to the poles. Given the movement in the constellations just before the Flood, it is likely that the flooding of the planet was caused by the great forces released when the earth’s mantle broke free to move about its core. One of the oldest Jewish works, the B’reshit Rabbah, states that as the coming of the Messiah nears, there will again be a sign in the constellation Kimah. Although the evidence is circumstantial, it points to the ‘sign’ of the seven angels as symbolizing a change in the position of Pleiades in the night sky. Prophetic passages in Isaiah appear to support the occurrence of an end times’ pole shift. This may not occur all at once, however. The movement of the stars noted here may indicate a preliminary shifting of the earth’s crust, with the greater portion of the shift occurring later, after internal geologic stresses have increased. The results of a major pole shift are described when the seventh bowl judgment is poured out on the earth (Rev. 16:17-21).
“The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls (KJV -swoons) - never to rise again. Isa. 24: 18-20 NIV Beware, the Lord will empty the earth, split it open and turn it upside down, and scatter its inhabitants.” Isa. 24:1 New English Bible
Several observations can be made about the historic part of this sign, those standing on the sea of glass. They are saints since they have gained victory over the beast, his image and his mark. Since the crystal sea forms the ‘floor’ of God’s throne room, its presence here along with the harps is symbolic of a heavenly location, confirming that they are martyrs. The inclusion of the Greek comparative particle ōs in describing the sea of glass renders the meaning that this group was standing on something like a sea of glass, indicating that this is a sign. The mingling of the sea with fire is symbolic of a heavenly state achieved through earthly tribulation. Since there is no tribulation in heaven, the fire mixed with the crystal sea confirms this as a sign. The fact that they are singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb indicates that this group is probably comprised of saved Gentiles and Messianic Jews killed during the persecutions of the beast. While this does not mean that the beast has eliminated all the saints from earth, it does indicate that the beast’s economic program and his persecution is well underway, justifying the coming seven bowl judgments.
v. 5-8 After this I looked, and in heaven the temple, that is the tabernacle of testimony, was opened. Out of the temple came the angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. 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. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
The phrase “after this,” or “after these things,” indicates that the sign of the angels and saints is over, so these are the actual angels that will deliver the seven plagues of God's wrath. This passage contains parallels to the rites of the Day of Atonement. The seven angels are dressed in the same manner as the high priest on that momentous day. Before entering the Holy of Holies with the atoning blood, the priest poured incense over hot coals in a censer, filling the tabernacle with smoke. No one was allowed to enter the tabernacle until he had completed his task of making atonement for the nation. The same dynamic applies here, confirming the theme of judgment on the Day of Atonement. However, instead of innocent blood being sacrificed to atone for guilt, the kingdom of the beast will pay for its own sin because the people refused to repent.
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Revelation 16
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of God's wrath on the earth.” So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore(s) came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.
Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
The One who is and who was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
For it is their just due.”
And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.” Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 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. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
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Revelation 16 Commentary
v. 1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of God's wrath on the earth.” The bowls pour out the purifying thumos, or passion, of God’s wrath, bringing to completion the themes of the previous trumpet judgments. This passionate wrath implies vengeance executed on earth, and is contrasted with orgē, God’s eternal wrath imposed as a result of a judicial decision.
v. 2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. The first bowl judgment continues the theme of the first trumpet, in which fiery hail burned everything over a third part of the earth. Instead of the separation of light and darkness of the first day of Creation being emphasized in the physical properties of fire and ice, the first bowl emphasizes the spiritual separation of humanity into those who walk in light and those who walk in the darkness. The first bowl judges those walking in spiritual darkness, all who have taken the mark of the beast. Those who walk in the light are not judged. It is possible that this sore or sores (v. 11) come from being struck by the fiery hail of the first trumpet, but there appears to be more going on here due to the clear discrimination of who is affected.
v. 3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died. With the sounding of the second trumpet, a fiery mountain hurtles from the sky into the sea, and a third of the sea turns “to blood.” This blood may describe a red tide, a condition that exists when an ecosystem loses its biological balance and microorganisms called dinoflagellates multiply excessively. Polluting streams, lakes, and oceans, red tides kill fish either by excreting a poison or by removing the oxygen from the water. Certain toxic chemicals can also combine to turn water red and kill fish. The “blood” mixed with the fiery hail of the first trumpet may be the catalyst for this plague. With the second bowl judgment, the pollution from the second trumpet has spread from a third of earth’s oceans to destroy their entire ecosystem.
v. 4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. The third trumpet announced a blazing star named wormwood that poisoned a third of all fresh springs and rivers. By the time of the fourth bowl judgment, this plague has spread, finally polluting all the earth’s rivers with the same plague that affected the oceans.
v. 5-7 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
One cannot help being impressed by the severity of these seven plagues, perhaps even questioning if they are deserved. The angel of the waters testifies that they are, since they are repayment for the shed blood of the righteous. God’s vengeance is therefore justified. In keeping with God’s ways of requiring the testimony of two witnesses in order to impose severe judgment, the angel from the altar confirms the first angel’s testimony.
v. 8-9 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 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. The fourth trumpet previously cut, or darkened the light of the sun, moon, and stars by one third, cursing the blessings of God’s work on the fourth day of Creation. The fourth bowl continues this judgment, describing the radiation burns that result when the earth’s magnetic shield and ozone layer are diminished to the point where there is little protection from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
The means for a catastrophic removal of earth’s protective UV shield is well known to science. This can occur when two very large coronal mass ejections from the sun strike the earth in quick succession. The first one temporarily strips the earth of its magnetic field, and the second prevents it from being restored, irradiating the earth at the same time. The earth came close to experiencing this situation during the last solar cycle after being struck by a large X-class CME, with another X-class flare rotating into position for a second strike. Fortunately, the second CME resulted in a near miss. This coming judgment, resulting in painful burns and skin cancers around the world, was foretold by Isaiah.
“The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore the earth’s inhabitants are burned up (KJV - scorched), and very few are left.” Isaiah 24:5 NIV
v. 10-11 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds. The fifth trumpet opened the depths of the Abyss, causing great clouds of volcanic smoke and ash that darkened the sun. Stinging insects came out of the depths of the smoke, further cursing the sky. The fifth bowl continues the judgment of darkness from the Abyss. In the fifth trumpet the painful suffering is attributed to the locusts; here it is implied as being the result of pains and sores from the previous judgments.
By this time humanity has been struck by fiery hail, had its water and food supply polluted, been stung by swarms of locusts, suffered through a great war, and been burned by intense solar radiation. All this is aggravated by the darkness, which may be caused by a Mammoth volcanic eruption, eclipsing all previous ones in magnitude. The ash from such an eruption gets into everything, making even breathing difficult. Sulfuric ash cannot feel very good on solar radiation burns. The unrepentant, even blasphemous response to these judgments indicates that the world has already embraced wickedness under the rule of the antichrist. The one consolation in this is that those already martyred for their faith are spared these judgments.
v. 12-14, 16 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.) The sixth trumpet of Revelation 9 released the four angels imprisoned at the Euphrates River, allowing them to turn the hearts of men to war, resulting in the death of one third of mankind. However long the sixth trumpet war lasts, it will likely leave the Middle East highly militarized, so a great deal of preparation for the final battle will already have occurred. Perhaps this is part of the beast’s plan.
In the sixth bowl judgment, the antichrist calls all nations of the world to gather for the final battle against Israel. The timing, previously covered in Revelation 12 and 13, places this event just after the death of the two witnesses, so Israel will have lost her protectors. Due to the water shortage caused by the ecological disasters of the previous judgments, the Euphrates River will be dried up, probably due to Turkey or Syria cutting off its flow to conserve water. This opens the way for the invading forces from the North and East to march against Israel, the only nation to hold out against the rule of the beast.
The antichrist obviously does not need all the nations of the earth to overcome Israel’s defenses. However, it is not really against just Israel that he brings so much armor and men to bear, but against Jesus, returning to reclaim the earth. The Dragon has read the prophecies; he knows that he is supposed to lose this battle at the valley of Armageddon (Har Meggido) and be cast into the lake of fire, so he musters all the forces he can both to overwhelm Israel and defeat Jesus.
Three demonic spirits are sent throughout the earth to convince the nations that Jesus is really the ad Dajjal, the Wicked One prophesied in Islamic texts who would come to attack the Mahdi’s faithful armies and plunge the world into evil. The military forces of the nations will gather to prevent what they believe to be an invasion by the antichrist! The great confrontation that follows will involve both spiritual and physical battles as the Dragon hurls his dark angelic and demonic forces against Jesus and his army of angels and returning saints, and the armies of the world march against Jerusalem.
v. 15 Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. This verse is a reference to those on guard duty in the temple who had to keep watch through the night. If a guard was caught sleeping, the consequence was the shame of being stripped of one’s white outer garment. The urge to sleep was greatest during the last watch, just before dawn. Jesus’ encouragement is not given to his saints at the beginning of the final tribulation period, but to those enduring its long night, just before the dawn of his return when endurance has reached its limit.
v. 17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” The only other time the expression “It is done” (or finished) is encountered in the New Testament is when Jesus made this final statement on the cross just before he died (Jn. 19:30). This was likely a reference to his redemption of mankind and judgment of the Dragon (Jn. 16:11). Here the Lord makes the same statement, in a similar context of judgment and redemption. The first instance resulted in the Dragon being stripped of his dominion over death and Hades. Here, the Dragon is about to lose his rule over the earth.
v. 18, 20-21 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. When Jesus cried out on the cross: “It is finished!” a violent earthquake split apart the large rocks that sealed off the burial chambers near Golgotha. Many people were resurrected from death and later seen walking about Jerusalem. (Mt. 27:50-54). The great earthquake in this passage comes right after the Lord makes the same statement, just before he returns to resurrect the dead.
The seventh bowl brings the last of the seven plagues of God's wrath, causing the most widespread destruction of any of the Revelation plagues. The disappearance of entire mountain ranges is likely a description of them moving to new geographic locations in light of the sixth seal events prophesied to occur at the end of the age: “The sky too passed away, as if a scroll were being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” The massive earthquake is brought on by the jarring of continental plates as the earth’s crust finally breaks free and rotates about its molten core. Cities are leveled and Jerusalem is split into three parts by the great forces involved.
The large hailstones are also related to this phenomenon. In a pole shift, when the earth’s crust suddenly rotates in a new direction, the atmosphere tries to change with it, but cannot do so immediately. The result is that the atmosphere ‘backs up,’ becoming very dense in one spot. As a result, on the opposite side of the planet it thins out so much it creates a large rent in the atmospheric envelope around the earth. The resulting tear allows the freezing air of space into the ionosphere and stratosphere, super-cooling the moisture there and creating large, crystallized chunks of ice that fall to earth.
v. 19 And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Babylon’s destruction was completed in chapter 14, most likely around the beginning of the beast’s rule. The ‘remembering’ of Babylon described here takes place at the very end of the age as a completion of that judgment. It is a final stroke that fulfills Scripture and God’s vengeance. This second stroke against Babylon may be the fulfillment of the angel’s repetition in chapter 14 of Babylon’s fall: “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great.”
Revelation 15 - 16
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