Up until now, throughout the tribulation, God still offers everyone remaining on earth the opportunity to receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. But here in chapter 16, we see the end of God’s grace as He says, “Enough!”, and closes the gates of heaven. No longer will He hear any prayer, and gone is any hope for nonbelievers. And so begins the pouring out of seven bowls containing God’s final judgements upon an unrepentant and unbelieving world.
These seven bowls, or censers, are held by seven angels in the temple of God. The judgements they contain, come directly from the Creator as He finally answers the cries of the martyred saints. One by one these angels pour out the wrath of God upon the earth as they proclaim, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because you judged these things. Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgements.” (vs. 5,7)
Even as horrendous as these judgements are, and the never before seen devastation they will cause, to me the saddest part of all is the response of the people. Instead of crying out to God, they cried out against Him blaspheming, “the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.” (vs. 9)
Throughout the book of revelation you see a people with a hardened heart against God. And for the life me, I couldn’t understand why they would choose suffering over joy, death over eternal life, and judgement over blessing. But the more I reflected, the more I realized that, although I am a Christian, I too at times have had an unrepentant heart wanting it’s own will done instead of God’s. I too have turned my back on Him, choosing instead to continue to walk in sin. I too have cried out against the Lord when I haven’t gotten my own way. And I can honestly tell you, that path of rebellion which takes you away from God leads to nothing but despair, loneliness, sorrow, and regret. Yet when you choose to walk in faith and obedience to His will, God will bless you beyond imagining, take you places your heart couldn’t dare hope for, and protect you from the wrath to come.
War is coming. God will not contain His judgements forever. He warns, “Behold I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” (vs. 15) For those who have already received His free gift of pardon, God tells us to hold fast to Him and stay strong. For those who have yet to confess Jesus as their Savior, it is God’s greatest desire that you not taste of the tribulation to come. For as 1 Thessalonians 5:9 tells us ,”God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” Time is running out. Won’t you ask Christ into your heart before the last angel pours out his bowl and the loud voice cries, “It is done!” (vs. 17)
