Revelation 16:8-21 Wrath and Repentance

Ruins of ancient Megiddo (photo credit: Guy Davis)

Observation: In this grand vision of judgment, God's angels pour out the last four bowls of divine wrath: heat, darkness, invading armies and an earthquake. Each time, the people of earth refuse to repent of their unjust ways. If you've read the book of Exodus, you'll recognize a resemblance to the plagues God sends into Egypt, when Pharaoh stubbornly refuses to free the Israelites from slavery. The town of "Harmagedon", where the armies muster, is a very real and very ancient place, Megiddo (pictured above). It was an important strategic site, and therefore the site of many ancient battles (maybe the reason it is chosen as a symbol of a final showdown). Babylon was an ancient empire which oppressed the people of Israel and Judah, but was then overtaken by the Persians. "Babylon" in Revelation is a symbol of oppressive human governments, which are temporary, and which God will topple.

Application: I've been a little keyed up before even opening my Bible for this daily reading, and this did not help. I'm stressed out by national and international news. I'm stressed out by professional and family schedules. I'm stressed out by not knowing how to speak out or take action on things that are important to me, and by wondering what good it would do if I did. But in the midst of all this, let's not forget the promised woes for the unrepentant from the good old Apocalypse of John. Phew.

Before I say the next thing, I'll offer the following caveat: sometimes it is best to unplug. I'm not great at that, but I acknowledge it's important to do. Stress and anxiety can be paralyzing, and if we don't take time away from computers, phones, cable news, radio, and the constant flow of information, we'll burn out and be unable to care for anyone else. But that being said...

Maybe stress is good sometimes. Maybe it's the birth of compassion. Maybe rather than whining about how knowing others are suffering is uncomfortable, it's best to be thankful we *can* know, and that we're aware of things about which we *should* care. God certainly cares. Maybe the flood of allegations of sexual harassment by powerful people or popular entertainers, for instance, is forcing people who've never been victims of abuse to walk just a few steps in the shoes of those who have. Maybe that will lead to widespread change and repentance. One can hope.

Biblical plagues, either on Egypt or symbolic "Babylon", are God's jarring call to compassion. They force us to feel in a moment what those in more vulnerable positions have felt all their lives. They remind us that God gets angry sometimes, because God loves our neighbor every bit as much as God loves us. Plagues are an unexpected blessing, in that they humble the proud and soften hard hearts. In the end, they bring about a better world for both oppressed and oppressor.

Prayer: God, sometimes I need to be stressed. Help me lean into it, and walk with you in it. Amen.