Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Revelation 16
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 47
Key Verse
Revelation 16:11 — “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
Devotional Thought
The temple in heaven falls silent no longer. A great voice issues from between the cherubim, and seven angels step forward with seven golden vials, each brimming with the wrath of God. What follows is the swift undoing of the created order as we know it. The first vial strikes the earth, and grievous sores break out on the very men who bear the mark of the beast and bow to his image. The second turns the sea to the consistency of a dead man’s blood, and every living thing in the deep perishes. The third reaches the rivers and springs, and the fresh waters run red. Then comes the angel of the waters, and his verdict rings out like a bell: “Thou art righteous, O Lord… for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” The altar itself answers, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.” Here is no arbitrary cruelty. This is justice, measured and exact, the cup returned to those who poured out the blood of the faithful.
Still the vials fall. The fourth scorches men with fire from the sun, and the fifth plunges the beast’s kingdom into darkness so thick that men gnaw their own tongues. And yet — this is the terrible refrain of the chapter — “they repented not.” Not under sores, not under scorching, not under darkness. The sixth vial dries up the Euphrates, clearing a road for the kings of the east, and three unclean spirits like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, gathering the nations to Armageddon. Then, in the middle of the gathering storm, a voice of mercy cuts through: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” Even here, even now, a blessing is offered to those who will hear. The seventh vial is poured into the air, and from the throne comes the word that ends all ages: “It is done.” The greatest earthquake in human history splits Babylon into three, islands flee, mountains vanish, and hailstones of a talent’s weight fall from heaven. And still, verse 21 tells us, men blasphemed God.
It is April, and the world outside is busy with its ordinary resurrection — dogwoods blooming, gardens turned, the smell of rain on warm pavement. It is jarring to read of vials and hail on a spring Tuesday. But the church has always read Revelation in springtime, because the same Lord who rose from the grave is the Lord who sits upon the throne, and His judgments are not the opposite of His love; they are its final expression. Psalm 47 puts the song in our mouths that the nations in chapter 16 refuse to sing: “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth.” The God who dries up rivers and shakes mountains is the God whose “shields of the earth” belong to Him, the God who chose an inheritance for Jacob whom He loved. The warning of Revelation 16 and the welcome of Psalm 47 are the same invitation: repent now, while repentance is still possible, and take refuge in the King who reigns over the heathen and sits upon the throne of His holiness.
Reflection
- The men under the plagues “repented not” — not under pain, not under darkness, not even under hail. What small, comfortable judgments is God using in your life right now to call you to repentance, and are you listening?
- Verse 15 promises a blessing to the one who “watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” What would it look like this week to live watchfully — to keep your garments unspotted from the world — in the ordinary routines of work, home, and worship?
Prayer
O Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. We read of vials poured out and seas turned to blood, and we confess that we deserve no better; we have shed the blood of Thy Son by our sins and grieved Thy Spirit by our wandering. Yet Thou art the King of all the earth, and Thou hast set Thy throne in holiness. Teach us to number our days, to watch and keep our garments, and to sing praises with understanding while there is yet time. Subdue our hearts under Thy feet, choose our inheritance, and gather us at last among the people of the God of Abraham, to the praise of Thy great and exalted name. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 47:1 — “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.”