Revelation 16-18: Justice delivered

We read Revelation 16–18 and watch the story move from the seven bowl judgments to the exposure and collapse of Babylon the Great. We zoom out to see how God’s justice answers real evil, why some hearts refuse to repent, and how Psalm 73 helps us keep an eternal perspective when the wicked seem to prosper. 
• setting Revelation as the culmination of God’s long plan from Genesis onward 
• walking through the seven bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation 16 
• noticing the Exodus plagues as a foreshadowing pattern for Revelation 
• tracking the build toward Armageddon and the warning to stay alert 
• meeting Babylon the Great and the symbolism of the prostitute and the beast 
• leaning into the text’s call for wisdom instead of giving up 
• hearing Revelation 18’s lament over lost luxury and collapsing wealth 
• connecting the fall of Babylon to Matthew 5 and thirsting for justice 
• using Psalm 73 to reframe prosperity, envy, and final destiny 
• pointing to a resource for deeper biblical prophecy study 

I mentioned the Prophecy Pros podcast, a great resource to help unpack and understand some of the tricky details of Revelation and other biblical prophecy.

At outloudbible.com, you can find free resources to help you study the Bible. And while you’re there, send us a message to say hi, or start a conversation about having us at your church or event. 

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Transcript

Welcome And Revelation Context

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Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. Unless, of course, this is your first time joining me, in which case not welcome back, but welcome. Just welcome. I'm glad you're here. You've certainly picked an interesting time to hop into the podcast because we are in the middle of the book of Revelation. I do hope you take some time to go listen to some of the previous episodes on Revelation and get a little bit of the context here, but we are talking about the end of all things. And uh, if you've been with me this far, and you've been if you've been with me through the whole journey of reading the Bible out loud, then you've heard how this really is the culmination of everything. We have been waiting for this moment. History, mankind has been waiting for this day here in Revelation for my goodness, ever since Genesis chapter three, right at the beginning, when sin entered the picture and Satan messed everything up and giving us a sin nature that we have been wrestling with ever since. And this has been a long time coming, but this shows God's divine plan. Has it taken a while? In our terms, yes. In God's terms, no, this is not a big deal. Uh, but for us, it's been a long time. But we see that God has been weaving everything together to bring us to these moments that we're reading about here in Revelation. Of course, along the way, he has been surprising even the heavenly host with his plans of Jesus coming to earth as a human and dying and being resurrected again to deal the death blow to Satan. And in the meantime, Satan, all he can do is try to drag as many people down with him because he knows that his time is short. That's where we're at. And today in the book of Revelation, we find what are called the bowl judgments. Up till now, we had seen some judgments that Jesus was pouring out on the earth through uh the opening of sealed scrolls and through and we've seen the influence of beasts, and and there's a lot of symbolism here. It's a lot of it's kind of difficult to put our finger on it exactly, but we can see some uh some individuals and some powers rise up and be given authority. It's very clear that they've been given authority or granted authority, which really only comes from God, but given the authority temporarily to have power and influence and draw worship to themselves and perform miraculous signs and deceive people. And that is going to happen for some time. When and how, I don't know. You'll have to go study yourself or go listen to some people who are much smarter than I am in this area. But while Satan does seem to achieve some victories, some some minor battle victories here in the end times we find that God is going to deal the final blow, and that's where we start to see these bowls of God's wrath here in chapter 16. So I'm going to be reading 16 through 18 in the New English translation today. Again, this is not to scare anyone, this is to pump our fists a little bit and say, yes, this is what we've been waiting for. Let's see God

Why The Bowl Judgments Matter

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flex his muscles a bit and watch him deliver the justice that he's been promising this whole time. All right, here's the bowls of God's wrath, chapter 16 in the New English Translation. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple declaring to the seven angels, Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God's wrath. So the first angel went and poured out his

The Seven Bowls Poured Out

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bowl on the earth, and then ugly and painful sores appeared on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshipped his image. Next the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned to blood, like that of a corpse, and every living creature that was in the sea died. Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. Now I heard the angel of the waters saying, You are just the one who is and who was, the holy one, because you have passed these judgments, because they poured out the blood of your saints and prophets, so you've given them blood to drink. They got what they deserved. Well then I heard the altar reply, Yes, Lord God, the all powerful, your judgments are true and just. Thus people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, so that darkness covered his kingdom, and people began to bite their tongues because of their pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds. Does this remind you of Exodus and the ten plagues in Egypt and the plagues that were affecting Pharaoh, and he still would not let the people go? God's

Exodus Echoes And Hard Hearts

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been foreshadowing revelation all throughout the Bible. It's fascinating. Let's keep going. Then the sixth angel poured out his bull on the great river Euphrates, and dried up its water to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And then I saw three unclean spirits that looked 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 the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God the all powerful. Look, I will come like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays alert, and doesn't lose his clothes, so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen. Now, the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that's called Armageddon in Hebrew. Finally the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, It is done. That's what Jesus said when he died. Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake, an earthquake unequalled since humanity has been on the earth. So tremendous was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. So Babylon the Great was remembered before God and was given the cup filled with the wine made of God's furious wrath. Every island fled away, and no mountain could be found. And gigantic hailstones weighing about one hundred pounds each fell from heaven on people, but they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. Come, he said, I'll show you the condemnation and punishment of the great prostitute who sits on many

Babylon The Prostitute Revealed

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waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and the earth's inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality. So he carried me away in the spirit to a wilderness, and there I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and had seven heads and ten horns. Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality. On her forehead was written a name, a mystery. Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth. I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. But the angel said to me, Why are you astounded? I'll interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her. The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss and then go to destruction. The inhabitants of the earth, all those whose names have not been written in the Book of Life since the foundation of the world, will be astounded when they see that the beast was and is not, but is to come. This requires a mind that has wisdom. See, I I love that by the way, that what John writes that often, or Jesus will even say that, like, hey, this is they're inviting

Wisdom For Interpreting The Beast

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you to think about this, have wisdom, consider these things, try to wrestle and figure these things out, not just glaze over and be like, I give up, I can't figure it out. No, this requires a mind that has wisdom. If you lack wisdom, says James, ask the Lord and he'll give it to you. The seven heads are seven mountains the woman sits on. There are also seven kings. Five have fallen. One is, and the other has not yet come, but when he does come, he must remain only for a brief time. The beast that was and is not, is himself an eighth king, and yet is not one of the seven and is going to destruction. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive ruling authority as kings with the beast for one hour. These kings have a single intent, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war with the lamb, but the lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and those accompanying the lamb are the called, chosen, and faithful. Well then the angel said to me, The waters you saw where the prostitute is seated are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. The ten horns that you saw and the beast, these will hate the prostitute and make her desolate and naked. They will consume her flesh and burn her up with fire. For God has put into their minds to carry out his purpose by making a decision to give their royal power to the beast until the words of God are fulfilled. As for the woman you saw, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth. After these things I saw another angel who possessed great authority coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance, and he shouted with a powerful voice, Fallen,

Babylon Falls And The World Mourns

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fallen is Babylon the Great. She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast, for all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior. Well then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins, and so you will not receive her plagues, because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Repay her the same way she repaid others, pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mixed double the amount for her. As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief, because she said to herself, I rule as queen, and am no widow, I will never experience grief. For this reason she will experience her plagues in a single day, disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful. Then the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up. They'll stand a long way off because they're afraid of her torment, and will say, Wo, woe, great city, Babylon the powerful city, for in a single hour your doom has come. Then the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo any longer, cargo such as gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all sorts of things made from citron wood, all sorts of objects made from ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, perfumed ointment, frankincense, wine, olive oil, and costly flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and horses and four wheeled carriages, slaves and human lives. The ripe fruit you greatly desired has gone from you, and all your luxury and splendor have gone from you. They will never ever be found again. The merchants who sold these things, who got rich from her will stand a long way off because they're afraid of her torment, and they will weep and mourn, saying, Woe, woe, oh great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed. And every ship's captain, and all who sail along the coast, seamen and all who make their living from the sea stood a long way off and began to shout when they saw the smoke of the fire that burned her up, who is like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning, Woe, woe, O great city, in which all those who had ships on the sea got rich from her wealth, because in a single hour she's been destroyed. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has pronounced judgment against her on your behalf. Then one powerful angel picked up a stone, like a huge millstone, and threw it into the sea. Does that remind you of anything when we talked about Jesus saying it's better for a someone

Millstone Judgment And Final Silence

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to have a millstone hung around his neck and thrown into the sea than to let lead one of his little ones astray? Here, here's what this angel is doing that says, with this kind of sudden violent force, Babylon, the great city, will be thrown down, and it will never be found again, and the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again. No craftsman who practices any trade will ever be found in you again, the noise of the mill will never be heard in you again, even the light from a lamp will never shine in you again, the voices of the bridegroom and his bride will never be heard in you again, for your merchants were the tycoons of the world, because all the nations were deceived by your magic spells, the blood of the saints and prophets was found in her, along with the blood of all those who had been killed on the earth. When Jesus was preaching his Sermon on the Mount, he said, Blessed are those who thirst for justice, for they will receive it. That's Matthew 5,

Psalm 73 And Thirst For Justice

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and in Psalm 73, the psalmist Asaph paints this picture of how he was envious of the arrogant. He saw how the the wicked people of the earth were prospering, they were healthy, they were strong, they were just seemed to have no regard for God or anything righteous, and and they're in utter rebellion against God, and yet that seemed like they were amassing wealth and carefree and doing just fine, and he was starting to to admit that like I I feel like I kept my heart pure in vain, that I've been I've been living righteously for no benefit. Then he admits and recognizes in verse 16 again of Psalm 73, when I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny. Final destiny is exactly what we're talking about here in Revelation 17, 18. Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly they're destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. Isn't that exactly what we read here in Revelation? How suddenly they're destroyed. All of the people looking are like, Whoa, in one hour, all of the wealth and those who pursued it are absolutely destroyed. Wealth means nothing anymore. Back in Psalm 73, it says they're like a dream when one awakes. When you arise, Lord, you'll despise them as fantasies. Some translations say you you laugh at them as like you laugh at a silly dream. It's with this perspective that we need to be reading Revelation and considering our lives now. That this life we live in, this earth we live in, is so temporary. It's a blip. It's like a dream that feels real while we're in it, yet it's gonna pop, and we're going to wake up and we're gonna realize, wow, that what was remember that time? That was wow, that was a wild time. Well, what a silly thing that was. And we'll be living in the eternity. We can only think look back and laugh if we are on the side of righteousness, if we are on the side of Jesus as our Lord. For everyone else, this is a terrifying thing. I'd go back and read Psalm 73 sometime today, if this conversation has interested you a little bit, and it's a really great comparison with Revelation chapter 17 and 18. And if you want to go deeper with understanding more and more of what Revelation is talking about, I'm gonna point you to another podcast called the Prophecy Prose Podcast, where they take

Recommended Resource And Next Reading

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a look at biblical prophecy and have really fascinating discussions, uh, providing very real and practical applications and interpretations of the prophecy that we read, especially in Revelation. So the Prophecy Prose podcast, this is not an official affiliation with the podcast or anything. I've just found it to be a helpful resource. And I have uh my pastor and other trusted friends have uh found this to be a very valuable resource, especially when it comes to understanding some of these admittedly difficult to understand sections of scripture. Um, some great explanations specifically of what we read today with uh when we're talking about the beast and the woman and the prostitute and the dragon and and these nations and and all of these things, it's a lot to take in, but go check out the Prophecy Prose podcast and and work through that at your own pace, and I think you'll find uh some more understanding, which will lead to greater excitement for the scriptures here in some of these complicated books. So thanks for joining me here today on the Outloud Bible Project Podcast. Join me next episode where we will read the end of Revelation and the End of All Things, which is really the beginning of all things, beginning of eternity, and I'm certainly looking forward to that. Not only eternity, but the episode. Next time we'll talk about it. We'll see you then. Thanks for joining me on the Outloud Bible Project Podcast.