Yikes! Mondays are tough enough without having to read Revelation Chapter 16 on top of it all! The visions in Revelation 16 are terrifying – on one side you have God meting out punishments to a sinful world and on the other side, you have the defiance of humans. It’s a contest of wills. And a contest of wills with God usually doesn’t end well.

Pharaoh engaged in a battle of wills with YHWH in the first chapters of Exodus. When Pharaoh refused to obey God to let Moses lead the Chosen People out of slavery, God sent the Ten Plagues in an attempt to convince Pharaoh to realize who actually had the power.

Did you catch the echoes of the Ten Plagues in the contents of the seven bowls John sees in his vision? Painful sores, water turned to blood, darkness, frogs, and hailstones reappear in Revelation. Given that the story of the Exodus is foundational to the Jews’ understanding of their relationship with God, you have to think John’s readers caught the allusions right away.

But did they also remember the end of the story of the Ten Plagues, how Pharaoh lost the contest of wills with God? The people in John’s vision didn’t remember – they continued to curse God instead of repenting!

Revelation 16 is terrifying… if you think you can win a war of wills with God. But if you recognize this vision is a warning against stubbornness and defiance of God, you can do a heart check when God shows us our sin.

So here’s your choice for the start of the week: try to win a battle against God or repent and receive his love and forgiveness.

It’s your choice!

Questions for reflection:

  1. When have you been stubborn in a relationship with your family, or with your coworker, or with your classmate? How did your stubbornness affect your relationship?
  2. When have you been stubborn in your relationship with God? How did your stubbornness affect your relationship?
  3. If your choice today is to receive God’s love and forgiveness, take a moment and ask God to forgive you for defying him, knowing God promises to forgive.

Old Testament reading: Micah 1-3