The Bowls

Revelation 15–16

Story to read: The Bowls of Wrath
Bible: Revelation 15–16

1. What does angry mean?

Ask the group what it means when a grown-up is angry. You will get shouting, red faces, going quiet, unfairness.

Now hold that up against what God’s anger turns out to be, because they are almost opposites.

2. God’s anger is not a mood

Here is the definition worth giving children directly:

God’s anger is his refusal to stop until the problem is fixed.

It is not him losing his temper. It is him not giving up. Think of a doctor who will not go home until the patient is stable, or a parent who will not stop looking for a lost child. It is passion aimed at a problem, and it does not let go.

3. What it is aimed at

Chapter 16 names its targets, and they are specific rather than random:

• the mark of the beast — everyone who obeys Satan out of fear, and starts behaving like him
• the fact that God’s witnesses have suffered for living like Jesus — that is you, and God has not forgotten it
• stubbornness, twice — refusing to admit being wrong, refusing to change
• and finally, gathering with Satan at Armageddon

4. The stubbornness bit

This is the part that makes children go quiet, and it should.

It gets unbearably hot, and then unbearably dark, and people bite their tongues in pain — and they still will not change their minds. Three times the text says it: they refused to repent.

Not because they could not. Because they would not.

5. Armageddon

They gather at a place called Armageddon. It is not really a place — it is a code name.

They come thinking they are fighting evil. Satan has told them so. And they are all going to lose, humiliatingly, because they have turned up to fight the only genuinely good side there is.

Being sure you are on the right side is not the same as being on it.

6. And then it is over

The seventh bowl is poured out and a voice from the throne says one word: “It is done.”

Not “we won the fight.” Done. Finished. The same word Jesus said on the cross.

Memory verse: “It is done.” (Revelation 16:17)

Look for yourself

Two quiet minutes. Nobody has to say anything out loud.

This chapter is about God being angry, so look straight at his face while the bowls are being poured out.

Is he shouting? Is he enjoying it? Has he lost his temper?

Look again. What does he look like when the people he made keep refusing to turn round?

Sad is allowed as an answer. So is something you do not have a word for yet.

7. Prayer

God, thank you that your anger is you refusing to give up on putting things right. Thank you that you have noticed when we suffer for following you. Please keep our hearts soft, so that when you show us something, we listen. Amen.

Appendix: Ideas for leaders

Opening activity: Ask what an angry grown-up looks like, then contrast it with a doctor who will not go home. The reframe is the whole lesson.

Craft idea: Seven small paper bowls with the targets from section 3 written inside them. Seeing that the list is specific removes a lot of the fear.

Questions:

1. What is the difference between losing your temper and refusing to give up?
2. Why is it so hard to admit when we are wrong?
3. How could someone be sure they are on the right side and still be wrong?

Song suggestions: Something about God’s justice; a quieter, steadier song.

Prep note: This is the hardest chapter in the series for this age. Spend the time on sections 2 and 6 — God’s anger defined properly, and the fact that it ends. Do not linger on the plagues themselves.