Daily Devotional For September 22, 2025
After these things I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple dressed in clean and bright linen, wearing golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls, full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Rev 15:5-7.
John often echos the language of the Old Testament in writing out his visions. In these echos he is not pointing the reader to a specific Old Testament text. We will only understand his meaning, however, if we go back to the OT and dig it out in its original context.
Here’s how echos work: What is a lemon? Well it certainly is a citrus fruit with a fairly sour taste. But the term has an extended meaning in American culture. A lemon is a new car that doesn’t deliver on its promise. It may be brand new but it is dysfunctional. It gives its owner far too many troubles and spends much too much time in the repair shop.
Now if you live in the United States, you are familiar with this symbolic use of “lemon.” In the context of automobiles, a lemon is a bad car. But you are probably not aware of the origin of the term. It goes back to a book by Ralph Nader about thirty years ago. The cover of the book was white and had a picture on it of a lemon with four plastic wheels. The title of the book was “What to Do With Your Bad Car.” Reading the title and then seeing the photo had immediate impact. “Lemon” as a symbol with automotive meaning was born.
But most Americans don’t need to know that piece of history to understand the extended meaning of “lemon.” You pick up that piece of information “in the air” of American culture. And if you are writing or talking about lemons, your audience would automatically understand, whether or not they have ever heard of Ralph Nader.
The seven bowls of wrath are a terrifying piece of Revelation’s legacy to the world. Along with the seven trumpets, they pile up images of suffering, assault and unrepentance. But “in the air” of John’s Jewish world, bowls would have had a strangely positive ring. The word for “bowls” is found repeatedly in texts describing the implements of the sanctuary in the Old Testament (Exod 27:3; 38:23; Num 4:14; 2 Kgs 25:14-15; 2 Chr 4:8, 21). They are also mentioned in Rev 5:8 as containing the prayers of the saints. When the wrath of God strikes the earth, He will still be listening to the prayers of His people.
Lord, in the midst of tragedy I want to pray all the more, to link up with You in Your purpose to save everyone You can, while limiting the sorrow and the dying. Give me a heart to act as Your agent of mercy in the world, one person at a time.