How does the "cup of wrath" in Jeremiah 25:15 connect to Revelation? The Cup in Jeremiah’s Hand Jeremiah 25:15: “For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me: ‘Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.’” What the Cup Means in Jeremiah • A literal vessel—Jeremiah holds it, pictures it, and passes it symbolically. • Contents: “wine of wrath” – God’s righteous anger poured out on sin. • Scope: “all the nations” (vv. 15-26) – no nation escapes the coming judgment. • Result: staggering, madness, sword, and desolation (vv. 16, 27-33). Revelation Picks Up the Same Cup “If anyone worships the beast and its image…he too will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of His anger.” “Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.” “Pay her back as she has paid; mix her a double portion in the cup she mixed.” Key Links between Jeremiah 25 and Revelation • Same Author behind the cup – the LORD. • Same liquid – undiluted wrath; no mercy added (Jeremiah 25:27; Revelation 14:10). • Same global reach – “all the nations” (Jeremiah 25:15) parallels worldwide judgment scenes (Revelation 14:6-8; 16:14). • Same purpose – vindicate God’s holiness, punish persistent rebellion, and demonstrate justice (Jeremiah 25:31; Revelation 15:3-4). • Same Babylon focus – historical Babylon judged in Jeremiah (25:12); symbolic “Babylon the great” judged in Revelation (16:19; 18:2). • Same inevitable consumption – Jeremiah’s nations must drink; Revelation’s earth-dwellers “will drink.” Progression from Prophecy to Fulfillment • Jeremiah: a preview in time; some judgments fell within decades (Babylon, Edom, Egypt). • Revelation: the final, climactic outpouring at the end of the age—wrath “full strength,” nothing held back. • Jeremiah’s cup was partly historical, partly anticipatory; Revelation shows the complete fulfillment. Gospel Thread Woven Through • Jeremiah 25:29 – judgment “begins at the city called by My name”; God judges His own first, yet preserves a remnant. • Revelation 14:6 – an “eternal gospel” still proclaimed even as wrath looms. • The same holy God offers mercy now through Christ, who “drank the cup” for believers (Matthew 26:39; John 18:11), so that they will never taste the wrath described in Jeremiah and Revelation (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9). Living in Light of the Cup • Take God’s warnings seriously; prophecy fulfilled in part guarantees prophecy yet-future. • Stand in awe of His justice and cling to His provided escape in Christ. • Proclaim the gospel urgently while the cup is still being offered in salvation rather than in wrath. |
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