This article is closely related to the following two articles:
The cup, the judgment
The anger of God – Apocalypse 14
Before reading the passage in the Apocalypse that speaks of the seven cups, it is appropriate to look at what Jesus said before he was arrested. He is the Lamb of God, the one who will offer his life to prove God’s love and forgiveness to human beings. He let his disciple Judas betray him and the guards arrest him. He entered Jerusalem, knowing that he would be condemned to death, even though he could have left Jerusalem. He exposed himself to the anger of men, who shed his blood. This anger is represented by a cup of wine that Jesus will drink, i.e. he will agree to shed his own blood. He himself will fill the cup, and this is also his victory, for evil will have no hold on him, hatred and vengeance will not win him over: it is by forgiving that he will show his omnipotence. Unfortunately, by agreeing to shed his blood, his enemies condemn themselves, that is, they separate themselves from the true and only source of life.
Here are the words of Jesus, before he was arrested:
Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives, as was his custom, and his disciples followed him. Once there, he said to them, “Pray that you do not enter into temptation. Then he stepped aside, about a stone’s throw away. Kneeling down, he prayed, saying: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:39-42)
He is the Lamb of God who offers his life to show God’s forgiveness to human beings; it is God himself who forgives. This is why it is said that he is the only one who can open the seventh seal, the only one who can fulfill God’s plan to save human beings, by snatching them from the power of darkness, by delivering them from that which holds them captive, the chain of violence. Only God’s forgiveness can put an end to this. The seals represent what prevents human beings from gaining access to God’s love, to full trust, and it is Jesus alone who will open the seven seals, for he alone can reveal to us the merciful face of the Father, of his Father, and he alone can grant us God’s forgiveness.
Here, then, is the chapter 16 of the book of the Apocalypse, which sums up the whole of God’s work. This is accomplished not only by the life of Jesus, but also by the lives of all the disciples, the Church and every baptized person united to Christ, animated by the same Spirit of God’s love.
Apocalypse 16
Then I heard a loud voice from the Sanctuary, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven cups of God’s passion (thymós) on the earth.”
The first went and poured out his cup on the earth: there was a malignant and pernicious ulcer on the men who bore the mark of the Beast, and on those who bowed down before his image.
This cup refers to God’s suffering before those who turn away from him and put their trust in other gods. They are therefore in opposition to God, and at the same time this cup also designates the human spirit agitated by lack of trust, rebellion and rejection of God.
The second poured out his cup on the sea: there was blood as of a dead man, and all life in the sea died.
The cup represents God’s suffering in the face of violence and murder. The sea is the image of humanity living by the law of the bigger fish eating the smaller. A humanity that entrusts its survival and life to its own strength. This cup therefore also refers to humanity agitated by the desire to survive at the expense of others, that troubled mind which seeks a solution in violence.
And the third angel poured out his cup upon the rivers and springs of water, and there was blood. Then I heard the angel of the waters say: “You are just, you who are and who were, you Holy One, because you have passed this judgment. They have shed the blood of saints and prophets; you have given them blood to drink: this is what they deserve!” Then I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, Sovereign of the universe, they are true, they are just, your judgments.”
Fresh water and springs are images of the saints who spread true life, love on earth. The conduct of the saints and prophets, by their example, becomes a living accusation, a denunciation of the bad conduct of others, who cannot tolerate it. This cup thus designates the spirit agitated by confrontation with the righteous, leading to the desire to eliminate what is felt to be a threat.
The fourth angel poured out his cup on the sun: it was given to him to burn men with his fire. They blasphemed the name of the God who has such plagues in his power, instead of converting and giving him glory.
The sun is the image of divine justice manifested in love. This love manifests itself in the divine attitude of accepting persecution and at the same time offering forgiveness to his persecutors. Love is represented here by fire; if we do not welcome this fire, it will eventually burn us, as the light of the righteous brings evil to light. As well as God’s love shining on the righteous and the wicked, this cup also represents the hostility of those who do not want to acknowledge their faults, their error, and who turn against their God and Creator.
The fifth poured out his cup on the throne of the Beast: darkness fell over his kingdom. The people bit their tongues in pain and blasphemed the God of heaven in their sorrows and ulcers, instead of repenting of their deeds.
This cup tells us at the same time of God’s pain for all those who have chosen darkness and refused his love, and the pain of those separated from the source of life, separated from true happiness.
The sixth poured out his cup on the great river Euphrates: and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings coming from the side where the sun rises. Then I saw three unclean spirits come out of the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast and the false prophet, like frogs. They are, in fact, demonic spirits who produce signs, and go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them for battle on the great day of God, the Sovereign of the universe.
– Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his clothes on, so as not to go naked and show his shame.
And they gathered them in a place called in Hebrew Armageddon.
This is the moment when evil reveals its face, Satan the origin of evil, the idol pursued by mankind, the false prophets who wanted to deceive mankind and lead it towards the Beast. It is God’s suffering to see his own creatures separated from him, and the cup of pride that has intoxicated his creatures, angels and humans, and set them against their Creator.
The clothes that adorn human beings are their good deeds. “You have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal 3:27), says the Apostle Saint Paul, meaning that, united with Christ in his love, you have become the light of the world like him, through your good works.
The wicked experience nakedness, that is, shame for their evil deeds that have been exposed.
The seventh angel poured out his cup into the air: a loud voice from the throne came out of the Sanctuary; it said, “This has happened!” There was lightning, crashing and thundering; there was a great earthquake: never since there have been men on earth has there been such a great earthquake.
And the great city broke into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God remembered Babylon the Great, to give her to drink the wine of his passion (thymós), the cup of his anger (orgḗ).
All the islands fled, and the mountains disappeared. Hailstones of enormous mass fell from heaven upon men, who blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, for it was a terrible plague.
God, Jesus, agreed to drink this cup, he agreed to sacrifice himself, to offer his life by taking upon himself the anger of men, he agreed to suffer the passion, he gave his life. It was on the cross that he said: “This has happened”. God gave his life to save us, to reveal his immense love. The earth is shaken, an earthquake, the strongest, the one that overturns man’s false beliefs about God, the one that overturns his doubts and makes him discover faith, trust. For God, for Christ, this is the extreme, final suffering, and he is the lamb, the only one who can open the seventh seal, the only one who can forgive mankind. By offering his life, by accepting the anger of his creatures, he can also forgive them for what they have done, forgive them for their lack of faith and trust.
GOSPEL
What Jesus accomplished for humanity, his disciples and his Church will also accomplish, spreading his light and forgiveness throughout the world by offering their lives. They will drink from the cup and receive the baptism into which Jesus will be immersed. This baptism is a testimony of solidarity with the human race, which is like the water that must receive the spirit of God. His disciples are also willing to plunge into this humanity, even to the point of risking their lives for their own persecutors, so that they can discover the immensity of the love with which God loves them. The baptism of which Jesus speaks is their testimony: Jesus immersed himself in our humanity, becoming so much one of us that he could have been mistaken for a common malefactor and condemned to death. He accepted to plunge into our humanity to the point of being submerged by its waters, but only to rise again, after three days, to show us the way to the greatest love, to show us his victory over darkness. In taking on our humanity, he also passed on to us his spirit of love and charged the apostles and their successors to bring it to the whole world, by the necessary witness of their offered lives. Here are the very words Jesus addressed to those who said they were ready to follow him:
He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They answered him, “Give us to sit, one on your right and one on your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Can you drink the cup I’m about to drink, be baptized with the baptism I’m about to be immersed in?” They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I’m about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism I’m about to be immersed in. (Mark 10, 38-39)