Texts in Conversation
Revelation describes a cup filled with undiluted wine, echoing the Greek Septuagint translation of Psalm 74, where the unrighteous must drink the cup of God’s wrath. In both, the cup stands for judgment and the unavoidable outcome of divine justice.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Psalms 74:9
Septuagint
7 For good comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert mountains. 8 For God is the judge; he puts down one, and raises up another. 9 For there is a cup in the hand of the Lord, full of unmingled wine; and he has turned it from side to side, but its dregs have not been wholly poured out; all the sinners of the earth shall drink them. 10 But I will exult for ever: I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 11 And I will break all the horns of sinners; but the horns of the righteous one shall be exalted.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Revelation 14:10
New Testament
8 A second angel followed the first, declaring: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city! She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.” 9 A third angel followed the first two, declaring in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, 10 that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This requires the steadfast endurance of the saints—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to their faith in Jesus.
Date: 92–96 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... That the wine is ἄκρατος, “unmixed,” emphasizes the potency of the mixture, since Greeks customarily diluted wine with water in a special vessel called a κρατήρ, “crater,” “mixing bowl,” with equal parts of water and wine or three parts water to two parts wine (Blümner, Greeks, 209–10) or even one part wine to three parts water (Seltman, Wine, 91). Applied to wine, the adjective ἄκρατος means “pure,” “unmixed,” “undiluted,” and hence “extremely strong” ... It should also be noted that the term ποτήριον, “cup,” can be used as a metaphor for destiny (Isaiah 51:17, 22; Lamentations 4:21; Psalm 75:8; John 18:11; see Psalm 11:6) and for violent death (Ascension of Isaiah 5:13), either the fact of violent death or violent death as the consequence of divine punishment ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 975.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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