Revelation Chapter 16

The text of this chapter, which recounts the actual pouring out of the seven bowls, not only indicates that each judgment will come upon the earth quickly and completely, but also that the judgments will follow one another in rapid succession. Although the exact time and duration of the bowl judgments is not specified, all seven along with the battle of Armageddon, must occur within a short time.

Although the final wrath of God, the bowl judgments, and Armageddon will be against the world in general, the last three bowl judgments and the battle of Armageddon will primarily be against the beast empire nations which under the direction of Antichrist will have brutalized Israel in the last days.

Rev. 16:1-9.

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth."

2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.

3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.

4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: "You are righteous, O Lord, the One who is and who was and who is to be, because You have judged these things.

6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due."

7 And I heard another from the altar saying, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."

8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

Here we have a voice from out of the temple telling the seven angels to go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. The trumpet judgments still gave the unbelievers an opportunity to repent, but the bowl judgments do not. The time for repentance has passed.

Verse 2, The first bowl judgment is directed toward those who have taken the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. This judgment is a foul and loathsome sore that comes upon the people, meaning that it is severe and malignant. You are aware of the virus that causes throat infections (streptococcus). This virus somehow can affect a person's flesh and what it does is literally eat away the flesh from the bone and in a matter of hours cause death. As bad as that is, it is not even comparable to this sore from the first bowl. But the good news is that anybody on earth that has not taken the mark of the beast or worshiped his image will not be affected by this sore.

Verse 3, The second bowl judgment is directed toward the sea causing it to become like the blood of a dead man that kills every living creature in the sea. Don't think of this as a great sea of blood that flows like blood would flow from a severe wound of a living person. But it is like the blood of a dead man. Loathsome and corrupting blood clotted and putrefying as when a dead man lies in his own blood. This will not be a pretty sight.

Verse 4, The third bowl judgment is directed to the rivers and springs polluting them causing them to become like blood.

Verses 5-7, Here we have the angels of the waters giving praise to the Lord. Their praise is because of God's righteous judgment that has been meted out. Those who have shed the blood of the saints are now given blood to drink and this is their just due. God's acts are always true and righteous; God's acts are never evil. God is performing a righteous act in getting rid of evil so that righteousness will reign.

Verses 8&9, The fourth bowl judgment is directed to all ungodly men who blasphemed God. Here we have a picture of the sun becoming so hot, it scorches men with fire. Now when you are burned what do you want? Water. Is there any water? No, can you imagine the severity of this. Even though people are scorched with great heat, they continue to blaspheme God refusing to repent and glorify Him. Now remember that these bowl judgments are happening back to back. Man cannot live long without water, so these events are happening rapidly.

These first four bowl judgments, are inflicted on the earth in general, in contrast to the first four trumpet judgments that afflict only one third of the earth.

Rev. 16:10&11.

10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.

11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

The emphasis of God's final wrath now shifts to the final beast empire of Satan, which in part, includes all of the previous beast empires that have sought to destroy Israel. The fifth bowl judgment, then, will be upon "the throne of the beast" and will bring total darkness on the evil earthly kingdom of Antichrist, causing men to "gnaw their tongues because of pain." But all of these excruciating afflictions will not bring men to repentance, the opportunity they will have forfeited when they took the mark of the Antichrist.

Rev. 16:12-16.

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

Just before the seventh and last bowl judgment, the ungodly nations of the world, under the leadership of the Antichrist, will be preparing for Satan's desperate last-chance battle against God--the Battle of Armageddon. To bring them more quickly to their ultimate destruction, God will assist Satan's forces by drying up the Euphrates river, giving the wicked kings of the east more rapid access to Israel, also see (Zeph. 3:8). That divine "assistance," will be accomplished by this sixth bowl judgment.

Rallied by the satanic messengers ("three unclean spirits...of demons), those nations will begin to dispatch their legions of fighting men from throughout the world to the plains of Esdraelon near the city of Megiddo, some sixty miles north of Jerusalem. There they will engage in military conflict commonly known as the battle of Armageddon. This then will be Satan's last attempt to foil the prophetic plan of God, which will have been fulfilled perfectly and literally right up to this final battle of Armageddon. These Armies of Antichrist will be no match for angelic armies of Christ. In very short order the armies of the kingdom of darkness will be totally and completely destroyed, Antichrist will suffer his final defeat and be cast into the lake of fire. This will be a supernatural defeat that God will perform.

Verse 13, 14, These unclean spirits like frogs are demons that perform the work of the unholy trinity, (the dragon, the beast and the false prophet). They perform signs to convince the kings of the earth and draw them to the Middle East to assemble for the battle of Armageddon.

Verse 15, Notice, these words are in red meaning that the words are spoken by Jesus Himself. John hears the voice of Jesus and records what He says. Now I admit that I am not exactly sure why this verse says what it says and where it says it, but let me share two possibilities with you.

(1) Jesus said that the Day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night. Here the armies of Antichrist will assemble to war, these armies may believe that they are going to fight against human people, but as a thief comes, unawares, unannounced so will be His coming be to destroy the armies of Antichrist at the battle of Armageddon.

(2) Jesus may say this here because of the somberness and severity of this whole time period, he wishes to remind us that all this starts with the Day of the Lord and for those in darkness it will come as a thief in the night. But for those who are not of the darkness, this time will be blessed for we will be caught up to meet him in the air. You pick your choice as to which one you think it is.

Verse 16, They, in this verse refers to the demonic frogs who gather the armies together for this battle. Sinful people will unite to fight against God in a final display of rebellion. Many in our world are already united against Christ and His people--those who stand for truth, peace, justice, and morality. Your personal battle with evil foreshadows the great battle pictured here, where God will meet evil and destroy it once and for all. Be strong and courageous as you battle against sin and evil, you are on the winning side.

Rev.16:17-21.

17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"

18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.

19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

Before the final battle of Armageddon, there will be one more bowl judgment--the seventh and last, and by far the worse.

This seventh bowl is poured out into the air, of which Satan is the prince and power, the abode of the powers of darkness. After the bowl is poured out a voice cries out saying, "It is done," meaning that it is over; the judgment is complete. The wrath of God has accomplished its objective, after the events of this bowl are finished righteousness will reign.

The world will undergo the worse earthquake known to man. It is hard to even comprehend how massive and extensive this earthquake will be. This earthquake will cause cities of the nations to fall; islands will be destroyed and even mountains will not be found--total worldwide devastation!

And then in the midst of this worldwide chaos, hundred-pound hailstones will climax the devastation brought on by the earthquakes. The cities having been leveled, homes, apartments and the like will most certainly lie in ruins, offering little protection, if any, to those who survive the earthquakes. And then will come the hail--hundred-pound hailstones rocketing down to earth killing every living creature that they hit. "Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe."

Directly related to the seven bowl judgment, another extremely significant event will occur. This will be the devastation of Jerusalem, the great city of (v.18). This is confirmed, for example, in Rev. 11:8, where the great city is known as the place "where also the Lord was crucified, which of course can only refer to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, the great city, will be "split into three parts," and be severely damaged by this great earthquake. Is it any wonder that Israel will "flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel...just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah" (Zech. 14:5).

Then Babylon, the birthplace of false religion falls, referring to spiritual Babylon that is heathen Rome. Christianity will be the victor.

These will be the most devastating circumstances that the world has ever known. But somehow the armies that will fight at the battle of Armageddon are not touched. How? I don't know but God will take care of the details.