Revelation Chapter 16:
“He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” (Proverbs 29: 1)
Revelation 15 is an introduction to this chapter, which introduces the 7 bowls of the wrath of God. These mark the completion of God’s judgment upon the world. So now a “great voice out of the temple,” no doubt God’s voice, gives instructions for the 7 angels to pour out these bowls upon the earth. The word “great” is found 11 times in this chapter, indicating the magnitude of these judgments. I believe that these bowls of wrath will overlap each other. They probably do not begin immediately after the anti-Christ becomes the ruler of all nations, which will occur at the middle of the Tribulation, as he will have a period of time in which to implement his demand for everyone to receive his name or his mark. Also, the false prophet will have the image of the anti-Christ made at this time, and the declaration will have gone out that everyone must bow down and worship his image or be killed. Then will follow the preaching of the gospel by an angel to all that dwell on the earth. He will warn of the judgment to come and encourage the people to worship God instead of the anti-Christ.
Sometime after these events, the first bowl of wrath will be poured upon the earth, which will cause all who have accepted the mark of the anti-Christ or have worshipped his image to have terrible sores, like boils, to fall upon them. This reminds us of the boils the Lord brought upon Pharaoh and the people in the land of Egypt because of their rebellion during Moses’ time. (Exodus 9:911) It is interesting that God exempts the believers that are on the earth at this time from this awful judgment. This also parallels God’s protection of the children of Israel from some of the judgments He brought upon Egypt. (Exodus 8:22-23) What a wonderful manifestation of His mercy and grace in this dark hour of judgment! Those who consent to worship the anti-Christ in order to escape death will have untold suffering to endure and eventual death, resulting in an eternity spent in the lake of fire. How true is Jesus’ statement of Matthew 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
The second angel pours his bowl upon the sea and it becomes blood as of a dead man. When the second trumpet sounded (Chapter 8:8-9), one-third of the sea became blood and one-third of the creatures in the sea died. Now all of the sea is involved and every living thing will die.
Then the third angel pours his bowl upon the rivers and springs, causing them to turn to blood. Again, we are reminded of the judgments God brought upon Egypt when He turned their waters into blood (Exodus 7:20-21). Just as the judgments of those days were literal, even so these will be literal. Some people have attempted to spiritualize these things—one says they represent one thing, and another says they represent something else. But if we cannot take the Bible to mean what it says, then it is anybody’s guess as to the interpretation. However, I believe these verses mean just what they say—all the water will become blood. And can you imagine the chaos this will bring to the entire world? There will be panic, sickness, disease, and mass confusion when water, the basic element of man’s existence is turned to blood!
At that time, John hears the angel proclaim the righteousness of the eternal God as He gives blood to drink to those who have shed the blood of saints and prophets. Then another voice from the altar, the place of Jesus’ sacrifice which the world has rejected, also affirms God’s righteousness in all these judgments. Jesus’ blood was shed, and the blood of saints and prophets have been shed for the name of Jesus, so now it is right that God gives them blood to drink. Let no one even begin to think that God is unfair in these judgments!
Verse 5 tells us that God has an angel who has charge of the waters. Chapter 14: 18 speaks of an angel who has power over fire. It appears from these references and others, that God has assigned specific tasks to individual angels to do His bidding. He is a God of order.
Next, the fourth bowl of wrath will be poured out upon the sun, which will scorch men with fire from its heat. This will cause the worst cases of sunburn ever experienced. This terrible heat from the sun follows the waters being turned to blood, so men will already be experiencing terrible thirst, which will only get worse as the sun gets hotter. But even though they realize it is God Who has power over these plagues, instead of repenting and giving Him the glory due Him, they blaspheme His name!
Next, the fifth angel pours his bowl upon the throne of the anti-Christ, and his kingdom will be thrown into complete darkness. It appears that this darkness is limited to the sphere of the kingdom of the anti-Christ; so now, along with such pain that men gnaw their tongues, there is also the fear and panic that comes from complete darkness. Zephaniah 1:15 describes this: “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” And yet, instead of calling out to the true God in repentance, these men blaspheme Him. Mankind hasn’t changed from the time of Pharaoh, for each succeeding judgment on the land of Egypt just caused Pharaoh’s heart to become more and more hardened, even as will be true with the anti-Christ and his followers in the end time.
The sixth bowl of wrath is poured upon the river, Euphrates, causing its waters to dry up, to provide the way for the kings. This river is about 1800 miles long, is the eastern border of the land God gave to Abraham, and is a natural barrier between the East and the West. In Moses’ time, God dried up the Red Sea for Israel’s protection. Now, He will dry up this great river for their judgment!
In Zechariah 14:2, we read that all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem to battle. This will come to pass because of three frog-like unclean spirits that come from Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet. These evil spirits will go forth unto the leaders of the whole world, and work miracles before them. This will result in their consent to come together to fight against Israel. This is not the first time God has allowed lying spirits to persuade kings to go where God wanted them to go—note 1 Kings 22: 19-23.
In verse 15, Jesus again warns that He will come as a thief. When the nations gather for this battle, they will not expect Jesus to come and fight against them. His coming will be sudden and unexpected. We will learn more about His coming at this time in chapter 19:11-20. The pronouncement of blessing to those who watch and keep their garments relates back to Old Testament times when Israel’s temple guards would fall asleep. The High Priest would silently enter, slip off their priestly garments, and leave them to awaken with shame. In chapter 3: 18, Jesus counsels those who were lukewarm to buy white raiment that they might be clothed and that the shame of their nakedness would not appear. In other words, they needed to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. This is one last call to any who would believe, before the final judgment.
So now all the nations will be gathered together into a place called Armageddon, or the Mountain Of Megiddo. There are four places in scripture connected with the war of Armageddon:
This war will no doubt be fought from the Mountain Of Megiddo down to Bozrah and Idumea in Edom, but it will culminate in the city of Jerusalem when the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations. Zechariah 14:4 tells us that His feet will stand upon the Mt. Of Olives, which will cleave in the middle toward the east and toward the west. Half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south. This is probably the same time of the great earthquake which will cause the great city, Jerusalem, to be divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations to fall. This will include the great city of Babylon, which had become the commercial center of the world. This marks the end of the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21: 24). The Times of the Gentiles started with Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in approximately 606 BC, and they will end with Babylon when the anti-Christ is in power. This mighty earthquake will be worse than any earthquake that has ever occurred, and will even cause every island to flee away and the mountains to disappear.
This is all the result of the 7th angel who pours out his bowl of wrath into the air, followed by a great voice out of the temple of heaven—probably the voice of God—saying, “It is done.” When Jesus completed His work of redemption on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” Now, at the completion of judgment upon a world that has rejected Jesus’ work of redemption, the words, “It is done” are spoken.
Then great hail, each stone weighing about 114 pounds, will fall on the men who blaspheme God. Under the law, God told Moses that if anyone blasphemed the name of the Lord, that person should be stoned to death. Now God Himself sends stones from heaven upon the men who blaspheme Him. This was prophesied in the oldest book of the Bible, Job. He said, “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” But men continue to blaspheme!
The sixth and seventh bowls of wrath will be poured out right at the end of the Tribulation period. They describe the battle of that great day of God Almighty and the events surrounding it.
Revelation 15 is an introduction to this chapter, which introduces the 7 bowls of the wrath of God. These mark the completion of God’s judgment upon the world. So now a “great voice out of the temple,” no doubt God’s voice, gives instructions for the 7 angels to pour out these bowls upon the earth. The word “great” is found 11 times in this chapter, indicating the magnitude of these judgments. I believe that these bowls of wrath will overlap each other. They probably do not begin immediately after the anti-Christ becomes the ruler of all nations, which will occur at the middle of the Tribulation, as he will have a period of time in which to implement his demand for everyone to receive his name or his mark. Also, the false prophet will have the image of the anti-Christ made at this time, and the declaration will have gone out that everyone must bow down and worship his image or be killed. Then will follow the preaching of the gospel by an angel to all that dwell on the earth. He will warn of the judgment to come and encourage the people to worship God instead of the anti-Christ.
Sometime after these events, the first bowl of wrath will be poured upon the earth, which will cause all who have accepted the mark of the anti-Christ or have worshipped his image to have terrible sores, like boils, to fall upon them. This reminds us of the boils the Lord brought upon Pharaoh and the people in the land of Egypt because of their rebellion during Moses’ time. (Exodus 9:911) It is interesting that God exempts the believers that are on the earth at this time from this awful judgment. This also parallels God’s protection of the children of Israel from some of the judgments He brought upon Egypt. (Exodus 8:22-23) What a wonderful manifestation of His mercy and grace in this dark hour of judgment! Those who consent to worship the anti-Christ in order to escape death will have untold suffering to endure and eventual death, resulting in an eternity spent in the lake of fire. How true is Jesus’ statement of Matthew 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
The second angel pours his bowl upon the sea and it becomes blood as of a dead man. When the second trumpet sounded (Chapter 8:8-9), one-third of the sea became blood and one-third of the creatures in the sea died. Now all of the sea is involved and every living thing will die.
Then the third angel pours his bowl upon the rivers and springs, causing them to turn to blood. Again, we are reminded of the judgments God brought upon Egypt when He turned their waters into blood (Exodus 7:20-21). Just as the judgments of those days were literal, even so these will be literal. Some people have attempted to spiritualize these things—one says they represent one thing, and another says they represent something else. But if we cannot take the Bible to mean what it says, then it is anybody’s guess as to the interpretation. However, I believe these verses mean just what they say—all the water will become blood. And can you imagine the chaos this will bring to the entire world? There will be panic, sickness, disease, and mass confusion when water, the basic element of man’s existence is turned to blood!
At that time, John hears the angel proclaim the righteousness of the eternal God as He gives blood to drink to those who have shed the blood of saints and prophets. Then another voice from the altar, the place of Jesus’ sacrifice which the world has rejected, also affirms God’s righteousness in all these judgments. Jesus’ blood was shed, and the blood of saints and prophets have been shed for the name of Jesus, so now it is right that God gives them blood to drink. Let no one even begin to think that God is unfair in these judgments!
Verse 5 tells us that God has an angel who has charge of the waters. Chapter 14: 18 speaks of an angel who has power over fire. It appears from these references and others, that God has assigned specific tasks to individual angels to do His bidding. He is a God of order.
Next, the fourth bowl of wrath will be poured out upon the sun, which will scorch men with fire from its heat. This will cause the worst cases of sunburn ever experienced. This terrible heat from the sun follows the waters being turned to blood, so men will already be experiencing terrible thirst, which will only get worse as the sun gets hotter. But even though they realize it is God Who has power over these plagues, instead of repenting and giving Him the glory due Him, they blaspheme His name!
Next, the fifth angel pours his bowl upon the throne of the anti-Christ, and his kingdom will be thrown into complete darkness. It appears that this darkness is limited to the sphere of the kingdom of the anti-Christ; so now, along with such pain that men gnaw their tongues, there is also the fear and panic that comes from complete darkness. Zephaniah 1:15 describes this: “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” And yet, instead of calling out to the true God in repentance, these men blaspheme Him. Mankind hasn’t changed from the time of Pharaoh, for each succeeding judgment on the land of Egypt just caused Pharaoh’s heart to become more and more hardened, even as will be true with the anti-Christ and his followers in the end time.
The sixth bowl of wrath is poured upon the river, Euphrates, causing its waters to dry up, to provide the way for the kings. This river is about 1800 miles long, is the eastern border of the land God gave to Abraham, and is a natural barrier between the East and the West. In Moses’ time, God dried up the Red Sea for Israel’s protection. Now, He will dry up this great river for their judgment!
In Zechariah 14:2, we read that all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem to battle. This will come to pass because of three frog-like unclean spirits that come from Satan, the anti-Christ, and the false prophet. These evil spirits will go forth unto the leaders of the whole world, and work miracles before them. This will result in their consent to come together to fight against Israel. This is not the first time God has allowed lying spirits to persuade kings to go where God wanted them to go—note 1 Kings 22: 19-23.
In verse 15, Jesus again warns that He will come as a thief. When the nations gather for this battle, they will not expect Jesus to come and fight against them. His coming will be sudden and unexpected. We will learn more about His coming at this time in chapter 19:11-20. The pronouncement of blessing to those who watch and keep their garments relates back to Old Testament times when Israel’s temple guards would fall asleep. The High Priest would silently enter, slip off their priestly garments, and leave them to awaken with shame. In chapter 3: 18, Jesus counsels those who were lukewarm to buy white raiment that they might be clothed and that the shame of their nakedness would not appear. In other words, they needed to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. This is one last call to any who would believe, before the final judgment.
So now all the nations will be gathered together into a place called Armageddon, or the Mountain Of Megiddo. There are four places in scripture connected with the war of Armageddon:
- Mountain Of Megiddo; Revelation 16: 16. This is NW of Jerusalem.
- Valley of Jehoshaphat; Joel 3:2. This is a valley near Jerusalem which extends East of Jerusalem, across the Jordan River and then northward.
- Bozrah and Idumea (Edom); Isaiah 34:6. Located SE of Jerusalem.
- Jerusalem and Judah; Zechariah 12:2, 3 & 14:2-5.
This war will no doubt be fought from the Mountain Of Megiddo down to Bozrah and Idumea in Edom, but it will culminate in the city of Jerusalem when the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations. Zechariah 14:4 tells us that His feet will stand upon the Mt. Of Olives, which will cleave in the middle toward the east and toward the west. Half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south. This is probably the same time of the great earthquake which will cause the great city, Jerusalem, to be divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations to fall. This will include the great city of Babylon, which had become the commercial center of the world. This marks the end of the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21: 24). The Times of the Gentiles started with Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in approximately 606 BC, and they will end with Babylon when the anti-Christ is in power. This mighty earthquake will be worse than any earthquake that has ever occurred, and will even cause every island to flee away and the mountains to disappear.
This is all the result of the 7th angel who pours out his bowl of wrath into the air, followed by a great voice out of the temple of heaven—probably the voice of God—saying, “It is done.” When Jesus completed His work of redemption on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” Now, at the completion of judgment upon a world that has rejected Jesus’ work of redemption, the words, “It is done” are spoken.
Then great hail, each stone weighing about 114 pounds, will fall on the men who blaspheme God. Under the law, God told Moses that if anyone blasphemed the name of the Lord, that person should be stoned to death. Now God Himself sends stones from heaven upon the men who blaspheme Him. This was prophesied in the oldest book of the Bible, Job. He said, “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” But men continue to blaspheme!
The sixth and seventh bowls of wrath will be poured out right at the end of the Tribulation period. They describe the battle of that great day of God Almighty and the events surrounding it.