Revelation 16:1-16--The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

Revelation 16:1-16
English Standard Version

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath
16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
    for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
    and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

7 And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
    true and just are your judgments!”

8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

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Whether or not they know the exact passage, this is usually where the mind of someone of the world goes to when you talk about the "end times," and especially the book of Revelation (many of them don't know that the entire Bible has much to stay about the Last Days and the Day of the LORD).  This passage speaks of God's wrath being poured out on the world like a flood.  The plagues are going to come one after the other after the other with little or no reprieve.

A voice from heaven orders the seven angels to pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the world.  The time for the final judgments has come.  When the first bowl was poured out, the people of the world were covered in painful boils and sores (much like the sixth plague in Egypt--in fact, you'll notice that a lot of these plagues seem to be just like the plagues of Egypt, but with worldwide affect).  The boils only affected those who took the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.  Just like in the plagues of Egypt where the Land of Goshen was a safe place for God's people, any remnant which remains during this time will be safe from these plagues.

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea so that it became like blood, and all the living creatures in the sea died.  This is like the first plague of Egypt, but worse.  There is no way to give distinction between those that belong to the kingdom of this world, and those that belong to the Kingdom of God with this plague--the seas and all sea life are destroyed for everyone.

The third angel poured out his bowl on the fresh waters of the earth and they too turned to blood, and all life in them also died.  Then the angel in charge of the waterways cried out in worship to the Lord and to explain the plague of blood, for the world had shed the blood of Jesus and His saints and prophets.  Therefore, the Lord has given them blood to drink, for this is what they deserve.  Then, the Altar of the Lord responds and declares that the judgments of the Lord are right, and just, and true.  This seems to be the only break in the story.

The fourth bowl is poured out on the sun so that it is allowed to scorch the people of the earth with fire and fierce heat.  They will curse God because they know that He is the One sending the plagues on them, but they will neither repent nor give Him glory.

The fifth angel pours out his bowl on the throne of the beast (the Antichrist) so that his kingdom is plunged into darkness.  The people are in darkness and in anguish because they are still experiencing the pain of the boils from the first bowl judgment.  They gnaw at their tongues because of the pain and curse the God of heaven, but they do not repent of their evil deeds--this darkness, pain, and fiery heat is just a taste of what the Lake of Fire is going to be like for all of these people allied themselves with Antichrist against the real Christ.

The sixth angel pours out his bowl on the mouth of the Euphrates River so that it is dried up to make way for the kings of the East.  John then sees spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and the beast (the Antichrist) and the False Prophet.  These demons will perform all kinds of signs and will gather the kings of the world together with their armies and everything they can muster for one final battle.  The kingdom of darkens knows that Christ is about to return, and they are going to throw everything they can at this final battle to hopefully keep Christ from destroying this kingdom of darkness and establishing the kingdom of His marvelous light.

Jesus reminds John of His words in the gospels that He is coming like a thief (who comes unannounced in the cover of darkness).  Jesus blesses those who remain awake, sober, and vigilant and who keep their clothes on (they are ready to move at a moment's notice).  Some will be caught naked and exposed when the time comes for them to run away because they were not prepared for this day that was coming.  Then, all the armies of the world gathered together in a place called Armageddon or Mount Megiddo or Tel Megiddo (also associated with the Jezreel Valley or Plain of Esdraelon or the Plains of Megiddo where the kings historically went to battle with one another) .  God gathers all the people of the world here for the final judgment, which we already previewed in the Harvest of the Wicked where the winepress of God's wrath was located outside the city and blood flowed very deep over the entire nation of Israel.

We'll talk about the Seventh Bowl Judgment next time.  Just like Jesus cried, "It is finished" from the cross, so it will be here where God will again say, "it is finished" and this world will come to an end.  It is quite a different declaration than the one given from the cross.  Instead, the fate of all mankind has been sealed.  There is no escape for the even greater judgment that is yet to come for all those who hoped against hope that they could rebel against the Lord and escape the coming judgment.