CHAPTER 16

Revelation 16:1

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

This entire chapter brings forth God's wrath in a clear, striking and dramatic way as the sovereign power of God is displayed punishing those who willingly rejected His mercy and grace. The loud voice that John hears telling the Angels to commence the pouring out of the Bowls filled with the wrath of God upon the earth comes from the Temple and must be God Himself, since no one could enter the Temple until the seven plagues are completed (15:8). God's judgment on the earth will not be symbolic, it will be literal.

Revelation 16:2

The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

These Bowl judgments seem to come in rapid succession leading up to the Battle of Armageddon, little detail is given, but we know they are supernatural and that they will affect the whole world. This first Bowl produces foul, ugly, painful sores on all the people who have taken the mark of the Beast.

Exodus 9:10

So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals.

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Revelation 16:3

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.

Second Bowl: In Rev. 8:8,9 we read of a partial pollution of the seas the difference here is it is a complete contamination, it became foul smelling and sickening to look at for it was as the blood of a dead man. It was so bad that every living creature in the seas died, which added to the stench.

Exodus 7:20-21

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.

21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was every where in Egypt.

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Revelation 16:4

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

Third Bowl: This plague is a continuation of the last plague with the difference that this time it is spreading the horror of bloody, contaminated water into the fresh water sources that man depends on for survival. With such a devastating blow to the earth's ecological system, time for the human race is running out, for how long can they survive this devastation and destruction and what is yet to happen?

Revelation 16:5-6

5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: "You are just in these judgments, You who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged;

6 for they have shed the blood of Your saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink as they deserve."

John hears an Angel speak out and justify the righteous judgments of God and it is ironic that those who took delight in shedding the blood of the Saints of God should now be forced to drink from water that is totally contaminated with blood. They refused God's 'Living Water' and now must drink from the contaminated waters of death.

Revelation 16:7

And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."

In chapter 8:3-5, this alter was associated with the prayers of the Saints and so this could possibly be an Angel speaking from the alter of God; or the alter is personified (as having life, represented as a person), representing the Martyrs and the prayers of the Saints that are before the alter. This is God's alter where in His love He has offered man a means of escape from what he is now facing.

Revelation 16:8-9

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

9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.

The ozone layer that protected the earth from the suns deadly rays has been removed and the intensity of the sun is magnified it is like a blazing inferno in the sky and the people are scorched and burned.

Fourth Bowl: The judgments intensify and man's anguish grows intolerable but they still refuse to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Many natural causes could account for this terrible scorching of the Sun, such as the depletion of the Ozone Layer (which is already happening and explained), violent eruptions of the Sun itself but whatever man may say to try and explain what is happening we know that it is the judgment of God.

Revelation 16:10-11

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

Fifth Bowl: Each plague holds great significance as we think of the Antichrists supernatural powers he received from Satan to deceive men, but he finds out how defenseless and useless this power is against God when He takes control. What a terrible picture is represented here, man in all his agony from each of these plagues. Their bodies are covered with terrible, painful sores, the water they need for drinking and for cleaning is like the blood of a dead man, their bodies are scorched and burning from the rays of the Sun and now the world is plunged into darkness. It could be said that this is a preview of Hell itself which Jesus referred to as 'the outer darkness'. They gnawed their tongues in pain and blasphemed God rather than repent.

Exodus 10:21

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt-darkness that can be felt.

Matthew 25:30

And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Revelation 16:12

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.

Sixth Bowl: This is interesting because the Euphrates River is the Biblical separation point between the East and West. The nation of Turkey has built a dam that is capable of cutting off the waters of the Euphrates and drying it up and thus open the way for the nations to the East, mainly China with its 200 million man army, to move westward with ease. God is going to allow Satan to gather his forces together and they will cross the Euphrates and invade Israel. The ultimate battle will be against God and His Son, the true Messiah.

Psalm 2:1-2

1 Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD

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Revelation 16:13-14

13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

John saw these evil spirits and he described them as looking like frogs for the Jewish people regarded frogs as unclean, disgusting and offensive. We remember that Christ cast out unclean spirits but Satan sends them forth to do his bidding. These unclean spirits came out of Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, they are capable of performing miracles and they use them to gather together all the nations to war against God Almighty. There are three battles mention in prophecy, they are, Russia and its allies going against Israel (Ezekiel 38 & 39) - The battle of Armageddon, when the Antichrist leads his One World System against Jesus (Rev. 17:12-14 -the final battle will take place after the Millennium, when Satan and his allies war against God Rev.20:7.

Revelation 16:15

"Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

We are admonished over and over to be sober, alert, vigilant, not to grow weary for the coming of the Lord will be sudden, unannounced, as a thief coming in the night and at a time we think not. We must be clothed in the righteousness of God so that we wont be found spiritually naked on that day.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-3

2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape

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Revelation 16:16

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Armageddon (Har- Megiddo) it referrers to a valley called Megiddo, a place where many battles have been fought. Some commentators see this as symbolic but we take this literally as the place where a great battle between the returning Lord and the Antichrist (19:19) will take place in the valley of Esdraelon in Megiddo called Armageddon.

Revelation 16:17-21

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

18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath.

20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.

21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

Seventh Bowl: At this, the darkest point in the history of man, God will deliver His people. The seventh Angel poured out his Bowl with the seventh and final judgment and the voice of Almighty God is heard coming from His Holy Temple declaring, "It is done," no more delay, it is all over for the forces of Satan and his false messiah, the Antichrist.

Joel 3:16

The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Isaiah 30:30

The LORD will cause men to hear His majestic voice and will make them see His arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.

Then the greatest of all earthquakes will literally take place, John describes it as one that the likes of has never been seen by mankind. This seventh Bowl is poured out in the air, not on the earth and may indicate that God is directing this judgment against the, prince and power of the air, Eph.2:2 and all who serve him. We see here the beginning of the end to the great and haughty Babylon. This universal carnage and destruction coming from this last plague will bring an end to all those who have spurned the arm of mercy and the love of God. The fall of Babylon is described in more detail in chapters 17&18, but here we see that God is already giving her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. God literally shakes the earth, bringing down mountains so they cannot be found and sinking the islands of the sea. Giant hailstones fall from Heaven (100lbs each) and men respond with utter, unrepentant and perverted debauchery and once again proceeded to blaspheme Almighty God. All the nations that aligned themselves with Satan's allies will feel the full weight of God's wrath.

Hebrews 12:26-27,29

26 At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."

27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what can not be shaken may remain.

29 For our "God is a consuming fire."

Ezekiel 38:22-23

22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and blood shed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

23 And so I will show My greatness and My holiness, and I will make Myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'

All of what we have just finished reading about is the ultimate penalty that will be initiated against mankind for their rebellion, and blasphemy against the God of Creation and the keeping of His promise to execute judgment upon a hardened, unrepentant and remorseless world.

Jeremiah 25:27-32

27 "Then tell them, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword I will send among you.'

28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, tell them, this is what the LORD Almighty says: You must drink it!

29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears My Name (Jerusalem), and will you indeed go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword upon all who live on the earth, declares the LORD Almighty.'

30 "Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: "'The LORD will roar from on high; He will thunder from His holy dwelling and roar mightily against His land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.

31 The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring charges against the nations; He will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,' declares the LORD.

32 This is what the LORD Almighty says: