Revelation 16: 1-21
This is the time of the final, total judgment upon all the wicked, evil people and the lands where they lived and did all their evil deeds, as King Jesus sets everything up for His rule. The final wiping of the slate clean, to start over.
(1) Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out on the Earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God."
It looks like all seven of these angels are to pour out their bowls at about the same time, or in very close succession to to one another. And they would have to be.
And all seven of these judgments have a correlation to the corresponding Trumpet blasts.
(2) So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the Earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image.
This first bowl's effects are on people, as the first Trumpet's effects were on the ground of the Earth. What we would call extreme environmental pollution could wreak these effects.
(3) The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.
The second Trumpet's effect was on a third of the sea; this bowl completes the process.
(4) Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood.
The third Trumpet's blast affected a third of all fresh waters, now this judgment removes all potable water from the Earth.
Since there is no food and no water, how long could any people survive? So these must all be poured out at the last day or two or at most three, before Jesus appears.
(5) And I heard the angel of the waters saying, "Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things;
(6) for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it."
(7) And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments."
This is interesting. The martyrs who had been beheaded had called out for judgment upon their murderers, from under the altar when the fifth seal was broken; now the altar itself is calling out praises for God's judgment fulfilled upon them. Since we are all "living stones" building God's house, then are the martyrs who have been "sacrificed" the stones of the altar in the Heavenly temple?
(8) The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire.
Since the fourth Trumpet blast caused anomalies in the sun, moon and stars, so they wouldn't shine for a third of the day and night; then is this bowl of wrath connected to that, to have the sun too bright when it does shine?
(9) Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the Name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.
Even when God forces upon mankind His almighty power to show them who He is, they still don't admit their culpability before Him! We are so stubborn!
(10) Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain,
The fifth Trumpet had the bottomless pit unlocked, to release the thick smoke and the locusts who stung with the scorpion poison to torment but not kill. Is this bowl of wrath a further description of the effects of this?
(11) And they blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
These are the dragon's minions who have chosen to take that condemning mark of the beast. They still refuse to admit their wickednesses.
(12) The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.
This also corresponds to the sixth Trumpet, where we're told that the four powerful evil angels were unbound at this river, to gather the two hundred million army to wipe out a third of the human race. Now this bowl of wrath clears the way for them to proceed.
(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 spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great Day of God, the Almighty.
And these frog-like demons are sent out to recruit the soldiers for this massive assault on God's people.
(15) ("Behold I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")
Paul said that, "You, brethren, are not in darkness, that the Day would overtake you like a thief" (I Thessalonians 5: 4), so as children of light, we may not know the day or the hour, but we should have our eyes open to recognize the signs to be able to discern the year and the season! That way, we will know to "stay awake and keep our clothes on" when we expect His coming.
(16) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon [Armageddon].
Here we've got all the armies of the world gathered and ready for the Battle of Armageddon.
(17) Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done."
And now this is the end. "It is done." Jesus is coming through the cloud cover, and everything is coming down to the final end.
(18) And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the Earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.
This is the massive, world-wide earthquake that will re-write all the land-masses of the Earth.
(19) The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
The great city Babylon could be any great geographical area where the people are acting like the ancient city of Babylon; it could even be America. I can see how America can easily split into three, with the major fault lines and California slipping into the sea.
(20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Will this happen twice? We were already told this happened when the sixth Seal was broken. The sixth Seal, the seventh Trumpet and the seventh Bowl all look like the same Day to me, approached from different directions. This has to be the Day that Jesus pierces the cloud cover and barrels toward the Earth, aiming at landing on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14: 4).
(21) And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men;
Great hail is also mentioned when the last Trumpet blasted (I Corinthians 15: 52).
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
All the people on the Earth alive at that time who have not chosen to accept God's gracious gift and taken the mark of the beast instead will be under the most excruciating pain, but will still not turn to the Lord.
O my Father, You are holy, too holy for anything with any sin to live with You! That's why Satan is thrown out of Heaven, down to the Earth. And he knows his time is short, so his anger at You for giving us the second chance he never had, is great. But You are greater, Father. And I trust in You.
My Father, please send out Your children to share with every living being how much You love them in sending Your own Son to take our death for us.
Let each person understand sufficiently to make a fully informed decision.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Jewish Messiah, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all the Universe, of everything material and spiritual; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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