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From the Rapture to the Second Coming
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Revelation 16: "Seven Bowls"
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Link to Printer Ready PDF Version of this document. |
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Chapter Highlights
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Chapter Aids
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Topical Index
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We put the introduction to this chapter behind us when we studied Chapter 15. Now we move on to see what will happen when the seven bowls of God's wrath are poured out on a sinful world. The severity of these judgments indicate the extent of God's wrath toward those who steadfastly refuse to acknowledge him. They also indicate the extent of God's love by showing how far he will go to get unbelievers to repent. He loves the wicked and wants them to change before he has to remove them from the earth to set up his kingdom of righteousness.
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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."
In Chapter 15 we read that the heavenly Temple will be filled with smoke so that no man will be able to enter in. However, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will already be inside which is where this voice originates. Remember that God has committed all judgment to Jesus which means Jesus will order the seven angels to, Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth. Each angel will be given a portion of God's wrath.
Key Symbols:
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Seven Trumpet Judgments
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Seven Bowl Judgments
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Trumpet 1–Judgment
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Hail, fire, and blood hurled to earth; 1/3 of plants burned up
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Bowl 1–Judgment
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Trumpet 2–Judgment
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Burning mountain hurled into sea; 1/3 of seas polluted, fish killed, ships sunk
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Bowl 2–Judgment
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Trumpet 3–Judgment
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Blazing object fall to earth; 1/3 of fresh water polluted
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Bowl 3–Judgment
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Trumpet 4–Judgment
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Heavenly bodies struck; 1/3 of sun, moon, and stars darkened
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Bowl 4–Judgment
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Trumpet 5–Judgment (woe)
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Abyss opened; Demon-possessed locusts released
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Bowl 5–Judgment
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Trumpet 6–Judgment (woe)
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Four angels released at Euphrates; 1/3 of mankind killed
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Bowl 6–Judgment
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Trumpet 7–Seven Bowl Judgments (woe)
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Bowl 7–Judgment
End of Tribulation
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Key Symbols:
- Seven Bowls
- seven angels given seven portions of God's wrath
What Others are Saying:
- Peter and Paul Lalonde: Armageddon is coming… Who in their right mind would choose to fight with the Antichrist against God? Yet millions are making such a decision each day when they reject so great a salvation as that offered by God through his Son, Jesus Christ. For this is the heart of what Armageddon is all about. It is the world saying, "We will not bow our knee to anyone. We are too proud. We are too mighty. We are too important." 16-1
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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 worshipped his image.
The first bowl judgment will cause ugly and painful sores. Some Bible commentators say these sores will have a very offensive odor. Only those who take the Mark of the Beast or worship his image will be afflicted. When the Antichrist is unable to heal his own people, the world will know he is a false physician.
This plague will be similar to the sixth plague (Exodus 9:8-12) in Egypt when Moses was trying to have the Hebrews set free. At that time, God afflicted the Egyptian people with tumors, festering sores, and itching skin. The whole land, all the Egyptians, and even the animals were affected.
Key Symbols:
What Others are Saying:
- J. R. Church: In the end-time there will be several worldwide epidemics raging out of control. 16-2
- Peter and Paul Lalonde: Diseases like tuberculosis, once thought to have been totally eradicated, are now resurfacing. Other strange new diseases are also appearing. There's streptococcus A, the flesh-eating virus, and there was also the Ebola outbreak in (former) Zaire. Doctors are now finding themselves losing the battle as microbes are becoming immune to all the antibiotics that we have… World travel, changing sexual habits, and increasing numbers of refugees have made it possible for many of these diseases to become pandemic, rapidly spreading across the entire planet almost overnight. 16-3
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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.
The second bowl judgment will be worse than the second trumpet judgment. It will pollute the sea by turning it into blood and killing everything in it. One can easily imagine the repercussions of such a horrible event.
Key Symbols:
- Second Bowl Judgment
- sea turned to blood; everything in it dies
What Others are Saying:
- J. Vernon McGee: I wonder if we realize how much we are dependent upon God today? 16-4
Remember This…
- In the second trumpet judgment, one-third of the sea creatures (Revelation 8:8, 9) were killed.
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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.
The third bowl judgment will be worse than the third trumpet judgment. This plague will be similar to the first plague (Exodus 7:17-25) in Egypt. Back then, God turned all the waters of Egypt into blood. The fish died, the water smelled, and the people could not drink it. This plague will be far worse because all the earth's water will be polluted causing worldwide suffering and death.
Key Symbols:
- Third Bowl Judgment
- rivers and springs of water turn to blood
Remember This…
- In the third trumpet judgment one-third of the waters turned bitter (Revelation 8:10, 11).
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Revelation 16:5 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;
We probably do not realize the important role angels play in managing God's creation. We have already encountered the four wind angels (Revelation 7:1), those angels in charge of holding back the earth's wind. Now we learn that God has a water angel in charge of the earth's water. Were it not for these angels man would not have survived as long as he has.
The angel in charge of earth's waters will look at this judgment and declare it to be a judgment deserved. He will express the justice of God (Psalm 89:14), the eternal existence of God (Deuteronomy 33:27), and the holy nature of God (Psalm 99:4, 5).
Remember This…
- John saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth.
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Revelation 16:6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve."
The bloody waters will be God's response to the shedding of the blood of the Tribulation Saints and the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament plainly says, You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), and Jesus clearly said, all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). It is a hard truth, but these unbelievers will get what they have coming to them. It is bad enough to ignore the Bible, but it is even worse, to turn one's back on the mercy of God at the same time.
What Others are Saying:
- Wim Malgo: We can only grasp the full extent of this judgment when we consider the reason for it. If the voice of the blood of one single person who was murdered (Abel, Genesis 4:10) cries to the Lord, how much louder must the blood of all the innumerable murdered people cry to heaven? 16-5
- Peter and Paul Lalonde: Today, through the power of television, a world is being fed an anti-Christian agenda. It has been so successful that a recent poll showed that Americans would least like to live next door to a cult member. Number two was a fundamentalist. 16-6
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Revelation 16:7 And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."
The Antichrist and his followers will shed the blood of saints all over the world. God will eventually respond by turning their drinking water into blood. When he does, the martyred Tribulation Saints will declare that God's judgments are just and true.
Remember This…
- At the opening of the fifth seal, the martyred Tribulation Saints (Revelation 6:9-11) under the altar will ask God how long it will be until he judges the inhabitants of the earth and avenges their blood. God will tell them to wait until more of their fellow servants and brothers are killed.
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Revelation 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire.
The fourth bowl judgment will cause the sun to scorch people with fire. According to the prophet Malachi a day is coming when the earth will burn like a furnace (Malachi 4:1). Many evildoers will be reduced to stubble.
Key Symbols:
- Fourth Bowl Judgment
- the sun scorched people with fire
What Others are Saying:
- Hal Lindsey: Already the thinning ozone layer is being blamed for severe sunburns in the southern end of Chile. 16-7
- John Hagee: The sun will scorch the earth and men with fire. Major uncontrollable fires will break out all over the world, spontaneously destroying homes, vegetation, and livestock. 16-8
Related Current Events
- What also makes current climate change different from earlier episodes (time periods) is the speed with which temperatures are rising. Creation will not be able to adapt to changes that occur so quickly. Scientists are predicting serious consequences of the rapid climate change such as the spread of infectious disease, rise in sea level, changes in weather patterns, and contamination of water supplies. 16-9
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Revelation 16:9 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 strong heat of the sun will bear down on them with a vengeance. They will sweat and thirst but will have nothing to drink except blood. They will get sunburned on top of the painful sores caused by the first bowl judgment. Blisters, sunstroke, and extreme thirst will be like God's punishment to the unbelievers.
These afflictions will cause them to finally admit that God exists, and that he controls these plagues. But even with that in mind, they will still not fall on their sunburned faces and sore knees to ask for mercy. Instead, they will curse his name.
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Revelation 16:10 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
The fifth bowl judgment will mark a turning point. God will begin to focus his attention on one of his biggest adversaries on earth, the Antichrist. Total darkness will cover the planet. People will not be able to see the stars or moon or even the sun.
This darkness will be similar to the darkness that covered the land of Egypt (Exodus 10:21, 22) when Moses was trying to free the Hebrews. The last time darkness covered the earth was when Jesus hung on the cross (Matthew 27:45). The next time it will happen will be to fulfill several Old Testament prophecies (Isaiah 60:2; Joel 2:1, 2).
People will become anxious and nervous. They will begin to ponder their future. Some will have misgivings about taking the Mark of the Beast and following the Antichrist. Others may be tormented by insanity and chew their tongues in agony.
Key Point
- They will be tormented by insanity and chew their tongues in agony.
Key Symbols:
- Fifth Bowl Judgment
- darkness over all the earth
What Others are Saying:
- John Hagee: Mighty men, kings, and men of power will gnaw their tongues in pain and crawl into caves and beg God to kill them. 16-10
Something to Ponder
- It was so dark in Egypt the people could not see each other and they were afraid to move from the place they were in for three days.
- When Jesus, who is the Light of the World (John 8:12), died, God plunged the world into darkness for three hours. Because the world cannot survive without light many preachers understand this to mean that the world cannot survive without Jesus.
- The prophet Joel says the Tribulation Period darkness will be unlike anything the world has ever experienced. The agony and fear will be indescribable.
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