The Seven Bowls of the Seven Plagues

FIRST ANGEL: Revelation 14:6-7 – “6And I saw another angel flying through the sky, carrying the eternal Good News to proclaim to the people who belong to this world—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.

7‘Fear God,’ he shouted. ‘Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.’”

This angel’s message is a Gospel Message. Think of it: Right in the middle of the most horrific time earth has ever seen, the mercy of God yet reaches out to the lost!

SECOND ANGEL: Revelation 14:8 “Then another angel followed him through the sky, shouting, ‘Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen—because she made all the nations of the world drink the wine of her passionate immorality.’”

BABYLON represents the city, the system, and the regime of the final times. We will see much more on this in Chapters 17-18. It is likely both a physical place and a spiritual condition of rebellion against God.

Babylon first appears in the Bible in Genesis 11, where we find Nimrod leading the charge in building the Tower of Babel, the Hebrew name for Babylon. God thwarted the effort and confused the people’s languages. The Tower represented pride and rebellion against the will of God.

As for the place, Ancient Babylon was located where present-day southern Iraq is now. The Bible predicts that Iraq will flourish, and once again become a major city on the world stage. It could be that the Babylon John sees is that revived city where the infamous Iraq war has taken place!

THIRD ANGEL: Revelation 14:9-11 – “9Then a third angel followed them, shouting, ‘Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand 10must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full-strength into God’s cup of wrath.

And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb.

11The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshipped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.’”

Once again, God sternly warns against accepting the mark of the beast. To receive it is to perish eternally.

Then the Holy Spirit speaks to those who will belong to the Lord in the Great Tribulation:Revelation 14:12-13 - “12This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution, patiently obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

13And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!’”

THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH

In the closing verses of Chapter 14, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is seen seated on a cloud:

“14Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.”

GOLDEN CROWN: Represents authority

SICKLE: Not representing a good harvest, but one of judgment.

What is about to take place is the answer to the prayers of the martyred saints who had asked for vengeance on their persecutors.

FOURTH ANGEL:

”15Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.’ 16So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth and the whole earth was harvested.”

This is the fulfillment of Matthew 13:40-43 - “40Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41The Son of Man will send his angels and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!”

NOTICE: Verse 16 shows that first it is the Messiah reaping. “The one sitting on the cloud…”

FIFTH ANGEL:

”17After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.”

The fifth angel simply appears from the heavenly temple ready to harvest.

SIXTH ANGEL:

18Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”

THE FIRE over which the 6th angel has power is the fiery wrath of the end time. The 6th angel instructs the 5th angel to thrust in his sharp sickle.

The “vine of the earth” represents the false vine. Jesus said in John 15 that He was the “true vine” by which we are saved. No doubt, the vine the angel is addressing is the false vine of the Antichrist.

When the 5th angel thrusts in his sickle, the Lord Jesus will tread the winepress of divine wrath. The Prophet Joel predicted this very thing:

Joel 3:12-14 - ‘“12Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come; tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.’ 14Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.”

Keep in mind that this picture of “treading the grapes” is Old Testament symbolism. As grapes in the winepress were trodden by the feet of the workers, so God will tread down and crush His enemies like grapes.

Next, we have the first glimpse of the War of Armageddon that we will look at much more closely in Chapter 19. But here is the initial description:

“19So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.”

The War of Armageddon will be the war of all wars. So horrific will the carnage be that the blood will flow like a river up to the horses bridle (4½ feet deep) as far as 200 miles outside the city of Jerusalem!

Chapter 15

The Seven Vials of Wrath

Once again, John is taken from this horrific scene to one of splendor and beauty as he is transported to heaven. He sees a great sign and a beautiful sea of glass:

“1Then I saw in heaven another marvelous event of great significance. Seven angels were holding the seven last plagues, which would bring God’s wrath to completion.”

So here we have the final seven judgments of God, making twenty-one in all. The word “wrath” is the Greek word “thumos” meaning “hot fury.” JOHN reports:

”2I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire.”

GLASS represented permanence to the ancients.

FIRE is representative of something purifying. In this case it is righteous judgment.

John continues: “And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name.”

These are the Tribulation Saints who have been martyred under the reign of Antichrist. They had refused to worship him, and had refused the mark of the beast. John records:

“They were all holding harps that God had given them. 3And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

MOSES and the LAMB both represent deliverance and salvation. They sang:

RESPONSIVE READING:

“Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. 4Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.”

The Seven Bowls of the Seven Plagues

“5After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the testimony of the witness in heaven was opened.”

The “Temple of Witness” is probably where God remembers the death of the martyred Tribulation Saints. Notice how personally and seriously God takes it when His children are mistreated!

“6And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.”

These are very elevated angels, clad in white and gold, both symbols of purity. They seem to pause before the temple.

“7Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.”

The FOUR LIVING CREATURES are the angelic beings called Cherubim, and we looked at them in Revelation 4:6-9.

Cherubim/cherubs are angelic beings involved in the worship and praise of God. The cherubim are first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 3:24, “After He drove the man out, He placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Ezekiel 28:12-15). Prior to his rebellion, Satan had been a cherub.

When one of the cherubs handed the seven bowls of judgment to the seven angels:

“8The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

So horrendous are these seven last plagues that the heavenly temple is filled with smoke, closing any access to this heavenly sanctuary—as far as John’s view is concerned—until the seven plagues are fulfilled.

It’s Done! Civilization Ends!

Revelation 16:1 “Then I heard a mighty voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, ‘Go your ways and pour out on the earth the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.’”

The numerical key to the book of Revelation is the number seven. Since seven is the number of divine completion and perfection, John’s Revelation is made up of sets of sevens.

In Chapter 16, the seven bowls of judgment are divided into groups of four and three. The first four show God working indirectly in judgment using other means; the last three reveal God working directly in such a way that man must see the hand of God, and He cannot be explained away.

Everything we’re about to see in Chapter 16 takes place at the latter end of the second half of the Tribulation.

The BOWL judgments are the worst of the three. There is complete ecological breakdown as man and his sinfulness bring him to the brink of extinction.

In verse 1, seven angels with seven bowls are released from the throne room with the command to pour God’s wrath out. The result of the first bowl is:

“2So the first angel left the Temple and poured out his bowl on the earth, and horrible, malignant sores broke out on everyone who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his statue.”

Next comes the 2nd bowl:

“3Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea and it became like the blood of a corpse. And everything in the sea died.”

When the second angel pours out his vial on the oceans, they undergo a complete change of chemical composition, whereas in the earlier trumpet judgment only a third of the seas were affected. The ultimate pollution is the death of the oceans because the earth can’t go on without them.

Next, the 3rd bowl is poured out:

“4Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs and they became blood.”

The rivers and springs have now been struck, all turned to blood. As this happens, the “Angel of the Waters” proclaims the justice of the judgment, since multiplied millions of saints and prophets have shed their blood for the truth through the centuries.

“5And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying,

‘You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments. 6Since they shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, you have given them blood to drink. It is their just reward.’”

“7And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just.’”

Next, the ozone layer is depleted, possibly due to atomic blasts. John says:

“8Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.”

SCORCHED is from a Greek word meaning “burned like plants wilting in the heat, withering away.

Yet amazingly, in spite of all these catastrophes, men do not repent:

“9Everyone was burned by this blast of heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over all these plagues. They did not repent of their sins and turn to God and give him glory.”

Next, the 5th bowl is poured out:

“10Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish…”

The 5th bowl is followed by a strange, cosmic darkness, possibly caused by dark clouds of interplanetary debris. The 5th bowl especially affects the throne and domain of the Antichrist with this strange darkness.

Now, the inhabitants of earth begin to recognize that this is the judgment of God. The kingdom of the Antichrist is coming apart at the seams. And what do they do?

“11…and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not repent of their evil deeds and turn to God.”

Is there anywhere in the Bible where the wicked heart of men is more prominently displayed than here?

Then, the 6th bowl is poured out:

“12Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance.”

The sixth judgment dries up the Euphrates River to prepare the way for the kings of the east — the 200 million-man army — to march toward the final battle of that great day of God Almighty, the Battle of Armageddon.

Notice in the next verses the satanic trinity as described by John:

“13And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

FROGS were symbols of filth and dirt to the ancients. The frogs John sees are evil spirits that are energizing the unclean words of Satan, the Antichrist and the false prophet.

And these evil spirits have a diabolical purpose:

“14They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.”

Yet God is in charge of it all! Zechariah predicts in 14:2 “I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women ravaged.”

But Zechariah also goes on to predict that this will be the time when the Jewish people begin to turn in droves to the real Messiah, just prior to Christ’s return:

Zechariah 14:3-4 -“3Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.”

Zechariah 14:9 “And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—His name alone will be worshipped.”

In the midst of these final moments, God makes one last appeal to the end-time believers to hang on; it will soon be over:

“15Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”

Finally, the 7th bowl is poured out:

“16And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon. 17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, ‘It is finished!”’

“18Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth.”

This earthquake will not be measurable by the Richter scale. It literally rips Jerusalem into 3 parts:

“19The great city was split into three sections and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. (Cities all over the world will crumble like a house of cards!) And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”

(We will look more closely at Babylon in Chapter 19).

“20And every island disappeared and all the mountains were leveled.”

This earthquake—possibly a nuclear blast—decimates the islands of the sea and brings ALL THE MOUNTAINS DOWN.

Next, something incredible and horrifying:

“21And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent fell from the sky onto the people below.”

A talent weighs one hundred pounds. A one-hundred pound piece of hail would be at least the size of a basketball!

FACT-O-GRAM: In the aftermath of WWII, atomic devices were set off causing the ocean waters to rise 30 to 60 thousand feet. When the boiling water began to fall, it created hail the size of basketballs. This hail was so huge and deadly that it damaged the ships placed in the lagoons, denting the ships armor!

All of these awful judgments are punitive, not rehabilitative, for mankind continues to blaspheme God!

16: 21 “And men cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.”