Revelation 16.17-21-The Seventh Bowl Judgment (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday August 7, 2024

The Day of the Lord Series: Revelation 16:17-21-The Seventh Bowl Judgment

Lesson # 34

Following the trumpet judgments are the bowl judgments, which are recorded in Revelation 16 and like the seven seal judgments and seven trumpet judgments will take place during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week.

Chronologically, these seven bowl judgments follow the seven trumpet judgments that are recorded in Revelation 8:1-9:21 and 11:15-19 and which will follow the seven seal judgments that we noted last month in Revelation 6:1-17 and 8:1-5.

These seven bowl judgments complete the third and final portion of God’s program to exercise His wrath, i.e., righteous indignation during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth, which is also called by students of prophecy as the “Great Tribulation.”

The Scriptures plainly teach that the wrath poured out during the Great Tribulation period originates with God and is therefore a time of God’s wrath upon a Christ rejecting a world that is deceived by the devil (See Isaiah 34:1-2; Joel 1:15; Obadiah 15; Revelation 15:1, 7; 16:1; Revelation 19:11-21).

The first bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:2 and is directed at those unsaved inhabitants of the earth who received the mark of the beast, i.e., the Antichrist and who worship his image.

The second bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:3 and is directed at the sea as was the case with the second trumpet judgment in Revelation 8:8.

The third bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:4-6 and is directed at the inland waters such as rivers and fountains.

The fourth bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:8-9 and is directed at the sun.

The fifth bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:10-11 and like the fifth trumpet judgment, it results in darkness, which is reminiscent of the ninth plague of Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23).

The sixth bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:12-16 and the purpose of this judgment is to prepare the way for the invasion of Israel by the kings from the east to do battle with the armies of the Antichrist so that God might bring them into judgment at Armageddon.

The seventh and final bowl judgment is recorded in Revelation 16:17-21 and is poured out into the earth’s atmosphere resulting in an unprecedented earthquake, the greatest to ever take place on the earth since man has been on it.

Revelation 16:17 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. (NIV84)

As in the case of the final seal judgment and seventh and final trumpet judgment the seventh and final bowl judgment is introduced by the sound of voices, peals of thunder, lightning and a great earthquake.

This massive world-wide earthquake will reduce the cities of the Gentiles to rubble and change the topography of the earth and will also result in tremendous tsunamis.

Also, the city of Babylon will be split into three parts as a result of this earthquake.

Some interpret this city to be Jerusalem.

However, Revelation 16:19 makes clear that this city will be Babylon since the cup of the wine of God’s fierce wrath is poured out on this city.

This city of Babylon located on the Euphrates River will be rebuilt and will be the capital of the final world government.

The supernaturally formed huge hailstones that will weigh one hundred pounds each will destroy anything left standing from the earthquake and would no doubt kill or seriously injure those they hit.

Again, instead of this judgment leading to repentance and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, the unsaved continue to blaspheme the person of God instead.

This seventh bowl judgment is reminiscent of the seventh plague in Egypt (Exodus 9:22-26).

Just as Pharaoh and the Egyptian leaders refuse to humble themselves before the Lord and trust in Him, so the unsaved inhabitants of the earth during this seventh bowl judgment will do the same.

This seventh bowl judgment, which results in this unprecedented, massive world-wide earthquake completes God’s judgment program for the final three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week and will result in the Second Advent of Christ.

Satan’s masterpiece, his world-wide system is destroyed, reduced to rubble as a result of these seven bowl judgments.

So at His “Second Advent,” the Lord Jesus Christ will bring to an end the Times of the Gentiles and the seventieth week and thus the exercise of God’s righteous indignation during the seventieth week.

There will also be a national regeneration of the nation of Israel at the Second Advent.

He will also destroy the Tribulational armies, have Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:11-19), will imprison Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3) and will establish His millennial reign on planet earth (Rev. 20:4-6).

At that time, the Lord and His armies will orbit the earth before landing on the Mount of Olives, which was the site of His Ascension (Acts. 1:9-11).

There will be a great earthquake when our Lord’s foot touches the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:1-8) and will be a unique day having neither day nor night (Zech. 14:7).

The Lord Jesus Christ describes the Tribulation period in detail and His Second Advent in Matthew 24:29-31 and Luke 21:25-28.