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Revelation 16:1,15 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. …15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

As we come to chapter 16 of this wonderful Book of Revelation we see the Bowl Judgments of God poured out on the earth. These Judgments are different from the Judgments of the Trumpets and Seals. In those Judgments there was a break between the sixth and seventh judgments:

The Seven Seals (Revelation 6:1-17 … 8:1-5)
The Seven Trumpets (Revelation 8:6-9:21 … 11:15-19)
The Seven Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls are connected to one another.
The Seventh SEAL introduces the Seven Trumpets (Revelation 8:1-5)
The Seventh TRUMPET introduces the Seven Bowls (Revelation 15:1-8)

The Bowl Judgments have no break in them. The seven plagues of the bowls are rapidly poured out on a rebellious world.

The Bowl Judgments Are The Culmination Of God’s Wrath

Revelation 16:1 And I heard a Great Voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

As we come to Revelation 16 we see 7 angels carrying 7 “vials” or “bowls”, the Greek φιάλη phiale (fee-al’-ay) which means “a broad shallow cup or bowl”. It’s interesting that this word is used. The bowl isn’t DEEP, it’s SHALLOW. It is easy to spill a shallow bowl. I remember when I was a little boy my first chore was to take Daddy a cup of coffee when he got home from work. He’d work hard all day, come home, and sit down in his recliner to read the paper. Momma would call me, “David, come take daddy some coffee”. I was probably about 8 years old, and I’d go get his cup. Momma would fill it up to the brim then tell me, “Daddy likes it full. Be careful you don’t spill it!” And I’d carefully carry it, watching the brim of the cup as I walked, until I got it into Daddy’s waiting hands … it was very easy to spill.

God calls to the seven angels – Seven is the number of God, of completion.
God rested on the Seventh Day, and gave us a Sabbath to rest and remember Him.

These 7 seven Angels are not rushing to judgment, but carrying these 7 shallow bowl judgments exactly where they need to be. The Bowls are easily emptied out on a fallen and unrepentant world. A Great Voice from the Temple in Heaven releases these Angels, saying “Go your ways, and pour out these bowls”. These Angels are representatives of God, judging sin on the earth.

I don’t think we as a nation are far from the Judgment of God.

We live in a day where – like it was in the time of the Judges of Israel:

Judges 21:25 (KJV)  In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The world has rejected the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and is making up it’s own rules and standards. “I am King, and there is no other” is in the heart of many. So God sends Judgment – a well deserved Judgment – on the earth. But it is not just broadcast or scattered Judgment.

a The Bowl Judgments Are TARGETED and SPECIFIC. We read:

Revelation 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.

Though the Judgment is “poured upon the earth”, it has a very specific focus. The First Bowl targets those who had the Mark of the Beast, those who worshiped his image. These are the people who compromised with the anti-Christ. They are the people who forged the god of their imagination and made out that he was the God of creation. They are idolaters, worshipers of the created rather than the Creator. God brings grievous sores – cankers – on these people.

These people allowed the anti-Christ to “mark” them,
now they are “marked” with sores.

God despises idolatry. God created us to worhip HIM. Dr. J.I. Packer said:

“It is impossible to worship nothing: we humans are worshipping creatures, and if we do not worship the God who made us, we shall inevitably worship someone or something else.”

The first THREE of the Ten Commandments deal with worshiping God properly. Worship is in our makeup. God told His people Israel when they entered Canaan:

Deuteronomy 7:25-26 (KJV)  The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.  [26]  Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

You were not just to destroy the image, but also throw away the raw material. What you WORSHIP determines what you WILL BE. If you worship the God Who loves you then you will be like Him. If you worship money, power, sex, or any one of the false gods of this world, you will be like what you worship. Dr. Timothy Keller said:

“{An idol} is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. … An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” … [An idol] is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.”

Revelation 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The world turned away from God and received a godless mark so that they could buy and sell. In both ancient and modern times the sea is a source of great commerce. Fishermen take their livelihood from the sea. Ships bring commerce from the sea.

God now turns the sea to the clotted blood of a dead man. Not just blood, but the “blood of a dead man”. The imagery is sickening. The second Bowl kills every fish, every creature that can be used for food.

every living soul died in the sea

The Second Trumpet Judgment caused a THIRD of all life to die in the sea. The Second Bowl destroys ALL LIFE.

The Redeemed starved to death because they would not take the mark.
Now those with the mark of the Beast starve, for the sea provides much of what we eat.

Revelation 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

The wildlife drink from fresh water streams, but now they are as blood. Farmers irrigate their fields with fresh water – but now it is blood. We bathe in water, cook in water, we are 60% water ourselves …. and now it is blood. Why does God cause ALL the waters to become blood? We are told:

Revelation 16:5-7 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

The “Angel of the Waters” is only mentioned
here in the Bible.

The commentaries suggest that this is the Angel responsible for the water on the earth, the Superintendant of God’s Water Department. When the water are turned to blood this Angel – now out of work – acknowledges that what God has done is right and righteous.

they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy
(they deserve it)

God will avenge His people. Do not avenge yourself if someone does you wrong. Look to the Lord. Has He not said:

Deuteronomy 32:35 To Me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Hebrews 10:30-31 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Pharaoh drown the Jewish boy babies
And he and his army drown in the Red sea.
Haman planned to hang Mordecai on the gallows
But he himself was hanged on the gallows.
King Saul refused to obey God and slay the Amalekites
So he was slain by an Amalekite.

God will balance it all out!

These are the people who killed the Tribulation Saints.
These are the people who killed prophets,
Maligned pastors, & mutilated the people of God.
And God will repay.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

b The Bowl Judgments Show The Hardness Of The Lost. The world will not repent. We read:

Revelation 16:8-9 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and BLASPHEMED THE NAME OF GOD, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The Fourth Angel’s Bowl causes the sun to erupt. Maybe this is a solar flare. I was watching a documentary of the Sun the other day on the Discovery Channel. On September 2, 1859 telegraphs went crazy all over the world. Operator’s lines were overflowing with electricity. They unplugged the telegraphs from their batteries, and they continued to work from the current in the air. A solar flare erupted and it’s discharge headed toward earth. The documentary I was watching said that if such a thing happened today it would shut down all computers, electrical grids, and technology worldwide. A strong enough solar flare can punch a hole in our atmosphere, allowing radiation to come through and microwave the planet.

The Fourth Bowl Angel causes a great solar flare, one that causes terrible heat and, along with it, I suspect a suspention of all technology. Cars with onboard computers will shut dow, The Internet will close down. Banking services will cease. You will have money in the bank, but no way to get it. Computers run our stores, so you will not be able to buy or sell. Electric grids will shut down. There will be no air conditioning, and God will turn up the heat.

The King James says that men were “scorched” with the heat. The actual word is καυματίζω kaumatizo (kau-mat-id’-zo) which means “to burn”. I saw a movie once where a hole formed in the ozone layer of our earth. Where that hole was, the microwaves from the sun pierced through and literally set people and things on fire. That’s the image we see here.

With all of this suffering and agony, what is the response of those who are being judged. They blasphemed the name of God, which had power over the plagues, and they repented not to give Him glory. They refused to repent.

The world is so hardened that they blame God for the first four plagues, not their own sinfulness. They cursed God for interfering in their lives. “How dare You allow this? How can a Loving God allow such a thing? You do not exist. You are a lie!”

Revelation 16:10-11 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat {thronos – throne} of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

As the Fifth Bowl is poured out, it is poured out on the Throne of the anti-Christ. Where his kingdom is it is full of darkness. I don’t think that this is dark as in the absence of light. The Fourth Angel caused the sun to flare, so their will be light from it, the moon, and the stars. I think that this darkness is spiritual darkness, depression, panic attacks, mental illness on an unheard scale. It will be so painful that they will gnaw their tongues for pain.

Will they repent? No. They blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

They want life without the Father of Life.
They want peace without the Father of peace.
They want Heaven on earth, but not the God of Heaven.

The Godless Revolt Rather Than Repent

The 6^th and 7^th Bowl Judgments do not bring a plague to mankind as the first five Bowls did. They enable man to do what he has always wanted to do. If a person will not repent and turn to God saying “Thy will be done”, in time God will turn to man and say “All right, now THY will be done”. Mankind has been in rebellion from the day of his creation. When God said “You can have it all BUT this” man said “But I want THAT TOO!”. When God – in the fullness of time …

Galatians 4:4-5 ^(ESV) ….. sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law ….

Israel rejected the Messiah. The Leadership, rather than following Him, followed their own hearts, and God turned them over to destruction. Everyone has a choice to accept Christ or not, but in the end those who will not choose God cannot go into God’s Heaven nor possess God’s creation. He made it, and He will give it to whosoever will.

Whosoever will believe on Christ and submit to His Lordship shall be saved, shall be adopted into the family of God, and shall inherit the things that the Father made. Whosoever will not shall not. It is that simple!

a The 6^th Bowl Judgment Gives All Nations In Rebellion A Pathway To Invade God’s Jerusalem.

Revelation 16:12-14 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

The Euphrates River is the northeastern border of the land God promised to Abraham’s descendants (see Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7; 11:24; Joshua 1:4).

• God dried up the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22) when Israel took her exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
• God dried up the Jordan River (Joshua 3:13-17) as the second generation of Israel from the Exodus moved back into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.

Now God dries up the Euphrates River – not so the righteous can pass, but so the unrighteous can pass. They have rejected God, have revolted on God, and now declares war on God and His Israel. They are encouraged in this blasphemous revolt by the dragon, the beast (the anti-Christ), and the false prophet, who call forth “three unclean spirits” or demons who “work miracles”. The unholy trinity of evil speaks words of encouragement, then uses demons to produce miracles, convincing the rulers of the earth that Jerusalem and God can be overthrown. They will not win, for we see in verse 14 that this is “that great day of God Almighty”. Evil will be destroyed at Armageddon. God paves the way!

b The 7^th Bowl Judgment Releases The Battle Of Armageddon. Before the battle begins Jesus gives a warning to all who will hear. We read:

Revelation 16:15-16 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And HE GATHERED THEM TOGETHER into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 (KJV)  For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  [3]  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.  [4]  But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Jesus will come unexpectedly – first to Rapture His Church, and second to save Israel and His Earth.

Please note that though these forces are in rebellion against God and supposedly following the leadership of Satan’s unholy trinity, the Bible says “HE gathered them together”.
God provided the crossing.
God lead them to the attack.
The God destroys them.

Note the next verse:

Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, IT IS DONE.

We are told in John:

John 1:14 (KJV)  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

“Was made” is the Greek γίνομαι ginomai (ghin’-om-ai) meaning “to cause to be, to become or come into being”. God became Man to bring us to Himself. God loves us, and went above and beyond to redeem us. Redemption begins when we repent and turn to Christ. Yet the world will not come to Christ. It will not receive the God Man Jesus as Lord and Savior. It chooses instead a Beast, a Dragon, and a False Prophet. Since the world rejects the Ginomai of Christ, the Lord now says:

IT IS DONE
γίνομαι ginomai (ghin’-om-ai)!

You rejected Me, so now Judgment has come. You could have chosen the Christ and the Cross. Instead you chose to reject Christ, and have become the defeated, the destroyed, the disinherited, the demonized.

Revelation 16:19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

A great earthquake comes and destroys all the powerful cities of the world. Babylon is destroyed. The capital city of the unholy trinity is destroyed. God’s wrath is poured out to the last drop!

Revelation 16:20-21 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and MEN BLASPHEMED GOD BECAUSE OF THE PLAGUE OF THE HAIL; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

and even then they repented not. Holy Father, even then they repented not! Oh that they had repented. Oh, that you would repent!