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Hasten The Day!
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. [See Table of Contents for all End-Time Prophecies covered here, best viewed on a big screen]
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Future Prophesies - During the Tribulation & Beyond
7 BOWL JUDGMENTS (WOE 3)
(Revelation 15-16)
What are the seven bowls/vials of Revelation?
What are the three woes of Revelation?
Bowl Judgments (Woe 3)
Prelude to the Bowl Judgments (Rev 15)
Bowl 1 - Ugly and painful sores (16:2)
Bowl 2 - Sea Turns to Blood (16:3)
Bowl 3 - Freshwaters Turn to Blood (16:4-7)
Bowl 4 - Sun Scorching People with Fire (16:8-9)
Bowl 5 - Darkness and Pain (16:10-11)
After the seventh bowl, the earth is little more than a smoking cinder, wobbling in space!
3rd Woe (7 Bowls)
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The third woe is revealed after the seventh trumpet judgment.
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Incorporated within this third and final woe are the seven “bowls” of God’s wrath, described in Revelation 16:1-21.
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This series of judgments is the greatest horror the citizens of earth have ever seen. Jesus said, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (Matthew 24:22).
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This third woe marks the finishing of God’s judgment on sin; it occupies the book of Revelation through the 19th chapter, when Christ’s Kingdom is established on earth.
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This woe is parallel to the trumpet that sounds in Joel 2 and signals the consummation of God’s plan for the entire world.
Joel 2 – The Day of the Lord
Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand:
2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run.
5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color.
7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks.
8 They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column.
Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down.
9 They run to and fro in the city, They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble;
The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
11 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
What are the seven bowls/vials of Revelation?
https://www.gotquestions.org/seven-bowls-Revelation.html
The seven bowl or vial judgments are the final judgments of the tribulation period. They will be the most severe judgments the world has ever seen. The seven bowls are described in Revelation 16:1–21, where they are specifically called “the seven bowls of God’s wrath” (verse 1). Under the Antichrist, the wickedness of man has reached its peak, and it is met with God’s wrath against sin. The seven bowl judgments are called forth by the seventh trumpet.
The first bowl. The first angels pours out the first bowl on the land, “and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image” (Revelation 16:2). This plague is targeted at those who have committed themselves to the Antichrist; tribulation saints will not be affected by these sores.
The second bowl. The second bowl is poured out on the sea, turning the water “into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died” (Revelation 16:3). A third of the sea life had already perished with the sounding of the second trumpet (Revelation 8:9), and now the rest of the sea life is gone. The oceans are dead.
The third bowl. When the third bowl of God’s wrath is poured out, the rivers and freshwater springs also turn into blood (Revelation 16:4–5). The angel in charge of the water says, “You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve” (verses 5–6).
The altar in heaven responds,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments” (verse 7).
The fourth bowl. The fourth angel pours out his bowl on the sun, “and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat” (Revelation 16:8–9). Rather than repent of their sin, the wicked inhabitants of the earth “cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him” (verse 9).
The fifth bowl. The fifth of the seven bowls causes the kingdom of the beast to be plunged into great darkness. The pain and suffering of the wicked intensify, so that people gnaw their tongues in agony (Revelation 16:10–11). Still, the followers of the Antichrist “refused to repent of what they had done” (verse 11).
The sixth bowl. The sixth angel pours out his bowl of judgment on the Euphrates River. That river is dried up in preparation for the kings of the East making their way to their own destruction (Revelation 16:12). John then sees three unclean spirits “that looked like frogs” coming from the mouths of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet (verse 13). These demons perform miracles and deceive the kings of the earth and gather them to the final battle on the Day of the Lord (verse 14). Under demonic influence, “the kings [gather] together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (verse 16).
The seventh bowl. The seventh bowl is emptied into the atmosphere. A loud voice in heaven says, “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17). The seventh bowl results in flashes of lightning and an earthquake so severe that “no earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake” (verse 18). Jerusalem is split into three parts, and the cities of the world collapse (verse 19). Islands are flooded, and mountains disappear (verse 20). Giant hailstones, “each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people” (verse 21). Those under judgment “cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible” (verse 21).
One of the angels of the seven bowl judgments then shows John the fate of Babylon the Great (Revelation 17), as God avenges “the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth” (Revelation 18:24). The world mourns the fall of Babylon (chapter 18), but heaven rejoices (chapter 19). Jesus Christ then returns in glory to defeat the armies of the Antichrist at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21) and to set up His kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1–6).
What are the three woes of Revelation?
https://www.gotquestions.org/three-woes.html
Woe means “grief, anguish, affliction”; the three woes of Revelation are the final judgment God pronounces on the evil inhabitants of the earth in order to spur them to repentance (Revelation 9:20). The three woes are, indeed, a time of great anguish and affliction for those who have pledged their allegiance to the Antichrist during the end times.
The number 7 is significant in Revelation, and the three woes will come toward the end of the seven-year tribulation period right before the second coming of Christ. God’s judgments during the tribulation are pictured as seven seals, opened one at a time. The seventh seal reveals the seven trumpet judgments. The fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets are called the three woes (Revelation 8:13).
The first woe is revealed after the fifth trumpet judgment. This woe involves something like locusts that have the ability to sting like a scorpion (Revelation 9:3). Generally, these are not accepted as literal locusts because of their description and because they come from the Abyss and have a demonic overlord (Revelation 9:3, 7-8, 11). These creatures are permitted to harm only those people who do not have the “seal of God on their forehead” (Revelation 9:4). Those bearing God’s seal are the 144,000 (Revelation 7:3-4) or, possibly, all believers during that time (Ephesians 4:30). These demonic locusts are allowed to torment unbelievers for five months (Revelation 9:5) with painful stings. Although victims will long for death (Revelation 9: 6), they will not be granted that release.
The second woe is revealed after the sixth trumpet judgment. This woe begins when a voice commands, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates” (Revelation 9:14). These four angels are demons who were cast from heaven along with Satan. God is right now keeping them imprisoned until the appointed time (Revelation 9:15; cf. Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4). These angels and their armies, numbering two hundred million, are released to kill a third of mankind (Revelation 9:15-16).
After the second woe passes (Revelation 11:14), there comes a clear division in the book with the announcement from heaven, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). In other words, this final stage of judgment will be the end, and righteousness will be restored to the earth.
The third woe is revealed after the seventh trumpet judgment. This woe is parallel to the trumpet that sounds in Joel 2 and signals the consummation of God’s plan for the entire world. This third woe marks the finishing of God’s judgment on sin; it occupies the book of Revelation through the 19th chapter, when Christ’s Kingdom is established on earth. Incorporated within this third and final woe are the seven “bowls” of God’s wrath, described in Revelation 16:1-21. This series of judgments is the greatest horror the citizens of earth have ever seen. Jesus said, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (Matthew 24:22).
Prologue - Prelude to the Bowl Judgments (Rev 15-16:1)
Prologue (15-16:1) - Prelude to the Bowl Judgments
Rev 15 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
4 “Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And 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.
7 Then 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. 8 The 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.
Rev 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.”
Sign - John sees another extraordinary “sign” [σημεῖον, “say-may’-on”] in heaven
- “great and awe-inspiring” [μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν],
- The exact same phrase used in the opening of the “Song of Moses and the Lamb” in Rev 15:3b.
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The “sign” is 7 angels with the 7 last plagues (bowls)
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The word “plague” [πληγὰς, “play-gay’] is interesting because they are the seven last plagues.
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There are only 3 plagues mentioned previously in Revelation, those accompanying the 6th trumpet:
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“By these three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that came out of their mouths [the four angels] a third of the human race was killed” (Rev 9:18).
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If we have a total of ten plagues in Revelation, then we have a very nice parallel to the ten plagues in Exodus that God brings upon the Egyptians!
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With these last plagues, God’s “fury” or “wrath” is “accomplished.”
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The word “fury” is θυμὸς, “thu-mo’s,” a graphic word that suggests “boiling over” or “panting while enraged.”
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“Accomplished” is ἐτελέσθη, “te-leh’-o,” in the sense of “reaching the end” or “finished.”
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It is the exact same word John uses in his gospel at 19:30 when Jesus expires on the cross: “It is finished,” Τετέλεσται (John 19:30).
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The “wrath” or “fury” of God
The “wrath” or “fury” of God runs throughout Scripture, calling to mind Jonathan Edward’s famous 1741 sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” But how do we reconcile this “wrath” of God with a God of infinite love, especially as we understand God today?
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The Old Testament mention the “wrath” of God (or synonyms) nearly 500 times, almost always the direct result of breaking God’s law
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The New Testament mentions the “wrath” of God (or synonyms) 42 times.
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In the New Testament, for example, St. Paul observes that: “The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18)
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To address God’s “wrath” we need to recognize that both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament often anthropomorphize God; that is, they attribute to him human characteristics, both physically and emotionally.
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This helps us to understand God, but if we fail to recognize this as a literary device and we make the anthropomorphic literal, we can very easily misunderstand the intended message.
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So, what exactly do we mean by the “wrath” of God?
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Pope Benedict XVI addressed this very question in God in the World:
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Believing and Living in Our Time (2000), p. 103-104: “The wrath of God is a way of saying that I have been living in a way that is contrary to the love that is God. Anyone who begins to live and grow away from God, who lives away from what is good, is turning his life toward wrath. Whoever falls away from love is moving into negativity. So that is not something that some dictator with a lust for power inflicts on you, but is simply a way of expressing the inner logic of a certain action. If I move outside the area of what is compatible with the ideal model by which I am created, if I move beyond the love that sustains me, well then, I just fall into the void, into darkness. I am then no longer in the realm of love, so to speak, but in a realm that can be seen as the realm of wrath.”
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So, as we engage Revelation in its own historical and cultural context as a literary work of the Apocalyptic genre, recognizing its use of symbol, metaphor, simile and so on, so should we also engage the rest of Scripture, recognizing its various genres, its use of anthropomorphism and other literary techniques.
Sea of glass mingled with fire
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Recall that in John’s first vision of heaven, when he was “snatched up” in Revelation 4:1-2, he saw “in front of the throne . . . something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal” (Rev 4:6). This is the “floor” of heaven.
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In Genesis 1:6-8, on the second day of creation, God said “Let there be a dome [a “firmament”] in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other” (Ge 1:6).
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Looking up from earth, the firmament is the “sky”;
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Looking down from heaven it is the “sea of glass like crystal.”
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In this scene the sea of glass like crystal is “mingled with fire,” a sign of imminent judgment.
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Standing on the sea of glass [ἐπὶ “on,” not “beside” as in many translations] “were those who had won victory over the beast,” – those who had not been marked with its name or number.
God’s harps
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The harp [kinnor in Hebrew] was the national instrument of the Hebrews
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Invented, according to Scripture, by Jubal (Genesis 4:21) in antediluvian times.
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King David was the most famous of Jewish harpists.
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We read that “whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take the harp and play, and Saul would be relieved and feel better . . .” (1 Samuel 16:23).
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This Jewish coin from the Bar Kokhba revolt (A.D. 132-135) has two trumpets on the obverse with the inscription, “to the freedom of Jerusalem,” and on the reverse a harp with the inscription, “year two of the freedom of Jerusalem,” the City of David
Song of Moses
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“great and awe-inspiring” [μέγα καὶ θαυμαστόν is the exact same phrase used in Rev 15:1
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“Lord God Almighty” is Κύριε ὁ Θεός ὁ Παντοκράτωρ.
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“Almighty” is Παντοκράτωρ, [“pan-tah-krah’-tor”] - God’s most solemn title, “ruler of all.”
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John uses it nine times in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7,14; 19:6,15; and 21:22.
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In the Byzantine Church it is Jesus’ most exalted title: “Christ Pantokrator.”
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Jeremiah refers to God as “king of the nations” (Jer 10:7) in contrast to the idols of the Gentiles who, “like a scarecrow in a cucumber field . . . they cannot speak; they must be carried about” (Jer 10:5).
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“you alone are holy”
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The word “holy” is ὅσιος [hos’- ee-os], not the normal ἅγιος [hah’-geeos]
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A very deliberate & deft verbal allusion to the two “Songs of Moses,” the namesakes for this “song.”
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Exodus 15:1-18
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Deuteronomy 32:1-43
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And we should also note that the phrase, “you alone are holy” is taken up and recited in the Gloria of the Mass: “For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.”
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Tabernacle
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When God gave Moses the blueprints for the Tabernacle in the second half of Exodus, Moses was told to build it to exact specifications, for the earthly Tabernacle was an exact “copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary” (Hebrews 8: 5).
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We saw this heavenly Tabernacle—the real deal—opened after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, revealing the genuine ark of the covenant, followed by thunder, lightning, earthquake, and so on.
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Now, we resume the narrative from 11:16, the events that follow the 7th trumpet and the opening of the ark.
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When we ended Revelation 11:16 we could see the ark of the covenant in the heavenly Tabernacle’s Holy of Holies.
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Now we witness a dazzling liturgy, in which the four living creatures encircling God’s throne lead the heavenly worship.
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The scene’s drama builds as one of the four living creatures gives seven bowls to the seven angels, the bowls of God’s “fury” or “wrath” [θυμοῦ, “thu-mo’s”].
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When the living creature presents the last of the seven bowls, the Tabernacle suddenly fills with smoke, smoke so thick “that no one could enter it” (15:8). This happened twice before:
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First, when the “glory” of God filled the Tabernacle in Exodus 40:35
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Again when the “glory” of God filled Solomon’s newly-built Temple in 1 Kings 8:11
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Those were both momentous events. Duplicating them here emphasizes the significance of what is about to happen
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7 Bowls / Plagues
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Opening the 7 seals and blowing the 7 trumpets were increasingly dire warnings to sinful humanity to repent and turn to God.
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The events that accompanied the seals and trumpets were typical of the human condition: conquest, violence and natural disasters.
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As Jesus warned in the Olivet Discourse, such disasters will occur, but they seem to worsen as history trends toward its conclusion.
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Now the warnings stop—and judgment begins.
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The seven bowls – like the previous fire, smoke and sulfur – are “plagues” [πληγαὶ, “play-gay’]
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They bear a resemblance to the ten plagues that God brought upon Egypt prior to the Exodus, but they are much more severe
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Like the first 4 seals and the first 4 trumpets, the first 4 bowls form a set.
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Unlike the seals and trumpets that affect only a portion of the earth, the bowls are global and all-encompassing – affecting all earth, air, fire [light] and water (the four physical elements of the universe recognized by virtually every culture in the ancient world.)
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These are supernatural disasters on a cosmic scale!
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Bowl 1 - Ugly and painful sores (16:2)
First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
Rev 16:2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
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The “festering and ugly sores” are similar to the plague of boils that struck the Egyptians (Exodus 9:8-12).
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And as the plague of boils struck only the Egyptians and not the Israelites, so do the “festering and ugly sores” affect only those “who had the mark of the beast or worshiped its image” (Rev 16:2).
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Illusions to The Exodus
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Exodus
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Plague #6 – Festering boils
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Ex 9:8 So the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians. 12 But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh; and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
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Revelation
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Rev 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.” 2 So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
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Bowl 2 - Sea Turns to Blood (16:3)
Bowl 3 - Freshwaters Turn to Blood (16:4-7)
Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood, Blood, like that of a dead man
Rev 16:3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.
Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood, Rivers and springs of water turned to blood
Rev 16:4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying:
“You are righteous, O Lord,
The One who is and who was and who is to be,
Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
And You have given them blood to drink.
For it is their just due.”
7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
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In Leviticus 17:11 we learned that “the life of the flesh is in the blood”; thus, turning water into blood that brings death is a stunning irony, and in the case of Revelation, the blood is like that “from a corpse” (Rev 16:3), a chilling image.
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The second and third plagues turn the sea, rivers and springs into blood, just as the first plague on Egypt turned the Nile River into blood. And as all the fish in the Nile died (Exodus 7:14-24), so does every living creature in the waters die.
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Illusions to The Exodus
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Exodus
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Plague #1 – Turns the Nile (life) into blood (death)
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Ex 7:19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.’ ” 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
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Ps 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, And killed their fish.
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Revelation
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Rev 8:8 Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
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Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
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Rev 16:3 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died. 4 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.” 7 And I heard another from the altar saying, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
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A pronouncement of praise follows the third plague
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A pronouncement by the angel who poured out the third bowl, stressing God’s justice.
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As those on the earth who refused to repent shed the blood of the holy ones and the prophets, so is it infinitely just that they have only the blood (of a corpse) to drink!
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Bowl 4 - Sun Scorching People with Fire (16:8-9)
Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched, Sun, scorching people with fire
Rev 16:8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
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The fourth plague strikes with fire and heat, scorching and burning the people of the earth, who respond not with repentance, but with blasphemous words
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Recalls Pharaoh “hardening his heart” with each increasingly severe plague on Egypt.
Bowl 5 - Darkness and Pain (16:10-11)
Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain, Satan’s kingdom plunged into darkness
Rev 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
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Each bowl offers increasingly sever and all-encompassing judgment.
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The fifth bowl brings supernatural darkness on “the throne of the beast” (16:10).
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Like the ninth plague on Egypt — “darkness so thick it could be felt” (Exodus 10:21-29)
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The 5th plague overwhelms with terror: people bite their tongues in pain, and they blaspheme God.
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The book of Wisdom aptly describes such a scene:
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“For they, who supposed their secret sins were hid under the dark veil of oblivion, were scattered in fearful trembling, terrified by apparitions. For not even their inner chambers kept them unafraid, for crashing sounds on all sides terrified them, and mute phantoms with somber looks appeared. No fire had force enough to give light, nor did the flaming brilliance of the stars succeed in lighting up that gloomy night.” (17:3-5)
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Illusions to The Exodus
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Exodus
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Plague #9 – Darkness
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Ex 10:21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
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Ps 105:28 He sent darkness, and made it dark; And they did not rebel against His word.
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.Revelation
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Rev 8:12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night.
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Rev 9:1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth.
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Rev 16:10 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
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Forces people to stop everything and think - introspection
Bowl 6 - Euphrates River dried up (16:12-16)
Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up
Rev 16:12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
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Notice the close parallels between the 6th trumpet and the 6th bowl, a structural feature throughout Revelation
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Those repetitive structural features are really interesting in Revelation. Clearly they are very carefully planned. With each repetition, the intensity or severity of an action ratchets upward, in a crescendo of demonic activity as we approach the end.
the way of the kings from the east might be prepared
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China’s $900 billion New Silk Road
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https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/06/china-new-silk-road-explainer/
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Pass thru 68 countries
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Includes high-speed rail
Bowl 7 - Massive earthquake, “It is done!” (16:17-21)
Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken
Rev 16:17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
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“It is done” [Γέγονεν, “ghin’-om-ahee”].
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Here in the active voice of the perfect tense, grammatically this verb indicates “the present state resulting from a finished action.”
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This is, indeed, the final judgment, powerfully expressed in a single word. Wow!
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There are five earthquakes in Revelation
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Each one functioning like an exclamation point, each one escalating in intensity and severity, culminating in “such a violent earthquake that there has never been one like it since the human race began on earth” (16:18).
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The “great city” that splits into three parts is Rome.
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As Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed Solomon’s temple in 586 B.C., so did Rome lay siege to Jerusalem and destroy the second temple in A.D. 70. Babylon is a code word for Rome.
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5 Earthquakes
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Rev 6:12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
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Rev 8:5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
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Rev 11:13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
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Rev 11:19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
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Rev 16:18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
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Reaching the apex of his crescendo, John brilliantly incorporates cosmic and apocalyptic imagery into this climactic scene:
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A massive earthquake splits Rome into three parts;
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The cities of the world collapse, those belonging to “the kings of the whole world” who have assembled at Armageddon;
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Islands and mountains disappear as the very foundations of the earth split and crumble
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Massive hail stones pummel the people, as if the very dome of the firmament itself fractures into a thousand shards.
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The seventh bowl brings God’s final judgment on those who refuse to repent, those who have pledged their allegiance to the infernal trinity: Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet.