1And 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. 2And 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 worshipped his image.
The seven angels are commanded to pour out on the earth the vials (bowls) of the fury of God. This command comes from the heavenly temple of God. The judgments are from Him.
The first vial is poured upon the land (as opposed to the sea, in the case of the second vial). The same was true of the first and second trumpet judgments (8:7-9). The first trumpet judgment burned off one third of the land, Satan’s usurped domain. The first bowl judgment will bring a terrible sore on anyone who has taken the mark of the beast, Satan’s Antichrist, or who has worshipped his image. Verse 2 does not say that all people were afflicted with the sore. We know that part of the population of Israel fled to safety from the beast (12:6,14). The warning in 14:9-11 seems to imply that others also had not yet taken the mark of the beast or worshipped him or his image.
3And 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.
At the sounding of the second trumpet, one third of the sea became blood (8:8-9). Now at the pouring out of the second bowl, all of the sea becomes blood.
4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5And 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. 6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
At the sounding of the third trumpet, one third of the rivers and springs of fresh water became bitter and toxic (8:10-11). Now at the pouring out of the third bowl, all of the rivers and springs of fresh water become blood. The angel who poured out the third bowl declared that God was just to do this because the people of earth had poured out the blood of God’s people and of His prophets. A voice from the altar joined in agreement. We have seen that retribution for the mistreatment of God’s people has come from the altar (see notes under 14:17-20).
8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9And 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.
At the sounding of the fourth trumpet the sun, moon, and stars were darkened during one third of the day and one third of the night (8:12). Now at the pouring out of the fourth vial of wrath, the sun begins to scorch people. But, instead of their repenting and recognizing that God is worthy of worship, they will blaspheme His name.
We are reminded of the words spoken concerning the many believers that John saw in chapter 7 who had died as martyrs. One of the 24 elders told John, “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat” (7:16).
10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
At the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the sun and air were darkened by the smoke which came out of the abyss (9:1-2). Now at the pouring out of the fifth vial, the kingdom of the beast is made dark. The judgments of the sores (verse 2) and of the scorching heat (verses 8-9) together with the judgment of the fifth vial will leave people in darkness and fire, biting their tongues because of the pain. The picture is progressively resembling that of hell (Matthew 22:13; 25:30). Yet, as it was after the pouring out of the fourth vial, the people being judged will not repent of their actions. Rather, they will only blaspheme God because of their pain.
12And 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.
At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, four angels who had been bound at the Euphrates River were loosed to kill one third of the people on earth (9:13-15). Now at the pouring out of the sixth vial of God’s fury, the waters of the Euphrates River are dried up. The purpose of the drying up of the waters of the river will be to facilitate the passage of the kings from the east (“from the rising of the sun”). Ironically, they will be defeated by “the Sun of Righteousness” (Malachi 4:1-2).
These “kings of the east” are mentioned separately from “the kings of the earth and of the whole world” in verse 14 below. They may be rival kings who will form a threat to Antichrist (see Daniel 11:44).
13And 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. 14For 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. 15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, one third of the people on earth were killed by three things: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur which came from the mouths of the demonic horses (9:18). Now at the pouring out of the sixth vial, three unclean spirits come from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, probably indicating that these unclean spirits will be at the command of that unholy trinity. Why should these demonic spirits be compared to frogs? The only other mention of frogs in the Bible is with reference to the plague of frogs in Egypt (Exodus 8, Psalm 78:45; 105:30). It was a plague which the magicians of Egypt were able to counterfeit (Exodus 8:7). Even so, Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet will use deceiving signs to convince the kings of the earth to come to battle, perhaps against Egypt itself and its allies. Egypt will be a rival and threat to Antichrist (Daniel 11:40). There will likely be other such threats. Daniel 11:44 speaks of troubling news for the Antichrist “out of the east and out of the north.” The armies gathered by the three demonic spirits will meet at a place called Megiddo. These armies will probably think that they are coming to establish an unbeatable force for Antichrist, but they will be gathering “to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
The name “Armageddon” or “Mageddon” (many Greek manuscripts say “Mageddon”) is found in the New Testament only in this verse. The name “Megiddo” occurs twelve times in the Old Testament with reference to historical events. “Armageddon” means “Hill of (Hebrew “har”) Megiddo.” Megiddo lies about 57 miles north of Jerusalem on a broad plain. The hill of Megiddo is a nearby mound on which ancient forts were built. Megiddo was on the ancient route which connected Egypt and Mesopotamia.
When we read about the reaping of the unbelievers of the earth in 14:20, a battle was alluded to. It will be a battle in which blood will flow outside the city of Jerusalem over a distance of about 190 miles (see notes after 14:17-20). The armies will be gathered to the place called Megiddo, but the battle will spread over all the land of Israel. It is surely the same battle that is spoken of in Joel 3:2,12-14.
The words in verse 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,” are startlingly located within the narrative about the pouring out of the sixth vial of God’s anger. There are seven such statements of blessing in the book of Revelation: 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,14. Each of these statements refers to blessing for the saved, as would be contrasted with judgment for the lost. Jesus does not come to His own people as a thief. Jesus said, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10). So why would Jesus say in Revelation 16:15 that He is coming as a thief?
The Lord Jesus is speaking of His coming in judgment on those who have refused his offer of abundant life. He says that those who don’t prepare for His coming will be left naked and ashamed. No garments of false religion will survive His coming. The blessing is for anyone who prepares for His coming by rightly considering his or her garments. The only way for a person to keep his or her garments is to choose garments which can be kept. The only garments which can be kept are those pictured by the clothing which God gave Adam and Eve when they sinned. He gave them “coats of skins” (Genesis 3:21). A sacrifice had to die to cover their sin. Only the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ will forever protect us from shame.
17And 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.
Why would the climactic vial of God’s anger be poured out upon the air? In Ephesians 2:2 Paul referred to Satan as “the prince of the power of the air.” Today the lower heavens are Satan’s base of operations. At the middle of the Tribulation Satan will lose access to the third heaven (Revelation 12:7-12), where God’s throne is (II Corinthians 12:1-4). But Satan will still be able to do works of power in the atmospheric heaven (Revelation 13:13). With the pouring out of the seventh vial upon the air, a voice out of the temple in heaven declares, “It is done.” The voice is probably that of an angel (compare 19:5). Satan's base of operations in the air will be closed by the wrath of God.
18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19And 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. 20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
The earthquake that will occur at the pouring out of the seventh vial of God’s anger will be of greater magnitude than any earthquake that has taken place in all of human history. Since the seventh vial will be poured upon Satan’s base of operations, it seems consistent that the cities affected by the earthquake will be cities used as power bases by the beast. The beast will have two bases of power: a political base in Rome (see notes under 12:3 and 13:2) and a commercial base in Babylon (Revelation 18). Verse 19 above says, “the great city was divided into three parts.” In 17:18 John will speak of “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth,” which, at the time of his writing, would clearly refer to Rome. Thus, the beast’s political base will be split into three sections in the earthquake. The cities of the nations he has ruled over will fall into ruins. The Antichrist’s commercial center will receive a full portion of the fierceness of the wrath of God. The earthquake will so affect the topography of the world that neither island nor mountain will offer any place of escape from the judgment of the seventh vial.
21And 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.
The earthquake shook the ground below, and huge hailstones were falling from above. It seems that people would recognize that the end was near and cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. Instead, they will blaspheme Him because of the hail.
The intensity of the judgments associated with the pouring out of the seven bowls of God’s fury is attested to by the repetition of the word “great” (11 occurrences) in chapter 16.
Note: All Scriptures are quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.