North Anderson Baptist Church
Revelation 16:1 NIV
There is a voice that comes from the Temple of God and this voice tells the angels to go and pour out the 7 bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth. We will see in most of the judgments that come by way of the bowls of wrath that they will be upon all those who have “the mark of the beast and his kingdom” and not on the saints of God that are left on the earth. But, some of the judgments are upon the whole earth.
Remember that God has said that this was the last of the troubles that He would visit upon the earth and her people. God had given opportunities to all earth’s inhabitants to repent and turn to God in faith but they refused. So now the end of the judgments are here and this is the last series of God’s wrath that will be revealed without delay upon the beast and his kingdom.
Revelation 16:2-7 NIV
Verses 2-7 are the first three angels and their bowls of wrath. The first angel pours out his bowl upon the land and those who follow the beast and they are struck with sores, ugly and painful but again as it has been said, it is limited to those who have “the mark of the beast” and those who worship the image of the beast.
The second angel then takes his bowl and pours it out on the sea and it turns it into blood and everything that is in the sea dies.
Then the third angel takes his bowl and pours his bowl out onto the rivers and springs of waters and they too turn into blood.
John then takes the time to write a note about an angel that declares the justice of the wrath of God. This wrath is retribution for all the earth’s wickedness and evil that particularly was done to the saints of God and the prophets whose blood was shed. As a result of shedding their blood, God has made those who are the beast’s and follows him, drink the blood of God’s wrath as a deserved punishment.
There comes a refrain from the altar saying that God’s judgments are just and true acknowledging that God is Lord Almighty.
Revelation 16:8-11 NIV
Verses 8-11 speak about the 4th & 5th angel and their bowls of wrath. As you have heard from the reading about the 4th angel and his bowl, there came a scorching heat from the sun that will touch the lives of those who are marked by the beast and the beast himself. That severe, intense heat will sear the beast and his followers so badly that they will curse God and His judgment upon them and yet they would not repent and glorify God.
And then the people of satan will go from the unbearable heat and light of the sun into the darkness of punishment, where the darkness is so deep that the people being judged by the bowl from the 5th angel will begin to gnaw on their tongues in agony and curse God because of their pain and sores and yet they refused to repent of what they had done. There are such differences in the wrath from the 4th and 5th bowl, from light and heat to darkness and torture. It is twice now we have read that God seems to be willing to hear a cry of repentance but it is obvious that the people of the beast with his mark who are suffering will choose the wrath over the forgiveness from God.
Revelation 16:12-16 NIV
Verses 12-16 bring to light what the final battle will be, Armageddon. The 6th angel pours out his bowl of wrath upon the “great river Euphrates” and it dries up the waters of the river, in preparation for the kings of the east to gather together crossing the dry river bead to fight the people of God. That will be the last battle which is described to be on the “great day of God Almighty.”
After the bowl was poured out John saw that there were “three evil spirits that looked like frogs” that came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. These evil spirits were three spirits of demons and they had the ability to do miraculous signs. They went throughout the whole world gathering kings for the battle using their miraculous powers.
In verse 15 John gives us an interlude to declare: “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” God is always encouraging the saint in their time of difficulty and trouble. Be prepared for anything at anytime and stay faithful to the Lord Jesus. Don’t you feel that He desires to encourage you too?
The demons now have gathered the kings of the earth who stand with the beast and against the Lord God Almighty and they gather at the place called Armageddon!
Revelation 16:17-21 NIV
The remaining verses, 17-21, present the bowl of wrath that the 7th angel has. God’s wrath was poured out into the air and when it had been completed a voice from the temple declares - I believe it is the voice God - “It is done!” The declaration was accompanied by flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and an earthquake like the world has never seen before. It was so harsh that the “great city,” some say it is Jerusalem, was split into three parts but all the other cities of the world were laid waste, collapsed completely so as to be in a heap. The
Scripture says that Babylon the Great received the full fury of God’s wrath. What is the great city and the Babylon that John talks of here? Some say that the great city is not Jerusalem but Rome and just about all commentaries speak of Babylon the Great as Rome. This Babylon is the center of the evil, idol worship and all that is anti-Christian. In John’s day the great city of Rome was that kind of city in every way. In the Old Testament Babylon was just that, Babylon. Whether there is another Babylon that comes to light in the days of the Revelation we do not know but Rome being the seat of the government at that time that tried to destroy Christianity and it saints and prophets, would be a likely candidate for Babylon. Rome was the one who sent the armies to Jerusalem and utterly destroyed it and the Temple of God in A.D. 70. We know that in the day of John all who read this Revelation would know that the place was Rome. Who knows that maybe Rome will find itself the center of the beast’s realm and where the image of the beast will be, but regardless wherever Babylon is it will be utterly destroyed.
The severity of the earthquake that came was unparallel to any the world has ever seen or will have seen up unto that time. When today we see the damage of earthquakes, we quake when we see the damage, but at the time of this bowl of wrath that is poured out there will be such damage that all the cities of the earth will be brought to nothing. All over the world cities will fall into heaps of rubble and yet the people of the beast will once again refuse to turn in repentance to God Almighty. God’s wrath will cause all islands to disappear and then all mountains will be flattened, I can’t even imagine such destruction of the earth we now love.
People today talk about global warming - angel 4 brings that to a reality when the heat of this world increases so great that people are scorched and then the darkness prevails for a time as God prepares for the “final” declaration of “it is done.”
The last verse, 21, talks of the hailstones that rain upon the earth which were one hundred pounds in weight and they fall upon the followers of the beast and yet they continue to curse God.
What is to be learned from this final judgment upon evil?
1. God still walks with and spares His children who are still upon the earth from the plagues that He sends upon the earth that we see in the Revelation.
2. No one with the mark of the beast will escape the wrath of God.
3. When the judgments fall they will come with great intensity that will set the stage for the final battle - Armageddon.
4. Reading God’s Word will prepare you to trust God’s judgment on evil and unrighteousness.
5. God’s judgments are righteous and just and He will take revenge upon those who have shed the blood of His saints and prophets. God is Almighty!
6. For those who are lost, the great wrath of God will come to all who refuse to repent of their sins and turn to God in faith, for forgiveness and salvation.
7. The evil and sin in this world, that rebels against God, will continue even in these days they live to fight against those who follow the Lord. Saints of God, continue to stand with courage for righteousness, being led of the Holy Spirit of God, as you battle sin and evil daily. Our God is Great and Mighty who never leaves you nor forsakes you and will never allow anything to separate you from His love!
Remember that our God will forgive every sin no matter what and is still calling the lost to be saved and be forgiven of their sin. If you are lost and need forgiveness won’t you come today and receive counseling so you might bow your head and heart to the God who loves you and who has given His One and Only Son to die for you?