The Book of Revelation Decoded預覽

The Seven Bowls

"Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go, pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.’” – Revelation 16:1

Imagine a large container of liquid being poured onto a table, spreading out over the tabletop, running to every corner and side, and eventually falling over the table’s edges. If you can picture this, then you can get a sense of how these final seven judgments, as described in Revelation 16, will be emptied out and quickly dispersed over the entire surface of the earth.

Bowl #1: Sores (Revelation 16:2)

Those who received the mark of the beast and worshiped the Antichrist will be infested with painful sores when the first bowl is poured out. Today, the World Health Organization reports that 67 percent of the world’s population under the age of fifty is infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Although that number sounds apocalyptic in its global reach, consider that herpes is a manageable disease mostly involving a few painful blisters or ulcers. The type of sores unleashed by this first bowl of wrath will cause far more pain and affect an even greater percentage of the remaining population.

Bowl #2: Marine Life Killed (Revelation 16:3)

The second bowl will destroy all sea creatures because the sea will be turned to blood.

Bowl #3: Water Turned To Blood (Revelation 16:3–7)

Whereas, the third trumpet will make the earth’s freshwater supply toxic, this third bowl will literally turn every remaining body of water into blood.

Bowl #4: Scorching (Revelation 16:8–9)

Already covered with sores, the peoples of the earth will then be scorched by the sun’s direct rays upon the outpouring of the fourth bowl. As worried as some are today about depleting the ozone layer and global warming, one can hardly imagine what it will be like when there is no filter in the atmosphere to protect humankind from the direct rays of the sun.

Bowl #5: Darkness and Pain (Revelation 16:10–11)

The fifth bowl once again will target those who pledge their allegiance to the Antichrist. This time, they will live in complete darkness while the pain of their sores—and of their mere existence, for that matter—will increase. Despite this, their hearts will still be filled with hatred toward God.

Bowl #6: Euphrates Dries Up (Revelation 16:12–14)

However one interprets these verses, it is clear that the sixth bowl will create a channel for the Antichrist armies to move into position for the final world war at Armageddon. What makes this war unlike any other in history is that its armies will be both flesh-and-blood soldiers and supernatural forces. Demons and unclean spirits will be released through Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet to empower those fighting against Jesus.

Bowl #7: Great Earthquake and Hail (Revelation 16:17–21)

The last judgment unleashed before the climactic end-times showdown at Armageddon will be the most massive earthquake ever experienced on earth. Every city except Jerusalem and Babylon will be leveled, as will the mountains of the earth. Whatever is left standing after the earthquake will likely be destroyed by the hundred-pound hail that follows.