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Revelation 16 The of God’s Wrath are ‘Poured Out’

There are some who have interpreted these last seven plagues (lit. ‘strokes’); in which God’s wrath and righteous acts (i.e., His verdicts) are completed, as having already happened historically. These individuals attempt to associate various wars, famines and religious upheavals with each of these seven bowls of wrath. This is absolutely absurd – there has never been anything since the flood that could be likened to the damaging and global effect these judgments have. We only need to remember what God’s Word says:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be . And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened ”. – Matthew 24:21-22 .

These horrible, catastrophic judgments, many of them reminiscent of the Plagues of Moses { Ex. 7:14-12:30 }, are future and they affect the world on a scale never seen before or to be seen again! The nations are angry and do rage, {Psalms 2:1-12 } but God’s wrath is coming and His anger is infinitely greater in righteousness and power than man’s—Rev. 11:1-21 .

The other thing to remember is that these judgments are not something that man inflicts upon himself (e.g., “global warming”) nor are they caused by Satan in an effort to terrify mankind. No, these judgments and plagues find their source in Heaven and are orchestrated, empowered and executed by the LORD of Lords and King of kings—it is the ‘Day of the LORD’ { Isa. 2:12; 13:6-9; Ez. 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:11; 3:14; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph. 1:14-18; Zech. 14:1-3 and Mal. 4:5 } and the “great Day of the wrath of the Lamb” { Rev. 6:16-17 }.

Finally, there are many who attempt to discredit the by claiming that the Old and New Testaments present two different Gods. They point out that in the Old Testament it seems like God is intolerant, vengeful and destructive and is consistently sending His people into war to kill off His enemies. In contrast they would claim that the God of the is all about ‘love’, healing, forgiveness and ‘turning the other cheek’. However, what these people fail to see (or don’t want to see) is that in the Old Testament God is also shown to be loving, forgiving and healing. Examples of this include the kindness of God to Ruth (a Gentile ‘outsider’) by accepting her faith { Ruth 1:16-17 } and bringing her into His redemptive plan for the world [she becomes ’s great-grandmother and is so put into the lineage of the Messiah! Ruth 4:10-22 ]. Another dramatic example is the repentance and salvation of all the people in Nineveh [capital of the Assyrians, a pagan and arrogant people who cruelly put their enemies to death] under the preaching of Jonah { Jonah 3:1-10 }. There are many other examples in the lives of the prophets {raising the widow’s son from the dead, the healing of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army [ 2 Kings 5 ]} and in the life of King David { 2 Sam. 12:1-25 ; Ps. 51 }.

On the other hand (in contrast to what many people want to believe about God) we have here in the New Testament a graphic description of the anger, vengeance and judgment of the same Almighty God upon an arrogant, proud and wicked world. And yet even here, amidst the judgment God still holds out an ‘olive branch’ and offers salvation to all who would repent and accept it.

…..another angel…..having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth….. saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him , for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water ."—Rev. 14:6-7

"I, , have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come !" And let him who hears say, "Come !" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely .—Rev. 22:16-17

He is indeed the same God in both the Old and New Testaments! Revelation 16 -1- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel REV. 16:1  THE COMMAND IS GIVEN : “G O, POUR OUT ” [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 .”]

The scene is in heaven and a loud voice from the temple commands the seven angels to “ Go, pour out 1 the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth ”.

The word used for ‘go’2 here is not the same as when Jesus told the disciples: “ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations ....” in Matthew 28:19 . It is the Greek word “hupago ” to ‘go slowly away’ or ‘go away quietly’, to depart, withdraw oneself without fanfare. It is often used with the idea of going without making noise or without giving notice and is very frequently used in the gospels. Elsewhere it is used in James 2:16; 1 John 2:11 ; Rev. 10:8; 13:10; 14:4; 16:1; 17:8, 11 . It is frequently translated, “ go your way ”.

This is interesting since the “ Day of God’s Wrath ” is also known as the “ Day of the LORD ” which is “..... coming as a thief in the night ”. That is, by surprise and without notification. See for example:

“But know this that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect”. – Matt. 24:43-44 and Luke 12:39-40 .

“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night . For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief ”. – 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 .

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night , in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up ”. – 2 Peter 3:10 .

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief , and you will not know what hour I will come upon you ”. – :3 (to the church at ).

The Greek word for ‘ poured out ’ here can also be translated ‘ shed ’ or ‘ spilled ’ {e.g., Matt. 9:17; 23:55; 26:28; Luke 5:37; 11:50; 22:50; Acts 22:20 } and serves as a reminder that the pleas of the martyred saints when the 5TH SEAL was opened will be answered as promised:

“……. How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed .—Rev. 6:10-11

1 pour [1632 ekcheo (ek-kheh'-o) ] to pour forth; gush out, shed (abroad, forth), spill. (Metaphorically, to bestow or to distribute largely). 2 go [5217 hupago (hoop-ag'-o) ] to lead (oneself) under, i.e. to withdraw oneself or retire (as if slowly sinking out of sight); to bring under; to go away, to depart.

Revelation 16 -2- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel Just as the blood of the martyred saints was shed or spilled; now the LORD will exercise His prerogative and bring vengeance and His wrath will be ‘spilled’ out over the earth. This will be the cause of the surprise, panic and fear of people who have arrogantly rejected God and persecuted His saints which is described when the 6TH SEAL is opened:

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains , and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb ! For the great day of His wrath has come , and who is able to stand ?”—Rev. 6:15-17

REV. 16:2  1ST BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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 and those who worshiped his image .]

The 1ST BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the earth. It causes an awful and painful sore to break out on all those who have the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.

Note that the grammar here indicates that this is a singular sore which comes upon men. One intriguing suggestion as to what causes the sore has to do with the nature of the ‘mark’ of the anti- that people will accept.

As we have discussed in chapter 13, the ‘mark’ [i.e., ‘prick’] may be referring to the injection of a rice-grain sized microchip under the skin which is used to authorize buying and selling of goods {refer to Rev. 13:16-17 notes}. Many of the current versions of these microchips use a very small lithium based power cell. If the capsule containing the lithium were to burst and deposit its substance into skin tissue it would cause a painful infection at the site of the injection—perhaps the ‘sore’ described by this plague!

This judgment is similar to the sixth of ten plagues upon Egypt during the time of Moses {Ex. 9:8-11 }. There God told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of ashes and throw them up into the air where they became fine dust. When the ashes settled onto the land, it caused boils that broke out into sores on man and animals throughout the land of Egypt. But here the effect is global: Everyone in the world who worshipped the beast and received his mark will be stricken with this plague.

Compare this with the 1ST TRUMPET judgment in Rev. 8:7 comprised of hail and fire mixed with blood which causes a third of the earth and vegetation to be burned up.

REV. 16:3  2ND BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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. ]

The 2ND BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the sea and it turns into blood like that of a dead man! As a result, every living thing in the sea dies.

This is similar to the first of ten plagues upon Egypt when the Nile River was turned into blood during the time of Moses ( Exodus 7:20-22 ). Revelation 16 -3- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel Compare this with the 2ND TRUMPET judgment in :8-9: A huge burning mountain is thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turns into blood and a third of the ships are destroyed and a third of the sea creatures died. In this judgment ALL the sea becomes like the blood of a dead man and ALL the living creatures in the sea die. This will be an awful sight and smell. It will also impact the evaporation process and therefore the rain cycle!

APPLICATION : Blood symbolizes life: “ For the life of the flesh is in the blood …” { Lev. 17:11} . The sea is a great repository of life and source of food. The salt water serves to metabolize and sanitize the waste and garbage of the earth. However, in this plague, instead of life, blood will become the token of death and the sea becomes a ‘grave of putrefying death’ instead of a ‘nurturing womb of life’. The cool sea breezes that those in resort villages enjoyed will become a stench from the carcasses of dead fish and marine mammals floating on the surface of the bloody water and washing up onto the shore. Ships will be halted and all maritime commerce will be paralyzed. Most people do not realize how much they are dependent upon God for their daily existence. We get our electricity from the electric company, the natural gas to cook our food from the gas company, our tap water comes from the water company and people are even willing to pay premium prices for specialty bottled water! But where did all these companies get the electricity, the gas, and the water? These companies definitely have something to do with processing the natural resources and getting these commodities to us--but God is the One who created the natural resources and processes that we get all these things from. God has graciously provided these things for our benefit and He has never sent us a bill for any of them! Good thing too since we would probably not be able to pay it if He did. God, who has been so patient and merciful to a Christ–rejecting world, will at last judge all the earth with power and zeal.

REV. 16:4-7  3RD BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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.”]

The 3RD BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the freshwater and it becomes blood. It is hailed by the angel in charge of these waters as “just”, for the inhabitants of the earth have shed the blood of saints and prophets – now they get blood to drink.

This is again similar to the first of ten plagues upon Egypt during the time of Moses ( Exodus 7:20-22 ).

Compare this with the 3RD TRUMPET judgment in Revelation 8:10-11 : A great star burning like a torch falls upon a third of the earth’s fresh water (rivers and springs). A third of the waters are poisoned. But here no such distinction is made and it is implied that this judgment affects ALL the fresh water!

Revelation 16 -4- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel The angel of the waters gives us a message: God is to be praised for he is righteous, the One who is was, and is and is to come. Another angel from the temple declares: “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments” echoing the sentiment of the martyred saints {Rev. 6:9-10 } who are finally vindicated. These are God’s manifested decisions and verdicts and they are true and without error.

APPLICATION : It is both ironic and interesting to note that this judgment fulfills the law of ‘reaping and sowing’ in that as those very same people who rejected the Gospel message and persecuted and spilled the blood of believers, will in turn be given blood to drink—just ‘compensation’ and poetic justice. God always receives His ‘due’. One cannot disrespect God and ultimately get away with it. No one will be able to fight against God and win. Relating Himself to a ‘stone’; Jesus says in both Matt. 21:44 and Luke 20:18 ,

“And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

The Bible states that Jesus Christ is a stone of offense and stumbling to those who refuse to believe. Those who desire to be saved from their sin need to fall on the Stone and be "broken" spiritually, those who DO NOT believe will be "crushed" eternally by the very same stone! The truth that is screaming out here is a fundamental one. Namely, the LORD would have all to be saved and live (i.e., spiritually and eternally). The God who created us loves us but will not force anyone to believe—He is sovereign but we have been given free-will. We are free to choose, but (and this is key to understand) we are not free to choose the consequences of our choices. Other scriptures related to this truth are: { Deut. 30:15-20; Jer. 21:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; and 2 Pet. 3:9 }. The people who will be given blood to drink made this the consequence of their choice to reject God and persecute and destroy anyone that testifies to His Truth.

REV. 16:8-9  4TH BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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. ]

The 4TH BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the sun and its heat is intensified so that it burns the people on earth with fire. Skeptics oftentimes snidely comment that there is a contradiction between the sun both reducing its light output (i.e., the 4TH TRUMPET JUDGMENT ) and at the same time making it hotter on earth.

However, if our sun, which is “ main sequence star ”, were to expand it would become cooler but also much closer to the earth. It could become a so-called “red giant” star. Therefore, it is possible for the sun to get dimmer but also scorch people on earth with heat.

Note Malachi 4:1 : “ For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," says the LORD of hosts, That will leave them neither root nor branch .” All the prophecies in God’s Word will be fulfilled. See also Isaiah 24:6-8.

Revelation 16 -5- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel Here there is no direct comparison to any of the plagues upon Egypt, although the seventh of ten plagues was hail and lightening which fell on men and animals in the field killing them. The hail and lightening also shattered trees ( Exodus 9:23-25 ).

Compare this with the 4TH TRUMPET judgment in Revelation 8:12-13 : The sun, moon and stars reduce their brightness by on third. The atmosphere is also affected probably due to the debri and dust thrown into the air by the consequences of some of the plagues.

REV. 16:10-11  5TH BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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. ]

TH st The 5 BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the throne of the 1 beast (anti-Christ) and it is plunged into darkness. Men literally gnaw there tongues in anguish. They curse the name of God and refuse to repent! Why? Because they refused to love the truth and God has sent them a strong delusion that they would believe the lie – the “man of sin”. ( 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 ).

Compare this with the manner in which Ahab, when his wickedness had come to fullness, was deceived by a lying spirit sent from God – 1 Kings 22:20-23 . This is similar to the ninth of ten plagues upon Egypt during the time of Moses ( Exodus 10:21- 23 ).

Compare this with the 5TH TRUMPET judgment in :1-12 : Demonic locusts are released from the Abyss by an angel and mankind is tortured for five months; they seek to die but cannot.

REV. 16:12  6TH BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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. ]

The 6TH BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out onto the river Euphrates to dry up its water and thus make a way for the “..... kings of the east ” – literally, “kings of the rising sun”. This may be a reference to a massive army spoken of in the sixth trumpet being oriental.

From time immemorial the Euphrates, with its tributaries, has been a great and formidable boundary between the peoples east of it and those west of it. It runs a distance of 1,800 miles, and is scarcely fordable anywhere or at any time. It is from three to twelve hundred yards wide, and from ten to thirty feet in depth; and most of the time it is still deeper and wider. But here it will be supernaturally dried up to facilitate the crossing of a mighty army.

Compare this with the 6TH TRUMPET judgment in Revelation 9:13-21 : A third part of mankind is killed by a 200 million man army and their weaponry.

Revelation 16 -6- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel REV. 16:13-16  VISION OF THE BATTLE HARVEST OF : PARENTHETIC [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 .]

This is the parenthetical or interlude section of the 7 BOWLS JUDGMENTS , the last and shortest one at only four verses. The other parenthetical sections are found in Rev. 7:1-17 [7 SEALS ] and Rev. 10:1-11:14 [7 TRUMPET JUDGMENTS].

Just as Satan enticed Herod to kill all the male children around Bethlehem, so the “ unholy trinity ” entices the leaders of the world to come together and so instigate the final battle of the great DAY OF THE GOD ALMIGHTY [THE LORD]. It will be a spiritual attack of unparalleled proportions.

Note that this is the final manifestation of the “mystery of lawlessness” spoken of by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 . However, spirit of iniquity and rebellion has been at work from the beginning of the creation. See 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Romans 1:18-31 .

Here a final warning and call for faithfulness is given, testifying to the fact that God is not willing that any should perish in Hell but that all would come to repentance and not suffer the consequences of sin and rebellion. This once again bears out the truth 3 found in 2 Pet. 3:9-12 in the context of final judgment:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 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?

The name of the place where God will meet with man for the final and ultimate battle is given: ARMAGEDDON = Har Mageddon; i.e., “ hill of city of Megiddo ” [meaning hill city of ‘ a place of troops ’]. Refer to Appendix A for additional discussion related to this place where the final battle between mankind and God will be fought.

This is the area of which Napoleon quipped, “Here, all the nations of the world could do battle”.

For obvious reasons, this place is also referred to in God’s Word as the ‘ Valley of Decision ’ {see :14-16} when the LORD will “….. roar from Zion ”.

We have already seen the description of the gruesome bloodbath resulting from this battle in Rev. 14:14-20 . Further details of the dynamics of this battle and the major participants are given in Rev. 19:11-21 .

3 This same truth is also found in the Old Testament in Ezek. 33:11 ; Say to them: “ As I live”, says the Lord GOD, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel ?” Revelation 16 -7- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel REV. 16:17-21  7TH BOWL OF GOD ’S WRATH [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 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 .]

The 7TH BOWL of God’s wrath is poured out into the air (atmosphere) and a loud voice from the heavenly temple cries out: “ It is done !” Compare this with the two other “ it is done ” statements by Jesus; one while on the cross the other after His 2 nd Coming:

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished !’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit ”. – John 19:30 .

And He said to me, "It is done ! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts . – :6 .

Note carefully that the 7TH and last BOWL OF WRATH corresponds to the opening of the 6TH SEAL :

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. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place .—Rev. 6:12-14

A global earthquake splits the ‘ Great City ’ into three parts and the major cities of the world collapse.

There are three ‘great cities’ referred to in the ; { Rev. 11:8 }; “Babylon ” { Rev. 14:8 } and the { Rev. 21:10 }. The ‘Great City’ here is probably referring to Babylon-Rome since the destruction of that world system is one of the primary objects of God’s wrath (the other being arrogant and unrepentant people) and it is mentioned again in Rev. 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18-21 as being judged and destroyed.

However, it is interesting to note that, according to Zech. 14:4, the catalyst for this event may be the LORD Jesus Christ’s return to the earth when His feet touch the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem. We are told that at that time the Mount of Olives will be split in half with one side moving north and the other side south making a very large valley 4.

4 It is well-known that a major earthquake fault runs along the Jordan River valley extending northward into Syria and southward through the Dead Sea area, the Red Sea and on into Africa where it formed the Great East African Rift. The East African Rift is unusual in that it is one example of only three actively rifting continental crust on Earth (most of the world's active rifts are found in oceanic crust beneath the seas) having resulted from the actions of numerous normal (dip-slip) faults which are typical of all tectonic rift zones. The East African Rift zone includes a number of active as well as dormant volcanoes. These include Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Meru and Mount Elgon as well as the Crater Highlands in Tanzania and the active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai. Revelation 16 -8- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel This is describing an extremely violent seismic event accompanied by the global geological consequences which would probably affect the entire world; perhaps 1000 times or more greater [magnitude 12.0] than the Sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004. Perhaps not since the geologic upheavals of the global flood event of Noah’s day { Gen. 7:11; Ps. 104:6-9} will an earthquake of such magnitude occur!

All those who think that God, if He exists at all, is a ‘pussy-cat’, a ‘push-over’ or just isn’t interested in what is going on here on earth or has forgotten about the sinful and wicked behavior of mankind will be rudely awakened and sadly disappointed for:

And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath .

Every island disappears and mountains cannot be found. This implies massive geologic upheaval, probably the shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates.

Hugh hailstones weighing 100 pounds 5 each fall from the sky.

This judgment is similar to the seventh of ten plagues upon Egypt during the time of Moses where hail and lightening fell on men and animals in the field killing them. The hail and lightening also shattered trees { Ex. 9:23-25} .

[Men blasphemed God because of the plague …..] But, amazingly, even after all of this mankind still curses God and refuses to repent! This is reminiscent of what we have already seen at the end of the 6TH TRUMPET JUDGMENT :

But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts .—Rev. 9:20-21

Truly, man’s heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked but the LORD continues to search each heart { Jer. 17:9-10 } and offer salvation to all who would receive it on His terms {John 3:16; Rom. 10:8-11 }.

Note carefully that the 7TH and last BOWL OF WRATH also corresponds to the opening of the 7TH TRUMPET judgment in Rev. 11:13-19 : The kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. Heaven worships God Almighty and He begins to reign. The time of judging the dead, that is, the resurrection, is come.

This last bowl of God’s wrath marks the completion of God’s judgment upon all those who reject His truth and choose rather to be arrogant and love pleasure rather than righteousness.

Judgment delayed plus repentance despised equals intensified destruction .

The next two chapters describe in detail the conditions and aftermath of all these judgments……

5 Based on the density of ice, and assuming a spherical shape, a hailstone weighing 100 pounds is about three feet in diameter—as large as a beach ball! Revelation 16 -9- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel

Bibliography (1) New Unger's Bible Dictionary , Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright © 1988 . (2) Thru the Bible With J. Vernon McGee, 1 Corinthians-Revelation, Vol.5; The Book of Revelation , J. Vernon McGee, pp. 876-1080, copyright © 1982 (3) The : Exposition of the Book of Revelation , by A Seiss, Copyright © 1998. (4) Bible Knowledge Commentary/New Testament , Cook Communications Ministries; Copyright © 1983, 2000 . (5) Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary , Thomas Nelson Publishers, Copyright © 1986 . (6) Jon Courson’s Application Commentary , New Testament, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tenn., Copyright © 2003.

Revelation 16 -10- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel Appendix A Armageddon, Megiddo; Har-Megiddo

ARMAGED'DON (ar-ma-ged'on; Gk. Armageddon, from Heb. har Megiddo, "hill or city of Megiddo” (“ place of troops ”). Megiddo was a walled city in the southern rim of the Carmel Mountain range overlooking the Plain of Esdraelon (i.e., the Plain of Jezreel) to the north which forms a great battlefield in Northwestern Israel. This vast plain has been the scene of many ancient battles and has witnessed perhaps a greater number of bloody encounters than have ever stained a similar area of the world's surface. Scholars disagree about the exact location of this place, but the most likely possibility is the valley northeast of Mount Carmel and the city of Jezreel. Rev. 16:16 is the only New Testament reference to Har Megiddo.

Megiddo was situated on the main road that linked Egypt and Syria and was the most strategic city in Palestine. It occupied a prominent position and all major traffic through Palestine traveled past Megiddo, making it a strategic military stronghold.

The ancient plain of Megiddo, the battleground of the centuries, furnishes the location of the great battle in which the LORD, at His advent in glory, will deliver the Jewish remnant besieged by the Gentile world powers under the Beast {Rev. 13:1-10 } and the false prophet {Rev. 13:11-18 }. Apparently the besieging hosts, whose advance upon Jerusalem is typically set forth in {Isa. 10:28-32 } and who are demonically energized {Rev. 16:13-16; Zech. 12:1-9}, have retreated to Megiddo after the events of {Zech. 14:2 }. There their destruction commences and is completed in Moab and Edom {Isa. 63:1-3}. This last grand battle of "the times of the Gentiles" and of this present age is the fulfillment of the ‘Stone striking the image’ prophecy of {Dan. 2:35 } which is the climax of "the day of the LORD"; the time when God actively and visibly manifests His glorious power to the frustration and utter destruction of His enemies.

Megiddo will be the site of the final battle of this age in which God intervenes to destroy the armies of energized by Satan , the ten-horned beast and the false prophet {Rev. 16:13 } immediately after which He will cast Satan into the bottomless pit for 1000 years {Rev. 20:1-3} and casts the beast and false prophet into the Lake of Fire { Rev. 19:20 }.

At Armageddon "the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His [God's] wrath" {Rev. 16:19 } will be poured out, and the forces of evil will be overthrown and destroyed.

Megiddo is first mentioned in the Old Testament in the account of the 31 kings conquered by Joshua {Josh. 12:21 }. In the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes of the Hebrew people, Megiddo was awarded to Manasseh. But the tribe was unable to drive out the native inhabitants of the city {Josh. 17:11; Judg. 1:27; 1 Chr. 7:29 }.

Megiddo was famous for two great victories: During the period of the ‘judges’, of Barak over the Canaanites { Judg. 4:15 }; later the forces of Deborah and Barak wiped out the army of Sisera "by the waters of Megiddo" { Judg. 5:19 } and of Gideon over the Midianites ( Judg. 7 ). . During the period of the United Kingdom under Solomon, the Israelites established their supremacy at Megiddo. The city was included in the fifth administrative district of Solomon {1 Kin. 4:12 }. Along with Hazor, Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor, Megiddo was fortified and established as a chariot city for the armies of King Solomon {1 Kin. 9:15-19 }.

It is also noted for two great disasters: the death of Saul {1 Sam. 31:8 } and the death of Josiah at the hands of the army of Pharaoh-necoh {2 Kin. 23:29-30; 2 Chron. 35:22 }.

The prophet Zechariah prophecies the great mourning which would one day take place "in the plain of Megiddo" { Zech. 12:11 }. The fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy will be the final conflict known as the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON that ends man’s primacy in history. It is the place ordained by God to be the scene of the terrible end-time retribution upon the wicked.

Revelation 16 -11- Copyright  2008 K. G. Schiessel