Chapter BY Chapter

Revelation 16

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"Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

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The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.  And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

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“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,

    for you brought these judgments.

For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,

    and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!”

And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,

    true and just are your judgments!”

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The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.  They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

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The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

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The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.  And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.  For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.  (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)  And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

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The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”  And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.  The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.  And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.  And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

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In chapter 14, we learned that those that worship the beast would be harvested and would suffer forever.  There was a last call to repentance, and the coming of the wrath of God was announced.

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In chapter 15, we learned that those that conquered the beast were in heaven singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.  We learned from these songs that the purpose of God’s wrath is not only to punish for sin, but especially to punish those that persecute God’s people.  We learned that 7 bowls full of God’s wrath are prepared for 7 angels to pour out 7 more plagues.  This will complete God’s wrath. 

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In chapter 16, we now get to see what happens when the 7 bowls of wrath are poured out. 

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Verse 1

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“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

A loud voice coming from the temple could only be surmised to be God’s voice.

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Several Old Testament verses talk about pouring out the wrath of God.

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Psalm 79:6

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“Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the kingdoms that refuse to call on Your name.”

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Jeremiah 10:25

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“Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.”

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Ezekiel 22:31

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“So I have poured out My indignation upon them and consumed them with the fire of My fury. I have brought their ways down upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

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Verse 2

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“So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.”

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This is very significant.  In chapter 13, we learned that the beast will force all people to take his mark or else not be able to buy and sell.

 

Chapter 13, verses 16 and 17:

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“it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.”

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This is the signature accomplishment of the beast.  But God foils the purposes of the beast by causing painful sores on those that take the mark of the beast.  So, perhaps these chip implants will be susceptible to bacteria or viruses.  Maybe they get contaminated in the assembly line.  Imagine being someone in that time.  There is a pressure to take the mark of the beast, but then you find out that taking the mark may not be so healthy.  You have a way out.  This may be the out that brings so many to Christ during the tribulation.  It gives people a practical reason to defy the beast.

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Out of all the plagues in the Book of Revelation, this is my most favorite plague.

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This is much like the sixth plague in the Exodus.

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Exodus 9:10,

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“So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast.”

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Just like the plague in the Exodus, it does not affect God’s people.  Here it only affects those that take the mark of the beast.  It really makes the beast look bad.  All those miracles he did to make people think he is God, and he can’t even control the one thing that he wants to accomplish. 

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Verse 3,

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“The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.”

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This is much like the first plague in the Exodus, only everything in the sea dies.  God is not doing plagues that affect only one third of the earth anymore.  Now he is plaguing the whole earth, and every living thing is dying.

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Verse 4,

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“The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.”

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So now all the waters on the land are blood, and the springs!.  Everything that drinks from that will die.  Perhaps people will have to do as the Egyptians did during the Exodus and dig holes in the ground to get drinkable water only to find that the water there is blood too. 

 

This idea is expounded upon in verses 5-7,

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“And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,

    for you brought these judgments.

For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,

    and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!”

And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,

    true and just are your judgments!”

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The followers of the beast are punished with a reminder of what they have done.

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I remember when I was very young, I saw our dachshund, named peanuts, poop on the rug.  I ran to my mom and said, “Hey, peanuts pooped on the rug!”  She immediately picked peanuts up, took him over to the poop and rubbed his nose in it.  Then she took him outside.  I asked her why she rubbed his nose in it.  She said, “Because that will get him to realize what he did wrong.”  Then she said, “It works for people too.”

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What God is doing here is rubbing it in their noses.  They spilled the blood of the saints, and now they have to drink it.

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This also seems to be a fulfillment of Isaiah 49:24-26,

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“Can the prey be taken from the mighty,

    or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

For thus says the Lord:

“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken,

    and the prey of the tyrant be rescued,

for I will contend with those who contend with you,

    and I will save your children.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh,

    and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine.

Then all flesh shall know

    that I am the Lord your Savior,

    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

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Once again, God promises his wrath for those that oppress his people.

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Now for the fourth bowl.  Verses 8-9,

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“The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.  They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.”

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You think we have global warming now, just wait till you see the tribulation.  There will be global scorching! 

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Notice that the people curse the name of God who has power over these plagues.  The people will know who it is doing these things.  They know him by name.  The name is Yahuweh.  Still they do not repent and give Yahuweh the glory.  They could still repent at this point. 

 

This reveals the whole purpose of God’s plagues.  That is, to get people to repent and turn to him.

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Now for the fifth bowl of wrath.  Verses 10-11,

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“The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.”

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The plagues of Exodus included a plague of darkness.

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Isaiah 8:22 speaks to those that neglect turning to God when the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem and says, “And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.”

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So, for those that thrust themselves into spiritual darkness, God judges them with – more darkness.

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So here are these followers of the beast, and the beast himself, in total darkness, they have these sores all over them from the boils caused by the mark of the beast, and they have scorches from the sun, and now it is totally dark, and all they can do is anguish in pain.  Still they do not repent!  They could repent at this time, but they do not repent. 

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Time for the sixth bowl of wrath.  Verses 12-16,

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“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.  And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.  For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.  (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)  And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”

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The word Armageddon here is literally 2 words, “Har” which means mountain, and “MageddOn,” which is the name of Megiddo that we find in the Old Testament.

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It seems ironic that one of the most devastating plagues of this time is the plague that the nations of the earth would fight to completely destroy each other.  The beast that deceives the world into thinking that he is God, and who tries to put the whole earth under his submission will fail to do that.  He will bring about the opposite. 

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The plain of Armageddon is mentioned 4 times in the Old Testament:

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Judges 5:19,

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“Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.”

 

2 Kings 23:29,

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“At the end of Josiah's reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.”

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2 Chronicles 35:22,

 

“Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco's words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.”

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Zechariah 12:11 prophesies yet to be fulfilled:

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“On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”

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Regarding the battle of Armageddon, Mr. Billy Graham has stated: “The Bible plainly forecasts the coming of yet another great war. It will be a war to eclipse anything the world has ever seen. It will embrace most of the nations of the world; and its focal point will be in the Middle East, where the armies of the world will someday deploy themselves, centering at Mount Megiddo. This Great War has been called the battle of Armageddon. In the midst of this terrifying war that could destroy civilization the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth in glory and power to judge the nations of the world and set up His own glorious kingdom.

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“The Scripture describes this great battle in the sixteenth chapter of the book of Revelation. The sixth angel will pour out his vial upon the great river Euphrates. We are told that the waters of the Euphrates River will be ‘dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.’ The dry riverbed will permit unhindered passage of the great armies of the East to the scene of the battle. Unclean spirits, demons, will go out into the world to the kings of the earth ‘to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty’ (verses 12-14).

“The armies of the world will focalize on a point known as Armageddon, the Mount of Megiddo, and there the final world conflict will take place. The extent of this conflict is indicated in the ninth chapter of Revelation, where the army that is to cross the Euphrates River is described; and in that chapter the immensity of this final world war is carefully described … We are aware of the shuffling of the stage in preparation for the greatest battle of all time that will certainly take place in the years ahead. The crisis of the present hour should shatter the optimism concerning human nature of every person listening to my voice. The only reliable hope for the future must be bound up in a living faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.”

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The plain of Armegeddon: