seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
you who are and who were;
6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.”
true and just are your judgments.”
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
10 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 agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.
12 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. 13 Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15 “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.”
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.
a. Revelation 16:21 Or about 45 kilograms
I think the first few bowls are self explanatory but the sixth bowl or plague is a doozy. This is from the easy English site. I'm starting at verse 14.
These demons went to all the kings of the earth. By their astonishing deeds, they were able to persuade the kings to come together. The kings brought their armies to fight against the Lord. On the day, which God had fixed, there will be the final great battle. The armies of the world will fight against the forces of God.
The forces of the devil will gather for the final battle. Then, when they do not expect him, Jesus will come.
The Lord says that he will come like a thief. Paul wrote that the day of the Lord would come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Nobody knows when he will come. He will come but it will be a surprise to all the people.
Those who trust in the Lord must be ready for this great event. The Lord describes them like soldiers before the command to go into a battle. Such a soldier has his clothes ready for the battle. And he has his sword ready to put on. So, God’s people must prepare themselves for Jesus to come. They must expect him and they must be ready for him.
Those who are not ready will be ashamed. They will be like soldiers with no clothes to protect them. Or, like soldiers without any weapons (arms) to fight their enemy.
Armageddon or Megiddo is a place in Israel. There is a large plain there. There have been many battles in that area.
The armies will spread out over a large area. But the centre will be in or near Megiddo.
And the last bowl..... well I'll let the easy English commentary make that plain too.
At the sound of God’s voice, the air and the earth seemed to explode. There were flashes of lightning. There were loud crashes of thunder in the skies. And the most powerful earthquake shook the earth. There had not been such a terrible earthquake since God made the earth.
This great earthquake shook the whole world. There had been no earthquake as powerful as this since the world began. Cities all over the world fell and the important city split into three. All the nations on earth suffered the effects of this great earthquake.
The important city that split into three seems to mean Babylon. Babylon was a city on the Euphrates. It was the heart (most important place) of evil practices. Babylon may become powerful again, and perhaps this verse refers to it. But it is more likely that the name Babylon describes another wicked city. This city will be the most important city for religion and trade. Some people believe that Rome will be that city at the time of the end. It was the greatest city in the world at the time when John wrote the Book of Revelation. It would have been dangerous for him to name it then.
Islands sank into the sea. Mountains fell down and disappeared. That earthquake changed the whole surface of the earth.
The storm of God’s anger caused hailstones to fall from the sky. These were like great blocks of ice. Some weighed nearly 100 pounds (45 kilos). Even this did not persuade people to turn to God. Instead, they cursed God for the terrible storm.
I really don't want to see this. I would assume that no one in their right mind wants to be around when things get so bad we all start chewing on our tongues. That's what happens in the early plagues.... humans will be so miserable they well chew on their own tongues.... or maybe they are chewing on their tongues because there is nothing to eat or drink. After all... there has been an earthquake already.... and a third of everything was already gone or thick by the time these angels get to work.
Then..... comes the demonic possessions in full glory.... I mean let's face it.... there must only be a handful of Believers on earth by the time these last few bowls or plagues play out. God is still giving them a chance to join the right side.... but demons are demons through and through at this point. These mean suckers must be some pretty slick talkers... because it says in this chapter that the kings of all thee nations join up into one huge army to take on God..... They all met in Israel.... in the Valley of Megiddo.....Armageddon.
Apparently they all forgot.... God is God.... and they are going to look really foolish. It's as if the army will show up naked.... or they might as well be naked and weaponless.... I mean... they are picking a fight with God.... who created the molecules that make up the very DNA of the soldiers. The earth seems to be populated by blithering idiots who are worshiping a dragon, beast, and fake prophet instead of the One True Living God.
So God will make the air explode. Try taking a deep breath...... now imagine that deep breath exploding..... God will make the air explode.
