NOTE: This Bible study on the end times comes from the perspective of a pre-tribulation Rapture.
In this session, we will look at the Seven Bowls or vials. You should be aware that they are sometimes called the “seven plagues,” for just a few verses earlier, in Revelation 15:6, we read, “And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues.” Many of them correspond to the plagues that were sent on Egypt, when the Lord commanded Pharaoh to let His people Israel go free; and I will be sure to point out where these plagues correspond.
Another thing to note is how the Seven Bowls seem to correlate with the Seven Trumpets; however, they are indeed separate events. Tim LaHaye states, “The three judgements – the seals, the trumpets, and the vials – are sequential, not concurrent.” But it is still interesting to visualize how the bowls and trumpets are so similar; so, I want to direct your attention to the provided handout. Take some time to look over this handout, perhaps viewing it some more at home, because nothing else will be said during this session concerning this apparent correlation.
(Refer to Handout: “Paralleling the Seven Trumpets and Bowls”)
Also, as we go along, please be filling out the provided handout on the Seven Bowls.
(Refer to Handout: “The Seven Bowls”)
The First Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:1-2:
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.” 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 the beast and those who worshiped his image.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
The plague of sores corresponds to the plague of boils found in Exodus 9:8-9.
In Deuteronomy 28:35, we discover that painful boils were prescribed as judgement on anyone who disobeyed the Lord; so, this plague, along with the others that we shall see, was sent as judgement on those who disobeyed God, or those “who had the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.” In our next few lessons, we will come to understand what the mark of the beast might be, but we are going to put this discussion on hold for now.
• Keeping in mind how I mentioned that the Seven Bowls correspond to the Seven Trumpets, and that the Seven Trumpets speak of a war of possible nuclear proportions, from what do you think these sores could result?
Many suggest that they are the result of radiation poisoning from the fallout of an atomic bomb; but as with the Trumpets, there is no way to know for certain the true meaning.
The First Bowl, therefore, describes how “Judgment Effects People Who Have the Mark of the Beast.”
The Second Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:3:
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.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
This plague is similar to the first plague on Egypt, found in Exodus 7:17 and following, in which the Nile River turned into blood.
Blood here is used to denote death, and we see that every living thing in the sea died. Tim LaHaye, says, “It does not take much imagination to see that when all living creatures in the seas die, they will float to the top, their decaying bodies discharging an unbearable stench and inaugurating potential disease. This judgement may well interfere with commercial shipping and send whole populations into confusion as people grope for an adequate supply of water, not to mention destroying what is left of the fish industry.” This disaster too could be the result of a major war.
The Second Bowl, therefore, describes the “Aftermath of War at Sea.”
The Third Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:4-7:
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.”
In the second bowl, the “sea” became blood (v. 3); but here, the “rivers” and “springs of water” became blood (v. 4). Here, “God will destroy the only remaining sources of water.”
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
This plague can be compared once again to the first plague on Egypt in Exodus 7:17-19, in which the Nile River turned into blood, and the fish in the river died and the water became undrinkable, even in the wooden buckets and stone jars.
Once again, we see something that could result from nuclear fallout. With blood being symbolic of death, the rivers and springs become contaminated and deadly. It is interesting that John takes this plague and uses it to show how the persecutors of God’s people must now drink blood, because they have shed the blood of the saints. Perhaps this judgement is poured out in response to the souls under the altar, seen in seal number six; the souls crying out to God for justice to be served (cf. 16:6).
Perhaps it is poured out because the Antichrist persecutes and kills those who become believers during the Tribulation period. “The Antichrist will have put so many Christians to death that he will deserve exactly what he receives. His quest for the blood of Christians during . . . the tribulation will result in his water supply turning into blood” and being undrinkable.
The Third Bowl, therefore, describes the “Aftermath of War on Land and Justice for Saints and Prophets.”
The Fourth Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:8-9:
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.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
The answer is that there is no corresponding plague with Egypt.
Tim LaHaye tells us that this event is predicted in Malachi 4:1-2, which says, “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. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.”
This event also appears to describe the effects of a nuclear war. Edward Hindson says, “Whereas the sun was previously blocked out by air pollution, now the ultraviolet rays of the sun are scorching men with heat and fire. It is only reasonable to assume that the devastating wars of the Tribulation period have taken a toll on the atmosphere of the earth. The destruction of the ozone layer alone would result in such scorching of people. The sun would burn this planet into a global desert right now were it not for earth’s protective atmosphere.”
As the sun beats down, there will be heat waves with excessive temperatures; drought that will dry up the streams, lakes, and rivers (if there is anything left after being turned into blood); and there will be massive dust storms, and prime farmland will be turned into dust bowls. In other words, there will be thirst and starvation, and unbearable heat causing people to die of heat stroke.
The Fourth Bowl, therefore, describes the “Aftermath of War Effecting Sky and Human Beings.”
The Fifth Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:10-11:
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.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
This plague can be compared to the ninth plague of Egypt found in Exodus 10:22, in which darkness covered the land for three days.
In verse 10, we read that the people gnawed their tongues because of pain. They are still suffering the ill effects of the same heat or radiation that caused their sores, if indeed we are dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear war.
We read how the people still refused to repent and they blasphemed God. It has been suggested that they refused to repent, as they were hardened beyond repentance, like Pharaoh after he experienced the plagues of Egypt. This is a sad picture. These people witnessed God, as they saw His hand in these terrible events, and they still went their own way. Nothing that God could do either by appeal or by punishment would make them submit to Him. How may times do we see people in time of crisis reject God, rather than draw near?
Tim LaHaye says this event is predicted in Mark 13:24, which says, “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” Needless to say, it has been suggested that this darkness could be the result of a nuclear winter.
The Fifth Bowl, therefore, describes how the “Antichrist and His Kingdom Also Suffer the Aftermath of War.”
The Sixth Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:12-16:
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. 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.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
The frogs in verse 13 relate to the second plague on Egypt in Exodus 8:3.
In verse 12, we read, “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.”
Right here, John was drawing on an historical event the people of his day might recall, in order to paint a picture. Allow me to share from commentator Willam Barclay: “When Cyrus the Persian captured Babylon he actually did so by drying up the Euphrates. The river flows right through the center of Babylon. When Cyrus came to Babylon her defenses seemed so strong that her capture seemed impossible. Cyrus formed a brilliant plan. He left one section of his army at Babylon and another he took up the river. By a magnificent engineering feat, he temporarily deflected the course of the river into a lake. That meant that bit by bit the level of the river dropped, and in the end the channel of the river through Babylon became a dry road, and along that road there was naturally a breach in the defenses, and by that road the Persians gained an entry into the riverbed into Babylon, and the city fell. History knew what the drying up of the river meant for opening a way for invaders.”
“The Euphrates River, one of the most prominent rivers in the Bible since the dawn of human history, has stood as a natural barrier between East and West. To those of the Western world, the peoples living east of the Euphrates River have been shrouded in darkness, while all the time their numerical superiority has been building up. The Euphrates River is the eastern border of the land that God gave to Abraham [as we see in Genesis 15:18]. It is about eighteen hundred miles long, and so large that it forms a natural barrier against the armies of the world . . . The sixth bowl judgement will dry up that river to make way for the ‘kings from the East’” (LaHaye).
There is a prophecy of this drying up of the waters of the Euphrates, found in Jeremiah 50:38, which simply says, “A drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up.”
• We have been hearing of the “kings from the east.” So, who might these people be?
The answer is that they are possibly rulers from China.
Tim LaHaye says, “The literal rendering of the expression is ‘the kings from the sun rising,’ a reference to the kings of the Oriental nations of the world.” He continues to add, “One of the many signs that indicate we may be approaching the end times and the fulfillment of these prophecies in Revelation is the rise of China and her massive army.”
Notice in verse 14 that the kings from the east, and from all the earth, are summoned through the Antichrist’s seemingly miraculous signs. The false prophet will be involved in these signs as well. I must point out how the term “false prophet” (v. 13) alerts us to how these signs are not truly miraculous; but instead, they are deceptions.
In verses 14-15, we read that all “the kings of the earth” will be gathered to a place called Armageddon, in Hebrew. Armageddon is a place where there will be a great and final battle between those who oppose God and those who hold fast to His name. This battle is predicted in Zechariah 14:2-3, which says, “For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem . . . Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.”
“The general vicinity around Tel Megiddo and the adjacent Valley of Jezreel adequately fits the general description [of Armageddon]. So does its location between Jerusalem to the south and the Euphrates River to the east. Any army coming into Israel from the east would have to cross through the Jezreel Valley . . . Since Har-Magedon technically means ‘Mount Megiddo,’ John may have in mind the mountains of Israel surrounding this valley . . . The plain of Megiddo is [probably] . . . the location of the final battle” (Hindson).
“Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have stated with deep emotion after his first sight of this great valley, ‘This is the ideal battleground for all the armies of the world.’ Little did he realize that this prophecy had proceeded him, that it will [indeed] be the world’s great battleground” (LaHaye).
The Sixth Bowl, therefore, describes how the “Kings from the East/Earth Gather for Battle at Armageddon.”
The Seventh Bowl
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read Revelation 16:17-21:
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 Babylon 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.
• To what Egyptian plague does this event correspond?
The plague of hail seen in verse 21 corresponds to the seventh plague on Egypt found in Exodus 9:13 and following. It is interesting to note how, according to Tim LaHaye, these hailstones will weigh about 135 pounds each.
Verse 18 says that there was a great earthquake, “such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” On December 25, 2004, an earthquake measuring around 9.0 on the Richter scale set off a killer tsunami near Indonesia and the surrounding areas, killing nearly 500,000 people! That is more people than I have ever heard of being killed by an earthquake, and verse 18 tells us that this last one will kill a whole lot more people than that!
In verse 20, we read that the islands fled away and the mountains were not found, which is supposedly the result of this terrible earthquake. Tim LaHaye says that this fleeing of the islands and disappearing of the mountains indicates “a complete renovation of the earth.”
In verse 19, we encounter a piece of Bible prophecy. We read, “Now the great city was divided into three parts.” A reference to this event can be found in Zechariah 14:4, which states, “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.” After the seventh bowl, Jesus Christ will return in His Second Coming for the Millennial Reign.
The Seventh Bowl, therefore, describes the “Final Display of God’s Wrath before Christ’s Millennial Reign.”
