A loud voice from the temple says to the angels, "Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. The first bowl is poured out and those with the mark of the beast are covered with foul and loathsome sores. The second bowl is poured out on the sea, and it becomes blood. Every living thing in it died. The third bowl is poured out on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. John hears 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. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. For it is their due." Many tribulation Christians will be martyred by the Antichrist, the False Prophet, those working for the Antichrist, and others will die by natural causes, accidents, wars, and natural disasters.
The fourth bowl is poured out on the sun and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. The men were scorched with great heat and blasphemed the name of God who has power over the plagues, and they didn't repent of their sins and give Him glory. The sun is already super-hot and powerful, but once the angel pours out the bowl of wrath, the heat and power of the sun will be even more powerful. It will be so hot that all the vegetation will die. The water will most likely start boiling and things will catch fire. As for the people, sunburns will be the least of their worries.
The fifth bowl is poured out on the throne of the beast and his kingdom becomes full of darkness and pain so bad they gnawed their tongues. Yet they blasphemed God because of their pains and sores, and they didn't repent of their deeds.
It's clear that the bowl judgments are the worst of the worst plagues. And they are reserved for those who follow the Antichrist and bare his mark. Those who follow Christ appear to be immune to the bowl judgments which would work to their advantage. I say that because the Tribulation will be a very dangerous time for Christians and professing Jesus while the Antichrist is in power will mean death. With the followers of the Antichrist dealing with sores, scorching heat, darkness, and pain, they won't have a chance to pursue the believers.
The sixth bowl is poured out on the great river Euphrates and the water dries up so the way of the kings of the east is prepared. After this, three unclean spirits that look like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon, beast, and False Prophet. These demons which perform signs will 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. Jesus then says, "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame."
We must always be ready to expect Jesus at any time. We're never warned ahead of time by a thief planning to rob our homes. At the same time, we don't know when Jesus will show up. It could be today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. It might not happen until the eighth generation of our descendants. But we still need to be ready and make sure our families and friends are ready.
The seventh bowl is poured into the air and a loud voice from the temple of heaven says, "It is done!" And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings and there was an earthquake; such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
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. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, every hail weighing about 75 pounds. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail since the plagues was exceedingly great.
It seems crazy that men will still blaspheme God after 21 judgments. But by this time, the hearts of many men have been hardened. There comes a time where men will reject God so many times that their consciences become seared, and they are given over to their sins. Once they get tired of their sin, they want to repent, but will be unable to because the Holy Spirit had been resisted one too many times. Others who have the mark of the beast by this time will know that they've made an eternal mistake, but it will be too late to fix it. Their anger will be directed at God, but in the end deep down they know that they have nobody to blame but themselves. The truth about Jesus had been preached to them their whole lives. With the Rapture and all the judgments, they still had a chance to choose Jesus. However, out of their rebellion or fear, they made the choice to take the mark. Some knew they were making an eternal choice; probably felt like they didn't have a choice. But they did. They chose the Antichrist and one day will suffer eternally for their choices.
We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 There is not one person who is righteous. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23 Jesus died so we could live. Today is the day of salvation. Don't say that you'll do it later because with the way the world is going, nobody knows if later will come to them. The Rapture could happen after you read this very sentence and if you haven't accepted Jesus, you will be left behind.
You will have to face the seven-year Tribulation with all kinds of evil unleashed on the earth, the judgments, and the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Don't be here when the Tribulation happens. Don't put yourself in the position of having to decide whether to take the mark or to choose death. Accept Jesus right now into your heart so you don't miss the Rapture. Don't put it off. Do it now.
