Revelation 16:1-7 Series

Revelation 16:1-7 First Three Bowls

Last week in chapter 15 we were given John's revelation of the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven, and in this tent were the seven angel's with the seven bowls of wrath, one of the four living creatures - and God Himself. This scene sets the stage for what we now are going to read in chapter 16.

The preparation and importance given to this event seems to me to be obviously something extremely significant, which it is. It is in many ways a very structured and reverent affair being that God Himself is there overseeing that this is carried out precisely as He has determined it to.

So let's now see how this scene unfolds.

Read Revelation 16:1-7

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 question would be who instructed the seven angels to go and pour out the seven bowls of wrath on the earth? It could only be the living creature or God. I would say that something of this magnitude could only be commanded by God.

This command from God will have an immediate and sever impact on these unsaved people and instantly they will feel God's wrath upon them with the first bowl being poured out on the earth.

2 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.

Though all of these bowls of wrath will affect the unsaved this bowl I think sets the stage for what's to come. This first bowl upon it's pouring out on the earth produced it says harmful and painful sores. Now the key word here to the severity of these sores is the word “harmful” that tells us that they were severe enough that they came with extremely serious health problems and possibly even produced death.

But God's plan was not for a quick death to these unsaved, God is going to put them through a series of plagues in which will cause them a long, painful and tormenting suffering.

God was not going to allow them to get away easy as in the days of Noah and the flood.

3 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.

This second bowl it says was like the blood of a corpse, in other words the blood was dead and dead blood starts to decompose just as a dead body does. It produces a stench that is overwhelming to say the least. And as the decaying process begins to happen it becomes toxic and filled with germs and diseases enough so that it killed every living thing in the sea.

A great source of food and nutrition was instantly gone.

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

The third bowl produced the same affect as the first but this time it was in the rivers and springs across the earth. Now not only another food source was removed but as well the water they needed to drink for survival. The pain involved with dehydration over time is unimaginable.

Some of the side affects of not having water are severe headaches, stomach pain, your body and bowls start to shutdown, joint pain, and severe fatigue.

Now this kind of sounds like my daily life, but I can assure you that each of these symptoms are magnified dozens of times over.

5 -7 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. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink.

It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”

This is interesting because it is almost like those in heaven are consoling God that He was right to do this or maybe just agreeing.

God is a just God, and what that means is that the wrath that He is subjecting these unbelievers to is a deserving wrath. Now I will also say that God being a righteous and holy God, is what is required in order to have the right to apply this sort of punishment and judgment.