The Last Seven Plagues of Wrath

THE LAST SEVEN PLAGUES OF WRATH

 

A PRELUDE TO THE BOWL JUDGMENTS

(Revelation 15:1 KJV)

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

The sign in verse 1, acts as a summary introduction to the seven angels who later, come out of the temple in verse 6.  John then saw a group of saints who were victorious over the beast, the image of the beast, the mark of the beast, and the number of the beast’s name.  It is a mixture of Old and New Testament saints because some sing the song of Moses and others the song of the Lamb, both groups praising God for his mighty works and judgments.

(Revelation 15:6-8 KJV)

And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The temple of heaven is opened and seven angels depart with the seven last plagues which are the final wrath of God.  The angels were given the vials or bowls of wrath by one of the four beasts around the throne of God.  Their golden belts or girdles indicate a special status or well as their exit from the temple of heaven.  God will unleash the bowls from the temple of heaven and no one could enter that location until the seven plagues were fulfilled.

(Revelation 16:1 KJV)

And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

A command is given to the angels, from within the temple, to pour out the wrath of God upon the earth and its inhabitants.

 

THE SEVEN BOWLS OF THE WRATH OF GOD

(Revelation 16:2 KJV)

And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

Another translation describing the sores based on the original Greek words would be, “a depraved and malicious boil”.  The word “sore” is the Septuagint word “boil” referring to the sores of one of the ten plagues of Egypt, the boils of Job (Job 2:7), and the open sores of the beggar named Lazarus in the New Testament (Luke 16:21).  These open, oozing sores only affect the people with the mark of the beast which would mean they also worshipped the image of the beast.  The sores appear to inflict great suffering, although, there is no indication that anyone died from them.

 

(Revelation 16:3 KJV)

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

The second trumpet affects 1/3 of the oceans and sea creatures.  The second bowl turns ocean waters into the blood of a dead man and every living creature in the water dies, similar to the first plague of Egypt.  If it is literal blood or not is inconsequential, it will be thick and coagulated as the blood of a corpse.  There is now no life in the oceans and seas.

 

(Revelation 16:4-7 KJV)

And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

In the third bowl, it will be assumed that fresh water meets the same fate as the oceans did previously.  They become blood, perhaps as that of a dead man, like the oceans and seas of blood.  Fresh water may be in short supply due to the possible droughts (lack of rain) from the actions of the two witnesses, who had the supernatural authority to stop rain.  Although there is no indication of death caused by this plague, it is possible that most or all animal life died from the blood waters just as sea life died in the previous plague.

Immediately after this plague, an angel declares the righteousness of God.  His existence is eternal and His judgment is true.  The earthly plague recipients are responsible for the killing of the prophets and the saints and now they are given blood to drink, which is their just reward.

 

(Revelation 16:8-9 KJV)

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The intensity of the sun is vastly increased so that it scorched the marked people with great heat.  (They were seared by the intense heat.  NIV) (to scorch men in its fiery blaze. Phillips LT)

The Satanic beast worshippers continue to curse, blaspheme God, and refuse to repent.  Some people reject redemption regardless of the circumstances.  If a person refuses to repent now, then he will not repent when God is evidently at work with miraculous signs and wonders.  This indicates that whenever people reject Christ, it is not an intellectual problem, rather, it is a hardness of heart and a love for sin.  The worst expression of God’s wrath does not bring the wicked to repent.

John MacArthur added that the intensification of the sun’s heat may melt the polar ice caps, raising the ocean levels by 200 feet thus inundating coastal cities.

 

 (Revelation 16:10-11 KJV)

And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Complete darkness encompasses the kingdom of the beast.  Does this imply that only Israel and Jerusalem were dark or the entire planet?  Since the vial was poured upon the seat of the beast, it may indicate that only a small area of the planet was in total darkness.  Some commentators state that the entire earth is the kingdom of the beast and therefore it is dark.  They gnawed their tongues for pain, perhaps from the sores and the searing heat of the previous vials. There is no indication that some element of the darkness caused pain.  They continued to blaspheme God and refuse to repent.

Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.  (Amos 5:18 KJV)

The followers of the beast may prefer the darkness because their sensitivities are dark.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  (John 3:19-20 KJV)

 

(Revelation 16:12-16 KJV)

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The sixth vial will completely dry up the 1800 miles long Euphrates river preparing the way for the eastern coalition.  There are several proffered opinions for the purpose of the kings of the east:  1. To rebel against the antichrist whose reign did not alleviate any of the world’s problems.  2.  To destroy Israel in retribution against the plagues issued by God (or her God as they might think)   3.  To aid the antichrist in his upcoming war with Christ.  (which is the most probable answer due to the events coming next.)

Out of the mouths of Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet come three unclean spirits or demons of the most vile, powerful, and deceitful type.  Unclean spirit is used in the Gospels to refer to a demon.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.  (Matthew 12:43 KJV)

Considering the three sources from which they emerged, it is probable these demons are powerful because they perform miraculous signs to accomplish their mission.  They have the appearance or character of frogs.  Persian mythology viewed frogs as plague carriers.  Frogs were considered unclean animals, not to be eaten, in the Old Testament.  Their task is to gather all the military leaders of the world and induce them to transport their troops and equipment to Israel for the coming battle of the beast against the return of Jesus Christ.

And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?   (Joel 2:11 KJV)

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon

All the military might of the beast and the kings/leaders of the world will be gathered at the place the apostle John symbolically calls, Armageddon.

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.  (Joel 3:2 KJV)

The valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in Joel 3:2 has become a general designation for the Kidron Valley, between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.  There is evidence that John’s placement of the final battle at Har-Magedon (harmagedon) has been incorrectly transliterated. Nothing about Megiddo is a mountain.  It is located on flat land in a valley.  Megiddo was an ancient city located on a plain in the southwest portion of the Valley of Jezreel or Esdraelon, the site of several significant ancient battles….David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary

The original Greek, derived from a Hebrew word and usually transliterated as Armageddon, is most likely Har Mo-ed which is usually considered the mount of assembly or Mount Zion.  Many of the Greek dictionaries simply list Har-Magedon as symbolic of the final conflict since it cannot be found in the Old Testament.

The location of the last battle is not a decisive theological conclusion, but placing it in or around Jerusalem would tie up several loose ends.  The treading down of Jerusalem by Gentiles, the escape of Judeans after the abomination of desolation, the destruction of Babylon the Great, and the last battle would all take place in the same general locale. 

 

(Revelation 16:17-21 KJV)

And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The great voice of God, from the temple of heaven, and from the throne saying, “It is done.”  Along with voices, thunders, and lightning there comes a great earthquake.  The most powerful earthquake in the history of the world, that will go completely beyond the Richter scale.

Every mountain is leveled and every island disappears, a complete topography alteration, perhaps preparing the world for the millennial kingdom.  All cities of all countries are destroyed.  The great city, which is Jerusalem, is divided into three parts and receives the fierceness of God’s wrath.

A great hail of ice (comet debris) or perhaps rocks (meteorites) fell out of the sky, each weighing about one talent which is approximately 75 pounds (some sources say 100 to 125 pounds).  Once again, the recipients of the hail continued to blaspheme God.

For an Old Testament prophetic view of Revelation 16: 17-21, it is recommended that one should read Isaiah chapter 13 and Zechariah chapter 14.

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  (Isaiah 13:9 KJV)

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.   (Zechariah 14:1-4 KJV)

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. (Zechariah 14:8-10 KJV)