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The Seven Bowls of Gods Wrath & Armageddon - ReveDo you fear the imminent political escalation leading to the Battle of Armagyoull feel a little better to know thats not what this chapter is abou

Armageddon as mentioned in Revelation 16 has nothing directly to do withirst Century time. Chapter 16 shows seven angels commanded to pour o

contained in seven bowls. These bowls represent divine judgments upidolatrous people of the Roman Empire, and specifically upon those involve(which was the main source of Roman persecution against the church). Liudgments earlier in Revelation, these judgments are answers to the pray

their primary purpose is an attempt to bring the evil people of that ancienand to bring vengeance upon them in response to what theyve done to God

I. Pouring Out the Seven Bowls of Gods Wrath (16:1-21)

A.The Angels Commission (v.1)1.The voice is probably Gods, since it comes from the heavenly te

15:8) no one else is in it (at least in the sanctuary).

2.A lot of blasphemy, vain boasting, heathenism, and of course, peout of Rome.

3.Until this point in the text, God has been saying a lot about his wCh.13). He wants us to understand clearly its what this is. None

4.Its a short, terrifying statement!B.The First Bowl (vv.1-2)

1.Angels, the good ones, are wiser than humans. When God says and go. You think theres a lesson here for us? The bowls paralletrumpets were to warn, but the bowls are to recompense. The tim

over. The trumpets are partial, but the bowls are total and compleRevelation, p.235.

2.Sores on those with the mark of the beast. This reminds us of theEgypt, which, we are told in Exodus 9:11, came even upon Phara

priests/magicians.C.The Second Bowl (v.3)

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1.Compare to the 1st Plague (Exodus), and contrast with the 2nd Trumpet, which was apartial judgment. The 2nd bowl turns the sea not just into blood, but into dead mans

blood. Everything in the sea dies as a result. Do we take this literally? (SeeZephaniah 1:2-4; Jeremiah 4:23ff).

2.This is a total judgment upon the political, commercial, and social system. Didancient Romes political, commercial, and social system collapse?

D.The Third Bowl (vv.4-7)1.Just as God judged every aspect of Egypts world in the time of the Exodus, so he

judged all parts of ancient heathen Rome. He is Sovereign over all things, and thereare no gods who can resist or counter his will when he decides its time to act.

2.Rivers represent fresh drinking water.3.The judgment of rivers of blood upon Rome is just, because Romes thirst for blood

was unquenchable.4.(V.7) The altar speaks out (the same altar that has played a part in Revelation before,

see McGuiggan p.238).E.The Fourth Bowl (vv.8-9)

1.Poured out on the sun so that it sent out scorching heat. The wicked cursed Godrather than to bow in recognition of his power.

2.See 7:13-17. What we are to see are the contrasts between what the faithful receive,despite what they suffer, and what the wicked receive, because of what they cause

the faithful to suffer.F.The Fifth Bowl (v.10-11)

1.Poured out on the beasts throne, and its kingdom plunged into darkness.2.Symbolically, darkness stands for ignorance, deception, and confusion. As God

judged and broke each part of ancient Rome in succession, the leaders grew moreand more desperate and irrational. Bad leadership deepened all of Romes problems

and was a major factor in her final downfall. This was all Gods doing.G.The Sixth Bowl (vv.12-16)

1.Euphrates dried up. Euphrates represents powers coming from the east. In Israelshistory it had been the source of Assyria and later Babylon. In those cases, the

coming of armies against Gods people was represented by the Euphratesoverflowing its banks. See Isaiah 8:7-8 for instance

2.In this case it has been suggested that the drying of the river represents the removalof military might in order to make way for an army from the east.

3.Premillennialists often argue it is an army from present-day Asian countries. Theyare inconsistent.4.Its more than likely the river is dried up to make way for Gods armies to movethrough. In the Bible, only God is ever reported to have such power over the waters.

The kings of the east are on the Lords side.

5.Concerning the frogs (demonic spirits), see 1Kings 22:19-23.H.The Seventh Bowl (vv.17-21)

1.Poured out upon the airthe particular place of Satans power (E2.It will be more fully described in Ch.20, but as God judges and a

minions and tools, it only make sense that God will punish him to

II. ArmageddonA. Refers to Har-Magedon orMegiddo.B. This is where Israel won great victories against Jabin and Sisera (Ju

Pharaoh Necho (on errand for Yahweh) defeated and killed King Jo

ancient battleground. It isnt at all suited for the kind of faceoff Premlooking for, but for ancient scenarios (which are all Revelation has i

perfect.C. Consistency of interpretation requires we understand the reference t

symbolica symbol in a symbolic narrative. Armageddon represenbetween the forces of the Dragon and the Lord. It isnt a literal battl

between the fabled Antichrist and returned Jesus. Revelation has noof that fiction. However, if we understand Revelation to explain how

the power of Satan through the ancient world and gave victory and dchurch, we can know hes the same God today. In a sense, every ge

toward Megiddo in the ranks of the Dragons Hordes, or the righteoJesus Christ. We have an Armageddon to fight and win in our gener

each morning and gear up for war (Ephesians 6:10-17; 2Corinthians