“Eschatology”

(Part 22: The Seven Bowls)

III. The Book of Revelation.

P. The Seven Bowls. “16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the
seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.’
2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and it became a
loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had the mark of the beast and
who worshiped his image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and
it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died. 4
Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters;
and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, ‘Righteous
are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6
for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them
blood to drink. They deserve it.’ 7 And I heard the altar saying, ‘Yes, O Lord God,
the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’ 8 The fourth angel poured
out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. 9 Men
were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the
power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.”
1. The focus of these judgments is the land of Israel.
a. “Go and pour out on the earth [i.e., land] the seven bowls of the wrath of God”
(v. 1).
b. The Lord is judging His apostate Old Covenant people who have aligned
themselves with the beast: “So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on
the earth; and it became a loathsome and malignant sore on the people who had
the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image” (v. 2).
c. Again, the prayers of the saints for retribution are being answered (Rev. 6:9-10).

2. The bowls closely parallel the trumpets and bring an increase of judgment:
a. First judgment.
(i) T: Plague on the land – hail and fire mixed with blood, third of earth, trees
and all the grass destroyed (8:7).
(ii) B: Plague on the land – malignant sore on beast worshipers (16:2).

b. Second judgment.
(i) T: Burning mountain cast into sea, sea becomes blood, third of creatures die
and third of ships destroyed (8:8-9).
(ii) B: Sea becomes blood, every living thing dies (16:3).

c. Third judgment.
(i) T: Wormwood – third of rivers and springs become bitter (8:10-11).
(ii) B: Rivers and springs of water become blood (16:4-7).
(iii) God’s justice: they had shed the blood of the saints, and so the Lord gives
them blood to drink (Gen 9:6).
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(iv) Again, a reference to the Lord charging the guilt of the killing His saints and
prophets against Jerusalem (Matt. 23:35).

d. Fourth judgment.
(i) T: Plague on the heavens – third of sun, moon and stars darkened (8:12-13).
(ii) B: Plague on the heavens – sun becomes hot and scorches men (16:8-9).
(iii) Again, the first four plagues are reminiscent of the plagues on Egypt.
Jerusalem has become like Egypt and so receives her plagues.

e. Fifth judgment.
(i) T: Bottomless pit opened, darkness, locusts, torment men for five months
(i.e., armies of Rome lay siege to Jerusalem; 9:1-11).
(ii) B: The throne of the beast is judged; kingdom of beast becomes darkened,
men afflicted, blaspheme God for their pain (16:10-11).

f. Sixth judgment.
(i) T: Four angels released at Euphrates, armies march forth (Roman
reinforcements) kill a third of men (9:13-21).
(ii) B: Euphrates dried up to make way for kings of the east (16:12).

g. Seventh judgment.
(i) T: The mystery of God is finished; Temple about to be destroyed, end of
national Israel near (10:7).
(ii) B: Earthquake, city split in thirds, hailstones (16:17-21).

3. The last three bowls.

a. The fifth plague on throne of beast and his kingdom. “10 Then the fifth angel
poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became
darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, 11 and they
blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and
they did not repent of their deeds.”
(i) There are three possibilities:
(a) The throne of the beast could refer to the authority of the land beast, which
would direct this against Jerusalem.
(b) It could refer to the first beast’s rule in Jerusalem through the second beast
or false prophet, in which case it would be on Jerusalem.
(c) Or it could refer to the throne or kingdom of the first beast himself, which
would then point to the Roman Civil Wars.

(ii) It’s very likely that this has to do with Jerusalem.

(a) The theme of the book is God’s judgment against Jerusalem.
(b) The beast (either Nero or Rome) is not the recipient of any of the seal or
trumpet judgments.
(c) The seven bowls are said to be poured out on the land, “Then I heard a
loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out on
the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God’” (v. 1).
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(d) Further, they are poured out on those “who had the mark of the beast and
who worshiped his image” (16:2).

b. The sixth plague: “12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river,
the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be
prepared for the kings from the east.”
(i) The sixth bowl has to do with the releasing of the Roman legions stationed at
the Euphrates, the eastern most border of the land of Israel, to attack
Jerusalem.
(ii) In this case, the Lord doesn’t drown the armies coming against Israel, as He
did in the case of Pharaoh’s army, but dries up the River to allow them to
destroy Israel.
(a) Josephus tells us that the Roman armies, stationed at the Euphrates, were
summoned to Titus to finish the war with the Jews: “Thus did John hope to
be too hard for his enemies by these engines constructed by his impiety; but
God himself demonstrated that his pains would prove of no use to him by
bringing the Romans upon him before he had reared any of his towers; for
Titus, when he had gotten together part of his forces about him, and had
ordered the rest to meet him at Jerusalem, marched out of Cesarea. He had
with him those three legions that had accompanied his father when he laid
Judea waste, together with that twelfth legion which had been formerly
beaten with Cestius; which legion, as it was otherwise remarkable for its
valor, so did it march on now with greater alacrity to avenge themselves on
the Jews, as remembering what they had formerly suffered from them. Of
these legions he ordered the fifth to meet him, by going through Emmaus,
and the tenth to go up by Jericho; he also moved himself, together with the
rest; besides whom marched those auxiliaries that came from the kings,
being now more in number than before, together with a considerable
number that came to his assistance from Syria. Those also that had been
selected out of these four legions, and sent with Mucianus to Italy had their
places filled up out of these soldiers that came out of Egypt with Titus, who
were two thousand men, chosen out of the armies at Alexandria. There
followed him also three thousand drawn from those that guarded the river
Euphrates; as also there came Tiberius Alexander, who was a friend of his,
most valuable, both for his good will to him and for his prudence” (Wars,
5.1.6).
(b) They were supplemented by kings from the east: “But as to Titus, he
sailed over from Achaia to Alexandria, and that sooner than the winter
season did usually permit; so he took with him those forces he was sent for,
and marching with great expedition, he came suddenly to Ptolemais, and
there finding his father, together with the two legions, the fifth and tenth,
which were the most eminent legions of all, he joined them to that fifteenth
legion which was with his father: eighteen cohorts followed these legions;
there came also five cohorts from Cesarea, with one troop of horsemen, and
five other troops of horsemen from Syria. Now these ten cohorts had
severally a thousand footmen, but the other thirteen cohorts had no more
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than six hundred footmen apiece, with a hundred and twenty horsemen.
There were also a considerable number of auxiliaries got together, that came
from the kings Antiochus, and Agrippa, and Sohemus, each of them
contributing one thousand footmen that were archers, and a thousand
horsemen. Malchus also, the king of Arabia, sent a thousand horsemen,
besides five thousand footmen, the greatest part of whom were archers; so
that the whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well
horsemen as footmen, when all were united together, amounted to sixty
thousand, besides the servants, who, as they followed in vast numbers, so
because they had been trained up in war with the rest, ought not to be
distinguished from the fighting men; for as they were in their masters’
service in times of peace; so did they undergo the like dangers with them in
times of war, insomuch that they were inferior to none, either in skill or in
strength, only they were subject to their masters” (Wars, 3.4.2).

(iii) They gather together to Armageddon. “13 And I saw coming out of the
mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth
of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of
demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to
gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15
(‘Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and
keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see
his shame.’) 16 And they gathered them together to the place which in
Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.”
(a) The three frogs.
(1) The reference to frogs is likely drawn from God’s judgment on Egypt (Ex.
8:2-4).
(2) Their going out to gather the kings of the earth “for the war of the great
day of God,” likely refers to the kings Rome has enlisted in their battle
against the Jews.

(b) There is a parenthesis that reminds John’s readers that the day of this battle is
coming when they don’t expect it, so they are to read and hear and be on the
alert at all times (v. 15). Like the five wise virgins, they are to be ready when
the Lord Jesus comes in judgment. Those not ready would face God’s
judgment, and there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(c) The armies are gathered together to Har-Magedon: the mountain of Megiddo.
(1) Megiddo was a Canaanite city, built on a hill (ISBE, “Armageddon”).
(2) It was a place of great victory and great defeat, “Megiddo place of troops,
originally one of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Jos 12:21) belonged to
the tribe of Manasseh (Jud 1:27) but does not seem to have been fully
occupied by the Israelites till the time of Solomon (1Ki 4:12 9:15). The
valley or plain of Megiddo was part of the plain of Esdraelon, the great
battle-field of Palestine. It was here Barak gained a notable victory over
Jabin, the king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, led on the hostile army.
Barak rallied the warriors of the northern tribes, and under the
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encouragement of Deborah (q.v.), the prophetess, attacked the Canaanites in

the great plain. The army of Sisera was thrown into complete confusion,
and was engulfed in the waters of the Kishon, which had risen and
overflowed its banks (Jud 4:5). Many years after this (B.C. 610)
Pharaohnecho II, on his march against the king of Assyria, passed through
the plains of Philistia and Sharon; and King Josiah, attempting to bar his
progress in the plain of Megiddo, was defeated by the Egyptians. He was
wounded in battle, and died as they bore him away in his chariot towards
Jerusalem (2Ki 23:29 2Ch 35:22-24) and all Israel mourned for him. So
general and bitter was this mourning that it became a proverb, to which
Zechariah (Zec 12:11,12) alludes” (Easton’s).
(3) This image is used to evoke the great judgment that is waiting for
Jerusalem.

c. The seventh plague: “17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the
air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’
18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and
there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be
upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 The great city
was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great
was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And huge
hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men;
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague
was extremely severe.”
(i) The seventh bowl brings an earthquake that splits the city into three parts.
(a) With the siege of Jerusalem underway, the city divides into three warring
factions (16:19).
(b) “When therefore Titus had marched over that desert which lies between
Egypt and Syria, in the manner forementioned, he came to Cesarea, having
resolved to set his forces in order at that place, before he began the war. Nay,
indeed, while he was assisting his father at Alexandria, in settling that
government which had been newly conferred upon them by God, it so
happened that the sedition at Jerusalem was revived, and parted into three
factions, and that one faction fought against the other; which partition in such
evil cases may be said to be a good thing, and the effect of divine justice. Now
as to the attack the zealots made upon the people, and which I esteem the
beginning of the city’s destruction, it hath been already explained after an
accurate manner; as also whence it arose, and to how great a mischief it was
increased; but for the present sedition, one should not mistake if he called it a
sedition begotten by another sedition, and to be like a wild beast grown mad,
which for want of food from abroad, fell now upon eating its own flesh (Wars,
5.1.1).
(c) “And now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one parted
from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred firstfruits, came
against John in their cups. Those that were with John plundered the populace,
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and went out with zeal against Simon. This Simon had his supply of provisions
from the city, in oppositions to the seditious” (5.1.4).

(ii) The seventh bowl also brings 100 pound (one talent) hailstones (v. 21).
(a) Revelation reveals God’s covenant lawsuit against Israel for her adultery.
Adultery, in God’s law, was punishable by stoning, “If there is a girl who is a
virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with
her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall
stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the
man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the
evil from among you” (Deu. 22:23-24). Here the Lord is stoning Jerusalem for
her spiritual adultery.
(b) Josephus tells us the weight of the stones used by the Romans in their
catapults was one talent: “Now those that were at work covered themselves
with hurdles spread over their banks, and their engines were opposed to them
when they made their excursions. The engines, that all the legions had ready
prepared for them, were admirably contrived; but still more extraordinary ones
belonged to the tenth legion: those that threw darts and those that threw
stones, were more forcible and larger than the rest, by which they not only
repelled the excursions of the Jews, but drove those away that were upon the
walls also. Now, the stones that were cast were of the weight of a talent, and
were carried two furlongs and farther. The blow they gave was no way to be
sustained, not only by those that stood first in the way, but by those that were
beyond them for a great space. As for the Jews, they at first watched the
coming of the stone, for it was of a white color, and could therefore not only be
perceived by the great noise it made, but could be seen also before it came by
its brightness; accordingly the watchmen that sat upon the towers gave them
notice when the engine was let go, and the stone came from it, and cried out
aloud in their own country language, “THE SON COMETH:” so those that
were in its way stood off, and threw themselves down upon the ground; by
which means, and by their thus guarding themselves, the stone fell down and
did them no harm. But the Romans contrived how to prevent that by blacking
the stone, who then could aim at them with success, when the stone was not
discerned beforehand, as it had been till then; and so they destroyed many of
them at one blow. Yet did not the Jews, under all this distress, permit the
Romans to raise their banks in quiet; but they shrewdly and boldly exerted
themselves, and repelled them both by night and by day” (5.6.3).