We will cover chapters 15 and 16 together as one leads directly into the other.
As 15 begins, John sees the final group of seven angels, carrying the final last plagues, which will complete God’s wrath. We are back in the throne room of God as referenced by the sea of glass (Rev. 4:6) mentioned in verse 2.
Standing there are all those precious souls, who despite all the evil of satan and the anti-christ, have gained victory in Christ and stand triumphant “over the beast and its image and over the number of its name.”
They are playing harps, given to them by God, and singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb declaring the mighty works of God, His unique holiness and the fact that all nations will soon come and worship Him.
Then John sees the seven angels coming out of the “holy of holies” of heaven, if you will, the temple of the tabernacle of testimony. They are dressed in pure robes with golden sashes around their chests, similar to the apparel of the high priests as they went to the holy of holies to enquire of the Lord.
Then one of the four creatures around the throne gives the angel the seven bowls of wrath, filled with God’s judgment. The sanctuary is filled with smoke from the Glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter until the seven plagues were finished.
Chapter 16
As chapter 16 begins, the preparations are over and it is time for judgement to begin. There are parts of these judgments that are reminiscent of the plagues of Egypt, however one big difference is, while those plagues happened consecutively – one ended before the other began, these plagues happen cumulatively – they build one upon another.
God gives the order and the first angel pours out the first bowl of wrath.
Harmful and painful sores come upon all those who bear the mark of the beast.
With the second bowl, the seas become like blood and everything that lives in them dies.
The third bowl deals a similar fate to the rivers and springs of water.
The “angel of the waters” then proclaims how right and true these judgments are. For any who do not understand, he spells out why they are happening and why they are justly deserved. “For they (those who have rejected Christ) have shed the blood of saints and prophets.”
Then the fourth angel pours his bowl out on the sun, allowing it to scorch people with fire. The central body of our universe, which for centuries has given us warmth, and light and comfort will transform into a fearsome, deadly killing machine.
While the people know this plague comes from God, they choose to blaspheme him rather than repent.
The fifth angel then comes and pours his bowl on the throne of the beast, plunging his whole kingdom into darkness.
So now, just to recap what’s happened so far – the people have been plagued with horribly painful sores, their water supply has been turned to blood, the sun has pretty much been turned into a flame thrower and on top of all that, they are left to stumble around in the dark as they try to find comfort from the first several plagues.
12-16
Then the sixth angel pours out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, one of the twin rivers surrounding what once was the Garden of Eden and is mentioned several times in the Bible (Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; Joshua 1:4) as the eastern boundary of the Promised Land.
This plague dries up the great river “to prepare the way for the kings from the East.”
Why are these kings coming? Obviously, it is a foreshadowing of the great meeting of the nations for the battle of Armegeddon.
We see more of these preparations in verses 13-16 as the demonic ‘frog-like” spirits come from the mouths of satan, the anti-christ and the false prophet. They perform signs and wonders and it seems it is their job to make sure all the kings of the world are in their proper place for the battle.
17-21
As the seventh angel pours his bowl into the air, we again hear the voice of God, this time declaring, “It is done!” And as He does, all chaos breaks loose. Flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, a great earthquake such that man has never known, and that is just the beginning of the catastrophic events about to take place.
This earthquake will forever change the landscape of the earth, and it’s all in preparation for the events that will rapidly take place – the Battle of Armageddon, the coming of Christ and the induction of His new kingdom.
First the great city, whom most scholars believe is Jerusalem, will be split into three parts. Then every city in every nation will be destroyed, and woe to that wicked city of Babylon, for God will not forget to punish it with the full force of his wrath.
Listen to how one version explains it, ” He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger.” I don’t know about you, but I want no part of that cup.
It further describes the utter and complete devastation to the earth’s topography. He says every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
If that weren’t enough, huge hailstones, around 100 lbs. each, are falling on people. Yet even then, there is no hint of repentance only more blasphemy toward God.
Final Thoughts
These events just get more and more exciting as we go on. It is truly an awesome, humbling thing to see the fury of the wrath of God. I say that because, while terrifying and condemning for those who remain at odds with Him at this time, it also displays the completeness of his holiness.
It is never his hatred of his creation, but his hatred of sin that demands these judgments take place. It should be a wake up call to all of us. Though we who are saved will never face this final fury, our sin is no less putrid to God’s sensibilities. That little white lie, that slanderous whisper about a friend, no matter how small we think the sin – to a holy God it all wreaks of our selfish sinful flesh.
All the more reason to keep our eyes focused on Him, to seek His wisdom, His guidance, His holiness.