The story so far …
In Revelation 15 John sees another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels holding the seven last plagues, which will complete the wrath of God. Before anything is poured out, He sees those who overcame the beast standing beside a sea of glass mingled with fire, harps in hand, singing the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb. They praise God as just and true, and they declare that all nations will come and worship Him.
Notice the song: it is the song sung on the far shore of the Red Sea, after Pharaoh’s army was swept away. John is about to show a second Exodus, with plagues falling on a new oppressor and deliverance for God’s people.
Then the temple in heaven opens. The seven angels emerge in pure bright linen with golden sashes, and one of the four living creatures hands each of them a golden bowl full of God’s wrath. Smoke from God’s glory fills the temple, and no one can enter until the seven plagues are finished.
Revelation 16: The Bowls Are Poured Out
From the silent, smoke-filled temple, a great voice rings out to the seven angels: “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
The First Bowl: Sores
Egypt’s parallel: boils on man and beast (Exodus 9:8-12)
The first angel pours his bowl on the earth. Foul and painful sores break out on everyone who bears the mark of the beast and worships his image. In Egypt, the boils struck even the magicians so that they could not stand before Moses. Here, the mark they wore as a badge of belonging has become the mark of their judgment.
The Second Bowl: The Sea of Blood
Egypt’s parallel: the Nile turned to blood (Exodus 7:17-21)
The second angel pours his bowl into the sea, and the water turns to blood like that of a dead man. Every living creature in the sea dies. In Egypt the Nile became blood and the fish died; now the judgment spreads from one river to the whole sea, and the death is total.
The Third Bowl: Rivers and Springs
Egypt’s parallel: the waters turned to blood (Exodus 7:19-20)
The third angel pours his bowl on the rivers and springs, and they too become blood. The angel of the waters declares: “You are just, O Holy One. Because they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, You have given them blood to drink.” From the altar comes a second voice: “True and just are Your judgments.” Pharaoh drowned Hebrew infants in the Nile, and the Nile ran red. Here the punishment again fits the crime.
The Fourth Bowl: Scorching Heat
Egypt’s parallel: no direct match, though Egypt’s plagues also struck the heavens (Exodus 9:22-25; 10:21-23)
The fourth angel pours his bowl on the sun, and it scorches people with fire. They are burned by the fierce heat, yet they curse the name of God, who has authority over these plagues, and refuse to repent. Like Pharaoh, whose heart hardened with each plague, they will not yield.
Prophetic Echo: Malachi 4:1 and Isaiah 24:6
The prophets also spoke of a scorching day. Malachi saw a day “burning like an oven” that leaves the arrogant and the evildoers like stubble, while the sun of righteousness rises with healing for those who fear God. Isaiah saw the earth cursed for breaking God’s everlasting covenant, its inhabitants “scorched” and few left. In the fourth bowl, the sun itself becomes the instrument of that day.
The Fifth Bowl: Darkness
Egypt’s parallel: the plague of darkness (Exodus 10:21-23)
The fifth angel pours his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom is plunged into darkness. In Egypt it was a darkness that could be felt, lasting three days, while Israel had light in their dwellings. In agony, people gnaw their tongues. They curse the God of heaven for their pain and sores, but still will not repent.
The Sixth Bowl: The Road to Armageddon
Egypt’s parallel: the frogs (Exodus 8:1-15), and the drying of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22)
The sixth angel pours his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water dries up, preparing the way for the kings from the east. Just as God dried up the sea to open a path for His people, here the river dries up to open a path for the armies. Three unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. In Egypt, frogs swarmed from the river; here they are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them for the battle of the great day of God Almighty.
Prophetic Echo: Ezekiel 38, Gog and Magog
Centuries before John, Ezekiel saw a similar gathering. Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in the land of Magog, rallies a vast coalition: Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth-togarmah. In the latter years they sweep down from the far north like a storm against a people regathered from many nations to the land of Israel, living in unguarded, unwalled security. God says He Himself draws them in, “with hooks in your jaws,” so that He may display His holiness before the nations.
God’s response is fierce. His anger rises. A great earthquake shakes Israel; mountains are thrown down; every man’s sword turns against his brother. God sends plague, bloodshed, torrential rain, great hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur. Ezekiel 39 adds that the dead cover the mountains of Israel, birds and beasts feast on them, and it takes seven months to bury the bodies. Compare Revelation 19:17-18, where birds are summoned to a similar feast.
The parallels with the sixth and seventh bowls are striking: a worldwide coalition, a gathering against Israel, earthquake, hail, and a call to know that He is the Lord.
Then, in the middle of the gathering storm, Christ interrupts with a warning: “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
And the armies are assembled at the place called Armageddon. Revelation 16:16 itself gives the Hebrew as “Har-Magedon,” which is where the English “Armageddon” comes from. “Har Megiddo” is the modern Hebrew spelling of the same name, a historic battlefield at Megiddo (Judges 5:19; 2 Kings 23:29)
The Seventh Bowl: “It Is Done!”
Egypt’s parallel: the plague of hail (Exodus 9:22-26)
The seventh angel pours his bowl into the air, and a loud voice comes from the throne in the temple: “It is done!”
Lightning flashes, thunder rolls, and the voices crash across the sky. Then comes an earthquake greater than any since man has been on the earth. The great city splits into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapse. God remembers Babylon the great and gives her the cup of the fury of His wrath. Every island flees and no mountain can be found.
Prophetic Echo: Zechariah 14:4, The Mount of Olives Splits
Zechariah saw the same day from the ground. The nations gather against Jerusalem, and the city is taken and plundered. Then the Lord goes out to fight against those nations, and “on that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.” The mountain splits in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain shifting north and half south. The people flee through this valley, and the Lord comes with all His holy ones (14:5).
The earth is physically reshaped, as Revelation 16:20 describes with its vanished islands and mountains. The topography of Jerusalem is remade for the arrival of the King, whom Revelation 19 shows returning from heaven.
Last, enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fall from heaven on the people. In Egypt the hail was fire mixed with ice, the worst storm Egypt had ever seen; here it is far greater, and still they curse God for the plague of the hail, because the plague is so severe.
In Conclusion: The bowls of Revelation 16 show us that God is just and in control, and that His patience, though real, will eventually come to an end. So we should worship Him now, without waiting for our circumstances to improve. We can also let go of our wounds and leave every wrong in the hands of the One who sees everything and judges fairly. Finally, the chapter warns us that small acts of stubbornness can slowly harden our hearts until we refuse to turn back to God, even when we are in pain. Christ’s word in the middle of the chapter, “Behold, I come like a thief,” is the call to live awake and ready: keeping short accounts with God and others, refusing to pledge quiet allegiance to anything but Him, and praying for those who still need Christ. Because “It is done” means the story ends in His hands, we can face the future with peace instead of fear.
Read the passage and cross-references prayerfully a few times over and then answer the questions: Revelation 16
First Bowl: Sores (16:1-2)
1. How is heaven staged before the word ‘Then’ in verse 1? Who is struck by the sores, and where are we tempted to find belonging in something other than Christ?
Second Bowl: The Sea of Blood (16:3)
2. What happens to the sea, and what does the move from Egypt’s Nile to a whole sea teach about God’s judgment growing from warning to finality?
Third Bowl: Rivers and Springs (16:4-7)
3. Why does the angel say the waters become blood, and how does knowing God sees injustice help us release revenge?
Fourth Bowl: Scorching Heat (16:8-9)
4. How do the people respond to the scorching sun, and why does suffering draw some toward God and push others away?
Fifth Bowl: Darkness (16:10-11)
5. What happens to the beast’s kingdom, and what promises of the world do we need to see through before they leave us empty?
Sixth Bowl: The Road to Armageddon (16:12-16)
6. Why does the Euphrates dry up, what about the frogs and what does staying awake and clothed look like in your daily life? Watch Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvaBrTJ8dz8
Seventh Bowl: “It Is Done!” (16:17-21)
7. What follows the words “It is done!”, and how does knowing the story ends in God’s hands change the way you face the future?
Application:
“As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Ezekiel 33:11
In Revelation 16 people suffer the bowls and still refuse to repent (16:9, 11, 21). The refusal to repent is the people’s choice, not God’s delight. Who is God to you in light of what we have learnt thus far and what He says in Eze 33:11– is He vengeful or is He merciful?
