Read or listen The Book of Revelation, chapter 16 online (ESV, YouVersion)

The Seven Bowls of Wrath 16:1-11

The vision of the seven bowls of God’s wrath tells of the end of this world. The vision of the seven trumpets already spoke of the last events (Revelation 8 and 9). The events described in the bowl visions apparently take place even further in time. The bowl visions describe the final climax of this world ‑ what will happen just before Christ’s return.

We do not know how symbolic the numbers and quantities in the vision are. However, it is clear that many evil plagues will befall this world before Christ arrives. Through them, God still calls humankind to Himself.

Seven angels, each in turn, empty their bowls on the earth. What John sees resembles the plagues once experienced in Egypt (Exodus 7-10). Compared to the trumpet visions, the calamities are considerably greater. It is no longer a third of the earth and the sea that will be destroyed, but a calamity will befall the whole world. It is about the very last moments of this world. God's patience is now at an end and the time of grace is coming to an end.

Verse 5 contains a mysterious reference to the angel of the waters. The book of Revelation speaks of angels who have power over the winds (Rev. 7:1) and an angel who has power over fire (Rev. 14:18). It seems that God has given his angels tasks that concern nature: they protect it, take care of it, and do what God tells them to do in nature. The angel of the waters is likely a servant of God who is given the task of caring for the waters of creation.

The angels, like those who arrived in heaven in the previous vision, accept what God is doing and thank God for it. They too realize that God’s actions are right after all, even though God’s judgment seems harsh and cruel. There is so much evil in the world that God cannot fail to execute his judgment.

Even the last plagues are God's speaking to those who do not care about Him. He calls those who do not care about Him to turn to Him. And because we humans are so hard of hearing, God has to speak in a harsh way.

It is shocking to read what people do. They do not turn to God. Instead, they mock God and ignore his call. Perhaps turning to God would require such humility that people would not agree to do so. It is much easier to blame God for disasters than to repent and admit one's own wickedness.

God is almighty. Countless passages in the Book of Revelation speak of this. The beast that fights against God and his people seems to have power, and God's people seem to be the group that loses the battle. However, this is not the case. God has the threads of this world in his hands and according to his plans, the history of the world progresses. This is what verse 10 tells us. God's servants empty one bowl onto the throne of the beast and the beast cannot stop it. The Almighty has all power, and when he sees the right time has come, the kingdom of the beast will be darkened. God is victorious and the Devil and his servants are doomed to defeat. It is only a matter of time before everyone sees this.

The Time has Come 16:12‑21

When the sixth angel pours out his bowl, the Euphrates River dries up. This is probably not a literal reference to the Euphrates River. There is a deeper message here. The Euphrates River marked the border where the Roman Empire ended and beyond which were known to be fearsome nations with their armies. The drying up of the river means the removal of a protective border.

The kings of the East, for whom the way is opened, do not refer to the rulers of Asia with their kingdoms. Rather, they refer to the evil forces that, with the removal of the barrier protecting this world, will be able to rage in the world just before Christ's return. This is also indicated by the talk of "evil spirits" in verses 13 and 14. They come out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, and are therefore those who serve the Devil and his servants.

Before the seventh and final cup is emptied, Jesus calls and warns. The time is coming when it is too late to turn around and receive "clean clothes." That is why we must watch. That is, we must take care that the last day does not surprise us. Jesus can come at any time. We must keep our clothes clean. That means living close to Jesus every day, being cleansed by his blood and listening to his voice. Then the last day will not be a bad day. Jesus has promised to take care of his own even in the greatest storm that will come when God's wrath meets the ungodly world.

The evil forces, which have already been talked about, go to war against God. Is this a war in the sense we understand it? Or does the Book of Revelation speak of the battle that the Devil wages against God? I personally think that the battle of Armageddon means precisely the latter. The devil and his servants attack God and his people. What forms this battle takes, we are not told. Instead, the most important thing is told: God wins the battle. He defeats his opponent, the devil's power falls, and God shows that he is Almighty.

Verse 19 speaks of the city of Babylon. There has been some speculation as to what city this refers to, and various options have been suggested. It is probably the same as the one discussed above. Babylon describes the kingdom of the Devil and its capital city. God promises to destroy it. And when that happens, it will be the end of this world. God has taken control and defeated his enemies once and for all. The destruction of Babylon will be described in more detail in the following chapters.

The 16th chapter of Revelation ends with a description of the end of the world, like some other chapters of Revelation. However, the book continues. In the following chapters, we will go back in time again and see what happens before the last day.