These vial judgments seem to come in rapid succession, leading up to the Battle of
Armageddon. Little detail is given, but they are supernatural judgments that seem to affect the
whole earth.
The First Vial – Damaging Sores
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven
bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” 2The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land,
and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped
his image.‖ – Revelation 16:1-2
The first vial will cause ugly and painful sores. If mankind has the ability to develop
biological warfare, just imagine what the Creator could do in this area. The result is painful, but
evidently not deadly. Actually, all of these plagues cause torment rather than death.
The Second Vial – Deadly Seas
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man,
and every living thing in the sea died. – Revelation 16:3
This is reminiscent of the plague of Exodus 7 in Moses’ times, when the Nile River, and
all the water in Egypt, was turned to blood. In this case, it will affect “the sea,” meaning at least
the Mediterranean, and perhaps all of the oceans of the earth.
The Third Vial – Rivers and Spring Become Blood
The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
5Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments,
you who are and who were, the Holy One,
because you have so judged;
6
for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.” – Revelation 16:4-7
This judgment is a continuation of the last one, spreading the horror of bloody water from
the seas to all sources of water. As repugnant as this plague is, it is just because rebellious
mankind has shed the blood of the saints and the prophets.
The Fourth Vial – Dangerous Sunlight
The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people
with fire. 9They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had
control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. – Revelation 16:8-9
Many natural causes could account for this scorching by the Sun. Violent eruptions of the
Sun itself, a slight change of orbit, or even depletion of the ozone layer around the earth, could
cause this. See the discussion of Coronal Mass Eruptions in the previous chapter.
It is very significant that, even with these stern reminders of the power and anger of God,
rebellious people still refuse to repent.
The Fifth Vial – Dark Seizure
The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into
darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony 11and cursed the God of heaven because of their
pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. – Revelation 16:10-11
Coming on the heels of terrible burns from the Sun, there will be complete darkness and
the cold that comes from this lack of light. Chills are common among those who have suffered
burns, and this will make their situation worse yet. However, instead of repenting, mankind will
curse God.
The Sixth Vial – Drying of the Strait
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to
prepare the way for the kings from the East. – Revelation 16:12
These events will lead up to the great confrontation with Christ: The Battle of
Armageddon. The drying of the Euphrates River by angelic agencies will make it easier for far
eastern troops to enter the Middle East to prepare for the battle.
There are many dams on the Euphrates. Turkey completed construction of the Ataturk
Dam on the Euphrates in 1990. It is one of the world’s largest earth-and-rock fill dams. Whether
the angel will make use of these dams or do something completely supernatural, the purpose will
be to allow troop movement toward Israel.
Demonic Spirits
Then I saw three evilspirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out
of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14They are spirits of demons
performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for
the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
15″Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so
that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
16Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. –
Revelation 16:13-16
The invitation to this battle is not by conventional political alliances, but by a demonic
seduction.
The Seventh Vial – Destructive Scourge
The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud
voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18Then there came flashes of lightning,
rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever
occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19The great city split
into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the
Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20Every Island
fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21From the sky huge hailstones of about
a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of
hail, because the plague was so terrible. – Revelation 16:17-21
This judgment is identical to the Great Earthquake, which will be described below.
