Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Seven Bowls of God's Wrath
This will be mentioned in other articles as well, but I feel it is important enough to point out here as well. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath are not the day of God’s Wrath that we are saved from. They are the completion of God’s Wrath.
Revelation 15:1 (NASB)
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
In case you wish to question if these are the same seven angels who have the Bowls of Wrath…
Revelation 15:6-7 (NASB)
6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and their chests wrapped with golden sashes. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
The day of God’s Wrath, from which the bride is spared, begins in Seal 6, where it plainly says the day of wrath has begun.
As I showed in the article about the Seven Trumpets, they were an act of love. Mankind has a tendency to veer away from God when things are good and only turn to Him when in times of trouble. Knowing the end is so close, God piles on the trouble to win over even the most stubborn who will believe. Not everyone will believe however.
As terrible as things get during the Seven Trumpets, there will be many who refuse to turn to Christ. Finally there comes a time when God say’s enough is enough. He has given them all a fair chance and those who will believe have believed and those who still do not believe, never will. God will harden their hearts at this point so they will not turn to Him and then the Seven Angels will pour out His wrath on the world.
The Seven Trumpets were bad. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath are another story all together. This is no longer God trying to save His creation that He loves so much. This is where God pours His wrath on those who rejected Him at all costs. This is when the world learns it is not a good thing to make God angry.
The Bowls of God’s Wrath are simple enough to explain. So I will first give all the verses together, and then comment on them afterwards. Read them in awe of what is coming.
First Six Bowls of Wrath
Revelation 16:1-12 (NASB)
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 a harmful and painful sore afflicted 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, the One who is and who was, 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, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given power to scorch people with fire. 9 And the people 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.
10 And 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 pain and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
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.
The Seven Trumpets can be interpreted to be a great meteor storm or as I believe, a nuclear war. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath however, there is no interpretation needed. They are the work of an all powerful God pouring His wrath on the world that rejected Him.
Finally we have the seventh bowl being poured out...
Revelation 16:17-20 (NASB)
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 mankind 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 in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20 And every island fled, and no mountains were found. 21 And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, *came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague *was extremely severe.
Basically this is what it seems. God pretty much lays waste to much of the world. The worst earthquake the world has ever witnessed! Hail stones weighing a hundred pounds crashing into the earth. Every island will be wiped out. Every mountain will be flattened. The amount of people dying in this event will be tremendous!
As I read this, I can see the event of the Seventh Bowl basically giving us more detail of what will happen when Jesus comes in the Second Coming. For as the 7th Seal was the opening of the scroll and the start of the Tribulation, the 7th Bowl may be the Second coming and the End of the Tribulation. Jesus may not only come to defeat the antichrist and his armies, but he very well could lay waste to the nations. Which would fit in with scripture telling us that every eye will see Him coming in the clouds. Not just those in the valley of Armageddon but every eye! To do this, He will need to circle the globe as He descends and during that time He could make it very clear to everyone He means business!
Overall, the Seven Bowls of Wrath might last a few months or a couple years. There are different theories on that. Those who turn to Christ after the rapture will either die from persecution, or live through the seven bowls. Those who never turn to Christ will receive the worst of it by far.
After the Seven Bowls of Wrath are completed, the Lord will return in the Second Coming.
Revelation 15:1 (NASB)
1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
In case you wish to question if these are the same seven angels who have the Bowls of Wrath…
Revelation 15:6-7 (NASB)
6 and the seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, clothed in linen, clean and bright, and their chests wrapped with golden sashes. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
The day of God’s Wrath, from which the bride is spared, begins in Seal 6, where it plainly says the day of wrath has begun.
As I showed in the article about the Seven Trumpets, they were an act of love. Mankind has a tendency to veer away from God when things are good and only turn to Him when in times of trouble. Knowing the end is so close, God piles on the trouble to win over even the most stubborn who will believe. Not everyone will believe however.
As terrible as things get during the Seven Trumpets, there will be many who refuse to turn to Christ. Finally there comes a time when God say’s enough is enough. He has given them all a fair chance and those who will believe have believed and those who still do not believe, never will. God will harden their hearts at this point so they will not turn to Him and then the Seven Angels will pour out His wrath on the world.
The Seven Trumpets were bad. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath are another story all together. This is no longer God trying to save His creation that He loves so much. This is where God pours His wrath on those who rejected Him at all costs. This is when the world learns it is not a good thing to make God angry.
The Bowls of God’s Wrath are simple enough to explain. So I will first give all the verses together, and then comment on them afterwards. Read them in awe of what is coming.
First Six Bowls of Wrath
Revelation 16:1-12 (NASB)
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 a harmful and painful sore afflicted 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, the One who is and who was, 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, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
8 And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given power to scorch people with fire. 9 And the people 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.
10 And 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 pain and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds.
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.
The Seven Trumpets can be interpreted to be a great meteor storm or as I believe, a nuclear war. The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath however, there is no interpretation needed. They are the work of an all powerful God pouring His wrath on the world that rejected Him.
- Everyone who takes the Mark of the Beast will suffer from painful sores. Those who do not take it will not.
- Everything in the seas that live will die. This will destroy a great portion of the world’s food supply. The rivers and springs will become like blood.
- The sun will become scorching hot. Unlike anything we have ever experienced before. Because God has hardened their hearts so they could no longer turn to Him, they will not call upon God to save them. They will spew words of hatred against Him.
- The sores of those who took the mark of the beast will grow much worse. The pain will be excruciating to the point they gnaw on their own tongues.
- Finally the Euphrates river will dry up. This will open the way for the vast armies of the East to cross and make their way to Armageddon. I personally believe this will be China. Their army will be so great that they will not have enough aircraft or vehicles to carry them. The majority of them will march by foot and with the great river drying up, their way will be opened up.
Finally we have the seventh bowl being poured out...
Revelation 16:17-20 (NASB)
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 mankind 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 in the sight of God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20 And every island fled, and no mountains were found. 21 And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, *came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague *was extremely severe.
Basically this is what it seems. God pretty much lays waste to much of the world. The worst earthquake the world has ever witnessed! Hail stones weighing a hundred pounds crashing into the earth. Every island will be wiped out. Every mountain will be flattened. The amount of people dying in this event will be tremendous!
As I read this, I can see the event of the Seventh Bowl basically giving us more detail of what will happen when Jesus comes in the Second Coming. For as the 7th Seal was the opening of the scroll and the start of the Tribulation, the 7th Bowl may be the Second coming and the End of the Tribulation. Jesus may not only come to defeat the antichrist and his armies, but he very well could lay waste to the nations. Which would fit in with scripture telling us that every eye will see Him coming in the clouds. Not just those in the valley of Armageddon but every eye! To do this, He will need to circle the globe as He descends and during that time He could make it very clear to everyone He means business!
Overall, the Seven Bowls of Wrath might last a few months or a couple years. There are different theories on that. Those who turn to Christ after the rapture will either die from persecution, or live through the seven bowls. Those who never turn to Christ will receive the worst of it by far.
After the Seven Bowls of Wrath are completed, the Lord will return in the Second Coming.
