Time has run out! John now sees angels pouring out “seven bowls” (or vials) representing God’s judgments upon the earth. The plagues unleashed on the earth once again illustrate the ultimate overthrowing of the beast and the destruction of all that represents his evil, symbolized by the image of Babylon.
Notice the similarities between the “bowl plagues,” and the disasters Moses called down on the Egyptians (Exod 7-11).
(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 16
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling 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 harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.
3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!”
Rev 16:1
“Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth:
John’s vision reverses the directions given in Leviticus. Instead of the blood of the sacrifice being sprinkled seven times toward the veil, the contents of the “bowls” are poured out on the earth.
Lev 4:13 “ ‘If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, when they realize their guilt 14 and the sin they committed becomes known, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the tent of meeting… 18 He is to put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is before the LORD in the tent of meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting.
In Leviticus, the High Priest ascends the altar with the blood of reconciliation. John now sees seven angels descend with God’s Wrath to fulfill the curses of the Covenant (Deu. 28:15-68).
The author of the Book of Hebrews gave this warning:
Heb 10:26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Rev 16:2
The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image:
This is a reflection of the plague of boils called down on Egypt (Ex. 9:8-11, and Deu 28:15-28). Boils and skin infections are caused by harmful bacteria entering the body and if left untreated, the infection can spread. In a spiritual sense, this is a perfect picture of unrepentant sin.
Eph 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Col 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Rev 16:3-4
The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died.
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood:
In and of itself, water does not decompose and putrefy, but blood will. Compare what John is seeing to the following verses:
Exod 7:20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood.
Rev 11:6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
Rev 8:11 …the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
In each of the following verses, water symbolizes purity, refreshment, and life:
Eph 5:26 … to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
John 4:13-14 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Heb 10:22 …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Rev 21:6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In contrast, the blood that the ancient priests sprinkled on the altar and the blood Jesus shed on the cross signifies the price paid for sin and corruption. Pure water signifies life while spilled blood represents death:
Lev 7:26-27 And wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. 27 Anyone who eats blood must be cut off from their people.’ ”
Lev 15:19 “ ‘When a woman has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean till evening.
Num 5:2 Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body.
Even from a modern medical vantage point, contact with blood could be hazardous. What John is seeing illustrates the corrupting effect sin has in contrast to the purity the Gospel offers.
Rev 16:6
for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve:
Consider the following verses in relation to verse 6:
Exod 32:20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
Isa 49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
We reap the consequences of our poor choices and rebellious behavior, in essence, becoming drunk on our own corruption. As we’ve seen, prophecy addresses the eternal things of the Spirit and also closely parallels actual historical events. Israel had been warned for centuries about the cost of forsaking their covenant with God (Deu 32). Now, John is seeing in vivid imagery the ultimate penalty that Israel, Rome, and the whole world pay for rejecting God.
*All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
