Revelation 16: The Bowls of Wrath
Seven angels pour out the final bowls of God's wrath, yet the hardened refuse to repent as the great day approaches.
Revelation 16 (WEB)
1 I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!”
2 The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and evil sore on 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 as of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
4 The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
5 I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, you Holy One, because you have judged these things.
6 For they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”
7 I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”
8 The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire.
9 People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn’t repent and give him glory.
10 The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain,
11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They didn’t repent of their works.
12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise.
13 I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, something like frogs;
14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.
15 “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.”
16 He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, Megiddo.
17 The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
18 There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men on the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
19 The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague is exceedingly severe.
Revelation 16 (KJV)
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Revelation 16 (ASV)
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image.
3 And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.
4 And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou, who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge:
6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy.
7 And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.
10 And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works.
12 And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising.
13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs:
14 for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
15 (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.)
16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done:
18 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.
Summary
A loud voice from the temple sends the seven angels to pour out the bowls of God's wrath upon the earth. The first brings painful sores on those marked by the beast; the second and third turn sea and rivers to blood, prompting the angel of the waters to declare God just in giving blood to those who shed the saints' blood; the altar agrees that his judgments are true and righteous. The fourth scorches people with fire, yet they blaspheme God and refuse to repent. The fifth plunges the beast's kingdom into darkness, and again they curse God rather than turn. The sixth dries up the Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east, while unclean spirits like frogs from the dragon, beast, and false prophet gather the kings of the world for battle at the place called Armageddon; a sudden blessing reminds the watchful to stay ready, for Christ comes like a thief. The seventh bowl is poured into the air, and a great voice from the throne cries, It is done. A cataclysmic earthquake splits the great city, Babylon receives the cup of God's fury, islands and mountains vanish, and enormous hailstones fall, yet still people blaspheme God. The judgments reach their climax, and the hardness of the unrepentant is laid bare.
Key Figures
- The seven angels — The angels who pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath upon the earth, sea, rivers, sun, the beast's throne, the Euphrates, and the air.
- The unrepentant — Those bearing the beast's mark who suffer the plagues yet blaspheme God and refuse to repent of their deeds.
- God on the throne — The righteous Judge from whose temple and throne the command goes out and the final cry, It is done, is heard.
Key Verse
Revelation 16:7 (WEB)
Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.
Lessons Learned
- God's final judgments are complete, just, and fully deserved.
- Heaven affirms again and again that God's judgments are true and righteous.
- Even under the severest judgment, hardened hearts may still refuse to repent.
- Christ will come unexpectedly, so his people are called to watchfulness.
- God's judgments are just. “True and righteous are your judgments” (Revelation 16:7, WEB). Heaven repeatedly vindicates the rightness of God's wrath.
- Judgment fits the crime. Because they shed the saints' blood, “you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this” (Revelation 16:6, WEB). God's justice is measured and fitting.
- Suffering does not guarantee repentance. Scorched by fire, “they didn’t repent and give him glory” (Revelation 16:9, WEB). Pain alone cannot soften a hardened heart.
- Stay ready for Christ's coming. “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches” (Revelation 16:15, WEB). Vigilance marks those who belong to him.
- How do the repeated declarations that God's judgments are true and righteous shape how we read this chapter?
- What does it reveal about the human heart that people blaspheme rather than repent under judgment?
- Why does the unexpected blessing on watchfulness appear in the middle of the bowl judgments?
- What is the significance of the loud voice from the throne crying, It is done?
- How does the call to stay watchful and ready for Christ's coming speak to your daily life?
- Twice the chapter pauses to affirm that God's judgments are true and righteous (16:5-7). Help the group hold the severity of the bowls together with the assurance that God acts justly, never arbitrarily, in answering the saints' blood.
- Three times people blaspheme God and refuse to repent even as they suffer (16:9, 11, 21). Discuss how sin can so harden a heart that judgment provokes defiance rather than turning, underscoring our need for God's grace to soften us.
- Amid the outpouring of wrath, Christ inserts a beatitude for the watchful (16:15). The sudden blessing reminds God's people that even in the darkest hour they are to stay alert and faithful, ready for their Lord's return.
- The cry It is done signals that God's wrath has reached its completion (16:17). The phrase echoes finality and points ahead to the new creation, where another voice will say It is done over salvation accomplished.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to consider what it means to live ready for Christ, keeping their garments unstained. As leader, frame watchfulness not as anxious fear but as faithful, hopeful expectancy of his coming.