In our previous episode, we examined the first five bowl judgments of Revelation 16. If you missed that episode, you may find it at heraldsofhope.org/programs. Additional teaching episodes from the Book of Revelation are available there.

Even if you tuned in to that previous episode, I’ll go over the first five torments to refresh our collective memory. The bowl judgments were: painful boils, the sea turned into coagulated blood, the fresh waters affected similarly, scorching heat from the sun, and darkness so thick it could be felt. Despite these combined torments that caused the sufferers to gnaw their tongues in pain, they refused to repent and blasphemed the God of heaven.

Let’s turn now to the text, Revelation 16:12-21.

¹² Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 

¹³ And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 

¹⁴ For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to 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 am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

¹⁶ And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

¹⁷ Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 

¹⁸ And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 

¹⁹ Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 

²⁰ Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 

²¹ And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

As we examine each of these two final judgments, we should note several things: God’s use of created things for His sovereign purposes, the hard-heartedness of wicked men, and the finality of the righteous judgment of God.

The Sixth Bowl

This angel emptied his bowl on the Euphrates River. This river was the original boundary of the land promised to Abraham in Genesis 15. The Euphrates River was the center of major pagan civilizations that bordered Israel in Old Testament times. When John wrote Revelation, the region was the center of the Parthian kingdom, which was constantly at war with Rome.

The Euphrates River is the longest in Western Asia. It stretches about 1,740 miles (2,800 km) and forms the defining river system of Mesopotamia alongside the Tigris. It originates in the mountains of eastern Turkey, flows through Syria and Iraq, and joins the Tigris to empty into the Persian Gulf. It is a vitally important resource to the countries it passes through. It has been called “the lifeblood of the Fertile Crescent.”

However, in response to the pouring out of the sixth bowl, this river dries up! The reason for this drying up is stated clearly: “so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.” This statement has led to numerous speculations about who these kings are.

In studying the Scripture, context is critical to proper interpretation. This portion of the text is no different. In verse 12, the kings of the east are mentioned specifically. I know in time past, many commentators felt that Russia was the invader who would come from the east and north (Ezekiel 38). While that is possible, when you look at the map of the area, you see a majority of nations that are predominantly Muslim. While I’m not declaring that these end-time invaders will be Muslim, I think it must be considered, especially as Europe and Asia fall farther under the sway of Islam. So, think of the Euphrates as the launching point of attack, whether of angel-mediated judgment (9:14), the kings from the east (16:12), or the whole inhabited world (16:14). Verse 16 tells us that this drying up of the river will ultimately lead to the battle of Armageddon.

God’s drying up of the Euphrates is not an act of kindness toward the kings from the east, but one of judgment. They and their armies will be entering a deadly trap. The evaporation of the Euphrates will lead them to their doom, just as the parting of the Red Sea led to the destruction of the Egyptian army. Why they will make the daunting journey that will take them to their doom, through the drought, scorching heat, darkness, and their painful sores, is stated in vv. 13-14.[1]

As John watches, he sees “three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), out of the mouth of the beast (the Antichrist), and out of the mouth of the false prophet.” These demonic spirits, representing the unholy trinity, exercise miraculous powers. Their assignment is to “go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” the battle of Armageddon.

While many commentators have agreed that this is the prelude for the great battle climaxing in the second coming of Christ, some have been confused as to the details. The battle (Gr., polemos) is probably better translated “war” in contrast to mache, which is properly a battle or fighting (cf. James 4:1 where both words are used). What is in view here is something more than a military engagement. It is a major war. The evidence seems to point to the conclusion that this is a climax of a series of military events described in Daniel 11:40-45, where the reference to the “tidings out of the east” (Dan. 11:44) may have this invasion in view.

That raises the question, “How can a war be possible when there is a world government under the control of Satan and the beast?” Daniel 11 seems to reflect a conflict among the nations themselves in the latter portion of the great tribulation. The world empire so hastily assembled begins to disintegrate. The various armies of that day, contending for honors on the battlefield at the very time of the second coming of Christ, all turn and combine their efforts against Christ and His army from heaven when the glory of the second coming appears in the heavens.

This will be the final challenge to divine sovereignty and power as the military might of the world of that day will be engaged in fighting on the very day that Christ returns (Zechariah 14:1-3). Significantly, the battle itself bears the name of “that great day of God Almighty.” In the battle, the omnipotence of God will be fully demonstrated. The phrase “unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world” is best rendered, according to the Greek text, “unto the kings of the whole inhabited earth.”

The Satan-controlled beast and false prophet will think they are gathering all the nations together, but actually, it is God! Joel 3:2 says, “I will also gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.” All who worship the Antichrist and the false prophet and receive his mark are desperately hoping to free themselves from God and His control over them. Unwittingly, they are being drawn into the great winepress of His undiluted wrath (14:19). This is likely the same battle pictured in Revelation 17:14 and 19:19.

Verse 15 is a parenthetical aside, recording the words of Jesus. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” Interestingly, this is one of the seven beatitudes that are recorded in the book of Revelation. The saints in view here are evidently those still on earth who have been able to escape martyrdom while remaining true to their Lord.

Verse 16 seems to indicate that this area is the central point for the military conflict which follows the gathering. The armies are deployed over a 200-mile area up and down the land of Israel from this central location, according to Revelation 14:20. According to Zechariah 14:1-3, at the time of the Second Coming, some of these armies will be in Jerusalem. 

Amid all of these horrendous torments, God is orchestrating the events of human history according to His timeline, which brings us to the emptying of the final bowl.

The Seventh Bowl

In Haggai 2:6-9 we read, “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the desire of all nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

This is clearly a prophetic Scripture that fits “the law of double reference.” This law refers to a passage of Scripture that points to two different persons or events that are separated by a long period of time. These are often blended in one picture; however, other Scriptures point out the existence of the gap in time and circumstance. In the citation from Haggai, above, the first verses clearly align with our text, while the latter ones refer to the time when Jesus walked this earth in human form.

Notice that this 7^th angel does NOT pour out his bowl on the earth! Instead, he pours it out into the air. As he does, a great voice from the throne in heaven proclaims, “It is done!” His solemn declaration announces the climax of the final Day of the Lord. The perfect tense verb describes a completed action with ongoing results. It is similar to Jesus’ final words from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). God’s judgment of Christ on Calvary provided salvation for repentant sinners; the judgment of the seventh bowl brings doom to unrepentant sinners.

Following these words, there were voices, thunder, lightning, and a great earthquake. This follows the pattern of the seventh seal and the seventh trumpet. The magnitude of this earthquake is unlike any that has ever struck the earth before. The convulsions were so severe that “the great city” was divided into 3 parts, and the cities of the nations fell.

There is some debate as to which city this is. In the next sentence, Babylon is introduced as being remembered by God. So is it the great city or is that a different one? In Revelation 11:8, Jerusalem is referred to as “the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” I favor the understanding of two different cities. Babylon will be addressed specifically in the next two chapters.

Notice, if the great city is Jerusalem, it is divided into three parts. Zechariah 14 may describe these changes. “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming…and in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”

There is therefore some justification for considering Jerusalem as a possible interpretation, because there is no clear evidence that Jerusalem is destroyed with the judgments which overtake the earth at the end of the great tribulation. Babylon, however, is destined to be utterly destroyed. Whether this refers to Rome, which is spiritual Babylon, or to a rebuilt city of Babylon on the Euphrates, clearly Babylon is the special object of the judgment of God, expressed graphically in the statement “to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”

Along with the earthquake, or perhaps because of it, numerous topographical changes will take place. “Then every island fled away, and the mountains could not be found.” According to Henry Morris, “The gentle rolling topography of the world as originally created will be restored. No more will there be great inaccessible, uninhabitable mountain ranges or deserts or ice caps. The physical environment of the millennium will be, in large measure, a restoration of the [pre-Flood] environment.”[2]

Islands, which are undersea mountains, will disappear and the mountains on land will be flattened, completing the process that began during the sixth seal. Isaiah 40:4-5 tells us, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

There does not seem to be any good reason for taking this verse in other than its literal meaning. It comes at the climax of the great tribulation when many other Scriptures indicate changes in topography, including an entirely new appearance of the Holy Land itself. That may leave Jerusalem as the highest point on earth, making it a fitting throne for the Great King who will rule there during the Millennium (Jeremiah 3:17).

For those who somehow escape the destruction of the earthquake, a horrifying judgment awaits them. Huge hailstones weighing nearly 100lbs or 50 kilograms will rain down from heaven, wreaking unimaginable destruction. Like the preceding earthquake, this too is unprecedented!

In Constantinople, during the Ottoman Empire, in October of 1831, there was an uncommon hailstorm. I quote, “After an uncommonly sultry night, threatening clouds arose about six in the morning, and a noise, between thunder and tempest, and yet not to be compared to either, increased every moment, and the inhabitants of the capital, roused from their sleep, awaited with anxious expectation the issue of this threatening phenomenon. [They didn’t need to wait long]; lumps of ice as large as a man’s foot, falling singly, and then like a thick shower of stones, which destroyed everything with which they came in contact.”[3]

Contemporary reports stated that the hailstones destroyed everything in their path, ruining crops and flattening the annual grape harvest just as it had begun. Many residents suffered injuries from the falling ice.

And what was the result of these enormous hailstones in our text? “Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.” Incredibly, tormented humanity defiantly remains hardened against God—a truth that should give pause to those who think that signs and wonders will convince people to believe the gospel.

From our point of view, all the details of these dramatic judgments are not immediately understood. However, the unmistakable impression of the Scriptures is that the whole world is being brought to the bar of justice before Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. There is no escape except for those who avail themselves of the grace of God in that day by faith in Jesus Christ. The utter perversity of human nature, rejecting the sovereignty of God in the face of such overwhelming evidence, confirms that even Hell itself will not produce repentance on the part of those who have hardened their hearts against the grace of God.

God’s eternal wrath is inevitable; no one can prevent it from coming. But there is a way to escape it, because “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Those who by faith trust in Christ alone for salvation will escape both God’s eschatological wrath (3:10) and His eternal wrath (1 Thess. 1:10). They will not face judgment, because their sins were judged when Jesus died in their place on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). In light of the inevitable judgment to come, the warning to all unrepentant sinners is “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7).

I plead with you, make your peace with God today!

[1] MacArthur, New Testament Commentary on Revelation, p. 834

[2] Morris, The Revelation Record, p. 321

[3] Yoder, It is Finished, pp. 215-216