[Compare with plagues of Egypt and the also the seven trumpets.]
[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”:
“Earth”: Sores on Beast-worshippers (6th plague, Exd 9:8-11); unfulfilled prophecy, Deu 28:27, 35. Sores = outward sign of inward corruption (Cf. Mat 23:27-28).
Moses: “no graven image”; worship of hosts of heaven (Deu 4:19; Deu 17:2-3; 2Ki 17:9-11, 16-17).
Exd 8:17-18; Exd 9:1: Devil worship in the House of God.
Viral warfare [Cf. AIDS, et al.] Cf. first bowl with 6th plague (Exd 9:8-12): Plague of boils predicted, not yet fulfilled (Deu 28:15, 27); incurable (Deu 28:35).
[3] “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea...”:
“Blood”: Literal blood? (Psa 105:29; Lev 17:11), Cf. first plague (Exd 7:20-25). Compare to the “Red Tide,” occasionally observed from excessive growth of microorganisms. All sea life in the region dies. [Also, Cf. Exxon Valdez spill, Persian Gulf spills unleashed by Iraqis in 1991, et al.]
[4] “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters...”
“Rivers”: Beast-worshippers cannot find anything to drink but blood! (vs. Exd 7:20-21).
[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”: [Greek leaves out “and shall be.” “The existing One, the One who was, the Holy One.” There is no point in speaking of the One who shall come!]
[6] “For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy”: The old saying, “what goes around, comes around.”
[7] “And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments”:
The altar speaks: the cross? (5th Seal Rev 6:9-11). This altar was the shelter of the martyrs...is it yours?
[Note: first three bowls, men dwelling on the earth. Last four, men linked with Babylon.]
[8] “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire”:
Sun worship: The earliest form of Paganism, originating on the plain of Shinar. This goes back to Nimrod (Hebrew, marad, “to rebel”; future tense, “we will rebel.”) Gen 10:8-10. “Before” should be “in defiance of” the Lord.
Josephus (Ant. Jud. I.c.4.2 ): “Nimrod persuaded mankind not to ascribe their happiness to God, but to think that his own excellency was the source of it. And he soon changed things into a tyranny, thinking that there was no other way to wean men from the fear of God, than by making them rely upon his own power.”
Tarum of Jonathan: “From the foundation of the world none was ever found like Nimrod, powerful in hunting, and in rebellions against the Lord.”
Jerusalem Targum: “He was powerful in hunting and in wickedness before the Lord for he was a hunter of the sons of men, and he said to them, ‘Depart from the judgment of the Lord, and adhere to the judgment of Nimrod!’ There is it said, ‘As Nimrod is the strong one, strong in hunting, and in wickedness before the Lord.’”
The Chaldee paraphrase of 1Ch 1:10, “Cush begat Nimrod, who began to prevail in wickedness, for he shed innocent blood, and rebelled against Jehovah.”
[Quotes from Barnhouse, Revelation .]
The sun was first worshipped by Nimrod and his followers on the plains of Shinar and Bab-El was the site of the first temple to the sun. Gen 11:3(?): Mazzeroth corrupted to the Zodiac.
All paganism is derived from this beginning. This also accounts for the parallelism in the pagan myths in all parts of the world.
“Host of heaven”: Deu 4:19; Deu 17:2-3; 2Ki 17:9-11, 16-17.
[9] “And men were scorched with great heat...”:
“Heat”: Deu 32:22, 24; Mal 4:1; Isa 24:4-6; 2Pe 3; Luk 21:25, Cf. Anthropic principle (Beyond Coincidence, et al.).
“...repented not...”: “It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man.” Albert Einstein
[10] “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast...”: The throne of the beast (must be a man!).
Rev 13: “Who is able to make war with the beast?” Here is the answer: God is able to make war with him!
Cf. with 9th plague—Darkness (Gen 1:2). Darkness which could be felt (Exd 10:21-23).
Isa 60:2; Joel 2:1-2, 31; Nah 1:8; Mar 13:24-25. [a Nova?]
[Stedman: unexplained examples of darkness—May 19, 1780, New England, “The Dark Day.” March 19, 1886, Central Wisconsin (10 minutes). Memphis, Tennessee, Dec. 1904; Louisville, Kentucky, March 1911; et al.] Spiritual darkness: in a cultural war, truth is the first casualty! Evolution, psychology, legalism, media, government, schools: lies and deceit....
[11] “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds”: “God of Heaven” title of Daniel 2:18-19, 28, 37, 44.
[12] “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates...”:
Euphrates (25X in Bible): to dry-up (Cf. Red Sea, Jordan). The cradle (and grave) of man’s civilization (Zech 10:11; Isa 11:15-16); eastern boundary of Israel (Gen 15:18)—and the Roman Empire; 1800 miles long; 300-1200 yards wide; 10-30 feet deep; often deeper, wider...
Rudyard Kipling’s The Ballad of East and West :
Oh, East is East, and West is West,
and never the twain shall meet.
Till Earth and Sky stand presently
at God’s great Judgment Seat.
1991 Gulf War: armies of 30 countries bottled up Saddam Hussein’s forces against the Euphrates.
“Kings of the Rising Sun”: 10X in NT; 3X in OT (LXX).
[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.”
“dragon...beast...false prophet”: Unholy trinity?
Frogs: 2nd plague, (Exd 8:2-5, 14); Cf. locusts as demons [Rev 9; Amos 7:1(LXX); Eze 38 (frogs responded to Pharaoh’s magicians ).]
[Aristophanes tells of a special costume worn on the Greek stage, the bactrachis, or frog-garment: used as sex symbol, representing fecundity.]
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.”
Battle against whom? God Almighty. Where? (Israel!)
[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.” Garments: old English “habit” = manner of living; French, one’s clothing...
“Ye are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief...” (1Th 5:4).
[16] “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon”: Zeph 3:8; 2Ch 35:22; Zech 12:11.
Megiddo: Josh 5:14; 2Ch 35:22; Zech 12:11. 60 mi N of Jerusalem in Israel. It was here that Jabin + 900 chariots were overwhelmed; Gideon’s 300 defeated Midianites, Amalekites & children of the east; Samson triumphed over the Philistines; Barak & Deborah defeated Sisera; Saul slain by Philistines; Ahaziah slain by arrows of Jehu (?); Pharaoh Necco slew King Josiah.
...Also, Saracens, Christian crusaders, Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks, Arabs, warriors of every nation. Napoleon’s disastrous march from Egypt to Syria, et al.
[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.”
The last sphere of Satan’s influence: The Air. “Prince of the power of the Air” (Eph 2:2); “high places” (Eph 6:12) = “heavenlies” (Eph 1:20; Eph 3:10).
“It is finished” vs. “It is done.” (Tetelestai = “paid in full.”)
“Temple”: The last reference. Mentioned 6X with the bowls of wrath.
[18] “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake...”: Earthquake (Isa 29:6; Psa 50:3-4; Zech 14:4; Zech 13:9; Hag 2:6-7).
[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”: Cf. Rev 11:13; Zech 14:4; Eze 47; Zech 13:8-9.
“Babylon”: mentioned in Rev 14:8. Rev 17 & Rev 18 coming. God made the country; man made the cities. The corruption, the graft, the buying and selling of justice, the deification of money, the exaltation of lust, the exploitation of the masses in their lightless and vapid lives....
[20] “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found”: Hag 2:6-7; Jer 4:23-27.
[21] “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, [every stone] about the weight of a talent...”: Hail: Job 38:22-23; Jer 4:23-27.
Greek talent = 86 lbs. Hebrew talent (silver) = 110 lbs. Troy; 96 avoirdupois; other, 135 lbs. Babylonian talent: heavier... Attic, 57.7 lbs. (Cf. Beth-Horon, Josh 10:11.)
Josephus: Roman catapults threw stones the weight of a talent into Jerusalem in 70 AD when Titus leveled the city.
Penalty for blasphemy: stoning! [Hail also accompanies nuclear effects...]
Note: These judgments are not the “blessed hope”: “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
Many are trying to reduce the population of the earth; it seems more appropriate to reduce the population of hell! Judgment cannot produce repentance. It was never intended to. God changes hearts through His grace and mercy. This book was sent to the seven churches. It was given to us in order to change our lives right now.