Prophecy 13

The Seven Bowls –
Revelation 15:7 – 16:21
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Beginning Point in Time: 1,265th  Day of the Great Tribulation
Ending Point in Time: Second Coming

Summary:

The book of Revelation indicates there will be two distinct phases of God’s wrath during the Great Tribulation. The first phase will be redemptive in nature. The second phase will be totally destructive. The first phase is called the seven trumpets and Jesus extends salvation to everyone who will worship Him. The second phase is called the seven last plagues or the seven bowls (or seven vials – KJV). Everyone who receives the mark of the beast will die during the seven bowls. The seven last plagues are represented as seven bowls (or vials) because every wicked person will be forced to drink (that is, experience) God’s wrath, a bitter mixture that contains no mercy.

Introduction:

According to my calculations, the seven bowls will occur over a period of seventy days. If true, each plague could last ten days.[1]The seven bowls are not discussed very often because most Bible students do not think they are particularly relevant. It is true that they will occur in the future, but they reveal additional information about God’s love and character that is helpful right now! Before we examine the seven bowls in detail, please notice they can be divided into two groups:

 Plagues on Individuals

1.  Ugly and painful sores
2.  Oceans turn to blood
3.  Rivers and springs turn to blood
4.  Scorching heat

Plagues on Corporate Entities

5.  Painful blindness on Lucifer's officials
6.  Kings of the Earth gathered for Armageddon
7.  Hailstones weighing 100 pounds each and a sword that comes out of Jesus' mouth

The seven bowls are listed in two sections because the first four bowls serve a different purpose than the last three. All who receive the mark of the beast will be affected by the first four bowls. These judgments will extract restitution from those who preyed on God’s saints. The last three bowls are directed at the defiant leaders of the world and those who work for them. Jesus intends to destroy kings and soldiers alike. The fifth bowl will strike down Lucifer’s theocracy (his officials and employees). The sixth bowl will unite the kings of the Earth and their armies to make war on Jesus as He appears and the seventh bowl will totally destroy the wicked and make Earth desolate. Jesus will destroy the kings and their armies by casting them into a lake of fire at the Second Coming and the rest of the wicked will drop dead when He commands them to die. (This command is represented as a sword that comes out of Jesus’ mouth.) By the end of the seventh bowl, all wicked people will be dead.[2] As the saints meet the Lord in the air, Earth will be left desolate.

The seven last plagues are puzzling to some people. They ask, “Why would a God of love torture people? Isn’t torture the invention of the devil?” These questions are reasonable because the Bible says that God is love.[3] However, the phrase, “God is love,” means more than many people realize. It means that all of God’s actions are consistent with principles of love. Because God’s actions are often misunderstood, the principles of love are often misunderstood. I prefer to define God’s love as a perfect balance between justice and mercy. According to infinite wisdom and changeless consistency, God knows when mercy is appropriate and when the demands of justice are required. This balance is always perfect because God is love personified! God’s actions demonstrate what love is and what love is not. Given this eternal truth, the seven bowls have to be understood as an expression of love because God will send them. As incredible as it seems, God’s love will be expressed through vengeance, exposure, and discovery. A few words about each element might be helpful.

1. Vengeance

There is an important distinction between vengeance and revenge. Vengeance is a righteous process that lawfully achieves justice. When a disinterested party, who has no relationship with either a perpetrator of a crime (predator) or a victim of that crime, imposes a sentence on the predator on behalf of the victim, the disinterested party exercises vengeance. Revenge, on the other hand, is another word for retaliation. When an interested party, who has a relationship with the victim of a crime, imposes a sentence on a predator which the party deems appropriate, the interested party exacts revenge. The problem with revenge is that justice is often ignored to satisfy passion. In other words, the person exercising revenge will often go beyond the demands of justice and also become a predator.

When God implements justice, He seeks two objectives. The first objective is the restoration of the victim; the second objective is the punishment of the predator. For example, if a thief is caught, the predator must restore more than he stole. “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. . . . A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft. If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession – whether ox or donkey or sheep – he must pay back double.”[4] God’s second objective in justice is punishment. When a person sins against his neighbor, he also sins against God. Therefore, after making restitution, a predator must also offer a sin offering to the Lord before his guilt can be removed.[5]

When the crimes of predators become so great that restitution is not possible, the Lord rises up and punishes the predators without mercy. “With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.’ ”[6] The Bible speaks clearly. God will surely punish those who violate the golden rule and harm others. He sent a flood in Noah’s day and destroyed the whole world because a majority of the antediluvians had become predators. God’s love for victims of crime requires the exercise of justice. Therefore, God seeks the restitution and punishment of predators.

The seven last plagues must be understood within the context of restitution. The seven bowls contain God’s vengeance. Jesus will lawfully extract restitution from the wicked during the seven last plagues because there will be no justice for God’s people during the Great Tribulation. The wicked will treat God’s saints with contempt and hatred. God’s people will have their possessions taken from them, and ultimately, many will die because of their loyalty to Jesus and their determination to obey the eternal gospel. Demons will keep the wicked enraged at God’s saints. The wicked will impose an unimaginable level of cruelty and hardship on God’s people and there will be no justice for God’s despised people. Of course, the watchful eye of Jesus will not miss a single predatory act. Recording angels will capture every thought, word, and deed because Jesus will see that justice is served at the appointed time. At the end of the day, a God of love will repay the wicked with a double measure of the suffering they imposed on His saints.[8] The apostle Paul was well acquainted with persecution and He wrote, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”[9] We should never forget these words: “I will repay, says the Lord.”[10]

We have examined the difference between vengeance and revenge because the seven bowls contain God’s vengeance. During the Great Tribulation, desperate circumstances will separate the people of Earth into two groups. The sheep will embrace the testimony of the 144,000, worship the Creator and love one another. The goats will rebel against God’s authority and submit to Babylon’s authority out of cowardice. The contest between God’s authority and Babylon’s authority will be sharp and distinct. At first, the wicked will do whatever it takes to save themselves from suffering, but they will eventually discover that the path of least resistance leads to slavery. Their master will be the devil. There will be no justice for God’s saints during the Great Tribulation, so Jesus Himself will execute vengeance on the wicked during the final seventy days of the Great Tribulation. Jesus will repay the wicked for their predatory behavior.

2. Exposure

Another purpose for the seven bowls is exposure. Jesus will expose the devil’s masquerade during the fifth bowl. About one year before the fifth bowl occurs, the fifth trumpet will occur. Jesus will permit Lucifer to leave the spirit realm and physically appear before mankind. He will lead the wicked into total rebellion against God’s authority. The devil will masquerade as Almighty God and he will perform many magnificent miracles, even calling fire down from Heaven! Many people will embrace the devil as though he was “God.” When the sixth trumpet sounds, the devil will suddenly change character and demand that everyone on Earth worship as he dictates or be killed. The devil will rule over Earth as king of kings and lord of lords. This pompous and totally corrupt despot will rule over the whole world for about nine months, but during the fifth bowl, Jesus will strip away the devil’s masquerade. Jesus will expose the great liar (the false prophet). Every wicked person will discover that he has been worshiping the devil!

Jesus will pour out the fifth bowl on a specific group of people. He will strike down those individuals who have served as officials and employees in Lucifer’s government (theocracy). They will be totally debilitated with excruciating pain and blindness. Lucifer’s officials and employees will become totally dysfunctional and Lucifer’s control of Earth will suddenly end. There is a specific irony in the fifth plague. People who refused to see any light in the gospel of Jesus Christ will no longer be able to see the god of darkness they chose to serve. When the world observes the painful blindness and the administrative devastation imposed on the devil’s officials and employees, and that Lucifer cannot undo or cancel the impact of this destructive plague upon his own government, the wicked will have to admit that “a higher power” has punished the one who claimed to be “Almighty God.” Thus, the devil will be exposed for who he really is. Then, great fear will overwhelm the kings of Earth and those wearing the mark of the beast causing extreme distress. They will hate the devil and loathe themselves. They will remember the testimony of the 144,000, but it will be too late. The wicked will realize that their destruction is inescapable.

3. Discovery

When the wicked discover that the glorious being who masquerades as Almighty God is the devil, they will also discover that they have no Savior and no refuge from the wrath of the true Almighty God. They will have no one to worship, no spiritual assurance, no divine being in whom to trust, and no hope for the future. The fifth bowl will force the wicked to see their true condition before the Creator of the Universe. When the sixth bowl is poured out, the wicked will realize that their rebellion and efforts to save themselves from God’s wrath are nearly over. Lucifer will send three of his most powerful demons to the kings of Earth. These demons will perform amazing miracles before the kings of Earth and then, they will present Lucifer’s proposal. They will inform the ten kings that Jesus will soon arrive and destroy the whole world. Therefore, Lucifer invites them to join forces with his angels to make war on Jesus when He appears. The demons will say, “This is your only hope for survival.”

Two interesting facts will emerge during the sixth bowl. First, the Bible predicts the ten kings of the Earth will join forces with Lucifer’s demons knowing that Lucifer is the devil and that his angels are demons. Consider the ramifications of this union for a moment. To save themselves from death, the ten kings will knowingly and willfully unite with the devil and his demons in an attempt to destroy the Creator of the Universe. Second, the actions of the ten kings prove that sin has the same effect on human beings as angels. All sinners will become predators given enough time and power. Under the right circumstances, all sinners would attempt to destroy a God of love if possible. A sinner’s love for self is so unlike the love of a sinless being. Sinless beings exalt righteousness, truth, and the two laws of love, whereas those ruled by the carnal nature exalt wickedness, lies, and selfishness.

The Cross of Calvary proves that the Creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ, was willing to cease to exist so sinners might be saved. This is infinite love in action! Contrast this with the war against Jesus at the Second Coming. The sixth bowl demonstrates why sin and sinners cannot be tolerated in God’s universe ever again. If given the time, power, and opportunity, every sinner will become a predator. The seven bowls provide a vivid illustration of how the predatory nature of sin works.

During the Great Tribulation, the inhabitants of Earth will be put into a spiral of increasing distress. As circumstances become more desperate, a sharper distinction between sheep and goats will appear. One group will choose the way of divine love. They will worship the Creator and love one another. The other group will grasp at every straw to save themselves from suffering, hardship, and death, only to incur God’s wrath, extended suffering and finally death.

Love for God will take the sheep in one direction and love for self will take the goats in a different direction. As the Great Tribulation escalates, the wicked will prey on the saints to survive. The wicked will take the saint’s possessions and treat them with shameful contempt. God’s saints will be tortured, imprisoned, and killed for rebelling against Babylon’s laws. When each person has chosen his spiritual destination, that is, sealed as a sheep or marked as a goat, God’s offer of salvation will end. Then, Jesus will execute vengeance for His helpless saints. He will lawfully punish the wicked with seven last plagues and holy angels will declare that God is righteous in His actions! Justice will be served. Unrepentant predators will suffer according to the suffering they have caused. “For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”[11]

 

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