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Revelation 16

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

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And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

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8

And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

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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.

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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,

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And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

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And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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Revelation 16

The first bowl pours out upon the earth, causing a painful and harmful sore to fall upon those who have the mark of the beast and worship its image—judgment targeting specifically the enemies of God. The second, third, fourth, and fifth bowls follow: the sea becomes blood killing every living creature in it; the rivers and springs of water become blood; the sun is given power to scorch people with intense heat; and darkness falls on the beast's throne, causing its subjects to gnaw their tongues in agony yet refuse to repent of their deeds. The sixth bowl dries up the Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east to gather at the place called Armageddon—the final gathering of human powers against God. The seventh bowl is poured into the air, and a great voice comes from the throne saying It is done, and the greatest earthquake ever recorded splits the great city into three parts, topples every island, and removes every mountain. Hail weighing about a hundred pounds falls upon people from heaven, yet even this catastrophe does not produce repentance but only blasphemy against God.

Revelation 16:12

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the east - the drying of the Euphrates, a major border of the ancient world, opens the way for invasion. The kings of the east represent the final coalition of nations gathering for Armageddon.

Revelation 16:13

Then I saw three impure spirits that looked 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 - three spirits like frogs emerge from the unholy trinity (dragon, beast, false prophet), evoking the Egyptian plague of frogs. These spirits represent deceptive propaganda.

Revelation 16:14

They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty - the frog-like spirits spread lies and wonders, gathering the nations for the final conflict. The 'great day of God Almighty' is the day of His ultimate triumph and judgment.

Revelation 16:15

'Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed' - Christ's voice interrupts, warning of His coming and calling for watchfulness. The image of nakedness and shame contrasts with the robes of righteousness given to the faithful (Rev 3:18, 6:11).

Revelation 16:16

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon - Armageddon ('Mountain of Megiddo') is the prophetic battleground where God's enemies are defeated. The gathering of the kings represents the final rebellion against God's sovereignty before the ultimate judgment.

Revelation 16:17

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'It is done!' - the seventh bowl completes God's wrath; the voice from the throne declares the work finished. 'It is done' (tetelestai, echoing Christ's final cry on the cross) marks the end of the age.

Revelation 16:18

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake - no earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake - the cosmic upheaval signals the destruction of the old order. The earthquake surpassing all others emphasizes the finality of this judgment.

Revelation 16:19

The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed; God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath - Babylon (the rebellious city and empire) splits apart and falls. God's remembrance is not forgetfulness overcome but divine recollection issuing in judgment; Babylon drinks the cup of wrath.

Revelation 16:20

Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found - the geography itself is unmade as judgment reshapes creation. The islands and mountains, symbols of permanence and security, vanish, leaving nowhere for the wicked to hide.

Revelation 16:21

From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about forty-five kilograms, fell on people; and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible - hail, the final Egyptian plague, rains down on humanity with crushing force. Yet still the people curse God rather than repent, their hardness complete.

Revelation 16:1

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, 'Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth' - the command to execute the bowls comes from the sanctuary itself, making the plagues an act of divine justice, not arbitrary destruction. The voice of God mandates the final series of judgments.

Revelation 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 - the first bowl targets those who received the beast's mark, echoing the Egyptian plague of boils. The sores are not accidental but consequential: those who bore the mark of rebellion bear the wounds of judgment.

Revelation 16:3

The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died - the sea, which is normally the domain of commerce and life, becomes death itself. The blood like that of a corpse suggests the stench and putrefaction of a world under judgment.

Revelation 16:4

The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood - the sources of fresh water, essential to life, are contaminated. This intensifies the plague pattern: water (the source of life) becomes an instrument of death, leaving the wicked without sustenance.

Revelation 16:5

Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, 'You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged' - the angel praises God's justice in turning the waters to blood. The titles 'who is and who were' (present and past tense, eternal) emphasize God's timeless righteousness.

Revelation 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' - the retaliation is precise: those who shed the blood of the saints now drink blood themselves. This is poetic justice: the cup they poured for others they themselves must drink.

Revelation 16:7

And I heard the altar respond, 'Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments' - the altar (where the prayers of the saints were offered in Rev 5:8, 6:9-11) affirms the justice of these plagues. The altar itself testifies that the shed blood of the martyrs calls for vindication.

Revelation 16:8

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire - the sun, source of life and warmth, becomes an agent of torment. The scorching recalls the Egyptian plague of hail and fire but intensified: heat itself becomes unbearable.

Revelation 16:9

They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him - despite the plagues, the people refuse repentance and instead curse God. Their hardening echoes Pharaoh's response to the plagues: judgment is met with defiance rather than submission.

Revelation 16:10

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony - darkness falls on the beast's throne and kingdom, the ultimate symbol of its fall from power. The gnawing of tongues in agony suggests rage and helplessness before the judgment.

Revelation 16:11

and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they did not repent of what they had done - despite suffering, the wicked curse God rather than repent. The refusal to repent becomes the defining characteristic of those under judgment; pride hardens them unto the end.