“The fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given to it to burn men with fire. And men were burned with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory” (vv. 8-9). The men who are burned with great heat, who blaspheme the name of God, and who refuse to repent must be mainly the citizens of the Roman Empire who follow Antichrist to persecute God’s people and to rebel against God.
“The fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain and blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and for their sores; and they did not repent of their works” (vv. 10-11). The fifth bowl is poured on the throne of the beast. This indicates that the seven bowls are for judging the beast, his kingdom, and his territory, causing the kingdom of the beast to become darkened. Those in the kingdom of Antichrist will gnaw their tongues, blaspheme God, and still refuse to repent.
“The sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates; and its water was dried up that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared” (v. 12). Both the plague of the sixth bowl and the woe of the sixth trumpet (9:14) are related to the great river Euphrates. According to verses 14 and 15, when the sixth angel sounds the trumpet, the four angels bound at the great river Euphrates will be released. In verse 14 of chapter 16 the kings of the earth are stirred up to send their armies to gather at Armageddon. At the outpouring of the sixth bowl, the water of the Euphrates will be dried up so that these kings and their armies may pass over it.
When the seventh bowl is poured out upon the air, a loud voice will come “out of the temple from the throne, saying, It is done” (v. 17). This means that everything both for judgment and for God’s expression, His testimony, has been accomplished. Immediately after this word is spoken, there will be lightnings, voices, thunders, and the greatest earthquake that the world has ever seen (v. 18). This earthquake, the same as the one mentioned in verse 19 of chapter 11, will cause the great city, Jerusalem, to be divided into three parts and the cities of the nations to fall (16:19). Jerusalem will have become as evil as ancient Sodom; hence, God will judge it by means of this earthquake. “Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath” (v. 19). In verse 8 of chapter 14 the religious, mysterious Babylon is destroyed at the beginning of the great tribulation. Therefore, Babylon the Great in verse 19 of chapter 16, which will be destroyed after the war at Armageddon at the end of the great tribulation, must be the material Babylon, the city of Rome. Rome gave the wine of the fury of her fornication to the faithful saints among the nations (18:3); hence, God in vengeance will give her the wine of the fury of His wrath.
Finally, “great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent [approximately one hundred pounds], came down out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague of it is exceedingly great” (16:21). This hail will come down mainly upon the citizens of the empire of the beast. In the midst of the downpour of this great hail, those in the empire of Antichrist will continue to blaspheme God. They have no intention to repent. Rather, they will fight against God to the end.
After the seven bowls, the great tribulation will end, this age will close, the mystery of God will be completed (10:7), and the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (11:15). After the close of this age, another age, the age of the kingdom, the millennium, will begin. Then the Lord will reign in the millennial kingdom and in the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem for eternity.
Revelation is a book of prophecy; most of its content refers to things to come. In the visions of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls, there are many important prophecies. The first four of the seven seals cover the history of the world from the ascension of Christ to the end of this age. These four seals signify the gospel, war, famine, and death. At the opening of the fifth seal, there is the cry of the martyred saints. At the opening of the sixth seal, there is a great earthquake to warn the dwellers on the earth, reminding them that there is a God in the universe. The seventh seal includes the seven trumpets and will last for eternity.
The seven trumpets are the contents of the seventh seal. The first four trumpets are for judgments on the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sun, moon, and stars. As a result of the judgments in the first four trumpets, the earth will no longer be a suitable place for people to live. The fifth trumpet, the first woe of the judgment on men, will be the beginning of the great tribulation. The sixth trumpet, which is the second woe and a further judgment on men, is a part of the great tribulation. The seventh trumpet consists of the eternal kingdom of Christ; the third woe, comprising the seven bowls; the judgment of the dead; the rewarding of the prophets, the saints, and of the God-fearing people; and the destruction of the earth’s destroyers. The third woe will be the closing of the great tribulation. Then there will be the rewarding of the prophets, the saints, and those who fear God’s name. The seventh trumpet also comprises the judgment of the dead, the destruction of Satan, Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their followers. Hence, the seventh trumpet includes everything from the end of the great tribulation to eternity.
The seven bowls, as a part of the negative contents of the seven trumpets, are the last plagues of God’s wrath on men and will be the ending of the great tribulation. After the seven bowls, the great tribulation will end, and this age will close. Furthermore, the mystery of God will be completed, and the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Then another age, the kingdom age, the millennium, will begin. The Lord will reign in the millennial kingdom and in the new heaven and new earth with the New Jerusalem for eternity.