The Antichrist and the Coming Persecution of Christians – Part 2
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What
is the Tribulation? How do we know the Tribulation will last seven years?
What is the
Great Tribulation?
What
are the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls (vials) in the Book of
Revelation?
What are the seven trumpets of Revelation?
Is the last trumpet of 1 Thessalonians 4 the same as the seventh trumpet of
Revelation?
What
are the seven bowls/vials of Revelation?
What is the battle of Armageddon?
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What is the purpose of the tribulation?
Just to be fair, let me
give my answer. I believe that the tribulation will serve 3 purposes.
1) To refine Unsaved Israel, bringing them into a
saving relationship with Jesus Christ
2) To awaken the ‘fense-sitters’ and force them to
make a decision. Just to clarify, I consider a fense sitter someone who hasn’t
outright rejected the Lord’s salvation, but they haven’t accepted it either.
3) And the third purpose is to punish the
unbelieving earth for their rejection of God’s Salvation.
According to Jeremiah
30:11 the purpose of the Great Tribulation is two- three fold. One is to
completely destroy the nations among which the Jews have been scattered, and
the other is to discipline Israel. This discipline will cause them to recognize
Jesus as their Messiah, and will happen in several stages.
The first is when as a nation they return to their Old Covenant relationship with God following the Battle of Ezekiel 38 (Ezekiel 39:22) prompting the building of a Temple in Israel. This when Daniel’s 70th Week will begin. The second is when they petition God’s return to save them (Hosea 6:1-2), and the third is near the end of the Great Tribulation when they realize that Jesus has been their Messiah all along (Zechariah 12:10).
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What is the Tribulation? How do we know the Tribulation will
last seven years?
The tribulation is a future seven-year period of time when God will finish His discipline of Israel and finalize His judgment of the unbelieving world. The church, made up of all who have trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus to save them from being punished for sin, will not be present during the tribulation. The church will be removed from the earth in an event known as the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53). The church is saved from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 5:9). Throughout Scripture, the tribulation is referred to by other names such as the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:12; 13:6-9; Joel 1:15; 2:1-31; 3:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:2); trouble or tribulation (Deuteronomy 4:30; Zephaniah 1:1); the great tribulation, which refers to the more intense second half of the seven-year period (Matthew 24:21); time or day of trouble (Daniel 12:1; Zephaniah 1:15); time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).
An understanding of Daniel 9:24-27 is necessary in order to understand
the purpose and time of the tribulation. This passage speaks of 70 weeks that
have been declared against “your people.” Daniel’s people are the Jews, the
nation of Israel, and Daniel 9:24 speaks of a period of time that God
has given “to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for
wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” God declares that “seventy sevens” will
fulfill all these things. This is 70 sevens of years, or 490 years. (Some
translations refer to 70 weeks of years.) This is confirmed by another part of
this passage in Daniel. In verses 25 and 26, Daniel is told that the Messiah
will be cut off after “seven sevens and sixty-two sevens” (69 total), beginning
with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. In other words, 69 sevens of years (483
years) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah will be cut off. Biblical
historians confirm that 483 years passed from the time of the decree to rebuild
Jerusalem to the time when Jesus was crucified. Most Christian scholars,
regardless of their view of eschatology (future things/events), have the above
understanding of Daniel’s 70 sevens.
With 483
years having passed from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the cutting off of
the Messiah, this leaves one seven-year period to be fulfilled in terms of Daniel 9:24: “to finish transgression, to put
an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,
to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.” This final
seven-year period is known as the tribulation period—it is a time when God
finishes judging Israel for its sin.
Daniel
9:27 gives a few highlights of the
seven-year tribulation period: “He will confirm a covenant with many for one
‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and
offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes
desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” The person of
whom this verse speaks is the person Jesus calls the “abomination that causes
desolation” (Matthew
24:15) and is
called “the beast” in Revelation
13. Daniel 9:27 says that the beast will make a
covenant for seven years, but in the middle of this week (3 1/2 years into the
tribulation), he will break the covenant, putting a stop to sacrifice. Revelation 13 explains that the beast will place
an image of himself in the temple and require the world to worship him. Revelation 13:5 says that this will go on for 42
months, which is 3 1/2 years. Since Daniel 9:27 says that this will happen in the
middle of the week, and Revelation 13:5 says that the beast will do this
for a period of 42 months, it is easy to see that the total length of time is
84 months or seven years. Also see Daniel 7:25, where the “time, times, and half a
time” (time=1 year; times=2 years; half a time=1/2 year; total of 3 1/2 years)
also refers to “great tribulation,” the last half of the seven-year tribulation
period when the beast will be in power.
For
further references about the tribulation, see Revelation 11:2-3, which speaks of 1260 days and 42
months, and Daniel
12:11-12, which
speaks of 1290 days and 1335 days. These days have a reference to the midpoint
of the tribulation. The additional days in Daniel 12 may include the time at the end for
the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-46) and time for the setting up of
Christ’s millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).
In summary, the Tribulation is the 7-year time period in the end times in which humanity’s decadence and depravity will reach its fullness, with God judging accordingly.
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What is the End Times Tribulation?
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What is the Great
Tribulation?
The Tribulation is a future
time period when the Lord will accomplish at least two aspects of His plan: 1)
He will complete His discipline of the nation Israel (Daniel 9:24),
and 2) He will judge the unbelieving, godless inhabitants of the earth (Revelation
6 – 18). The length of the Tribulation is seven years. This is determined
by an understanding of the seventy weeks of Daniel (Daniel
9:24-27; also see the article on the Tribulation). The
Great Tribulation is the last half of the Tribulation period, three and
one-half years in length. It is distinguished from the Tribulation period
because the Beast, or Antichrist, will be revealed, and the wrath of God will
greatly intensify during this time. Thus, it is important at this point to
emphasize that the Tribulation and the Great Tribulation are not synonymous
terms. Within eschatology (the study of future things), the Tribulation refers
to the full seven-year period while the “Great Tribulation” refers to the
second half of the Tribulation.
It is Christ Himself who used the phrase “Great
Tribulation” with reference to the last half of the Tribulation. In Matthew
24:21, Jesus says, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such
as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever
shall.” In this verse Jesus is referring to the event of Matthew
24:15, which describes the revealing of the abomination of desolation, the
man also known as the Antichrist. Also, Jesus in Matthew
24:29-30 states, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . the
Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with
power and great glory.” In this passage, Jesus defines the Great
Tribulation (v.21) as beginning with the revealing of the abomination of
desolation (v.15) and ending with Christ’s second coming (v.30).
Other passages that refer to the Great Tribulation are Daniel
12:1b, which says, “And there will be a time of distress such as never
occurred since there was a nation until that time.” It seems that Jesus
was quoting this verse when He spoke the words recorded in Matthew
24:21. Also referring to the Great Tribulation is Jeremiah
30:7, “Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is
the time of Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.” The phrase
“Jacob’s distress” refers to the nation of Israel, which will experience
persecution and natural disasters such as have never before been seen.
Considering the information Christ gave us in Matthew
24:15-30, it is easy to conclude that the beginning of the Great
Tribulation has much to do with the abomination of desolation, an action of the
Antichrist. In Daniel 9:26-27, we find that this man will make a
“covenant” (a peace pact) with the world for seven years (one “week”;
again, see the article on the Tribulation). Halfway through the seven-year
period—”in the middle of the week”—we are told this man will break
the covenant he made, stopping sacrifice and grain offering, which specifically
refers to his actions in the rebuilt temple of the future. Revelation
13:1-10 gives even more detail concerning the Beast’s actions, and just as
important, it also verifies the length of time he will be in power. Revelation
13:5 says he will be in power for 42 months, which is three and one-half
years, the length of the Great Tribulation.
Revelation offers us the most information about the Great Tribulation. From Revelation 13 when the Beast is revealed until Christ returns in Revelation 19, we are given a picture of God’s wrath on the earth because of unbelief and rebellion (Revelation 16-18). It is also a picture of how God disciplines and at the same time protects His people Israel (Revelation 14:1-5) until He keeps His promise to Israel by establishing an earthly kingdom (Revelation 20:4-6).
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What are the seven seals,
seven trumpets, and seven bowls (vials) in the Book of Revelation?
The seven seals
(Revelation
6:1–17; 8:1–5), seven
trumpets (Revelation 8:6–9:21; 11:15–19), and seven
bowls/vials (Revelation
16:1–21) are three series of end-times judgments from God. The judgments
get increasingly worse and more devastating as the end times progress. The
seven seals, trumpets, and bowls are connected to one another. The seventh seal
introduces the seven trumpets (Revelation
8:1–5), and the seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls (Revelation
11:15–19; 15:1–8).
The seven seals include the appearance of the Antichrist (Revelation
6:1–2), great warfare (Revelation
6:3–4), famine (Revelation
6:5–6), plague (Revelation
6:7–8), the martyrdom of believers in Christ (Revelation
6:9–11), a devastating earthquake causing terrible devastation, and
astronomical upheaval (Revelation
6:12–14). Those who survive the six seals are right to cry out, “Fall on us
and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of
the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation
6:16–17).
The seventh seal introduces the seven trumpet judgments. The
trumpets include hail and fire that destroy much of the plant life in the world
(Revelation
8:7), the death of much of the world’s aquatic life (Revelation
8:8–9; 8:10–11), the darkening of the sun and moon (Revelation
8:12), a plague of “demonic locusts” that torture the unsaved (Revelation
9:1–11), and the march of a demonic army that kills a third of humanity (Revelation
9:12–21).
The seventh trumpet calls forth seven angels who carry the
seven bowls of God’s wrath (Revelation
11:15–19; 15:1–8). The bowl judgments include painful sores
afflicting humanity (Revelation 16:2), the death of every living thing in the
sea (Revelation
16:3), the turning of rivers to
blood (Revelation 16:4–7), an intensifying of the sun’s heat (Revelation
16:8–9), great darkness and an intensification of the sores from the first
bowl (Revelation 16:10–11), the advance the Antichrist’s armies
at Armageddon (Revelation 16:12–14), and a devastating earthquake followed
by giant hailstones (Revelation
16:15–21).
Together, the seals, trumpets, and bowls of the end times comprise “the great day of [God’s] wrath” (Revelation 6:17) and serve to judge the Antichrist’s kingdom of wickedness. Revelation 16:5–7 declares of God, “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve. . . . Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments.”
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What are the seven trumpets of Revelation?
The seven trumpets are described in Revelation
8:6–9:19 and 11:15–19. The seven trumpets are the “contents” of the
seventh seal judgment, in that the seventh seal summons the angels who sound
the trumpets (Revelation 8:1–5). The judgments heralded by the seven
trumpets will take place during the tribulation period in
the end times.
The first trumpet.
When the first angel sounds his trumpet, the world experiences “hail and fire
mixed with blood” (Revelation 8:7). One third of the world’s trees are burned
up in this plague, and all the grass is consumed. This judgment bears some
similarities to the seventh plague in Egypt (see Exodus
9:23–24).
The second trumpet.
In heaven, a second angel sounds a trumpet. The result is that “something like
a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea” (Revelation
8:8). A third of the sea turns to blood, a third of the ships sink, and a
third of ocean life dies (verse 9). This judgment is similar in some ways to
the first plague in Egypt (see Exodus
7:20–21).
The third trumpet.
The third trumpet judgment is like the second, except it affects the world’s
freshwater lakes and rivers instead of the oceans. Specifically, “a great star,
blazing like a torch” falls from the sky and poisons a third of the water
supply (Revelation
8:10). This star is given the name Wormwood, and many people
die (verse 11). In botany, wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
is a shrub-like plant noted for its extreme bitterness and poisonous
properties.
The fourth trumpet.
The fourth of the seven trumpets brings about changes in the heavens. “A third
of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a
third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a
third of the night” (Revelation 8:12).
Following the fourth trumpet judgment, John notes a special
warning that comes from an eagle flying through the air. This eagle cries out
with a loud voice, saying, “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth,
because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels” (Revelation
8:13). For this reason, the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets are referred
to as the “three woes.”
The fifth trumpet.
The fifth trumpet (and the first woe) results in a terrifying plague of
“demonic locusts” that attack and torture the unsaved for five months (Revelation
9:1–11). The plague begins with a “star” falling from heaven. This star is
most likely a fallen angel, as he is given “the key to the shaft of the Abyss”
(verse 1). He opens the Abyss, releasing a horde of “locusts” with “power like
that of scorpions” (verse 3). The locusts do not touch the plant life of earth;
rather, they head straight for “those people who did not have the seal of God
on their foreheads” (verse 4). For five months, these locusts torment people,
whose agony is so great that they will wish to die, “but death will elude them”
(verse 7). The locusts are not allowed to kill anyone, only to torture them.
These demonic “locusts” have a “king,” who is the angel of
the Abyss (Revelation
9:11). In Hebrew his name is Abaddon, and in
Greek it’s Apollyon, meaning “Destroyer.” The locusts themselves are described
in unusual terms: they look like “horses prepared for battle” (verse 6). They
wear something like “crowns of gold,” and their faces are vaguely human (verse
7). They have hair “like women’s hair” and teeth “like lions’ teeth” (verse 8).
They have something like iron breastplates, and their wings sound like “the
thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle” (verse 9). Like
scorpions, they have stings in their tails (verse 10). This description has
prompted many different interpretations: is this a vision of helicopters, of
barbarian warriors, of a satanically empowered army, or of actual creatures
from the pit of hell? We won’t know for sure until it happens.
The sixth trumpet.
The sixth trumpet (and the second woe) involves the onslaught of another
demonic horde (Revelation 9:12–21). Once the sixth trumpet sounds, a voice
from the altar of God calls for the release of “the four angels who are bound
at the great river Euphrates” (verse 14). These four angels had been kept in
captivity for just this purpose: to wreak destruction during the tribulation
(verse 15). These four wicked angels lead a supernatural cavalry of thousands
upon thousands to kill a third of humanity (verse 16). The riders have
breastplates of “fiery red, dark blue, and yellow” (verse 17). Their horses
have “the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur,”
and “their tails were like snakes” (verses 18–19). They kill with their mouths
and with their tails.
Despite the severity and horror of these plagues, the
survivors on earth still refuse to repent. They continue in their idolatry,
their murder, their sorcery, their sexual immorality, and their theft (Revelation
9:20–21).
Following the sixth trumpet judgment is a literary
interlude. John sees an angel descend from heaven with a little scroll in his
hand. A promise is given that “the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet”
(Revelation
10:7), and John is told that he must prophesy some more (verse 11). Next
comes a description of the two witnesses who will preach in Jerusalem and
perform miracles before they are murdered. God will then raise them back to
life and take them to heaven (Revelation
11:1–13).
The seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet (and the third woe) sounds, and immediately there are loud voices in heaven saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation
11:15).
The twenty-four elders
say, “The time has come for . . . destroying those who destroy the earth”
(verse 17). Obviously, God is about to wrap things up once and for all. At the
sound of the seventh trumpet, the temple of God is opened in heaven, and
“within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of
lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm”
(verse 19).
Thus end the seven trumpet judgments. All is set for the
seven angels with the seven bowls of God’s wrath. These angels stand inside the
now-open temple, ready to step forward and bring the final judgments on earth (Revelation 15).
Recommended Resource: Understanding End Times Prophecy by Paul Benware
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Is the last trumpet of 1 Thessalonians 4
the same as the seventh trumpet of Revelation?
Those who hold to a midtribulation rapture
teach that the seventh trumpet
of Revelation 11:15
and the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52
and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are identical. Those who teach a pretribulation rapture
identify them as separate events. What difference does it make, and how can we
know the truth?
Why does it matter whether or not
the trumpets are the same? God has given us His Word as the revelation of His
plan of redemption, and that plan covers everything from creation to the new
creation. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but
those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this law.” There are many things that God has
chosen to reveal to us, and it is important for us to understand them so that
we can obey Him. We don’t always understand why He does things, but we are
called to trust Him for the parts we don’t understand and to study to
understand the rest. As we look at the texts about these trumpets, it becomes
clear that they are part of a chronology that God has given us of events in the
last days. Whether or not we are still living when those events come to pass,
they involve us, so we ought to know what God has revealed to us.
The book of Revelation has sometimes
been viewed as a book of mystery, yet the title itself implies something
brought out of hiding. More specifically, it is “the revelation of Jesus Christ
. . . to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Revelation 1:1).
God wants us to know what is going to happen, so we can be prepared, and to
help us in calling others to repentance. Beginning in chapter 6, we are given a
chronological record of things that will happen in the last days. There is a
series of seven seals,
then a series of seven trumpets,
then a series of seven bowls
of wrath. We read in Revelation 11:15,
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying,
‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.’” In the context, this seems to
come around the middle of the tribulation
period.
In 1 Corinthians 15,
Paul is writing to believers concerning the transition from this life to
eternal life. Our mortal bodies will be transformed into immortal,
incorruptible bodies, prepared for the eternal kingdom of God. Verse 52 says,
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.” Paul addresses the same subject to the Thessalonians, and
specifically connects it with the Second Coming of Christ. “For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
There is no question that God has revealed these things to us and that He intends for us to be encouraged and instructed by them. The question is whether these trumpets are the same. If they are the same, then the rapture of the church happens in the middle of the tribulation period, and saints need to be prepared to endure those trials. If they are not the same, then we need to know when the last trump will sound, so that we can be prepared for it. In order to find out whether they are the same, we can compare the events they are associated with.
| Events | 1 Corinthians 15 | 1 Thessalonians 4 | Revelation 11 |
| Trumpet sound | v. 52 | v. 16 | v. 15 |
| Dead saints raised | v. 52 | v. 16 | |
| Living saints changed | v. 52 | v. 17 | |
| Death overcome by victory | v. 54 | v. 14 | |
| Jesus descends from Heaven | v. 16 | Not until Rev 19:11 | |
| Kingdoms of the world taken over by Christ | v. 15 | ||
| Wrath of God on dead | v. 18 | ||
| Rewards given to saints | v. 18 | ||
| Intended result | v. 57-58 – thanks, victory, faithfulness until then | v. 18 – comfort now, presence with Christ then | v. 14,17 – woe on earth, thanks in Heaven |
It is
clear that the first two passages (Corinthians and Thessalonians) fit together,
but the third doesn’t appear to have any correlation in either the events
described or the intended results. The argument connecting them has to depend
on the meaning of the word last in 1 Corinthians 15:52. The Greek word eschatos can
mean either “last in point of time” or “last in point of sequence.” This
trumpet sounds before the wrath of God descends, yet Revelation 6:17 speaks of the wrath of the Lamb as
having come, and the seventh trumpet doesn’t sound until Revelation 11:15. The trumpet of 1 Thessalonians is
given in a moment, whereas Revelation 10:7 indicates that the seventh trumpet
will be sounded for a number of days. Even though the seventh trumpet is the
last one described in Revelation, Matthew 24:31 indicates there is yet another
trumpet which will sound “after the tribulation of those days,” when Christ
returns to the earth, which parallels with Revelation 19.
If the
“last trumpet” of 1
Corinthians 15
is not the same as the seventh trumpet, then what was Paul referring to? Both 1
Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians were written long before John wrote Revelation,
so Paul’s readers would have no knowledge of the seven trumpets of Revelation.
Paul intended for them to understand what he was writing about, so we need to
look elsewhere for clarification. Paul’s writing was distinctly in reference to
the church and the closing of the church age at the rapture. Throughout
Scripture, trumpets were used as signals to gather people, to set armies on the
move, and as part of the worship of God. The trumpet that summons the church is
called “the trump of God,” while those in Revelation are angelic trumpets.
Since it is a summoning trumpet, we can look to the Old Testament for further
understanding. Numbers 10 gives instruction to Israel about
the use of trumpets to call an assembly of the people and to set them in
motion. The first trumpet blast (v. 4) called the leaders together, while a
continual blowing was an alarm for the people. A series of trumpet blasts was
the signal for each group of tribes to begin their journey, and the last blast
indicated the movement of the last group in the camp. Similarly, 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of different orders, or
ranks, in the resurrection: “Every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” Further, 1
Thessalonians 4:16–17
divides Christ’s own into two groups—the dead in Christ and those who are alive
and remain.
So, if the trumpet is the call for saints to assemble and journey to heaven, what does that mean for us? Jesus said that no one knows when the Day of the Lord will begin (Matthew 24:36), and 1 Thessalonians 5:2 describes it as coming as a thief in the night, without warning. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, we are told to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we do not know when the trumpet will sound, so we are to be always ready. While we may not know the day or hour, we have been given enough information to know it can happen at any moment. We are to be ready, putting on the armor of God, because we have been appointed to receive salvation through Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8–9).
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What are the seven
bowls/vials of Revelation?
The seven bowl or vial judgments
are the final judgments of the tribulation period.
They will be the most severe judgments the world has ever seen. The seven bowls
are described in Revelation
16:1–21, where they are specifically called “the seven bowls of God’s
wrath” (verse 1). Under the Antichrist, the wickedness of man has reached its
peak, and it is met with God’s wrath against sin. The seven bowl judgments are
called forth by the seventh trumpet.
The first bowl.
The first angels pours out the first bowl on the land, “and ugly, festering
sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and
worshiped its image” (Revelation 16:2). This plague is targeted at those who have
committed themselves to the Antichrist; tribulation saints
will not be affected by these sores.
The second bowl.
The second bowl is poured out on the sea, turning the water “into blood like
that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died” (Revelation
16:3). A third of the sea life had already perished with the sounding of
the second trumpet (Revelation 8:9), and now the rest of the sea life is gone.
The oceans are dead.
The third bowl. When the third bowl
of God’s wrath is poured out, the rivers and freshwater springs also turn into blood
(Revelation
16:4–5). The angel in charge of the water says, “You are just in these
judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve” (verses 5–6).
The altar in heaven responds,
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments” (verse 7).
The fourth bowl.
The fourth angel pours out his bowl on the sun, “and the sun was allowed to
scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat” (Revelation
16:8–9). Rather than repent of their sin, the wicked inhabitants of the
earth “cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they
refused to repent and glorify him” (verse 9).
The fifth bowl.
The fifth of the seven bowls causes the kingdom of the beast to be plunged into
great darkness. The pain and suffering of the wicked intensify, so that people
gnaw their tongues in agony (Revelation
16:10–11). Still, the followers of the Antichrist
“refused to repent of what they had done” (verse 11).
The sixth bowl.
The sixth angel pours out his bowl of judgment on the Euphrates River. That
river is dried up in preparation for the kings of the East making their way to
their own destruction (Revelation 16:12). John then sees three unclean spirits
“that looked like frogs” coming from the mouths of Satan, the Antichrist, and
the false prophet (verse 13). These demons perform miracles and deceive the
kings of the earth and gather them to the final battle on the Day of the Lord
(verse 14). Under demonic influence, “the kings [gather] together to the place
that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (verse 16).
The seventh bowl. The seventh bowl
is emptied into the atmosphere. A loud voice in heaven says, “It is done!” (Revelation
16:17). The seventh bowl results in flashes of lightning and an earthquake
so severe that “no earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been
on earth, so tremendous was the quake” (verse 18). Jerusalem is split into
three parts, and the cities of the world collapse (verse 19). Islands are
flooded, and mountains disappear (verse 20). Giant hailstones, “each weighing
about a hundred pounds, fell on people” (verse 21). Those under judgment
“cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so
terrible” (verse 21).
One of the angels of the seven bowl judgments then shows John the fate of Babylon the Great (Revelation 17), as God avenges “the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people, of all who have been slaughtered on the earth” (Revelation 18:24). The world mourns the fall of Babylon (chapter 18), but heaven rejoices (chapter 19). Jesus Christ then returns in glory to defeat the armies of the Antichrist at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11–21) and to set up His kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1–6).
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What is the battle of
Armageddon?
The word “Armageddon” comes from a Hebrew word Har-Magedone,
which means “Mount Megiddo” and has become synonymous with the future battle in
which God will intervene and destroy the armies of the Antichrist as predicted
in biblical prophecy (Revelation 16:16; 20:1-3).
There will be a multitude of people engaged in the battle of Armageddon, as all
the nations gather together to fight against Christ.
The exact location of the valley of Armageddon is unclear
because there is no mountain called Meggido. However, since “Har” can also mean
hill, the most likely location is the hill country surrounding the plain of
Meggido, some sixty miles north of Jerusalem. More than two hundred battles
have been fought in that region. The plain of Megiddo and the nearby plain of
Esdraelon will be the focal point for the battle of Armageddon, which will rage
the entire length of Israel as far south as the Edomite city of Bozrah (Isaiah 63:1).
The valley of Armageddon was famous for two great victories in Israel’s
history: 1) Barak’s victory over the Canaanites (Judges 4:15)
and 2) Gideon’s victory over the Midianites (Judges 7).
Armageddon was also the site for two great tragedies: 1) the death of Saul and
his sons (1 Samuel 31:8) and 2) the death of King Josiah (2
Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:22).
Because of this history, the valley of Armageddon became a symbol of the final conflict between God and the forces of evil. The word “Armageddon” only occurs in Revelation 16:16, “Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” This speaks of the kings who are loyal to the Antichrist gathering together for a final assault on Israel. At Armageddon “the cup filled with the wine of the fury of [God’s] wrath” (Revelation 16:19) will be delivered, and the Antichrist and his followers will be overthrown and defeated. “Armageddon” has become a general term that refers to the end of the world, not exclusively to the battle that takes place in the plain of Megiddo.