Revelation 16:1-21
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; 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.
3 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.
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.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorcheda with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10 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,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
12 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.
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.
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.
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.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
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.
18 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.
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.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 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.
A condensed and graphic description of the processes of judgment on the rebellious and sinful race follows. Evil has wrought itself out to its most terrible expression, and now it is to be smitten without mercy.
Everything opened with a great voice sounding from the temple. Terrible physical suffering follows the pouring out of each of the first four bowls. The fifth angel pours his bowl, and the kingdom of the beast is wrapped in darkness. Notwithstanding the unimaginable terror of their condition, the evil men still "blasphemed the God of heaven," and "they repented not of their works."
The sixth angel pours his bowl, and there is a change in the method of judgment. The great river Euphrates is dried up. The drying up of this river makes easy the gathering together of the kings of the earth to do battle against the hosts of God. Then comes Har-Magedon.
In the midst of all this John seems to hear a word of Christ, and answers it in a parenthesis. It announces His coming, and pronounces blessing on those who watch. In all these processes of judgment it would seem that a remnant was continually being lifted into the position of submission and loyalty, and every now and again some such word as this declares the watchfulness and tenderness of God and His readiness to receive and rescue from the judgments those who turn to Him.
The seventh angel pours his bowl upon the air, and the voice from the temple is again heard crying, "It is done." The all-permeating power of God which has operated in beneficent gentleness now shakes the earth, and the judgment of Babylon takes place. Yet again it is written that men still blaspheme God.