Verse 1
1. The commencement of the bowl judgments 16:1
The voice John heard was evidently God’s (cf. Revelation 15:8; Revelation 16:17). The fact that God told all seven angels to pour out their bowls seems to indicate that these judgments will follow each other in rapid succession.
The frequent use of the Greek adjective megales in this chapter indicates the unusual severity and intensity of the bowl judgments. The NASB translators rendered this word "loud" here and in Revelation 16:17; "fierce" in Revelation 16:9; "great" in Revelation 16:12; Revelation 16:14; Revelation 16:18 (twice), and 19 (twice); and "huge" and "severe" in Revelation 16:21. The word also occurs nine times in chapter 18, which is an elaboration on the seventh bowl judgment introduced in Revelation 16:17-21.
The relationship in time of the bowl judgments to the trumpet judgments has been a matter of disagreement among futurist commentators. On the one hand there are some similarities between them, as a side by side comparison reveals. [Note: See Beasley-Murray, pp. 238-39, and Beale, pp. 809-10.] However the differences make it most difficult to conclude that they are identical judgments. [Note: See Swete, p. 200; and Thomas, Revelation 8-22, pp. 525-43.]
| Tribulation Judgments |
| Seals (ch. 6) | Trumpets (chs. 8-9) | Bowls (ch. 16) | |
| 1. | Antichrist | Storm | Sores |
| 2. | War | Meteor | Bloody Seas |
| 3. | Famine | Bitterness | Bloody Springs |
| 4. | Death (¼ of Population) | Darkness | Fire |
| 5. | Imprecations | Locusts | Darkness |
| 6. | Earthquake | Horses (1/3 of Population) | Invasion |
| 7. | 7 Trumpets | 7 Bowls | Earthquake & Hail |
It seems more likely that the bowls constitute the seventh trumpet, as the trumpets constitute the seventh seal. This would make the bowls the last plagues to come on the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation (Rev_15:1). Many details in the text, to be pointed out below, support the conclusion that this is the correct interpretation.
"The first four affect individuals directly either through personal affliction or through objects of nature, and the last three are on more of an international scale, leading the way to a final major confrontation." [Note: Ibid., p. 248.]
"After almost a century of insipid preaching from America’s pulpits, the average man believes that God is all sweetness and light and would not discipline or punish anyone. Well, this Book of Revelation tells a different story!" [Note: McGee, 5:1022.]
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