Revelation chapters 15 and 16. The Seven Bowls.

VISION 6:- REVELATION 15 and 16:- THE SEVEN BOWLS

INTRODUCTION.

Chapters 15 and 16 are a literary unit telling us of the last plagues, called the Bowls, or Vials, of wrath.

There is a clear parallel between the Trumpets and the Bowls in that they affect the same areas of human life. Where the Trumpets are only a partial destruction the Bowls are a total judgement. The Trumpets are intended to be a warning, a call to repentance, the Bowls however are final judgement, wrath. There is no chance for repentance after them.

Reiteration of some points previously made:

1. The Seals, trumpets and Bowls all run concurrently in our time. The seventh seal, trumpet and bowl being the same event in time. This is shown by the repeated phrase, “There were noises, and thunderings add lightening and a great earthquake and heavy hail”.

2. The Bowls are bowls of God’s wrath. John has built up to this point in time several times in REVELATION but each time the full content of wrath has not been revealed. This time he is going to show us all.

3. God’s wrath appears only on the Day of the Lord, hence we are now right at the end.
Revelation 6:17. The day of Wrath.

4. Each of these three series has a “context” which determines its meaning.
(i) The Seals are the outworking of the Law of Sowing and Reaping operating on the broken covenant of Adam.
(ii) The Trumpets are a harvest – the harvest of the Law of Sowing and Reaping operating on the sin of mankind throughout the ages.
(iii) The Bowls – have no outside context – they are called “The Wrath of God” and that is what they are – God’s direct judgement on the sin and rebelliousness of mankind. The Bowls are not the operation of the law of Sowing and Reaping, rather they are God’s personal reaction to sin. This makes the bowls a qualitatively different event to anything that has preceded them.

A) REVELATION CH 15: - THE EXODUS OF THE SAINTS.

REV 15:1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues- last, because with them God's wrath is completed.

REV 15:2 And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God

REV 15:3 and sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.

REV 15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

REV 15:5 After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened.

REV 15:6 Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests.

REV 15:7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.

REV 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

(1) Introducing the Wrath of God.

15:1 "Then I saw..."
Introducing another vision.

"another portent"
C/f 12:1-3 - a sign in the heavens.
C/f Crater, a decan of Leo.
Crater is a picture of a bowl, or cup, of wrath. The cup is fixed directly on the body of the serpent. The main stars of Crater are also the main stars of the serpent, showing that the curse of the wrath of God is already fixed on him.
Crater has 13 stars, 13 speaking of Apostacy, rebellion, Satan.
What John goes on to describe is the outworking of the wrath of God.

Revelation 14:10 20:20.

"seven angels" - the archangels again?

"which are the last"
The Greek is emphatic - "the LAST ones". There is no wrath to follow the bowls.

"for with them the wrath of God is ended".
"wrath"
Greek = thumos = anger, rage, wrath - of a passionate kind.
Hence we have here in view the EXPRESSION of wrath, not the attitude.

"ended"
Greek = "filled up", meaning to bring to a conclusion or ultimate goal.
It signifies the total amount of wrath also. Until the bowls God’s wrath has not been expressed. It is fully expressed in the bowls and nowhere else.

(2) Interpolation:- The Safety of the Saints.
(a) In the previous cycles of judgements John has built up to the wrath of God, usually introducing it's nearness in the sixth of the series. Then he would have an interlude depicting the condition of the saints at that time, and stressing their protection by God. Only after that is the wrath actually mentioned.

In this cycle the whole cycle of seven is Wrath, so before the cycle starts John again depicts the position of the Saints.
In essence this chapter illustrates the truth of 1 Thessalonians 5:9, "we are not destined to wrath".

(b) Throughout REVELATION the typology of God's deliverance of his people from Egypt in the Exodus story is used to picture the final deliverance of God's People. Also the idea of the seven month festival season of Israel's calendar has been alluded to. In this chapter these two lines of thought are brought together to show the dynamic connection between them, and their prophetic meaning.

(c) A BACKGROUND IDEA - THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS CALENDER.
Leviticus 23.
The Jewish religious calendar was an important regulator of Jewish Worship. This chapter lists the major Holy Days and Festivals the Israel was to Celebrate. Greater Detail for some of the Celebrations are given elsewhere, but this chapter gives the overview.

(1) Each of these Festivals had FOUR major meanings:
(a) They were a harvest festival.
(b) They were a memorial to events that happened to the nation of Israel during their exodus from Egypt.
(c) They were seen to be a prophetic message of the future deliverance that God would bring to his people through the Messiah, hence they speak of the work of Christ.
(d) Hence they have a personal application to each of us as Christians, in terms of our experience and spiritual growth. There is a spiritual experience that corresponds to each of the festivals, and as we grow in God we will experience the true meaning of the festival.

(2) There were FOUR main groups of festivals:
(i) The Sabbath (v1-3) - the weekly day of Rest.
Every Friday from 6.00p.m. to Saturday 6.00p.m.
(ii) Passover - On the 14th Day of the first month.
Three events around Passover at the beginning of the summer harvest. These were:
# The Festival of Unleavened Bread,
# Passover itself and
# The Ceremony of the First Fruits.
(iii) Pentecost - 50 days after Passover.
(iv) Secular New Year - in the seventh month.
The last group of festivals were at the end of the harvest, just prior to the beginning of winter, and associated with the Jewish Secular New Year, being the seventh month of the Religious calendar.
Again there were three main festivals over this time: -
* The festival of Trumpets, beginning on New Year's Day proper, the first day of the seventh month, and extending to the 14th day of the month, which was the Day of Atonement.
The surrounding Nations had great celebrations on New Year's Day, in which they traditionally re-crowned their kings and engaged in other significant cultic celebrations.
Israel simply had a trumpet blast, the major celebration of New Year waiting until Atonement.
The trumpet blast was a remembrance of the fact that whenever they broke camp in the wilderness they blew trumpets as the alarm (Numbers 10). The journey from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea is about 10 days in length. It looks as if the 10 days between New Year and Atonement are meant to recall the walk from Sinai to the land. It seems that the Trumpet call went out, in fact, SEVEN times over these ten days, suggesting that the trip was done in stages, as we read in Numbers.
* The Jews reserved their New Year celebrations for the day of Atonement (v 26-32). This was on the tenth day of the seventh month.
This was the end of the harvest, the fruit and grapes (vintage) having been collected.
We read in Numbers 13,14 how when Israel arrived at Kadesh Barnea they send spies into the land. These spies went out "at the beginning of the season of first ripe grapes," and took 40 days to carry out their task. If Israel had entered the land the next day, as God intended, than they would have entered the land on the Day of Atonement, but they did not and the type was broken.

As with all of the surrounding nations, this New Year celebration was the major annual Religious convocation. The day was spent in cultic ceremonies and dramas, reenacting creation, the reaffirmation of God as Israel's king (through a recrowning ceremony of the king), the ritual of atonement (Lev 16) and also a dramatic presentation looking forward to the coming of God as King in his Messiah.

* Following this a week after Atonement was a seven day festival, on the 15th - 22nd of the seventh month. the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths, or Shelters (v33-36). It was a major celebration for the completed harvest of grain, fruit, and wine.
This festival was to remind Israel how they lived in Tabernacles, i.e. Tents, during their wilderness wanderings. If they had entered the Land when God intended then this festival would have been a symbol of the blessing of the Promised Land.

It is these last three festivals that interest us here in the context of the fulfilment of REVELATION.
As you can see they were intended by God to be a remembrance to historic events, but Israel's rebellion meant that the pattern was broken. Israel saw this also and saw that the land was not all it was intended to be - so the festivals came to have a greater meaning - pointing forward to the Blessed age coming at the Revelation of the Messiah.
The Church inherited these prophecies from Israel, but the Christ Event radically transformed their meaning. The Church saw that the first three groups of festivals had already been fulfilled in Christ. The last group speak of his Second Coming.

(i) Trumpets:- the seven blasts of the trumpets over the ten days period are clearly intended to speak of the seven trumpets of Revelation (Revelation 8:2) which blow over a ten "day" period. The last blows on the Day of Redemption, the Day of the Lord, and ushers in Christ's return.

(ii) The Day of Atonement:- also known as the day of Redemption, is clearly a prophecy of the second Coming (Ephesians 4:30).

(iii) Tabernacles - speaks of the blessedness of the Millennium.

It is the day of Atonement we are now interested in.

Two things are significant for us on this day:
(i) It was the day reserved for Redemption.
Leviticus 25.
(ii) On this day the High Priest entered into the holy of holies representing the people before God, a task he only did once a year.
Leviticus 16.
This symbolised the once for all entering into God's presence his people will one day accomplish. Christ, the first fruits of the harvest, has already entered in, he is the head, and on the day of Redemption he will bring his Body into his fullness.

This is the event we see in Revelation 15. The six trumpets are over; the seven bowls fill out the meaning of the seventh trumpet.
Hence we now see the Saints experiencing the fullness of their Redemption.

15:2 " a sea of Glass" c/f 4:6 - "like crystal"

"mingled with fire" - implying purity and judgement.
This is a heavenly Red Sea through which the saint have to pass to enter into the Presence of God. However, as in Exodus, the Sea which brought deliverance to Israel also brings ultimate judgement to the enemies of God's people.
Exodus 14 & 15.

"And those who had conquered..."
The overcomers stand (Greek =) "on" the fire and are not consumed. Like the three children of Daniel 3, the righteousness of Christ protects them.

"with harps"
(i) c/f Lyra, a decan of Sagittarius.
(ii) C/f the 144,000 ( Revelation 14:2 ).

15:3,4
"the song of Moses" - Exodus 15, of Deliverance.
Exodus 15:17,18 - Here Moses transcends the historical situation he was in and speaks of a future fulfilment. This is what John is describing to us.

"and of the Lamb" - a song of Redemption by Blood.
The words of the song here are drawn from Psalms 111:2,7; 99:9.

John is simply using a Hebrew technique of reference here. In Hebrew literature there is no title, rather when one wants to recall a portion the first line is quoted. John intends us to refer back to the OT passages to see the context.

Psalms 111.
Verses 2 & 6 are quoted declaring the faithfulness of God in his works. They bracket a mention of his covenant which promises that his people will inherit the nations, looking forward to the time when God rules through his people on earth.

Psalms 99.
Verse 9 is quoted. The Psalm is one of a group of Psalms depicting the Coming of the Messiah in Power and Glory to reign on earth. The particular emphasis of this Psalm is God's establishing of justice and equity, vindicating his people at the end of the age.

Isaiah 2 & Jeremiah 10:7 also contain the same thoughts.

15:5 "temple of the tent of witness in heaven"
C/f Exodus 25ff.
The OT tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly original. Moses was instructed to "make it after the pattern shown him..." (Hebrews 8:5, 9:23).

Revelation 11:19 - this is the same event. John is indicating that the Church has at last entered into God's presence, beyond the veil. This symbolism is clearly meant to be taken to mean the rapture of the Church.

15:6 "out of the temple"
C/f 11:19 - a confirmation of God's faithfulness. He will vindicate his people, but he had to wait until he could judge to do it.

"seven"
Symbolising completion. These angels are carrying ALL of God's wrath. None has been used before, and none will be left to be used after.

15:8 "no one could enter"
It's too late to enter now. Like a late guest at a wedding service, no one is allowed in the door after the ceremony has begun. All who should be are already inside, to be outside means judgement.
It is too late to repent.

"smoke" c/f Exodus 19,20 - Sinai.
I Kings 8:10; Isaiah 6:4.

B) REVELATION CH 16:- THE SEVEN BOWLS OF GOD'S WRATH.

REV 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."

16:1 "a loud voice".
God's? Christ's? The Churches? It is probably the voice of the Church in its role of administering judgement.

"bowls".
Shallow drinking bowls, also used for burning incense. John has both ideas in mind:
- Drinking 14:9,10
- Incense 8:2-5.
The first four bowls are similar to the first four trumpets. The difference is in that where the trumpets were partial, a call to repentance in the face of impending doom the bowls are part of that doom and are total.
In the other series in REVELATION John has divided the seven into 4:2:1. Before the last plague he put a call to repentance. In this series it is too late for repentance - so the call is omitted. The series marches on to its climax without a break.

16:2 The First Bowl:- Sores.

REV 16:2 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.

C/f Exodus 9:8-12.

"foul and evil sores".
The description of the sores suggests they have two characteristics:
(i) They are "foul" - putrid, open ulcers incapable of being healed.
(ii) They are "evil" - this is their essential nature. In other words they are in some way demonically induced.
C/f Job 1,2. - These sores are a result of direct Satanic attack.
Are these cancerous sores? If so then are they the result of nuclear fallout or radiation sickness. Cancer often has a demonic base to it.
Zechariah 14:12 - Medical authorities say that the only disease known to man that fits this description is radiation sickness from nuclear fallout.
Medical researchers already are saying that over 5% of the world's population will suffer some form of cancer.
This plague falls on all who bear Antichrist's mark, i.e. who are under his rule. Parts of the world not under hits rule may be exempt. In any case no Christian is affected by it because apparently we have all gone to Heaven (but see v15).

16:3 The Second Bowl:- The Seas.

REV 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.

C/f Revelation 8:8,9 - The Second Trumpet.
The death of the seas by man's pollution is predicted by many scientists by 2050AD barring natural disasters. The Bible tells us that this death will come instantaneously.

16:4-7 The Third Bowl - Fresh Water.

REV 16:4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

REV 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;

REV 16:6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve."

REV 16:7 And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."

C/f Revelation 8:10-11 - the Third Trumpet.

16:5 "the angel of water"
C/f Revelation 7:1, 14:8 - the angelic force given responsibility for that area of creation. The sin of man reaches even the angelic world in its punishment and suffering.

Enoch 60:11ff 66:2 - The popular belief, probably with some truth, was that all natural elements had an angelic ruler.

"who art and who was"
C/f 1:4 4:8 include "and is to come"
C/f 11:7 - also omitted here as He has come.

16:6 The "eye for an eye" principle.

16:7 "the altar"
Under which the saints rested. Now that place is empty, the saints are risen, but the altar speaks on their behalf.

16:8-9 The Fourth Bowl - The Sun.

REV 16:8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire.

REV 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.

C/f Revelation 9:1-11. In this trumpet the sun's light was diminished, now it is intensified.

"it was allowed to..."
John indicates by this that it is nothing to do with the inherent seat of the sun, it is a judgement of God. The depletion of the earth's ozone layer by nuclear blasts would effect this.

"cursed" C/f Revelation 9:20,21.
Like Pharaoh in Egypt, the Grace of God for repentance was no longer available so they simply curse God. They know where it is coming from!
c/f Revelation 6:16.

The last three bowls relate to the Antichrist and his empire.

16:10,11 The Fifth Bowl - Darkness on the Beast's Kingdom.

REV 16:10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony

REV 16:11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.

"darkness"
Literal for sure, but clearly a symbol of the moral and spiritual darkness of the Beast and his followers.

C/f Joel 2:30-32; Exodus 10:21ff.
The Eclipse of the sun depicts the eclipse of the Beast's power.

"cursed" - literally "blasphemed".

16:12 The Sixth Bowl - The Kings of the East.

REV 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 from the East.

C/f Revelation 9:13ff.
This indicates that the sixth Bowl is the prelude to the sixth trumpet. The river is dried up to make the way to Jerusalem clear. It is presumably the catastrophe that causes this drying up, or the subsequent invasion of the kings of the East which effects the destruction of Babylon, the Capital of the Beast's Empire. It is the capital of Satan's workings on earth and its destruction shows the loss of his power.

The interaction between the Seals, Bowls and Trumpets is here shown to be somewhat more complex than a simple linear sequence of events.

"Euphrates" C/f Isaiah 11:15.
Jeremiah 50:38 - the drying up of the Euphrates is the prelude to the city's doom.
This prophecy of Jeremiah was never fulfilled in history – its fulfilment is still future indicating that Babylon will be rebuilt and inhabited in the last days. Satan’s deceptions began here and they will be judged here.
The Euphrates was the Eastern border of the Roman Empire, and hence probably also of the Antichrist's empire. It appears from other prophecies that Iran (Persia) is allied to other groups at this time.
This is a parallel to the drying up of the Red Sea.
The drying up of the Euphrates possibly also indicates the removal of divine protection from Israel.

NOTE:
This is chronologically difficult if we interpret the phrase "the day of the Lord" to mean a 24 hour day. Rather it is probably best to see the "day of the Lord" to be a period of time starting with the rapture and covering several days, or even weeks, in which various events happen ending in Armageddon.

How this all fits no one really knows! However Daniel gives us a clue.
Daniel 12:11,12.
Here he gives three time periods, the time line looks like this:

Antichrist Rises -> 1260 days -> 30 days -> 45 days

1260 1290 1335.

Antichrist rises and rules for 1260 days from his blasphemy. Then he is judged, but it appears as if this is a period of judgement - a month - leading into a period of restoration (45 days) during which time the kingdom is set up.
The Bowls and Armageddon must therefore fit into this second period of 30 days, but the exact timetable of the events recorded in REVELATION is not clear. This whole 75 day period presumably begins with the rapture of the Church, and the judgement seat of Christ happens during this 30 day period. Armageddon is probably on the 30th day.

"kings of the East"
What unites these groups is probably Islam, a counterfeit Christianity. Prophecies indicate the restoration of the Promised Land to Israel in this period, up to the Euphrates. It is probably this occupation of these lands by Israel that becomes the motivation for their invasion.

NOTE:-
History is cyclic in some ways. It appears that every 800 years the West is threatened by hoards form the East:
490B.C. Persians and Medes.
461A.D. Huns.
1200A.D. Moguls, Genghis Khan.
2000A.D. ?

16:13-16. Gathering for Armageddon.

REV 16:13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

REV 16:14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous 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.

REV 16:15 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

REV 16:16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

16:13

"then I saw"
- usually introduces an new vision. It may do so here, i.e. the frog-like spirits gathering the kings of the world may be a separate piece of information and not part of the 6th Bowl as such.

Note the Satanic Trinity.
"frogs"
Considered by ancient people to be demonic.
C/f Exodus 8:6 - one of the "gods" of Egypt.

"foul" - C/f Gospels Greek = unclean, like demons.
Frogs and demons are similar in that they batter you down with he incessant repetition of the same thing.

"three foul spirits"
Suggesting three power blocs. It does not say that the “three spirits” only go to the kings of the East. Actually it says they go “to the kings of the earth and the whole world.”

The three probably refers the three end time power blocs, the Antichrist, the Kings of the East, and Gog.

However the apparent conflict between the three blocs is not what Satan has in mind. He is wanting a showdown with Christ at Armageddon. But this does show that, on a human level at least, Antichrist does not rule the whole world. This is not surprising as Satan’s kingdom is beset by jealousies and infighting.

16:14 "performing signs"
Like the false prophet to convince men what they should do.

Acting like court flatterers they deceive the world's rulers into coming together to do battle with Antichrist.

16:15 "Lo I am coming like a thief."

The motif of Christ’s coming being like a thief is only used in scripture 5 times. Here it clearly refers to his coming at the end of the Tribulation. The same is true in Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 5.

C/f Revelation 3:3 - We should be alert when we see the events happening around us. We should repent and make sure our garments are clean. Revelation 3:3 on its context is not actually talking about the Second Coming, but the quote made from there in 16:15 means we are allowed to interpret it as referring to Christ’s coming – but again it is to his coming at the end of the tribulation.

Again the chronology is difficult – this verse indicates the rapture has not yet occurred. However this may not be the implication here. John is quoting the words of Jesus from 3:3. It may only be his intention to draw our attention to the fact that this is the judgement Christ was talking about there that men needed to repent to avoid. The omission of "and is to come" from the formula in v 5 suggests that this is the case. The Coming One has come!

16:16 "Armageddon"

Hebrew equivalent = Har Megiddon = the Mountain of Megiddo.

But Megiddo is not a mountain, it is a plain between the sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. It is part of the valley of Jezreel (a famous battlefield). The nearest mountain is Carmel, but this is never called Megiddo.

At the town Megiddo Solomon had stables for his horses and chariots. To have such preparations for war is to rely on the arm of the flesh (Isaiah 30:16), i.e. Megiddo here speaks of those that are relying on the arm of the flesh to oppose God. The idea of a mountain speaks of mankind's political empires (see ch 17). Hence the name "Armageddon" here is a cryptic way of telling us that the people to be found here are a humanistic empire, relying on the might of man to overcome God.

The valley itself is also called Jehosophat (Joel 3). There will be a literal battle here but the real issue here is man attitude of man that is world wide, it is the system of Babylon.

Other references to this end time battle:
Joel 3.
Daniel 11:45
Ezekiel 38,39 - The Invasion of Gog.
Zechariah 14.

16:17-21 The Seventh Bowl - The Fall of Babylon.

REV 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!"

REV 16:18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

REV 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.

REV 16:20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.

REV 16:21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

16:17 "into the air" - the habitat of Satan (Ephesians 2:1,2). This is the last phase of his judgement in this age. Only the Great white throne remains.

"It is done!" - One Greek word indicating completed action.
C/f John 19:28-30 - a cry of victory. These two cries relate to each other. Christ finished his part of the work of Redemption and cried out, now God has finished his.

16:18
C/f 8:1-5, 11:15-19 = the same event.

"a great earthquake" - the result of the earth's crust moving back into line. (For details on the movement of the crust of the earth see H. Morris - The Genesis Flood).

Paul tells us that there were changes in the earth's structure as a result of the Fall and Flood, these will be reversed at Christ's coming. (Romans 8:19-22).

"the great city" = Babylon (it says so) but it also means Jerusalem and all the cities of the world. As the system is judged they all fall. Jerusalem in particular is on a fault line which will split at this time.

"islands fled away, no mountain found" - the surface of the earth is returned to its Genesis state (Genesis 1:9).

"hailstones" - over 100 lbs in weight.
10lb hailstones reportedly destroyed houses on occasion. What would 100lb stones be like?

Note on Armageddon.

Surprisingly enough, though so much is made of it in the world and in prophetic teaching in the church, little is said about Armageddon in the Bible.

Revelation mentions it in ch 16:16, this is the only time it is named in Scripture.

Armageddon: Hebrew equivalent = Har Megiddon = the Mountain of Megiddo.

But Megiddo is not a mountain, it is a plain between the sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. It is part of the valley of Jezreel (a famous battlefield). The nearest mountain is Carmel, but this is never called Megiddo. The valley itself is also called Jehosophat (Joel 3).

The key thing is that there Satan will amass the forces of mankind who remain in rebellion to God to oppose him at his coming.

Revelation also mentions it obliquely in 19:15, 19.

The nations are drawn there under a false pretext, a power struggle for control of the Earth.

It seems clear from the Scripture that there are three power blocs at the end of the age. The idea that Antichrist rules the whole world is patently a myth - if it were true then who would he have to fight? (Little thought goes into such questions by many popular preachers). It is true that Antichrist would like to have world domination and actively seeks that, but it appears that this is a goal he never attains. Thus the drawing of the nations to Armageddon to oppose God at the last battle is Satan's final ploy. Having failed to attain his desired "Babel", and unite men politically against God, he tries to do it militarily.

The pretence he uses to get the armies of the world to Armageddon is the struggle for control. They believe they are there to fight each other. It is only at the appearance of Christ that they unite to fight him.

Who are the Power Blocs?

I have suggested above that the “three foul spirits” call together three power blocs and bring them to Armageddon.
Two are clear from Revelation:
(1) Antichrist and his allies.
As we shall see later Antichrist rules the confederacy of Western Europe, and from there extends his control over the Middle East and probably Egypt.

(2) The Kings of the East:
Revelation 16:12,13.
C/f Revelation 9:14 - four of them, possibly implying four ethnic groups in the Eastern Bloc.
This suggests that there is a political bloc that forms in East Asia, possibly to counter the growing threat of Western domination from the Antichrist.

But who is the third group? A suggestion:

(3) Russia and Her allies.
It seems to me that Russia and her allies are the third group.

Most modern writers (from American shores) have suggested that the third of the earth destroyed by the trumpets is the Eastern European confederation. I do not believe that this is correct and will shortly give my reason for this. I have already indicated that my belief is that the third of the earth previously destroyed is the Americas.

The belief that it is Russia is developed from the prophecy of the Invasion of Palestine by Gog recorded in Ezek 38, to this we must turn.

Ezekiel 38.
Identification of Gog and his allies (vs 1-6):

"Gog, Rosh, Meshech and Tubal and etc".
The Following identification of the nations is drawn from Hal Lindsay's "The Late Great Planet Earth." I assume his research is correct. He is using Heroditus, Josephus, Pliny, William Gesenius (A great Hebrew scholar of last century), Dr. Young (an archaeologist), and other authorities ancient and modern.

Lindsay makes the following identifications:

“Meshech and Tubal”
Heroditus: Are the Samaritans and Muschovites who lived in the province of Pontus, Nth Asia Minor.
Josephus: Are the Moschevi and Thobelites who lived north of the Caucasus.
Pliny: Are the Scythians who took Hierapolis and later called it Magog. The Scythians are the major group who make up modern Russia.
Gesenius: Meshech was the founder of the Moschi a barbarian people who dwelt in the Moschian Mountains. Moschi is derived from Meshech and is the source of the name Moscow.

“Rosh”
Means “chief”, hence could mean “Gog, the ruler of Magog”. But probably it is a proper name here and = Ros or Rus, the people who dwelt in the country of Taurus, mentioned often by the Byzantian and Arab writers and were reckoned among the Scythian tribes. Gesenius puts them north of the Taurus mountains near the river Volga.

“Tubal”
Founder of the Tiberians a people dwelling on the Black Sea to the west of the Moschi.

“Gomer and her hordes”
Dr. Young: Most recent archaeology says that they settled on the north of the Black Sea and spread South and West to the extremities of Europe.

“Ashkenaz”
Proper name for a region and nation in Nth Asia. The Modern Jews identify it with (East) Germany and call Germany by this name.
Josephus: The sons of Ashkenaz = the Rheginians and on a map of the ancient Roman empire they are placed in modern Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany up to the banks of the Danube River. The Talmud agrees with this identification.

“Togarmah”
Genesius: They are the northern nation springing from Gomer and abound in horses and mules. Founded Armenia.
Dr Bouman: = the Turkoman tribes of Central Asia, thus are the modern Cossacks and East Russia. The Cossacks love horses and have the finest cavalry in the world.

Ezekiel 38:7. Gog is commanded to prepare himself and his allies. I.e Russia will equip and command them.

Thus the identification of Gog and her allies with Modern Russia and her allies seems certain. This is the area of the old Eastern communist bloc. This area was outside of the old Roman empire with only a few small exceptions. Thus it will be outside the empire of Antichrist.

This all suggests a resurgence of Russia as a military power, and the reformation of the old Eastern Communist bloc under Russian domination.

Prophecies:

(1) It seems clear that Russia will again build an alliance with her old allies in the eastern bloc. Movements are going towards this now. The power vacuum will need to be filled.

(2) It seems probable that this bloc will rearm before the expulsion of Satan from heaven (Revelation 12) (and thus could be the agents of Satan's attack on the Americas, destroying America with a preemptive nuclear strike).

(3) The Eastern Bloc will thus be present at Armageddon.

(4) Allied with Russia at this point on time will also be those listed in v5 - "Persia (Iran), Ethiopia (Black Africa) and Libya (North African Arab nations)".

(5) Prior to this invasion Israel had been dwelling safely at peace (38:14), presumably because of the treaty they had with Antichrist. They are "unwalled" (38:11), suggesting that they have given up having armed forces of their own, instead depending on the Antichrist for security.

NOTE:
Hal Lindsay, and many other recent writers following him, puts the events of Ezek 38 at the mid point of the tribulation, i.e. the invasion of Israel by Russia and her destruction is identified with the one third of the world that is destroyed by the trumpets.

I do not think this is correct for the following reason:
There is a time clue in Ezekiel 38 as to when the events described there occur. It is easy to miss if you are not looking for it or are not aware of the implications of the words used. It is found in:
Ezekiel 38:18. "on that day will my wrath be aroused"

Two statements are important here:
(i) "on that day".
This is a common phrase denoting the day of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation. It is a sort of shorthand for “the Day of the Lord”. However it is sometimes used to denote other events so this in itself it is not decisive. However when it is coupled with the second phrase it is doubly forceful.

(ii) "my wrath".
A study of Scripture of the concept of the wrath of God WHEN RELATED TO THE LAST DAYS reveals clearly that God's wrath does not appear until the day of the Lord, i.e. the final phase of the Tribulation after the rapture.

The joining of "that day" with "wrath" here is thus definitive - the event being talked about here is not some event early in the Tribulation, but is the wrath of God at the end of the age, i.e. the Day of the Lord.

Thus the third group at Armageddon is Russia and her allies.

The invasion of Palestine by Russia and her allies precipitates Armageddon.
Ezekiel 38.
See also references in Jeremiah and Ezekiel to the "North".

Not wanting to miss out on the spoils the kings of the East also invade;
Revelation 16:12-16, 9:12-21.
All of the nations are represented there (with only a few exceptions).

Zechariah 12:3.

Antichrist is already present in the Middle East, ruling from either Babylon or Jerusalem.

God will intervene with a mighty deliverance.
Zechariah 12:7-9.

Israel, the remnants of it, shall repent.
Zechariah 12:10-14.

Apparently the armies of the world are destroyed by nuclear holocaust.
Zechariah 14:12 - describes radiation sickness and the effects of the neutron bomb.

The side effects include the splitting of the Mount of Olives by a massive earthquake.
Zechariah 14:4,5.
A major fault line passes through the Mt of Olives.

It will take over 7 months to bury the dead.
Ezekiel 39:12.

And over 7 years to burn their arms.
Ezekiel 39:9,10.
Interestingly enough weapons are now being made from plastics which can be burnt but are very tough.

A final point:

If this identification is correct then we have the peoples of Eurtope, Asia and Africa all joining at Armageddon to fight against the Lord at his coming. But this raises the inevitable question, "What was the third of the world destroyed in the Trumpets blasts?"

In the blog text I suggested it was the Americas - though without giving much proof for the assertion. Several supporting proofs were given there which you might like to revisit after reading this.

Why the Americas?

Well by a process of elimination really.

(i) If Europe, Africa and Asia still exist, largely untouched by the trumpets and seals, and are able to field vast armies at Armageddon, then the logic implication is that the 1/3 was not them. That really only leaves the Americas as a large enough land mass to equate to 1/3.

(ii) No matter how hard we try to twist the scriptures there is no way we can identify any of the participants at Armageddon with the Americas. It seems that at the end opf the age they are just "not there".

Sad, but true.