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The History of the Ages – Lesson 48

Now comes the seventh and final bowl judgment described in these last 5 verses of Revelation 16. “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple in heaven from the throne came a loud voice saying, It is done! And there came loud rumblings, flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, and a tremendous earthquake. Nothing this severe and destructive has ever happened since man has been on the earth. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And God remembered mighty Babylon and made her drain the cup filled with the wine of his great anger. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. Huge hailstones of over 100 pounds each fell from the sky onto the people; and they cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so terrible.” (Verses 17-21)


This is what I call “the big finale”, kind of what you see in a July 4th fireworks display, only much bigger and louder. Now, I hope this isn’t too confusing, but I have to bring this up. The earthquake described here is the same one mentioned in Revelation 11:13 at the end of the passage describing the ministry of the two witnesses (I mention this at the beginning of Lesson 37). We know that parenthetical passage concerning the two witnesses runs right up to the end of the tribulation and here we are, again.  


It’s obvious from the wording of verse 18 that this is the big one. In describing the loud sounds, the lightning, the thunder and the earthquake, it says there has never been anything like it in the history of mankind. The earthquake is so widespread and destructive that it divides Jerusalem into three parts (again, remember the context of Revelation 11:8, 13), the literal city of Babylon is destroyed (described in detail later in chapter 18), islands are moved out of their original places and mountains are leveled. And if that’s not enough, violent thunderstorms produce hailstones weighing over one hundred pounds each. I’ve seen hailstones that weighed about two pounds, but can’t imagine one hundred pound stones. The damage will be horrific.


Actually, the seventh bowl judgment signals the end of many things. So, I’ll try to list some of them here, as this will illustrate what a pivotal event this is. As I’ve explained before, the tribulation is not a simple series of consecutive events. So, to put things into proper perspective, let’s look at some of the things that find their completion with this final bowl judgment.


  1. This signals the end of what the Scriptures call the “times of the Gentiles”. Read Luke 21:24 and Romans 11:25-29. I’ll have more to say about the times of the Gentiles when we get to chapter 17. But for now a short explanation might be in order. Basically, the times of the Gentiles represent the history of Israel as a nation from the time of their bondage in Egypt to the second coming of Christ. Through that time they will have been dominated and oppressed by eight different Gentile empires (I’ll name them for you when we get to chapter 17). This will have been the history of Israel’s rebellion and God’s discipline of them down to the point where they receive His Messiah at the end of the tribulation and their destiny to become the spiritual leaders of the earth becomes a reality. 
  2. Since Armageddon and the 2nd coming of Christ are concurrent events, the 7th bowl judgment ends the great tribulation, is the last of the series of judgments and ends God’s indignation or wrath, which began in Revelation 6:12-17 with the 6th seal (remember the end of verse 16 above, “out of the temple in heaven from the throne came a loud voice saying, It is done!”).
  3. The ministry of the two witnesses comes to an end, but the worldwide revival they started will continue due to yet future events, we’ll discuss that when we look at the Millennium. Just try to imagine the affect that Armageddon and the reality of Christ’s physical return to the earth will have on those who may have been skeptical up to this point. There will always be those who will try to give a natural explanation for supernatural events. This will become increasingly difficult when Christ returns with angels and saints and begins to rule the earth “with a rod of iron”. The “rod” is always symbolic of discipline and chastening. As we will learn, the purpose of the Millennium is to deal with the enemies of God on the earth and give all nations the opportunity to accept that God is on the earth and in control.
  4. Both Israel and Jerusalem will once and for all time be liberated from Gentile control.
  5. The martyrdom of saints will end (20:4-6).
  6. Beast worship will end (19:20).
  7. As noted above, Babylon (the commercial center of Antichrist’s kingdom) is destroyed (again, coming in chapter 18).
  8. The great earthquake destroys many of the cities in the nations controlled by or sympathetic to the Antichrist. I believe these are the major population centers of the “goat” nations described in Matthew 25:31-46. In this passage Jesus describes the judgment of the nations. This is not to be confused with the judgment of the wicked dead in Revelation 20:11-15. This is an individual judgment of those in Antichrist’s kingdom still alive after Armageddon. The purpose of the judgment is to determine who (in these nations that have been committed to the destruction of Israel) will be allowed to enter into the Millennium. The basis of the judgment will be how each individual has dealt with Israel. The result of the judgment will be that some (those determined to be sheep) will be allowed to live on, and others (the goats) will be sent immediately to the lake of fire and eternal punishment.
  9. This earthquake also causes great physical changes in the topography of Antichrist’s kingdom (islands in the Mediterranean are moved, mountains leveled).
  10. The first resurrection is completed. When we get to Revelation 20:4-6, I’ll talk about the first resurrection and the different raptures over time that are included in it and then what the second resurrection is.
  11. Satan’s reign as the god of this world is finally ended (20:1-3).
  12. The Antichrist and the false prophet are dealt with (19:20).
  13. What is commonly known as “the day of the Lord” signals the beginning of Christ’s eternal reign on the earth.

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