“Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great
Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”
Our present passage deals with the seventh and final bowl judgment. This is the last seven of three sets of seven. The seventh bowl judgment is a series of judgments. This is the gravest and unprecedented judgment of the entire Tribulation. John repeats the word “great” in Greek seven times in this chapter.
16:17
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!
The seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the atmospheric heavens. Atmospheric heavens are the abode of Satan and his demons (Ep 2:2).
The word “loud” is the Greek word great. At the finish of the seventh bowl, a voice declares that this is the final act of God’s judgment. This judgment is the finish of Satan and his demons. The words “is done” means that it finished at one point in the past with the result abiding permanently. God not only finishes His judgment, but the result continues in this case into eternity.
16:18
And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.
The last bowl judgment brings unprecedented natural disturbances. These disturbances reduce the shrines of men to shambles. The earth is the most stable thing we know. When the earth shakes, we have no point of orientation. There is nowhere to flee. This “great” earthquake is a terrifying experience.
16:19
Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great
Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
Verses nineteen and twenty show the enormity of the devastating earthquake of verse eighteen.
The earthquake of the previous verse shakes Jerusalem (the great city, 11:8) so hard that the city divides into three parts. Other cities also shake, including Babylon, the city that launched the times of the Gentiles. The fall of these cities is the end of the times of the Gentiles.
16:20
Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
The earthquake has a worldwide impact. The topography of the world changes dramatically. Some islands sink into the ocean, and some mountains fall into great crevasses of the ground. God brings the whole world to final accountability.
16:21
And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent.
A “talent” is about 132 pounds. Imagine 132-pound hail falling from the sky! Hail that heavy would go through the roof of your house. That hailstorm will cause great havoc and will cause men to blaspheme God.
Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
Here is another use of the term “great” with the qualifying term “exceedingly” before it. This judgment is so great that God calls it a “plague.” This hailstorm will crumble houses, businesses, and the monuments of men. Everything crumbles except the rebellious heart of man.
This is the end of the Tribulation chronologically in the book of Revelation. The next two chapters will expound on Babylon’s fall (globalism, one-world government, and one world religion, 14:8). Those two chapters do not advance the Tribulation chronologically. This brings us chronologically to the next event in God’s program, the Second Coming of Christ (chapter 19).
PRINCIPLE:
The mills of God grind exceedingly slow, but they grind exceedingly sure.
APPLICATION:
There has never been a time when man has not had an opportunity to get right with God. Every person has had a chance to receive Christ.
Man must give account to God as the Final Judge. God will assault the citadel of man’s heart by collapsing the world around him. The mills of God grind exceedingly slow, but they grind exceedingly sure.
