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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
November 16, 2025
*The Seventh Bowl Plagues; The Judgment of Religious Babylon
Revelation 16:17 – 17:18
Introduction
Please turn to Revelation 16. This morning we will conclude our study of that chapter with a detailed look at the afflictions that come upon the earth with the pouring out of the seventh bowl of God’s wrath. This is not just the final bowl in the sequence of the bowls of God’s wrath, it is the final judgment in the sequence of plagues God has sent upon the wicked that dwell on the earth that began with the breaking of the seals back in chapter 6 and proceeded through the trumpet judgments in chapters 8 and 9. *According to Revelation 15:1, when the consequences of the seventh bowl of wrath conclude, “the wrath of God is finished,” it will have come to its end.
The blowing of the seventh trumpet in Rev. 11:15 brings the proleptic proclamation of the victory of the kingdom of Christ over the kingdom of this world and describes the scene in heaven. This is followed by a parenthetical section in Revelation 12-14 that explains the background, characters and plot of what will come in the final stages of God’s wrath that arrives with the pouring of the seven bowls. *The sequential narrative picks up again in Revelation 15 by returning to the scene in heaven that was being described at the end of chapter 11, and then continuing with seven angels coming from the sanctuary of the tabernacle of testimony in heaven that are given the seven bowls of God’s wrath by one of the living creatures that surround God’s throne that were first described in Revelation 4.
*The First Six Bowls of Wrath – Revelation 16:1-16
As explained in last week’s sermon, Revelation 16 begins with God commanding with a loud voice from the sanctuary for the angels to “go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” *This begins the sequence of these bowls being poured out one after the other. This will happen near the end of the seven year tribulation period. This will be after the mid point when the antichrist – the beast from the sea who will become the military and political dictator of the world – has committed the abomination of desolation in which he declares himself to be a god and demands to be worshiped. Those who will not take his mark, the mark of the beast, will be cut off from commerce and be unable to buy or sell, and will also be subject to execution.
The plagues that come with the pouring out of each of these bowls of God’s wrath will come in rapid succession. *They are not in anyway a retelling or further explanation of the earlier plagues of the seal or trumpet judgments since many of them are completely different from the earlier ones, and those that have some similarities come in a different sequence and are far, far worse than the previous ones. *The best way to understand the relationship of the seal, trumpet and bowl judgments is that the breaking of the seventh seal brings the trumpet judgments, and the sounding of the seventh trumpet brings the bowls of wrath. Or to state it a little differently, the seventh seal comprises the trumpet judgments and the seventh trumpet comprises the bowls of wrath judgments.
*The first bowl of wrath brings horrible, ulcerative and painful sores that cannot be prevented or healed upon everyone who has the mark of the beast because of the idolatry of worshiping the beast that signifies. Those without that mark will not have these sores.
*The second bowl of wrath turns the sea into blood like that of a dead man which would be thick, viscous and opaque and will cause every living thing in it to die. While similar to the second plague on the Egyptians in Exodus 7, this is much, much worse than both that and the second trumpet judgment which only affects a third of the sea, its creatures and shipping. This affects the whole sea and all life within it with far reaching consequences to everything dependent upon the oceans of the world.
*The third bowl of wrath turns the rivers and springs into blood. This is similar in effect to the second plague on Egypt and the second trumpet judgment on sources of fresh water, but far worse since it is not limited to a small area or just a third of the earth. It will be extremely difficult for people to find or process water to drink or to have for other uses. The angel of waters proclaims God, the Holy One, to be righteous in this judgment because those who poured out of the blood of the saints deserve it. That points to a distinction between the unrighteous and God’s people who do not deserve it just as there was between the Egyptians and the Israelites in Goshen in Exodus 7.
*The fourth bowl of wrath will affect the Sun as did the sixth seal and the fourth trumpet judgments but in the opposite way. Instead of darkening it which would cause a cooling effect, it intensifies its heat in a supernatural way so that it scorches the men, those continuing in rebellion against God, with fire, a great burning. We can imagine that the pain from being burned will be intense, but they will blaspheme God instead of repenting.
*The fifth bowl of wrath is poured out on the throne of the beast and causes his kingdom to be darkened in a supernatural way similar to the ninth plague on Egypt (Exodus 10) in that it could be felt, but this darkness is worse for it causes severe pain which is added to the pain from the scorching and the sores. But instead of repenting, they continue to blaspheme God. We again expect there will be a distinction made similar to that of the Egyptians and children of Israel between those in the kingdom of the beast and those outside that kingdom such as the remnant of Jews being protected by God in the wilderness (Revelation 12:6, 14-16; Matthew 24:15-22).
*The sixth bowl of wrath dries up the Euphrates river to prepare the way for the kings east of it to be gathered with the kings of the rest of the world at Har-Megedon in northern Israel. Revelation 16:13-14 is specific that this gathering for war is due to the three spirits of demons that come from Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. However, this future war will be that of “the great day of God, the Almighty.” Satan schemes, but God remains sovereign in bringing this war about for His own purposes. Satan gathers the wicked of the world to make war against the remnant and Christ, but God uses this for His own purpose of the destroying them. This summary description of the sixth bowl of wrath points to it only being preparatory for this war and does not include the war itself. From the more detailed descriptions we will see in chapters 17-19, it appears that the war does not happen until after the seventh bowl of wrath is poured out.
*The Seventh Bowl of Wrath – Revelation 16:17-21
The description of the plagues that come with this last bowl of wrath far exceed anything similar that has occurred previously. This is the culmination of why Jesus warned in Matthew 21-22 about this time period saying, 21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” The seventh seal begins with a proclamation in verse 17, then a description of the worst earthquake ever in verses 18-20, followed by hailstones so huge it stretches the imagination, and concludes with the reaction of the wicked.
*The Proclamation – vs. 17 – 18a.
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18a And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. *Notice first that this bowl is poured out upon the air. All the other bowls, except the fourth which was poured out on the sun, were poured out on the earth or something on the earth. The air will be the first place this bowl will affect with lightning and thunder, but this bowl will be much more extensive than just that.
*The first response to the bowl being poured out is a loud voice from the throne in the sanctuary. As noted in verse 1 concerning the loud voice that came from the temple, this would also be a reference to God since once the temple was filled with the smoke from the glory of God and His power, no one else was able to enter the temple until the seven plagues are finished (Rev. 15:8).
What the loud voice states is climatic. It is one word in Greek (ge:gonen / gegonen) which means “it is done.” It is in the perfect tense indicating this is something that has been developing from the past, has reach its conclusion, and will have continuing results. *It is anticipatory of this declaration being made again in Rev. 21:6 which will look back at all the afflictions of the seventh bowl of wrath being brought to their conclusions. It is a statement of finality in that this is the last of the seven bowls of wrath.
*The immediate reaction with this declaration is “flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.” This is another storm theophany. John first saw this when he was caught up to heaven and saw the throne of God (Rev. 4:5). It occurred again just after the seventh seal was broken and the angel cast to the earth his censor filled with fire from the altar which began the trumpet judgments (Rev. 8:4). It then occurred again just after the seventh trumpet was sounded and the temple of God in heaven was opened (Rev. 11:19). It occurs again here after the seventh bowl is poured out.
*The Earthquake – Vs. 18b-20
The first affliction from the seventh bowl that affects men is in the second part of verse 18. 18b and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His rage. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
*The opening description in verse 18 is not hyperbole as evidenced by the description of what it does in verses 19-20. I have experienced quite a few earthquakes. The strongest I have been in was the February 9, 1971 Sylmar, California quake which was 6.1 on the Richter scale. I was already living here in New York when the January 17, 1994 Northridge quake occurred which was 6.7 on the Richter scale. *When I was finally able to reach my younger brother after the quake, he reminded me of our shared experience when we were kids, then said, “that was nothing.” The Richter scale is log-rhythmic increasing by 10 times for each level. So the Northridge quake was 7 times stronger than the Sylmar quake, and the amount of damage it did certainly proved that. *The strongest earthquake in North America east of the Rocky Mountains in recorded history occurred in the area where Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky meet. It is known as the New Madrid, Missouri quake and happened on December 16, 1811 with an estimated magnitude of 7.5-7.7. It was followed by an aftershock later that day estimated to be about 7.0 and then hundreds of more aftershocks with two more extreme aftershocks, a 7.3 -7.5 one on January 23, 1812, and 7.5-7.7 one on February 7, 1812. That quake would have been two to three times stronger than the 1964 Alaska earthquake and ten times stronger than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. *The New Madrid earthquakes did damage over an area of about 232,000 square miles and was felt over an area of around 2 million square miles. The earthquake woke up people in New York City and in Charleston, South Carolina.
*What would it have been like to experience it? George Conclin was 15 at the time and hunting on a cut off lake near the Mississippi River with a friend, Jean Baptiste Zebon. The first quake woke them up and caused the water in the lake to swash around, but it was the smaller aftershock which was closer to them that caused this description. “First, a noise in the west like heavy thunder, then the earth came rolling toward us, like a wave on the ocean, in long seas, not less than fifteen feet high. The tops of the largest sycamores bending as if they were coming to the ground – again, one rises as if it were to re-instate, and bending the other way, it breaks in twain and comes to the ground with a tremendous crash. Now the scene became awful in the extreme. Trees were falling in every direction – some torn up by roots, others breaking off above ground, and limbs and branches of all sizes flying about us, and the earth opening, as it were to receive us, in gaps sometimes fifteen feet wide – then it would close with the wave. The water of our little lake was fast emptying itself in these openings, and as they would close it would spout high in the air – and soon, as far as I could see, with the alternate wave of the earth and water of the lake, there was crashing of timber and spouting of water. At one time I would be splashing about in the water, and then holding a tree top, until the shake began to subside, when I espied a spot of ground above water, and in attempting to reach it I got into a crevice, where I lost bottom, but being somewhat amphibious, I at length reached the place. The earth now became quieter; but my thoughts were that the world was at an end, and this time and place was selected by me to offer up a supplication to my God. With fervency I dropped on my knees, raised up my eyes and hands toward heaven . . .” He continued on to describe the scene after the quake ended. “The whole forest seemed as if an awful hurricane had completely destroyed it. The soft alluvial earth was opened in many rents of great depth, in which our little lake had completely lost itself . . .” “Our camp was completely demolished.” (A Treasury of Mississippi River Folklore, B. A. Botkin, Bonanza Books, NY 1978).
That is quite a description, and he had the right response. Other descriptions of this quake include raised or sunken lands as much as 15 feet, fissures, sinks, sand blows, river banks collapsing, some river islands disappearing, the river running backward for a time, and large landslides of 30,000-48,000 square miles. *However, compared to what is described here in Revelation 16:19-20, as my brother might say, That is nothing!
What is coming in the future can only be comprehended by stretching our imaginations. Verse 19 is tame compared to verse 20, but its focus is on the purpose of the earthquake. “And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His rage.”
*The “great city” refers to Jerusalem as it did in Revelation 11:8. It is split into three sections. We know from Zechariah 14:4 that the Mount of Olives will split in its middle from east to west, if that fracture continues it would go through Jerusalem itself. A fault extending of it would break the city up into three sections. In contrast to Jerusalem which splits but does not completely fall, the cities of the nations, e[qnoV / ethnos, which in this context would be all the nations distinct from Jews, will fall, katapivptw / katapipt , plunge, fall down from one level to another level. *The focus is then specifically on Babylon the Great, one of the cities of the nations that will fall with the specific reason stated. It “was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of His rage.” Revelation 17 and 18 will detail the fall of Babylon and why it is a focus of God’s rage, ojrghv / org , wrath, fury. We will examine Babylon more closely in those chapters.
*The extreme nature of this future earthquake is described in verse 20, “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” The reference to the great city being split into three parts by this earthquake and it causing every island to flee away shows that this is referring to physical mountains and not symbolic ones as will occur in Rev. 17. The physical mountains shatter apart (Hab. 3:6) at the extreme shaking and gravity then pulls them down to be mounds of rubble. *Islands are simply mountains with a base on the sea floor that protrude above the surface. They also crumble and fall with the waves from the sloshing of the sea and tsunamis caused by the quake washing the remnants away. We can safely surmise from this that coastal areas will also be scoured. Only the worldwide flood of Noah’s day cause greater destruction than this in the past (Genesis 7-8), and only the melting of the earth by intense heat in the day of the Lord will cause greater destruction in the future (2 Peter 3:10-12)
*The Hailstones – vs. 21a
In addition to this incredible earthquake, the strongest one of all time, there will be atmospheric phenomena greater than anything else ever recorded. * 21a “And huge hailstones, about one talent each, came down from heaven upon men.” A talent is about 100 pounds.
As explained by the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone’s surface . . . *The hail falls when the thunderstorm’s updraft can no longer support the weight of the hailstone, which can occur if the stone becomes large enough or the updraft weakens.
*The largest hailstone recorded in the United States was 8 inches in diameter, about the size of a volleyball, and weighed just shy of 2 lbs (1 lb, 15 oz). *Using that ratio, a hailstone of 100 lbs would be over 25 inches. That is the size of a medium large exercise balls used for physical therapy and balance training. *Baseball size hail (2 ¾ inches) has a terminal velocity of about 85 miles per hour and impact energy of about 81 ft lbs which can punch through windshields and cause severe injury. *Grapefruit size hail (4 ½ inches) has a terminal velocity of about 100 mph and impact energy of over 200 ft lbs and can destroy a shingle roof and kill people and animals. *What would 100 lb hailstones do? At minimum, destroy any wooden and light metal structures left standing after the earthquake. Any person hit by such a hailstone would be severely injured or killed.
*It is known that updraft wind speeds in a supercell thunderstorm can reach up to 160 mph, but how fast must the air be moving to form a hailstone weighing 100 lbs? The simple answer is that the updraft wind speed must be equal to or greater than the fall speed of the object which must take into account weight, density and shape. Hail becomes more irregular as it becomes larger, so there would be a higher surface area to density ratio (drag coefficient) than a smooth sphere, but even so, such hailstones are still generally spherical even if knobby or having short protrusions, and so will still have a small drag coefficient. And since large hailstones are also characteristically more dense that small ones, the drag coefficient will be small. What does this mean in practical terms? *Not even the most severe supercell thunderstorm can begin to create conditions to produce hailstones of about 100 pounds. That is fifty times larger than the largest hailstone recorded. These hailstones cannot be formed by any known natural means. They will be easily recognized as a supernatural judgment from God.
*The Reaction – vs. 21b
What is your response when caught in a disaster of some type – landslide, earthquake, flood, severe storm? The only proper reaction would be like that of Mr Conclin after the 1811 New Madrid earthquake who with fervency dropped to his knees, raised his eyes and hands toward heaven to offer up a supplication to God. That is not what these wicked and unrepentant people will do.
*21b and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe. That is not any surprise since that is the same reaction they had to plagues from the fourth and fifth bowl judgments. Instead of repenting from their own sinful rebellion, which is the reason for the afflictions that come upon them, they continue to blame God for their suffering. That they were still alive after all the calamities they have already experienced was a mercy to them from God, but His longsuffering of them comes to and end and they will not remain alive on this earth much longer.
That verse concludes the summary sequential narrative of the seven bowls of God’s wrath. The narrative sequence will not be picked up again until Revelation 19:11 when Messiah returns from heaven with His armies to conquer the earth. That will be the next event presented in the time line of the future after men blaspheme God because of the severe plague of hail.
*Revelation 17 – Judgment on Religious Babylon
As we now continue on to Revelation 17 & 18 it is important to understand that these chapters will be interjections into the narrative sequence similar to Revelation 7, 10-11 and 12-14 in giving further details or explanation of things that happen within the summary of narrative sequences presented. *Revelation 17 focuses on the rise and fall of Babylon as a religious entity, and Revelation 18 will focus on Babylon as an economic entity that will be destroyed.
We will not get very far into chapter 17 this morning, but I want to at least introduce it and make some preliminary observations. *The first is that Revelation 17 & 18 can be very confusing because there is so much symbolism used in them. That will be obvious when we read through the text. Several commentators noted that this chapter is one of the most diverse in the Bible when it comes to interpreting it. *A major reason for that is the allegorical interpretive method used for Revelation in several theological systems which opens the door for great speculation in order to make the interpretation fit within the presupposed theology. Those taking any form of historical fulfillment must do that since the descriptions are of things that have not actually happened. For example, since mountains and islands still exist and there is no record of anything approaching a 100 lb hailstone, those must be interpreted allegorically. Because Revelation 17 & 18 are very symbolic, there is a lot of room for speculative interpretation.
*However, most of the symbolism used in these chapters is defined within the text or in other places in the book. On that basis, let me make some simple identifications of the symbolic characters in the text so that it will make a little more sense to you when we read through the chapter. I will give a more detailed explanation of these symbols and their importance in the next sermon.
*Identification of the Actors
The Angel who speaks or acts in verses 1-2, 3, 7-14, 15-18 is stated to be one of the seven angels that had a bowl of wrath (vs. 1).
*The Great Harlot in verse 1 is the woman described in vs. 3 as riding the beast, is clothed magnificently in vs. 4, is named “mystery Babylon the Great” in vs. 5, and is drunk on the blood of the saints in verse 6. She is further identified in vs. 18 as “the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.” When we analyze this in detail we will see she is the symbol of false religions which began in post-flood Babylon and will reach its apex in the tribulation period.
*The Waters in verse 1 upon which the great harlot sits “are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues” (vs. 15)
*The Scarlet Beast in verse 3 is the same one as in Revelation 13:1 which is described in the same way. This is the beast from the sea, the antichrist. He is further described as the one who “was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction” which ties him to being Satanically controlled (vs. 8, 11).
*The seven heads of the beast in verse 3 are both seven mountains and seven kings in verses 9 & 10. Five of the kings are historical, one is present, one is to come but only for a short time. The beast will be an eighth king (vs. 11)
*The Ten Horns on the beast in verse 3 are ten kings in verse 12 who will receive their authority from the beast for a short time. Verse 13 & 14 note that their purpose will be to support the beast and wage war against the Lamb. Verse 16 notes they will take part in destroying the harlot.
*The Lamb in verse 14 is the Lord Jesus Christ, “Lord of lords and King of kings.”
*With those identifications in mind, let me read through Rev. 17. Revelation 17 (LSB), 1 Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; then I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her sexual immorality, 5 and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery, “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” 6 Then I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered greatly. 7 And the angel said to me, “Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8 “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 9 “Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, 10 and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. 11 “And the beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction. 12 “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 “These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and elect and faithful.” 15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations and tongues. 16 “And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will lay waste to her and make her naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. 17 “For God gave it in their hearts to do His purpose both by doing their own common purpose and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be finished. 18 “And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.”
Summary
I will conclude this morning with a simple interpretive overview of Revelation 17. *It begins with an identification of ancient Babylon in Genesis 10-11 as the source of the false religions of the world that have led people into spiritual adultery and fornication throughout time. False religion will reach its apex of influence in an ecumenical coalition that partners with the beast, the antichrist. Together, they will bring about the martyrdom of countless godly people because of their witness for Christ. *The great harlot, false religion, is useful to the beast, the antichrist, as he builds his political and military power. *Once he has become the world dictator, with the help of his political and military allies, he will turn on the great harlot, the ecumenical false religion that was supporting him, and will utterly destroy it to replace it with worship of himself alone. *They will then wage war with the Lamb and those with Him, but the Lamb will overcome them. The details of that victory will come in Revelation 19.
We are still in the time period before the tribulation period. The various false religions of the world are still leading people away from God by either false worship of the true God or worship of false gods. Even in our own time, these persecute the true worshipers of God just as Jesus warned. *We take heart in the revelation that though it will get much worse in the tribulation period, it only lasts seven years while God’s wrath comes upon the wicked culminating in their destruction and eternal punishment even while our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ grants us eternal peace and reward with Him.
*We are nearing the end of Revelation, and as someone quipped, I read the back of the book, and Jesus wins! Christian, take heart and rejoice! *If you are not yet a true Christian, Jesus welcomes deserters from the enemy camp who want to be on the side that ultimately wins.
Sermon Notes – 11/16/2025
The Seventh Bowl Plagues; The Judgment of Religious Babylon – Revelation 16:17 – 17:18
Introduction
The 7th bowl of wrath brings the last plagues, and brings the wrath of God to its _________(Rev. 15:1)
Rev. 15 picks back up the ______________narrative from Rev. 11:19 (Rev. 12-14 is parenthetical)
The First Six Bowls of Wrath – Revelation 16:1-16
The 7 bowls of wrath are poured out sequentially ___________________of the 7 year tribulation period
These plagues occur in a different sequence & are ______________that previous ones & there are new ones
The 7th seal ____________the trumpet judgments, & the 7th trumpet comprises the bowls of wrath
First Bowl: Horrible, unavoidable, incurable, ulcerative, painful ______on those with the mark of the beast
Second Bowl: The sea becomes blood & _______living things in it ______
Third Bowl: Rivers & streams become ________- An angel proclaims the righteousness of God’s judgment
Fourth Bowl: Sun becomes scorching & _________the men who then blaspheme God instead of repenting
Fifth Bowl: The Kingdom of the beast is supernaturally darkened, and the ___________causes severe pain
Sixth Bowl: The way is prepared and armies of world gather for ______________
The Seventh Bowl: “It is Done” & Cataclysms – Revelation 16:17-21
The plagues that come with the 7th bowl of wrath ___________anything similar that has occurred previously
The Proclamation – vs. 17 – 18a.
This bowl is poured out upon the air, and the ________________will be the first place effected by it
The first response is a loud voice from the sanctuary, that of God, that proclaims, “__________________”
This is ____________________of this declaration being made again in Rev. 21:6 as a statement of finality
The immediate reaction is a ___________theophany – lightning & thunder – as in Rev. 4:5; 8: 4 & 11:19
The Earthquake – Vs. 18b – 20
Verse 18 is not hyperbole as evidence by the description in verses 19-20 of what this _______________does
The 6.1 Sylmar quake (2/9/1971) “was ____________” compared to the 6.7 Northridge quake (1/17/1994)
The 12/16/1811 New Madrid quake is estimated to have been ________ with three aftershocks from 7.0 -7.7
Damage over area of 232,000 square miles, felt over area of 2 ____________square miles
George Conclin’s experience: _____________________________________________________
The New Madrid quake “is ____________” compared to the earthquake described in Revelation 16:19-20
The “great city,” Jerusalem is _________into three sections, and the cities of the nations __________
Verse 20 – the focus is then on _________the great which God remembers to give her the wrath of His rage
The mountains are ____________& collapse to rubble, the islands ___________and are washed away
The Hailstones – vs. 21a
The hailstones that weigh one talent, about ________pounds
The hail falls when the thunderstorm’s ___________can no longer support the weight of the hailstone
The largest hailstone in the U.S. was 8″ diameter, about the size of a ___________, and weighed about 2 lbs
A 100 lb hailstone would be over ___________- a little bigger than a large exercise ball
Baseball size hail punches through _________. Grapefruit size hail destroys shingle _____& can kill people
100 lb hail? At minimum destroys wooden and light metal structures, severely injure or _______people
Updraft wind speeds in a supercell thunderstorm can reach 160 mph – how ____needed to create 100 lb hail?
The strongest supercell thunderstorm ________create conditions to form 100 lb hail. These are supernatural
The Reaction – vs. 21b
Instead of repenting, they ________________God because the hail was extremely severe
Revelation 17 – Judgment on Religious Babylon
Rev. 17 & 18 are explanatory interjections. The narrative _____________will pick up again in Rev. 19:11.
Rev. 17 focuses on Babylon as a _____________entity. Rev. 18 focuses on Babylon as an economic entity
Rev. 17 & 18 can be very confusing due to its _________- & allegorical interpretation just makes that worse
The symbolism used is _____________within the text or in other places in the book
Identification of the Actors
The Angel (17:1-2, 3, 7-14; 15-18) is ________of the angels that had a bowl of wrath (vs. 1)
The Great Harlot (17:1, 3-6, 18) is the system of ______________which reach their apex in the tribulation
The Waters (17:1,15) on which the great harlot sits “are __________and crowds and nations and tongues”
The Scarlet Beast (17:3, 8, 11) is the same as in 13:1 – the beast from the Sea, the _____________
The seven heads of the beast (17:3, 9-10) are 7 mountains & 7 __________- 5 historical 1 present, 1 future
The Ten Horns (17:3, 12-14; 16) are 10 _______allied with the beast & wage war against the Lamb
The Lamb is the _________Christ, “Lord of lords and King of kings.”
Summary
– Ancient Babylon generated ________religions around the world; reaching its apex in the tribulation
The great harlot, false religion, is ________with the beast, the antichrist, until he becomes the world dictator
The antichrist then destroys the false religion replacing it with worship of ______________
The antichrist and his allies age war against the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and they are utterly ______________
We take heart – though tribulation is coming, Jesus ______! Rejoice Christian! Switch sides non-Christian!
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “bowl” is said. 2) Discuss with your parents why the 7th bowl is the worst of all, and identify the characters in Revelation 17.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Summarize the first six bowls of wrath. Why is the 7th bowl the worst of all? What is the significance of the proclamation in Rev. 16:17-18a? How does the earthquake in 16:18b-20 different from all previous earthquakes? Can a 100 pound hailstone be produced by natural means? Explain. When does the narrative resume? Identify the actors symbolized in Revelation 17.
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