Chapter 16

The Seventh Trumpet was sounded at the end of Chapter 11, following the Inquisition and the “earthquake” in verse 13 which was in 1579.   Considering the fact that there were no chapter divisions in the original letter, it was left up to those that transcribed and interpreted the book to put these divisions in.  I think that Revelation 11:15 should start chapter 12, then we would have the events of chapter 12 be the fulfillment of the seventh trumpet.  The vials would be after the seventh trumpet, so starting in the 1700s.

1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

Deuteronomy 28:15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

Sores are a painful, rotting infection from within that decays its own self, as opposed to destruction from an outside force.  Two major violations of God’s commands in the 1700s were the treatment of Native Americans, and slavery.  The view of slavery in the Bible is one of mercy, more like what we would call indentured servants, taking in poor people with no other means of survival.  Being cruel and oppressive would never be part of God's plan.  If the mark of the beast is the Dollar, this shows how the U.S. threw aside its desire for godliness and was consumed with making money at the expense of their fellow man.  The civil war of 1861 – 1865 would be the inner turmoil of the country, and thousands of citizens would die at the expense of greed.

3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

STRONGS: and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.  The sea beast of Europe would have the entire continent suffer from bloodshed.  The Great French Wars (1793-1815) can truly be called the first global war; and also the first conflict driven by industrial might. Mostly, it was a battle between commanders that history will never forget; as Napoleon's revolutionary guard ravaged Europe, men like the Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, and their allies, stopped Napoleon's complete domination of the continent.  The wars reached from Portugal and Britian across the continent of Europe and south into the Ottoman Empire.

4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” 

If you looked at the map that showed the path that Attila the Hun took when he attacked the springs and rivers, they are in eastern Europe north of Italy.  There were three wars in that area, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 which led to the dissolution of the German Confederation.  The Sardinian War where the kingdom of Sardinia declared war on the Habsburgs.  Then the Revolution of 1848 was a bloody war that the Hungarian government declared independence from the Habsburgs in 1849.  The Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 1440 until the empire’s dissolution in 1806.  The Habsburgs were heavily involved with the Inquisition, particularly through the control of Spain and the Spanish Inquisition. 

8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

Napoleon was the most powerful person in Europe at this time, he declared himself emperor in 1804 and takes the imperial crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII and places it on his own head.  Scorch with fire would show a verbal end to Napoleon’s power.  Starting in 1814, the French Empire was attacked by the Sixth Coalition and his rule ended with the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.  Pope Pius Vii excommunicated Napoleon and had him arrested.  He was forced to abdicate for the second and final time and was exiled to the island of Saint Helena where he died.  The House of Bourbon was restored to power and led to the increase of power of the Catholic church.  

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish 11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

The throne of the beast is where the woman in chapter 17 sits.  We find in that the Catholic church is the harlot/woman and in the 1800s she is seated on the Papal States.  The Reformation had started to chip away at the power and implied authority of the Popes and the Papal States.  Napoleon had attacked popes, taken their power and did damage to their authority as well.  Italy went through a unification process in the 19th century, and the Papal States were annexed to Italy.  That annexation put an official end to the Papal States, and the popes were in limbo, they were still recognized as leaders of the Roman Catholic church, but had no place of rule.  Gnawing their tongues is a biblical term for intense complaining, or verbal disputing.  The complaints of the popes were brought forward as the “Roman Question” where they objected to the Italian seizure of Rome and the Papal States.  

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.

The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire started in 1908, and in 1922 the Ottoman Empire officially ended when the title of Ottoman Sultan was eliminated. Turkey was declared a republic on October 29, 1923, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an army officer, founded the independent Republic of Turkey.  After the Ottoman Empire fell, Russia became a world power, then China in 1950, the kings of the east.

14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.  13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.

This is the first time the term “false prophet” is used.  I take it to mean the earth beast of the United States.  See Revelation 19:20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs.  The earth beast is shown as doing signs in Revelation 13:13

(catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/this-day-in-church-history-the-suppression-of-the-jesuits-july-21-1773) Although the Jesuit formation process was long and life in the Society was difficult, men joined by the thousands. The Society established universities throughout Christendom in order to form both members of the order and Catholic laity to participate fully in the Catholic Reformation. The small group began by St. Ignatius and his companions became a powerful and influential element within the Church and Christendom within a century of the founder’s death in 1556. By the eighteenth century, there were over 20,000 Jesuits running nearly seven hundred universities, colleges, and seminaries. The Society contributed to the prestige of secular rulers and the papacy but its influence was not universally appreciated. Anti-religious intellectuals and absolutist-minded monarchs became wary, envious, and ultimately opposed to the Jesuits.

The croaking is speaking or teaching, and they will be sending out a false doctrine into all areas of society like the frogs in Egypt covered every part of the land and houses, ovens, and bread bowls.

15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)

In verse 14 it speaks of the coming Day of the Lord.  In 15 Jesus says he is coming like a thief.  We know it’s Jesus saying this because he warns the church of Sardis to prepare themselves before he comes like a thief.   

Matthew 24:32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There’s a lot here to unpack in the prophecy Jesus gave.  He was speaking of two different “Days of the Lord,” one for the end of the Jewish age, one for the end of the Gentiles.  The Day of the Lord is not one final time of judgement, but a phrase that God uses when he does exact judgement.  There was a Day of the Lord in Ezekiel 30 when God came against all the enemies of Israel.  Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt in 568 BC so the prophecy was fulfilled around this time.  In Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples to be ready for the Day of the Lord that came when Jerusalem was under siege by the Romans in 70 AD, which was the end of the age for the Law and the old covenant.  

We know the prophecy starting in v32 is for the end of the Gentiles because we start with the fig tree.  The Jewish nation, Israel is the fig tree and here we see it start to put new branches out.  That happened with the first Aliyah in the 1880s. Verses 36 – 44 deal with the thief, and Jesus says the thief comes to “steal, kill and destroy” in John 10:10.  The last paragraph starting with 45 talks about the servant watching while his master is away.  Luke 12 there is a parable about the master returning from the wedding feast:

35 Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. 36 Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them. 38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.

39 But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

The wedding feast is described in Revelation 19: 

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all. 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.

The wedding feast is during the Day of the Lord, and it will involve a great war.  When Jesus returns from the feast he expects to find his servants ready at the gate at an hour he does not know.  Both the coming of the thief and the return of the master are sudden and take people by surprise, but they are separate events.  There are more parables in the gospels and they will bless you to read and study.  Also look at the timing of the thief and the returning of the Jesus in Revelation 3, they listed under two separate churches.

3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (as in Luke 12:36, comes back from the feast and knocks)

Jesus came like a thief in 1914, as a thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.  The WWI, the Spanish Flu, and the great depression caused all those with the mark of the beast to suffer.  All those who helped support the war and backed their currency with the dollar suffered.  

16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

This could have a prophetic meaning I haven’t researched, but there was a literal battle of Megiddo in 1918, the final defeat of the Ottoman Empire.  Britain took over Jerusalem in 1917, and Jericho in 1918.

17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

Acts 22:22 The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,… 

The final pronouncement of judgement is made.

18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. 21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and men, they blasphemed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

Lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder was WWI.  The dynamics of Europe had changed and it was two main groups taking sides against each other, and the other third would be the neutral nations.   Look for a map of Europe in 1915 and you will see the Allied Powers, Central Powers and Neutral nations.  God describes the great city as Babylon the Great.  Since the U.S. was involved in WWI it should also be included in Babylon the Great.

Every island fled away and no mountains were to be found speaks of the fall of Imperialism between WWI and WWII.  The British Empire spanned the entire globe, ruled by one monarchy and system of government.  That would be considered a great mountain.  Spain had the nations of South and Central America, and many nations in Africa were under European leadership.  Great hailstones were the bombs that were used in WWII, and the blasphemy is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the sign that the false prophet used to end the war.  Our veterans will say that those bombings were a blessing, and our governments certainly will say that, but looking at them through God’s eyes you can see it’s an issue He isn’t pleased with.  Otherwise he wouldn’t call it blasphemy, by a false prophet.  

From Plough.com:  Father George Zabelka, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Air Force, served as a priest for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and gave them his blessing. Days later he counseled an airman who had flown a low-level reconnaissance flight over the city of Nagasaki shortly after the detonation of “Fat Man.” The man described how thousands of scorched, twisted bodies writhed on the ground in the final throes of death, while those still on their feet wandered aimlessly in shock – flesh seared, melted, and falling off. The crewman’s description raised a stifled cry from the depths of Zabelka’s soul: “My God, what have we done?” Over the next twenty years, he gradually came to believe that he had been terribly wrong, that he had denied the very foundations of his faith by lending moral and religious support to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Zabelka died in 1992, but his message, in this speech given on the 40th anniversary of the bombings, must never be forgotten.

Let’s remember this as well… if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).  Remember what Jesus says to the church of Laodicea: so, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit (vomit) you out of my mouth.  Repentance can turn the heart of God from judgement to mercy.