The Seven Bowl Judgments

 

The seven bowl judgments are the same events as the seven trumpet warnings. The reason they are repeated is that the bowls look at the events as God’s judgment, while the trumpets view the events as a result of man’s own doing. They have been unfolding before our very eyes, in current events, over the last 100 years. History has a way of interpreting prophecy accurately, and dispelling speculation and conjecture.

Historically, the seven bowl judgments of Revelation have been considered to be the final outpouring of God’s wrath and judgment. First there are the seven seals (Rev 6 and 8), then there are the seven trumpets (Rev 9-11), and then wham, bam, God lets go with his heavy artillery, the seven bowls, in rapid fire (Rev 16). I was always taught that the seven trumpets and the seven bowls were God’s judgment meted out on mankind during the Great Tribulation, after all the saints were raptured. And the bowl judgments would be after the trumpets, at the very end of the Tribulation. That may be what you believe.

If you were to lay out, side by side, the seven trumpet warnings and the seven bowl judgments you discover that they are not just similar, but they unmistakably mirror each other. The first judgment is World War I, when vast tracts of land were burned, aircraft were used in warfare for the first time, and chemical warfare was deployed, causing painful, ugly sores. The second judgment is World War II. Much of that war was fought on the Pacific front, and as many as one-third of all ships in the war were destroyed. It was also the first deployment of the atomic bomb. The third judgment is Chernobyl, the largest nuclear meltdown in history. The very word Chernobyl means wormwood. Radiation rained down upon eastern Europe killing people and polluting the rivers and streams. The fourth judgment is climate change. In one vision the sun and moon are blocked, while in the other vision the sun scorches and sears with intense heat. You can disagree about climate change all you want. God said it, though, not me. The fifth judgment is the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, envisioned by the dark black cloud from burning 600 oil wells. Thousands of Iraqi soldiers were killed on the “highway of death”, many so burned and maimed they could only wish that they could die. The sixth warning-judgment is next on the horizon, the build up to the battle of Armageddon.

You probably ask the question, why would God prophesy two sets of judgments that are the same? The reason is rather strategic, actually. The seven trumpets are actually warnings, more so than judgments. Like shots across the bow of a ship, the trumpets warn mankind of impending judgment. The seven bowls repeat the same events, but from God’s perspective. They are a sequence of His judgment meted out on mankind for their evil, lawlessness, rebellion, and refusal to repent.

The reason to present the series of events from man’s perspective, and then God’s perspective is to demonstrate that this final descent of mankind into judgment is not just self-inflicted, but also brought about by God’s design and purpose. The final judgments are yet another playing out of the interplay between man’s free-will and God’s sovereignty.

We as Christians will not escape the first six trumpets and bowls. They are not for someone else who is stuck on earth during the Tribulation. No, we are in the midst of them. Turmoil, violence, and persecution are likely to ramp up as we approach the very end of the age. Are you ready? Is your faith and trust in Jesus deep enough that you will stand strong until the end?