With the end of Gentile rule and the release of national Israel from God’s chastisement, at the seventh trumpet God Almighty freely resumes His physical rule over the earth (the Gospel of the Kingdom) and sets in motion its final cleansing. The focus of the bowl judgments in Revelation 16-19 is upon Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the beast-marked worshipers. Following those judgments, Matthew 25:31ff describes what is typically called “The Sheep and Goat Judgment,” which occurs when God separates the righteous and the wicked just before the beginning of the temporal kingdom.
Since there’s going to be a final judgment after the bowl judgments but before the temporal kingdom, that logically indicates there will be wicked individuals who survive the bowl judgments. That there will be both sheep and goats shows that not all the people on the earth will actually receive the mark of the beast. We believe that the bowl judgments directed primarily toward Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet and the marked worshipers explain this outcome.
The first bowl pours out loathsome and malignant sores upon “the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image”. The text explicitly limits these maladies to the beast- marked worshipers. While it will be the goal of Satan and his Antichrist to mark the whole world, it is clear that they will not be successful. There will be Egyptians and others in the temporal kingdom, which requires that they had not received the mark of the beast nor worshiped him.
The second bowl pours out its contents into the sea, turning it into blood and killing everything alive. Unlike the first bowl, no specific target is clearly identified in this verse. However, after the third bowl, which pours out into all fresh water sources thus turning them into blood, the angel over the waters (Rev. 16:5-7) tells us that the reason God judges all water sources (both salt and fresh) and turns them into blood is to punish “[the ones who] poured out the blood of saints and prophets.” Those responsible must refer to wicked humans. The nearest antecedent refers to the marked worshipers of the beast in Revelation 16:2. Obviously, the saints and prophets did not pour out their own blood. It is also evident that since there will be sheep and goat survivors of the bowl judgments, some of earth’s inhabitants will have water.
The fourth bowl pours out upon the sun so as to scorch men with fire [literally, the men]. The Greek is specific here: not men in general, but (in context) specific men as seen in Revelation 16:2. The reaction of those burned by the sun is the consistent reaction of those who support Satan and his Antichrist.
The fifth bowl is specifically poured out upon “the throne of the beast”. “His kingdom became darkened” and the beast’s followers began to “bite their tongues because of the pain.” It is not explained in the text whether the darkness or one of the previous plagues is causing the pain. At any rate, it is the beast’s kingdom constituents that are suffering.
The sixth bowl pours out upon the Euphrates River, and dries it up to open the passage of the kings of the east to the great battle of Har Mo’ed. Three demonic spirits will go out to deceive the nations. Although those nations will come to fight with this unholy trinity, not every man, woman and child will do so.
The seventh and final bowl pours out upon the air with power to destroy the cities of the world, Babylon the great, mountains and islands. The men (the Greek is again specific) on earth are crushed under 100 pound hailstones that fall from Heaven. This again refers to Revelation 16:2. In each case, the Greek says, “the men.” Only in Revelation 16:2 are “the men” specifically identified. The beast-marked worshipers are the primary target of the bowl judgments. It is clear that not all people will “sign up” to take the Antichrist’s mark. But an enormous number of men, women and children will, only to experience later the unimaginable severity of the wrathful outpouring of Almighty God.
