The Fifth Bowl
"Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds." (Rev. 16:10–11)
As He did long ago in Egypt (Exodus 10:21–29), God will turn up the intense suffering of the sinful world by turning out the lights. After the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, his kingdom became darkened (cf. 9:2; Exodus 10:21–23). Commentators disagree over where specifically this bowl will be dumped. Some think it will be on the actual throne that the beast sits on; others on his capital city of Babylon; still others on his entire kingdom. It is best to see the throne as a reference to his kingdom, since the bowl poured out on the throne darkens the whole kingdom. Regardless of the exact location where the bowl is dumped, the result is that darkness engulfs the whole earth, which is Antichrist’s worldwide kingdom. The beast will be as helpless before the power of God as anyone else.
The cumulative effect of the painful sores, fouled oceans, lack of drinking water, intense heat, all engulfed in thick blackness, will bring unbearable misery. Yet, incredibly, the wicked, unbelieving people of the world will still refuse to repent. John notes that they gnawed their tongues because of the most intense and excruciating pain. Still “they did not repent of their deeds.” This is the last reference to their unwillingness to repent. The first five plagues were God’s final call to repentance. Sinners ignored that call, and are now confirmed in their unbelief. The final two bowls, containing the severest of all the judgments, will be poured out on hardened, implacable impenitents.
The Sixth Bowl
"The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. 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; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon." (Rev. 16:12–16)
Unlike the previous five bowls, the sixth has no specific assault on humanity but prepares for what is to come. When his turn came, the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. The Euphrates appeared earlier in Revelation in connection with the sixth trumpet judgment (9:14), when two hundred million demons who were bound near it were released. It was considered the longest and most significant river in the Middle East and therefore called the great river. Its source is in the snowfields and ice cap high on the slopes of Mount Ararat (located in modern Turkey), from which it flows some eighteen hundred miles before emptying into the Persian Gulf. In ancient times the garden of Eden was located in the vicinity of the Euphrates (Genesis 2:10–14). The Euphrates also formed the eastern boundary of the land God gave to Israel (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7; 11:24; Joshua 1:4). Along with the nearby Tigris, the Euphrates is still the lifeblood of the Fertile Crescent.
By the time the sixth bowl is poured out, the Euphrates will be very different than it is today or has ever been. The blazing heat from the sun associated with the fourth bowl will melt the snow and the ice cap on Mount Ararat. That will vastly increase the volume of water in the Euphrates, causing massive damage and flooding along its course. The bridges spanning the river will surely be destroyed. Thus, the reason for the sixth bowl becomes apparent. As the angel dumped his bowl, the Euphrates’s “water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.” The eastern armies will need to cross the Euphrates to reach their ultimate destination of Armageddon in the land of Palestine.
God’s drying up of the Euphrates is not an act of kindness toward the kings from the east, but one of judgment. They and their armies will be entering a deadly trap. The evaporation of the Euphrates will lead them to their doom, just as the parting of the Red Sea led to the destruction of the Egyptian army.
In a grotesque vision, like something out of a horror movie, John “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.” From the mouth (symbolizing the source of influence) of each member of the unholy trinity (Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet) came a foul, unclean spirit resembling a frog. Frogs were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:10, 41), but these are not literal frogs. John identified the froglike apparitions as spirits of demons. This graphic illustration pictures the cold-blooded vileness of these demons, who seduce the kings from the east into making the difficult journey to their doom at Armageddon under the demons’ deluding influence (cf. 1 Kings 22:19–22).
Amid all the horrors of judgment, deception, and war comes a word of encouragement to believers: “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” This gracious word from heaven will come before the pouring out of the seventh bowl and assure believers that they will not be forgotten. There were similar respites to encourage God’s people between the sixth and seventh seals (7:1–17) and between the sixth and seventh trumpets (10:1–11:14). Because the bowl judgments take place in a short period of time, the respite between the sixth and seventh bowls is very brief.
Then the exalted Lord pronounced the third of seven beatitudes in Revelation (1:3; 14:13; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14): “Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.” This describes those who will be prepared for His arrival. The imagery here is of soldiers alert and on duty. Only a soldier who stays awake and keeps his clothes on is ready for combat. Only those whom Jesus finds prepared when He returns will be blessed.
After the brief interlude of encouragement for the redeemed, the prophetic narrative returns to the events of the sixth bowl. The deceiving demon spirits will have gathered the nations “together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.” “Har-Magedon” is a Hebrew word meaning “Mount Megiddo.” Since there is no specific mountain by that name, and Har can refer to hill country, it is probably a reference to the hill country surrounding the Plain of Megiddo, some sixty miles north of Jerusalem (See Map below). More than two hundred battles have been fought in that region. The Plain of Megiddo and the nearby Plain of Esdraelon will be the focal point for the Battle of Armageddon, which will rage the entire length of Israel as far south as the Edomite city of Bozrah (Isaiah 63:1). Other battles will also occur in the vicinity of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1–3).
