THE SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH (VERSES 2-21)

The First Bowl: Terrible Sores (verse 2)

“So the first [angel] went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.”

The contents from the first bowl—the first plague, if you will—are similar to the sixth plague of Egypt, Exodus, chapter 9 and verse 8, the plague of boils that God brought upon the people of Egypt [Exodus 9:8-11: “So the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.’ 10 Then they took ashes from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses scattered them toward heaven. And they caused boils that break out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians,”].

The contents of this first bowl bring about “a foul and loathsome sore.” It is brought upon those men who have “the mark of the beast” and “who worshiped his image.” This, of course, relates back to chapter 13, verse 16 and following, where we read about “the mark of the beast” and those who would bow down and worship him [“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666,” Revelation 13:16-18].

The sixth Egyptian plague affected both men and beasts. Here, this bowl affects those who have the mark of the beast. While the trumpets of the judgments were limited, here, this plague is all-embracing.

The Second Bowl: Sea of Blood (verse 3)

“Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living creature in the sea died.”

The second bowl resembles very much the second trumpet [“Revelation 8:8-9: “Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”] in that it affects the sea and the living things of the sea. However, instead a third of the sea becoming blood, as was the case with the second trumpet, at the pouring out of this second bowl, all of the sea becomes blood and, we are informed by the Holy Spirit, the blood was like the blood of a dead man, foul and decaying.

You recall that the first plague in Egypt was the turning of the water of the Nile River into blood, Exodus 7:14-25 [“So the LORD said to Moses: ‘Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand. 16 And you shall say to him, “The LORD God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness’; but indeed, until now you would not hear! 17 Thus says the LORD: ‘By this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold, I will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is in my hand, and they shall be turned to blood. 18 And the fish that are in the river shall die, the river shall stink, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.’”’

19 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in buckets of wood and pitchers of stone.”’ 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the LORD commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. 21 The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

22 Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as the LORD had said. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. 24 So all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the river. 25 And seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river.”].