With the pouring of the bowl a loud voice came out from the temple, from the throne announcing, “it is done!” This is immediately followed by lightning, thunder and a great earthquake.
Unlike the seventh seal (silence) or the seventh trumpet (jubilant worship), when the seventh angel pours out the final bowl of God’s wrath, John hears a loud voice from the temple and throne. “It is done” translates a single word, a perfect active indicative of γίνομαι. Although this sounds like Jesus’s final words from the cross, the John 19:30 has τετέλεσται, a perfect passive indicative from τελέω, “it is finished.” Like John 19:30, the word means something like, “it has been accomplished.” The same word in Revelation 21:6 when the one seated on the throne announces he is making all things new.
Verse 19 is another interpretive problem. John says the earthquake was so powerful “the great city splits into three parts.” As with other unidentified cities in Revelation, some scholars suggest this refers to Jerusalem, others suggest Babylon. But depending on the interpreter, Babylon is a metaphor for Jerusalem or Rome. If this great city is the same as Revelation 11:8, then it is Jerusalem. However, the key is “God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath.” In Revelation 17:18 (and many times in chapter 18) the great city of Babylon refers to Rome.
That God “remembers” Babylon is significant. First, the verb is another example of the divine passive in Revelation (ἐμνήσθη is aorist passive of μιμνῄσκομαι). Most modern translations change the verb to active. Second, when God remembers in the Old Testament, it is often for salvation. God remembers his promises in his covenants and keeps them (Exod 2:24). In Jeremiah 31:20 God remembers his “darling child” Ephraim and will have mercy on him.
However, there are examples of God’s “punitive remembrance” (Aune 2:901). In Hosea 7:1 God remembers Israel’s sin and will punish them nation. In 1 Maccabees 7:38, the army of Judas prays “Take vengeance on this man [Nicanor] and on his army and let them fall by the sword; remember their blasphemies and let them live no longer.” In a similar context in 2 Maccabees 8:4, Judas and his army call on God “to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name.” Notice God is to remember the blasphemies of the Seleucids. In Revelation 16:19 he remembers the blasphemies of the kingdom of the beast and the great whore of Babylon (Rev 17).
The chapter ends with an allusion to the seventh plague (Exod 9:13-35), apocalyptic hailstones weighing hundred pounds. Massive hailstones appear in several Old Testament contexts (Josh 10:11; Isa 28:17; Hag 2:17). David Aune has several references to unusual hail in the Roman word as a sign of “a disruption in relations with the gods requiring diagnosis and reparation” (2:902). Massive hailstones and earthquakes are common in Jewish apocalyptic as well:
Sib. Or. 3.689–699 God will judge all men by war and sword and fire and torrential rain. There will also be brimstone from heaven and stone and much grievous hail. Death will come upon four-footed creatures. Then they will recognize the immortal God who judges these things. Wailing and tumult will spread throughout the boundless earth at the death of men. All the impious will bathe in blood. The earth itself will also drink of the blood of the dying; wild beasts will be sated with flesh. God himself, the great eternal one, told me to prophesy all these things. These things will not go unfilfilled.
In the fifth Sibylline Oracle, the return of Nero is accompanied by hail and bloody violence:
Sib. Or. 5.93–96 For the Persian will come onto your soil like hail, and he will destroy your land and evil-devising men with blood and corpses, by terrible altars, a savage-minded mighty man, much-bloodied, raving nonsense…
The Apocalypse of Abraham lists ten plagues on the earth, including increased snow and hail, thunder and earthquakes.
Apoc. Abraham 30.4–8 The first: sorrow from much need. The second: fiery conflagrations for the cities. 5 The third: destruction by pestilence among the cattle. The fourth: famine of the world, of their generation 6 The fifth: among the rulers, destruction by earthquake and the sword. The sixth: increase of hail and snow. 7 The seventh: wild beasts will be their grave. The eighth: pestilence and hunger will change their destruction. 8 The ninth: execution by the sword and flight in distress. The tenth: thunder, voices, and destroying earthquakes.
The section ends with the people of the earth cursing God “because the plague was so terrible.” The verb curse here is often translated “blaspheme” (βλασφημέω), anticipating the blasphemy of the great whore in Revelation 17. Humanity’s response to God’s plagues is not repentance, but continued reject of God.
Whenever I think of the ending of this chapter in Revelation and the idea of the true ending of the battle and the things of this world, I am always filled with so much excitement and joy for those things to come from the new Heaven and new Earth. The imagery that it is similar to the time where Jesus stood on the cross and was crucified, is a beautiful irony of the ending of that first dispensation and now the ending of this dispensation of that kingdom. Whenever we see these chapters though, in the moment it is described that the people of Earth are those that are blaspheming Christ and instead of repenting, cursing God. Oftentimes it feels like we are to put ourselves on this pedestal of how we believe we would never in a million years blaspheme God but in reality I believe we are no better or less sinful than those other people mentioned scoffing at God in the book of Revelation.
In Revelation 16:17-21 the seventh bowl shows us the final punishment. This final punishment poured by the seventh angel tells us that it is done. The punishments are over after this bowl is poured out. The verse that says it is done brings the reader back to the death of Jesus. “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!”’ (Revelation 16:17 ESV). The plan of God which for thousands of years and today is still in motion. The different dispensations that were put in place for the advancement of His plan have led to the point where it is now done. Revelation 16 tells the reader that even after the last plague the people of earth still do not repent. They maintain a stubborn heart and are angry at God for His wrath. The response to God is a continual hardness of heart and not repentance. Unlike the nation of Israel who repented multiple times throughout the Old Testament due to their sin, the people here on Earth remain stubborn and angry toward God. This blog post does an excellent job of diving into the background of the final judgment and giving the reader understanding about what has been accomplished. As the final bowl is poured out, the wrath of God has destroyed the earth and the stage for the new heaven and new earth is being set.
The seventh bowl is the final bowl within this series of seven and the final of all the series of sevens within Revelation. Revelation 16:17-21 has brought scholars confusion and misinterpretations but hey what part of the Bible does not? It is important however to truly understand the importance of understanding this passage and others to find why it was put in the scriptures for us to read. One of the key pieces in the section of the seventh bowl is when it talks about God remembering Babylon (Rev. 16:19). This is a key point because depending on where you look in the Old Testament you can find other times in which God “remembers.” When looking into the Old Testament when God remembers something it is usually regarding Salvation, or his promises (Long, 2020). God is faithful to his word and will not go back on it. The Lord is saying here that he has yet to forget Babylon and the time of reckoning has finally come. This is the final set of seven that will seal the fates of those under the beast. The martyrs that have been pleading for vengeance will be satisfied for the Lord has the final word. Knowing the background of remembrance in the Old Testament helps the reader grasp what Revelation 16 means. God is answering back to those who have waited for justice to be served and for things to be put into correct order once again. Revelation is a book that at face value seems to be full of mystery and confusion and for a lot of it one is left to wait for it to unfold, but there are some things that one can find through deeper study of the Word.
Revelation 16:17-21 starts with the seventh bowl which results in a climactic scene beginning with “It is done” immediately followed by hail, lighting, and the greatest earthquake that ever was in history (Rev 16:17-18, ESV). The passage continues with how the “the great city was split into three parts” The exact city mentioned here is Unkown, the ESVSB believes this city represents Jerusalem, (Schreiner, 2008, p.2486). Others believe it could be Rome since Rome is the metaphor for Babylon in the book of Revelation However, Jerusalem also can be referred to as Babylon though, (Long, 2020).
Long (2020) makes the statement how although Babylon is “remembered” but this kind of remembrance is for their sin, instead of how Israel for example was remembered because God was faithful to Israel and keeps his promises for their deliverance and providence throughout time (Exodus 2;24). Israel is remembered by God and saved yet Babylon will be remembered for their sins and will later lead to their destruction. Hosea 7:1 God will judge Isarel for their sin, and in a lot of second temple Judaic literature like 1 and 2 Maccabees records judgment on those who are sinful. The people here are also unrepentant even in midst of their affliction.
I like that I was able to make the connection between this section and John 19:30 before reading this post. It truly does show that Christ’s second coming will have a “second fulfillment.” The first time sins are forgiven, and now for those who have not received Christ, they are not experiencing God’s wrath. I think that humanity by the end of this passage rejecting God instead of repenting seems to echo the Exodus again like our previous chapter. Pharaoh’s heart was consistently hardened after God revealed himself through the plagues, and yet again, this happens now with the entirety of the earth. Reading passages like this I think seem to make more sense for the case of the rapture. God wants to deliver his people from the full experience of his wrath. In order for the new heavens and earth to be inaugurated, God must wipe clean the creation that was tainted by sin (ESVSB 2486). Maybe another connection to the Gospel of John is the earthquake. Right after the seventh bowl is poured out on earth, and right after the crucifixion there is an earthquake. Perhaps this is more evidence that connecting the Gospel and Revelation as having the same author. John is using a callback to show judgment being finished in both circumstances.