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Revelation 16

The seven bowls reveal God’s righteous judgment against persecuting powers and the refusal of those judged to repent.

A loud voice from the temple commands seven angels to pour out bowls of God’s wrath on the earth. John describes sores, waters turning to blood, scorching heat, and darkness over the beast’s kingdom. An angel and the altar declare God’s judgments righteous, while those struck refuse to repent. Demonic spirits gather kings for war at Harmagedon. A warning to remain watchful interrupts the vision before the seventh bowl brings an earthquake, Babylon’s judgment, and crushing hail.

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1I heard a loud voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth!”
2The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and painful sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image.
3The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
4The third poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.
5I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, O Holy One, because you have judged these things.
6For they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”
7I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”
8The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire.
9People were scorched with great heat, and people blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues. They didn’t repent and give him glory.
10The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain,
11and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. They still didn’t repent of their works.
12The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates. Its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrise.
13I 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, something like frogs;
14for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God the Almighty.
15“Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his clothes, so that he doesn’t walk naked, and they see his shame.”
16He gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew, “Harmagedon”.
17The seventh poured out his bowl into the air. A loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
18There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake such as has not happened since there were men on the earth—so great an earthquake and so mighty.
19The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague was exceedingly severe.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Revelation 16:15The warning of a thief-like coming interrupts the gathering for war, calling readers to watchfulness amid deception and judgment.
Revelation 16:19Babylon comes under God’s judgment as cities collapse, showing that its power offers no protection from his wrath.
Revelation 16:6The angel connects the bloody waters to the blood of saints and prophets, declaring the judgment deserved.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus shares the plague imagery of sores, bloodied waters, darkness, and hail, while Psalm shares the declaration that God’s judgments are righteous. Matthew and Luke share the thief image and the call to readiness for a coming whose timing people cannot predict.

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After reading the whole chapter

What do the angel’s words about shed blood bring into focus about God’s judgment?

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How does the call to watchfulness shape your reading of the surrounding scenes of deception and destruction?

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Questions people ask about Revelation 16

What are the seven bowls in Revelation 16?

The bowls are called the wrath of God and are poured out by seven angels at a command from the temple. They strike the earth, sea, fresh water, sun, beast’s throne, Euphrates, and air. The vision portrays devastating judgment; readers differ over how its images correspond to historical or future events.

What does Armageddon mean in Revelation 16?

The supplied translation uses “Harmagedon” for the place where kings are gathered for war on God’s great day. The name is often understood as referring to Mount Megiddo, though its precise meaning and geographical significance remain debated. The chapter describes the gathering without narrating the battle itself.

Why are God’s judgments called righteous in Revelation 16?

The angel of the waters explains that those receiving blood to drink have shed the blood of saints and prophets. The altar affirms God’s judgments as true and righteous. The chapter also records repeated blasphemy and refusal to repent, presenting the judgments as God’s response to persecution and defiance.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).