The bowls of wrath
The bowls of wrath in the book of Revelation give the impression of a God who is angry that mankind will not listen and has a final outburst of anger. But this is far from the truth, quite the opposite.
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Background
The bowls of wrath are origin like all the other series, originated in the throne room of God. Seven angels came and one of the four living creatures (representing the creation) gave them the bowls of wrath which is an interesting perspective: Is the creation asking God to put an end to this?
The wrath of God will be completed with this. What is the wrath of God? It’s His compassionate ambition to solve the world problem and He doesn’t stop until it’s solved.
You may have already seen that the seven bowls and the seven trumpets have quite a lot in common, and both are closely related to the plagues in Egypt: The wrath of God is connected to the prayers of the saints. What a thought! God’s plan is affected by our prayers.
The bowls
The first bowl goes against anyone who has taken the mark of the beast (a symbol of loyalty). This is what God is most focused on: How can people trust the one who brings only destruction in the end? Especially for the Church who knows the fate of the devil.
The second and third bowls are God’s action for silencing His witnesses (us). God does not stand by silently. He takes revenge, but not by killing but by forcing people to reflect. The second bowl could show, with reference to the first plague in Egypt (killing of the origin of Egyptian gods), that the devil is exposed as helpless and destructive.
The fourth and the fifth bowls also deal with a similar theme: The hardening of the human heart. They would rather suffer than give God the glory. It is their own choice. They would rather be deceived by the devil and go down with him than humble themselves before God.
The sixth and seventh bowls finally describe the destruction of the kingdom of the devil and his associates. This is the last thing, before he
- wants them to stop being loyalty to the devil (first bowl)
- listen to God’s witnesses (second and third bowls)
- soften and humble your hearts (fourth and fifth bowls) so that you will not be deceived (sixth bowl).
The sixth bowl
We need to take a closer look at the sixth bowl.
The river Euphrates was dried up to make way for the kings of the East. This is an ironic statement that foreshadows the story of Armageddon. According to historian Herodot, Babel was defeated by the Persians (from the East) by diverting the Euphrates River, which was a natural protection for Babel. This may or may not have been historically true, but it was a common belief at the time when the book of Revelation was written.
The three frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon and his companions also have an interesting background. The frogs are the animal representation of Heqed, the goddess of fertility/birth, who also was has the power of resurrection. Here we have the claim of the resurrected beast that is unbeatable.
The gathering of the armies at Armageddon is mirrored by the gathering of the birds in chapter 19, which makes the defeat of Satan even more ironic because it gives the impression that the armies of Satan are defeated by the birds.