Apocalipsis 16

VBL · Chapter 16/22

1Entonces escuché una gran voz que venía desde el Templo, y que decía a los siete ángeles: “Vayan y derramen las siete copas del juicio de Dios sobre la tierra”.

2Entonces el primer ángel fue y derramó su copa sobre la tierra, y comenzaron a salir terribles y dolorosas llagas en las personas que tenían la marca de la bestia y que adoraban su imagen.

3Luego el segundo ángel derramó su copa sobre el mar, y se convirtió como la sangre de un cadáver, y todo lo que había en el mar murió.

4Después el tercer ángel derramó su copa sobre los ríos y fuentes de agua, y el agua se convirtió en sangre.

5Y escuché al ángel que tenía el poder sobre las aguas, y declaró: “Tú eres realmente justo, tú, que eres y fuiste, el Santo, como lo demuestra este juicio.

6Estas personas derramaron la sangre de los creyentes. ¡Y ahora les das a beber sangre, como lo merecen!”

7Entonces oí una voz que provenía desde el altar, diciendo: “Sí, oh, Señor, el Todopoderoso. ¡Tus juicios son justos y verdaderos!”

8Y el cuarto ángel derramó su copa sobre el sol, y se le dio el poder de quemar a la gente con fuego.

9Y se quemaban por el intenso calor, y maldecían el nombre de Dios, quien controlaba estas plagas. Y no se arrepentían ni le daban gloria.

10Luego el quinto ángel derramó su copa sobre el trono de la bestia, y vinieron tinieblas sobre su reino. La gente mordía sus lenguas por el dolor que sentían,

11y maldecían al Dios del cielo por causa de su dolor y sus llagas, pero no se arrepentían ni dejaban de hacer lo que estaban haciendo.

12Luego el sexto ángel derramó su copa sobre el poderoso Río Éufrates, y su agua se secó, y así se abrió un camino para los reyes que venían del Este.

13Entonces vi tres espíritus malos que parecían como ranas que salían de las bocas del dragón, la bestia, y el falso profeta.

14Estos son los espíritus demoníacos que hacen milagros, que salen a reunir a todos los reyes de todo el mundo para la batalla en el día del juicio de Dios, el Todopoderoso.

15(¡Estén atentos! Vendré como un ladrón. Benditos los que están vigilantes, y han alistado sus ropas para no tener que salir desnudos y ser avergonzados).

16Los espíritus malos reunieron a los reyes para la batalla en un lugar que en hebreo se llama Armagedón.

17Entonces el séptimo ángel derramó su copa en el aire, y del Templo salió una gran voz, que venía desde el trono, y gritaba: “¡Está hecho!”

18Entonces hubo relámpagos y truenos, y un gran terremoto sacudió la tierra. Y fue el peor terremoto que hubiera existido desde que hubo habitantes en la tierra.

19La gran ciudad fue dividida en tres. Las ciudades de las naciones quedaron destruidas. Y se recordó, en presencia de Dios, que Babilonia, la grande, debía recibir la copa llena con el vino de su hostilidad.

20Todas las islas se desvanecieron, y todas las montañas desaparecieron.

21Cayó del cielo una gran tormenta de granizo sobre la gente, y cada piedra pesaba cien libras. Y la gente maldecía a Dios porque la plaga del granizo era terrible en gran manera.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Seven angels pour out the bowls of God's wrath on the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the throne of the beast, the river Euphrates, and finally the air, causing devastating plagues. The sixth bowl prepares the way for the final battle, gathered at a place called Armageddon.

Explanation

The seven bowls form the last and most intense series of judgments in the book, again echoing the plagues of Egypt, but now described as 'the last,' suggesting their final and complete nature, unlike the partial plagues of the earlier trumpets. The drying up of the river Euphrates, historically the eastern border of the Roman Empire and the invasion route of foreign armies (such as the Parthians, feared by the Romans), symbolizes the removal of barriers that will allow hostile forces to gather for the final confrontation. 'Armageddon,' mentioned only this one time in the entire Bible, is generally identified with Megiddo, a plateau in northern Israel that was the site of numerous real historical battles over the centuries, making it a fitting symbol of decisive confrontation. Today's application is that, despite severe judgments, many still refuse to repent, blaspheming God instead of turning to him, a pattern of spiritual hardening the text repeatedly laments.

Fun facts

  • 'Armageddon' (16:16) likely derives from the Hebrew 'Har Megiddo' (Mount of Megiddo), an ancient fortress city in northern Israel that guarded a strategic trade and military route, and was the site of at least 34 documented historical battles over more than three thousand years.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Apocalipsis 16:1A voice from the temple sets off the last series of plagues in the book, ordering the seven angels to pour out the bowls of God's wrath upon the earth, a sequence similar in structure to the earlier seals and trumpets.
  2. Apocalipsis 16:2The first bowl brings painful sores upon those who have the mark of the beast, directly echoing the plague of boils suffered by the Egyptians in Exodus.
  3. Apocalipsis 16:3The second bowl turns the sea into something like the blood of a dead man, killing all marine life - an even more intense version of the plague that turned the Nile River to blood in Egypt.
  4. Apocalipsis 16:4The third bowl strikes rivers and springs of water, repeating the same transformation into blood.
  5. Apocalipsis 16:5The “angel of the waters” declares that this judgment is righteous, echoing the same language from the greeting in chapter 1 about God being the One “which art, and wast” - except here without the phrase “and art to come,” because the judgment is already underway.
  6. Apocalipsis 16:6This explains the logic of this specific punishment: those who shed the blood of saints and prophets now receive blood to drink, a retribution that exactly mirrors the crime committed.
  7. Apocalipsis 16:7A second voice, coming from the altar, confirms the previous verdict, answering directly the cry for justice the martyrs had already raised back in chapter 6.
  8. Apocalipsis 16:8The fourth bowl strikes the sun, giving it power to scorch people with excessive heat.
  9. Apocalipsis 16:9Even while suffering this heat, the people affected react by blaspheming God instead of repenting, a pattern repeated in almost every plague in the book.
  10. Apocalipsis 16:10The fifth bowl strikes directly at the seat of the beast, plunging its own kingdom into darkness, with people gnawing their tongues in pain.
  11. Apocalipsis 16:11Once again, the pain produces no repentance, only more blasphemy against God, reinforcing the pattern of hardening already seen in the earlier trumpet plagues.
  12. Apocalipsis 16:12Drying up a river so an army can cross recalls the crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan in Exodus and Joshua, reused here as an image of a way being opened for a confrontation, without the text saying who these kings are.
  13. Apocalipsis 16:13The image of frogs once again echoes the plagues of Egypt, in Exodus, becoming here a figure for deceiving spirits in the service of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet together.
  14. Apocalipsis 16:14Demonic spirits with the appearance of frogs (an image already introduced in the previous verse) go out summoning the kings of the whole world to a final battle, called here “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
  15. Apocalipsis 16:15In the middle of the plague narrative, a warning interrupts the scene, repeating the same image of the “thief” already used in the letter to Sardis, in chapter 3: a reminder to stay watchful, inserted right at the moment of greatest tension.
  16. Apocalipsis 16:16The name comes from the Hebrew ‘Har Megiddo,’ Mount Megiddo, a real valley in northern Israel that had already been the site of several historical battles recorded in the Old Testament. Here it functions as a symbolic setting for a final confrontation, without the text stating where or when such an event will actually happen.
  17. Apocalipsis 16:17The seventh and final bowl, poured out into the air, brings a final declaration from the throne itself: “It is done,” a word marking the end of this sequence of judgments.
  18. Apocalipsis 16:18A combination of phenomena - lightnings, thunderings, and an earthquake described as the greatest in human history - marks the magnitude of the event now completed.
  19. Apocalipsis 16:19The “great city” splits into three parts, and Babylon (the symbolic name already used in chapter 14 and detailed in the following chapters) finally receives the cup of the wine of the wrath of God.
  20. Apocalipsis 16:20This repeats the same language of the total collapse of the natural order already seen in chapter 6, with islands and mountains vanishing from their places.
  21. Apocalipsis 16:21A talent was an ancient unit of weight, tens of kilograms, so this hail is described at an impossibly destructive size - once again the exaggerated scale typical of this kind of literature, not a literal weather report.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.