“‘And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’” (Revelation 16:17-21, NASB)

Seek the Lord while He is saying, “It is coming,” rather than when He says, “It is done.” This is the lesson that I gleaned from today’s reading. Verses 17-21 say,

“And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’ And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.”

These verses describe what happens on earth as the seventh bowl judgment is poured out on earth. It symbolizes the last and final judgment of God during the Tribulation Period (Rev.15:1). Revelation describes the wrath of God being poured out in three stages: the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls. Just as the seventh angel poured out his bowl, a voice out of the temple cried out, “It is done.” The one who declared these words must be God Himself. For if the temple in heaven is God’s temple, then the throne within that temple must be God’s throne. If the temple and the throne belong to God, then the voice that came “out of the temple from the throne” must be that of God. In other words, God declared that with the pouring of the last bowl, His wrath and judgment had come to an end. To seek the Lord at this point would be too late.

When the seventh bowl was poured out, God declared that His great judgment, prophesied in the Scriptures, was finished. Then, like a climax for all His judgments, all hell broke loose on earth for this final scene. First, there were flashes of lightning, sounds, and peals of thunder. Second, there was a great earthquake unlike anything anyone has ever seen since Adam and Eve, and everything on earth was shaken and stirred. Third, the great city, Babylon the great, was split into three parts, and the “cities of the nations” that made an alliance with the beast fell. In other words, God judged the headquarters city of Satan, and every other outpost city was destroyed. Fourth, every island fled away (no more islands?). Fifth, the mountains fell, and there were none to be found. Imagine that there are no more mountains, and the earth is now flat. Finally, huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each, came down upon the earth. Can you imagine being rained upon by 100 pounds of hail?

Now, after the seventh bowl, I would imagine that the earth would be nothing like what we see today. It would be a whole different typography, landmass, and atmosphere. Even people on earth would look radically different, having gone through famine, earthquakes, sickness, plagues, being stung by demonic locusts, seared by the sun’s intense heat, and so on. As you gaze upon the smoke rising from the earth in the aftermath, you hear a voice from heaven, “It is done.” Yet, it says that the followers of the antichrist would not repent but continue to blaspheme God. Their hearts will be so hardened that even after all this, they will still rebel against God and reject His love, mercy, and grace.

Jesus said a similar thing while he was hanging on the cross. He said, “It is finished” (Jn.19:30). After saying this, Jesus bowed his head, gave up his spirit, and died. Few people argue that Jesus knew that he was about to die, and so he said out loud that his life on earth was about to be finished. However, a better and more meaningful interpretation would be to say that Jesus was declaring that his work on earth was finished as he lived a sinless life and offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. His work of redemption was finished on the cross, and the age of grace had begun. Through this good news, everyone, whether Jews or Gentiles, could come and receive salvation by faith. Now is the day of salvation. Today is the day we can all be saved. Hebrews 4:7 says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Don’t wait until God’s judgments are finished and declares, “It is done.” It is coming. Jesus is coming soon, as he said, “I am coming quickly” (Rev.22:12). God’s great judgments are coming. Eternal heaven and the eternal lake of fire are coming. God’s rewards to the faithful servants are coming. Therefore, it is better to seek the Lord while He is saying, “It is coming.” Don’t wait until He says, “It is done.” When the word “coming” changes to “done, it will be too late.

• What do you think God meant when He cried out, “It is done?”
• What do you imagine the earth and its inhabitants would be like after the seventh bowl judgment?
• What is God’s will for us believers today who are living while the words of God are, “It is coming?”