Revelation 16:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

NIV: From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible.

NASB: And huge hailstones, weighing about a talent each, *came down from heaven upon people; and people blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because the hailstone plague *was extremely severe.

CSB: Enormous hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell from the sky on people, and they blasphemed God for the plague of hail because that plague was extremely severe.

NLT: There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.

KJV: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

NKJV: And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

The seventh and final bowl judgment brings not only a devastating worldwide earthquake but also a crippling hailstorm. Each hailstone weighed about 100 pounds and these falling monstrosities pummeled people.

As of this writing, the heaviest recorded hailstone recorded in the United States weighed just under two pounds. That storm fell on South Dakota in 2010. Damage from such a storm is devastating, and incredibly dangerous for any living thing caught outside. One can only imagine what injuries will occur when the seventh bowl judgment brings hailstones many times larger than anything yet seen on earth.

Isaiah 30:30 associates hailstones with God's judgment. Ezekiel 13:13 also associates hailstones with His wrath, stating, "Therefore thus says the LORD GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end." The seventh plague in Egypt in the time of Moses was enormous, unprecedented hail that "struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast" (Exodus 9:25). Nevertheless, when the storm ended, Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not release the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt (Exodus 9:34). Like Pharaoh, people struck by the 100-pound hail in the great tribulation period will refuse to repent. Instead, they curse God because of the hail. Once again, the human heart is seen as callous and desperately wicked.

Revelation 16:17–21 tells what happens when the seventh angel empties his bowl of the wrath of God. This is the last stage of the tribulation—the final chapter in God's outpouring of wrath on the world. What the sixth angel did prepared the way for the seventh bowl judgment to put an end to the kingdom of the beast. Chapters 17—19 give a detailed account of the fall of the beast and his kingdom.

This chapter explains the bowl judgments, which are the last and most severe of God's outpouring of wrath on earth. The first three bowls bring sores, seas of blood, and rivers of blood. After a declaration of God's justice come the next three bowl judgments, involving scorching sunlight, darkness, and a drying of the Euphrates to clear the way for an invading army. In the final, seventh bowl judgment, an earthquake tears Jerusalem into three parts, levels cities worldwide, and displaces islands and mountains. Hundred-pound hailstones fall, but unbelievers refuse to repent and instead continue to curse God.

Revelation 16 resumes the account of God's judgments on the wicked. It describes the bowl judgments, the third and final series of judgments. The seven seal judgments of Revelation 6:1–17 and 8:1 are the first series of judgments. The trumpet judgments of Revelation 8:1—9:21 and 11:15 are next. All of these judgments vent God's wrath and are recognized as the day of his wrath and the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:17). Chapters 17 and 18 further describe the destruction caused by the judgments. Revelation 19 and 20 will describe the culmination of God's wrath and the final events of the end times.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''