The big picture
Revelation 16 opens in verse 1 with “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 11 with “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented…”, and closes in verse 21 with “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a…” Repeated or prominent terms include angel, poured, vial, blood, earth. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Revelation · King James Version · 21Revelation 16:1-7
1–7: I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go…
Revelation 16:1–7 opens with “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour…” and reaches “And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The seven bowls poured upon earth, sea, rivers, sun, throne, Euphrates, and air as powers gather toward final conflict, with particular weight carried by blood, angel, poured.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the…” The number seven makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
“And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men…” The line’s distinctive content terms include beast, earth, fell. Its relationship to verses 1 and 3 shows what work it does in this passage.
Revelation 16:1-7
King James Version1And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
2And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
3And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Revelation 16:8-14
8–14: The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given…
Revelation 16:8–14 opens with “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch…” and reaches “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The seven bowls poured upon earth, sea, rivers, sun, throne, Euphrates, and air as powers gather toward final conflict, with particular weight carried by angel, mouth, poured.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.” The line’s distinctive content terms include angel, fire, fourth. Its relationship to verses 9 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they…” The verse names God rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.
Revelation 16:8-14
King James Version8And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
12And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Revelation 16:15-21
15–21: Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his…
Revelation 16:15–21 opens with “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk…” and reaches “And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on The seven bowls poured upon earth, sea, rivers, sun, throne, Euphrates, and air as powers gather toward final conflict, with particular weight carried by earthquake, fell, hail.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his…” Naming Blessed keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Naming Armageddon and Hebrew keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Revelation 16:15-21
King James Version15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Revelation 16:1 begins with “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”
Where the chapter turns
Revelation 16:11 forms a natural hinge: “And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
The final note
Revelation 16:21 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words angel, poured, vial, blood, earth, beast help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
Whose perspective receives unexpected attention?
Hagar's. The messenger finds her, names her and speaks about her future.
What does Ishmael's name commemorate?
God has heard her affliction, according to verse 11.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.