The voice John heard was evidently God's (cf. 15:8; 16:17). The fact that God told all seven angels to pour out their bowls seems to indicate that these judgments will follow each other in rapid succession.
The frequent use of the Greek adjective megalesin this chapter indicates the unusual severity and intensity of the bowl judgments. The NASB translators rendered this word "loud"here and in verse 17; "fierce"in verse 9; "great"in verses 12, 14, 18 (twice), and 19 (twice); and "huge"and "severe"in verse 21.506
The relationship in time of the bowl judgments to the trumpet judgments has been a matter of disagreement among futurist commentators. On the one hand there are some similarities between them, as a side by side comparison reveals.507
However the differences make it most difficult to conclude that they are identical judgments.508It seems more likely that the bowls constitute the seventh trumpet as the trumpets constitute the seventh seal. This would make the bowls the last plagues to come on the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation (15:1). Many details in the text, to be pointed out below, support the conclusion that this is the correct interpretation.
"The first four affect individuals directly either through personal affliction or through objects of nature, and the last three are on more of an international scale, leading the way to a final major confrontation."509
"After almost a century of insipid preaching from America's pulpits, the average man believes that God is all sweetness and light and would not discipline or punish anyone. Well, this Book of Revelation tells a different story!"510
