Three of the seven angels carrying the seven bowls of wrath have already emptied their bowls. The fourth, fifth, and sixth angels empty their bowls in our passage today.
"The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him." (Revelation 16:8-9) The atmosphere surrounding the earth has changed. We don't know exactly what happens here to cause the sun to feel hotter than usual, but the ungodly people of the earth recognize it as a judgment of God and yet they do not repent. How wicked their souls must be to endure all the plagues of Revelation and still be able to defiantly curse the name of God!
"The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done." (Revelation 16:10-11) After the scorching heat comes darkness, at least on the city where the Antichrist has his capital. I don't know whether this is a supernatural darkness, although the text indicates that it may be, or whether it's a darkness caused by a massive failure of the power grid. If it's the former, God's power is clearly shown to be superior to that of the Antichrist. If it's the latter, the Antichrist is going to look pretty foolish when he can't turn the lights on in the city he's chosen for his throne.
Those who have followed him are still afflicted by the sores of the first bowl judgment. They are still dealing with the results of the second and third bowl judgments: the lack of food from the sea, from the lack of maritime trade, and from the shortage of fresh water. The sun is hotter than usual and they can find no relief from the sweltering heat, and yet now the city where the Antichrist has his throne is in pitch darkness. This ought to prove to them that God is more powerful than the so-called "god" they've chosen to worship. But still they curse the name of God. Such an aversion to all that is holy is incomprehensible to us, but I think that even in hell there will be those who wouldn't bow to God even if He appeared before them and offered them a way out. Even if it were possible to repent and be saved after the judgment (which is is not, according to the Scriptures), they would not accept redemption. They would rather remain where they are than worship their Creator.
"The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east." (Revelation 16:12) This river is no longer a barrier to invading armies. They will be able to cross over on dry land.
"Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty." (Revelation 16:13-14) Something must be done at this point because Satan fears that people will begin to repent due to the severity of the plagues. He's also afraid that, even if they don't repent and turn to the living God, the leaders of the nations will turn their allegiance away from the Antichrist.
Things are spiraling out of control---not out of God's control but out of the devil's control. The man who is now head of all nations is sitting in the dark. Since he is a human being, it's likely that he's afflicted with the same sores as his followers. He is enduring a shortage of fresh water just like they are. People are beginning to wonder if they've "bet on the wrong horse", so to speak, and the monarchs and presidents and dictators who've willingly given their support to him are beginning to doubt the wisdom of continuing their alliance. In order to deceive these leaders into remaining loyal, the unholy trinity made up of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet sends out demonic spirits to perform signs and wonders on the earth.
The Bible doesn't elaborate on the nature of these signs and wonders, but they are impressive enough to convince the "kings", as John usually refers to them, not to sever their alliance with the Antichrist. These false miracles are going to be enough to persuade the kings to believe that the Antichrist has a good chance of winning the battle of Armageddon. They decide to keep on backing him by placing all their wealth, their technology, and their military power at his disposal.
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