The Bowl Judgments (also called the Vial Judgments in the King James Version), as mentioned in Revelation chapter 16, took place within the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation in the Left Behind series and mostly affected those who have taken the mark of the Beast and have worshipped his image.
- The first Bowl Judgment was painful sores that appeared on those who have taken the mark of loyalty and worshipped Nicolae Carpathia's image. This happened around the time of Desecration and was shortly lifted prior to the air and land strike ordered by Carpathia upon those fleeing to Petra.
- The second Bowl Judgment turned all the seas into blood, causing all marine life in the waters to perish and affecting even the movement of ships on the sea. This happened in Desecration and The Remnant.
- The third Bowl Judgment turned all the fresh water springs into blood, denying drinkable water to those who have taken the mark of loyalty and worshipped Carpathia's image, for God considered it just due to those who shed the blood of His saints. As a result, this caused deaths among the loyalists through dehydration. Those who had the seal of God on their foreheads, however, were able to get clean water from the bloody springs. The authors may have interpreted Revelation 7:16 as indicating that God has conferred immunity from the blood plagues and heat to the Great Multitude. This lasted for about a year or so in The Remnant.
- The fourth Bowl Judgment caused the sun to be scorching hot to those who have taken the mark of loyalty and worshipped Carpathia's image. This also resulted in the polar ice caps melting, causing tsunamis that wash rotting sea animal carcasses further inland. It seems that the heat affected everything, as exposed water boiled and animals also spontaneously combusted, as opposed to the destructive force of the heat only affecting unbelievers. Those with the seal of God only experienced higher-than-normal temperatures but were supernaturally immune to the destructive force of the heat. The plague allowed believers to travel in the daytime without fear of hostility from the Global Community. This lasted for about a year or so in The Remnant.
- The heat plague not only harmed the persons of unbelievers who were directly exposed to the sun, but also affected any flammable structure that is unoccupied by a believer. In Heat Wave, Vicki Byrne, Judd Thompson Jr., and Westin Jakes rescued a young believer named Howard. He was hiding with a group of believers in an Indiana library during the heat plague. Eventually, the Global Community and the Carpathianist locals took over the library because it was the only building for blocks that was still standing. The believers had to evacuate, but Howard did not leave the library with the group, so he was trapped in the library with the marked locals. When Judd investigated the building, he inferred that there was no GC in the building because the building would have burned down. After Howard was rescued from the hostile GC, the library's windows began to shatter, the roof started to buckle, and smoked billowed from it. As they drove away, screams can be heard from the library.
- The fifth Bowl Judgment blanketed New Babylon in thick darkness, causing those who have taken the mark of loyalty and worshipped Carpathia's image to be blinded and have painful sores from which there is no relief. Those with the seal of God had limited visibility, of approximately twenty feet, and their experience was like seeing a room lit by a low-powered chandelier. This lasted for about a year or so until New Babylon was destroyed in Armageddon.
- The sixth Bowl Judgment dried up the Euphrates River in order for "the kings of the east" to bring their armies to Armageddon for the battle against Jesus Christ. It also caused Satan, Carpathia, and Leon Fortunato to spew forth froglike spirits into three bodies that resembled Carpathia that would perform miracles to bring the armies of the world to Armageddon. This took place in Armageddon.
- The seventh Bowl Judgment took place during Jesus' glorious appearing, where there was not only a major earthquake that leveled all the mountains of the continents except for Jerusalem (which was elevated), but also 100-pound hailstones fell upon the Unity Army, squashing them. Prior to this taking place, a voice from heaven said, "It is done".
Images.
A depiction of the Second and Third Bowl judgment.
