(tm)The second bowl

Back to The End Time Judgments

---

And 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. (Revelation 16:3)

We do not know whether the term "sea" is a general concept indicating all the oceans and seas of the world, or just the Mediterranean Sea or some other sea or ocean, or the sea of mankind (as in Revelation 13:1), or a combination of these.

If this is a literal, physical occurrence, and it appears probable to us that such is the case, it is a tremendous judgment indeed. The blood of a dead man is thick and corrupt—a foul-smelling mass. It may result in the death of all marine life. If the Mediterranean Sea becomes as the blood of a dead man it will result in much trouble for Jacob, for the nation of Israel.

Perhaps the Lord is referring to the sea of the wicked and is saying that the spiritual life the wicked do have will be as the blood of a dead man. Unsaved people have a lingering remnant of spiritual life—a sense of God and also a conscience. It would be a fearful thing for them to have the last vestige of their sense of God and also their conscience removed from them.

We know from the first chapter of the Book of Romans that those who practice abominations receive a mind void of judgment (Romans 1:28). The wicked lose their sense of right and wrong. This is a terrible loss, a frightful judgment. But we see it happening in the viewpoint toward AIDS, as mentioned above, and in the current campaign for the presidency of the United States where the ethics of one of the candidates is questionable and yet the individual is likely to win the highest office in the land.