As in Revelation 8-11 we here see the seven plagues but from a different point of view The first angel corresponds to the fifth trumpeter (Revelation 9:1-12), "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" (Revelation 16:2). The second angel, who "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), corresponds to the second trumpeter (Revelation 8:8-9). The third angel, who "poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood" (Revelation 16:4), corresponds to the third trumpeter (Revelation 8:10-11). The fourth angel who "poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.  And 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" (Revelation 16:8-9), corresponds to the first trumpeter (Revelation 8:7), but with a difference (see below). The fifth angel, who "poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds" (Revelation 16:10-11), corresponds to the fourth trumpeter (Revelation 8:12). The sixth angel, who "poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates" (Revelation 16:12) corresponds to the sixth trumpeter (Revelation 9:13-21). And the seventh angel, who "poured out his vial into the air" to the seventh trumpeter (Revelation 11:15-19)  To present this in a table:
 

The correspondence assures us that St. John is having another vision of the same events. The scrambled order of the correspondence is to be expected (see my discussion on Prophecy).

This vision does, however, supply some additional information: The first angle here (fifth trumpeter) affects not only those who swear or pledge allegiance to the United States and other forces that oppose the Kingdom of God, but also on those who are too absorbed with television and the mass media "there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image" (Revelation 16:2).

The fourth angel's plague (first trumpeter) is not enough to convince humans to change their ways "And 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" (Revelation 16:9). The same is true for the plague sent by the fifth angel (fourth trumpeter), "and they gnawed their tongues for pain,  And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds" (Revelation 16:10-11). We may have evidence that the plague from the fourth angel (intensification of the Sun) has already occurred.  The past twenty or so years have seen an alarming rise in cases of skin cancer due to overexposure to the rays of the Sun, which is burning much more fiercely than normal judging from reports ranging from the depletion of the Ozone Layer, to theories of Global Warming, to droughts and general feelings about the intensity of the Sun's brightness and heat.

The plague of the fifth angel (fourth trumpeter) is directed at the United States, "fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast" (Revelation 16:10), but does not cause the people to repent, "And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds" (Revelation 16:11). The plague itself is left unspecified but the clause "and his kingdom was full of darkness" is open to several suggestive interpretations (given the compressed expressions of Revelation, the intention may be to indicate all of these and more).  Most directly, the passage seems to suggest a general blackout or power loss such as that which occurred in the blackout of New York in the 1960s; periods of economic Depression, ushered in 'Black' days (Friday, September 24, 1869; Friday, September 19, 1873, Tuesday, October 29, 1929; October 19, 1987); or the word "darkness" may refer to vice in general. The United States is a world leader in anger (murder, violence, hate crimes), gluttony (even our children are obese), sloth (the 'couch potato' lifestyle and excessive use of automobiles and 'labor saving' devices), covetousness (it is fair to say that most citizens of the US are immersed in materialism and organize their lives around the pursuit of the mighty dollar), lust (as the advertising agencies say, 'face it, sex sells', so the fires of lust are continually stoked; the results are seen in the high incidence of rape), pride (what other nation regards itself as the savior of the world?), and envy (aren't 'the rat race' and 'keeping up with the Joneses' slogans that encapsulate the American way?)

The plague of the sixth angel (sixth trumpeter) is filled out with more detail. We saw in our discussion of Revelation 9 that the sixth trumpeter is concerned with the events from 1914-1989. Here we find evidence for events from 1989-1999, "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" (Revelation 16:12), as during this period Iraq has been draining the swamps between the Tigris and Euphrates. We should look for an offensive from this direction soon.

All involved should be wary about participating in any such event. "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" (Revelation 16:13): The "three unclean spirits like frogs" are wicked messages or messengers (as is clear as they come out of the mouths of the dragon, beast and false prophet) that incite people to participate in the war, "For 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 16:14). We have an indication that the offensive will be the work of the devil (the mouth of the dragon) along with the USA (the mouth of the beast) and either NATO or the United Nations (or both) which St. John indicates as "the mouth of the false prophet" because of the 'miracles' which it performs (see Revelation 13:11-16). Again, I say, DO NOT PARTICIPATE in this action. If they say you are fighting for God's cause, do not listen. God has no need of warriors. He has no need of weapons. If they say, "Let us march to Jerusalem to defend it!", do not listen. Jerusalem is God's land, it needs no defense. The plain fact is this: ANY MILITARY FORCE THAT APPROACHES JERUSALEM FOR ANY PURPOSE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY ANNIHILATED.

If you want to prepare for this day, do so by avoiding Jerusalem at all costs. If you are already there, leave. If you can not leave, do not touch any weapon or military vehicle. If you must touch a weapon, do not attempt to use it, even in self defense. If you find yourself in a military vehicle, do nothing but pray to God for mercy.

The end for these forces will come swiftly. They will take the city and rejoice in their victory, and in their hubris they will even venture to Mageddo "he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" (Revelation 16:16), scoffing and snapping their fingers at the Lord; but as they rejoice, "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15).

Then the seventh angel (seventh trumpeter) will pour out his plague, and the great worldwide earthquake will strike, "And 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. And 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." (Revelation 16:17-18). Symbolic of its division between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Jerusalem will split into three parts, "And the great city was divided into three parts" (Revelation 16:19), but all other cities will be affected as well, "and the cities of the nations fell" (Revelation 16:19), and the USA will fall as well, "and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath" (Revelation 16:19). The whole face of the Earth will be transformed, "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found" (Revelation 16:20), because the Kingdom of God is not localized to Jerusalem, but is worldwide. Even so, there will be those who will not repent, "and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (Revelation 16:21). Fools! How will cursing your afflictor cause him to relent?

Here we have reached the end of the events of this vision. Chapter 17 begins a more detailed vision of the final battle and the coming of the Kingdom of God.