Revelation 16:21; There Fell Upon men a Great Hail Out of Heaven
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Those who somehow escape the devastation caused by the earthquake will face another catastrophe, one unprecedented in earth’s history. They will be pelted with huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, that will hurtle down from heaven upon men. Unlike the seventh Egyptian plague (Exodus 9:23–24) and the first trumpet judgment (Revelation 8:7), the force of these hailstones is unimaginable.
Exodus 9:23-24 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
The Greek term translated about one hundred pounds described the most weight a normal man could carry, anywhere from 90 to 135 pounds. The heaviest hailstones ever recorded weighed about 2 pounds; these gigantic chunks of ice will be fifty times heavier. They will add to the devastation caused by the earthquake and crush humanity, who, because of the earthquake’s power, have no adequate shelter.
Fixed in their impenitence, the survivors of the hailstorm blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe. Incredibly, tortured humanity defiantly remains hardened against God—a truth that should give pause to those who think that signs and wonders will convince people to believe the gospel. Those who reject the wonder, glory, and majesty of the Son of God, who spurn the gracious, free gift of salvation, will not be convinced by any sign (cf. Luke 16:31).
Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
It is too late for these hardened sinners; they have sold their souls to Satan; they are totally committed to Antichrist’s blasphemous, idolatrous, anti-God system. Children of wrath they are, catapulting into hell.
God’s eschatological and eternal wrath is inevitable; no one can prevent or hinder it from coming (Isaiah 43:13).
Isaiah 43:13 Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
But there is a way to escape it, because “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1).
Those who by faith trust in Christ alone for salvation will escape both God’s eschatological wrath (Revelation 3:10) and His eternal wrath (1 Thess. 1:10).
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
They will not face judgment, because their sins were judged when Jesus died in their place on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to besin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
In light of the inevitable judgment to come, the warning to all unrepentant sinners is “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7).
Amen.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2000). Revelation 12–22 (pp. 153–154). Chicago: Moody Press.