The apostle John, imprisoned on Patmos Island (Revelation 1:9), had been taken by God’s Spirit into the presence of God in heaven (Revelation 4:2) so that he might be shown the things that God had determined must happen during the time between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and his return to earth on the Last Day (Revelation 1:1; Revelation 4:2). In Revelation 16:1–21 John is still in heaven observing what God is showing him.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”