‘And the Temple of God in Heaven was opened and in His temple was seen the ark of the covenant, and there followed lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail.'
Nothing is secret any longer. Heaven is opened and made known to earth. The ark of the covenant represents the throne of God, set between the cherubim, where God had taken His power and reigns, and within it is His covenant with His people and the world, which include the ten commandments by which the world will be judged (Exodus 25:21 with Exodus 31:18). To His own the sight is one of great joy. To His enemies it is one of great fear. Now indeed will they cry ‘hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath has come, and who will be able to stand?' (Revelation 6:16-17). Just as the first vision of judgment (the seven seals) ended with the coming of Christ at the end of chapter 6, so the second vision of judgment ends with the coming of Christ here.
‘And there followed lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and great hail'. This refrain, which signals great events about to take place, is constantly repeated and constantly grows (see Revelation 4:5; Revelation 8:5; Revelation 11:19). In Revelation 8:5 the earthquake was added (and is repeated in Revelation 16:18). Now is further added the great hail (compare Psalms 18:10-13; Ezekiel 13:13; Ezekiel 38:22; Isaiah 30:30; Exodus 9:24). The earthquake took the tenth part (Revelation 11:13) now the great hail will take the rest. It is a symbol of judgment, sweeping away ‘the refuge of lies' (Isaiah 28:17), and of the approach of God (Psalms 18:10-13). The great hail is also described as taking place at the end of the seven bowls (or vials) (Revelation 16:21), demonstrating that the seven bowls do not follow chronologically but end also at this point. It is part of the approach of the King as he comes to bring the world to judgment, having raised the dead and raptured His own.