This portion of the heavenly scene introduces the next series of supernatural judgments to plague the earth, the Seven Vials of God's Wrath. These vials are held by seven angels. To assure us that God's fearsome wrath is just, a crowd of Tribulation martyrs sing of His glory and of His justice. The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. These vial judgments seem to come in rapid succession, leading up to the Battle of Armageddon.
Little detail is given, but they are supernatural judgments that seem to affect the whole earth.
The first vial will cause ugly and painful sores. If mankind has the ability to develop biological warfare, just imagine what the Creator could do in this area. The result is painful, but evidently not deadly. Actually, all of these plagues cause torment rather than death. The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea died.