And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
The First Vial. Chap. 16 Rev 16:1-2
1. the vials ] Read, the seven vials.
upon the earth ] Lit., into the earth, here and in the next verse. Here “the earth” seems to mean the lower world generally, there the dry land only.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I heard a great voice out of the temple – A loud voice out of the temple as seen in heaven (notes on Rev 11:19), and that came, therefore, from the very presence of God.
Saying to the seven angels – That had the seven vials of wrath. See the notes on Rev 15:1, Rev 15:7.
Go your ways – Your respective ways, to the fulfillment of the task assigned to each.
And pour out the vials of the wrath of God – Empty those vials; cause to come upon the earth the plagues indicated by their contents. The order in which this was to be done is not intimated. It seems to be supposed that that would be understood by each.
Upon the earth – The particular part of the earth is not here specified, but it should not be inferred that it was to be upon the earth in general, or that there were any calamities, in consequence of this pouring out of the vials of wrath, to spread over the whole world. The subsequent statements show what parts of the earth were particularly to be affected.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 16:1
Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Predestined suffering in the government of the world
I. All the dispensations of this suffering are under the direction of God. And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. From the very Shrine of the Almighty, the Holy of Holies, He deals out and regulates every item.
1. He orders their agents. Each of the seven angels or messengers are sent forth by Him. Go your ways. The Supreme Governor of the universe conducts His affairs through a vast system of secondary instrumentalities. There is not a pain that quivers in the nerve of any sentient being that comes not from Him. Is not this a soothing and a strengthening thought under all the dispensations of sorrow?
2. He appoints their seasons. The seven angels do not all come together, each has its period.
3. He fixes their places. Each of the seven angels who, under God, are to dispense the plagues, has his place assigned him. Each had his vial, or bowl, and each bowl had a place on which it was to be poured. The first came upon the earth, the second on the sea, the third upon the rivers and fountains, the fourth upon the sun, the fifth upon the seat (throne) of the beast, the sixth upon the great river Euphrates, and the seventh into the air. Whether there is a reference here to plagues in Egypt, or sufferings elsewhere, I know not.
4. He determines their character. The sufferings that came forth from the bowls were not of exactly the same kind or amount, some seemed more terrible and tremendous than others. The sufferings of some are distinguished by physical diseases, some by social bereavements, some by secular losses and disappointments, some by mental perplexities, some by moral anguish, etc. Every heart knoweth its own bitterness.
II. All the dispensations of this suffering have a great moral purpose. They are not malignant but merciful. They are not to ruin souls but to save them. They are curative elements in the painful cup of life; they are storms to purify the moral atmosphere of the world.
1. The righteous punishment of cruel persecution. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
2. The righteous punishment of supreme worldliness. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat (throne) of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues. Worldliness in the ascendant is indeed like this beast pourtrayed in the Apocalypse. It sits supreme; it has a throne, a crown, a sceptre that extends over all.
3. The overwhelming ruin of organised wrong. Great Babylon, what is it? The moral evils of the world organised into its metropolis. Falsehood, sensuality, pride, ambition, impiety, fraud, tyranny, embodied in a mighty city. This is the Babylon, and all unredeemed men are citizens in it. The Divine purpose is to destroy it. All His dispensations are against it, and will one day shiver it to pieces. Take courage, be of good cheer!
III. All the dispensations of this suffering have an influence co-extensive with the universe. There was not a drop from the bowl in either of the angels hands that terminated where it fell. The contents of these bowls are not like showers falling on the rocks in summer, which having touched them are then exhaled for ever. No, they continue to operate. The bowl that fell on the earth became an evil and painful sore, that which fell on the sea became blood and death, that which fell upon the sun scorched mankind, that which fell on the beast spread darkness and agony in all directions, that which fell upon the Euphrates produced a drought, and drew out of the mouth of the dragon wild beasts and strange dragons, the bowl that poured out its contents on the air produced lightnings, and thunders, and earthquakes, causing Babylon to be riven asunder, and every mountain and valley to flee away. Observe–
1. Nothing in the world of mind terminates with itself. No man liveth unto himself. Each step we give will touch chords that will vibrate through all the arches of immensity.
2. Whatever goes forth from mind exerts an influence on the domain of matter. (David Thomas, D. D.)
The first five bowls
I. Ere the end cometh Gods judgments of wrath will be poured out upon the world.
II. God hath his bowls in which are the contents of his wrath waiting to be outpoured.
III. The bringing out of these hidden forces is foreseen and determined.
IV. When the angels of judgment pour out the bowls, all nature may be full of whips and stings (cf. Rev 16:1-4; Rev 16:8-11).
V. The effect of these judgments on ungodly men will be to excite to anger, and not to bring to repentance. They repented not; they blasphemed (Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11).
VI. The holy ones see in the Divine retribution a manifestation of righteousness. In Rev 16:5 the angel of the waters celebrates the righteousness of God, and in Rev 16:7 the altar is said to do it; so the Revised Version reads; meaning, probably, the souls of the martyrs beneath it (Rev 6:9). Only those beings who are in full sympathy with the Divine righteousness and love are in a position to judge rightly of the Divine procedure. Note–
1. Although all Scripture points to trouble on a vastly greater scale than we as yet see it, ere the end shall come, yet on a smaller scale Gods judgments are ever at work. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. That which is a bulwark to the good is a detective to the evil.
2. Let us not forget that the wondrous way in which the balance of natures forces is preserved, so as to bring us life and peace and comfort, is owing, not to nature, but to God.
3. In our daily life we can sing of both mercy and judgment. No cup is all sweetness. A dash of bitter mingles with all. Not all bitter, lest we should pine away; not all sweet, lest we should become insensible to lifes peril and responsibilities.
4. We are indebted to Divine mercy even for the sanctifying effect of our trials. (C. Clemance, D. D.)
They repented not to give Him glory.
The hardened heart
They repented not to give Him glory. This impenitence is told of in Rev 9:20, and in this chapter again at Rev 9:11; Rev 21:1-27.
I. A very certain fact. The late Mr. Kingsley, in his book, The Roman and the Teuton, draws out at length the evidence both of the horrible sufferings and the yet more horrible impenitence of the Roman people in the days of their empires fall. He refers to these very verses as accurately describing the condition of things in those awful days, when the people of Rome gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed, etc. (Rev 9:11). And it is to Rome and her fall that St. John is here alluding. There can hardly be doubt of that. But the sinners at Rome were not the only ones who, in spite of the judgments of God resting upon them, have, nevertheless, hardened their hearts. Who has not known of such things?
II. And very wonderful. We say a burnt child dreads the fire, but it is evident that they who have been scorched with great heat (verse 9) by the righteous wrath of God are yet not afraid to incur that wrath again. Nothing strikes us more than the persistent way in which, in the day of provocation in the wilderness, the Israelites went on sinning, notwithstanding all that it brought upon them in the way of punishment.
III. And very awful. Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. Why should ye be stricken any more?–no good comes of it, punishment does not make any difference.
IV. But yet not inexplicable. For–
1. Times of such distress as are told of here are just the most unfavourable times of all others for that serious, earnest thought which would lead to repentance. Distress distracts the mind, drags it hither and thither, so that it cannot stay itself upon God. To trust to the hour of death to turn unto God is, indeed, to build upon the sand.
2. Resentment against their ill-treatment holds their mind more than aught else. Where that fear is not, Gods wrath will exasperate, enrage, and harden, but there will be no repentance.
3. They attribute their sufferings to every cause but the true one.
4. Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil (Ecc 8:11). (S. Conway, B. A.)
Judgments and no repentance: repentance and no salvation
I. Judgments, apart from Divine grace, may produce a kind of repentance.
1. Judgment may produce a carnal repentance–a repentance that is of the flesh, and after the manner of the sinful nature of men. Though the man changes, he is not savingly changed: he becomes another man, but not a new man. The thunders, and the storms, and the hail, and the noisome sores can produce in men nothing more than a fleshly repentance; and flesh repenting is still flesh, and tends to corruption.
2. And hence, again, it is but a transient repentance. They repent but for a season. While they see the immediate evil of their sin in its results, they cry out as if they really hated sin; but their hatred is only a little tiff, which lasts for a while, and then they make friends with their sins, as Pilate made friends with Herod. Their goodness is as the morning cloud; and as the early dew it passes away.
3. Such a repentance is superficial. It only affects the surface of the man. It does not go to the heart, it is hardly more than skin deep. Beware of a superficial repentance, for God abhors it. God is not mocked; He sees the loathsomeness of the ulcer through the film which seeks to hide it.
4. The awful terrors of God may produce a despairing repentance. What an awful thing it is when the law of God and the terrors of God work upon the conscience, and arouse all a mans fears, and yet he will not fly to Christ I
II. Judgments do not and cannot of themselves produce a repentance such as gives God glory. They repented not to give Him glory. Now, this not giving God glory is a very important omission, and one which vitiates the whole matter. True repentance gives God glory in many ways. Is yours true repentance or not? That is the question.
1. It reverences and adores Gods omniscience. It is a confession of the fact of Gods knowledge, and the truthfulness of His statements, for the man says, O Lord, I am what Thy Word says I am. Before Thee have I sinned. In Thy sight have I done evil. Thou knowest me altogether, and I adore Thine omniscience.
2. The truly penitent gives glory to the righteousness of God in His law. Impenitence rails at the law as too severe, speaks of transgression as a trifle, and of future punishment as cruelty; but the truly repentant soul admires the law, and champions it even against its own self. Do you know all this in your own heart?
3. The sincerely penitent also adores and glorifies the justice of God in His punishment of transgression. Is sin really sinful to you? Do you see its desert of hell? If not, your repentance needs to be repented of.
4. True repentance glorifies the sovereignty of God in His mercy, saying, Let Him do as He wills, for His will is holy love.
5. Further, the man has repented to the glory of God when he spies out that there is a way by which God can be just and yet the Justifier of the ungodly–when he sees the Lord Jesus Christ, the adorable Son of God, coming in our human nature and becoming the substitute for sinners, and the sacrifice for sin.
6. For, mark you, it glorifies God in one other way–by setting the sinner ever afterwards craving after holiness. The burnt child dreads the fire; and the sinner dreads sin when he has been delivered from the flame of it by the Lord Jesus.
III. The judgments of God, apart from Divine grace, may, through our hardness of heart, involve us in greater sin.
1. If God has chastened you very much, until He is saying, O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? then all this chastening which you have despised involves you in deeper sin, because you now sin with a clearer knowledge of what sin really is.
2. To many lives judgments also introduce the element of falsehood. The man vowed that if he recovered from sickness he would fear God. He was sick, and a saint he would be. But when he got well, ah I how much of a saint was he?
3. There are some whose conduct has in it the element of deliberate hatred of God; for these have had time now to see which way evil goes, and yet they follow it. They love sin as sin.
4. This introduces the element of presumption, deliberation, resolve; and when men sin so, there is a talent of lead in the measure of their iniquity, and it weighs exceedingly heavy.
IV. The judgments of God are to be viewed with great discretion. He who studies them must do it with solemn care.
1. Judgments tend to good. Do not forget that. They ought to tend to good to you who are exercised by them. How many are aroused to think of better things by sickness in their own persons, or sudden death in others! National judgments are frequently a ministry of grace.
2. Judgments do impress some men. Many will come to hear a sermon just after a dear baby has died, or a brother or father has been taken away. Death whips the careless into thought.
3. Some, no doubt, are sweetly subdued by judgments, when these are qualified with grace. The grace of God working with their afflictions, they bow themselves beneath the chastening hand; and when they do this, it is good for them that they are afflicted.
4. But then, next, still let it be recollected that these things will not work good of themselves. I want you to remember this, because I have known people say, Well, if I were afflicted I might be converted. If I lay sick I might be saved. Oh, do not think so. Sickness and sorrow of themselves are no helps to salvation. Pain and poverty are not evangelists; disease and despair are not apostles. Look at the lost in hell. Suffering has effected no good in them.
5. Oh, that God would lead you to repent now, before any of His judgments fall upon you! Why should we not repent at once? Surely we ought to repent of doing wrong when we perceive that we are wronging so good a God. Permit me also to say to you how much nobler and sweeter a thing it is to be drawn than to be driven. Must you be beaten to Christ? And then, again, recollect, you can repent now so much more clearly than in the hour of sickness. God helping you, this is a very good hour for repenting. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XVI.
The angels are commanded to pour out their vials upon the
earth, 1.
The first pours out his vial on the earth, by which a grievous
sore is produced, 2.
The second angel pours out his trial on the sea, and it is
turned into blood, 3.
The third angel pours out his vial on the rivers and fountains,
and they are turned also into blood, 4-7.
The fourth angel pours out his vial on the sun, and men are
scorched with fire, 8, 9.
The fifth angel pours out his vial on the throne of the beast,
10, 11.
The sixth angel pours out his vial on the river Euphrates, 12.
Three unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the beast, dragon
and false prophet: and go forth to gather all the kings of the
world to battle, in the place called Armageddon, 13-16.
The seventh angel pours out his vial on the air, on which
followed thunders, lightnings, earth-quakes, and extraordinary
hail, 17-21.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVI.
Verse 1. Go your ways, and pour out] These ministers of the Divine justice were ready to execute vengeance upon transgressors, having full power; but could do nothing in this way till they received especial commission. Nothing can be done without the permission of God; and in the manifestation of justice or mercy by Divine agency, there must be positive command.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And I heard a great voice out of the temple; either out of the church triumphant, Christ, the Head of it, commanding the executioners of his justice to go and do their office; or out of the church militant, by their prayers soliciting God to execute vengeance upon the beast. All the beasts territories, or the several parts of his kingdom, are expressed in this chapter, under the notions of the earth, the sea, the rivers and fountains, the sun, and the seat of the beast. The first command to the executioners of Gods justice, is, to pour out his wrath on the earth. By the earth; Pareus understands some parts of the earth; others, the common people; others, the Roman empire; but others, considering the earth as the firmest part of the universe, say, that by the earth is meant the popish clergy, the basis of the papacy; and I am very much inclined to judge that the most probable sense of it, not only because there is little of heaven in them, and their whole frame and model is the product of earthly policy, but because experience hath told us that the pope here received his first wound, in the diminution of their power and authority, and a contempt of them. God hath used many instruments to pour out this vial, even so many (whether princes or ministers) as he hath made use of to root out monasteries and abbeys, and to expose mass priests to scorn and contempt. Mr. Mede seemeth to be of another mind, thinking, that by earth is meant the commonalty of the people, whose defection from the pope was his first plague: but that which is to be understood by the earth, being the affected part of antichrist, I cannot agree with that learned man; for though the beast suffered by the defection of the commonalty, yet I cannot see how those that made the defection suffered at all by it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. a great voicenamely,God’s. These seven vials (the detailed expansion of the vintage,Re 14:18-20) beingcalled “the last,” must belong to the period just when theterm of the beast’s power has expired (whence reference is made inthem all to the worshippers of the beast as the objects of thejudgments), close to the end or coming of the Son of man. The firstfour are distinguished from the last three, just as in the case ofthe seven seals and the seven trumpets. The first four are moregeneral, affecting the earth, the sea, springs, and the sun, notmerely a portion of these natural bodies, as in the case of thetrumpets, but the whole of them; the last three are more particular,affecting the throne of the beast, the Euphrates, and the grandconsummation. Some of these particular judgments are set forth indetail in the seventeenth through twentieth chapters.
out of the templeB andSyriac omit. But A, C, Vulgate, and ANDREASsupport the words.
the vialsso Syriacand Coptic. But A, B, C, Vulgate, and ANDREASread, “the seven vials.”
uponGreek,“into.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I heard a great voice out of the temple,…. The church, which in the preceding chapter is said to be opened; this was either the voice of God, whose temple the church is, and where he dwells, and who, has power over these plagues, Re 16:9 and who, when he is about to bring judgments on the earth, is said to roar out of Zion, Re 16:16 or of Christ, who is always in the midst of his church and people, and whose voice is as the voice of many waters; see Re 16:15 or it may be of one of the four living creatures, the ministers of the word, in and by whom Christ often speaks; and the rather, since one of these gave the seven angels the golden vials of the wrath of God, they are now bid to pour out.
Saying to the seven angels, go your ways and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth; for though these angels had the seven last plagues to inflict, and the seven vials of God’s wrath to pour out, and were in a readiness to do it, yet they did not move without an order, which is here given them; and they are bid to go their ways, from the temple, the church, where they were, and of which they were members, to the several parts of the antichristian empire; and there pour out all the wrath and vengeance of God upon his enemies, and theirs, and leave nothing behind, but give them the dregs of every cup of his fury: the earth here is to be taken in a larger sense than in the following verse, and includes the land and sea, the fountains and rivers, and even the ambient air, and also the sun in the firmament, as the pouring out of these vials upon them show; and designs the whole apostate church, consisting of earthly men, all the inhabitants of the earth, that worship the beast. The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and the Complutensian edition, read, “the seven vials of the wrath of God”; these seven vials are not contemporary, much less the same with the seven trumpets; there is indeed a likeness between them in some things, especially in the first four; for as the first four trumpets affect the earth, the sea, the fountains, and rivers of water, and the sun, so the first four vials are poured out on the same, and that in the same order; first on the earth, and then on the sea, c. and which will give some light, and be a direction to observe the several parts of the antichristian empire, which will suffer by these vials, and the in which their ruin will proceed and as the trumpets were so many gradual steps to the ruin of the Roman empire, eastern and western, when become Christian, so these vials are so many gradual steps to, and which issue in the ruin of, both the eastern and western antichrist; though they do not respect the same things, nor the same times: the trumpets respect the Roman empire as Christian, under the government of emperors, after the downfall of Paganism in it; and the vials respect the antichristian powers in their several branches, under the pope and Turk. Antichrist did not appear until the fifth trumpet sounded, whereas the first vial is poured out upon his followers and worshippers, Re 16:2 from whence it is a clear point, that the first trumpet and the first vial cannot be contemporary; and the same judgment may be made of the rest: and it may be further observed, that these vials are only poured out on the enemies of God and of Christ, and of his church and people; for no wrath can be poured out upon the saints, not the least drop of it can fall upon them; this would not be consistent with God’s everlasting love to them, with the satisfaction of Christ made for them, nor with the blessings of justification, pardon, adoption, c. bestowed on them not but that they may meet with trouble in the of these vials, through the wars that will be in the world, and through the struggles of the beast of Rome, especially its last, which will be the hour of temptation, and that time of trouble than which never was the like; yet all will work for, and issue in their good, and they will rejoice in God’s righteous judgments; the blow will be upon antichrist, the vengeance of God will fall upon those that have the mark of the beast, and the worshippers of his image, upon the seat of the beast, even upon Babylon, and the whole Romish jurisdiction, as appears from
Re 16:2 and also upon the Turkish empire, and all the nations engaged in the interest of both pope and Turk, Re 16:12 and it is easy to observe, that there is in many of these vials an allusion to the plagues of Egypt; in the first, Re 16:2 to the plague of boils, Ex 9:8 in the second and third, Re 16:3 to that of turning the waters of Egypt into blood, Ex 7:19 in the fourth, Re 16:10 to the darkness that was over all the land of Egypt, Ex 10:21 and in the fifth there is a manifest reference to the frogs that distressed the Egyptians, Ex 8:5 and in the seventh, to the plague of hail, Ex 9:23 and they have much the same effect, even the hardening of those on whom they fall, being far from being brought to repentance by them, Re 16:9 and this confirms the application of the vials to the destruction of Rome, which is spiritually called Egypt, Re 11:8 and may assure that they will issue in the ruin of antichrist, and in the salvation of God’s people, as the plagues of Egypt did in the destruction of Pharaoh, and in the deliverance of the children of Israel; and may also lead us to conclude, that there will be a like quick execution of the one as of the other; for as the plagues of Egypt came very quick one after another, so it seems as if the pouring out of these vials would be in like manner; the angels receive them together, and have their orders at the same time; and they go forth immediately, one after another, if not together, to the respective parts where they are to pour them forth, and which they do directly; see Re 16:8. Moreover, these vials will affect antichrist both with respect to his civil and ecclesiastic capacity, or both in temporals and spirituals, and, both antichrists, eastern and western: whether they are begun to be poured out or not, is a question. I am ready to think they are not, because they seem to me to refer to the seventh trumpet, which as yet has not sounded, and are the same with the wrath of God, and the time of the judging the dead, or avenging the blood of the saints, which will be come when that sounds, Re 11:18. Besides, the outer court is not entirely given to the Gentiles, nor the witnesses slain, which must be before this time of wrath upon antichrist; not but that there has been some manifest marks of the divine displeasure upon the whore of Rome, and she has been sinking ever since the Reformation, at which time some begin these vials, or before; and she is reduced to a low estate; yet I think not to such a degree as these vials express.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Seven Vials. | A. D. 95. |
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 2 And 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. 3 And the second angel 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. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
We had in the foregoing chapter the great and solemn preparation that was made for the pouring out of the vials; now we have the performance of that work. Here observe,
I. That, though every thing was made ready before, yet nothing was to be put in execution without an immediate positive order from God; and this he gave out of the temple, answering the prayers of his people, and avenging their quarrel.
II. No sooner was the word of command given than it was immediately obeyed; no delay, no objection made. We find that some of the best men, as Moses and Jeremiah, did not so readily come in and comply with the call of God to their work; but the angels of God excel not only in strength, but in a readiness to do the will of God. God says, Go your ways, and pour out the vials, and immediately the work is begun. We are taught to pray that the will of God may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. And now we enter upon a series of very terrible dispensations of Providence, of which it is difficult to give the certain meaning or to make the particular application. But in the general it is worth our observation that,
1. We have here a reference and allusion to several of the plagues of Egypt, such as the turning of their waters into blood, and smiting them with boils and sores. Their sins were alike, and so were their punishments.
2. These vials have a plain reference to the seven trumpets, which represented the rise of antichrist; and we learn hence that the fall of the church’s enemies shall bear some resemblance to their rise, and that God can bring them down in such ways as they chose to exalt themselves. And the fall of antichrist shall be gradual; as Rome was not built in one day, so neither shall it fall in one day, but it falls by degrees; it shall fall so as to rise no more.
3. The fall of the antichristian interest shall be universal. Every thing that any ways belonged to them, or could be serviceable to them, the premises and all their appurtenances, are put into the writ for destruction: their earth, their air, their sea, their rivers, their cities, all consigned over to ruin, all accursed for the sake of the wickedness of that people. Thus the creation groans and suffers through the sins of men. Now we proceed to,
(1.) The first angel who poured out his vial, v. 2. Observe, [1.] Where it fell–upon the earth; that is, say some, upon the common people; others upon the body of the Romish clergy, who were the basis of the papacy, and of an earthly spirit, all carrying on earthly designs. [2.] What it produced–noisome and grievous sores on all who had the mark of the beast. They had marked themselves by their sin; now God marks them out by his judgments. This sore, some think, signifies some of the first appearances of Providence against their state and interest which gave them great uneasiness, as it discovered their inward distemper and was a token of further evil; the plague–tokens appeared.
(2.) The second angel poured out his vial; and here we see, [1.] Where it fell–upon the sea; that is, say some, upon the jurisdiction and dominion of the papacy; others upon the whole system of their religion, their false doctrines, their corrupt glosses, their superstitious rites, their idolatrous worship, their pardons, indulgences, a great conflux of wicked inventions and institutions, by which they maintain a trade and traffic advantageous to themselves, but injurious to all who deal with them. [2.] What it produced: It turned the sea into blood, as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. God discovered not only the vanity and falsehood of their religion, but the pernicious and deadly nature of it–that the souls of men were poisoned by that which was pretended to be the sure means of their salvation.
(3.) The next angel poured out his vial; and we are told, [1.] Where it fell–upon the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; that is, say some very learned men, upon their emissaries, and especially the Jesuits, who, like streams, conveyed the venom and poison of their errors and idolatries from the spring-head through the earth. [2.] What effect it had upon them: It turned them into blood; some think it stirred up Christian princes to take a just revenge upon those that had been the great incendiaries of the world, and had occasioned the shedding of the blood of armies and of martyrs. The following doxology (Rev 16:5; Rev 16:6) favours this sense. The instrument that God makes use of in this work is here called the angel of the waters, who extols the righteousness of God in this retaliation: They have shed the blood of thy saints, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy, to which another angel answered by full consent, v. 7.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
A great voice ( ). Not an angel as in Rev 5:2; Rev 7:2; Rev 10:3; Rev 14:7; Rev 14:9; Rev 14:15; Rev 14:18, but of God as 15:8 shows, since no one could enter the .
Pour out (). Second aorist active imperative of (same form as present active imperative). Blass would change to (clearly aorist) as in verse 6.
The seven bowls ( ). The article points to verse 7.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The vials. Add seven.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
THE VIALS OF WRATH EMPTIED UPON THE EARTH v. 1-21
Note: see also Introduction Revelation
1) “And I heard a great voice,” (kai ekousa megales phones) “and I heard a megaphone-like voice;- voice of a shaking power, like the voice of God from Sinai, Exo 19:16-19. It was a voice of judgment.
2) ” Out of the temple saying to the seven angels,” (ek tou naou legouses tois hepta angelois) “out of the shrine area of heaven saying,” instructing them regarding their role in pouring out their vials or bowls of judgments for their God. Heb 1:14.
3) “Go your ways and pour out,” (hupagete kai ekcheete) “you all go and pour out,” or empty; These seven recurring degrees of divine judgment that are to be poured out seem to be during the last forty-two month period of the Great tribulation, not so much in orderly sequence as in increased intensity to the end.
4) “The vials of the wrath of God upon the earth,” (tas hepta philias tou thumou tou theou eis ten gen) “The seven vials – bowls of the impassioned anger or wrath of God into the earth,” upon the land; Rev 14:10; Rev 15:1; Rev 15:7.
This wrath is reserved for:
a) rebels, Psa 79:6;
b) persecutors, Jer 10:25;
c) heathen nations, Zep 3:8-9;
d) natural unbelieving Israel, Dan 9:27;
e) despising unbelievers, Rom 2:4-5.
It will be as literal as God’s judgment upon the pre-flood world, Sodom and Gomorrha, and as the plagues of Egypt.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES
Rev 15:1 to Rev 16:21
IN presenting chapters fifteen and sixteen, of the Book of Revelation we deal with natural divisions and discuss the seven last plagues. The opening sentences of chapter fifteen are employed by way of introduction to the presentation of the wonderful panorama of events.
John says,
And I saw another sign in Heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? for Thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest (Rev 15:1-4).
Two or three things are set forth in this introduction. First of all, that these seven plagues, which are to be poured out by these seven angels, express Gods judgment against sin. Again, this figure of the glassy sea mingled with fire, with the victors over the beast and his image, standing beside it, having the harps of God, is a scene which was strikingly symbolized when Moses and his kindred stood on the banks of the Red Sea and beheld the Egyptians overwhelmed by it. And as Miriam there, led in the song describing all praise to God, so here, when God executes judgment against His enemiesthe oppressors of His people the Church militant will sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, in memory of that first victory; and the song of the Lamb, in gratitude for the last and greatest triumph, and will say,
Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.
After these things John says,
The Temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven was opened:
And the seven angels came out of the Temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
These, then, were priest-angels, but no longer engaged in the office of mediation, but rather that of judgment. And lo, the voice to the seven angels is, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Let us study the significance of these seven last plagues, their severity, and their issues.
THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
Phillips Brooks, speaking from the second verse of the fifteenth chapter of Revelation, says, Many people find great pleasure in tracing out elaborate analogies between its prophecies and certain particular events in the worlds career. Here, they cry, pointing to some particular event of contemporary history, do you now see that this is what these chapters mean? Yes, we may generally answer, they very possibly do mean that, but they mean so much more besides that. They mean that, and all other events in which the same universal and eternal causes were at work. These special examples fall in under them, but do not certainly exhaust their application. They are much larger and include much more. All of which is true. I doubt if any interpreter has ever dreamed the full meaning of Revelation, and the utmost that we shall attempt in the exposition of these chapters, is a comparison of Scripture with Scripture, and the drawing of certain practical lessons that ought to be deduced from the more evident of these prophecies.
Speaking, therefore, of the significance of these seven plagues, we call your attention to three things.
First, Their number is suggestive. The seven last plagues. As suggested in the previous discourse, seven is one of the numbers employed in the Word of God to express completeness. That it is used here, in that sense, is put beyond dispute by the expression the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. God has often poured out something of His wrath upon the earth, a single vial at this point, and another at that, but let sinners fear the day when the seven vials shall be opened. Do you remember how in Leviticus, after God had set before His people the iniquity of idolatry, and had pleaded with them to turn from their evil way to His service, He concluded,
And if ye shall despise My statutes, or if your soul abhor My judgments, so that ye will not do all My commandments, but that ye break My covenant:
I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, * *
And I will set My face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies; they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
If ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then 1 will punish you seven times more for your sins.
And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
And if ye walk contrary unto Me, * * I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
Again and again in that 26th chapter of Leviticus, He threatens them with seven times, as if that were the completed punishment.
You will remember that when He wanted Joshua to overthrow the city of Jericho, He said, Ye shall compass the city seven times, * * and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him (Jos 6:4-5).
This Book of the Apocalypse has been called the Book of the Sevens. There are seven visions, seven Spirits of God, seven candlesticks, the seven stars, seven lamps of fire, seven seals, seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb, seven angels with seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven heads of the beast with seven crowns upon the heads, the seven plagues, seven vials, seven mountains, and seven regencies. Jacob Seiss says, All this is because the Apocalypse is the Book of the fulness of everything of which it treats. There is presented here the consummation of Divine dispensation, and as Jericho went down before seven blasts from Israels trumpets, so the world will finish in the throes consequent upon the opening of the seven vials of the wrath of a long-suffering God.
The character of these plagues is significant. The first vial caused a noisesome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and which worshiped his image; the second, turned the sea into clotted blood, as of dead men, and every living soul, even the things which were in the sea died. And the third, touched the fountain of waters, the very source from which they flowed, and changed it unto blood so that those who had taken the blood of saints and Prophets had nought else now to drink than blood. The fourth, affected the sun so that it scorched men with fire. The fifth, brought the beast and his kingdom into darkness, so that they gnawed their tongues with pain. The sixth, dried up the great river Euphrates and cut off the highway for kings. And the seventh, charged the air with the thunder bolts of death, and shook the earth with such an earthquake as it has never seen since man came upon it, dividing cities, submerging islands and mangling men, bringing in a condition of confusion before the terror of which nothing was heard than the blasphemy of the followers of the beast. Now we confess to you that we see no way of interpreting these symbols save to receive them for what the Word says. If the plagues of Egypt were real, why need we spiritualize these prophecies and make them symbolize some event other than those which are described?
Beloved, hold steadily to the Word of God. There was a time when Egypt was smitten with every one of these plagues, because she oppressed Gods people; there was a grievous sore upon man and beast; their waters were turned into blood; the sun scorched them with exceeding heat; darkness lay over all the land; the sea itself dried up; Satan sent his evil spirit among the people to distemper their minds and harden their hearts; and the very air was filled with thunder and lightnings. If we accept that record as real, why not accept this as imminent, and look for the last of it to be fulfilled. One of the dangerous tendencies of the time is touching this very question of refusing to take Gods Word as it says. Why should we expect less colossal things to characterize the end of the age? Why should we believe that God whelmed Egypt with plagues because they had oppressed His people and shall deal less gently with Satan himself, and his accessories, seeing that they have been oppressors from the beginning? Opposers of God, they are high-handed rebels; and when the leader goes down, who can expect less than that his followers will share his fate; even as the Egyptians drowned, in the sea that brought Pharaoh to his death. This, as I understand it, is the picture in detail, of the very event that will bring an end to the three and a half years reign of the dragon, and the beast and the false prophet. And when you stop to think upon it, there is no difficulty in Gods accomplishing every whit of these prophecies of His Word. That He can smite man and beast with noisome and grievous sores, no student of past history will call into dispute; that He can change the very waters of the sea and the rivers into clotted blood is either true or else the Pentateuch is not dependable. That the sun can easily scorch with fire every man from the Atlantic to the Pacific, many are now ready to testify. You continue last weeks atmosphere for a few months and men would die from the face of the earth, or else the living gnaw their tongues from pain. And that God can dry up the Euphrates, let His touch upon the Red Sea witness; the earthquake of the past, the storms that have filled the air: the hail stones that have smitten men, all of these are only the earnest of the powers that are at the command of our God, when He shall will to loose them and make them His batteries against the great rebel of this Book, and all his followers.
Have you ever thought upon the
SEVERITY OF THESE PLAGUES
They fall on all wicked men.
There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
And the fifth angel 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.
And the seventh angel poured out his vial * *
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.
It seems impossible to think of these prophecies as having been fulfilled in any French Revolution, in any of the naval battles of the past; they are yet to come.
When the trumpets were sounded only a part of the earth was involved, hence we believe that they referred to past periods and events; but here the whole world of wicked men, hence we believe this is yet to come. Reflect upon the prophecies of the Old and New Testament teachings concerning these judgments. When Solomon saw it afar, he said, The wicked shall he cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it (Pro 2:22). The wicked shall not be unpunished ** the expectation of the wicked is wrath (Pro 11:21; Pro 11:23). Of the wicked, Job wrote, The wicked is reserved to the day of destruction, they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath (Job 21:30). Daniel, writing of the same event to which John here sets his pen, said, Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand (Dan 12:10). And yet it need not be so; the time of judgment is not on; the angels who hold the vials of Gods wrath in their hands have not yet begun their work of pouring them upon the earth; the voice of mercy is still heard, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto * * our God, for He mil abundantly pardon.
Again, these plagues involve animal life and inanimate nature. And every living thing in the sea will die, and even the sea itself, with the rivers, and even the fountains of waters be putrid. The beasts of the earth shall be involved with men, gnawing their tongues also for pain. God has His reasons for this. When man is to be removed from the seat of action, it will be a mercy toward all domestic things to take them with him, and a necessity to remove beast, fish and fowl, to bring upon the earth the famine that shall conquer the ungrateful, the rebellious, and teach them, by judgment, what they refused to learn in grace, namely, that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. We often hear it said, and with good reason, that Nature is indifferent to the sufferings of man. The springtime cares nothing for the sorrow that smites your heart; the sun shines just as brightly when darkness is over all your soul; the birds do not hush their song because men are going on in sin and meeting its consequent agonies, for nature has no heart; but while nature is indifferent to mans suffering, man is mightily moved by natures sorrows. When you smite the sea, the rivers, and turn them into blood, you have smitten man himself; when you have parched the earth, so that its fruits perish, you cut off all possible sustenance, and strike unspeakable agony into the soul which looks upon its parching surface. When you loose the thunders of heaven and stir up the fires of the earth so that storm and earthquake shall mightily shake it from center to circumference, you fill the mind with horror, and every heart with a shriek. And yet, when God, by His sure Word of prophecy, speaks of suffering that beggars description, man often treats it with little concern. The Final Judgment is a subject not unknown to jest; and sin itself is laughed at and gaily indulged in as if it were not written that its end is death. Even the Christian world speaks too glibly of the separation before the great white throne; and the wicked man treats that subject as if it were a poor superstition. And yet! And yet! Gods Word remains; Gods warnings are in our ears; Gods prophecies live; and the impenitent hear their passionate pleadings.
Peter refers to this disposition of man to despise the judgment, and says,
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2Pe 3:9-12).
And now a few words on
THE ISSUES
of the seven last plagues.
They express Gods judgment of sin. Every judgment of the past has in some measure voiced Gods feeling toward sin; but the fulness of His wrath will be reserved for the last day, and expressed in the out-pouring of the seven plagues. Oh, men! let me beg of you not to treat sin lightly, as if it were an indifferent thing! Paul in his Epistle to the Romans writes, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. * * For the wages of sin is death. When speaking to the Thessalonians, in describing the antichrist himself, that consummation of all iniquity, he can find no stronger term than that man of sin * * the son of perdition. While John in his First Epistle declares, He that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
The second issue of the seven plagues will emphasize the blessedness of the saved. Let us call your attention to the fact that right in the midst of these judgments, and after the sixth is completed, just when the seventh and last is ready to break, these words are interjected, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments. The reference is unquestionably to the appearance of the Lord, and to the catching away of His saints from this scene of trouble and misery, up to that blessed scene of fellowship with Himself. This is indeed to be the crowning event of Christs Church, touching which Paul wrote to the Thessalonians.
But I would not hove you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain * *
Shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1Th 4:13-18).
Another issue of that hour will be the demonstration of Gods power and final purpose. I think that Satan is often filled with the conceit that he is going to conquer this world once for all. I find that bad men generally believe that doctrine; and even some good men have accepted it as their political philosophy. Probably a majority of the mayors of the great civic centers of this country are today preaching from platform and through the press the necessity of evil, the certainty of its continuance, and the advisability of compromise with it, on the ground that it is better to stand in with the powers that be. But if this Scripture means anything, it means that these evil powers are coming to an end. And when the mountains and valleys of MeGiddo shall again run red, with the blood of battles, Christ alone will command the forces that will that day finish with iniquity, and overthrow its every advocate; yea, even its monster-hearted Satan, himself. It means that from that time on, God is going to reign. Ah, how little, unbelieving men have dreamed His power; how poorly have they imagined His resources and strength!
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
THE SEVEN VIALS, OR BOWLS
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
THIS chapter describes the pouring out of the seven vialsthat is to say, the extremest punishments of Godupon the throne and empire of the beast. Antichrist had promised to mankind a new, golden age under his rule; but he promised without God. Christ now wields His own sceptre, and smites with repeated blows the nations who have been led astray. It is the history of the plagues of Egypt over again. A noisome sore consumes the flesh of the subjects of the beast (first vial). The waters of the sea are corrupted, and all the inhabitants of the ocean perish (second vial, an aggravation of the second trumpet). A similar judgment smites the rivers and fountains of waters (third vial; compare the third trumpet). A burning sun scorches the inhabitants of the earth (fourth vial). These four vials constitute a first series of plagues, after which the author remarks that men only blasphemed with so much greater audacity the name of the God who had sent these plagues upon them. A thick darkness comes upon the kingdom of the beast, as before upon the kingdom of Egypt (fifth vial); men gnaw their tongues in their rage, rather than confess their faults. The Euphrates is dried up, to open the way for a new invasion of the Eastern nations, whom three unclean spirits summon to the last battle against the Eternal (sixth vial; compare the invasion described under the sixth trumpet). Lastly, an earthquake of unprecedented violence falls upon Babylon, the capital of the beast, and the other cities of that empire (seventh vial; compare the similar phenomenon described under the sixth seal) (Godet).
Rev. 16:12. Euphrates.Here symbolical, as the natural barrier which checked the onflow of Eastern armies.
Rev. 16:16. Armageddon.The mountain of Megiddo, the great battle-field of the Holy Land. The old battle-ground becomes the symbol of a decisive struggle. No material battle is meant; the final struggle is one of principles.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Strauss Comments
SECTION 49
Text Rev. 16:1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.
Initial Questions Rev. 16:1
1.
What was the source of the great voice Rev. 16:1?
2.
What were the angels commanded to do Rev. 16:1?
Pouring Out of the Seven Bowls
Chapter Rev. 16:1-21
Rev. 16:1
A careful restudy of the two previous series of judgment will show that they are less connected than the series of the seven bowls of anger. They follow each other in rapid succession, except for the pause of anticipation while waiting for the last bowl (Rev. 16:17).
The model of all the bowls of anger is the Egyptian plagues described in Exo. 9:10-11. Much of the imagery in the series of seven trumpets was also taken from the plagues of Egypt.
John hears the divine command to pour out the bowls into the earth. The bowls (phialas these were shallow bowls) were like those used for pouring libations. They were not vials.
Discussion Questions
See Rev. 16:17-21.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Tomlinsons Comments
CHAPTER XVI
Text (Rev. 16:1-21)
INTRODUCTION
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.
2 And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image.
3 And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.
4 And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge: 6 for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy. 7 And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory.
10 And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works.
12 And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: 14 for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) 16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: 18 and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.
The sixteenth chapter describes the pouring out of the plagues from the seven vials, or bowls. These are the final judgments visited upon the Roman Empire. One finds himself confronted with confusion unless he keeps in mind that the major theme of the book of Revelation is the unfolding of the history of the church as that institution relates to the Roman Empire, whether it be pagan, political or papal Rome.
Shall we briefly review the path over which we have come in the series of sevens we have studied.
The seven seals carried us to the triumph of Christianity over paganism, or pagan Rome. The seven trumpets brought us to the overthrow of the western half of the empire by the Goths, Vandals, Huns and Suevi, and the collapse of the eastern half of political Rome under the onslaught of the Parocens and Turks. Those, trumpets, in the main, reveal the fall of political Rome.
Thus we see that each of these three series of Sevens had a distinct purpose. Briefly again: The seven seals fulfilled a definite purpose, the overthrow of Roman paganism. The seven trumpets had as their purpose, the overthrow of the Roman Empire, politically. The seven vials also have a definite design, the overthrow of that blasphemous religious institution variously described as, a beast which had two horns like a lamb, the city of fornication, a scarlet adulteress and that great city Babylon.
While we are still on the subject of the series of Sevens, we note, as in the case of the seven seals and the seven trumpets, there was an interruption, or a parenthesis between the sixth and seventh seals and trumpets, respectively, (see Rev. 7:1-17 and Rev. 10:1-11; Rev. 11:1-14). So, here between the pouring out of the sixth and seventh bowls, there occurs a brief parenthesis, or interlude.
Furthermore, we should take cognizance of the fact that while the fifteenth chapter introduces the seven vials in immediate connection with those who have overcome the beast, his image mark and number of his name, here in this chapter as the first vial is poured out, its wrath falls upon the men who have the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. The second bowl of wrath is emptied upon those who had Poured out the blood of saints and prophets. The fifth vial is poured out upon the seat, or throne of the beast. The sixth vial is poured out upon the river Euphrates, and, like stirring as a snakes nest, three unclean Spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, of the beast and of the false prophet.
The emptying of the seventh bowl is upon the great city Babylon, spiritually speaking.
All these considerations help us to identify the arena of activity portrayed by the seven last plagues. The definite purpose of these plagues is the destruction of spiritual Babylon, or papal Rome.
The symbols of this series of sevens, in a great measure are drawn from the record of the plagues of Egypt, and, while there are differences, they do have a close correspondence to the ten plagues.
The term plagues applied to this vial, or bowl series recalls Gods punishments visited upon the Egyptians. How natural it is that plagues should also be applied to the punishments visited upon papal Rome, for in Rev. 11:8, we found that apostate Christendom is also called Egypt, spiritually speaking. And their dead bodies shall be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, when also our Lord was crucified.
Having determined the purpose of pouring these bowls of wrath and the object on which they are to be poured, we are ready to take up their historical fulfillment. We must ever remember that John was to write, the things he had seen, the things that are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter. This being true, we are not to spiritualize these symbols away, but to treat them as prophetic symbols of historic events to come to pass.
So the seven angels begin to empty their vials.
The First Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:1-2 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
As the plagues of physical Egypt were designed to destroy the oppressor of the Israel of God, in the Old Testament economy, and to bring about the deliverance of Gods chosen, so this vial and its companions are for the destruction of the oppressor of the Israel of God of the New Testament, and to bring about their deliverance from spiritual oppression.
The time of the pouring of this vial and its following bowls without doubt, follow the 1260 year period when the apostate church, or papal Rome was in full flower. This time period we have found to be that time when the bishop of Rome was first blasphemously called the Lord of the church, and continued until 1793 when he was humiliated. Then the time of these vials must follow that termination of the 1260 year period.
In 1793, exactly at the close of the 1260 years, there broke out in France a moral ulcer which had been festering for a long while. The church had become so corrupt and the royalty, acting as the temporal arm of the church so rotten, that the pendulum swung to the opposite extreme and the age of Reason, dawned upon the world.
Hear Myers on the terrible condition of the church of that time:
The upper clergy formed a decayed feudal hierarchy. A third of the lands of France was in their hands, and this immense property was almost wholly exempt from taxation. The bishops and abbots were usually drawn from the ranks of the nobility, being attracted to the service of the church rather by its enormous revenues and social distinction, than by the inducements of piety. They spent their princely incomes in luxurious life at court. . . .
Though there were noble exceptions, the most of these dignitaries were narrow-minded and self-seeking, and many of them so shamelessly immoral that as a class they had lost all credit and authority with the people. They had brought the church into disrepute. The hatred of the people felt toward them was transferred to the religion which they so unworthily represented.
Myers Mediaeval and Modern History, pages 502, 503.
Under these was what was called the Third Estate or Tiers Etal. This embraced all the nation aside form the nobility and clergy.
Hear Myers again page 503:
The peasants constituted the majority of the Third Estate. The condition of most of them could hardly have been worse. Their only recognized use in the state was to pay fuedal services to the lords, tithes to the priests, and imports to the King.
La Bruyre, in Les Caractires, wrote of human slaves:
One sees certain fierce animals, male and female, scattered through the fields; they are black, livid and burned by the sun, and attached to the soil, which they dig up and stir with indomitable industry; they have what is like an articulate voice, and when they rise to their feet they show a human face,in truth they are human beings. They retire at night into dens, where they live on black bread and water and roots; they save other men the trouble of sowing and delving and harvesting.
No wonder, then, when the mob cried for bread and they were contemptuously told to eat cake, that the match was struck to the fagots of the revolution, in which the King, Marie Antonette, the girondins and thousands of lessor lights were executed. This inaugurated the Reign of Terror in which the enslaved masses, maddened to fury, sent the Catholic King, royal families, nobles and priests to the guillotine, by the tens of thousands. The nation declared itself atheistic, inaugurated a new calendar, and forever unshackeled the world from the tyranny of papal Rome.
As a result of this breaking out of grievous sore upon those who worshipped the beast and his image, the mightest Catholic nation of that time was plunged into Civil war and as a result Europe was deluged in blood.
The Reign of Terror resulted in the pouring out of the first vial or bowl.
The Second Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:3 And the second angel 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.
How fitting that this second vial was emptied on the sea. The revolution in France unsettled all Europe. Keeping in mind that the destruction of papal Rome is the prime object of this pouring out of the vials, shall we proceed to the historical fulfilment of this vial. In some way it will affect the fortunes of spiritual Babylon.
There is a noticeable parallel here in the vial series with the Trumpet series. Under the second trumpet a great and burning mountain was cast into the sea. And historically the Vandals swept the Mediterranean, to drive the Roman navy from its waters. Likewise from the sea, under the second vial, papal Rome was weakened.
France, a Catholic power was evenly matched with England. At the time of this vial began a death struggle for the mastery of the seas. This contest lasted for twenty years.
France; after the revolution, again became Catholic, by reason of Napoleons concordat with the papacy. She rallied other Catholic nations, namely, Spain, Italy and Portugalall great maritime powers of that day, to battle with Protestant England, another great sea power.
From the Indian Ocean to the Caribbean, from the North Sea to the Nile, over the Atlantic and Pacific, their navies fought. And the Catholic flag was lowered everywhere. We can only grasp the significance of this by a review of history.
Upon the return of Columbus from his successful expedition to the new world, Pope Alexander 6th, with a view to adjusting the conflicting claims of Spain and Portugal, issued a bull wherein he drew from pole to pole a line of demarcation through the Atlantic, one hundred leagues west of the Azores, and gave the Spanish sovereigns all pagan lands, not already in possession of Catholic princes, that their subjects might find west of this line, and to the Portuguese, all unclaimed pagan lands discovered by Portuguese navigators east of the designated meridian.
How the mighty had fallen! Catholic power had been swept from the oceans. Spain, the discoverer of the new world and once the greatest naval power of the world, Portugal, great in naval equipment, France, long the rival of England on the seas, did not have a ship left to hoist their flags to the salty breeze.
On Oct. 21, 1805, Lord Nelson, having, near Cape Trafalgar on the coast of Spain, the combined French and Spanish Fleets, almost completely destroyed the combined armaments. This decisive battle gave England the control of the sea. The wet ditch, as Napoleon was wont to call the English Channel, was hence forth an impossible gulf. He might rule the continent, but the sovereignty of the ocean and its islands was denied him. Myers, Mediaeval and Modern History, page 557.
So we behold the maritime power which supported Rome, swept from the seven seas. Truly a terrible blow to papal power, prestige and pride!
The Third Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:4-7 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood, and I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast and shall be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Never does the divine chronicler permit us to forget the object of these bowl judgments. Interpreters have gone far afield in applying these vial punishments to fanciful objects like, humanism, commercialism and atheism, but we are ever told that the object of this bowl series is the apostate church which has shed the blood of saints and prophets.
This oft reminder keeps us in line on the time, place and object in the circle of Revelations visions.
This third angel pours out his vial upon the rivers and their sources. This is understandable when we remember that papal Rome had for years wrecked her vengeance upon the dwellers of the Piedmont, source of Italys river system, because they dared to resist the Pontiffs pronouncements.
This very region was the home of the Albigenses and the Waldenses, against which the papacy hurled its legions generation after generation. The blood of the Protestants of the Alps had oft flowed, until Oliver Cromwell informed the Pope that unless he called off his wolves from preying on the flock in the Piedmont, the cannon of his army would teach him mercy around the castle of St. Angelo. The river system of Italy was the center of papal persecution and in the time of the third vial, became the arena of war.
One glance at a map of Northern Italy and one will be abundantly convinced that this is a region of rivers and fountain of waters.
And one of the results of the French Revolution was the invasion of Northern Italy, the gage of battle being fought on the Rhone, the Po and their tributaries. It is a remarkable corroborating bit of history. The French fought the battles, that punished papal Rome, upon the Rhone, the Po, the Adda, the Adege and Bromida.
Myers mentions among the noted engagements of Napoleons campaign, the battles of Lodi (May 10, 1896), Castiglione (Aug. 5, 1796), Arcola (Nov. 1517, 1796), Rivoli (Jan. 14, 15, 1797), and the siege of Mantua (July 1796-Feb. 1797)
In Students France, we read:
The French crossed the Po at Piacenza and drove back Beaulieu upon the line of the Adda; the strongly fortified bridge of Lodi was carried after a severe struggle, and the enemy retreated upon the line of the river Mincio. Page 581.
Marching secretly from Verona, the French descended the
Adige river . . . on Nov. 14th, they made a furious attack upon the bridge (over the Adige) of Arcole. Page 583. From the theater of their triumphs upon the Adige and Mincio rivers, Bonaparte led his armies into the territory of the Pope, against whom the Directory had resolved to proceed to extremities. Page 584.
Bonaparte took up a position with his whole army upon the great plain of Marengo, being separated by the river Bromida from the enemies lines. Page 598.
A convention was signed the day after the battle by which the Austrains agreed to retire beyond the river Mincio. Page 598.
So at the hand of two witnesses a thing is firmly established. The persecution of the saints centered for generations upon this river system and the fountains, or source of rivers. And here also the third vial was poured out upon those who, shed the blood of saints and prophets.
We can almost hear the Albigenses and Waldenses joining with the angel in saying, Righteous are thou, who art and wast and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy!
While it is entirely aside from our present consideration of Revelation, it is interesting to notice that angels are employed about such regulations as the flow of rivers and streams. It was the angel of the waters who spoke here. John writing by inspiration said: Now there is at Jerusalem, by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool and troubled the water. (Joh. 5:2-4).
Throughout the Scriptures we find the angels performing many and varied tasks, and it doubtless will be quite an eye-opener on the other side to learn just how intimately they are connected with the activities of mankind.
This brings us to the pouring out of the fourth vial:
The Fourth Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:8-9 And the fourth angel 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.
We have already found that the sun is a symbol of a great ruler or King. Anyone who attains great prominence may be so designated. Joseph, in his dream is likened to a sun, with his father Jacob and his brothers bowing in obeisance to him. Christ is called the Sun of Righteousness.
In this fourth vial period, the contents are poured upon the sun, and power is given it to scorch men with fire. Remembering always we are walking in the realm of symbolism, we recall that at this particular time in history, Napoleon was elevated from a Corsican Corporal, to first Consul and ruler of France. Then in 1802, was elected and made Consul for life. Thus did he move a step higher, nearer the imperial throne. Following a royal custom, Napoleon, from that time on, used only his first name. In 1804, the Senate conferred upon him the title of Emperor of the French. The coronation took place in Paris, on Dec. 2, 1804. Napoleon had forced the Pope to come to Rome to crown him, because it was the little Corsicans design, to have himself regarded, not only as the successor of the Bourbons, but, also, as the successor of Charlemagne and the Caesars. Hear Myers at this juncture:
The pope poured the holy oil upon the head of the kneeling Emperor and girded him with the imperial scepter; but when he would have placed the crown upon his head, Napoleon checked him, and, taking the diadem from the pope, crowned himself with his own hands. What portion of the spirit of the old divine-right monarchies entered into the new French Empire, may be inferred from the doctrines which in less than a year after Napoleons coronation, the subservient French clergy were teaching the youth of France. The Emperor is the minister and the power of God, and his image on earth, ran the new cateclism; to honor and serve him is to honor and serve God. Myers, Mediaeval and Modern Historypages 551, 552.
Thus we see the sun of the fourth vial given power to scorch men. And scorch men, Napoleon did. No such scorching sun had risen on the political horizon for more than a thousand years. He conquered Italy and invaded Egypt and as he sat his horse in the shadow of the Pyramids, inspired his soldiers with a now historic challenge, Soldiers, he exclaimed, pointing to the Pyramids, forty centuries are looking down upon you. Austria, Germany, Prussia, Portugal, Spain, Holland, fell in rapid succession to this scorching sun.
The empire which this soldier of fortune had built up stretched from Lubech to beyond Rome, embracing France proper, the Netherlands, part of western and northwestern Germany, all western Italy as far south as the Kingdom of Naples, together with the Illyrian Provinces and the Ionian Islands.
He, himself, was King of the Kingdom of Italy, Protector of the Confideration of the Rhine and Mediator of Switzerland. Austria and Prussia were completely subject to his will . . . Not since the time of the Caesars had one mans will swayed so much of the civilized world. Myers Mediaeval and Modern History, page 569.
And we read that under the scorching heat of this sun, men blasphemed the name of God. The sweep of atheism over France in Napoleons day surely fulfils this phase of the prophetic symbolism of the fourth vial.
And in spite of it all, we read that, men repented not to give Him (God) glory.
We now, advance to the pouring out of the fifth vial of wrath.
The Fifth Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:10-11 And the fifth angel 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.
Thus far the four vials, or golden bowls have followed the sequence of the first four trumpets. The first trumpet and the first vial affect the earth, the second trumpet and vial, the sea; the third trumpet and vial, the rivers and fountain of waters; and the fourth trumpet and vial, the sun. Now a departure is made, and the fifth vials scene of action is entirely different from the fifth trumpet.
The explanation lies in the fact that the trumpet series followed the history of the fall of political Rome, whereas the vial series described the fall of religio-political papal Rome.
The only similarity between the fifth vial and fifth trumpet is the prominence of darkness in each case. Under the fifth trumpet, the darkness was occasioned by a dense smoke coming up out of the bottomless pit. There, we found, the smoke was a symbol of the spiritual force of Mohammedanism which brought darkness to the earth.
By the same token, since this activity is concerned with the seat or throne of the beast, or religio-political papal Rome, the darkness here is a spiritual one, brought on by apostacy. Surely, the Kingdom of the beast is full of darkness.
Rome was the seat, or throne of the papal power of this period indicated by the fifth vial, so naturally we look to the seat ot Satan, or Rome, for the fulfilment of the events symbolized. In our study of the Thyatira period, we found that the church of this period, now known as the Catholic Church, reached the depths of Satan. (Rev. 2:24)
Therefore, the scenes of the fifth vial will be, Italy and Rome, for this had been the seat of the beast for thirteen centuries. The very seat, or throne of the beast is to receive the blow that will cause great dismay and anguish, to where men will gnaw their tongues in painan expression symbolical of terrible suffering and anguish of heart.
We found under the fourth vial that Napoleon, as the scorching sun, converted the whole of Europethe ten horn Kingdoms succeeding the beast, or political Romeinto an armed camp. Every nation was torn with war and crimsoned with blood-shed. It is estimated that his wars, from 1796 to 1815, too the lives of two million soldiers, besides civilians who perished from attendant causes.
But this scorching sun exerted its most baleful power upon the papacy. We know, by history, that Napoleon and his armies invaded the papal provinces in 1797, and took the city of Rome, the seat of the beast, imposing a forced peace upon papal Rome in which the pope paid a rich tribute. In 1798, Pope Pius 6th was carried, a prisoner, to France, where he died. His successor was elected not in Rome, but in Venice. I take time to quote from Allisons History of Europe, Vol. Ipage 546:
Immediately after the entry of the French troops commenced the regular and systematic pillage of the city. Not only the churches and the convents, but the palaces of the cardinals and of the nobility were laid waste . . . Not only the palaces of the Vatican, and the Monte Cavallo, but those of Castel Gandolfo, on the margin of Iban Lae, the villa Ablani, and others, in the environs of Rome, were plundered of every article of value. The whole sacerdotal habits of the pope and cardinals were burned, in order to collect from the flames the gold with which they were adorned. The Vatican was stripped to its naked walls. A contribution of four millions in money, two millions in provisions, and three thousand horses, was imposed upon a city already exhausted. . . .
Nor were the exactions of the French confined to the plunder of palaces and churches. Eight cardinals were arrested and sent to Civita Castellona, while enormous contributions were levied on the papal territory. At the same time, the ample territorial possessions of the church and the monasteries were confiscated, and declared national property, a measure which, by drying up, at once, the whole resources of the affluent classes, percipitated into the extreme of misery, the numerous poor who were maintained by their expenditure or fed by their bounty.
No wonder, under the fifth vail it was said they should gnaw their tongues for pain!
While this was going on in Italy, the same procedure obtained in France. Hear Myers on this:
One of the most important of its (the National Assembly) measures, and one far reaching in its effects was the confiscation of the property of the church. Altogether, property consisting largely of lands, and worth, it is estimated, over a billion francs, was by decree, made the property of the nation. Myers, Midiaeval and Modern Historypage 518.
Note: This decree was made Nov. 2, 1789.
In 1808, Pius 7th, was dragged from his palace, as his predecessor Pius 6th had been, and taken as a prisoner to France. His states of the church were confiscated and the pope was left without temporal possessions. The pope was forced to sign an agreement by which he gave up the power of appointing bishops, in the French Empire, to Napoleon.
The length of these vial outpourings is not stated, but the contents of the fifth vial continued to be poured until 1848.
In that year, the citizens of Rome rose in rebellion to papal authority and drove Pius 9th into exile. He was later restored to his throne by the French armyFrance now being in alliance with the Vatican. But in 1870, France was compelled to withdraw her troops to defend her own soil from German invasion.
Hear Myers on this:
This sharp, quick war between France and Prussia gave the coveted capital to the Italian government. Upon the overthrow of the French Empire and the establishment of the Republic, Victor Emmanuel was informed that France would no longer sustain the papal power. The Italian government, at once gave notice to the pope that Rome would henceforth be considered a portion of the Kingdom of Italy and forthwith an Italian army entered the city, which by a vote of almost one hundred to one (Exactly 133, 681 to 1507) resolved to cast its lot with that of the Italian nation.
This marked the end of the temporal power of the pope, and the end of an ecclesiastical state, the last in Europe, which long before Charlemagne, had held a place among the temporal powers of Europe, and all that time had been a potent factor in the political affairs, not only of Italy, but of almost the whole continent. Myers Midiaeval and Modern Historypages 629, 630.
Albert Barnes quotes an old writer by the name of Robert Fleming, who in 1701, wrote and published a work called, Apocalyptic Key. On the fifth vial, or bowl, this author said: The fifth vial which is to be poured out on the seat of the beast, or the dominions which belong more immediately to, and depend upon, the Roman see; that I say this judgment will begin about AD 1794 and expire about A.D. 1848.
And looking now upon history, Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796 and in 1848, the citizens of Rome arose in rebellion against papal authority and drove Pius 9th into exile. And, to think Robert Fleming writing two and one-half centuries ago, and one full century before the begining of events he predicted and one and one half centuries before the culmination of these same events, saw it all so clearly!
The popes have steadfastly refused to recognize the legitimacy of the act which stripped them of their temporal power, maintaining there can be no settlement of the Roman question save through the restoration of the pope to his former status, as an independent temporal sovereign. Thus it is true, as the concluding words of the fifth vial declares, They repented not of their deeds.
As for blaspheming God, in 1870, the pope declared himself infallible and made it a canon law of the church to which, all, who have the mark of the beast, and the number of his name, must subscribe, under penalty of excommunication.
But, in spite of all this the power of the papacy is forever broken to the extent that the church can no longer resort to forceful means in suppressing non-conformist teaching, or rebellion against her spiritual despotism. We now come to the sixth vial.
The Sixth Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof dried up, that the way of the Kings of the east might be prepared.
The Euphrates was always regarded by the Roman world as its furthermost eastern boundary and it served as a barrier against the invasion of hostile tribes living east of that river. We will recall how in the sounding of the sixth trumpet, four angels were loosed, who set in motion the hordes of Turkish soldiers.
Here the pouring out of the sixth vial dries up, or removes the Euphrates as a barrier, thus foreshadowing the fall of the Turkoman.
The symbol drying up, does not indicate a sudden calamity, but a gradual decay. This indicates extinction by slow degrees, and this is just what is taking place in the case of Turkey, the modern descendant of the ancient Turkoman Empire.
The Turko-Egyptian fleet was destroyed by the combined fleets of England, France, and Russia, in the Bay of Navarino in 1827. In 1828, Nicholas declared war against the Ottoman Porte. The Russian troops crossed the Balkans without serious opposition, and were marching upon Constantinople when the Sultan sued for peace. The Treaty of Adrianople (1829) bought the war to a close. Hear Myers again:
Tsar Nicholas held some provinces in Asia which gave him control of the eastern shore of the Euxine. The Turkish provinces of Moldavia (now Roumania) and Wallachia, were rendered virtually independent of the Sultan. All Greece, south of Thessaly and Epirus, was liberated, and along with most of the islands of the Aegian, was formed into an independent Kingdom, under the guardianship of England, France and Russia. Myers, Mediaeval and Modern Historypage 655.
In 1849 Mohamet Ali revolted in Egypt. Since that time Egypt has been independent of Turkey.
Then came the Crimean War (18531856). We again quote the very reliable historian, Myers:
A celebrated parable employed by the Tsar Nicholas in conversation with the English minister at St. Petersburg, throws a great deal of light upon the circumstances that led to the Crimean War. We have on our hands, said the Tsar, A sick manand very sick man; it would be a great misfortune if he should give us the slip some of these days, especially if it happened before all the necessary arrangements were made. Nicholas had cultivated friendly relations with the English government, and he now proposed that England and Russia should divide the estate of the sick man, by which phrase Turkey, of course, was meant. England was to be allowed to take Egypt and Crete, while the Turkish provinces in Europe were to be taken under the protection of the Tsar, which meant, of course, in the complete absorption, in due time, of all Southeastern Europe into the Russian Empire. Myers Mediaeval and Modern History.page 656.
In 1876, Herzeovina revolted along with Montenegro. The war of 1877 resulted in the loss of the greater part of the Turkish possessions in Europe, as well as a part of Armenia, to Russia. Today the Turkish Empire, once so great, is a very sick nation, and only manages to keep alive because greater nations preserve her as a barrier between them. The Eurphrates is surely drying up. And for what reason? That the way of the Kings of the east may be prepared.
No further hint is given who these Kings of the east will be, but the prophecy implies that when this obstacle is entirely removed, the way of the inhabitants of the east shall be opened. The drying up of the Euphrates is still going on. Before the final destruction of this Mohammedan power it seems destined to receive help which will aid it in its last struggle which undoubtedly will end in utter ruin. John proceeds to describe this future gathering of the Kings of the whole world:
Rev. 16:13-16 And 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 prophets. 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. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armangeddon.
Just as in the case of the seven seals and the seven trumpets, there was an interlude between the sixth and the seventh of each series, so here between the pouring out of the sixth and seventh bowls, there occurs a brief parenthetical interruption.
In this interlude we are given the process, the purpose and the place of the gathering of the Kings of the whole world. First, the process:
These Kings are gathered through the Satanic influence of the three great enemies of Christ and his church. All three have appeared before in our study in Revelation. They are a monstrous trinity of evil in contradistinction to the blessed trinity of good in the Godhead, namely, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. This evil trinity consists of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet.
The first of this trinity, the dragon, is called the old serpent, the devil and satan. (Rev. 12:9). He it is who has animated the age-long opposition to the church.
But he has as his agents, the last two of this unholy trinity, the beast and the false prophet. The beast, we have found to be, political Rome, which John saw coming up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1), unto whom it was given to make war with the saints, and to hold authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. (Rev. 13:17)
The false prophet is, beyond all question, the second beast which John saw, coming up out of the earth, or papal Rome, as we have found him to represent. This is the apostate religion-political church which exercised all the power of the first beast before him and to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Rev. 13:11-12)
These three, the devil, political and papal Rome exercise their influence by means of three unclean spirits, as they were frogs. From the mouth of each one of these goes forth one such spirit. The mouth is ever the instrument which the devil has used to persuade people by falsehood. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it, said Christ. (Joh. 8:44)
In Christ called Satan the father of lies, and he did; then the first beast, political Rome would stand in the place of the Son, who had all power, and the false prophet, or papal Rome would occupy, in this unholy trinity, the place of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit animated the life of the true church, so the papacy animated the life of the apostate church. And isnt it more than a coincidence that the pope calls himself, the Vicar of Christ?
Christ said, the Holy Spirit would speak for Him, so the pope tries to take the place of the Holy Spirit, by claiming himself to be the Vicar of Christ.
To the mind of John the frogs represented uncleanness. So, were they considered in the plagues of frogs in Egypt. Thus, we see here Satans promptings, political lust and malice, and religious fanaticism unite to precipitate a war involving the whole world.
Already, we see this alignment coming about. The way of the Kings of the east is being prepared and all the Kings of the whole world being gathered together unto the war of the great day of God Almighty.
We have now considered the process and the purpose of this gathering; we now would logically consider the place of gathering. But just as we are ready to do so, John breaks the sequence of thought by inserting a message intended to emphasize the nearness of that final gathering, and the need for watchfulness on the part of the true saints. It is as though Christ were himself speaking, for the words are his very own: Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
To come as a thief, means to come suddenly and unannounced and these words are unmistakably those of Christ. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched. Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. (Mat. 24:43-44)
To the church in Sardis, Christ also said: If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief. (Rev. 3:3)
To this, Peter by inspiration, adds his testimony, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. (2Pe. 3:10)
Two things are to be kept in mind by the true Christians. They are to watch and they are to keep his garments, dressed, ready. Wakeful attitude and proper raiment will ever guarantee his readiness for Christs sudden return.
And Blessed is such a one. This is the third of the seven beatitudes of the Apocalypse.
To the mind of the Lord, his triumphant return at the time of the final conflict, were very near in the period of the sixth vial.
Now we are ready to return to the consideration of the place of this gathering of all the Kings of the East and of the whole world. The Kings of the whole world are to be there.
The place of this final struggle is described by a striking symbol, freighted with deep meaning. And he gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue (Har-Magedon) Armageddon.
The name denotes the hill of Megiddo. Jacksons Dictionary of Scriptural names gives the meaning, The Hill of Slaughter. This battlefield is in the plain of Esdraelon, the depression between Judea and Galilee. Armies passing through the country from north to south, or from south to north, always sought the advantage of this plain.
This famous valley eight miles southeast of Mount Carmel is one of the most fought over spots of earth. Here, Barak defeated Sisera. In this valley Josiah fought at Megiddo with Pharaoh-Necho. Here, Gideon and his three hundred men routed the Midianites in the beginning of the middle watch. Near here Saul and Jonathan fell on Mount Gilboa. Here, the Crusaders fought the Moslems. Here, Napoleon battled with the Turks. Here, the British army, under Allenby, fought the Turks of his day. And here, the Kings of the East and the Kings of the whole earth are to be gathered, at the Hill of Megiddo, the Hill of Slaughter, in the plain of Esdraelon.
And they are gathered there by the lying mouths of the Infernal Trinity. This reminds us of an Old Testament illustration, how a lying spirit can lead one to certain death:
The Lord said: who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, where-with? And he said: I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth and do so . . . the Lord put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, (1Ki. 22:20; 1Ki. 22:23)
The result was that Ahab was deceived by the lying spirit and went up and fell at Ramoth-Gilead.
So here the devil, the father of lies, uses the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet to deceive the Kings of the East and the Kings of all the world to gather for the Battle of Armageddon and there perish.
With the gathering of the Kings of all the world and their armies to this place of Armageddon, this sixth bowl ends. It breaks off suddenly, because it simply brings things into readiness for the final catastrophe, which only the seventh vial, or bowl can bring forth.
The Seventh Vial Poured Out
Rev. 16:17-21 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.
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 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.
This seventh vial, which completes the perfect number, symbolizes the consummating catastrophes to fall upon Papal Rome. As the seven seals covered the events which brought about the downfall of Pagan Rome; and the seven trumpets described the historical happenings which terminated in the destruction of Political Rome; these seven vials delineate the events which bring about the utter wiping out of Papal Rome.
This seventh vial is poured out upon the air. Two applications might be made here.
First, the air, or atmosphere which all must breathe is affected, by which health and life are endangered. Since this is the time of the end, we are able to see this first application very readily. The nations airy navies battle with increasing ferocity as greater wars follow one after the other. Bomb, atomic and chemical warfare fulfil the physical aspects of this plague. But, Second, if the air visited with this bowl is spiritual, the sense in which Paul once used it in (Eph. 6:12), then this vial seems to refer to the spiritual warfare between principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places.
When the vial was poured there came forth a voice from the throne, saying, It is done. Literally, in the Greek, there is just one word, Done! The work of visitation of judgments was done, even as Christ, in completing the work of sacrifice for our redemption, cried from the cross, It is finished!
The result was the usual symbolic manifestations of divine judgments in a demonstration of voices, thunderings, lightnings. Then follows a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth.
These features are attendant to the tremendous movements of the divine will and purpose. In the closing period of the history of the church, society is to experience an upheaval that will shake it to its very foundations. This being near the time of Christs return, Haggais prophecy in (Hag. 2:6-7), is most fitting:
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, yet once, it is a little while and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Of course, Christ is the desire of all nations whose coming is predicted. But before his coming there shall be a marvelous shaking of all the nations of the world.
This seventh vial must be upon us, for never have all nations, the world over, been so shaken economically, ideologically, politically, religiously and even physically.
This Old Testament prediction re-echoes in the New Testament, for we read in Heb. 12:25-29 :
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, and those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom that cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
The dividing of the city into three parts is most difficult to explain, since that event lies in the future, but we have found out that the great city, refers to religio-political Rome. The proof will be even more clinching in the next chapter which we are approaching.
But it would seem that all that is embraced in the phrase, papal Rome, will be divided into three parts, It is to be broken asunder and shaken to pieces.
And with her fall, the cities of the nations fall. What a cataclysm awaits the end of this age!
And Babylon, another name for that city, the city, the confuser of spiritual tongues, is brought up in remembrance before God. A fuller description of her fate is given in the eighteenth chapter.
Babylon which is at the base of the pyramid of rebellion and sin against God, Christ and His church, is made to drink the bitterest draught of all. God gives to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His anger.
Furthermore, the islands and mountains fled away at the climax of the seventh plague. Islands and mountains denote earthly powers. He does not say that islands ceased to be, or that no mountains are to remain or exist after this mighty shaking, but there is to be a recession of the islands from their present places and the mountains were not found.
In other words, great portions of the earth, with its present national standings will be drastically altered, as to their boundaries and relations to one another, and particularly to that great city called Babylon, or Papal Rome. It would seem that old lines between states and nations are to be obliterated and pass away.
Three quarters of a century ago, Loxely Hall seemed to have dipped his poetic pen into the ink of inspiration, to write of this very prediction contained in the events of the seventh vial:
For I dipped into the future, far as human eye
could see
Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonders
that would be;
Saw the heavens filled with commerce,
Argosies of magic sails,
Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down
with costly bales;
Heard the heavens filled with shouting, and
there reigned a ghostly dew,
From the nations airy navies, grappling in the
central blue;
Far along the world-wide whisper of the
south wind rushing warm,
With the standards of the peoples, plunging
through the thunder storm;
Till the war-drums throbbed no longer, and the
battle flags were furled,
In the Parliment of man, the Federation
of the World!
The grand climax of the plague is marked by the dropping of hail stones. The symbolism of these vials have followed, in many respects, that of the ten plagues of Egypt, in which one of the plagues was one of hail.
Hail is a symbol of Divine judgment and hail stones of such weight signify terrible judgments. One might see in these hailstones the falling of bombs, but we have studiously steered our course away from the treacherous shoals of speculation.
And men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
We who now live in the days of the seventh vial, have never ceased to marvel that, in spite of a rising tempo of wars, men have not been driven back to God and the church, but, rather, go on in their sins, blaspheming God!
With each war there have arisen the false prophets who declared, with the end of this war, men will go back to the church and seek God. But men have gone their wilful way, little heading the pious pronouncements of the pink tea prophets I
Here the seventh vial discussion draws to a close, not an end. The symbolism here indicates only a mere outline of what is set forth in more detail in the visions of the eighteenth and nineteenth chapters.
The kings of the east and the Kings of the whole world have been summoned to the battle of Armageddon. Babylon has come into remembrance in the sight of God. An outline has been given of the changing picture of national upheaval and a description is given of continued ungodliness, in spite of the awful visitations of Divine judgment.
We are now ready to uncover the closing scenes of awful grandeur and the glories of the new heaven and the new earth wherein will dwell righteousness.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XVI.
THE SEVEN VIALS.
(1) And I heard . . .A great voice is heard out of the temple; it bids the angels pour out their vials into the earth; later on (Rev. 16:17) the voice is heard saying, It is done. The voice is then said to come from the throne; it seems likely that the voice of the first verse is the samethe divine voice from the throne itself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 16
THE SEVEN BOWLS OF THE WRATH OF GOD ( Rev 16:1-21 ) It will be better to read through the whole chapter before we study it in detail,
16:1-21 1 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying to the seven angels: Go, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God 2 upon the earth. The first angel went away and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and there came an outbreak of evil and malignant ulcerous sores on the men who had the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image. 3 The second poured out his bowl upon the sea; and it became blood, like the blood of a dead man, and every living thing died of the things in the sea. 4 The third poured out his bowl upon the rivers and the 5 springs of waters, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: You are just, you who are and who were, O Holy One, because you have delivered this 6 judgment. Because they poured out the blood of God’s dedicated ones and of the prophets, you have given them blood to drink. They well deserved it. 7 And I heard the altar saying: Yes, O Lord, the Almighty, true and just are your judgments. 8 The fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given 9 power to scorch men with fire; and men were scorched with a great scorching. And men flung their insults at the name of the God who had authority over the plagues, but they did not repent to give him glory. 10 The fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was wrapped in darkness, and men gnawed their tongues in anguish. 11 And men flung their insults at the God of heaven for their pains and their sores, but they did not repent from their deeds. 12 The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, that the way for the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come from the mouth of the dragon, and the mouth of the beast, and the mouth 14 of the false prophet, for they are demonic spirits who perform signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world, to bring them together for war on the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 (Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who is awake, and who keeps his garments so that he may not walk naked and so that his shame may not be exposed to the gaze of men.) 16 And they gathered them to the place that is called in Hebrew Har Maggedon. 17 The seventh poured out his bowl upon the air and there came a great voice from the Temple.. from the throne, saying: It is done! 18 And there came flashes of lightning and voices and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as never happened since mankind was upon the earth, so great was the earthquake. 19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. And the great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the wrath of 20 his anger. Every island fled and the mountains were not to be 21 found. Great hailstones, weighing as much as a hundredweight, descended from heaven upon men. And men hurled their insults at God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was exceedingly great.
Here we have the last terrible plagues. They have a certain connection with two things, the ten plagues in Egypt and the terrors which followed the sounding of the seven trumpets in Rev 8:1-13; Rev 9:1-21; Rev 10:1-11; Rev 11:1-19. It is worth while to set out the three lists in order to see the resemblances.
First, we set out the ten plagues when Moses confronted Pharaoh with the wrath of God.
(i) The water made into blood ( Exo 7:20-25).
(ii) The frogs ( Exo 8:5-14).
(iii) The lice ( Exo 8:16-18).
(iv) The flies ( Exo 8:20-24).
(v) The plague on the cattle ( Exo 9:3-6).
(vi) The boils and sores ( Exo 9:8-11).
(vii) The thunder and the hail ( Exo 9:22-26).
(viii) The locusts ( Exo 10:12-19).
(ix) The darkness ( Exo 10:21-23).
(x) The slaying of the first-born ( Exo 12:29-30).
Second, we set out the terrors which followed the sounding of the seven trumpets.
(i) The coming of hail, fire and blood, through which a
third part of the trees and all the green grass are
withered ( Rev 8:7).
(ii) The flaming mountain cast into the sea, whereby one
third of the sea becomes blood ( Rev 8:8).
(iii) The fall of the star Wormwood into the waters,
whereby the waters become bitter and poisonous
( Rev 8:10-11).
(iv) The smiting of one third of the sun and the moon and
the stars, whereby all is darkened ( Rev 8:12).
(v) The coming of the star who unlocks the pit of the
abyss, from which comes the smoke out of which come
the demonic locusts ( Rev 9:1-12).
(vi) The loosing of the four angels bound in the Euphrates
and the coming of the demonic cavalry from the east
( Rev 9:13-21).
(vii) The announcement of the final victory of God and of
the rebellious anger of the nations ( Rev 11:15).
Third, we set out the terrors of this chapter.
(i) The coming of the ulcerous sores upon men ( Rev 16:2).
(ii) The sea becoming like the blood of a dead man
( Rev 16:3).
(iii) The rivers and fountains becoming blood ( Rev 16:4).
(iv) The sun becoming scorchingly hot ( Rev 16:8).
(v) The darkness over the kingdom of the beast, and its
agony ( Rev 6:10).
(vi) The drying up of the Euphrates to open a way for the
hordes of the kings of the east ( Rev 16:12).
(vii) The pollution of the air and the accompanying terrors
in nature, the thunder, the earthquake, the lightning
and the hail ( Rev 16:17-21).
It is easy to see how many things these lists have in common–the hail, the darkness, the blood in the waters, the ulcerous sores, the coming of the terrible hordes from beyond the Euphrates. But in the Revelation there is this difference between the terrors which follow the trumpets and the terrors which follow the pouring out of the bowls. In the former the destruction is always limited, for instance, to one third of the earth; but in the latter the destruction is complete on the enemies of God.
In this final series of terrors John seems to have gathered together the horrors from all the stories of the avenging wrath of God and to have hurled them on the unbelieving world in one last terrible deluge of disaster.
The Terrors Of God ( Rev 16:1-11)
The voice from the temple is the voice of God who is despatching his angelic messengers with their terrors upon men.
The first terror is a plague of malignant and ulcerous sores. The word is the same as is used to describe the boils and the sores in the plague in Egypt ( Exo 9:8-11); the pains which will follow disobedience to God ( Deu 28:35); the sores of the tortured Job ( Job 2:7).
The second terror is the turning of the waters of the sea into blood; this and the following terror, the turning of the rivers and the springs into blood, is reminiscent of the turning of the waters of the Nile into blood in the days of the plagues in Egypt ( Exo 7:17-21). It may be that the thought of a sea of blood came to John in Patmos; often there he must have seen the sea like blood in the dying splendour of the sunset.
In Hebrew thought every natural force–the wind, the sun, the rain, the waters–had its directing angel. These angels were the ministering servants of God, placed in charge of various departments of nature. It might have been thought that the angel of the waters would have been angry to see the waters turned into blood; but even he admits the justice of God’s action. In Rev 16:6 the reference is to actual persecution in the Roman Empire. God’s dedicated ones are the members of the Christian Church; the prophets are not the Old Testament prophets but the prophets of the Christian Church ( 1Co 12:28; Act 13:1; Eph 4:11), who, being the leaders of the Church, were always the first to suffer in any time of persecution. The grim punishment of those who have shed the blood of the leaders and of the rank and file of the Church is that the waters will be gone from the earth and there will be nothing but blood to drink.
In Rev 16:7 the voice of the altar praises the justice of the judgments of God. This may be the voice of the angel of the altar, for the altar, too, had its angel; or the idea may be this. The altar in heaven is the place where both the prayers of his people and the lives of his martyrs are offered as a sacrifice to God; and the voice of the altar may be, so to speak, the voice of Christ’s praying and suffering Church praising the justice of God when his wrath falls upon their persecutors.
The fourth terror is the scorching of the world by the sun; the fifth is the coming of the thick darkness, reminiscent of the darkness which came upon Egypt ( Exo 10:21-23).
In Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11 and Rev 16:21 we have a kind of refrain which runs through this chapter. The men on whom these terrors fell cursed God–but they did not repent, impervious alike to the goodness and to the severity of God ( Rom 11:22). It is the picture of men who had no doubt of the existence of God and even saw his hand in events–and who still went their own way.
We are bound to ask ourselves whether we are so very different. We do not doubt the existence of God; we know that God is interested in us and in the world which he has made; we are well aware of God’s laws; we know his goodness and we know that sin has its punishment; and yet time and time again we go our own way.
The Hordes From The East ( Rev 16:12)
This gives us a picture of the drying up of the Euphrates and the opening of a way for the hordes of the east to descend upon the world.
One of the curious features of the Old Testament is the number of times when the drying up of the waters is a sign of the power of God. It was so at the Red Sea. “The Lord drove the sea back…and made the sea dry land” ( Exo 14:21). It was so at Jordan, when the people under Joshua passed through the river. “All the Israelites passed over on dry ground” ( Jos 3:17). In Isaiah the act of the power of God is that he will enable men to pass through the Egyptian sea dry-shod ( Isa 11:16). The threat of God’s vengeance in Jeremiah is: “I will dry up her sea, and make her fountain dry” ( Jer 51:36). “All the depths of the Nile,” says Zechariah, “shall dry up” ( Zec 10:11).
It may well be that here John is actually remembering a famous incident in history. Herodotus tells us (1: 191) that when Cyrus the Persian captured Babylon he did so by drying up the Euphrates. The river flows right through the centre of Babylon. When Cyrus came to Babylon her defences seemed so strong that her capture seemed impossible. Cyrus formed a brilliant plan. He left one section of his army at Babylon and another he took up the river. By a magnificent engineering feat he temporarily deflected the course of the river into a lake. The level of the river dropped and in the end the channel of the river through Babylon became a dry road; along that road there was a breach in the defences and by that road the Persians gained an entry into Babylon, and the city fell.
John is using a picture which was engraved in the minds of all in his generation. The greatest enemies of Rome, the one nation she could not subjugate, were the Parthians who lived beyond the Euphrates. Their cavalry was the most dreaded force of fighting men in the world. For the cavalry of the Parthians to come sweeping across the Euphrates was a thought to strike terror into the bravest heart. Further, as we have already seen, it was to Parthia that Nero was said to have gone; and it was from Parthia that Nero redivivus was expected to come back; in other words, it was from across the Euphrates that the invasion of Antichrist was expected.
The Unclean Spirits Like Frogs ( Rev 16:13-16)
These four verses are full of problems which must be solved if their meaning is to become reasonably clear.
Three unclean spirits, like frogs, came out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
In the Greek there is a kind of play on words. The unclean spirits came out of the mouths of the evil forces. The mouth is the organ of speech and speech is one of the most influential forces in the world. Now the word for spirit is pneuma ( G4151) which is also the word for breath. To say, therefore, that an evil spirit came out of a man’s mouth is the same as to say that an evil breath came out of his mouth. As H. B. Swete puts it, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet “breathed forth evil influences.”
It is said that the unclean spirits were like frogs.
(i) Frogs are connected with plagues. One of the plagues in Egypt was a plague of frogs ( Exo 8:5-11). “He sent frogs…which destroyed them,” says the Psalmist ( Psa 78:45). “Their land swarmed with frogs even in the chambers of their kings” ( Psa 105:30).
(ii) Frogs are unclean animals. Although not mentioned by name, they are included by definition in the list of unclean things in the water and the sea which begins in Lev 11:10. The frog stands for an unclean influence.
(iii) Frogs are famous for their empty and continuous croaking–brekekekex coax coax, as Aristophanes transliterated it. “The frog,” said Augustine, “is the most loquacious of vanities (Homily on Ps 77:27). The sound the frog makes is the symbol of meaningless speech.
(iv) In Zoroastrianism, the Persian religion, frogs are the bringer of plagues and the agent of Ahriman, the power of darkness, in his struggle against Ormuzd, the power of light. It is fairly certain that John would know this bit of Persian lore.
So, then, to say that frogs came out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet is to say that their words were like plagues, were unclean, were empty futilities, and were the allies of the power of the dark.
The False Prophet ( Rev 16:13-16 Continued)
Our next problem is to identify the false prophet. The dragon is identified as Satan ( Rev 12:3; Rev 12:9). The beast, the Roman Empire with its Caesar worship, has already appeared in Rev 13:1. But this is the first time the false prophet has appeared upon the scene. Since he appears without any explanation, we must assume that John believes that the reader already has the key to his identity.
The false prophet was a figure whom God’s people were well warned to expect both in the Old and in the New Testament. In the Old Testament men are forbidden to listen to the false prophet, however impressive his signs may be, and it is laid down that the punishment for the false prophet is death ( Deu 13:1-5). It was part of the regular duty of the Sanhedrin to deal with the false prophet and to condemn him to death. The Christian Church was warned that false Christs and false prophets would arise to seduce Christ’s people ( Mar 13:22). H. B. Swete says of these false prophets that the name covers a whole class–“magic-vendors, religious impostors, fanatics, whether deceivers or deceived, regarded as persons who falsely interpret the mind of God. True religion has no worse enemies and Satan no better allies.”
The false prophet is mentioned here and in Rev 19:20 and Rev 20:10; if we place two passages together, we will find a clue to his identity. Rev 19:20 tells us that in the end the false prophet was captured along with the beast and he is described as the person who worked miracles before the beast, and deceived those who had the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. In Rev 13:13-14 we have a description of the second beast, the beast from the land; it is said that this second beast does great wonders…and that he deceives those who dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he was allowed to do in the presence of the beast. That is to say, the works of the false prophet and the works of the second beast are identical; so, then, the false prophet and the beast from the land are to be identified. We have already seen that that beast is to be identified with the provincial organisation for the enforcement of emperor worship. The false prophet, then, stands for the organization which seeks to make men worship the emperor and abandon the worship of Jesus Christ.
A man who tries to introduce the worship of other gods, who tries to make men compromise with the state or with the world, who tries to seduce other men from the exclusive worship of God is always a false prophet.
Armageddon ( Rev 16:13-16 Continued)
__ Rev 16:1-21 __
We have still another problem to solve in this passage. The evil spirits went out and stirred up the kings of all the earth to bring them to battle. The idea of a final conflict between God and the forces of evil is an old one. We find it in Psa 2:2: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and his anointed.”
This battle was to take place at what the King James and Revised Standard Versions call Armageddon ( G717) . Moffatt has Harmagedon. The English Revised Version has Har-Magedon. Even the name is uncertain.
Magedon or Maggedon may well be connected with the name Megiddo ( H4023) . Megiddo is in the Plain of Esdraelon, which was part of the great highway from Egypt to Damascus. From the most ancient times to the time of Napoleon it was one of the great battle-grounds of the world. This was the plain where Barak and Deborah overthrew Sisera and his chariots ( Jdg 5:19-21); where Ahaziah died by the arrows of Jehu ( 2Ki 9:27); where the good Josiah perished in battle with Pharaoh Necho ( 2Ki 23:29-30), a tragedy which burned itself into the Jewish mind and which the Jews never forgot ( Zec 12:11). It was a battle-ground, as H. B. Swete says, “familiar to a student of Hebrew history.”
Armageddon ( G717) would mean the city of Megiddo; Harmagedon would mean the mountain (compare har, H2022) of Megiddo. It is most likely that the latter form is right, and yet the plain seems a much more likely battle-ground than the mountains. But there is another strand to add to this. When Ezekiel was describing the last struggle with Gog and Magog, he said that the final victory would be won in the mountains of Israel ( Eze 38:8; Eze 38:21; Eze 39:2; Eze 39:4; Eze 39:17). It may well be that John spoke of the Mount of Megiddo to bring his story into line with the ancient prophecy.
By far the most likely view is that the word is Har-Magedon, and that it describes the region near Megiddo in the Plain of Esdraelon which was perhaps the most storied of all battle-grounds in Jewish history.
We must mention two other views of this strange word. Gunkel thought that it went back to the old Babylonian story of the struggle between Marduk, the creator, and Tiamat, the ancient power of chaos. But it is less than likely that John knew that story.
Another view connects it with Isa 14:13 where Lucifer is made to say: “Above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly.” The Babylonians believed that there was a mountain called Aralu in the north country, which, rather like Olympus in Greece, was the home of the gods. Lucifer is going to take his seat among the gods; it has been suggested that the Mount of Mageddon is this mountain, and that the picture is of a last battle against the assembled gods in their own dwelling-place.
Nature At War ( Rev 16:17-21)
The seventh bowl was poured out upon the air. H. B. Swete speaks of “the air that all men breathe.” If the air was polluted, the very life of man was attacked at its source. Nature became at war with man. That was what happened. There came lightning and thunder and earthquake. The first century was notable for earthquakes, but John says that, whatever horror the world has known from the shaking earth, the earthquake to come will far surpass them all.
The great Babylon, that is Rome, is split into three. Rome had thought that she could do as she liked with impunity–but now her sin was remembered and her fate was on the way. The mills of God may grind slowly but in the end there is no escape for sin.
The earthquake sank the islands and levelled the mountains. The last of the terrible features was a deadly hail in which the hailstones weighed as much as a hundredweight. Here is another recurring feature of the manifestations of the wrath of God. A devastating hail was part of the plagues of Egypt ( Exo 9:24). In the battle with the five Amorite kings at Beth-horon, under Joshua, there came a great hail upon the enemies of Israel so that more died by the hailstones than died by the sword ( Jos 10:11). Isaiah speaks of the tempest of hail and the destroying storm which God in his judgment will send ( Isa 28:2). Ezekiel speaks of God pleading with men with pestilence and blood, and sending an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone ( Eze 38:22).
The emptying of the seven bowls of wrath upon the earth ends with the chorus which has run all through the chapter. The men to whom these things happened remained impervious to any appeal of God’s love or God’s anger. God has given men the terrible responsibility of being able to lock their hearts against him.
Rev 17:1-18; Rev 18:1-24 tell of the fall of Babylon. Rev 17:1-18 is one of the most difficult in the Revelation. The best way in which to study it is first to read it as a whole; then to make certain general identifications and so to see the general line of thought in it; and finally to study it in some detail. This will involve a certain amount of repetition, but in a section like this repetition is necessary.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
3. The chapter of the destruction of Babylon by batteries of wrath poured from Jerusalem, Rev 16:1-21.
a. The four creational vials upon earth, sea, waters, and sun. Rev 16:1-9 .
1. And The preparations of war are complete; (see introduction to xiv;) the officers are armed with their ammunition of plagues; the object is Babylon, the beast; and from the inmost holy place, where omnipotent Justice is secreted, the command for action comes forth. Go
pour earth
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
IV. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS, Rev 7:1 to Rev 20:10.
Of the trumpets, the first four are mundane, or earthly; each of the four blasts draws down a judgment upon some creational point, as earth, sea, fountains and rivers; firmamental luminaries. It is the sins of men that draw down these bolts of wrath, rendering every point of creation hostile to our peace. “Cursed is the ground for thy sake,” (Gen 3:17,) is the key-note. This sad status of humanity has existed through all past ages; but it is here represented to form a base from which the history of the renovation commences.
The first four the earthly trumpets are each brief as well as terrible; the spiritual, the fifth and sixth, expand into wider dimensions and rise to more spiritual interests; while the seventh trumpet rolls forth its series of events, through all the future scenes of retribution and redemption to the judgment.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And I heard a great voice out of the Temple, saying to the seven angels “Go, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth”.’
The great voice may be that of a living creature (see Rev 6:1; Rev 6:3; Rev 6:5; Rev 6:7; Rev 8:13 – compare Rev 15:7), or it may be the voice of God Himself. What is important is that it stresses that this is the will of God. Tribulations and disasters are one way by which God speaks to the world. There is emphasis now on the wrath of God. The world lies continually under His wrath (Rom 1:18), and in the end it has to be satisfied.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 16:13-16 Interlude between the Pouring Forth of the Sixth and Seventh Bowls Robert Mounce notes that Rev 16:13-16 serves as an interlude between the pouring forth of the sixth and seventh bowls. He notes how there are similar interludes between the openings of the sixth and seventh seals (Rev 7:1-17) and between the blowing of the sixth and seventh trumpets (Rev 10:1 to Rev 11:14). [103]
[103] Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, in The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 298-299.
Rev 16:13 Comments The Greek word (frog) appears only once in the New Testament (Rev 16:13). Each member of this unholy trinity (the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet) poured forth an unclean spirit in the image of a frog out of their mouths.
The dragon is introduced in Rev 12:1-17 as Satan, who persecutes the woman clothed with the son and her offspring, which are those children of God who keep His commandments and have the testimony of Jesus Christ on their lips (Rev 12:17).
The beast is introduced in Rev 13:1-10 as one who is given power, a throne, and authority by Satan to blaspheme God and make war with the saints of God.
Robert Mounce believes the false prophet (Rev 16:13; Rev 19:20; Rev 20:10), who is mentioned only three times and always in association with the first beast, is the second beast described in Rev 13:11-18, who becomes the spokesman for the first beast. [104]
[104] Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, in The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 299.
Rev 16:14 Comments These demonic working of miracles in Rev 16:14 has the intent to gather the nations against God, most likely focusing upon the city of Jerusalem. Paul the apostle refers to the deceptive workings and miracles of Satan during the last days. Because mankind had harden their hearts towards the God of heaven, He will send them strong delusions so that they will believe these lies and be eternally damned.
2Th 2:8-12, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
This battle is described in Rev 19:11-21 as Jesus Christ rides from Heaven upon a white horse and destroys the enemies of God with the Word of His mouth. Among this army are the beast and the false prophet who deceived the nations. A great battle of the nations gathering against Israel is described in Ezekiel 38-39 and Zec 14:1-9
Rev 16:15 Comments Jesus interjects a warning in the midst of the visions of the pouring forth of the sixth and seventh bowls. He repeats His warnings to the church in Sardis (Rev 3:3-4) and to the church of the Laodiceans (Rev 3:17-18). Jesus will come as a thief in the night in the sense that it is impossible to predict the time of His coming.
Rev 3:3-4, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch , I will come on thee as a thief , and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments ; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”
Rev 3:17-18, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked : I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear ; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”
This statement can be interpreted as evidence that the rapture of the Church has not yet taken place, thus supporting the view of a mid-tribulation or post-tribulation rapture.
Rev 16:15 Scripture References There are a number of Scriptures that refer to Jesus Christ coming as a thief in the night (Mat 24:43-44, 1Th 5:2, 2Pe 3:10, Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15).
Mat 24:43-44, “But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
1Th 5:2, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
2Pe 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
Rev 3:3, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Rev 16:15, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
Rev 16:16 Word Study on “Armageddon” The Greek word “Armageddon” ( ) (G717) literally means, “mount or city of Megiddo” ( Strong). This is the only use of the Greek word in the New Testament. Strong says it is a combination of two Hebrew words. The first Hebrew word is ( ) (H2022), which means, “a mountain or range of hills.” The Enhanced Strong says it is used 546 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “mountain 261, mount 224, hill 59, hill country 1, promotion 1.” The second Hebrew word is ( ) or ( ) (H4023), which refers to the Palestinian city of “Megiddon,” or “Megiddo.” The Enhanced Strong says this Hebrew word is used 12 times in the Old Testament, being translated in the KJV as “Megiddo 11, Megiddon 1.”
Rev 16:16 Comments The Jewish town of Megiddo lay at the southwestern end of the plain of Esdraelon (Valley of Jezreel), on the boundary of the tribes of Issachar and Manassah ( Smith). It was located at a strategic pass that allowed travelers from the north to enter the hill country of Palestine. Thus, the Plain of Megiddo is a place where many famous ancient battles have taken place. It is here that Barak and Deborah defeated Jabin the king of Canaan (Jdg 4:1-24).
Jdg 4:13-14, “And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon . And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.”
It is where Gideon’s band of three hundred men defeated ten thousand Midianites (Jdg 6:1 to Jdg 7:25).
Jdg 6:33, “Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel .”
It is here that King Saul was tragically slain in battle (1Sa 31:1-13). Mount Gilboa is a mountainous ridge southeast of the Plain of Esdraelon.
1Sa 29:1, “Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel .”
1Sa 31:8, “And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa .”
It is the place where Josiah, king of Judah, was slain by the king of Egypt.
2Ki 23:29, “In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo , when he had seen him.”
2Ch 35:22, “Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo .”
In later years it served as a battlefield for the Romans as well as the Crusaders. Most recently the Turks fought here against the French under General Kleber with the aid of Napolean. [105] The reason this location is so strategic for battle is because it is the only pass through the mountain range that extends from the north to the south of Israel. Many armies have used this natural pass to enter the Jordan Valley and march down towards Jerusalem. This will be the route taken by Russia and its allies during the Battle of Armageddon.
[105] “Jezreel,” in A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, for General Use in the Study of the Scriptures; with Engravings, Maps and Tables, eds. William Wilberforce Rand and Edward Robinson (New York: American Tract Society, 1859), 229.
Rev 16:17 Comments The seventh vial being poured forth upon the earth marks the end of God the Father’s triplicate of seven judgments. The Tribulation Period is marked by seven seals being opened, seven trumpets sounding, and seven vials or bowls being pour out upon the earth. God the Father has completed His role and His wrath is complete. With this seventh vial comes the final and ultimate destruction of Babylon, representing the four empires that ruled the world during the Times of the Gentiles: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Times of the Gentiles comes to an end at the destruction of Babylon in Rev 17:1 to Rev 19:10 and Jesus returns to defeat the nations who have encamped against the holy city of Jerusalem, where He will then reign on earth during the thousand-year Millennial Reign.
Rev 16:20 Comments – If we interpret Rev 16:20 geographically, we note that islands are simply mountains in the sea, and mountains are raised areas upon the land. Perhaps this great earthquake will be so strong that it causes massive mountains to settle.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Seven Vials of Wrath are Poured Out.
The emptying of the first three vials:
v. 1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
v. 2. And 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 worshiped his image.
v. 3. And the second angel 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.
v. 4. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
v. 5. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art and wast and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus.
v. 6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
v. 7. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. Here the spiritual fate of the Lord’s enemies is shown: And I heard a loud voice out of the sanctuary saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. It is the voice of God which is heard, for it is He that has the avenging plagues in His hand. The seven angels, the seven messengers of God, were to pour out the bowls containing the wrath of the Lord upon the earth, the home of the obstinate and hostile men; for the time of grace had now come to an end for them, and the time of punishment had come.
The command of the Lord is now carried out: And there went the first one and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there came a bad and grievous ulcer on the men that had the mark of the beast and those that had worshiped his image. That was the punishment which struck the servants of the beast, of Anti-Christ, and those that were misled by the show of his power to give him honor which he should not have received. But this was only the beginning of the plagues: And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing died that was in the sea. This was like the first Egyptian plague, coagulated blood, fatal to all animal life. These plagues are plainly seen in history. As for the first one, the members of the Roman hierarchy themselves have confessed that the Roman Church was suffering with a severe disease in head and members, with an ulcerous Infection that would eventually prove fatal. And so far as the second plague is concerned, the world, since the time of the Reformation, has been filled with wars that were due to the baffled fury of Anti-Christ. This is not due to the gracious message of the Gospel which the faithful servants of the Lord have proclaimed, but to the fact that the obstinate heart of the enemies takes occasion to battle against the Gospel and to hinder its growth in every possible manner. What St. Paul wrote is true to this day: “We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death unto death and to the other the savor of life unto life,” 2Co 2:15-16.
The same fact is apparent in the third plague: And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and the springs of waters, and they became blood; and I heard the angel of the waters saying, Just art Thou, that is and that was, the Holy One, because Thou hast passed these sentences; for they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and blood Thou hast given them to drink, for they deserve it. Here the waters are not considered as a symbol of all nations, as in the preceding picture, but as the sources of drinking water. The city of God, the Church of Christ, has pure water, the water of the Gospel, in abundance. But the Church of Anti-Christ has principally the traditions of the Church, the resolutions of councils, and the decrees of Popes, all of which are filled with bloodthirstiness, as the Inquisition shows. Blood the Jesuits wanted, and blood the retribution of the Lord gave them, for that is the result of God’s supreme holiness and majesty. This fact is emphasized by the angel of the waters in his hymn of praise. It was right and just for the Lord to give these enemies blood to drink, since they delighted in shedding the same; the punishment was thus made to fit the transgression. Therefore this statement is echoed in heaven itself: And I heard the altar say, Even so, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are Thy sentences. This seems to be the voice of the souls under the altar, chap. 6:9, the voice of all the martyrs since the time of Abel. They all see the hand of the almighty and just God in these sentences of punishment and doom which are striking the servants of Anti-Christ as a consequence of the preaching of the Gospel, not because the power of destruction lies in the Gospel, but because the enmity of men is aroused by this comforting message and they are enraged and confirmed in their self-chosen destruction. May God keep all true Christians from anti-Christian heresies!
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
In the judgments of the vials, or bowls, we have undoubtedly a recapitulation of what has been already foretold in the trumpet and seal visions. This recapitulation is not a mere repetition; but the idea contained in the first visions is strengthened and set forth more forcibly, in conformity with Rev 15:1, where we are told the wrath of God is finished in these plagues of the vials. The following comparison will illustrate the points of resemblance and contrast between the visions of the trumpets and of the vials.
Trumpets.
1. Hail, fire, and blood cast upon THE EARTH; one third trees, etc., burnt.
2. One third of SEA made blood; one third of creatures therein and of ships destroyed.
3. One third of the RIVERS made bitter; many men destroyed.
4. One third of the SUN, etc. smitten; one third of the day darkened.
5. Star from heaven falls into the ABYSS; he sends forth locusts; men seek death; Hebrew name of their king is Abaddon.
6. Armies from the EUPHRATES destroy one third part of men; men repent not.
Episode:The two witnesses of God WITNESS for him and work MIRACLES; WAR against them by the beast.
7. VOICES in heaven; the JUDGMENT; earthquake, etc., and HAIL.
Vials.
1. Vial poured ON THE EARTH; sore upon the followers of the beast.
2. The SEA made blood as of a dead man; every soul therein destroyed.
3. RIVERS made blood; declared to be God’s vengeance upon [ALL] men.
4. SUN smitten; men scorched; men blaspheme, men repent not.
5. The THRONE and kingdom of the beast smitten; men, in pain, blaspheme God; men repent not.
6. The way prepared for kings beyond the EUPHRATES.
Episode:Three unclean spirits of the dragon WITNESS for him and work MIRACLES; WAR by the world at (the Hebrew) Armageddon.
7. VOICES in heaven; the FALL of Babylon; EARTHQUAKE, etc., and HAIL.,
We may from this comparison notice
(1) The vials form a series of visions denouncing God’s judgments against the wicked.
(2) The number seven as well as their character indicates the universal and complete nature of these judgments.
(3) The events portrayed occupy the same period in time as the seals and trumpets; that is to say, the period of the world’s history terminating with the last judgment day.
(4) As in the eases of the seals and trumpets, they are general indications of God’s judgments; and though particular events may be partial fulfilments, the complete fulfilment is in all time.
(5) In comparison with the seals and trumpets, we may observe some points in common and some in which the visions differ.
(a) Like the former visions, these may be divided into two groups of four and three (see on the trumpets).
(b) The structure of the vial visions is almost exactly parallel to that of the seals.
(c) The visions all terminate with the same events portrayed in similar language, though, as the three sets of visions proceed, more stress is laid upon the judgment of the wicked, and less on the victory of the redeemed.
(d) An episode occurs after the sixth vial of almost identical nature with, though much shorter titan, that after the sixth trumpet.
(e) The severity of the nature of the vial judgments is conspicuous. Whereas under the seals one fourth was afflicted, and under the trumpets one third, there is nothing to indicate any exemption in the vial visions.
(6) The reason of the employment of the term “vial,” or “bowl,” is most likely to be found in the expression, “cup of God’s anger,” in Rev 14:10. It indicates the pouring out of God’s wrath in an overwhelming and irresistible flood. It is, therefore, significant of retribution more dire than that symbolized by the trumpet, just as the trumpet indicated greater severity than the seal.
Rev 16:1
And I heard a great voice. Characteristic of all the heavenly utterances (cf. Rev 14:7, Rev 14:9, etc.). We have now the narration in full of the events of which Rev 15:1-8. has given us a summary. Out of the temple. The , shrine of God, mentioned in Rev 15:8, and which no one could enter; the voice must, therefore, be the voice of God himself. Saying to the seven angels (see on Rev 15:1). Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth; go ye and pour, etc. The seven vials is read in , A, B, C, Andreas, Arethas, Primasius, and others. So, in Rev 8:5, the angel casts fire on the earth.
Rev 16:2
And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; his bowl into, etc. (Revised Version). (On “vial,” see on Rev 5:8.) The preposition , “into,” distinguishes the first three vials from the last four, which have , “upon,” and some writers make this the basis for classifying the vials into groups of three and four; but it seems better to divide into groups of four and three (see on Rev 16:1, and preliminary remarks on the trumpet visions). And there fell; and it became (Revised Version). Compare the phraseology of Exo 9:10. A noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. The counterpart of the sixth plague of Egypt. The word , “sore,” used here, is the same used in LXX., Exo 9:1-35. It is impossible to say with certainty what (if any) particular judgment upon the ungodly is intended to be signified by St. John in this plague. From amongst the numerous interpretations which have been given to illustrate this passage, we may mention that of Andreas, who sees in it a reference to the “ulcer” () of conscience. Or it may be that the writer has in contemplation that bodily disease which is the inevitable outcome of sin, and which often afflicts men in this world as the direct result of their misdoings; though, of course, it cannot always be asserted to be a consequence of a man’s own personal misdoings. (On the latter part of the verse, see on Rev 13:1-18.)
Rev 16:3
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. Omit “angel,” which is not found in the best manuscripts, though it is understood. “Into the sea,” as in Rev 16:2. The sea is also the object of the second trumpet plague (see on Rev 16:1). And it became as the blood of a dead man; became blood as of a dead man. Almost an exact reproduction of the second trumpet, and of the first of the Egyptian plagues. The last clause intensifies the horrible nature of the judgment, and thus in some degree increases the severity of this plague over that of the trumpets. And every living soul died in the sea; and every soul of life died, [even] the things in the sea, though living soul () is found in , B, P, some cursives, versions, and Fathers. Not merely human lives. The things, , is omitted in , B, P, and others. In Rev 8:9 we have, “Even the creatures that were in the sea.” The interpretations are as numerous as in the case of the second trumpet (see on Rev 8:9). It is most probable that the sea is here mentioned as part of creation (another part of which is mentioned in the following verse), the whole of which suffers for the sin of man, and the whole of which, intended for his benefit, becomes a source of affliction and woe to him through sin.
Rev 16:4
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. Omit “angel” (see on Rev 16:3). “Into the rivers,” etc., as in the previous cases. The singular , probably on account of the neuter being understood. The idea of the second vial is carried on here (cf. on Rev 16:3). Note the corresponding judgment of the third trumpet. In addition to the interpretation of the second vial given above, it is probable that the blood signifies the slaughter and death which is part of God’s vengeance on the wicked (cf. Rev 16:6). The divisions adopted in the first four vials correspond to those in Rev 14:1-20., which designate the whole of God’s created world, “heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
Rev 16:5
And I heard the angel of the waters say. The angels, throughout this book, are represented as having individual offices to fulfil. Here we have a reference to the angel whose duty it is to control the rivers, just as, in Rev 14:18, another angel is represented as having authority over fire. This verse and the following one are anticipations of Rev 19:2, which is a commentary on Rev 18:1-24., which latter is an elaboration of the judgments here described. Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus; righteous art thou, which art and which wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge (Revised Version). There is scarcely any authority for inserting “O Lord,” or “and shalt be” (cf. Rev 11:17). The angel, as having authority over the waters, and, as it were, a commission to see that they do their duty for men, acknowledges the justice of the sentence which makes them into an instrument for, and type of, man’s destruction. Though there is no authority for inserting “and shalt be,” the idea is, no doubt, to express the eternal nature of God. The same expression occurs in Rev 15:3 (Revised Version) in almost exactly parallel connection; so also in Rev 11:17, Rev 11:18. Thou hast judged thus refers to the judgment of the third vial, possibly to all the first three, Note the marginal reading of the Revised Version (supported by Alford), which disconnects this verse from the succeeding one.
Rev 16:6
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. This supplies the key to the interpretation of the previous visions. The ungodly have shed the blood of saints, therefore God deals out death to them. This is the meaning signified by the “blood” of the previous verses (cf. the doom of Babylon, described in Rev 17:1-18., especially Rev 17:6.; and Rev 18:6, Rev 18:24. Cf. the words, “they are worthy,” with Rev 3:4). It is correct to consider that this prophecy received its first fulfilment in the violent deaths of so many of those who were the earliest Christian persecutors. On this subject see Lactantius, ‘De Morte Persecutorum.’
Rev 16:7
And! heard another out of the altar say. Omit “another out of.” The altar is connected
(1) with the martyred saints (Rev 6:9, Rev 6:10; Rev 8:3);
(2) with the judgments that fall on the earth in vengeance for the blood of the saints (Rev 8:5; Rev 9:13; Rev 14:18); hence the appropriateness of this voice from the altar, which acquiesces in the judgments inflicted. The altar is here personified, and speaks concurring in the justice of those judgments sent on account of the saints who are represented by it. Some writers, however, understand “the angel of the altar,” which is similar to the reading of the Authorized Version. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments; Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty (Revised Version). Reaffirming what has been declared by the angel of the waters (Rev 16:5), and expressing concurrence therein. (On “true” (), see on Rev 3:17.) Compare the expression in Rev 3:5. There God is declared righteous because he has thus judged; here the judgments are righteous because they. are his. Both phrases are equally true, giving the same truth from different standpoints. The same verdict is endorsed by the heavenly multitude in Rev 19:2, when they celebrate the downfall of Babylon; another proof of the identity of the world which is here the object of the vial judgments and the Babylon, which is afterwards described, and whose doom is pronounced.
Rev 16:8
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun. , “angel,” is omitted in nearly all manuscripts, though, of course, it is understood. For the first time we have , “upon,” instead of . “into” (see on Rev 16:2). Another part of creation is visited, thus completing the visitation of the fourfold division of the universethe earth, the sea, the rivers, the heavensas foretold in Rev 14:7. And power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. “And it was given to it” is more probable than “to him;” the angels do not directly punish, but indirectly by pouring out the vials. This form of words expresses the permissory nature of the evil which is wrought; nothing can be done but by the will of God (cf. Rev 13:5, Rev 13:7, Rev 13:14). Bengel, Hengstenberg, and others consider that the permission to scorch men is given to the angel. The men (with the article); perhaps referring to those mentioned in Rev 14:2. who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image, and who are the object of all the vial plagues. Though differing in form from the fourth trumpet, where the sun was darkened, yet the judgment is similar, though here of a more intense nature. In both cases, those objects which are given to men for their good are converted into instruments of punishment. We may, perhaps, see here an allusion to the heat of men’s passions and vices, by which physically as well as morally they are destroyed; and which are also an emblem of the pains of hell as pictured in Luk 16:1-31. It has been noticed as a coincidence that the objects of creation which are the subjects of the judgments of the fourth trumpet and fourth vial, were created on the fourth day.
Rev 16:9
And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the Name of God. The men (see on Rev 16:8). (On the meaning of the first clause, see on Rev 16:8.) This is the first mention in the vials of men blaspheming. As with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the judgments of God, instead of awakening them to repentance, only serve to harden their hearts. This again occurs under the fifth and seventh vials. So also in the sixth trumpet, we are told, men repented nota statement also made in the subsequent part of this verse. As before pointed out (Rev 13:1), the two things are identical; non repentance, continuance in the service of the dragon, is blasphemy against God; though we generally reserve the name “blasphemy” for the open avowal of infidelity to God. Which hath power over these plagues. This is what is implied in the words of Rev 16:8, “it was given to it?’ In this visitation men distinctly recognize the hand of God. And they repented not to give him glory. Vide supra, on the “blasphemy;” and contrast with Rev 11:13another example of the sense in which these vials are the “last plagues” (Rev 15:1).
Rev 16:10
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast. Omit “angel” as before (see on Rev 16:8). The throne of the beast. That throne which had been given to him by the dragon (Rev 13:2), and which here typifies the centre and source of his power. While this throne may aptly refer to the Roman empire in St. John’s time, its position varies at different times; wherever the world power is worshipped, there the beast has his throne. And his kingdom was full of darkness; was darkened. Another allusion to the plagues of Egypt. The darkness is a type of the spiritual darkness which prevails among the subjects of the beast, and which they themselves frequently realize in the course of their career. The fear of the future sometimes arouses their misgivings, and then there is no light or hope in their hearts. And they gnawed their tongues for rain. The pain arising from the darkness of their minds; the misgivings as to their future (vide supra); or perhaps also on account of their sufferings under the former plagues, to which this is an addition.
Rev 16:11
And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores. The expression, “God of heaven,” seems to enhance the exaltation of God, and to place in more terrible contrast the sin of those who ventured to blaspheme One so high, so far above them. This title is only mentioned here and in Rev 11:13, where, however, some repented. (On the word “blaspheme,” see on Rev 11:9.) In spite, therefore, of their plagues, and perhaps as a consequence of their spiritual darkness, they still own the supremacy of the beast and deny God; just as Pharaoh hardened his heart. Compare the previous verses for an account of their pains and their sores; the allusion to which shows plainly that these plagues are not necessarily consecutive in time. And repented not of their deeds (see on Rev 11:9).
Rev 16:12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river: Euphrates. Omit “angel” (see on previous verses). (On the Euphrates, see on Rev 9:14.) This river also figures in the sixth trumpet vision, and possesses the same signification in both places. It is the natural direction from which enemies arise; and it derives this signification from the fact that the enemies of the Jews often came from that direction. The next sentence leaves no doubt that this is the meaning, and supports the view taken of Rev 9:14. It is to be noticed that, though the vial is poured out upon the Euphrates, it is not with the purpose of inflicting injury on the river, but upon the men who are thus laid open to the attacks of their enemies. And the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. The Revised Version gives the sense more plainly, That the way might be made ready for the kings that [come] from the sunrising. The meaning is that a barrier that wards off hostile hosts is removed. The “kings of the cast” represent God’s judgments; those who are laid open to attack are the adherents of the beast. The imagery may be derived:
(1) From the fact (as explained in Rev 9:14, which see) that the enemies of the Jews generally came from beyond the Euphrates. This accounts for the employment of this figure in Rev 9:1-21., and may reasonably be considered to contain the same allusion here. In this case the minor details do not agree; the idea is merely to convey the central fact of an advance of enemies.
(2) From the historical fact of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, by means of a diversion of the waters of the Euphratesa circumstance referred to in Jer 51:31, Jer 51:32, etc.; Isa 13:1-22.; Isa 44:27, Isa 44:28. In this case the details are more in accordance with the general symbolism of the Apocalypse. Babylon would signify the kingdom of the beast (as in Isa 44:19). The kings of the east would still represent God’s judgments, which now assail the kingdom of Satan. Satan attempts to meet this assault by the three spirits, which gather kings from the whole world (Isa 44:14) to battle against the Almighty. The “kings of the east” are certainly the forces ranged on the side of God. Many writers see an allusion to Christ and the saints. The sun is a frequent figure of Christ in Scripture (cf. Mal 4:4; Zec 3:8 and Zec 6:12, LXX.; Luk 1:78; also Rev 7:2; Rev 12:1; Rev 22:16). “The kings of the east” may thus be identified with the armies of Rev 19:11-16.
Rev 16:13
And I saw; introduces a new phase of the vision (see on Rev 4:1). The mention of the punishment of the ungodly by the kings of the east causes the seer to look forward to the conflict, the end of which is described in Rev 19:19-21. He therefore now digresses somewhat, in order to describe the means by which the dragon endeavours to enlist the hosts of the world on his side. Three unclean spirits like frogs. These three spirits represent the influences of the dragon, the first beast and the second beast, which we have interpreted as the devil, the love of the world and worldly power, and self deceit; in other words, the devil, the world, the flesh. These influences axe spiritually unclean, and suggest the loathsome Egyptian plague of the frogs; that is to say, their likeness to frogs consists in their common quality of uncleanness. Perhaps also there is a reference to their devilish origin, in which they resembled the unclean spirits so frequently east out by our Lord while on earth. Burger very aptly refers to the contrast afforded by the dove-like form of the Holy Spirit of God. 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. Omit “come.” The seer does not behold the three spirits proceeding from the mouths of the evil trinity, but he sees those that are out of their mouths; he sees them in their works exhibited in the world. The second beast is here called the “false prophet,” since he deludes men, and persuades them against their better judgment to worship the first beast (see on Rev 13:11).
Rev 16:14
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles. This explains the account given in Rev 16:13. In the plague of the frogs, the Egyptian magicians imitated the plague of Moses; the second beast (the false prophet) is represented as leading men astray by his miracles (Rev 13:13). After the sixth trumpet came the digression, in which an account was given of the two witnesses of God, who worked miracles (Rev 12:1-17.); here, after the sixth vial, we have a short digression, in which an account is given of the three witnesses of Satan, who endeavour rework on his behalf, by exhibiting miracles. (For the meaning of this working of miracles, see on Rev 13:13.) Which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world; the kings of the whole worldomitting “of the earth” (Revised Version). The kings of the world are those whose aim and delight is the possession of the pleasures of this world; those who have their treasure in this world, and whose hearts are therefore also there; those who exercise their influence and power in regard only to the things of this world; in short, the worldly. To gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty; God, the Almighty. This battle is described in Rev 19:11-21, which see. The great day is the last great judgment day. The battle referred to here, and described in Rev 19:1-21., and again in Rev 20:1-10, is apparently the battle which is being waged against God by the forces of evil all through the history of the world, from the fall of Adam until the last judgment day. This seems certain from the description given in Rev 19:1-21. and 20. How, then, can it be described as the “battle of the great day”? Probably because on that day will occur the crisis, as it were, of the conflict; on that day will the issue be plainly determined, and the struggle terminated. Though the battle is proceeding daily, there is little to remind us of it; the very existence of, and necessity for, such warfare is sometimes forgotten in the daily round of life: at the last day will be plainly exhibited the nature of the incessant hostility between God and the devil, and the power of the latter will be manifested only to be visibly shattered and finally destroyed.
Rev 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. The very words addressed to the Church at Sardis (Rev 3:3), and similar to those connected by our blessed Lord with the great day (see Rev 16:14). The mention of that day, and perhaps the knowledge that the battle is a daily one (see on Rev 16:14), naturally leads to the solemn warning given here. It is worth notice how St. John adopts this idea; and this of itself should suffice to demonstrate the incorrectness of endeavoring to compute the times and seasons, as has been done by so many Apocalyptic writers (cf. also Mat 24:43; Luk 12:39; 1Th 5:2, 1Th 5:4; 2Pe 3:10). Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. The same figure again as in Rev 3:17. Isaac Williams correctly points out that these words seem to indicate that the battle of Rev 3:14 is a daily one, in which Christians are themselves engaged (see on Rev 3:14). The garment is the garment of righteousness, the fervent love of God (see on Rev 3:17).
Rev 16:16
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon; or, as in the Revised Version, they Fathered; that is, the “spirits” of Rev 16:14, of which this is a continuation, the same verb being repeated. By the employment of the Hebrew term, attention is called to the symbolical nature of the name. Similar cases occur in Rev 9:11 and elsewhere in St. John’s writings (see on Rev 9:11). The correct reading, , Har-Magedon, signifies “Mountain of Megiddo;” the Authorized Version, , Armageddon, “City of Megiddo.” Mount Megiddo possibly refers to Carmel, at the foot of which lay the Plain of Megiddo, which was well known to every Jew as a gathering place for hostile hosts and as the scene of many battles. It is referred to in Zec 12:11 as a type of woe, on account of the overthrow and death of Josiah having taken place there (2Ki 23:29). Ahaziah also died there (2Ki 9:27); and there also the Canaanitish kings were overthrown (Jdg 5:19). The name is, therefore, indicative of battle and slaughter, and intimates the complete overthrow in store for the dragon and the kings of the earth, which is described later on (Rev 19:1-21.).
Rev 16:17
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. Omit “angel” as before. Upon the air; perhaps as the typical abode of the spirits of evil (cf. Eph 2:2, “the prince of the power of the air”); the seat also, so to speak, of the thunders and lightnings which follow. And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. There are slight variations in the text here. The best authorities omit “of heaven.” One manuscript, , instead of “throne” inserts , “of God.” (On the characteristic great voice, see on Rev 6:1, etc.) The same voice as in Rev 16:1, probably that of God himself, as the words, “from the throne,” seem also to show. It is noticeable that here, as in the seal visions and trumpet visions, we are not explicitly informed of the nature of the last vision. We have the accompanying circumstances described in Rev 16:18, which are always attendant on the last great manifestation, but the end itself is left unrecorded. In the seals, the last vision is described by the silence in heaven; in the trumpets, the nature of the last judgment is only vaguely alluded to in the triumphant heavenly song. So here, only a brief summary is given (Rev 16:18, Rev 16:19) of what actually falls as the last extremity of God’s wrath; a fuller account is reserved for Rev 19:1-21.
Rev 16:18
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. The usual accompaniments of any special manifestation of God’s power or presence (see on Rev 4:5 and Rev 6:12-17). A similar description is given of the close of the seal and the trumpet visions.
Rev 16:19
And the great city. The words which follow, as well as Rev 11:8; Rev 14:8; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:10, Rev 18:16, etc., leave scarcely any doubt that the “great city” here is Babylon. These are the only passages in the Apocalypse where this title is found; for in Rev 21:10, “great” is not the true reading. Was divided into three parts. The signification of this clause is somewhat uncertain. The idea is probably that of total destruction, as in Eze 5:2, where a similar description is applied to Jerusalem. Possibly there is a reference to the trinity of evil mentioned in Eze 5:13. And the cities of the nations fell. The nations signifies the ungodly, who stand in the same relation to the godly as the Gentiles to God’s chosen people (cf. Rev 11:18, etc.). This sentence declares the fall of every lesser form of evil, together with the greater typical form symbolized by” the great city.” And great Babylon came in remembrance before God; and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God (Revised Ver-tion). Cf. the title of “great city” (vide supra). Cf. also the similar expression in Act 10:31. This clause, together with the following one, taken in conjunction with the preceding and succeeding verses, must be referred to the great judgment day. To give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. This is the beginning of the fulfilment of the doom predicted by the angel in Rev 14:10. The judgment is more elaborately described in Rev 18:1-24.
Rev 16:20
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. This continues the description of the earthquake in Rev 16:18, the parenthesis concerning Babylon occurring owing to the mention of the destruction of the city (cf. the account given under the sixth seal). Such convulsions of nature generally, in biblical descriptions, accompany the near approach of the last judgment. Some writers interpret the islands and mountains of kingdoms (cf. Rev 17:9, Rev 17:10).
Rev 16:21
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; cometh down upon, the present tense, rendering the description more graphic. Commentators usually quote ‘Diodorus Siculus’ (19:45), who mentions. as something marvellous, hailstones of a mina in weight; the mina being one-sixtieth of a talent; and also the account of Josephus, who speaks of stones a talent in weight being thrown by machines at the siege of Jerusalem (see Wetstein, ad loc.). “The men,” though not pointing to any particular group of men who have been definitely mentioned, nevertheless necessarily refers to the wicked, were are the object of this punishment. “Hail” is frequently mentioned as a judgment of God and is added here to heighten the general effect of the description (cf. Exo 9:1-35.; Jos 10:11; Psa 78:47; Psa 105:32; Isa 28:2; Isa 30:30; Eze 13:11; Eze 38:22; Hag 2:17; also Rev 8:7; Rev 11:19). And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great; is exceeding great (vide supra). As in Rev 16:9, men repent not. Like Pharaoh, their hearts are hardened. These words end the general description of the vial judgments, but the events alludes to under the seventh vial are elaborated and particularized in the chapters which follow; the whole concluding at the end of Rev 19:1-21.
HOMILETICS
Rev 16:1-11
The first five bowls.
While we by no means follow the historical interpreters of this book in the attempt to identify any chronological sequence of actual events with the seven seals, trumpets, and bowls, respectively, yet (as is well pointed out by Professor Godet ) there is undoubtedly a moral progression indicated. The seal points out an event concealed as yet, but foreseen by God. The trumpet points out an event announced as forthcoming. The bowl points out the event in actual execution. We have studied the ground plan of the Apocalypse with reference to the seals and trumpets; we now witness the pouring out of the bowls, i.e. the carrying out of the great judgments on the foes of God and of his Church, which in anticipation had been forecast already. The seven seals set before us the kind of events which were to be looked forvictory, war, famine, pestilence, martyrdom, convulsion; then the end. The seven trumpets have pointed out the sphere over which the several judgments shall fall which are to bring about the end. These correspond almost precisely with the seven bowls; thus confirming the impression that between trumpets and bowls there is the distinction between announcement and effect.
The trumpets follow thus in order:
1. Earth, Rev 8:7
2. Sea, Rev 8:8
3. Waters, Rev 8:10, Rev 8:11
4. Sun, Rev 8:12
5. Smoke out of the abyss, Rev 9:1-11
6. The great river, Rev 9:13-21
7. The issue, Rev 11:15-18
The bowls follow thus:
1. Earth, Rev 16:2
2. Sea, Rev 16:3
3. Waters, Rev 16:4-7
4. Sun, Rev 16:8, Rev 16:9
5. Throne of the beast, Rev 16:10, Rev 16:11
6. The great river, Rev 16:12-16
7. “It is done!” Rev 16:17-21
There is one feature common to all the bowlsthey are “the bowls of the wrath of God.” By “the wrath of God” we understand nothing like revenge, malice, or vindictiveness; but that pure and holy indignation against sin, which is a necessity of nature in a Being of perfect love. As, however, we have so frequently found the scenes of the Old Testament furnishing material for the gorgeous imagery of this book, so it is here. The student can scarcely help noticing the similarity in the effect of the bowls with that of the plagues of Egypt. Thus they one and all seem to say, as the Lord once “put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel,” so it will be again. The first deliverance was from the hosts of Egypt. The second was from the hosts of hell, when Jesus died. The third shall be the final onefrom the hosts of earth and hell, when the Lord shall appear in his glory! While we reverently refrain from attempting an interpretation in detail of the effects of the pouring out of the several bowls, we can as little refrain from pointing out the manifold distinctive features of them, as illustrating permanent truths concerning the government of God.
I. ERE THE END COMETH, GOD‘S JUDGMENTS OF WRATH WILL BE POURED OUT UPON THE WORLD. Our Lord, in his sermon on the mount, as well as in iris parables, teaches us that up to the time of the end there will be impenitent men; and that the clashing of good with evil will go on to the time of the great harvest day. The Old Testament prophets indicate the same, and they repeatedly declare that on the wicked the wrath of God will fall. The Lord did of old “put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel;” and he will, in his own time and way, show the difference between the Church and the world. The wicked shall be “broken to shivers.”
II. GOD HATH HIS “BOWLS” IN WHICH ARE THE CONTENTS OF HIS WRATH WAITING TO BE OUTPOURED. “The ‘vials’ point to the metaphor in Rev 14:10, ‘the cup of God’s anger.’ The ‘vial’ (cf. Amo 6:6) was the shallow ‘bowl’ in which they drew from the larger goblet.” There are many weapons hidden in God’s armoury, many arrows in his quiver, many forces stored up ready to be brought forth; as yet he holdeth them back. He waiteth. He is long suffering. He hath forgotten neither his promises nor his threatenings. “He waiteth to be gracious.” But he will not wait always. The Lord is a jealous God, and will not suffer his people always to be discomfited.
III. THE BRINGING OUT OF THESE HIDDEN FORCES IS FORESEEN AND DETERMINED. Three truths are taught us here.
1. That the authority to pour out the bowls comes from “the temple” (Rev 16:1). From the sanctuary. “Heaven itself.”
2. That there is an angelic ministry ready to be employed on this service (Rev 15:6). “There is nothing in prophetic imagery more striking than this picture of the seven angels issuing, in solemn procession, from the sanctuary.”
3. The angel bands wait the word of command, “Go ye,” etc. The angels of God are all ministering spirits, ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
IV. WHEN THE ANGELS OF JUDGMENT POUR OUT THE “BOWLS,” ALL NATURE MAY BE FULL OF WHIPS AND STINGS. (Cf. Rev 14:1-4, Rev 14:8-11.) Here the elements of nature, which are the conditions and media of man’s comfort, are all turned into so many instruments of torture, when used in wrath. When will men learn that nature brings us joy only through the mercy of God? that it is “of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed”? How little might suffice to make life intolerable! One equivalent less of oxygen in the air, or one equivalent more, and life would he unendurable. Sooner or later God will convict ungodly men of their “hard speeches,” by sore judgments.
V. THE EFFECT OF THESE JUDGMENTS ON UNGODLY MEN WILL BE TO EXCITE TO ANGER, AND NOT TO BRING TO REPENTANCE. (Rev 14:9, Rev 14:11, “They repented not;” “They blasphemed.”) Men, in their disloyalty to high Heaven, seem to think that the function of a Divine Being is just to make his creatures as comfortable as possible; as if there were no principles of righteousness for which a holy Governor should contend, and as if there were no claims on our obedience on which the great Governor ought to insist. And if he whom they have offended makes them smart, they “blaspheme”! “The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord.” Note: Here is a refutation of the error that all suffering is disciplinary, and tends to improve. The vile heart of man perverts it, and makes it a means of his own hardening in sin.
VI. THE HOLY ONES SEE IN THE DIVINE RETRIBUTION A MANIFESTATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. In Rev 14:5 “the angel of the waters” celebrates the righteousness of God, and in Rev 14:7 “the altar” is said to do it; so the Revised Version reads; meaning, probably, the souls of the martyrs beneath it (Rev 6:9). Only those beings who are in full sympathy with the Divine righteousness and love are in a position to judge rightly of the Divine procedure. And these, whether they be the ministering angels or the once suffering saints, see in the recompenses of a holy Governor new manifestations of that rectitude which presides over all. “It is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, and to you that are afflicted, rest” (2Th 1:6, 2Th 1:7). There are times even now when the righteous find the sight of deeds of atrocity and wickedness more than they can bear, and they cry aloud in the language of the ninety-fourth psalm (cf. Psa 94:1-4). That cry will be answered. But although in the cry there may be traces of human passion, in the answer there will be nothing contrary to perfect equity. Note:
1. Although all Scripture points to trouble on a vastly greater scale than we as yet see it, ere the end shall come, yet on a smaller scale God’s judgments are ever at work. “Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished.” That which is a bulwark to the good is a detective to the evil.
2. Let us not forget that the wondrous way in which the balance of nature’s forces is preserved, so as to bring us life and peace and comfort, is owing, not to nature, but to God. His attempering care and constant remembrance alone preserve our souls from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from falling. Let us, then, not look too much at, nor lean too much on, earthly comforts. If they are comforts, it is God that makes them so, and we hold them at his disposal.
3. In our daily life we can sing of both mercy and judgment. No cup is all sweetness. A dash of bitter mingles with all. Not all bitter, lest we should pine away; not all sweet, lest we should become insensible to life’s peril and responsibilities. We need the chastening reminders of our own faults and sins.
4. We are indebted to Divine mercy even for the sanctifying effect of our trials. It is not the natural influence of trouble to improve the soul. By itself it wears, worries, vexes. We chafe against it. It galls. Only when the sanctifying grace of God works with it and by it will it mature the spirit in meekness, submission, and love. Of all things to be dreaded, the very worst evil is that of being abandoned by God to that hardness of heart which will turn even the just penalty for our sin into an occasion for fiercer revolt of the heart, and viler words on the tongue!
Rev 16:12-16
The sixth bowl.
In the prophetic parables of this book there is, as we have before remarked, a manifest moral progression, although the varied attempts to indicate in detail an exact historic progression, with dates assigned, has resulted, and must result, in repeated and disappointing failure. We should also note that at about this part of the book many of the historical interpreters stop short, and give considerable scope to conjecture. But while on their method we always find ourselves “at sea,” if we adhere to the plan of exposition we have thus far adopted, no extreme difficulty will present itself, since all falls in with the general tenor of the Word of God. In this paragraph there are two distinct parts, in each of which the imagery is drawn from Old Testament history. We have here indicated:
1. A great providential preparation for the overthrow of huge and mighty forms of evil. We see in this paragraph that the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising, i.e. from the east. In olden time there had been a great city, Babylon. It was doomed. It was to fall by means of “the man from the east” (Isa 41:2, Isa 41:25; Isa 46:11). There was a river that ran through Babylonthe river Euphrates. Long outside the city gates the invader waited. The bed of the river was dried up, through the river itself being turned into another channel. Thus the way of the man from the east was prepared, and he entered in and took the city. While in this paragraph we have a prophetic parable, in those events we have the historic parable on which the prophetic one is based. “Babylon the great” (what that is we have yet to see) is doomed. And as of old the way was prepared for the destruction of “great Babylon,” so will there be preparations (perhaps prolonged ones) for the downfall of this mystic Babylon. We have here:
2. A great onrush of the hosts of evil for a mighty conflict, which will be to their own downfall. The seer further descries a new outbreak, and apparently a simultaneous one, on the part of the three enemies of the Church already namedthe dragon, the first beast, the second beast (the latter here named “the false prophet”). Out of their mouth go forth “three unclean spirits, as it were frogs,” i.e. loathsome and detestable; these, we are told, are the spirits of demons, doing wonders (cf. Mat 24:1-51.; 2Th 2:1-17.). The effect of these seducing agencies will be to gather together to their culmination the forces hostile to the Most High. This daring, aggregate attempt will be the final one, for it will be one that shall end in most utter defeat. Again we are thrown back for illustration on ancient incident and on familiar name. This final struggle is at Har-Magedon, or the mountain of Megiddo, “which more, perhaps, than any other spot, is celebrated in the history of Israel as a scene of judicial and decisive conflict.” Here was there a decisive conflict between Deborah and Sisera. Here Josiah was slain (2Ki 23:29; also cf. Zec 12:11). Here Ahaziah died of his wounds, But mainly, on the mountain of Megiddo, i.e. Mount Carmel, took place that decisive contrast between Jehovah and Baal, which forced conviction on the people, and ended in the destruction of the spurious prophets and priests. A notable name, indeed, for suggesting disaster and overthrow. And by no more significant symbolism could the truth be suggestedevil is hastening to its own defeat. We are not to think simply of literal warfare. The sacred seer gives us only “the outward sign, the corporeal type. Under Christianity we can only see the broad line which will finally separate the righteous and the wicked.” Here, however, we meet (shall we say unexpectedly?) with a gracious word of monition, in Rev 16:15. As a writer strikingly says, “Suddenly the Spirit takes the reader aside, and whispers, ‘Behold, I come quickly,'” etc. Thus we gather that this final struggle is to precede the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and so we are taught
(1) that the issue of that struggle is clearly seen; and
(2) that, let it come when it may, our life work is perfectly clear.
In anticipation of his coming we are to watch; we are not to take off our garments as if preparing for repose, but we are to stand “with our loins girded about, and our lights burning.” We are to be ready at a moment’s notice for any duty that may be required. Hence we have a theme as plain and practical as any other part of the Word of God supplies.
I. WHATEVER MAY HAVE BEEN THE TROUBLES AND CONFLICTS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD IN THE PAST, SEVERER ONES ARE YET IN THE DISTANCE. Even if this were not indicated here, it would be clear from other parts of Scripture. The parable of the wheat and the tares would, indeed, involve all this. For if both are growing, that means that the good will get better, and the bad worse; thus antagonisms will become sharper, and conflicts fiercer and more daring.
II. ALREADY TO CHRISTIAN FAITH AND HOPE THIS FINAL CONFLICT OF EVIL IS REPRESENTED as “that great day of God Almighty.” It will be a day in which the old word concerning human agency shall again be accomplished, “Howbeit he meaneth not so” (Isa 10:7). Man means one thing; God intends and fulfils another. The outcome of the whole will be as the prophet declares, “Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.”
III. THE CRISIS HERE INDICATED WILL PRECEDE THE COMING OF THE SON OF GOD. (Rev 16:15.) We cannot doubt who the speaker is that says, “Behold, I come as a thief.” “He is coming” is, indeed, the thesis of the entire Apocalypse. He will come:
1. To consume evil.
2. To complete his reign of righteousness, by consummating the kingdom of grace and ushering in the kingdom of glory.
3. To make his people glad in him. “When Christ, who is our Life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory.”
IV. CERTAIN EVENTS MAY HERALD HIS APPROACH, BUT YET HIS ACTUAL COMING WILL BE “AS A THIEF.” This is the repeated teaching of the Word of God. It will be at the last moment sudden. “As it was in the days of Noah, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.” There are obvious reasons for this. Did we know precisely the moment, such knowledge would instantly paralyze society. Our Lord intends that the break up of things should be instantaneous. A sudden stop will be put to the world’s machinery.
V. IN VIEW OF THIS ISSUECERTAIN IN FACT, THOUGH UNCERTAIN AS TO TIMEWE ARE TO KEEP ON THE WATCH. We are to be ready for the last moment by being ready at every moment. It is not in perpetually rushing to the door and peeping out to see if the master is near, that a servant’s readiness for him consists; but in so attending to every duty that, let him come when he may, he finds the house in perfect order, awaiting his return.
VI. CONSEQUENTLY, BEING ON THE WATCH MEANS STANDING READY TO DO ANY DUTY WHATEVER, THE MOMENT IT IS REQUIRED. When a soldier enlisted in the Roman army, he had, before the tribune, to take a triple oath, viz.:
(1) That he would do whatever he was called on to do.
(2) That he would be ready at any moment.
(3) That he would never leave the army without the commander’s consent. This triple oath was called sacramentum. Hence our word “sacrament” the believer’s military oath of obedience to the great Commander.
“Think not of rest; though dreams be sweet,
Start up, and ply your heavenward feet.
Is not God’s oath upon your head,
Ne’er to sink back on slothful bed,
Never again your loins untie,
Nor let your torches waste and die,
Till, when the shadows thickest fall,
Ye hear your Master’s midnight call?”
VII. ON WHOMSOEVER IS STANDING IN THIS ATTITUDE OF SERVICE, THE MASTER‘S BLESSING IS PRONOUNCED. “Blessed is he,” etc.
1. He has the Lord’s approval now.
2. The “signs of the times,” so portentous to the ungodly, are for him full of hope.
3. The coming of the Lord will usher him in to the blessedness and glory of a new and renovated state of being.
Then let each one inquireHow am I standing at this moment in the sight of my Savior Judge? Am I so living that, if he were to come now, he could truthfully say, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
Rev 16:17-21
The seventh bowl.
The precise identification of “Babylon the great” must be reserved for our study of the next chapter; the paragraph before us shows us what a downfall is awaiting her. For the present it is enough to remember that it is some vast power of the earth, earthy, whose influence and action have been against righteousness and peace. Under the sixth bowl we witnessed the gathering together of great hosts for a final conflict. Now that last conflict is decided. Man has summoned his forces. God brings his also to bear. With man it is the clash of arms. With God the forces are silent as light, potent as lightning, terrible as the earthquake, and, as if to set forth the exhaustless force stored up in heaven’s armoury, we are told that “hailstones” fell, of the weight of a talent. And then, then it is that “Babylon the great” comes up into remembrance before God. Some great, yea, gigantic form of evil, proud as Babylon, lustful as Sodom, cruel as Egypt, which has thriven for long unpunished, comes up for remembrance at last. How far physical convulsions are here intended we do not venture to say, though such may precede the final stroke. It is very clear that judgment in some form or other is intended. And the strong probability is that, as in the cases of the Deluge, Sodom, Canaan, Tyre, Egypt, etc., both physical and moral crises will synchronize. The expression, that “Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God,” is full of deep meaning in its moral bearing, though its temporal and local application it may be, as yet, impossible to decide.
I. HOW MUCH OF EARTH‘S SIN MUST THERE BE FOR GOD TO WITNESS! In the storehouse of his eternal and infinite mind, all the wrong of which earth has been the theatre and witness is “treasured up.” How soon even we can summon up more than we can bear to reflect upon! The Amorites; Sodom; Egypt; Canaan; Babylon; pagan Rome; papal Rome; Mohammedanism; the Bartholomew Massacre; papal England; Madagascar martyrs; the Indian Mutiny; and an indefinite number more of nameless horrors. Together with a measureless amount of sin, and an innumerable multitude of sins that, in every village, town, and city are being committed in the light of day and in the shades of night. All seen, known, infinitely.
II. MEN OFTEN ASKWHY IS GOD SILENT SO LONG? There are few trials of faith more severe than this. Why do millions have to endure so much of unnamed suffering without redress? And all this when so many prayers are being offered up to heaven. Why is it? “Our God,” cried one in anguish, “is a God that does nothing!” Again and again the cry of the ninety-fourth psalm comes unbidden to the lips.
III. WHATEVER MAY BE THE TRIAL OF FAITH THUS CAUSED, WE ARE CERTAIN THAT GOD FORGETS NOTHING. He is neither indifferent, forgetful, nor weak. Not one unrepented sin is forgotten. Not one cry of the humble is unheard. The widow’s moan, the orphan’s tears, the miseries of the slave, and all the horrors connected with that “open sore of the world,” are remembered by him.
IV. GOD HAS GREAT PURPOSES TO ANSWER IN PERMITTING EVIL TO GO SO LONG UNPUNISHED. We know not all of them. We know none of them fully. But we can, though with fear and trembling, suggest:
1. By suffering sin to come to its uttermost ripeness, he reveals to men what an evil it is. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” He knows tendencies; we see issues.
2. When the blackness of evil is seen, the righteousness of God’s judgments will also be manifest. Is it not in this direction that light comes on the text, “The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil “?
3. Meanwhile, God is “long suffering not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
V. AT THE APPOINTED HOUR THE “LONG SUFFERING” WILL CEASE. By this it is not meant that patience, as a Divine attribute, will be exhausted, but that there will come a time when the Divine Being will no longer refrain from inflicting his judgments on sin and sinners. Even now, “because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Soon will the Divine will be manifested, and the punishment of sin will be the vindication of the right and the condemnation of the wrong.
VI. THEN “BABYLON THE GREAT,” WITH ALL HER SINS, SHALL COME UP FOR FINAL RECKONING AND RECOMPENSE. God will “render unto her even as she rendered.” “Whatsoever a man soweth,” etc.; “We must all be made manifest at the tribunal of Christ;” “God shall bring every work into judgment,” etc.; “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;” “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;” “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
VII. THE FACT THAT ALL IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD IS A GUARANTEE OF PERFECT EQUITY. “He will render to every man according to his deeds.” In the future retribution there will be no flaw in time or degree; no defect, no excess. The Judge of all the earth will do right; it is “in the sight of God” that great Babylon will be remembered.
VIII. WITH OUR GOD THE EXECUTION IS AS CERTAIN AS THE PURPOSE. The seer heard “a great voice from the temple, out of the throne, saying, It is done!” The fulfilment is perceived as well as decreed. Not a word shall fail of all that the Lord hath spoken. His plans can never be frustrated. Our Lord Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth.
Note:
1. Amid the perplexity caused by the prevalence and power of evil, let us stay ourselves on God. We know what he is, though we often fail to read what he does.
2. Let us do right, and wait God’s time. We are not to shape our course according to expediency, but according to right principle.
3. Revenge is never to be any part of our policy. We are incompetent judges, and we ourselves are too often swayed by passion. God reserves vengeance to himself. Let us, therefore, not take the law into our own hands, but “leave room for the wrath of God.”
4. Let us be glad and grateful that believers in God are not left in the dark as to the meaning, aims, and issue of the Divine government of the world. This Book of the Apocalypse is written in parable, doubtless for the same reason that our Lord spake in parables when on earth (cf. Mat 13:1-58.). They are so couched that unbelief cannot read them, but that faith can. And is there not infinite wisdom in this? Who would entrust his secrets to one who was known neither to trust nor to be trusty? Jesus did not commit himself to men, because he knew all men. The faith was delivered “once for all to the saints.” They only are expected to keep it who love it. Hence to them only is it committed. Those who trust God are trusted by him. His secret is with them. And the contents of that secret are twofoldgrace in saving, and equity in ruling. These are the pivots on which the Divine government turns. Grace reigns through righteousness; and where grace is refused and heaven is defied, there will yet be pure and unswerving equity.
5. Hence it behoves the righteous to walk this earth with a sense of their dignity, as those who are entrusted with the mysteries of the Divine plans: not, indeed, so minutely as to be inconsistent with the calm and steadfast fulfilment of duty, but yet in broad outline so clearly that for them there is no such thing as “the burden anti mystery of an unintelligible world.” That helpless and hopeless perplexity is removed from all those who know that “the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.”
6. But, whether in the portentous imagery of the Apocalypse or in the clearer language of the Epistles, it is revealed with an impressive clearness that the man who is trifling with the Divine loving kindness, not knowing that the goodness of God is drawing him with a view to repentance, is but treasuring up to himself wrath against the day of wrath, and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God! All that is involved in the words, “He must reign till he hath put all enemies beneath his feet.”
7. Is it “in the sight of God” that there will be remembrance of peoples hereafter? Then “in the sight of God” the people must fulfil their obligations now. It has been asked if faith in God is essential to the discharge of moral obligation. We answerLoyalty to God is the first of all moral obligations, and none are rightly fulfilled where this is lacking. A striking commentary on all this is that most painful life of George Eliot, who, though living in outrageous defiance of the first duties of social life after she had given up faith in God, sneered at the words
“Talk they of morals? O thou bleeding Love!
Thou Maker of new morals to mankind!
The grand morality is love of thee.”
Finally, that which is the law for the individual is the law for the nation and for its rulers, viz. to learn the mind and will of the King of kings and Lord of lords, and then to carry that out irrespectively of human praise or blame. Woe to that nation which applauds a policy that will come in remembrance before God only to be everlastingly disgraced! Woe to the people whose trust is in chariots and horses, in armies and in fleets, in guns and in swords! Ever are we surrounded by men who clamour for glory, for conquest, for annexation, for empire! And this cry must be resisted by all who have learnt the Divine secret that “righteousness alone exalteth a nation,” that “sin is a reproach to any people.” Every great Babylon is doomed.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY
Rev 16:6
Be done by as you did.
“They have shed the blood thou hast given them blood to drink.” Grateful, indeed, ought men to be not alone for the golden rule which commands us to do unto others as we would be done by, but also for the converse of that rule, the eternal lawthat as we have done so shall we be done by. It is the lex talionisthe law that ordains “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;” that “with what measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you.” And here in the text we have a vivid and awful illustration of it. And there have been a vast number more. They, everywhere and always, who have shed the blood of God’s servants, have had given to them, sooner or Later, “blood to drink.” Their turn has come, and it has been the more terrible because of what they have done to bring it upon themselves.
I. CONSIDER SOME ILLUSTRATIONS OF THIS LAW. Egypt. The memory of how she shed the blood of God’s servants, and how blood was given her to drink, not merely in symbol by the water of her river being turned into blood, so that her people loathed to drink of it, but actually by the destruction that came upon herthe memory of all this is evidently fresh in the writer’s mind. The atmosphere of Egypt, the bondage, and the Exodus, is all around this record of the seven vials. Israel under Ahab and other idolatrous kings. He and they shed the blood of God’s prophets. But sure revenges came. At Carmel; in Assyria, where Israel was carried away captive, and where as a nation she perished. Assyria. Cf. the Book of Jonah for its sins and its predicted doom. Fate of Sennacherib. Destruction of Nineveh about B.C. 606, when Sardanapalus the king, in despair, burnt himself, with his concubines, eunuchs, and treasures. Persia. Cf. the Book of Esther, and the king’s edict for the destruction of the Jews, and how averted and avenged. Greece. Cf. the Books of Maccabees, as to persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes; his miserable death. Jerusalem. Cf. our Lord’s words, “It cannot be that a prophet should perish out of Jerusalem,” etc. (Luk 13:33, Luk 13:34). Her siege and fall. Rome, both pagan and papal (cf. Gibbon, for fall of pagan Rome; Alison, for calamities that came on Rome and Italy during the wars of the Revolution). France. Her persecutions of the Huguenots led on to the horrors of her revolution. Spain, once the greatest of European powers, became infamous for her bigotry and cruelties on all outside the Romish Church; she was the home of the Inquisition, and the auto-da-fe. But the persecutor’s doom came upon her. Her glory has departed. The Stuart dynasty in England, who harried and drove tens of thousands of godly men out of the Church and out of the land; and then their turn came, and their race and name passed away in ignominy. And had England’s loss of her American colonies nothing to do with her maintenance of the accursed slave trade? And did not America’s civil war spring from that same bad cause? Such are some fulfilments of this law, some more, some less, evident. Doubtless Jerusalem, at the hour when St. John wrote in the very throes of her mortal agony, when blood was indeed given her to drink; and Rome, racked with civil war and the fierce factions fomented by this chieftain and that, and for whom yet more fearful fate waitedthese were uppermost in St. John’s mind. But the law lives yet, and lived before St. John’s day; not one jot or one tittle of it has failed or can ever fail. And the Bible and the facts of life supply illustrations not a few of the fulfilment of this law in individuals as well as nations. And where the eye cannot trace the fulfilment, it is not to be thought that the law has failed. In his moral lifethat which is within and unseenthe law can lay hold on the transgressor, and does so. Every man’s sin finds him out, even if he be not found out.
II. ITS MODE OF ACTION. It is, like as most of God’s laws are, self acting. There is no need for God to interfere to see that the law is vindicated. Power, perverted to persecution and oppression, and pampered by such means, becomes hideous and hateful to mankind, who after a while will turn upon the tyrant and hurl him from the place of power which he has prostituted to such vile uses. And so because he or they have “shed blood,” blood is given, etc. Man may as well think to put in motion any given cause and to hinder the due effect from following, as to hinder the fulfilment of the law we are considering. Sow the seed, and its harvest will follow, not some other; there will be no need of miracle to secure this. And the seed of blood shed will infallibly secure a like harvest. Men may deny the existence of God, but they cannot deny the existence of laws, self acting, and which have an awful power of ensuring their own vindication, let men’s opinions be what they will.
III. ITS LESSONS TO US ALL.
1. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that,” etc.
2. The inveteracy, violence, and virulence of sin. Notwithstanding all that God has done, and does, to deter men from it, they will cling to it still.
3. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” “When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them.”S.C.
Rev 16:9
The hardened heart.
“They repented not to give him glory.” This impenitence is told of in Rev 9:20, and in this chapter again at Rev 9:11 and Rev 9:21. This repeated reference is designed to, as it well may, impress our minds with a fact at once so sinful, so solemn, and so sad. For such impenitence is
I. A VERY CERTAIN FACT. The late Mr. Kingsley, in his book, ‘The Roman and the Teuton,’ draws out at length the evidence both of the horrible sufferings and the yet more horrible impenitence of the Roman people in the days of their empire’s fall. He refers to these very verses as accurately describing the condition of things in those awful days, when the people of Rome “gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed,” etc. (Rev 9:11). And it is to Rome and her fall that St. John is here alluding. There can hardly be doubt of that. But the sinners at Rome were not the only ones who, in spite of the judgments of God resting upon them, have, nevertheless, hardened their hearts. Who has not known of such things?
II. AND VERY WONDERFUL. We say a burnt child dreads the fire, but it is evident that they who have been “scorched with great heat” (verse 9) by the righteous wrath of God are yet not afraid to incur that wrath again. Nothing strikes us more than the persistent way in which, in the “day of provocation in the wilderness,” the Israelites went on sinning, notwithstanding all that it brought upon them in the way of punishment. There was every reason and motive for them to obey God, and yet they did scarce anything but provoke him. And it is so still.
III. AND VERY AWFUL. “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.” “Why should ye be stricken any more?”no good comes of it, punishment does not make any difference. Such are the despairing words of the prophets of God. There are few surer signs of perdition than when a man is hardened in sin and more set in enmity against God by reason of his righteous judgments. What can even God do then? If what is designed to lead us to repentance only drive us into more sin, what hope is there? See those told of here; what a description of unspeakable distress”gnawing their tongues for pain,” but blaspheming God the while and repenting not! “From hardness of heart, good Lord, deliver us.”
IV. BUT YET NOT INEXPLICABLE. For:
1. Times of such distress as are told of here are just the most unfavourable times of all others for that serious, earnest thought which would lead to repentance. Distress distracts the mind, drags it hither and thither, so that it cannot stay itself upon God. To trust to the hour of death to turn unto God is, indeed, to build upon the sand.
2. Resentment against their ill treatment holds their mind more than aught else. Thrice are we told how the men who “gnawed their tongues for pain” blasphemed God. Burning rage against him enwrapped their souls. As if he were to blame, and not they! They explain that difficult verse in the ninetieth psalm, “Who regardeth the power of thy wrath? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.” It is only they who have a holy fear of God who will regard his wrath; according to the measure of that fear will be the measure of right regard of the wrath of God. Where that fear is not, God’s wrath will exasperate, enrage, and harden, but there will be no repentance.
3. They attribute their sufferings to every cause but the true one. How easy it is to do this! how commonly it is done! How men snatch at every suggestion that will help them to lay the blame upon other men or things! It is part of “the deceitfulness of sin” to make men do this. But until a man is led to cry, with him of old, “God be merciful to me, the sinner!” (Luk 18:13), he may groan in agony of body or mind, but he will never turn in heart to God.
4. Sin has such hold on them that they cannot give it up. Yes, deeper than the dread of its punishment is the love of the sin. Once it might have been broken through as easily as the cobweb that stretches across the garden path; but, indulged and indulged, it has become a cable that holds the man in spite of all the storm of God’s judgments and the tempest of his wrath. Cries and tears, protestations and prayers, may be extorted from the man through his terror and pain; but they are but surface sounds, and touch not the depth or reality of the man’s soul.
5. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecc 8:11). The interval between the sentence and its being carried out is given for repentance; but men have made it a means of greater sin. Such are some of the reasons that explain the seemingly wonderful fact we are considering.
V. AND IT IS FULL OF WARNING. Even torture does not turn a man, nor suffering save. That old and awful puritanic cry to sinners, “Turn or burn!”a cry which, we believe, never yet turned one heart to God, for it is not the nature of terror to do thathas a yet more dread sequel; that if a man will not now, in “the day of salvation,” turn to God, he may burn and yet not turn. Such is the teaching, not of our text alone, but of all experience too. O God, fill our hearts with the fear and love of thee!S.C.
Rev 16:12-16
Armageddon.
It is the name of a place. It lies to the northwest of the Plain of Esdraelon, on the southern slopes of Carmel. It is mentioned on various occasions in the Bible (cf. infra). But these verses tell of a great event connected with it.
I. WHAT WAS THIS? It is called “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev 16:14). Whether St. John had some literal battle taking place in his day present in his mind, we cannot certainly say. Not improbably he had. Most of the symbols of this book refer, we think, to events with which he was familiar. Thus is it with all prophecies, not least with this one. Such events form the basis of those wider facts which alone can fill up the prophet’s words. In this case it is the last great conflict with evil to which his words point, and of which we have not a few premonitions in the Scriptures. How far we are to understand what we read, here and elsewhere, literally, and how far figuratively, it is impossible to say, as the prediction is for the future, and is yet unfulfilled. But why it is called Armageddon may be because the Plain of Esdraelon was the battlefield of Palestine. And at Megiddoand Armageddon means the hill of Megiddoit was that King Josiah was defeated, and great sorrow had come upon God’s people. And it was the hope of the adversary of God that what had been done to Josiah should be done to Jesus (Hengstenberg). Also it was, like Marathon, Waterloo, etc., a name for a decisive conflict, and this last one should be such. But this Scripture will be of little avail to us if we think only of the past or of the unknown future. The conflict of good and evil is ever proceeding. And, in this soul and that, Armageddonsdecisive conflictsare continually being fought. See, in the conversion of Saul at Damascus, how the forces of evil were overthrown. There comes in most men’s lives a crisis in which the questionWhose shall I bethe Lord’s servant, or the servant of selfishness and sin?has to be settled. When all the clamour of passion and the might of temptation are resisted, and the heart goes over to the Lord’s side, that has been the spiritual fulfilment of this mysterious vision.
II. WHAT CAME OF IT? This is given not here, but in Rev 19:17-21, where the utter discomfiture of Christ’s enemies is told of in the vivid, graphic way common in this book. Yes, the last great conflict shall be a triumphant one for Christ’s Church. Oftentimes now the Church, in this or that part of the battlefield, seems to be worsted; but, at the last, victory “all along the line” shall be the Lord’s, and, through him, hers also. And in those spiritual Armageddons which today are fought, and every day, there, too, victory is the Lord’s. Let the noble army of martyrs tall. Let all who have witnessed faithfully for him say, “If he who will be with his people in the last decisive battle be with us now, then all the unclean spirits of hell, all the devil’s might and power, bearing down against us shall leave us the victor still.”
III. WHAT LED TO IT? Two facts, and very suggestive ones, are named.
1. The drying up of Euphrates. (Rev 19:12.) That was an apparent providential preparation and prospering of the devil’s purpose. Such things do happen. Some have thought that the drying up of Euphrates means the conversion of the East, the coming to the Lord’s help against the mighty, of those remote lands. But what is told of here is part of the sixth vial of judgment; it is not a manifestation of grace, but of wrath. Therefore we understand by this symbol a seeming furtherance of evil designs by providential means. When Jonah went to flee from the presence of the Lord, there was a ship at Joppa ready for him. When men determine they will follow evil ways, how smooth the path becomes! Facilis descensus, etc. How many aids and abettors they meet with! A way being easy, a Euphrates dried up, a barrier removed, is no proof that God approves that way. Israel murmured for quails, and they had them, and died. These “kings of the east,” who were part of the great aggregate of kings told of in verse 14, like the rest, had been persuaded to this awful war by the “unclean spirits” (verse 13). And lo, it seemed as if it were certainly the right and wise thing to do; for here was the great hindrance taken out of the wayEuphrates was dried up. What a Euphrates against evil a Christian home, or religious surroundings, or God-fearing friends, or wholesome public opinion, may be! But God’s providence may take these away from you, and so that barrier against sin be put out of the way. But God does not mean you to sin on that account, nor will he excuse you if you do.
2. The power of the unclean spirits. They are said to have been “like frogs.”
(1) Whom do they represent? See whence they issued.
(a) From the dragon; that is, the devil. Therefore the unclean spirit that thence came forth represents the malignant, wicked spirit that ever opposes itself against God.
(b) From “the beast;” that is, the world in its hostile manifestations against Christ’s Church. It was represented chiefly by Jerusalem and Rome in St. John’s day.
(c) From the false prophet, or the beast from the sea (Rev 13:11); that is, the superstitions, lies, and manifold deceits of heathenism, whereby the people were beguiled and bound to the will of the godless world, which is emphatically called “the beast.” Malignant hate, worldly power and policy, deceit,these are the three frog-like, unclean spirits.
(2) What do they do? They persuade the nations to war against Christ. They are a sort of hellish trinity: the spirit of the dragon as opposed to the Father; of the beast, as opposed to the Son; of the false prophet, as opposed to the Holy Ghost (Hengstenberg).
(3) And they are likened to “frogs,” partly because of the Egyptian symbols which are prevalent in this chapter, and this was one of their plagues. Also because of their loathsomenessmud and mire their habitation, hideous in appearance, repulsive and abhorrent everywhere. Thus would St. John excite detestation of these spiritual evils, which he likens to these loathsome creatures.
(4) And these spirits are at work still, and do yet the same deadly work in leading human hearts to fight against God. Does not that old serpent, the devil, still stir up hard thoughts of God, and make God’s “Law” the very “strength of sin”? And the spirit of “the beast,” the world, its manifold opposition to Christ, how conscious we all are of its working day by day! And that of the false prophet, that second beast, which gave his strength to the firsthow, in the subtle sophistries, the plausible philosophies of the day, the deceitful handling of Divine truths, the pandering to our lower likings, which so many of the popular teachings are chargeable with, do they not beguile and seduce many hearts into opposition to God and to his Christ? Without doubt they do. And, therefore, the lesson of the whole, which in verse 6 the Lord himself solemnly interposes to teach his Church, is for us today as for them of old. “Behold,” he says, “I come as a thief.” Many there were, many now are, in open association with his people who are not really of his people. To such especially he addresses his warning word. The time of trial, of his judgment, will come thief likesuddenly, unexpectedly, stealthily, surprisingly, with hostile intentto those who do not watch. For these will be as a man who has laid himself down to sleep, and has put off his clothes. And so the sudden coming of the thief finds him unclothed. All which means that we are never to allow ourselves to be separated from Christ. We are to abide in him whom we profess to have “put on,” never to put off. The love, faith, and fear of him are to be our garments, the Christian state and condition, in which we are always to be. Now, he who does not watch puts off, if, indeed, he ever really put on, that state. And hence, when trial comes, he will be detected, exposed, and scorned, for the pretended, but not real, Christian, which he really is. Abide in Christ, then, is the word to us all, and we need fear no conflict, not even the fiercest, which our foe may wage.S.C.
HOMILIES BY R. GREEN
Rev 16:5-7
The Divine righteous judgments.
The spiritual aspects of these judgments must be especially kept in view. For under the veil of outward things the invisible and spiritual things are represented. The entire symbolism of these verses, and, indeed, of the whole section, plainly shows
I. THAT JUDGMENT PROCEEDS FROM GOD. They are the judgments of the “Lord God, the Almighty.” “Righteous art thou, which art and which wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge.”
II. THAT THE JUDGMENTS ASSUME THE FORM OF WRATHFUL INDIGNATION. “In them is finished the wrath of God.” “Seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever.” The terribleness of that “wrath” must be gathered from the character of the symbols of its expression. The nature of that “wrath” must be ascertained from the teachings on the nature of him whose “wrath” it is.
III. THAT THE JUDGMENTS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY GREAT SUFFERINGS ON THE PART OF THEM ON WHOM THEY ARE INFLICTED. Here, doubtless, the spiritual is represented by the visible and material.
IV. THAT THESE JUDGMENTS ARE JUSTLY AND RIGHTEOUSLY INFLICTED, “Righteous art thou, which art and which wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge;” “Righteous and true are thy ways, thou King of the ages;”” Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.” From these direful words we must exclaim truly, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” when he ariseth to judgment. How definite is the call to men:
1. To guard against that devotion to evil which is “worshipping the beast and his image.”
2. To the faithful to await with awe the final judgments of God upon the enemies of the truth, when he will “separate the just from the unjust,” when “the tares shall be cast into the fire”!R.G.
Rev 16:12
“The great river, the Euphrates.”
The details of the wonderful symbolism of this book must find their interpretation, if it be needful, at the hands of the expositor. For the purposes of homiletic teaching, selections only can be treated. Of the parts of this chapter which serve our purpose we select the pouring forth of the “sixth vial,” or “bowl.” The whole book has but one burdenthe conflict of the two kingdoms, light and darkness, Christ and Belial, good and evil in the world. It embraces the painfulness of the struggle to all men; the safety of the faithful under the Divine keeping; the judgment of God upon the evil ones, and the crushing of the kingdom of evil; and finally the perfect triumph of the Lamb, and of all who are in him or with him, and their perfect, undimmed, and eternal blessedness. These principles run, like a golden thread, through all the book. They belong to all time, and to all the varying conditions of the Church. To affix them to one period only is a grievous limitation that overlooks the world wide use of the book, and turns into a mere temporary history what is an embodiment of ever active principles. We can see no individual and no particular cluster of individuals represented to whom the words of the book must be limited in their application. There is a sequence in the order of events, but we can see no history and no chronology in any true or precise sense; but the reiteration of the same truth so deeply needed by the early Church, and so applicable to the Church in all ages and in all its varying conditions. With these views we proceed to interpret the present symbolthe drying up of the river, the great river “Euphrates”and the coming forth of “three unclean spirits, as it were frogs.” What the latter are is told in language that approaches to the literal and realistic. “They are spirits of devils, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” Our interpretation of these symbols leads us to see the final removal of all hindrances to the perfect development of the antagonistic spirit of evil and error. That the symbols have a cumulative, an increasing force, seems most obvious; this sign is “great and marvellous;” this is the preparation for “the war of the great day of God.” The effectual conquest can only be made when all let and hindrance shall have been taken off the enemy. Error must fully develop itself. The utmost malignity of evil must be revealed. “The way” must be “made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising.” Doubtless in the great human history all forms of error and evil shall present themselves to “the truth,” and the truth shall vindicate itself in presence of all. Foul sin shall put forth its utmost vileness; but righteousness shall hold its own, and be finally triumphant. Thus is “revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming” (2Th 2:8). The enemies of “the Church of the living God”that is, and must be, the living Church of Godshall be crushed. That they may be so crushed, let the way for their coming be opened. Comforting is this word of assuring, confident faith. The “little flock” need not fear, even though their enemies be let loose. The practical lessons are simple. The scene urges
I. TO FIDELITY TO THE RIGHT, EVEN THOUGH EVIL GAIN POWER.
II. TO FEARLESSNESS IN PRESENCE OF THE GREAT FORCES OF EVIL.
III. TO A PATIENT ENDURANCE OF THE OPPRESSION OF EVIL.
IV. TO ASSURANCE OF ULTIMATE VICTORY, FREEDOM, AND PEACE.R.G.
Rev 16:13, Rev 16:14
The unclean spirits.
Following the steps hitherto taken, we come to a symbol of great repulsivenessa symbol doubtless intended to represent evil in its repulsive form. Again we premise we see no individual persons or individual systems in this figure. “The descriptions here, as well as in the parallel passage, point to the last, the most reckless antichristian and blasphemous manifestations of the beast and the false prophet, when impregnated to the fall with the spirit of Satan, and acting as his agents in the final effort he makes against the kingdom of God”. “By likening the spirits to frogs some respect is had, according to the just remark of Bossuet, to one of the plagues of Egypt. The point of comparison is the uncleanness, the loathsomeness, which is expressly noticed.” Our attention is called to spirits and powers of evil who are directly under the control of the evil one, and subject to his inspiration (“the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas, .. then entered Satan unto him”)”the spirits of devils.” These “go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” The servant of sin obeys the behests of sin. tie whose heart is open to Satan will find Satan walking in sooner or later. With the great battle we have not now to do. We see how the Church has to maintain her wrestling against “the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This vision seems to represent an especial malignity and effort of evil in this “war of the great day of God.” We can hardly forbear seeing some final intensifying of the Satanic power, some temporary prevalence of evil. But the admonition of the Lord sounds with especial force upon our ear, and must be removed from its merely parenthetical position. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments.” In order to this let the Church be roused to behold the evilness of the enemy and the greatness of the danger.
I. THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS ARE “SPIRITS OF DEVILS.” The devil stands as the representative and head of all that is unlike God, and that is antagonistic to his Name and kingdom”the adversary.”
II. THE SPIRITS ARE SPECIALLY DISTINGUISHED AS “UNCLEAN SPIRITS.” All unholiness is uncleanness. They prompt to all disobedience and worldly lust and foulness of life, all unbelief and evilness of conduct.
III. THEY STIMULATE AND INSPIRE “THE KINGS OF THE EARTH“the subtle ruling powers, passions, habits, and other forms of evil which hold sway and dominion over men. The king is the symbol, not of weakness, but of power and authority and government; fit emblem of whatever domineers over the life of man.
IV. THEY STAND IN DIRECT ANTAGONISM TO GOD. This is the utmost evilness conceivable. To be led astray by temptation, to fall by unwatchfulness, to yield to evil, is bad enough, and entails just and merited punishment; but the utmost vileness is that which places itself in direct and active opposition to the Holy One. “He that opposeth God and exalteth himself against all that is called God.”
V. THEREFORE LET THE LOWLY BELIEVERS
(1) take heed: watching;
(2) keep free from the contamination Of sin in every guise: “keepeth his garments.”
(3) For the danger is great;
(4) and the great Master cometh at an hour when we think not: “Behold, I come as a thief in the night.”
(5) He that so watcheth is verily “blessed.”R.G.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS
Rev 16:1-21
“The seven vials:” predestined suffering in the government of the world.
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went,” etc. “It is incredible,” says Bishop Horsley, “to any one who has not made the experiment, what proficiency may be made by studying the Scriptures without any other commentary or exposition than what the different parts of the sacred volume naturally furnish for each other.” Whoever has, with honesty of purpose and persevering endeavour studied the Bible for himself, will readily endorse this statement of the bishop. I would add to this, and say that it is incredible to any one who has not made the experiment, what an amount of priceless, vital, and practical truth can be got out of the Bible by studying its utterances in connection with the unbiassed reason and common sense of the human mind. Using these Apocalyptic visions of John as an illustration of the great truths dictated by reason and confirmed by the consciousness of every man, they come to us as a priceless revelation. The great truth which this chapter suggests to us, and strikingly illustrates, is that there is predestined suffering in the government of the world. There are “seven plagues,” sufferings, that have been developing, still are being developed, and will be to the end. The abyss of agony contained in these seven plagues is immeasurable to all but the Infinite. The old dogma fabricated by the old makers of our theology, viz. that the physical suffering in the world is caused by sin, is an exploded fallacy, which all geological museums ridicule in mute laughter. Suffering is an element in the government of this world. Taking the whole of this chapter, we shall find it illustrative of three subjects, viz.
(1) that all the dispensations of this suffering are under the direction of God;
(2) that they have all a great moral purpose; and
(3) that they have all an influence coextensive with the universe. Observe
I. ALL THE DISPENSATIONS OF THIS SUFFERING ARE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOD. “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go you, ways [Go ye], and pour out the vials [seven bowls] of the wrath of God upon the earth” (verse 1). From the very shrine of the Almighty, the holy of holies, he deals out and regulates every item of the sevenfold plagues.
1. He orders their agents. Each of the “seven angels” or messengers are sent forth by him. “Go your ways.” The supreme Governor of the universe conducts his affairs through the agencies of othersa vast system of secondary instrumentalities. Thus, through all nature, he gives life, supports life, and takes away life. Albeit he sits at the head and is the absolute Author of all. There is not a pain that quivers in the nerve of any sentient being that comes not from him. He says, “Go your ways,” and nothing moves but by his behests. He kills and he makes alive. Is not this a soothing and a strengthening thought under all the dispensations of sorrow?
2. He appoints their seasons. The “seven angels” do not all come together; each has its period. Every impulse that moves throughout the creation, whether it be to shake a leaf in the forest or to wheel systems throughout immensity, goes forth at his own time. All times and seasons are with him. When Shakespeare says, “Troubles come not singly, but in battalions,” he is not right. Mercifully they do come singly to individuals and communities, some in one period of life and some in another. To man, collectively, they are ages apartfrom the groans of Abel to the throes of the last judgment. There is not a drop of sorrow in any cup that comes not from Heaven.
3. He fixes their places. Each of the seven angels who, under God, are to dispense the plagues, has his place assigned him. Each had his “vial,” or bowl, and each bowl had a place on which it was to be poured. The first came upon” the earth,” the second on “the sea,” the third upon “the rivers and fountains,” the fourth upon “the sun,” the fifth upon “the seat [throne] of the beast,” the sixth upon “the great river Euphrates,” and the seventh “into the air” (verses 2-12). Whether there is a reference here to plagues in Egypt, or suffering elsewhere, I know not; no one does know, nor does it matter. They were phantoms that rolled like clouds in the vision of John, and as such they illustrate the grand truth that even the very scenes and seasons of all our sorrows come from him who is, and was, and is to be, the Everlasting Father.
4. He determines their character. The sufferings that came forth from the bowls were not of exactly the same kind or amount; some seemed more terrible and tremendous than others. It appeared as a painful “sore” upon the men of the earth; it was as “death” to those on the sea; it appeared as “blood” upon the fountains and the rivers; it appeared as scorching “fire” in the sun; it appeared as “darkness” and “torture” upon the throne of the beast; it appeared as a terrible “drought,” and as the spirits of devils like “frogs,” on the rolling Euphrates; and it appeared as terrible convulsions of nature in the air. How different in kind and amount are the sufferings dealt out to men! The sufferings of some are distinguished by physical diseases, some by social bereavements, some by secular losses and disappointments, some by mental perplexities, some by moral anguish, etc. “Every heart knoweth its own bitterness.” So much, then, for the fact that all the dispensations of predestined sufferings are under the direction of God.
II. ALL THE DISPENSATIONS OF THIS SUFFERING HAVE A GREAT MORAL PURPOSE. The suffering of the sevenfold plagues is settled in the government of God for moral ends. These ends are not malignant, but merciful. They are not to ruin souls, but to save them. They are curative elements in the painful cup of life; they are storms to purify the moral atmosphere of the world. Disrobing these verses of all metaphorical incongruities, they suggest the grand purpose of God in all the dispensations of suffering. They appear to involve three things.
1. The righteous punishment of cruel persecution. “And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord [Righteous art thou], which art, and wast, and shalt be [thou Holy One], because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy” (verses 5, 6). To “shed blood” anyhow is one of the foulest crimes man can commit; it is an impious infraction of a fundamental law of Heaven, “Thou shalt not kill.” Words which apply to man in every conceivable capacity and relationto the hangman and the warrior as well as to the assassin. They speak as truly to Wolseley amidst his murdering exploits in the Soudan as to any other man on the face of the earth. Blood guiltiness is the chief of crimes. But to murder “prophets,” good men and true teachers, is the chief of murders. For this Heaven would be avenged, and the whole intelligent universe will so recognize this as to break into the anthem, “Even so [yea], Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments” (verse 7).
“Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints,” etc.
(Milton.)
2. The righteous punishment of supreme worldliness. “And the fifth angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon the seat [throne] of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain” (verse 10). Worldliness in the ascendant is indeed like this beast portrayed in the Apocalypse. It sits supreme; it has a throne, a crown, a sceptre that extends over all. Supreme worldliness, whether in the individual or the society, is a “beast” coarse and hideous; and this beast, with all its votaries, is to be crushed. The whole government of God moves in that direction. Truly “blessed is he that overcometh the world”this “beast.”
3. The overwhelming ruin of organized wrong. “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (verse 19). Great Babylon, what is it? The moral evils of the world organized into its metropolis. Falsehood, sensuality, pride, ambition, impiety, fraud, tyranny, embodied in a mighty city. This is the Babylon, and all unredeemed men are citizens in it. The Divine purpose is to destroy it. All his dispensations are against it, and will one day shiver it to pieces. “The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” Wrong will not stand forever before right. Though mountains of ice may stand before the glowing sunbeams of a thousand summers, wrong is bound to fall ultimately before the right. Take courage; be of good cheer!
III. ALL THE DISPENSATIONS OF THIS SUFFERING HAVE AN INFLUENCE COEXTENSIVE WITH THE UNIVERSE. There was not a drop from the bowl in either of the angels’ hands that terminated where it fell. The contents of these bowls are not like showers falling on the rocks in summer, which having touched them are then exhaled forever. No, they continue to operate. The bowl that fell on the earth became an evil and painful sore; that which fell on the sea became blood and death; that which fell upon the sun scorched mankind; that which fell on the beast spread darkness and agony in all directions; that which fell upon the Euphrates produced a drought, and drew out of the month of the dragon wild beasts and strange dragons; the bowl that poured out its contents on the air produced lightnings and thunders and earthquakes, causing Babylon to be riven asunder, and every mountain and valley to flee away (verses 2-13, 19, 20). Observe:
1. Nothing in the world of mind terminates with itself. One thought leads to another, one impression produces another elsewhere, and so on. In matter the roll of an infant’s marble shakes the massive globes of space. “No man liveth unto himself.” Each step we give will touch chords that will vibrate through all the arches of immensity.
2. Whatever goes forth from mind exerts an influence on the domain of matter. These angels, unseen messengers of the Eternal, go forth from that shrine into which no eye has ever piercedthe secret place of him “who dwelleth in the light, whom no man hath seen or can see.” Who are they? What eye has ever seen them? what ear has ever heard the rustle of their mystic wings? the “vials” or howls they bear in their mystic hands, what eye has seen them, and what hand has touched them? And yet these invisibilities from the invisible world produce an influence upon the material. Not only do sentient creatures from the earth and the waters and the air writhe and bleed and die, but inanimate matter also. The earth quakes, the mountains tremble at their influence. Human science seems to be reaching a point when we shall find that human minds in all directions exert an influence upon the forces and the operations of material nature. Mind is the primordial and presiding force of all forces. Morally, like Jacob on his stony pillow at Bethel, we are all dreaming, unconscious of the presence of the great Spirit. Ere long, however, we shall be wakened and exclaim, “Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not.” D.T.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Rev 16:1. I heard a great voice, &c. In obedience to the divine command, the seven angels pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth: and as the trumpets were so many steps and degrees of the ruin of the Roman empire, so the vials are of the Roman church. The one, in polity and government, is the image of the other: the one is compared to the system of the world, and has her earth, and sea, and rivers, and sun, as well as the other; and this is the reason of the similitude and resemblance of the judgments in both cases. Rome Papal has [chap. Rev 11:8.] been distinguished by the title of spiritual Egypt, and resembles Egypt, in her punishments as well as in her crimes, tyranny, idolatry, and wickedness.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 16:1 . . According to Rev 15:8 , the voice sounding from the heavenly temple can belong only to God himself. [3668] This is not expressed, because John with all fidelity limits himself to that which he recognized, and as he actually recognizes it.
. Cf. the , Rev 16:2 , which is understood of itself in Rev 16:3 , etc. The angels have possibly held themselves in readiness, standing at the gate of the temple (Rev 15:5 sqq.); now they come to a place in heaven, whence they can pour forth the destructive contents of their vials.
. . . Cf. Rev 15:7 . Targum, Isa 51:22 : “The vials of the cup of my wrath.” [3669]
. As Rev 8:5 .
[3668] Beng., Zll., Hengstenb.
[3669] In Wetst.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
B.REAL EARTHLY WORLD-PICTURE OF THE SEVEN VIALS OF ANGER; OR, THE END-JUDGMENT IN GENERAL
Revelation 16
1And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways [om. your ways], and pour out the [ins. seven1] vials of the wrath 2[anger of God upon [into the earth. And the first went departed, and poured out his vial upon into2] the earth; and there fell [came ()] a noisome [an evil] and grievous sore3 upon the men which [who] had the mark of the beast3[wild-beast], and upon them which [who] worshipped his image. And the second angel [om. angel4] poured out his vial upon [into] the sea; and it became as the [om. as the] blood [ins. as] of a dead man [man]: and every living soul [or soul of life ( )] died [ins., the things] in the sea. 4And the third angel [om. angel5] poured out his vial upon [into] the rivers and [ins. the] fountains of [ins. the] waters; and they became blood [or there came blood (6 )]. 5And I heard the angel of the waters say [saying], Thou art righteous, O Lord, [om. O Lord,]7 which [who] art, and [ins. who] wast, and shalt be [om. and shalt be8ins. the9 Holy]. [or who art and who wast holy,]9 because thou hast judged thus [didst6adjudge these things], [;] For [because] they have [om. have] shed [poured out] the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for7[om. for]10 they are worthy. And I heard another out of [om. another out of]11 the altar say [saying], Even so [Yea], [ins. O] Lord [ins. the] God [ins., the] Almighty 8[or, All-Ruler12], true and righteous are thy judgments. And the fourth angel [om. angel13] poured out his vial upon () the sun; and power [om. power9ins. it] was given unto him [it] to scorch [ins. the] men with fire. And [ins. the] men were scorched with great heat [scorching], and [ins. they]14 blasphemed the name15 of God, which [who] hath power [the authority] over these plagues:and they repented not to give him glory. 10And the fifth angel [om. angel16] poured out his vial upon the seat [throne] of the beast [wild-beast]; and his kingdom was full of darkness [became darkened]; and they gnawed their tongues for [because of ()ins. the] pain, 11and blasphemed the God of [ins. the] heaven because of () their pains and [ins. because of ()] their sores, and repented not of () their deeds [works]. 12And the sixth angel [om. angel17] poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates18; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of thekings of the east [who are from the sun-rising] might be prepared. 13And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come [om. three unclean spirits like frogs come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast [wild beast], and outof the mouth of the false prophet [ins., three unclean spirits as frogs]. [;] 14for they are the [om. the] spirits of devils [demons], working miracles [doing signs], which [that]19 go forth unto [upon ()] the kings of the earth and [om. of the earth and]20 of the whole world [inhabited world ()], to gather them [ins. together] to the battle [war] of that [the] great day of God [ins. the] Almighty15[or All-Ruler12]. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest [that] he walk [ins. not] naked, and they see his shame. 16And he [or they]21 gathered them together into a [the22] place called in the [om.the] Hebrew tongue [om. tongue] Armageddon [or Harmagedon]. 17And the seventh angel [om. angel23] poured out his vial into [upon] the air; and there came a great24 voice out of25 the temple of heaven [om. of heaven26], from the throne, saying, It is done. 18And there were () [ins. lightnings, and] voices, and thunders, and lightnings [om., and lightnings]; and there was () a great earthquake, such as was not since [from the times when] men were [a man was]27 upon the earth, so mighty [such] an earthquake, and [om. and] so great.19And the great city was divided [became ()] into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great [om. great] Babylon [ins. the great] came in remembrance [was remembered] before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of thefierceness [anger] of his wrath. 20And every island fled away [om. away], and the21[om. the ] mountains were not found. And there fell upon men [om. there fell upon men] a great hail [ins. as of a talent in weight descendeth] out of [ins. the] heaven [ins. upon the men], every stone about the weight of a talent [om. every stone about the weight of a talent]; and [ins. the] men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great [because great is the plague of it exceedingly].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
SYNOPTICAL VIEW
The seven Vials of Anger embrace the collective Earth-picture of the world-judgment in general. Hence the seventh Vial is comprehended together with the rest, and not, like the seventh Seal and the seventh Trumpet, made the basis of a new Seven. The seven Angels of Anger follow each other in rapid succession and with terrible effect; only, between the third and fourth Vials, there occurs a double digression, in a sort as a theodicy of these fearful judgments and for the tranquillization of the startled mind. Now if we hold fast the idea that anger is an infliction of death, death being the decomposition, the dissolution of life, the explanation, in general, of the present section is already established;especially if we further consider that the anger, or death-judgment, of God is operative through the medium of the anger of the heathen [nations], or the frenzy of false enthusiasm. Once more we are reminded of the lofty consciousness and teleology of the plagues. Only at the command of a great voice from the smoke-filled Templeat the bidding of God, thereforedo the Angels begin their work. Each one knows, in his quality of Angel, his particular rank in the angelic series, and his particular mission. The following is the succession of the outpourings of anger:
1. Into the earth. This, therefore, is the death, the vital decomposition and dissolution of the New Testament Theocracy, the external phenomenal form of the Church (and relatively of the Christian State, inasmuch as the old Theocracy embraced both State and Church). (See the Introduction, pp. 33 sq.; 2 Thessalonians 2) The effect of this first Vial is a malignant sore, with which all the worshippers of the Beast are smitten. The consummate idolatrous world-spirit in the Church, in churchly dignities and forms, results in an incurable fiery sore of fanatical self-consumption and self-destruction (2Ti 2:17). The form of this sore is intoxication through the medium of the cup of anger, i. e., the confusing false enthusiasm or fanaticism which it inspires as the product of the denial of all religious and moral principles.
2. Into the sea. The worldly life of state and nations likewise becomes the subject of a process of decomposition which leads to death. Consummate passionate subjectivism and party-spirit, in all the forms of senseless self-intoxication, in mercantile, socialistic, absolutist and many other directions, finally rupture all social, popular, and political coherence. The sea becomes blood (Exodus 7), and this blood is as that of a dead man; dead blood. All the goods of the social life of the nations lose their vital value, because they have become the property of consummate egoism. They are dead like the men who determine their value, and operate fatally upon every one who would carry on his life in this sea of blood. Every living being, it is declared, died in the sea.
3. Into the rivers and fountains of waters. Self-empoisonment of mental currents, and, what is still worse, self-empoisonment of fountains, the original life of geniuses and men of talent. And there became blood [ ]. It is not said that this blood was like that of a dead man. The life of minds, of mental culturepouring forth in an unnatural state of obduracy and frenzied deification of self, frenzied deification and bestialization of manbecomes a nauseous and fatal death-draught for those who would quell their thirst at the fountains and streams of waters. The natural life-fountains and life-rivers of minds have, in the perversion of moral nature to unnaturalness, become fountains and rivers of deadly intoxication and mental distraction.Now ensues a pause. The Seer hears the Angel of the waters speaking. And here let us avoid the pagan and also Rabbinical conception of spirits of nature,water or fire angels in the literal sense of the term. The Angel of the waters, in this passage, is the Angel who brings anger upon the water, the Angel of the Divine rule as exercised over the surging, social nation-life of men; just as the Angel of the Altar (Rev 16:7) or of the fire (Rev 14:18) is the spirit or teleology of all fire of sacrifice on earth. The Angel of the waters adores the righteousness of God in this terrible judgment upon the waters. Men must now drink blood, because they have shed the blood of Saints and Prophets, i. e., also, because they have first turned the heavenly fountains of waters on earth, out of which it was designed that they should drink, into blood. The assent of the other Angel from the Altar28 designates the natural consequence of the ancient blood-guiltiness still more decidedly, in accordance with the idea of the Altar, as a righteous judgment of God.
4. Upon the sun. The sun of revelation itself; not in respect of its essence, but in respect of its shining and effect. The true shining of the sun is as vitalizing life; its effect is healthful vital heat. But how is it when men begin to make Christianity, in great part, a hot-blooded system of confession or negation, a thing of priesthood or of sects!how is it when churchly fanaticism begins to produce Sicarii, as did Jewish fanaticism in the Jewish war! The fanatical heat of the one class calls forth increasingly the blasphemy of the other, instead of all being horrified at this frightful incapacity for receiving the simple sunshine of Christianity in purity, at this still more frightful capacity for converting the light of revelation into nothing but a misleading and infatuating power and a consuming passion.
5. Upon the throne of the Beast. The Beast must still be understood in the general sense, like the City of Babylon (Rev 16:19), for the branching of the one judgment into three judgments has not yet taken place. The throne of the Beast is the government, the system of Antichrist. His kingdom became darkened; this means, we think, that it became confused in its contradictionsit lost its consistency. For it was a sphere of spiritual and religious-moral darkness from the beginning. Such self-confusion is already to be seen where atheism and spiritism, bigotry and blasphemy, criticism and fanaticism hold high carnival together.Then a mighty and poignant self-scorn comes over the haughty spirit of the associates of this kingdom, and they gnaw their tongues in the pain of their impotence and nothingness. They blaspheme the God of the Heaven because of their pains. In so far as they need an object for their blasphemy, therefore, they are still theists. They blaspheme God as the God of the Heavenall that is transcendent is hateful to them because the Beast has become their god on earth.29 In so far, also, as Nature reflects the Divine lineaments of her Creator, she too, doubtless, becomes the object of their blasphemy; indeed she is occasionally blasphemed even now by some who make her the subject of their investigations. Because of their pains and because of their sores they blaspheme; the soresi. e., the malignant ulcers which do not, as local focuses, eliminate the morbid matter from the system, but which overpower the life, changing it into morbid matter and consuming itcontinue, therefore, from the first Anger-vial through all the stages of outpoured anger. This blasphemy of despair sets in instead of the repentance of faith.
6. Upon the great river, the Euphrates. Here also we look upon the Euphrates as the line of demarkation between the civilized world and the barbarous and savage world of the nations of the East (Revelation 20; Ezekiel 38. sqq.). We see, accordingly, that the army of horsemen (Rev 9:14) comes from the hither shore of the Euphrates, from the region of Babylon, the seat of the most ancient civilization, the type of all Antichristian world-monarchies (Daniel 7). On the other hand, the kings of the East [from the sun-rising] come from beyond the Euphrates, as the representatives of all the barbarism of the remotest world. The drying up of the Euphrates, therefore, signifies that the barrier-line between the civilized world and the rudest and roughest popular life is done away with, in a social as well as a terrestrial sense. In consequence of the mental confusion and distraction resultant upon a false over-refinement, the way is prepared for the hostile attack of rudeness and barbarism upon the seat of culture. Nevertheless, the Eastern barbarian kings come not uncalled. Three spirits, resembling frogs, proceed out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet. Thus a frog-clamor with three variations is formed. The key of Satan is contempt of man (Job 2:4); the key of the Beast is the deification of man (2 Thessalonians 2); the key of the False Prophet is a bigoted training of mana compound of the preceding two elements (Rev 13:13-14). Thus these modern nightingales, the frogs, announce the new spring-time of mankind. As spirits they are spirits of demons, of such demons as engender moral possession; with this effect they come upon the kings of the earth and set on foot the great revolt-alliance for the war of the great day of God, Who, as the All-Ruler, over-rules even this uprising (see Rev 19:19; Rev 20:8). As the greatest of catastrophes, this event shall come very suddenly and as in the night-timehence the admonition of Rev 16:15. None should abandon himself to spiritual carelessness, as one that sleeps without his garments, for a man so doing might be cast out naked into the night. This admonition applies even to the pious, in reference to the last time. The rebel host gathers, as appointed by God the Judge, at a field of battle called Harmageddon [or, Armageddon].
The enigmatical name of Harmageddon or Harmagadon gives occasion for a precursory examination of the entire section. The three special judgments following, from chapter 17 on, are already visible in this general sketch of the judgment. This is manifestly the case with the incipient judgment upon the Beast (Rev 16:10), as compared with the consummate judgment upon the Beast, Rev 19:19. So, likewise, the judgment upon Babylon (chs. 17 and 18) is visible in the judgment of the first Anger-vial, poured out upon the earth. The second Vial of anger is annexed to the first; the third and fourth form a transition to the fifth. The reflection of the sixth Vial of anger we behold in the judgment upon Gog and Magog. When these are said to surround the camp of the Saints and the beloved City, it necessitates the reference of the name Har-Magedon (Mount of Decision or Sentence) to the Mount of Olives in accordance with Zec 14:4. The mountains of Israel shall in general, according to Ezekiel 38, 39, be mountains of decision. A more precise definition of the locality, the valley of the dead (Eze 39:11), leads us into the region between Jerusalem and the Dead Sealikewise, therefore, into the vicinity of the Mount of Olives. Hence, the Seer may have merely borrowed the name from the northern waters of Megiddo, where the Israelites conquered the heathen kings of Canaan (Jdg 5:19), and from the southern plain of Megiddo (2Ki 23:29), where Josiah was defeated by the Egyptians,possibly with the idea that the mountain of Megiddo puts an end to the fluctuations between victory and defeat in the wars of the people of God.
7. Upon the air. The air is the vital element of the earth, the sea, the sweet waters, and mankind. With the decomposition of this vital elementwhich cannot be understood simply of the common spirit-world of humanity, but must be regarded as having reference also to the cosmical vital conditions of men and of the earth, because the end in the former sense necessarily brings with it the end in the latter sensethe death of the old form of the world is decided. Hence a great voice resounds from the Temple of Heaven and from the Throne, saying: It is done. This end of the world (see Rev 20:9 sqq.), however, is not the annihilation of the world, but its setting, in order to a resurrection. Hence the dying of the old world is accomplished amid lightnings, and voices, and thunders, annunciatory of a new world, and together with these comes the great earthquake whose like has never been since men were on the earth (see 2 Peter 3). And now out of the great general judgment, the three special judgments develop (Rev 16:19). The great City is broken up into three parts. The judgment upon great Babylon consists, primarily, in the fact that it is divided into a small, specific, mock-holy Babylon, into the demonic Kingdom of the Beast, and into a brutal, Satanic mob-kingdom (comp. Eze 38:21-22). The cities of the nations [Gentiles] likewise fallthe ancient seats of worldly civilization; the islands of small and intimate communities vanish, as do also the towering mountains;great, secluded churches, even proud, firm-based states are sought for now in vain. Equilibrium in the spiritual world as well as in nature is destroyed; all things waver betwixt fiery heat and deathly cold;hence the formation of hailstones, of the weight of a talent, which fall upon men; these hailstones and their fall are, of course, not to be apprehended in a purely material sense, according to which they would dash all men to pieces, but they are still real and terrible enough to provoke the remnants of a recognition of God in the wicked to fresh blasphemy. With the partition of Babylon the Great, the judgment is in reality already decided, there being a reciprocal negation on the side of the parts, and the whole, consequently, being in process of complete dissolution; in like manner the tower-building of ancient Babel was put an end to, and, in its centrality, judged, by the Divine dispersion of those engaged therein.
We call attention once more to the fact that in Rev 16:19 the ramification of the great general End-judgment into the three special Judgments now following, is expressed.
[ABSTRACT OF VIEWS, ETC.]
By the American Editor
[Elliott: Chs. Rev 16:1-14; Rev 11:15-19; Rev 14:6-8; Revelation 15, relate to the same period (see on p. 281)viz.: The era of the French Revolution, as figured under the first six Vials of the seventh Trumpet, a period extending from A. D. 1789 to A. D. 1848. Chs. Rev 11:15-19; Rev 15:1 to Rev 16:1 is the introduction and commencement of the Vial-outpouring.30(Note the similarity of the first four Vials to the first four Trumpets. See on p. 201). Rev 16:2. The first Vial. The (expressive of the boil that broke forth on the Egyptians, comp. Exo 9:9,probably the plague-spot or the smallpox) figures some extraordinary outbreak of moral and social evil, the expression of deep-seated disease within, with raging pain and inflammation as its accompanimentdisease of Egyptian origin perhaps in the Apocalyptic sense of the word Egypt, and alike loathsome, deadly, self-corroding, and infectiousthat would arise somewhere in Papal Europe, shortly after the cessation of the Turkish woe, and on the sounding of what might answer to the seventh Trumpets blast; an evil, too, which would soon overspread and infect the countries of Papal Europe generally and their inhabitants. It symbolizes that tremendous outbreak of social and moral evil, of democratic fury, atheism, and vice, which was speedily seen to characterize the French Revolution; that of which the ultimate source was in the long and deep-seated corruption and irreligion of the nation; its outward vent, expression and organ in the Jacobin clubs, and their seditious and atheistic publications; its result, the dissolution of all society, all morals, and all religions; with acts of atrocity and horror accompanying scarce paralleled in the history of man; and suffering and anguish of correspondent intensity throbbing throughout the whole social mass, and corroding itthat which from France as a centre, spread like a plague, through its affiliated societies, to the other countries of Papal Christendom; and proved, wherever its poison was imbibed, to be as much the punishment as the symptom of the corruption.
Rev 16:3. The second Vial. A judgment on the maritime power, commerce, and colonies of the countries of Papal Christendomi. e., Spain, France and Portugal. It symbolizes(1) The great naval war which continued A. D. 17931815, in which were destroyed near 200 ships of the line, between 300 and 400 frigates, and an almost incalculable number of smaller vessels of war and ships of commerce. It is most truly stated by Dr. Keith (Signs of Times, ii., p. 209) that the whole history of the world does not present such a period of naval war, destruction, and bloodshed. (2) The revolt of the transatlantic colonies and the following bloodshed.
Rev 16:4-7. The third Vial. It symbolizes the judgment of war and bloodshed visited on the countries watered by the Rhine and the Danube, and on the sub-Alpine provinces of Piedmont and Lombardy, A. D. 17921805.
Rev 16:8-9. The fourth Vial. This symbolizes a judgment on the German Emperor and the other sovereigns of Papal Christendom. Napoleon, A. D. 1806, compelled the renunciation by the Emperor of Austria of the title Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and of Germany; he also deposed the other papal kings, and scorched men with fire, A. D. 18061809. (Comp. the Explanation of the fourth Trumpet, p. 201).
Rev 16:10. The fifth Vial. A judgment on Rome (the throne of the seven hills), consecutive on that of the former Vial. Immediately after the battle of Wagram, A. D. 1809, the Pope was subjected to insult and spoliation, his temporal authority over the Roman State was abolished, and Rome itself was incorporated with France as the second city of the empire.31
Rev 16:10 (last clause), 11 set forth(1) The severity of sufferings endured; (2) the blasphemy (a) of France in atheism, (b) of Papal countries (subsequently of France also), in ascribing Divine prerogatives to creatures; (3) the continuance in sin of those who had been punished, after the cessation of the preceding judgments.
Rev 16:12. The sixth Vial. The first portion symbolizes judgment on the Mohammedan Turk, begun A. D. 1820, in the assertion of independence by Ali Pacha of Yanina, and the immediately-following Greek insurrection, and continuing in the gradual decay of the empire to the present time. By the kings from the sun-rising are symbolized the Jews; the way for their return to their own land being prepared in the decay and fall of the Turkish Empire. By the three frogs are figured three unholy principles, going forth throughout the whole habitable worldviz.: (1) from the Dragon, heathen-like infidelity; (2) from the Beast, popery; (3) from the False Prophet, priestcraft.Rev 16:15 to Rev 22:15, together with Rev 14:9-20, represents The present and the future, from A. D. 1849 to the Millennium and Final Judgment.the first portion of which is the ra of the seventh Vial. Rev 14:9-20 presents the primary and briefer series of prefigurations of the ra of the seventh Vial in the part without-written32 of the Apocalypse, down to the wine-press treading before the Millennium; this consists of four parts(1) Rev 16:9-11, a public and notorious outcry of warning throughout European Christendom and its dependencies as to what is meant by the Beast and his image, and as to the fate of their followers; (2) Rev 16:12-13, a deep impression and earnest inculcation, on the part of the true Church, of the near approach of the grand epoch of blessedness predicted in Scripture of departed saints; (3) Rev 16:11-16, the first grand act of the judgments of the consummation on Antichristendom; (4) Rev 16:17-20, the last judgment, a judgment unto blood, upon apostate Christendom. Rev 16:15-21 presents The fuller Apocalyptic figuration, as within-written,33 of the events immediately preparatory to, and those included in, the seventh Vial; down to the wine-press treading, and destruction of the Beast and False Prophet, immediately before the Millennium; in it are(1) Rev 16:15, an introduction to the outpouring, the warning, indicating increased faithfulness on the part of the ministry in declaring the coming of the Lord and the duty of being prepared to meet Him (?); (2) Rev 16:16, the success of the unclean spirits in influencing kings and people against Christ and His Church; (3) Rev 16:17-20, the seventh Vialrealities yet future are symbolized, viz.: An extraordinary convulsion, darkening and vitiation of the moral and political atmosphere of Europe (having, perhaps, a literal groundwork in some ominous derangement of the natural atmosphere), ministering disease to each body politic, and, perhaps, resolving society for awhile into its primary elements; resulting, finally, in the resolution of the Papal Empire into a tri-partite form, in which form Rome (including its subject ecclesiastical State and the political tri-partition connected with it), is to receive its peculiar and appalling fate.
Barnes agrees, in the main, with Elliott; he makes, however, the following important differences in interpretation: 1. The pouring out of the fourth Vial upon the sun, etc. (Rev 16:8), indicates that a scene of calamity and woe would ensue as if the sun should be made to pour forth such intense heat that men would be scorched, the reference being to the wars following the French Revolution.2. By the kings of the East (Rev 16:12) are to be understood the rulers of the East (Orient?); All that is fairly implied in the language here is that the kings of the East would be converted to the true religion, and that the destruction of the Turkish power would be in order thereto.3. The three malign influences symbolized by the frogs (Rev 16:13) are not specifically characterized.This author quotes largely from Allisons History of Europe in support of his interpretations.
Stuart regards the Vials as a series of judgments upon the enemies of the Church, terminating primarily in the death of Nero and the destruction of Jerusalem, and ultimately (?) in the destruction of the Pagan power under Constantine. He writes: The author of the Book has given a sketch which corresponds, with a good degree of exactness, to the state of facts. The persecuting power of the unbelieving Jews ceased in the main with the destruction of Jerusalem. Hence the tempest and earthquake which lay that place in ruins, are the finale of the first catastrophe. But not so with the second. The death of Nero was indeed the destruction of the Beast, for the time being, and it made a temporary end of persecution. But the Beast still came up again from the pit; the contest was renewed, and, with many remissions, continued down to the time of Constantine. Rome, as heathen, then finally ceased to persecute. The Beast was finally slain.
Wordsworth regards the visions of the Vials as partially fulfilled, and yet only as a prelude and specimen of what will be more fully developed. He interprets the with which the of the first three Vials is construed as denoting infusion into and admixture with the object of punishment, and the of the last four as indicating the Divine vengeance as trampling upon it. His interpretation of the Vials is as follows: 1. This plague is upon mens persons, and consists in physical and spiritual disease, the result of the teachings and practices of the Papacy.2. The sea represents nations in a restless state, and the plague is that carnal men lose the genuine properties of men and become mere things.3. This plague is inflicted on the resources of the Papacy; those things that once supplied it with wealth and power (indulgences, pretended miracles, etc.), become occasions and instruments of its suffering and shame.4. The temporal splendor (sun) of the Papacy, by the galling exactions through which it is maintained, already scorches its subjects.5. The fifth Vial is poured upon the throne of the Beast; and his kingdom is darkened. Here is another reference to the plagues of Egypt, etc. (No exposition is given.)6. This plague consists in the decay of supremacy, secular and spiritual, which is to Rome, the spiritual Babylon, the source of her glory and strength, as was the literal Euphrates to the literal Babylon. By the kings of the East are symbolized saints whose advance Rome has hindered.7. The destruction of Rome, the mystical Babylon, the capital city of the Empire of the Beast.
Alford. This writer remarks generally concerning the Vials: 1. The series reaches on to the time of the end, and the whole of it is to be placed near that time. 2. As in the Seals and the Trumpets there is a marked distinction between the first four and the following threethe objects of the former being the earth, the sea, the springs of water, and the sun, those of the latter being more particularized. 3. As in the other series, so here there is a compendious and anticipatory character about several of the Vials, leading us to believe that those of which this is not so plain, partake of this character also. 4. We have no longer, as in the Trumpets, a portion of each element affected, but the whole. 5. While by the plague of the fourth Trumpet the sun is partially darkened, by that of the fourth Vial its power is increased.He presents no affirmative views as to the nature of the specific plagues, save in the case of the last, which he regards as indicating the destruction of the city of Rome and the execution of vengeance on the mystic Babylon.For particular remarks see under Explanations in Detail.
Lord: The office of the seven Angela is simply to assist the revelation, by designating the commencement of the seven judgments, and distinguishing them as inflictions of Divine wrath; not to symbolize the agents on earth by whom they are caused. The interpretation of the several Vials is as follows: 1. The earth, when distinguished from the sea, etc., denotes the population of an empire under a settled government; the men were those who have the mark of the Wild-beast; the ulcer symbolizes an analogous disease of the mind; a restlessness and rancor of passion exasperated by agitating and noxious principles and opinions, that fill it with a sense of obstruction, degradation and miserythis ulcer represents the restlessness under injury, the ardor of resentment, hate, and revenge, the noxiousness and contagion of false principles and opinions that marked the commencement of the political disquiets of the European States toward the close of the last century.2. The sea denotes the population of a central kingdom in violent commotion; it is to the animals that live in it what a people is to the monarchs, nobles, ecclesiastics, etc., who owe to them their support. This symbol denotes the second great act in the French Revolution, in which the people slaughtered one another, and exterminated all the influential ranks, king and queen, nobles, etc.3. Rivers and fountains are to the sea what smaller exterior communities are to a great central nation. This symbol denotes the vast bloodshed in the other Apocalyptic kingdoms, in the insurrections and wars that sprung out of the French Revolution.4. Those who exercise the government of a kingdom are to the people what the sun is to the land and sea. This symbol denotes that the rulers of the people on whom the preceding judgments fell, were to become armed with extraordinary and destructive powers, and to employ them in the most violent and insupportable oppression.5. The ascription of a throne and kingdom to the Wild-beast shows that he is the symbol of the rulers of an empire. The effect of the Vial on the throne is not depicted, but only its consequence to the kingdom; the subversion of the throne, however, is impliedthe event indicated is the subversion of the imperial throne of France, and re-establishment of the Bourbon dynasty in 1814 and 1815.6. The Euphrates is used as a symbol in a relation analogous to that of the literal river to the literal Babylon. The entire symbol indicates that agencies are to be exerted by which vast crowds of the supporters of the nationalized hierarchies (see p. 283) are to be withdrawn from them. This Vial has already begun.(Rev 16:13-16. The Dragon is the symbol of the rulers of the Eastern Roman Empire supporting an apostate Church, and arrogating the right of dictating the religion of their subjects, and implies that at the period of this event, a government is to subsist that shall nationalize the religion of that empire as under its last imperial head; the Wild-beast is the symbol of the civil rulers of the Kingdoms of the Western Empire; and the False-Prophet of the hierarchy of the Papal states. The unclean spirits represent ecclesiastics who profess to work miracles, and thus establish a Divine sanction to their mission; they induce the kings of the whole world to unite in a war to prevent the establishment of Christs Kingdom. The Great Day is the day when Christ shall visibly descend from Heaven and destroy His enemies and establish His Kingdom.)7. This Vial is to be poured into the air which envelopes the globe, indicating that the great changes which follow it are to extend to all nations. Lightnings, voices, and thunders are symbols of the vehement thoughts and passionate expressions of multitudes, occasioned by the sudden discovery of momentous truth. The earthquake denotes a civil revolution in which the whole surface of universal society is to be thrown into disorder, and ancient political institutions to be shaken down. Great Babylon (p. 283) is to be divided into three parts. The cities of the nations are the hierarchies without the ten kings, as the Russian, Greek, etc.; these are to fall. Great Babylon is then to be destroyed. Every smaller combination of men symbolized by the islands is to be dissolved, etc. These events are to follow the Advent, to precede the vintage and perhaps the harvest, and are to occupy a considerable period.
Glasgow interprets the Vials: 1. The Vial was poured out by the preaching of Luther in 1517; the woe was executed in the wars waged by Charles V., subsequent to 1519, against France and Rome.2. Poured out in the great Protest in 1529; the woe executed in the immediately following wars.3. The rivers and fountains represent the purer Christians that, living in the midst of a nominal Christianity, have spiritual life. The pouring out of this Vial is the shedding of Protestant martyrs blood, beginning in 1546; followed by the shedding of retributive blood.4. Symbolizes a stroke (?) upon the ecclesiastical power. It began at the rising of the Tridentine Council in 1564, and was followed by the Popedom of Pius V., the revolution in Holland, the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and the invasion of the English coast by the Spanish Armada, etc., producing what has been styled the counter-Reformation.5. The attitude of self-defence assumed by the Protestants against Rome, followed by the Thirty Years War.6. The decay of the population and power of the nations that constitute Great Babylon, i. e., the Roman or Latin nations, beginning with the first French revolution.7. The air represents the intellectual department of knowledge. The pouring out of this Vial symbolizes the remarkable changes in political ideas, and revolutions in governments that have taken place and are yet to take place in consequence of the unprecedented advance in Science and Philosophy, to terminate in the destruction of the systems of the heathen world (involved in the fall of the cities of the nations) and Romanism (involved in the fall of Babylon or Rome).E. R. C.]
EXPLANATIONS IN DETAIL
On the different divisions of the Vials of Anger into four and three, and five and two, compare Dsterdieck, p. 489. The same commentator observes here (in variation from p. 21) that all seven Vials are poured out one after the other without intermission. At all events, the vehement haste of a rapid approach to the end is unmistakable. Though there is no longer question of a fraction that is smitten (first a fourth, then a third), yet the generalness of the phrase, on the earth, on the sea, etc., is not to be understood in a literally absolute sense, but only as a universal operation which draws the process of worldly history to a close; otherwise we could hear no more of an emerging Church of God, the Bride of Christ.
Rev 16:1. A great voice.This can belong only to God Himself (Bengel, Zllig, Hengstenberg). Dsterdieck. The voice speaks, however, of the Vials of the anger of God.The voice out of the Temple is the voice of the Temple itself. The house of salvation says: My work upon this hardened race is at an end; now let the reign of anger begin. In like manner it was the spirit of compassion, from the four horns of the Altar, which in its time gave the signal for the loosing of the hosts of horsemen by the Euphrates (see Rev 9:13). The Apostle Paul makes the entirely analogous declaration (1 Corinthians 5): In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I have determined. to deliver the same unto Satan. See Rom 2:5.
Into the earth.Here the earth embraces the whole sphere of the Vials of Anger, in distinction from [the earth of] Rev 16:2. Comp. Rev 8:5.
Rev 16:2. Into the earth.The earth in a special sense, in accordance with its symbolical import (see above).An evil and grievous sore.Exo 9:10, Deu 28:35, Job 2:7. The malignant sore comes upon individual men from the earthfrom the corrupt mass it fastens upon individuals; the corrupt character of the theocratic authority corrupts those characters that are subject to it, throws them into a condition of moral self-consumption. As they have marked themselves with the of the Beast, they are now, by way of retribution, marked with the sore.
Rev 16:3. Into the sea.On the symbolical import of this, see Syn. View.Blood as of a dead man.Not a great pool of blood, as of many slain (on as=, see -Lapide, Eichh., De Wette, Hengsten., et al.), but the horribleness of the fact is increased by the circumstance that the sea seems like the coagulated and already putrefying blood of a dead man (Bengel, Zllig, et al.). Dsterd. Since the blood of a living person quickly coagulates, the difference does not seem so very great. The main thing is that it is changed as into dead blood of dead men, in which no living being can be without dying. Fearful deadly poisoning of the life of the nations. That which had its being in this sea, lost its life in it. is in apposition (Ebrard).
Rev 16:4-7. Into the rivers and fountains of waters.The drinkableness of this blood, as contrasted with that of the sea, should, we think, not be premised34. Here the drinking of blood is a punishment; in Rev 17:6 it appears as an offence meriting punishment. In the latter passage, the effect of fanatical blood-shedding, intoxicating even to frenzy, is meant; here we have the punishment of men with the drinking, repugnant to nature, of bloodthe imbibing of nauseous and pernicious draughts of moral death (ever provocative of greater thirst) which they derive from those very streams and fountains that should give them clear, refreshing, living water.
And I heard the Angel of the waters saying.This Angel is certainly not the guardian Angel of the physical waters (see De Wette, p. 156, with reference to Rev 7:1Angels over the windsand Rev 14:18an Angel over fire), but neither is he merely the Angel who emptied the Vial upon the water (Grot., Ebrard). As sacrifices and prayers have a divinely ordained mission, represented by the fire-Angel, so geniusesor the source-points of spiritual [geistig=intellectual, spiritual, as distinct from material] lifeand spiritual [geistig] currents have their divinely-appointed mission. The spirit of the Divine destination of spirits and spirit-currents, therefore, gives utterance to the subsequent deliverance upon the great criminality of those men who have perverted these Divine appointments into the unnatural and horrible opposite of that which they were intended to beinto fountains and rivers of blood and death. According to Dsterdieck, the four Living-beings are analogous to the Angel over the water; he perceives a similarity to them in the Danielic Angel-princes also, whom he mentions (p. 492) in connection with Rabbinical conceptions (earth-angels, sea-angels, fire-angels and the like). Hengstenberg violently assumes a connection between our passage and Joh 5:4.
Who art and Who wast.The is wanting here as in Rev 11:17, because the coming to judgment is already in process of fulfillment.Holy, .In this retribution, God has shown not only His righteousness, but also His , His holy and pure personal dignity, the Divine humanity of His government, as making visitation in this judgment for the criminal contempt of personal dignity. [The term has reference to the covenant love and mercy of Jehovah toward His own people. It is here used as the most fitting ascription to Him who had avenged the blood of His , His consecrated ones, upon their persecutors.35E. R. C.]The blood of saints. Mat 23:35; Rev 6:10; Rev 17:6; Rev 18:24; Rev 19:2.
From the altar.36The spirit of human destiny is not alone in adoring the righteousness and purity of God in this judgment; the spirit of sacrifice, of reconciliation, of intercession, joins in the sentiments uttered by the former. Over against the praise of Jehovah, the voice from the Altar brings in view the almighty sovereignty of God, the rule of Elohim Sabaoth, and instead of Gods holiness it magnifies, together with the righteousness, the truth in the judgments of God. These do not appear simply at the end, unmediated; they are prepared from the beginning by the prophecies of the Scriptures, of the human conscience, and of history. The bold and hence difficult expression personifying the Altar, has been the subject of manifold conjectures and additions, such as the following: Another Angel from the Altar [E. V.]; the Angel who keeps watch over the spirits under the Altar; an inhabitant of Heaven standing by the Altar, etc. The explanation of Bede: Interior affectus sanctorum vel angelorum vel hominum, does not properly belong in this category of supplements cited by Dsterdieck. See Rev 9:13. According to Dsterdieck, the idea of the speaking Altar is intelligible from chaps. Rev 6:10, Rev 8:3, Rev 9:13, Rev 14:18. But no more than we are at liberty to identify all Altar-visions, may we identify the voice of the Altar itself and the voice of soul-lives beneath it crying for vengeance. According to Hengstenberg, the Altar itself here rejoices at the vengeance for the blood shed upon it (?).
Rev 16:8-9. Upon the sun.Reference is not had to the sun considered by and for itself; but neither is the sun, in its burning quality, the figure of the sufferings of this life. The operation of the sun of revelation is intended (comp. Rev 8:12). This operationwhich is Christianity,from being an enlightening and warming agency of blessing, is, by the anger-fire of fanaticism, over which the anger of God rules injudgment, converted into a glowing fire-shine [instead of the former and proper sun-shine.Tr.], which makes men hot with great heat (passive); hereupon men, unable to distinguish between this fervid glow of an externalized Christianity and the name of God, Divine revelation itself, blaspheme the name of the God Who has authority over these plagues, instead of becoming converted (and so distinguishing between revelation-faith and fanaticism) and giving Him glory. This obduracy must be distinguished from impenitency (Rev 9:20).It was given unto it; to the sun (De Wette, et al.). Bengel and others incorrectly: to the Angel.
Rev 16:10-11. Upon the throne of the Wild-beast.As in the fourth Vial of Anger the judgment upon Babylon, the Harlot, is already foreshadowed, so in this fifth Vial the judgment upon the Beast, and in the sixth the judgment upon Gog and Magog (see Rev 13:2; 2 Thessalonians 2) are intimated.The throne of the Beast is the principial system upon which the power of the Antichristian life of the people rests. There is no question of the fact that the principle of the absolute sovereignty of the absolute quantitative majority is the root of the most godless and mischievous confusions and seditious agitations, and that with the loosing of these confusions, induced by the Angel of anger, a great intellectual and social darkness must of necessity diffuse itself over that kingdom (not rulerdom) of the Beast which, in an ethical sense, was already darkened. That there may be an allusion to the Egyptian darkness is not, indeed, to be denied; it, however, plays no important part here.They gnawed their tongues.Together with the sensation of torment, the emotion of rage is expressed, as in the wailing and gnashing of teeth.Blasphemed the God of the Heaven.The blasphemy is directed no longer simply against the name of God, revelation, but against the God of the Heaven, the primeval revelation of God, and God in His universal revelationhence, against all that is Divine. They have now reached the stage of recognizing, in the incipient ruin of the bestial kingdom, all the foregoing plagues, as plagues, but instead of now, at last, repenting of their works, they pass from their unbelief to that demonic belief in which they do indeed recognize the God of Heaven as the author of their plagues and sores, but recognize Him only consciously to blaspheme Him even in this phase of heavenly omnipotence and glory. Ebrard queries how a darkening or mere withdrawal of light can be conceived of as causing so great torments. The key to this problem is, he thinks, furnished by the locust-plague of the fifth Trumpetthe present darkness being occasioned, as he maintains, by a host of scorpionsand he declares that any man who is not wilfully blind must be able to see this. The sores of Rev 16:11 are also, as he thinks, distinguished from those of Rev 16:2, as the consequences of the unmentioned scorpion-stings. The problem as here set forth presupposes sensuous causes and effects; in the spiritual realm, however, there is nothing easier of conception than that the incipient darkening of the Antichristian Kingdom and all the fanatical hopes based upon it should result in the rage and torment of despair.
Rev 16:12-16. Upon the great river [Lange: the] Euphrates.See Syn. View; comp. Rev 9:14. Above all things we must distinguish between the starting-point of this side of the Euphrates (Revelation 9.) and that of beyond the Euphrates. Therein is contained not merely a distinction, but also a contrast. It is wrong, therefore, to identify the Eastern kings with the four Angels (Ebrard). As little are they identical with the ten kings, Rev 17:12, who give their power to the Beast (De Wette, Dsterd.). The preparation of the judgment upon the Beast was treated of under the fifth Vial of anger. References to Eastern kings or Parthian allies ([confederated with Nero against Rome] Ewald), in the interest of the so-called synchrono-historical interpretation, need no more than a mention. An utter misapprehension of the sixth plague is manifested in Bengels designation of the imminent judgment upon the kings as itself the plague, into which the kings run. The plague, undoubtedly, culminates in the barely intimated defeat of the kings; but their very coming is a plague also, because, like the Hun and Mongol trains, they sweep away with them to the battle against God all the unsealed men and powers on their road. On account of the laying bare of the Euphrates bed, an event of historical occurrence in the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, it is maintained by some (Hofmann, Ebrard, De Wette, Brckner) that a battle of the Eastern kings against the spiritual Babylon is intended. To De Wette this passage suggests the passage of Israel through the Jordan. A number of interpretations of the kings see in De Wette, p. 157. Alcasar: The Apostles and Evangelists; Bullinger and others: Believing princes; Grotius: Constantine the Great; Vitringa: The Kingdom of France. Others: The King of Persia, the Barbarians, the Turks, the Flavians. Jews adopting the Christian faith (Herder: the Babylonish Jews who go to the aid of those of Palestine), etc.
Out of the mouth of the Dragon, etc.Combined operation of all the evil powers. Out of the three great mouths go forth three unclean spirits, as spirits of seduction. Or rather they have gone forth from these mouths and now exist independently, although at the time of the last battle, in which Gog and Magog are judged, the Beast and the False Prophet are already destroyed (Rev 19:10). On the other hand, some expositors would fain read in Rev 16:14 instead of , in order, by means of an artificial construction (see Hengstenberg), to gain the missing verbwhich would, however, occasion material difficulties. The seed of rebellion lives on in impure spirits in that ring of heathenism which encircles the Millennial Kingdom. Be it, moreover, considered that here we are still in the course of the collective unitous description of the preparation for the General Judgment, and the colors of the three judgments still play into each other.
As frogs.This similarity is borne by the unclean spirits themselves; it is not their uncleanness simply that is denoted by the (as according to Hengstenberg). The Egyptian frogs (Exodus 8) were plaguing spirits because they went everywhere and defiled every thing with their uncleanness; these are plaguing spirits because they go forth to all parts as unclean demons, and seduce the kings of the earth to war against the City of God. They operate as spirits of demons, i. e., through ethico-psychical domination, after the analogy of possession. Even after the judgment upon the centralization of evil in the Harlot, in the Beast, and in the False Prophet, Satanic evil shall continue to exist in a seed of evil reminiscences amongst the heathen, and in demonic operations. The expedition to which they excite the Eastern peoples is not directed against Babylon=Rome, for this has already (Rev 17:18) incurred judgment. Hengstenberg says that the expedition is directed against Canaan, i. e., the Church, and that the prediction has reference not to something that shall happen at some one future time, but to that which is to be continually repeated. It is also asserted that Rome is not referred to, because all the other plagues have an cumenical character. As if it were not called urbs from orbis. That the expedition is really not directed against Babylon-Rome is evident from the order of the judgments. According to Grotius, by the three frogs should be understood three forms of superstition to which Maxentius was addicted (the first is extispicium, not exstispicium); according to Luther, the sophistsnamely, Faber, Eck and Emser; according to Vitringa, the Jesuits (the dried Euphrates being France, drained by its kings); according to Calovius, the Jesuits, Capuchins and Calvinists, etc. According to Dsterdieck, we should not ask what is to be understood by these three spiritsi. e., they are schematicalimporting nothing. According to Artemidor (see De Wette), the frogs are significant of jugglers and buffoons. Aristophanes portrayed their allegorical significance long before the writing of the Apocalypse. The frog has been used as a symbol in manifold connections (see Friedrich, Symbolik und Mythologie der Natur, p. 611). A lively interpretation of these little impotent, yet withal vociferous, dwellers in slime, see in Ebrard, p. 435. Friedrich brings out the additional fact that frogs have impudent eyes.
Doing signs.By this can be meant only lying apparent miracles37a description which applies to demonic miracles in general. De Wette speaks of an infatuating eloquence. The charm of eternally-repeated phrases is resident in will-magic, in the overpowering of weak souls by the semblance of assurance.The kings of the whole inhabited world.This expression is conditioned by the preceding words: the Eastern kings; although these may finally draw yet other powers into their vortex.To the war of the great day.The two days and the two battles [wars] (Rev 19:19; Rev 20:9) are as yet wrapped together in onein such a manner, however, that the last battle is faintly visible. See Ezekiel 38, 39; Dan 12:1; Zechariah 12, 14.The day of the last end-judgment, properly so-called (Judges 6). Thus Bengel, De Wette, and others. Other interpretations: the day is the entire time from the passion of Christ to the end (Bede). The day of God has a comprehensive character, denoting all the phases of Gods judgments, etc. (Hengst.) This is an attempt at the obliteration of definitiespaving the way for his theory of the Millennial Kingdom.
[The expressions, day of the Lord, great day of the Lord, etc., are of frequent occurrence in the New Testament; see Act 2:20; 1Co 1:8; 1Co 5:5; 2Co 1:14; Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16; 1Th 5:2; 1Th 5:4; 2Th 2:2; 2Pe 3:10; 2Pe 3:12. These passages (with the exception, perhaps, of those in 2 Peter), together with the one under consideration, seem to refer to the day of Christs appearing for the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom (comp. Rev 19:11-21; Mat 24:30 sqq.), and not to the day of Final Judgment (comp. Rev 20:11-15; Mat 25:31 sqq.) See Excursus on The Future Comings of the Lord, p. 339.E. R. C.]
Behold, I come as a thief.A practical, warning digression of the Apostle, as in similar great decisive moments. As a vivid reminder of a saying of the Lord, he introduces the Lord as immediately speaking (see Mat 24:43-44, Luk 12:39, Rev 3:3). [Not a digression of the Apocalyptist, but a solemn re-affirmation by the Spirit of the warning of Jesus and His Apostles; comp. Mat 24:43-44; Mar 13:35-36; Luk 12:39; 1Th 5:2; 1Th 5:4; 2Pe 3:10.E. R. C.] The peculiar form of Christs admonitionas recommending watchfulnessis doubtless based upon the fact that He is speaking to believing readers. The keeping of the garments of salvation is an idea which lies the closer at hand since the glance of the Seer passes beyond even the day of the Parousia and the secure years of the Millennial Kingdom.
And He [or they], etc.The combatants are, without their will or even their knowledge, under the guidance of God, Who brings them to the battle-ground of their defeat (Eze 39:2). The subject of is God (Hengsten., Ebrard); not the sixth Angel (Bengel), nor the Dragon (Ewald), nor, still less, the unclean spirits (Bleek, De Wette [Dsterdieck]).38 Harmageddon.See Syn. View. On the different interpretations of Harmageddon, see Dsterdieck, p. 499. (Etymological interpretations: Excidium exercitus; the Capitol; Mount Janiculus. Historical interpretations: The Megiddo of Jdg 5:19, or the Megiddo of Josiah, 2Ki 23:29; comp. Zec 12:11.) Dsterdieck indeed notes the fact that the term mountain of Megiddo () differs from both of the Old Testament appellationsthe waters of Megiddo, and the valley (Germ., Ebene=plain] of Megiddo; he, however, looks upon this distinction as an accessory circumstance, and thinks that there can be a reference only to the place where the Israelites were victorious over the kings of Canaan (Jdg 5:19). But why should not the fateful name of Megiddo have given occasion to a symbolical compound, with reference to Ezekiel and Zechariah?denoting, therefore, the mountains of Jerusalem in a symbolical sense. On the repeated reference to Rome in Ewald, see Dsterdieck.In an architectonic aspect it is very noteworthy that the sixth plague conducts us to the place of judgment at Harmageddon, without describing the judgment itself.
[Harmagedon.It is evidently in the meaning of the Hebrew name of this place that its appropriate significance lies. For otherwise why should be prefixed to it? But this circumstance does not deprive the name of geographical reality; and it is most probable on every account that such reality exists here. The words would surely not be used except of a real place habitually so named, or by a name very like this. Nor need we search very far for the place pointed out. , the Mountain of Megiddo, designates at least the neighborhood where the Canaanitish kings were overthrown by Barak, Jdg 5:19; an occasion which gave rise to one of the two triumphal songs of Israel recorded in the Old Testament, and therefore one well worthy of symbolizing the great final overthrow of the kings of the earth leagued against Christ.39 That the name slightly differs from that given in the Old Testament, where it is the plain (2Ch 35:22) or the waters (Jdg 5:19) of Megiddo, is of slight consequence, and may be owing to a reason which I shall dwell on below. The LXX. in both places adopt the form which we have here, or . Nor must it be forgotten that Megiddo was connected with another overthrow and slaughter, viz., that of Josiah by Pharaoh-Necho (2Ki 23:29; 2Ch 35:22), which, though not analogous to this predicted battle in its issue, yet served to keep up the character of the place as one of overthrow and calamity; cf. also Zec 12:11, and the striking description, 2Ch 35:25, of the ordinance of lamentation for Josiah. At Megiddo also another Jewish king, Ahaziah, died of the wounds received from Jehu, 2Ki 9:27. The prefix Har, signifying mountain, has its local propriety, see Stanleys description of the plain of Esdraelon, in the opening of his Sinai and Palestine, Revelation 9. Still there may have been a deeper reason which led to, or, at all events, justified the prefix. As the name now stands, it has a meaning ominous of the great overthrow which is to take place on the spot. Drusius, believing the word to be merely a mystic one, explains it to be internecio exercitus eorum, the overthrow of their army. But, conceding and maintaining the geographical reality, must not we suppose that such a name, with such a sound, so associated with the past, bore to a Hebrew ear, when used of the future, its ominous significance of overthrow? It is remarkable that in Zec 12:11, where the mourning for Josiah is alluded to, the LXX. render not the plain of Megiddo, but , and this agrees with the interpretation of Andreas here, who supposes the name equivalent to . Alford.E. R. C.]
Rev 16:17-21. And the seventh Angel poured out his vial upon the air.The air is the common life-sphere of men. The Anger-Vial in the air is, therefore, in the first place a deadly decomposition of the spiritual life-sphere of men, resulting in the falling asunder of great communities. And this is the immediate result depicted in Rev 16:19. But with the separation of the three powers, Babylon, the Beast, Gog and Magog, is also introduced the cosmical decomposition of the earthly life-spherethe end of the world.From the temple, from the throne.The throne does not appear to us to be expressive merely of a climax, in order to the more certain indication that the voice comes from God Himself (Dsterd.). From the Throne is, primarily, a modificationhence there is no to connect it with the preceding sentence. The Temple is the Holy of Holies; the Throne is the covering of the Ark of the Covenant. The consonance of Temple and Throne is the consonance of the economy of Christ and the economy of the Father. It is, in fine, a unisonous deliverance of the sentiment of the Church of God, as well as of the terrestrial cosmos, through which the voice of God is heard, saying: It is done! The end is decided. We take the word absolutely, with Eichhorn and others (actum est)not, however, in the following sense: now is done that which was commanded (in Rev 16:1) (Bengel, Dsterd., et al.). A learned digression explains:: fuit Roma (Grotius).
And there were lightnings, etc.Rev 11:19. Hengstenberg: We have again reached precisely the same point at which we were already in Revelation 11. Approximately true. According to Hofmann, the present vision comes to an end in the midst of Rev 16:18, and with the words , etc., a new leading vision begins. On the evangelical import of the lightnings and thunders, see Syn. View.There follows then a great earthquake, such as was never heard of beforea convulsion of earthly relations to their very foundations, so that the Christian world is sundered into three parts, more truly, even, than the Jewish world was thus rent previous to the first Parousia of Christ.And the great City.We have already more than once pointed out the decisive import of this passage. It contains the key to all that follows, as a summary declaration, namely, of the General Judgment and as a disposition of the three following special judgments (Babylonthe BeastGog and Magog). Hence it results also that the great City, as such, must comprehend all three parts, and consequently that it can denote neither Christian nor Pagan Rome, though Rome is its highest representative point. Still further from the truth is the reference to Jerusalem (Bengel, Herder, Hofmann, et al.). Considered in and for itself, the great City is an ideal City, embracing all Antichristianity in the Occident and in the Orient. According to Hengstenberg (who remarks that two Cities in the Apocalypse bear the title of great, Jerusalem and Babylon, i. e., Rome), not only are we to avoid thinking of Jerusalem in this connexion, but we are also to put Christian Rome out of our thoughtsthe City, he maintains, can be only a heathen City, heathen Rome. A certain tender care for Christian Rome is hardly mistakable here. It is impossible, however, that eschatological Antichristianity should ripen in a heathen City, knowing nothing properly of Christianity.Became into three parts.The number three (comp. Rev 8:7-8; Rev 8:11-12) has, perchance, a special reference to the three arch-enemies, Rev 16:13 (Ebrard). Dsterdieck: The Beast and the False Prophet, however, are regarded as one vanquished power (Revelation 19.). The severance of two hostile powers is rightly insisted upon by Ebrard (p. 451); it cannot, however, be said that the third comes direct from the abyss, for the Eastern kings are on the ground; further, the specific Antichrist, in the narrower sense of the term, is the Beast (Revelation 19), not Satan (Revelation 20).Babylon the great was remembered, etc.Act 10:31. Great Babylon is but the more definite designation of the great City. She receives the anger-wine of the seventh Vial of Anger to drink, and the effect of this wine continues through all the three special judgments now following. The anger of wrath [ ] is aptly symbolized by the wine-cup; i. e., psychical intoxication and drunkenness, spiritual delirium-tremens, is the common fundamental trait whence, in all three judgments, death proceeds.The cities of the nations [Lange: Heiden], etc.See Syn. View. Rev 16:20According to Hengstenb., the islands and the mountains are indicative of kingdoms. Together with the islands and the mountains (says the same expositor) the sea, also, has vanished. In a physical connection this is no necessary consequence, and in a symbolical connection we are constrained to ask: In what respect has the sea vanished?
Rev 16:21. And a great hail, as of a talent in weight, etc.Hailstones of the weight of a mina are called incredibly great by Diodor. Sic. xix. 45, but our passage mentions hailstones of the weight of a talent, which contains sixty minas; they are, therefore, probably of equal weight with the stones used in the catapults (Dsterdieck; comp. De Wette, p. 161). According to Ebrard, the hail of a hundred-pounds weight, symbolizes the tremendous blows of suffering and sorrow which the world sustains in this time of revolution.40 Hail is a specific devastating atmospheric discharge arising from the tension of the physical extremes of heat and cold, and their conflict. Thus, after the dissolution of human fellowship, the most ruinous conflicts of the extreme parties will arise; most fearful in their effects, however, will be the momentary coalitions that will take placea truth typically exemplified at the crucifixion of Christ [where Sanhedrin and rabble, Jew and Roman, for the time made common cause.Tr.]. But the great fluctuations of nature in the ageing cosmos are also expressed in this figure.And men blasphemed God.In order to be able to blaspheme God, they are in a sense become monotheists again [or, rather, the fearful exigency has startled them out of their false systems and brought their inner consciousness of the One Almighty to the surface.Tr.]. It is, certainly, not necessary to suppose that those who are struck by such a hail, blaspheme as they are dying (Hengstenberg). Some are precipitated lifeless to the earth, others blaspheme (Dsterdieck). We are, assuredly, not to imagine that actual natural hail is meant (Ebrard). This blasphemy is the result of the rage with which they are irritated by a course of worldly affairs which is utterly incomprehensible to them, and by the hostile view of the world which confronts them. Even now not only radicalism, but also liberalism operates thus upon the minds of the hierarchical party; and, vice vers, not only papacy, but even Christianity itself has the like effect upon anarchico-revolutionary spirits. Even in view of the objective world and the course of the times, extremists become increasingly irritated. Especially, not only socialistic, but also absolutist fanaticism is at a loss for money, weapons, wind and weather for the prosecution of extreme party-aims. All-sided pessimism, the issue of optimistic extravagances.Different historical interpretations of the Vials of Anger, see in Dsterdieck, p. 503.
[ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE SEVEN VIALS]
By the American Editor
[In the judgment of the writer, the vision of the Seven Vials relates to events still futureevents the last of which will immediately precede the advent of Christ for the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom. The plagues predicted are to be executed upon the opposers of Christ and His true followersupon the followers of the Beast (i. e., the world-power, p. 272) and Babylon (i. e., the apostate or world-allied Church, see Add. Note on p. 317); the whole series, possibly, constituting that which in Rev 7:14 is styled simply the great tribulation (see Add. Note, pp. 191 sq.).
The writer is disposed to regard the terms earth, sea, rivers and fountains, and sun, of the first four Vials (Rev 16:2-10), as having been used literallythe prophecy being that these should be so affected as to cause them to give forth deleterious influences.If by the Beast is to be understood the world-power, then, probably, by the pouring of the fifth Vial on his throne (Rev 16:10) we are to understand some influence upon established civil governmentseither destructive, covering the nations with the darkness of anarchy; or strengthening, producing the darkness which flows from tyrannical oppression.By the Euphrates of the sixth Vial we are, probably, to understand, with Wordsworth, Lord, and others, that which is to the mystical Babylon what the literal river was to the literal city. If this view be correct, then may we regard the symbol as indicating that current of opinion amongst worldlings in favor of, or those multitudes in the world allied to, the Apostate Church (many waters of Rev 17:1; Rev 17:15?). The drying up of these waters, or their falling away from Babylon, would prepare the way for her destruction set forth, Rev 17:16. May it not be that the kings from the sun-rising are those mentioned Rev 17:12-13; Rev 17:16, who are to destroy the Harlot (i. e., Babylon, comp. Rev 17:1; Rev 17:5)and who are described as from the sun-rising from the fact either that when the Apocalyptist wrote they were below the horizon of vision, yet to arise (Rev 17:12); or that they were to come from the East? By the frogs (Rev 16:13-14) we may understand teachers of evil, instigated by Satan, and some having civil and others ecclesiastical authority, and working miracles (see Additional Comment on Rev 13:13, p. 270), who shall seduce the nations into an assault on Christ and His true Church. For an explanation of Harmagedon, see the extract from Alford on p. 302.The seventh Vial poured out upon the air may indicate an effect produced upon the literal atmosphere, at once universal in its influence and producing fearful convulsions in the realms of nature and in human society (comp. Isa 13:6-10; Joe 2:1-2; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:30-31; Joe 3:15; Mat 24:29; Mar 13:24-25; Luk 21:25-26; Act 2:19-20;41 Rev 6:12-17; see also Note on the sixth Seal, p. 179). The destruction of Babylon, here alluded to, is described in the following chapters.E. R. C.]
Footnotes:
[1]Rev 16:1. [Crit. Eds. generally give with . A. B*. C. Vulg., etc.; Lange omits with P. 1, 28, etc.E. R. C.]
[2]Rev 16:2. instead of . [So Crit. Eds. with c. A. B*. C. P., etc.E. R. C.]
[3]Rev 16:2. instead of . [So Crit. Eds. with . A. B*. C. P., etc.E. R. C.]
[4]Rev 16:3. [Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. omit with c. A. C. P., Am., Fuld., Demid., Tol., etc.; Lange retains with B*., Clem., etc.E. R. C.]
[5]Rev 16:4. [Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. omit with . A. B*. C. P., Vulg., etc.; Lange retains with 1, 35, etc.E. R. C.]
[6]Rev 16:4. [Lange, Alf., Treg., Tisch. give with . B*. C. P. 1, Vulg., etc.; Lachmann reads with A. 36, 96, etc.E. R. C.]
[7]Rev 16:5. [Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. omit with . A. B*. C. P. 1, Am., Fuld., Demid., Tol, etc.; Lange retains with Clem., Lips., th.E. R. C.]
[8]Rev 16:5. [ is without authority; all Crit. Eds. read .E. R. C.]
[9]Rev 16:5. without . [So also Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. (1859), with A. B*. C.; Tisch. (8th Ed.) gives with . P.E. R. C.]
[10]Rev 16:6. [Crit. Eds. generally omit with A. B*. C. P. etc.; gives .E. R. C.]
[11]Rev 16:7. [Crit. Eds., with . A. C. P., give simply .E. R. C.]
[12]Rev 16:7. [See Additional Comment on Rev 1:8, p. 93.E. R. C.]
[13]Rev 16:8. [Crit. Eds. generally omit with A. B*. C. P., Am., Fuld., Tol., etc.; Lange retains, with . 1, 6, Clem., etc.E. R. C.]
[14]Rev 16:9. [Gb., Sz., Tisch. (1859) insert with B*.; Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. (8th Ed.) read as above, with . A. C. P. 1, 36, Vulg., etc.E. R. C.]
[15]Rev 16:9. [Crit. Eds. generally read ; A. gives .E. R. C.]
[16]Rev 16:10. [Crit. Eds. generally omit with . A. B*. C. P., Am., Fuld., Demid., Tol, etc.; it is given in 35, 36, etc., Clem., etc.; Lange brackets.E. R. C.]
[17]Rev 16:12. [Crit. Eds. generally omit as in preceding Note; Lange retains.E. R. C.]
[18]Rev 16:12. [Gb., Sz., Tisch. (8th Ed.) omit the article before Euphrates with . B*. P., etc.; Lach., Alf., Tisch. (1859), Lange, prefix it, with A. C. 1, etc.; Treg. brackets.E. R. C.]
[19]Rev 16:14. The reading is unimportant. [Alf., Treg., Tisch. read . This reading is adopted above.E. R. C.]
[20]Rev 16:14. [Omitted by Crit. Eds. with . A. B*., Vulg., etc.E. R. C.]
[21]Rev 16:16. [Crit. Eds. read with A. B*. C. P., etc.; . gives -. Lange translates he, regarding God as the subject (see in loc.); the more natural reference, however, is to the of Rev 16:14, which, as a neuter plural, may be the subject of a verb in the singular.E. R. C.]
[22]Rev 16:16. [Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. give with A. B*. 1, etc.; Lange omits with . 14, etcE. R. C.]
[23]Rev 16:17. [Crit. Eds. generally omit with *. A. B*., Am., Fuld., Tol, etc.; Lange retains with c. 28, 35, etc., Clem., etc.E. R. C.]
[24]Rev 16:17. [Lange, Treg., Tisch. give with . B*., Vulg.; Gb., Lach., Alf. omit with A. 1, 12, 46.E. R. C.]
[25]Rev 16:17. , . [So also Tisch. (1859) with B*.; Gb., Lach., Alf., Treg., Tisch. (8th Ed.) give instead of the first , with . A. 1, etc. The latter reading is adopted above.E. R. C.]
[26]Rev 16:17. [ is omitted by Crit. Eds.; it occurs only in B*. 1, 6, 38, Arm.E. R. C.]
[27]Rev 16:18. . [So Crit. Eds. with A. 38, Cop., Arm., th.; 1, 7, 8, etc., read .E. R. C.]
[28][See Explanations in Detail, Rev 16:7.E. R. C.]
[29][May not a sense of the contrast between their own wretched condition and the condition of the blessed inmates of Heaven induce this peculiar form of blasphemy?Tr.]
[30][Elliott calls attention to the fearful convulsions in naturetempests, hail-storms, re-opening volcanoes, earthquakes (Rev 11:19)that preceded the outbreak of the French Revolution.E. R. C.]
[31][Barnes, in support of a similar view, quotes the following: In this connection, I may insert here the remarkable calculation of Robert Fleming, in his work entitled Apocalyptical Key, or the Pouring out of the Vials, first published in 1701. It is in the following words: The fifth Vial (Rev 16:10-11), which is to be poured out on the seat of the Beast, or the dominions which more immediately belong to and depend on the Roman See; that, I say, this judgment will probably begin about the year 1794,and expire about A. D. 1848; or that the duration of it upon this supposition will he the space of fifty-four years. For I do suppose that, seeing the Pope received the title of Supreme Bishop no sooner than A. D. 606, he cannot be supposed to have any vial poured upon his seat immediately (so as to receive his authority so signally as this judgment must be supposed to all) until the year 1848, which is the date of the twelve hundred and sixty years in prophetical account, when they are reckoned from A. D. 606. But yet we are not to imagine that this will totally destroy the Papacy (though it will exceedingly weaken it), for we find that still in being and alive, when the next Vial is poured out. p. 68. Ed. New York. It is a circumstance remarkably in accordance with this calculation, that in the year 1848 the Pope was actually driven away to Gaeta, and that at the present time (1851) he is restored, though evidently with diminished power.E. R. C.]
[32][See foot-note, 2d column, p. 201.E. R. C.]
[33][See foot-note, 2d column, p. 201.E. R. C.]
[34][Lange has reference, probably, to the following passage in Dsterdieck: refers to Rev 16:4, not to Rev 16:3, for reference is had (Rev 16:6) to drinkable water which is turned into blood, so that the inhabitants of the earth, who have shed the blood of Saints and Prophets (comp. Rev 13:7; Rev 13:10; Rev 6:10; Rev 11:7; Rev 17:6; Rev 19:2) are now constrained to drink blood. Dsterdieck, however, does not assert that the water of the rivers and fountains is any more drinkable in its transformed state, as blood, than the blood of the sea.Tr.]
[35][This is one of the two occurrences of in the Apocalypse, the other being in Rev 15:4. In other portions of the New Testament it appears only in Act 2:27; Act 13:34-35; 1Ti 2:8; Tit 1:8; Heb 7:26 (, Luk 1:75; Eph 4:24; , 1Th 2:10). It is a term of comparatively frequent occurrence in the LXX., and is there generally employed to translate ; it is also occasionally used for , , , . Cremer writes: The meaning of is to be defined according to (see Hupfeld on Psa 4:4). This word, which is=goodness, kindness, is used to denote Gods holy love towards His people Israel, both as the source and as the result of His sovereign choice and covenant with them; when applied to men it does not denote the corresponding covenant relationship and feeling of Israel toward God (not even in 2Ch 6:42 cf.; Isa 55:3; Isa 57:1), but love and mercifulness towards others who are united with as in the same holy covenant. It is generally used of love descending from above to those beneath, and not of love ascending. See also Alexander on Psa 4:4 (3). It is a fact worthy of notice that is never used in the LXX. for , or any other word which is employed to render, save in one instance, Pro 22:11, where it is used to translate , which in a single instance, Lev 10:14, is translated . And yet these terms are, in the E. V. of the New Testament, almost invariably translated by the one word holy!E. R. C.]
[36][See Text. and Gramm., Note 11.E. R. C.]
[37][See Add. Comment on Rev 13:13, p. 270.E. R. C.]
[38][See Text. and Gram., Note 21.E. R. C.]
[39][It is worthy of note that the Song of Deborah and Barak is in measure adopted both by David and the Apostle Paul as descriptive (symbolic) of Messianic triumphs; comp. Jdg 5:12; Psa 68:18; Eph 4:8.E. R. C.]
[40][Glasgow finds the objective of this prophecy in the tremendous cannon-ballssome of 600 pounds weightemployed in modern warfare.E. R. C.]
[41][The Apostle Peter quoted this prophecy of Joel without intending to teach that it had received its ultimate fulfillment in events attending the Pentecostal effusion. It seems impossible to resist the conclusions that the words of our Lord in Mat 24:29, etc., have reference to convulsions in nature immediately preceding his second Advent, and that the prophecies of Isaiah and Joel, though they may have already received partial and typical fulfillments, have ultimate respect to the same events.E. R. C.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
SPECIAL DOCTRINO-ETHICAL AND HOMILETICAL NOTES (ADDENDUM)
Section Thirteenth
Earth-picture of the Seven Vials of Anger, or the End-judgment in its general aspect. (Ch. 16.)
General.The special homiletical treatment of this section is, like that of others, made more difficult by the disagreement of exegeses. According to Hengstenberg, for instance, the earth denotes the earthly-minded; the sea, the sea of nations, the unquiet wicked world (in antithesis to the earthly-minded!); the fountains of waters, the sources of prosperity; the sun, that luminary in its burning quality, the type of the sufferings of this life; the throne of the Beast, the government of the Roman emperors; the Euphrates, the hinderance to the advance of the God-opposed world-power into the Holy Land, against the Holy City, against the Church.
According to Brandt, the earth is the Holy Land, which has become the scene of the world-kingdom of the Dragon; the sea is the mass of peoples united under the sceptre of the Beast; the rivers and fountains are the peoples and families in their still subsistent sunderment; the sun is the glowing sun and nothing more; the throne of the Beast is the sovereign power of the Beast; the Euphrates is the Beast out of the Earth, or Babylon.
The exposition of Sabel is in part better; The earth denotes the positive foundations of State and Church; the sea, the Gentile-Christian world of nations. Next, however, come some abortive interpretations: The waters of life [rivers] are the refreshing truths of salvation, and the fountains of waters are the schools at which they are taught; the sun is the Church of Jesus Christ; the throne of the Beast is the Antichristian worldits darkening is the confusion and shattering of that worldThe Euphrates is well characterized as emblematic of the boundary line of the civilized world; the drying up of it betokens a change in political wisdom resulting in a new migration of nations, as it were.
The Vials of Anger should, above all, be compared with the Trumpets; and the antithesis between the Trumpets calling to repentance and the judgments of hardening, should be noted. The judgments of hardening may be elucidated by the Egyptian plagues, Isa 6:10 and analogous passages. They are indicative of such judgments as ripen corruptionwhen it has come to be past healinginto its final development and consummation, thus resulting in blasphemy, which in itself is damnation (Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11; Rev 16:21), whilst, the Trumpets were designed to produce repentance. The first Vial of Anger readily suggests examples of the moral corruption and dissolution of individual states and communities (Babylon, Jerusalem, Rome, etc.) as warning signs.
In treating the second Vial of Anger we may touch upon the symptoms, of the empoisonment of popular life by writings, tendencies, conspiracies. The symbolic import of the rivers is sufficiently attested by Scripturethe Nile, the Euphrates, the Jordan, the brook of Siloah; the same remark applies to the fountains. A consideration of poisoned and poisoning, death-dealing currents and fountains or fountain minds, would be appropriate here. The transformation of the sun of revelation into a glowing and scorching mass, by human fanaticism, negative as well as positive, is easily intelligible. The darkening of the throne and kingdom of darkness may be explained by the crumbling of the power of falsehood into contradictions, partyisms and suicidal complots. The drying up of the Euphrates, as the abolition of the boundary line between the civilized and the barbarian world, has a rich significance. Abolition of the distinctions of religions, stations, culture, of the sexes (emancipation of women), etc.Symbolic import of the frogs.The dissolution and decomposition of the common spiritual vital air must be a presage that the common existence of those who breathe it is drawing to a close.The downfall of things in the evening of the world will be, first, a downfall of the spirit-world (Rev 16:19); secondly, a downfall of nature; thirdly, a downfall of the relation between the human world and the life of nature.
Special.[chap. 16] The Vials of Anger in comparison with Christs Cup of Suifering: 1. The similarity; 2. The contrast,[Rev 16:2.] The noisome sore in a social and a spiritual sense: Deficit; corruption of morals; mortality, etc.[Rev 16:3; Rev 16:14.] Transformation of the waters into blood, as a retribution for the nefarious and mock-holy shedding of blood (Rev 16:5-7).Apology for the avenging righteousness of God.The blasphemies (Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11; Rev 16:21). How are they punished? Primarily, through themselves, (1) their madness, (2) their impotence, (3) their torment.[Rev 16:12.] The dangers to Christian humanity lying dormant in the Orient. An Orient of mischief over against the Orient of salvation.[Rev 16:13.] The three frogs. Even in respect to the terrors of the last time, a sacred irony of the Spirit is manifested, testifying to the freeness of the Spirit,[Rev 16:14.] Enthusiasm of those inspired by the frogs.[Rev 16:15.] The Coming of the Lord compared with the coming of a thief: 1. Strangeness of the figure; 2. Design of this strangeness.[Rev 16:16.] Armageddon, or the theocratic battle-fields.Battle-fields of the world, from their dark and their bright side.The last battle-field: Armageddon, the scene of a conflict between the world and the spirit-realm.[Rev 16:17.] It is done!The last glorious revelation of Christs Spirit in His Church (Rev 16:18).[Rev 16:19.] The falling of great Babylon into three parts, the announcement of the three judgments.Crisis of nature in the evening of the world (Rev 16:20-21).
Starke: (This expositor continues his presentation of opposite views.) Rev 16:2. Those who regard this as already fulfilled, explain it mystically thus: The sore is the manifestly shameful and hurtful condition of the whole papistic Church. (In contrast to this view, there is a literal exposition of the empoisonment of earth and of life, and also an allegorical interpretation, referring the passage to the bad conscience and anguish of soul of the wicked.)The wrath of man is greater than his power, but God has power to carry out His wrath (1Ki 19:2-3).
Rev 16:4. Those who regard this plague as fulfilled see in it the blood-thirsty doctrines and counsels of the Pope.
Rev 16:6. God, in proportioning His punishments to the sins which have provoked them, teaches us that we should proportion our penitence to our sins.The blood of saints is precious in Gods eyes; He forgetteth it not, but recompenseth it with righteous vengeance.
Rev 16:8. Interpretations of the sun: [1] The natural sun; [2] A mighty king; [3] The Beast (! Reinbeck).
Rev 16:9. Application to the wars of Charles VIII. and subsequent French kings in Italy.As all things work together for the good of the pious, so all things, even the beams of the sun, work evil to the wicked (Rom 8:28).Quesnel: The scourgings of God discover the heart; out of a perverse heart they bring forth blasphemies, out of a penitent heart they bring praise, humility and love.
Rev 16:10. Even thrones and majesties are not secure from the chastisement of God. He can in His wrath destroy entire and flourishing kingdomsDimpel: Misuse not thy tongue for the flattery and excessive exaltation of the lofty, the distinguished and the rich, that thou mayest not afterwards, when God taketh such idols from thee, have to moan and lament, aye, and gnaw thy tongue for vexation; but let thy tongue daily tell of Gods righteousness.
Rev 16:10. Singular interpretation: The darkening of the Beasts kingdom is the revelation, reaching far and wide, of all the abominations and vices of the Pope and the whole Roman clergy. Opposite (?) interpretation: The kingdom of the Beast despised by men.
Rev 16:12. Some: The drying up of the Euphrates is yet to come, although it might seem to be partially fulfilled in the kingdom of France, that being the most powerful kingdom of Europe, and the one that has afforded most protection to the Beast, in the persecution of the Huguenots, etc.A great religious war is in prospect, the issue of which is greatly to be desired for the true Church.
Rev 16:13. The frogs: considered in respect of the Antichristian hellish trinity in which they originateviz., the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet. Many a one who has a horror of the Devil when Scripture calls him a Dragon, listens to him with complacency when he speaks by the mouth of an unchaste woman, or a false teacher or godless babbler. The Devil has his apostles, as well as the Lord.Quesnel: Satan has his designs when he assembles armies, men have theirs, and God has His, to the realization of which last all things must conduce (Isa 10:6-7).
Quesnel: [Rev 16:17.] There is a seventh and last Vial for every individual sinner, but who knows it?
Rev 16:18. Some apprehend this mystically as referring to the Church: there shall be voices, open preaching of the Gospel, the thunder of the Divine word, and lightnings, the bright light of the Gospel, shall break forth again with power, and a remarkable movement of mens souls shall be the result.
Rev 16:20. How foolish it is to attach ourselves to a world that fleeth away, and, like our desires, vanisheth.
Rev 16:21. Gods chastisements do not always make men betterthey sometimes have a directly opposite effect.
Bengel, Sechzig erbauliche Reden. The Trumpets make a wide circuit in a long time, but the Vials make quick work of it.The four holy Beasts [Living-beings] are nearer to the Throne than the Angels in general, and these seven Angels in particular (recte!) [ch. Rev 15:7].The earth is Asia, the sea Europe, the rivers Africa (which contains the two principal rivers, the Nile and the Niger, etc.). The sun is the whole surface of the earth (partly, therefore, Asia, Europe and Africa again).
Rev 16:10. They still think that the Beast is right, and they become none other than they were, either internally or externally.
Rev 16:21. The whole creation is like an organ with many stops, and when one stop after another shall be drawn out as a plague upon the wicked, scorners shall learn somewhat that they look not for.
Briefe ber Offenb. Joh. Ein Buch fr die Starken, die schwach heissen (Pfenninger).
Rev 16:1-2. An evil and poisonous ulcer came upon the men who had the mark of the Beast and who worshipped his image. Another wonderful and repentance-preaching sparing of Christians.
Rev 16:8-9. How strong must be our conviction of the immeliorability of these men.
Rev 16:17-21. The great earthquake, greater than any that had ever been, will, judging from Rev 16:20, bring about those great changes in the shape of the earth, whose embellishment is in prospect, which must precede the time of the Messiahs government.[Rev 16:21.] The last hail: I, for my part, confess that as often as I think of a violentnay, of the most violentfever of earth, I can never picture to myself all the symptoms, in their great variety and contrast, in sufficient grandeur and extraordinariness.
[From M. Henry: Rev 16:15. When Gods cause comes to be tried, and His battles to be fought, all His people should be ready to stand up for His interest, and be faithful and valiant in His service.
Rev 16:21. Note here, 1. The greatest calamities that can befall men will not bring them to repentance without the grace of God working with them. 2. Those that are not made better by the judgments of God, are always the worse for them. 3. To be hardened in sin and enmity against God by His righteous judgments, is a certain token of utter destruction.From The Comprehensive Commentary: Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11; Rev 16:21. Without the special, preventing grace of God the more men suffer, and the more plainly they see the hand of God in their sufferings, the more furiously they often rage against Him. Let then sinners now seek repentance from Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, or they will hereafter have the anguish and horror of an unhumbled, impenitent and desperate heart, burning with enmity against God, as well as tortured by the fire of His indignation; and thus augmenting guilt and misery to all eternity. (Scott.)
Rev 16:15. These will be times of great temptation; and therefore Christ, by His apostle, called on His professed servants to expect His sudden coming, and to watch, that they might retain, and be found in, the garments of salvation, and not walk naked, and so be put to shame, as apostates or hypocrites; for the blessing would belong only to the watchful. (Scott.)From Wordsworth: Vials are holy vessels. Wherever means of grace are not duly used, they recoil on those to whom they have been offered, and become means of punishment.From Vaughan: Rev 16:15. The garments of the watcher must not be laid aside; he must have his loins girded about (for action), as well as his lights burning (Luk 12:35).The peculiarity of Christs coming is that everything which seems to defer really brings it near; everything which seems to make it improbable is an argument of its certainty and of its approach. Behold, I come as a thief.Awake, then, thou that steepest! Be not found of Him, when He cometh, drowsy and stupefied, overcharged with cares and riches and pleasures of this life; the lamp of grace expiring, or the garment of holiness laid aside.From Bonar: Rev 16:15. These are words for all time, but specially for the last days. They (1) warn, (2) quicken, (3) rouse, (4) comfort. Note here, 1. The coming. Christ comes (1) as Avenger, (2) as Judge, (3) as King, (4) as Bridegroom. As a thief;at midnight; when men are asleep; when darkness lies on earth; when men are least expecting Him; when they have lain down, saying: Peace and safety. Without warning, though with vengeance for the world in His hand: when all past warnings of judgment have been unheeded. Without further message; for all past messages have been in vain. Like a thief to the world, but like a Bridegroom to the Church. 2 The watching. Not believing, nor hoping, nor waiting merely; but watching. Watch upon your knees. Watch with your Bibles before you. Watch with wide open eye. Watch for Him Whom not having seen you love. 3. The keeping of the garments. Do not cast off your raiment either for sleep or for work. Do not let the world strip you of it. Keep it and hold it fast. It is heavenly raiment, and without it you cannot go in with your Lord when He comes. 4. The blessedness. It is blessed (1) because it cherishes our love; (2) it is one of the ways of maintaining our intercourse; (3) it is the posture through which He has appointed blessing to come, in His absence, to His waiting Church. 5. The warning. Adam was ashamed at being found naked when the Lord came down to meet him; how much more of shame and terror shall be to unready souls at meeting with a returning Lord! O false disciple, come out of your delusion and hypocrisy, lest you be exposed in that day of revelation! O sinner, make ready, for the day of vengeance is at hand!]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
In this Chapter we behold all the Angels, one after another, pouring out their Vials. The awful Consequences which followed are related. The sudden coming of Christ is noticed. A Blessedness is pronounced on him that watcheth.
Rev 16:1
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
As in the opening of this Chapter we are called upon to the observation of the ministry of the Vials, which contain the last plagues of our God, upon the enemies of the faith; I shall beg to do upon this occasion, as I did before the opening of the ministry of the Seals, and the ministry of the Trumpets, give some short statement, according to my view, of the Vials themselves.
And, first. I think it will not admit of a question, but that the opening of the vials, took place at that period, be that period fixed by the different calculations of men, at whatever time it may, when, after the Church had been long persecuted, and darkened, under the Pope and his confederates, the pure Gospel of Christ began to hold up its head. There may be, and indeed there is a diversity of opinion, at what period to place this; whether when this kingdom first began to emerge from popery, or at a more remote period, from the present. I have said before, that though I have here and there spoken in round numbers of years, such as the time that Pagan Rome continued, after Christ’s return to glory; and the probable time, that Arius arose, with his awful heresy: yet I do not mean that this Poor Man’s Commentary shall have anything to do with calculating times, or seasons, as the probable period, when the predictions in this book, remaining to be fulfilled, may be expected to be accomplished. I know that it would much gratify curiosity, for all men by nature love to be supposed, as seeing more into future events than their neighbors. But though this is very natural, yet it is not from grace. I therefore have confined myself to form judgment of the facts, and not of the times. These will all open in due course, as the Lord hath appointed. I therefore, on this subject, of the ministry of the vials, would make this one general observation, namely, that they certainly opened, when the pure Gospel, after the long obscurity under which it had lain in popish legends, and the trumpery of that heresy, began to lift up its head. Then it was, according to my view, when John saw that angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth; and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, Rev 14:6 .
Secondly. It is important, for the right apprehension of the ministry of the vials, to remember, that though they are placed last, its point of order, in this book; yet the opening of the seals were not all finished, neither the sounding of the trumpets all over, before the first vial, and indeed several of the succeeding ones, had performed their ministry. This is abundantly evident, for the greater part of the vials have done their office; indeed all have finished excepting the two last: yet the seventh trumpet is not yet sounded, neither will it, (as is most, probable,) before the seventh vial comes to be poured out.
And, thirdly. It may be proper to make one general observation more, on the subject of those vials, before we go on, to look at each of them particularly; and to remark, that the plagues which follow each vial poured out, do not so totally pass away, as that the whole wrath is expended of one, before the next vial which was to succeed, comes to be poured out. Not so. For we behold the consequences of some of the early vials, even operating now; and, therefore, we are not to conclude, that one woe is past, in all those instances, before another comes. The whole ministry of the vials is directed by the Lord, as his last plagues, to bring down the enemies of his salvation; and, therefore they are so directed by the Lord, as shall best accomplish this purpose. Having thus stated, in a general way and manner, the subject of the ministry of the vials, at large, we will now prosecute the Chapter, and attend to what may be supposed, under each, as particularly intended.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 16:1
In the thirty-seventh chapter of Shirley, Charlotte Bronte applies this passage to Napoleon’s final campaign in Russia, in 1812: ‘This summer, Bonaparte is in the saddle: he and his host scour Russian deserts…. He marches on old Moscow: under old Moscow’s walls, the rude Cossack waits him. Barbarian stoic! he waits without fear of the boundless ruin rolling on. He puts his trust in a Snow-cloud; the Wilderness, the Wind, and the Hail-storm are his refuge; his allies are the elements Air, Fire, Water. And what are these? Three terrible archangels ever stationed before the throne of Jehovah. They stand clothed in white, girdled with golden girdles; they uplift vials, brimming with the wrath of God. Their time is the day of vengeance; their signal the word of the Lord of hosts.’
Rev 16:3
Hugh Miller, in the second chapter of My Schools and Schoolmasters, describes the tales told by his uncle Alexander, who had served in the navy under Nelson, Duncan, and Sir Ralph Abercromby. Late in life, when the old warrior had been reading Keith’s Signs of the Times, and when ‘he came to the chapter in which that excellent writer describes the time of hot naval warfare which immediately followed the breaking out of war, as the period in which the second vial was poured out on the sea, and in which the waters became as the blood of a dead man, so that every living soul died in the sea, I saw him bend his head in reverence as he remarked, “Prophecy, I find, gives to all our glories but a single verse, and it is a verse of judgment!”‘
Rev 16:6
The blood of man should never be shed but to redeem the blood of man. It is well shed for our family, for our friends, for our God, for our country, for our kind. The rest is vanity; the rest is crime.
Burke.
Reference. XVI. 6. E. M. Geldart, Echoes of Truth, p. 283.
Rev 16:7
Whiting to Sir Charles Bunbury in 1870 upon the Franco-Prussian war, Charles Kingsley declared: ‘There can be no doubt that the French programme of this war was to disunite Germany once more, and to make her weak and at the mercy of France…. The emperor fancied that after deceiving the French people after governing them by men who were chosen because they could and dared deceive, that these minions of his, chosen for their untruthfulness, would be true, forsooth, to him alone; that they would exhibit, unknown, in a secret government, virtues of honesty, economy, fidelity, patriotism, which they were forbidden to exercise in public, where their only function was to nail up the hand of the weather-glass, in order to ensure fine weather, as they are doing to this day in every telegram. So he is justly punished, and God’s judgments are, as always, righteous and true.’
Reference. XVI. 9. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxiv. No. 2064.
Rev 16:12
What was it that filled the ears of the prophets of old but the distant tread of foreign armies, coming to do the work of justice.
George Eliot, in Romola.
Armageddon
Rev 16:16
It would be foreign to our purpose to enter into the controversy as to the precise location of Armageddon. Place is neither here nor there. The important point is, that there is to be ultimately somewhere a great decisive conflict between the powers of good and evil; the outcome of which will be the complete overthrow of the Prince of Darkness, and the undisputed reign of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It will be profitable to mark the manifestations of evil in these last days, and then on the other hand to observe some of the sure tokens of the triumph of Christ.
I. The Manifestations of Evil. (1) Let us note at the outset the aggravated forms of Avarice which prevail in these days. The scramble for wealth is universal with all its attending selfishness and brutality. (2) Observe also the defiant front of Intemperance in our time. It is the enemy of our home life, our social life, our political life. (3) As to sensuality. (4) Another of the current forms of malignant evil is Bibliophobia, or hatred of the Scriptures as the Word of God. This is the fashionable form of infidelity. (5) Sabbath desecration. (6) As to persecution. (7) War.
II. Observe Some of the Sure Tokens of the Triumph of Christ. (1) The Scriptures as Divine truth have a deeper hold than ever on the hearts of Christian people. The old Book is cherished as it never was cherished before; is studied more earnestly; is believed in more cordially. ‘The Word of the Lord is tried.’ It has been vindicated, triumphantly vindicated, as a true volume from beginning to end. (2) Christ is served in His Church more loyally and effectively than ever. We are approaching a realisation of the dream of Wesley. ‘All at it, always at it, altogether at it’ (3) The personality and power of the Holy Ghost are recognised in the Church as never before.
D. J. Burrell, The Gospel of Certainty, p. 217.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
XIV
THE SEVEN PLAGUES AND THE SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH
Revelation 15-16
We shall consider in this study the seven plagues and the seven bowls of wrath, or the divine judgment on the leopard beast, and the harlot woman, and the consequent triumph of the true church through the gospel. Revelation 17-19 will continue the same theme. Preliminary Observations
1.Rev 15:1 : by anticipation, presents the plagues as if inflicted, though the details of the infliction are given in Rev 16 .
2.Rev 15:2-4 : in like manner i.e., by anticipation presents the triumph of the saints when the plagues shall have been inflicted, and is given in more detail in Rev 19:1-10 , in its proper historical connection.
3.Rev 15:5-8 , also by anticipation, gives the agencies through which the plagues in Rev 16 will be inflicted and the triumph achieved.
4. The Old Testament analogue which constitutes most of the imagery of Revelation 15-16 is Exodus 1-15. We cannot successfully interpret this lesson without an understanding of the ancient history which suggests its imagery.
5. Another historical analogue, Babylon, and the Euphrates which constituted both its defense and its weakness, suggests the imagery in Rev 16:12 . Here our historical background is Xenophon’s account of the capture of Babylon by the armies of Cyrus, through diversion of the waters of the Euphrates, and consequent drying up of its channel in the city, confirmed both by the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer 50:38 ) and by this passage in Revelation. The Babylon downfall as foretold by the ancient prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, will suggest much of the imagery of Revelation 17-18, which will be more particularly considered in the exposition of those chapters.
6. Our interpretation will make the “seven thunders” of Rev 10:4 , uttered then but temporarily sealed up, i.e., not written, and “the seven plagues” of Rev 15 , and “the seven bowls of wrath” of Rev 16 , substantially the same, though the logical order would be this: The seven thunders called, the seven bowls of wrath responded to the call, and the seven bowls of wrath when outpoured constitute the seven plagues.
These six preliminary observations underlie the exegesis now given in detail. Rev 15 .
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God.”
The reader must note that when these plagues are called “the last,” for in them is finished the “wrath of God,” the import of the term “last” and “finished” must not be stretched beyond their connection. It is a relative “last” and “finished.” It is the last of the divine judgment on the organized apostasy in its triple form of a “Holy Roman Empire,” a papal head and an idolatrous and persecuting counterfeit church, but it cannot refer to the wrath exercised after the millennium in Rev 20:7-10 , nor the wrath of the final judgment (Rev 20:11-15 ). Note next on this first verse the “seven plagues” repeated in Rev 15:6 ; Rev 15:8 and named in Rev 16:8-21 . Their number “seven” indicates their completeness, as will appear when the bowls of wrath which produce them are poured out in succession on the earth, the sea, the rivers and fountains, the sun, the Euphrates and the air. When the lightning strikes in all these places, it touches the whole circumference of environment. There is no escape from such diverse wrath. It is done. It is finished. The measure is filled up to overflowing.
We now look back to the historical analogue. We have in Exodus 1-15 the great war between Jehovah and the gods of Egypt for the redemption of his national Israel, or between Moses, the mouthpiece of God,, and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, or between the miracles wrought by Moses and the lying wonders of the magicians, Jannes and Jambres. Jehovah speaks, Moses acts, the ten plagues follow, just as here the seven thunders are God’s voices, the bowls of wrath respond and the plagues are the result. Whoever has studied the ten plagues of Egypt will see their completeness touching all the environment and degrading every god in Egypt, and all their ministers, whether king, magician, or priest. All these discriminated between Israel and Egypt; on one they fell, the other was exempt. The very form of some of these plagues is repeated here, as will appear in our exegesis of chapter 16. The conflict terminated with the complete overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea, and “Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and Israel saw the great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared Jehovah; and they believed in Jehovah and in his servant Moses” (Exo 14:30-31 ).
“And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that came off victorious from the beast, and from his image and from the number of his name, standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: Great and marvellous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, thou king of the ages. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy righteous acts have been made manifest.”
This is almost an exact parallel of the analogue at Exo 14:19-22 , and the triumph song at Exo 15:1-18 , and Miriam’s response at Exo 15:20-21 . The Old Testament analogue alone enables us to explain “the sea of glass mingled with fire” which so unnecessarily perplexed commentators. You need only to conceive of the Red Sea divided standing up in walls on either side, and as Exo 15:8 , expresses it: “The floods stood upright as an heap; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea,” then conceive Israel marching in triumph between and the pillar of fire between them and Pharaoh, shining on those ice walls which, as mirrors, reflected its light, it indeed seemed a “sea of glass mingled with fire,” and so “they were baptized in the cloud [pillar of cloud overshadowing] and in the sea” (her walls on two sides encompassing them). Hence it might be called a baptism, so overwhelmed and enwrapped were they, but it was a baptism in light. So here, after the plagues have overthrown their long-time enemies with a complete overthrow, the saints, bathed in radiance, sing their song of triumph which, on account of the analogue, is called “The song of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lamb.”
The study is profitable to compare the Moses song (Exo 15 ) with the song here (Rev 15 ), and its more elaborate form (Rev 19 ).
On the closing paragraph of Rev 15:5-8 , it is necessary now to note only the following points:
1. “The temple of the tabernacle of testimony,” or the sanctuary of the tent, means here the church as an institution, through which as an agent the plagues are to be inflicted.
2. The priestly garb of the angels carrying the plague also indicates human agency.
3. The “smoke” in temple or sanctuary indicates the Divine Presence, as in Exo 40:34 ; Num 9:15 ; 1Ki 8:10-11 ; Isa 6:4 . While Moses nor the priests of Solomon could for a while enter the holy house, filled by the cloud, there seems to be an additional idea in the Isaiah case that as God entered for fully ripened judgments there could be no intercession allowed while the judgments were being inflicted, since probation was ended and the space for repentance was withdrawn. Such also appears to be the idea here, as we repeatedly note in Rev 16 that no repentance followed these plagues. (See Rev 16:9-11 .) The plagues, therefore, were not chastisements designed to lead to repentance, but altogether punitive. inflicted 16
The Bowls of Wrath, and the Consequent Plagues
General Observations:
1. I restate the general idea of interpretation already suggested by the Old Testament analogue (Exodus 1-15). Before Pharaoh and his people could be induced to liberate God’s ancient Israel, all the supports of their power must be swept away by successive divine judgments. These judgments were like the flood in the days of Noah: “The windows of heaven were opened; the fountains of the deep were broken up; the waters increased; the waters prevailed and increased mightily; the waters prevailed mightily, mightily upon the earth, and all the high mountains that are under the whole heavens were covered. Fifteen cubits did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.” As the waters of the flood wiped off from the face of the earth every living being, so the ten plagues swept away all the props of Egypt, and just so here, by successive judgments, God completely sweeps away all the props of Satan’s usurped kingdom. Whatever the meaning of the symbols, “the earth, sea, rivers and fountains, sun, the throne of the beast, the great river Euphrates, the air,” on which in succession the bowls of wrath were poured, they represent exhaustively the whole resources of Satan’s kingdom under its apostate forms of a Holy Roman Empire, its papal head, and its harlot counterfeit church. While we may not be dogmatic in the interpretation of these symbols, the meanings given are the expression of sincere and thoughtful judgment.
2. Any student must be struck with the correspondence, in part, between the events under the trumpets and under the bowls of wrath, particularly where the apostasy poisoned the fountains and dimmed the sun. So in just the same place here the lightning will strike.
3. “Har-Magedon” (Rev 16:16 ). Literally, this compound word means “the hill of Megiddo.”
Geographically, it overlooks the great plain of Esdraelon, near the middle of the Mediterranean coast of Palestine.
Historically, on account of its strategic position, it has been the decisive battleground of the ages for the fate of that country. Here Joshua conquered. Here, in the times of the Judges, Barak, and Deborah won their decisive victory over Sisera (Judges 4-5), and Gideon his signal triumph over the Midianites (Jdg 7 ). Here Saul lost his life and kingdom (1Sa 31:8 ), and here good Josiah lost his life in battle with the Egyptians, which called forth an ordinance for lamentation by Jeremiah and the people (2Ch 35:24-25 ). And this great mourning for Josiah suggested to Zechariah the greater penitential mourning of the Jewish people which will lead to their salvation in a later day (Zec 12:10-13:1 ). This same valley was the battlefield of the Ptolemies of Egypt and Seleucids of Antioch for the supremacy of the Holy Land, and for Saracen and Crusader after their day, and the scene of many struggles since.
Prophetically, in the Old Testament is it equivalent to Joel’s great battle in the valley of Jehoshaphat: “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision” (Joe 3:1-17 ), and Zechariah’s great war for the recovery of Spiritual Jerusalem (Zec 14:2-15 ), and Daniel’s great battlefield (Dan 11:45-12:1 ), and Isaiah’s blood-stained hero (Isa 63:1-6 )?
Prophetically in this book are the parallel passages, the greatvintage (Rev 14:17-20 ), the war of Har-Magedon (Rev 16:14-16 ), and the great victory preceding and introducing the millennium (Rev 19:10-21 )? With the literal, geographical and historical backgrounds we have no concern except to find the symbolic imagery. The prophetic meaning from the symbols we must gather from the four Old Testament passages and the three New Testament passages, cited. For the answers to these last two questions see Rev 15 and Rev 17 respectively. Exegesis of Rev 16 , beginning with Rev 16:1 :
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast and that worshipped his image.”
Note first that this judgment finds its symbol in the sixth plague on Egypt, the plague of the boils and ulcers. And also note that, as here, the wrath was poured on the “earth,” and the victims are those who worshiped the beast and wore his mark. So from Rev 13:11-17 , we have learned that the earth beast with the voice of a dragon caused men to worship the image of the leopard beast and to receive his mark. In the Egyptian plague, the body was afflicted, but what means it here? Here it must mean some ulceration of mind and soul, a spiritual inflammation causing exquisite torment. One may not define too confidently just what state of mind fulfils this prophecy. But we will not be far afield if we refer it to that mental disquietude and spiritual unrest which come to all idolaters when their delusions are scattered by exposure of the false objects of worship, and the torments of remorse when seeing that they have been blinded and enslaved in turning away from the service and worship of the true God. Intense despair of spirit follows such disenchantment when the mind at last beholds the entire system of counterfeit religion to be earthly, sensual devilish. The best illustration I know is the ruined Zelica’s shriek of despair when Mokanna lifted his veil and let her see what a foul, hideous demon he was.
“And the second poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.”
Out of the “sea” came the leopard beast (Rev 13:2 ). “The many waters” upon which the harlot sat are defined as “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Rev 17:1-15 ). Wrath poured on the sea then must mean God’s judgment on a politico-religious government, a union of church and state whose ecclesiastical head dominates the many subject nations. That kind of a government is Satan’s masterpiece. It is essential to the prevalence of the papal power. It is the water of life in the papal garden; turn it into blood and the garden becomes a desert. If this line of thought be correct, the interpretation may be applied to the action of all nations that finally repel the supremacy of the Romanist hierarchy over either their national or ecclesiastical affairs. For example, one emperor of Germany went, on Papal demand, to Canossa and put his neck under the foot of the Pope, but Bismarck, referring to William III, said, “This emperor will not go to Canossa.” Or, it would apply to the weakening of the nations strictly Romanist, as Spain is and France was, compared with the increase in power and influence of non-Romanist nations.
In other words, as expressed in Rev 17:13 ; Rev 17:16 , the ten kingdoms which at first had “one mind,” to give their power and authority unto the beast, “to make war on the Lamb,” these later “shall hate the harlot and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”
John Bunyan, in Pilgrim’s Progress, represents his pilgrims as passing by the mouth of a cave from which two old, decrepit giants, “Pagan and Pope,” glared at them in impotent rage, saying, “You will never stop this going on a pilgrimage until more of you be burned,” but their powers to burn bad passed away. The nations now refused to be the executors of ecclesiastical anathemas.
As in the analogue the turning of the Nile the very life of Egypt into blood broke for the time being the power of Pharaoh, so when this unholy alliance of church and state becomes as a dead man’s blood, blood that would no longer flow, governmental persecution for conscience’ sake received a shock from which it has never fully recovered. The ecclesiastical disposition to burn “heretics” still remains, but the states are no longer subservient. So far as the principle is involved, this applies to all persecuting states, whether Pagan, Papal, Greek, Protestant, or Mohammedan. The divine judgment is on the whole business, no matter under what name. The class will note the power of the expression, “the blood of a dead man”; the outward form remains, but the inward arterial current has congealed.”
And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters, and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: Righteous art thou who art and who wert, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood thou hast given them to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying: Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.”
Here we must recall, from Rev 8:10-11 , that the second effect of the apostasy, under the symbol of a star called wormwood, representing an apostate clergy, yet burning as a lamp, representing an apostate church, was the poisoning of a third part of the rivers and fountains, which was there interpreted to mean the sources of thought and life. The judgment now follows the poison. The imagery again comes, but in a different direction, from the first plague on Egypt. That miracle worked in two directions: (1) The Nile, worshiped as a god, became corrupt and death-breeding through conversion to blood; (2) All drinking water in the canals, reservoirs and house vessels became unusable.
The thought of this bowl of wrath, following the second direction of the miracle, is that as by corruption of religious thought, the minds of men have been turned to persecutions, then by so much as they have shed blood shall they be made to drink blood. The punishment comes in kind.
“And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues, and they repented not to give him glory.”
Recalling the fourth trumpet (Rev 8:12 ) we there found the third effect of the apostasy was to dim the sources of light, particularly the third part of the sun. We there interpreted the sun to be the symbol of Christ, and the dimming of the light to be a substitution for Christ in his expiation (by the mass) and in his mediation (by the virgin Mary), and in his vicar (by the Pope). Now again the judgment follows the form of the apostasy. God in Christ is salvation. God out of Christ is a consuming fire. If his light be rejected, his heat scorches. Moses very vividly presents the thought in his farewell address to Israel. If you turn away from Jehovah, everything intended for a blessing will become a curse: “Jehovah will smite thee with consumption and with fever and with inflammation and with fiery heat and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew: and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. Jehovah shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust; from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. . . And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear night and day and shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even, and at even thou shalt say it, Would it were morning; for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.” (Deu 28:22-24 ; Deu 28:66-67 .) Indeed, all of that great chapter of Deuteronomy from v. 15 to the end makes good collateral reading for this sixteenth chapter.
“And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was darkened, and they gnawed their tongues for pain and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works.”
As Christ reigns from Mount Zion symbolic of the true church, so Satan reigns from Babylon, symbolic of the counterfeit church. We see in the next chapter the harlot woman riding the beast, and her mystic name is Babylon. The judgment here falls on the hierarchy resting on a union of church and state. Its ancient power is stripped away; confidence in its holiness is lost; the world marvels that it was once so glorified and its blasphemous pretensions recognized.
“And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrise.”
Here we must recall the historical background which suggests imagery. There was a real Babylon, ancient foe to national Israel. It was situated on both sides of the Euphrates, which constituted its reliance for defense. Your attention has been called in the preliminary observations to the method employed by the armies of Cyrus in diverting the waters through canals reaching around the city on both sides, so that through its empty channel they might enter the city and capture it. Both Jeremiah and Revelation confirm the disputed account of Xenophon. But our concern just now is to interpret the mystic Euphrates.
The author believes it to signify all that mighty conflux of sentiment, superstition and false doctrine erected to support the Romanist pretensions. Through many centuries by schools, monasteries, nunneries, diplomacies, and other means, this sentiment had been created and had supported the mystic city. It was the counter-teaching, culminating in the Reformation, which dried up this Euphrates.
“And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits, as it were frogs; for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God the Almighty.”
If we have been correct in our interpretation in the drying up of the Euphrates by the Reformation teaching, then those symbolic frogs represent in some way the expedients adopted by the Romanist hierarchy to counteract the Reformation and enable it once more to make a world fight for the supremacy. From history we will know what these expedients have been.
There was first of all the pretended ecumenical Council of Trent for a definite statement of the Romanist faith. Ecumenical and Catholic mean literally about the same thing, that is, universal as opposed to local. This council was not ecumenical in fact or in spirit. The vast Greek ecclesiasticism, nor Protestant denominations, nor any of the age-long dissidents from the Romanist idea of the church, were represented. Over those actually present and participating, the Italian representatives of the Pope completely dominated. This Tridentine confession of faith, while divisive in some respects, was yet consolidating in another direction. It drew a distinct line of cleaveage and set up a definite standard around which its followers might rally, and did, with its attendant catechism, erect a strong barrier against further Protestant conquest. This was followed up later by papal encyclicals, resulting in a complete system of Mariolatry, and in 1870 by the Vatican Council declaring the absolute supremacy and infallibility of the Pope.
Now, we might fairly identify as the three frogs: (1) The declaration of the Council of Trent; (2) the declarations of the Vatican Council; (3) the papal encyclicals and syllabuses, particularly those completing the system of Mariolatry. To those doctrinal declarations we may add as enforcers of the decrees two mighty factors:
1. The Inquisition, which long preceded the Reformation as a heresy court, tending to prevent the very spirit of the Reformation, became afterward in some countries, particularly Belgium and Holland, the bloodiest tribunal known in the annals of history. The tools of the Inquisition have become rusty now.
2. But by far the most persistent and aggressive factor of Romanism, defined above, was the organization, under Papal sanction, of the Jesuits, founded by Ignatius Loyola. This compact, secret, iron organization, obeying only the Pope and its general, followed the outbreak of the Reformation, and has not only proved to be the strongest buttress of Romanism, but its most potential propagandist. Its greatest fields of operation have been: (1) missions; (2) diplomacy; (3) tutoring the children of the great. I repeat that modern Romanism, defined in three particulars above, and led by the Jesuits, has aligned its forces for a worldwide conflict, here symbolically called the “war of Har-Magedon,” the consideration of which must be left to a subsequent chapter.
QUESTIONS ON THE PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS
1. How does Rev 15:1 , present the plagues, and Rev 15:2-4 , present the triumph of the saints; and Rev 15:5-8 , present the agencies employed?
2. What Old Testament analogue suggests most of the imagery in Rev 15 and Rev 16 ?
3. What Old Testament analogue of Rev 16:12 , and what historian gives the account of using the Euphrates for conquests of Babylon? And what Old Testament prophecy had forecast the history?
4. What is the relation between the “seven thunders” (Rev 10:4 ); the “seven plagues” of Rev 15 , and the “seven bowls of wrath” of Rev 15:7 and Rev 16 ?
EXEGESIS
5. At Rev 15:1 , in what sense are these plagues “the last,” and in them “the wrath of God finished”?
6. Give briefly the Old Testament history which furnishes the symbols of these plagues.
7. Explain from Old Testament history the imagery of the “sea of glass mingled with fire,” at Rev 15:2 .
8. As this triumph of the saints, at Rev 15:2-4 , is here given by anticipation, where does it appear in detail?
9. Explain the collection of the Song of Moses with the Song of the Lamb at Rev 15:3 , What the resemblance between the Song of Moses, Exo 15 , the song here and the later song in chapter 19?
10. At Rev 15:5 , explain the words “temple” and “testimony,” and then tell what they symbolize and what the relation to the seven plagues.
11. How does it appear that angels carrying the plagues and bowls of wrath indicate human agency?
12. Explain the “smoke” that filled the sanctuary, and why in this particular case none might enter the sanctuary until the plagues were finished, and prove this from the next chapter, and thereby show the plagues are punitive and not chastisements.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON Rev 16
13. Repeat the general idea of interpretation suggested by the analogue Exo 1:15 .
14. Show how a great preceding judgment is like in its completeness to the Egyptian plagues, and apply both to the case in hand.
15. What symbolic words in Rev 16 show that these plagues strike the whole circle of environment?
16. What correspondence, in part, do you find between the trumpets of Rev 8 and the bowls of wrath in Rev 16 , and why?
17. The Har-Magedon of Rev 16:16 explain it literally, geographically, historically, and prophetically.
18. With what part of this have we present concern? (N. B. The exegesis of the war of Har-Magedon reserved till next lecture.)
EXEGESIS OF CHAPTER Rev 16:1-14
19. Rev 16:1-2 , what plague of Egypt the symbol here?
20. Explain pouring this bowl of wrath on the earth.
21. The Egyptian plague afflicted the body: give the meaning here and illustrate from Tom Moore’s “Lalla Rookh ,”
22.Rev 16:3 : Explain at some length the pouring of this bowl of wrath on the sea: apply and illustrate the interpretation.
23. Quote and show application of passage from John Bunyan.
24. What Egyptian plague the analogue here? Apply the meaning broadly and explain the significance of “the blood of a dead man.”
25. What the first effect of the apostasy smitten by this plague?
26. Rev 16:4-7 : What the second effect on the apostasy given in Rev 8:10-11 , and show how the judgment here corresponds.
27. In what two directions did the first Egyptian plague work, and which one considered here in the meaning of the symbol?
28. Rev 16:8-9 : Recalling the fourth trumpet (Rev 8:10 ), what the third effect of the apostasy, the meaning of the symbol there, and the nature and fitness of the corresponding judgment here?
29. Illustrate from farewell address of Moses.
30. Rev 16:10-11 : Explain the throne of the beast.
31.Rev 16:12 : What is the historic background furnishing this symbolism, and what is the meaning of the Euphrates here, and how brought about, and how long unshaken, and then by what dried up?
32.Rev 16:13-14 : In general terms the meaning of the three frogs? And the purpose?
33. In specific terms?
34. What two factors greatly helped to enforce these decrees?
36. In what ways have the Jesuits most helped Rome?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Ver. 1. Go your ways ] A proof of the divine calling of the ministers of the gospel. This commission came out of the temple, as obtained by the prayers of the saints.
Pour out the vials ] See Trapp on “ Rev 15:7 “
Upon the earth ] Upon Antichrist and his adherents, Roma facta est ex aurea ferrea, ex ferrea terrea, Rome was made from golden to iron and from iron to dirt, said one of her own favourites. It is said, Rev 12:16 , that the earth helped the woman; and yet here that the vials of God’s wrath were poured out upon the earth; to teach us, saith one, that men may be useful for the public, and yet not freed from God’s wrath. But that by-the-by only.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 21 .] THE SEVEN VIALS. See the general remarks on ch. Rev 8:1 for all questions common to the three great series of visions. The following special particulars are here to be noticed: 1) In the description, ch. Rev 15:1 , which first introduces these plagues, they are plainly called . There can then be no doubt here, not only that the series, reaches on to the time of the end, but that the whole of it is to be placed close to the same time. And this is borne out by the particulars evolved in the course of the visions themselves For we find that they do not in point of time go back, but at once take up the events of the former visions, and occur during the times of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the mystery of God should be finished. 2) As in the seals and in the trumpets, so here again, there is a marked distinction between the first four and the following three. As there, so here, the objects of the first four are the earth, the sea, the springs of waters, and the sun. After this the objects become more particularized: the throne of the beast, the river Euphrates, with the reservation of that peculiar and vague character for the seventh , which seems to belong to it in all the three series. 3) As before, so now, there is a compendious and anticipatory character about several of the vials, leading us to believe that those of which this is not so plain, partake of this character also. For example, under the third vial we find an acknowledgment of the divine justice in making those drink blood who shed the blood of saints and prophets. This, there can be little doubt, points on to the judgment on Babylon, in whom, ch. Rev 18:24 , was found the blood of saints and prophets, and of all that had been slain on the earth. Again, under the sixth we have the same great gathering to battle which is described in detail, ch. Rev 19:17-21 . And finally, under the seventh , we have a compendious anticipatory notice of the judgment of Babylon, hereafter, ch. 7, 8, to be described in detail, and of the great day itself in Rev 16:20 , also hereafter (ch. Rev 20:11-15 ) to be resumed at more length. 4) As we might expect in the final plagues, we have no longer, as in the trumpets, a portion of each element affected, but the whole. 5) While in the first four vials the main features of the first four trumpets are reproduced, there is one notable distinction in the case of the fourth . While by the plague of the fourth trumpet, the sun, moon, and stars are partially darkened, by that of the fourth vial the power of the sun is increased , and the darkening of the Kingdom of the beast is reserved for the fifth .
The minor special features will be noticed as we proceed. On the whole, the series of the vials seems to bear a less general character than the other two. It takes up a particular point in the prophecy, and deals with symbols and persons previously described. It belongs, by its very conditions, exclusively to the time of, or to days approaching very near to the time of, the end: including in itself the subsequent details as far as the end of ch. 20: without however noticing most important features and considerable prophetic periods.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1 .] Introductory . And I heard a great voice out of the temple (from the fact ch. Rev 15:8 , that the divine Presence is filling the temple, and that none might enter into it, this voice can be no other than the divine voice. The words may have been erased (as in var. readd.) from the difficulty presented by below, none being able to enter during the pouring out of the vials) saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God into the earth (so, previous to the series of trumpets, the angel casts the fire from the altar into the earth, ch. Rev 8:5 ).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Revelation Chapter 16
In chapter 16 we have these seven Bowls poured out. It is not now “the third” as under the Trumpets, with which the analogy is close; there is no restriction to the western sphere of Rome. The whole apostate region is smitten, and with yet more severity. “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven bowls of the fury of God unto the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl unto the earth, and it became an evil and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and those that did homage to his image.” Here it is God’s hand smiting with utter pain the men who were either slaves or worshippers of the Beast, though it resembled the plagues on Egypt, not yet the destruction in the Red Sea.
“And the second poured his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” The infliction here fell on the unsettled and revolutionary state outside “the earth” of the preceding stroke. Spiritual rather than physical death is meant.
Then follows another stroke. “And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou that art, and wast, the holy (or, gracious) One, because thou didst thus judge; because they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and thou gavest them blood to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying, Yea, Lord God the Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.” The moral character and springs on which men think and act become deadly; and this in retribution for the heartless cruelty of Christendom, as at that time also, toward saints and prophets. For God does not forget such ways, however concealed afterwards under tombs, and statues, and titles of pretended honour, since their death.
“And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. And the men were burnt with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, that had the authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give him glory.” Here it is not the sun, moon, and stars in accord with the great earthquake of the sixth Seal; nor yet their third part darkened as at the fourth Trumpet; but the supreme governing power scorching men beyond endurance. Yet men blaspheme God’s name all the more in the hardness of their impenitent hearts.
There is the usual order, as we have seen in the other series of seven judgments: four, and then three to follow. All the different departments of nature, whatever may be symbolised by them (and their meaning seems neither indeterminate nor obscure) were to be visited by the Bowls of God’s fury.
The three later Bowls, like the three Woe-trumpets, come to the closest quarters with men, and ever more and more unsparing.
The fifth angel poured out his Bowl on the throne of the Beast. It is clear therefore that we have here a Gentile sphere before us, which fits in with the prefatory scene. “The fifth angel poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and for their sores, and repented not of their works” Assuredly this does not agree with the imaginary picture some Futurists have painted of the Beast’s kingdom; any more than some poets conceive of Satan reigning in hell. We can readily presume that he held out Elysian fields as a bait to his subjects; but on his kingdom darkness fell, and his people gnawed their tongues in their blasphemy against the God of heaven.
Thence we are transported to the east. “And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way of the kings [that] are from the sun-rising might be prepared.” The Euphrates was the old boundary that separated the empire on its oriental frontiers from the vast hordes of uncivilised north-eastern nations destined to come into conflict with the powers of the west in the latter day. Thus the way is made plain for them to come forward and enter into the final struggle. This seems to be what the drying up of the great river means. What a striking proof of the orderly structure of the book it is, that here in the sixth Bowl occurs a parenthesis, as we saw at the same point of the sixth Seal and of the sixth Trumpet!
“And I saw out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are the spirits of demons, working signs, which go forth unto the kings (not ‘of the earth and’) of the whole habitable world, to gather them to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” The three unclean spirits express the hatred of the dragon as the personal enemy of Christ, of the resurrection Beast from the pit or the revived Roman empire, and of the false prophet or Antichrist in the land. There is about to be a universal uprising and fight to the death between the east and the west. But the Lord has designs which neither side knows or regards, and He is no indifferent spectator. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And they (or, he) gathered them together unto the place called in the Hebrew tongue Harmagedon.” Compare Jdg 5:19 , Jdg 5:20 . From verses 13 to 16 is the parenthesis in this septenary, as always.
Here it may be seasonable to point out the difference, in principle as in fact, which distinguishes the first act in the Lord’s coming again for the heavenly saints, from the second which applies to Israel and the earth. We are to be caught up to meet Him who will present us in the Father’s house. The godly Jews in the day of His appearing are to be delivered at what seems to be the last gasp by His destruction of their Gentile foes and of their own apostate brethren, when He descends to establish the kingdom in power and glory over all the earth.
Lastly comes the seventh angel, who deals with the world still more decidedly and universally by pouring out on the air. “And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of the heaven, from the throne, saying, It is come. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake,” not only vast but unexampled, “such as was not since men were on the earth, such an earthquake, so great.” Clearly therefore judgment from heaven becomes yet more crushing in its blows on man here below. For the Bowl was poured on that which acts immediately on all here below, and is most essential to health and life.
“And the great city came () into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell; and great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled, and mountains were not found. And a great hail as of a talent-weight cometh down out of the heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the stroke of the hail, for its stroke is exceeding great.” “The great city” is civilisation in its general extent, and is distinguished from “the cities of the nations” (that is, of the nations outside “the great city”) that fell in their local centres; but “great Babylon” is envenomed by that implacable cruelty which is inseparable from worldly religion, its corruption and idolatries. God did not forget her course who had long departed from His grace and truth. This enables us to put the warning of the fall of Babylon into its true place in the sevenfold series of God’s dealings in Rev 14 . The end of chap. 16 brings us there, but goes no farther. It stops short of the Lord’s appearing. None of these varied intimations could be spared without loss, though the hasty mind of man may count them strange and disorderly.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 16:1
1Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
Rev 16:1 “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels” Rev 15:8 shows that this must be the voice of God Himself. This last group of angels had ultimate authority to destroy God’s earth. In the OT the death angel and the angel of destruction are God’s servants, not Satan’s.
“Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God” This is an OT symbol for the judgment of God on unbelieving nations (cf. Psa 79:6; Jer 10:25; Eze 22:31; Zep 3:8). This term is used often in this context for God’s wrath on unbelievers (see note at Rev 7:14, cf. Rev 16:1-4; Rev 16:8; Rev 16:10; Rev 16:12; Rev 16:17) because of
1. their blasphemy (cf. Rev 16:9)
2. their persecution of believers (cf. Rev 16:6)
3. their stubborn refusal to repent (cf. Rev 9:20-21; Rev 16:9-12)
For “wrath of God” see full note at Rev 7:14.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
out of. App-104.
Temple. See Mat 23:16.
seven angels. See Rev 15:1.
Go . . . ways = Go forth. Greek. hupago.
vials. See Rev 15:7.
God. App-98.
upon = into. Greek. eis.
earth. App-129.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1-21.] THE SEVEN VIALS. See the general remarks on ch. Rev 8:1 for all questions common to the three great series of visions. The following special particulars are here to be noticed: 1) In the description, ch. Rev 15:1, which first introduces these plagues, they are plainly called . There can then be no doubt here, not only that the series, reaches on to the time of the end, but that the whole of it is to be placed close to the same time. And this is borne out by the particulars evolved in the course of the visions themselves For we find that they do not in point of time go back, but at once take up the events of the former visions, and occur during the times of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, when the mystery of God should be finished. 2) As in the seals and in the trumpets, so here again, there is a marked distinction between the first four and the following three. As there, so here, the objects of the first four are the earth, the sea, the springs of waters, and the sun. After this the objects become more particularized: the throne of the beast, the river Euphrates, with the reservation of that peculiar and vague character for the seventh, which seems to belong to it in all the three series. 3) As before, so now, there is a compendious and anticipatory character about several of the vials, leading us to believe that those of which this is not so plain, partake of this character also. For example, under the third vial we find an acknowledgment of the divine justice in making those drink blood who shed the blood of saints and prophets. This, there can be little doubt, points on to the judgment on Babylon, in whom, ch. Rev 18:24, was found the blood of saints and prophets, and of all that had been slain on the earth. Again, under the sixth we have the same great gathering to battle which is described in detail, ch. Rev 19:17-21. And finally, under the seventh, we have a compendious anticipatory notice of the judgment of Babylon, hereafter, ch. 7, 8, to be described in detail,-and of the great day itself in Rev 16:20, also hereafter (ch. Rev 20:11-15) to be resumed at more length. 4) As we might expect in the final plagues, we have no longer, as in the trumpets, a portion of each element affected, but the whole. 5) While in the first four vials the main features of the first four trumpets are reproduced, there is one notable distinction in the case of the fourth. While by the plague of the fourth trumpet, the sun, moon, and stars are partially darkened, by that of the fourth vial the power of the sun is increased, and the darkening of the Kingdom of the beast is reserved for the fifth.
The minor special features will be noticed as we proceed. On the whole, the series of the vials seems to bear a less general character than the other two. It takes up a particular point in the prophecy, and deals with symbols and persons previously described. It belongs, by its very conditions, exclusively to the time of, or to days approaching very near to the time of, the end: including in itself the subsequent details as far as the end of ch. 20: without however noticing most important features and considerable prophetic periods.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
In the fifteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, we had sort of the introduction to chapter sixteen, as we saw the seven angels in heaven who are given the seven final plagues which complete the judgment of God upon the earth. And these seven angels came out of the temple and they were clothed in pure white linen. And one of the cherubim gave to the angels these vials of wrath to pour out upon the earth. And the temple of God was filled with the smoke from the glory of God and it was closed now to man. No man was able to enter in during the time that these seven plagues are being poured out upon the earth.
John said,
I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the eaRuth ( Rev 16:1 ).
And so that awesome command is now given from the temple of God, and these angels are dispatched with the seven final plagues, with which God will smite the earth prior to the sending of His Son to take dominion and control and to rule over the earth.
And the first angel went forth, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the man which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image ( Rev 16:2 ).
It would seem that God now makes a distinction that this noisome, which literally is a running sore, an ulcer type of a sore that doesn’t heal, much like one gets from radiation burns, that God makes a distinction between who that are faithful to Him and those who have worshipped the beast and taken his mark. For the fact that it comes upon those, which have the mark and those that worship his image, does seem that God is now making a difference.
We remember when God poured out His plagues upon the Egyptians that God made a difference at that time, and that the judgments fell upon the Egyptians, but God protected the Israelites from those judgments. Though there was darkness over all the land of Egypt, there was light in the camp of Israel. And God made provisions to protect His people. He had them put the blood upon the lentils and the doorposts of their house so that they would not be grieved with the loss of the firstborn, as were the Egyptians when the Lord past through Egypt that night and killed the firstborn of the whole land. God was making the difference between those that were His and those that are not His.
And such is the case as this first angel pours out his vial and men break out with these horrible sores.
And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea ( Rev 16:3 );
Notice that the first angel touches the earth and the second now touches the sea.
and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea ( Rev 16:3 ).
Just how God is to accomplish this is a matter of speculation. And as we study some of the natural phenomena of the past, we realize that there are many ways by which these things could happen.
Immanuel Velikovsky’s book, “Worlds In Collision”, a book whereby his premise that he seeks to prove is that the planet Venus was introduced into our solar system within the last ten thousand years, within the period of recorded history. And according to his premise, the plagues that came upon Egypt were a result of a near miss with the planet Venus, as it was coming in an erratic orbit into the solar system. And it passed close by the earth, and that the earth was moved from its orbit that it had at that time.
You see, they used to predicate time on a three hundred and sixty-day year, and then suddenly we started moving from three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter, for we realized that that is how much time it takes for us to make our orbit around the sun. But it is his premise that this three hundred and sixty-day year was a correct year. Of course, if you figured on a three hundred and sixty-day year within five years, all of your seasons would be totally fouled up. In every twenty years or so, you would be completely off in your seasons. So, the three hundred and sixty-day year must have been an accurate calculation. But the three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter, he does believe that the earth used to rotate in the opposite direction of the present rotation.
There are a lot of interesting things that he presents in that book which challenges your thinking, but he does feel that the near miss caused a tremendous amount of debris to be brought into our atmosphere. And that as it disintegrated into our atmosphere, as the meteorites do, they turned into a red dust that fell over all the earth. And as it fell into the waters, it turned them to a bloody red, as the waters of Egypt were turned to a bloody red and made undrinkable.
Interesting premise. It is also interesting that one of the concerns that the scientists have today is that of a large asteroid, perhaps getting caught in its orbit within the earth’s gravitational pull and being drawn to the earth, and the tremendous devastation that would come if we were to have a collision with an asteroid that was, say, five miles or more in diameter. And presently they are watching an asteroid whose orbit is bringing it, as far as the astronomical calculations go, it is going to bring it into a fairly close orbit. It is about a seventy-five mile wide asteroid, which would do tremendous devastation to the earth, should we collide with such an asteroid.
There are several thousand asteroids in the solar system, most of them around the planet Jupiter. There is that asteroid belt there. And they have calculated the orbits of many of these asteroids. Some two thousand of them have an orbit that at some time is apt to interact with the earth. So, the chances of asteroids hitting the earth are three in a million every year.
There have been in the past asteroids that have collided with the earth. The crater that is out there near Windslow, Arizona that is three miles in diameter, they feel that that was probably an asteroid. And they also feel that an asteroid of that size impacting the earth is enough to tilt the earth or push the earth. In other words, if it hit at the right angle, it would flip the earth.
And there is a lot of speculation now that the physicists who believe that an asteroid, such as the one that hit in the desert in Arizona there, would have been capable of pushing the earth. So that suddenly, say we were living here in this pleasant Southern California climate, but if the asteroid would hit the earth at the right angle, it could suddenly push us under the Arctic mass of air in just a minute’s time. We would be under this arctic air and everything in a moment would be flash frozen. Instead of sitting in this balmy weather of fifty degrees or so, which it will go down to tonight, we would suddenly be in fifty-degree below zero weather and everything would just be frozen.
And they believe that’s perhaps what has happened in the past and that explains the Mammoths that are frozen in Siberia, who evidently at the time that this catastrophe took place were munching on tropical vegetation. For they in cutting their stomachs open, they found tropical vegetation in their digestive tracks, but suddenly they were frozen in place. And they feel that perhaps an asteroid hit and pushed the earth so that it twisted and an area that was once tropical was suddenly pushed under the mass of Arctic air and frozen in place. So, the change was not a gradual change, but sudden and catastrophic.
And so by what means, God is going to bring to pass these judgments is left to speculation, what kind of phenomena, whether it be an asteroid or what, is something that we do not know. Of course, our scientists are so concerned about this that our government and Russia are spending millions of dollars in the research of this program. They are putting up a new telescope on Kit Mountain near Tucson, and its purpose will be just to track the asteroids and to alert the world of the dangers. And there is talk of if it becomes an eminent danger of a particular asteroid coming into our gravitational field, that we would send perhaps a space shuttle on out to the asteroid and try to divert its orbit.
Or they have talked about blowing the thing up with an Atom bomb, but on further study of that they realized that we would be colliding with a lot of debris and that didn’t seem to be too pleasant a thought. So, it is a major scientific project right now, the protecting of the earth from the possibility of impacting with asteroids that exist out here in our solar system, thousands of them. There are over two thousand that are already charted to, at some point, interact with us here on the planet earth. Who knows?
Next year we ought to have an interesting experience as Halley’s Comet returns and unfortunately this time around we probably won’t be able to see it, as far as seeing the tail as it makes its orbit. They predict now that the orbit will be made outside the sun, or before it gets to the sun, and as it moves away will probably not be visible to the earth. The tail of the comet is caused by the gravitational pull of the sun as it begins to move away. A lot of the debris. It has this million-mile tail of junk, just junk flying through the sky. We will be coming into orbit with that junk that is in the tail of Halley’s, Comet and we’ll have some interesting meteorite showers. After next year, though, we may not see the actual comet tail, and all. We will probably have some spectacular displays of what are commonly called falling stars, but are debris from space that come into our atmosphere.
There are some eighteen thousand meteorites that come into our atmosphere every minute and are burned as they come into our atmosphere. Small particles of space junk God has designed to dissolve, for the most part, as they heat up through friction as they come speeding into the denser atmosphere around the earth. And they, of course, disintegrate or burn out most of the time before they hit the earth. Some of them hit the earth and you have probably seen some of the meteorites that have fallen and hit the earth.
But God is going to bring these judgments. By what natural phenomena, we do not know. It could be that God will bring to pass something that man has not yet seen up to this point, but you can be sure it is going to happen. And whatever causes the seas to turn red like blood? We have even seen here, during those years where we have what is known as the red tide, the plankton as it multiplies it gives the water a reddish hue. This is the result of the plankton taking the oxygen out of the water and it is quite deadly to the fish, as the oxygen within the water is depleted by the red tide. It makes for spectacular viewing.
Whenever there is a red tide, I love to go to the beach at night and watch the surf, because it looks like neon tubes. When the surf breaks the plankton, which has a lot of phosphorous in it, and as the waves roll, the phosphorous lights up and it looks like neon tubes lighting up in the ocean. It is spectacular to watch, but horrible to swim in. The surfing is bad in a red tide. The water tastes horrible if you happen to swallow it and your eyes really burn if you get water in them with that red tide, but oh, how beautiful at night.
So, it could be a massive red tide depleting the water of the oxygen and causing those souls within the sea to die.
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and the fountains of waters; and they became as blood ( Rev 16:4 ).
So, not only will the ocean be turned as blood, but now also the rivers and fountains of water, also. The similar thing happened in Egypt, as you recall, and the water became undrinkable. So, when this happens on a worldwide scale, imagine what this is going to do to man when suddenly all your fresh water supplies are polluted. They are about half polluted now. In this particular plague, the water supplies being polluted is going to be devastating for man.
And as the waters are turned to blood and made undrinkable,
I heard the angel of the waters say ( Rev 16:5 ),
Now, later on we are going to have an angel standing in the sun. Here is an angel that God has put over the charge of the fresh waters.
Interesting, these angels. They are going to be interesting persons to meet. I am sort of anxious to meet the angel that God is given charge to watch over me. The Bible says that “He will give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways, to bear thee up at any time, lest you dash your foot against a stone”( Psa 91:11-12 ). So, it is going to be interesting to meet the angel that has been watching out over me. I want to know what happened to him on a few occasions. He was sleeping on the job or something. But that is all right. I forgive him. I want him to know before I get there that I don’t hold anything against him. But it will be fun to meet him.
Now, here is an angel that God has put in charge of the waters. And the angel of the waters declares,
Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus ( Rev 16:5 ).
It is just sort of right on God. What a perfect judgment! One thing about God is that His judgments are right. And here is the declaration of the righteousness of God’s judgment and all the way through this whole period of judgment we find the voices that are declaring the righteousness of God’s judgment.
It is interesting that though through heaven there comes the continual testimony of the righteousness of God’s judgment. This is the thing that many people are concerned about and worried about is will God be fair. Would it be fair for God to condemn forever a man who never had the opportunity of knowing Jesus Christ? Would it be fair for God to condemn forever a baby who died without ever having knowing or heard or making a decision et cetera, et cetera? Whatever God does will be absolutely fair. God will not be unfair. He will not be unjust. You don’t have to worry about that.
Here, as God turns the fresh water into blood, the angel says “righteous God”. That is right on.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and now you’ve given them blood to drink; they deserve it ( Rev 16:6 ).
They have shed so much blood. What a righteous judgment. They like blood so much, give it to them to drink.
And I heard another angel out of the altar say, Amen, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments ( Rev 16:7 ).
So, the affirmation during the period of judgment of the righteousness of God’s judgments.
Abraham, when the Lord announced to him that He was going to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham said, “Shall not the Lord of the earth be just?” Shouldn’t God be fair? “What if there are fifty righteous people in that city. Would you destroy the righteous with the wicked? Shouldn’t God be fair?” The Lord said, “If there are fifty righteous, we will spare the city.” “What if there are forty righteous?” “Forty righteous, we will spare the city.” “What if there are thirty?” “For thirty, I will spare the city.” “What if there are twenty? What if there are ten?” The Lord said, “If there are ten righteous persons, we will spare it for the ten”( Gen 18:22-32 ). The angels got to the city of Sodom and found one righteous man. So what did they do? They lead him out and they said, “Hurry get out of here. We can’t destroy this thing until you are out.”
God is righteous. God is fair. The judgments of God are righteous and true. You can count on that.
And the fourth angel 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 they blasphemed the name of God ( Rev 16:8-9 ),
A lot of times we have the concept that if God would only send his judgment that people would turn from their wickedness. That is generally not the case. When God sends His judgment, the righteous, who have turned from their righteousness, turn back to God. And we do read in the Old Testament where the judgments of God caused the righteous to turn to the Lord. But the judgments of God so often just harden the heart of the impenitent. And such is the case during the great judgment period. Rather than turning these people to the Lord, they blaspheme God. These preachers who think their sermons on hell, fire, judgment, brimstone and all are going to turn people to the Lord are really not that versed in the scripture.
For the scripture says, “Know ye not that it is the goodness of God that bringeth a man to repentance”( Rom 2:4 ). That is the thing that really gets me. I know what I deserve. You don’t have to tell me. But to tell me that God loves me and is willing to forgive me, willing to pardon me, willing to make me His child and to share His eternal kingdom with me, that is the thing that gets me. He causes me to turn my heart and life to God and to change. The goodness of God leads a man to repentance.
So, as God’s judgments fall, and as the sun is now scorching men. Now again how this is accomplished is a matter of speculation. We know that the sun shall be darkened before the day of the Lord comes. The moon turns as blood and the sun into darkness. It could be before the sun goes into darkness; it could be that the sun goes into a super nova condition. This is a phenomena that we have observed in the universe, as stars that go into this super nova condition where they heat up for a few days and increase in their intensity and light as they are sort of burning out and then they just seem to die out.
The death of the stars is a super nova condition. It is sort of like a light bulb when the glass is broken suddenly. It will go very bright because the oxygen is now hitting those filaments. But because of the extreme brightness and the oxygen hitting the filaments, the filaments gets so hot that they burn in two and the thing goes out. With the stars it is a different principal. We don’t know what causes a super nova yet. They become extremely brilliant and then apparently have burned out or something, but it is a super nova condition. It could be the sun will come into a super nova condition. Imagine what that would do to the people on the earth, if the sun became as a super nova. We do know that there is going to be a dimming effect. And the sun will shine for a third part and so forth during that part of the tribulation. So, this could be a super nova.
It could be that what is happening during these seven last plagues, this could be that there is a major nuclear holocaust upon the earth. That Russia and the United States and everybody else lets go all of their nuclear weapons. And we know one of the effects of the nuclear weapons being detonated in our atmosphere is the destruction of the ozone blanket which has already been depleted by all of the fluorocarbon gases that were used to pressurize the different shaving creams, and so forth, that we used to have in pressurized cans. And these fluorocarbon gases went up into the stratosphere combined with the ozone gases, which is a very unstable gas at best, and as they combine with the ozone, broke it down, and so the prohibition against the fluorocarbons in pressurized cans.
We know also that the atom bombs have the same effect on this ozone blanket, which is a protective blanket, which does shield us from much of the ultraviolet rays of the sun. And that seems to be the purpose for God putting the ozone blanket there to protect the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays, for the exposure to these ultraviolet rays causes running sores. It causes noisome pestilences, really, if you are exposed to ultraviolet rays. It creates burns, skin cancer. So, maybe what we have here is a nuclear holocaust and these are the effects that would happen as a result of a nuclear holocaust.
God knows what man’s folly will bring to past, as far as natural calamities. It is interesting that God predicted in Isaiah nineteen, the building of the Aswan Dam. Not only did He predict the building of the Aswan Dam, but He also said all of the ecological damage that would result from the building of that dam, the destruction of the fishing industry, the loss of farm land and crops and so forth, and the ecological problems that would result from the building of the Aswan Dam; He said that the counselors were fools because they did not take into the account the ecological damage.
Actually, there has been talk of blowing up the dam to cure the ecological damage that they have created by the building of the dam. They have, of course, lost the fishing industry completely. That used to be a great fishing industry around the mouth of the Mediterranean, because all of the debris brought by the Nile River fed the fish. With the dam now, all of these nutrients and all are not brought along the Nile River anymore into the Mediterranean.
As a result of the dam, they do not have any longer the silt build up, so you are getting the salt water intrusion into all of that rich delta farm land that used to exist there at the mouth of the Nile where it came into the Mediterranean. Because you see, tons of sand would be brought by the Nile River every year into the Mediterranean and it formed this beautiful delta of farmland and all, but that is not happening anymore; in fact, you are starting to get salt-water intrusion. And they have lost more agriculture acreage than they have gained by their ability now to irrigate with the water, but they have lost more acreage than they have gained. And they have lost the richest kind of acreage.
And so God knows the damage that will take place. And it could be that the Lord here is describing the damage that will result from a massive nuclear holocaust.
Men were scorched with the great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial on the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain ( Rev 16:9-10 ),
So even as God brought darkness upon Egypt, so God brings darkness upon the kingdom of the beast. And again, this could indicate a super nova condition of the sun where it becomes extremely bright for a few days and then becomes dark.
And blasphemed the God of heaven ( Rev 16:11 )
Man continuing to blaspheme God.
because of their pain and their sores, and they repented not of their deeds. So the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared ( Rev 16:11-12 ).
So, God is going to gather together the nations into the area of Israel from the valley of Maggedo to Edom. And so God dries up now the river Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east, China and all of her vast hordes of people, India, Pakistan, Japan moving in from the east.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [demons] that 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 ( Rev 16:13 ).
Interesting thing here. Those who have seem to have had an out of body experience, where their spirits have left their bodies, and they were presumed dead, and had this conscious out-of-body state in which they looked back into the room and saw the activities that were going on in the room, but they were out of their body observing it; it is interesting that for the most part, these that have had these out-of-body type experiences are aware that as their spirit left their body, it left their body through their mouth.
It is interesting when you go back through the Old Testament and you read that God breathed into man and he became a living spirit, and those that have these out-of-body experiences will usually testify of their awareness that their spirit left through their mouth; and when their spirit came back, it came back in through their mouths. It is most common among those that have had these experiences to express it as the spirit going forth out of their mouth.
Now, the interesting thing is that these demonic spirits go forth out of the mouths. It is also interesting that when Jesus cast out many of the demons, there were the loud screamings from the mouths of the individuals as the demons departed. I don’t think it would do any good to keep your mouth shut. It is just an interesting observation. That out of the mouth of the antichrist and his false prophet and out of Satan, out of their mouths go these spirits like frogs, demonic spirits.
For they are spirits of devils, [we are told] 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 ( Rev 16:14 ).
And so by these demonic forces, the kings of the earth will be gathered together unto the area of Armageddon where they are going to seek to make war against Jesus Christ at His return, seek to thwart God’s rule over the earth.
It is interesting how that men in high places of government today are many of them are controlled by demonic spirits. I don’t think that you can really explain their actions apart from demonic spirits. The things that Hitler did and those that were in authority with Hitler cannot be explained except by demonic forces taking over their minds. They could not do the inhuman things that they did to man apart from control by demonic forces. And it is very common knowledge that Hitler was directed and guided by men who were masters in what was known and called white magic. The masters of the spiritist type of movements actually guiding and controlling Hitler. That is really the only explanation for the horrible atrocities that these men were able of committing against fellow man.
And as we look at what is happening in the world today we see that actions can only be explained many times by demonic forces. The going in and slaughtering of people is unthinkable to us in our right minds. How could you do it? How could you order such a thing? But the fact that they are controlled by these demonic forces is the answer.
Now, Jesus said,
Behold, I come as a thief. [He is talking about His return, the Second Coming.] Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And He gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon ( Rev 16:15-16 ).
So, the Lord declaring His coming, coming soon as a thief. Watch and keep your garments. John says, “Lest we be ashamed at Him at His coming”( 1Jn 2:28 ).
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 finished ( Rev 16:17 ).
This is it, the final plague of this Great Tribulation period, the final judgment of God upon the earth. It is over now. Now the time has come for Jesus to return in glory and establish God’s kingdom.
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. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent [sixty to ninety pounds]: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great ( Rev 16:18-21 ).
This describes a tremendous cataclysmic upheaval upon the earth, probably a polar-axis shift. And again a collision with an asteroid could be a possible culprit.
We do know that in times past there have been tremendous geographical changes where, for whatever reason, in the polar-axis shift, the waters are changed, the ocean floors are changed. And suddenly great canyons open up and water comes pouring in and the weight of the water breaking the earth’s crust and causing other thrust areas to be pushed up into the air. New mountains are formed and new mountain ranges form.
In his book, “Earth’s in upheaval”, Immanuel Velikovsky, again brings many interesting phenomena from around the earth that show tremendous cataclysmic changes in the historic period of man that have created tremendous thrust, mountain ranges and so forth. There is an interesting thing that he brings out about Lake Titicaca down in Peru high up there in the Andes, and how that there is a tilt and all on that thing that happened sometime during the period of man’s history upon the earth. “Earth’s in Upheaval” is a fascinating book also by this man filled with interesting research. Though I don’t necessarily go along with the conclusions that he has drawn, I find that the research that he has done is fascinating indeed. And I enjoy reading his books because of the tremendous research that was done.
Thunders, lightnings and a great earthquake; this is not a localized event. Now, we have earthquakes around here. We are existing on a couple of fault lines. There is the Newport fault line. And we are close enough to the San Andres fault line that whenever there is any shift there, we get the effects of it here. But these are local earthquakes. The epicenter is ten miles off Newport Beach or epicenter is down in Imperial Valley, and they can pick out the epicenter in localized earthquakes. But this is not a localized earthquake. This is a worldwide shaking. The earth itself is just going to shake.
Now, Isaiah the prophet also describes this same earthquake in the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah beginning with verse seventeen. He said, “Fear, and the pit, and the snare, or the trap, are upon thee, inhabitants of the earth.” Three things: fear, snare and the trap. “And it shall come to pass, that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that comes up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the trap: for the windows from on high are open and the foundations of the earth do shake.” This is not just the movement of the plates in a local area, but the whole foundations of the earth are going to shake.
“The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, but after many days, a thousand years, they shall be visited,” and shall stand, of course, before the Lord for the Great White Throne Judgment. But here Isaiah describes this condition.
Now again from a scientific kind of an observation, this does sound much like a polar-axis shift as the earth wobbles to and fro like a drunken man and then is moved like a cottage. They believe that these polar-axis shifts take place about every five thousand years. It is a phenomenon that is well known to science. What we call the North Pole today has not always been the North Pole of the earth. The earth has shifted on its axis in the past. This polar axis shift does create tremendous cataclysmic upheavals around the earth, as we have told you about the different change of the ocean floors. They have found fossils high up in the Himalayas, which indicates that it was once covered by water. You go up to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and there at seven thousand feet you see the fossils of shells, mollusks and so forth, there in the strata which indicates that that was at one time an ocean floor. That was at one time below sea level, because the water covered the thing.
So, there have been these cataclysmic changes. It is going to happen again. The earth is going to go into what they call, “the wobble.” The earth does wobble all the time. I think you know that. There is what they call the wobble affect and it cycles every seven years. It seems to peek out and then it sort of levels off for awhile, and has just a slight wobble, but then it begins to build up and every seven years the thing peeks out on this wobble. They feel that sometimes the wobble gets so erratic, that the thing like a top flips over. When this does that, then there is this tremendous cataclysmic change, islands fleeing away.
I said many times that Hawaii probably will not be here in the kingdom. So, if He gave me Hawaii to reign, it could be ten thousand feet under the water. So, I am not too strong on insisting that I get Hawaii during the kingdom as my sphere of reign.
Inasmuch as the whole earth will be restored into the endemic type of condition, it will probably be just as beautiful and lush and tropical in Alaska as it would be in Hawaii. So no matter where you are, it will be gloriously beautiful. “The whole earth filled with His glory.” Out in the middle of the Sahara Desert there will be glorious streams and rivers and waterfalls and forests and all for the desert shall blossom as a rose and there will be rivers in dry places and all as God restores the earth.
So, I am for any place that He wants to put me. It is going to be beautiful to be here in that day when the Lord is reigning and righteousness covers the earth. And we see the earth as God intended it to be for man when He placed man upon it and told him to dress and to keep, be fruitful and to multiply.
But the judgments of God are coming before this great day of the Lord. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Rev 16:1. , the seven vials) The Epistles to the VII. Churches are distributed into III. and IV. The VII. Seals are divided into IV. and III., and likewise the VII. Trumpets, as we have seen: and now also the VII. Vials. The Trumpets have shaken the kingdom of the world in a long circuit; the vials with swift and sharp violence break to pieces the beast in particular, which had clothed himself with the kingdom of the world, and his followers and resources. Therefore the trumpets and the vials advance in the same order. The former set of four touch the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sun: the remaining set of three fall in other quarters, and are much more violent.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rev 16:1
Rev 16:1
See Rev 15:5-8
Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth.–These words are a statement of the commission to the angels. They were spoken in the temple, indicating that the authority to execute their commis-sion is from God. The word “earth” here is to be taken liter-ally, for the angels who were to pour out the plagues were in heaven, and those upon whom they were to fall were dwelling on the earth. The part of the earth in each case corresponds with those affected. This verse is but a general statement of authority being conferred upon the angels; the remainder of this chapter is a detailed description of how that authority was carried out.
Commentary on Rev 16:1 by Foy E. Wallace
(1) A prologue to the plagues-Rev 16:1-14.
1. The voice of Rev 16:1 is not that of an angel but of God himself. The seven angels were commanded to Go your ways-each had a special and separate work to perform, to pour out the vials of wrath. The vials corresponded with the cup of his indignation in Rev 14:10, the contents of which were the components of the penal woes which were to descend on the subjects of Gods wrath. It was during this period of divine wrath that no man was able to enter into the temple to appear in the presence of God for the prayer of intercession to avert the destruction of old Jerusalem and the devastation of the old temple.
Commentary on Rev 16:1 by Walter Scott
THE COMMAND FROM THE TEMPLE.
Rev 16:1. – And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven bowls of the fury of God upon the earth. The terms, voice, voices, a strong voice, a loud voice, and a great voice, have each their own special significance.
The word voice is variously used of Christ, of God, of angels, of the living creatures, of the altar, of the throne, etc. Wherever the word occurs, or to whom or to what it refers in the Apocalypse, there is implied an intelligent apprehension of the subject in question. Its metaphorical application as in Rev 9:13 is no exception.
The plural, voices, occurs eight times, and with one exception (Rev 11:15) is directly associated with judgment. It is one of the premonitory signs of coming wrath (Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5; Rev 8:13; Rev 10:3-4; Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18), and implies that the judicial dealing is not simply the exercise of arbitrary power, but is intelligently governed and directed.
Then we read of a strong voice (Rev 18:2), of a loud voice (Rev 5:2), and of a great voice, as in our text (see also Rev 21:3). The adjectives respectively set forth the character of the voice, which, again, is in exact keeping with the nature of the announcement.
Rev 16:1 – The Seer hears a great voice out of the temple. The sanctuary itself, the holiest spot in the universe, is roused to action. The demand for judgment on the apostate scene proceeds not from the throne, but from the holy of holies. Gods wrath burns fiercely, and its strength is derived from what His holy nature demands and necessitates (Isa 6:1-13). The voice heard in the temple may well be termed great, when the holiness of the place and the majesty of the Speaker are considered.
The completeness of the service in which these judgment angels are employed is signified by the number seven, the predominant and ruling numeral in the Apocalypse. These ministers of Gods wrath, although divinely equipped and commissioned, cannot act till God commands. Go and pour out the seven bowls of the fury of God. These broad-rimmed vessels had been filled in the sanctuary, not with incense, but with wrath – Gods righteous wrath. The voice which orders the execution of these seven plagues (Rev 16:1) announces their completion when all are poured out (Rev 16:17).
Rev 16:1 – Pour out, not sprinkle; the expression refers to the fulness of divine wrath, each vessel overflows, and is to be poured out without stint or measure in succession till all are emptied. A similar phrase is not uncommon in the Old Testament (Zep 3:8; Psa 69:24; Jer 10:25). These seven apocalyptic plagues seem like an answer to the prayer of the suffering Jewish remnant in the coming crisis. Render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached Thee, O Lord (Psa 79:12).
The scene of these plagues is the earth, not geographically but prophetically viewed, hence the course of judgment takes a wider sweep than that under the Trumpets (Rev 8:1-13). Not the apostate Roman earth only, but the whole or the guilty scene within the range of prophetic vision is here given up to feel the vengeance of an angry God.
We are now about to witness these truly awful visitations of divine wrath successively inflicted out of the sanctuary, and from the Bowls, hallowed by temple use and service, now devoted to purposes of judgment.
Commentary on Rev 16:1 by E.M.Zerr
Rev 16:1. The great voice was out of the temple. That means it was from God, for we have learned in the preceding chapter that no man was able to be in the temple at this time. The seven angels have been given the vials of divine wrath, now the voice bids them empty their contents in the places deserving such treatment.
Commentary on Rev 16:1 by Burton Coffman
Rev 16:1
This is the famed chapter of the bowls; and what we have here is a “free adaptation, with modifications and amplifications,”[1] of the series of trumpet judgments depicted in Revelation 8 and Revelation 9, which “the prophet wishes to emphasize by recapitulation.”[2] “These bowls are final but not complete.”[3] God’s saints are not harmed by them. What they represent is the total corruption of earth’s environment, not the physical environment which is here used as a symbol, but the moral, intellectual, religious, and spiritual environment. This perversion of the moral and cultural world of mankind will be the final culmination of evil upon the earth, presenting the true saints of God with their final and most effective challenge.
It is the literalism of scholars, quite unconsciously in many, it seems, that totally dismantles the efforts of some to understand this marvelous chapter. “These plagues cannot be interpreted in a literal sense.”[4] “It is difficult indeed to believe that any such happenings as these would take place in history.”[5] Some who see this, however, fail utterly to come up with an answer as to just what is symbolized. For example, Pieters, who enthusiastically accepted the principle that “literalism here is hopeless,”[6] ” did not even hazard a guess as to what the various bowl symbols mean, declaring that, “The true interpretation has not been found, and probably cannot be found.”[7] Roberson, another highly respected scholar, speaking of interpreting these bowls, wrote, “It may be that no attempt to do so will ever be successful.”[8] Such views are a little embarrassing to this writer who confidently believes that a valid understanding of what is symbolized by the bowls can be presented, an interpretation that is both logical and fully in harmony with what the rest of the New Testament teaches. This will be spelled out below.
These seven bowls are poured out, if not simultaneously, then nearly so; because, as Beckwith noted, “The pains and sores of Rev 16:11 (in the fifth bowl) refer to the first plague,”[9] thus showing that the plagues were operating co-extensively. We might refer to all seven bowls as “”Satan’s Propaganda Apparatus.” But does not God send this? Of course. It is the divine judicial hardening of mankind due to sin and rebellion against God which is undoubtedly in view here, as several very discerning scholars have observed. “This means that the great and final interdiction of God has come.”[10] Exactly the same hardening is here which Paul discussed in Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28. “God gave them up.” This means that God darkened their minds, hardened their hearts and delivered them over to the devices of Satan whom they preferred to serve. It is impossible to understand this chapter without due attention to God’s hardening of the entire pre-Christian world, because this chapter is a prophecy of exactly the same thing happening again before the Second Coming of Christ. That is the reason that the ominous shadow of the plagues of Egypt falls over these bowls, as so many have pointed out. See discussion of, “When God Gives Men Up,” my Commentary on Romans, pp. 38-51, and “The Hardening of Israel,” and also at pp. 392-395. The principle that God does what he allows and requires fully hardened people to do is clear. A good New Testament example is the command of Jesus to Judas, “”Get on at once with the betrayal” (Joh 13:27, a paraphrase). Thus, these bowls are actually the culmination of human wickedness; but they are also, in a very real sense, the judgments of God upon the incorrigibly evil. Wicked men, hardened finally by God himself, due to their obduracy and rebellion, at last “receive in themselves that recompense of their error which was due” (Rom 1:27). When God at last allows sinful man to walk fully and unrestrained in the evil ways he has chosen, the total pollution of the moral, intellectual, spiritual, and religious environment will happen again, just like it did in the case of the pre-Christian Gentiles; and that ultimate hardening of all mankind is the dreadful eventuality symbolized by these seven bowls. The repeated mention in Rev 16:9; Rev 16:11; Rev 16:21 of the absolute refusal of people to repent proves this view to be correct. The chapter deals with the final and ultimate hardening of the human race.
[1] James Moffatt. Expositor’s Greek New Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 446.
[2] Ibid.
[3] William Hendriksen, More than Conquerors (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1956), p. 190.
[4] R. C. H. Lenski. The Interpretation of St. John’s Revelation (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House. 1943), p. 463.
[5] Michael Wilcock, I Saw Heaven Opened (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity Press. 1975), p. 154.
[6] Albertus Pieters, Studies in the Revelation of St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), p. 243.
[7] Ibid., p. 244.
[8] Charles H. Roberson, Studies in Revelation (Tyler, Texas: P. D. Wilmeth, P.O. Box 3305,1957), p. 118.
[9] Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1919), p. 681.
[10] W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation in IV Vols. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1962), III, p. 174.
And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. (Rev 16:1)
Go ye, and pour out … In the chapter introduction, it was noted that these seven bowls are poured out quickly and almost simultaneously. Criswell commented on this:
The Greek indicates that these come one after the other in rapid succession. Just like that! When the judgment (or hardening) finally comes, it comes in a hurry.[11]
Some interpreters apply these to the destruction of Rome, as Summers, for example, who saw them as, “The swiftly executed wrath of God … on the Roman Empire”;[12] but whatever fulfillment occurred in that does not mitigate against the application of them in a much more extensive frame of reference to the final judicial hardening of the entire race of man. The fact of the totality of these judgments (all instead of merely one third, as in the trumpets) forbids our limitation of it to pagan Rome alone. What happened in the fall of Rome is a preview of what is yet to happen, or may indeed be in the process of happening now. Furthermore, there have been many fulfillments of this historically, Pharaoh being the great Old Testament example of it; and all such occurrences are types of these seven bowls of wrath which are the final, ultimate, and “last” manifestation of the same phenomenon. Many have associated these bowls of wrath, and for very good reasons, with the French Revolution.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ray Summers, Worthy is the Lamb (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1961), p. 186.
Commentary on Rev 16:1 by Manly Luscombe
Introduction: The previous chapter was a short introduction to what is coming here in chapter 16. As stated in the introduction to chapter 15, this chapter contains the most difficult section of the book. There is greater variety in the explanations and interpretations of this passage. In this chapter the bowls of wrath are actually poured out. We had seals opened to reveal Gods will. Then we heard the trumpets, which warned us of the plan of God. Now we are about to see the wrath of God as it is poured out. There does appear to be some similarity between the trumpets and the bowls of wrath.
1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. God (the loud voice from the temple) issues the final command. Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. In very rapid succession these bowls are poured out. God is clear and direct. This is what he revealed would happen in the seals. This is what the trumpets warned would happen. Now it is about to happen. No one can say they were not warned.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
A condensed and graphic description of the processes of judgment on the rebellious and sinful race follows. Evil has wrought itself out to its most terrible expression, and now it is to be smitten without mercy.
Everything opened with a great voice sounding from the temple. Terrible physical suffering follows the pouring out of each of the first four bowls. The fifth angel pours his bowl, and the kingdom of the beast is wrapped in darkness. Notwithstanding the unimaginable terror of their condition, the evil men still “blasphemed the God of heaven,” and “they repented not of their works.”
The sixth angel pours his bowl, and there is a change in the method of judgment. The great river Euphrates is dried up. The drying up of this river makes easy the gathering together of the kings of the earth to do battle against the hosts of God. Then comes Har-Magedon.
In the midst of all this John seems to hear a word of Christ, and answers it in a parenthesis. It announces His coming, and pronounces blessing on those who watch. In all these processes of judgment it would seem that a remnant was continually being lifted into the position of submission and loyalty, and every now and again some such word as this declares the watchfulness and tenderness of God and His readiness to receive and rescue from the judgments those who turn to Him.
The seventh angel pours his bowl upon the air, and the voice from the temple is again heard crying, “It is done.” The all-permeating power of God which has operated in beneficent gentleness now shakes the earth, and the judgment of Babylon takes place. Yet again it is written that men still blaspheme God.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Recompense for the Blood of Saints
Rev 16:1-9
It makes us pause to hear that angels, who rejoice over one sinner that repenteth, are employed in these terrible judgments. It is very startling to hear their outspoken acquiescence in the plagues that vitiate the earth, sea, springs, and sun. The angel of the waters insists that God has judged righteously, and the altar, beneath which are the souls of the martyrs, assents.
Our softer age shrinks from such conceptions of the divine judgments, but it is likely that our standards are weakened and warped by our daily contact with what is earthly and human. Gods love is not soft and emasculated, but strong, vigorous, and righteous. Only when we reach the land of light and glory, shall we understand the true horror of sin and the inveteracy of human apostasy. Then we also shall be able to take up those solemn words of endorsement in Rev 15:7, Even so, Lord God, Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Chapter Sixteen The Vials Of The Wrath Of God
The seven vials (more properly, bowls) of the wrath of God are all included in the judgments of the last half of the great tribulation. They show the intensive character that these judgments will take as the end draws on. It seems to me the series covers just a very brief period at the close of the last half of Daniels seventh week. The pouring out of the bowls depicts the judgments that will fall on the kingdom of the beast and the antichrists sphere of authority at the very end of the great tribulation.
The First and Second Bowls (Rev 16:1-3)
As this chapter opens a great voice out of the temple is heard saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out [empty] the [bowls] of the wrath of God upon the earth (1). As in the case of the seven trumpets and the seven seals, I cannot tell you just how much we are to take as symbolic and how much as literal in this septenary series of judgments. We know that the book of Revelation is a book of symbols. Yet there may be a great deal more in it that is literal than many of us suppose. The literal judgments may be intimately linked with the symbolical. No one reading this chapter carefully can fail to observe how intimately the results of the bowls of wrath are linked with the plagues that fell on Egypt preparatory to Israels deliverance. God is again about to deliver His people for the last time. The outpouring of these bowls depicts, in large measure, the woes that were visited on the kingdom of Pharaoh. But descriptions perhaps must be taken symbolically rather than literally; or perhaps both interpretations coalesce.
In verse 2 we read, And 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 worshiped his image. This answers to the plague in Egypt where God inflicted man and beast with boils and sores. It perhaps symbolizes a spiritual plague on those who have received the mark of the beast and worship his image. This plague will cause as great an annoyance as the physical suffering that would follow such a grievous sore on the bodies of men. Notice that the sphere of this plague is the earth and it answers to the first trumpet of Revelation 8. But it is very evident that while the sphere is the same, the judgment is more intense.
In the same way the second angels bowl links with the second angels trumpet which affected the sea. But again we have greater intensity, for in verse 3 we read, And the second angel 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. What a scene of death and desolation, whether we think of it as physical or spiritual or both. All they that hate me, says Wisdom in the book of Proverbs, love death (8:36). And so death is the portion for those who have refused the life that is in Christ Jesus.
The Third and Fourth Bowls (Rev 16:4-9)
The third angels trumpet affected the rivers and fountains of waters. In verse 4 we read that the very sources of life are destroyed, as in the plague that fell on Egypt when the river itself became blood. In verses 5-7 Gods righteousness in thus dealing with those who had slaughtered His servants is fully attested. Every right-thinking person will add his Amen, for God is righteous in all His ways, whether in grace or in judgment.
The fourth angels bowl is poured out on the sun, even as at the sounding of the fourth trumpet the third part of the sun was struck (8:12). But again we have greater intensity in the judgment than in the trumpet series. 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 (16:8-9). The sun is the supreme source of light. This implies that that which should have been for mans comfort becomes a curse instead and the means of his bitter suffering. But, though their anguish is so great, men are not brought to repentance by punishment. Gods name is blasphemed, and His creatures refuse to give Him glory. This is a solemn consideration for those who teach that punishment is really only chastisement and is always corrective.
The Fifth Bowl (Rev 16:10-11)
The next section intensifies this in a remarkable way. The fifth angel empties his bowl on the seat of the beast, striking the center of the last great confederation and filling his kingdom with darkness. Then we read that 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 (10-11). Darkness and anguish do not tend to soften mens hearts or lead them to confess their sins. Their very suffering stirs them up to blaspheme God more. So in the outer darkness of a lost eternity, our Lord has told us there will be weeping and wailing because of suffering endured. But there will also be the gnashing of teeth, which implies rage and indignation against God. With permanency of character he who rejects Christ is guilty of eternal sin and eternal punishment necessarily follows.
At the sounding of the fifth angels trumpet, we were told the bottomless pit was opened, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit (9:2). This explains the darkness that fills the kingdom of the beast when the fifth angels bowl of wrath is poured on the seat of the beast. It is judicial darkness brought about by demoniacal delusions.
The Sixth Bowl (Rev 16:12-16)
We now come to the bowl of the sixth angel, which was very much on the minds of people during the past years of bloody warfare. Again and again the question was raised whether World War I was the Armageddon conflict predicted in the Bible. Teachers instructed by the Word have invariably assured anxious questioners that while that war may have set the stage for Armageddon, it cannot be that great conflict itself. Armageddon is a definite locality in the land of Palestine. The word means the mountain of Megiddo. It refers to the mountain that overlooks the valley of Esdraelon- the great plain of Jezreel in the northern part of the land of Palestine. Napoleon Bonaparte said this plain would make an ideal battleground for all the armies of the world. There, the last great battle is to be fought, just before the appearing of the Lord in glory.
The great river Euphrates was formerly the eastern boundary of the Roman empire and later of the Turkish dominion. Thus, I believe, the sixth angels vial of wrath poured out on the Euphrates speaks of the destruction of that latter power. Luther said, When the Turk is driven out of Europe, then comes the day of judgment. And, in a certain sense, this will undoubtedly be true-not the day of judgment for the wicked dead, but the day of judgment for the living nations. The Turk is an intruder in Europe, the enemy of both God and man; but I am convinced that his hold on Constantinople and the surrounding country is very nearly ended. God will drive the Ottoman empire from Europe and punish that nation. (Since the above was written the Ottoman empire has fallen). The cry of martyred Armenia, and of other peoples who have suffered fearfully from these Asiatic hordes, will be answered by the destruction of the nation that brought such havoc. It is very evident, I think, that God is already beginning to bring this to pass. If you have a map of Europe of one hundred years ago, notice the place that the Turkish empire then had and compare it with a map of the present day, and see how much of its territory has been wrested from it.
I am convinced that it will not be long before Turkey is driven out of Europe altogether. Then, according to the book of Daniel, it will plant the tabernacles of [its] palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet [it] shall come to [its] end, and none shall help [it] (11:45). Driven into Asia Minor, it will finally, I take it, attempt to establish itself in the land of Palestine. And this will arouse not only the European powers in the league of the ten kingdoms, but it will stir up the eastern and northern nations besides. Turkey will, if I understand the prophetic scheme aright, be backed in the last days by Russia, and possibly by Germany too, in opposition to western confederation. Both these great powers will be anxious to hold the land of Palestine, which is admittedly the key to the so-called Eastern question. But the activity of these European nations will arouse the races of the far East, for when the Euphrates is dried up, we are told it is that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared (Rev 16:12).
Who are the kings of the east? Various theories have been suggested. Some consider they may be the so-called lost ten tribes of Israel returning to their land, or perhaps the dominions of Persia, Afghanistan, and so on. It is significant that the word rendered the east is really the sun-rising. Is it only a coincidence that for at least a millennium Japan has been known as the kingdom of the rising sun? May not the Mongolian races, possibly allied with India be the kings of the east depicted in Revelation 16 as coming in conflict with the powers of the west? Thus the whole world will be thrown into bloody warfare, and all nations be gathered together against Jerusalem to battle.
This great world-conflict will be the direct result of the working of demons, for we are told that three unclean frog-like spirits came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. These demons will work miracles, visiting the kingdoms of the earth (that is the prophetic earth) and of the whole world (that is, the nations outside the prophetic earth) to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty (16:14). This will be the great and final Armageddon conflict-the place where they will meet one another in an attempt to settle the final issues.
Notice that there is a parenthetical statement in verse 15. It comes in just before the close of this section, thus preceding the seventh bowl. It is the voice of the Lord Himself, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. The time of His appearing is very close. Those who look for His coming should be watching and keeping their garments undefiled, lest they be put to shame before the ungodly. The undefiled are those who keep themselves from all fellowship with the Satan-inspired movements of the last days. They will walk with God in holy separation from the abounding iniquity, as directed by His Word. The voice is for us as well as for the saints in a future day.
The Seventh Bowl (Rev 16:17-21)
The seventh angels bowl poured out into the air indicates the utter destruction of every spiritual and religious institution that man has built up apart from God. It is the absolute overthrow of civilization and the complete wreck of all mans hopes to bring in even livable conditions in this world, while rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ. The scene is one of anarchy and confusion. Despite the signs of divine wrath resting on the souls of men, they still blaspheme God and give no sign of repentance.
Let me remind you that the church of God is to be caught up before these scenes take place on the earth. We are looking for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Savior from the coming wrath. Do you know Him? If not, I plead with you in the light of all we have had before us, Flee from the wrath to come (Mat 3:7).
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Rev 16:17
Satanic Influence.
I. We know it to have been a prevalent opinion among the Jews that fallen angels had their residence in the air, filling that region which extends between the earth and the firmament. We can hardly say whence the opinion was derived, nor on what sufficient reasons it can be supported. But when St. Paul calls the devil “the prince of the power of the air,” he may be said to favour the opinion and almost to give it the sanction of his authority. It is, however, of little importance that we determine where fallen angels have their habitations; and perhaps the associating the devil with the air is not so much for the purpose of defining the residence of Satan as to give us information as to the nature of his dominion. We mean that probably we are not hereby taught that the devil dwells in the air-though that also may be the meaning-but rather that he has at his disposal the power of the air, so that he can employ this element in his operations on mankind. And we know of no reason why the power of the devil should be regarded as confined to what we are wont to call spiritual agency, so as never to be employed in the production of physical evil, why the souls, and not also the bodies, of men should be considered as objects of his attack. If we believe, as we do believe, that ever since his first success Satan has been unwearied in his endeavours to follow up his victory, as far as the soul is concerned, by instigating to sin, plying with temptations, and throwing obstacles in the way of piety, why should we not also believe that he has continued his assaults on the body, wasting it with sickness, racking it with pain, and thus making it a vast encumbrance to the soul in her strivings after righteousness? Indeed, if it could even be supposed that, engaged in attempting the destruction of our immortal part, the devil would care nothing for our mortal, knowing it already doomed to death and therefore not worth his malice, yet, when you remembered how the mind may be acted on through the body, how difficult and almost impossible it is to turn the thoughts on solemn and deep inquiries where there is great suffering in the flesh, you would conclude it probable that the body as well as the soul would be assailed and harassed by Satan and his angels.
II. We are indeed well aware that it is not the devil who destroys man. It must be man who destroys himself. The devil can do nothing against us except as we afford him opportunity, yielding ourselves to his suggestions and allowing him to lead us captive at his will. But it may at length come to pass, if we persist in walking as children of disobedience, that we quite expel from our breast the Spirit of God, whose strivings have been resisted, and whose admonitions have been despised, and enthrone in his stead that spirit of evil whose longing and whose labour it is to make us share his own ruin. And then is there as clear a demoniacal possession as when the man was cast into the fire or water through the fearful energies of the indwelling fiend. Let us not too hastily conclude that there is nothing in our days at all analogous to those demoniacal possessions of which so frequent mention is made in the Gospel. When the Apostle speaks of the devil as “working in the children of disobedience,” he uses the same word which is elsewhere used of the operations of the Holy Ghost, that Divine Agent who dwelleth in believers, residing in them as a permanent monitor, renewing their nature, and preparing them for glory. So that St. Paul ascribes to the devil, as acting in the children of disobedience, that very same energy which he ascribes to God’s Spirit as acting in the disciples of Jesus. And whatever, therefore, the degree in which we consider good men as possessed by the Holy Ghost, in that very same degree must we consider abandoned and reprobate men as possessed by Satan and his angels. There must be as much of direct influence, as much of the surrender of the man to the dominion set up within himself, in the one case as in the other. In neither have we right to say that free agency is interfered with, much less destroyed; but in both there is the willing submission to the dictates of another, and that other so identified with the man himself that he is actually bound by the being obeyed. There is, then, no doubt that the devil is an enemy to be dreaded and resisted; but we thank God for the assertion that there is to break a day on our creation when the malignant adversary shall be bound and spoiled of his power to assail.
H. Melvill, Fenny Pulpit, No. 1838.
References: Rev 18:2.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. viii., p. 99. Rev 18:4.-G. Carlyle, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iii., p. 168. Rev 18:10.-F. W. Farrar, Ibid., vol. xxxiii., p. 312. Rev 19:1.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 262. Rev 19:3.-G. Calthrop, Words Spoken to My Friends, p. 358.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 16
Rev 16:1-2.
The great voice commands the seven angels to go on their way and to empty the bowls upon the earth (Ps. 49:24). And these vials of judgments affect not only the Roman Empire, but the entire world, for the whole world is guilty before God. The first vial poured out produces a grievous sore upon the worshipers of the beast. While it is undoubtedly true that we have symbols also in these vial judgments, it is nevertheless possible that some of these plagues may have, besides the symbolical, also a literal meaning. The sixth plague which came upon Egypt, the first judgment upon the persons of the Egyptians, was also a sore (Exo 9:10-11). The worshipers of the beast and of the image will be dreadfully afflicted.
Rev 16:3.
This is poured out into the sea. The sea represents the Gentiles. These will now experience the wrath of God. See the plague in Egypt (Exo 7:17-25). That was a literal thing; but not so here. Some apply it to the continued carnage which will be one of the leading features of the final history of the times of the Gentiles. That it presents a state of the most unspeakable corruption and spiritual death is obvious.
Rev 16:4-7.
Another scene in which the blood is prominent. The apostates denied the blood, sneered at it as the Unitarians and Christian Scientists do in our own days, and now the angel of the waters saith, Thou has given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. They have to feel the dreadful results of having rejected the Christ of God and accepted the man of sin. The children of Israel had to taste their own idolatry when Moses put the ashes of the burnt golden calf in the water and made them drink it (Exo 32:20). They have to taste the vileness and bitterness of their apostasy. They reap what they sow. All the joys of life typified by rivers and fountains of water, are poisoned and corrupted. It is a retributive judgment of God falling upon the earth.
Rev 16:8-9.
The fourth vial is poured into the sun and men are scorched with great heat. Some also apply this literally, but the symbolical meaning is to be preferred. There can be no doubt that the powers of nature will also bear witness to the wrath of God. Famines, droughts, great floods, volcanic disturbances, great and widespread earthquakes and other physical phenomena will occur throughout these days of tribulation. However, the sun here is not the physical sun, but means, as under the fourth trumpet, the supreme authority governing them (the Roman empire). Under the fourth trumpet great moral darkness came upon all; here it is fearful, fiery agony scorched with great heat. The government, Satan-ruled as it is, becomes now the source of the most awful torment to those who are under its dominion. God, in judgment and in His wrath, permits those terrible things to come to pass. Everything under these vial judgments will become more aggravated than under the trumpet judgment.
Rev 16:10-11.
Under the fifth trumpet we saw the star fallen from heaven. It synchronizes with Rev 12:7-12 – Satan cast out of heaven. Then Satan fallen from heaven gave his power and authority to the beast, the head of the empire. Here the throne (not seat) of the beast is dealt with. His throne and his kingdom are deluged with wrath. All becomes darkness.
Rev 16:12.
Once more the river Euphrates is mentioned. It dries up when the sixth bowl is poured out so that the way of the kings of the east (literal: from the rising of the sun) might be prepared. We have hinted before at the correspondence between the trumpet judgments and the pouring out of the vials. This now becomes very marked, for under the sixth trumpet the river Euphrates is also mentioned. There the forces which keep back hostile powers are removed and here the river is dried up.
As already stated the Euphrates was the boundary of the Roman empire and the land of Israel. It is a kind of barrier which separates the west from the east. This barrier symbolized by the river Euphrates is now completely removed, so that the kings from the sunrise can invade the land. This invasion is also seen in connection with the sixth trumpet. The nations must gather from all quarters in and about Palestine. We find much of this revealed in the Old Testament and it would be strange if the Revelation were silent on so important an event. Ezekiel describes a great invader, a confederacy of nations (Eze 38:1-23; Eze 39:1-29). Gog, Magog, the Prince of Rosh (Russia), Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush and Put are mentioned as forming this confederacy. The term Kings of the sunrise may even mean the far Eastern Asiatic nations, like China and Japan. The drying up of the Euphrates seems therefore to mean the removal of the barrier, so that the predicted gathering of the nations may take place (Joe 3:2). What began under the sixth trumpet is consummated when the sixth vial is poured out. It is an act of judgment-wrath, while at the same time these opposing nations are gathering for the great day of God Almighty.
Rev 16:13-21.
Just as we had a parenthetical vision between the sixth and seventh seal, and between the sixth and seventh trumpet, so we find here a very brief one between the sixth and seventh vial judgments. Armageddon is not yet, but it now comes in view. Unclean spirits, like frogs, creatures of the slimy, evil-smelling swamps and of the night, now proceed out of the mouth of the trinity of evil. The dragon is Satan; the beast, the political head of the empire, and the false prophet, the Antichrist. Satanic influences, emanating from him and his two master-pieces are then at work; and they are of such a nature that we cannot fully understand them. They are the spirits of demons, working miracles.
The seventh angel pours his vial into the air. This is Satans sphere. His power and dominion are now dealt with in wrath. While Satan was cast out of heaven, he may still maintain part of the atmosphere immediately above the earth, thus upholding his claim as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). A great voice declares It is done. All that follows shows that the climax is reached. The judgment shown is sweeping everything. A great earthquake as under the sixth seal and the seventh trumpet takes place. The great city Babylon is divided into three parts; the cities of the nations fall. It is the hour of collapse, when the stone from above does its smiting work (Dan 2:1-49). It is done! The Lord has come. The nineteenth chapter will furnish us the particulars.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Chapter 33
The coming of Christ and the vials of Gods wrath
‘And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth’
Rev 16:1-21
Throughout history there is a definite, constantly repeated order of events. From the Garden of Eden to the final day of judgment, this order of events in providence is evident. The Book of Revelation deals with it throughout the gospel age.
By the preaching of the gospel
As it is effectually applied to the hearts of men and women by the Holy Spirit, gospel churches are established in the world. These churches are candlesticks holding forth the light of the gospel in a world of spiritual darkness. As these churches hold forth the light, they are blessed with the constant presence of Christ in their midst. That is the message of Revelation chapters 1-3. The only purpose for the existence of these churches, the only mission they have in this world is to hold forth the light, to preach the gospel of Christ.
As Gods people hold forth the light of the gospel
They hold it before men and women who despise it, and are persecuted by the world. They are constantly subjected to trials and afflictions for the gospels sake. This is seen in chapters 4-7. The offense of the cross has not ceased. Any pastor, evangelist, or missionary, and any church which faithfully preaches the gospel of Gods free and sovereign grace in Christ will have to endure persecution from the world, because the religion of the world is man centered freewillism.
As the result of persecution, Gods judgments fall upon our persecutors
By these acts of providential judgment, God is both defending his people and warning his enemies of judgment to come. But acts of judgment, no matter how severe and plain they are, will never lead sinners to repentance. We see this in chapters 8-11. It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. Judgment only hardens the hearts of the unbelieving. No one will ever repent until Christ is revealed in his heart by the Holy Spirit. Nothing will melt the heart of stone but a saving knowledge of Gods goodness and grace in Christ, the sinners Substitute (Rom 2:4; Zec 12:10). To those who have eyes to see, this order of events is an evident fact: the gospel is preached, persecution arises, and judgment falls. But this conflict between the church and the world points to a deeper, far more important warfare between Christ and Satan, between the seed of the woman and the dragon. This warfare is portrayed in chapters 12-14. Whenever the wicked fail to repent, refuse to obey the gospel, and harden their hearts against Gods evident warnings of wrath to come, he pours out the vials of his wrath upon them. These vials of wrath are acts of judicial reprobation. They are Gods last plagues upon men, by which they are sealed unto the judgment of the great day, leaving them no more opportunity for repentance. When the wicked, often warned by trumpets of judgment, continue to harden their hearts, death finally plunges them into the hands of an angry God. But even before they die they may have crossed the deadline, the line between Gods patience and his wrath (William Hendriksen).
There is a line drawn by God, and known only to God, between mercy and wrath, between hope and reprobation; and any man who crosses that line by obstinate, willful unbelief cannot be saved, though he may yet live many years upon the earth. He is as surely the object of Gods eternal wrath as if he were already in hell. The Scripture repeatedly warns men and women to repent and turn to Christ in faith confessing their sins, lest they harden their hearts and cross the line into hopeless reprobation (Exo 10:27; Pro 1:23-33; Jer 7:13-16; Hos 4:17; Mat 12:31-32; Rom 1:24; 1Jn 5:16; Isa 63:8-10). This is the link between chapters 15 and 16 and the chapters preceding them, between the trumpets of judgment and the vials of wrath. The trumpets warn of wrath to come. The vials are wrath poured out upon men, even while they live. In chapters 8-11 men and women are warned of Gods wrath by the trumpets of judgment. In chapters 12-14 impenitent sinners so despise Christ and the gospel of his grace that they choose false religion over the truth of God and willingly wear the mark of the beast. In chapters 15-16 these same people have the vials of the wrath of God poured out upon them, sealing them up in doom until the judgment of the great day. Once more, before the vials of wrath are poured out upon the wicked, we see the people of God standing before him secure upon the grounds of Christs atonement. They have gotten the victory over their enemies, and are singing the praises of God even as he pours out his wrath upon those who refuse to worship the Lamb. We saw in chapter 15 how that Gods saints are securely preserved from harm. These vials of wrath are not poured out against them, but against those who believe not the gospel.
Revelation 16 shows us the vials of the wrath of God (Rev 16:1)
These are the seven last plagues by which God smites those who despise the gospel of Christ. They are golden vials full of the wrath of God (Rev 15:7): golden because they are acts of righteousness, justice, and truth; vials (rather than bowls) because the vial is an instrument of measurement. These golden vials are full of Gods wrath against men and women who have filled up the measure of wrath. By their willful rebellion and obstinate unbelief, they have earned and justly deserve Gods holy wrath. Seven angels pour out the seven last plagues of Gods burning wrath, which ultimately result in the final judgment of the great day. The point is this: Once God withdraws the influence of his Spirit by the gospel from men, they become hardened to the gospel and their damnation is both just and irreversible. These seven last plagues are not merely future, prophetic events. They are taking place right now. They took place in Johns day. And they shall continue to take place until the day of judgment.
As we read of these plagues, we cannot avoid noticing a striking resemblance to some of the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7-10), which foreshadowed all of Gods acts of judgment upon unbelieving impenitent men in the world (Deu 28:20). God uses every element of his creation to punish those who oppose his Son and persecute his people. Those who refuse to be warned by the trumpets of judgment will be destroyed by the vials of wrath. And the same event may be to one a trumpet to warn and to another a vial of wrath to destroy. For example: The worms which ate Herod alive were a vial of wrath poured out upon him for his obstinate pride, by which he was plunged into hell. But those same worms were a trumpet to warn others of wrath to come (Act 12:23). Those who refuse to obey Gods voice are cursed in all they do (Deu 28:15-16). John says, And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. This is God speaking in wrath against men who fully deserve his wrath.
The first vial is incurable disease (Rev 16:2)
At times our Lord pours out upon men horrible, incurable diseases, by which he brings those who will not repent down into hell (Exo 9:10; Deu 28:27; Act 12:23). Sickness and disease are not the works of satan, but the works of God. The Lord may use satan to inflict these things upon men, but it is the Lords work (Compare Job 2:7; Job 2:10). Insofar as the unbeliever is concerned, every sickness is either a warning of or a prelude to eternal wrath. Every sickness is a warning from God of judgment to come. And fatal disease is one means by which God brings the wicked down into eternal ruin. Seldom, if ever, does a man find repentance on his deathbed. The dying thief was the exception, not the rule. And he was not on a deathbed, but on a cross! But for the believer the afflictions of the flesh are acts of Gods mercy, love, and grace (Rom 8:28). Sickness, troubles, even fatal diseases are never vials of wrath for Gods elect. We often suffer the same things that the ungodly suffer, but not for the same reasons, and not in the same way. Our diseases are acts of divine chastisement (Heb 12:5-12). Our sicknesses help to wean us from the world and prepare us for eternity. Our fatal diseases are blessings of God to bring us home to glory (2Co 5:1-9).
The second vial is poured out upon the sea (Rev 16:3)
Sometimes God uses oceans and rivers as instruments of wrath against men (Exo 7:17-21; Exo 15:1; Psa 78:53). All maritime calamities, all hurricanes, tidal waves, floods, etc. Are warnings to the ungodly of judgment to come. By these disasters, the unbelieving are swept into hell. But believers are also drowned in the raging sea. Is this an act of judgment upon them? No. It is Gods great mercy, bringing his elect safely home to heaven.
The third vial employs the rivers and fountains of water in the earth to execute judgment (Rev 16:5-7)
The rivers of water and fountains of life are made, by the hand of God, to be rivers of blood and fountains of destruction (Exo 7:24; 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:5; 1Ki 18:40). The angel who executes this act of wrath vindicates Gods justice and declares his righteousness in all that he does to his enemies (Rev 16:5). Gods judgment upon the wicked is a matter of divine retribution, for which the blood of all the martyrs pleads (Rev 16:6-7; Rev 6:9-10; Rev 8:3-5). None will perish under the wrath of God but those who fully deserve his wrath. The wages of sin is death. And Gods saints will praise him for his righteous dealings with the wicked as well as for his righteous dealings with them.
The fourth vial pours out terrible, scorching heat upon the earth (Rev 16:8-9)
God frequently uses the sun to punish ungodly men and nations (Deu 28:22-24). But wicked men will never be brought to repentance by Gods acts of judgment. They only become harder and more brazen in their blasphemy. They may appear to change for a while. But judgment never changes the heart. Only grace can change the heart of a man. (Compare Num 16:31-35; Num 16:41).
The fifth vial is expressly poured out upon false religion (Rev 16:10-11)
The seat of the beast is the center of all that is opposed to God (Nah 3:1; Hab 3:12-14). When God, by some great act of judgment, shakes the kingdom of antichrist, even as they gnash their teeth and gnaw their tongues with pain, they are hardened in darkness, confusion and hatred for God. They blaspheme him and repent not.
The sixth vial prepares for and gathers men to the battle of Armageddon (Rev 16:12-16)
Armageddon is not a great nuclear holocaust. It is not a terrible would war. I do not deny that these things may come upon the earth. Indeed, they probably will. But Armageddon is a spiritual warfare, with consequences far more severe than any war between nations could ever be. It is the final conquest of Christ over satan at his glorious advent. We will deal more with this later. For now, in this context we see that Armageddon is the conquest of Christ over all evil. Armageddon is the place of Gods victory! (Jdg 5:19). The River Euphrates represents the wicked, unbelieving world (Rev 16:12). When the great river dries up, when the economy and resources of the world are dried up by the hand of God, the way is prepared for the kings and people of the earth to move against the people of God in persecution. As it has been in the past, so shall it be in the future. In the last day, the kings of the earth will be moved by hell inspired religious leaders against Christ and his church (Rev 16:13-14). John sees proceeding out of the mouth of the dragon (satan), and the beast (pagan world government), and the false prophet (false religion) three unclean spirits. He compares these spirits to frogs to indicate the abominable, repulsive, loathsome character of world government and world religion in that last little season when Satan is loosed upon the earth. They represent all hell born philosophy and religion. Are these things not applicable to our day and our society? NOTE: There is particular reference made to charismatic influence. It is both demonic and universal! Then, just when all the forces of the world, political, philosophical and religious, are gathered against God, the Lord Jesus Christ will suddenly appear (Rev 16:15).He comes as a thief in the night upon his enemies, suddenly, unexpectedly (Mat 24:29; Jdg 5:4; Hab 3:13; 2Th 1:7-10). Because of this coming day of the Lord, let all who believe, watch over their souls and keep the garments of salvation, lest we be found naked and put to shame in the end (2Pe 3:14). The Lord is here admonishing us to perseverance in the faith. The motive for this perseverance is the sure hope of Christs coming.
The seventh vial is the final judgment of God upon the world at Christs second advent (Rev 16:17-21)
These verses describe the terror of that great and terrible day of the Lord. It shall come to pass when God says, regarding his own eternal purpose in the world, It is done! In that day, there will be a total destruction of the earth, all evil, all false religion and all who oppose our God. Gods judgment will be final and complete.
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
angels
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I heard: Rev 14:15, Rev 14:18, Rev 15:5-8
the seven: Rev 15:1, Rev 15:6
and pour: Rev 16:2-12, Rev 16:17, Rev 14:9-11, Rev 15:7, 1Sa 15:3, 1Sa 15:18, Eze 9:5-8, Eze 10:2, Mat 13:41, Mat 13:42
Reciprocal: Gen 19:13 – Lord hath Jos 6:4 – seven times Psa 69:24 – Pour Psa 79:6 – Pour Isa 25:5 – shalt bring Isa 30:25 – in the day Isa 42:25 – he hath poured Jer 6:11 – I will Jer 7:20 – Behold Jer 14:16 – for Eze 20:21 – I would Eze 22:22 – ye shall know Eze 30:15 – I will pour Eze 36:18 – I poured Eze 43:6 – I heard Nah 1:6 – his fury Zec 14:12 – the plague wherewith 1Co 10:10 – destroyer Rev 8:2 – seven angels Rev 8:5 – and filled Rev 11:14 – General Rev 11:18 – and thy Rev 14:16 – thrust Rev 14:17 – came Rev 17:8 – go Rev 21:9 – which Rev 22:18 – God
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
AS WE READ chapter 16, we shall notice that these last plagues are very specially Gods answer in judgment to the enormous evil which reaches its climax in the beast and his followers. This is mentioned specifically in verses Rev 16:2, Rev 16:10, Rev 16:13, but it is also inferred, we think, in other details that are mentioned. The first plague will affect the more stable and ordered peoples, the masses of whom will have received the mark of the beast. Upon these God puts His mark in the form of a noisome and grievous sore. The sixth plague in Egypt was of this sort, but bearing in mind the symbolic character of the Revelation, we regard this as indicating a fretting evil in the region of mind and spirit, while not denying that it may also have a more material application. Their lives will be made a misery to them under the mighty hand of God.
The second vial affects the sea; that is, the less formed and stable masses of mankind. They too come under judgment for though the beast specially dominates the ten kingdoms, power is also given him over all kindreds, and tongues and nations (Rev 13:7). The second plague means spiritual death to all who come under it. The figure is very graphic. The sea became dead blood, bringing death on all within its compass.
The third vial affected rivers and fountains in the same way. These are symbolic of the sources and channels of spiritual life, just as are literal fountains and rivers as regards our natural lives. The sources being corrupted, apostate, dead, all hope of a revivifying is gone, and men are hopelessly shut up to their doom. It will be with them even as it was with Pharaoh, when the Lord hardened his heart. Are men today inclined to cavil at this, even as they do regarding Pharaoh? It is just at this point that there comes in a two-fold angelic testimony to the rightness of this stroke of judgment; and angels have powers of observation, and opportunity for observing, far exceeding that of the greatest and wisest of men. Those smitten had themselves been smiters of saints and prophets, and this of course would be specially true of the beast and his followers. Jehovah, Elohim, Shaddai, by His angel, is acting and they are simply getting what they richly deserve.
The fourth vial affects the sun; the symbol of supreme authority. Here, however, it is clearly the symbol not of anything Divine but of the supreme power in this lower scheme of created things. The power of evil, vested for the time in the beasts, becomes oppressive and intolerable like burning heat. When their power was assumed men accepted it as great and wonderful (see Rev 13:4, Rev 13:14), but now it becomes under the Divine judgment a terrible infliction. Yet such is the moral and spiritual death into which men are plunged, as seen in the third vial, that instead of humbling themselves in any way they only blaspheme the God of heaven: in other words, like Pharaoh, they only harden their hearts.
The similarity that exists between the objects of judgment under the first four vials and those under the first four trumpets is too clear to be missed; only in Rev 8:1-13 the sphere is limited to a third part. Here the judgments are more complete and more intense, and appear to be on Gods part an answer to the defiant and persecuting actions of the beast and his followers.
This is seen more particularly in the outpouring of the fifth vial. A concentrated judgment falls upon the seat of the beast, and it presents us with a terrible picture. In Egypt the last plague before the death of the firstborn was a thick darkness, even darkness which may be felt so dark that it stopped all movement. But it is even more terrible when a thick darkness descends upon the minds of men, blacking out from them every ray of light from God. There are heathen today still in very dense darkness, but it is even worse when atheists or agnostics, living in Christendom, have to say-as sometimes they do-to some simple believer that they envy him his faith, and wish they could believe but they cannot. Their experience is, they confess, a painful one. Here apostasy is complete, and their darkness painful to the last degree. Their pains and sores only provoke them to blasphemy, and they are far from repentance, which is the only door into recovery and blessing.
The sixth vial also has a resemblance to the sixth trumpet. Again the Euphrates is affected, which is one of the great natural barriers between the East and the West. Under this plague the barrier between the great masses of Asiatic peoples and the nations of Europe is removed and the assembling of both East and West becomes possible. The door is thus opened for the gathering of all the nations, as predicted in Joe 3:1-21. They little realize that they assemble for Jehovah to roar out of Zion, and to sit to judge all the heathen round about. But such is the case, as Joel says.
To begin with, it does not look like it, for verses Rev 16:13-14 of our chapter show that the power of the devil will be exerted to gather the nations together. The unclean spirits that go forth to influence men in this direction go forth from the trinity of evil-the dragon, the beast and the false prophet-and they wield superhuman powers to sway the minds of men in the desired direction. But in all this, unconsciously to themselves, they do what God in His ways of wisdom and judgment has determined before to be done. They are simply preparing themselves for the last stroke of overwhelming judgment-that treading of the winepress of the wrath of God that has already been mentioned. It is spoken of here as, the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Verse Rev 16:15 is clearly a parenthesis. It is as if the voice of the Lord Himself breaks in at this point, announcing His appearing when He will come as a thief on the nations wrapped in their darkness. In contrast to this, His coming for His saints is spoken of as the coming of the Bridegroom. Still there will be a remnant of Israel who will be carried through this terrible time without falling as martyrs, as well as some from among the Gentiles, represented by the sheep in Mat 25:33. These will be marked by watching and keeping themselves clear of defilement. But the reality of this will be tested, and apart from it a moment must come when all pretence will be stripped off and the nakedness and shame of the unreal and the untrue will be exposed.
Verse Rev 16:16 picks up the thread from verse Rev 16:14, though we might have expected it to read, they gathered, since the three unclean spirits went forth to do the gathering. It appears, however, that our thoughts are directed away from the Satanic agents employed to the Almighty God, who overruled their actions for His own purpose and glory. To Armageddon, meaning the Hill of Megiddo, were the multitudes called. In the valley of Megiddo the last godly king of Davids line fell before the advancing nations. At last on that very spot the far greater Son of David will deal the swift death blow to all the proud might of the Gentiles. The incitement to gather together for their destruction takes place, however, as an act of Divine judgment under the sixth vial. We do not get details of what takes place when they are gathered together until we reach Rev 19:1-21, though we do get the fact of all nations being gathered predicted in Zec 14:2. There, too, it is God who does it, though as our chapter shows, He makes the power of the adversary serve His purpose.
The pouring out of the seventh vial completes these terrible strokes of wrath. This was declared by a voice from the inner shrine in heaven. The vial was poured into the air, which had been the seat of Satans power, but from which he had been dislodged. Air is the life element for man, and now destruction begins to fall on him out of that very element. Thunders and lightnings are entirely beyond mans control, but there were voices con trolling them. Moreover the earth was affected as well as the air.
Literal earthquakes there will doubtless be, but the earthquake of colossal magnitude here predicted signifies, we think, the complete shattering of all mans organized systems. Verse Rev 16:19 speaks of the great city, of the cities of the nations, and of great Babylon. We understand by these the break up and collapse of the imposing civil system or empire which will find its centre in Rome, and also of similar systems, but subsidiary, which will be found among the more distant nations; and thirdly, of the great system of religious craft and deceit, which Babylon represents. The special fierceness of the Divine wrath is fittingly reserved for this last. Moreover, every island and mountain disappeared in the convulsion. Things that are detached from the mass like islands will not escape, and all that is lofty will go.
Verse Rev 16:21 seems to connect itself with the thunders and lightnings of verse Rev 16:18. Hail is symbolic of sharp, crushing judgment, inflicted directly from heaven, so direct that men cannot possibly attribute it to any other than God. Every stone is said to have the weight of a talent; that is, about 125 lb. We believe that in historic times storms of exceptional violence have been recorded in which stones weighing 1 lb., or even a little more, have fallen with terrible effect, similar to that recorded in Exo 9:1-35. We are clearly intended to understand by stones weighing over 1 cwt. each, a judgment from God of a supernatural and crushing kind.
And what is the effect of all this? Simply additional blasphemy hurled against God. As in Egypt the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so in this day the hearts and consciences of men will be hardened beyond any possible point of recovery. They are no longer atheists, even if once they were. There is a God, and they know it to their cost by these crushing judgments, but they defy Him. When the creature reaches such a pitch of defiant hardness as here indicated, what can be expected but the delivery of the final stroke? Two parenthetical chapters intervene, however, before we have the record of that stroke in Rev 19:1-21.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Mercy and Punishment
Rev 14:1-20, Rev 15:1-8, Rev 16:1-21
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
As we open our study on three chapters in Revelation, we find various scenes in chapter fourteen which we wish to present, by way of introduction.
1. We have one hundred and forty-four thousand redeemed from the earth. The chapter opens with the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, with Him were the one hundred and forty-four thousand. If these one hundred and forty-four thousand are the same as the sealed of Israel, in chapter seven, then it is wonderful to us to find so large a group of redeemed from among God’s chosen nation, standing by the lamb, the Son of God, whom Israel from the days of the crucifixion until this hour, have rejected, repudiated, and despised. Now, however, their eyes are opened, and they have seen Him, and believed in Him. Indeed, all Heaven is rejoicing in the presence of the Father, and sounding their harps as they sing a new song.
These who are with the Lamb are undefiled. They followed the Lord mid the throes of tribulation on earth, and now they follow Him whithersoever He goeth.
2. An angel with the everlasting Gospel. Here is the second scene of chapter fourteen. This angel is preaching this everlasting Gospel to them that dwell on the earth. In every age and in every clime God has always had His messengers. During the tribulation the Word will be preached by the one hundred and forty-four thousand. It will also be preached by the two witnesses, and by others.
These, however, will not be enough mid the strenuous times. Thus God, once more, sends forth His angels, and one of them Is seen preaching the Everlasting Gospel to every nation, tongue, and kindred upon the earth.
The purport of this Gospel is thus expressed; “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made Heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
3. The second angel appears on the scene. He is saying, “Babylon Is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” The story of the fall of Babylon is given in detail in chapter eighteen. This will be considered in a later sermon.
4. A third angel follows the second with a great warning. We must remember that at the sounding of the seventh trumpet all Heaven saw the Lord’s kingdom about to be set up. We are, therefore, now considering certain scenes which are in the end of the period of The Great Tribulation.
Before the Lord comes these angels follow fast, upon one another, giving final calls to the peoples of the earth. God would not destroy man until He gives one great, last and loud call of warning. Here are the words of the third angel: “If any man worship the beast, and his image and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”
So it is that earth’s people are in a strait betwixt two. On one hand is the antichrist and his lords of estate meeting physical death if they do not receive the mark of the beast, and if they do not worship his image. On the other hand, God is warning them that if they do these things, they shall have eternal hell.
There are some who may imagine that this is all figurative, that there is no fire and brimstone. It does not matter what you or I think, that is what God says. Verse eleven adds, “And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”
5. A final voice from Heaven. No doubt there will be many who will, because of this voice of the angel, refuse to follow the antichrist. God therefore sounds forth a note from Heaven saying, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they might rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.” In all of this may be found the patience of the saints, and of those that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. They bent their backs to the stripes of those who hate them; they paid for their faith with their blood, and now they rest from their labors.
I. THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH IS RIPE (Rev 14:14-16)
We now come into the discussion of the very end of the present age world conditions.
1. The vision of the Son of Man. John beheld Him upon the cloud. “Having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.” Perhaps the cloud, upon which He sat, is that same Shekinah Glory cloud in which He is to descend to the earth. We read of that descent in chapter nineteen of this book. He comes with golden crown because He is now taking upon Him His kingly throne. He has in His hand the sharp sickle, because His coming is one of judgment, and of reaping.
2. The vision of an angel, crying unto the Son of Man. “Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap; for the time is come for thee to reap.” When we think of reaping, we think of a harvest that is ripe. That is the statement here. Could words be more expressive of present world conditions? The grain of the earth is already drooping its head. Its color bespeaks its ripening unto the harvest.
The age in which we live is divinely called, man’s day. Man has gone on plying with his own genius in every realm of earth life. We are having many expositions just now; there is a world’s fair in San Francisco; there is a world’s fair in New York City. These seem to be extending their hands to the big throbbing world, and saying, “Come, and see! Behold what man has wrought!” He who goes returns amazed at world progress. Every kind of invention seems to have reached its zenith.
When we think of the world as it was in our own boyhood, fifty and sixty years ago, and as it is at this moment, we stand amazed. In our own remembrance the automobile, the telephone, the wireless, the airship, the electric light, and many other things have not only come in, but have been perfected. All of this grandeur in the line of invention, is climaxed only by a world ripened in iniquity, in sin, and in shame.
Do you marvel, therefore, in our chapter that we read, “The harvest of the earth is ripe”? There is no doubt about it, everything that is high and lifted up against God and His glory, is to be cut down, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
We seriously doubt if some of the things that mark the present age as so attractive, will be allowed under the reign of Christ. The Bible says that during Christ’s reign the children will play in the streets; they certainly are not safe there today.
II. THE HARVESTING OF THE VINTAGE (Rev 14:16-20)
After the harvest of the earth is reaped, another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. As he stood there, a second angel appeared from the altar. He had power over fire. He cried with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.” Then the angel thrust in his sickle and he gathered the vine of the earth, “And cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”
1. God’s judgments are upon Jew, as well as Gentile. The truth is, the tribulation period is known in the Bible as the day of Jacob’s Trouble. God has chastened the Jew from that day in which he ruthlessly cried, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
At this hour the Jew is in great stress, and there is no relief in sight. Many are trying to get into Palestine, they are, however, doomed. Jonah entered a ship at Joppa, going to Tarsus, however he got into a storm, then into a whale’s belly. Israel will do no better. To go into Jerusalem now, is only going into the very lions’ den. The nations are helping forward the affliction of God’s chosen people.
2. The Jews are the vine of the earth. This is the story of the eightieth Psalm, of Isaiah twenty-seven, and of Ezekiel fifteen; and is referred to in John fifteen. God will cast Israel into the wine press of His wrath, as He was, of old, crucified outside the city, so will God’s wine press be trodden outside the same city.
3. A final glorious deliverance. In the chapters which we have noted above, where Israel is the vine, God does not leave His people to be wholly destroyed. In Psalm eighty we read of Israel being burned by fire, and cut down and perishing at the rebuke of His countenance. However, immediately, the picture is changed and this prophecy follows: “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself.” Then Israel cries, “Quicken us and we will call upon Thy name. Turn us again, * * cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” The same thing in effect is given in Isaiah twenty-seven. “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”
III. A VISION OF THE OVERCOMERS (Rev 15:2-4)
We called this sermon, “Mercy and Judgment.” To us it is most wonderful to study the book of Revelation, and to discover throughout that in wrath, God remembers mercy. Is it not remarkable? As we turn our faces earthward we behold tribulation and anguish under the throes of fiery indignation and wrath. Then, we turn our faces heavenward and we hear paeans of praise, shouts of victory.
On the earth, men are blaspheming God; in the Heavens, they are giving glory to His name. On the earth is blood, and fire, thunders, and earthquakes; above, the saints rest in the Lord.
1. The story of earth’s victors. Verse two tells us of those who have gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name.” The people on the earth never dreamed that they had gotten any victory. All their eyes beheld were the dead bodies, the wan faces, the beaten backs of saints, with their hair clodded with blood.
All they beheld were men and women slain, and their bodies thrust into hastily made graves for burial, or else cremated-anything, to get rid of them. John, however, saw not alone their bodies in death; he saw them standing on a sea of glass, having the harps of God in their hands. Think you that if they had their lives to live over again, that they would not again refuse to follow the antichrist? They surely would.
2. The song of the victors. Verse three says,-“They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” The song of Moses was the song of deliverance. The song of the Lamb, was the song of the Deliverer. Here are the words of their song. “Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are Thy ways, thou King of saints.”
There was not one word of complaint, because of their martyrdom, not a word of regret. Their lips were filled only with praise, and with worship. They cried out: “For all nations shall come and worship before Thee, for Thy judgments are made manifest.” These martyr victims fully realized that out of the carnage of the Tribulation judgment, the earth would learn righteousness.
IV. THE GOD OF MERCY IS THE GOD OF JUDGMENT AND WRATH (Rev 15:5-8)
1. The vision of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. John saw in Heaven this marvelous temple of the tabernacle. He saw it open. We all know that the Tabernacle of the Testimony was typical of Christ, throughout. It stood for redemption through the. blood of the slain Lamb. It stood for fellowship with God, for the light of Heaven, that shines upon the pathway of saints. It stood for the bread of life. It stood for everything that had to do with the Cross, the risen, living Lord, and His high priestly work.
You remember in the building of this Tabernacle, that God commanded Moses to build it according to the pattern showed him in the mount, and Moses did as God commanded. The facsimile of that temple, so significant in its testimony, stood open in heaven.
2. The vision of seven angels coming out of the temple. These angels came, “Having the seven plagues.” They were clothed in pure and white linen, and their breasts were girded with golden girdles. As they stepped forward, one of the four living ones gave unto the seven angels “seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.”
Then, “The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues, of the seven angels were fulfilled.”
The words we have quoted are so majestic, and, withal, so solemn.
It is impossible to separate God’s judgments and wrath, from His love and His holiness and His power. We showed you how the earthly Temple of the Tabernacle, which was a replica of the one in Heaven, stood for salvation and everything that accompanies it. It was throughout typical of Christ and His redemption. Now, we behold that from that very temple, mid the glory of God and the manifestations of His power, priestly angels clothed in white, stand ready to pour out the vials of the wrath of God.
Wrath has always been linked with mercy. Let us consider Joh 3:16. The verse is resplendent with the love of God. It tells of how God so loved, that He gave His only begotten Son. It bespeaks a possible, and a willing Saviour. Clothed, however, with this wonderful raiment of love, and proffered salvation, is that solemn, yea, terrifying word “perish.” Those who believe in the Lamb perish not, but on the others the wrath of God remaineth. As the angels go their way to pour out the vials of wrath they seem to be saying, “Had you entered into the Temple of Testimony you would have been saved from wrath to come. However, you spurned His love, His redemptive grace, and now wrath remaineth.”
V. THE VIALS OF THE WRATH OF GOD (Rev 16:1-9)
1. The first vial-noisome and grievous sores upon men. Verse two tells the story. The angel, one of seven, beautiful in white, having come out of the temple in Heaven, pours out his vial upon the earth. Immediately, “There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.” We do not know what the noisome sore was. The Greek word is “Kakos.” It suggests something very bad. It is used concerning every form of evil, whether moral or physical. It was also grievous, it gave pain.
2. The second vial was poured upon the sea. As it came, the sea was as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died upon the sea.
3. The third vial was poured upon the rivers and fountains of water and they became as blood.
4. The fourth vial was poured out upon the sun; “And power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.” We pause for a moment to think of these first four vials out of the seven final judgments. As they were enacted, one angel cried out, “Thou art righteous. O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged us.” Perhaps it is difficult for us to comprehend the God of love, pouring out such vials of wrath; yet, God’s angel said, “Thou art righteous, O Lord.”
Then the angel added, “They have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink.”
Then another angel, of the altar (no doubt the brazen altar of sacrifice) said, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.”
If we would criticize God for His judgments, why then do we thank Him for His judgments which fell upon Christ when He gave His soul to be made an offering for our sin. God’s attitude toward the men who reject that Cross and follow after the antichrist, is no different than His judgment upon the Christ, when He was made sin for us. You would have thought that men would have repented, especially when they were scorched with the heat of the sun. Yet. they repented not. but blasphemed the name of God.
VI. THE VIALS OF THE WRATH OF GOD CONTINUED (Rev 16:10-16)
1. The fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast. The result, was that the kingdom of the antichrist was full of darkness, “and they gnawed their tongues for pain.” Then men blasphemed the God of Heaven, because of their pains and their sores. However, they repented not of their deeds.
Let no one try to spiritualize all of the judgments of God as the vials are poured forth. You can no more spiritualize these things, than you can spiritualize the plagues in the land of Egypt. The plagues there were literal, these are the same. Another thing to be observed is that the plagues in the olden times, in Egypt, only caused Pharaoh to harden his heart the more. They repented not, neither do the men who are before us in this Scripture, repent.
2. The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates. We have stood by this river. It is a great river. When we were there, fresh waters in great volumes went quietly flowing on their way. Now, however, the water thereof, is dried up, that the way of the king of the east might be prepared.
As John looked, he 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. Here is the devilish trinity. They are combining together in one last effort to counteract the judgments of the Almighty.
These unclean spirits, which they sent forth, are the spirits of demons, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Thus, Armageddon is at hand. The stage of the final great war is set.
Armageddon now stands before us as Satan’s final effort to battle against God. The devilish trinity is to face, the divine trinity.
As the armies are gathered together, we can almost hear a whisper from Heaven. It is God who is holding the nations in derision. He is laughing at them in His sore displeasure. Thus, He says (read verse fifteen) “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Thus, while the battle is set on earth so it will be that the battle is set in Heaven. The great conflict is described in detail in chapter nineteen.
VII. THE SEVENTH OR THE LAST VIAL POURED OUT INTO THE AIR (Rev 16:17-21)
It may be that some of you are asking this question: When the seventh trumpet sounded, in Rev 11:15, was it not announced that the time of the kingdom had arrived? That is true. However, within, as it were, the sounding of that seventh trumpet, there were hidden away these seven vials, which we can safely assert will be followed in rapid succession one after the other. They are God’s final judgments completed. They tell the story of what will happen upon the earth immediately following the enunciation of the king.
The seventh vial, which is now before us, is quite similar to the seventh seal. There, in chapter six, when the sixth seal was broken, we seem to be approaching the very end. There was a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, the stars of the Heaven fell unto the earth, the Heaven departed as a scroll rolled together. The kings of the earth, and the great men, the chief captains, and the mighty men, hid themselves in the dens of the rocks of the mighty mountains saying the great day of His wrath has come. And the great day of His wrath had come.
When, however, the seventh seal was broken, immediately the seven angels began to blow their trumpets. Then, following the seventh seal, came the pouring out of the vials. Perhaps you have looked at a house from one angle, and then moved over and looked at the same house from another angle. In the seals and the trumpets God seems to be giving different aspects of the same scenes upon earth.
In the vials, however, God is giving us only the picture of the very last scenes. The trumpets and the seals cover a larger picture than the vials, but the seventh seal, and the seventh trumpet, and the seventh vial, appear to us to be all placed at the very end.
Let us now give the description that marks the very onset of Armageddon, “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. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 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.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Rev 16:1. The great voice was out of the temple. That means it was from God, for we have learned in the preceding chapter that no man was able to be in the temple at this time. The seven angels have been given the vials of divine wrath, now the voice bids them empty their contents in the places deserving such treatment.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Rev 16:1
Introduction.
VII
THE SEVEN VIALS OF WRATH
(Chapter 16)
The visions of chapter sixteen carry the scenes of the execution of the seven plagues, and the pouring out of the woes, in the recapitulation of the events enfolded in the seven seals and trumpets of the first series, which ended with chapter eleven. The symbols of the plagues of this chapter envisioned the same successive and progressive developments of the events surrounding the war against the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem; with additional visional scenes and intensified symbols of calamity and devastation; in the execution of the consuming judgment of God upon the beast, the false prophets, and the idolatrous worshipers of the imperial image.
The principle of the recapitulation of the first part of Revelation, from chapters one to eleven follows through this series. There was a consistent correspondence between the seals of the first series and vials of the second, but with the enlargement and intensification of the symbols of retributive judgment. An example of it was in the plague of sores-the subjects of the Roman beast received his mark by the worship of the imperial image, and God marked them in retribution with the noisome sores. The delineations of these penalties and punishments were concealed within visional folds, reserved for symbolic disclosure. The entire structure was metaphorical, which renders literalism impossible. A preliminary survey of the chapter is essential to bringing the signs and symbols of the chapter into its apocalyptic focus.
VIII
THE SEVEN PLAGUES OF PENAL WOES
(Chapter 16 Con’t)
The introduction of an extensive excursus on the Destruction of Jerusalem, foretold in chapter fourteen of the prophecy of Zechariah, was the occasion for the interruption in the course of comments, and the reversed order of the verses in the dissertation of this chapter on the plagues and the woes, the symbolic imagery of which reverts to a continuation of chapter sixteen.
There was a very certain continuity in the imagery of the first and second series of visions in the striking analogy between the seven trumpets of the first part and the seven vials of the second part–showing the symbolism of the same period and events in a recapitulation with an enlargement and intensification of the signs. For an example there was the darkening of the sun in the symbolism of the first part, but of intensified heat in the same symbolism of the second part. Both series were apocalypses of the crises of two cities–Jerusalem and Rome–one in siege and destruction, the other in political government and imperial authority, but they covered the same period of events. The object of the apocalypse was not Rome, but the apostate and harlot Jerusalem. Rome was only collateral to the apocalyptic narrative as the power by which the symbolism was executed and accomplished. The affinity of events in the two series is apparent in the correspondence between the objects of the trumpets and the vials.
The first vial like the first trumpet produced an effect upon the earth; the second alike caused an effect on the sea; the third in each symbol made bloody the fountains and the rivers; the fourth of both changed the normal function of the sun; the fifth sign in each imagery operated on the seat of imperial power; the sixth in similarity dehydrated the Euphrates; and the seventh of both vial and trumpet transfused the air. All of these potent signs were descriptive of the order of events which removed the evil powers of Judaism and heathenism from the path of the church and cleared the way for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
IX
THE ROMAN WAR AGAINST JERUSALEM AS FORETOLD
BY JESUS CHRIST
(Mat 24:1-51)
The parallels and comparisons between the signs of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew and the symbols of Revelation have been repeatedly mentioned. In order to support this parallel a full discussion of Mat 24:1-51 is here inserted from GOD’S PROPHETIC WORD:
The idea that “signs of the times” portend the coming of the Lord and the end of all things is based on a misinterpretation of the 24th chapter of Matthew.
(1) The two questions answered.
Mat 24:1-51, Mar 13:1-37, and Luk 21:1-38, are parallel chapters. Jesus was in the city of Jerusalem with the disciples, viewing the temple. The disciples, like all of the Jews, admired the temple buildings. Looking upon the massive stones of the mighty structure of Solomon’s temple, Jesus amazed the disciples with the declaration: “There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.” The disciples naturally thought that when such a stupendous thing as that happened, it would be the end of the world– the end of all things. So the two questions: “When shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming?”
Answering the question–” What shall be the sign of thy coming.?” Jesus told them plainly there would be none. “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” There would be no signs of his coming. No man knows the time of his coming; the angels do not know; and Mar 13:32 adds “neither the Son” –the Lord in his state of humanity had not been shown the things of the future that belonged only to the Father. The Son’s enlightenment and illumination on all things were subject to the time that it was the Father’s will to show him– Joh 5:19-20; but “no man” could ever by any “signs of the times” know the time of the Lord’s coming. In proof of this I need only to call your attention to the expression: “So shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” So shall “be” the coming–it will be that way when he comes. No man will know until he comes. Yet, men in their audacity have the gigantic gall and colossal cheek, in the face of a statement like that, to say that they do know.
The answer of Jesus disillusioned the disciples regarding signs of his coming and pointed to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age.
(2) The fall of Jerusalem.
In his answer to the question, “When shall these things be?” Jesus mentioned the signs of the impending siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the city, the demolition of the temple and the end of the Jewish state. When he answered the question as to the time of his coming he said that “no man knows”–there would be no signs. When he answered the question on the destruction of Jerusalem, he mentioned and described in detail the signs.
The indication that the siege of Jerusalem is the subject of the Mat 24:1-51 discourse is to be seen in the application of the numerous expressions peculiar to prophecies and apocalypses of the Old Testament concerning the destruction and desolation of ancient cities and nations, which are used throughout this chapter, and the parallel chapters of Mark and Luke.
1. The abomination of desolation mentioned in verse 15, taken from the prophecy of Daniel, was said by the Lord to be fulfilled when the Jews should see the presence of the signs and symbols of the Romans “standing in the holy place,” as stated by Mark. This is the Lord’s own interpretation and explanation both of the prophecy of Daniel and the fulfillment in Mat 24:1-51.
2. The exhortation to flee to the mountains with haste, with no opportunity or means to arrange for the carriage and transport of personal belongings and supplies, when they beheld the Roman armies in full march, indicates the beginning of the siege.
3. The distress and tribulation that would accompany the prolonged and bitter siege, confirmed by eye witness historians such as Josephus and Pliny in appalling descriptive detail, can be given no other application.
4. The reference to pseudochrists and imposters, pretenders claiming to be the Christ, with deceptive signs such as the magical wonders of Simon Magi, shows that the effort to imitate the Messiah was widespread, thus identifying the time with the works of Jesus belonging to that age and generation.
5. The mention in Luke’s narrative of the distress upon the land of Judea, the mass massacre of the inhabitants by the sword, the carrying away of the captives into all the surrounding nations, the encompassing of the city by foreign armies, and the trodding down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles permanently–all of these things can be descriptive of only one event of history: that final crisis of the ages concerning Jerusalem, in which transition from the dispensation of Judaism to the age of Christianity became published through all the world. The complete and final overthrow of the Jewish capital and temple, representing the cult of Judaism, and the consequent expansion of the new kingdom of Christ, are seen in these evidences to be the main subject of Mat 24:1-51 –the conquest and establishment of Christianity in all the world.
6. The climax of all the statements of the whole chapter, to settle the question of time, is in the declaration that all the things indicated by the signs would have fulfillment in that generation. The narrative of Luke adds to the strength of Matthew’s statements: “So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled”– Luk 21:28-31. Matthew’s account reads, “till all these things be fulfilled.” Notice the expression: when YE see, know YE, and, I say unto YOU, statements which identify the people of that generation with the fulfillment of the events depicted. A significant statement is made by Luke in verse 31. He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Mark’s account adds, “even at the doors”– Mar 13:29. The obvious meaning is: that in the midst of these ominous developments the believing disciples need not be frantic because the kingdom was with them, nigh at hand, and even at the doors: and the Lord was as near to them as the kingdom which hovered over and surrounded them with all the divine assurances of the Lord’s own presence. The truth of this is further seen in verse 28: “When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” It is here evident that redemption meant their deliverance from the siege, and it is given the same application in this context with the phrase “the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” In this connection the two expressions have the same significance. The kingdom was nigh at hand in the same sense that redemption or deliverence was even at the doors.
The teaching of both the old and new testaments concerning the kingdom of Christ is: that it contemplates the full length of time from his ascension to heaven after his resurrection to his descension from heaven at the end. “For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet” — 1Co 15:25. The overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple was the final sign to the world that he was seated “on the right hand of power,” as he had declared in Mat 26:64 to the high priest of the Jews; and as further announced to this Jewish official that he and his fellow officials of the Sanhedrin should thereafter see it. Methinks they did–at the destruction of their capital city and their national temple.
(3) The end of the Jewish state.1. “After the tribulations of these days.” The millennialists teach that “the tribulation” will be at the time of the rapture. The saints, they say, will be caught up in the rapture, and while the saints are in the rapture, “somewhere in the heavens,” the tribulation period will be in process on earth; but the saved will be spared the tribulation, for the saints will be up in the heavens somewhere with Jesus in rapture until the tribulation period is over, when with the Lord, they say, will return to earth for the millennium. But Mat 24:1-51 does not fit the picture. The record says that the disciples were told to flee to the mountains when this tribulation begins. According to the millennial theory there would be no disciples on earth to flee–they would all be up in the rapture !
2. “Pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the sabbath.” The law would be nailed to the cross, the sabbath abolished; Christians would not be observing it, but the Jewish authorities would be enforcing it. Why pray that the flight be not on the sabbath? Simply because the gates of the city would be closed, and the enforced restrictions of the sabbath would hinder their flight. The reference to winter–“pray that your flight be not in the winter”–shows that Jesus was referring to hindrances to flight. The Jewish state did not end until the destruction of Jerusalem. Hence, the Jews maintained their state and enforced the law. That fact furnished the ground for the Lord’s warnings on hindrances to their flight. He surely did not mean that “winter” was a holy season or that the sabbath is a holy day, which could not be violated even in an emergency of life or death. Women “with child,” or nursing babes, would be subject to delay, temporal privations, and increased trouble and hardship, besides the difficulty of providing for actual needs of subsistence itself. In the winter their infants and children might perish with cold and hunger.
3. “The day of visitation.” That expression also has to do with the things that occurred in connection with the destruction Jerusalem. “The things which ye behold,” is the key to it all. Mark and Luke must be regarded as faithful reporters, along with Matthew, and the application of the language, therefore, must be in harmony with all three records. A comparison of the three reports clearly places the events in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish state. The two questions, as recorded by Matthew, read: “when shall these things be? and what are the signs of thy coming and of the end of the world ?” Mark’s record says: “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” Then Luke’s record reads: “Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” The answers of Jesus to these questions were the augurs of total destruction to the ears of men who had been taught that their temple and city would abide forever.
Many of the figures of speech used in Mat 24:1-51, in reference to the destruction of Jerusalem were used in Isa 13:1-22, in referring to the destruction of Babylon. Note Isa 13:10 : “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.” Similar language is used is reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, similar symbolic language was used. When it says that “the sun shall be darkened” and “the moon shall not give her light” and “the stars shall fall from heaven,” people are wont to believe these expressions denote the second coming of Christ; but the same figures of speech were used in the Old Testament description of the destruction of Babylon, when Isaiah said of that event that the sun should be darkened and the moon should not give light. The reference is to the darkness that would settle over the Babylonian state in Isa 13:1-22, and the Jewish nation and the city of Jerusalem in Mat 24:1-51.
The language cannot be taken literally in either case, but as representing the end of the Babylonian nation and of the Jewish state. Thus Jesus disillusioned the disciples on both of their questions, showing them that he was prophesying the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish state, rather than of the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. When Mat 24:1-51 is taken from millennialists, the argument for the imminent return of Christ based on signs of the times is destroyed.
(4) The signs–verse by verse.
1. False teachers–verse 5. “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Jesus simply warned the disciples that false teachers would be numerous, more than ever before. Josephus, the historian, verifies the fact that near the time of Jerusalem’s fall, many false Messiahs appeared, claiming to be the Christ. He says these became more numerous before the siege of Titus. Luke, the historian, records such pseudo-signs and false wonders as the magical deceptions of Simon Magus– Act 8:1-40 –which were employed on an accentuated scale before the destruction of Jerusalem by the professional deceivers mentioned in the Lord’s predictions.
2. Wars and rumors of wars–verse 6: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.” Many smaller nations were at war with the Romans at that time, enemies at war with each other and rumors of war in abundance on every hand, and from every quarter as the destruction of Jerusalem drew near. Josephus verifies the fact that from every part of the empire wars followed in succession, and in waves of revolt, like the swells of the ocean, to the final dissolution of the empire.
3. Famine and pestilence–verse 7: “For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” In the days of Claudius Caesar, before the destruction of Jerusalem, there was an unparalleled famine –the greatest famine the world ever knew occurred. The record of Mat 24:1-51 is corroborated by the Spirit in Agabus, the prophet, as reported by Luke in Act 11:28 : “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.” Again Josephus testified that the famine actually occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the fulfillment is a matter of historical record.
4. Earthquakes–verse 8: “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” That great earthquakes occurred during the reign of Nero is a historical fact, and the testimony of Jesus is added to that of Josephus of an unusual number of earthquakes occurring in various countries, before the destruction of Jerusalem. Many cities of Asia Minor were destroyed by earthquakes.
5. Delivered to death–verse 9: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” Paul, Peter, and James, and James the Less were all put to death before the destruction of Jerusalem.
6. Apostasies–verse 10: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” This is the Lord’s warning of many apostasies, when the faith of the disciples would fail, as under pressure of persecution many should become offended. Such apostasies were everywhere in evidence prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the evidence of which are not only mentioned in the sacred text, but in parallel secular history. The most valuable of such historical evidence is the testimony of Josephus, who was an eye-witness to the destruction of Jerusalem.
7. The gospel to all of the world–verse 14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come.” Within this period of gospel history the sound of the messengers’ feet had been heard all over the Roman world– Rom 10:15 –and the gospel was, in fact, preached to the whole creation before the destruction of Jerusalem. Read Col 1:23 : “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; for which I Paul am made a minister.” Hence, before the death of Paul this “sign” was actually fulfilled–literally enough, indeed, to satisfy a most exacting literalist. Eusebius says “the gospel was like the sun, enlightening the world at once.” It was universally published; the Gentile nations were illuminated with Christianity, providing the events to correspond with the prophecies, a fact so striking as to be convincing without disputation.
8. The end of the Jewish world–verse 14: “Then shall the end come.” Here, at once, with one accord, the millennialist jumps to the conclusion that this “end” means the end of the world–“then shall the end come”–but the end of what? The end of Jerusalem; the destruction of the temple and the end of the Jewish state and the end of Judaism.
9. The abomination of desolation–verse 15: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (who so readeth, let him understand:) ” This description refers to the heathen symbols and the Roman standards raised in the temple. Every orthodox Jew looked upon the temple as sacred and holy. When the Romans conquered the city, and entered it, the Roman soldiers marched into the temple, hauled down the ornaments and images of the temple, and raised instead the symbols and standards of paganism and Romanism. That is what was called the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. The “abomination of desolation” was fulfilled when those Roman standards and pagan symbols were seen in the holy place “where they ought not to be.”
10. The disciples flee–verses 16-18: “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house; neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” The destruction of Jerusalem was regarded by all pious Jews as pestilence and desolation and was taken as a sign that the time for them to escape had come–to do what Jesus had warned them to do–to flee to the mountains. The disciples did as Jesus said-they heeded the warnings and fled. From the flat roofs of their houses in the city or from their fields in the country, they saw the Roman army in full march, there was no time to go inside for goods or raiment. Life was more than personal property. When they saw the sign of the standards and symbols of the Romans in the temple, they remembered that Jesus had warned them of that very thing, and at the news of the Roman approach they fled to Pella, the northern boundary of Perea.
It is a remarkable but historical fact that Cestius Gallius, the Roman general, for some unknown reason, retired when they first marched against the city, suspended the siege, ceased the attack and withdrew his armies for an interval of time after the Romans had occupied the temple, thus giving every believing Jew the opportunity to obey the Lord’s instruction to flee the city. Josephus the eyewitness, himself an unbeliever, chronicles this fact, and admitted his inability to account for the cessation of the fighting at the time, after a siege had begun. Can we account for it? We can. The Lord was fighting against Jerusalem– Zec 14:2 : “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” The Lord was besieging that city. God was bringing these things to pass against the Jewish state and nation. Therefore, the opportunity was offered for the disciples to escape the siege, as Jesus had forewarned, and the disciples took it. So said Daniel; so said Jesus; so said Luke; so said Josephus.
And so it was–it was left for Titus, the Roman general, to execute the siege, after the faithful disciples had fled.
Verses 19-22: “And woe unto them that are with child, and them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” These verses deal with the hindrances to flight from the besieged city, the tribulation of the siege, and the lifting of the siege for the escape of the disciples.
11. Pseudo-signs–verses 23-26: “Then if any ma n shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Here was the Lord’s warning against deceivers, fake prophets, false alarms and fraudulent signs–the forewarnings to enable the disciples to discriminate between the spurious and the genuine. “Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” These warnings observed by the disciples of the Lord enabled them to escape the traps incident to the approaching siege.
12. The eagles and the carcass–verses 27-28: “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
“The coming” here refers to the approach of the Roman armies. The Jewish nation was the carcass which the Roman eagles were sent to devour.
These verses describe the swiftness of the events and the suddenness of all the occurrences connected with the land of Judea.
13. After the tribulation–verse 29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.” After the tribulation of these days–that is, after the things that occurred during the siege. The siege began August 10, A. D. 70, six hundred years after Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and destruction of the first temple. All of the houses and underground chambers were filled with putrified corpses. One million one hundred thousand people perished, and the remnants were scattered.
Think of it–in only two months with only two armies fighting in the limited areas around Jerusalem, one million one hundred thousand people perished. Every building was filled with perishing bodies; famished people ate the putrified flesh of human carcasses; mothers ate the flesh of their own babies. And outside the besieged city the families of the expatriated race of Jews in many places throughout the empire were slaughtered. Josephus, the historian, verifies the fact that there was never anything like it before or since, nor ever shall be.
The signs in the heavens, the darkening sun and falling stars, refer to the falling of Jewish dignitaries, casting down of authorities and powers, long established, and signified the darkness that settled upon the Jewish state. The sun of the Hebrew temple was darkened, the moon of the Jewish commonwealth was as blood, the stars of the Sanhedrin fell from their high seats of authority. Isaiah and Joel describe the ruin of both ancient Babylon and Jerusalem in similar description, in Isa 13:1-22 and Joe 2:1-32.
14. The coming of the Son of man–verse 30: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
The sign of the Son of man in the heaven was a signal, the evidence of divine visitation and intervention in the downfall of the Jewish authorities and in all the transpiring events. The mourning of all the tribes of the earth refers to the lamentation of the Jewish families all over the world because of the destruction of their city and their temple and their state. The coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven is not a reference to the second coming of Christ but to the coming foretold by Jesus to Caiaphas in Mat 26:64 : “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Jesus told Caiaphas that he would see it, he would be a living witness to these events. The reference to the Son of man coming “with power and great glory” and “sitting on the right hand of power” is emphasis on the magnitude of the things that occurred. The Son of man came in power in the transpiring events.
15. Sending forth his angels–verse 31: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Here is the grand announcement of the world-wide success of the gospel, the universal expansion of Christianity after the destruction of Jerusalem. The angels of this verse were messengers, emissaries of the gospel. The gathering of the elect from the four winds meant that these messengers would carry the gospel to every nook and corner of the inhabited world.
This is the history of what occurred. With the downfall of Judaism the greatest foe of the church was removed, the path cleared of the chief obstacle, resulting in the universal sweep of Christianity. The knowledge of God covered the earth as waters cover the sea.
16. The signs that it was near–verses 32-33: “When the branch is yet tender . . . ye know that summer is nigh . . . so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” The signs of the approaching events would serve as portents to all faithful disciples that the things of which they were being warned would be near. The disciples would recognize these signs up to the time of the siege, and would know that it was “near, even at the doors.” It is here that Luke’s account says: “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” — Luk 21:28. The providential means for the escape of the faithful was divinely prearranged and when they should see these things “begin to come to pass” they were told to “look up” and “lift up” their heads in full confidence that their redemption, their deliverance, was at hand. This redemption extended beyond the mere escape from the siege– it was a greater deliverance from the persecutions of the Jewish authorities and the oppositions of Judaism, brought to an end by the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish state.
To say that the expression “it is near” refers to the end of the world, the end of time, or a “rapture” theory is contrary to the context of Mat 24:1-51. When these signs appeared the Lord said, “Let them which are in Judae flee”– and they did. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh”–and they did know it. If it meant the end of the world, why say “let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains”? And why say, “let not them that are in the country enter thereinto”–into Jerusalem? These sayings show clearly that the whole thing is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem. Reverting in verses 41 and 42 to these surroundings the Lord said that where two would be “in the field,” or “grinding at the mill”–one would be taken and the other left–that is, the believing disciple would recognize the signs and take flight, while the unbelieving companion would remain and perish in the siege.
The statement that all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, as has been previously explained, is a reference to the Jewish families scattered all over the Roman empire– they would mourn the downfall of Jerusalem and the end of their Jewish commonwealth.
17. All these things fulfilled–verse 34: “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” In Luk 21:31-32, the Lord said: when YE see, and know YE, and, I say unto YOU–so here is the Lord’s own statement of the period to which “these things” belonged and during which they would all be fulfilled. All of the “signs” mentioned in Mat 24:1-51 are mentioned above verse 34. After having mentioned these signs, Jesus then said, “this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Notice–“all these things”–not some of them –all of them would be fulfilled before that generation passed. But we are told that “this generation” meant that race–meaning only that the race of the Jews would not pass till all this was fulfilled. The Lord would not be guilty of such a truism–telling the Jews what would happen to their race, and then saying that the race will not pass away until everything that will happen to the race happens to it!
A truism would not be the word for that. It is sheer nonsense to have Christ say that certain things would happen to the Jewish race, but the Jewish race would not pass away until what would happen to the Jewish race happened to it! No, Jesus said “this generation”–the generation living then–would not pass “till all these things be fulfilled.” The Lord’s use of the same language after pronouncing the woes on the Pharisees in the previous chapter of Matthew shows clearly the reference was to their own time.
There are nine woes pronounced upon these Jewish officials in Mat 23:1-39, which are followed by verse 36: “Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.” Immediately following this statement is the pronouncement on Jerusalem in verse 37, “0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” and the verdict of verse 38, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” There is but one conclusion, and it is clear–all the woes of Mat 23:1-39 and all the signs of Mat 24:1-51 referred to that generation of time and span of life, and were all fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, and immediately thereafter.
18. Words shall not pass away–verse 35. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” The vouchsafement of the word of Christ is the surety of the fulfillment of “all these things” in the period that he designated as “this generation.” His words are the seal. And upon the integrity of his word another stupendous fact is predicted: that is, heaven and earth shall pass away.
The “shall” and “shall not” are equally significant: his word concerning the signs and events is as sure as the fact that heaven and earth shall pass away. And it is here that the transition in the subject of the context of Mat 24:1-51 takes place, from the destruction of Jerusalem to the second advent of Christ.
19. The coming of the Son of man–verses 36-51. The expression “that day and hour” in verse 36 connects with the pronouncement “heaven and earth shall pass away” in verse 36–that day and hour being when heaven and earth shall pass away, and is therefore related to the coming of the Son of man. In 2Pe 3:10 it is declared that “the day of the Lord shall come . . . in the which the heavens shall pass away . . . the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Thus the passing away of heaven and earth, mentioned in verse 35 of Mat 24:1-51, shall be an event accompanying “the coming of the Son of man” in verses 36 and 37, and with these verses the Lord’s discourse turns from the destruction of Jerusalem to the second coming of Christ. It is of that day and hour, respecting the time, that neither men nor angels know, and of which there shall be no impending signs to portend its imminence. It is not a subject for revelation, it belongs to the Father alone, excluding the Son while he was on the earth in the flesh of his incarnation; in the state of humanity. It is on this point that Mark introduces the phrase “neither the Son” which Matthew omits. “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”– Mar 13:32. The statement of Joh 5:20 that the Father “showeth him all the things that himself doeth” evidently did not apply to the time of his fleshly humiliation; for it is positively stated by Mark that the time of the coming of the Son of man was not known by the Son himself. “Neither the Son, but the Father.” But having now returned to the Godhead, no longer clothed with humanity, God has shown to the Son all the things that he will do. “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”– Col 2:9 . The fact stands that of that day and hour no man knows now, and no man shall ever know beforehand– for “so shall the coming of the Son of man be.” It shall so be when he comes.
Meanwhile in verses 37 to 39 the Lord says that the course of human society shall be as it was “in the days of Noah” before the first destruction of the world by the deluge. “They knew not until the flood came.” In 2Pe 3:3-10 the apostle compares this past universal flood with the future universal conflagration, when the world “reserved for fire against the day of judgment” shall be brought to the end. Here is the passage:
“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
The comparison of this passage with Mat 24:36-39, shows that the references are to the second coming of Christ and the judgment, at the end of time. The point of emphasis established is this one thing: of that day and hour no man knows, and there shall be no portents as that phraseological anachronism “the signs of the times,” so prevalent in religious parlance, would means.
20. One shall be taken and the other left–verses 40-51. In reference to the destruction of Jerusalem, the disciple of Jesus who believed his warnings, recognized the signs and fled to the mountains, as the Lord has admonished; while the unbelieving Jew beside him remained to perish in the siege. The same is true of the Lord’s coming. Though there will be no signs to usher his return, for “ye know not what hour your Lord doth come,” and “in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” But when he descends to take the living righteous, they shall ascend to meet him, while the living wicked shall remain to perish in judgment with the wicked dead. Pertinent to this point are Paul’s comforting words to the 1Th 4:15-18 :
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
The apostle here states that the righteous who shall be alive at the coming of the Lord shall not “prevent”–precede– the righteous dead in the ascension to meet him; but the dead in Christ shall rise first—that is, before the living in Christ are caught up; and together the ascending saints shall meet the descending Saviour; and “so shall ever be with the Lord.” As for the resurrection and judgment of the wicked, other passages teach that the wicked will be raised and judged at the same last day upon which the righteous will ascend to meet the Lord–the difference exists not in the time of the resurrection but in the retribution and the reward.
The parable of the faithful and wise servant, in verses 43-51, contrasted with the evil servant, provides the example for the practical application of the Lord’s teaching in reference to his future coming. He would make the wise and faithful servant “ruler over all his goods”; but the evil servant he would “cut asunder”–a reference to the method of punishment among the orientals, the Greeks and the Romans, a form of which was referred to by Jesus in Luk 13:1. The reference to the faithful servant being made “ruler over all his goods” is not a rulership in a millennium, which some of that persuasion have interpreted it to mean; for the unfaithful shall at the same time be cut off and consigned to the infernal region of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Consequently, there would be none over whom the faithful could rule–unless millennialists are willing the yield to the inconsistent consequence that weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth will be a prevailing condition during the millennium! That would be a freak millennium to anticipate. The parable is, of course, only illustrative of the opposites in retribution and reward; and of the fact that at the judgment of the last day God will cut off the unfaithful and appoint their portion to the realm of “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” a phrase that is suggestive of the utter despair which is beyond the power of all language to describe and deplore.
It is incumbent upon us all, and immediately imperative, that we heed the Master’s behests, as did the disciples who took warning and fled the siege, that we may be “that servant, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.”
As for the signs of Mat 24:1-51, the generation that despised the Christ beheld with their own eyes these events of judgment. It was only thirty-seven years from the crucifixion of Christ to the coming of the Roman armies to initiate the events in which all these things were completely effected.–GOD’S PROPHETIC WORD, pp. 233-260.
Verse 1
(1) A prologue to the plagues–16:1-14.
1. The voice of verse one is not that of an angel but of God himself. The seven angels were commanded to Go your ways-each had a special and separate work to perform, to pour out the vials of wrath. The vials corresponded with the cup of his indignation in chapter 14:10, the contents of which were the components of the penal woes which were to descend on the subjects of God’s wrath. It was during this period of divine wrath that no man was able to enter into the temple to appear in the presence of God for the prayer of intercession to avert the destruction of old Jerusalem and the devastation of the old temple.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 16:1. The voice heard is that of God, for He alone was in the temple (chap. Rev 15:8); and it comes from the innermost shrine. Nothing of this kind had been said at the opening of the trumpets (chap. Rev 8:7); and the distinction is important, for it shows us that it is not now the people of God who continue the conflict, but God Himself who acts directly for them. He takes His own cause in hand. The earth is to be distinguished from the sea (comp. Rev 16:3).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Section 2. (Rev 16:1-21.)
The wrath poured out.
The bowls of wrath are now poured out upon the earth at the bidding of a great voice from the temple. The wrath of God is no mere ebullition of passion that carries away the subject of it. It waits the word from the sanctuary, and at length that eventful word is spoken. Completing the divine judgments, the range of the bowls is not narrower than that of the prophetic earth; and in this they differ from the trumpet-series which otherwise they much resemble. Another resemblance, which is significant, is to the plagues of Egypt, which were at once a testimony to the world and for the deliverance of Israel. Israel is here, also, in her last crisis of trouble, and waiting for deliverance for which these judgments, no doubt, prepare the way, though that which alone accomplishes it, -the coming of the Lord -is not plainly included.
1. The first bowl is poured out, distinctively in contrast with the sea and rivers afterwards, upon the earth, like the first trumpet-judgment; but the effect is different. Instead of hail and fire burning up the trees and grass, an evil and grievous sore breaks out upon those that have the mark of the beast and who worship his image. In Egypt such a plague routed their wise men, so that they could not stand before Moses. According to the natural meaning of such a figure, it would speak of inward corruption which is made now to appear outwardly in what is painful, loathsome and disfiguring; those who had accepted the beast’s mark being those otherwise marked and branded with what is a sign of their moral condition. As the apostle shows (Rom 1:1-32), idolatry is itself the sign of a corruption which would degrade God into creature-semblance in order to give free rein to its lusts. Here it is openly the worship of the image, of him whom Scripture stamps as the “beast,” which those branded with his mark give themselves up to. The excesses of the French Revolution, when God was dethroned to make way for a prostitute on the altar of Notre Dame, if they be not, as some have thought them, the fulfilment of this bowl, may yet picture to us how it may be fulfilled in a time of trouble such as never was before, and, thank God, such as never will be afterwards.
The inward evil working to the surface becomes at the same time its manifestation and its punishment, although there be much more than this to come.
2. The second bowl is poured out on the sea, and the sea becomes like the blood of a dead man, and every living soul dies in the sea. Here we have the second trumpet in its effect upon the sea, but without the limitation which we find there, and there seems a difference also in that the blood is as that of a dead man. It cannot be that it is merely dead blood, for all blood shed becomes that almost at once, and the sea turned into blood would by itself suggest death without the addition. Would it not rather seem to be that the blood of a dead man, while it is indeed dead blood, is just that which has not been shed? Life has not been violently taken, but lost, either through disease or natural decay. Thus in the law, that which had died of itself was forbidden as food, because it spoke of internal corruption; as the life still vigorous when the blood was shed, did not. If this thought be the true one, then the state imaged under the second bowl is not that of strife and bloodshed among the nations, but of all spiritual life gone, which the addition, “every living soul died in the sea,” affirms as complete. Life there might be in hunted and outlawed men, no longer recognized as part of the nations; but the mass was dead. This seems to give consistently the full force of the expression.
3. The third bowl is poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters the sphere affected by the third trumpet; but in the trumpet they are made bitter. Now they become blood, which, as owned to be the judgment of God upon persecutors, seems clearly to speak of bloodshed. They are given to all to drink. Where naturally there should be only sources of refreshment, as perhaps in family life, there are found instead strife and the hand of violence. The angel of the waters may in this case be the representative of that tender care of the Creator over the creature-life, but which in this case comes to be against the persecutor, and applauds His judgments; as the altar does, upon which the lives of the martyrs have been poured out to God.
4. The fourth angel pours out his bowl upon the sun, and it scorches men with its heat; but they only blaspheme God’s name, and repent not. Here, as in general, the head of civil authority seems to be represented, and Napoleon’s career has been taken, as in the historical application, to be the fulfilment of it. In him, after the immorality, apostasy and bloodshed of that memorable revolution, imperial power blazed out in destructive fierceness that might well be symbolized as scorching heat. There was splendor enough, but it was not “a pleasant sight to behold the sun:” the nation over which he ruled was oppressed with “glory,” and soon manifested how its vitality had been exhausted by its hothouse growth. His career was brief; and briefer still, in proportion to its intensity, will be the closing despotism, which will be followed by the kingdom of the Son of man, and the display of a true glory unseen by the world before. Then shall that be fulfilled which is written: “The sun shall not smite thee by day;” and how great will be the joy of this that is added: “thy Sun shall no more go down; . . . the Lord shall be thine everlasting” (Isa 60:20).
5. The fifth bowl is poured out, and the meteoric blaze is passed. Poured on the throne of the beast, darkness spreads over his kingdom. It is the foreshadow of that final withdrawal of light, the “outer darkness” of that awful time when they who have so often bidden God withdraw from them will be taken at their word. But who, out of hell, can tell what that will be? The science of the day has ascribed to the sun more than ever was before done; but who at any time could have said to the glowing sun, Depart from me: I desire darkness? Yet this is what they say to God.
Nor does the darkness work repentance: “They gnaw their tongues for pain, and blaspheme the God of heaven, because of their pains and sores, and repent not of their deeds.” Such is the hardening character of sin, and such the impotence of judgment in itself to break the heart and subdue the soul to God.
6. So far, spite of the general character of the bowls, they seem to have to do almost entirely with the beast and his followers; and these are, as we know, the principal enemies of Israel, and the boldest in defiance of God at the time of the end. Nevertheless, there are other adversaries besides those of the new risen empire of the west. The king of the north, or of Greece, is evidently in opposition at the close to the “king” in the land of Israel, who is the viceroy of the beast in Judea (Dan 11:36). This king of Greece also, if mighty, is so “not by his own power” (Dan 8:24). There is behind him, in fact, a mighty prince, who in Eze 38:1-23; Eze 39:1-29 comes clearly into view as head of many eastern nations, Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; Persia, Cush and Phut, with the house of Togarmah (Armenia), being confederate with him. This is not the place to look at the people to whom all these names refer. Magog, the first of them, by common consent, stands for the Scythians, who, “mixed with the Medes,” says Fausset, “became the Sarmatians, whence sprang the Russians.” “Rosh” is thus, by more than sound, connected with Russia; as Meshech and Tubal may have given their names, but slightly changed, to Moscow and Tobolsk. The connection with Persia and Armenia (and with Greece, no less) is easily intelligible at the present day.
Here are powers, then, outside the revived Roman empire, which we find in relation with Israel at the time of the end, and which will find their place in the valley of Jehoshaphat (“Jehovah’s judgment”) in the day when the Lord sits there to judge all the nations round about (Joe 3:12). Accordingly now, under the sixth bowl, the way is prepared for this, and the gathering is accomplished. The sixth bowl is poured out upon the great river Euphrates, the effect being that the water is dried up, “that the way of the kings of the east may be prepared.” The Euphrates is the scene, also, of the sixth trumpet, which seems to give but a previous incursion of the same powers that are contemplated here, the door being now set widely open for them by the drying up of the river, the boundary of the Roman empire in the past, as it will be the boundary of restored Israel in the time to come. In the trumpet there was but an inroad upon the empire. Now there is much more than this. It is the gathering for the great day of God Almighty!
Accordingly, all the powers of evil are at work. “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. They are the spirits of demons working miracles, who go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God Almighty! . . . And they gathered them together unto the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.”
The frogs are creatures of slime and of the night -blatant, impudent impotents, cheap orators, who can yet gather men for serious work. Here, those brought together little know whom they go out to meet; but this is the common history of men revealed in its true character. The Cross has shown it to us on the one side; the conflict of the last days shows it on the other. The veil of the world is removed, and it is seen here what influences carry them: the “dragon,” the spirit of a wisdom which, being “earthly,” is “sensual, devilish” (Jam 3:15); the “beast,” the influence of power, which apostate from God is bestial (Psa 49:20) “the false prophet,” the inspiration of hopes that are not of God: so the mass are led.
Har-Magedon is the “mount of slaughter.” We read of Megiddo in the Old Testament as a “valley,” not a mountain; whether it refers to this or no, the phrase seems equivalent to the “mountain of the slain,” a mountain of heaped up corpses. To this, ignorant of what is before them, they are gathered.
A note of urgent warning is interjected here no need of declaring the Speaker. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
It is to the world Christ’s coming will be that of a thief, for “in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.” “Blessed is he that watcheth” is, as we see by the closing words, a solemn warning to the heedless. Who will be ready at this time to hear? In any case, wisdom will utter its voice, and none shall go out to meet unwarned the doom of the rebellious. Good it is to find just in this place, whether heeded or not, the warning of mercy. Not the less terrible on that account the doom that comes.
7. And now the seventh angel pours his bowl into the air. Of “the power of the air” Satan is the prince (Eph 2:2), and all Satan’s realm is shaken. A great voice breaks out of the throne, saying, It is done; and there are lightnings, and voices, and thunders -the “voices” showing the lightnings and thunders between which they come to be no mere natural tempest, but divinely guided judgment. There is an unparalleled convulsion, and the great city (Babylon, or, as we take it, Rome) is divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations generally fall. It is added, as respecting a special object of the divine judgment, And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.” This is in brief what is given presently in detail. Babylon has only once before been named in Revelation, but the two following chapters treat of it in full.
Then “every island fled away:” as I suppose, there is no isolation of any from the storm; “and the mountains were not found:” no power so great but it is humbled and brought low. “And a great hail, every stone about a talent weight, fell down from God out of heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.”
In the hail the effect of God’s withdrawal from men is seen in judgment. The source of light and heat is one; and for the soul God is the source of both. The hail speaks not of mere withdrawal, but of this becoming a pitiless storm of judgment which subdues all, except, alas, the heart of man, which, while his anguish owns the power from which he suffers, remains, in its hard impenitency, the witness and justification of the wrath it has brought down.
Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary
Observe here, 1. The command given to the seven angels, the executioners of God’s justice, to do their office, namely, in pouring out the vials of his wrath upon the earth. The command is here said to be given by a voice, by a great voice, because it was the command of a great God, and about a great work; and it is said to come out of the temple, in allusion to the holy of holies, the place of God’s exhibiting himself, and from whence he gave forth oracles of old.
Observe, 2. How the seven angels (the instruments of God in executing his judgments) receive their commission from God and pour not out one vial on the earth till they are required so to do; and being called vials of the wrath of God, it gives us this intimation, that what is done against antichrist, is not the effect of man’s revenge, but the fruit of God’s wrath; and whereas vials are vessels of large content, but of narrow mouths, which pour out slowly, but distill effectually, and drench deeply, it imports that the wrath of God is, though slow, yet sure; it comes upon sinners gradually; but if upon its approach they repent not, it will at last, like a mighty torrent, wash them away from off the earth.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
A loud voice calls to the seven angels from out of the temple, which may indicate God is speaking, and tells them to pour out the bowls filled with wrath upon the earth.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 16:1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple All things being prepared, the angels having received their instructions from the oracle, and the vials being filled with the wrath of God, by one of the four living creatures, (see on Rev 15:7,) I heard the word of command given to the seven angels to pour out their vials in their order, the inhabitants of the earth being ripe for those judgments which the justice of God had appointed for their punishment. The epistles to the seven churches are divided into three and four; the seven seals, and so the trumpets and vials, into four and three. The trumpets gradually, and in a long tract of time, overthrow the kingdoms of the world; the vials destroy chiefly the beast and his followers, and that with a more swift and impetuous force. The four former affect the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun: the rest fall elsewhere, and are much more terrible.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Revelation Chapter 16
The first vial of wrath brought the utmost distress and shameful misery on all who had taken the mark of the beast.
The second brought the power of moral death on the mass of peoples; all who were among them within the limits of the prophetic earth, died-I apprehend, gave up mere outward profession. We have here an example of the use of symbols which it is well to note. All the vials are poured out on the earth, that is, applied to the sphere of already formed relationship with God. But in this there might be a specialrelationship in which men had to do with God in this world-were inhabiters of earth, or the mass of people within that sphere.
The third vial was poured out on all the sources of popular influence and action; and they became positively deathful. It seems to me, that the deadly influence in alienation from God, within the sphere of prophecy, is strongly marked here. Death is used generally as the expression of the power of Satan.
Then the supreme authority is made frightfully oppressive. This gave the first four of direct judgment according to the usual division.
The fifth vial strikes the throne of the beast, the seat and stability of his authority, which Satan had given him; and his kingdom became full of darkness. All was confusion and wretchedness, and no resource: they gnawed their tongues with anguish and blasphemed God.
The sixth angel pours out his vial on Euphrates- destroys, I apprehend, the securing boundary of the Western prophetic powers-not the seat of its power, but broke its frontier, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. I look at this simply as the bringing in of the powers of Asia into the conflict for the universal conflagration of powers. The sixth vial sends forth three unclean spirits, the sum of all evil influences: that of Satans direct power as antagonistic of Christ; that of the power of the last empire, the beast; and that of the second beast of chapter 13 henceforth known as the false prophet, Satans influence as the Antichrist, an idolatrous wonder-working power; and the kings of the world were gathered together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The allusion is to Jdg 5:19-20. At the seventh vial there is a general break-up and subversion, and Babylon comes into judgment. And the hail of God, the judgment of God, came on men from heaven. (Compare Isa 32:1-20; Isa 33:1-24) All separate independent interests and established powers disappeared. This was over the earth-Gods judgment by providence and instruments-but the Lamb was not come yet. The details of Babylons judgments are reserved for the following chapters.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
IF you will compare the 8th chapter, you will find a striking similitude between the seven trumpets and these seven bowls of wrath. The trumpets proclaimed the Dark Ages, when blood, death, and destruction were the order of the day. The infection began with the earth; it then reached the sea, then the fountains and rivers, and finally the sun, moon, and stars, culminating in a general disruption of society from its foundation. In the seven last plagues, we see a similar order and concatenation.
2. When the first angel pours out his bowl on the earth, a destructive and pernicious sore comes on the people having the marks of the beast and worshipping his image. Daniel applies this word beast Greek, Theerion; i.e., a bloodthirsty wild beast to all the human governments which succeed the theocracy and rule the world during the Gentile Age;
i.e., the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, and Roman. Hence it represents the Nimrodic world-rulers, usurpatious of the divine prerogative. John and Daniel classify the pope and Mahomet along with them, the latter rising out of the Greek kingdom in the East, and the former out of the Roman in the West. The image of the beast is worldly religion, fashion, pomp, and pageantry. No wonder the infection comes on the devotees of the beast, as the members of the bridehood have already been taken up in the cloud. (Rev 14:14.) This carnal beast marks his victims in many ways; e.g., tobacco, strong drink, licentiousness, corset, jewelry, and needless ornamentation, et cetera.
3. Sea symbolizes the people. (Rev 17:15.) It became as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul in the sea died. This is certainly an appalling description of a sweeping destruction coming on the people. Doubtless the most pestilential moral influences, as well as physical calamities, are here involved.
4. The infection now reaches the rivers and fountains of water i.e., the states, proconsulates, dukedoms, and satrapies so flooding the people with an insurrectionary spirit as to render them utterly ungovernable by the subordinate rulers.
5-7. All these premillennial judgments come on the world as just retributions for their maltreatment of Gods people. They have slain His prophets, murdered His Son, and martyred two hundred millions of His saints. God has forgotten none of their tears. Their groans still resound in His ears. Hence these awful judgments will all come in answer to the martyrs prayers, and as a righteous retribution to the wicked.
8, 9. As in case of the trumpets, the fourth angel pours out his bowl on the sun. Now the infection in progress has reached the heads of governments, typified by the sun. The first effect is to fearfully augment his heat, so he scorches men horrifically. This indicates an awful state of tyranny on the part of rulers. Is not this pre-eminently true at the present day? Behold the growing dissatisfaction in all the governments on the globe. When I traveled in Asia, Africa, and Europe, last year, I found this discontentment everywhere. You certify me that it is ripe in America, the best government on the globe our people everywhere crying because of oppression. The Administration cant please them a year, till they are eager to vote it out and put in another party. In the old world the tyranny is incredible. Methinks this angel has already poured out his bowl of wrath on the rulers of the world, so the spirit of tyranny and oppression has come upon them. What a significant fact, as we here read, all of these troubles do not bring the people to repentance, but apparently harden them the more! The tribulation will be the time of retribution.
12. The sixth angel pours out his bowl upon the River Euphrates. Old Babylon stood on the Euphrates. She was the headquarters of Satans persecutions waged against the ancient people of God. She was conquered and destroyed by Cyrus, the Medo-Persian. Cyrus, in the Persian language, means sun. Hence, he symbolizes the Son of God coming to destroy modern Babylon, and deliver His people. Cyrus turned the Euphrates out of the city, thus taking away the water supply. So God is going to cut off the ream of carnal vitality which supplies the Babylon of fallen Churches and bring them to utter desolation. Babylon has been without an inhabitant for ages. So the spiritual Babylon, whose sorceries belt the globe, already totters to her hopeless and irreparable fall, that the way of the kings from the rising sun may be prepared. The Euphrates is the center of Moslem influence. So here is a prediction of Turkdoms fall, which will culminate the issues of the great Eastern question and hasten the general conflict of the Oriental powers, so long anticipated. Turkey is but a dead man already. God has killed him (Dan 8:25). His life is merely perpetuated artificially by the jealousy of his neighbors. The prophetical time for him to drop dead is very near. The presumption is, he will die without the fire of a gun, slain by the hand of God. Yet there is every probability that the nations will fight over the spoils.
13, 14. I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They are the spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the whole earth to gather them into the war of the great God. The 16th verse calls it the great battle of God Almighty! The name of this battle is Armageddon. It has but one other mention in the Bible, and that is in the 5th chapter of Judges, where Deborah, a mother in Israel, and Barak, led their little band against Sisera, the greatest military chieftain on the earth, in the leadership of a mighty host equipped with nine hundred formidable scythe-armed chariots, drawn by fleet steeds, and all other belligerent equipage. Deborah and Barak, with their scantily-armed braves, evacuate their quarters on Mt. Tabor, march down, cross the River Kishon, flowing at the base of the mountain, and proceed to meet the enemy on the plain of Megiddo. Har is a Hebrew word, and means mountain. Add that word to Megiddo, the name of the plain where the battle was fought at the base of the mountain, and you have Armageddon. While Deborah and Barak, accompanied by the little band of heroic stalwarts, are on the march to meet the formidable foe, God sends a great hail-storm to pour down the fatal icy cannon-balls on the heads of Siseras men. They fall in piles, heaping the plain with mountains of the dead, affrighting and rendering unmanageable the chariot- horses, so they leap like kangaroos, hurling their drivers headlong and dashing furiously through the phalanx, cutting the men to pieces with the sharp scythes attached to the chariots. Thus the plain of Megiddo is heaped with the slain, and the River Kishon flows with blood. Meanwhile, Deborahs army have nothing left for them to do but roar out the shout of victory. Sisera sees his army ruined, flees for his life, and is slain by Jael, the Kenite, a heroic maiden, with her own hand. Since the terrible wars against God Almighty during the tribulations are called Armageddon, I take it for granted His enemies will kill one another as Siseras men did. We also read much about hail, earthquakes, lightning, and all the powers of nature utilized in the conflict to sweep the wicked into eternity. In what sense are we to understand these wars to be against the Almighty? God justly claims the right to rule the world in righteousness and love. The Bible is the only law-book. Jesus is coming to reign over the world. He has a right to rule it, for He has redeemed it by His blood. The world powers, political and ecclesiastical, are unwilling to surrender the reign into His hand. Hence they will fight to hold the power they now possess and get more; but, as in case of the ancient Armageddon, they will kill one another, such as survive hail, lightning, and earthquake. Behold, I come as a thief. We are here reminded that our Savior will come about the time of these awful conflicts and steal away His bride. A thief always comes to steal. Our Savior wants nothing in this world but His bride till the devil is cast out of it; then He will take possession. He frequently speaks of coming as a thief, since the thief is always unknown and unexpected. These characteristics of the thief will our Savior verify to His enemies. A wicked world and slumbering Church will have not the slightest anticipation of His coming till He has come and taken away His bride. 1Th 5:4, Paul assures us that to His saints He will not come as a thief in the night. No, we are on the outlook, and will not be surprised if He comes at noonday or at midnight.
What about those unclean spirits, like frogs which came out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet? Frogs live in low, filthy places; hence, they emblematize Satanic influences. The devil, Romanism, and Mohammedanism constitute the unholy trinity in the stygian administration of the world. You see these three unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the dragon (i.e., the devil),the beast (i.e., Romanism), and the false prophet (i.e., Mohammedanism). These unclean spirits are invisible, diabolical agencies, which will form a triple alliance and unite the world, political and ecclesiastical, against God. Perhaps the dragon also symbolizes paganism, the devils oldest son. Some think spiritualism is one of those unclean spirits already come out of the devils mouth. I think it highly probable the first five angels have already poured out their bowls of wrath on all lands, the people, the subordinate rulers, and the heads of all the world powers. These vials, however, are still running, and will continue till the end. I dont believe the sixth angel has yet poured out his vial. I am looking for it constantly. Where he does, these revolutionary influences will break out, immediately interpenetrating all nations and ecclesiasticisms, everywhere infusing an insurrectionary spirit. The Moslem power wields a predominant influence in Asia and Africa, and Romanism in Europe and America. Paganism is more magnitudinous than either, though much less aggressive and influential. As these three supernatural agencies are all demoniacal, of course they will unitedly conserve the cause of Satan. We see from these Scriptures they will all unite against the Almighty. It is a question of sovereignty. Each one of these devils will stir up his department of Satans government against God. As Romanism is the most intellectual, cultured, and influential of this tri-diabolism, it is inferable she will lead the way. Further out in these prophecies, we find
ANTICHRIST
Will rise, concentrate the world powers, and take the lead in the Armageddon wars. This word is from Christ, and anti, which means instead of. Hence antichrist means the rival of Christ; i.e., one who takes the place of Christ. Of course, such a one would be the greatest of all the enemies of Christ. This definition would at present apply to both pope and Mahomet, and in a prominent sense to their subordinate clergy. Since antichrist is the uncompromising enemy of Christ, we may expect the antichristhood in successive ages to be progressive, like the Christhood. Hence, in the grand culmination and the final conflict, when Christ comes to claim His kingdom, antichrist will stand up and oppose Him as never before. 2Th 2:4 :
He that opposeth and exalteth himself above everything that is called God or divinity, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, and showing off himself that he is God.
Here is a scene destined to transpire in the last days. The application of this chapter to the pope is quite unmistakable. Hence we conclude that antichrist will rise very early in the tribulation in a prominence the bygone ages have never seen, and hold out persistently, claiming and exhibiting himself as the real Christ. We see he holds on after Babylon falls and all the kings are swept away, finally, with Mahomet, to he cast into the lake of fire. (Rev 19:20.) Amid the universal agitation of these three unclean spirits, doubtless Romanism will transcend, lead the way, draw in Islamism and paganism, and all three promote the pope to the supremacy!
17. We find the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, whereas the first angel poured out his upon the earth, thus in the most general way inaugurating the great infection. The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea i.e., the people thus illustrating the invasion of the popular masses by the social, political, and ecclesiastical malady. The third angel pours out his bowl upon the rivers and fountains of water i.e., the subordinated departments of the government filling them with anarchy, insurgency, and insubordination. The fourth pours out his upon the sun i.e., the heads of governments so that all the kings and queens begin to totter on their thrones. As the sun emblematizes the sovereigns of the earth, this prophecy had a fulfillment in the days of Napoleon Bonaparte, when nearly all the kings of the earth were shaken down from their thrones. The fifth angel pours out his bowl upon the throne of the beast. This was literally fulfilled in 1870, when Victor Immanuel took the pope from his temporal throne, which hes never regained, and never will. How many of these vials have been poured out? The preponderant argument decidedly favors the conclusion that five of the angels have actually descended and poured out their vials. The presumption is that the contents of these vials are still flowing, the effect intensifying in all the earth.
The presumption is that the sixth and seventh angels still reserve the contents of their vials. We are on the constant lookout for the sixth angel to pour out his bowl. Geometrical progression is a universal law of prophetical fulfillment. The sixth angel, pouring out his bowl upon the River Euphrates, and stirring up all the Eastern kings to a bloody conflict, will doubtless be verified in the fall of the Turkish Empire, which is in daily anticipation.
The three frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, represent direct Satanic intervention throughout pagandom, Romanism, and Islamism, which jointly represent fourteen hundred millions of people, and constitute the worldwide kingdom of Satan. All these vials, having once begun, will continue to flow with constantly increasing volume, even down to the end of the tribulation. The presumption is that it will not be long after the sixth till the seventh angel will pour out his bowl. It is done! This is the proclamation rung forth In a great voice from heaven. The meaning of it is wonderful in the extreme. For the last six thousand years the world has been under a terrible administration of castigatory judgments. The trend to wickedness has been so powerful that God, in mercy, has been constrained to resort to constant stratagems to arrest its impetuosity to ruin for time and eternity. The great Flood, which swept a world into eternity, was His signal mercy, because they had become so awfully wicked and incorrigible that prolonged existence simply meant the population of hell. They had passed the borne of hope and redemption. So it was with Sodom and Gomorra. The Lord has been compelled to environ the world with providential chastisements in all ages. How transcendently significant to hear the proclamation, It is done! But remember that the proclamation is anticipatory, because it is highly probable that the big end of the great tribulation is yet to come. It means the simple fact that no other castigatory judgment is ever to come upon the earth; but the disciplinary curriculum is forever complete. So when these seven vials containing the seven last plagues shall have been poured out, and these maladies shall have run their course and exhausted their force, then the divine chastisement of sin upon the earth will have an end. At the end of the tribulation the millennium will at once be ushered in, bringing back the halcyon times of Edenic prosperity, purity, and glory.
18. And there were lightnings, voices, and thunders, and a great earthquake, such as was not from the time man was upon the earth, such and so great was the earthquake.
19. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. There is no doubt but the powers of nature will be largely utilized in the infliction of the castigatory judgments destined to come on the earth in the closing days of the present age. Of all calamities, the earthquake performs the work of death in the most wholesale and expeditious manner, burying whole cities and nations alive. In this 19th verse, the city of Babylon is specified, which is an ancient name of Rome, as well as symbolically identical, since Babylon was the persecuting power against the Church in the former dispensation, and Rome in the present. The apostle Peter dates one of his letters at Babylon, which is believed to have been written at Rome. In this prophecy, we find that Rome will he divided into three parts by the earthquake, and many metropolises of the different nations will be shaken down and utterly destroyed. Perhaps our New York, and many other great American cities, will he destroyed by these earthquakes. It is highly probable that the time- honored capitals of the old world, with innumerable places of smaller notoriety, will be destroyed in these earthquakes.
20. Every island fled and the mountains were not found. As it says these earthquakes will be such as the world never saw before, and never will again, of course the normal effect would be to sink the islands out of sight, and so disrupt the mountains as to destroy their identity.
The 21st verse speaks of such hail as the world never saw before. The Hebrew talent weighed ninety three pounds avoirdupois. Of course such a hailstorm would be like mill-stones falling from heaven, not only killing ever person and animal in its course, but smashing cities and demolishing every superstructure of human art. No wonder the Holy Ghost certifies that the world never saw calamities comparable with the great tribulation, which will immediately precede our Lords coming. Here we have the sad statement again that the people, instead of repenting under these terrible judgments, only give way to wrath and blasphemy. When Noahs Flood was coming on, it seems that the Holy Ghost retreated away from the ungodly Antediluvians. Gen 6:3 : My Spirit shall not always strive with man. When the Lord comes in the rapture, takes up His saints with Him into the cloud, and leaves this wicked world without the light of a holy example or testimony, the Scriptures descriptive of the oncoming tribulations invariably corroborate the conclusion of the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit. Really this is one of the present signs of the Lords near coming because iniquity doth abound and love of many doth wax cold.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Rev 16:1. Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. The catastrophes of nations have their origin in heaven. Oh Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff of my indignation. I will send him against a hypocritical nation Howbeit, he meaneth it not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and cut off nations not a few. Isa 10:5-7.
Rev 16:2. The first angel went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast. God is pleased sometimes to invade nations with new diseases, as the malignant cholera, associated with other visitations of his arm. Mr. Faber applies this vial spiritually to the curse of atheism and blasphemy, which fell on France and other powers under the beast. His words are At the pouring out of the first vial on the thirty first of August 1792, the noisome sore of atheism broke out, or publicly made its appearance in France, and throughout the whole Latin earth.
Rev 16:3. The second poured out his vial upon the sea. This was in the beginning of September 1792, when the horrible and long-protracted massacres were perpetrated, during what was called the reign of terror, and were continued till the figurative sea, or population of France, resembled the blood of a dead man.
Rev 16:4-7. The third poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of water. The regularly established governments of the Latin empire, represented by the rivers and fountains of water, experienced dreadful devastation from the arms of republican France, during a series of bloody and successful campaigns; the issue of which was a tremendous aggrandizement of that infidel power. Note here the conspicuous retaliation of providence on those nations, for the part they had formerly taken in slaughtering the protestants. Thou art righteous, oh Lord, said the angel of the waters, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. And I heard another (angel) out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
Rev 16:8-9. The fourth poured out his vial upon the sun. The Latin firmament, or the principal government of the divided papal Roman empire, which scorched men with the burning fire of a systematic military tyranny. This was the government of France under the late despotic Usurper; and the blaze of his tyranny extended not merely to France, but likewise to Holland, Swisserland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and all the west of Germany. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory. So little were the nations that were afflicted with those plagues reformed by them.
Rev 16:10. The fifth poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast. The Bonapartean monarchy was completely overthrown on the eighteenth of June 1815, by the entire defeat of the army at the battle of Waterloo; and a few days after the allies took possession of Paris. No doubt can be entertained for a moment of the fulfilment of the prophecy contained in this verse, by any one who attentively considers the moral state of France, here called the seat of the beast, and which is emphatically said to be full of darkness.
In perfect accordance with this are all the accounts which have been given of that unhappy country, by credible persons who have visited it with the express purpose of appreciating the morals and manners of the people. Gross darkness, in general, has covered their minds; and infidel principles have infected all ranks and orders, insomuch that their churches are very little frequented, and the day of the Lord is most scandalously profaned. What was said of Israel in the days of Hosea, There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land, is mournfully exemplified in modern France.
Rev 16:10-11. They gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven. That this was literally the case towards, and at the termination of the war in 1814, and afterwards on the renewed termination of hostilities in 1815, might be fully ascertained by those who beheld the vast numbers of their wounded soldiers in the fields of battle, and afterwards in their public hospitals, blaspheming God, and cursing the author of their calamities. And that they do not yet repent of their deeds, is too plainly manifested by the hitherto unavailing attempts to reclaim them from their vices. Furthermore, considering the pains that had been taken to instruct the French prisoners, both in our prisons and prison-ships, while in England, and the apparent good impressions made on the minds of several, with the additional advantage of a French bible, which was given to almost every individual to take back with him on his return home, it might have been expected that a foundation was laid for the successful progress of the gospel in France. And we would still cherish the hope of the future triumphs of divine grace there, where the gospel-word was so early received, and many christian churches planted; yea, where not a few obtained through death a martyrs crown.
Rev 16:13. I saw three unclean spirits go out of the mouth of the dragon, in every form of pride; and out of the mouth of the beast, in the horrors of blasphemy, as mystery infallible vicar of God. And out of the mouth of the false prophet, in lies, in absolutions, in librations from purgatory. This character equally applies to Mahomed, the false prophet, on whose empire blood must be avenged with blood. Yea, with slaughter like Armageddon. Ezekiel 38.
Rev 16:15. Behold, I come as a thief, when the least expected. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments from being set on fire by the officer, who on going his rounds in the temple was used to take the candle out of his lantern, and set the linen clothes of the levite on fire, when he found him asleep at his post, lest he walk naked, and his shame be seen.
Rev 16:16. And he gathered them together. The pronoun he destroys the sense. The Mons version supplies the proper antecedent. Et ces esprits [the three unclean spirits above] assemblerent ces rois au lieu, &c. And those spirits gathered these kings to a place called Armageddon, celebrated for the slaughter of the king of Canaans army, when not a man escaped. Judges 4. So again, Satan, compelled by divine power, shall infatuate his victims to final destruction.
Rev 16:19. And the great city was divided into three parts; say till we have clearer light, catholics, protestants, infidels. The latter race, full of blasphemy, will endeavour to strip religion of all her wealth; and chase away superstition by satire, enmity, and contempt.
REFLECTIONS.
The four preseding verses properly belong to this chapter. They contain a preparation for the vials of vengeance on the nations, who have not learned righteousness by the judgments of heaven on the beast, and on his image. Now, it is very remarkable that no nation has been happy after extensive conquest for any length of time. The nine years conquests of Sesostris were all lost, and almost as soon as gained. The bloody Assyrian conquests presently recoiled in carnage by the fall of Nineveh. It was the same with Babylon. And Alexander had scarcely completed his career before he lost his life, and his empire. The French have conquered, but they are not reformed. Perhaps the first four vials in this chapter menace the French empire. I speak with deference, conscious that the temple of God is filled with smoke, for darkness for a time conceals the ways of God.
But if this conjecture be well founded, the first vial seems to portend a sore pestilence on infidel France, and her dependencies. The second tinting the sea with blood, may import a contest for the sovereignty of the seas, such as the world never beheld before. The third on the rivers, may indicate continental wars renewed again. The fourth on the sun may import the tyranny of the French monarchy, and the blasphemy of the infidel nation, who have the last mark of reprobation, not to repent at the judgments of God. This infidel empire is not likely to be happy; for happiness is connected with virtue. The fifth vial betokens farther scourges on the seat of the beast, or the powers of the continent, and the dissolution of the Gaulic empire. The sixth obviously refers to the fall of mahomedanism. And blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth the garments of righteousness and a good conscience, lest he should be in the situation of a levite, sleeping at his post, in the temple, or of a sentinel placed on a watch tower to guard the city. The want of piety is a greater shame than the want of clothes. The seventh vial is the last vengeance of God on the antichristian state. A voice came from the temple saying, It is done. Hence popery is to fall by repeated strokes, and a better church shall rise out of its ruins.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 16:2. The first bowl. The wrath of God is poured out on the worshippers of the beast, i.e. Antichrist, i.e. Nero.mark of the beast: Rev 13:16*.worshipped his image: i.e. the image or statue of the emperor (cf. Rev 13:14 f.).
Rev 16:3. The second bowl, like the second trumpet (Rev 8:8), destroys the living creatures in the sea. Cf. also the first of the Egyptian plagues (Exo 7:7-21).
Rev 16:4. The third bowl, following the precedent of the third trumpet (Rev 8:10), destroys the rivers and springs.
Rev 16:5. angel of the waters: in later Jewish thought every part of nature was under the control of some angel. The Book of Enoch (6:62) speaks of the angels which were over the powers of the waters. Here the angel recognises the righteousness of the Divine action.
Rev 16:6. The explanation of the form which the Divine retribution assumed.
Rev 16:7. the altar saying: a response comes to the angel of the waters from the altar in heaven (Swete).
Rev 16:8. The fourth bowl, like the fourth trumpet (Rev 8:12), affects the sun, but whereas the trumpet diminishes its power, the bowl intensifies its heat
Rev 16:10. The fifth bowl. The first four bowls produce general effects, but now the wrath of God smites the beast (Nero or Domitian) on his throne.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The First Bowl Poured Out
(vv. 1-2)
A great voice from the temple now commands the execution of judgment.
Grace has been patient; justice has not been hasty, but is to be apportioned out precisely according the measure of guilt. Yet when it comes, it cannot spare: it will be swift, unerring, awesome. The first angel pours out his bowl on the earth with a resulting loathsome and grievous sore upon those who receive the mark of the beast and who worship his image (Rev 13:15-16). Since the image is set up at the middle of the week of seven years, the bowl judgments begin after this. This sore is worse than a mere physical sore. Note that it is singular (not sores), for it represents a general moral condition everywhere by which people are affected: it is the breaking out of the inward corruption that has moved people in their defiance of God. Their moral and spiritual state will be loathsome and repulsive. This condition is exposed by God’s judicial action. It reminds us of the plague of boils upon the Egyptians in Moses’ day when the Egyptian magicians could not stand before Moses because they themselves were afflicted (Exo 9:10-11).
The Second Bowl Poured Out
(v.3)
The second bowl is poured on the sea which became as the blood of a dead person. Death claimed every living thing. This is not blood that has been shed, but blood still in the body of one who has died. This speaks of the putrid stagnation of death which affects the Gentile nations. They have refused the truth of the gospel of grace and become like Nabal, the husband of Abigail, of whom it is recorded when told of his having been nearly killed by the hand of David, “his heart died within him and he became as a stone” (1Sa 25:37-38). Because man wilfully hardens himself against God, God eventually judicially (governmentally) hardens man’s heart so that he is impervious to the grace of God: he becomes dead while he lives.
The Third Bowl Poured Out
(vv. 4-7)
The poured out bowl of the third angel reminds us of Moses turning the water of the Nile River into blood (Exo 7:20). Rivers and fountains, sources of refreshment, are turned into death’s corruption. Again, this is not literal, but indicates that whatever remains of “religion” will have no refreshment in it whatever, but being totally given up to Satan’s falsehood, will exude only the corruption of spiritual death.
God’s judgment has thus turned man’s false religion into the corruption that is its actual character, exposing it for what it is, and the angel of the waters absolutely justifies God in this. It is a perfectly righteous judgment because those who propagate the religion of falsehood and idol worship are guilty of shedding the blood of saints and prophets. They merit the resulting judgment of being given blood to drink, again speaking of their own blood being required.
The Fourth Bowl Poured Out
(vv. 8-9)
The fourth angel’s bowl is poured on the sun, and men are scorched with fire (vv. 8-9). The sun, the supreme source of light, heat and blessing, is a marvellous friend, but can be a relentless enemy in a desert land. This plague again is worse than literal heat: it is God’s burning anger against man’s defiant rebellion. We have seen before the sun turned into darkness (Rev 6:12), speaking of the light of God withdrawn because of man’s “apostasy,” man’s complete giving up the truth of God. The two conditions of the sun can be true at the same time only in a spiritual sense, not literally.
People even today recognize that God is dealing with them, for there are many inflictions that they designate as “acts of God,” but they don’t honor Him and they won’t at this later time either. Rather, they will blaspheme the God of heaven. What folly to think that they can defy God and prosper! Their foolish pride keeps them from repenting.
The Fifth Bowl Poured Out
(vv. 10-11)
The fifth angel pours his bowl upon the throne of the Beast. This is the Beast from the land, the political military leader who has his throne over the revived Roman empire. His kingdom became darkened. This is spiritual and moral darkness. The Beast and his followers have chosen darkness rather than light. Therefore, God afflicts them with more intense darkness that brings with it such pain as to cause people to chew their tongues. This is surely a warning of the more awful darkness of eternal judgment that will engulf those who do not repent.
However, no repentance is seen here at all. Rather than having sense enough to acknowledge their sins before God and seek His mercy, they blaspheme the God of heaven. Their pains and sores ought to make them cry to God for mercy, but instead they only cry out against their great Creator.
The Sixth Bowl Poured Out
(v. 12)
The pouring out of the sixth bowl embraces a wide scope. It is poured upon the Euphrates River, drying up its waters. This does not appear to be literal, but refers to God’s opening the way for the kings of the East. The Euphrates River is a natural dividing line between Israel and the East, just as it is also a dividing line between Israel and the King of the North. Rev 9:14 mentions the Euphrates where the loosing of four angels speaks of God’s loosing the Assyrian, the King of the North, to invade Israel. At that time the King of the North will come against Israel like a whirlwind and will “overflow them and pass through” (Dan 11:40). After causing terrible desolation in the land of Israel, he will continue down to Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia, and bring those nations into subjection (Dan 11:42-43).
Then “news from the east and the north shall trouble him” (v. 44) and he will rush back to Jerusalem. The “news from the east” seems to refer to the kings of the East in motion,- perhaps just what we read of here in Rev 16:12. The King of the North considers the East a challenge to him, as he also considers news from the north a challenge. Israel will be north from him at that time since he has invaded North African nations, and the Beast and his armies will be coming to Armageddon at the same time in order to help Israel against the King of the North. This movement of the Beast and his armies is likely the news from the north that reaches the ears of the King of the North while in Africa. He will come back to Jerusalem when the Beast and his Western-allied armies and other armies with them will be massing in the valley of Armageddon, about 60 to 80 miles north of Jerusalem.
While the way of the kings of the East has been prepared, we do not read of what significance they are in the actual conflicts. Since they are found in connection with the sixth bowl, the context seems to connect them with being gathered by the spirits of demons to the place called Armageddon, where the western European armies will gather under the Beast. But I don’t know of any scripture that speaks directly of the kings of the East coming either to Armageddon or to Jerusalem.
Evil Propaganda Leading to Armageddon
Verse 13 shows the trinity of wickedness (the Dragon, the Beast and the False Prophet) in its insolent challenge to the true Trinity, with the outpouring of its cunning evil doctrine likened to the croaking of frogs, creatures accustomed to slime. The Beast, the head of the Roman empire, imitates God the Father; the False Prophet (or Antichrist) takes the place of the true Christ, the Son of God; while Satan, behind the scenes, simulates the Holy Spirit. Their doctrine and their ability to work miracles of deception will have powerful influence in deceiving many national leaders to bring their armies to Israel to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (v. 14). This evil trinity will plead the cause of Israel, which has been invaded by the King of the North, to persuade many nations to come to fight in what they claim is a great humanitarian effort to liberate Israel from oppression. But they are fighting against God, for God has sent the King of the North to punish His people Israel because of their idolatry (Isa 10:5-6).
For this reason verse 15 is inserted here. The Lord will come as a thief, unexpected and unwanted, in great power and glory against this proud Western alliance that considers itself the police system of the world. Those whom God will bless are those who watch and are thus not deceived by fair appearances. They keep their garments, not being exposed to the shame and humiliation that comes through ignoring the truth and grace of God. While King Saul slept, the skirt of his robe was taken from him, a symbol of the exposure of his sinful course (l Sam. 24: 3-4). Thus, one who is asleep to the truth of the Word of God because of his own preference for sin is in immediate danger of being exposed. One who does evil cannot expect to remain undetected for long.
Verse 14 has indicated that the power of demons is exerted to gather many nations to Israel, but verse 16 shows that it is really God’s acting sovereignly behind the scenes to gather them to Armageddon, north of Jerusalem, for He has a purpose in great contrast to theirs. Those gathered there by the influence of Satan, the Beast and the False Prophet intend to come to the defense of Jerusalem, but they never get there. Rev 19:11-21 describes their humiliating destruction by the Lord on the white horse, who fights against them with the sword of His mouth. There is no defensive-fighting on their part: they are simply destroyed. This is not the same engagement as that at Jerusalem, at “the valley of Jehoshaphat,” also called “the valley of decision” (Joe 3:2; Joe 3:14), which will take place very soon after Armageddon, and will involve the Lord and the Jewish armies against the King of the North and those with him (Zec 14:3; Zec 14:14).
The Seventh Bowl Poured Out
(vv. 17-21)
The seventh bowl is poured into the air, the domain of Satan’s activity (for he is “the prince of the power of the air”-Eph 2:2). This indicates a world-wide summing up of God’s ways in defeating all the power of the enemy. In fact, God’s great voice from the throne, out of the holy place, announces, “It is done.”
This is followed by noises, thunderings and lightnings and a great earthquake (v. 18). All these things are intended to make people realize the majesty of the power of God. While we do not question that these manifestations will be literal and that the earthquake will be the most violent of all history, yet the great shaking of people’s souls is the more important matter.
The events of verses 19 to 21 are not chronological any more than are the events of Rev 11:18 which are found under the seventh trumpet. The facts they describe, however, are all connected with God’s conclusive judgments in bringing everything into subjection to His beloved Son.
“The great city” is divided into three parts (v. 19). Some consider this to be Rome (Rev 17:18), but it is far more likely to be Jerusalem since Jerusalem is called “the great city” in Rev 11:8, and since it is added, “the cities of the nations (distinct from Israel) fell” and then great Babylon (Rome) also is mentioned. Babylon will be totally destroyed, but not Jerusalem. The three parts may speak of the godly remnant, the worshipers of the Beast and the mixed company of others present But I should be glad to hear of a more satisfactory interpretation.
The cities of the nations, centers of commerce and industry and authority, fall under the hand of God. Great Babylon (Rome) is specially singled out as finally to receive the cup of the wine of the fierceness of God’s wrath. Rev 17:1-18 shows how this is accomplished and Rev 18:1-24 describes the judgment from God’s standpoint. The fleeing away of every island (v. 20) teaches us that no isolationism will be permitted: every nation will be involved in the judgment. The mountains not being found speaks of governments being reduced to nothing.
Last is the great hail from heaven, each stone being about a talent weight (v. 21), which is about 55 pounds or 102 pounds, depending on the definition of a talent. Some years ago it was reported that 75 pound hailstones fell in Arabia. However terrifying this literal infliction will be, it surely signifies also the heavy weight of God’s direct judgment upon people that will make them feel its crushing force. In spite of this, rather than being led to repent, they blaspheme God because of the hail.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
(Rev 16:1; Rev 16:2) The wrath of God expressed by the first vial is poured out upon “the earth” which signifies people under a settled government. The reference to the beast suggests that this will be the sphere of the revived Roman Empire. This judgment afflicts the men who have the mark of the beast, and worship his image, with “a noisome and grievous sore.” This would seem to symbolise some terrible fretting trouble that on the one hand will fill the minds of those who submit to the tyranny of the beast which takes away all liberty in buying or selling; and, on the other hand, will plunge them into misery through having thrown off all fear of God. Whether in the world, or amongst God’s people, the principle remains true that to seek our own gratification, by doing our own will, only leads to sorrow. What we sow in the gratification of the flesh we reap in misery of mind.
(V. 3) In contrast to the first vial which is poured out upon the earth, the second vial is poured “upon the sea.” Does this not represent the world in a state of unrest? May it not be that the bondage and tyranny of the beast will turn an orderly people into a restless people? This worship of the beast, and the restless condition involved, will lead to a judgment that signifies moral death or separation from God of “every living soul” who falls under this awful apostasy.
(Vv. 4-7) The third angel pours out his vial upon “the rivers and fountains of waters.” As a symbol a river is used in Scripture to set forth a source of life and blessing, whether temporal or spiritual. We read of “rivers of living water” and the “river of water of life” (Joh 7:38; Rev 22:1). The river becoming blood would seem to signify that all the springs of thought which form men’s lives will become vitiated, and instead of leading to life and happiness, will lead to misery and moral death.
The angel justifies God in His righteous judgment. It is just, that those who have shed the blood of saints and prophets, who have testified to the truth, should themselves drink of the cup of death – and that in its most terrible form as everlasting separation from God – seeing they have poisoned men’s minds with error. Men may be mighty and, for a time, be allowed to show the evil of their hearts in persecuting God’s people, but the Lord God is Almighty and, in His own time, will avenge the blood of His people. The allusion to the martyrdom of saints would again show that these judgments are specially directed against the kingdom of the beast.
(Vv. 8, 9) The fourth angel pours out his vial upon the sun. As a figure, the sun speaks of supreme authority. May this not refer to the reign of the beast who in this solemn time will hold the supreme power of a dictator? Under this ruthless power men will be deprived of all liberty, and like one scorched with fire, all power of resistance destroyed. Alas! instead of repenting of their idolatry, and giving God the glory that alone is His, they will blaspheme the name of God who they will realise has power over these plagues.
(Vv. 10, 11) The fifth vial is poured out on the seat or “throne of the beast;” with the result that his kingdom becomes full of darkness. This surely speaks of the spiritual darkness that must result in a kingdom ruled over by one that derives his power from Satan. Men are reduced to gnawing misery, but, alas! in spite of their pains and sores they neither turn to God nor repent of their deeds.
(Vv. 12-16) The sixth vial is poured out on “the great river Euphrates.” This river has ever been the Eastern boundary of the Roman Empire. The river being dried up would symbolise that the barrier that keeps the Eastern and Western nations from intermingling will be removed. The way of the kings of the East being prepared would suggest that all the evil superstitions of the East will be allowed to overflow the West. Moreover, the three unclean frogs from the trinity of evil represented by the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, working miracles, would imply that the Eastern nations will be corrupted by the leaders in the West. In result “the kings of the earth and of the whole world,” having mutually corrupted one another, will gather together in united opposition to God, the Almighty. Men may think, at this awful juncture of the world’s history, that the East and the West have joined for their own glory and to bring in a new order according to their own wills. They will little realise that they are being gathered together by the devil to oppose God.
A word of encouragement and warning is given to those who, in this terrible time, fear God. Such are reminded that if the whole world is united under the devil in opposition to God, yet God, through the coming of Christ, will unexpectedly intervene in judgment upon the world, for His coming will be as a thief. But if His coming will be unexpected judgment for the world, it will bring blessing for those who are watching, and who walk in separation from the world as set forth by keeping their garments clean. The reference to Armageddon carries us in thought to Meggido of the Old Testament, where, in the days of the Judges, the nations, gathered together against God’s people, found that God was against them in judgment, as we read, “They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera” (Jdg 5:19; Jdg 5:20). When God sends out His “everlasting gospel” to every nation to gather a people for the kingdom of Christ, the dragon, the beast, and the Antichrist will combine to gather “the kings of the earth and the whole world” to fight against God the Almighty, only to meet overwhelming judgment at the hands of the Almighty.
(Vv. 17-21) With the outpouring of the seventh vial the judgment of the nations will reach its solemn climax, as we learn from the great voice from heaven and from the throne of judgment, which proclaims, “It is done.”
This final judgment falls upon “the air” setting forth surely that the very life-breath of man is affected by an upheaval, set forth by a “mighty earthquake” which will so affect the whole of society that it will be impossible for family, social, or political existence to continue. It will break up the power of Rome – “the great city” – as indeed all the powers of the world, set forth by “the cities of the nations.” But above all, that corrupt religious system, symbolised by “great Babylon,” that through the ages has opposed God and His people, will come into remembrance before God and will have to drink of the cup of the fierceness of His wrath. All earthly refuges will fail to hide men from the storm of judgment for “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” There will be no escape from the hurricane of judgment that is likened to a mighty hailstorm. Alas! instead of confessing that their sins have brought down this storm of judgment, men will blaspheme God as being the author of all their troubles.
As we read of these terrible judgments that will fall upon the sphere of Christendom, how solemn to realise that in the very portion of the world in which our lot is cast, and which for centuries has enjoyed the outward privileges of Christianity and where the grace of God in the gospel has been proclaimed, there the great apostasy will develop and there the wrath of God as expressed in these vials will be poured out.
Fuente: Smith’s Writings on 24 Books of the Bible
16:1 And {1} I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
(1) In the former chapter was set down the preparation to the work of God: here is delivered the execution of it. In this discourse of the execution, is a general commandment, in this verse, then a particular recital in order of the execution done by every of the seven angels, in the rest of the chapter. This special execution against Antichrist and his crew does in manner agree to that which was generally done on the whole world, chapters eight and nine and belongs (if my conjecture fail me not) to the same time. Yet in here they differ from one another, that this was particularly effected on the princes and ringleaders of the wickedness of the world, the other generally against the whole world being wicked. Therefore these judgments are more grievous than those.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
1. The commencement of the bowl judgments 16:1
The voice John heard was evidently God’s (cf. Rev 15:8; Rev 16:17). The fact that God told all seven angels to pour out their bowls seems to indicate that these judgments will follow each other in rapid succession.
The frequent use of the Greek adjective megales in this chapter indicates the unusual severity and intensity of the bowl judgments. The NASB translators rendered this word "loud" here and in Rev 16:17; "fierce" in Rev 16:9; "great" in Rev 16:12; Rev 16:14; Rev 16:18 (twice), and 19 (twice); and "huge" and "severe" in Rev 16:21. The word also occurs nine times in chapter 18, which is an elaboration on the seventh bowl judgment introduced in Rev 16:17-21.
The relationship in time of the bowl judgments to the trumpet judgments has been a matter of disagreement among futurist commentators. On the one hand there are some similarities between them, as a side by side comparison reveals. [Note: See Beasley-Murray, pp. 238-39, and Beale, pp. 809-10.] However the differences make it most difficult to conclude that they are identical judgments. [Note: See Swete, p. 200; and Thomas, Revelation 8-22, pp. 525-43.]
|
Tribulation Judgments |
|
Seals (ch. 6) |
Trumpets (chs. 8-9) |
Bowls (ch. 16) |
|
|
1. |
Antichrist |
Storm |
Sores |
|
2. |
War |
Meteor |
Bloody Seas |
|
3. |
Famine |
Bitterness |
Bloody Springs |
|
4. |
Death (¼ of Population) |
Darkness |
Fire |
|
5. |
Imprecations |
Locusts |
Darkness |
|
6. |
Earthquake |
Horses (1/3 of Population) |
Invasion |
|
7. |
7 Trumpets |
7 Bowls |
Earthquake & Hail |
It seems more likely that the bowls constitute the seventh trumpet, as the trumpets constitute the seventh seal. This would make the bowls the last plagues to come on the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation (Rev_15:1). Many details in the text, to be pointed out below, support the conclusion that this is the correct interpretation.
"The first four affect individuals directly either through personal affliction or through objects of nature, and the last three are on more of an international scale, leading the way to a final major confrontation." [Note: Ibid., p. 248.]
"After almost a century of insipid preaching from America’s pulpits, the average man believes that God is all sweetness and light and would not discipline or punish anyone. Well, this Book of Revelation tells a different story!" [Note: McGee, 5:1022.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Rev 16:1-21
CHAPTER XII
THE SEVEN BOWLS.
Rev 15:1-8; Rev 16:1-21.
NOTHING can more clearly prove that the Revelation of St John is not written upon chronological principles than the scenes to which we are introduced in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the book. We have already been taken to the end. We have seen in chap. 14 the Son of man upon the throne of judgment, the harvest of the righteous, and the vintage of the wicked. Yet we are now met by another series of visions setting before us judgments that must take place before the final issue. This is not chronology; it is apocalyptic vision, which again and again turns round the kaleidoscope of the future, and delights to behold under different aspects the same great principles of the Almighty s government, leading always to the same glorious results.
One other preliminary observation may be made. The third series of judgments does not really begin till we reach chap. 16. Chap. 15 is introductory, and we are thus reminded that the series of the Trumpets had a similar introduction in Rev 8:1-6. It is the manner of St. John, who thus in his Gospel introduces his account of our Lords conversation with Nicodemus in chap. iii. by the last three verses of chap. 2, which ought to be connected with the third chapter; and who also introduces his narrative regarding the woman of Samaria by the first three verses of chap. 4.
To introduce chap. 16 is the object of chap. 15.
“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God (Rev 15:1).”
The plagues about to be spoken of are “the last,” and in them the final judgments of God upon evil are contained. What they are, and who are the special objects of them, will afterwards appear. Meanwhile, another vision is presented to our view: –
“And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire; and them that come victorious out of the beast, and out of his image, and out of the number of his name, standing upon the glassy sea, having harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all the nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest (Rev 15:2-4).”
It can hardly be doubted that the glassy sea spoken of in these words is the same as that already met with at Rev 4:6. Yet again, as in the case of the hundred and forty and four thousand of Rev 14:1, the definite article is wanting; and, in all probability, for the same reason. The aspect in which the object is viewed, though not the object itself, is different. The glassy sea is here mingled with fire, a point of which no mention was made in chap. 4. The difference may be explained if we remember that the “fire” spoken of can only be that of the judgments by which the Almighty vindicates His cause, or of the trials by which He purifies His people. As these, therefore, now stand upon the sea, delivered from every adversary, we are reminded of the troubles which by Divine grace they have been enabled to surmount. It was otherwise in chap. 4. No persons were there connected with the sea, and it stretched away, clear as crystal, before Him all whose dealings with His people are “right.” The sea itself is in both cases the same, but in the latter it is beheld from the Divine point of view, in the former from the human.
The vision as a whole takes us back to the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and hence the mention of the song of Moses, the servant of God. The enemies of the Church have their type in Pharaoh and his host as they pursue Israel across the sands which had been laid bare for the passage of the chosen people; the waters, driven back for a time, return to their ancient bed; the hostile force, with its chariots and its chosen captains, “goes down into the depths like a stone;” and Israel raises its song of victory, “I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.”* (* Exo 15:1)
The song now sung, however, is not that of Moses only, the great centre of the Old Testament Dispensation; it is also the Song of the Lamb, the centre and the sum of the New Testament. Both Dispensations are in the Seers thoughts, and in the number of those who sing are included the saints of each, the members of the one Universal Church. No disciple of Jesus either before or after His first coming is omitted. Everyone is there from whose hands the bonds of the world have fallen off, and who has cast in his lot with the followers of the Lamb. Hence also the song is wider in its range than that by which the thought of it appears to have been suggested. It celebrates the great and marvelous works of the Almighty in general. It speaks of Him as the King of the nations, that is, as the King who subdues the nations under Him. It rejoices in the fact that His righteous acts have been made manifest. And it anticipates the time when all the nations shall come and worship before Him, shall bow themselves at His feet, and shall acknowledge that His judgments against sin are not only just in themselves, but are allowed to be so by the very persons on whom they fall.
A second vision follows: –
“And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and there carne out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power: and none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished (Rev 15:5-8).”
The temple spoken of is, as upon every occasion when the word is used, the shrine or innermost sanctuary, the Holy of holies, the peculiar dwelling-place of the Most High; so, that the seven angels with the seven last plagues come from Gods immediate presence. But this sanctuary is now beheld in a different light from that in which it was seen in Rev 11:19. There it contained the ark of God s covenant, the symbol of His grace. Here the eye is directed to the testimony, to the two tables of the law which were kept in the ark, and were Gods witness both to the holiness of His character and the justice of His government. The giving of the law then was in the Seers mind, and that fact will explain the allusions to the Old Testament found in his words. The description of the seven angels, as clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous (not with “fine linen” as in the Authorized Version) may be explained, when we attend to the second characteristic of their appearance, girt about their breasts with golden girdles. These words take us back to the vision of the Son of man in chap. 1, where the same expression occurs, and where we have already seen that it points to the priests of Israel, when engaged in the active service of the sanctuary. The angels now spoken of are thus priestly after the fashion of the Lord Himself, who is not merely the Priest but also the High Priest of His people. The high priest, however, wore a jeweled breastplate; and in correspondence with the nobler functions of the New Testament priesthood, these jewels are now extended to the whole clothing of the angels spoken of. A similar figure for the clothing of the glorified Church meets us in the prophecies of Isaiah: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; as a bride groom decketh himself (the margin of the Revised Version calling attention to the fact that the meaning of the original is “decketh himself as a priest”) with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels;”1 while the same figure, though applied to Tyre, is employed by Ezekiel: “Every precious stone was thy covering.”2 The seven angels are thus about to engage in a priestly work. (1 Isa 61:10; 2 Eze 28:13)
This work is pointed out to them by one of the four living creatures, the representatives of redeemed creation. All creation owns the propriety of the judgments now about to be fulfilled.* (*Comp. Rev. 6)
These judgments are contained, not in seven “vials,” as in the Authorized Version, but in seven golden bowls, vessels probably of a saucer shape, of no great depth, and their circumference largest at the rim. They are the “basins” of the Old Testament, used for carrying into the sanctuary the incense which had been lighted by fire from the brazen altar. They were thus much better adapted than “vials” for the execution of a final judgment. Their contents could be poured out at once and suddenly.
The bowls have been delivered to the angels, and nothing remains but to pour them out. The moment is one of terror, and it is fitting that even all outward things shall correspond. Smoke, therefore, filled the sanctuary, and none was able to enter into it. Thus, when Moses reared up the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled it, “Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting:”1 thus, when Solomon dedicated the temple and the cloud filled the house of the Lord, “The priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud.”2 Thus, when Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord in His temple, and heard the cry of the Seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts,” “the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke;”3 and thus, above all, when the law was given, “Mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”4 (1 Exo 40:35; 2 1Ki 8:11; 3 Isa 6:4; 4 Exo 19:18; Heb 12:18)
All due preparation having been made, the Seven Bowls are now poured out in rapid and uninterrupted succession. As in the case of the Seals and of the Trumpets, they are divided into two groups of four and three; and those of the first group may be taken together: –
“And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and which worshipped his image. And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art Thou which art and which wast, Thou holy one, because Thou didst thus judge: for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast Thou given them to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord, God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of the God which hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give Him glory (Rev 16:1-9).”
Upon the particulars of these plagues it is unnecessary to dwell No attempt to determine the special meaning of the objects thus visited by the wrath of God – the land, the sea, the rivers and fountains of the waters, and the sun – has yet been, or is ever perhaps likely to be, successful; and the general effect alone appears to be important. The chief point claiming attention is the singular closeness of the parallelism between them and the Trumpet plagues, a parallelism which extends also to the fifth, sixth, and seventh members of the series. Close, however, as it is, there is also a marked climax in the later plagues, corresponding to the fact that they are “the last,” and that in them “the wrath of God is finished.”1 Thus the first Trumpet affects only the third part of the earth, and the trees, and all green grass: the first Bowl affects men.2 Under the second Trumpet the “third part” of the sea becomes blood, and the third part of the creatures which are in the sea die, and the third part of the ships are destroyed: under the second Bowl, the “third part” of the sea is exchanged for the whole; the blood assumes its most offensive form, blood as of a dead man; and not the third part only, but every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea.”3 Under the third Trumpet the great star falls only upon the “third part” of the rivers and fountains, and they become wormwood: under the third Bowl all the waters are visited by the plague, and they become blood.4 Lastly, under the fourth Trumpet only the “third part” of sun and moon and stars is smitten: under the fourth Bowl the whole sun is affected, and it is given unto it to scorch men with fire.5 With this climactic character of the Bowls as compared with the Trumpets may also be connected a striking addition made to the details of the third Bowl, to which in the Trumpet series there is nothing to correspond. The angel of the waters, not an angel to whom the smiting of the waters had been entrusted, but the waters themselves speaking through their angel, and the altar, that is, the brazen altar of chap. 6:9, respond to the judgments executed. They recognize the true and righteous character of the Almighty, and they welcome this manifestation of Himself to men. (1 Rev 15:1 2Comp. Rev 8:7; Rev 16:2 3Comp. Rev 8:8-9; Rev 16:3 4Comp. Rev 8:10-11; Rev 16:4 5Comp. Rev 8:12; Rev 16:8)
Another feature of these Bowls will at once strike the reader, – their correspondence to some of the plagues of Egypt: for in the first we see a repetition, as it were, of that sixth plague by which Pharaoh and his people were visited, when Moses sprinkled ashes of the furnace towards heaven, and they became “a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and beast,”1 and in the second and third a repetition of the first plague, when Moses lifted up his rod and smote the waters, that were in the river, “and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.”2 The fourth Bowl reminds us of the terror of the appearance of the Son of man in Rev 1:16, when “His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” (1 Exo 9:10; 2 Exo 7:20)
One other characteristic of these plagues ought to be noticed. It comes to view no doubt only under the fourth, yet, as we shall immediately see, it is not to be confined to it The plagues had no softening or converting power. On the contrary, as at Rev 9:20-21, the impiety of the worshippers of the beast was only aggravated by their sufferings; and, instead of turning to Him who had power over the plagues, they blasphemed His name.
From the first group of Bowls we turn to the second, embracing the last three in the series of seven: –
“And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works (Rev 16:10-11).”
The transition from the realm of nature to the spiritual world, already marked at the introduction of the fifth Seal and of the fifth Trumpet, is here again observable; but, as in the case of the sixth Trumpet, the spiritual world alluded to is that of the prince of darkness. With darkness he is smitten. That there is a reference to the darkness which, at the word of Moses, fell upon the land of Egypt when visited by its plagues can hardly be doubted, for the darkness of that plague was not ordinary darkness; it was “a darkness that might be felt.”* More than darkness, however, is alluded to. We are told of their pains and of their sores. But pains and sores are not an effect produced by darkness. They can, therefore, be only those of the first Bowl, a conclusion confirmed by the use of the word “plagues” instead of plague. The inference to be drawn from this is important, for we thus learn that the effects of any earlier Bowl are not exhausted before the contents of one following are discharged. Each Bowl rather adds fresh punishment to that of its predecessors, and all of them go on accumulating their terrors to the end. Nothing could more clearly show how impossible it is to interpret such plagues literally, and how mistaken is any effort to apply them to the particular events of history. (* Exo 10:21)
The sixth Bowl follows: –
“And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun-rising. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of devils, working signs, which go forth unto the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon (Rev 16:12-16).”
Probably no part of the Apocalypse has received more varied interpretation than the first statement of this Bowl. Who are these kings that come from the sun-rising is the point to be determined; and the answer usually given is, that they are part of the anti-Christian host, part of those afterwards spoken of as the kings of the whole inhabited earth, before whom God dries up the Euphrates in order that they may pursue an uninterrupted march to the spot on which they are to be overwhelmed with a final and complete destruction. Something may certainly be said on behalf of such a view; yet it is exposed to serious objections.
1. We have already at Rev 9:14, at the sounding of the sixth Trumpet, been made acquainted with the river Euphrates; and, so far from being a hindrance to the progress of Christs enemies, it is rather the symbol of their overflowing and destructive might, 2. We have also met at Rev 7:2 with the expression “from the sun-rising,” and it is there applied to the quarter from which the angel comes by whom the people of God are sealed. In a book so carefully written as the Apocalypse, it is not easy to think of anti-Christian foes coming from a quarter described in the same terms. 3. These kings “from the sun-rising” are not said to be a part of “the kings of the whole inhabited earth” immediately afterwards referred to. They are rather distinguished from them. 4. The preparing of the way “connects itself with the thought of Him whose way was prepared by the coming of the Baptist. 5. The type of drying up the waters of a river takes us back, alike in the historical and prophetic writings of the Old Testament, to the means by which the Almighty secures the deliverance of His people, not the destruction of His enemies. Thus the waters of the Red Sea were dried up, not for the overthrow of the Egyptians, but for the safety of Israel, and the bed of the river Jordan was dried up for a similar purpose. Thus, too, the prophet Isaiah speaks: “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with His scorching wind shall He shake His hand over the river, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall return, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”l Again the same prophet celebrates the great deeds of the arm of the Lord in the following words: “Art thou not it which dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?”2 And, once more, to a similar effect the prophet Zechariah: “I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria. . . . And He shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up. . . . And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord.”3 It is unnecessary to say more. In these “kings from the sun-rising” we have an emblem of the remnant of the Israel of God as they return from all the places whither they have been led captive, and as God makes their way plain before them. (1 Isa 11:15-16; 2 Isa 51:10; 3 Zec 10:10-12)
Nor is this all. In the fate of these foes a striking incident of Old Testament history is repeated, in order that they may be led to the destruction which awaits them. When Micaiah warned Ahab of his approaching fate, and told him of the lying spirit by which his own prophets were urging him to the battle, he said, “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth and do so.”* In that incident of Ahabs reign is found the type of the three lying spirits or demons which, like frogs, unclean, noisy, and loquacious, go forth from the three great enemies of the Church, the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast, now first called the false prophet, that they may entice the “kings of the whole inhabited earth” to their overthrow. And they succeed. All unknowing of what is before them, proud of their strength, and flushed with hope of victory, these kings listen to the demons and gather themselves together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. It is a supreme moment in the history of the Church and of the world; and. before he names the battlefield which shall, in its very name, be prophetic of the fate of the wicked, the Seer pauses to behold the assembled armies. Upon the one side is a little flock, but they are all “kings,” and before them is He by whom, like David before the host of Israel and over against the Philistines, the battle shall be fought and the victory won. On the other side are the hosts of earth in all their multitudes, gathered together by the deceitful promise of success, The Seer hears the voice of the Captain of salvation, Behold I come as a thief, to break up and to destroy. He hears further the promise of blessing to all who are faithful to the Redeemers cause: and then, with mind at rest as to the result, he names the place where the final battle is to be fought, Har-Magedon. (* 1Ki 22:19-22)
Why Har-Magedon? There was, we have every reason to believe, no such place. The name is symbolical. It is a compound word derived from the Hebrew, and signifying the mountain of Megiddo. We are thus again taken back to Old Testament history, in which the great plain of Megiddo, the most extensive in Palestine, plays on more than one occasion a notable part. In particular, that plain was famous for two great slaughters, that of the Canaanitish host by Barak, celebrated in the song of Deborah,1 and that in which King Josiah fell.2 The former is probably alluded to, for the enemies of Israel were there completely routed. For a similar though still more terrible destruction the hosts of evil are assembled at Har-Magedon. The Seer thinks it enough to assemble them, and to name the place. He does not need to go further or to describe the victory. (1Judges 5; 2 2Ch 35:22)
The seventh Bowl now follows: –
“And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying; It is done; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders j and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great (Rev 16:17-21).”
The seventh or last Bowl is poured out into the air, here thought of as the realm of that prince of this world who is also “the prince of the power of the air.”* All else, land and sea and waters and sun and the throne of the beast, has now been smitten so that evil has only to suffer its final blow. It has been searched out everywhere; and therefore the end may come. That end comes, and is spoken of in figures more strongly colored than those of either the sixth Seal or the seventh Trumpet. First of all a great voice is heard out of the (sanctuary of the) temple, from the throne, saying, It is done, Gods plan is executed. His last manifestation of Himself in judgment has been made. This voice is then accompanied by a more terrible shaking of the heavens and the earth than we have as yet been called to witness, the earthquake in particular being such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. (* Eph 2:2)
Some of the effects of the earthquake are next spoken of. More especially, The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. As to the meaning of “the cities of the nations” there can be no doubt. They are the strongholds of the worlds sin, the places from which ungodliness and impiety have ruled. Under the shaking of the earthquake they fall in ruins. The first words as to “the great city” must be considered in connection with the words which follow regarding Babylon, and they are more difficult to interpret. By some it is contended that the “great city” is Jerusalem, by others that it is Babylon. The expression is one which the Apocalypse must itself explain, and in seeking the explanation .we must proceed upon the principle that in this book, as much as in any other of the New Testament, the rules of all good writing are followed, and that the meaning of the same words is not arbitrarily changed. When this rule, accordingly, is observed, we find that the epithet is, in Rev 11:8, distinctly applied to Jerusalem, the words “the great city, where also their Lord was crucified” leaving no doubt upon the point. But, in Rev 18:10; Rev 18:16; Rev 18:18-19; Rev 18:21, the same epithet is not less distinctly applied to Babylon. The only legitimate conclusion is, that there is a sense in which Jerusalem and Babylon are one. This corresponds exactly to what we otherwise learn of the light in which the metropolis of Israel appeared to St John. To him as an Apostle of the Lord, and during the time that he followed Jesus in the flesh, Jerusalem presented itself in a twofold aspect. It was the city of Gods solemnities, the centre of the old Divine theocracy, the “holy city,” the “beloved city {Rev 11:2; Rev 20:9}.” But it was also the city of “the Jews,” the city which scorned and rejected and crucified its rightful King. When in later life he beheld, in the picture once exhibited around him and graven upon his memory, the type of the future history and fortunes of the Church, the two Jerusalems again rose before his view, the one the emblem of all that was most precious, the other of all that was most repulsive, in the eyes both of God and of spiritually enlightened men. The first of these Jerusalems is the true Church of Christ, the faithful remnant, the little flock that knew the Good Shepherds voice and followed Him. The second is the degenerate Church, the mass of those who misinterpreted the aim and spirit of their calling, and who by their worldliness and sin “crucified their Lord afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” In the latter aspect Jerusalem becomes Babylon. As in Rev 11:8 it became “spiritually,” that is mystically, “Sodom and Egypt,” so it becomes also the mystical Babylon, partaker of that citys sins, and doomed to its fate. This thought we shall find fully expanded in the following chapter. The question may indeed be asked, how it comes to pass that, if this representation be correct, we should read, immediately after the words now under consideration, that Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. But the answer is substantially contained in what has been said. When Jerusalem is first thought of as “the great city,” it is as the city of “the Jews,” as line centre and essence of those principles by which spiritual is transformed into formal religion, and all sins are permitted to hide and multiply under the cloak of a merely outward piety. When it is next thought of as Babylon, the conception is extended so as to embrace, not a false Judaism only, but a similar falseness in the bosom of the universal Church. Just as “the great city where also our Lord was crucified” widened in Rev 11:8 to the thought of Sodom and Egypt, so here it widens to the thought of Babylon. May it not be added that we have thus in the mention of Jerusalem and Babylon a counterpart to the mention in Rev 15:3 of “the song of Moses and the Lamb”? These two expressions, as we have seen, comprehend a song of universal victory. Thus also the two expressions, “the great city” and “Babylon,” having one and the same idea at their root, comprehend all who in the professing Church of the whole world are faithless to Christian truth.
Further effects of the last judgment follow. Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Effects similar, though not so terrible, had been connected with the sixth Seal. Mountains and islands had then been simply “moved out of their places.”1 Now they “flee away.” Similar effects will again meet us, but in an enhanced degree.2 As yet, while mountains and islands flee away, the earth and the heavens remain. In the last description of the judgment of the wicked the heavens and the earth themselves flee away from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and no place is found for them. The climax in the different accounts of what is substantially the same event cannot be mistaken. (1 Rev 6:14; 2 Rev 20:11)
The same climax appears in the statement of the next effect, the great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, that is, fully more than fifty pounds. No such weight had been spoken of at the close of the seventh Trumpet in Rev 11:19.
Again, however, here is no repentance and no conversion. Those who suffer are the deliberate and determined followers of the beast. As under the fourth Bowl, therefore, so under the seventh they rather blaspheme God amidst their sufferings, because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof is exceeding great.