And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
The Third Vial, Rev 16:4-7
4. the rivers waters ] Rev 8:10; see on Rev 14:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters – This coincides also with the account of the sounding of the third trumpet Rev 8:10-11; And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters. As to the meaning of the phrase, rivers and fountains of waters, see the notes on that passage. We found, it was supposed, in the application of that passage, that the invasion of the Roman empire by Attila, king of the Huns, was referred to, affecting mainly those parts of the empire where the rivers and streams had their origin. The analogy would lead us, in the fulfillment of the passage before us, to look for some similar desolations on those portions of Europe. See the notes at the close of Rev 16:7.
And they became blood – This would properly mean that they became as blood; or became red with blood; and it would be fulfilled if bloody battles were fought near them, so that they seemed to run blood.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. Upon the rivers and fountains of waters] This is an allusion to the first Egyptian plague, Ex 7:20; and to those plagues in general there are allusions throughout this chapter. It is a sentiment of the rabbins that “whatever plagues God inflicted on the Egyptians in former times, he will inflict on the enemies of his people in all later times.” See a long quotation on this subject from Rabbi Tanchum in Schoettgen.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mr. Mede and Dr. More both agree in interpreting this of the Jesuits and other popish emissaries, and the laws made for the execution of them in England in the time of Queen Elizabeth, not excluding those civil powers which are the upholders and maintainers of antichrist, as the Spaniard, who also within these last hundred years hath had blood enough given him to drink, both in 1588, and in the Low Countries. It seemeth a little hard to interpret a prophecy relating to the whole church, by what is done in so small a part of it. We know in what credit these emissaries are at this day, both in the empire, and in Spain, and in France, and Venice, from whence they sometime were expelled. We have, indeed, laws against them in England, but principally relating to those of them who, being native subjects of England, have apostatized. So as I had rather think this vial is not yet poured out, or that interpreters mistake the meaning of these
rivers and fountains, than agree with them in that interpretation of this prophecy. I am much disposed to believe that we are not further than the pouring out of the second vial. God, indeed, hath made the Romish clergy contemptible enough, and hath vexed and enraged them sufficiently. He hath also made their scenical religion as contemptible to, and justly abhorred by, a great part of the Christian world; but how far he hath proceeded further to the ruin of antichrist, I do not understand.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. (Ex7:20.)
angelso Syriac,Coptic, and ANDREAS.But A, B, C, and Vulgate omit it.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the third angel poured his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters,…. Which also is not to be literally understood of a stagnation of them, before the burning of the world; nor of the destruction of Popish fleets and navies, such as the Spanish armada in 1588, and others since; but rather of Popish writings, of the most learned and subtle men among them, who like rivers and fountains, which supply and fill the sea, support and keep up the Romish jurisdiction and hierarchy; and of the confutation of them by Protestant writers; and of the utter destruction of their principal orders, and chief men among them, as cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, Jesuits, c. though it seems chiefly to design the places near to Rome, such as Italy and Savoy for as the third trumpet affects the rivers and fountains, Re 8:10 and brings in the Huns into Italy, and issued in the destruction of the empire; so the third vial affects the same, and brings terrible wars, and great effusion of blood, where so much of the blood of the saints have been shed: hence it follows, and they became blood; these countries will be covered with blood, and a reformation will ensue upon it; the allusion is to Ex 7:19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Into the rivers and the fountains of waters ( ). See 8:10 for this phrase. Contamination of the fresh-water supply by blood follows that of the sea. Complete again.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
The third angel. Omit angel.
They became [] . There is no necessity for rendering the singular verb in the plural. We may say either it became or there came.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And the third angel poured his vial,” (kai ho tritos eksecheen ten phialen autou) “and the third (of the seven angels) poured out or emptied his vial-like bowl; his judgment containing bowl that he had brought from the temple of God in heaven, Rev 16:1.
2) “Upon the rivers and fountains of waters,” (eis tous potamous kai tas pegas ton hudaton) “into the rivers and fountains of waters; This is as Moses had done to the fresh water supplies in the former days of God’s judgment upon Egypt, Exo 7:17-21.
3) “And they became blood,” (kai egeneto haima) “and it (the water) or waters of rivers and fountains became blood; all fresh water sources above and beneath the ground were corrupted or polluted so that the Antichrist and all his hordes had only water polluted with blood to drink, Rev 8:10; Exo 7:17; Exo 7:20; Psa 78:44.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 52
Text Rev. 16:4-7
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.
Initial Questions Rev. 16:4-7
1.
What necessity of man was effected by the 3rd bowl Rev. 16:4?
2.
What did the angel of the waters say about God Rev. 16:5?
3.
With what did God reward the slayers of the saints and prophets Rev. 16:6?
4.
Who is under the altar according to Rev. 6:9? Discuss the statement in Rev. 16:7 in light of it.
Rev. 16:4
The third bowl was poured out into mans water supply, into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. Man had no water to drink. The anguish caused by a lack of water is one of the most tormenting of human suffering. There was liquid to drink, but it was nothing but sickening blood. The imagery would have been appropriate in the biblical world. Blood played a vital part in the ritual of the mystery religions, and Johns readers from Asia minor would have fully understood this symbolism, which is nauseating to most of us.
Rev. 16:5
Immediately following the first three bowls in Rev. 16:5-7 there is heard the voice of the angel of the waters who gives approval of Gods judgment. The angel declares that God is holy and everlasting, because you judged (ekrinas 1st aor. ind. active Gods act of judgment was singular and final) these things. God will not permit evil to persist indefinitely. This is a fundamental part of the Christians hope in Christ. Righteousness shall prevail, not evil!
Rev. 16:6
The angel continues the charges brought against condemned mankind. Those who receive Gods judgment deserve it, because they are responsible for the death of the saints and prophets. This imagery probably includes all those who are guilty of this crime against Gods people, and His servants. God gave the guilty ones blood to drink and they deserve it! (Worthy of it means they deserve it.)
This verse receives a marvelous commentary in Christs lament over Jerusalem (Luk. 13:34). O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! The words of verse six probably apply to Jews and gentiles alike, and should not be limited to this period of Roman persecution.
Rev. 16:7
Here we note a repetition of Rev. 16:4 of the song of the Lamb.
Discussion Questions
See Rev. 16:17-21.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(4) And the third angel . . .The third vial resembles the second in its effects. As it is poured out on the rivers and springs of waters, they become blood. It is not only the great sea which becomes blood, but all the merry streams and babbling brooks which carry their tribute of water seawards also turn corrupt. And this plague is acknowledged by heavenly voices as a just retribution (Rev. 16:5-7). The streams and rivers feed the sea; they are the powers and influences which go to the making up of the great popular sentiment; these are smitten by the same corruption. Men cannot worship worldliness or earthliness without degrading even those who contribute to their instruction, their recreations, and their joys, to the same level. When the public taste grows corrupt, the literature will, for example, become so in a more or less degree; the up-flowing tide will colour the down-coming stream. The morality of a nations art, writes a modern critic. always rises to the level of morality in a nations manners. Morality takes care of itself, and always revenges any outrage which art may put upon its laws by either lowering the art that so offends, or extinguishing it (Dallas, Gay Science, Vol. II., 16). It is true in even a wider sense. The loftier powers of imagination, the range of poetical elevation, are cramped and killed in a base, world-worshipping age. The streams of life grow putrid, the fresh and bright gifts of God are polluted, when the ocean of public thought is unwholesome.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Rivers and fountains Like the first plague of Egypt which ensanguined “the waters of Egypt,” “their streams,” and “their rivers, and their ponds.” Exo 7:19. This blood was a vivid image of the slaughter of the martyrs.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters, and it became blood.’
Now it is man’s water supply that is attacked in some way. The same applies as on v. 3. Here however there is probably a reference to bloody warfare, as suggested by Eze 32:6 where the blood of the armies of Egypt fill the waters. John’s world was familiar with such warfare and it is a characteristic of history. But here we learn it is among other things the sign of God’s wrath against sin. In this modern day we could see biological and chemical warfare affecting man’s drinking supply.
The phrase ‘rivers and fountains of the waters’ is repeated from Rev 8:10. There is clearly a parallel activity in mind. These blessings, which were intended to provide man with lifegiving water and fruitfulness for his fields, will instead become a curse. In both cases there is possibly a deliberate contrast with the life-giving waters of Rev 7:17 and Rev 22:1. For the unbeliever there will be no soul refreshment.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rev 16:4-7 . The third vial changes all other streams into blood. The angel of the waters and the heavenly altar praises the righteousness of God’s judgments.
. “And it became blood,” i.e., blood came forth. It is true, indeed, that, as to the form of the expression, it is not said that the streams became blood; the reading is not . But the analogy with Rev 8:11 [3682] suggests that the blood entered into the streams into which the vials were poured. [3683]
Since the streams are thus affected by the plague, the angel who presides over the waters is the first to recognize adoringly the righteousness of this Divine manifestation of wrath.
. Incorrectly, Grotius: “Because he emptied the vial into the waters.” A definite angel is meant, who is placed over the streams as a special sphere. [3684] There is an analogy not so much in what is presented in Rev 7:1 and Rev 14:18 , for what is said there of the angels of wind and fire [3685] is not meant in the same sense, as rather in the idea of the four beings who appear in Rev 4:6 sqq. as representatives of earthly creatures. [3686] Precisely similar [3687] is Daniel’s representation of angelic princes who belong to particular nations. [3688] Cf. also Schttgen, Hor. Hebr. , on this passage; and Eisenmenger, Entd. Judenth. , ii. 377 sq., where a large number of rabbinical expressions concerning earth-, sea-, fire-, and other angels, and their special names, are collected. In Bava Bathra , p. 72, 2, [3689] the prince of the sea is called , after Job 26:12 ; in another book, [3690] he is called Michael, and seven less important angels stand beneath him.
. Cf. Rev 15:4 . As the solemn formula [3691] does not allow an immediate combination with , [3692] and as before , neither , nor , nor , dare be read, [3693] and consequently the translation of Hengstenb. (“the godly”) is false, we can only, in the sense adopted by Luther, who, however, interpolates an “ and ,” regard the as placed with by asyndeton, as a predicate belonging to : “Righteous art thou, which art, and which wast, holy” [art thou], “because thou hast ordained such judgments:” . The refers to Rev 16:4 , not to Rev 16:3 ; for that which is the subject of treatment (Rev 16:6 ) is drinking-water that is changed into blood, so that the inhabitants of the earth who have shed the blood of saints and prophets [3694] must drink blood. [3695] The closing words of the angelic discourse, , whose force is not destroyed by the absence of a connective, expressly designate that the enemies have merited this judgment.
Upon the angel’s ascription of praise, there follows yet, in Rev 16:7 , another from the side of the altar, which, responding to the former and confirming it ( , . . . ), makes a further reference in general to the judgments of God, and thus brings the entire ascription of praise from Rev 16:5 to a conclusion. [3696]
-G0- -G0- -G0- . An attempt has been made to evade the idea of the text that the words of praise proceed from the altar itself, by the interpolation of (sc. ), before . , [3697] or by allegorizing, [3698] or by the supply of a personality. [3699] But De Wette correctly acknowledges [3700] the significant personification of the altar itself. This is in some measure prepared for already by Rev 9:13 ; but the idea embodied therein is to be recognized from Rev 6:10 sqq., Rev 8:3 , Rev 9:13 , Rev 14:18 . From the same place whence the prayers for vengeance had arisen, and already special manifestations of God’s wrath had proceeded, the righteousness of all the judgments of God, whereby the longing of the saints is fully satisfied, is proclaimed.
[3682] Cf. also Rev 16:3 .
[3683] Against De Wette.
[3684] Andr., C. a Lap., Ewald, Zll., De Wette, Hengstenb.
[3685] De Wette.
[3686] Cf. also Rev 8:2 , where seven angels of special rank are mentioned.
[3687] Hengstenb. compares Joh 5:4 . Although he considers the water in this passage, as also Rev 8:10 , as an allegorical designation of prosperity; although, further, the passage Joh 5:4 is spurious, and nothing whatever is said of an angel placed over the water in general, but only of one sent for a particular service to a single pool, yet he would have us find here “a delicate and inner bond” between the Apoc. and the Gospel.
[3688] Dan 10:13 ; Dan 10:21 ; Dan 12:1 .
[3689] Schttg.
[3690] Eisenmenger, p. 379.
[3691] The is absent here, as in Rev 11:17 , because the coming to judgment is already in process of execution.
[3692] Against De Wette: “Thou who art and wast holy.”
[3693] See Critical Notes, p. 414.
[3694] Cf. Rev 13:7 ; Rev 13:10 , Rev 6:10 , Rev 11:7 , Rev 17:6 , Rev 19:2 .
[3695] . On this form, see Winer, p. 84.
[3696] Cf. Rev 5:8 , Rev 11:13-14 .
[3697] Luther, Zll., etc.
[3698] Beda: “The inner affection of saints, angels, or men, who by teaching rule the people.” Andr.: “The angelic powers as bearers of our prayers.”
[3699] Grot.: “viz., the angel who guards the spirits of the martyrs.” Cf. Rev 6:10 . Ewald: “A voice proceeding from an inhabitant of heaven standing by the divine altar.” Cf. also Zll., Ebrard, etc.
[3700] Cf. also Beng. and Hengstenb., who nevertheless speak indefinitely of an angel of the altar.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(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.
The love of money is the root of all evil. And those who have hired themselves out for the sake of gains (and no other cause could ever influence any man, to write or speak, on the side of such glaring folly as popery,) to send forth pamphlets in justification of the beast or her whelps, may be supposed to be the rivers and fountains of waters here spoken of, on whom the third Angel poured out his vial. And the acknowledgments of God’s justice, at the pouring out of this vial is very sweetly introduced, as well as confirmed by another angel. What can be more awful, than the contemplation of the unnumbered murders, perpetrated under the inquisition, and other engines of that detestable monarchy, which sheltering itself under the title of holiness, hath been productive of more horrid acts of cruelty, than all the paganism of the world.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
Ver. 4. Upon the rivers, &c. ] The persecutors and impostors, the Jesuits especially, who have lately added twelve new articles (by the authority of Pope Pius IV) raised out of the Council of Trent, and added to the Nicene Creed, to be received with others as the true catholic faith, to be believed by as many as shall be saved. And those that receive them not, are not suffered to live among them. This is worse than the six articles in Henry VIII’s time, that whip with six cords, as they called it. See these twelve articles in the Epist. prefixed to Bishop Jewel’s works.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
4 7 .] And the third poured out his vial into the rivers and the fountains of the waters: and they became (it is quite impossible, in the lax construction of the Apocalyptic Greek, to maintain here a distinction, as Dsterd. has done, from the previous , and to render here, “there came blood.” Analogy must be our guide: and the account to be given of the singular is either that it belongs to , or that the rivers and fountains are taken together, and regarded as neuter in sense though not in construction) blood (that the fact was so, is testified by what follows, in which it is assumed that the sources of ordinary drink have become blood). And I heard the angel of the waters (i. e. the angel who was set over the waters; see reff.: not as Grot., “vocatur angelus aquarum quia in aquas immisit phialam.” Schttgen, h. l., p. 1131 f., gives examples of angels of the earth and of the sea: see also Wolf, h. l. This is more probable than Dsterd.’s idea that the analogy to be followed is that of the four living-beings, and that the angel symbolized the waters) saying, Thou art righteous who art and wast (as in ch. Rev 11:17 , the is omitted. For the construction, see reff.) holy (I incline against Dsterd., to the usual connexion, viz. the making belong to . , and not in apposition with . And that which moves me to it is, 1) the extreme improbability of two epithets, and , both being predicated in such an acknowledgment of an act of justice: and 2) that as I have taken it, it best agrees with the in ch. Rev 15:4 , where it is predicated of God not as the result of any manifested acts of His, but as an essential attribute confined to Him alone), because Thou didst judge thus (lit., “these things:” viz. the issue mentioned in Rev 16:4 ; the turning the drinking-water into blood: “Thou didst inflict this judgment”): because (this repeats the former , (following being “ and :” not, as it might be taken, “ because they, &c., Thou hast also ”) they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink (on the form of the inf., , see Winer, edn. 6, 15, and Anthol. xi. 140. 3, , ): they are worthy (these words are made stronger by their asyndetous character). And I heard the altar saying (certainly the simplest understanding of these words is, that they involve a personification of the altar. On the altar are the prayers of the saints, offered before God: beneath the altar are the souls of the martyrs crying for vengeance: when therefore the altar speaks, it is the concentrated testimony of these which speaks by it), Even so, Lord God Almighty: true (reff.) and just are Thy judgments .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 16:4-7 . No more drinking water. The justice of this particular plague is acknowledged by (Rev 16:5-6 ) the angel of the element in question and by (7) the altar (personified here, in line of Rev 6:9-10 , and Rev 8:3 , or of Rev 14:18 ), which echoes the angel’s cry.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 16:4-7
4Then the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of waters; and they became blood. 5And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; 6 or they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” 7And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
Rev 16:5 “the angel of the waters” This may reflect the intertestamental Jewish apocalyptic terminology of I Enoch 66:2. In Revelation there has been an angel in charge of the wind (cf. Rev 7:1) and an angel in charge of fire (cf. Rev 14:8), so it is not unusual to see an angel in charge of the water. Again, angelic mediation and activity are common in intertestamental apocalyptic literature. We must interpret Revelation in light of its own genre, its own day, and not our modern western theological systems of eschatology.
“Righteous are You” This is an allusion to Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32 (especially Rev 16:5) or possibly Psa 119:137.
“who are and who were” Notice that there is no future element as in Rev 1:4; Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8, because there is no future time (cf. Rev 11:17). This is the end! This is purposeful; note the threefold designation of Rev 1:4. Time is no more! The end (i.e., Parousia) is revealed several times in Revelation, not just Revelation 19. Each of the seals, trumpets, and bowls ends with the Second Coming and culmination of history. This is why I Think the recapitulation theory for the interpretation of Revelation is best!
Rev 16:6 “saints” See Special Topic at Rev 5:8.
“prophets” For OT Prophecy see Special Topic at Rev 10:7. See Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECY
Rev 16:7 “And I heard the altar saying” The horns of the altar had already spoken in Rev 9:13. This seems to refer to (1) souls that are under the altar (cf. Rev 6:9; Rev 14:18) or (2) the prayers of God’s children (cf. Rev 8:3-5). It may also be simply a personification for graphic emphasis.
“Lord God, the Almighty” See note of Rev 15:3 b and the Special Topic at Rev 1:8.
“true and righteous are Your judgments” This may be an allusion to Psa 19:9; Psa 119:137. This is a helpful reminder in the midst of such terrible persecution toward Christians (cf. Rev 15:4; Rev 19:2). God will set all things straight one day!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
4-7.] And the third poured out his vial into the rivers and the fountains of the waters: and they became (it is quite impossible, in the lax construction of the Apocalyptic Greek, to maintain here a distinction, as Dsterd. has done, from the previous , and to render here, there came blood. Analogy must be our guide: and the account to be given of the singular is either that it belongs to , or that the rivers and fountains are taken together, and regarded as neuter in sense though not in construction) blood (that the fact was so, is testified by what follows, in which it is assumed that the sources of ordinary drink have become blood). And I heard the angel of the waters (i. e. the angel who was set over the waters; see reff.: not as Grot., vocatur angelus aquarum quia in aquas immisit phialam. Schttgen, h. l., p. 1131 f., gives examples of angels of the earth and of the sea: see also Wolf, h. l. This is more probable than Dsterd.s idea that the analogy to be followed is that of the four living-beings, and that the angel symbolized the waters) saying, Thou art righteous who art and wast (as in ch. Rev 11:17, the is omitted. For the construction, see reff.) holy (I incline against Dsterd., to the usual connexion, viz. the making belong to . , and not in apposition with . And that which moves me to it is, 1) the extreme improbability of two epithets, and , both being predicated in such an acknowledgment of an act of justice: and 2) that as I have taken it, it best agrees with the in ch. Rev 15:4, where it is predicated of God not as the result of any manifested acts of His, but as an essential attribute confined to Him alone), because Thou didst judge thus (lit., these things: viz. the issue mentioned in Rev 16:4; the turning the drinking-water into blood: Thou didst inflict this judgment): because (this repeats the former , (following being and: not, as it might be taken, because they, &c., Thou hast also) they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink (on the form of the inf., , see Winer, edn. 6, 15, and Anthol. xi. 140. 3, , ): they are worthy (these words are made stronger by their asyndetous character). And I heard the altar saying (certainly the simplest understanding of these words is, that they involve a personification of the altar. On the altar are the prayers of the saints, offered before God: beneath the altar are the souls of the martyrs crying for vengeance: when therefore the altar speaks, it is the concentrated testimony of these which speaks by it), Even so, Lord God Almighty: true (reff.) and just are Thy judgments.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
angel
(See Scofield Heb 1:4).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
upon: Rev 8:10, Rev 8:11
and they: Rev 16:5, Rev 14:7, Exo 7:20, Exo 8:5, Isa 50:2, Eze 35:8, Hos 13:15
Reciprocal: Exo 1:22 – Every son Pro 21:1 – as Isa 34:3 – and the mountains Jer 51:48 – the heaven
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 16:4. The mention of the earth and other parts of the creation are to represent them as symbols, denoting the completeness of God’s judgments against evil men. That is why rivers and water fountains are named in this verse.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 4.
(3) The conversion of the rivers and fountains of waters into blood: “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” –Rev 16:4.
The pollution of the fountains and streams of water resulted in epidemics of deadly disease. The sickening figure of the total contamination of the streams of water by the effluence of blood was symbolic of retribution for the blood of the martyrs. In Rev 6:10 the souls under the altar of martyrdom cried: How long, 0 Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? This plague symbol was the answer to the martyr-cry. It was the squaring of the account in this symbolic retribution of blood, the avenging of the martyrs. And verse six so declares: For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. The statement “for they are worthy” means that they deserved the recompense of blood for the blood they had shed.
A similar pronouncement of judgment upon apostate Jerusalem was made by Jesus in Mat 23:37 :
“0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
The plague meant that they were figuratively made to drink the blood which they had made to flow from the mass murder of the saints.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 16:4. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters, and they became blood. Again we see the increased potency of the third bowl as compared with the third trumpet, chap. Rev 8:10-11. All rivers, etc., are affected, and they become more than bitter, they become blood.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Like the third trumpet ( Rev 8:11 ), this bowl affects the fresh water. Its result is similar to that of the first plague against Egypt except they could dig for fresh water, and this extends to the underground supply as well. ( Exo 7:17-25 ) The angel of the waters may be one God has appointed to watch over the waters or the one who poured out the bowl. The Lord is declared, by that angel, to have been just in turning the waters to blood because these had been blood thirsty in killing the saints and prophets. The Lord is identified as the one who is and was without saying he is to come. This may be because this is a picture of his coming.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 16:4-7. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers a fountains of waters, &c. Or those territories of the Papacy which were as necessary to it as rivers and fountains are to a country: the kind of plague under this vial being the same as that of the former. For, as the former destroyed the living creatures, or living souls, that were in or upon the sea, namely, the Spaniards, the great mariners of the world at that time, as to their maritime power, who after the year 1588 lost their former sovereignty of the seas, it being transferred to the English and Dutch; so this latter plague makes it difficult for the Popish party to subsist and maintain their ground, even in the inland countries, particularly in the several dominions of Germany and the neighbouring countries. For in the year 1617, Ferdinand being forced upon the Bohemians by the Emperor Matthias, and crowned king, the foundation of new quarrels was thus laid. For, a little while after, another most bloody religious war ensued, which shook all the empire, and excited the terror of all Europe. And, though the Protestants lost Bohemia, the Palatinate in part, and were driven out of Moravia, Austria, and Silesia, at this time, and were not only persecuted in many places, but were in danger of being extirpated and rooted out universally; yet the tide turned all on a sudden. For after the emperor had ruled Germany with a veteran army for a considerable time, Gustavus Adolphus entered it in the year 1630, and conquered everywhere. And though he was killed about two years afterward, yet his army continued to be victorious; until at length all things were settled at the peace of Munster, A.D. 1648; with which therefore the period of this vial, consisting of thirty- one years, must be supposed to end. Now, as this began with persecutions against, and cruelties upon the Protestants; so at length the angel of the waters is heard to give thanks to God for causing the enemies of his people at last to drink of their own blood. To which song of praise another angel says, Amen: all which seems to denote the joy of the Protestant states and churches on the success of the Swedish arms against the emperor.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:4 {5} And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
(5) The story of the third angel striking the rivers, in this verse, who proclaiming the justice of God, commends the same by a grave comparison of the sins of men, with the punishment of God: which is common to this place, and that which went before. Wherefore also this praising is attributed to the angel of the waters, a name common to the second and third angels, according as both of them are said to be sent against the waters, though the one of the sea, the other of the rivers, in Rev 16:5-6 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
4. The third bowl 16:4
All the fresh water sources (springs, rivers, lakes, etc.) become blood in this plague (cf. Rev 8:11; Exo 7:24; Psa 78:43-44). If the water is literal water, should we not understand the blood as literal blood too? People cannot exist long without any water to drink. However other cataclysmic changes follow that will evidently make water available again (cf. Rev 16:17-21).