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.
The Seventh Vial. Preliminaries of Judgement, Rev 16:17-21
17. into the air ] Lit. upon the air, according to the best reading.
of heaven ] Should be omitted, but of course it is the heavenly Temple that is meant. Here it seems that the Throne (that of Rev 4:2) is inside it: but see on Rev 4:6. Though coming from the Throne, this voice is not defined, like that of Rev 21:5, as the voice of Him that sat on it: but comparing Rev 21:6 it is possible we ought to take it so.
It is done ] More literally, it is come to pass: but the same word is used in St Luk 14:22, where of course the A. V. is right. God’s great Judgement has not come to pass yet, but everything has been done to prepare for it. “One who had fired a train would say ‘It is done,’ though the explosion had not yet taken place,” and, we may add, might use the same words again when it had, as in Rev 21:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air – This introduces the final catastrophe in regard to the beast – his complete and utter overthrow, accompanied with tremendous judgments. Why the vial was poured into the air is not stated. The most probable supposition as to the idea intended to be represented is, that, as storms and tempests seem to be engendered in the air, so this destruction would come from some supernatural cause, as if the whole atmosphere should be filled with wind and storm; and a furious and desolating whirlwind should be aroused by some invisible power.
And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven – The voice of God. See the notes on Rev 11:19.
From the throne – See the notes on Rev 4:2. This shows that it was the voice of God, and not the voice of an angel.
Saying, It is done – The series of judgments is about to be completed; the dominion of the beast is about to come to an end forever. The meaning here is, that that destruction was so certain, that it might be spoken of as now actually accomplished.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rev 16:17-21
The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air.
The seventh bowl
I. How much of earths sin must there be for God to witness!
II. Men often ask–why is God silent so long?
III. Whatever may be the trial of faith thus caused, we are certain that God forgets nothing.
IV. God has great purposes to answer in permitting evil to go so long unpunished.
V. At the appointed hour the long-suffering will cease.
VI. Then Babylon the great, with all her sins, shall come up for final beckoning and recompense.
VII. The fact that all is in the hands of God is a guarantee of perfect equity.
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! Note–
1. Amid the perplexity caused by the prevalence and power of evil, let us stay ourselves on God.
2. Let us do right, and wait Gods time.
3. Revenge is never to be any part of our policy.
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. (C. Clemance, D. D.)
Satanic influence
The air which has received the last vial may be considered as the home or seat of the devil and his angels. There is no fancy in this, for you may remember how St. Paul himself describes the devil as the prince of the power of the air. It is, however, of little importance that we determine where fallen angels have their habitation; 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. Indeed, forasmuch as the soul is the nobler part of man–the more precious and dignified–it would be strange if this alone were exposed to his attack, and the body were altogether exempt. We believe, therefore, that Satan may have a great deal to do with those pains and sicknesses which so abound in the world. It is certainly the representation of Scripture that Satan has much to do with inflicting diseases of the body. The woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together–what said Christ of her, when the ruler of the synagogue was indignant at her being made whole on the Sabbath day? Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo! these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? Again, we know not exactly what that thorn in the flesh was from which St. Paul suffered. But the expression makes it seem probable that it was some acute bodily pain, or some oppressive infirmity; and the apostle distinctly calls it a messenger of Satan, sent to buffet him. Do we not seem warranted in inferring from these intimations that Satan is greatly concerned in bringing maladies on mens bodies? And if this be once allowed, we may enter into the meaning of the title, The prince of the power of the air. We are accustomed, and as it would seem with much accuracy, to refer to certain states of the air as producing certain diseases of the body. Without being able precisely to trace the connection, or investigate the cause, we consider that the atmosphere is frequently impregnated with disease and sickness, so that we may be said to inhale death whilst inhaling what is essential to life. Thus we virtually suppose the power of the air to be a power over health and over life; and therefore, that he who possesses that power–and this St. Paul says is the devil–must be one who is greatly instrumental in the inflicting disease. If you add to this that many of the worst calamities, as well as sicknesses with which men are visited, may be traced to the air, you have the materials from which to show that it is assigning to the devil an awful dominion to give him the sovereignty of the air. Again, we remind you that we are fully aware that Satan can do nothing except as he is permitted by God. We speak only of the power which he can wield when the permission has been granted. Never can I hear of a land which is laid waste by plague, and never can I hear of the rushing of the tornado, passing over fertile plains, and leaving them a desert, without the most startling apprehensions of the fearfulness of the enemy who can use this element as his engine, and without also feeling how justly may the final triumph of good over evil be associated with some great deed that shall be wrought in the air, even according to the representation of our text–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. We Cannot well doubt that this association of the air with the devil is equally appropriate when the devil is regarded under the more common point of view–that of the assailant of the soul, the instigator to sin in all its varieties of form. It may not be so easy to show the appropriateness in this case; for we cannot make much way when we would endeavour to explain what is generally understood by spiritual agency–the operation of spirit on spirit, whether it be for good, or whether it be for evil. There is nothing more mysterious with our present faculties and capacities than those secret influences to which we are undeniably subjected–influences which employ no visible, tangible instrumentality, but whose sphere is at once the inner man, and which make themselves felt, though we know not how they enter into that hidden world, which each bears within himself. We are not, however, concerned with more than the fact, that the spirit of evil, as well as the spirit of good, has access to our minds, and can bring itself into such association and intimacy with us as to act by and through our own thoughts and feelings. Assuming this fact, it is our business to endeavour to show that our spiritual adversary, as the adversary of our souls, may fitly be described as inhabiting the air. In order to this we would remind you, that whatever is visionary and unstable, whatever is a mere delusion and cheat, this we are accustomed to connect with the air; so that we describe as aerial what we find to be unsubstantial or deceptive. It has undoubtedly been through the putting a cheat on man, that the devil, from the first, has effected his destruction. His endeavour has been too often successful l has been to prevail on man to substitute an imaginary good for a real, the creature for the Creator, and to mock their own capacities for happiness by seeking it in the finite and the perishable. If it be by what we should call a series of optical deceptions that he acts on our race, distorting one thing and magnifying another, and throwing a false colouring on a third, how is he proceeding but so as to avail himself of those strange properties of the air whence spring such phenomena as that of the Egyptian morass, the weary traveller being cheered with the appearance of the blue waters of a lake, on whose margins green trees are waving, but finding as he approaches that there is only the hot sand and no drop of water wherewith to cool his tongue? If, again, it be by crowding the field of view with witching but unsubstantial forms, with gorgeous thrones and splendid pageants, which sweep before the mind and beckon onward to disappointment–if it be thus that Satan retains, undisputed, his dominion over thousands, what can he be truly said to employ so much as the power of the air, weaving those brilliant phantoms which have seemed to hurry to and fro, as though hurrying from cloud to cloud, and causing those strange delusions which have startled the peasant, and made him think the glens into which he was entering tenanted by shadowy and mysterious beings–in short, if it be that Satan tries to deceive mankind by the inconstant and unsubstantial–if the ambitious, and the voluptuous, and the avaricious, be all and each pursuing a beckoning shadow–if the whole apparatus by which the world is lulled into moral slumber, or roused to self-destruction, be made up of the mere imagery of happiness, could any description be more apposite than one which represents the devil as lord of that element in which floats the meteor, and through which glides the spectre, and out of which can be formed nothing that we can grasp, though it may be the vehicle of a thousand deceptions arrayed in beautiful array? We take this subject of discourse because we desire, by every possible means and by all varieties of illustration, to make you aware of the powers, and put you on your guard against the malice of the devil. 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 breasts 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. Every sin which you wilfully commit helps forward the great design of the devil–the design of obtaining such hold on you that he may claim you as his own; and as a strong man armed, he keepeth his goods. Let us look now once more with careful attention to our text and its context. We read in the chapter before us of seven angels, having the seven last plagues, in seven vials, each of which is filled with the wrath of God. These plagues are manifestly those tremendous judgments which are to conclude the present dispensation, and make way for that glorious season when Christianity shall have a home in every land and in every heart. The first six vials are emptied on the earth, or on the waters, or on the sun, and are followed by fearful catastrophes which are preliminary to a more tremendous one which is to close the strange work of vengeance; but it is the seventh vial with which seems associated the final deliverance of the creation–the overthrow of the Lords enemies, and the vindication of all His attributes. For, as you learn from our text, so soon as the seventh angel pours out his vial, there is heard a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done! as though this were the completion and consummation of a mighty and long-protracted work. Why this triumphant exclamation, It is done! as though the emptying of the seventh vial had finished the extirpation of evil, and made a clear scene for the erection of the kingdom of Jesus. Our whole discourse has turned on this–the vial is emptied into the air. We identify the air with the residence and dominion of Satan, and hence the seventh vial may be considered as containing those judgments which are immediately directed against the devil. The destruction of the devils sovereignty will be the emancipation of the whole creation which has so long groaned and travailed in pain, hence the shout. Not on the land, not in the sea, not in the fountains is the vial poured; it is poured into the air, and fallen angels, who have their abode in that element which they have long polluted and spoiled, are driven down to their heritage of fire. And then the atmosphere has all the blandness and freshness of a new spring, and the lost flowers of Paradise once more cover the earth. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. Poured out his vial into the air] To signify that this plague was to be widely diffused, and perhaps to intimate that pestilences and various deaths would be the effect of this vial. But possibly air in this place may have some emblematical meaning.
It is done.] It is said, Re 10:7, that in the days of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God should be finished; so here we find it completed. All’s over! Fuimus Troes! Ilium fuit! Once there were Trojans, and they had a city; but now all are extinct.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air: I take this to be best interpreted (as Mr. Mede doth it) by the power of the air, of which Satan is called the prince, Eph 2:2, that is, upon all the children of the devil, that had so long given disturbance to the church of Christ.
It is done; that is, the work of God is done, his counsels for the destruction of his enemies, and the deliverance of his people, are brought forth in the issue of his providence, not fully yet brought to an issue, but accomplishing.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. angelso ANDREAS.But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac omit it.
intoso ANDREAS(Greek, “eis“). But A and B, “upon”(Greek, “epi“).
greatso B, Vulgate,Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS.But A omits.
of heavenso B andANDREAS But A, Vulgate,Syriac, and Coptic omit.
It is done“It iscome to pass.” God’s voice as to the final consummation, asJesus’ voice on the cross when the work of expiation was completed,”It is finished.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air,…. Or “upon the air”, as the Alexandrian copy, Syriac and Arabic versions, read; by which is meant the kingdom of Satan, he being the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2 not that he has power over the air, to raise or lay winds and storms in it at pleasure; but he is so called because he is the prince of that posse of devils, the principalities and powers of darkness, that have their dwelling in the air; hence the air, encompassing the whole earth, stands for the kingdom of Satan all the world over: and this vial differs from all the rest; that whereas the rest only affect some part or branch of the antichristian state, this will affect all the remains of the Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan powers, gathered and united together at Armageddon; and the pouring out of this vial is the execution of divine wrath and vengeance upon them all at once; and the effects of this vial will not only reach to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, and their armies, or the united forces of the remains of Pagans, Papists, and Mahometans, who will be slain, and their flesh given to the fowls of the air; and not only to the beast and false prophet, who will be taken in this battle, and cast alive into the lake of fire, which is expressive both of their temporal and eternal punishment, Re 19:17 but to the binding of Satan upon the second coming of Christ, of which notice is before given,
Re 16:15 and even to the destruction of Gog and Magog at the end of the thousand years’ reign; yea, to the casting of the devil into everlasting fire, since this vial is the last plague, in which the wrath of God is filled up, and so brings to the end of all things,
Re 20:1. The first accomplishment of this vial will be the decisive battle at Armageddon, when the remains of all Christ’s and his church’s enemies will have a total defeat; and this will be the third and last woe, which will utterly destroy those that have destroyed the earth, Pagans, Papists, and Mahometans, even all the open enemies of Christ, so that nothing will lie in the way of his kingdom; now will the spiritual reign of Christ, which has been gradually advancing by the pouring out of each vial, be in its full glory: but though antichrist will be no more, and Satan will have no more in form an open kingdom upon earth; yet, towards the close of this reign, great lukewarmness and coldness will seize professors of religion, and immorality and profaneness will abound again; which will bring on the times of the coming of the son of man; who, upon his personal descent from the third heaven into the air, will drive Satan and his posse of devils from their territories, and quickly will the general conflagration begin, when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; and which is no inconsiderable part of the pouring out of this vial into the air.
And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne; this voice is said to come “out of the temple of heaven”, that is, out of the temple which is in heaven, which will now be opened, as under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vial corresponds, and indeed is contemporary; and which designs the church, enjoying the pure worship of God, the word and ordinances, and the free exercise of religion; and this shows that when this voice will be uttered, as yet the Jerusalem church state will not be begun, since there will be no temple in that; see
Re 11:19 the words, “of heaven”, are left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, which read, “out of the temple from the throne”; the seat of government in the church, described in Re 4:2 the voice came with power, authority, and majesty; not from any of the four and twenty elders, or four living creatures, or angels about the throne; but either from God the Father that sits upon it; or from Christ the Lamb in the midst of it, and rather from the latter, since a like phrase was used by him on the cross, Joh 19:30 and the same is expressed by him who is the Alpha and Omega, Re 21:6 and this voice is called a great one, being the voice of a great person, the King of kings, and coming with great power, and was spoken aloud:
saying, it is done; what the angel swore should be in the days of the seventh angel, namely, that time, antichristian time, should be no more, and the mystery of God in his purposes and providences should be finished, and all the glorious things spoken of his church and people be accomplished; [See comments on Re 10:6],
[See comments on Re 10:7] the word may be rendered “it has been”, or “it was”, and the sense is, but now is not; and the meaning may be, Babylon was, but is not, it is now fallen; the beast and false prophet were, but now are not; the Turk, or Mahomet, was, but is no more; all the antichristian powers are destroyed; Christ’s body, the church, will be completed, the Jews will be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in, all the elect called, and the new Jerusalem prepared as a bride for her husband; and when the utmost effects of this vial will take place, the end of all things will be; by the same “fiat” that made the heavens and the earth, they will disappear, and new heavens and earth succeed in their room.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Seven Vials. | A. D. 95. |
17 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. 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. 19 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. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 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.
Here we have an account of the seventh and last angel pouring forth his vial, contributing his part towards the accomplishment of the downfall of Babylon, which was the finishing stroke. And here, as before, observe,
I. Where this plague fell–on the air, upon the prince of the power of the air, that is, the devil. His powers were restrained, his policies confounded; he was bound in God’s chain: the sword of God was upon his eye and upon his arm; for he, as well as the powers of the earth, is subject to the almighty power of God. He had used all possible means to preserve the antichristian interest, and to prevent the fall of Babylon–all the influence that he has upon the minds of men, blinding their judgments and perverting them, hardening their hearts, raising their enmity to the gospel as high as could be. But now here is a vial poured out upon his kingdom, and he is not able to support his tottering cause and interest any longer.
II. What it produced, 1. A thankful voice from heaven, pronouncing that now the work was done. The church triumphant in heaven saw it, and rejoiced; the church militant on earth saw it, and became triumphant. It is finished. 2. A mighty commotion on the earth–an earthquake, so great as never was before, shaking the very centre, and this ushered in by the usual concomitants of thunder and lightnings. 3. The fall of Babylon, which was divided into three parts, called the cities of the nations (v. 19); having had rule over the nations, and taken in the idolatry of the nations, incorporating into her religion something of the Jewish, something of the pagan, and something of the Christian religion, she was as three cities in one. God now remembered this great and wicked city. Though for some time he seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty, yet now he gives unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And this downfall extended further than to the seat of antichrist; it reached from the centre to the circumference; and every island and every mountain, that seemed by nature and situation the most secured, were carried away in the deluge of this ruin.
III. How the antichristian party were affected with it. Though it fell upon them as a dreadful storm, as if the stones of the city, tossed up into the air, came down upon their heads, like hailstones of a talent weight each, yet they were so far from repenting that they blasphemed that God who thus punished them. Here was a dreadful plague of the heart, a spiritual judgment more dreadful and destructive than all the rest. Observe, 1. The greatest calamities that can befal 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.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Upon the air ( ). All men breathe the air and this is worse than the smiting of the earth (verse 2), the sea (3), the fresh waters (4), the sun (8).
A great voice ( ). The voice of God as in 16:1.
It is done (). Perfect active indicative of . Like in 21:6. The whole series of plagues is now complete.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Temple of heaven. Omit of heaven.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
7) THE SEVENTH VIAL, INTO THE AIR v. 17-21
1) “And the seventh angel poured out his vial,” (kai no hebdomos eksecheen ten phialen autou) “and the seventh (of the seven angels) poured out (emptied) his vial-like bowl of foretold and revealed judgment, Rev 15:1; Rev 16:1.
2) “Into the air,” (epi ton aera) “upon the air,” under the heaven, the atmosphere where Satan exists as Prince of the “power of the air,” Eph 2:2; Eph 6:12. Seven as the number of Divine completion indicated that this was the last judgment plague.
3) “And there came a great voice out of the temple of God,” (kai exeelthen phone megale ek tou naou) “and there came forth a megaphone-like voice out of the shrine area;- where God sat upon the throne, Heb 12:2; Eph 1:20; Heb 1:3. This appears to be the voice of the Son of God before the throne whose last cry of the cross was “it is finished,” Joh 19:30.
4) “From the throne saying, it is done,” (apo tou thronou legousa gegonen) “From the (central) throne saying repeatedly, it has occurred,” as Divinely commanded; happened or become; it is done or finished, Rev 21:6. It is the completion of earthly judgment on unbelievers, culminated or reaching fruition in the coming of Christ in judgment power and Revelation; 2Th 1:6-12; See especially Isa 26:20-21.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Strauss Comments
SECTION 56
Text Rev. 16:17-21
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.
Initial Questions Rev. 16:17-21
1.
To what does It is done refer to in Rev. 16:17?
2.
Note that Rev. 16:18 mentions the earth, then the scene switches to the great city in Rev. 16:19. The city stands for the whole earth. To what city does the name Babylon refer?
3.
How extensive was the geological upheaval mentioned in Rev. 16:20?
4.
How did men respond to Gods judgment Rev. 16:21?
Rev. 16:17-21
The seventh bowl was reserved for the precious air which men breath. Then a great voice came out of the temple from the throne. God is speaking directly and says. It has occurred. John had declared in Rev. 15:1 that the time when the seven plagues will finish or complete the anger of God. The seventh bowl describes the completion of the wrath of God in phrases which we have seen already (see Rev. 8:7) and in terms of Exo. 9:23-24.
Babylons fall was declared in Rev. 14:18; but here we have a description of the major events of the fall. The basic difference between the judgments of the bowls and those of the trumpets is that the bowls are far more severe. The Trumpets affect only one-third of the elements involved, the bowls of anger affect the entire earth. The three series of judgments do not seem to this author to be three chronologically distinct judgment in different periods of history but each seem to be a general description of Gods judgment. Each series presents the judgments with greater intensity and severity.
Discussion Questions
Chapter Rev. 16:1-21
1.
Study carefully the model of the Egyptian plagues in Exo. 9:10-11 and compare the imagery in Rev. 16:1.
2.
What kind of sore does John speak of in Rev. 16:2? Study in Bible Dictionary concerning the diseases mentioned in the Bible, and find a clinical description of disease here.
3.
How was the sea affected according to Rev. 16:3?
4.
Discuss the relationship of Gods Holiness and the fact of His judgment in Rev. 16:5.
5.
Do you know any who were stoned in the Early Church? Why were they stoned?
6.
Study Isa. 49:8-10 in its context and then discuss Rev. 16:8.
7.
What are the extreme temperatures in which the human body can survive Rev. 16:9?
8.
Could plants, animals, and men survive without the light of the sun Rev. 16:10?
9.
Why was the Euphrates River used as important symbolism in Rev. 16:12?
10.
Are the forces of evil personal or merely principles at work in the universe, according to Rev. 16:13?
11.
What is the relationship between the final overthrow of active evil and the coming again of Jesus Christ according to 1Th. 5:2 and Rev. 16:15.
12.
Get a good recent map of the O.T. period involved and locate the valley of Esdraelon; then study the following Bible records of battles: 2Ki. 9:27 ff, 2Ki. 23:29; Jdg. 5:1 ff. Then does this help you understand Johns use of this imagery?
13.
Now that you have completed studying this third section of Gods judgment, go back and examine the general techniques of the first two series of judgments, the seven seals chp. 6: Rev. 8:1; and seven trumpets chp. Rev. 8:2 Rev. 11:15. Note their differences and similarities and the development of their intensity and severity.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(17) And the seventh . . .Translate, And the seventh (angel) poured out his vial upon the air, and there came forth a voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done. The results of the outpouring of this vial are described in the following verses; but before these are seen, the voice from the throneGods own voice (see Rev. 16:1)proclaims, as though rejoicing in the near approach of the happy end, It is done. The close of these scenes of sin and suffering is now at hand, for the last of the last plagues has been sent forth.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
e. The seventh vial, on the air the earthquake, the battle, and BABYLON’S DOWNFALL, Rev 16:17-20 .
17. And The great event is not given in this consecutive order. On the contrary, the tumult of the terrible conflict is reflected in the confusion of the narrative.
A great voice out of the temple Where the avenging divine Presence is fixed until the downfall. Note on Rev 15:8.
It is done The catastrophe is, in immediate anticipation, complete. The capital of antichrist is prostrated. Note Rev 18:8.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air, and a great voice came out of the Temple from the throne saying, “It is done”.’
The seventh bowl brings all to conclusion. The voice from the throne declares that ‘It is done’. This bowl is poured out on the air. It produces the great hail which speaks of the final judgment of God (compare on Rev 11:19), and the final great earthquake beyond all earthquakes (Rev 16:18). For in that bowl all is completed. “It is done”. The voice from the throne declares the end of all things. This compares with the strong angel who declared that time was no longer to be (Rev 10:6). The voice from the throne may be that of a living creature or it may be the voice of the One Who sits on the throne. Either way it is final.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The emptying of the seventh vial:
v. 17. 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.
v. 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.
v. 19. 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.
v. 20. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
v. 21. 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 is the climax, the final Judgment, the end. Anti-Christ will be destroyed with the brightness of the Lord’s coming, 2Th 2:8. Of this the seer writes: And the seventh poured out his vial upon the air; and there came a loud voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done! The Lord Himself declares that with the coming of this last plague all is over. It begins in the air, and it ends in the abyss burning with fire. The triumph of the Lord is assured in advance.
The voice announcing the victory in heaven is echoed on earth, among the creatures: And there occurred lightnings and voices and thunders, and there occurred a great earthquake, the like of which did not occur since man came on the earth, an earthquake of such magnitude. Here is a picture of the disintegration, dissolution, of the world: flashes of lightning, loud blasts, peals of thunder, a terrible, unexampled earthquake. The result of this storm is described: And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the heathen fell; and Babylon the Great was brought to remembrance before God to give her the cup of wine of the wrath of His anger; and every island fled, and mountains were no longer found. Shattered into three parts, the city of Anti-Christ sinks into ruins, followed by the cities of the heathen. And spiritual Babylon, Rome, the seat of Anti-Christ, must now drink the cup of God’s rage to the very dregs, Isa 51:22. The islands are removed, and the mountains sink from sight, for the final Judgment has come, and the end of all things is at hand. This is indicated also in the last verse: And great hail, resembling a talent in size, fell down from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail, for the plague of it is very great. This is the punishment which will destroy all the enemies of the Lord, a hail of God’s wrath which falls from heaven upon the blasphemers and casts them into the lowest hell. And yet the enemies, in the midst of their destruction, blaspheme the Lord, just as they will blaspheme Him throughout eternity, as they are consumed by the torments of hell.
Summary
In the picture of seven plagues, culminating in the final Judgment, the effect of the Gospel proclamation since the Reformation upon, the kingdom of Anti-Christ and upon his adherents and worshipers is depicted.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Rev 16:17-21. The seventh angel poured out his vial, &c. The seventh vial is poured into the air, the seat of Satan’s residence, who is emphatically styled, the prince of the power of the air, Eph_2:2 . and is represented, Rev 16:13. as a principal actor in these latter scenes; so that this last period will not only complete the ruin of the kingdom of the beast, but will also shake the kingdom of Satan every where. Upon the pouring out of this vial, a solemn proclamation is made from the throne of God himself: It is done; in the same sense as the angel affirmed, ch. Rev 10:7. that in the days of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God should be finished. Of this vial, as of all the former, the completion is gradual, and the immediate effects and consequences are voices, &c. Rev 16:18-21. These portend great calamities. Voices, and thunders, and lightnings, are the usual attendants of the Deity, especially in his judgments. Great earthquakes, in prophetic language, signify great changes and revolutions; and this is such a one as men never felt and experienced before. Not only the great city is divided into three parts, or factions, but the cities of the nations fall from their obedience. Her sins are remembered before God, and, like another Babylon, she will soon be made to drink of the bitter cup of his anger, Rev 16:19. Nay, not only the works of men, the cities, fall; but even the works of nature, the islands fly away, and the mountains are not found; (Rev 16:20.) which is more than was said, ch. Rev 6:14. that they were moved out of their places; and can import no less than an utter extirpation of idolatry. Great hail too, Rev 16:21. signifies the judgments of God, and these are uncommon judgments. Diodorus speaks of hailstones which weigheda pound or more. Philostorgius mentions hail that weighed eight pounds. But these are about the weight of a talent, or about a hundred pounds; a strong figure to denote the greatness and severity of these judgments! But still the men continue obstinate, and blaspheme God for the hail; they remain incorrigible under the divine judgments, and will be destroyed before theywill repent, or be reformed. See as above. “The seven vials poured out,” says Mr. Burton, “are to be the seven last plagues; (see Rev 15:1 .) for in them is to be filled up the wrath of God.” Here, as in every other part of the Apocalyptical descriptions, the number seven seems to be the prevailing number by which to calculate their appearance. As yet the five first vials only, I apprehend, are poured out, and the two last are yet to come. It becomes us therefore to draw a veil over the judgments that are still future, lest by our rashness we provoke a judgment upon ourselves: it becomes us likewise, as men actuated by reason, seriously to reflect on the part we are to act, while the judgments of God are visiblyupon the earth. God’s promises are ever conditional with respect to us; and distant events are never pointed out to us with any degree of certainty, but for very apparent and wise reasons, that the almost may become an altogether Christian; and that the infidel and unbeliever may be afforded an opportunity of shunning the folly of impiety; and by being guarded against the means of exercising fruitless endeavours to thwart the divine decrees, he may not thereby add sin to sin, but learn betimes to repent of his impious folly, and become wise unto salvation.
Inferences and REFLECTIONS.How manifestly righteous are the judgments of God, which shall be executed, in due season, upon antichristian idolaters and persecutors, and all the wicked and ungodly of the earth! They act under the influence of unclean diabolical spirits, which deceive the nations, and set them as in battle-array against the Almighty: and, instead of being reformed by one and another judgment, they obstinately persist in their iniquitous courses, and blaspheme the name of God, as though he dealt unjustly in punishing them. But, how long soever he may bear with them, he will call their sins to remembrance, and pour out the vials of his righteous wrath upon them. And, ah! how dreadful are the calamities, which he, sooner or later, will inflict upon them! They are as grievous and tormenting as the sorest ulcers; as nauseous and mortal as seas and rivers of blood; as distressing as the most scorching heat of the sun, which burns up all before it; as doleful as the thickest darkness; as exposed to every invading misery, as a country that has no barrier for its defence; and as terrifying and overwhelming, as inexpressible tempests of thunder, lightning, earthquakes, and the heavier storms of hail, beyond all that ever was felt on the earth. In this manner shall the worshippers of the beast, and all antichristian enemies, drink of the wrath of God, till, at length, they, together with the whole kingdom and power of Satan, shall be utterly destroyed. And who must not say that they are worthy of all this, as a just return upon them for the blood of the saints, which they have shed; and for all their abominable idolatries, and other multiplied corruptions in doctrine, worship, and manners? God will be applauded, as holy, righteous, and true, in these executions of wrath; and his church must say Amen to his judging thus, concerning all that oppressed and tyrannized over them during the reign of the beast! With what sudden and unexpected surprise will this tremendous day of the Lord come, like a thief in the night! Blessed are they that shall then be found upon their watch, and appear with spotless robes of righteousness and honour before him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rev 16:17-21 . The seventh vial poured into the air brings after a voice proceeding from the throne of God has proclaimed the end unprecedented plagues upon the chief city of the beast and the entire empire. Yet men continue their blasphemy of God.
. Cf. Rev 16:8 .
. . According to this, the voice of God himself is to be understood just as in Rev 16:1 ; the further designation shows this with still greater certainty. As the command to pour forth the vials was imparted by God himself, so there also comes forth from God’s own mouth the final exclamation comprised in one word: . This , “ factum est ,” [3770] refers to Rev 16:1 ; now that is done which is there commanded. [3771] Cf. Rev 21:6 , where, likewise, a definite determination of the subject results from the connection. Thus the explanation of Eichh., Ewald, [3772] is far out of the way, while that of Grot., [3773] which recalls the Virgilian: Fuimus Troes , is inapposite.
, . . . The same signs, only extremely heightened, which also, Rev 11:19 , signalize the immediately impending entrance of the actual end; yet the misunderstanding as though in Rev 16:20-21 the end itself were described is removed by the text itself, because it treats of a particular vial-plague, which, like the preceding, expressly makes known, also in Rev 16:21 ( . ., . . . ), its only preparatory significance with respect to the actual final judgment.
. . , . . . From the connection of ch. 13, as well as from the context, ch. 16, it undoubtedly follows that “the great city,” which was rent into three parts, is identical with “great Babylon,” [3774] i.e., the metropolis of the world, which appeared in ch. 13 in the form of the beast from the sea. [3775] In addition to the great city divided into three parts, [3776] the other “cities of the nations” which fall down are also mentioned. The great city, or great Babylon, is, therefore, heathen Rome, [3777] not Jerusalem. [3778] The heathen metropolis is affected in the same way by the mighty earthquake which the last vial brings, but in a heightened degree, as in Rev 11:13 , the city of Jerusalem is by the final visitation in the second woe. But there the last plague, which comes upon Jerusalem before the final judgment, [3779] works repentance in the rest; while in the heathen metropolis, and in the entire realm of the beast, all the plagues, even those which are most dreadful, effect nothing but persevering blasphemy of God. [3780]
. ., . . . On the expression, cf. Act 10:31 ; on the thing designated, Psa 10:13 .
. . . . The expression [3781] is just as full as possible, because it is intended to state how the wrath ( ) existing in God operates in its entire force. Vitr. explains excellently by excandescentia irae . [3782] [See Note LXXXI., p. 426.] On Rev 16:20 ; cf. Rev 6:14 .
. The monstrous size of the hail, whereby the plague is rendered so dreadful. [3783] Hailstones of the weight of a mina ( ), Diodor. Sicul., xix. 45, already calls incredibly great; but in this passage hailstones of the weight of a talent, which contains sixty minae, therefore, designates them as so heavy as though thrown, like sling-stones, from catapults. [3784]
. , . . . It dare not be urged [3785] that here also the impenitence is not expressly mentioned, and it is not here stated that this immediately fatal hail left no time for repentance, that the men thus struck by the same could, only when dying, still blaspheme; [3786] for it is scarcely the meaning, that those individuals, who have been struck by the dreadful hail, utter their blasphemies in the very moment of death; but rather, while the hail falls, the men blaspheme, i.e., those not immediately struck by it, who, nevertheless, have before their eyes the plague threatening them every moment. Some fall, struck dead; others blaspheme.
[3770] Vulg.
[3771] Luk 14:22 ; Beng., De Wette, Hengstenb.
[3772] Actum est , i.e., the end and sure destruction of Rome is at hand.
[3773] Fuit Roma . Cf. also Vitr.
[3774] Cf. Rev 14:8 .
[3775] Cf also ch. 17.
[3776] The number three (cf. Rev 8:7-8 ; Rev 8:11 ; Rev 8:13 ) has possibly a reference to the three chief enemies, Rev 16:13 (Ebrard).
[3777] Alcas., Ewald, De Wette, Volkm., Bleek, Hengstenb.
[3778] Andreas, C. a Lap., Beng., Zll., Stern., Ebrard, etc., who increase the confusion by explaining the great city, partly, like Ebrard, in the sense of Rev 11:8 ; and great Babylon, on the other hand, according to Rev 14:8 .
[3779] Cf. Rev 11:15 sqq.
[3780] Rev 16:21 . Cf. Rev 16:9 ; Rev 16:11 .
[3781] Cf. Rev 14:10 .
[3782] “Irascibility of anger.”
[3783] Rev 16:21 b .
[3784] Cf. Joseph., B. J. , v. 6, Revelation 3 :
.
[3785] Beng., Hengstenb.
[3786] Hengstenb.
The vial-visions have received an allegorical interpretation in the same way as the seal- and trumpet-visions. As an example the following may be noticed: [3787] Wetst., who in it all saw a representation of the Vitellian war, explained Rev 16:2 of diseases in the army of Vitellius, Rev 16:3 of the treachery of the fleet, Rev 16:19 the (the three parties), as the Vitellian, the Flavian, and that of the Roman people. The last, Grot. refers to the fact that Totila had demolished the third of the walls of Rome. Nevertheless, the explanation of three classes of men has found most approval. [3788] Vitr. interprets Rev 16:2 as referring to the exposure of the corruption of the Church by the Waldenses; Rev 16:3 , to wars between the Popes and the Emperors (1056 1211); Rev 16:4 , to the Church’s thirst for blood, manifested in Castnitz; Rev 16:10 sq., to the obscuring of the Papacy by the Reformation. [3789] Beng. and Hengstenb. repeat their explanations, known already from the former visions, that the earth, Rev 16:2 , is Asia; the sea, Rev 16:3 , is Europe; [3790] that Rev 16:3 refers to the shedding of blood in war, and Rev 16:4 to the infringement of prosperity. [3791] The islands and mountains, Rev 16:20 , are, according to Andr., churches and church-teachers; according to Hengstenb., kingdoms.
[3787] Cf. on Rev 16:12 sqq.
[3788] Beda: “The godless state brings war in three ways upon the Church; viz., through the heathen, the Jews, and the heretics.” Andr.: Christians, Jews, and Samaritans in Jerusalem. Alcas.: Christians, heathen, and neutrals in Rome during the time of Constantine.
[3789] Cf. Calov., etc.
[3790] Beng.
[3791] Hengstenb.
NOTES BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR
LXXXI. Rev 16:19 .
Cremer: “ denotes the inward excitement, and the outward manifestation of it; cf. Deu 29:20 ; Num 32:14 ; Isa 9:19 ; Jos 7:26 ; 1Sa 28:18 .” Trench: “The general result is, that in is more of turbulent commotion, the boiling agitation of the feelings, either presently to subside and disappear, or else to settle down into , wherein is more of an abiding and settled habit of the mind, with the purpose of revenge.” Thayer ( Lexicon ): , “anger forthwith boiling up, and soon subsiding; , on the contrary, denotes indignation which has arisen gradually and become more settled.”
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
(17) 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. (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. (19) 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. (20) And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (21) 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.
Here ends the pouring out of the vials, and a tremendous pouring out it is. It is said to he into the air, meaning the empire of Satan, who is emphatically called, the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2 . But we must include the whole territories of Pope, and Turk, also, because Satan’s empire is over them, and the air takes in the whole of their empire and Satan’s together. And as this puts an end to all the struggles, which for so many hundreds of years have been carried on by hell and its auxiliaries, against the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ, we may well suppose, that the decision which is final, will be most strikingly glorious. I shall not in this place, anticipate what is said, in allusion to this great day of Christ, in the latter part of this book of prophecy; but if the Reader will read what is delivered on this subject, Rev 19:11 to the end, he will see the best explanation of the transactions of this sixth vial.
I beg the Reader, however, that he will not too hastily pass away from this most blessed view of Christ, under the seventh vial. If voices, thunderings, and lightening bespake the manifestations of the Lord Jesus, and a great voice came forth from the temple, that is the Church, saying, it is done. Oh! how ought we to hail the glorious event! Jesus had before been seen standing upon the earth, and upon the sea, and swearing by him that liveth forever and ever, that in the days when the mystery of God shall be finished, there should be time no longer; and here we behold the confirmation, of the same, and Christ himself coming to finish it, Rev 10:1-7 .
Oh!, the unspeakable joy, when the Church shall see the blood of the saints avenged, the whore and all her cursed crew, which from age to age, have been drunken with the blood of the saints, cast down to rise no more. And hell repaid his numerous temptations, whereby the saints of God through the whole time-state of the Church, have been assaulted with his devilish cruelties. How will that hymn of praise burst forth from ten thousand times ten thousand souls, in unceasing love and thanksgiving to our adorable Lord; We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, which art, and which was, and art to come, because thou host taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned, Rev 11:17 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17 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.
Ver. 17. Into the air ] The popish air, the kingdom of Satan, Eph 2:2 .
Saying, It is done ] What is done? The mystery of iniquity is abolished, and the mystery of God is fulfilled. So Cicero when he had slain those of Catiline’s conspiracy, he came to the people, and said, vixerunt, they were alive, but now the world is well rid of them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17 21 .] And the seventh poured out his vial upon the air (the consequences are presently seen), and there came forth a voice out of the temple from the throne (the voice, as in Rev 16:1 , of God Himself. This is rendered even more certain here by the addition of ) saying, It is done (the limitation of the meaning of to “that is done which was commanded,” viz. the outpouring of the seven vials, is in fact no limitation: for the plagues are the last plagues: if therefore they are done, all is done. But the declaration is of course proleptically made, and imports that the outpouring of the seventh vial had done that which should accomplish all and bring in the end. One who had fired a train would say, “It is done,” though the explosion had not yet taken place). And there were lightnings and voices and thunders (the usual accompaniments of the close of each series of visions, see ch. Rev 8:5 , Rev 11:19 . But, as before remarked, these phnomena occur here in rather a different connexion from that in the other two places. Here, they are more the result of the outpouring of the last vial, and they do not conclude, but only begin its effects, which do not cease until the destruction of Babylon and the great overthrow of the antichristian hosts): and there was a great earthquake (this may perhaps be not without connexion with the pouring out of the vial into the air: in the descriptions of earthquakes we read of the darkened and lurid appearance of the air preceding the shock) such as was not from the time when there was a man (not, “since man was:” the generic meaning would more probably be expressed by , as altered in rec.) upon the earth, such (on , see note on ref. Heb.) an earthquake so great. And the great city (Rome: cf. ch. Rev 11:8 and note, Rev 14:8 , Rev 17:18 , Rev 18:10 ; Rev 18:16 ; Rev 18:18 , &c., 21) became into (i. e. was divided or split, scil. by the earthquake) three parts (see ch. Rev 11:13 , where a similar judgment takes place at the end of the episode of the two witnesses. The three parts are supposed by Dsterd. to refer to the three arch-enemies just now mentioned. But this is very uncertain: see on the tripartite division at ch. Rev 8:7 ), and the cities of the nations fell (not only the greatest city, but other great capitals of nations fell, from the violence and extent of the earthquake. We have its further consequences presently): and Babylon the great (mentioned specially, although really the same (see the places referred to above) with , because of her special adulterous character to be hereafter described, The destruction of the material city of Rome is but the beginning of the execution of vengeance on the mystic Babylon) was remembered before God (reff.), to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath (so E. V. for ; “excandescentia ir,” Vitringa. ( ) is the outbreak, the temper of mind. See on Rom 2:8 ; and on the figure of the cup, ch. Rev 14:8 , note. The sense is, that all these material judgments were but prefatory; the divine intent, in the midst of them, being to make Babylon drink the cup of His wrath in her judgment which follows): and every island fled (the effects of the earthquake are resumed, the mention of Babylon coming into remembrance being parenthetical, and suggested by the great city having been split into three parts. On the sense, as belonging to the imagery of the great day, see ch. Rev 6:14 ), and there were found no mountains (not as E. V., “the mountains ( ) were not found.” The expression is far stronger than this: amounting to that in ch. Rev 6:14 , that every mountain was removed out of its place and was looked for in vain), and a great hail (see reff. Egypt is again in view) as of a talent in weight (i. e. having each hailstone of that weight. Diod. Sic. xix. 45 speaks of hailstones of a mina each in weight as being enormous: , , , , , : and the talent contained sixty min. Josephus, in reff., speaks of the stones which were thrown from the machines in the siege of Jerusalem as each of a talent weight) descendeth from heaven on men ( . must apparently be generic here: it can hardly mean the men ; for the plague is universal. See above on Rev 16:9 ): and men blasphemed God by reason of the plague of the hail, because great is the plague of it exceedingly (i. e. mankind in general, not those who were struck by the hailstones who would instantly die, so far from repenting at this great and final judgment of God, blasphemed Him and were impenitent. The issue is different from that in ch. Rev 11:13 , where the remnant feared and gave glory to God).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rev 16:17 . The temple (Rev 11:19 ) and the throne (Rev 8:3 ) are again blended in one scene. In Isa 66:6 the divine vengeance is heralded by , .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev 16:17-21
17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.
Rev 16:17 “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air” This could be a reference to Satan’s kingdom as found in Eph 2:2. The air above the earth was considered the realm of evil by the first century world. The battle with evil is finished (cf. Rev 16:17-21).
Rev 16:18 This imagery is used several times in Revelation (cf. Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5; Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18).
Rev 16:19 “The great city” Some see this as a reference to Jerusalem because of Rev 11:8. However, I think even Rev 11:8 is a symbol of Rome (cf. Rev 11:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 17:18; Rev 18:10; Rev 18:18-19; Rev 18:21). Rome is described as the great whore of Babylon (cf. Rev 14:8) which was the ancient seat of godless society. In John’s day Rome was that center of the emperor cult that persecuted the Church. In the period of the end-time Antichrist it may be another world city. John continues to describe the destruction of the seat of fallen human, anti-God government in Revelation 17-18.
“was split into three parts” This possibly is an allusion to the vision of Ezekiel 5, which describes utter defeat.
“the cities of the nations fell” This shows the ineffective alliance of fallen human governments against our God and His Christ (cf. Psalms 2). See note at Rev 10:11.
“Babylon the great was remembered before God” The phrase “then God remembered” is often a symbol of God’s judgment (cf. Rev 18:5; Rev 19:15). This particular cup of judgment was discussed earlier in Rev 14:10.
“the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath” Drunkenness was an OT metaphor for God’s judgment (cf. Psa 60:3; Psa 75:8; Isa 51:17; Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15-16; Jer 25:27-28; see Special Topic at Rev 14:10).
“Wrath” is the term org. See full note at Rev 7:14.
Rev 16:20 “every island fled away” This is similar to the sixth seal (cf. Rev 6:14).
“the mountains were not found” These were OT symbolic phrases for cataclysmic end-time events (cf. Psa 97:5; Mic 1:4; Nah 1:5).
Rev 16:21 “huge hailstones” Hailstones have always been the sign of God’s judgment (cf. Jos 10:11; Isa 28:2). This is another possible allusion to the Egyptian plagues (cf. Exo 9:23-24). In Eze 38:22 hail is used on the end-time enemies of God. The weight of the hailstones has varied.
“about one hundred pounds each” This is literally “a talent weight.” The weight of “talents” in the Ancient Near East has varied from 45 to 138 pounds. Their exact weight is unknown, but these are obviously exaggerated weights to show the damage and death they will cause.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
into. Greek. eis as in Rev 16:16; but the texts read epi (App-104.)
out of. Greek. apo. The texts read ek (as Rev 16:1).
of heaven. The texts omit.
from. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17-21.] And the seventh poured out his vial upon the air (the consequences are presently seen), and there came forth a voice out of the temple from the throne (the voice, as in Rev 16:1, of God Himself. This is rendered even more certain here by the addition of ) saying, It is done (the limitation of the meaning of to that is done which was commanded, viz. the outpouring of the seven vials, is in fact no limitation: for the plagues are the last plagues: if therefore they are done, all is done. But the declaration is of course proleptically made, and imports that the outpouring of the seventh vial had done that which should accomplish all and bring in the end. One who had fired a train would say, It is done, though the explosion had not yet taken place). And there were lightnings and voices and thunders (the usual accompaniments of the close of each series of visions, see ch. Rev 8:5, Rev 11:19. But, as before remarked, these phnomena occur here in rather a different connexion from that in the other two places. Here, they are more the result of the outpouring of the last vial, and they do not conclude, but only begin its effects, which do not cease until the destruction of Babylon and the great overthrow of the antichristian hosts): and there was a great earthquake (this may perhaps be not without connexion with the pouring out of the vial into the air: in the descriptions of earthquakes we read of the darkened and lurid appearance of the air preceding the shock) such as was not from the time when there was a man (not, since man was: the generic meaning would more probably be expressed by , as altered in rec.) upon the earth, such (on , see note on ref. Heb.) an earthquake so great. And the great city (Rome: cf. ch. Rev 11:8 and note, Rev 14:8, Rev 17:18, Rev 18:10; Rev 18:16; Rev 18:18, &c., 21) became into (i. e. was divided or split, scil. by the earthquake) three parts (see ch. Rev 11:13, where a similar judgment takes place at the end of the episode of the two witnesses. The three parts are supposed by Dsterd. to refer to the three arch-enemies just now mentioned. But this is very uncertain: see on the tripartite division at ch. Rev 8:7), and the cities of the nations fell (not only the greatest city, but other great capitals of nations fell, from the violence and extent of the earthquake. We have its further consequences presently): and Babylon the great (mentioned specially, although really the same (see the places referred to above) with , because of her special adulterous character to be hereafter described, The destruction of the material city of Rome is but the beginning of the execution of vengeance on the mystic Babylon) was remembered before God (reff.), to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath (so E. V. for ; excandescentia ir, Vitringa. () is the outbreak, the temper of mind. See on Rom 2:8; and on the figure of the cup, ch. Rev 14:8, note. The sense is, that all these material judgments were but prefatory; the divine intent, in the midst of them, being to make Babylon drink the cup of His wrath in her judgment which follows): and every island fled (the effects of the earthquake are resumed, the mention of Babylon coming into remembrance being parenthetical, and suggested by the great city having been split into three parts. On the sense, as belonging to the imagery of the great day, see ch. Rev 6:14), and there were found no mountains (not as E. V., the mountains ( ) were not found. The expression is far stronger than this: amounting to that in ch. Rev 6:14, that every mountain was removed out of its place and was looked for in vain), and a great hail (see reff. Egypt is again in view) as of a talent in weight (i. e. having each hailstone of that weight. Diod. Sic. xix. 45 speaks of hailstones of a mina each in weight as being enormous: , , , , , : and the talent contained sixty min. Josephus, in reff., speaks of the stones which were thrown from the machines in the siege of Jerusalem as each of a talent weight) descendeth from heaven on men ( . must apparently be generic here: it can hardly mean the men; for the plague is universal. See above on Rev 16:9): and men blasphemed God by reason of the plague of the hail, because great is the plague of it exceedingly (i. e. mankind in general,-not those who were struck by the hailstones who would instantly die,-so far from repenting at this great and final judgment of God, blasphemed Him and were impenitent. The issue is different from that in ch. Rev 11:13, where the remnant feared and gave glory to God).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rev 16:17-21
5. THE SEVENTH PLAGUE–THE END OF TIME
Rev 16:17-21
17 And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; –Other bowls were poured out upon the earth, sea, rivers, and sun. This one upon the air may be designed to show that by affecting all major parts of the material universe the complete and final overthrow of wickedness is indicated by the plagues. In Eph 2:2 Satan is represented as the “prince of the powers of the air.” From this some expositors conclude that Satan’s defeat is the thing specifically meant. That idea, of course, is included in the other view. At any rate, this plague briefly describes the final struggle, and therefore brings the end of time. This is clearly indicated by the expression, “It is done,” and the announcement in Rev 15:1 that the seven plagues will finish the wrath of God. The language of the paragraph harmonizes with this thought.
and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done:–his voice which John heard coming out of the temple and from the throne shows that it was God announcing the time of the end. It was so certain to occur that it was announced as if already done. This is an example of the past being used prophetically for the future. See Rom 4:17.
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.–After the great voice announced “it is done,” John heard voices, thunders, and the rumblings of the earthquake which, he said, would be greater than any that had ever been before. The scene was lighted up with the flashes of lightnings. Such a commotion of natural elements would fittingly indicate the end of the material world, and symbolize the destruction of that part of the religious world under the control of Satan. The end of the world could hardly be described in more forceful words. The scene will be one to strike terror to all wicked hearts.
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.–Babylon being mentioned in the latter part of the verse indicates that the “great city” refers to Babylon. John saw, in the vision, the city divided into three parts. Since the symbol refers to the end of the world, and consequently the destruction of spiritual Babylon also, then the three-part division of the city could hardly signify anything more than the complete destruction of the papal church, the number three indicating fullness. With this view the cities of the nations would mean all lesser religious bodies that help to make up the sum total of false doctrines. They, too, will come to an end. Ancient Babylon persecuted God’s people and in turn was destroyed; so spiritual Babylon has persecuted God’s church since the apostasy arose and must be destroyed. God’s fierce wrath must in due time be poured out upon her.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.–This is but a part of the picture which John saw, and graphically portrays another feature of the final change at the end of time.
21 And great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men:–This may be said in allusion to one of the plagues in Egypt. (Exo 9:22-26.) This indicates that the distress and torment of that day will be terrible. Hail of such size would produce great sufferings, and be terrifying in the extreme. Such undoubtedly will be the case when the awful scenes of the day of God’s wrath appear.
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great.–The wailing and blaspheming of the wicked at the judgment will do no good ; it will be too late to reform and serve God. This chapter gives this summary statement of a succession of judgments upon wickedness in general, and the apostate papal church in particular. The false religions have been weakened by the earlier plagues, but the final overthrow, briefly depicted in the paragraph, will occur at the coming of the Lord. That which has been but barely hinted at here will be more fully described in the following chapters.
Commentary on Rev 16:17-21 by Foy E. Wallace
(4) The voice from the throne-Rev 16:17.
The great voice from the temple-throne that ordered the plagues, understood to be that of God Himself, now declared the end in verse seventeen–it is done–that is, the plagues had been accomplished, the mission of the seven angels had been fulfilled.
The pouring out of the vial into the air symbolized that the sphere of the influence of the wicked nations was destroyed by the wrath of God in the seventh vial–it was the destroying of them that destroy; and is the same of apocalyptic characters as Isa 26:13-14, prophesying the decease of the wicked lords who had oppressed Israel: “O Lord our God, other lords have had dominion over us . . . they are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. No clearer explanation could be made of the visions in Revelation in the pouring out of the vials of wrath upon the nations that persecuted the Bride of Christ, the Lamb–his church.
(7) The last vial poured into the air, causing voices, thunders, lightenings and a great earthquake: 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-Rev 16:17-18.
As defined before, the symbol of the air represented the sphere of life and influence of the wicked nations. In Eph 2:1 Satan was named the prince of the power of the air– not the actual exercise of power, but of influence–the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
In this symbol the great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne was not the voice of an angel, but of the Great God Himself. The great voice said: It is done. The time for the end of the judgments had come; the time for fall of the Harlot City; and the time for the punishments to follow on both Jewish and imperial persecutors of the church; all of which was signified by the distant rumbling of voices, thunders and lightnings. The earthquake everywhere used in the apocalypse symbolized the shaking of nations; and the effects of the fall of Jerusalem were not limited to Judea and the Jews–the mighty influence of the terrible events had a solemn impact of worldwide significance.
With the removal of Judaism from the path of the church the way was opened for the universal expansion of Christianity, and the Lords words in Mat 24:31 were fulfilled: And he shall send his angels (emissaries) with a great sound of a trumpet (the proclamation of the gospel), and they shall gather together his elect (those converted by the gospel) from the four winds (every direction), from one end of heaven to the other (the remotest bounds of the habitation of men). And it was done.
(5) The fall of Jerusalem and citadels of oppression-Rev 16:18-21.
The upheavals of Rev 16:18 in the visions of voices, and thunders, and lightnings . . . and a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the face of the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great, were the symbols of the fall of Jerusalem and the attending effects of the devastation of Judea, all of which resulted in the shaking of the nations of the empire itself; and though Jerusalem had fallen, the thunders and lightnings and earthquakes were not over until the persecuting nations received full measure of divine wrath from the cup of his indignation.
History verifies the revolutionary reactions in governments symbolized by thunders and lightnings, culminating in wars between the nations of the empire in the coup d e tat of the conflict for power between the rulers, as in the wars of Nero Caesar. There is no need of leaving the ten epoch period of the persecutors signified in chapter 2:10 for the fulfillment of these symbols. As was true of the signs in Mat 24:34, it was true of these symbols also: This generation shall not pass till all these be fulfilled.
As the prophecy of Zec 14:4 foretold the city of Jerusalem as cleft in the midst before its fall, so verse nineteen sees that the great city was divided into three parts. It envisioned the partitioning of the city by the circumvallations of the Roman armies, as in Zec 14:1-21; and as suggested in the comments by Adam Clarke on the Zechariah prophecy and verified by the history of Josephus.
The further statement that the cities of the nations fell signified the collapse of the citadels of oppression and the strongholds of evil influence in the operations of the beast and false prophet in their lying wonders and pseudo-signs of deception and seduction. The great Babylon that came in remembrance before God was the apostate Jerusalem, that faithful city turned harlot of Isa 1:21 designated in Rev 11:8 as the spiritual Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified. In the remembrance of her apostasies God gave unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath in divine retribution for her harlotry.
In the process of this unrelenting succession of inexorablejudgments, Rev 16:20 declared that every island fled away, and the mountains were not found–that is, all the seats of authority and power of the Jewish theocracy faded away and disappeared. The fall of Jerusalem and the demolition of the temple effected the complete abrogation of Judaism and the abolition of the Jewish state.
In the ultimate dispensation of judgment on the city and the land of the Jews and their state, Rev 16:21 stated that there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven . . . and men blasphemed God because of the plaque of hail. This downpour of hail was preternatural–for the plague thereof was exceeding great–it was beyond normal evulsions from the elements; it was strange and inexplicable in its proportions. It signified the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation –described in the prolepsis of Rev 14:10. But the adherents of the satanic beast were not moved to repentance by any of these manifestations of divine judgment; rather, in complete allegiance to the evil powers they blasphemed God in steeped and stubborn resistance to His will.
The statement of Rev 16:19 that Jerusalem was divided into three parts, had a further significance than the partitioning of the city by the Romans as described by Zec 14:1-21. The apparent application of the symbol was to the three sources of Jerusalems afflictions: pestilence, sword and exile. The prophecy of Ezekiel on the siege and destruction of Jerusalem described these three parts in the following words: Thou shalt burn with fire (pestilence) a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part and smite about it with a knife (sword): and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind (exile); and I will draw out a sword after them. There could be no closer relation between the fulfillment of a prophecy and an apocalypse than Eze 5:2 and Rev 16:19. Again the Old Testament and the New Testament furnish accumulative evidence that the symbols of Revelation were fulfilled in the lives and experiences of the people to whom the apocalypse was addressed.
Commentary on Rev 16:17-21 by Walter Scott
SEVENTH BOWL OF WRATH.
Rev 16:17-21. – And the seventh poured out his bowl on the air; and there came out a great voice from the temple of the Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. And the great city was (divided) 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, comes down out of Heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, for the plague of it is exceeding great. The events described under the previous Vial were preparatory to the final outpouring of Gods wrath on the apostate civil power, and on the yet more guilty Babylon of ecclesiastical fame and history, the religious corruptress of the earth. We have just witnessed the providential judgment of God on the great river Euphrates, and the universal gathering of the nations under the marvelous energy of Satan infused into the three frog-like (Impudence and uncleanness are characteristic of the frogs. These filthy creatures, born out of the waters and stagnant pools of Egypt, were peculiarly obnoxious to the cleanly Egyptians. The palace of the monarch and the hovel of the peasant were equally infested with the loathsome reptiles, whose croaking sounds added to the general misery (Exo 8:3-14). Frogs and serpents were by the ancients classed together in the expression of what was loathsome and morally disgusting. Frogs were regarded by the Greek writers and poets as the proper inhabitants of the Stygian lake, or river of hell.) spirits of demons. The world has been warned, Behold I come as a thief, and saints solemnly counselled to walk with undefiled garments, hence all was fully prepared under the sixth Vial. There is, therefore, no further delay. The seventh golden Bowl is now poured out, exceeding in magnitude and severity anything hitherto witnessed since man began his sorrowful history outside Eden.
Rev 16:17 – The seventh poured out his bowl on the air. This judgment falls upon the moral life-breath of the world. The air, essential to natural life, is symbolically visited in judgment. The realm of Satan is really the sphere of this awful plague (Eph 2:2); only we gather that the air, as used in this prophecy of the consummation of judgment on the organized systems of evil, denotes the ruin of all right moral influences and principles which act upon men – the destruction of the moral life of all individual, social, religious, and political society. It is a far-reaching and permeating judgment.
Rev 16:17 – The temple and throne unite, and He Who dwells in the one and sits on the other announces with a great voice, It is done. The end has come. Details of Babylons overthrow are unfolded in the two subsequent chapters. Here the mere fact is stated, particulars are reserved. The close of providential dealing has come, and there remains but the last and most awful stroke of judgment inflicted by the Lord in Person at His Coming. The wrath of God is closed up in the pouring out of the seventh Vial, to be followed by the more awful exhibition – open and public – the wrath of the Lamb.
Rev 16:18. – There were lightnings, and voices, and thunders. (On these signs of judicial dealings, see remarks on Rev 4:5-6, and on Rev 11:19.) These symbols (in a threefold form) of almighty power in judgment occur four times. The term voices intimates that the execution of judgment is intelligently directed. The order in which the symbols occur differs somewhat from that in the Authorized Version. The transposition of the words in this formula of divine visitation has, no doubt, its special significance in each case; they are calculated to strike terror to the hearts of men. In addition to those signs and tokens of Jehovahs wrath upon the guilty scene there was a great earthquake, which in magnitude and dire results exceed anything recorded in history – such an earthquake, so great. There will be physical earthquakes in divers places (Mar 13:8). But the vast and unparalleled upheaval under the seventh Vial is not that of the elements of nature, but symbolizes a violent disruption of all government, the total collapse of authority from the highest down to the lowest. Under it thrones totter and fall, crowns are broken, scepters are shivered; the whole framework of society is overthrown. It will be a revolution unexampled in the history of the race. The fact that this mighty convulsion is stated separately from the usual formula, lightnings, voices, and thunders, marks its specialty and its magnitude.
Rev 16:19. – The disastrous effects of the mighty earthquake are next briefly and tersely stated. The great city (Rome (Rev 17:18) is thus dethroned from its sovereignty over the kings of the earth. Rome, the empire which then is the vast civil and political organisation of earth, is the great city. Rome represents the civil, and Babylon the religious organisation of that day; both established by Satan.) was (divided) into three parts. That is, the vast and consolidated power of Rome, from its center in the seven-hilled city on the Tiber on to its utmost extremities, is broken up into a tripartite division, while its utter ruin follows in due course. The break-up and dismemberment of the empire in its political and social organization is what is signified. Satans gigantic confederation is smashed.
Rev 16:19 – The cities of the nations fell. The seats and centres of Gentile commerce – the political world apart from and outside the Roman earth – are involved in the general ruin, which overtakes all human combinations. From the building of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) till the day and hour of the seventh Vial human progress in civilisation, in religion, in social and political government, in the arts, in science, in literature, has been the aim. Here we witness judgment on all that men have built up in these and other spheres of life, from the days of Cain (Gen 3:1-24), when the world system without God was inaugurated, and from Babel (Gen 11:1-32), when human combination, secular and religious, took its rise. What a blow to the pride and ambition of man!
DOWNFALL OF BABYLON.
Rev 16:19. – But the chief subject of judgment is now singled out – one more hateful to God than all others. Great Babylon (The literal Jerusalem is grandly described in Isa 60:1-22; the mystical Jerusalem is the subject of Rev 21:9 – 22: 5. The literal Babylon is fully described in Jer 51:1-64; the mystical Babylon occupies chapters 17 and 18 of the Apocalypse. In all respects Babylon is the contrast to the former, both in its historical and spiritual character.) was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. Babylon is a name and word of ominous signification. It is the full-blown development of all antichristian elements, of all that is opposed to God. It is the concentration of all mere human religion. The city and tower which men built on the plains of Shinar – the former the civil center, and the latter the religious center of gathering apart from God have in the days of the Apocalypse attained the zenith of greatness. Popery is not Babylon, pure and simple, but is part of it. In guilt Babylon towers over all, and hence its judgment is commensurate with its sin. Undoubtedly it is the mystical Babylon that is referred to, and not the great Euphratean city which was doomed to eternal destruction (Jer 51:62-64). It is the false church, the corruptress of the earth, the mother or source of all that is religiously vile. The very name of Christ which she bears, and the assumption of being His body and bride, intensifies her guilt. Her title, great Babylon, points to her vast assumption of religious power. The anger of God burns fiercely on this awful counterfeit and travesty of what should have stood for Him in grace, in holiness, and in testimony to the truth.
The details of Babylons judgment, her relation to the apostate civil power, and many particulars are unfolded in the two chapters which follow; while her utter doom, celebrated in Heaven in triumphant strains of gladness, is the subject of Rev 19:1-4.
Rev 16:20. – And every island fled, and mountains were not found. (Under the sixth Seal mountain and Island were moved out of their places (Rev 6:14), here the greater severity of the judgment is intimated in their complete disappearance, not found.) Detached or isolated interests and governments, as islands separated from the mainland, are overwhelmed in the universal catastrophe; while seats of authority and stability, as mountains, are dissolved. Ruin is everywhere, and on everything, however seemingly firm and stable. Everything that God has not established must go in the general wreck. Such, then, are the effects of the mighty earthquake.
Rev 16:21. – But, in addition to this, the general horror is intensified by a hurricane of divine judgment, which descends upon men with irresistible and crushing force, a storm of divine wrath, which even the guilty world will have to acknowledge as heaven-sent: A great hail as of a talent weight. (The Jewish talent was 125 lbs. The Egyptian and Greek talents were about 86 lbs. The former is the weight of the hail in our text, and intimates the crushing, overwhelming character of the visitation.) We have already, more than once, been told of a hailstorm, singly, and in conjunction with other destructive agencies (Rev 11:19; Rev 8:7).(*See remarks on Rev 8:7; and on Rev 11:19.) But this exceeds in weight and intensity the previous hailstorms. As hail descends from Heaven, and is sharp, sudden, and disastrous in its effects, so the judgment here. The nature of it is not explained, but its severity and its source from Heaven are truths unquestionably graven on the face of the prophecy. (Few persons can form a conception of the terrible character of a great hailstorm. Here is an account of one which occurred at Constantinople in the month of October, 1831, written by one who witnessed it: After an uncommonly sultry night, threatening clouds arose about six in the morning, and a noise between thunder and tempest, and yet not to be compared to either, increased every moment, and the inhabitants of the capital, roused from their sleep, awaited with anxious expectation the issue of this threatening phenomenon. Their uncertainty was not of long duration; lumps of ice as large as a mans foot, falling singly, and then like a thick shower of stones, which destroyed everything with which they came in contact. The oldest persons do not remember ever to have seen such hailstones. Some were picked up half an hour afterwards which weighed above a pound. This dreadful storm passed over Constantinople and along the Bosphorus, over Therapia, Bojukden, and Belgrade; and the fairest, nay, the only hope of this beautiful and fertile tract, the vintage, just commenced, was destroyed in a day! Animals of all kinds, and even some persons, were killed, an innumerable number are wounded, and the damage done to the houses is incalculable. The force of the falling masses of ice was so great that they broke to atoms all the tiles on the roofs, and, like musket balls, shattered planks.) (What would it have been if the ice masses had been fifty or one hundred times larger? – From Seiss on the Apocalypse, page 101. )
Has this crowning act of divine judgment wrought repentance? Is the will broken and the heart crushed under the mighty hand of God? No! Man is unchanged, unless the Spirit of God, in mighty sovereign grace, converts and saves. The moral effect of this awful judgment is stated in the plainest terms, men blaspheme God – not glorify Him, as we might naturally expect – because of the plague of hail, for the plague of it is exceeding great. How patient is God! How perverse the creature!
Commentary on Rev 16:17-21 by E.M. Zerr
Rev 16:17. The seventh angel was the last of the group that was to pour the vials out upon the earth. The voice came out of the temple which signifies that it was a voice of authority. The voice made the brief announcement that it is done, meaning that the revolution signified by the “seven last plagues” was accomplished. The great revolution thus symbolized was the Reformation of Luther and his fellow workers that resulted in breaking up the union of church and state.
Rev 16:18. Thunder, lightnings and earthquake in symbolic language refers to great commotions in the public affairs. Such a mighty movement as the dissolving of church and state was enough to bring forth these demonstrations about the temple, for it meant so much to the interests of the cause of God who occupies the temple.
Rev 16:19. The great city means the institution composed of the union of church and state, as it is used here and some other places, not merely church or state singly. It is in that sense that the name Babylon is used in this verse, because the literal city of Babylon had been destroyed centuries before (Isa 13:19-22), and the apostate church of Rome as a religious institution is not to be destroyed until Jesus comes again (2Th 2:8). But Babylon as the union of church and state was dissolved by the Reformation never to be restored. Divided into three parts. This partial destruction has been indicated a number of times and has been explained to mean that God does not completely extinguish every institution He condemns. Came in remembrance before God means he remembered the evils that city had done to His people. Give unto her the cup, etc., is the same figurative sense of wine that has been commented upon in Rev 14:19-20.
Rev 16:20. Island insymbolic language means inhabited spots and mountains denotes units of government. John saw these flee away in the vision which was symbolical, and the meaning is on the same subject that has been under consideration through many of the passages, namely, the downfall of the political power of Rome.
Rev 16:21. Weight of talents varied according to the different standards and they were at least fifty pounds on an average. To drop a hail stone of that weight as a symbol of God’s wrath would give some impression of the greatness of that wrath. Blasphemed God means they spoke very evil words against Him, because of their disappointment and humiliation over the loss of their political power.
Commentary on Rev 16:17-21 by Burton Coffman
Rev 16:17
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:
And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air … Let it again be noted that the physical environment of the whole earth is indicated in every one of these bowls, in their aggregate, taking in everything that is significant in that environment; but, since the great promise of God (Gen 8:22) has assured the stability of that environment as long as the earth stands, we are forbidden to literalize these symbols, and must therefore interpret them as indicating the wrath of God poured out upon the moral, intellectual, cultural, spiritual, and religious environment of the earth. The vicious propaganda of the frogs, as do all the other judgments, fits neatly into this interpretation.
We may not suppose, of course, that John had in mind any thought whatever of radio, television, etc.; but in his day people would merely have said that the very air people breathe was contaminated with evil, and it was true. Evil in the Roman empire at the time of the emergence of Christianity was one sprawling, intricate, well-organized system of wickedness. Marriage was corrupted; slavery was the rule everywhere, there being 60,000,000 slaves in the pagan empire; the black arts of magic and witchcraft enjoyed ambassadorial status at every great seat of authority on earth, as did Elymas at Paphos (Act 13:8). The temples of Bacchus and Aphrodite Pandemas glorified and exploited sex, drunkenness, and other evils, as did also the other pagan temples all over the empire, supported and maintained by the clergy of the pagan priesthood. Thus, the fulfillment of this bowl upon the ancient empire must be admitted as true; and yet there is something here in addition to that and far-removed from ancient Rome.
So it is not strange that these words perfectly describe the pollution of the air-waves today by the excesses of radio and television. The very air, which is an essential of human environment, is in a sense contaminated. The angel of God’s wrath seems to have poured out his bowl upon the air. If so, the total pollution of the air our children breathe may yet occur. We may only pray that the gathering storm may be dissipated and that decency and morality may replace the steady diet of violence, sex, drunkenness, frivolity, and general wickedness of the “air” programs, which many right-thinking people are rightly opposing. However it may be for this generation, the hardening of people and the pouring of the bowl of God’s wrath upon the air surely indicate the coming of a time (when, we do not know) of the near total destruction of man’s moral environment.
We have now seen all the bowls poured out. What do they mean? A very perceptive person suggested that they mean that “a time will come when all the evil in the universe shall unite to oppose truth and righteousness, making it seem for a time that all is lost.” This would certainly seem to be true; but evil shall not win; right shall prevail. God’s answer to the first general hardening of mankind (Romans 1) was the First Advent of Christ; and his answer to the second and final general hardening of the human race will be the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, an event that follows very closely the pouring out of these seven bowls of wrath.
A great voice from the throne … It is done … This does not refer merely to the seventh bowl. “The singular refers to the whole series of plagues now completed.”[60] This signals the onset of the final judgment described at once.
ENDNOTE:
[60] Charles H. Roberson, op. cit., p. 124.
Rev 16:18
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.
Lightnings … voices … thunders … earthquake … Later, John will relate a more vivid and detailed account of the final judgment. “The account here simply presents the climax of what is substantially the same event.”[61] “This section ends like the preceding ones with a very vivid description of the terror of the final judgment.”[62] “A brief summary (Rev 16:18-19) is given of what actually falls as the last extremity of God’s wrath”[63] namely, the final judgment. Tenney pointed out that the phenomena cited in this verse, lightnings, voices, thunders, earthquake, etc., are “also present in Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5; Rev 11:19.”[64]
[61] Ibid.
[62] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 198.
[63] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 397.
[64] Merrill C. Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), p. 34.
Rev 16:19
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.
And the great city was divided into three parts … This is the first of three very important observations revealed in this verse, and they should not be confused.
1. The great city divided into three parts is clearly connected with the “Jerusalem-Sodom-Egypt” of Rev 11:13, where was prophesied the collapse of the urban world. Many have missed this. Moffatt’s view that the great earthquake “shatters Jerusalem into three parts and utterly destroys pagan cities”[65] is undoubtedly wrong. Moffatt failed to understand that the Jerusalem Sodom-Egypt of Revelation 11 is a figure of urban civilization, and the reference here can have no application at all to the literal Jerusalem. There is no prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem anywhere in Revelation. John of course knew Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem; but when Revelation was written, the concern of the Christians regarded Rome, not Jerusalem. Incidentally, this is almost certain proof of the writing of Revelation before Jerusalem was destroyed.
2. “And the cities of the nations fell …” This explains what was meant by the dividing of the city into three parts; it also illuminates the same figure of “a tenth of the city fell” in Rev 11:13, where it was God’s tithe of all wicked cities; here it is “a third,” a very significant part, but not the majority that fell. Both figures regard urban civilization, and ‘”the breaking into three parts means its complete breakup.”[66] “The cities of civilization, the achievement of man’s demon-driven pride, will … collapse?[67]
3. “And Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God …” “This is the society and the philosophy represented by the two beasts, which in due course will be called Babylon.”[68] We consider this comment by Wilcock one of the most discerning encountered anywhere. The Babylon described here is not pagan Rome only, but “Babylon the Great,” embracing also that image of pagan Rome that became in time apostate Christianity. Therefore, both the land-beast and the sea-beast (pagan Rome and apostate Christian Rome) are here meant. They are here spoken of as one, since one was an image of the other, and both operated from the same seven hills. The expression “Babylon the Great” is no doubt “the symbol of the whole satanic structure.”[69] Again from Wilcock, “Bowl seven sweeps away time and history, and replaces them with eternity.”[70] “Both the preceding and the succeeding verses here must be referred to the judgment day.”[71]
To give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath … This refers to the complete destruction of the city.[72] Such awful judgments should not blind us to the fact that, “If God were not to punish unrighteousness, the concept of a moral universe would have to be discarded.”[73] Although some interpreters have held that, “The utmost limit of this prophetic passage was the end of the Roman world,”[74] many of the ablest expositors have been able to see the deeper meaning that, “The fall of pagan Rome is but one illustration of the overthrow of Babylon.”[75] “Each age has its Babylon.”[76] We reproduce here a summary of Lenski’s wonderful comment on this as it applies to our own times:
How proudly the anti-Christian propaganda builds the Babylon of today! Godless science imagines that the structure cannot fall. Its walls are granite. The Scriptures are only childish stories, myths. How can Papal Rome ever fall? It is built on Peter and overshadows the world. The outmoded “thought patterns” of Scripture have long crumbled into dust, and the scientific religion of reason alone endures. Fall? The very idea is preposterous. But the word of the Lord says, “like the chaff which the wind driveth away” (Psa 1:4); “the multitude of the strangers shall be as small dust; yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly (Isa 29:5); but the WORD OF THE LORD endureth forever.”[77]
We will not debate the proposition that John himself knew the full scope and depth of his prophecy, for he probably did not know. To limit the book of Revelation to the human knowledge of the apostle John is to lose sight of it altogether as “the word of the Lord”; and this is where so many fail. The prophets of the Old Testament did not understand all that they were inspired to write, as was mentioned by the apostle Peter (1Pe 1:10-12); and it is very likely that the same was true of the New Testament writers. We believe this prophecy to be of God through John, thus being significant and relevant to every moment of the entire Christian dispensation, first to last. See in my Commentary in 1Peter (pp. 172-175) for a discussion of the phenomena of the sacred writers not understanding what they wrote.
[65] James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 449.
[66] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 201.
[67] Michael Wilcock, op. cit., p. 150.
[68] Ibid., p. 141.
[69] Ibid., p. 150.
[70] Ibid.
[71] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 397.
[72] J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 132.
[73] Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 304.
[74] G. B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 209.
[75] W. Boyd Carpenter, op. cit., p. 610.
[76] Charles H. Roberson, op. cit., p. 125.
[77] R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 484.
Rev 16:20
And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Every island … mountains were not found … For ages, such convulsions of nature have been understood as symbolical references to the fall of nations and governments; but in the holy Scriptures, “such things are invariably associated with the final judgment”;[78] and that is the way we understand them here. The removal of the earth itself is to be accompanied by a mighty earthquake (Heb 12:27-28). Therefore Ladd may have been exactly correct in viewing the last three verses of this chapter as “a renovation of the entire created order and the ushering in of a new heavens and a new earth.”[79] Whatever is the exact implication of the language here, it would seem to be certain that the final judgment day itself is the occasion in view.
Barnes and other historicists see in this chapter such various things as: successive historical blows by which the Papacy will fall, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, the successive revolutions that came after Napoleon, and various other events, even the battle of Armageddon! To us, however, that entire system of interpretation is erroneous. Some of the things “seen” by such. interpreters in Revelation are surely there; but no blueprint of the future is to be found. Revelation has been fulfilled, is being fulfilled, and is yet to be fulfilled. Is not this exactly the meaning of what John said in Rev 1:19?
The great hail … This is to be viewed as another element in the great convulsions of nature coming at the end of time.
Men blasphemed God … In the judgment? Yes. The hardened will not change, whatever may be their experience. This vision stops short of revealing what God will do with such per sons, but later episodes in the prophecy will make it starkly clear.
[78] A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 397.
[79] George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 218.
Rev 16:21
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.
About the weight of a talent … No such hail was ever seen, nor could be it the result of ordinary natural processes; therefore, it must be related to the extraordinary phenomena attending the onset of the final judgment. At the time when mankind shall have completed his destruction of the moral and spiritual environment of the earth, God will destroy his physical environment also and summon all people to accountability before the judgment seat of Christ.
Men blasphemed God … How strange is the thought that hardened sinners will not stop their blasphemy even in the judgment. How could it be supposed that the Father will accommodate to that type of persistent wickedness in any other manner than that of the final and complete destruction of it?
Commentary on Rev 16:17-21 by Manly Luscombe
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done! The seventh and final angel pours out his plague in the air. It seems to me that the air would cover everything. The entire world is under the plague. A loud voice from the temple, from God, says, It is done. This is a similar phrase to the words of Jesus on the cross. It is finished. The total, complete, and final wrath of God has been poured out. All the wicked, all the false teachers, all the persecutors, and all the immoral have been defeated.
18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. This verse describes the final drum roll. Thunder, lightning, an earthquake; these are the signals that it is all over. The world will end. All the saints are safe with God. The wicked have suffered the wrath of God. Other passages dealing with the end of time indicate fire, thunder, and stars falling. An earthquake like this has never been seen on earth. This might explain the great chaos. If the planet is literally coming apart, the molten lava coming to the surface would create the great fire of 2Pe 3:10-12.
19 Now the great city was divided 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 fierceness of His wrath. The great city is the same as several terms used in the book of Revelation Great city – Rev 16:19, Great whore – Rev 17:1, and Babylon the Great – Rev 17:5; Rev 18:2. In connection with these terms are usually terms of immoral behavior. Drunk with wine, harlot, and fornication are the trademarks. It seems clear to me that this great city represents immorality in the world. In addition to persecuting governments and false religions, we also have immorality seeking to lead Christians away from faithfulness to God. Divided into three parts is similar to the third part of the trumpets. Remember, the number 3 is the number of God, things divine, deity. God completely destroys the city by cutting, severing, and dividing it into three parts.
20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Most commentators believe that island represents the individual leaders of these nations. The previous verse mentions the cities of the nations. Mountains are used to represent kingdoms or nations. Combine these two and you have Gods judgment on the kingdoms and on the kings. On the nations and on their civil rulers. For the early church the judgment of Gods wrath is poured out on Rome AND on the Emperor.
21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. A great hailstorm, with each hailstone weighing about 100 pounds, is falling from the sky. V. E. Howard suggests that the weight of a talent is about 100 pounds. (4, 110) Again, there is no repentance. There is no plea for mercy. All God hears is more blasphemy. This reaffirms the view that Gods judgment is just. Men were so hardened that they would not repent even when tasting the wrath of God. Instead of seeking mercy and forgiveness, they curse and blaspheme God.
Sermon on Revelation 15-16
Pouring Out of God’s Wrath
Brent Kercheville
In chapter 14 we read about the coming doom for the Roman Empire. Three angels have predicted its judgment: The hour of judgment has come (Rev 14:7), Fallen, fallen in Babylon (Rev 14:8), and Drink the wine of Gods wrath poured full strength (Rev 14:10). The sickles were swung over the earth, reaping the righteous and wicked. The wicked are described as being thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God (Rev 14:19).
The other image to keep in mind from chapter 14 as we approach the fifteenth chapter is the warning of death for the Christians. The people of God are told to endure, calling for them to continue to keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus (Rev 14:12). But the gloomy doom is predicted: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Chapter 15 of Revelation describes the preparations being made for the fulfillment of these prophecies of the coming doom against the Roman Empire.
Back Into Heaven (Rev 15:1-2)
The first two verses of chapter 15 turn attention to the throne room of heaven. In the new sign that appears, John sees a sign that is great and amazing. He sees seven angels with seven plagues. There are two important things we are told about these seven angels and the seven plagues they carry. First, these are the last of the judgments. Once these judgments are completed then the earth will be at rest. We are not going to have any more sevens in judgment. The seven bowls of wrath will be the last of the judgments. The second important thing to observe is why these are the last of the judgments. Gods wrath is finished with these seven bowls.
Standing beside the sea of glass mixed with fire are those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name. Conquering does not come by warring militarily with the beast but by remaining faithful and pure to the Lamb. These are the 144,000 of chapter 14 singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Just like the new song, the song of Moses was a song of victory. Such are the words of their song.
The Song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev 15:3-8)
The song the conquerors sing praises God for his great and amazing deeds. His ways are just and all must fear him and glorify him. Chapter 14 has revealed Gods righteous acts as God is about to judge the beast for its sinfulness and killing of the people of God. Just as Israel praised God by the sea after he delivered them from Pharaoh, so the conquerors praise God for defeating the beast. This is another use of prophetic certainty. The beast is defeated even though it had not happened yet.
The door to the temple is opened again. I think the TNIV has a good rendering of this image. After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple-that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law-and it was opened. (Rev 15:5 TNIV; NIV 2010)
We then see the seven angels each receiving a golden bowl full of the wrath of God. Bowls of wrath is an image used by Isaiah to describe Gods wrath coming to punish sinners.
Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering. (Isa 51:17 ESV)
Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more; (Isa 51:22 ESV)
Rev 15:8 reminds us that these judgments are coming from God. The sanctuary is filled with smoke because God is about to act (Exo 40:34-35;2Ch 5:13).
The Bowls Poured Out (Rev 16:1-16)
A loud voice commands the seven angels to pour out their bowls of wrath on the earth. As we read the bowls of wrath consider the similarities to the plagues poured out on Egypt in the days of Moses. The first bowl brings harmful and painful sores on those who have the mark of the beast and worship its image. The lack of description about this plague tells us that we are not to find literal details or meanings in these symbols. This chapter is simply revealing the pain and suffering that God is unleashing on those who are worshiping the beast rather than the Lamb. The sores parallel the painful boils of the Egyptian plagues.
The second bowl turns the sea to blood killing everything living thing in the sea. This judgment reminds us of the Nile turning the blood in the Egyptian plagues. The third bowl turns the rivers and springs of water into blood. The second and third bowls probably picture the economic devastation that Gods wrath will incur. One of the reasons for these judgments is given in Rev 16:5-7. They are killing Gods servants and this wrath is deserved.
The fourth bowl pours out pain on the worshipers of the beast. Rather than repenting, the people curse God. They did not repent or give God glory. Thus, the judgments continue. The fifth bowl pours out judgment on the throne of the beast. It is lights out for the Roman Empire. The kingdom is plunged into darkness. Its day in the sun is over. Rather than repenting, the people curse God all the more and did not repent.
The sixth bowl is the first bowl that gives us any details. The brevity of the first five bowls is astonishing. The sixth bowl gives us more information about the judgments to come. The sixth bowl dries up the Euphrates River. This is an imagery of a coming war and being overthrown by a rival nation. The drying up of the Euphrates River is how Cyrus conquered Babylon (Isa 11:15; Isa 44:27-28; Isa 50:2; Isa 51:10). The kings coming from the east also has a couple prophetic references in Isaiah (Isa 41:2; Isa 46:11). The sixth bowl envisions a nation coming from the east to battle.
Rev 16:13 shows the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet will do everything for survival. The unclean spirits remind us of the deceptive nature of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. The unclean spirits also remind us of their immorality through their paganism, idol worship, and Caesar worship. These three are full of uncleanness. The imagery of demons (unclean spirits) is used in the New Testament to speak of idolatrous worship.
No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. (1Co 10:20-21 ESV)
Finally, we see in the sixth bowl the assembling of the kings of the earth at the place called Armageddon. This is the only place in scriptures where the word of Armageddon occurs. Many false teachings have been made about the event of Armageddon. However, all that is revealed is that this is the place they will gather. The text does not say that there will be a battle there.
So what does Armageddon mean? It literally means mount of Megiddo. Now there is not a mount of Megiddo but we do read in the scriptures about a valley of Megiddo and cities of Megiddo. When we go through the Old Testament we see that several decisive battles occurred at Megiddo. Most interesting to me is the reference to the kings who went into battle and died. In 2Ki 9:27 we see that Ahaziah, king of Judah was slain. In 2Ki 23:29 and 2Ch 35:22 King Josiah is slain in battle. Jdg 5:19 speaks of kings fighting by the waters of Megiddo but failing to take the spoil. When we put all of these images together, we see that the work of Satan through the Roman empire and its religions will dry up and fail. They may assemble for battle but it is a decisive loss for Satan and the Roman empire. Gathering in Armageddon is a symbol of their destruction and judgment. We must remember that these bowls are images of Gods judgment, not information about the victory of Satan or the beast.
Rev 16:15 therefore gives a call to preparation for the people of God. Gods judgment will come like a thief. Be prepared. Stay awake. Do not be caught by surprise.
The Seventh Bowl (Rev 16:17-21)
The seven angel pours his bowl and makes the important declaration: It is done! The end has come for this world power. Gods cataclysmic wrath has come. A great earthquake describes is desolation since that is the way many cities were destroyed in ancient times, sometimes never to be rebuilt or inhabited again. The great city falls and the cities of the nations also fall. God fulfills his promise, making the nation drink the cup of Gods wrath full strength. The empire has fallen. The devastation was great and the people curse God from the plagues.
Chapters 17-18 are going to explain the details of this judgment that were summarized in chapter 16. The next two chaptersare not new images of judgment but a fuller explanation of how this judgment will come and what its impact will be when the devastation comes.
Life Lessons
1. Gods judgments come like a thief. Notice Rev 16:15 again. Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed! No nation thought they would ever fall. No world power thought that they would be taken over by another. Yet history shows that nation after nation has risen and fallen. We must always be prepared to remain true to Jesus even if it becomes the time for our nation to receive judgment for its sins. Sometimes we think that we know if God would judge the United States of America. But Gods judgments come unexpectedly.
2. Gods final judgment will come like a thief. We must be prepared to remain faithful in the face of any national calamity. We must also be ready and prepared for the return of our Lord.
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, There is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. (1Th 5:1-11 ESV)
LESSON 20.
THE SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH
Read Revelation 15, 16
1. What great and marvelous sign was seen in heaven? Ans. Rev 15:1.
2. Who was seen standing by the sea of glass? Ans. Rev 15:2.
3. What song did they sing? Ans. Rev 15:3-4.
4. What was opened in heaven? Ans. Rev 15:5.
5. Who came out from the temple? Ans. Rev 15:6.
6. What did one of the four living creatures give to the seven angels? Ans. Rev 15:7.
7. With what was the temple filled? Ans. Rev 15:8.
8. What were the seven angels told to do? Ans. Rev 16:1.
9. Tell what happened when the first bowl was poured out. Ans. Rev 16:2.
10. How was the sea affected by the pouring out of the second vial? Ans. Rev 16:3.
11. Into what was the third bowl poured? Ans. Rev 16:4.
12. What did the “angel of the waters” say? Ans. Rev 16:5-6.
13. What statement came from the altar? Ans. Rev 16:7.
14. Tell of the pouring out of the fourth bowl. Ans. Rev 16:8-9.
15. On what was the fifth bowl poured, and what effect did it have? Ans. Rev 16:10-11.
16. On what was the sixth bowl poured? Ans. Rev 16:12.
17. What came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet? Ans. Rev 16:13.
18. Who were these “spirits”? Ans. Rev 16:14.
19. For what great battle were they preparing? Ans. Rev 16:16.
20. What timely admonition is given here? Ans. Rev 16:15.
21. Tell all that occurred at the pouring out of the seventh bowl of wrath. Ans. Rev 16:17-21.
E.M. Zerr
Questions on Revelation
Revelation Chapter Sixteen
1. From where did John hear a voice?
2. What did they say to the seven angels?
3. Tell what followed the first one.
4. Upon whom did it fall?
5. On what did the second angel pour his vial?
6. How did it then become?
7. State the effect this had.
8. On what did the 3rd angel pour his vial?
9. With what effect?
10. Whom did John hear speaking?
11. Tell what he said.
12. Why did he praise the Lord?
13. Whose blood had been shed?
14. By whom bad it been done?
15. What had they been given to drink?
16. From where did Jobn bear another voice?
17. To whom did he speak?
18. What praise did he ascribe?
19. On what did the 4th angel pour his vial?
20. This gave him what power?
21. What did this cause the men to do?
22. Over wbat did He bave power?
23. What did these men refuse to do?
24. Upon what did the 5th angel pour his vial?
25. What became dark?
26. Tell what their pain caused them to do.
27. What did they do toward God?
28. Because of wh&t did they do so?
29. Did this bring repentance?
30. Where did the 6th angel pour his vial?
31. What did it do to the waters?
32. For what people was this an advantage ?
33. How many spirits did John see?
34. What kind of spirits were they?
35. From where did these spirits come?
36. Of what beings are they the spirits?
37. What was their work?
38. To whom do they go forth?
39. To what event were these to be gathered?
40. In what manner will Christ come?
41. What is promised to the one who watches?
42. And what must he keep?
43. Lest what?
44. To what place did the spirits gather the people?
45. Where did the 7th angel pour his vial?
46. What came out of the temple?
47. From what part of the temple?
48. What did the voice say?
49. Tell what else could be heard.
50. What also happened at this time?
51. Compare it with former ones.
52. What happened to the city?
53. Tell what happened to other cities.
54. To what place was Babylon brought?
55. For what purpose was this?
56. What happened to the islands and mountains?
57. Tell what fell upon men.
58. What did it cause them to do?
Revelation Chapter Sixteen
Ralph Starling
The 1st plague was poured on the earth with vengeance.
A grievous sore upon the beast and his image.
The 2nd plague was upon the sea,
Bringing death for it was bloody as could be.
The 3rd plague was bloody rivers and waters,
Because the saints & prophets had become martyrs.
The 4th plague gave the sun power
to scorch men with great fire.
The 5th plague was darkness and pain for the beast.
For to blaspheme God he continued to insist.
The 6th plague dried up the Euphrates
To make way for the kings of the east and the beast
To fight the lamb of heaven
In the war called Armageddon.
The 7th plague was upon the air.
“It is done” the angel declared.
7 plagues—God’s power and authority was shown,
Still many replied, hatefully, they’d “go on their own!”
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
angel
(See Scofield “Heb 1:4”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
into: Rev 20:1-3, Eph 2:2, Eph 6:12
there: Rev 16:1, Rev 11:19, Rev 14:17, Rev 15:5, Rev 15:6
It is: Rev 10:6, Rev 10:7, Rev 21:6, Dan 12:7-13, Joh 19:30
Reciprocal: Jer 50:27 – their day Eze 9:11 – I have Eze 39:8 – it is come Dan 12:1 – there shall Hag 2:21 – I will Rev 4:1 – the first Rev 4:5 – proceeded Rev 10:5 – lifted Rev 11:15 – and there Rev 14:13 – a voice Rev 14:15 – came Rev 15:1 – last Rev 19:5 – a voice
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rev 16:17. The seventh angel was the last of the group that was to pour the vials out upon the earth. The voice came out of the temple which signifies that it was a voice of authority. The voice made the brief announcement that it is done, meaning that the revolution signified by the “seven last plagues” was accomplished. The great revolution thus symbolized was the Reformation of Luther and his fellow workers that resulted in breaking up the union of church and state.
Comments by Foy E. Wallace
Verse 17.
(4) The voice from the throne–Rev 16:17.
The great voice from the temple-throne that ordered the plagues, understood to be that of God Himself, now declared the end in verse seventeen–it is done–that is, the plagues had been accomplished, the mission of the seven angels had been fulfilled.
The pouring out of the vial into the air symbolized that the sphere of the influence of the wicked nations was destroyed by the wrath of God in the seventh vial–it was the destroying of them that destroy; and is the same of apocalyptic characters as Isa 26:13-14, prophesying the decease of the wicked lords who had oppressed Israel:
“O Lord our God, other lords have had dominion over us . . . they are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.”
No clearer explanation could be made of the visions in Revelation in the pouring out of the vials of wrath upon the nations that persecuted the Bride of Christ, the Lamb–his church.
(7) The last vial poured into the air, causing voices, thunders, lightenings and a great earthquake: “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”–Rev 16:17-18.
As defined before, the symbol of the air represented the sphere of life and influence of the wicked nations. In Eph 2:1 Satan was named the prince of the power of the air– not the actual exercise of power, but of influence–the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
In this symbol the great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne was not the voice of an angel, but of the Great God Himself. The great voice said: It is done. The time for the end of the judgments had come; the time for fall of the Harlot City; and the time for the punishments to follow on both Jewish and imperial persecutors of the church; all of which was signified by the distant rumbling of voices, thunders and lightnings. The earthquake everywhere used in the apocalypse symbolized the shaking of nations; and the effects of the fall of Jerusalem were not limited to Judea and the Jews–the mighty influence of the terrible events had a solemn impact of worldwide significance.
With the removal of Judaism from the path of the church the way was opened for the universal expansion of Christianity, and the Lord’s words in Mat 24:31 were fulfilled:
“And he shall send his angels (emissaries) with a great sound of a trumpet (the proclamation of the gospel), and they shall gather together his elect (those converted by the gospel) from the four winds (every direction), from one end of heaven to the other (the remotest bounds of the habitation of men). And it was done.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rev 16:17. And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air. The air is the dwelling-place of the powers of darkness, whose head is the prince of the power of the air.
And there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done. The voice is from God, and from His very throne. The words are, It is done, i.e all Gods purposes are accomplished: all the plagues are poured out; the end is reached.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
These words describe and declare unto us the pouring out of the seventh vial by the seventh angel; in which we have observable,
1. The subject upon which it fell, namely, the air; not the elements of air, earth, or water, are to be understood in this chapter literally; for the vials poured forth are vials of wrath, and consequently are poured forth upon the proper objects of God’s displeasure, which the elements are not; but it is the earthly antichristian church which is thought to be here intended, so called in opposition to the heavenly and pure church. So that by the air, here, Mr. Mede understands all the subjects of Satan’s kingdom, who is called the prince of the air; and the pouring out of this vial upon the air denotes the full and final destruction of Satan’s power.
Observe, 2. The adjunct accompanying the pouring out of this vial, namely, a voice out of heaven, saying, It is done; that is, “These last plagues are now finished, the work of God is done, and what in his counsels he designed for the destruction of his enemies, and for the deliverance of his people: this is said to be done, because it was now doing; and accomplished, because it was now accomplishing.” God’s threatenings of judgment (except man repent) are as sure when denounced as if they were already executed.
Observe, 3. The direful effects and dreadful consequences of this last vial’s pouring forth, namely,
1. Thunder, lightning, and earthquake: all implying thus much, that the storm of God’s wrath, now coming upon the kingdoms of sin, Satan, and Antichrist, would be very terrible and amazing.
2. The great city was divided into three parts; into three factions, say some, and that Antichrist’s kingdom was now falling by being divided within itself. And the cities of the nations fell, namely, Heathens, nations, and places which withstood Christ and his gospel. For all Christ’s enemies are now to be deposed from public authority. And great Babylon come up in remembrance before God; not that God was ever unmindful of her, either of her impiety towards himself, or of her cruelty towards his people: but as good works are said to be remembered when they are rewarded, so wickedness is then remembered when it is punished. God remembered Babylon, when for the full cup of her sins, he put into her hand a full cup of wine of the fierceness of his wrath. God is never forgetful either of his church’s sufferings, or his enemies’ sins, but will punish the one, and redress the other, in his own appointed time.
3. As another effect of the pouring forth of this vial, it is added, every island fled away and the mountains were not to be found; signifying, say some, that the remotest and strongest places, which owned and maintained Babylon, shall either be converted or confounded. Intimating, say others, that there shall be no place in that day of God’s wrath to flee unto for safety; neither island in the sea, nor mountain on dry land.
Observe lastly, The superadded judgment of unusual hail which God poured forth upon Babylon, as before upon Egypt, Exo 9:19-34 There fell great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent. An hyperbolical expression, setting forth the design and purpose of God to pursue Babylon, and the worshippers of the beast, until they be utterly destroyed.
A talent, say some, was an hundred pound weight; if so, these hail-stones were sufficient not only to kill men, but to dash them all in pieces. This heavy hail shows that weighty sins procure heavy judgments yet mark what a bad use these obdurate sinners made of all these tremendous judgments, they blasphemed God.
They were so obstinate in their idolatry, that they stood it out against all God’s judgments; and when they should have humbled themselves under his mighty hand, they opened their mouths in blasphemies against him.
Here note, that in the book of Exodus we do not read that the old Egyptians blasphemed God when the plague of hail was inflicted upon them, nor when they lay under any of the ten plagues; but these idolaters instead of giving glory to God, they blasphemed him, because of the greatness of their plagues. This perhaps is an emblem of what the damned will do at the day of judgment: though their consciences be convinced of the righteousness of their sentence, yet they will not cease to pour out blasphemies against God, upon the account of the severity and eternity of their torments.
But verily then will all the divine attributes be conspicuously glorified, his wonderful clemency sweetly displayed, his exact justice terribly demonstrated, his perfect wisdom clearly unfolded, and all the knotty intricacies of providence wisely resolved, and the injured honour and glory of Almighty God visibly cleared and repaired, to the joyful satisfaction of all good men, and to the dreadful consternation and confusion of all impenitent sinners, who with these worshippers of the beast will gnaw their tongues for anguish, and blaspheme the holy and just God most unjustly, for bringing upon them that destruction which they had deserved, yea, that damnation which they had chosen.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
The earth, salt water and fresh water have previously been involved in the bowls. Now, the air is included. It should be remembered the devil is called the prince of the power of the air. ( Eph 2:2 ) God’s wrath is now complete, as a voice from the throne tells us.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Rev 16:17-21. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air The seat of Satans residence, who is emphatically styled, (Eph 2:2,) the prince of the power of the air, and is represented (Rev 16:13,) as a principal actor in these latter scenes; so that this last period will not only complete the ruin of the kingdom of the beast, but will also shake the kingdom of Satan everywhere. Upon the pouring out of this vial, a solemn proclamation is made from the throne of God himself, It is done In the same sense as the angel before affirmed, Rev 10:7, that in the days of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God should be finished. Of this vial, as indeed of all the former, the completion is gradual; and the immediate effects and consequences are, (Rev 16:18-21,) voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake, and great hail Events portending great calamities. Voices, and thunders, and lightnings, are the usual attendants of the Deity, especially in his judgments. Great earthquakes, in prophetic language, signify great changes and revolutions; and this is such a one as men never felt and experienced before; such as was not since men were upon the earth. Not only the great city is divided into three parts, or factions, but the cities of the nations fall from their obedience to her. Her sins are remembered before God, and, like another Babylon, she will soon be made to drink of the bitter cup of his anger. Nay, not only the works of men, the cities, fall, but even the works of nature; the islands flee away, and the mountains are not found; which is more than was said before, Rev 6:14, that they were moved out of their places; and can import no less than an utter extirpation of idolatry. Great hail, too, often signifies the judgments of God, and these are uncommon judgments. Diodorus, a grave historian, speaketh of hailstones which weighed a pound and more; Philostorgius mentions hail that weighed eight pounds; but these are about the weight of a talent Or about a hundred pounds; a strong figure, to denote the greatness and severity of these judgments. But still the men continue obstinate, and blaspheme God because of the plague of the hail They remain incorrigible under the divine judgments, and shall be destroyed before they will be reformed. This vial of consummation was supposed by Mr. Mede to synchronize with the vintage, mentioned Rev 14:18-19, the conclusion of the grand drama of one thousand two hundred and sixty years, the time of the end. When it shall be poured out, says Faber, the great controversy of God with the nations will commence; his ancient people will begin to be restored; and the sentence of destruction will go forth against the beast and the false prophet, even while they are in the midst of their temporary success, and while they are vainly flattering themselves with the hope of a complete victory over the church of God. Such being its contents, it is said to be poured out into the air, in allusion to the dreadful storms of political thunder and lightning which it will produce. Four important events are comprehended under it: the earthquake, by which the great city is divided into three parts; the symbolical storm of hail; the overthrow of Babylon, and the battle of Armageddon, to which the kings of the earth had begun to gather themselves together under the preceding vial. On these particulars we may observe as follows: 1st, The earthquake, by which the great city is divided into three parts, manifestly signifies, according to the usual import of prophetic language, some great revolution by which the Latin empire shall either be divided into three sovereignties, or prefectures, like the ancient Roman empire. But what the precise meaning of this prediction is, and how the city will be divided into three parts, time alone can discover. 2d, The hail-storm seems to denote some northern invasion of the Roman empire. Since the northern incursions of the Gothic nations, under the first trumpet, are typified by a storm of hail, it is only natural to conclude, from analogy, that the hailstorm of this vial, which synchronizes with the time of the end, likewise typifies a northern invasion. 3d, The fall of the spiritual Babylon, described at large in chap. 18., seems to be the same as the destruction of the little horn of Daniels fourth beast; they both equally relate to the complete subversion of the Papacy. 4th, Exactly contemporary with the fall of the spiritual Babylon, or the adulterous Church of Rome, will be the overthrow of its supporter, the secular Babylon, or the ten-horned Roman beast. The power of both will be broken in the same battle of Armageddon, which is abundantly manifest from the concurring testimony both of Daniel and St. John. Thus also Fleming, This vial brings down thunder, lightning, hail, and storms; which, together with a terrible earthquake, destroys all the antichristian nations, and particularly Rome, or mystical Babylon. And as Christ concluded his sufferings on the cross with this voice, It is finished, so the churchs sufferings are concluded with a voice out of the temple of heaven and from the throne of God and Christ there, saying, It is done: and therefore with this the millennium, or thousand years of Christs spiritual reign on earth, begins. Now how great and remarkable this last destruction of the Papal antichrist will be, we may guess by the representation given of it Rev 14:19-20, (where see the note,) in which it is set forth under the emblem of the great wine-press of the wrath of God, which can refer to nothing so properly as the event of the seventh vial.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Rev 16:17. The seventh bowl. The scene of destruction this time is the air. A mighty earthquake and a storm of hail follow, which involve the whole world, and specially Rome, in ruin.lightnings . . . thunders: so also after the seventh trumpet (Rev 11:19).a great earthquake: earthquakes followed the opening of the sixth and seventh seals (Rev 6:12, Rev 8:5) and the seventh trumpet (Rev 11:19), but this earthquake is described as the greatest of all.
Rev 16:19. the great city: here undoubtedly Rome (Rev 11:8*).Babylon: Rome (cf. Rev 14:8, 1Pe 5:13*).
Rev 16:21. great hail: cf. the seventh trumpet (Rev 11:19).a talent was a round weight ranging from 108 to 130 lbs.blasphemed God: the plagues only hardened the hearts of the opponents of Christianity (cf. Rev 9:21).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
16:17 {21} And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the {22} air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from {23} the throne, saying, {24} It is done.
(21) The story of the seventh angel to the end of the chapter, in which first is shown by sign and speech, the argument of this plague, in this verse: and then is declare the execution of it in the verses following.
(22) From whence he might move the heaven above, and the earth beneath.
(23) That is, from him that sits on the throne, by metonymy.
(24) That is, Babylon is undone, as is shown in Rev 16:19 and in the chapters following. For the first onset (as I might say) of this denunciation, is described in this chapter: and the last containing a perfect victory, is described in those that follow.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
9. The seventh bowl 16:17-21
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
This final judgment has the greatest impact of all since the air into which the angel pours his bowl is what humans breathe. [Note: Swete, p. 210.] The loud voice is probably once again God’s since it comes from the throne in the heavenly temple (cf. Rev 16:1). With the outpouring of the final bowl God announced that His series of judgments for this period in history was complete. This statement is proleptic since it anticipates the completion of the seventh bowl judgment, which John had yet to reveal (cf. Rev 21:6).
"The pouring out of the seventh vial into the air is probably a gesture pointing to the utter demolition of man’s greatest final weapon in human warfare, when once the wrath of God is poured out in the great day of God Almighty." [Note: Smith, A Revelation . . ., p. 236.]
"Men would not have the Savior’s ’It is finished!’ on Calvary; so they must have the awful ’It is done!’ from the Judge!" [Note: Newell, p. 262.]
The Greek words used are not the same.