01.16. CHAPTER 16.
CHAPTER 16.
Revelation 16:1. “And I heard a great voice out of the temple [inner temple] saying to the seven angels, ‘Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” The word of command comes from the inner temple or sanctuary of God, for these judgments are in vindication of Divine holiness and truth. The seven seals of Revelation 6:1-17 : occupy the whole of the last or seventieth weeks of Daniel’s weeks of years—the trumpets the first half week or three and a half years, and the vials (or, more properly, bowls) the last three and a half years, the time of the great tribulation.
Revelation 16:2. “And the first went, and poured out his vial [bowl] upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast [wild beast] and upon them which worshipped his image.”
There is a remarkable similarity between these seven last plagues and the plagues of Egypt. Compare Exodus 9:8-11—the plague of boils. The plagues of Egypt were literal; these are probably symbols of God’s dealings in righteous judgment with man on the earth, combined with literal interpretation and prediction. The adherents and worshippers of the beast are the first subjects of these judgments.
Revelation 16:3. “And the second angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” The first vial may be symbolic of moral and spiritual disease; under the second vial it goes further; there is moral and spiritual death—death in the soul.
Revelation 16:4-7. “And the third angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon [into] the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, ‘Thou art righteous, O Jehovah, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.” And I heard another out of the altar say, ‘Even so, Lord [Jehovah] God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.’” The springs of life corrupted at the fountain head; also the bloodthirsty satiated with blood, as in the times of the French Revolution. The angelic agents employed in the providential dealings of God with man adore the righteousness and truth manifested in His judgments.
Compare Exodus 7:17-21—the waters turned into blood.
Revelation 16:8-9. “And the fourth angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon the sun: and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power [authority] over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory.” The language employed in reference to those who have come out of these scenes of great tribulation, in Revelation 7:16, would seem to imply that this plague may be understood as literal: “Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” And in striking contrast with the blasphemy of the wicked on earth is the song of triumph and praise sung by the redeemed before the throne above.
Revelation 16:10-11. “And the fifth angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon the seat [throne] of the beast [wild beast]; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.”
Compare Exodus 10:21-23—the plague of darkness. But notice the alleviation to the people of God: “All the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
Revelation 16:12-16. “And the sixth angel poured out his vial [bowl] upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of [from] the east [sun- rising] might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast [wild beast], and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils [demons], working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world [habitable world], to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (‘Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.’) And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Compare Revelation 9:13-15. Under the sixth trumpet the four angels bound in the great river Euphrates were loosed, prepared for a limited period and for partial judgment. Under the sixth vial preparation is made for the last great conflict.
Compare also Exodus 8:1-7. When Jehovah smote the land of Egypt with the plague of frogs, “the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.” These miracles of Satanic power will be repeated in the last days, not, how ever, in the annoying but harmless form of natural frogs, but for the widespread propagation of delusive error; “for they are the spirits of devils [demons], working miracles [signs], which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole habitable world.”
“Out of the mouth of the dragon”—doctrines of Satanic subtilty, replete with supernatural infatuation.
“Out of the mouth of the wild beast;” for to him will he given “a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies” (Revelation 13:5).
“Out of the mouth of the false prophet”—the combined sophistries of scepticism, infidelity, atheism, and science falsely so called, finding their way, like the frogs of Egypt, both into the chambers of kings and into the dwellings of the poor. This is Satan’s muster-call for the battle of the great day.
Here comes in a parenthesis—the Son of Man reminding His faithful followers in these dark days that His coming is nigh at hand; and this announcement is given, not only to encourage their hearts, but that they may be found watching and ready. This is perfectly distinct from the words of the Lord Jesus to the Church, “Behold, I come quickly, “as we are distinctly told in 1 Thessalonians 5:4 : “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” Yet it is equally true that to those who refuse to watch His coming will be as unexpected as that of a thief (Revelation 3:3). In this solemn crisis of the world’s history, when all things are preparing for the final and decisive conflict, the soldiers of the Cross will need a special sustainment and a special comfort; they will need not only to take the shield of faith, but for a helmet the hope of salvation.
Armageddon signifies “the mountain of a great multitude,”or “the mountain of slaughter.”
Revelation 16:17-21. “And the seventh angel poured out his vial [bowl] into the air; and there came a great voice out of [from] the temple [inner temple] of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done.’ And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nation fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” The seventh vial brings in the great crisis of this world’s history, preparatory to the establishment of the dominion of God on the earth, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. The language employed in connection with the great earthquake here spoken of is worthy of note— “such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great”—implying that greater convulsions might have been previously, as the discoveries of geology would seem to attest. Psalms 46:2 beautifully expresses the confidence and triumph of those who fear God, in the midst of these scenes of overwhelming commotion. “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” The storm of hail reminds us of Exodus 9:18-33—the plague of hail in the land of Egypt; also of Job 38:22-23, and of Isaiah 28:17-20.
It is at this period that great Babylon comes in for a share of the judgment as described in Revelation 18:1-24, inflicted through the instrumentality of the ten kings who hate her, and make her desolate.