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Revelation
Chapter Sixteen
Revelation 16
The first vial of wrath brought the utmost distress and
shameful misery on all who had taken the mark of the beast.
The second brought the power of moral death on the mass of peoples;
all who were among them within the limits of the prophetic earth, died-I
apprehend, gave up mere outward profession. We have here an example of the use
of symbols which it is well to note. All the vials are poured out on the earth,
that is, applied to the sphere of already formed relationship with God. But in
this there might be a specialrelationship in which men had to do with God in
this world-were inhabiters of earth, or the mass of people within that sphere.
The third vial was poured out on all the sources of
popular influence and action; and they became positively deathful. It seems to
me, that the deadly influence in alienation from God, within the sphere of
prophecy, is strongly marked here. Death is used generally as the expression of
the power of Satan.
Then the supreme authority is made frightfully
oppressive. This gave the first four of direct judgment according to the usual
division.
The fifth vial strikes the throne of the beast, the seat
and stability of his authority, which Satan had given him; and his kingdom
became full of darkness. All was confusion and wretchedness, and no resource:
they gnawed their tongues with anguish and blasphemed God.
The sixth angel pours out his vial on Euphrates--destroys, I
apprehend, the securing boundary of the Western prophetic powers-not the seat
of its power, but broke its frontier, that the way of the kings of the East
might be prepared. I look at this simply as the bringing in of the powers of
Asia into the conflict for the universal conflagration of powers. The sixth
vial sends forth three unclean spirits, the sum of all evil influences: that of
Satan's direct power as antagonistic of Christ; that of the power of the last
empire, the beast; and that of the second beast of chapter 13 henceforth known
as the false prophet, Satan's influence as the Antichrist, an idolatrous
wonder-working power; and the kings of the world were gathered together to the
battle of the great day of God Almighty. The allusion is to Judges 5:19-20. At
the seventh vial there is a general break-up and subversion, and Babylon comes
into judgment. And the hail of God, the judgment of God, came on men from
heaven. (Compare Is. 32, 33) All separate independent interests and established
powers disappeared. This was over the earth-God's judgment by providence and
instruments-but the Lamb was not come yet. The details of Babylon's judgments
are reserved for the following chapters.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Revelation》
Revelation 16
Chapter Contents
The first vial is poured out on the earth, the second on
the sea, the third on the rivers and fountains. (1-7) The fourth on the sun,
the fifth on the seat of the beast. (8-11) The sixth on the great river
Euphrates. (12-16) And the seventh on the air, when shall follow the
destruction of all antichristian enemies. (17-21)
Commentary on Revelation 16:1-7
(Read Revelation 16:1-7)
We are to pray that the will of God may be done on earth
as it is done in heaven. Here is a succession of terrible judgments of
Providence; and there seems to be an allusion to several of the plagues of
Egypt. The sins were alike, and so were the punishments. The vials refer to the
seven trumpets, which represented the rise of antichrist; and the fall of the
enemies of the church shall bear some resemblance to their rise. All things
throughout their earth, their air, their sea, their rivers, their cities, all
are condemned to ruin, all accursed for the wickedness of that people. No
wonder that angels, who witness or execute the Divine vengeance on the
obstinate haters of God, of Christ, and of holiness, praise his justice and
truth; and adore his awful judgments, when he brings upon cruel persecutors the
tortures they made his saints and prophets suffer.
Commentary on Revelation 16:8-11
(Read Revelation 16:8-11)
The heart of man is so desperately wicked, that the most
severe miseries never will bring any to repent, without the special grace of
God. Hell itself is filled with blasphemies; and those are ignorant of the
history of human nature, of the Bible, and of their own hearts, who do not know
that the more men suffer, and the more plainly they see the hand of God in
their sufferings, the more furiously they often rage against him. Let sinners
now seek repentance from Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, or they will
have the anguish and horror of an unhumbled, impenitent, and desperate heart;
thus adding to their guilt and misery through all eternity. Darkness is opposed
to wisdom and knowledge, and forebodes the confusion and folly of the idolaters
and followers of the beast. It is opposed to pleasure and joy, and signifies
anguish and vexation of spirit.
Commentary on Revelation 16:12-16
(Read Revelation 16:12-16)
This probably shows the destruction of the Turkish power,
and of idolatry, and that a way will be made for the return of the Jews. Or,
take it for Rome, as mystical Babylon, the name of Babylon being put for Rome,
which was meant, but was not then to be directly named. When Rome is destroyed,
her river and merchandise must suffer with her. And perhaps a way will be
opened for the eastern nations to come into the church of Christ. The great
dragon will collect all his forces, to make one desperate struggle before all
be lost. God warns of this great trial, to engage his people to prepare for it.
These will be times of great temptation; therefore Christ, by his apostle,
calls on his professed servants to expect his sudden coming, and to watch that
they might not be put to shame, as apostates or hypocrites. However Christians
differ, as to their views of the times and seasons of events yet to be brought
to pass, on this one point all are agreed, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
will suddenly come again to judge the world. To those living near to Christ, it
is an object of joyful hope and expectation, and delay is not desired by them.
Commentary on Revelation 16:17-21
(Read Revelation 16:17-21)
The seventh and last angel poured forth his vial, and the
downfal of Babylon was finished. The church triumphant in heaven saw it and
rejoiced; the church in conflict on earth saw it and became triumphant. God
remembered the great and wicked city; though for some time he seemed to have
forgotten her idolatry and cruelty. All that was most secure was carried away
by the ruin. Men blasphemed: the greatest judgments that can befal men, will
not bring to repentance without the grace of God. To be hardened against God,
by his righteous judgments, is a certain token of sure and utter destruction.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Revelation》
Revelation 16
Verse 1
[1] And
I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your
ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
Pour out the seven phials — The epistles to the seven churches are divided into three and four: the
seven seals, and so the trumpets and phials, into four and three. The trumpets
gradually, and in a long tract of time, overthrow the kingdom of the world: the
phials destroy chiefly the beast and his followers, with a swift and impetuous
force. The four first affect the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun; the rest
fall elsewhere, and are much more terrible.
Verse 2
[2] And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell
a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and
upon them which worshipped his image.
And the first went — So
the second, third, etc., without adding angel, to denote the utmost swiftness;
of which this also is a token, that there is no period of time mentioned in the
pouring out of each phial. They have a great resemblance to the plagues of
Egypt, which the Hebrews generally suppose to have been a month distant from
each other. Perhaps so may the phials; but they are all yet to come.
And poured out his phial upon the earth — Literally taken.
And there came a grievous ulcer — As in Egypt, Exodus 9:10,11.
On the men who had the mark of the wild beast — All of them, and them only. All those plagues seem to be described in
proper, not figurative, words.
Verse 3
[3] And
the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood
of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
The second poured out his phial upon the sea — As opposed to the dry land.
And it become blood, as of a dead man — Thick, congealed, and putrid.
And every living soul — Men, beasts, and fishes, whether on or in the sea, died.
Verse 4
[4] And
the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters;
and they became blood.
The third poured out his phial on the rivers
and fountains of water — Which were over all the earth.
And they became blood — So that none could drink thereof.
Verse 5
[5] And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which
art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
The Gracious one — So
he is styled when his judgments are abroad, and that with a peculiar propriety.
In the beginning of the book he is termed "The Almighty." In the time
of his patience, he is praised for his power, which otherwise might then be
less regarded. In the time of his taking vengeance, for his mercy. Of his power
there could then be no doubt.
Verse 6
[6] For
they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood
to drink; for they are worthy.
Thou host given then, blood to drink — Men do not drink out of the sea, but out of fountains and rivers.
Therefore this is fitly added here.
They are worthy — Is
subjoined with a beautiful abruptness.
Verse 7
[7] And
I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and
righteous are thy judgments.
Yea —
Answering the angel of the waters, and affirming of God's judgments in general,
what he had said of one particular judgment.
Verse 8
[8] And the
fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to
scorch men with fire.
The fourth poured out his phial upon the sun — Which was likewise affected by the fourth trumpet. There is also a plain
resemblance between the first, second, and third phials, and the first, second,
and third trumpet.
And it was given him — The angel.
To scorch the men —
Who had the mark of the beast.
With fire — As
well as with the beams of the sun. So these four phials affected earth, water,
fire, and air.
Verse 9
[9] And
men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath
power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
And the men blasphemed God, who had power
over these plagues — They could not but acknowledge the hand of
God, yet did they harden themselves against him.
Verse 10
[10] And
the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom
was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
The four first phials are closely connected
together; the fifth concerns the throne of the beast, the sixth the Mahometans,
the seventh chiefly the heathens. The four first phials and the four first
trumpets go round the whole earth; the three last phials and the three last
trumpets go lengthways over the earth in a straight line.
The fifth poured out his phial upon the
throne of the wild beast — It is not said, "on the beast and his
throne." Perhaps the sea will then be vacant.
And his kingdom was darkened — With a lasting, not a transient, darkness. However the beast as yet has
his kingdom. Afterward the woman sits upon the beast. and then it is said,
"The wild beast is not," Revelation 17:3,7,8.
Verse 11
[11] And
blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and
repented not of their deeds.
And they —
His followers.
Gnawed their tongues — Out of furious impatience.
Because of their pains and because of their
ulcers — Now mentioned together, and in the plural
number, to signify that they were greatly heightened and multiplied.
Verse 12
[12] And
the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the
water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be
prepared.
And the sixth poured out his phial upon the
great river Euphrates — Affected also by the sixth trumpet.
And the water of it —
And of all the rivers that flow into it.
Was dried up —
The far greater part of the Turkish empire lies on this side the Euphrates. The
Romish and Mahometan affairs ran nearly parallel to each other for several
ages. In the seventh century was Mahomet himself; and, a little before him,
Boniface III., with his universal bishopric. In the eleventh, both the Turks and
Gregory VII. carried all before them. In the year 1300, Boniface appeared with
his two swords at the newly-erected jubilee. In the self-same year arose the
Ottoman Porte; yea, and on the same day. And here the phial, poured out on the
throne of the beast, is immediately followed by that poured out on the
Euphrates; that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared - Those
who lie east from the Euphrates, in Persia, India, etc., who will rush
blindfold upon the plagues which are ready for them, toward the Holy Land,
which lies west of the Euphrates.
Verse 13
[13] And
I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and
out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Out of the mouth of the dragon, the wild
beast, and the false prophet — It seems, the dragon fights chiefly
against God; the beast, against Christ; the false prophet, against the Spirit
of truth; and that the three unclean spirits which come from them, and exactly
resemble them, endeavour to blacken the works of creation, of redemption, and
of sanctification.
The false prophet — So
is the second beast frequently named, after the kingdom of the first is
darkened; for he can then no longer prevail by main strength, and so works by
lies and deceit. Mahomet was first a false prophet, and afterwards a powerful
prince: but this beast was first powerful as a prince; afterwards a false
prophet, a teacher of lies.
Like frogs —
Whose abode is in fens, marshes, and other unclean places.
To the kings of the whole world — Both Mahometan and pagan.
To gather them — To
the assistance of their three principals.
Verse 15
[15]
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Behold, I come as a thief — Suddenly, unexpectedly. Observe the beautiful abruptness.
I — Jesus Christ. Hear
him.
Happy is he that watcheth. — Looking continually for him that "cometh quickly." And keepeth
on his garments - Which men use to put off when they sleep.
Lest he walk naked, and they see his shame — Lest he lose the graces which he takes no care to keep, and others see
his sin and punishment.
Verse 16
[16] And
he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
And they gathered them together to Armageddon — Mageddon, or Megiddo, is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament.
Armageddon signifies the city or the mountain of Megiddo; to which the valley
of Megiddo adjoined. This was a place well known in ancient times for many memorable
occurrences; in particular, the slaughter of the kings of Canaan, related, Judges 5:19. Here the narrative breaks off. It
is resumed, Revelation 19:19.
Verse 17
[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.
And the seventh poured out his phial upon the
air — Which encompasses the whole earth. This is
the most weighty phial of all, and seems to take up more time than any of the
preceding.
It is done —
What was commanded, verse 1. Revelation 16:1 The phials are poured out.
Verse 18
[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.
A great earthquake, such as had not been
since men were upon the earth — It was therefore a literal, not
figurative, earthquake.
Verse 19
[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.
And the great city —
Namely, Jerusalem, here opposed to the heathen cities in general, and in
particular to Rome.
And the cities of the nations fell — Were utterly overthrown.
And Babylon was remembered before God — He did not forget the vengeance which was due to her, though the
execution of it was delayed.
Verse 20
[20] And
every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Every island and mountain was "moved out
of its place," Revelation 6:14; but here they all flee away.
What a change must this make in the face of the terraqueous globe! And yet the
end of the world is not come.
Verse 21
[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.
And a great hail falleth out of heaven — From which there was no defence. From the earthquake men would fly into
the fields; but here also they are met by the hail: nor were they secure if
they returned into the houses, when each hail-stone weighed sixty pounds.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Revelation》
Chapter 16. Pour Out the Seven Bowls
The Lord Comes
Like a Thief
Blessed Is He Who Stays Awake
I. The First
Three Pour Out the Bowls
II. The Second
Three Pour Out the Bowls
III. The
Seventh Pour Out the Bowls
── Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of
The New Testament》
Chapter Sixteen General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To observe what happens when the seven bowls of wrath are poured out 2) To note upon whom these bowls are poured, and why SUMMARY
In this chapter the full outpouring of wrath upon the enemies of God isdepicted. The seven angels with the seven bowls pour out "the seven last plagues" (15:1). Notice that these are not partial judgments, aswith the seven trumpets described earlier (chs. 8-11). In the pouringout of these plagues "the wrath of God is complete" (15:1). In the first four bowls, God's wrath is poured out on the earth, thesea, the rivers and springs, and the sun. Affected by these plaguesare those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. God's judgment upon them is proclaimed righteous and just, because theyhad been guilty of shedding the blood of saints and prophets. Amazingly, their response is to blaspheme God, and refuse to repent andgive Him glory (1-9). The fifth bowl is poured out on the throne of the beast and hiskingdom, resulting in darkness. The painful suffering of the wickedcontinue, as does their blasphemy and refusal to repent of their deeds(10-11). The sixth bowl is poured out on the river Euphrates ,preparing the way for the kings from the east. John then saw threeunclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, thebeast, and the false prophet. Described as the spirits of demons, theyperform signs and gather the kings of the earth to the place called Armageddon, for the battle of the great day of God. At this pointJesus speaks both a warning and blessing, for those who watch and keeptheir garments will be blessed, as He is coming as a thief (12-16). The seventh bowl is poured out and a loud voice from the temple inheaven cries out, "It is done!" The declaration is followed bythunderings, lightnings, and a great earthquake. The great city wasdivided into three parts, and cities of the nations fell. Great