Revelation 16

Revelation 16  •  10 min. read  •  grade level: 10
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While one of the living creatures is employed to give the vials to the angels, the command for action proceeds out of the temple itself: “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” (vs. 1). The attitude of the seven angels is to be remarked as a pattern of all true service. It is an attitude of perfect obedience. They come out from the presence of God, they receive the instruments of their service from one of the living creatures, and finally they do not move a step until they have a divine command; they “do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word” (Psa. 103:2020Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. (Psalm 103:20)).
Upon the vials themselves but few remarks will be necessary, because of their remarkable similarity to the seven trumpets. We shall therefore content ourselves with calling attention to the points of agreement and difference, and to their general significance. First of all it should be noted, that, inasmuch as the seventh trumpet reaches down to the close of God’s dealings with the earth and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom, the seven vials must, if comprised within a shorter period, be in part contemporaneous with the seven trumpets. If they begin after the commencement of the trumpets, they must still terminate at the same time. Secondly, there is no mention in the vial-judgments, as in the case of the trumpets, of a “third part” being specially affected. That is to say, the effects of God’s judicial dealing are not confined, as in the trumpets, to the Roman earth, but are more general in their character. Thirdly, the first four vial-plagues “have the same objects as the judgments of the first four trumpets—the whole circle of symbolic nature, but here directly as regards men— earth, sea, rivers, and sun” (Synopsis, J. N. Darby, 5:547). The fifth and sixth vials correspond with the fifth and sixth trumpets: both alike affect the kingdom of the beast and the Euphrates, while the last two in each series bring us to the close of God’s dealings with the earth preparatory to the introduction of the kingdom of Christ.
Attention to the above comparison and contrast will aid in seizing the general meaning of these last seven plagues. The first vial is poured out upon “the earth,” (vs. 2) the scene of ordered government: “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” (vs. 2). Satan may delude men and seduce them into apostasy and into the acceptance of the beast and the antichrist, but God will once more make it known, by causing His hand to fall upon His enemies as in Egypt in days of old, that He will not suffer His glory to be given to another. The next vial is poured out “upon the sea,” (vs. 3) the sea representing the masses of the peoples, viewed as unorganized; “and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea” (vs. 3). It may be difficult to state precisely what is intended here; but plainly some deadly influence goes forth in this plague among the peoples of the earth, resulting in general moral death. The third is somewhat similar, only the plague falls upon“the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” (vs. 4). If rivers and fountains represent moral principles, which in their course should be the sources of life and refreshment to men, this will portend the corruption of these, the surrender of all such, so that what is offered in their stead becomes the means of death rather than life. It is so in this day, for example, when rationalism and infidelity flow out through the nation in the place of the Word of God.
This plague evokes from “the angel of the waters” the cry, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, [Another reading gives, omitting “O Lord,” “Thou art righteous, who art and wast, the Holy One.”] because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy” (vss. 5-6). On the ground of righteousness this principle is evident. Men had put to death God’s witnesses, rejected His Word, and now they have judicially to “drink” that which causes death. So, for example, the Jews shed the blood of Stephen and others, and they, in this case of their own will, “drank,” in their blind hate against God and His truth, that which brought in spiritual death upon their souls. To the cry of the angel of the waters, “another out of the altar” is heard to respond, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments” (vs. 7).
The fourth and fifth vials are easily comprehended. The fourth “poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him [it] to scorch men with fire” (vs. 8). The sun it will be recollected is the emblem of supreme authority; and this plague therefore points to some tyrannical exercise of it, some fearful despotism which causes immense trial and suffering to those trodden down under its heel. But so far from humbling themselves before God, while groaning under sufferings, men blaspheme His name, for in spite of their wickedness they will be made to recognize that He “hath power over these plagues.” Yet, such is the hardness of man’s heart, “they repented not to give Him glory” (vs. 9).
“The fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat [throne] of the beast”; and again like Egypt of old, “his kingdom was full of darkness,” only this, we apprehend, would be moral in its character rather than actual. The consequence was what is really a foretaste of hell; for in the intensity of their distress and misery they “gnawed their tongues... and blasphemed the God of heaven,” to whom they also attribute “their pains and their sores.” But they “repented not of their deeds” (vss. 10-11). The reader cannot fail to be struck with the solemn repetition of the impenitence of those who are suffering under the judicial hand of God. They had despised and killed His witnesses, and now, though they cannot any longer conceal from themselves that there is a God who judges the earth, they refuse to acknowledge their sin. They “repented not” (vs. 11); their evil hearts still clung to the very deeds which had brought upon them their terrible sufferings. What a proof of the incurable evil of human nature, that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually!
“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” (vs. 12). The Euphrates, a river well known in Scripture, was and, as is plain from this scripture, will be the eastern boundary of the Roman empire. What is here symbolically described therefore as the drying up of its water will mean that this boundary is broken through and can no longer be maintained. (Whether these kings of the East come at first in antagonism to the beast cannot be known. In the end, it is certain they are his confederates.) Whatever the human instrumentality by which the removal of this boundary is effected, it is the consequence of the pouring out of the angelic vial. It is a “plague” from the hand of God through His providential agents. In connection with this, “three unclean spirits like frogs” proceed from the trinity of evil, “out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet,” and act upon “the kings of the whole habitable world” (vss. 13-14). (So it should read, and not, as in the English Version, “the kings of the earth and of the whole world.”) Just as Ahab was persuaded by “a lying spirit” (1 Kings 22:23; 223Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (1 Kings 22:23)
23Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. (1 Kings 2:23) Chron. 18:22) in the mouth of his prophets to go up to Ramoth-Gilead to battle to his own destruction, so these “spirits of devils, working miracles” (vs. 14) will influence these kings to combine with one consent with their allies for their objects, all ignorant of the fact that they are being gathered for the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Jerusalem, as we may learn from the prophets, will be the point to which they will converge (see Isa. 6623And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. (Isaiah 66:23); Zech. 12-149And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. 1Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. 8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. 10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. 11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. 14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 15And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. 16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. 1The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, (Zechariah 13:9‑Malachi 1:2); with Rev. 19:11-2111And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11‑21)); and Jerusalem will be the object of their attack. At first victory will seem to be theirs; but just as their prey is about to be devoured, the Lord Himself will appear, and rescue His people; He will “destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zech. 12:99And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:9)).
That this is the event indicated is seen from verse 15. After the description of the action of the three spirits of demons there is a solemn pause, and the Lord Himself speaks: “Behold, I come as a thief.” (vs. 15) This is the known way in Scripture of His coming to the world; that is, of His appearing. (See 1 Thess. 5:1-4; 21But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:1‑4)
1For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain: 2But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention. 3For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:1‑4) Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:33Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. (Revelation 3:3)) This makes it very clear that the battle of that great day of Almighty God is consequent upon the sudden appearing of Christ in His glory as described in the scriptures above given. It is because He will come thus as a thief that He adds, “Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (vs. 15; compare Matt. 24:36-3736But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:36‑37).) This instruction, as well as warning, applies above all to the elect remnant of that day.
One more particular is now added—the name of the place to which the kings and their armies will be gathered. It is called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Some read Harmagedon.) This name has a symbolical import, and means in fact, the hill of Megiddo. Megiddo was the great battlefield of Barak (Judg. 5:1919The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. (Judges 5:19)), and had therefore, combined with other events in connection with the same place, (See for example, 2 Chron. 35:20-2720After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. 21But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. 22Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. 23And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. 24His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations. 26Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the Lord, 27And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. (2 Chronicles 35:20‑27), where one of the saddest events, as affecting the Jewish people is recorded.) a peculiar significance in Jewish history. This will account for its application to that awful place where “the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies [will gather] together to make war against Him that sat on the horse [the Lord in His glory] and against His army” (Ch. 19:19).
The consummation is now reached. Together with the pouring out of the seventh vial “into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done” (vs. 17). God’s preliminary judgments are now completed; and the next thing to follow, not described here, will be the event announced in verse 15, the coming of the Lord as a thief. The effects of this last plague are briefly given. The great city, Rome (Ch. 17:18), “the unified association of European civilization,” for it is the expression of all that the Roman Empire is in its wealth, art, literature, and commerce (see Ch. 18) is “divided into three parts” (vs. 19). Babylon is judged, the details of which are found in chapter 18; “and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (vs. 20); all the world’s stability and order are utterly subverted, and reduced to chaotic confusion; and finally God’s violent judgments (see Isa. 32:1919When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. (Isaiah 32:19)) will once again descend on men, who still untouched by His repeated scourges, will in their madness respond with blasphemy “because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great” (vs. 21).