The last chapter was parenthetic. After showing man’s ways on the earth, God turns aside, as it were, to let us know His own purposes before they are carried into execution. He takes us forward in spirit therefore to see what will be the blessed lot of those saints who escape with life from the persecutions of the beast. Then, after asserting His own claims to worship as Creator and Judge, He announces the doom about to fall upon Babylon and upon the followers of the beast, and at the same time promises a special blessing to those who die for their faithfulness during this period of tribulation. Finally, He declares how He will deal, whether in discriminating or in unsparing judgment, with the Gentiles.
Having thus shown His general purposes, He resumes the thread of the narrative, dealing, first, with the closing series of preliminary judgments which precede the coming of the Son of Man; then, in fuller detail, with the overthrow of Babylon; and lastly, with the destruction of the beast and false prophet when Christ actually appears. But there is another subject, dear to the Lord’s heart, with which He also deals. The blessedness of the “dead which die in the Lord” was one of the themes named in the previous chapter; and after just referring to the last plagues, before their dreadful character is detailed, another welcome break in the gathering cloud of judgment discloses a blessed vision of these victorious ones in the presence of God.
The narrative begins-”And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God” (Rev. 15:11And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. (Revelation 15:1)). We see, therefore, that we are drawing to the close of these preliminary judgments; but having furnished this landmark to show where we are, the Spirit now leads us aside to contemplate another scene.
The Blessed Dead in Heaven (Rev. 15:2-42And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:2‑4))
“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image [and over his mark], and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of [not saints, but] the nations. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations [or all the nations] shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.” This is not a vision of earthly blessedness, for “the sea of glass like unto crystal” is, as we learn from the fourth chapter, before the throne in heaven. On earth there is always need of cleansing, and there we have the brazen sea filled with water; but in heaven there is fixed, perfect purity which nothing can defile. Here it is mingled with fire, indicating probably the fiery trials through which these conquerors had passed. The purity they have now attained has been got through the fire in which they have been tried as gold.
These conquerors have “gotten the victory over the beast.” What a change! Looked at from man’s side, the beast had made war with them, “and overcome them.” Looked at from God’s side, they have “gotten the victory over the beast.” On earth the cry is, “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” In heaven the song is, “Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?” God is always victorious in the end, and so are those who trust Him. These saints, who died rather than worship the beast and his image, are now singing praises in the presence of God, while those who worship the beast “shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”
The victors “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.” The song of Moses is the triumphant chant raised on the shores of the Red Sea, when Israel, delivered from the oppression of Egypt, had been brought safely through the deep waters, and beheld the waves closing over the pursuing host. So had these saints been delivered from this scene of persecution, brought through death, and now looked back on the judgment of their foes. The song of the Lamb is the song, not of redemption, but of the triumphs which belong to Christ as the meek and lowly One, now exalted in the earth. God is addressed by His Old Testament name, Lord God Almighty. These saints say nothing about being made kings and priests, or about reigning over the earth. It is the reign of Jehovah, the Almighty, as King over “the nations,” or Gentiles, and His righteous judgments in the earth, that fill their hearts with joy. The whole scene is Jewish and millennial in character. They rejoice that the Gentiles come and worship before God, not through gradual conversion, but because His “judgments are made manifest.” “For when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:99With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)).
Having refreshed our eyes, as it were, with this glimpse of heavenly light, we return now to the midnight darkness in which the world is still wrapped. The scene, indeed, is yet in heaven, but derives its color from the earth, for whose judgment preparation is being made.” And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.”
Again “the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven” is the place from which God acts. This is the place in which the ark of God’s covenant with Israel was lately seen, the place from which the judgment of the Gentiles was lately demanded. This shows, though figuratively, what is in God’s thoughts; that in the plagues He is now about to pour forth on the earth, He is acting in view of His relationship with Israel, the nation with which His covenant is established. Now, though the temple is there, it is filled with smoke. So had Isaiah seen the earthly temple, when the Lord came to announce the desolation of Israel. (Isa. 6:44And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:4)). So had God shown Himself to His people, at the giving of the law, when “mount Sinai was altogether in a smoke, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly” (Ex. 19:1818And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. (Exodus 19:18)). God, dealing with man in righteous judgment, is necessarily “a consuming fire.” The world has rejected grace, and refused the call to repentance; and now God is about to vindicate His righteousness. The temple in heaven is opened, but not for intercession. It is filled with the smoke of that consuming fire which God will now show Himself to be, and no man can enter until His righteous indignation has been poured forth. Seven ministers of His judgments, clothed in white linen, the garb of spotless purity, and girt with the golden girdles of divine righteousness, carry forth the full vials of His wrath. It is “the wrath of God who liveth forever and ever,” of Jehovah, the God of Israel, that is here stored up. One of the living creatures, the executors of His providential judgments, hands the vials to the seven angels.
“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.” Before examining the vials in detail, it may be well to make a few remarks about their general character. The number here, as in the seals and trumpets, is seven. But while the trumpet judgments are the development of the seventh seal, the vials are not a development of the seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet brings us down to Christ’s coming in power and glory, and its development, therefore, is not given in detail until other events, also preceding this great consummation, have been recorded. The vial series runs, so to speak, to the same terminus, being “the seven last plagues.” They are, therefore, in whole or in part, contemporaneous with the trumpet judgments. The stress which is laid, however, on their final character, as filling up the wrath of God, suggests that though terminating at the same time as the trumpets, they begin later, and occupy, therefore, a shorter period.
Comparing the vials with the trumpets, there is a singular parallelism. The first trumpet judgment affects the earth; so does the first vial. The second trumpet affects the sea; so does the second vial. The third trumpet affects the rivers and fountains; so does the third vial. The fourth trumpet affects the heavenly bodies; so does the fourth vial. The fifth trumpet brings darkness and torment without death; so does the fifth vial. The sixth trumpet announces invasion from the Euphrates; so does the sixth vial. The seventh trumpet ushers in the reign of Christ; so does the seventh vial. No doubt there are great differences, and as a general rule the vial judgments are severer and more extensive than those under the trumpets. Still the general parallelism, coupled with the shorter duration of the vial judgments, seems to indicate that towards the close the trumpet series become aggravated in character, plagues of the same nature being either increased in intensity or widened in area. Such would seem to be the general character of these vial judgments.
“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.” Here, as in the first trumpet, the scene affected is the earth, the region of ordered government. Whether the plague be literally or figuratively understood, it obviously refers to some painful and humiliating visitation on those who had worshipped the beast and owned themselves his vassals. There is no difficulty in understanding the plague literally. Similar visitations had marked God’s displeasure with the Egyptians and with the Philistines; for God will abase the proud, and pour contempt on the lofty. But from the general symbolic character of the book, one would rather conclude, that while in this and other cases the plagues of Egypt furnish the figures, the judgments here named are to be less literally understood. It is so undoubtedly in the plagues that follow, and we may, therefore, infer that in this instance also the sore is rather in mind and circumstances than an actual bodily infliction, some deep, fretting trouble falling on the worshippers of the beast and his image. God has various judgments to inflict. The revival of idolatry is one sin to be judged, and its votaries are, therefore, sorely visited. This is the special object of the first plague.
“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.” Here, as before, the sea stands for the great mass of the peoples; for God’s judgments are not confined to the beast and his followers. Throughout its whole surface the world is reddened with war and bloodshed, signified in the ghastly picture of the sea becoming like the blood of a dead man, and all its living creatures being destroyed. Such is the import of the second plague.
Third Vial (Rev. 16:4-74And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5And 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. 6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. (Revelation 16:4‑7))
“And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” (Rev. 16:44And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. (Revelation 16:4)). Here, as in the third trumpet, the rivers and fountains represent the springs and sources of human refreshment. Under the trumpet these were corrupted and embittered over a third part of the earth. Under these severer visitations they are not only corrupted, but turned to death, becoming blood, and that not only over a third part of the globe, but generally. The voice of intelligent creation acquiesces in the righteousness of this judgment. “And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous [O Lord], which art, and wast, and shalt be [or “which art, and wast holy”], 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 God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments” (Rev. 16:5-75And 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. 6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. (Revelation 16:5‑7)). Though no special portion of the world is signified, it seems that this judgment is aimed chiefly at those who have persecuted the prophets and saints. The voice from the altar is most suggestive; for beneath that altar were seen in a former vision “the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” Now this altar, where they had presented their bodies as a sacrifice to God, having once witnessed their sufferings, rejoices in the righteous retribution which overtakes their persecutors.
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial 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 over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory.” As the sun represents supreme authority, this plague indicates the pressure of intense tyranny — the nations groaning beneath the fierce rays of oppressive power exercised by the ruler of this period. In the fourth trumpet the sun is not intensified in heat, but partially darkened. From this one may perhaps gather that the anarchy and confusion implied in the trumpet judgment ends in a period of intense oppression and suffering, just as, for example, the total subversion of all authority in the French Revolution culminated in the blood-thirsty tyranny of the reign of terror. But the most solemn feature of the whole scene is that man, though recognizing God as the author of these plagues, is only hardened in rebellion against Him. Instead of repenting and turning to Him, he breaks out in still more awful blasphemy against His name.
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat [throne] of the 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.” Such is man when left to himself with Satan for his guide. Here we see the fabric he has reared for himself under the direction of the God of this world. Science and art, civilization and culture, all that, according to modern thought, humanizes, refines, and elevates our race-freedom, with all its benefits, leaving man to work out his own destiny-all this brought to bear on his circumstances; and what is the result? In Western Europe, the chosen home of civilization, liberty, enlightenment, and progress, the result is the kingdom of the beast, the focus of tyranny, darkness, misery, and blasphemy. And why? Because man has left God out of account. “God is not in all his thoughts.” Independence of God was the cause of his fall, the beginning of all his ruin and wretchedness. Independence of God will culminate in all the miseries of this disastrous time. The darkness here is doubtless moral, or rather spiritual; men groping in their blindness for some refuge from their gnawing misery, and yet so deluded by Satan that instead of turning to the only Deliverer, they blaspheme His name, and persist in the sins which have provoked His judgments. But, alas a still worse madness remains to be brought out.
Sixth Vial (Rev. 16:12-1612And 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. 13And 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. 14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12‑16))
“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 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. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole 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 [or “they”] gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” We need not understand this, any more than the previous judgments, literally. The Euphrates was the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. The drying up of its waters, then, to make a way for the kings of the East is a natural figure for the breaking down of that boundary-line of the revived empire under the beast.
The kings of the east probably signify a confederacy of eastern powers under the king who takes the place of the ancient Assyrian. In opposition to Egypt their leader is styled the king of the north. In opposition to the revived Roman Empire, the confederates are styled “the kings of the east.” We have seen that such a power will be arrayed against Jerusalem, which seeks aid in the disastrous alliance with the beast, the head of the revived Roman Empire. It is by God’s counsel that all the nations are thus gathered “against Jerusalem to battle,” but God makes the dragon and men’s evil passions to work out His own will. Just as He bade the lying spirit go and lure Ahab to his fall, just as He sends men in this dreadful time “strong delusion that they should believe a lie,” so here he uses the unclean spirits out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, to draw together this assemblage of powers, “the clusters of the vine of the earth,” to be trodden in the wine-press of His righteous indignation. Doubtless to men’s eyes the war will be declared with the usual exchange of diplomatic dispatches, and the usual protests of disinterested intentions. But the Spirit of God unmasks the true motives at work, and shows that the real agents in this great gathering are demons, diabolic counsels, from the heart of Satan and his wicked instruments. By these the war is stirred up, and God’s purpose accomplished. The kings of the east gather their forces, and invade the frontier of the beast’s dominions. The beast, in concert with the kings of the west, also gathers his forces, and marches to the fatal field of Armageddon.
Whatever doubt there may be as to the exact meaning of this word, there is none as to the fact that it refers in some way or other to the valley of Megiddo. Here it was that the most formidable Gentile oppressors were overthrown, when God arose for the deliverance of His people. Here it was that “the kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera” (Judg. 5:19, 2019The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. 20They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. (Judges 5:19‑20)). It is obvious how admirable a type this furnishes of the great battle yet to come, when Christ shall descend from heaven for the deliverance of His people, the destruction of His enemies, and the establishment of His glorious rule. We learn elsewhere that the Gentiles will be gathered in the Holy Land, but the name Armageddon probably refers less to the place than to the character of their overthrow, as typified in the great battle “by the waters of Megiddo.”
Thus the world’s misery seems to culminate. Who can fathom the distress of the saints, or the groans that ascend — “How long?” But the day of deliverance is at hand. Little do the gathering forces imagine that instead of encountering each other, they will meet the One whose claims they have despised, whose saints they have persecuted, whose name they have blasphemed; that He is coming to take the crown “whose right it is;” that the land they have destined for their spoil God has destined for their sepulcher. Little do the beast and his still more wicked coadjutor dream that from that field of slaughter to which they are hastening they will be carried captives, and hurled without death into the eternal torments of the lake of fire. Little do the groaning saints, hid among the mountains and caves, dare to hope that now at last they may lift up their heads, for their redemption draweth nigh. How cheering, then, yet how solemn, drop the words, like a momentary lull in the wildest fury of the storm, “Behold; I come as a thief.” What a fearful surprise for “the inhabiters of the earth,” who still, amidst all the convulsions, pursue their own way, and dream of a good time yet before them! What a joyful surprise for the suffering saints, thus to behold their Deliverer appearing in the moment of their deepest gloom! Well may He warn them to be on the watch, and to keep their garments that they be not found naked.
Seventh Vial (Rev. 16:17-2117And 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. 18And 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. 19And 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. 20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21And 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. (Revelation 16:17‑21))
“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. 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 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.”
Here, then, the preliminary judgments come to an end. The vial is poured out into the air, the scene of Satan’s authority; for he is “the prince of the power of the air.” Mighty results follow. God, speaking from the throne out of the temple in which the ark of the covenant is placed, declares that the work is done. What work? The work towards which all God’s schemes of earthly government have been directed, the work of which the ark of the covenant was a constant memorial, the work of setting His King upon His holy hill of Zion, and making Jerusalem a joy and a rejoicing to the whole earth. The time for this is now come, and the voices, and thunders, and lightnings announce the judgments by which it is to be accomplished. An earthquake of unexampled violence, or an unprecedented crash of all earthly powers, ensues. “The great city is divided into three parts.” In the Revelation “the holy city” means Jerusalem; “the great city,” Rome. It is elsewhere called “that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:1818And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)). The city is here used for the whole Roman dominion, which is split into three parts. Besides this, the cities of the nations fall, there is a general overturning, the crashing up of the gold, and the silver, and the brass, and the iron, and the clay, beneath the weight of the stone which falls upon them and grinds them to powder. Great Babylon comes in remembrance, that corrupt religious system which survives the removal of the true Church. It, too, must now drink the cup of judgment whose contents are beheld in the next chapters. All places of security and strength, all islands and mountains, disappear, and a terrible scourge, likened to a storm of gigantic hail-stones, sweeps away all man’s schemes and systems from the earth. But all this hurricane of judgment cannot bow the stubborn rebellion and hatred of man’s heart towards God, which again rise in fresh blasphemy against His name and ways.