Revelation 16:1-9

1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven bowls of the fury of God upon the earth.

2 And the first went and poured out his bowl on the earth; and there came an evil and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped its image.

3 And the second poured out his bowl on the sea; and it became blood, as of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea.

4 And the third poured out his bowl on the rivers, and [on] the fountains of waters; and they became blood.

5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Thou art righteous, who art and wast, the holy one, that thou hast judged so;

6 for they have poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; they are worthy.

7 And I heard the altar saying, Yea, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.

8 And the fourth poured out his bowl on the sun; and it was given to it to burn men with fire.

9 And the men were burnt with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give him glory.

Revelation 16:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 16

This chapter gives an account of the pouring out of the seven vials by the angels; their orders for it are in Re 16:1. The first angel pours out his vial on the earth, the effect of which is a noisome and grievous sore upon the followers of antichrist, and the worshippers of his image, Re 16:2. The second pours out his upon the sea; the events of it are, the sea became blood, and every living creature in it died, Re 16:3. The third pours out his upon the rivers and fountains of water, which thereby became blood; upon which the angel of the waters applauds the justice of God, declaring the righteousness of his judgments, and giving a reason for it; and which is confirmed by another angel from the altar, Re 16:4-7. The fourth angel pours out his vial on the sun, the effects of which are, scorching men with heat, their blasphemy against God, and impenitence, Re 16:8,9. The fifth pours out his on the seat of the beast, the consequences of which are darkness in his kingdom, men gnawing their tongues because of their pains, their blasphemy of the name of God because of them, and their impenitence, Re 16:10,11. The sixth angel pours out his on the river Euphrates, and what followed upon it are, the drying up of that river to make way for the kings of the east; there unclean spirits are seen, described by their original, coming out of the mouths of the dragon, beast, and false prophet; by their form, like frogs; by their internal nature, spirits of devils; by their works, doing miracles; by the errand they are sent, and go upon, to gather the kings of the earth to the battle of God Almighty, which they succeed in; but before this is done, a declaration is made of the suddenness of Christ's coming, exciting the saints to watchfulness, and to keep their garments, that they might not be naked, and exposed to shame, Re 16:12-16 Then the seventh angel pours out his vial into the air, the consequences of which are, a voice from heaven declaring it is done: other voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake; a rupture of the great city into three parts; the fall of other cities; the remembrance of Babylon before God; the flight of every island and mountain, and a great hail storm, which causes men to blaspheme God, Re 16:17-21.

Footnotes

• [a]. Eis. As 'on,' ch. 8.5.
• [b]. Epi, refers to actual place.
• [c]. Or 'did homage to:' see ch. 3.9.
• [d]. Lit. 'every soul of life:' a Hebraism.
• [e]. Or 'there was blood.' Ginomai: see John 1.17. Strictly 'and there was,' or 'came to be,' 'blood.' But I apprehend 'it' (ver. 3) and 'they' (ver. 4) are the sense, in spite of accuracy of grammar: blood took place as a consequence in what is spoken of. The sense is more striking as it stands in Greek considered as a vision. What he saw took that character.
• [f]. Hosios: see Note b, ch. 15.4.