REVELATION
SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 16.5
Gleanings
from the Book of Revelation:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
The
REVELATION
TO JOHN
(The
Apocalypse)
Chapter
Sixteen
The
Great Tribulation
The
Seven Trumpets
Judgment
Resumed
Trumpet
Number 7 (Woe Number 3)
Outline
1. The
First Bowl – Boils afflict followers of the beast (v. 2)
2. The
Second Bowl – Oceans become a sea of blood (v.3)
3. The
Third Bowl – Rivers and springs turn to blood (Vv. 4-7)
4. The
Fourth Bowl – Oppressive heat from the sun (Vv. 8-9)
5. The
Fifth Bowl – Darkness engulfs the earth (Vv. 10-11)
6. The
Sixth Bowl – The River Euphrates dries up (Vv. 12-16)
7. The
Seventh Bowl – Hail crumbles the cities (Vv. 17-21)
(Verse 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 Third Vial (Continued)
Recall:
As the third angel poured out the contents of his vial, all freshwaters on the
entire planet turned to blood. If anyone’s thirst needed to be quenched, blood
was the only drink available.
The angel of the waters
Special offices and assignments are
given to angels by God in the Bible. Writes David:
Psalm
103:20 - Bless the LORD,
ye His angels, that excel in
strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the
voice of His Word.
A variety of angel ministries are seen appearing
in the book of Revelation alone. However, interestingly, verse 5 is the only
time the angel of the waters is
mentioned in Scripture. So presumably this one angel has exclusive jurisdiction
over the waters of the earth. Contextually:
1. The
previous angel presided over the sea
2. This
angel presides over the (fresh) waters
3. The
following angel shall preside over the fire (cf. 14:18)
Afterward,
John the Apostle receives an audible message from the angel of the waters saying…
Thou art righteous, O Lord (Holy
One, the existing One), which art, and
wast, and shalt be
By acknowledging God’s righteousness, the
angel who had authority over the waters reaffirms who Christ is: The One which
is
(Who are, being), and which was (Who
were, having been), {and which is [to] come} (cf.
Revelation 1:4, emphasis added).
The phrase, shalt be, does not appear
in the original Greek, no doubt inserted to express the eternal nature of God.
The implication is, however, Christ has already come (cf. Revelation 16:16-17).
Because Thou hast judged thus
The
verb conjugation, You have (εκρινας), is in the Greek aorist active indicative tense,
second person singular. Thus rendering: The Holy One justifiably did inflict these
things.
(Verse 6)
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou
hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
In His exorable retributive justice, God
interposes on those who have shed the righteous blood of the prophets and
saints. For men who take pleasure in sin and unrighteousness must be damned.
Scripture references notate:
Deuteronomy
32:41 - If I whet My glittering sword, and Mine hand take hold on
judgment; I will render vengeance
to Mine enemies, and will reward (repay) them that hate Me.
Psalm
19:9b - The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psalm
119:75a - I know, O LORD, that Thy
judgments are right (fair, righteous).
Those
who have shed the blood of God’s prophets and saints are justifiably worthy
to receive punishment in this fashion.
(Verse 7)
And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God
Almighty, true and righteous are
Thy judgments.
Undoubtedly, additional voices coming
from the altar are those of martyred saints (cf. Revelation 6:9-10:8:3)
affirming the right to vindicate their persecutors. In His graciousness and
longsuffering, God hears their cry. Truth and justice belong to God and not to
man’s will or understanding. New Testament writers confirm:
Hebrews
10:30 - For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto Me, I will recompense, saith the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His
people.
[cf. Deuteronomy 32:35].
Romans 9:28a - For He will finish (execute) the work (His
Word, i.e., sentence), and cut it short (thoroughly and quickly) in righteousness.
(Verse 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 Vial
The fourth angel dispenses the contents
of the fourth vial. Since the fourth day of creation (cf. Genesis 1:14-19), the
sun, the very source of light, heat, and energy to mankind are given power by
God to burn (the) men (viz., those who had the mark of the beast) with its fire.
Such a day is foretold in Scripture:
Isaiah
1:31 - And the strong shall be as
tow (tinder, the refuse of
flax, like straw), and the maker of it (evil
deeds) as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none (no
one)
shall quench them (the matter, destruction, fire).
Malachi
4:1 - For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven
(firepot, furnace); and all the
proud, yea, and
all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch.
2 Peter 3:7 - But the
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the
same word are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the Day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
(Verse 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.
As
a result of the judgment of the sun and as the prophets foresaw, its intense heat
scorched the skin off (the) men. By blaspheming the name of God indicates earth
dwellers knew the God of Israel was directly responsible but refused to repent
or credit Him with glory. Likened to the plagues of Egypt, instead of
repentance, Pharaoh and the hearts of men were hardened.
The
Judgment of the Sun
Worshipping
the sun originates back to the plain of Shinar, the location of what one day
would be called Babylon. Nimrod (נִמְרֹ֑ד: rebellion, rebel) was the great-great-grandson
of Noah, great-grandson of Ham, and son of Cush (cf. Genesis 10:8-12). In a sinful
rebellion against the Lord and attempting to escape a second deluge, Nimrod commissioned
a tower to be built too high for floodwaters to reach. Josephus writes that in
doing so he wanted revenge against God for destroying his forefathers before
the flood.
As
the monarch of the postdiluvian kingdom, Nimrod originated idolatry. Being the
first temple to the sun, moon, stars, and zodiac, the Tower of Babel (cf.
Genesis 11:4) served as a high altar for worship. Nimrod’s key objective was to
keep people from worshipping the Creator.
Indirectly,
Satan was behind the idea of sun-worshipping. Unfortunately, their apostasy
persisted and led to the confusion of tongues (cf. Genesis 11:5-9). However, sun
worship continued through the ages.
After
the Flood, God warned Israel against such idolatry:
Deuteronomy 4:19 - And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun,
and the moon,
and the stars,
even all the host of heaven,
shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations
under the whole heaven.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24 - Take heed unto
yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of
the LORD your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. For the LORD thy
God is a consuming fire, even a
jealous God.
Initially,
God had appointed the sun to serve mankind but it became corrupted. It appears
this is the first kind of idolatry. (cf. Job 31:26). The irony is that the sun
people who worshipped since the Tower have now become the very instrument used
for their punishment.
The
Prophet foresaw this day coming:
Isaiah
24:6 - Therefore
hath the
curse devoured the earth, and they that
dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
(Verse 10)
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.
The
Fifth Vial
Antichrist’s throne, given to Him by
Satan (cf. Revelation 13:2), is directly targeted as the fifth angel pours out
God’s judgment. Not specifically stated, there are three positions as to where
his throne exists at this occurrence:
1. Rome
2. Babylon
3. Wherever the world power is worshipped
As a side note, Scripture reveals
Satan’s throne is at Pergamum (cf. Revelation 2:13; Revelation Simplified Study
2.12b).
And his (Antichrist’s)
kingdom was full of darkness
Darkness, confusion, and misery
epitomize the chaos of the beast’s kingdom. Setting a precedent, there are
three prior major events in Scripture where darkness blackened the earth:
1. At the beginning of creation when darkness
covered the earth (cf. Genesis 1:1)
2. At the ninth plague of Egypt (cf. Exodus 10:21-22)
For three days darkness in Egypt was so
thick that it was painful. But
all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings
(cf. Exodus 10:23b)
3. At the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ (cf.
Matthew 27:45) darkness covered all the land for three hours, from noon until 3:00
PM. Coupled with an earthquake and the rented veil of the Temple, surely this
was a supernatural event orchestrated by God
So now, at the end of time, darkness is
used in a specific area on earth (i.e., the throne of the beast), as a punishment
for the beast, and the rest of the world suffers from scorching heat and has
nothing to drink but blood.
And they gnawed their tongues for pain
Used
one time in Scripture, the
Greek word massaomai means to chew. Because of the pain, once again, instead of repentance, the
people gnawed at their tongues in an agonizing attempt to relieve the pain. Sadly,
rather than have joy, they chose to wallow in anguish.
(Verse 11)
And blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and
their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Noticeably, there are many false gods
to vent their anger upon, however, they specifically blaspheme (defame, revile,
or curse) the God in Heaven. Rather than repent of their acts, they deliberately
choose to endure miserableness from their infections and torture; thus
revealing the true root problem of their afflictions – Sin.
John’s Gospel straightway defines the
problem:
John
3:19-21 - And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness
rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the
Light, lest his deeds should be reproved
(exposed, rebuked convicted). But he that doeth truth cometh to the Light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God.
The
object is salvation through Jesus Christ's death, burial, and Resurrection.
There is no stronger truth than in the Gospel. Denial indicates Christ is hated
and sin is loved, truly the rejection of repentance and the pursuit of evil is
extremely evident.
The
forthcoming study will elaborate on the sixth vial, the drying up of the
Euphrates River, hence preparing the way for armies to cross in readiness for
the Battle of Armageddon.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the commendation of the third angel?
2. What is the irony of the third vial judgment?
3. What effect does the fourth vial have upon mankind?
4. What is the irony of the fourth vial judgment?
5. What is the original significance of the sun?
6. What is affected by the fifth vial judgment?
7. In light of judgment thus far, what is mankind’s
response?
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