Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Revelation 16:1 - 16:7
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The Seven Vials of Wrath are Poured Out.
The emptying of the first three vials:
v. 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.
v. 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 worshiped his image.
v. 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.
v. 4. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
v. 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.
v. 6. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
v. 7. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.
Here the spiritual fate of the Lord's enemies is shown: And I heard a loud voice out of the sanctuary saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. It is the voice of God which is heard, for it is He that has the avenging plagues in His hand. The seven angels, the seven messengers of God, were to pour out the bowls containing the wrath of the Lord upon the earth, the home of the obstinate and hostile men; for the time of grace had now come to an end for them, and the time of punishment had come.
The command of the Lord is now carried out: And there went the first one and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there came a bad and grievous ulcer on the men that had the mark of the beast and those that had worshiped his image. That was the punishment which struck the servants of the beast, of Anti-Christ, and those that were misled by the show of his power to give him honor which he should not have received. But this was only the beginning of the plagues: And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing died that was in the sea. This was like the first Egyptian plague, coagulated blood, fatal to all animal life. These plagues are plainly seen in history. As for the first one, the members of the Roman hierarchy themselves have confessed that the Roman Church was suffering with a severe disease in head and members, with an ulcerous Infection that would eventually prove fatal. And so far as the second plague is concerned, the world, since the time of the Reformation, has been filled with wars that were due to the baffled fury of Anti-Christ. This is not due to the gracious message of the Gospel which the faithful servants of the Lord have proclaimed, but to the fact that the obstinate heart of the enemies takes occasion to battle against the Gospel and to hinder its growth in every possible manner. What St. Paul wrote is true to this day: "We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved and in them that perish: to the one we are the savor of death unto death and to the other the savor of life unto life," 2Co_2:15-16.
The same fact is apparent in the third plague: And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and the springs of waters, and they became blood; and I heard the angel of the waters saying, Just art Thou, that is and that was, the Holy One, because Thou hast passed these sentences; for they shed the blood of saints and prophets, and blood Thou hast given them to drink, for they deserve it. Here the waters are not considered as a symbol of all nations, as in the preceding picture, but as the sources of drinking water. The city of God, the Church of Christ, has pure water, the water of the Gospel, in abundance. But the Church of Anti-Christ has principally the traditions of the Church, the resolutions of councils, and the decrees of Popes, all of which are filled with bloodthirstiness, as the Inquisition shows. Blood the Jesuits wanted, and blood the retribution of the Lord gave them, for that is the result of God's supreme holiness and majesty. This fact is emphasized by the angel of the waters in his hymn of praise. It was right and just for the Lord to give these enemies blood to drink, since they delighted in shedding the same; the punishment was thus made to fit the transgression. Therefore this statement is echoed in heaven itself: And I heard the altar say, Even so, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are Thy sentences. This seems to be the voice of the souls under the altar, chap. 6:9, the voice of all the martyrs since the time of Abel. They all see the hand of the almighty and just God in these sentences of punishment and doom which are striking the servants of Anti-Christ as a consequence of the preaching of the Gospel, not because the power of destruction lies in the Gospel, but because the enmity of men is aroused by this comforting message and they are enraged and confirmed in their self-chosen destruction. May God keep all true Christians from anti-Christian heresies!