Revelation
Chapter 16

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1 And I heard a great voyce out of the Temple, saying to the seuen Angels, Goe your wayes, and powre out the vials of the wrath of God vpō the earth.

2 And the first went, and powred out his viall vpon the earth, and there fell a noysome and grieuous sore vpon the men which had the marke of the beast, and vpon them which worshipped his image.

3 And the second Angel powred out his viall vpon the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man: and euery liuing soule died in the sea.

4 And the third Angel powred out his viall vpon the riuers and fountaines of waters, & they became blood.

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 iudged thus:

6 For they haue shedde the blood of Saints and Prophets, and thou hast giuen them blood to drinke: for they are worthy.

7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Euen so, Lord God Almightie, true and righteous are thy iudgements.

8 And the fourth Angel powred out his viall vpon the Sunne, and power was giuen vnto him to scorch men with fire.

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the Name of God, which hath power ouer these plagues: and they repented not, to giue him glory.

10 And the fift Angel powred out his viall vpon the seat of the beast, and his kingdome was full of darkenesse, and they gnawed their tongues for paine,

11 And blasphemed the God of heauen, because of their paines, and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

12 And the sixt Angel powred out his viall vpon the great riuer Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried vp, that the way of the Kings of the East might be prepared.

13 And I saw three vncleane spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, & out of the mouth of the beast, & out of the mouth of the false prophet.

14 For they are the spirits of deuils working miracles, which goe forth vnto the Kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battell of that great day of God Almighty.

15 Behold, I come as a thiefe. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, least hee walke naked, and they see his shame.

16 And hee gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrewe tongue, Armageddon.

17 And the seuenth Angel powred out his viall into the ayre, and there came a great voyce out of the Temple of heauen, from the throne, saying, It is done.

18 And there were voices and thunders, and lightnings: and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were vpon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19 And the great Citie was diuided into three parts, and the Cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to giue vnto her the cup of the wine of the fiercenesse of his wrath.

20 And euery yland fled away, and the mountaines were not found.

21 And there fell vpon men a great haile out of heauen, euery stone about the weight of a talent, and men blasphemed God, because of the plague of the hayle: for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

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Commentary for Revelation 16

The first vial is poured out on the earth, the second on the sea, the third on the rivers and fountains. (1-7) The fourth on the sun, the fifth on the seat of the beast. (8-11) The sixth on the great river Euphrates. (12-16) And the seventh on the air, when shall follow the destruction of all antichristian enemies. (17-21)1-7 We are to pray that the will of God may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Here is a succession of terrible judgments of Providence; and there seems to be an allusion to several of the plagues of Egypt. The sins were alike, and so were the punishments. The vials refer to the seven trumpets, which represented the rise of antichrist; and the fall of the enemies of the church shall bear some resemblance to their rise. All things throughout their earth, their air, their sea, their rivers, their cities, all are condemned to ruin, all accursed for the wickedness of that people. No wonder that angels, who witness or execute the Divine vengeance on the obstinate haters of God, of Christ, and of holiness, praise his justice and truth; and adore his awful judgments, when he brings upon cruel persecutors the tortures they made his saints and prophets suffer.

8-11 The heart of man is so desperately wicked, that the most severe miseries never will bring any to repent, without the special grace of God. Hell itself is filled with blasphemies; and those are ignorant of the history of human nature, of the Bible, and of their own hearts, who do not know that the more men suffer, and the more plainly they see the hand of God in their sufferings, the more furiously they often rage against him. Let sinners now seek repentance from Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, or they will have the anguish and horror of an unhumbled, impenitent, and desperate heart; thus adding to their guilt and misery through all eternity. Darkness is opposed to wisdom and knowledge, and forebodes the confusion and folly of the idolaters and followers of the beast. It is opposed to pleasure and joy, and signifies anguish and vexation of spirit.

12-16 This probably shows the destruction of the Turkish power, and of idolatry, and that a way will be made for the return of the Jews. Or, take it for Rome, as mystical Babylon, the name of Babylon being put for Rome, which was meant, but was not then to be directly named. When Rome is destroyed, her river and merchandise must suffer with her. And perhaps a way will be opened for the eastern nations to come into the church of Christ. The great dragon will collect all his forces, to make one desperate struggle before all be lost. God warns of this great trial, to engage his people to prepare for it. These will be times of great temptation; therefore Christ, by his apostle, calls on his professed servants to expect his sudden coming, and to watch that they might not be put to shame, as apostates or hypocrites. However Christians differ, as to their views of the times and seasons of events yet to be brought to pass, on this one point all are agreed, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, will suddenly come again to judge the world. To those living near to Christ, it is an object of joyful hope and expectation, and delay is not desired by them.

17-21 The seventh and last angel poured forth his vial, and the downfal of Babylon was finished. The church triumphant in heaven saw it and rejoiced; the church in conflict on earth saw it and became triumphant. God remembered the great and wicked city; though for some time he seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty. All that was most secure was carried away by the ruin. Men blasphemed: the greatest judgments that can befal men, will not bring to repentance without the grace of God. To be hardened against God, by his righteous judgments, is a certain token of sure and utter destruction.

Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.

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