Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. Revelation 16:1 Predestined suffering in the government of the world David Thomas, D. D. I. All the dispensations of this suffering ARE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOD. "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." From the very Shrine of the Almighty, the Holy of Holies, He deals out and regulates every item. 1. He orders their agents. Each of the "seven angels" or messengers are sent forth by Him. "Go your ways." The Supreme Governor of the universe conducts His affairs through a vast system of secondary instrumentalities. There is not a pain that quivers in the nerve of any sentient being that comes not from Him. Is not this a soothing and a strengthening thought under all the dispensations of sorrow? 2. He appoints their seasons. The "seven angels" do not all come together, each has its period. 3. He fixes their places. Each of the seven angels who, under God, are to dispense the plagues, has his place assigned him. Each had his "vial," or bowl, and each bowl had a place on which it was to be poured. The first came upon "the earth," the second on "the sea," the third upon "the rivers and fountains," the fourth upon "the sun," the fifth upon "the seat (throne) of the beast," the sixth upon "the great river Euphrates," and the seventh "into the air." Whether there is a reference here to plagues in Egypt, or sufferings elsewhere, I know not. 4. He determines their character. The sufferings that came forth from the bowls were not of exactly the same kind or amount, some seemed more terrible and tremendous than others. The sufferings of some are distinguished by physical diseases, some by social bereavements, some by secular losses and disappointments, some by mental perplexities, some by moral anguish, etc. "Every heart knoweth its own bitterness." II. All the dispensations of this suffering HAVE A GREAT MORAL PURPOSE. They are not malignant but merciful. They are not to ruin souls but to save them. They are curative elements in the painful cup of life; they are storms to purify the moral atmosphere of the world. 1. The righteous punishment of cruel persecution. "For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy." 2. The righteous punishment of supreme worldliness. "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." Worldliness in the ascendant is indeed like this beast pourtrayed in the Apocalypse. It sits supreme; it has a throne, a crown, a sceptre that extends over all. 3. The overwhelming ruin of organised wrong. Great Babylon, what is it? The moral evils of the world organised into its metropolis. Falsehood, sensuality, pride, ambition, impiety, fraud, tyranny, embodied in a mighty city. This is the Babylon, and all unredeemed men are citizens in it. The Divine purpose is to destroy it. All His dispensations are against it, and will one day shiver it to pieces. Take courage, be of good cheer! III. All the dispensations of this suffering HAVE AN INFLUENCE CO-EXTENSIVE WITH THE UNIVERSE. There was not a drop from the bowl in either of the angel's hands that terminated where it fell. The contents of these bowls are not like showers falling on the rocks in summer, which having touched them are then exhaled for ever. No, they continue to operate. The bowl that fell on the earth became an evil and painful sore, that which fell on the sea became blood and death, that which fell upon the sun scorched mankind, that which fell on the beast spread darkness and agony in all directions, that which fell upon the Euphrates produced a drought, and drew out of the mouth of the dragon wild beasts and strange dragons, the bowl that poured out its contents on the air produced lightnings, and thunders, and earthquakes, causing Babylon to be riven asunder, and every mountain and valley to flee away. Observe — 1. Nothing in the world of mind terminates with itself. "No man liveth unto himself." Each step we give will touch chords that will vibrate through all the arches of immensity. 2. Whatever goes forth from mind exerts an influence on the domain of matter. ( David Thomas, D. D. )

Benson Commentary Revelation 16:1 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. Revelation 16:1 . And I heard a great voice out of the temple — All things being prepared, the angels having received their instructions from the oracle, and the vials being filled with the wrath of God, by one of the four living creatures, (see on Revelation 15:7 ,) I heard the word of command given to the seven angels to pour out their vials in their order, the inhabitants of the earth being ripe for those judgments which the justice of God had appointed for their punishment. The epistles to the seven churches are divided into three and four; the seven seals, and so the trumpets and vials, into four and three. The trumpets gradually, and in a long tract of time, overthrow the kingdoms of the world; the vials destroy chiefly the beast and his followers, and that with a more swift and impetuous force. The four former affect the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun: the rest fall elsewhere, and are much more terrible. Revelation 16:2 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 worshipped his image. Revelation 16:2 . And the first poured out his vial upon the earth — This, according to Mr. Fleming, denotes God’s judgments upon the foundation of the Papal kingdom; the earth being that on which we walk, and by the fruits of which we are supported. By this, therefore, he understands the Popish clergy, and the Papal dominions and revenues, by which they were upheld. This vial, he thinks, began with the Reformation, and continued until the time when these agents of Popery were thrown out of as many countries of Europe as embraced the Reformation. And we may easily conceive what a mortification it was to that party, when the pretended sanctity of their bishops, priests, monks, and nuns was discovered to be a mere cheat, and their miracles nothing but lies or tricks; and when their tales of purgatory were exposed to public contempt, and their pardons and indulgences would sell no longer; and consequently, when the pope and his mitred officers saw themselves driven out from so great a part of their dominions, their seminaries for training up their advocates and defenders, of all denominations and orders, pulled down, and so much of their yearly revenues lost. Whence they are said to fall under a noisome and grievous ????? , ulcer, or sore — Being by this means pained and vexed inwardly, and rendered contemptible to the whole world, which looked upon them as no better than the plagues of mankind. So that this vial began with the rise of Zuinglius and Luther, and the other reformers, in the years 1516 and 1517, and continued to the year 1566; that is, about forty or fifty years; for by that time all the reformed churches were settled, and had published their creeds and confessions of faith against Rome, in opposition to the determinations of the Popish council of Trent, published A.D. 1563, and the creed of Pope Pius IV., which added twelve antichristian articles to the twelve primitive Christian ones, A.D. 1564. Revelation 16:3 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. Revelation 16:3 . And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, &c. — This, says the same pious author, must begin where the other ended, as to the period of time. Now I find that in the year 1566 the wars between the king of Spain and the states of the Netherlands began. The Spaniards, indeed, were often victorious at first, yet they were at length compelled to declare them free states. It was then that the sea became blood to the Romanists, their votaries being miserably defeated in their expectations. For after their cruelties under the duke of Alva, in the Low Countries, and their massacre of the Protestants, in France and other places, the scene was changed very quickly; so that, in the year 1588, the Spaniards lost their vast armada, and ever after declined in their power. And the duke of Guise, the inveterate enemy of the Protestants, was killed the same year; and A.D. 1598 Philip II. of Spain died, being eaten of vermin: the edict of Nantz was also issued the same year in France in favour of the Protestants. So that, as the Reformed interest was in peace everywhere, and conquered in Holland and England, the Popish party, on the other hand, saw Spain, the late terror of the Protestants, brought to a languishing condition, and all their allies weary of wars and persecutions. And as in the year 1609 the truce was made between the Spaniards and the Dutch, so the war, though renewed and carried on afterward, became languid and faint, so as hardly to be regarded by either party, especially the Dutch, who were generally victorious and successful. Hence, as the period of this vial began in 1566, so we may reckon it continued about fifty years, namely, till the year 1617, when the third vial began. Revelation 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. Revelation 16:4-7 . And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers a fountains of waters, &c. — Or those territories of the Papacy which were as necessary to it as rivers and fountains are to a country: the kind of plague under this vial being the same as that of the former. For, as the former destroyed the living creatures, or living souls, that were in or upon the sea, namely, the Spaniards, the great mariners of the world at that time, as to their maritime power, who after the year 1588 lost their former sovereignty of the seas, it being transferred to the English and Dutch; so this latter plague makes it difficult for the Popish party to subsist and maintain their ground, even in the inland countries, particularly in the several dominions of Germany and the neighbouring countries. For in the year 1617, Ferdinand being forced upon the Bohemians by the Emperor Matthias, and crowned king, the foundation of new quarrels was thus laid. For, a little while after, another most bloody religious war ensued, which shook all the empire, and excited the terror of all Europe. And, though the Protestants lost Bohemia, the Palatinate in part, and were driven out of Moravia, Austria, and Silesia, at this time, and were not only persecuted in many places, but were in danger of being extirpated and rooted out universally; yet the tide turned all on a sudden. For after the emperor had ruled Germany with a veteran army for a considerable time, Gustavus Adolphus entered it in the year 1630, and conquered everywhere. And though he was killed about two years afterward, yet his army continued to be victorious; until at length all things were settled at the peace of Munster, A.D. 1648; with which therefore the period of this vial, consisting of thirty- one years, must be supposed to end. Now, as this began with persecutions against, and cruelties upon the Protestants; so at length the angel of the waters is heard to give thanks to God for causing the enemies of his people at last to drink of their own blood. To which song of praise another angel says, Amen: all which seems to denote the joy of the Protestant states and churches on the success of the Swedish arms against the emperor. Revelation 16:5 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. Revelation 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. Revelation 16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. Revelation 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. Revelation 16:8-9 . And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun — Namely, of the Papal kingdom; and power was given unto him — Unto the angel; to scorch men with fire — Alluding to the heat of the sun, namely, the men who had the mark of the beast. And they were scorched with great heat; nevertheless, they repented not to give glory to God, who had power over these plagues; but blasphemed his name the more — “Now as this vial,” says Fleming, “must begin where the other ends, namely, at, or a little after, A.D. 1648, so I cannot see but it must denote, first, the French wars in Flanders, that followed the peace of Munster, inflamed, after they had been apparently quenched, by the seizure of Lorraine, the new conquests of the French in Burgundy and Flanders, the wars in Germany, and invasion of the Low Countries; to which may be added the French king’s quarrels with several popes, about the restitution of Castro, the rights of the duke of Modena, &c. Now, seeing the bombarding of towns and cities was chiefly made use of in these later wars, we may see how properly the scorching, or burning men from above, (as if the sun had sent down fire and heat from his own body,) is made use of to characterize the time of this vial. But the chief thing to be taken notice of here is, that the sun, and other luminaries of heaven, are the emblems of princes and kingdoms; therefore, the pouring out of this vial on the sun must denote the humiliation of some eminent potentates of the Romish interest, who cherished and supported the Papal cause. And these, therefore, must be principally the houses of Austria and Bourbon, though not exclusively of other Popish princes. Now it is not unusual with God to make his enemies crush and weaken one another, which has been done in that part of the vial which is already fulfilled, and will be perhaps more so afterward. [Reader, mark this: how manifestly has it been accomplished!] As, therefore, France was made use of, in the instances given, to vex and scorch the Austrian family, in both branches of it, so afterward the French king himself was vexed when he saw himself forced to leave Holland, which he was so near surprising, A.D. 1672; and especially when he was compelled to resign all his conquests in Flanders by the peace of Ryswick. The effect of this vial is also seen in darkening the glory of King James, (from whom the Papists expected new conquests,) by the hand of King William; by whom also God put a stop to the career of the French monarch in his conquests in Flanders and on the Rhine. And we see it further poured out by the eclipse of the Austrian family, in the loss of Spain and its dependant principalities. As to the remaining part of this vial, I do humbly suppose that it will come to its highest pitch about A.D. 1717; and that it will run out about the year 1794.” [Mr. Fleming states at large his reasons for this conjecture, which, however, cannot be inserted here.] “At which time I suppose the fourth vial will end, and the fifth commence, by a new mortification of the Papacy, after this vial has lasted one hundred and forty-eight years, which is indeed a long period in comparison of the former vials; but if it be considered in reference to the fourth, fifth, and sixth trumpets, it is but short, seeing the fourth lasted one hundred and ninety, the fifth three hundred and two, and the sixth three hundred and ninety-three years.” It seems probable, if Mr. Fleming had lived in our time, instead of fixing the termination of the fourth vial in the year 1794, he would have extended the period of it till after the battle of Waterloo, in the middle of the year 1815. Mr. Faber, it may be observed, considers the French revolution, with all its consequences, as being comprehended in the fourth vial; for which he assigns the following reasons: “In the language of symbols, the sun of a kingdom is the government of that kingdom; and the sun of an empire, if it be a divided empire, is the government of the most powerful state within that empire. When the political sun shines with a steady lustre, and yields a salutary warmth, it is a blessing to a people. But when it glares with a fierce and unnatural heat, scorching all the productions of human industry with the intolerable blaze of a portentous tyranny, it is the heaviest curse which can befall a nation. Since the whole prophecy relates to the Roman empire, the sun mentioned under this vial must be the sun of the Roman firmament: since the pouring out of all the vials takes place long posterior to the division of the empire, this sun must be the sun of the divided empire; or the government of that state within the limits of the empire, which at the present era is the most powerful. The prediction then of the fourth vial obviously intimates, that the frantic scenes of the harvest should be succeeded by a systematic military tyranny, which should be exercised over the Roman empire by the government of the most powerful state then existing within its limits. The world, exhausted with the miseries of the symbolical harvest, and wearied with the wild struggles of licentious anarchy, should tamely submit to the lawless domination of an unrelenting despot. In pointing out the particular government intended by this scorching sun of the Latin or Papal firmament, the reader will doubtless have anticipated me. The present Popish states are France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sardinia, and Etruria. Of these, I apprehend, no one will be inclined to deny that France is by many degrees the most powerful, and consequently that its government must inevitably be esteemed the sun of the system. To observe then the accurate completion of the prophecy of the fourth vial, in which it is said that power was given to this sun to scorch men with fire, and that they were scorched with great heat, we have only to cast our eyes over the continent. A system of tyranny hitherto unknown in Europe, except in the worst periods of the Roman history, has been established, and is now acted upon, by him who styles himself emperor of the French: and the scorching rays of military despotism are at this moment felt, [namely, in 1804, when this was written,] more or less, throughout France, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and the west of Germany. A regular plan of making each man a spy upon his neighbour destroys all the comfort and all the confidence of social life: and France, with her degraded provinces, or, as they are termed, with diplomatic mockery, allies, groans under the weight of endless requisitions, levies, and extortions, at once tormented herself, and the savage tormentor of others. But the effect produced, both by these plagues and by the following ones, will only be blasphemy and hardness of heart, instead of a reformation of principles and practice. The earthquake which overthrew the tenth part of the city, (chap. Revelation 11:13 ,) caused the remnant of the seed of the woman to give glory unto the Lord; but the effusion of the vials upon God’s enemies produces not the least tendency to repentance. We must not therefore look for any further reformation from Popery; for the vials are instruments of God’s wrath, not of mercy. France accordingly has nominally returned, like a dog to its vomit, to her old alliance with the blasphemous corruptions of Popery; but, according to every account of eye-witnesses, she still really and individually strengthens herself in the yet more blasphemous abominations of antichrist. Yet, although there will be no further reformation, it does not appear that the inspired writers give any intimations of some still more dreadful persecution of the witnesses than that which they have already undergone from the two Latin beasts; on the contrary, Scripture seems to me rather to lead to a directly opposite opinion. I mean not, indeed, to deny that individual Protestants, those, for instance, who reside in Popish countries, may experience persecution; these will continue to prophesy in sackcloth to the very end of the twelve hundred and sixty days: I would only be understood to intimate, that I can discover no warrant for expecting that Protestantism in general, as nationally professed, will ever be so far subdued by Popery as to undergo throughout the whole world a grand universal persecution resembling those of the pagan emperors, or the Roman pontiffs in the plenitude of their power.” But to return to Mr. Fleming. “Let the reader,” says he, “call to mind what I premised to the consideration of these vials, namely, that seeing they suppose a struggle between the Popish and Reformed parties, every vial is to be looked upon as the event and conclusion of some new periodical attack of that first party upon the other, the issue of which proves at length favourable to the latter against the former. For if this be duly considered, it will convince us that a great declining of the Protestant interest for some time, and great and formidable advances and new degrees of increase in the Romish party, are very consistent with the state of both these opposite interests under the vials. For as Rome pagan was gradually ruined under the seals, under many of which it seemed to increase, and to become more rampant than before, when yet it was indeed declining, so must we suppose it will be with Rome Papal. For monarchies, as they rise gradually and insensibly, wear out so likewise. And therefore we must not entertain such chimerical notions of the fall of the Papacy, as if it were to be accomplished speedily or miraculously, as many have done. For as it rose insensibly, and step by step, so must it fall in like manner. For it is with the church as it is with particular Christians, who are often sorely buffeted by Satan, and sometimes brought even to extremities by temptations; but do ever carry the victory at last. Who would have believed that the Christian Church was about to triumph over the Roman pagan empire when the dreadful persecutions under Dioclesian and his collegiate emperors was at its highest pitch? But the darkest time of the night ushers in the dawning of the church’s day, in the usual way of God’s providence. And this is very conspicuously to be observed in the period of the third vial. Who would have thought that the loss of Bohemia, and the Emperor Ferdinand’s ruling all Germany with a formidable army, were likely to issue in the victories of the Swedish arms, and the future security of the Protestant interest through the empire and elsewhere? So that we must not wonder if for sixteen years [this was published in 1701] the house of Bourbon be raised up to be a further terror and scourge to the world, and to Protestant nations particularly. And, as a confirmation of this conjecture, let it be observed further, that it is something very extraordinary, and peculiar in some sense to this vial, ‘that the sun, upon which it is poured out, should yet be made the executor of the judgment of it upon others at the same time that he is tormented with it himself.’ So that whosoever is denoted by the sun here, (as I suppose the house of Bourbon principally is,) is made use of, as the devil is, both to torment others, and to be tormented himself in so doing. And if the king of France, therefore, be denoted by this principally, I fear he is yet to be made use of in the hand of God, as Nebuchadnezzar was of old against the Jews, namely, as a further severe scourge to the Protestant churches everywhere. And besides this characteristical mark, which seems to forebode his further exaltation and our humiliation, there is yet another thing that I cannot think upon but with dread and trembling of heart, namely, that it is further said, ‘that while this sun of the Popish world is running his fatal and dreadful career, and scorching men with fire, they are so far from being bettered by these judgments, that they go on more and more to blaspheme the name of God, who has power over these plagues. And while this continues to be the state of the Protestant world, and while atheism, deism, socinianism, irreligion, profaneness, skepticism, formality, hatred of godliness, and a bitter persecuting spirit continue and increase among us, what can we expect but new and desolating judgments? For while we continue to walk thus contrary to God, we cannot but expect that he should walk contrary to us also. It is in vain for us to boast of our privileges, or plead exemption from judgments on this account. For where there is no national reformation and repentance, national sins are like to pull down miseries upon us so much the sooner and more certainly, in that we have been so singularly and peculiarly privileged. For we may in this case expect that God will say to us, as to the Israelites of old, ( Amos 3:2 ,) You especially have I known of all the families, or nations, of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. And therefore if we go on in sin as we have hitherto done, let us take heed to ourselves lest vengeance be near. I pray God I may be mistaken in my fears, but I am afraid I have but too just reason to turn prophet here, by applying to ourselves what Peter said to those of his time, 1 John 4:17 , &c., The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. Though I do also conclude with him, that if it begin at us, dreadful will be the end of our enemies at last: and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, if we be called to suffer for our holy religion, let us do so according to the will of God, committing the keeping of our souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Should it be asked, When will the tide turn for the Protestant Church? I answer, when they turn more universally to God, and no sooner. But if it be inquired further, Whether the sun of the Popish kingdom is not to be eclipsed himself at length? I must positively assert he will, else this vial were not a judgment upon him and the Romish party. But if yet again the question be, When this is to fall out, and how? I must say, I have nothing more to add to what I have said, as to the time. But as to the manner how this is to be done, our text lays a foundation of some more distinct thoughts. And we may suppose, lastly, that the French monarchy, after it has scorched others, will itself consume by doing so; its fire, and that which is the fuel that maintains it, wasting insensibly, till it be exhausted at last toward the end of this century, as the Spanish monarchy did before toward the end of the sixteenth age.” Thus Mr. Fleming: and it is remarkable that in 1793 the French king was beheaded by the National Assembly; and great and unparalleled miseries fell upon the French nation, which nearly extinguished all their nobility, and brought about a war that has lasted twenty-three years, and has nearly ruined that country and all the nations of Europe. Revelation 16:9 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. Revelation 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, Revelation 16:10-11 . And the fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat, or throne, of the beast — The reader will recollect that mention has been made of two beasts, (see Revelation 13:1 ; Revelation 13:11 ,) the secular and the ecclesiastical; and, as Mr. Faber observes, “it might be doubted which of the two was here intended, were we not assisted in our inquiries by the general context of the whole prophecy. Whenever the beast is simply mentioned, by way of eminence, as it were, it will invariably be found that the ten-horned or secular beast is meant, not the two-horned or ecclesiastical beast. In addition to this general proof, the particular context of the present passage may be adduced. The angel pours his vial on the throne of the beast. Now the first beast is expressly said to have had a throne given him by the dragon; because, although nominally Christian, he exercised his secular authority like his predecessor, the pagan empire, in persecuting the church of God: (see Revelation 12:2 :) whereas no mention is made of the throne of the second beast, and for this plain reason; the secular authority of the pope [and his clergy] was confined within the narrow limits of an Italian principality, and all the persecutions which he ever excited against the faithful were carried into effect by the first beast, through the instrumentality of his last head, or his ten horns. Hence it is manifest that the beast, upon whose throne the present vial is poured, is the first or secular beast. What is precisely meant by this judgment, it is impossible at present to determine with any certainty, inasmuch as it is yet future. If, however, we may argue from analogy, since the great city means the Roman empire, and since the throne means the authority exercised within that empire by its head, the pouring out of a vial upon the throne of the beast, so as to fill his whole kingdom with darkness, seems most naturally to mean some severe blow aimed directly at his authority, which should fill his whole kingdom with confusion.” This judgment, which Mr. Fleming supposed would begin about A.D. 1794, (but which probably did not begin till after the termination of the horrors of the French Revolution by the battle of Waterloo, in the year 1815,) that pious divine thought would not expire till A.D. 1848. For, says he, “since the pope received the title of supreme bishop no sooner than the year 606, he cannot be supposed to have any vial poured upon his throne, so as to ruin his authority as signally as this judgment must do, until the year 1848, when the twelve hundred and sixty years in the prophetical account may be considered as ending. But yet we are not to imagine that this vial will totally destroy the Papacy, (though it will exceedingly weaken it,) for we find it still in being and active when the next vial is poured out.” Bishop Newton thinks the judgment here intended will fall upon Rome itself, and will darken and confound the whole antichristian empire. But still the consequences of this plague are much the same as those of the foregoing one; for the sufferers, instead of repenting of their deeds, are hardened like Pharaoh, and still persist in their blasphemy and idolatry, and obstinately withstand all attempts of reformation.” Revelation 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. Revelation 16:12 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. Revelation 16:12-14 . And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates — Affected also by the sixth trumpet; and the water thereof was dried up — And of all the rivers that flowed into it. The Turkish empire seems to be here intended, lying chiefly on this side the Euphrates. The Romish and Mohammedan affairs ran nearly parallel to each other for several ages. In the seventh age rose Mohammed himself, and a little before him Boniface III., with his universal bishopric. In the eleventh, both the Turks and Gregory VII. carried all before them. In the year 1300 Boniface appeared with his two swords at the newly-erected jubilee. In the self-same year arose the Ottoman Porte; yea, and on the same day. And here the vial poured out on the beast is immediately followed by that poured out on the Euphrates; that is, as appears, on the Mohammedan antichrist, as the former were on the Papacy. And as the sixth trumpet brought the Turks from beyond the Euphrates, from crossing which river they date their rise, this sixth vial dries up their waves, and exhausts their power, as the means and way to prepare and dispose the eastern kings and kingdoms to renounce their heathenish and Mohammedan errors, in order to their receiving and embracing Christianity. To nearly the same purpose Mr. Faber interprets the effects of this vial. “Under the sixth trumpet,” says he, “the four Turkish sultanies, the mystic waters of the Ottoman empire, issued from the river Euphrates: under the sixth vial the waters of the same Euphrates are to be dried up. We cannot, therefore, reasonably doubt that the symbolical Euphrates means, in both cases, the same power. Rivers typify nations; and when a particular river is specified, the nation immediately connected with that river is obviously intended. Such being the case, as the issuing forth of the four sultanies, those mystic waters of the Euphrates, which deluged the eastern empire, denotes the rise of the Turkish power, so the drying up of those waters must evidently denote its subversion.” As a prelude to this, if we advert to the present state of the Turkish power we shall be convinced that, for several years, it has gradually been upon the decline; and the approaching termination of the Ottoman empire is so manifest, that even those whose attention is solely directed to politics, are sufficiently aware that the time of its extinction cannot be far distant. Of late it has been preserved rather by the jealousy of the great European powers than by any physical strength of its own; and it doubtless will be preserved by the hand of Providence, until his own appointed season shall approach for preparing a way for the kings of the east, and for gathering together the kings of the Latin world to the battle of the great day of God Almighty — By the kings of the east are probably meant the kings or kingdoms lying east from the Euphrates, namely, in Persia, India, and perhaps also China, for the conversion of whom to the Christian faith, it seems the removal of the Mohammedan empire will prepare the way. But though this seems probable, there can be no certainty of it; nor can the matters here predicted be more than the subjects of conjecture. Whoever these kings or kingdoms may be, they appear, Bishop Newton thinks, to threaten the ruin and destruction of the kingdom of the beast; and, therefore, the agents and emissaries of Popery, ( Revelation 16:13-14 ,) of the dragon, the representative of the devil, and of the beast, the representative of the antichristian empire, and of the false prophet, the representative of the antichristian church, (that is, as some think, the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Jesuits,) as disagreeable, as loquacious, as sordid, as impudent as frogs, are employed to oppose them, and stir up the princes and potentates of their communion to make their united and last effort in a religious war. These three unclean spirits, it is said, are the spirits of devils working miracles — Namely, pretended miracles, to impose upon the weak and credulous; which go forth to the kings of the earth — ??? ?????????? ???? , of the whole Roman world, or empire, as the expression frequently means; to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. That is, they use all their evil arts and wicked policy to excite the princes and great men of the world to unite more firmly against all who aid and abet the cause of truth and righteousness, of God and religion. Revelation 16:13 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. Revelation 16:14 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. Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. Revelation 16:15-16 . Behold, I come as a thief — Suddenly and unexpectedly. Observe the beautiful abruptness; I, Jesus Christ. Hear him! Thus, when it is foretold that these evil agents will use great art and address in support of their bad cause, the Spirit of wisdom adds a useful caution, warning the faithful servants of Christ to be on their guard against the emissaries of hell, lest they should be deceived to their own destruction. Blessed is he that watcheth — That looks continually for him that comes quickly; and keepeth his garments on him — Which men usually put off when they sleep; that is, that keepeth himself clothed with the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation; lest he walk naked, and they see his shame — Lest he lose the graces which he takes no care to keep, and others see his sin and punishment. And he gathered them together — The true construction is, And t

Expositor's Bible Commentary Revelation 16:1 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. Revelation 16:1-21 CHAPTER XII THE SEVEN BOWLS. Revelation 15:1-8 ; Revelation 16:1-21 . NOTHING can more clearly prove that the Revelation of St John is not written upon chronological principles than the scenes to which we are introduced in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of the book. We have already been taken to the end. We have seen in chap. 14 the Son of man upon the throne of judgment, the harvest of the righteous, and the vintage of the wicked. Yet we are now met by another series of visions setting before us judgments that must take place before the final issue. This is not chronology; it is apocalyptic vision, which again and again turns round the kaleidoscope of the future, and delights to behold under different aspects the same great principles of the Almighty s government, leading always to the same glorious results. One other preliminary observation may be made. The third series of judgments does not really begin till we reach chap. 16. Chap. 15 is introductory, and we are thus reminded that the series of the Trumpets had a similar introduction in Revelation 8:1-6 . It is the manner of St. John, who thus in his Gospel introduces his account of our Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus in chap. iii. by the last three verses of chap. 2, which ought to be connected with the third chapter; and who also introduces his narrative regarding the woman of Samaria by the first three verses of chap. 4. To introduce chap. 16 is the object of chap. 15. "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God ( Revelation 15:1 )." The plagues about to be spoken of are "the last," and in them the final judgments of God upon evil are contained. What they are, and who are the special objects of them, will afterwards appear. Meanwhile, another vision is presented to our view: - "And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire; and them that come victorious out of the beast, and out of his image, and out of the number of his name, standing upon the glassy sea, having 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, O Lord God the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all the nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest ( Revelation 15:2-4 )." It can hardly be doubted that the glassy sea spoken of in these words is the same as that already met with at Revelation 4:6 . Yet again, as in the case of the hundred and forty and four thousand of Revelation 14:1 , the definite article is wanting; and, in all probability, for the same reason. The aspect in which the object is viewed, though not the object itself, is different. The glassy sea is here mingled with fire, a point of which no mention was made in chap. 4. The difference may be explained if we remember that the "fire" spoken of can only be that of the judgments by which the Almighty vindicates His cause, or of the trials by which He purifies His people. As these, therefore, now stand upon the sea, delivered from every adversary, we are reminded of the troubles which by Divine grace they have been enabled to surmount. It was otherwise in chap. 4. No persons were there connected with the sea, and it stretched away, clear as crystal, before Him all whose dealings with His people are "right." The sea itself is in both cases the same, but in the latter it is beheld from the Divine point of view, in the former from the human. The vision as a whole takes us back to the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and hence the mention of the song of Moses, the servant of God. The enemies of the Church have their type in Pharaoh and his host as they pursue Israel across the sands which had been laid bare for the passage of the chosen people; the waters, driven back for a time, return to their ancient bed; the hostile force, with its chariots and its chosen captains, "goes down into the depths like a stone;" and Israel raises its song of victory, "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea."* (* Exodus 15:1 ) The song now sung, however, is not that of Moses only, the great centre of the Old Testament Dispensation; it is also the Song of the Lamb, the centre and the sum of the New Testament. Both Dispensations are in the Seer’s thoughts, and in the number of those who sing are included the saints of each, the members of the one Universal Church. No disciple of Jesus either before or after His first coming is omitted. Everyone is there from whose hands the bonds of the world have fallen off, and who has cast in his lot with the followers of the Lamb. Hence also the song is wider in its range than that by which the thought of it appears to have been suggested. It celebrates the great and marvelous works of the Almighty in general. It speaks of Him as the King of the nations, that is, as the King who subdues the nations under Him. It rejoices in the fact that His righteous acts have been made manifest. And it anticipates the time when all the nations shall come and worship before Him, shall bow themselves at His feet, and shall acknowledge that His judgments against sin are not only just in themselves, but are allowed to be so by the very persons on whom they fall. A second vision follows: - "And after these things I saw, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and there carne out from the temple the seven angels that had the seven plagues, clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous, and girt about their breasts with golden girdles. And one of the four living creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden bowls 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 none was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels should be finished ( Revelation 15:5-8 )." The temple spoken of is, as upon every occasion when the word is used, the shrine or innermost sanctuary, the Holy of holies, the peculiar dwelling-place of the Most High; so, that the seven angels with the seven last plagues come from God’s immediate presence. But this sanctuary is now beheld in a different light from that in which it was seen in Revelation 11:19 . There it contained the ark of God s covenant, the symbol of His grace. Here the eye is directed to the testimony , to the two tables of the law which were kept in the ark, and were God’s witness both to the holiness of His character and the justice of His government. The giving of the law then was in the Seer’s mind, and that fact will explain the allusions to the Old Testament found in his words. The description of the seven angels, as clothed with a precious stone pure and lustrous (not with "fine linen" as in the Authorized Version) may be explained, when we attend to the second characteristic of their appearance, girt about their breasts with golden girdles. These words take us back to the vision of the Son of man in chap. 1, where the same expression occurs, and where we have already seen that it points to the priests of Israel, when engaged in the active service of the sanctuary. The angels now spoken of are thus priestly after the fashion of the Lord Himself, who is not merely the Priest but also the High Priest of His people. The high priest, however, wore a jeweled breastplate; and in correspondence with the nobler functions of the New Testament priesthood, these jewels are now extended to the whole clothing of the angels spoken of. A similar figure for the clothing of the glorified Church meets us in the prophecies of Isaiah: "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness; as a bride groom decketh himself (the margin of the Revised Version calling attention to the fact that the meaning of the original is "decketh himself as a priest") with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels;"1 while the same figure, though applied to Tyre, is employed by Ezekiel: "Every precious stone was thy covering."2 The seven angels are thus about to engage in a priestly work. (1 Isaiah 61:10 ; 2 Ezekiel 28:13 ) This work is pointed out to them by one of the four living creatures, the representatives of redeemed creation. All creation owns the propriety of the judgments now about to be fulfilled.* (*Comp. Rev. 6) These judgments are contained, not in seven "vials," as in the Authorized Version, but in seven golden bowls, vessels probably of a saucer shape, of no great depth, and their circumference largest at the rim. They are the "basins" of the Old Testament, used for carrying into the sanctuary the incense which had been lighted by fire from the brazen altar. They were thus much better adapted than "vials" for the execution of a final judgment. Their contents could be poured out at once and suddenly. The bowls have been delivered to the angels, and nothing remains but to pour them out. The moment is one of terror, and it is fitting that even all outward things shall correspond. Smoke , therefore, filled the sanctuary, and none was able to enter into it. Thus, when Moses reared up the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled it, "Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting:"1 thus, when Solomon dedicated the temple and the cloud filled the house of the Lord, "The priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud."2 Thus, when Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord in His temple, and heard the cry of the Seraphim, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts," "the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke;"3 and thus, above all, when the law was given, "Mount Sinai was altogether on 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."4 (1 Exodus 40:35 ; 2 1 Kings 8:11 ; 3 Isaiah 6:4 ; 4 Exodus 19:18 ; Hebrews 12:18 ) All due preparation having been made, the Seven Bowls are now poured out in rapid and uninterrupted succession. As in the case of the Seals and of the Trumpets, they are divided into two groups of four and three; and those of the first group may be taken together: - "And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and which worshipped his image. And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, and every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art Thou which art and which wast, Thou holy one, because Thou didst thus judge: for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and blood hast Thou given them to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord, God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments. And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of the God which hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give Him glory ( Revelation 16:1-9 )." Upon the particulars of these plagues it is unnecessary to dwell No attempt to determine the special meaning of the objects thus visited by the wrath of God - the land, the sea, the rivers and fountains of the waters, and the sun - has yet been, or is ever perhaps likely to be, successful; and the general effect alone appears to be important. The chief point claiming attention is the singular closeness of the parallelism between them and the Trumpet plagues, a parallelism which extends also to the fifth, sixth, and seventh members of the series. Close, however, as it is, there is also a marked climax in the later plagues, corresponding to the fact that they are "the last," and that in them "the wrath of God is finished."1 Thus the first Trumpet affects only the third part of the earth, and the trees, and all green grass: the first Bowl affects men.2 Under the second Trumpet the "third part" of the sea becomes blood, and the third part of the creatures which are in the sea die, and the third part of the ships are destroyed: under the second Bowl, the "third part" of the sea is exchanged for the whole; the blood assumes its most offensive form, blood as of a dead man; and not the third part only, but every living soul died, even the things that were in the sea." 3 Under the third Trumpet the great star falls only upon the "third part" of the rivers and fountains, and they become wormwood: under the third Bowl all the waters are visited by the plague, and they become blood.4 Lastly, under the fourth Trumpet only the "third part" of sun and moon and stars is smitten: under the fourth Bowl the whole sun is affected, and it is given unto it to scorch men with fire. 5 With this climactic character of the Bowls as compared with the Trumpets may also be connected a striking addition made to the details of the third Bowl, to which in the Trumpet series there is nothing to correspond. The angel of the waters , not an angel to whom the smiting of the waters had been entrusted, but the waters themselves speaking through their angel, and the altar , that is, the brazen altar of chap. 6:9, respond to the judgments executed. They recognize the true and righteous character of the Almighty, and they welcome this manifestation of Himself to men. (1 Revelation 15:1 2Comp. Revelation 8:7 ; Revelation 16:2 3Comp. Revelation 8:8-9 ; Revelation 16:3 4Comp. Revelation 8:10-11 ; Revelation 16:4 5Comp. Revelation 8:12 ; Revelation 16:8 ) Another feature of these Bowls will at once strike the reader, - their correspondence to some of the plagues of Egypt: for in the first we see a repetition, as it were, of that sixth plague by which Pharaoh and his people were visited, when Moses sprinkled ashes of the furnace towards heaven, and they became "a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and beast,"1 and in the second and third a repetition of the first plague, when Moses lifted up his rod and smote the waters, that were in the river, "and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood."2 The fourth Bowl reminds us of the terror of the appearance of the Son of man in Revelation 1:16 , when "His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." (1 Exodus 9:10 ; 2 Exodus 7:20 ) One other characteristic of these plagues ought to be noticed. It comes to view no doubt only under the fourth, yet, as we shall immediately see, it is not to be confined to it The plagues had no softening or converting power. On the contrary, as at Revelation 9:20-21 , the impiety of the worshippers of the beast was only aggravated by their sufferings; and, instead of turning to Him who had power over the plagues, they blasphemed His name. From the first group of Bowls we turn to the second, embracing the last three in the series of seven: - "And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works ( Revelation 16:10-11 )." The transition from the realm of nature to the spiritual world, already marked at the introduction of the fifth Seal and of the fifth Trumpet, is here again observable; but, as in the case of the sixth Trumpet, the spiritual world alluded to is that of the prince of darkness. With darkness he is smitten. That there is a reference to the darkness which, at the word of Moses, fell upon the land of Egypt when visited by its plagues can hardly be doubted, for the darkness of that plague was not ordinary darkness; it was "a darkness that might be felt."* More than darkness, however, is alluded to. We are told of their pains and of their sores. But pains and sores are not an effect produced by darkness. They can, therefore, be only those of the first Bowl, a conclusion confirmed by the use of the word "plagues" instead of plague. The inference to be drawn from this is important, for we thus learn that the effects of any earlier Bowl are not exhausted before the contents of one following are discharged. Each Bowl rather adds fresh punishment to that of its predecessors, and all of them go on accumulating their terrors to the end. Nothing could more clearly show how impossible it is to interpret such plagues literally, and how mistaken is any effort to apply them to the particular events of history. (* Exodus 10:21 ) The sixth Bowl follows: - "And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun-rising. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of devils, working signs, which go forth unto the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the 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 they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon ( Revelation 16:12-16 )." Probably no part of the Apocalypse has received more varied interpretation than the first statement of this Bowl. Who are these kings that come from the sun-rising is the point to be determined; and the answer usually given is, that they are part of the anti-Christian host, part of those afterwards spoken of as the kings of the whole inhabited earth, before whom God dries up the Euphrates in order that they may pursue an uninterrupted march to the spot on which they are to be overwhelmed with a final and complete destruction. Something may certainly be said on behalf of such a view; yet it is exposed to serious objections. 1. We have already at Revelation 9:14 , at the sounding of the sixth Trumpet, been made acquainted with the river Euphrates; and, so far from being a hindrance to the progress of Christ’s enemies, it is rather the symbol of their overflowing and destructive might, 2. We have also met at Revelation 7:2 with the expression "from the sun-rising," and it is there applied to the quarter from which the angel comes by whom the people of God are sealed. In a book so carefully written as the Apocalypse, it is not easy to think of anti-Christian foes coming from a quarter described in the same terms. 3. These kings "from the sun-rising" are not said to be a part of "the kings of the whole inhabited earth" immediately afterwards referred to. They are rather distinguished from them. 4. The preparing of the way "connects itself with the thought of Him whose way was prepared by the coming of the Baptist. 5. The type of drying up the waters of a river takes us back, alike in the historical and prophetic writings of the Old Testament, to the means by which the Almighty secures the deliverance of His people, not the destruction of His enemies. Thus the waters of the Red Sea were dried up, not for the overthrow of the Egyptians, but for the safety of Israel, and the bed of the river Jordan was dried up for a similar purpose. Thus, too, the prophet Isaiah speaks: "And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with His scorching wind shall He shake His hand over the river, and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall return, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."l Again the same prophet celebrates the great deeds of the arm of the Lord in the following words: "Art thou not it which dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?"2 And, once more, to a similar effect the prophet Zechariah: "I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria. . . . And He shall pass through the sea of affliction, and shall smite the waves of the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up. . . . And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the Lord."3 It is unnecessary to say more. In these "kings from the sun-rising" we have an emblem of the remnant of the Israel of God as they return from all the places whither they have been led captive, and as God makes their way plain before them. (1 Isaiah 11:15-16 ; 2 Isaiah 51:10 ; 3 Zechariah 10:10-12 ) Nor is this all. In the fate of these foes a striking incident of Old Testament history is repeated, in order that they may be led to the destruction which awaits them. When Micaiah warned Ahab of his approaching fate, and told him of the lying spirit by which his own prophets were urging him to the battle, he said, "I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth and do so."* In that incident of Ahab’s reign is found the type of the three lying spirits or demons which, like frogs, unclean, noisy, and loquacious, go forth from the three great enemies of the Church, the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast, now first called the false prophet , that they may entice the "kings of the whole inhabited earth" to their overthrow. And they succeed. All unknowing of what is before them, proud of their strength, and flushed with hope of victory, these kings listen to the demons and gather themselves together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty . It is a supreme moment in the history of the Church and of the world; and. before he names the battlefield which shall, in its very name, be prophetic of the fate of the wicked, the Seer pauses to behold the assembled armies. Upon the one side is a little flock, but they are all "kings," and before them is He by whom, like David before the host of Israel and over against the Philistines, the battle shall be fought and the victory won. On the other side are the hosts of earth in all their multitudes, gathered together by the deceitful promise of success, The Seer hears the voice of the Captain of salvation, Behold I come as a thief, to break up and to destroy. He hears further the promise of blessing to all who are faithful to the Redeemer’s cause: and then, with mind at rest as to the result, he names the place where the final battle is to be fought, Har-Magedon . (* 1 Kings 22:19-22 ) Why Har-Magedon? There was, we have every reason to believe, no such place. The name is symbolical. It is a compound word derived from the Hebrew, and signifying the mountain of Megiddo. We are thus again taken back to Old Testament history, in which the great plain of Megiddo, the most extensive in Palestine, plays on more than one occasion a notable part. In particular, that plain was famous for two great slaughters, that of the Canaanitish host by Barak, celebrated in the song of Deborah,1 and that in which King Josiah fell.2 The former is probably alluded to, for the enemies of Israel were there completely routed. For a similar though still more terrible destruction the hosts of evil are assembled at Har-Magedon. The Seer thinks it enough to assemble them, and to name the place. He does not need to go further or to describe the victory. (1Judges 5; 2 2 Chronicles 35:22 ) The seventh Bowl now follows: - "And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying; It is done; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders j and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of 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 great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great ( Revelation 16:17-21 )." The seventh or last Bowl is poured out into the air, here thought of as the realm of that prince of this world who is also "the prince of the power of the air."* All else, land and sea and waters and sun and the throne of the beast, has now been smitten so that evil has only to suffer its final blow. It has been searched out everywhere; and therefore the end may come. That end comes, and is spoken of in figures more strongly colored than those of either the sixth Seal or the seventh Trumpet. First of all a great voice is heard out of the (sanctuary of the) temple, from the throne, saying, It is done , God’s plan is executed. His last manifestation of Himself in judgment has been made. This voice is then accompanied by a more terrible shaking of the heavens and the earth than we have as yet been called to witness, the earthquake in particular being such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. (* Ephesians 2:2 ) Some of the effects of the earthquake are next spoken of. More especially, The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. As to the meaning of "the cities of the nations" there can be no doubt. They are the strongholds of the world’s sin, the places from which ungodliness and impiety have ruled. Under the shaking of the earthquake they fall in ruins. The first words as to "the great city" must be considered in connection with the words which follow regarding Babylon, and they are more difficult to interpret. By some it is contended that the "great city" is Jerusalem, by others that it is Babylon. The expression is one which the Apocalypse must itself explain, and in seeking the explanation .we must proceed upon the principle that in this book, as much as in any other of the New Testament, the rules of all good writing are followed, and that the meaning of the same words is not arbitrarily changed. When this rule, accordingly, is observed, we find that the epithet is, in Revelation 11:8 , distinctly applied to Jerusalem, the words "the great city, where also their Lord was crucified" leaving no doubt upon the point. But, in Revelation 18:10 ; Revelation 18:16 ; Revelation 18:18-19 ; Revelation 18:21 , the same epithet is not less distinctly applied to Babylon. The only legitimate conclusion is, that there is a sense in which Jerusalem and Babylon are one. This corresponds exactly to what we otherwise learn of the light in which the metropolis of Israel appeared to St John. To him as an Apostle of the Lord, and during the time that he followed Jesus in the flesh, Jerusalem presented itself in a twofold aspect. It was the city of God’s solemnities, the centre of the old Divine theocracy, the "holy city," the "beloved city { Revelation 11:2 ; Revelation 20:9 }." But it was also the city of "the Jews," the city which scorned and rejected and crucified its rightful King. When in later life he beheld, in the picture once exhibited around him and graven upon his memory, the type of the future history and fortunes of the Church, the two Jerusalems again rose before his view, the one the emblem of all that was most precious, the other of all that was most repulsive, in the eyes both of God and of spiritually enlightened men. The first of these Jerusalems is the true Church of Christ, the faithful remnant, the little flock that knew the Good Shepherd’s voice and followed Him. The second is the degenerate Church, the mass of those who misinterpreted the aim and spirit of their calling, and who by their worldliness and sin "crucified their Lord afresh, and put Him to an open shame." In the latter aspect Jerusalem becomes Babylon. As in Revelation 11:8 it became "spiritually," that is mystically, "Sodom and Egypt," so it becomes also the mystical Babylon, partaker of that city’s sins, and doomed to its fate. This thought we shall find fully expanded in the following chapter. The question may indeed be asked, how it comes to pass that, if this representation be correct, we should read, immediately after the words now under consideration, that Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. But the answer is substantially contained in what has been said. When Jerusalem is first thought of as "the great city," it is as the city of "the Jews," as line centre and essence of those principles by which spiritual is transformed into formal religion, and all sins are permitted to hide and multiply under the cloak of a merely outward piety. When it is next thought of as Babylon, the conception is extended so as to embrace, not a false Judaism only, but a similar falseness in the bosom of the universal Church. Just as "the great city where also our Lord was crucified" widened in Revelation 11:8 to the thought of Sodom and Egypt, so here it widens to the thought of Babylon. May it not be added that we have thus in the mention of Jerusalem and Babylon a counterpart to the mention in Revelation 15:3 of "the song of Moses and the Lamb"? These two expressions, as we have seen, comprehend a song of universal victory. Thus also the two expressions, "the great city" and "Babylon," having one and the same idea at their root, comprehend all who in the professing Church of the whole world are faithless to Christian truth. Further effects of the last judgment follow. Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. Effects similar, though not so terrible, had been connected with the sixth Seal. Mountains and islands had then been simply "moved out of their places."1 Now they "flee away." Similar effects will again meet us, but in an enhanced degree.2 As yet, while mountains and islands flee away, the earth and the heavens remain. In the last description of the judgment of the wicked the heavens and the earth themselves flee away from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and no place is found for them. The climax in the different accounts of what is substantially the same event cannot be mistaken. (1 Revelation 6:14; 2 Revelation 20:11 ) The same climax appears in the statement of the next effect, the great hail, every stone about the weight of a talent, that is, fully more than fifty pounds. No such weight had been spoken of at the close of the seventh Trumpet in Revelation 11:19 . Again, however, here is no repentance and no conversion. Those who suffer are the deliberate and determined followers of the beast. As under the fourth Bowl, therefore, so under the seventh they rather blaspheme God amidst their sufferings, because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof is exceeding great. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.