CHAPTER 16
(a)And I heard a great voice out of the (b)Temple saying to the seven angels, “Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”
(a) This command from Jehovah Zeboath (God of all the earth’s people,) to pour out HIS WRATH, upon the earth. (See Chp. 15:1-5-8.)
(b) “Temple;” see Matt. 23: 16-21, and back references in O.T.
V.2
And the first went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a (a)noisome and (b)grievous sore upon the (c)men which had the (d)mark of the beast, (e)and upon them that worship his image.
(a) “Noisome;” Interlinear translates; (Str. No. 2556,) “injurious,” “bad,” “evil,” “harm,” “ill,” “wicked,” “noisome.”
(b) “Grievous;” Interlinear translates; (Str. No. 4190,) “evil,” “degeneracy,” “calamitous,” “diseased.”
(c) “Men;” Interlinear translates; (Str. No. 444,) (Greek ANTHROPOS,) “a human being,” therefore both male and female!
(d) See earlier chapters, 13, 14, (particularly 14:9,10,11 and notes.)
(e) May or may not be marked, but worship “his image,” i.e. worship Satan! See Chps. 13 and 14.
V.3
And the second angel poured out his vial on the sea; and it became the (a)blood of a dead man: and every living (b)soul died in the sea.
(a) Blood putrefies after death, and accelerates the decomposition process. In this case it would impede all sea life. As our planet relies on the oceans for cleansing and survival, the meaning is obvious. Almighty God is stepping up the pressure on humankind in the context of "His Wrath."
(b) “Soul;” translates; (Str. No. 5590) (Greek PSUCHE.) This has many meanings depending on the case; here, the meaning is “creature,” (App. 110,1,2.) See Rev. 6:9, and 20:13(b.)
V.4
(a)And the third angel poured out his vial on the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood.
(a) All water, land and sea, turned to blood, therefore as all people need water more than food, a terrifying immediate prospect of death, (i.e. days only!) (Matt. 24:22) (Mark 13:20.)
V.5
(a)And I heard the angel of the waters say,” Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shall be, because Thou hast judged thus.
(a) Approval and confirmation of Jehovah God’s act, by heavenly creation, (who understand!) See 7(a.)
V.6
(a)For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink: for they are worthy.”
(a) This retribution on these peoples is for the clearly stated killing (murder) of Jews and Gentiles during the age of Revelation, who trust in Christ, have "washed their robes in the blood of The Lamb," and have "overcome unto death." When our Lord spoke to His people, He referred to their persecution of those prophets He had sent to them, and the resulting judgement on them at their resurrection. He showed also "that the Owner of the vineyard sent his Son whom they put to death!"
V.7
(a)And I heard the angel of the alter say, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgements.”
(a) In Ephesians 3:10, Paul the great Apostle to the Gentiles, shows the importance of the church (The True Body) and its example/ witness to heavenly beings/ creation. Here one of those beings is confirming that though terrible, the judgement and retribution Jehovah God has wreaked on the remaining human population is just and beyond reproach!
V.8
And the fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
V.9
And men were scorched with great heat, and (a)blasphemed the name of God, Which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him (b)Glory.
(a) Despite the fact that people know who has control of all power; and that even then they can praise Him, they choose to blaspheme His name! See note 14:1(c.)
(b) “Glory;” Interlinear translates (Str. No. 1391) (Greek DOXA,) “dignity,” “honour,” “glory,” “praise,” “Worship;” then, as now, people prefer Satan in the majority! This has to do with the pride of men in their Genesis acquired powers, (Gen.3:5,) which are enhanced by Satan when people move towards him. The further people move in his direction, the harder it is for them to turn to God their maker through Christ. It is possible to turn to Christ and obtain salvation, and that is an act of will and contrition at the foot of The Cross which expunges Satan from the person. From then on the walk with Christ is a day by day experience, which is aided by The Lord's Spirit! This is only possible during this present Age of Grace. As is shown above, in the time of these last plagues, these people cannot / choose not to give Glory to God, despite their agony!
V.10
And the fifth angel poured out his vial on the (a)seat of the beast; and his (b)kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain.
(a) “Seat;” Interlinear translates throne, (Str. No. 2362.) See Chp. 2:12-13, and notes. This verse and its references to the throne of Satan at Pergamum, proves that the 7 churches (ekklesia) are yet future (11/4/03.) (Revised 22/8/07.)
(b) Satan’s kingdom, based in Pergamum, present day Turkey.
V.11
And (a)blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
(a) Again the same old reaction blasphemy and lack of repentance! See14:1(c.)
V.12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river (a)Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the (b)kings of the east might be prepared.
(a) See Chp. 9:14-16, and notes.
(b) See Chp. 9: in total and notes. "Kings of the east." The literal translation, "kings of the rising sun!" This statement brings into play the thought of "kings" farther east than Persia (Iran,) and the capacity to produce 200,000,000 man army!
V.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.
V.14
For they are spirits of (a)demons, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of GOD THE ALMIGHTY.
(a) These demonic messengers, one from each of the false trinity, go to the Satanically powerful kings of the earth, to bring them to the battle (Armageddon See V.16,) and the great day of Almighty God, on the battlefield in Israel (Armageddon.) (Megiddo.)
V.15
(a)Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
(a) The implication here is that the signs are there to be seen! The event will be sudden, but predictable (see Matt. 24.)
And (a)He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue (b)Armageddon.
(a) “He;” the 1611 translator for C. of E. again in error. This “he:” should be with the capital H to mean “He,” i.e. Almighty God. The Interlinear has the correction.
(b) “Armageddon;” this word means “mount of Megiddo,” (Comp. page 1905.) See Judges 5:19, Isa. 10:28. It is located in the YEZREEL VALLEY. It has been a battlefield between kingdoms for more than 4000 years B.C.! It is mentioned in various ancient writings including the Pharaoh Thutmose 3rd (1500 B.C.) The king of Megiddo was one of the kings defeated by Joshua (Josh. 12:21.) The city of Megiddo did not become of the tribal allotments until King David. General Allenby fought and won a battle with the Turks there, and received the title of “Lord of Megiddo” for that victory in the first world war. (Allenby gave his support for the state of Israel.) It lies 70 miles due north of Jerusalem!
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a (a)great voice out of the Temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “IT IS DONE.”
(a) “Great voice;” God Almighty, from the throne “IT IS DONE.” This great climax in the dealing with mankind, this point ends the rule of man. (Joel 2:11.) Our Lord said “It is finished,” (John 19:30,) when He had completed the work on the cross of Calvary. At the point where the Father states “It is done,” our Lord’s enemies are made His footstool. Psm. 110:1, Matt. 22:44, Mark 12:36, Heb. 10:13.) This is just prior to Christ’s rule from Jerusalem when He and His Father’s name will be one, (Zech. 14:9.)
V.18
And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a (a)great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
(a) There have been very great earthquakes in man’s recorded history, but this one yet to be will be the largest ever in man’s time on earth. Science knows the great devastations that have happened in the past, but this one surpasses them all.
And the (a)great city was divided into three parts, and the (b)cities of the nations fell; and (c)great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
(a) “The great city;” Jerusalem.
(b) “Cities of the nations fell;” unimaginable devastation as New York, Toronto, Boston, London, Sydney, Tokyo, to name a few, the skyscrapers falling, the panic, the destruction, the desolation.
(c) “Great Babylon;” the source of all the world’s pagan religions and Satanic systems, (see Dan. 4:30,) (Gen. 10:10,) (Gen. 11:9.) See also earlier notes.
V.20
And every (a)island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
(a) The result of the great quake, will be no mountains, and no islands! Knowing as we do today that land masses are floating on a sea of molten rock, the violence of the upheavals will possibly push land masses together, as in the ancient past. (Isa. 24:19.)
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a (a)talent: and men (b)blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
(a) “Talent;” about 114 lbs. (approx. 52 KG.) Obviously deadly.
(b) The usual response from totally unredeemable people. See14:1(c.)
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