Bible Commentaries
Revelation 16

Verses 1-21

16:1-9 A group of 4 Plagues —Plagues of the mystical Egypt. A murrain strikes men who have the mark of the Beast: it gangrenes their flesh; the very soil is corrupted. Then the sea: it becomes blood. Then the fountains of fresh water; they too become blood, and the ’Angel of the Waters’ cries that the judgement is just—the Adversary had poured out Christian blood like water—blood shall he drink! The Altar acknowledges the same. Then the sun is made to scorch mankind, but they blaspheme and are not converted. See Ex 7-9. 5. ’Who is to come’ is omitted, cf. 11:17. Cf. 7:1; 14:18 for the Angels in charge of the waters.

8. The heat of the sun is intensified: contrast 8:12 where it is darkened.

b. 10-12 A group of 2 Plagues —The fifth Bowl is poured out on the Throne of the Beast: men chew their tongues in anguish—to prevent themselves from crying out? or perverted rage against self? They remain unconverted.—The sixth Bowl dries up the Euphrates—to allow free passage for the Parthians to attack Rome? or are the Easterns going to side with the Beast against the Lamb?

c. 13-16 A Double Vision Interposed —Foul spirits like frogs emerge from the mouths of Dragon, Beast and False Prophet—miracle-working demons going to summon the kings of the earth to the final battle. (Christ is coming suddenly!)—They do in fact assemble at ’Harmagedon’.

13. The False Prophet is the Second Beast: cf. 13:14;

19:20. Why ’frogs’? The Egyptian plague of frogs, not utilized so far, suffices to suggest them. Perhaps the frogs suggest the pettiness, the futile croaking of God’s enemies, in contrast with the songs of his friends. 15. Christ intervenes for a moment to re-assure the Faithful; they will not be disgraced.

16. ’Harmagedon’ (RV, AV, Armageddon): the ’mountain of Megiddo’: Megiddo was in the plain of Esdraelon, but partly overlooked by hills where troops would gather to descend for cavalry action below. Sion is the citadel of the Lamb. This plain was the ’cockpit’ of Svria—a fatally central position on the N.-S. road between Egypt and Mesopotamia: of all the battles fought there no Jew would ever forget that in which the Egyptians overthrew Josias (4 Kg 23:29; cf.Zach 2:1) ; Ez who places the final conflict with God on the mountains Israel (38:8, 21) may already be in John’s mind: cf. 20:7 ff. below.

d. 17-21 The Seventh Plague —A Voice says: ’It is consummated’. Catastrophes of all nature follow— never so great an earthquake! Babylon falls into three parts—every island fled—no more mountains! Smashing hail falls upon men but they blaspheme the more because of it.

17. Yet men survive? Either, this series of plagues, as such, is completed; or, John when first composing it meant to stop there: but, in his final scheme of the Apoc, much remained to be written. 19. The ’Great City’ is broken in three: its power is reduced to very little: the capitals of the provinces or allied kingdoms fall: the ’islands’ (ancient image for realms overseas) disappear: the earthquake lays the mountains low.