Let's Study Revelation (Chapter 16) by E. G. Cook

CHAPTER SIXTEEN     In chapter 16 we have the last of the three types of judgments called in 11:14 the third woe. First, there were the seal judgments which made up the first woe. Then there were the trumpet judgments which made up the second woe. And here in this chapter we have the vial (or bowl) judgments, the third woe. This word "vial" comes from PHIALE which means bowl. All other translations put it bowl as it should be.
    In verse 1 John hears a great voice out of the temple. And this great voice tells the seven angels which we saw in 15:1 to go their way and pour out their bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth. The iniquity of the people has now become full. In Genesis 15:16 God told Abraham that his seed (the children of Israel) would come back to the land of Canaan in the fourth generation. And the reason why they must wait until the fourth generation was that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. God would destroy these people when He brought the Israelites into the land, Deuteronomy 31:3. This He did in Joshua 24:8. But remember, He waited about destroying them until their iniquity was filled up. So He is waiting today for the iniquity of this old religious world to be filled up. But it would appear that their iniquity is already full. So we had better be listening for that wonderful "come up hither."
    In verse 2 the first angel went, or rather departed and poured out his bowl of God's wrath upon the earth. As a result of this bowl of wrath, the people who worship the image of the beast and the ones who wear the mark of the beast become afflicted with noisome and grievous sores. I am not forgetting that this revelation was given to us in signs and symbols, and I am persuaded that these plagues in this chapter do have a symbolic meaning. But, as of this moment, I am unable to see just what they symbolize. But the fact that I am unable to see what the symbolic meaning of these plagues is does not, by any means, mean that there is no symbolic meaning there.
    However, I am also persuaded that these plagues also have a literal meaning. We know from Revelation 14:9-11 that those who worship this beast or receive his mark are to be tormented with fire and brimstone. But here in 16:2 they suffer here in this life as well. In Deuteronomy 28:35 Moses said to the children of Israel, "The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head." Verse 15 of this chapter tells why the Jews were to be afflicted with these awful sores that cannot be healed. They were commanded to worship God, but here in Revelation 16:2 they are worshipping the beast and his image. And remember, it is not the old devil that is afflicting them. In Isaiah 45:7 God says, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil. I the Lord do all these things." This word "evil" comes from RA which means sorrow, wretchedness, affliction, calamities, and God says that He creates these things.
    In Exodus 9:8-10 we see God, through Moses sending boils upon the Egyptians and upon their beasts. Most writers on Revelation say that what we see here in 16:2 is a repetition of what we see in Exodus 9:8-10, but if you notice, in Exodus 9 the boils come upon the enemies of the Jews, but here in Revelation 16 the sores come upon the apostate Jews themselves. So I prefer to say that Revelation 16:2 is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28:35 rather than a repetition of Exodus 9:8-10. If you notice, I said these sores in 16:2 come upon the apostate Jews. It may be that Gentiles will also worship the image of this awful man called the beast, but I am convinced that this plague has to do with the Jews in the main.
    In verse 3 the second angel pours out his bowl upon the sea and it becomes like the blood of a dead man. When a man dies his blood is the first thing about him to become putrid, and corrupt. That is why the undertaker draws the blood from the dead body. Fifty years ago when there were no undertakers except in the larger cities, when a person died he, or she had to be buried within a few hours or else no one could stand to stay in the room where the body was because of the awful putrid odor. And the greater part of this foul odor was the result of the stagnant blood. So now when the sea becomes corrupt and putrid like the blood of a dead man every living thing in its dies. This sea will, no doubt, be the sea of Galilee that has been the pride and joy of the Jews throughout the centuries. It was on, and around this sea that our Lord did a greater part of His mighty works. It was upon the blue waters of this lovely sea that our Lord walked that night. It was to this sea that He said "Peace, be still" and there was a great calm. It was on the shore of this sea that He cast the legion of demons out of the maniac of Gadara. It was in this sea that the disciples fished all night and caught nothing. But when they cast the net on the other side of the ship at the command of our Lord, the net was filled with great fishes. It was at Capernaum on the northern shore of this lovely sea that more than half of our Lord's recorded miracles were performed.
    0 the mighty works our Lord did perform on, and in the vicinity of this beautiful sea. And all these mighty works should cause the Jews under consideration in Revelation 16 to fall prostrate at His precious feet exclaiming, "0 Lord, thou art the Almighty One, the great God of Israel." But instead of that they fall at the feet of the image of the beast. They worship not only the anti-christ and the beast but the old dragon himself. Is it any wonder then that their beautiful and be loved sea has become like stagnant, putrefied blood that stinks to high heaven? Our authorized version says, "And every living soul died in the sea," but practically all other translations say, "And every living thing in the sea died." People are not under consideration here, but rather the fish and other creatures that live in this sea. I say, in this sea because the word "sea" is singular. It does not say, in the seas but in the sea.
    Then in verse 4 the third angel pours out his bowl of wrath upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. At first it is only the sea that becomes like the blood of a dead man. And only the creatures that live in the sea are said to die. Now the rivers, and even the springs of water up in the mountains that feed the rivers become blood. But this blood is not said to be like the blood of a dead man. God's chosen nation of Israel drank water in Egypt while the Egyptians drank blood. But they have sneered at the precious blood of the spotless Son of God. They have said, "His blood be on us, and on our children." Now they must drink blood. It is still true that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." I do not mean to say that these Jews will be forced to drink the precious blood that was shed on Calvary's tree, but this blood in the rivers and fountains of waters will be His blood in the sense that He is the one that sends it.
    In verses 5 and 6 the angel of the waters, that is, the angel who is given charge over the waters, is heard justifying our Lord in His giving these people blood to drink. He is saying that they have shed the blood of saints and therefore they are getting what they deserve. There are those who say they want justice. Here are some people who are getting just that. You and I had best cry for mercy, because the very best of us would be in an awful predicament were it not for His mercy.
    In verse 7 another angel out of the altar joins in with the angel of the waters and says, "Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." I'm sure that even those image worshipping Jews will not doubt the justice which they are receiving.
    Then in verse 8 the fourth angel pours his bowl of wrath on the sun, and it (not him) was given power to scorch men with fire. Even the sun which is some 833,000 times the size of the earth must be given power from on high before it can put out more heat than it is already putting out. In Deuteronomy 32:21 God says, "They (the children of Israel) have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God." This old image of the beast which they are worshipping is not God. So when they worship this image, they move God to jealousy. And in Deuteronomy 82:24 He says, "They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat."
    According to the teaching of this old religious world, all this should bring this generation of image worshippers to Christ, but as we have seen in 6:15-16 it does just the opposite. Nothing but the mighty drawing power of Almighty God can bring a depraved, spiritually dead sinner to Christ. So here instead of their coming to Christ for mercy they blaspheme, that is, they speak profanely of the God who has power to send these awful plagues. Who can know the awful depths of sin into which depraved, spiritually dead mankind has gone? And who can comprehend the mighty power that must be exerted in order to bring a lost person up out of that awful pit of sin? The lost person can no more bring himself up out of that terrible condition than a big fat hen can fly up to the highest peak of the Rocky Mountains and build her nest there. In fact, that lost person has no more desire to leave that slimy pit of sin than that hen has to fly to the mountain peak. So here in verse 9 these people do not repent, neither do they give the glory to God that is due Him.
    In verse 10 the fifth angel pours out his bowl of wrath upon the seat (throne) of the beast. This beast is the ruler of the revived Roman Empire. He is the first beast of Revelation 13 whom John saw rising up out of the sea which speaks of chaotic conditions in the world. And when this bowl of God's wrath is poured out upon his throne, his whole kingdom becomes full of darkness. This awful tribulation that is looming up in the face of this old wicked world will, no doubt, be a very grievous thing throughout the whole world, but these terrible bowls of wrath which we see in this chapter seem to be more or less localized. By this I mean that they will directly affect only the Bible lands. The second bowl was poured out upon "the sea" not upon the seas, or the oceans. Now this fifth bowl is poured out upon the throne of the ruler over the revived Roman Empire which will be the Bible lands.
    It was the Roman Empire that crucified the Lord of glory. It was this same empire that utterly destroyed Jerusalem, the city where God had put His name. It was this same empire that enslaved and scattered God's chosen people of Israel. And though all this was done according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, still they willingly and gladly did it. So in verse 11 we see the people of the kingdom blaspheming the God of heaven because of their suffering. Still they do not repent of their awful deeds.
    In verse 12 the sixth angel pours out his bowl of God's wrath upon the great Euphrates River, and the river is completely dried up. Here we are told that it is for the purpose of permitting the kings of the east to cross. But in Isaiah 11:15-16 we see that it is also for the purpose of making it into a highway for the remnant of the Jews to travel over in their return home to Israel. In Zechariah 10:11 this river is called the pride of Assyria. In Isaiah 62:10 the command goes out to clear this river bed of stones and to build a highway along it for the people. These people are our Lord's people.
    God hating and Bible denying infidels of our day think they have the Red Sea and the Jordan River incidents all figured out, but when this great river some 1,500 miles long, ten to thirty feet deep and very wide is completely dried up from source to mouth, they will be forced to shut their mouths. Some hold to the idea that the kings of the east here is the kingdom of Japan because it is known as the rising run. But verses 13-14 tears that theory to shreds.
    In verses 13-14 we see three filthy, slimy, frog like spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), and out of the mouth of the beast (ruler of the revived Roman Empire), and out of the mouth of the false prophet (the anti-christ). In our translation we are told that these spirits are the spirits of devils, working miracles. But it should be the spirits ot demons. The word comes from DAIMONION which is the word for demons. There is but one devil (DIABOLOS), but there are many demons. We are told that these spirits go to the kings (rulers) of the earth and of the whole world. That is why the kings of the east in verse 12 cannot be just the kingdom of Japan. It must include all the kings of the east. It will include Japan, China, India and all the small nations of south and southeast Asia.
    Then we are told that these spirits go to these kings for the purpose of gathering them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The great Euphrates River is to be dried up in order that the kings of the east may come to this awful battle, but the other nations of the world are to come also. And, if you notice, they are to come to "the battle of the great day of God Almighty." This is not the God you hear about in something like 99 percent of the pulpits of the world today. This is the El Shaddai, the Almighty One. We see this expression in Genesis 17:1 where He says, "I am the Almighty God." When this awful times comes it is to be feared that many people will say to their pastor, "This is not the God you told us about." And I am afraid many preachers will be forced to say, "No that is not the God I was talking about."
    In verse 15 this God Almighty says, "Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments." In 1 Thessalonians 5:4 we read, "But ye brethren, are not in darkness. that the day should overtake you as a thief." Our Lord's saints are to be looking for Him. We are to be expecting Him at any and all times. But this old religious world will not be expecting Him. Therefore, His coming will be to them as a thief.
    Then in verse 16 we are again occupied with "the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Here we are told that the kings of the whole world are to be gathered into the place called Armageddon. Armageddon is a place in the northwestern part of Palestine known to us as the hills of Megiddo. We are also told that He (God almighty) does the gathering. And He does do it; He does it through the three frog like spirits we saw in verse 13.
    I believe we get a good idea as to how these spirits will go about their job of gathering these kings to Armageddon in I Kings 22:20-22. Here God says, "Who shall persuade 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 persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, wherewith? And He said, I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth and do so." Now it is perfectly safe for us to say that God cannot lie, because He has told us in His Word that He cannot lie. But we dare not tell Him that He cannot tell someone else to lie.
    I believe that we can see the workings of the frog like spirits in Ezekiel 38:10 where God says to the kings of the world, "Thus saith the Lord God; it shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought." If we read the following verses we shall see that the evil thought is that they go up to the land of Israel and take a spoil. The wealth of the world is flowing to the land of Israel while the other nations of the world, including our own country, are heading for bankruptcy. This too, is the hand of Almighty God. He is fulfilling His prophecies concerning the land of Israel. In Isaiah 35:6 He says, "In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." Irrigation pipes are already carrying water from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River down into the Negev desert in southern Palestine. The first of this water to flow into this desert flowed May 5,1964. So today water is flowing through pipes to several hundred thousands of acres of what has for many centuries been barren, desolate, desert land. And as a result of this, we see the fulfillment of Isaiah 35:1 where we read, "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose". This is coming to pass before our very eyes today. The population of Beersheva (originally Beersheba) increased in fifteen years from 1,400 to almost 60,000. And we are just seeing the beginning of the development of this land called Israel.
    So the frog like spirits put it into the minds and hearts of the kings (rulers) of the earth to go up to Israel and take a spoil, that is, get some of that wealth from these old Jews. But remember, God is the One who does all this through these slimy spirits. In Ezekiel 38:16 He says, "I will bring thee against my land." The time will have come for God to completely destroy the fighting power of this old wicked world. So He brings all the armies of the world to Armageddon, and though He is the One who brings them against Israel, still in Ezekiel 38:18 He says, "And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog (who represents all these armies) shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face." More than two hundred years ago Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon on the subject "Sinners in the hands of an angry God." And to be sure, it is an awful thing for sinners to fall into the hands of an angry God. But here we see God's enemies falling into the hands of a furious God. And it seems to me that I can see Him pointing His finger in their faces as He says in Ezekiel 39:4. "Thou shalt fall upon the mountain of Israel." Not only does this Almighty God tell them that they are to fall, He tells them where they are to fall. And still they will be there at the appointed place when the appointed time comes.
    We must not get this awful battle of Armageddon confused with the other terrible wars during the tribulation time. War, wrack and ruin will be the order of the day during especially the last half of this awful time. In Revelation 13:7 we see it being given to the beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. But, when all these armies are brought to Armageddon, their overcoming days are over. In Ezekiel 38:14 we hear God saying to them, "In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?" In other words, Don't you know when to quit?
    In our study of Revelation 9:16 we saw that two hundred million men will be involved in this awful battle. And in 14:20 we see their blood flowing to the horse bridles for some two hundred miles. Then when this takes place, we see in Ezekiel 39:17-18 the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field being invited to what is called in Revelation 19:17 "the supper of the great God". But here the King James translators put the word "great" in the wrong place. When this time comes, it would be a waste of breath to tell the world that God is great. They will already know it. So this should read, "the great supper of God." Other translations put it this way. And to be sure, the bodies and blood of two hundred million men will make a great supper. In Ezekiel 39:19 God tells these fowls and beasts that "Ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you." On Mount Calvary our Lord sacrificed His own precious Blood for His people, but here on the mountains of Israel we see Him sacrificing the blood of His enemies for the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field.
    Then, after the fowls and the beasts have finished with their great supper, we learn in Ezekiel 39:12, "And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land." My, what a funeral. And I believe that awful battle is so close to our door that boys, and maybe men, are walking upon this earth today, breathing the same air that you and I breathe, whose blood will flow down the valley of Esdraelon for 200 miles, and some of whose bones will bleach in the Palestinian sun for seven months before they can be buried.
    But praise His holy name, we who are His chosen saints will be raptured to ever be with the Lord before that awful time comes.
    In verse 17 the seventh angel pours out his bowl of wrath into (rather upon) the air. This word "air" comes from AER which means the lower atmosphere, or the air around our heads. So this last bowl of wrath is poured upon the very air the people will be breathing. And when this is done, a great voice comes from the Throne in heaven saying, "It is done". When everything that has been prophesied would be done before our Lord dismissed His Spirit has been done, we hear Him saying in John 19:30, "It is finished". So here when God has poured out all the wrath that He has chosen to pour out upon this old wicked world, we hear the great voice saying, "It is done"' Wuest says, "It has come to pass and is now an accomplished fact."
    Still this old wicked world will find very little to rejoice in. The blood from the bodies of her combined fighting force has become a great river of blood two hundred miles long. The fowls of the air and the beasts of the field are feasting upon the bodies of her mighty men, tearing their flesh from their bones as if they were so many dead horses. How can the lost person lie down and sleep at night with all these awful things closing in upon him, ready to engulf him like a mighty ocean? No wonder the old devil does all he can to keep people from reading the book of Revelation. No wonder he keeps his preachers from preaching from this great and wonderful book. There are many Baptists in the world today who have never heard a sermon preached from the book of Revelation. Satan knows all these terrible things are coming upon the world. He believes and trembles, but he does not want you to know about all the awful times that await the wicked. So he blinds their eyes to all these terrible things. That is why the lost person can lie down and sleep ever so soundly while these great waves of God's wrath rush ever nearer and nearer to him. But how we, the redeemed of the Lord should lift up our heads and praise our mighty God with great rejoicing because He has had mercy upon us, and has delivered us from all these terrible things. He has delivered us from all these awful things here on the earth as well as from an eternal hell. When we come to see this, it should cause us to want to tell the whole world about it.
    In verse 18 we hear the voices and the thunders and we see the lightnings and the greatest of all earthquakes. Earth quakes are already becoming more and more numerous, and more and more devastating. But these are only the beginning ot sorrows. As we have said before, the seventh seal judgment, the seventh trumpet judgment and the seventh bowl judgment all end up together. In 8:5, 11:19, and now in 16:18 we hear the voices and the thunders, and we see the lightuings and the earthquakes. And it seems that even today the fire in the elements (lightnings) and the stored up fire beneath the earth's surface that causes the earthquakes are becoming restless and eager to perform their destined role in the consummation of this wicked world.
    In verse 19 we see the great city being divided into three parts. I believe that most people who study their Bible are in agreement that this great city is Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called the great city in Jermiah 28:8 and also in Revelation 11:8. In Revelation 17:18 Rome is called that great city. But from the context of the verse before us we are convinced that this great city is Jerusalem. We are told that the cities of the nations fell. They will not be just divided. This word "nations" comes from ETUNOS. When this word ETHNOS is used in the singular number it always means the nation of Israel unless some other nation is designated. But when this word is used in the plural number it always means the nations other than Israel. Some say that all the cities outside of Israel will fall, and they may be right. Anyway, I praise my dear Lord that when that awful time comes, I will not be residing in Birmingham, Alabama. Before that day comes our Lord "shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." If, when that time comes, my Lord brings Birmingham down to a heap of ruins, I can only say, amen, for she has deserved it.
    It seems to us today that God has forgotten about the Catholic Church along with all the other churches who tolerate her and who compromise the truth in exchange for her favors. But when the appointed time comes, He will remember her. Here she is called great (or mighty) Babylon. Our Lord willing, we shall deal more fully with mystery Babylon the great in the next chapter.
    In verse 20 we are told that every island fled away, that is, they vanished from sight, and the mountains were not found. I am convinced, by what to me seems to be undeniable proof, that in the days before the flood there were no insurmountable mountains nor deserts, but that the entire land portion of the earth was inhabitable. The fact that admiral Byrd and his men found a huge bed of coal in the vicinity of the south pole some forty years ago is proof to me that at one time dense vegetation grew where there has been nothing but snow and ice for lo these many centuries since the flood. So it would seem to me that when the seventh bowl of God's wrath has been poured out upon this old wicked world, God puts the earth back as it originally was before the flood.
    In Ezekiel 38:22 God tells us that He will plead against the leader of the huge armies that come against Israel with, among other things, great hailstones. Here in verse 21 John was permitted to see, in his vision, these great hailstones falling out of heaven upon men. We are told that every hailstone will weigh about a talent, that is, about one hundred pounds. These, I believe, are the hailstones that fall upon the two hundred million men who are gathered on the mountains of Israel for the battle of Armageddon by the frog like spirits. These are the hailstones that will cause the blood from this huge army to flow to the horse bridles for two hundred miles. Will some of that blood be yours, or will some of it be the blood of some of your sons, or some of your friends? Let us remember, Our Lord shed His precious Blood for us on Calvary's tree. Go To Next Chapter