Revelation 16:3 Komentář

In this chapter we have an account of the pouring forth of these vials that were filled with the wrath of God. They were poured out upon the whole antichristian empire, and on every thing appertaining to it. I. Upon the earth (Rev 16:2). II. Upon the sea (Rev 16:3). III. Upon the rivers and fountains of water (Rev 16:4). Here the heavenly hosts proclaim and applaud the righteousness of the judgments of God. IV. The fourth vial was poured out on the sun (Rev 16:8). V. The fifth on the seat of the beast. VI. The sixth on the river Euphrates. VII. The seventh in the air, upon which the cities of the nations fell, and great Babylon came in remembrance before God.

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 16 This chapter gives an account of the pouring out of the seven vials by the angels; their orders for it are in Rev 16:1. The first angel pours out his vial on the earth, the effect of which is a noisome and grievous sore upon the followers of antichrist, and the worshippers of his image, Rev 16:2. The second pours out his upon the sea; the events of it are, the sea became blood, and every living creature in it died, Rev 16:3. The third pours out his upon the rivers and fountains of water, which thereby became blood; upon which the angel of the waters applauds the justice of God, declaring the righteousness of his judgments, and giving a reason for it; and which is confirmed by another angel from the altar, Rev 16:4. The fourth angel pours out his vial on the sun, the effects of which are, scorching men with heat, their blasphemy against God, and impenitence, Rev 16:8. The fifth pours out his on the seat of the beast, the consequences of which are darkness in his kingdom, men gnawing their tongues because of their pains, their blasphemy of the name of God because of them, and their impenitence, Rev 16:10. The sixth angel pours out his on the river Euphrates, and what followed upon it are, the drying up of that river to make way for the kings of the east; there unclean spirits are seen, described by their original, coming out of the mouths of the dragon, beast, and false prophet; by their form, like frogs; by their internal nature, spirits of devils; by their works, doing miracles; by the errand they are sent, and go upon, to gather the kings of the earth to the battle of God Almighty, which they succeed in; but before this is done, a declaration is made of the suddenness of Christ's coming, exciting the saints to watchfulness, and to keep their garments, that they might not be naked, and exposed to shame, Rev 16:12 Then the seventh angel pours out his vial into the air, the consequences of which are, a voice from heaven declaring it is done: other voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake; a rupture of the great city into three parts; the fall of other cities; the remembrance of Babylon before God; the flight of every island and mountain, and a great hail storm, which causes men to blaspheme God, Rev 16:17.

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea,.... Not literally; and so does not design the stagnation of it, which it is thought will be before the general conflagration; see Amo 7:4 nor is it to be understood of the sea of this world, and the men of it, who are like a troubled sea; but rather of Popish doctrines and councils, which are a sea of errors, and will now be confuted and put an end to. Brightman applies it to the council of Trent, and makes this angel to be Chemnitius, a German divine, who wrote a confutation of it; but as the sea is a collection of many waters, and many waters in this book signify the people and nations under the Romish yoke, sea here may design the whole jurisdiction of Rome, or mystical Babylon; see Jer 51:36 and particularly its maritime powers, Spain and Portugal: and as the second trumpet affected the sea, Rev 8:8 and brought the Vandals into Spain and Portugal, so this second vial affects the sea, and brings great wars, slaughter, and bloodshed into these parts, when they also will be reformed from Popery: and it became as the blood of a dead man; thick, clotted together, and putrid, and so never to be returned to their former state: and every living soul died in the sea: those, that are not reformed will either die by the sword, or fly into other parts; for there will be no comfortable living for the Popish party in those countries where now they live in power, ease, and affluence. This, and the following vial, are referred by Mr. Daubuz, the one to the first crusades, or holy wars, for the regaining of the holy land, and the other to the latter of them.

The blood of the sea and waters plainly indicate the killings of those encamped near the waters in land battles, as is natural.

[It says that] water turned to blood. It is easy to turn the soul from spiritual matters and think after the manner of the flesh, which we knew without difficulty to be symbolized in that first of the plagues that we read was inflicted upon the Egyptians. For then it reports that the fresh waters were turned to blood, whether the rivers of Egypt or the rain waters, as some translations have it, saying, “And their rain waters [were turned] to blood.” … However, the present passage raises a question, because here it says that the second bowl was poured into the sea, that is, into waters that are bitter and salty. And [the waters] became blood, it says, and every living thing in the sea died. It seems to me that this passage signifies those among the Jews who did not interpret the law spiritually but understood it in a fleshly manner, and therefore they could not discern Christ in it. As the apostle says, “Had they recognized [him], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” But in addition to this, they are led by the burden of their deserts to such an extent, as though struck by the second wound of an even worse plague, that they desire the image of the beast and, possessing the mark of its name, think that they ought worship the beast rather than Christ. And so, perhaps in this passage what is described in the exodus to have happened in the first plague is placed in the second bowl, in that from the sterile waters [of the sea] they also move to the filth of blood, through which it says that every living thing in the sea, that is, [every soul] in this world, has been killed, referring to the part from the whole, as in this passage, “There is no one who does good, no, not one.” To be sure, those are characterized by a manifest sterility of whom it is said, “I looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded thorns.” And these are those whose tongues became so enfeebled that they said to their own condemnation, “his blood be on us and on our children.”

It is not surprising that to expose the weakness of the antichrist and the light-mindedness of the deceived, the divine power would through the holy prophets, Enoch and Elijah, change the sea into “blood as of a dead man,” that is, as of one who had been slain, and would effect the corruption of all in it, just as long ago in Egypt he worked through Moses to expose the hardheartedness of Pharaoh and to demonstrate his own power. And therefore, those who were of secure faith were strengthened and the unstable were made fearful, seeing the creation arrayed against those who fought for the honor of the destroyer. It is also possible that through these words the slaughters that will happen in wars at the coming [of the antichrist] are indicated. For when Gog and Magog will move against each other in the four parts of the world and, in addition, the kings who had not obeyed will be annihilated with their whole armies and there will be slaughter in every place, then the sea will be defiled by sea battles, and the rivers will be mingled with the blood of those who were killed there.

And the second poured out his bowl on the sea, etc. Those who are not only marked with the character of the Antichrist but also attack the stability of Christ's servants with the waves of bitter persecution will be punished with a spiritual vengeance, which he calls blood; and those who boasted of living will be proven to have served the author of death.

The angels are commanded to pour out their vials upon the earth, Rev 16:1. The first pours out his vial on the earth, by which a grievous sore is produced, Rev 16:2. The second angel pours out his trial on the sea, and it is turned into blood, Rev 16:3. The third angel pours out his vial on the rivers and fountains, and they are turned also into blood, Rev 16:4-7. The fourth angel pours out his vial on the sun, and men are scorched with fire, Rev 16:8, Rev 16:9. The fifth angel pours out his vial on the throne of the beast, Rev 16:10, Rev 16:11. The sixth angel pours out his vial on the river Euphrates, Rev 16:12. Three unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the beast, dragon and false prophet: and go forth to gather all the kings of the world to battle, in the place called Armageddon, Rev 16:13-16. The seventh angel pours out his vial on the air, on which followed thunders, lightnings, earth-quakes, and extraordinary hail, Rev 16:17-21.

As the blood of a dead man - Either meaning blood in a state of putrescency, or an effusion of blood in naval conflicts; even the sea was tinged with the blood of those who were slain in these wars. This is most probably the meaning of this vial. These engagements were so sanguinary that both the conquerors and the conquered were nearly destroyed; every living soul died in the sea.

THE SEVEN VIALS AND THE CONSEQUENT PLAGUES. (Rev. 16:1-21) a great voice--namely, God's. These seven vials (the detailed expansion of the vintage, Rev 14:18-20) being called "the last," must belong to the period just when the term of the beast's power has expired (whence reference is made in them all to the worshippers of the beast as the objects of the judgments), close to the end or coming of the Son of man. The first four are distinguished from the last three, just as in the case of the seven seals and the seven trumpets. The first four are more general, affecting the earth, the sea, springs, and the sun, not merely a portion of these natural bodies, as in the case of the trumpets, but the whole of them; the last three are more particular, affecting the throne of the beast, the Euphrates, and the grand consummation. Some of these particular judgments are set forth in detail in the seventeenth through twentieth chapters. out of the temple--B and Syriac omit. But A, C, Vulgate, and ANDREAS support the words. the vials--so Syriac and Coptic. But A, B, C, Vulgate, and ANDREAS read, "the seven vials." upon--Greek, "into."

angel--So B and ANDREAS. But A, C, and Vulgate omit it. upon--Greek, "into." became as . . . blood--answering to another Egyptian plague. of a dead man--putrefying. living soul--So B and ANDREAS. But A, C, and Syriac, "soul of life" (compare Gen 1:30; Gen 7:21-22). in the sea--So B and ANDREAS. But A, C, and Syriac read, "(as respects) the things in the sea."