John Gill Commentary Revelation 16

And I heard a great voice out of the temple
The church, which in the preceding chapter is said to be opened; this was either the voice of God, whose temple the church is, and where he dwells, and who has power over these plagues, (Revelation 16:9) and who, when he is about to bring judgments on the earth, is said to roar out of Zion, (Revelation 16:16) or of Christ, who is always in the midst of his church and people, and whose voice is as the voice of many waters; see (Revelation 16:15) or it may be of one of the four living creatures, the ministers of the word, in and by whom Christ often speaks; and the rather, since one of these gave the seven angels the golden vials of the wrath of God, they are now bid to pour out.

Saying to the seven angels, go your ways and pour out the vials of
the wrath of God upon the earth ;
for though these angels had the seven last plagues to inflict, and the seven vials of God's wrath to pour out, and were in a readiness to do it, yet they did not move without an order, which is here given them; and they are bid to go their ways, from the temple, the church, where they were, and of which they were members, to the several parts of the antichristian empire; and there pour out all the wrath and vengeance of God upon his enemies, and theirs, and leave nothing behind, but give them the dregs of every cup of his fury: the earth here is to be taken in a larger sense than in the following verse, and includes the land and sea, the fountains and rivers, and even the ambient air, and also the sun in the firmament, as the pouring out of these vials upon them show; and designs the whole apostate church, consisting of earthly men, all the inhabitants of the earth, that worship the beast.

The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and the Complutensian edition, read, "the seven vials of the wrath of God"; these seven vials are not contemporary, much less the same with the seven trumpets; there is indeed a likeness between them in some things, especially in the first four; for as the first four trumpets affect the earth, the sea, the fountains, and rivers of water, and the sun, so the first four vials are poured out on the same, and that in the same order; first on the earth, and then on the sea and which will give some light, and be a direction to observe the several parts of the antichristian empire, which will suffer by these vials, and the in which their ruin will proceed; and as the trumpets were so many gradual steps to the ruin of the Roman empire, eastern and western, when become Christian, so these vials are so many gradual steps to, and which issue in the ruin of, both the eastern and western antichrist; though they do not respect the same things, nor the same times: the trumpets respect the Roman empire as Christian, under the government of emperors, after the downfall of Paganism in it; and the vials respect the antichristian powers in their several branches, under the pope and Turk. Antichrist did not appear until the fifth trumpet sounded, whereas the first vial is poured out upon his followers and worshippers, (Revelation 16:2) from which it is a clear point, that the first trumpet and the first vial cannot be contemporary; and the same judgment may be made of the rest:

And it may be further observed, that these vials are only poured out on the enemies of God and of Christ, and of his church and people; for no wrath can be poured out upon the saints, not the least drop of it can fall upon them; this would not be consistent with God's everlasting love to them, with the satisfaction of Christ made for them, nor with the blessings of justification, pardon, adoption bestowed on them; not but that they may meet with trouble in the of these vials, through the wars that will be in the world, and through the struggles of the beast of Rome, especially its last, which will be the hour of temptation, and that time of trouble than which never was the like; yet all will work for, and issue in their good, and they will rejoice in God's righteous judgments; the blow will be upon antichrist, the vengeance of God will fall upon those that have the mark of the beast, and the worshippers of his image, upon the seat of the beast, even upon Babylon, and the whole Romish jurisdiction, as appears from (Revelation 16:2Revelation 16:10Revelation 16:19Revelation 16:20) and also upon the Turkish empire, and all the nations engaged in the interest of both pope and Turk, (Revelation 16:12–14Revelation 16:16).

And it is easy to observe, that there is in many of these vials an allusion to the plagues of Egypt; in the first, (Revelation 16:2) to the plague of boils, (Exodus 9:8Exodus 9:11) in the second and third, (Revelation 16:3Revelation 16:4) to that of turning the waters of Egypt into blood, (Exodus 7:19–21) in the fourth, (Revelation 16:10) to the darkness that was over all the land of Egypt, (Exodus 10:21Exodus 10:23) and in the fifth there is a manifest reference to the frogs that distressed the Egyptians, (Exodus 8:5Exodus 8:6) and in the seventh, to the plague of hail, (Exodus 9:23–26) and they have much the same effect, even the hardening of those on whom they fall, being far from being brought to repentance by them, (Revelation 16:9Revelation 16:11).

And this confirms the application of the vials to the destruction of Rome, which is spiritually called Egypt, (Revelation 11:8) and may assure that they will issue in the ruin of antichrist, and in the salvation of God's people, as the plagues of Egypt did in the destruction of Pharaoh, and in the deliverance of the children of Israel; and may also lead us to conclude, that there will be a like quick execution of the one as of the other; for as the plagues of Egypt came very quick one after another, so it seems as if the pouring out of these vials would be in like manner; the angels receive them together, and have their orders at the same time; and they go forth immediately, one after another, if not together, to the respective parts where they are to pour them forth, and which they do directly; see (Revelation 16:8) .

Moreover, these vials will affect antichrist both with respect to his civil and ecclesiastic capacity, or both in temporals and spirituals, and, both antichrists, eastern and western: whether they are begun to be poured out or not, is a question. I am ready to think they are not, because they seem to me to refer to the seventh trumpet, which as yet has not sounded, and are the same with the wrath of God, and the time of the judging the dead, or avenging the blood of the saints, which will be come when that sounds, (Revelation 11:18) . Besides, the outer court is not entirely given to the Gentiles, nor the witnesses slain, which must be before this time of wrath upon antichrist; not but that there has been some manifest marks of the divine displeasure upon the whore of Rome, and she has been sinking ever since the Reformation, at which time some begin these vials, or before; and she is reduced to a low estate; yet I think not to such a degree as these vials express.

And the first went
The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "the first angel", and who undoubtedly is meant, who readily and cheerfully obeyed the orders given him, as did the rest; by this angel cannot be meant Pope Adrian, as Lyra, a Popish interpreter, imagines; for a pope would never hurt the worshippers of the beast, as this angel does; rather some Christian Protestant prince or magistrate is designed, and Brightman applies it to Queen Elizabeth; though a set of kings and princes yet to come seem to be intended:

and poured out his vial upon the earth ;
not upon the whole earth, and the inhabitants of it; not upon the temple or church of God, and the worshippers in it, which are measured, hid, and protected; nor upon the Roman Pagan empire, which was destroyed under the sixth seal, and which never had any worshippers of the beast and his image in it, for then he was not risen; nor upon the whole apostate church, only a part of it: some think the meaner and vulgar sort of Papists are meant, who were reformed by the Waldenses, Wycliff, Huss, and others before Luther; but rather the antichristian powers on the continent are designed, and particularly Germany; for as the first trumpet affected the earth, (Revelation 8:7) and brought the Goths into Germany, and other inland countries on the continent; so this first vial affects the earth, and brings distress upon the Popish party in the same place: and this respects not the Reformation by Luther, as some have thought, nor the wars of the Turks here in the last age; though were it not for some things unfulfilled, which are to precede these vials, one would be tempted to think that this vial was now pouring out upon the empire; but I rather think this refers to a time of distress yet to come on those parts, and which will issue in a reformation from Popery again; for it should be observed, and it may be observed once for all, that though these vials are so many plagues upon antichrist, they are each of them so many steps to the advancement of Christ's kingdom and glory:

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; that is, who were professors of the Popish religion, and adherents of the pope of Rome in those parts; see (Revelation 13:15–17) who will only feel the effects of this vial, and that by a noisome and grievous sore falling on them, in allusion to the plague of boils in Egypt, (Exodus 9:8–11) by which may be meant, either literally something external, but not the plague in Dioclesian's time, for then the beast was not risen; and there were none that could have his mark or worship his image: some have thought the French disease is intended, which first appeared in the world in 1490, among the Papists, as a just judgment upon them for the horrible and unnatural lusts and uncleanness of the Romish clergy; and others understand it of a very great heat, which will be before the burning of the world, and will raise blisters and boils upon men: or rather this may design something internal, either the remorse of their consciences, reflections on their past practices, and black despair and horror of mind; and their madness, wrath, and fury, their malice and envy at the success of the preachers of the Gospel, and of Protestant states and princes against them; see (Deuteronomy 28:27Deuteronomy 28:28Deuteronomy 28:34Deuteronomy 28:35) . Moreover, their secret and wicked practices, both in political and ecclesiastical affairs, will be discovered, and they will appear with boils and blotches upon them all over, which will render them odious to the people, and be the means of a general reformation. Mr. Daubuz thinks the curse of wickedness in the ninth and tenth centuries, after the invocation of saints and angels, and the worship of images were settled, is meant.

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 (Amos 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 (Jeremiah 51:36) and particularly its maritime powers, Spain and Portugal:

And as the second trumpet affected the sea, (Revelation 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.

And the third angel poured his vial upon the rivers and
fountains of waters
Which also is not to be literally understood of a stagnation of them, before the burning of the world; nor of the destruction of Popish fleets and navies, such as the Spanish armada in 1588, and others since; but rather of Popish writings, of the most learned and subtle men among them, who like rivers and fountains, which supply and fill the sea, support and keep up the Romish jurisdiction and hierarchy.

And of the confutation of them by Protestant writers; and of the utter destruction of their principal orders, and chief men among them, as cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, Jesuits though it seems chiefly to design the places near to Rome, such as Italy and Savoy.

For as the third trumpet affects the rivers and fountains, (Revelation 8:10) and brings in the Huns into Italy, and issued in the destruction of the empire; so the third vial affects the same, and brings terrible wars, and great effusion of blood, where so much of the blood of the saints have been shed.

Hence it follows, and they became blood; these countries will be covered with blood, and a reformation will ensue upon it; the allusion is to (Exodus 7:19–21).

And I heard the angel of the waters say
So we read in Jewish writings ^F20 of an angel that was (amyd arv), "the prince of the sea", and of angels that were over the waters, and others over fire ^F21.

Though here is designed not one of the (Mym ykalm) "angels of the water", that presided over the waters, as another over fire (See Gill on Revelation 14:18), but the third angel that poured out his vial upon the waters. When he had so done, he said as follows.

Dr. Lightfoot thinks, and that not without reason, that since these angels appeared in the garb of priests (Revelation 15:6), and since there was a priest appointed to take care of the wells, and fountains, and ditches about Jerusalem, that the people might have water at the feasts ^F23, there is an allusion to him. And certain it is that there was such an officer; there was one Nechoniah, who was over the fountains and ditches ^F24; and in the same office was Nicodemon ben Gorion ^F25, thought to be the Nicodemus mentioned in the New Testament.

You are righteous, O Lord, which are, and were, and will be :
which may be understood either of God the Father, who had power over these plagues (Revelation 16:9) and sent them; or of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, and is righteous in all his ways and works, in all his judgments on antichrist, and is the eternal "I AM", which is, and was, and will be; see (Revelation 1:8) .

The Alexandrian copy, and most others, and the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, read "holy", instead of "will be"; for the purity and holiness of Christ will be seen in the judgments which he will exercise, as follows:

because you have judged thus ;
or "these things"; or "them", as the Ethiopic version reads; that is, has brought these judgments upon the men signified by rivers and fountains, and made great havoc and slaughter of them, expressed by their becoming blood; the justice of which appears from the following reason.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 68. 3.
• F21: Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 58. 4. par. 2. fol. 167. 4.
• F23: Maimon, Cele Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 15.
• F24: Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1.
• F25: Abot R. Nathan, c. 5. fol. 3. 2.