Matthew Henry Commentary Revelation 16
Matthew Henry Commentary
Revelation 16
Matthew Henry Commentary
Revelation 16
"And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go ye, and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God into the earth. And the first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth; and it became a noisome and grievous sore upon the men that had the mark of the beast, and that worshipped his image. And the second poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man; and every living soul died, [even] the things that were in the sea. And the third poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and it became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, Righteous art thou, who art and who wast, thou Holy One, because thou didst thus judge: for they poured out the blood of the saints and the prophets, and blood hast thou given them to drink: they are worthy. And I heard the altar saying, Yea, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." — Revelation 16:1-7 (ASV)
We are to pray that the will of God may be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
Here is a succession of terrible judgments of Providence, and there seems to be an allusion to several of the plagues of Egypt. The sins were alike, and so were the punishments.
The vials refer to the seven trumpets, which represented the rise of antichrist; and the fall of the enemies of the church will bear some resemblance to their rise. All things throughout their earth, their air, their sea, their rivers, their cities—all are condemned to ruin, all accursed for the wickedness of that people.
No wonder that angels, who witness or execute the divine vengeance on the obstinate haters of God, of Christ, and of holiness, praise his justice and truth, and adore his awe-inspiring judgments when he brings upon cruel persecutors the tortures they made his saints and prophets suffer.
"And the fourth poured out his bowl upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched men with great heat: and they blasphemed the name of God who hath the power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth poured out his bowl upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom was darkened; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they repented not of their works." — Revelation 16:8-11 (ASV)
The heart of man is so desperately wicked, that the most severe miseries will never bring anyone to repent, without the special grace of God. Hell itself is filled with blasphemies; and those are ignorant of the history of human nature, of the Bible, and of their own hearts, who do not know that the more men suffer, and the more plainly they see the hand of God in their sufferings, the more furiously they often rage against him.
Let sinners now seek repentance from Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, or they will have the anguish and horror of an unhumbled, impenitent, and desperate heart; thus adding to their guilt and misery through all eternity.
Darkness is opposed to wisdom and knowledge, and forebodes the confusion and folly of the idolaters and followers of the beast. It is opposed to pleasure and joy, and signifies anguish and vexation of spirit.
"And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the [river] Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might by made ready for the kings that [come] from the sunrising. And I saw [coming] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walked naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-magedon." — Revelation 16:12-16 (ASV)
This probably shows the destruction of the Turkish power and of idolatry, and that a way will be made for the return of the Jews. Alternatively, understand this as Rome, the mystical Babylon, with the name Babylon standing for Rome, which was intended but was not to be directly named at that time. When Rome is destroyed, her river and merchandise must suffer with her.
And perhaps a way will be opened for the eastern nations to come into the church of Christ. The great dragon will collect all his forces to make one desperate struggle before all is lost. God warns of this great trial to urge His people to prepare for it. These will be times of great temptation; therefore Christ, by His apostle, calls on His professed servants to expect His sudden coming and to watch that they might not be put to shame as apostates or hypocrites.
However Christians may differ in their views of the times and seasons of events yet to come to pass, on this one point all are agreed: Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, will suddenly come again to judge the world. To those living near Christ, His coming is an object of joyful hope and expectation, and delay is not desired by them.
"And the seventh poured out his bowl upon the air; and there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is done: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail, [every stone] about the weight of a talent, cometh down out of heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof is exceeding great." — Revelation 16:17-21 (ASV)
The seventh and last angel poured out his vial, and the downfall of Babylon was finished. The church triumphant in heaven saw it and rejoiced; the church in conflict on earth saw it and became triumphant.
God remembered the great and wicked city; though for some time he seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty. All that was most secure was carried away by the ruin.
Men blasphemed: the greatest judgments that can befall men will not bring to repentance without the grace of God. To be hardened against God, by his righteous judgments, is a certain token of sure and utter destruction.
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