Book of Revelation
By: Tom Lowe Date: 3/26/17
Lesson: IV.B.5: Fourth bowl: Men are scorched by the sun (16:8-9)
Revelation 16:8-9 (KJV)
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Commentary
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun”
“His vial” (bowl) refers to that clear shining of Christ through the ministry of the word, and though it will not always enlighten the mind in the way of salvation, it will convict and confound the antichristian party.
“And the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun.” “Angel,” is omitted in nearly all manuscripts, though, of course, it is understood. Another part of creation is paid a visit, thus completing the visitation of the four divisions of the universe?the earth, the sea, the rivers, the heavens?as foretold in Revelation 14:7?“He spoke with a loud voice: "Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
“The sun” is used here to represent some famous, great, and powerful official, prince or potentate, or the president of a country; a civil power in the antichristian world. It seems to signify some destruction of such civil powers, which will vex and enrage Antichrist and his party, as if they were scorched with fire. This I look upon as being just as probable as the natural sun, or the word of God.
This is not to be taken literally; therefore, the heat is not the brutal kind, such as that which would go before, and be a preparation for the burning of the world; nor any harsh famine arising from it, which would be harmful to all, good and bad. Some understand this to be speaking of Christ, the sun of righteousness, not of any wrath that shall be poured out on Him again, seeing that He has been justified in the Spirit.
“And power was given unto him to scorch men with fire”
What is normally taken for granted as blessing?the warmth of the shining sun?is now a curse. The sun, the great source of light and warmth, whose beams call forth the flowers in the Spring, becomes a power to blast, not to bless. This is another example of the way in which the things full of kindness are turned into powers of sadness to those who follow evil. Not only the pleasant gifts and influences, which, like streams, were made to gladden men, grow corrupt, but the very source of light and knowledge becomes a power to destroy.
“And power was given unto him (the “sun,” not the “angel”; the rendering of the English version “unto him” is misleading) “to scorch men with fire.” And men (i.e., those who were worshippers of the beast) were “scorched.” We may contrast this influence of the sun with the compassionate beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Christ rose as the light and sun upon the world, because He dispensed the knowledge which gave life to men; but here we have a light and sun which scorches. There is a knowledge which withers while it illumines; there is a teaching which does not warm the heart, but dries both heart and conscience, and brings only pain. The result, painful as it is, does not bring repentance. The whole series of these judgments illustrate the awful truth that there is a stage in personal life, and in national and world life also, in which suffering loses its corrective force, because the character has become set, and even an occasional desire for higher things is no longer felt.
The “men” perhaps referring to those mentioned in ver. 2, who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image, and who are the object of all the vial plagues. Though differing in form from the fourth trumpet, where the sun was darkened, yet the judgment is similar, though here of a more intense nature. In both cases, those objects which are given to men for their good are converted into instruments of punishment.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
“And men were scorched with great heat”
These men burned with rage against the followers of Christ; were filled with envy at the success of His Gospel, and with fury and madness at the ruinous condition of the antichristian state, after being deprived of its head, and chief officers.
“and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues”
“Plagues” or judgments are sent by God; they are sent and inflicted by Him, and He can lessen or increase them, continue or remove them, as He pleases; and these, unless sanctified, will not reform men, but harden them, and place within them the desire to blaspheme the Almighty God. And this blasphemy may either regard the nature and perfections of God, charging Him with inequality, injustice and unfaithfulness in His treatment of people; or the truths of the Gospel, which declare His glory, and His greatness; and which will now have spread throughout the world, to the great humiliation and confusion of the followers of antichrist.
“and they repented not to give him glory”
That is, they did not repent of their wicked deeds, their idolatries, murders, sorceries, fornications, and thefts, as stated earlier in Revelation 9:20?“The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood?idols that cannot see or hear or walk”?so as to own and confess them, which is, the meaning of giving glory to God in repentance; see Joshua 7:19. This shows that repentance is not in man's power, but is the gift of God's grace; for though He may give freedom, yet if he does not give grace to repent, no man will repent; nor will anything within them produce it.
