Book of Revelation
By: Tom Lowe Date: 4/8/17
Lesson: IV.B.6: Fifth Bowl: Pain and Darkness Upon the Beast and His Kingdom (16:10-11)
Revelation 16:10-11 (KJV)
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Commentary
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast”
The previous judgments had been preparatory to this. They all had a bearing on this, and were all a prelude to it; but the “seat”?the home, the center of the power of the beast?had not yet been reached. Here, however, there was a direct blow aimed at that power, but it did not have enough strength, as yet, to secure its final overthrow, for that is reserved for the pouring out of the last vial, Revelation 16:17-21. All that is represented here is a heavy judgment which was merely preliminary to that final overthrow, but which affected the very “seat of the beast.” The phrase “the seat of the beast” means the “seat” or “throne” which the representative of that power occupied, the center of Anti-christian domination and authority.” I know your works, and where you dwell, even where Satan's seat is: and you hold fast my name, and have not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwells” (Revelation 2:13). Some understand this as referring to the very seat of papal power?Rome?the Vatican.
The word translated here as “seat” is the same word from which we get our word "throne." The word means “a seat”; then “a high seat”; then “a throne,” such as that on which a king sits. Here it refers to this power as exercising dominion over the earth. This throne is set up in arrogant mimicry of God‘s throne; the dragon gave his throne to the beast (Revelation 13:2).
The kingdom of the world, organized by Satan against God and His truth, is the object of this judgment, particularly irreligious, atheistic, humanistic nations. This throne of the beast may aptly apply to the Roman Empire in John's day, but its position varies at different times. Wherever the world-power is worshipped, there the beast has his throne. This predicts the corruption of human governments into instruments of suppression, persecution, and destruction of God's truth in Christ. Russia is an excellent example from our own times of what Rome was in John's. This pouring out of the bowl upon the kingdom of the beast is prophesy and a warning that the brutal godless governments faced by the first Christians will reappear at the end, or near the end-time. It should not be overlooked that the hardening of the pre-Christian Gentile nations is again to take place when "the times of the Gentiles" is fulfilled?“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). When history has run its course, once more the judicial hardening of impenitent mankind will occur. Romans 1is therefore a vital comment upon what is prophesied here.
Observe here, the gradual approaches which Almighty God makes by his plagues and judgments towards the antichristian beast; he began farther off at first, and then came nearer and nearer to him; the first vial was poured out upon the earth, the second upon the sea, the third upon the rivers, the fourth upon the sun, now the fifth upon the seat of the beast; that is, probably, the seat of his empire, the chief place where he appears in the highest majesty and glory. This should teach us all at the first alarm of judgments to draw near to God by a true and timely repentance, before He comes nearer to us by a succession of plagues and punishments.
“And his kingdom was full of darkness”
“His kingdom was full of darkness”; this bowl did not destroy him (the beast), rather, it distressed him; it filled his kingdom with the darkness of misery and trouble, of calamity and confusion, of false doctrine and superstition. The prophet saw darkness as the emblem of calamity?“Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men” (Isaiah 59:9-10). It is not that the kingdom of the beast was a kingdom of darkness before, but that darkness was a darkness of ignorance and error; this is a darkness of calamity and horror, created by the loss of that lustre, respect, and reverence, which the throne of the beast had before, but was lacking now.
The kingdom of the beast will lose much of its power and authority as the “end times” draw near, and all their hidden works of darkness will be brought to light of prophesy but the apostle seems chiefly to point the spotlight at the great affliction and distress the antichristian state will be in at this time, which darkness sometimes signifies (Isaiah 9:1). Having lost its sun under the preceding bowl, and its seat under this one, the sense is that it will be greatly obscured in its glory and magnificence, in its inflluence and riches (Revelation 18:11), its power and authority will be greatly diminished, and it will be held in contempt by the leaders of the earth; though it will not as yet be utterly destroyed, for its utter destruction is reserved for the seventh and last bowl. The allusion is to the plague of darkness in Egypt (Exodus 10:21).
“And they gnawed their tongues for pain”
“They gnawed their tongues” because of the “pain” caused by the previous plagues, and rendered more dreadful by the darkness. The “gnashing of teeth” is one of the accompaniments of hell, so this “gnawing of their tongues” is due to rage at the foiling of their hopes and the overthrow of their kingdom. They contemplate revenge and are unable to get it done; hence their agitation and fury. Those in anguish, mental and bodily, bite their lips and tongues.
Inevitable agony and suffering must follow the perversion of government to satanic purposes. Has such a thing happened? A government that legalizes and pays for murder by abortion, that extensively subsidizes drunkenness, adultery, bastardy, illegitimacy, idleness, incompetence, laziness, and corruption might indeed qualify as an example. Does such wisdom (?) solve the problems. No! There's a lot of tongue-gnawing going on right now! "The pain arises from the darkness of their minds and their misgivings as to the future." Well, that's only part of it. A state that departs from the principles of the word of God soon finds plenty of occasions for tongue-gnawing, because of the abysmal conditions that immediately follow.
"God is grimly vindicated when godless society proudly rises against the church and claims to provide a viable alternative, and then proves unequal to the task."
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
“And blasphemed the God of heaven”
The angel poured out the contents of his bowl upon the beast and his people, for they had “blasphemed (cursed) the God of heaven,” who made it, and dwells in it. And from there wrath is revealed, and comes upon “the seat of the beast,” upon the kingdom of antichrist, and the subjects of that kingdom. They will curse Him who is rightly their King, and their God, and look upwards to heaven, where He is?“They will wander through the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged, and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God” (Isaiah 8:21). They blame Him for a great part of their miseries; and they blame their God —their idol, whom they trusted, and whom now, too late, they find to be unable to help them; and look upward — to heaven for help, as do all men of all nations and religions?when in great calamities?are inclined to do.
The title "the God of heaven" brings to mind the pride of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors (Daniel 2:44). One indication that the bowl judgments will follow each other quickly is that the sores of the first bowl are still on people in the darkness of the fifth bowl. The bowl judgments come in swift succession, one right after another. In contrast, each of the seal and trumpet bowls ended before the next one began.
“because of their pains and their sores”
It says in Revelation 16:2, “And the first went, and poured out his vial on the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on the men which had the mark of the beast, and on them which worshipped his image.” The “pains and….sores” that resulted from the first bowl created inward fretting and distress in their minds, galling and gnawing of their consciences, horror and terror in their souls, and overpowering fear of the judgments to come. They reacted just as the Egyptians, who in the time of their darkness, were distressed with internal guilt, and black horror of mind, and with evil spirits, which were sent among them, and haunted them during that season (Psalm 78:49); and yet, they did not repent of their deeds; their antichristian works of darkness?“And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk” (Revelation 9:20). This shows that each fresh plague was accompanied with the continuance of the preceding plagues: there was an accumulation, not a mere succession, of plagues.
And repented not of their deeds.
The earth-dwellers still fail to repent and continue to blaspheme God. This is similar to verse 9?“And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which has power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory”?and shows the effect that pride can have upon men. “Repented not” can be accounted for only by thinking of their stubbornness which is a form or manifestation of pride. Experiencing the bitter fruits and consequences of sin does not tend to bring men to repentance and salvation in this life; and we have no reason to expect any different result in the life to come. Ruin brought by transgression induces, not sorrow and repentance, but a certain insane resentment and despair.
