Commentary on the Book of Revelation
By: Tom Lowe Date: 5/9/17
Topic # IV: VISIONS OF JUDGMENT AGAINST ROME (12:1-19:21)
Subtopic B: THE SEVEN BOWLS OF WRATH (15:1-16:21)
Lesson: IV.B.8: Seventh bowl: Great earthquake, great city divided, Babylon is remembered, cataclysmic events (Revelation 16:17-21)
Revelation 16:17-21 (KJV)
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Commentary
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, it is done.
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air;”
Or “upon the air,” which is how the Alexandrian copy, Syriac and Arabic versions, read; by which is meant the kingdom of Satan, for he is the prince of the power of the air, (Ephesians 2:2). This does not mean that he has power over the air, to raise or lower the winds and storms at his pleasure; but he is called this because he is the prince of that posse of devils, the principalities and powers of darkness that have their dwelling in the air; the air, encompassing the whole world, stands for the kingdom of Satan all the world over. This vial (bowl) differs from all the rest, in that, the rest only affect some part or branch of the antichristian mindset, whereas, this will affect all that remains of the Pagan (Muslim, Hindu, and all cults; those who have not taken Christ) powers, gathered and united together at Armageddon. The pouring out of this bowl is an act of divine wrath and vengeance upon them all at once; and the effects of this bowl will not only reach to the kings of the earth, and their armies, who will be slain, and their flesh given to the fowls of the air; and not only to the beast and false prophet, who will be taken in this battle, and cast alive into the lake of fire, which is expressive both of their temporal and eternal punishment (Revelation 19:17). And finally, the effects of this seventh bowl will culminate in the binding of Satan upon the second coming of Christ, of which we were informed by Revelation 16:15; and in the destruction of Gog and Magog at the end of the thousand years' reign; and to the casting of the devil into everlasting fire. Since this vial is the last plague in which the wrath of God is filled up, it will bring to an end, all things (Revelation 20:1).
This is so important that I must repeat it. The first accomplishment of this vial will be the decisive battle at Armageddon, when the remains of all Christ's and His church's enemies will suffer total defeat; and this will be the third and last woe, which will utterly destroy all the unsaved (unconverted, lost, heathen, cults, unbelievers, etc.), ?even all the open enemies of Christ, so that nothing will lie in the way of His kingdom. Now will the spiritual reign of Christ, which has been gradually advancing by the pouring out of each vial, be in its full glory: but though antichrist will be no more, and Satan will no longer have any power over the earth; yet, towards the close of this reign, great lukewarmness and coldness will seize “professors” of religion, and immorality and profaneness will abound again; which will bring on the times of the coming of the son of man; who, upon his personal descent from the third heaven into the air, will drive Satan and his posse of devils from their territories, and the final battle quickly begins, when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; which is a considerable part of the pouring out of this vial into the air.
“And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,”
This voice is said to come “out of the temple of heaven,” that is, out of the temple which is in heaven, which will now be opened, as it was under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vial corresponds, and indeed is contemporary; and which refers to the church, enjoying the pure worship of God, the word and ordinances, and the free exercise of religion; and this shows that when this voice will be uttered, the Jerusalem church state will not as yet have begun, since there will be no temple in that (the New Jerusalem); see Revelation 11:19. The words, “of Heaven,” are left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, which read, “out of the temple from the throne”; the seat of government in the church, described in Revelation 4:2. The voice came with power, authority, and majesty; not from any of the four and twenty elders, or four living creatures, or angels about the throne; but either from God the Father that sits upon it; or from Christ the Lamb in the midst of it. The latter would seem most probable, since a like phrase was used by Him on the cross (John 19:30), and the same thing is said by Him who is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 21:6) and this voice is called a “great one,” being the voice of a great person, the King of kings, and coming with great power.
“saying, it is done.”
What the angel said should be understood to happen in the days of the seventh angel, namely, that time, antichristian time, should have ended, and the mystery of God in his purposes and providences should be finished (no longer a mystery), and all the glorious things spoken of His church and people should be accomplished; see Revelation 10:6, 7. The phrase “it is done” may be rendered “it has been” or “it was,” and the sense is, but now is not; and the meaning may be, Babylon was, but is not, it is now fallen; the beast and false prophet were, but now are not; all the antichristian powers are destroyed; Christ's body, the church, will be completed, the Jews will be converted, and the fullness of the Gentiles brought in, all the elect called, and the new Jerusalem prepared as a bride for her husband; and when the utmost effects of this vial will take place, all things will come to an end; by the same "powerful command" that made the heavens and the earth, they will disappear, and new heavens and earth appear in their place.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
“And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings”
Here we have another solemn picture of the final judgment of God. The whole world is caught up in it. The great city collapses (v. 19), every city is destroyed, Babylon the Great (v. 19) receives its final judgment. Later, John will relate a more vivid and detailed account of the final judgment. The account here simply presents the climax of what is substantially the same event. This section ends like the preceding ones with a very vivid description of the terror of the final judgment.
“There were lightnings, and voices, and thunders and a great earthquake.” Similar descriptions are found elsewhere, gradually increasing in intensity. In Revelation 4:5 “lightnings, voices and thunders” proceed from the throne after the description of the One on the throne accompanied by the twenty four elders on their thrones. In Revelation 8:5 “lightnings, and voices, and thunders and an earthquake” follow the appearance of the angel at the altar of incense as he offers up prayers which went up before God, and then casts them down on the earth.
This is the same close as that of the seven seals (6:1-17) and the seven thunders (10:4); but with the difference that they do not merely form the conclusion, but introduce the consequence of the last vial, namely, the utter destruction of Babylon and then of the Antichristian armies.
“and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth,”
This clause declares the things that shall come to pass in heaven and on earth before the overthrow of the beast of Babylon. The meaning is that a judgment followed that was so severe, it seemed as if the world were shaken by an earthquake. “Earthquakes” are often preceded by a change in the condition of air to a state such as would result from the vial poured upon it.
An “earthquake” is added to demonstrate that the wrath of God has come to the earth. In Revelation 11:19 “lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake and great hail” follow the opening of the Temple of God to reveal the Ark of His covenant. God’s final judgment has come on the world. And now lightnings, and voices, and thunders and the greatest of all earthquakes, accompanied later by the great hail (v. 21) are associated with the voice from the Temple and from the throne. “The great earthquake” destroys ‘the great city’ and it destroys the cities of the nations. It is seemingly worldwide. These are clearly aspects of the great final Day of Judgment. Now all is over.
“So mighty an earthquake, and so great”
All this is intensive, and is designed to represent the severity of the judgment that would follow.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
“And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell”
A result of this unprecedented earthquake is the splitting of “the great city” “into three parts.” The “great city” could refer to Jerusalem; a detail supported by Revelation 11:8: “And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” Some believe it refers to Rome. Still others identify it with Babylon on the Euphrates (See Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:18; Revelation 18:10; Revelation 18:21), to which this verse refers explicitly. Most Bible commentators believe that the “great city” is probably Jerusalem. It contrasts with “the cities of the nations,” and the phrase “the great” was used to describe it before (Revelation 11:8; see above). Zechariah’s prophecy of terrain changes taking place around Jerusalem at this time argues for a geophysical rather that an ethnic change: “In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4). [Note: One commentator believed this would be a division into three groups of people.]
“Divided, by the earthquake, into three parts,” suggests total destruction of the cities, so that all that remains is three heaps of rubble. Of course, such a great earthquake would leave no structure standing and cause a great loss of life. The number “3” is the divine number, which indicates that it was a divine work. Babylon falls not so much by man as by God. And note that it is not said that the destruction was divinely limited to a third part, but that the divine destruction rested on all the parts. The great battle is insignificant when compared to the great earthquake. There are a few noted Bible scholars who do not accept the majority opinion, which says, the phrase, “Was divided into three parts” is added as the effect of the great earthquake. In their view, the three parts are; the pagan part, the evangelical part, and the antichristian part, the three parties that made up the armies that fought at Armageddon. “The cities of the nations” along with Babylon represent the center of the power and influence of Satan, the beast, false prophet, and all their anti-Christian associates.
“and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”
“Great Babylon came in remembrance before God,” that is, for purposes of punishment. It had been, as it were, overlooked, and permitted to persist in its purposes, and to practice its abominations, unchecked, as if God did not see it. Now the time had come when all that it had done was to be remembered, and when the long-suspended judgment was to fall upon it. For many hundreds of years Babylon seemed to be forgotten by God, no notice being taken of her sins and iniquities in a judicial way; but now God will remember her sins,?”For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:5)?and inflict deserved punishment upon her. It is now that the last call to escape from Babylon is given to God‘s people in her (Revelation 18:4).
Evidently the earthquake will destroy virtually all the cities of the world. Babylon on the Euphrates is the most significant of these cities: “And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." (Revelation 14:8). It is the special object of God’s judgment, which the cup of wine that she receives symbolizes. Chapters17 and 18 describe the fall of Babylon in more detail. The fall of Babylon is the central teaching of the seventh bowl. It is an event already announced in Revelation 14:8 and described in the harvest of Revelation 14:14-20. Stages in Babylon’s downfall come in Revelation 17:16 and Revelation 18:8, but her ultimate demise is given in Revelation 19:18-21.
The phrase, “to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness (boiling over outburst) of his wrath,” provides a glimpse of the final battle. This can mean nothing less than that Jehovah here and now accomplished the total destruction of Babylon. The words of Revelation 18:1-2 and Revelation 18:8-23, are a picture of her resulting condition. “The fierceness of His wrath” is a just retaliation for the wine of her fornication, with which she has intoxicated the rulers and inhabitants of the earth. The wrath of God is sometimes signified in the Old Testament by a cup, a wine cup, a wine cup of fury (see Psalm 75:8) and here the exceeding greatness of His wrath is expressed by the phrases used, and means the pouring out of all His vengeance, to the utter ruin of the antichrist.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
“And every island fled away”
This verse expresses great and terrible judgments, which makes it appear that the very earth were shaken, and everything were moved out of its place, which may have to do with the termination of the world, the present heavens and earth, when there will be no more sea (Revelation 21:1) and so consequently no islands. The same image occurs in Revelation 6:14.
“And the mountains were not found”
The earth and the heavens will vanish at the appearance of Christ the Judge, and there will be no place found for them, for it says in Revelation 20:11: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” This means either that things will no longer be as they are now, for there will be new heavens, and a new earth, without sea or mountains; or rather this may signify the utter annihilation of all the antichristian powers in every form, whether on islands or on continents; for this day of the Lord will be upon every high mountain and hill, to bring them low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted (Isaiah 2:14).
A less literal view of this passage is that it will only produce political turmoil. As the Flood produced global geological changes, so will this earthquake. It will prepare the earth for the Edenic conditions (A delightful place; a paradise; like the Garden of Eden) that the prophets predicted would characterize the earth during the Millennium. These changes will be a preview of the final disappearance of the old creation and the creation of a new earth (See Revelation 20:11; Revelation 21:1-2). A literal interpretation of these changes does not preclude an earthly reign of Christ, as some have claimed.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven”
This did not happen after the obliteration of the cities, and the disappearance of the islands and mountains, but at the same time; and it looks like those men that shall escape at the battle of Armageddon, will be killed when hail stones from heaven rain-down upon them. This is practically a repeat of an incident that occurred when the kings of the Amorites and their men were killed by hail stones, cast down by the Lord from heaven, as they fled before Joshua, when more were killed by the stones than were slain by the sword, as reported in Joshua 10:11: “And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.” There might be allusion here to the plague of hail in Exodus 9:23.
“every stone about the weight of a talent”
“A talent” equals 60 pounds (approximate), an immense weight indeed for a single hailstone, especially if it landed upon one’s head. Throughout history, there has been no known occurrence of such huge hail stones falling on the earth. The largest I have read of was discovered in a field near Zurich Switzerland that weighed a pound. It may be said of this hail storm, as of the earthquake in a preceding verse, that it will be such as never was since men were upon earth. No such hail was ever seen, nor could it be the result of ordinary natural processes; therefore, it must be related to the extraordinary phenomena occurring at the onset of the final judgment. At the time when mankind shall have completed his destruction of the moral and spiritual environment of the earth, God will destroy his physical environment also and summon all people to accountability before the judgment seat of Christ. Here is a demonstration of the violent, heavy, and even intolerable judgments of God upon the antichristian party. God's judgments are sometimes signified by hail storms (Isaiah 30:26).
“and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail”
“The plague of hail brought down the hard heart of Pharaoh, and humbled him, so that he acknowledged his wickedness, and the sin of his people, and accepted the justice of God; but this terrible storm will have no effect upon these men. It will be unable to convince and reform them; but, on the contrary, they will break out into blasphemy against God, who caused it to fall on them; it will have the same effect as the fourth and fifth vials.
How strange the thought that hardened sinners will not stop their blasphemy even in the judgment. How could it be supposed that the Father will accommodate that type of persistent wickedness in any other manner than to implement the final and complete destruction of it?
“for the plague thereof was exceeding great”
It must beat down everything before it, and be intolerable; it may have something to do with the coldness and lukewarmness of people, and so may point at the close of the spiritual reign of Christ, which will bring on the second coming of Christ, and so this effect of the seventh vial will end where the seven churches and seven trumpets do: “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). Neither Satan, nor the beast, nor the false prophet, shall ever regain their power and authority; neither Paganism, nor Judaism, nor antichristianism, shall ever have a place in the Kingdom of God. Christ will reign in this spiritual way, more or less, until he comes in person, and then He will reign with His people on earth for a thousand years; and when they are ended, He will reign with them in heaven for all eternity; for though, at the end of these years, He shall deliver up the kingdom to the Father, yet He will not cease to reign. He will not reign in the same manner, but He will reign with equal power and authority, and over, and with the same persons.
