In
this chapter we have an account of the pouring forth of these vials that
were filled with the wrath of God. They were poured out upon the whole
antichristian empire, and on every thing appertaining to it.
I.
Upon the earth, ver. 2. II. Upon the sea,
ver. 3. III. Upon the rivers and fountains of water, ver. 4. Here the
heavenly hosts proclaim and applaud the righteousness of the judgments of
God. IV. The fourth vial was poured out on the sun, ver. 8. V. The fifth on
the seat of the beast. VI. The sixth on the river
Euphrates. VII. The seventh in the air, upon which the
cities of the nations fell, and great Babylon came in remembrance before God.
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The
Seven Vials.
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A. D. 95.
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1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple
saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the
wrath of God upon the earth. 2 And the first went, and poured
out his vial upon the earth; 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. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial
upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every
living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out
his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became
blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art
righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast
judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are
worthy. 7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so,
Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
We had in the foregoing chapter the great and solemn preparation that was
made for the pouring out of the vials; now we have the performance of that
work. Here observe,
I. That, though every thing was made ready before, yet nothing was to be put
in execution without an immediate positive order from God; and this he gave
out of the temple, answering the prayers of his people, and avenging their
quarrel.
II. No sooner was the word of command given than it was immediately obeyed;
no delay, no objection made. We find that some of the best men, as Moses and
Jeremiah, did not so readily come in and comply with the call of God to
their work; but the angels of God excel not only in strength, but in a
readiness to do the will of God. God says, Go your ways, and pour out the
vials, and immediately the work is begun. We are taught to pray that the
will of God may be done on earth as it is done in heaven. And now we enter
upon a series of very terrible dispensations of Providence, of which it is
difficult to give the certain meaning or to make the particular application.
But in the general it is worth our observation that,
1. We have here a reference and allusion to several of the plagues of Egypt,
such as the turning of their waters into blood, and smiting them with boils
and sores. Their sins were alike, and so were their punishments.
2. These vials have a plain reference to the seven trumpets, which
represented the rise of antichrist; and we learn hence that the fall of the
church's enemies shall bear some resemblance to their rise, and that God can
bring them down in such ways as they chose to exalt themselves. And the fall
of antichrist shall be gradual; as Rome was not built in one day, so neither
shall it fall in one day, but it falls by degrees; it shall fall so as to
rise no more.
3. The fall of the antichristian interest shall be universal. Every thing
that any ways belonged to them, or could be serviceable to them, the
premises and all their appurtenances, are put into the writ for destruction:
their earth, their air, their sea, their rivers, their cities, all consigned
over to ruin, all accursed for the sake of the wickedness of that people.
Thus the creation groans and suffers through the sins of men. Now we proceed
to,
(1.) The first angel who poured out his vial, v. 2. Observe, [1.]
Where it fell--upon the earth; that is, say some, upon the common
people; others upon the body of the Romish clergy, who were the basis of the
papacy, and of an earthly spirit, all carrying on earthly designs. [2.] What
it produced--noisome and grievous sores on all who had the mark of the
beast. They had marked themselves by their sin; now God marks them out
by his judgments. This sore, some think, signifies some of the first
appearances of Providence against their state and interest which gave them
great uneasiness, as it discovered their inward distemper and was a token of
further evil; the plague--tokens appeared.
(2.) The second angel poured out his vial; and here we see, [1.]
Where it fell--upon the sea; that is, say some, upon the jurisdiction
and dominion of the papacy; others upon the whole system of their religion,
their false doctrines, their corrupt glosses, their superstitious rites,
their idolatrous worship, their pardons, indulgences, a great conflux of
wicked inventions and institutions, by which they maintain a trade and
traffic advantageous to themselves, but injurious to all who deal with them.
[2.] What it produced: It turned the sea into blood, as the blood of a
dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. God discovered not only
the vanity and falsehood of their religion, but the pernicious and deadly
nature of it--that the souls of men were poisoned by that which was
pretended to be the sure means of their salvation.
(3.) The next angel poured out his vial; and we are told, [1.] Where it
fell--upon the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; that is, say
some very learned men, upon their emissaries, and especially the Jesuits,
who, like streams, conveyed the venom and poison of their errors and
idolatries from the spring-head through the earth. [2.] What effect it had
upon them: It turned them into blood; some think it stirred up
Christian princes to take a just revenge upon those that had been the great
incendiaries of the world, and had occasioned the shedding of the blood of
armies and of martyrs. The following doxology (v. 5, 6) favours this
sense. The instrument that God makes use of in this work is here called the
angel of the waters, who extols the righteousness of God in this
retaliation: They have shed the blood of thy saints, and thou hast given
them blood to drink, for they are worthy, to which another angel
answered by full consent, v. 7.
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The
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A. D. 95.
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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. 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.
In these verses we see the work going on in the appointed order. The fourth
angel poured out his vial, and that fell upon the sun; that is, say some,
upon some eminent prince of the popish communion, who should renounce their
false religion a little while before his utter downfall; and some expect it
will be the German emperor. And now what will be the consequence of this?
That sun which before cherished them with warm and benign influences shall
now grow hot against these idolaters, and shall scorch them. Princes shall
use their power and authority to suppress them, which yet will be so far
from bringing them to repentance, that it will cause them to curse God and
their king, and look upward, throwing out their blasphemous speeches against
the God of heaven; they will be hardened to their ruin. The fifth angel
poured out his vial, v. 10. And observe, 1. Where this fell--upon
the seat of the beast, upon Rome itself, the mystical Babylon, the head
of the antichristian empire. 2. What effect it had there: The whole kingdom
of the beast was full of darkness and distress. That very city which
was the seat of their policy, the source of all their learning, and all
their knowledge, and all their pomp and pleasure, now becomes a source of
darkness, and pain, and anguish. Darkness was one of the plagues of Egypt,
and it is opposed to lustre and honour, and so forebodes the contempt and
scorn to which the antichristian interest should be exposed. Darkness is
opposed to wisdom and penetration, and forebodes the confusion and folly
which the idolaters should discover at that time. It is opposed to pleasure
and joy, and so signifies their anguish and vexation of Spirit, when their
calamities thus came upon them.
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A. D. 95.
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12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial
upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the
way of the kings of the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw
three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of devils, working
miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole
world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon.
The sixth angel poured out his vial; and observe,
I. Where it fell--upon the great river Euphrates. Some take it
literally, for the place where the Turkish power and empire began; and they
think this is a prophecy of the destruction of the Turkish monarchy and of
idolatry, which they suppose will be effected about the same time with that
of the papacy, as another antichrist, and that thereby a way shall be made
for the conveniency of the Jews, those princes of the east. Others take it
for the river Tiber; for, as Rome is mystical Babylon, Tiber is mystical
Euphrates. And when Rome shall be destroyed her river and merchandise must
suffer with her.
II. What did this vial produce? 1. The drying up of the river, which
furnished the city with wealth, provisions, and all sorts of accommodations.
2. A way is hereby prepared for the kings of the east. The idolatry
of the church of Rome had been a great hindrance both to the conversion of
the Jews, who have been long cured of their inclination to idols, and of the
Gentiles, who are hardened in their idolatry by seeing that which so much
symbolizes with it among those called Christians. It is therefore very
probable that the downfall of popery, removing these obstructions, will open
a way for both the Jews and other eastern nations to come into the church of
Christ. And, if we suppose that Mahomedism shall fall at the same time,
there will be still a more open communication between the western and
eastern nations, which may facilitate the conversion of the Jews, and of the
fulness of the Gentiles. And when this work of God appears, and is about
to be accomplished, no wonder if it occasion another consequence, which is,
3. The last effort of the great dragon; he is resolved to have another push
for it, that, if possible, he may retrieve the ruinous posture of his
affairs in the world. He is now rallying his forces, recollecting all his
spirits, to make one desperate sally before all be lost. This is occasioned
by the pouring out of the sixth vial. Here observe, (1.) The instruments he
makes use of to engage the powers of the earth in his cause and quarrel: Three
unclean spirits like frogs come forth, one out of the mouth of the
dragon, another out of the mouth of the beast, and a third out
of the mouth of the false prophet. Hell, the secular power of
antichrist, and the ecclesiastical power, would combine to send their
several instruments, furnished with hellish malice, with worldly policy, and
with religious falsehood and deceit; and these would muster up the devil's
forces for a decisive battle. (2.) The means these instruments would use to
engage the powers of earth in this war. They would work pretended miracles,
the old stratagem of him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with
all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness, 2 Thess. ii. 9, 10. Some think that a little before the
fall of antichrist the popish pretence of power to work miracles will be
revived and will very much amuse and deceive the world. (3.) The field of
battle--a place called Armageddon; that is, say some, the mount of
Megiddo, near to which, by a stream issuing thence, Barak overcame Sisera,
and all the kings in alliance with him, Judges v. 19. And in the valley of
Megiddo Josiah was slain. This place had been famous for two events of a
very different nature, the former very happy for the church of God, the
latter very unhappy; but it shall now be the field of the last battle in
which the church shall be engaged, and she shall be victorious. This battle
required time to prepare for it, and therefore the further account of it is
suspended till we come to the nineteenth chapter, v. 19, 20. (4.) The
warning which God gives of this great and decisive trial, to engage his
people to prepare for it, v. 15. It would be sudden and unexpected,
and therefore Christians should be clothed, and armed, and ready for it,
that they might not be surprised and ashamed. When God's cause comes to be
tried, and his battles to be fought, all his people shall be ready to stand
up for his interest and be faithful and valiant in his service.
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The Seven Vials.
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A. D. 95.
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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.
Here we have an account of the seventh and last angel pouring forth his
vial, contributing his part towards the accomplishment of the downfall of
Babylon
, which was the finishing stroke. And here, as before, observe,
I. Where this plague fell--on the air, upon the prince of the power
of the air, that is, the devil. His powers were restrained, his policies
confounded; he was bound in God's chain: the sword of God was upon his eye
and upon his arm; for he, as well as the powers of the earth, is subject to
the almighty power of God. He had used all possible means to preserve the
antichristian interest, and to prevent the fall of Babylon--all the
influence that he has upon the minds of men, blinding their judgments and
perverting them, hardening their hearts, raising their enmity to the gospel
as high as could be. But now here is a vial poured out upon his kingdom, and
he is not able to support his tottering cause and interest any longer.
II. What it produced, 1. A thankful voice from heaven, pronouncing that now
the work was done. The church triumphant in heaven saw it, and rejoiced; the
church militant on earth saw it, and became triumphant. It is finished. 2. A
mighty commotion on the earth--an earthquake, so great as never was before,
shaking the very centre, and this ushered in by the usual concomitants of
thunder and lightnings. 3. The fall of Babylon, which was divided into three
parts, called the cities of the nations (v. 19); having had
rule over the nations, and taken in the idolatry of the nations,
incorporating into her religion something of the Jewish, something of the
pagan, and something of the Christian religion, she was as three cities in
one. God now remembered this great and wicked city. Though for some time he
seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty, yet now he gives unto her
the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And this downfall
extended further than to the seat of antichrist; it reached from the centre
to the circumference; and every island and every mountain, that seemed by
nature and situation the most secured, were carried away in the deluge of
this ruin.
III. How the antichristian party were affected with it. Though it fell upon
them as a dreadful storm, as if the stones of the city, tossed up into the
air, came down upon their heads, like hailstones of a talent weight each,
yet they were so far from repenting that they blasphemed that God who thus
punished them. Here was a dreadful plague of the heart, a spiritual judgment
more dreadful and destructive than all the rest. Observe, 1. The greatest
calamities that can befal men will not bring them to repentance without the
grace of God working with them. 2. Those that are not made better by the
judgments of God are always the worse for them. 3. To be hardened in sin and
enmity against God by his righteous judgments is a certain token of utter
destruction.
