Revelation 16:8-14

(Rev 16:8 KJV)
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

After the blast of the fourth trumpet in Rev. 8:12, the sun was darkened by one third and it was temporary but here we are seeing that when the fourth vial is poured out on the sun, this angel had the power to scorch men with fire. The word “scorch” in the Greek also carries the meaning of “burn.” With the sun involved and the mentioning of fire, we see that God has begun to judge the unbelieving people on earth. The judgments are now very intense because the vial being poured on the sun gives the effect of increased power to severely affect the lives of the unbelievers on earth.

(Rev 16:9 KJV)
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.

As usual with the unsaved, instead of seeking the reason for the judgments that come upon them, they, instead blame God but never look to the fact that the judgments coming upon them have been justly earned. Unsaved man would rather blaspheme the name of God than repent of their evil ways. We saw this same situation back in Revelation 9 when God sent plagues upon the idolaters and those who were not affected by the plagues refused to repent of their sins.
 

(Rev 9:20-21 KJV) 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: {21} Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

 

Rev 16:9 is teaching us that it is God that has the authority over these plagues and we can see a similar situation here as we saw in Exodus. When Moses had confronted Pharaoh to let Israel go, Pharaoh refused and in the process of his confrontation, he hardened his heart against Moses and God. These people in Revelation who refused to repent have done the same thing, they have hardened their hearts against God. Today we see much of this same attitude as people ride around with bumper stickers reading “No Fear.” No fear? This is just a hardening of their heart.

(Rev 16:10 KJV)
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,

The fifth angel pours his vial upon the seat of the beast. We are not told where this seat is but the fact that a seat is mentioned means that it is the heart of his kingdom. Whenever we see a seat mentioned, it is normally speaking of the central place of authority. It also speaks of something which has been completed and the person who completed the project now sits down. So this vial is poured out upon the ruling place of the beast and it doesn’t really matter where it is, what is important is that the judgment is falling on the place of authority from where the beast operates. When the central place or place of authority is being judged, it will hinder the operation of the beast’s kingdom.

This judgment is reminiscent of the plague of darkness upon Egypt. (Exo 10:22-23 KJV) And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: {23} They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.   The darkness was so thick that they could not even see each other and that caused them to remain at home. In 16:10 we are told that this vial causes a darkness to descend upon the kingdom of the beast which causes his people to gnaw their tongues because of the pain. The word “gnawed” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “squeeze or knead.” The word for “pain” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of “distress or affliction” and is used only in the book of Revelation as is the word for “gnawed.” What would possibly cause such pain or distress in the darkness? It is the fact that the entire kingdom of the beast is in spiritual darkness and that all those who are part of the beast system are separated from God and eternal darkness awaits them as punishment for being part of the beast system. (Mat 8:12 KJV) But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  What kingdom is the Lord speaking of? He is speaking of the kingdom of Satan. “Outer Darkness” is another designation for Hell and that is why the followers of the beast are squeezing their tongues in distress because what they have waiting for them is eternal damnation. (Luke 16:24 KJV) And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. As the flame tormented the rich man and caused his tongue to be parched, so the darkness of the fifth vial will cause all the followers of the beast to squeeze their tongues also for pain. It is also interesting to note that God specifically mentions their tongues because in the previous verse, we read that these same people were blaspheming God with their tongues. So here we see again, the judgment of God is righteous and just upon these people.

(Rev 16:11 KJV)
And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Because of the darkness which is spewed over unbelieving mankind, these same people are once again blaspheming the name of God. This is being done because these people have minds which have been further darkened by this plague and that darkness has disallowed them from believing the truth. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, we are told that Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers and blindness is total darkness. (2 Cor 4:4 KJV) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Once darkness has gone from partial to complete, as we saw in the progression of the judgments in the three visions, then there is no possibility of sight. In fact in one of the last verses of the book of Revelation we read:

(Rev 22:11 KJV) He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Those who are members of the kingdom of the beast have identified with him and in God’s sight that will never change. Those who are dead in their sins will remain dead in their sins and those who are saved will remain saved. This is the same principle in this judgment. These people will not repent of their sins so they continue to go deeper and deeper into spiritual darkness, and there they will remain for eternity.

(Rev 16:12 KJV)
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.

Now we come to the sixth angel who pours his vial upon the great river Euphrates. In Revelation 7:2, we saw an angel coming from the east with the seal of God which meant God was sealing His Elect. We had also understood that the term "east” is defined by its usage. What we have in 16:12 is not an invasion of modern Israel by China as the prophecy pundits try to teach. The East mentioned here is just a reference from where the kings of the earth symbolically will be stationed before the battle of Armageddon. The river Euphrates was the western most border of the promised land of Israel and that means that these kings are ready to pounce on the body of believers as they ready themselves to battle the body of Christ. In the Bible we read in some places where God dried up the waters as a judgment.

(Isa 11:15 KJV) And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.

(Exo 14:16 KJV) But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.   (Exo 14:27-29 KJV) And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. {28} And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. {29} But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

Probably the most famous drying up of the waters is when Pharaoh chose to pursue Israel and to try and kill all of them. God dried up the sea so Israel could go on dry land but the Egyptians also thought they could pursue the Israelites on the dry land but for them it was death but for Israel it was salvation.

Now in 16:12, God is giving us a figure of the drying up of the waters of the earth so the kings of the east can be prepared. Prepared for what? Prepared for the battle of Armageddon which will be the culmination of the battle of good and evil on this earth. Now this verse does not tell us that they have already begun their assault upon the Kingdom of God but it states that they were just being prepared for the final battle. The word “prepared” in the Greek carries with it the idea of “put or keep in readiness.” Then when the final battle commences, then God will order them into the battle where they will be defeated forever. This entire scenario is under the authority of God and He will commence the battle at His appointed time.

(Rev 16:13 KJV)
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.

(Exo 8:6-7 KJV) And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. {7} And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.

In this verse we are reading that three unclean spirits emanate from the mouth of the dragon, who is Satan, the first beast, and the false prophet, which is the second beast. John sees them as frogs and it is quite interesting that these unclean spirits are likened to frogs. First, in Exodus 8:6, we read that the frogs covered the land of Egypt. These unclean spirits will cover the entire world as they are being brought up on the heels of the symbolic Euphrates river being dried up to make way for preparation of war. It is also interesting to note that the plague of frogs was one that the Egyptian magicians were able to imitate as we see in Exodus 8:7. The frog likening in 16:13 is conveying to us that the unclean spirits will be imitating the true Gospel and will be deceiving people with false religions and teachings. It will also be deceiving people further in the other disciplines of life also which would include science, which more and more sets itself up as a god among civilization. Many people look to science and technology as the only answers for mankind but soon will be looking at reality in the face on Judgment Day.

(Rev 16:14 KJV)
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.

The first part of this verse explains exactly what the unclean spirits are. These are the spirits of devils and by means of miracles, they go out and deceive not only the populations of the world, but also incites the leaders of the nations around the entire world. It is through the political governments that Christianity has either been curtailed or endorsed. In this verse we are seeing that because of the nature of these miracles as being unclean, this will be a worldwide crusade against true Christianity. There will be no nation that will not attempt some type of persecution for the purpose of silencing the Gospel. God will be using this time of persecution as the precursor for the great battle of God Almighty which will be Armageddon, the final battle between God and Satan. While the war will be waged in the spiritual realm, it will also be waged here on earth by the followers of the beast. The kings of the earth here are linked also to the kings of the east in verse 12. (Luke 21:20-22 KJV) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. {21} Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. {22} For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Luke 21:20-22 calls these the days of vengeance when Satan will try to enact vengeance upon the body of Christ but instead God will bring vengeance upon the kingdom of Satan for its persecution of the true believers. Jerusalem, representing the body of believers will definitely suffer a final persecution just before the return of Christ.