10 And the fifth messenger did pour out his vial upon the throne of the beast, and his kingdom did become darkened, and they were gnawing their tongues from the pain,
and he did open the pit of the abyss, and there came up a smoke out of the pit as smoke of a great furnace, and darkened was the sun and the air, from the smoke of the pit.
and the court that is without the sanctuary leave out, and thou mayest not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city they shall tread down forty-two months;
And one strong messenger did take up a stone as a great millstone, and did cast `it' to the sea, saying, `Thus with violence shall Babylon be cast, the great city, and may not be found any more at all;
`And the merchants of the earth shall weep and sorrow over her, because their lading no one doth buy any more; lading of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearl, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyne wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of most precious wood, and brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and souls of men. `And the fruits of the desire of thy soul did go away from thee, and all things -- the dainty and the bright -- did go away from thee, and no more at all mayest thou find them. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, far off shall stand because of the fear of her torment, weeping, and sorrowing, and saying, Wo, wo, the great city, that was arrayed with fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and gilded in gold, and precious stone, and pearls -- because in one hour so much riches were made waste! `And every shipmaster, and all the company upon the ships, and sailors, and as many as work the sea, far off stood, and were crying, seeing the smoke of her burning, saying, What `city is' like to the great city? and they did cast dust upon their heads, and were crying out, weeping and sorrowing, saying, Wo, wo, the great city! in which were made rich all having ships in the sea, out of her costliness -- for in one hour was she made waste.
for God did give into their hearts to do its mind, and to make one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast till the sayings of God may be complete,
`Here `is' the mind that is having wisdom; the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman doth sit,
and the beast that I saw was like to a leopard, and its feet as of a bear, and its mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon did give to it his power, and his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed, and all the earth did wonder after the beast, and they did bow before the dragon who did give authority to the beast, and they did bow before the beast, saying, `Who `is' like to the beast? who is able to war with it?'
and those dwelling upon the land shall rejoice over them, and shall make merry, and gifts they shall send to one another, because these -- the two prophets -- did torment those dwelling upon the land.'
and their dead bodies `are' upon the broad-place of the great city (that is called spiritually Sodom, and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,)
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.' And Moses stretcheth out his hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness -- thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they have not seen one another, and none hath risen from his place three days; and to all the sons of Israel there hath been light in their dwellings.'
to all give ye honour; the brotherhood love ye; God fear ye; the king honour ye.
`There shall be there the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth, when ye may see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the reign of God, and yourselves being cast out without;
`Then said the king to the ministrants, Having bound his feet and hands, take him up and cast forth to the outer darkness, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth;
and shall cast them to the furnace of the fire, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.'
-- And it hath passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it hath come to pass, That it is hungry, and hath been wroth, And made light of its king, and of its God, And hath looked upwards. And unto the land it looketh attentively, And lo, adversity and darkness! -- Dimness, distress, and thick darkness is driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Revelation 16
Commentary on Revelation 16 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 16
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.
Rev 16:1-7
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,
Rev 16:8-11
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,
Rev 16:12-16
The sixth angel poured out his vial; and observe,
Rev 16:17-21
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,