Free Bible Commentary
“Revelation 16:8-12”
Categories: Revelation“The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun, and it was given to it to scorch men with fire. Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became darkened; and they gnawed their tongues because of pain, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.”
---End of Scripture verses---
When the fourth trumpet of warning was sounded, “a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were struck” causing partial darkness to fall upon the earth (Revelation 8:12). The “fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun” (verse 8), but instead of blocking its light, God’s wrath intensified its heat tremendously. Picture the scene in your mind of living in a world devoid of water, flowing with putrid blood (verses 3-4) and charred by a blazing sun that “scorched” men with “fierce heat” (verse 9). God’s wrath is revealed from heaven (Romans 1:18), and this vivid imagery of His fury is designed to evoke intense emotions within the mind and illicit change in the lives of sinful men. But, in spite of all of God’s appeals and the pain of wickedness, “they blasphemed the name of God” and “did not repent so as to give Him glory.”
Mark Harkrider quoted Howard Winters from his “Commentary on Revelation” as writing: “This shows the depths of their degradation. When a criminal gets to the point where he blames his victim, his parents, society, the courts, and the prison system for his suffering the penalty of his crime rather than seeing himself and his crime as responsible, we call him a hardened criminal. So it is here: these men are hardened sinners, so hardened in fact that repentance is completely absent from their thinking.” The Bible speaks of those who “being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Ephesians 4:19). This describes the mentality of the first century, Roman world at large, and it certainly is an accurate description of the condition of the leadership of the Empire.
Homer Hailey wrote concerning verses 10-11 the following: “The realm affected by the plagues moves from the natural to the moral and spiritual. When the beast emerged from the sea it was said that ‘the dragon gave him his power, and his throne, and great authority’ (13:2). This throne was the seat of world power, which would have been thought of by the saints of John’s day as the world rule from Rome. But this throne should not be restricted to Rome only; for wherever world power is worshiped, there the beast has his throne.” Starting at “the throne of the beast,” his whole “kingdom became darkened” by hearts filled with foolishness and ignorance and arrogance (Romans 1:21-28). Once again, we see here the consequences of sin left unchecked—of reaping what you sow. The pain and misery incurred by living a life of unrestrained sin is depicted by men gnawing on their own tongues in anguish (Proverbs 13:15).
“Rome had its season of sinful pleasures, but internal rottenness brought this great empire down.” (Harkrider) Now they were primed for invasion from their outside enemies and their time had come to be toppled: “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east” (verse 12).
Please read Revelation 16:13-16 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
-Louie Taylor
