The Apocalypse of St. John by Rev. E. Sylvester Berry [1921]

[Stone]

Part II

THE SEVEN PLAGUES

CHAPTER XVI

1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: Go, and pour out the seven 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 sore and grievous wound upon men, who had the character of the beast; and upon them that adored the image thereof

3. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and there came blood as it were 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 the fountains of waters; and there was made blood.

5. And I heard the angel of the waters saying: Thou art just, O Lord, who art, and who wast, the Holy One, because thou hast judged these things.

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, from the altar, saying: Yea, O Lord God Almighty, true and just are thy judgments.


1. The great voice proceeding from the temple filled with the divine presence would seem to be the voice of God Himself, but the wording of the command rather opposes this interpretation: "Pour out the vials of the wrath of God." It is probably the voice of the living creature who gave the vials to the angels, thus showing that they are commissioned by the authority of the Church.

2. The first vial is poured out upon earth to inflict malignant sores upon those who follow Antichrist. This resembles the sixth plague sent upon Egypt in which "there came boils with swelling blains in men and beasts."1 God also threatened the unfaithful Jews in the wilderness with like punishment: "May the Lord strike thee with a very sore ulcer in the knees and in the legs, and be thou incurable from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.2 Herod Arippa was similarly stricken when he allowed himself to be hailed as God.3

In a moral sense this plague refers to the shame and confusion of those who harden their hearts and close their ears to the voice of the Church. In this sense it refers especially to the Jews who rejected the true Messias and become leaders against His Church in the days of Antichrist.

3. The second plague changes the waters of the sea into blood and destroys all living things therein. This may be taken literally as in the first Egyptian plague when Moses turned the waters of all Egypt into blood. In a figurative sense the sea represents the nations in revolt against the Church. They shall be chastized by war and revolution almost to extermination. But if the destruction of every living soul" be taken literally the sea must refer to particular nations or peoples.

4. The streams and their sources shall likewise be changed into blood. In a symbolic meaning this signifies that the teachers of error and blasphemy shall be slain.

5. 6. The Church teaches that nations as well as individuals have angels to guide and protect them. The Bible speaks of the guardian angels of the Persians and Macedonians.4 The angel of the waters mentioned here must be the guardian of those nations hostile to the Church. He is forced to acknowledge the justice of God s judgment against them. It is just retribution for the blood of martyrs which they have shed. What they meted out to others is now measured unto themselves.5 

7. A voice from the altar proclaims the justice of God s dealings with those wicked nations: "Just and true are Thy judgments, Lord God Almighty." This is probably the voice of the martyrs approving the manifestations of justice for which they had prayed.6


(1) Exodus ix, 10.
(2) Deuteronomy xxviii, 35.
(3) Acts of the Apostles xii, 23.
(4) Daniel x, 13; Acts of the Apostles xvi, 9.
(5) St. Matthew vii, 2.
(6) See ch. vi, 10.




8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire:

9. And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues, neither did they penance to give him glory.

10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom became dark, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.

11. And they blasphemed the God of heaven, be cause of their pains and wounds, and did not penance for their works.

12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon that great River Euphrates: and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun.

13. And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs.

14. For they are the spirits of devils working signs, and they go forth unto the kings of the whole earth, to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God.

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 shall gather them together into a place, which in Hebrew is called Armagedon.


8, 9. The fourth vial is emptied on the sun which thereupon sends forth its scorching rays to torture the wicked; but Pharao-like instead of being converted they harden their hearts and blaspheme God. In a figurative sense the burning rays of the sun are the rigors of God s justice. Christ, the sun of justice, is a guiding light to the faithful, but a consuming fire to the wicked.

10, 11. The fifth plague is directed against Jerusalem, the residence of Antichrist and the capital of his kingdom. This kingdom of darkness shall be made still darker by the confusion and ruin. The enemies of the Church shall bite their tongues in anger and despair, yet they will not repent of their sins.

12. As in ix, 14, the Euphrates symbolizes nations in revolt against the Church. Here they are the Gentile nations subject to Antichrist. The vision probably means that these nations shall be so reduced in strength by the sixth plague that kings from the East will not hesitate to march against them. These eastern kings probably represent nations that remain faithful to the Church and now come to her defense.1

13, 14. Antichrist and his prophet prepare to resist this attack by sending out messengers with the power of false miracles. By means of these prodigies kings and people are rallied to the cause of Antichrist and march to his defense against the invading armies.

15. This verse is a warning to the faithful to be prepared for the great conflict. They must guard well their garments of good works lest they be found without God s grace in that evil day. Our Lord gave a similar warning when He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem: "Watch ye therefore, because you know not what hour your Lord will come."2

16. The armies from the East will meet the forces of Antichrist near Jerusalem.3 The scene of carnage that follows makes the field of battle another Mageddo, where the invading armies are completely victorious. A further description of the battle is found in ch. xix. It seems that it will occur after the fall of Rome.

Armagedon is the Greek for Har-Mageddo (Mount Mageddo), a place often drenched with Israel's blood.4 The defeat of Antichrist may be accomplished on this very battle ground.


(1) See above, page 128.
(2) St. Matthew xxiv, 42.
(3) Cf. ch. xiv, 19, 20.
(4) Cf. Judges v, 19; IV Kings ix, 27; xxiii, 29; Zacharias xxi, 1 1 .





17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple from the throne, saying: It is done.

18. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, such an one as never had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great.

19. And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the Gentiles fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath.

20. And every island flew away, and the mountains were not found.

21. And great hail, like a talent, came down from heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail: because it was exceeding great.


17. As the seventh angel pours out his vial upon the air, a great voice from the temple cries out "It is done." This voice, mentioned in v. I,1 now proclaims the defeat of Antichrist and the destruction of his empire.

18. The lightnings flashing and the thunders rolling in heaven are symbols of divine judgments. The great earthquake is the social upheaval following the fall of Antichrist. Perhaps the thunder and lightning, and the hail mentioned below should be taken literally like the disturbance of the elements described in Exodus: "The Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. And the hail and fire mixed drove on together: and it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of Egypt.""

19. The great city (Jerusalem) is divided into three sections by yawning chasms caused by the earth quake. A similar punishment befell Jerusalem after the death of the two witnesses when one-tenth of the city was destroyed and seven thousand persons perished. The rending of the rocks by an earthquake at the time of our Lord s death upon the cross warrants the belief that these later disturbances will be actual upheavals of the earth.

In a figurative sense the division of the city may refer to rival factions warring amongst themselves. During the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army in 70 A. D. the greatest sufferings were caused by warring factions within the walls of the city.3 Rome, the great Babylon, is also destroyed and the cities of the Gentiles are laid waste. These cities are probably the capitals of those nations that submit to the domination of the neo-pagan empire of Rome and thus become parts of the empire of Antichrist.

20, 21. The severity of divine judgments against all unfaithful nations is graphically portrayed by the symbolic expressions of these verses. The destruction of the ancient Roman empire is described in almost identical language.4


(1) Of. also ch. xxi, 3.
(2) Exodus ix, 23, 24; cf. Josue x, 11.
(3) Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," Book V
(4) Ch. vi, 14, 15; cf. also Isaias xiii; Ezechiel x, xxii; Joel ii.