Revelation 16:1-21 The final seven plagues

Revelation 16:1-21 describes the seven plagues. Once again, these evoke foreshadowings from the Mosaic plagues.

Angel	Rev. Reference	Plague	Mosaic allusion
First	16:2	Sores	Exodus 9:10
Second	16:3	Seas become blood; every sea creature dies	Ex 7:19-21
Third	16:4	Rivers and springs become blood	Ex 7:19-21
Fourth	16:8-9	Sun scorches men with fire	N/A
Fifth	16:10-11	Darkness, pain	Ex 10:22-23
Sixth	16:13-14	Unclean spirits like frogs gather nations for war	Ex 8:6-7
Seventh	16:17-21	Earthquake, islands and mountains destroyed, 100 pound hailstones	Ex 9:23-25

The mark of the wildbeast turns into a sore. Loathsome and malignant are literally evil and wicked. kakon is badness to the level of evil or malignant. poneron is wicked and diseased. Malignancy may imply cancer, or perhaps an implanted microchip becomes an open, ulcerated lesion leaking pus continually. Although a third of the sea creatures died earlier (Rev. 8:9), the remainder are now dead. The blood of a dead man implies death. Perhaps there is a further implication relating to a culture of death, manifested in the consequences of pollution being magnified to a Biblical scale. God is so angry at man for corrupting and polluting His wonderful creation (Genesis 1:9-10) that He completely destroys the oceans' ecosystem. There is nothing left for man to exploit or corrupt.

           Giving the people blood to drink seems odd because life is in the blood. In fact Jesus told the disciples that those who drink His blood have eternal life. (John 6:54) So the blood that the people deserve to drink is the blood of judgment, which brings death, not life. Physically, we usually find the thought of drinking blood repulsive, as is eating raw meat. That the springs emit blood says that the earth has lost the power to filter water. This is just payback to the people who shed the saints' blood, poetic justice. The altar itself speaks to God's righteousness in this judgment, agreeing with the angel of the waters.

          The sun scorches men with fire. It is probably the result of an increase in the solar output that increases the heat flux to the earth. This cannot be the result of pollution, unless the suggestion is that global warming causes men to be scorched with fierce heat. But it is not within the power of mankind to affect the sun. Perhaps it can be seen as poetic justice inflicted by God, because anthropogenic global warming indicates mankind likes it hot.          

          Darkening of the kingdom of the beast is symbolic of men loving the darkness rather than the light. (John 3:19) This darkness is accompanied by intense pain. Men do not repent, but instead blaspheme God. Real darkness hides the deeds of those who want to do things they do not want others to see. They do not repent, seeing this as an opportunity to pursue their own  desires regardless of the cost.

          What does drying up the Euphrates have to do with demons performing signs? Picturing deceiving spirits as frogs is perhaps for our (the believing reader's) benefit, to perceive their  nature. God is preparing the way for the battle of Armageddon. We know the location, and one of the participants in this battle, the kings of the east. But the whole world will be involved in this battle. Rather than gain and exercise worldly power, at this point it appears that the wildbeast and the false prophet incite this battle solely for the purpose of destroying humankind. That is the devil's objective. (Matthew 24:22)

          There is a parenthetical statement by Christ that He is coming like a thief. In other words, when people do not expect Him. (Matthew 24:42-44, 1Thess. 5:2-4, 2 Peter 3:10) The warning carries a blessing for those who heed Him. This implies that there are still believers on the earth despite the best efforts of the wildbeast to eradicate them. Although, this warning applies to all people at all times. Keeping one's clothes is a metaphor for a heavenly dwelling, presumably of spiritual rightness, born of the Holy Spirit. (2 Cor. 5:1-5) Shame would be the result of sin that is not repented of, not covered by the blood of Christ, and therefore like one's genitals being naked and visible to all. Jesus' advice to us is to remain clothed with the righteousness of Christ, not just through faith in the atoning blood of Christ, but also through the power of God to live above sin. (Romans 8:1-4)

          The final cataclysm, poured out by the seventh angel, could picture the results of nuclear war, except that this is not man's doing. This judgment comes from God. The thunder and lightning and earthquake remind us of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16-18). But this appears to be a worldwide earthquake, as perhaps if all of the major fault lines of the earth release their pent-up energy at once. The great city is split into three parts. This city is identified as Babylon implicitly as the target of God's wrath. Although it is speculative, many have opined on whether this is a restored city at the historical site of Babylon in Iraq, about 85 km south of Baghdad, or symbolically represents some other city such as Rome, New York, Los Angeles, or Jerusalem. What is emphasized in the entire book of Revelation (especially chapter 17) is that this city, regardless of location, epitomizes the human approach to life, in defiance of God.  More to come on this topic. The significance of being divided into three parts is obscure; perhaps it will become clear at the time it happens.

          Hailstones the weight of a talent would probably be about 30.3 kg (Babylonian definition seems appropriate here, otherwise there is a wide range of definitions of a talent). At an average density of 0.917 g/cm^3, this would give a diameter of approximately 40 cm or about 16 inches. We didn't get a weight estimate of the hail that fell on Egypt during the plagues, but it killed every man and beast in the field, and destroyed all the plants and trees.  (Exodus 9:18-26) At least Pharaoh had the sense to repent, if only temporarily (Exodus 9:27), but in Revelation mankind's response is to blaspheme God.