Revelation 9

Chapter 9. The Vials and the PlaguesOut of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues. They were dressed in clean, shining linen and wore golden sashes around their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. (Revelation 15:6-7)Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed. (Revelation 16:15)The last of the texts that we have quoted above is the key to the first. It makes it plain and certain that the judgments represented by these seven vials immediately precede and lead up to the coming of Christ as a thief. Exactly what is meant by that coming there can be no question. It is not His public appearing in glory, the grand epiphany which is described in the 19th chapter of the Apocalypse and which has already been hinted at in the vision of the harvest and the winepress and other visions that have gone before. But it is that quiet, solemn, unannounced parousia which will be known only to His waiting Bride, and which will, perhaps, little disturb the ordinary current of human affairs. It is that coming for which His people are waiting every day and which at the farthest cannot now be very far beyond the life of the oldest reader of these lines. If this be so then it is very plain that the events described, represented by the vials, are not far off future occurrences that are to belong to the Tribulation time, but they are the things which are happening today and ripening fast toward the crisis of the age. With what intense interest therefore, we look around us in the light of these lurid gleams as we follow the white-robed angels of judgment and behold them pouring out the vials of wrath even while we gaze.

The First Vial

The First VialThe first angel poured out his vial upon the earth and immediately there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who worshiped his image. This judgment must be looked for among the followers of Papacy and it would seem to mark the first of God’s signal judgments upon a people especially connected with this system of iniquity. If one were to ask any impartial historian what people have been most distinctly connected with the Papal power for many centuries, the answer would point us immediately to France. This was the seat of the restored Roman Empire and the foremost supporter of the Vatican. France was always called the eldest son of the Papacy and until the fall of the Pope’s temporal power in 1870 the very person of the Pope was guarded by French soldiers. Now one does not need to look far to find the noisome and grievous sore that fell upon this nation. It is just about 100 years since the most awful political and social catastrophe of modern history fell upon France. The historians who have described the awful events of the French Revolution and its causes and consequences have been led to describe it, with singular appropriateness, as a great political and social disease, some vile and horrid distemper that suddenly struck the body politic with threatened destruction. The wild and fearful scenes of revolution, assassination, outrage, blasphemy and the outbreak of every human passion and every form of hellish wickedness were so unique and unparalleled, that although there have been many French revolutions through many centuries yet there is but one that is known as the French Revolution. It has left its mark forever upon France and Europe, and, more than any other event of the past 500 years, it was a deadly blow at the Papacy itself, for the forces that it set in operation never ceased until the Pope was hurled from his throne and forever despoiled of his temporal sovereignty.

The Second Vial

The Second VialThe second angel poured out his vial upon the sea and its waters became as blood, and the imagery is that of carnage and death. Following in the line of the French Revolution we come immediately, in the history of modern Europe, to a series of naval wars unequalled in modern history. For eight years from 1797 to 1805 the waters of earth literally ran with blood and it is said that between 500 and 600 fighting ships in the navies of France and her allies were sunk and tens of thousands of lives perished. These terrible naval disasters all fell upon the people who worshiped the beast and were inflicted by the hands of a Protestant power through the influence of Great Britain. It was during this period that the famous battles of Cape Vincent, Copenhagen, the Nile and Trafalgar were fought and won and the maritime ascendancy of England established on every sea. The appropriateness of the prophetic symbol is so obvious that prophecy reads like history.

The Third Vial

The Third VialThe third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they ran with human blood until the angel of the waters was forced to acknowledge the justness of the judgment because these very people had shed the blood of saints and martyrs before. This imagery will lead our thoughts at once to some region which had been peculiarly associated with the persecution of God’s saints. There are two regions in Europe particularly identified with persecution. One is the low country of the Netherlands and the other the highlands of the Alps and Northern Italy. One feature in the prophetic vision precludes the former and directs us to some region which might properly be called the rivers and fountains of waters. The latter country, Piedmont and Northern Italy, is the fountainhead of all the rivers of Europe running northward and southward in the great streams of the Po, the Rhine, etc. Now it happens that this country was for ages the home of the Waldenses and the Vaudois, the holy and faithful saints of the middle ages, and against these the whole power of the Papacy was directed until their blood ran on every mountain side, and holy martyrs and gentle maidens hurled themselves from the face of the rocks to save themselves from the cruelty of their foes. It was of this that Milton sang with perhaps no thought of this prophecy, Avenge, oh Lord, Thy slaughtered saints, whose blood Lies scattered on the Alpine mountains cold. Now following immediately the French Revolution and the maritime wars at the beginning of this century came the most fearful shock of battle which Europe had seen for centuries on these very fields. It was here that Napoleon, suddenly leaping into fame, impelled by a wild devastating ambition, led the armies of the French Republic and fought the famous battles of Lodi, Arcola, Mantua and many others that have given luster to his name. He beat down all resistance and established the French dominion over all these lands, and the people that had drunk the blood of saints so long at last were given their own blood to drink, and heaven recognized the justice of the judgment. All this is very clear and needs but to be traced by a candid mind in the history of our century.

The Fourth Vial

The Fourth VialNext the angel of judgment pours out his vial upon the sun, men are scorched with sudden heat and multitudes perish. There is a little uncertainty about the interpretation of this symbol. It may correctly refer to the hotter flame of battle which followed the events already described until the whole continent of Europe was ablaze with war, and men were consumed by the scorching rays and perished by hundreds of thousands. This was true in the first 15 years of the 19th century until at last the very fate of the world seemed to hang in the balance, and the battle of Waterloo in 1815 really saved Europe from the power of a reckless and universal despotism. But we believe there is another interpretation more strictly in accordance with the simple figure and also in line with the facts of history. The sun is the natural symbol of light, and this stroke upon the sun would seem to suggest a terrible blow at the sources and streams of human knowledge so that some awful cloud came upon the mind of man, some perversion of human reason and conscience, followed by false teachings, wrong principles and monstrous crimes. Now is it not strictly true that since the French Revolution at the beginning of the present century there has been such a scorching stroke upon the mind and conscience of the world? The spirit of wild and reckless license has been let loose and new and destructive phases of infidel thought, bold atheistic materialism, reckless socialism and godless naturalism, with, we may add, gross sensualism have permeated the whole structure of human society and the sad evils are beginning to appear on every side. Respect and veneration for authority have gone. The home has been invaded and all the holy bonds that held society together are being torn to shreds. Democracy and liberty are becoming demagogism and are the rule of the lowest classes in the community. Socialism is the undermining of human society; Nihilism is threatening the foundations of government; labor and capital are at war, and under every institution there is the muttering of a threatened convulsion and a terrible earthquake. Faith has lost its hold upon the human conscience. Righteousness has been drowned in compromising. Mammon is enthroned above principle and God, and the very Church is almost as broad as the world. The conscience of man has lost its hold and the days have come when men will call good evil and evil good, and the solemn warning of Christ is becoming true, “If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). It is as if the sun of truth and righteousness had been eclipsed, or rather had begun to burn with a fierce and scorching flame and instead of giving its joyful, healthful light was consuming us by its fiercest beams.

The Fifth Vial

The Fifth VialThe next angel pours out his vial directly upon the seat of the beast. We may now expect some blow upon Rome itself and our expectation is not disappointed. Three times in a century has that blow been struck. The first occasion was in the beginning of the century when the armies of Napoleon, having conquered Italy and Austria, at last besieged Rome, assisted by revolutionary Italian forces, and the Pope was taken prisoner and carried over the Alps in the dead of winter to France where he died neglected and alone; and the Catholic world looked with amazement on the spectacle of him whose person had been considered sacred and inviolate, a helpless and dying prisoner in the hands of his insulting foes. It was a blow to the prestige and dignity of the Papacy which had never been thought possible. Again in 1848 the spirit of revolution broke out and once more the temporal power of the Papacy seemed to be departing. The culminating stroke, however, came in 1870, when, after the blasphemous decree of Papal infallibility had been passed, God’s forbearance was exhausted and He let loose the dogs of war before which France was crushed in helplessness under the armies of Germany, and Italy took advantage of the fact to claim her freedom while France was helpless to protect the Pope. The Italian troops marched into Rome. The Pope became a prisoner in the Vatican, and the great temporal sovereignty that for ages had ruled the world passed away forever. The spiritual system did not cease. Indeed, this power was rather intensified and is still spreading and working with all its ancient cunning, but the Papacy as a kingdom has ended and the vial upon the seat of the beast has done its work forever. Now, how any one can trace these five judgments and read the companion page of the history of the present century and not be deeply moved by the marvelous correspondence and fulfillment we cannot understand. But the progression still advances.

The Sixth Vial

The Sixth VialThe sixth angel next pours out his vial. But now the scene is changed. The judgment upon the Papal beast has done its work and a new adversary must now be found. There is still another form of organized spiritual wickedness which has not yet appeared in the book of Revelation except for a moment but which now becomes the subject of God’s judicial dealing. It is here described as the River Euphrates, and the “water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East” (Revelation 16:12). The river Euphrates evidently represents some Oriental form of evil power. It is the natural image of the Muslim and Turkish power, the twin apostasy of the ages. It began when the Papacy began and it will pass away at the same time and under corresponding judgments. And so, abreast of the strange movement of God’s providence in dealing with Papal lands we have witnessed for half a century His judicial dealing with the Islamic peoples, especially the Turkish empire. Not suddenly, but like the drying up of an Eastern river has its power been passing away. The beginning of the century was marked by the Greek Revolution and the terrible battle of Navarino by which the Turkish fleet was destroyed and the independence of Greece secured. Then came the rebellion of Mehemit Ali leading to the independence of Egypt, the conquest of Syria and the threatened capture even of Constantinople. Since that time province after province has been slipping from the grasp of the Turk, Moldavia, Wallachia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and section after section in Asia has passed either into independence or into the hands of other powers and but a vestige is left the Turk of his ancient and mighty dominion. As he disappears another race appears. It is here described as the kings of the East or the kingdom of the East. It is not hard to recognize the Jew, an Oriental people and a people destined yet to rule the world. As the Turk retires the Jew advances. Side by side with the decadence of the Sultan is the marvelous advance of the Hebrew. Today he is the king of finance and European journalism. He is a potent force in politics. He holds the sinews of war. And he has at last become a united people. The heart of the race has revived. The old watchword of Zion has received new meaning. Rich and poor from every land are uniting in a great movement looking to the recovery of Palestine for the Jew, the establishment of a Hebrew state and the return of Israel to the heights of Zion. It is a marvelous movement and the beginning of the end. But this vial has a further reach. Its force is not spent with mere national and political effects. It also touches the deepest social and spiritual realms. Under it we see three forms of malignant spiritual power going forth among men. They are described as three unclean spirits like frogs that go forth unto the kings of the earth to prepare them for “the battle on the great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). The frogs are natural symbols of evil spirits of impurity, darkness, gloom and evil. They come from three directions. One comes directly from the devil. It is not hard to recognize this unclean spirit. It bears its master’s image on its front. It is that fearful system of Spiritualism which has spread its unhallowed influence through every civilized community. It is the devil worship of the beast adjusted to modern civilization and culture. It is undoubtedly supernatural, working miracles not merely by pretence but in reality—miracles like those of Egypt, only inferior to those of the Holy Spirit. And it has gone forth into the kings of the earth. It seems to have had peculiar access to royal palaces and kingly personages. It is infusing into the minds of men the principles of practical atheism and ungodliness which will prepare men for “the battle on the great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). The second of these spirits comes from the beast. It seems to represent some political spirit, perhaps democracy, demagogism, license, the rule of the masses, the rule of the saloon, the rule of the nihilist, the rule that rules to ruin. This spirit is abroad today and already we stand upon the edge of a vortex which at any moment may engulf society. The third frog comes from the False Prophet. Whether he represents Islam, especially, or all false religions, is not clear. In any event this evil spirit represents some form of false religion, some wild fanaticism, some truth carried to extremes, some frenzied, fiery leader claiming supernatural power, teaching a false spiritism, leading men to call evil good and to claim the sanction and leading of the Holy Spirit for the vilest crimes. We have seen these things in our day as the counterfeits of piety and sanctity. And we need, in these last times, to watch the voices and the fruits of every religious teaching that bears upon it the stamp of strain or extravagance. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible” (Mark 13:22). These things have already begun. They are to increase and intensify as the age ripens and they are the most solemn signs of the times in which we live.

An Interruption

An InterruptionBut there now comes an interruption in the series of vials and judgments. The seventh vial is not immediately poured out, but, while the sixth is still working out its solemn issues, there comes a strange whisper from the air addressed to the saints of God, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed” (Revelation 16:15). This is not meant for the great noisy world but it is a sacred whisper intended for His own. It comes as a parenthesis before the sixth vial has done all its work. The great day of God Almighty has not yet come. The forces of earth are gathering for the battle of the ages, but the battle is not on and before it will be on, right in the midst of its preparation, something very strange is to come to pass. It is the translation of the saints of God. It is the coming of the Master as a thief. It is the catching away of the waiting ones from the coming catastrophe, the lifting up of the little flock before the storm. Therefore you will notice that this whisper comes right in between the 14th and 16th verses. In the 14th verse the battle is preparing and in the 16th verse it is on. But in the 15th we are caught away. Is not this what Christ has intimated in Luke, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28)? There is something unmistakable about this picture of His coming. The thief comes not to take away the house or all its contents. He leaves more than he takes. He comes to take the treasures only and leave the rest. So this coming is for the holy, waiting ones. The morning after He has come the world will still be there—its warehouses, its railroads, its palaces and mansions, its churches and perhaps many of its preachers—but the tried ones, the pure ones, the waiting ones, they will have gone, gone so quietly that they at first will be scarcely missed. “One will be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34). Is it not all so solemn, so near, so personal? It is to each one that He speaks the gentle warning, “Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him” (Revelation 16:15). That is all. There is nothing we can do ourselves. We cannot weave the bridal raiment. We cannot glorify ourselves for the ascension. We cannot lift ourselves in spite of the law of gravitation from earth to heaven, but we can be robed and ready and He will do the rest. He will know us by our robes. Rebekah did not have to prepare her wedding garments. Her husband’s servants sent them all and she had but to put them on, and Isaac knew her by her veil and the attire he had sent before. And so of her it is said, “‘His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints)” (Revelation 19:7-8). What are these garments? Read back and listen. Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads…. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5) God help us to watch and keep these garments unto the coming of the Lord.

The Seventh Vial

The Seventh VialThen comes at last the final conflict. Armageddon, it is called. The great battle of the ages in the old field of Megiddo where Josiah fell, where the crusading armies fought, and where at last the kings of the north and the south are to meet in the sanguinary conflict that Ezekiel (38, 39) and Daniel (11) have described in their sublime visions. Perhaps the forces even now are preparing, the mighty hosts of the north with their eye on Constantinople and Palestine, the Jew and his country, the prize for which they are contending. The ships of Tarshish, of England, and the powers of the south unite under the lion’s banner that Ezekiel describes. All this we see dimly in the prophetic foreground, but the event will make it all the more plain. Perhaps we will not see it from the earth for we hope that we will be with Him there. But now comes the seventh vial which is poured out, not upon the earth, but in the air. The battle scene has changed from the soil of this planet to the clouds of heaven, for Christ has already come into the air and the powers of darkness are meeting Him there and the last vial is the signal that the mighty conflict is about to end. Voices and thunders proclaim along the heavens “It is done!” (Revelation 16:17) and lo, the judgment of the nations, the fall of Babylon, the convulsion of nature itself and all the attending circumstances of the Great Appearing are around us. The Lord is come and the judgments attending His triumphal march are on their way. The details of these things will come in the later visions. Meanwhile let us again pause and ask, Are we ready? In which of these comings will we have our first vision of the Lord, the sweet parousia or the awful epiphany? From which side will we look down upon this rocking earth and rending heaven? The earth side or the heaven side? Will it be true of us, I see earth’s last red bloody sunset, I see the dread Avenger’s form, I hear the Armageddon onset, But I shall be above the storm. There comes a moaning and a sighing, There comes the death clod’s heavy fall, The thousand agonies of dying, But I shall be beyond them all. My hopes are passing upward, onward, And with my hopes my heart is gone, My eyes are turning skyward, sunward, Whose glory brightens round His throne.