The judgments of Revelation 15 and 16 are described as the “great and marvellous” works of the Lord God Almighty, whose ways are “just and true” (15:3). They come in answer to the persecution of saints, “for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy” (16:6).
The end result of these judgments is described for us as “a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb…” (15:2–3). The sea represents the nations of Europe, interpreted as “peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues” (16:5). The “troubled sea” will be stilled by the fiery judgments of God that are the subject matter of chapter 16. When these judgments are complete, those who struggled against the Beast system sing the victory song of Moses and the Lamb.
These judgments are delivered to the seven angels by the hand of one of the “living creatures” (15:7). They are the result of the prayers of the saints (6:10–11), crying out to be avenged. Our hearts should echo the words, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments”, as we see the hand of the Deity pour out His wrath upon those who have “made war with the saints, and overcome them” (13:7).
The vials judgments are designed to bring “all nations to come and worship before thee” (15:4). All the nations who “make war with the Lamb” (Rev 17:14) and refuse to “kiss the son” (Psa 2:12) will be destroyed. Those nations who do fall down before him will “have their lives prolonged for a season and a time” (Dan 7:12) and will join the families of the nations who will be blessed in Abraham (Gen 12:3), enjoying the “life of the age” (Matt 25:46).
The Vials Poured Out
The vials of the wrath of God are poured out “upon the earth” (16:1). This is the arena of operations of the “Beast of the earth” (13:11) that “deceiveth them that dwell upon the earth”. These judgments affect all levels of the earth-Beast’s society—from commoner to king, from priest to Pope. The vials are poured out concurrently and overlap in their effects. They are directed at the Beast system of the Holy Roman Empire. The effect of these vials stretches from the French Revolution through to the climax —the destruction of Babylon the Great.
Upon the Earth
The first vial is poured out upon the earth—and is directed specifically against those who have been involved in worshipping the image of the Beast, and who carry his mark in their foreheads (16:2). This terrible judgment is described as a “noisome and grievous sore”. This running sore spreads destruction throughout the body. The Catholic body of Europe, specifically France, fell victim to the French Revolution, which swept the country like a weeping cancer. It infected all levels of Catholic society with death and destruction. The end result of this flesh-eating disease was the abolition of the Monarchy, and removal of Church authority from France. Priests were murdered, church property expropriated and sold. Tithes for the church were abolished. This sore brought the whole of France into a civil war that would result in the destruction of the worshippers of the image, and those who carried the mark of the Beast. The first vial is directed against all those who were imprinted in their minds with the Catholic thinking. The ripple effect of this vial swept across the countries of Europe during Napoleon’s conquest of the nations who challenged France. After the momentum of the French Revolution died down, the grievous sore continued to spread disease and destruction upon the worshippers of the Beast during the First and Second World Wars, and again during the reign of atheistic Communism.
Upon the Sea
The second vial affected the “sea” which became “as the blood of a dead man” – coagulated and still. This graphic description depicts the judgments poured out on the waters surrounding Europe. The vehicle that God used to fulfil His will was the maritime power of England. The angels empowered Britain to “rule the waves”. The purpose of this vial was to contain God’s judgments within the Europe vicinity. Whenever Napoleon ventured outside of Europe (ie Egypt, Russia) he failed, because God had determined to use him to pour out His wrath upon Catholic Europe. Britain successfully blocked Napoleon in Europe, concentrating the judgments upon the worshippers of the Beast. God has continued to keep the vial judgments concentrated in Europe by using the merchants of Tarshish with her young lions, during two subsequent world wars.
Upon the Rivers and Fountains of Waters
The third vial affected “the rivers and fountains of waters” which became as “blood” (16:4). The source of water in Europe is the Alps. Terrible persecutions against the “saints and the martyrs of Jesus” had been waged in these areas for centuries. As Napoleon swept across Europe he determined to enter Italy. He passed through Sardinia and into the Austrian region of the Alps. The Austrians, defenders of the faith, launched their armies against him in an effort to stop the revolutionary terror from affecting themselves or the Papacy. Six successive armies were launched against Napoleon, each decimated by the angel of the third vial at the hands of Napoleon. Napoleon entered Italy and began to wrestle the temporal kingdom of the Papacy away from the Pope. The Pope sued for a peace treaty and gained one at a very high price. Although he managed to buy a temporary reprieve, God had determined to pour out this vial and give “blood to drink” to those who had persecuted His saints.
It was during this period that Napoleon launched an attack against Egypt, hoping to engage the Turks in Palestine and wrestle the Holy Land from them. Palestine’s liberation from Turkish rule was reserved for the sixth vial under a different regime than Napoleon’s. God intended to use Britain to roll back the Turks and prepare the way for the kings of the east and the return of Israel. Napoleon, successful against Egypt, was defeated by the angel of the Second Vial. The British destroyed his ships, and forced him to return to France.
When Napoleon returned he learned that the Austrians had launched another attack in the Alps with the aid of a Russian contingent. All previous treaties were off, and Napoleon returned to the area with great vigour, putting to flight the armies of Austria. The Austrian forces were decimated so severely that they had made themselves vulnerable to the angel of the fourth vial.
The fountains and rivers of waters ran thick with blood. Those who had become drunk with the blood of the saints and of the martyrs of Jesus had now been judged according to their works. “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments”.
Upon the Sun
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory” (16:8–9).
The “sun” of Europe was the target of this vial. King Louis 16th of France had already been eclipsed by the guillotine. Napoleon was crowned as emperor of France, by the Pope, with the crown of Charlemagne, the first ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, whose empire Napoleon was destined to destroy. Shortly afterwards he was also crowned with the iron crown of Italy.
The armies of Austria, Russia and England had formed an alliance against Napoleon in an attempt to keep the French influence penned in. Napoleon crossed the Rhine and managed to cut off much of the Austrian army. Napoleon marched on Vienna. The city had been evacuated, allowing Napoleon to walk in. He pushed on, meeting the Russian and Austrian armies on route to Moravia where the Emperor of Austria had retreated. After a crippling battle on the plain of Austerlitz, 22 December 1805, the Austrians asked for an armistice, while the Russians retreated. Napoleon wrestled much territory from the Austrians. The end of the Holy Roman Empire came when Frances II was reduced to Emperor of Austria only.
When the French moved too close to Berlin the Prussians engaged in war with Napoleon, 13 October, 1806. The result was total defeat of the armies of Prussia and the resulting capture of Berlin. The King of Prussia regrouped and joined forces with the Russians. When they engaged the French, they were “scorched with fire”. Prussia lost half of its territory and the Russians retreated to their own territories.
Napoleon now turned his attention to Spain and Portugal. By deceit, he allied himself with the Spanish for the defeat of Portugal. The end result was the eclipse of both royal dynasties. The fire upon Spain and Portugal was especially severe in light of the resistance made by the general populace. The heart of the inquisition had resided in Spain, and now it was scorched with divine judgment.
The scorching of the “sun” of Europe continued in effect long after Napoleon. When we look at Europe today we see a land bereft of kings and emperors. Democracy and the principles of the French Revolution have eroded away all remnants of the structure of the Holy Roman Empire and the two-horned Beast. The Russian sun fell victim to doctrines of the French Revolution and the effects of the fourth vial—it was darkened in the Revolution of 1917 with the execution of Czar (Caesar) Nicholas and his family under the communist Bolshevist regime. The German Kaiser (Caesar) also disappeared after unsuccessfully trying to re-erect the Holy Roman Empire or Second Reich during World War 1.
Upon the Throne of the Beast
The wrath of the Almighty was directed in full force against the throne of the Beast in the fifth vial. His kingdom had already been plunged into darkness by the preceding four vials. The kings and emperors of Europe were methodically being dethroned or having their kingdoms drastically reduced. The Holy Roman Empire had been dissolved, and thus “his kingdom was full of darkness” because of the work of the first four vials.
The Vatican had been pillaged in 1798 when the Pope had been taken prisoner, but the Papacy had remained a sovereign entity. She had been stripped of lands and goods and was “made naked and desolate” (17:16). Her sovereignty over her states had been reinstated when Napoleon was in Egypt.
Napoleon softened his treatment of the Papacy by allowing the Catholic religion to remain in his empire. This proved to be a mistake. The Pope remained a thorn in Napoleon’s side, constantly siding with any rebellion that sprung up against him.
When the Pope refused to support Napoleon in his endeavours against England, the scorching flames of France licked at the papal slippers. While Napoleon was in Egypt, and busy with the rebellions in Spain, the Austrians and Prussians rose to reinstate the Beast empire. Napoleon again defeated their forces in the spring of 1809, first the Austrians, then the Prussians as he marched on Vienna.
Napoleon sought to bring the Papacy under his control by requesting their cooperation in his designs against Britain. He took control over the Papal States to end their cooperation with the British. The Pope responded by excommunicating Napoleon.
Powerless to resist, all “defenders of the faith” defeated, the Pope was taken prisoner by Napoleon in 1809. He was brought to Avignon in Southern France and a provisional government established to replace him as ruler over the Papal States. The grip of the Papacy was released. The inquisition was abolished and the power of the Papacy to “make war with the saints, and to overcome them” during the 1260 year period of persecution was irreversibly ended. In 1812 the Pope was removed to Fontainebleau. The throne of the Beast was thus judged, although it was not removed altogether.
Napoleon himself was blotted out after a disastrous campaign against Russia, and then the destruction of his armies at Waterloo. He had been a ‘vehicle of God’s will’ as the agent by which the vials of wrath were poured out. When his use was expired, the Deity who “rules in the kingdom of men” ended Napoleon’s reign.
They Blasphemed the God of Heaven
The testimony of the Deity predicts the incredible response of the Beast worshippers to the judgments of Almighty God. They “repented not of their deed, but blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and of their sores”. When the Pope finally lost all temporal power over the Papal States—about 25% of Italy’s land area—rather than acknowledge the judgment of God and repent, he called the first Vatican Council and arranged for a declaration of Papal infallibility! From 1870 to the 1920’s, the Vatican never rested from seeking great political influence and power. The nations of Europe, despite the incredible destruction of the Napoleonic wars, the First War and the Second World War, still seek to ally themselves with the Vatican. They are unrepentant. During the past fifty years the Papacy has been the moving force behind the EU, and the nations of Europe have been eager to drink once more the wine of her fornication.
Drying up the Euphrates
The sixth vial is split into two parts. The first is the drying up of the river Euphrates in preparation of the “way of the kings of the sun’s rising”. God required the partial regathering of Israel to set the stage for His Son’s return. Israel must be in the land in order for the events of Armageddon (Ezekiel 38, Joel 3, Zechariah 14, Daniel 11) to take place. The Turkish power of the Euphrates had to be dried up. God used the forces of Britain under General Allenby during World War 1 to accomplish this act. The way for Israel to come back into the land was cleared, and through a fifty-year struggle they became an independent state. Today we see the remains of the Turkish Empire as nothing more than a series of Islamic ‘puddles’ scattered here and there. Israel, supported by the West, has continued to dry up ‘puddles’ surrounding it during the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars. The young lions have also assisted campaigns such as ‘Desert Storm’, drying up those nations that threaten Israel and that move against the will of God.
Out of the Mouth of the Beast, Dragon, and False Prophet
In order to bring the nations down to the valley of the judgments of Yah to thresh them (Joel 3:2), the angel of the sixth vial has been preparing the kings of the earth with the frog spirits (16:13–14). These demonic spirits, or teachings, are come from the mouth of the dragon, Beast and false prophet. Following the French Revolution we have seen the doctrines of liberty, equality and fraternity flow freely from the mouth of the Beast. They have infiltrated all elements of life under the banner of “human rights”. We have seen doctrines such as evolution sweep throughout the world—a doctrine of madness.
These spirits are at work convincing the powers of Europe to begin to “give their power to the Beast” once more. The Vatican adopted the doctrines she couldn’t suppress in an attempt to control them. What she stood firmly against in the French Revolution she now calls ‘Catholic Social Doctrine’, having put her own slant on it. It flows freely from her mouth and deceives the kings of the earth.
We still await the dragon, Russia, to spew this doctrine out of his mouth. We saw her transformed by a frog spirit during the communist revolution. The teachings of Karl Marx came out from the atheistic philosophies of the French Revolution. With the fall of communism we await changes in Russia that will eventually align her with the Beast and the false prophet. As Europe unites we will see a standardisation of political thought answering to the frog spirits.
Behold, I come as a Thief…
Right in the middle of this political earthquake a warning cries out. Revelation 16:15 is the verse addressed specifically to the Christadelphian community of our day. We live in the period between the drying up of the Euphrates, the going forth of the frog spirits and the battle of Armageddon. We will not witness Armageddon through the media as we did the Gulf War. Christ tells us specifically that he is coming as a thief. The exhortation to us is to watch and keep our garments: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess 5:4–6).
The prophecies of the book of Revelation should be much more than a lesson in revealed history— they should motivate us to action! We live on the pivot of destiny, the climax of the kingdom of men and the dawn of the “sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2). Now is the time for us to fill our lamps with oil and prepare to meet our Lord with joy. We should allow prophecy to affect our day-to-day lives, and shake us from the Laodicean complacency that our age is steeped in. We must “buy gold tried in the fire, and be rich; and white raiment, that we might be clothed and that the shame of our nakedness does not appear, and anoint our eyes with eye salve, that we might see” what our Lord is doing around us, preparing the world for that Great Day.
Armageddon
The end result of the frog spirits is the “gathering” of the nations into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Armageddon is a composite word made up of three Hebrew words—arema—a heap, ge—a valley, and don—to judge. This is a composite Hebrew phrase rooted in an Old Testament passage. This is exactly what we find in Joel 3:2. Here we read: “I will also gather all nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat [the judgments of Yah], and will plead [judge] with them there for my people…”. The chapter continues later, “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about” (v12). The end result is described as “multitudes in the valley of threshing” (v14).
Armageddon is therefore the gathering of the nations for judgment. The nations are separated, or threshed, wheat from chaff. This apocalyptic theme is seen throughout the Old Testament. Micah 4:11–13 describes “many nations gathered against thee…” and tells us that Yahweh will “gather them as sheaves into the floor”, and empowers Israel to “arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion… thou shalt beat in pieces many people…”. Habakkuk describes how the cherubim “march through the land in indignation” to “thresh the nations in anger” (3:12). The prophet continues to describe the “wounding of the head” (Heb rosh) out of the house of the wicked. This great climax will result in the destruction of the Gogian forces in the land of Israel. From here Yahweh will “send a fire on Magog” (Ezek 39:6) as the seven thunders are poured out. Yahweh tells us the end result: “I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am Yahweh their God, from that day forward” (Ezek 39:21–22).
The Seven Thunders and the Great Earthquake
The battle of Armageddon will destroy the armies of flesh in the land of Israel, bring the Jews back into covenant relationship with God, establish Christ upon the throne of His glory in Jerusalem and serve as the basis of operations for “the little stone” to grind the image of Daniel 2 to powder. This grinding will be done by the work of the seven thunders. The great city of Europe is separated into three parts— the Dragon third (Greek Orthodox—Russia and its company); the Beast third; the False prophet third. The cities of the nations fall first, and then attention is turned upon the “great city of Babylon (v19). The exact detail of the thunders is not revealed at the request of the angel (Rev 10:4). The basic events are described in chapters 17 and 18.
These thunders will be accompanied by a great earthquake—the greatest of all political upheavals ever to shake the earth. Society as we know it today will cease to exist.
Peter describes the end of the Jewish aeon in similar terms to the end of the Gentile aeon: “The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). The exhortation for us as we consider the great earthquake that is to come is the same that Peter gave… “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [lifestyle] and godliness, looking unto and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God” (2 Peter 3:11–12).