| Barnes' Notes on the Bible And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air - This introduces the final catastrophe in regard to the "beast" - his complete and utter overthrow, accompanied with tremendous judgments. Why the vial was poured into the air is not stated. The most probable supposition as to the idea intended to be represented is, that, as storms and tempests seem to be engendered in the air, so this destruction would come from some supernatural cause, as if the whole atmosphere should be filled with wind and storm; and a furious and desolating whirlwind should be aroused by some invisible power. And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven - The voice of God. See the notes on Revelation 11:19. From the throne - See the notes on Revelation 4:2. This shows that it was the voice of God, and not the voice of an angel. Saying, It is done - The series of judgments is about to be completed; the dominion of the beast is about to come to an end forever. The meaning here is, that that destruction was so certain, that it might be spoken of as now actually accomplished.
Clarke's Commentary on the BiblePoured out his vial into the air - To signify that this plague was to be widely diffused, and perhaps to intimate that pestilences and various deaths would be the effect of this vial. But possibly air in this place may have some emblematical meaning. It is done - It is said, Revelation 10:7, that in the days of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God should be finished; so here we find it completed. Γεγονε· All's over! Fuimus Troes! Ilium fuit! Once there were Trojans, and they had a city; but now all are extinct.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air,.... Or "upon the air", as the Alexandrian copy, Syriac and Arabic versions, read; by which is meant the kingdom of Satan, he being the prince of the power of the air, Ephesians 2:2 not that he has power over the air, to raise or lay winds and storms in it at pleasure; but he is so called because he is the prince of that posse of devils, the principalities and powers of darkness, that have their dwelling in the air; hence the air, encompassing the whole earth, stands for the kingdom of Satan all the world over: and this vial differs from all the rest; that whereas the rest only affect some part or branch of the antichristian state, this will affect all the remains of the Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan powers, gathered and united together at Armageddon; and the pouring out of this vial is the execution of divine wrath and vengeance upon them all at once; and the effects of this vial will not only reach to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, and their armies, or the united forces of the remains of Pagans, Papists, and Mahometans, who will be slain, and their flesh given to the fowls of the air; and not only to the beast and false prophet, who will be taken in this battle, and cast alive into the lake of fire, which is expressive both of their temporal and eternal punishment, Revelation 19:17 but to the binding of Satan upon the second coming of Christ, of which notice is before given, Revelation 16:15 and even to the destruction of Gog and Magog at the end of the thousand years' reign; yea, to the casting of the devil into everlasting fire, since this vial is the last plague, in which the wrath of God is filled up, and so brings to the end of all things, Revelation 20:1. The first accomplishment of this vial will be the decisive battle at Armageddon, when the remains of all Christ's and his church's enemies will have a total defeat; and this will be the third and last woe, which will utterly destroy those that have destroyed the earth, Pagans, Papists, and Mahometans, even all the open enemies of Christ, so that nothing will lie in the way of his kingdom; now will the spiritual reign of Christ, which has been gradually advancing by the pouring out of each vial, be in its full glory: but though antichrist will be no more, and Satan will have no more in form an open kingdom upon earth; yet, towards the close of this reign, great lukewarmness and coldness will seize professors of religion, and immorality and profaneness will abound again; which will bring on the times of the coming of the son of man; who, upon his personal descent from the third heaven into the air, will drive Satan and his posse of devils from their territories, and quickly will the general conflagration begin, when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; and which is no inconsiderable part of the pouring out of this vial into the air. And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne; this voice is said to come "out of the temple of heaven", that is, out of the temple which is in heaven, which will now be opened, as under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, with which this vial corresponds, and indeed is contemporary; and which designs the church, enjoying the pure worship of God, the word and ordinances, and the free exercise of religion; and this shows that when this voice will be uttered, as yet the Jerusalem church state will not be begun, since there will be no temple in that; see Revelation 11:19 the words, "of heaven", are left out in the Alexandrian copy, and in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, which read, "out of the temple from the throne"; the seat of government in the church, described in Revelation 4:2 the voice came with power, authority, and majesty; not from any of the four and twenty elders, or four living creatures, or angels about the throne; but either from God the Father that sits upon it; or from Christ the Lamb in the midst of it, and rather from the latter, since a like phrase was used by him on the cross, John 19:30 and the same is expressed by him who is the Alpha and Omega, Revelation 21:6 and this voice is called a great one, being the voice of a great person, the King of kings, and coming with great power, and was spoken aloud: saying, it is done; what the angel swore should be in the days of the seventh angel, namely, that time, antichristian time, should be no more, and the mystery of God in his purposes and providences should be finished, and all the glorious things spoken of his church and people be accomplished; See Gill on Revelation 10:6, Revelation 10:7 the word may be rendered "it has been", or "it was", and the sense is, but now is not; and the meaning may be, Babylon was, but is not, it is now fallen; the beast and false prophet were, but now are not; the Turk, or Mahomet, was, but is no more; all the antichristian powers are destroyed; Christ's body, the church, will be completed, the Jews will be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in, all the elect called, and the new Jerusalem prepared as a bride for her husband; and when the utmost effects of this vial will take place, the end of all things will be; by the same "fiat" that made the heavens and the earth, they will disappear, and new heavens and earth succeed in their room.
Vincent's Word StudiesTemple of heaven Omit of heaven.
Geneva Study Bible{21} And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the {22} air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from {23} the throne, saying, {24} It is done. (21) The story of the seventh angel to the end of the chapter, in which first is shown by sign and speech, the argument of this plague, in this verse: and then is declare the execution of it in the verses following. (22) From whence he might move the heaven above, and the earth beneath. (23) That is, from him that sits on the throne, by metonymy. (24) That is, Babylon is undone, as is shown in Re 16:19 and in the chapters following. For the first onset (as I might say) of this denunciation, is described in this chapter: and the last containing a perfect victory, is described in those that follow.
People's New Testament 16:17 THE SEVENTH VIAL. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air. From Paul, we learn that the air is the region of the power of evil (Eph 2:2). The fifth vial was poured upon the seat of the beast (Re 16:12); the seventh on the seat of the dragon. And there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne. The voice so often heard but not seen. Whether the divine voice or not, it speaks the divine will. Saying, It is done. It is finished. The work is complete. The seventh vial brings the work to an end.
Wesley's Notes 16:17 And the seventh poured out his phial upon the air - Which encompasses the whole earth. This is the most weighty phial of all, and seems to take up more time than any of the preceding. It is done - What was commanded, verse 1. Rev 16:1 The phials are poured out.
Scofield Reference NotesMargin angel See Scofield Note: "Heb 1:4".
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary17. angel-so Andreas. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac omit it. into-so Andreas (Greek, "eis"). But A and B, "upon" (Greek, "epi"). great-so B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and Andreas. But A omits. of heaven-so B and Andreas But A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic omit. It is done-"It is come to pass." God's voice as to the final consummation, as Jesus' voice on the cross when the work of expiation was completed, "It is finished."
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary16:17-21 The seventh and last angel poured forth his vial, and the downfal of Babylon was finished. The church triumphant in heaven saw it and rejoiced; the church in conflict on earth saw it and became triumphant. God remembered the great and wicked city; though for some time he seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty. All that was most secure was carried away by the ruin. Men blasphemed: the greatest judgments that can befal men, will not bring to repentance without the grace of God. To be hardened against God, by his righteous judgments, is a certain token of sure and utter destruction.
Matthew Henry's Whole Bible CommentaryVerses 17-21 Here we have an account of the seventh and last angel pouring forth his vial, contributing his part towards the accomplishment of the downfall of Babylon, which was the finishing stroke. And here, as before, observe, I. Where this plague fell-on the air, upon the prince of the power of the air, that is, the devil. His powers were restrained, his policies confounded; he was bound in God's chain: the sword of God was upon his eye and upon his arm; for he, as well as the powers of the earth, is subject to the almighty power of God. He had used all possible means to preserve the antichristian interest, and to prevent the fall of Babylon-all the influence that he has upon the minds of men, blinding their judgments and perverting them, hardening their hearts, raising their enmity to the gospel as high as could be. But now here is a vial poured out upon his kingdom, and he is not able to support his tottering cause and interest any longer. II. What it produced, 1. A thankful voice from heaven, pronouncing that now the work was done. The church triumphant in heaven saw it, and rejoiced; the church militant on earth saw it, and became triumphant. It is finished. 2. A mighty commotion on the earth-an earthquake, so great as never was before, shaking the very centre, and this ushered in by the usual concomitants of thunder and lightnings. 3. The fall of Babylon, which was divided into three parts, called the cities of the nations (v. 19); having had rule over the nations, and taken in the idolatry of the nations, incorporating into her religion something of the Jewish, something of the pagan, and something of the Christian religion, she was as three cities in one. God now remembered this great and wicked city. Though for some time he seemed to have forgotten her idolatry and cruelty, yet now he gives unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And this downfall extended further than to the seat of antichrist; it reached from the centre to the circumference; and every island and every mountain, that seemed by nature and situation the most secured, were carried away in the deluge of this ruin. III. How the antichristian party were affected with it. Though it fell upon them as a dreadful storm, as if the stones of the city, tossed up into the air, came down upon their heads, like hailstones of a talent weight each, yet they were so far from repenting that they blasphemed that God who thus punished them. Here was a dreadful plague of the heart, a spiritual judgment more dreadful and destructive than all the rest. Observe, 1. The greatest calamities that can befal men will not bring them to repentance without the grace of God working with them. 2. Those that are not made better by the judgments of God are always the worse for them. 3. To be hardened in sin and enmity against God by his righteous judgments is a certain token of utter destruction. |
