Revelation Chapter 16

Verse 10: And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,

Verse 11: And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The angel bearing the fifth plague message is the fifth volume of Studies in the Scriptures, entitled The Atonement Between God and Man, published in 1899.

This plague is poured out upon the “seat of the beast,” a term that ordinarily refers to the source or location of the throne of the beast, that is, Rome. From another perspective the seat of the beast can be viewed as the chair or doctrinal basis of its authority. In this latter sense the message of the plague strikes at the very root of papal doctrine, which, in large part, is based upon the mystery(?) of the Trinity and the attendant confusion that doctrine spawns.

The doctrine of the Trinity is in complete contradiction to the doctrine of the Ransom.

The message of truth in the fifth volume reveals the Author of atonement as God, its Mediator as Jesus Christ, and its channel as the Holy Spirit—the three being separate but harmonious in operation. The message also shows the necessity and the reasonableness of the “ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6) as the only basis of atonement versus the nebulosity of the orthodox (?) Trinitarian doctrine.

Among the topics treated in depth are the doctrine of the Trinity; who God, the Author of the divine plan, is; who the Son is; what the Holy Spirit is; the meaning of “soul” in both the Hebrew and the Greek; the condition of the dead; the un-scriptural Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary; and the true nature of the Ransom (what was atoned for and why, how it was affected, as well as whom will benefit from it, and so forth).

The truth comes in like a searchlight, penetrating the basic doctrines of Papacy and exposing them as without foundation. In other words, the truth reveals that all such doctrines are empty and “full of darkness.” The reaction shown is “they gnawed their tongues for pain.” The clergy had great difficulty defending these doctrines; as a result, they felt perhaps it was better to remain silent than to give the opposition undue publicity. Suffering chagrin and humiliation, both clergy and parishioners were tormented by these issues. They wished to defend their doctrines but held back (“gnawed their tongues”) for fear of getting into more trouble.

Verse 11 informs the reader they “blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and [they] repented not.”

What is the difference between “pains” and “sores”?

Generally, pain is sharp and of short duration, and usually it will subside or can be relieved. A sore is a more chronic source of irritation that flares up with suddenness and with seemingly repetitive constancy upon accidental (?) contact with some foreign body.

Spiritually speaking, a person in the nominal system may be bothered by his conscience if he knows that a certain practice or doctrine is not right—that it is not in harmony with the Bible or good morals—and yet he lives with it, even though it is a constant source of irritation. Especially if the matter is brought to light and aired or broached, he is continually and painfully reminded of the condition—as if the “grievous sore” (Verse 2) is once again aggravated.

However, these conditions can be healed and actually be beneficial if the person is rightly exercised thereby. But if one does not repent, if one is not goaded into action, if one does not separate or disassociate from the evil, that person or individual gets hardened and does one of two things. Either he lives with the condition, proportionately marring his character, or, worse yet, his conscience gets so seared—he gets so incorrigible in the sin—that the condition begins to lose its former irritating effect.

“THEY repented not of their deeds.” It is like the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptian people. Because Pharaoh’s misgivings were only temporary, the institution of another plague was found necessary.

“And THEY blasphemed the God of heaven.” The message is addressed primarily to those who profess to be Christians.

The seven vials are poured on the earth, the sea, the rivers, etc., of Christendom. They are poured on the believing world, on those who perceive themselves to be true Christians. If, after enlightenment of unholy conditions, of uncorrected practices, and of blasphemous doctrines that malign the name or character of God, they continue to remain within the institution, they become partakers of the evil (Exod. 20:7; James 4:4).”

In our next post we will be taking a look at the Sixth Plague the one which we are presently experiencing.