Revelation Chapter 16

Verse 21: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Rendered from the Greek, this passage should read: “There fell upon the men [that is, the worshipers of the beast and its image—Verse 2] a great hail out of heaven.” Water frequently represents truth. The truth (Verse 21) does not come down as dew or rain but in a hard, compact form—as hail. It causes great anguish and, coming down from heaven, signifies divine judgment.

The expression “every stone” is not supported by the Greek text in the Sinaitic. Even the Authorized King James Version indicates these words were introduced by the translators, for they are set in italics. The translators no doubt felt entirely justified in their insertion by reasoning:

“How could the hail be spoken of as ‘exceeding great’ if the whole deposit of the storm collectively weighed only one talent? Surely the Greek must mean each hailstone weighed a talent.”

While this reasoning would at first appear logical, it must ever be kept in mind that the Apocalypse is to be spiritually interpreted and that its symbols are not necessarily to be mathematically analyzed in a too literal sense. For example, the beast and the dragon are not literal, and the length, breadth, and height of the holy city, described as measuring 12,000 furlongs, would each be 1,500 miles if literal (Rev. 21:16).

Verse 21 refers to the Tabernacle arrangement where a gold talent was used to make the candlestick in the Holy. The seven-branched lamp stand was beaten out of one talent of gold and thus weighed one talent with its appurtenances (Exod. 25:39). It is the gold talent (singular) that is directly related to the picture in Revelation 16:21.

The candlestick or lamp stand was of “beaten work” (Exod. 25:31). In the antitype, the hammering out of the true Church has generally been done by other professing Christians (nominal Christians, the “tares”) who verily thought they were doing God a service—which they were, but not in the way they thought! The effect of this persecution was to prove the faithfulness of the Elect (the true followers of the Lord) and to discipline them in their development. However, this persecution by others has to be requited. Even though done in many instances in ignorance, the punishment meted out, which helped to develop the true Church, will not be excused but will be part of the “double” (Rev. 18:6).

Babylon will receive double (a like portion of) the “cup of the wine of the fierceness” of God’s anger for the evil her supporters were responsible for (Rev. 16:19). Thus “the men” of Verse 21 are primarily those in Christendom (the nominal Church); upon them will come judgment, vengeance, and “hail” to hammer them into submission.

The question is asked:

Will this hail proceed from the Elect?

Answer: It will proceed “out of heaven.” Revelation 18:20 states, “Rejoice over her . . . ye holy apostles and prophets.” “Double unto her [Babylon] double according to her works” (Rev. 18:6). The true Church will be instructed to do the doubling from the other side of the veil, and the fall of Babylon will be one of the best evidences not only that the door to the “high calling” (Phil. 3:14) is closed but that all 144,000 are beyond the veil.

The complete and glorified Church will be involved in the judgment of Babylon. The afflictions suffered and patiently endured during the Gospel Age will be required of Babylon. When empowered on high, the Church, in conjunction with Christ, will administer the Kingdom and be responsible for the great hail: “Saviors [plural] shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau [Christendom, which sold its birthright for a mess of earthly pottage or gain—Heb. 12:16]; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s” (Obadiah 21).

Continued with next post.