Revelation 16:10 Commentary and Bible Study

This plague goes to the heart of the enemy’s operation, the throne of the beast. This throne was given to him by the dragon, Satan (13:2). It is in reality the throne of Satan, set up for the one who will be the incarnation of Satan’s power. The Lord targets this throne as the centre from which all evil proceeds. The ultimate fulfilment of this passage will be at a time close to the end of the world. Satan has been striving to establish this throne on earth since the beginning of the world. Daniel’s prophecy refers to the various failed attempts in the past. It will not be until the very last period of history that he will be allowed achieve this. Before then he presses forward but is only partially successful. God holds him back and prevents the man of sin being manifested until the right time. The Lord judged those earlier attempts of Satan by destroying each of those empires so that they lasted only for a limited time before giving way to the next. Nor did Satan at that time manage to take things to the extreme that he would have liked. Paul writes: ‘And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time’ (2 Thessalonians 2:6).But at the end, he will be allowed to succeed. The throne of the beast will be an identifiable seat of power and authority on earth. The antichrist will be at the head of that kingdom and will be the occupant of the throne. The result of this fifth bowl is that darkness will fill the devil’s kingdom. But is it not a kingdom of darkness already? Isn’t Satan one of the ‘rulers of the darkness of this age’ (Ephesians 6:12)? We are reminded that ‘we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 6:12). ‘[Christ] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love’ (Colossians 1:13). This name indicates Satan’s policy of keeping men away from the light of God and teaching them his own evil values. That kingdom has its own light (though it cannot really be called light at all). But this plague will plunge it into total spiritual darkness and confusion. It will be delivered over to confusion and self-contradiction. This punishment will not only affect the devil and the beast, but all those who have joined his side, all who have not put their trust in Christ. They will realise that the foundation of their power has been destroyed. They will see that they have been defeated and that the beast in whom they trusted is after all weak and unable to deliver them from the Holy One who now rises to do battle with them. The pain of remorse and probably also physical pain will gnaw at them, and they will gnaw their tongues in their anguish. This is a situation from which they cannot escape. They cannot hide their allegiance, for they have sided unreservedly with the beast.Again they blaspheme God. One judgment follows another and the hardness of the human heart produces its inevitable response. If God denies men repentance, they will never repent for they do not have it within them to humble themselves before him and to admit they are wrong. This time it is specifically stated that they did not repent of their deeds. The judgment of God is not without cause.