Revelation 16:3, commentary and pictures

The second plague turns the sea into stagnant blood like that of a corpse, destroying every living creature in it. It is the second of the seven last outpourings of God's unmingled wrath upon the living wicked, poured out in order after Christ's intercession ends and every destiny is fixed. It falls just before deliverance and the second coming, in the time of trouble, upon beast-worshipers and transgressors of God's law and Sabbath who have exhausted mercy and shed the blood of the saints. Instead of repenting, the stricken wicked blame God's people for the judgments and seek to destroy them. Only those sealed, sanctified by truth and hidden with Christ, will be sheltered through it, so the time to prepare is now before probation closes.

Words and Identity of Plague

The second angel pours his vial upon the sea, and the sea becomes as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul in the sea dies. It is the second plague in order, the second of the seven last plagues poured out upon the wicked who have no shelter. This judgment falls just before God's people are finally delivered, after Christ's intercession has ceased. It is part of unmingled wrath against those who worship the beast and its image and receive its mark, and the plagues are limited rather than universal. The sea turned to blood recalls the guilt of those who persecuted God's people and condemned them to death, for they are given blood to drink because they are worthy, and the justice of the judgments is vindicated.

The verse belongs to the seven last plagues, which are the vials containing all the wrath of God poured out on the living wicked. They are poured out as God's wrath and burning wrath on those who have no shelter, bringing destruction to the ungodly who worship the beast and its image and receive its mark. God's people receive a covering that shelters them during the plagues, while those without that shelter are left exposed. They come after Jesus finishes His work in the sanctuary and the four angels release the winds, belonging to the time when the plagues bring the wicked to rage against the righteous. They are among the judgments that people still living on earth may experience, and they fall during the day of wrath, after Jesus finishes His priestly work in the heavenly sanctuary and takes up His role as king and judge. This day comes when Christ's work as intercessor is finished and He acts in judgment.

The vials are poured out one after another in order upon the inhabitants of the earth, after trumpet after trumpet has sounded. Its pouring is a solemn event still to come, with scenes of stupendous interest right upon the world. The wrath of God cannot come until Jesus has decided every case either for salvation or destruction, laid off His priestly attire, clothed Himself with the garments of vengeance, and stepped out from between the Father and man, and God no longer keeps silent but pours out His wrath on those who have rejected His truth. The plagues come in order after the anger of the nations, with the wrath of God and the time to judge the dead following as separate events, and after Michael stands up to begin the time of trouble such as never was, when the four angels release the four winds they held until the sanctuary work was done. The plagues enrage the wicked against the righteous, making them think the righteous brought the plagues down upon them and that if they could rid the earth of them the plagues would be stayed.

The plagues of Egypt before and during Israel's deliverance from bondage foreshadow these final plagues, which are poured out on the wicked just before and at the saints' deliverance. They are judgments on the living wicked but are not the final execution of judgment, for that takes place at the second death.

Timing in Final Events

The second plague falls after intercession ends in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when every case has been decided for salvation or for destruction. At that point Christ lays off priestly attire, is clothed with garments of vengeance, steps out from between the Father and man, takes the role of king and judge, and God no longer keeps silent but pours out wrath on those who rejected truth. This is the day of wrath against the living wicked, when His work as intercessor is finished and He acts in judgment.

Its pouring comes after the angel of mercy leaves the world and after Michael stands up to begin the time of trouble such as never was. It cannot come until God's servants are sealed, while the four angels hold the four winds until the sanctuary work is done, and then release them. It follows the anger of the nations as a separate event, with the wrath of God in the plagues and then the time to judge the dead following in order, and it comes after ministers and people are called out of the fallen churches. Before that time privilege is still held out to exchange darkness for light, error for truth, and sin for righteousness, but patience and mercy will not always wait, and when punishment begins there will be no period of respite until the end.

The plague belongs to the judgments that fall on the world just before God's people are finally delivered and just before the second coming of Christ. It is poured out on the wicked just before and at the saints' deliverance, during the day of wrath and the time of Jacob's trouble from which the saints are delivered by the voice of God. The plagues of Egypt before and during Israel's deliverance from bondage foreshadow these final plagues at deliverance.

Those alive in May 1856 were told that some of that same company would live to that time and be subject to those plagues, while others would die beforehand and rest in the grave until the sleeping saints awake to immortality, and still others would remain alive until Christ comes and be translated without seeing death. Its pouring is a solemn event still to come, with the vials poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth after trumpet after trumpet has sounded. It is among the judgments that people still living on earth may experience, with scenes of stupendous interest right upon the world.

Nature and Scope of Judgments

The plagues are terrible judgments, yet they are limited rather than universal in their reach. The second plague turns the sea into blood like that of a dead person, and every living creature in the sea dies under it.

Small sprinklings and drops from the vials are already falling upon land and sea. They are seen in disasters by sea and by land, in destructive fires, earthquakes, railway accidents, tornadoes, floods, disease, and vitiated air. God has not restrained the powers of darkness from vitiating the air and bringing pestilence, cholera, diphtheria, and unexplainable diseases. These present calamities are only faint representations of what will come in the near future when the vial is fully poured out, limited sprinklings and faint warnings of greater calamities to come.

Awful calamities by sea, where vessels are hurled into eternity without a moment's warning, show the plagues of God already falling upon the earth. Fires by land consume riches men have hoarded, much of it by oppression of the poor. Judgments sweep away costly structures as if by a breath of fire from heaven. The vial poured upon the sea is part of the judgments the Lord is now sending upon the earth, carrying special meaning and showing how fast the last great crisis is approaching.

God permits these judgments to come and will not interfere to protect the property of transgressors. When God begins to punish transgressors there will be no period of respite until the end, amid sin, shame, sorrow, and darkness on every side and worldwide desolation.

Justice and Its Targets

The second vial is unmingled wrath poured out upon the living wicked who have no shelter, upon the godless world left exposed without a covering. It falls on those who worship the beast and its image and receive its mark, and on those who have rejected truth. It is part of the seven last plagues containing all of God's wrath and burning wrath, poured out just before and at the deliverance of the saints, after priestly intercession in the heavenly sanctuary has finished and the role of king and judge is taken.

It falls on those who transgress God's law, break His covenant, and trample upon His Sabbath while accepting a spurious rest day in its place. God permits these judgments and will not interfere to protect the property of such transgressors, that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him, and that professing Christians may be brought to their senses. When human pride is brought low the withering judgment reaches kings and nobles as well as the rich and the poor.

It comes when human wickedness has exceeded the bounds of God's grace, outrun the limits of His grace and exhausted His mercy. It comes when more than common contempt is placed upon the holy law by making it void and making human laws supreme, when the swellings of unrighteousness come to a fearful pass and men exceed the bounds prescribed. Then God will not long delay His interference to vindicate His honor upon a godless world. Omnipotence keeps a reckoning of the sum of guilt of every nation and punishes with divine punishment rebellion against God's law, war, bloodshed and apostasy.

The sea turned to blood recalls the guilt of those who persecuted God's people and condemned them to death. They are given blood to drink because they are worthy, and the justice of these terrible though limited judgments is thereby vindicated.

Those who fail to recognize the signs of the times in this wicked and adulterous generation will be found among those who perish under the outpoured vials of wrath.

Effects on the Wicked

The outpouring brings fearful suffering and agony, with pestilence, famine and death upon the inhabitants of the earth. Armies muster for battle while men's hearts fail them for fear, the earth is moved out of its place, the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea, and the waves thereof roar and are troubled. Sin, shame, sorrow and darkness lie on every side, and once punishment of transgressors begins there is no period of respite until the end. Only those sanctified through the truth in the love of God will stand, hid with Christ in God until the desolation is overpast, and no hiding behind a lie will escape that wrath, for the refuge of lies will be stripped away. Until then the precious privilege is still held out to exchange darkness for light, error for truth, and sin for righteousness, but patience and mercy will not always wait.

The plagues enrage the wicked against the righteous, who are blamed for bringing the judgments down upon them. They think that if they could rid the earth of the righteous the plagues would be stayed, and this leads to a decree to slay the saints. The same agony turns the wicked against one another with loud wailing. Parents bitterly reproach children and children parents, and brothers and sisters reproach each other for keeping one another from receiving the truth that would have saved them from that awful hour. The people turn upon their ministers with bitter hate for not warning them but telling them all the world was to be converted and crying peace, peace to quiet every fear, while calling those who warned fanatics and evil men, and the ministers themselves do not escape the wrath but suffer tenfold greater than their people.

The plagues torment the false shepherds and hireling priests who lead their flock to death. God's hand remains stretched out until His purposes are fully accomplished, until those priests acknowledge that God loved those who held fast the truth and kept His commandments, and until all the unrighteous are destroyed from the earth. These judgments by sea, where vessels are hurled into eternity without a moment's warning, and by land in fires and costly structures swept away, are permitted to come and will not be stayed to protect the property of transgressors. They are permitted that the world may take heed, that sinners may be afraid and tremble before Him, and that professing Christians may be brought to their senses, proving the end of all things is at hand.

Warning and Preparation

God's people receive a covering that shelters them during the seven last plagues of burning wrath, while those without that shelter are left exposed. That wrath cannot come until every case is decided for salvation or destruction and until the servants of God are sealed while the four angels hold the four winds, and the anger of the nations, the wrath of God in the plagues, and the time to judge the dead are separate events following one after another. Only those sanctified through the truth in the love of God will stand, hid with Christ in God until the desolation is overpast, and no one can escape that wrath by hiding behind a lie, for God will strip away the refuge of lies. When God begins to punish transgressors there will be no period of respite until the end, amid sin, shame, sorrow, and darkness on every side.

The plagues enrage the wicked against the righteous, who are blamed for bringing the judgments, leading to a decree to slay the saints and to the time of Jacob's trouble, from which the saints are delivered by the voice of God. Many of God's professed people are unready and will come up to the falling of the plagues without a shelter. When the plagues begin to fall the unready will wring their hands and the hour will be too late, so the warning now is He is coming, get ready, get ready, and receive the Holy Spirit.

Understanding the prophecies of plagues in Revelation 12-18, which are being fulfilled, matters because it guides people to shape their conduct and actions so they will not receive the plagues. They must be studied closely and prayerfully, without imposing human ideas on symbols and figures. The vial judgments carry special meaning and show how fast the last great crisis is approaching, with the vial poured upon the sea part of the judgments the Lord is now sending upon the earth.

Those who claim these judgments have no special meaning will soon be forced to understand what they now choose not to understand, so the call is for less time in strife and contention and for thinking seriously about the nearness of the end. Before that time God still holds out the precious privilege of exchanging darkness for light, error for truth, and sin for righteousness, but His patience and mercy will not always wait. Its pouring is a solemn event yet to transpire, with scenes of stupendous interest right upon us, and a sure indication of the presence of Christ who has directed in every aggressive movement, accompanied the march of His cause through all the ages, and pledged to be with His people in all their conflicts to the end of the world. He will vindicate His truth and cause it to triumph, supplying His faithful ones with motives and power of purpose, inspiring them with hope and courage and valor in increased activity as the time is at hand.