Apocalipse 16

BLIVRE · Chapter 16/22

1E eu ouvi uma grande voz do templo, dizendo aos sete anjos: “Ide, e derramai as taças da ira de Deus sobre a terra.”

2E foi o primeiro, e derramou sua taça sobre a terra; e se fez uma chaga ruim e maligna nos homens que tinham a marca da besta, e que adoravam a imagem dela.

3E o segundo anjo derramou sua taça sobre o mar, e [este] se tornou em sangue como de morto, e toda alma vivente no mar morreu.

4E o terceiro anjo derramou sua taça sobre os rios, e sobre as fontes de águas, e se tornaram em sangue.

5E eu ouvi ao anjo das águas, dizendo: “Justo és tu, Senhor, que és, e que eras, e que virás a ser, porque julgaste estas coisas;

6porque eles derramaram o sangue dos santos e dos profetas, também tu lhes deste sangue a beber; porque disto são merecedores.”

7E ouvi um outro do altar, dizendo: “Sim, Senhor Deus Todo-Poderoso, verdadeiros e justos são os teus juízos!”

8E o quarto anjo derramou sua taça sobre o sol; e foi-lhe concedido que queimasse os seres humanos com fogo.

9E os seres humanos foram queimados com grande calor, e blasfemaram do nome de Deus, que tem poder sobre estas pagas; e eles não se arrependeram, para lhe darem glória.

10E o quinto anjo derramou sua taça sobre o trono da besta, e seu reino se tornou em trevas, e mordiam de dor suas línguas.

11E eles blasfemaram a Deus do céu por causa de suas dores e por causa de suas chagas; e não se arrependeram de suas obras.

12E o sexto anjo derramou sua taça sobre o grande rio Eufrates; e sua água se secou, para que se preparasse o caminho dos reis do [oriente] , onde o sol nasce.

13E da boca do dragão, e da boca da besta, e da boca do falso profeta, eu vi [saírem] três espíritos imundos, semelhantes a rãs.

14Porque são espíritos de demônios, e fazem sinais sobrenaturais, os quais vão aos reis da terra, e de todo o mundo, para os ajuntarem à batalha daquele grande dia do Deus Todo-Poderoso.

15“(Eis que eu venho como ladrão. Bendito é aquele que vigia e guarda suas roupas, para que não ande nu, e vejam seu impudor).”

16E foram reunidos no lugar que em hebraico se chama Armagedom.

17E o sétimo anjo derramou sua taça sobre o ar; e saiu uma grande voz do templo do céu, do trono, dizendo: “Está feito.”

18E houve vozes, e trovões, e relâmpagos; e houve um grande terremoto, o qual nunca tinha acontecido desde que existia a humanidade sobre a terra, de tão forte e tão grande.

19E a grande cidade se fendeu em três partes, e as cidades das nações caíram; e a grande Babilônia veio em memória diante de Deus, para dar a ela o cálice do vinho da indignação da sua ira.

20E toda ilha fugiu, e os montes não foram achados.

21E uma grande granizo, como de peso de um talento, caiu do céu sobre os homens; e os seres humanos blasfemaram a Deus por causa da praga do granizo, porque a sua praga era muito grande.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Seven angels pour out the bowls of God's wrath on the earth, the sea, the rivers, the sun, the throne of the beast, the river Euphrates, and finally the air, causing devastating plagues. The sixth bowl prepares the way for the final battle, gathered at a place called Armageddon.

Explanation

The seven bowls form the last and most intense series of judgments in the book, again echoing the plagues of Egypt, but now described as 'the last,' suggesting their final and complete nature, unlike the partial plagues of the earlier trumpets. The drying up of the river Euphrates, historically the eastern border of the Roman Empire and the invasion route of foreign armies (such as the Parthians, feared by the Romans), symbolizes the removal of barriers that will allow hostile forces to gather for the final confrontation. 'Armageddon,' mentioned only this one time in the entire Bible, is generally identified with Megiddo, a plateau in northern Israel that was the site of numerous real historical battles over the centuries, making it a fitting symbol of decisive confrontation. Today's application is that, despite severe judgments, many still refuse to repent, blaspheming God instead of turning to him, a pattern of spiritual hardening the text repeatedly laments.

Fun facts

  • 'Armageddon' (16:16) likely derives from the Hebrew 'Har Megiddo' (Mount of Megiddo), an ancient fortress city in northern Israel that guarded a strategic trade and military route, and was the site of at least 34 documented historical battles over more than three thousand years.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Apocalipse 16:1A voice from the temple sets off the last series of plagues in the book, ordering the seven angels to pour out the bowls of God's wrath upon the earth, a sequence similar in structure to the earlier seals and trumpets.
  2. Apocalipse 16:2The first bowl brings painful sores upon those who have the mark of the beast, directly echoing the plague of boils suffered by the Egyptians in Exodus.
  3. Apocalipse 16:3The second bowl turns the sea into something like the blood of a dead man, killing all marine life - an even more intense version of the plague that turned the Nile River to blood in Egypt.
  4. Apocalipse 16:4The third bowl strikes rivers and springs of water, repeating the same transformation into blood.
  5. Apocalipse 16:5The “angel of the waters” declares that this judgment is righteous, echoing the same language from the greeting in chapter 1 about God being the One “which art, and wast” - except here without the phrase “and art to come,” because the judgment is already underway.
  6. Apocalipse 16:6This explains the logic of this specific punishment: those who shed the blood of saints and prophets now receive blood to drink, a retribution that exactly mirrors the crime committed.
  7. Apocalipse 16:7A second voice, coming from the altar, confirms the previous verdict, answering directly the cry for justice the martyrs had already raised back in chapter 6.
  8. Apocalipse 16:8The fourth bowl strikes the sun, giving it power to scorch people with excessive heat.
  9. Apocalipse 16:9Even while suffering this heat, the people affected react by blaspheming God instead of repenting, a pattern repeated in almost every plague in the book.
  10. Apocalipse 16:10The fifth bowl strikes directly at the seat of the beast, plunging its own kingdom into darkness, with people gnawing their tongues in pain.
  11. Apocalipse 16:11Once again, the pain produces no repentance, only more blasphemy against God, reinforcing the pattern of hardening already seen in the earlier trumpet plagues.
  12. Apocalipse 16:12Drying up a river so an army can cross recalls the crossings of the Red Sea and the Jordan in Exodus and Joshua, reused here as an image of a way being opened for a confrontation, without the text saying who these kings are.
  13. Apocalipse 16:13The image of frogs once again echoes the plagues of Egypt, in Exodus, becoming here a figure for deceiving spirits in the service of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet together.
  14. Apocalipse 16:14Demonic spirits with the appearance of frogs (an image already introduced in the previous verse) go out summoning the kings of the whole world to a final battle, called here “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
  15. Apocalipse 16:15In the middle of the plague narrative, a warning interrupts the scene, repeating the same image of the “thief” already used in the letter to Sardis, in chapter 3: a reminder to stay watchful, inserted right at the moment of greatest tension.
  16. Apocalipse 16:16The name comes from the Hebrew ‘Har Megiddo,’ Mount Megiddo, a real valley in northern Israel that had already been the site of several historical battles recorded in the Old Testament. Here it functions as a symbolic setting for a final confrontation, without the text stating where or when such an event will actually happen.
  17. Apocalipse 16:17The seventh and final bowl, poured out into the air, brings a final declaration from the throne itself: “It is done,” a word marking the end of this sequence of judgments.
  18. Apocalipse 16:18A combination of phenomena - lightnings, thunderings, and an earthquake described as the greatest in human history - marks the magnitude of the event now completed.
  19. Apocalipse 16:19The “great city” splits into three parts, and Babylon (the symbolic name already used in chapter 14 and detailed in the following chapters) finally receives the cup of the wine of the wrath of God.
  20. Apocalipse 16:20This repeats the same language of the total collapse of the natural order already seen in chapter 6, with islands and mountains vanishing from their places.
  21. Apocalipse 16:21A talent was an ancient unit of weight, tens of kilograms, so this hail is described at an impossibly destructive size - once again the exaggerated scale typical of this kind of literature, not a literal weather report.

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