[§264] Rev 16:10-16: The Fifth and Sixth Vials Are Directed at Evil Spirits

This podcast provides an overview of the fifth and sixth Vial Plagues described by John in Revelation 16:10-16. The overview provides context for a more detailed discussion about the fifth Vial Plague that John describes in Revelation 16:10-11, as follows: “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, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” The fifth Vial Plague is antithetically symmetrical with the fifth trumpet plague, which means they are mirror opposites. During the fifth trumpet plague (First Woe), both unembodied and disembodied spirit sons of perdition (“hosts of hell”) are loosed from the bottomless pit with great power and influence in Revelation 9:1-12 to spread spiritual darkness on the physical earth. During the fifth vial plagues, these same hosts of hell have spiritual darkness poured out on them, on the seat (throne) of Satan. This torments them and causes them to gnaw their tongues in pain. Where once these hosts of hell were loosed from the bottomless pit to bring spiritual darkness on the physical world during the First Woe, the tables are reversed and they are tormented by spiritual darkness in preparation for the spiritual battle of Armageddon that will follow. When the host of hell are tormented by the spiritual darkness in their domain, they do not and cannot repent for they are sons of perdition and have committed the unpardonable sin. Therefore, they curse or blaspheme God, whom they know to be the source of their torment. This is shown by the New Testament account of the encounter between Jesus Christ and the man from Gadarenes who was possessed and tormented by a legion of spirits. This legion of evil spirits knew Christ and asked if he had come to torment them before the time? The evil spirits not only knew the Savior as the one who would torment them, but they knew the time of their torment was to be the fifth Vial Plague of the Third Woe. This podcast also provides an overview of Spiritual Armageddon, including the preparations for the battle in Revelation 16:12-16, and the final outcome of that battle where disembodied spirit sons of perdition are cast into the lake of fire in Revelation 19:19-20, while unembodied spirit sons of perdition are cast into the bottomless pit in Revelation 20:1-3.