CHAPTER XV

This chapter has the significance of an introduction to the next section: on chalices. In general, it once again confirms one of the main ideas of Revelation about the angelic-human nature of the historical process, and also again reveals the rhythm of its presentation through contrasts, comparisons and contrasts of heavenly and earthly achievements. Here two visions in heaven are compared: "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful, seven angels having seven last plagues" – this is the first. The second is "as it were a sea of glass, mingled with fire, and those who have conquered the beast and the image of a hundred, and his mark and the number of his name, stand on this sea of glass, holding the harp of God" (2). "The sea of glass, as it were mingled with fire" is different from "the sea of glass, like crystal before the throne of Him who sits" (IV, 6). It signifies the lower sphere of being in comparison with it (which is expressed, first of all, through the "as if" ως), moreover, in the absence of "likeness to crystal", but with the addition of the attribute: "mixed with fire". The latter expresses precisely the dual character of this symbol as referring not only to the divine realm, but also to the created, albeit in its highest manifestation of "fire". Whether we give it a cosmological meaning – a celestial ocean, or a starry world, or we can see the sacraments of the Church that permeate created life, but, in any case, this is connected with the victory of those who resisted in the struggle with the beast. "The harp of God" obviously means the appeal to God of this psalm doxology, which is defined in two ways: "the song of Moses," the servant of God, and the "song of the Lamb," the Old and New Testaments. The song of Moses, sung after crossing the Black Sea, means an analogy with the spiritual victory over the beast, and the song of the Lamb (more precisely, the song of the Lamb) is a glorification of the Savior of the world (either from the side of the 144,000 sealed, or in general from all the saints of the Church of Christ).

It should be established here that this hymn is sung in the world beyond the grave before the Parousia of Christ and the general resurrection, just before the proclamation of the seven last plagues that will come to earth. What is the content of this song? It refers to the works of God, in the ways of leading the world to salvation. "Great and wonderful are Thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Righteous are Thy ways, O King of the saints! Who will not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy Name? For Thou art the only holy one. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been revealed." Thus, this doxology is also a theodicy, as it is revealed in the afterlife just before the earthly world enters the very last period of trials, the "seven last plagues." That which on earth is the utmost terror, in the spiritual world is comprehended and glorified as a revelation of the ways of God. Thus limited and blind remains man's comprehension of his destinies on earth. But this theodicy, sung in the spiritual world, must be the comprehension of the destinies of God, which have persuasiveness on earth and lead to the conversion and worship of God by all nations. In the revelation itself we do not find this comprehension, which would correspond to such an action of the last plagues themselves, on the contrary, it seems to be quite the opposite, leading to the final hardening... However, this prophetic hint cannot be omitted, but must be accepted in all its force. Does it not refer to the conversion and salvation of all Israel, with all the significance of this spiritual event and its consequences in the life of the Church for all nations? Such an assumption is all the more appropriate since the prophecy about this in Ap. Paul, Rom. IX-XI seems to have no direct consonance in Revelation other than this content of the song of Moses and the Lamb in all the significance of this dual union. In any case, this testimony that "Thy judgments have been opened" means the comprehension of the meaning of history in all the complexity and contradiction of its paths, in all the world-historical tragedy, in its dialectics...

The second half of chapter XV is devoted (to the symbolic image of the opening of the temple and the "tabernacle in heaven",[66] together with the departure from the temple of the seven angels with seven plagues. IX). They have to offer the sacrifice of God's righteousness. "And one of the four animals (i.e., from the highest angelic presence before God) gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever" (5). However, this decision in heaven remains under the veil of divine mystery, incomprehensible to man: "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God" (smoke is a symbol of mystery), and no one could enter the temple until the mysteries of God's ways, their transcendence, were completed until the time of their fulfillment.

CHAPTER XVI

This chapter is entirely devoted to the seven vials of God's wrath, which the seven angels are sent to pour out to earth "with a loud voice from the temple." Let us, therefore, first pose a few general and preliminary questions. Of these, the very first, which we have already had to raise more than once, relates to the general meaning of this revelation. According to it, angels of God's wrath are sent from heaven here in order to execute executions through the outpouring of these chalices. We cannot but feel a certain embarrassment before this revelation, which is so difficult to reconcile with the idea of guardian angels leading and saving people on the paths of their earthly life. Here it seems to change to the exact opposite, it is the angels who are the instruments of God's wrath. However, we must not forget that this does not refer to the final judgment and the final fate of men, but to the paths of history, which is a tragic, but at the same time salvific struggle and clash of opposing spiritual forces. On the paths of this struggle, the action of God's wrath is also salvific, which is realized through the angels. In the Old Testament, the plagues of Egypt are carried out through the intermediary of Moses by stretching out his rod or his hand, by which the commandments of God are fulfilled, and only about the last plague, the slaughter of the firstborn, it is said that it is performed by the Lord Himself (Exod. XII, 12), but this expression, of course, cannot be taken literally, it also implies an intermediary performer, who is most likely also an angel. Here, in Revelation, the angels are the direct executors of God's commands, and the action of God's love for this situation is revealed in the saving wrath of God. The general task of Revelation is to show the ways of the world in its history as the struggle of Christ with the prince of this world for this peace. It gives the very plan of the Apocalypse the character of a certain stylization, aimed precisely at revealing this idea, and to that extent being one-sided. Such one-sidedness, inherent in stylization, must, of course, be understood and accepted in the general Old and New Testament context, in which it is the depiction of angelic ministry as guardian angels that is rather absent, but other features that seem even opposite from the outside predominate. And this mutual completion of the teaching about angels in different parts of the Bible in the general biblical context must necessarily be taken into account when understanding its particular features. This is true of this chapter, as well as of others of a similar nature, where angels are sent to proclaim the wrath of God, as well as to carry it out.

Now let us turn to the particular content of Chapter XVI. It is dedicated to the pouring out of the seven vials of God's wrath on earth by seven angels from heaven. Here, first of all, the two preceding weeks, the seven seals and the seven trumpets beg for comparison. If the first week (of the seals) is very different and can be considered independently, then the second (the trumpets) of Chapter VIII begs for a direct rapprochement with the third, in a certain sense it is a variant of it or a repetition of the same motif, its "recapitulation". There are different shades in the opinions of exegetes regarding the immediate nature of this recapitulation, both in the similarities and differences of the two compared sevens. [67] For us, these particulars are not of decisive importance and do not change the basic relationship between them. At the same time, the seven bowls, like the seven trumpets earlier, provide an analogy (also with certain differences) with the Egyptian plagues (Exod. VII-X), which served as a kind of typological scheme for them. Only the fourth cup has no direct analogy for itself; The second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh bowls are generally parallel to the corresponding pipes, only the action of the bowls is not limited by the third part of the object of action in the same way as it is with regard to the pipes.

As with the trumpets, the symbolism of the bowls has an accentuated character of mythological images, and at the same time reveals a clear influence of the common language of apocalypticism, as well as the narrative of the Book of Exodus. A literal understanding of them is extremely difficult, if at all possible. These images can be interpreted in relation to the natural world, as well as to the spiritual world, and can be understood literally and figuratively. Their main idea is that the spiritual struggle between the light and dark forces in the world, which accompanies the enthronement of Christ and the construction of the Kingdom of God, takes place with the active participation of the holy angels and the guidance of God, which is described in symbolic images of its direct influence. At the same time, however, the question remains open whether the actions of the angels in the world, who fulfill the will of God in it, are transparent and intelligible as such, or remain open in the external events of this world. In other words, does the empirical history of mankind coincide with its metaempirical ontology? On this basis, one should abandon the attempt to interpret these images literally, referring them rather to the language of religious poetry (as in the narrative of the trumpets) and perceiving only their general meaning. Nevertheless, it is necessary to briefly review this series of images. After the outpouring of the first cup, "cruel and abominable wounds were made on those who had the mark of the beast and worshipped his image" (2), in fulfillment of the threat contained in chapter XIV, 9-11 (cf. Exod. IX, 10-11, the sixth plague of Egypt). Obviously, this image admits of both physical and spiritual understanding, and even more so the latter, in so far as totalitarian bestiality in general entails the phenomenon of spiritual disease and decay. The connection between the two, which is revealed here to prophetic clairvoyance, may remain imperceptible and incomprehensible to the ordinary eye, but the general idea that the spiritual ill health of every people, as well as spiritual diseases, have spiritual causes for themselves, is here quite clear and transparent. It is impossible to maintain spiritual health and balance in the presence of a fundamental spiritual damage. This image can therefore be applied to a whole series of historical epochs, as well as to events of a similar nature, from antiquity to the present day and to the future end of the world, in particular, and to individual events of history that become transparent in the light of this image.

The second and third bowls refer to the waters in the sea and rivers. Under the influence of the second cup, poured into the sea, "the blood became as of a dead man, and all living things died in the sea" (2), and from the third cup, poured into rivers and springs of water, "blood was made." The physics of these plagues is reminiscent of the first plague in Egypt (Exod. VII, 17-21). (The action of the second cup is more widespread than in Egypt, because there the waters of the Nile are affected, and here there is no limitation. (These inaccuracies and discrepancies only confirm how unnecessary it is to insist on a literal understanding of this poetic speech.) Of course, even here it is difficult and hardly correct to see the transformation of all waters, sea and river, into blood. Would it not be more correct here, preferring a spiritual interpretation of the physical image, to see an indication of the threatening and deadly spiritual impoverishment and poisoning of the sources of spiritual nourishment, through the replacement of the preaching of the Gospel with the products of the "Ministry of Propaganda"? This understanding of this image is also confirmed by the interpretation of the second and third bowls in Revelation. Two angels, the angel of the waters (parallel to the angel of fire XIV, 18 and the angel of the winds, VII, 1), as the guardian of the water element, which is now poisoned, testifies to the significance of what happened together with the "angel from the altar", i.e. from the temple from which the angels of God's wrath are sent. They reveal the meaning of what happened precisely as an act of God's wrath: "Righteous art Thou, O Lord, who is, and was, and holy, because thou hast judged thus: because they shed the blood of saints and prophets, thou hast given them blood to drink, they are worthy of it" (4-5), and the angel from the altar confirms this heavenly theodicy: "O Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments" (7). Here is indicated the providential significance of these determinations of God Almighty, Who rules the world on the paths of righteousness and truth. The general allegorical meaning of this symbolism is evidently such that moral spiritual perversion necessarily entails its grave consequences in the natural world as well. The fourth angel "poured out" his cup in the sun, and it was given to him to burn people with fire. And the great heat burned the people; and they blasphemed the name of God, who has power over these plagues, and did not understand to give Him glory" (8:9). Of course, in this case, this image of a bowl poured into the sun does not even admit of a literal understanding. This image speaks of the unrepentance of people even during a new trial by fire or intense heat. It is accompanied by persistent blasphemy, blasphemy of the "Name of God," as is sometimes characteristic of godlessness, although it completely denies the power of God and His very existence, despite all this internal contradiction. Obviously, this image speaks of a state of severe anguish, which is a consequence of spiritual decline and bitterness.

Thus, the first four bowls directly affect nature (earth, water, and fire), while the last three predominantly affect man, although in connection with the cosmic element (the seventh bowl). "The fifth angel poured out the cup on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became gloomy, and they bit their tongues with suffering. And they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and their wounds, and they did not repent of their deeds" (16-11). Here, too, we have an allegory that does not admit of a literal understanding: the "cup on the throne of the beast," which darkened his kingdom, evidently signifies a deep melancholy, a tormenting state of spiritual atmosphere. There is an analogy here with the action of the trumpets of the fifth angel, the fall of the stars from heaven, the darkening of the earth by the smoke coming out of the well from which the locusts come out with their destructive bites, and the search for death from anguish (IX, 1-7). There is a complete analogy between the fifth trumpet and the fifth bowl in their action, although there is no mythological locust of the fifth trumpet (IX, 7-10). Blasphemy and impenitence are repeated after the fifth cup in the same way as after the fourth.

The sixth cup is also a complete analogy and in part even a repetition of the action of the sixth trumpet (IX, 13-21), which is manifested "on the Euphrates River". The sixth cup is also poured out "upon the great river Euphrates," "and the waters are dried up in it, that the way of the kings may be prepared from the rising of the sun" (XVI, 12). In other words, a favorable environment is created for political movements and conflicts, which is facilitated by demonic inspirations of a threefold nature: "And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs," these are demonic spirits "working signs" (13-14). Here again appears the dragon – Satan as the common inspirer of evil, and his two obedient tools: the beast – the totalitarian state and the false prophet – a pagan, godless, anti-Christian civilization. As above, they perform their own "signs" with which they deceive the nations that marvel at their strength and success. "They go out to the kings of the earth of the whole world, to gather them together for battle on that great day of God Almighty" (14). This is not yet the day of the Dread Judgment of God, but one of the upheavals and world catastrophes, which have already been spoken of more than once in other forms in Revelation (V, 12-17; IX, 14-21; XI, 13; XIV, 14-20). Now a digression from the first person is introduced, apparently this is the essence of the Lord's words referring to His Parousia: "Behold, I come as a thief" (15). In all their unexpectedness and suddenness, they are consonant with similar images of the Gospel minor apocalypse: the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. XXV, 1-13; Mf. XXIV, 46; Mk. XII; 1 Thess. V, 2; Open. III, 2). Of course, this is not directly related here to the events described, which only mark the approach of the end, but not its coming. The second half of this digression contains an allegorical call to spiritual vigilance: "Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, that he may not walk naked, and that they may not see his shame." The very existence of such an address is significant: it means that even in these days of terrible trials there are chosen ones, to whom such a word can still be addressed with a call to vigilance and their gratification. [68] This is another confirmation of the extent to which the external hyperbolism in the description of all horrors, which to a certain extent is characteristic of the apocalyptic style, should not be taken literally. But there is also another side of this address, which requires special attention; It is precisely this: in these days of horror and mystical anguish induced by demonic confinement, believers are called to spiritual vigilance, and consequently to freedom from general panic. This is what is also said in the Lesser Apocalypse: "Beware lest anyone deceive you" (Matt. XXIV, 4), "and when these things begin to come to pass, then lift up and lift up your heads, for your deliverance draws nigh" (Lk. XXIV, 28). Such should be the spiritual response to trials, worthy of a Christian: the worse, the better. This also gives an answer to the general question of what should be the practical attitude to the horrors with which the images of Revelation are full, and what is their didactic content. They should not frighten, but cultivate in the soul Christian courage and hope, based on trust in God's Providence. These horrors are sent from heaven for the good of people, for the salvation of all, no matter how strange and unexpected such words may seem.

The battle for which demonic spirits gather "the kings of the whole universe," as in this case its boundaries are defined with hyperbolism, takes place in "a place called Armageddon in Hebrew" (16). Here, of course, we have as much a geographical as a mystical interpretation. Armaggedon, "the city of Megiddo," or simply Megiddo, is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and the name sounds ominous in its historical associations as the place where kings perish: the Judgment. IV and V. Thus the general Sisarra was killed by Barak at the "waters of Megiddo" (V, 19), and here king Ahaziah was killed by Jehu (2 Kings 1:10). IX, 27), King Josiah of Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 2:27). XXIII, 29; cf. Zech. XII, 11; 2 Paron. XXXV, 22). The meaning of the use of this name, accessible to the Jewish listener, thus contains a prophecy of destruction.

The seventh cup does not find a direct correspondence for itself in a series of pipes (it can be approached only with the third "woe", just as the fifth and sixth bowls are analogous to the "grief" of the first and second). "The seventh angel poured out his cup into the air" (17). This means not so much the defeat of a special element (as was the case in the previous cases: fire, water, earth), but the general state of the world in the approach of the future accomplishments of the will of God, which are foretold in heaven: "And out of the temple of heaven from the throne there was heard a loud voice, saying, It is finished." Of course, this word cannot be equated with the cross "was made" of the Son of God, who offered sacrifice for the salvation of the world. However shaken this "loud voice from the throne" was all natural nature, it cannot be equated in effect and significance with the universal power of the whispering of the parched lips that have tasted the ocetus for the salvation of the world. However, in the given destinies of this world, a new facet and accomplishment is noted here, which is described in the images of an earthquake: "And there were lightnings, thunders, and voices, and there was an earthquake such as has not been seen since men were on the earth. Such an earthquake, such a great one." The sacred writer seems to have not enough words to express the full force of this earthquake. This image is found more than once in Revelation. For the first time since the opening of the sixth seal VI, 12-17, the great day of the wrath of the Lamb is described, in which, together with an earthquake, a general world catastrophe occurs; the second time we have it before the seven trumpets of the seven angels, in anticipation of the earthly thunderstorms from the fire with altars thrown down to the earth (described in expressions VIII, 5 closest to the present text). The next earthquake ends the second mountain XI, 13, 19. In terms of meaning, though not in the literal similarity of the images, the "harvest of the earth" also applies here: ch. XIV, 14-20. All these repetitions are a kind of "restitution" of one common prophecy, although with different shades and details. The same can be seen here as a description of one and the same accomplishment, or typologically similar, similar events at different times in the life of the world, but with increasing force. The same can be noted about Chapter XVI in its comparison with the previous ones. Thus, here we have: "the great city (evidently Rome or the capital of the world in general) has broken up into three parts, and the pagan cities have fallen, and Babylon the great (the same Rome or the city in general, as the center of civilization) will be remembered before God to give him the cup of wine of the fury of His wrath" (19). In XI, 13 it is only said that "a tenth of the city perished. And seven thousand names of men perished in the earthquake, and the rest were seized with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven" (13). Further, verse 20, "And every city fled, and the mountains were gone," almost literally repeats the description of the earthquake VI, 14. To this is added a feature that is absent above: "And a hail the size of a talent fell from heaven on men" (21). (Cf. the fourth plague of Egypt: Exod. IX, 18-25). Hail with talent, i.e. stones of very great weight (up to 40 kilos), means, of course, a great spiritual heaviness descending on human hearts. This is a convergence with a similar action of the fourth and fifth bowls. All this, however, ends with a depiction of the former impenitence and hardness of human hearts: "And people blasphemed God for the plagues of hail, because the plague from it was very grievous" (21). Here is a complete analogy of the effect of the fourth and fifth bowls on people. But this last feature confirms for the last time that the action takes place in this world and before its end. The historical judgment of God here is not yet the Dread Judgment upon all mankind, but the salvific action of God's Providence in the world.