In our study of the seven bowls of wrath of Revelation 16, we have come to the fifth bowl. The fifth angel poured out his bowl of wrath upon the seat of the Beast. Scholars have long assumed and even sought to prove through the annals of history that the seat of the beast (i.e. his throne or center of government) was Rome or the Vatican,[1] but, unless one embraces Preterism for one’s eschatology, it is really difficult to find anyone who would claim Jerusalem was the seat or throne of the Beast. Yet, as an honest consideration of the facts would reveal, this is the perspective that Scripture takes.
The Lord, through Moses, caused darkness to come upon Egypt, including Pharaoh’s throne, that was actually felt physically, and the people were so affected by it that they didn’t leave their homes for three days, (Exodus 10:21-23). Nevertheless, through Isaiah the Lord spoke of a kind of darkness that wasn’t physically felt, but was felt spiritually (Isaiah 8:11-22; 9:1-7). In other words, the light of the sun wasn’t literally affected, but the light of the mind was (cp. 1Corinthians 2:6-11). So, which is it in Revelation 16:10—physical or spiritual darkness? It seems to me that the Lord spoke of spiritual darkness that was about to come over the Jews, when he claimed that many (having the faith of Abraham) would come from the east and the west (i.e. gentiles) and sit down in the Kingdom of God, but the children of the Kingdom (i.e. the natural citizens, or the unbelieving Jews) would find themselves outside of the Kingdom of God and in darkness, which can only mean spiritual darkness (Matthew 8:12).[2]
I’ve already mentioned above that the seat or throne of the Beast was located at Jerusalem during the first century AD (cp. Revelation 13:2).[3] The previous judgments were spent upon the Jewish state in a manner that led up to the Lord’s judgment upon its power or authority (i.e. the throne of the Beast). The first bowl of wrath fell upon the Jews in a manner that marked them out for the wicked deeds they had done to the Lord’s disciples. The second bowl of judgment was expressed in that the Lord separated his disciples from the wicked and rebellious people, and as a result, the wicked became as though they were dead. There was no one who was spiritually alive among them. The third bowl of wrath was poured out upon the fountains of waters, and in this the Lord gave the Jewish state false prophets to bring their wickedness to its fulfillment. The fourth bowl was poured out upon the sun, which indicated trouble and affliction for the unbelieving Jewish state and propelled them into a state of darkness, without the light of God. Nevertheless, they simply refused to repent of their wicked rebellious ways, because they never took it to heart (Isaiah 42:25)! Therefore, their cruel Roman lords governed them out of hatred and with violence, which paralleled the Jews’ own hatred and violence toward Christ and his disciples.
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[1] See the commentaries by The People’s New Testament; John Trapp; John Gill; Matthew Henry; Albert Barnes; Joseph Benson; and Adam Clarke etc.
[2] See previous studies: The Angels Who Sinned and The World of the Ungodly.
[3] See also my previous studies in the Apocalypse: The Beast with Seven Heads; The Beast’s Great Power and Authority; and Healing the Deadly Wound.
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