The Fifth Bowl Of Revelation 16

This Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible study focuses on the fifth bowl of Revelation 16.

Summary: The fifth bowl was poured out on the seat of the beast, as the office of the papacy lost their power in 1798 A.D. Shortly after the French Revolution, the Papal States were invaded by French forces, and they removed Pope Pius VI, who died in exile in Valence (France) in 1799. Their 1,260 reign was ended by the hand of the Lord, but they repented not. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores of losing their power.

Revelation 16:10-11, Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.

This represents the Jesuits causing the Popes to be overthrown, his possessions stripped, his temporal government abolished, as he was carried away captive to die in a foreign land, and Rome given up to plunder and desecration.

French military office Berthier “marched upon Rome, set up a Roman republic, and laid hands upon the Pope. The sovereign Pontiff was borne away to the camp of the infidels… from prison to prison, and finally, carried captive into France.  Here he breathed his last at Valence, in the land where his priest had been slain, where his power was broken, and his name and office were a mockery and by-word, and in keeping of the rude soldiers of the unbelieving commonwealth, which had for ten years held to his lips a cup of such manifold and exceeding bitterness. Gill, “Papal Drama,” Book X

The authority and power of the Papacy progressively disintegrated from 1798 to 1866.  The Papal States were attacked repeatedly.  And in 1870, Rome was conquered by Italian troops, and incorporated into Italy.

This loss of power from such great heights caused the Popes of the Harlot Church to “gnaw their tongues for pain,” but she repented not.

Popes issued anathemas, but they had no power to enforce them.  Instead of repenting of her sins, the Popes of the Harlot Church continued to blaspheme God with their false doctrines.

Matthew Poole’s Commentary on the Holy Bible, 1683

And the fifth angel; the fifth of the seven angels mentioned Re 16:1: by which, as was said, is to be understood the instruments which God will use gradually to destroy the papacy; the fifth rank of persons, whom God will employ in the execution of this his purpose, by his acts of providence.

Poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; shall execute God’s wrath upon the city of Rome itself, wholly destroying the papacy in their power.

From The People’s New Testament Commentary, 19th Century

By the throne of the beast must be meant the seat of his power. There are few students of the Bible, whether Catholic or Protestant, who deny that Italy and Rome are the throne of the great world power of which the seven-headed beast is the symbol.

Then, the scene of the calamities of the fifth vial will be Italy and Rome. That has been the seat of the beast for 1300 years. In the very seat of his power the beast shall receive a blow that will fill his kingdom with darkness, and those who worship him with anguish. Something shall occur that will cause great dismay and anguish to the Roman priesthood and devotees. Have any changes occurred in Italy and Rome which have caused them to gnaw their tongues in pain?

In the year 1848 the people of Rome arose in rebellion to the Papal authority and drove Pius IX. into exile. A few months later he was restored by a French army. Nor did he dare remain when restored, save under the protection of French bayonets. With a French garrison he continued to rule his circumscribed territory until 1870. In that year France was compelled to withdraw her soldiers to defend her soil from German invasion. That was the opportunity of Italy. The Papal army was scattered by the soldiers of Victor Emmanuel; the Pope shut himself in the Vatican, and Rome became the capital of new Italy.

The temporal power of the Pope is gone forever. The Italian government has seized upon the overgrown possessions of the church. The lands it claimed have been confiscated, monasteries and convents have been closed, and universal religious toleration declared. Protestant churches and schools are founded in Rome itself, and statues have been erected under the shadow of the Vatican to martyrs whom the Papacy had slain. It is said they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not. [Re 16:11.] What better illustration of this than that the Pope has been declared infallible!

That the reader may see that there is beyond doubt something in the symbolism which points to such a fulfillment as has been suggested above I will quote an old work cited by Albert Barnes, written by Robert Flemming and published in 1701, nearly two hundred years ago.

It is called the Apocalyptic Key, and contains the following on the fifth vial: “The fifth vial which is to be poured out on the seat of the beast, or the dominions which belong more immediately to, and depend upon, the Roman See; that I say this judgment will begin about A.D. 1794, and expire about A.D. 1848.” As a matter of fact Bonaparte invaded Italy in 1796, and in 1848 the Pope was driven from Rome. Since that date, though returned and protected by the French until 1870, his temporal power has been at an end.

David Nikao Wilcoxson

References:

The 7 Vials of Revelation by Graeme Hotter

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible Revelation 16:

The People’s New Testament Commentary – Revelation 16

History Unveiling Prophecy by Henry Grattan Guinness

The Present Reign of Jesus Christ by Robert Caringola. p 222-223

Next Revelation Timeline Decoded Bible Study: Revelation 16 – 6th Bowl Judgment

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