What is the meaning of Revelation 16:6? For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets • John’s wording echoes the long, tragic record of persecution against God’s people. Revelation later pictures “the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus” (Revelation 17:6), confirming that the crime is systemic and historic. • Jesus lamented, “I am sending you prophets… some of whom you will kill” (Matthew 23:34-35), identifying the guilt that stretches from Abel to Zechariah. • Old-Testament history rehearses the same pattern: “the LORD… sent word to them by His messengers, but they mocked… until there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). • By affirming that the slain are “saints and prophets,” the verse underlines two truths: – The victims are holy, set apart by God. – Their message carries divine authority, so rejecting them equals rejecting God Himself. • The third bowl judgment therefore answers accumulated bloodguilt, showing that Heaven has not overlooked even one martyr’s cry (Revelation 6:10). and You have given them blood to drink • The judgment corresponds directly to the crime—blood for blood. When the third angel “poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water… they turned to blood” (Revelation 16:4). The very source of life becomes repulsive, forcing the persecutors to face the horror they created. • This mirrors the first Egyptian plague, when Moses struck the Nile and “all the water… was turned to blood” (Exodus 7:20). God often repeats patterns to show He is consistently just. • Psalm 75:8 describes God’s cup: “Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.” Revelation now turns that imagery into literal experience. • The purpose is not mere retribution but revelation—unmasking evil, vindicating the martyrs, and warning any who would still repent before the final bowls fall (Revelation 16:9, 11). as they deserve • Divine justice is never arbitrary. “He will render to each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6). What seems severe to modern ears is measured, proportionate, and righteous. • Galatians 6:7 reminds, “Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.” The harvest principle applies globally in the Tribulation. • Revelation emphasizes this theme of recompense: “Pay her back as she has paid; repay her double for her deeds” (Revelation 18:6). When the heavenly multitude celebrates, they sing, “He has avenged the blood of His servants” (Revelation 19:2). • The clause therefore reassures believers that God’s scales are perfectly balanced. No injustice endures forever; every tear and drop of blood is noticed and will be answered. summary Revelation 16:6 declares that those who have relentlessly shed the blood of God’s people now face a fitting, unavoidable judgment: their water supply turns to blood. The verse affirms three linked truths—humanity’s accumulated persecution of the righteous, God’s precise and mirrored response, and the absolute fairness of His verdict. For persecuted saints across the ages, the passage offers strong comfort: the Judge of all the earth will do right, and every act of violence against His own will be answered in His perfect time. |
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