Revelation 16 10

Revelation 16:10 kjv

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,

Revelation 16:10 nkjv

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.

Revelation 16:10 niv

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony

Revelation 16:10 esv

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish

Revelation 16:10 nlt

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. His subjects ground their teeth in anguish,

Revelation 16 verses

Revelation 16 10 Meaning

Revelation 16:10 describes the effect of the fifth bowl of God's wrath being poured out. The judgment is directed specifically "on the throne of the beast," indicating a direct assault on the source and symbol of the beast's power and authority. As a result, its "kingdom was plunged into darkness," signifying a comprehensive disruption of its dominion, filled with spiritual blindness, confusion, and despair. This profound distress caused its adherents to gnaw their tongues in agony, a visceral expression of extreme suffering, rage, and frustration under divine judgment, yet without repentance.

Revelation 16 10 Context

Revelation chapter 16 details the outpouring of the seven bowls of God's wrath, the culmination of divine judgment upon the earth. These plagues escalate in severity, breadth, and target, leading directly to the ultimate downfall of Babylon and the final confrontation with the forces of evil. The first four bowls affect the earth, sea, rivers, and sun respectively, impacting physical creation and the well-being of humanity.

Verse 10 marks a significant shift: the fifth bowl directly targets "the throne of the beast" and its "kingdom." This represents a precision strike at the political, economic, and spiritual heart of the antichrist system, the source of its dominion and the very seat of its power. This implies that the previous plagues, while devastating, had not yet fundamentally crippled the beast's authoritative reign. The historical context reflects a polemic against the Roman Empire, which demanded emperor worship and persecuted Christians. The "beast" would have resonated as a symbol of this oppressive, blasphemous world power, and its "throne" would represent Rome's perceived unchallengeable authority. This judgment on its throne signifies God's direct challenge and ultimate undoing of human authority that opposes Him, demonstrating its true fragility.

Revelation 16 10 Word analysis

• Then (Καὶ, Kai): A common conjunction, here signaling the sequence of divine actions, moving from one judgment to the next in the series of bowl plagues.
• fifth (πέμπτος, pemptos): Highlights its place in the established series of seven bowl judgments. Each numbered angel signifies an orderly and pre-ordained execution of God's plan.
• angel (ἄγγελος, angelos): A divine messenger and agent, executing God's decreed judgment. Angels are active participants in carrying out God's will throughout Revelation.
• poured out (ἐξέχεεν, execheen): From ekcheo, meaning to pour forth or empty completely. This powerful verb emphasizes the full, unmitigated force and completion of God's wrath being unleashed. It conveys a decisive, unstoppable action.
• his bowl (τὴν φιάλην αὐτοῦ, tēn phialēn autou): The phialē was a shallow ritual bowl for libations, symbolizing the divine wrath fully prepared and delivered, not merely spilled or sprinkled.
• on (ἐπὶ, epi): Indicates the direct target and consequence of the poured judgment.
• the throne (τὸν θρόνον, ton thronon): The seat of authority, power, and dominion. In Revelation 13:2, the dragon (Satan) gives the beast its "throne." Striking the throne is a direct assault on the beast's reign and its very legitimacy.
• of the beast (τοῦ θηρίου, tou thēriou): Thērion, "wild beast," a symbol (often derived from Dan 7) representing the oppressive, satanically-empowered political and anti-God kingdom of humanity that seeks to usurp divine authority and persecute God's people.
• and its kingdom (καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ, kai hē basileia autou): Basileia refers to the beast's entire realm, dominion, or sphere of influence. The attack on the throne naturally impacts the entire kingdom it rules.
• was plunged into darkness (ἐσκοτωμένη, eskotōmenē): Eskotōmenē is a perfect passive participle of skotoō (to darken). This indicates a state of complete darkness that has come into being and continues. Unlike a natural dimming, it's an imposed, deep obscurity—symbolizing utter confusion, moral corruption, divine disfavor, the absence of God's light, and resulting spiritual or physical blindness, despair, and judgment. This echoes the ninth Egyptian plague (Ex 10).
• and people gnawed (καὶ ἐμάσσωντο, kai emassōnto): Emassōnto is imperfect tense, suggesting continuous or repeated action, demonstrating persistent, internal, and intense suffering and frustration. Gnawing is a visceral, uncontrollable action of severe physical and mental distress.
• their tongues (τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν, tas glōssas autōn): An indication of extreme physical and psychological anguish, despair, and impotent rage, so profound that the sufferers resort to biting themselves. This expresses acute suffering rather than penitence.
• in anguish (ἐκ τοῦ πόνου, ek tou ponou): Ponou refers to pain, suffering, torment, distress. The darkness leads to such internal agony that it physically manifests as the gnawing of tongues. This indicates the cause of their action is extreme pain and suffering.

Words-Group by Words-Group Analysis:

• "Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl": Emphasizes the continuation of the precise and targeted execution of God's wrath, building on the preceding four judgments. The active "poured out" underscores the deliberate and full release of divine judgment.
• "on the throne of the beast": This specific target is crucial. It’s not a general attack on the land or its people initially, but on the seat of power and authority of the anti-God system. This signifies a direct, existential threat to the beast's dominion. It suggests that while other plagues caused distress to the beast's adherents, this one undermines its very source of perceived strength.
• "and its kingdom was plunged into darkness": The consequence of attacking the throne. "Darkness" is a profound biblical metaphor for divine judgment, confusion, spiritual blindness, the absence of divine truth, despair, and an overwhelming sense of loss or separation from light. It signifies the kingdom's complete subjugation to a state of internal chaos and ultimate judicial condemnation.
• "and people gnawed their tongues in anguish": This vivid imagery portrays the extreme, agonizing torment and frustration of the beast's followers. It indicates intense pain that doesn't lead to repentance, but rather to a furious, self-destructive despair, where their suffering is so overwhelming they physically express it through uncontrolled bodily action, reflecting their internal agony and utter lack of relief or hope. It's a sign of profound and unyielding rebellion, cursing rather than contrition (as seen in Rev 16:11).

Revelation 16 10 Bonus section

• The parallel to the Egyptian plague of darkness (Ex 10:21-23) is significant, highlighting that this is a deliberate divine judgment against an oppressive, anti-God system, just as Pharaoh's kingdom suffered. However, here the darkness is implicitly internal and spiritual, indicating an ultimate divine rejection of the beast's entire worldview and authority.
• The progression of the bowl judgments showcases God's justice. The earlier bowls affect the earth, sea, and atmosphere, which are aspects of creation under the beast's domain. But the fifth bowl is an immediate, devastating blow to the core of the beast's power itself, escalating the spiritual warfare and preparing for its downfall.
• The lack of repentance among the tormented, underscored by the gnawing of tongues, emphasizes a key theme in Revelation: that even the most extreme suffering inflicted by God's judgments may not lead to turning away from sin but can further harden the hearts of those fully committed to evil, demonstrating the persistence of their spiritual rebellion.

Revelation 16 10 Commentary

Revelation 16:10 represents a critical intensification of God's wrath, marking a shift from generalized judgments to a direct assault on the center of rebellion. The targeting of "the throne of the beast" signifies that God is striking at the very foundation of its power, influence, and the seat of its presumed authority. This is a divine declaration that no power, earthly or demonic, can stand against His ultimate sovereignty.

The resulting "darkness" is multifaceted. While it may encompass literal absence of light, its primary significance is symbolic. It speaks of divine judgment that brings about intellectual confusion, moral blindness, spiritual despair, and utter disorder. This is not merely an external condition but an internal state of chaos for the beast's kingdom, demonstrating that all its false enlightenment and satanic glory are stripped away, revealing its true nature as an abyss of evil.

The extreme response of people "gnawing their tongues in anguish" powerfully depicts the depths of their torment. It reveals an overwhelming suffering that consumes them physically and psychologically. Importantly, this reaction is one of agony and frustration, not of remorse or repentance. Their unyielding hearts remain hardened, as indicated in the subsequent verse (Rev 16:11). Despite the overwhelming evidence of divine power and the unbearable pain, they persist in rebellion, a testament to the stubborn resistance of the unrepentant human heart to God's overt judgments. This judgment foreshadows their ultimate doom and the final, crushing victory of God's kingdom of light.