Perhaps no other book in the Bible is as mysterious and hotly debated among experts as the book of Revelations. One chapter in particular that has received a great deal of attention by theologians and average Christians alike is Revelations 16. This particular chapter speaks of a series of bowls full of God’s wrath that are poured out upon the world. These comes in various plagues such as festering open sores, seas turning to blood and the sun scorching everyone underneath it. While this type of language is very forthright, there is much controversy as to where the church or believers in Christ are at this time.
This is perhaps why so many people are looking for comprehensive revelation 16 commentary. Unfortunately, with the many views regarding where the body of Christ is during this time, it’s very hard to find a truly objective commentary. To understand some of the controversy, it’s important to know some of the different theories.
There are those that believe that all or most of the book of Revelations has already taken place. They point to specific times in Earth history where they can correlate that these events have taken place. These people are called Preterist or partial Preterists.
There are those who believe in post-millennial dispensationalism which adheres to a pre-tribulation rapture of the body of Christ. In these events, Christians have no need to worry because they have already been taken up in an assumed rapture while God’s wrath is poured out on the earth. There are also those that believe there is no indication that God has taken his church in a secret second coming of Christ. Many people believe that while Christians will be on earth during this time of wrath, Christians need not fear this as the Bible clearly states that people who believe in Christ are no longer children to wrath but children of grace and mercy.
It’s easy to see that with all the different beliefs and these are only a few of the many, finding good revelation 16 commentary can be difficult. However, there are new and more educated commentaries of this exciting and mysterious book of the Bible. What you believe may determine which commentary you gravitate towards, but it’s always interesting and sometimes beneficial to understand how other people believe and through certain commentaries, you’ll typically get a clearer picture.