Revelation 16:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The whole departure of the people from Egypt, according to the ordering of God, was a type and image of the future departure of the Church from among the nations.

Therefore, at the end of the times, God leads her out from here into the inheritance. It is not Moses, the servant of God, but Jesus, the Son of God, who gives it as a possession.

If anyone carefully considers the words of the prophets about the end, and what John, the disciple of the Lord, saw in revelation, he will find this. The nations will receive the very same plagues in general that then struck Egypt in parts.

The vial, like the bowl, is used here for a punitive action. When it was poured out by the angel, festering sores appeared.

These signify the sorrow that arises in the hearts of apostates and torments them, like a festering of the heart. For those punished by the plagues sent by God will receive no relief from the Antichrist, whom they acknowledge as god.

It is also likely that their bodies will be struck by the flattering Antichrist and apostate with the arrows of diabolical deception.

Therefore we suppose that until divine wrath against the ungodly separates the righteous from the unrighteous, the saints will in no way receive their portion in the heavenly Jerusalem, nor priestly service and rest in the temple of God.

The festering sores signify grief in the hearts of apostates. The antichrist, whom they acknowledge as God, will not be able to heal it, though he will promise to satisfy every demand of human nature.

Perhaps these are also perceptible sores that will strike their bodies, in order to expose their decaying souls.