Revelation 16:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

It is not surprising that divine power, to expose the weakness of the Antichrist and the frivolity of those deceived, will through the prophets Enoch and Elijah turn the sea as it were into the blood of a slain man.

It will destroy every living thing in it, just as God once did through Moses in Egypt (Ex 7:19). This exposed Pharaoh’s stubbornness and revealed His own might.

The faithful would be strengthened, and the unbelieving would be terrified, seeing creation rise against them because of their veneration of the apostate.

Another supposition is also plausible. This indicates the defeats in wars at his coming, when Gog and Magog will war against one another throughout the whole world.

This bowl contains all the other nations, who so submitted to natural sin and were so entangled in filthy desires that they began to reason carnally about divine things.

Thus the springs may be understood as pagan teachings. Therefore he says: "They became blood." Something similar is said in Genesis: "My Spirit shall not abide in these men, because they are flesh" (cf. Gen. 6:3).

And in the Wisdom of Solomon: "troubled with foul blood, as a rebuke" (Wis. 11:7-8). Finally, the Apostle says: "The mind of the flesh is death," and "the mind of the flesh is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:6-7).

So also here, those who pretend to give a sweet drink, yet pour their poison into the careless, will deservedly be punished by an eternal wound.

The angelic powers rejoice when they see a sinner set upon the path of true repentance. They grieve over men turning aside from the true path.