Repentance in Revelation 16:9 & 11

1       And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

2       And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

3       And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

4       And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

5       And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.

6       For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

7       And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

8       And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.

9       And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

10     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,

11     And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

Subject(s) Refusing to Repent:   The context describes them as:

·       "the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image" (vs. 2);

·       the men who had "shed the blood of saints and prophets" (vs. 6); and,

·       the men who had "blasphemed the name of God which hath power over these plagues" (vs. 9).

Object about which they Refuse to Repent:                   In verse 9, they repent not to give God glory.  This strongly suggests that God is the object about whom they refused to repent.  This is consistent with the description of the subjects.  Though it does not specifically what they believed, it states that they "worshiped the image of the beast," and "blasphemed the name of God."   These both suggest that the issue in view here was not "generic sin," but the sin of unbelief, as shown in their absolute rejection of God.  Their unbelief was to the level of hostility toward God.  In verse 11, the object about which they refuse to repent is "their deeds."  The only deeds mentioned are in the immediate context, as noted, are the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image" (vs. 2), who had "shed the blood of saints and prophets" (vs. 6) and who had "blasphemed the name of God which hath power over these plagues" (vs. 9).  In light of this, it appears that the only sin of which they refused to repent was their refusal to believe in God, to honor Him, and to honor His Son.

Consequence of their Refusal to Repent:     Again, it must be noted that nothing in this passage can be construed as teaching or suggesting that one must "repent of their sins" to be eternally saved.  The only consequence suggested in the chapter is the temporal judgment of God, described as vials of God's wrath are poured out upon the earth (vs. 1).  Although this temporal judgment begins in verse 1, prior to man's refusal to repent in vs. 9, it is reasonable inferred from the passage that the vials of God's wrath are intended to bring man to repentance, and that this temporal judgment is sustained because of man's refusal to repent.  Although eternal judgment is never the consequence for refusing to repent of generic sin, this passage shows that temporal judgment can be a consequence for man's rejection of God, and their rejection of His beloved Son, as demonstrated by man's worship of the antichrist "in place of" (Gk. "anti") the eternal Son of God.

Repentance in Revelation 16:9 & 11