The Fifth Vial
“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.”
(Rev 16:10-11 KJV)
There isn’t a lot of detail about what the fifth vial actually is. We know that whatever it is, it strikes the beast’s capitol and his kingdoms. The results from it are darkness, pain, and sores. It seems that this one is not world-wide, but it is so bad that they blaspheme God. This shows that they know it is from God to get them to repent.
Kingdom – 932 βασιλείαbasileia {bas-il-i’-ah}
Meaning: 1) royal power, kingship, dominion, rule 1a) not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom 1b) of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah 1c) of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom 2) a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king 3) used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah
Origin: from 935; TDNT – 1:579,97; n f
Usage: AV – kingdom (of God) 71, kingdom (of heaven) 32, kingdom (general or evil) 20, (Thy or Thine) kingdom 6, His kingdom 6, the kingdom 5, (My) kingdom 4, misc 18; 162
Darkness – 4656 σκοτόωskotoo {skot-o’-o}
Meaning: 1) to darken, cover with darkness 2) metaph. to darken or blind the mind
Origin: from 4655; TDNT – 7:423,1049; v
Usage: AV – full of darkness 1; 1
Pain – 4192 πόνοςponos {pon’-os}
Meaning: 1) great trouble, intense desire 2) pain
Origin: from the base of 3993;; n m
Usage: AV – pain 3; 3
Misc: For Synonyms see entry 5860
Sores – 1668 ἕλκοςhelkos {hel’-kos}
Meaning: 1) a wound, esp. a wound producing a discharge pus 2) a sore, an ulcer
Origin: probably from 1670;; n n
Usage: AV – sore 3; 3
Deeds – 2041 ἔργονergon {er’-gon}
Meaning: 1) business, employment, that which any one is occupied 1a) that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking 2) any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind 3) an act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasised in opp. to that which is less than work
Origin: from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); TDNT – 2:635,251; n n
Usage: AV – work 152, deed 22, doing 1, labour 1; 176