2 The Pouring Out of the Second Vial, Ch. 16:3
The second angel poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man, i. e. clotted and putrefying, and it caused every living thing in the sea to die—a form of judgment that was very repulsive to the Jewish mind: the symbol of wrath poured out on the sea, one part of the fourfold division of creation noted under the trumpets, and thus upon men who are made to suffer by this means for their evil doing. As under the trumpets the first four vials are poured out upon the earth, the sea, the rivers and fountains, and the sun, a figurative form indicating their world-wide character—they affect the whole created world.
3 The Pouring Out of the Third Vial, Ch. 16:4-7
The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the fountains of the waters; and they became blood: the symbol of wrath poured out on the sources of water supply for the people, thereby punishing men retributively for the righteous blood which they had shed, and calling forth voices of approval from heaven, viz. from the angel of the waters,[500] and from the altar, i. e. from [pg 188] the place where the martyrs rest (ch. 6:9). Retribution is declared to be the judicial result of divine wrath for sin; those who poured out the blood of saints and of prophets are given blood to drink as their just desert—a fearful punishment to the Eastern mind.
4 The Pouring Out of the Fourth Vial, Ch. 16:8-9
The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and it was given unto it to scorch men with fire: the symbol of wrath poured out on the heavenly bodies, especially upon the sun the source of light and heat, that they may become the agent of punishment to men. And men blasphemed the name of God, who is recognized as having power over these plagues; and they repented not to give him glory, exhibiting the aspect of punishment which embitters and does not lead to repentance. It is a curious coincidence that the parts of creation which are made the subjects of judgment under the fourth vial and the fourth trumpet are described in Genesis as having been created on the fourth day.