Albert Barnes

They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

“And they overcame him - That is, he was foiled in his attempt thus to destroy the church. The reference here, undoubtedly, is primarily to the martyr age and to the martyr spirit; and the meaning is, that religion had not become extinct by these…”

And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth - That is, when Satan saw that he was doomed to discomfiture and overthrow, as if he had been cast out of heaven; when he saw that his efforts must be confined to…”

Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood - This is special and uncommon imagery, and it is not necessary to suppose that anything like this literally occurs in nature.”

And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony…

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman - This wrath had been vented by his persecuting her Rev 12:13; by his pursuing her; and by his pouring out the flood of water to sweep her away Rev 12:15; and the same wrath was now…”

Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea - The sand upon the shore of the sea. That is, he seemed to stand there, and then had a vision of a beast rising out of the waters.”

One of the heads of the beast appeared to be mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.

“And I saw one of his heads, as it were wounded to death - The phrase “wounded to death” means properly that it received a mortal wound, that is, the wound would have been mortal if it had not been healed.”

Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

“And it was given unto him - By the same power that taught him to blaspheme God and his church. See the notes on Rev 13:2, Rev 13:5.”

And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down to earth in the presence of the people.

“And he doeth great wonders - “Signs” - σημεῖα sēmeia - the word commonly employed to denote “miracles” (compare the notes on Act 2:19); and the representation here is, that the power referred to by the second beast would found its claim on pretended miracles…”

The second beast was permitted to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship it to…

“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast - That is, that image of the beast would be naturally powerless, or would have no life in itself.”

so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.

“And that no man might buy or sell - That is, this mighty power would claim jurisdiction over the traffic of the world, and endeavor to make it tributary to its own purposes. Compare Rev 18:11-13, Rev 18:17-19.”

And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.

“And they sung as it were a new song - See the notes on Rev 5:9. It was proper to call this “new,” because it was on a new occasion, or pertained to a new object.”

And no lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

“And in their mouth was found no guile - No deceit, fraud, hypocrisy. They were sincerely and truly what they professed to be - the children of God.”

And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.

“Saying with a loud voice - As if all the nations were summoned to hear. Fear God - That is, reverence, honor, obey God. Render homage not to the beast, to his image, or to any idol, but to the only true God.”

And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives its mark on his forehead or on his…

“And the third angel followed them - This was a new vision designed to represent the removal of all the obstructions to the final prevalence of the gospel.”

And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.”

“And I heard a voice from heaven - A voice that seemed to speak from heaven. Saying unto me, Write - Make a record of this truth.”

Then another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has…

“And another angel - The fourth in order, Rev 14:6, Rev 14:8-9. Came out of the temple - See the notes on Rev 11:19. Came, as it were, from the immediate presence of God; for the temple was regarded as his unique dwelling-place.”

So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

“And he that sat on the cloud - The Saviour, Rev 14:14. Thrust in his sickle on the earth - To cut down the harvest - that is, to gather his people to himself.”

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.

“And another angel - The fifth in order. This angel came for a different purpose - with reference to the cutting off of the enemies of God, represented by the gathering of a vintage. Compare Mat 13:41; Mat 24:31.”

So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth - That is, into that part of the earth which might be represented by a vineyard; or the earth considered as having been the abode of wicked men.”

Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.

“And I saw another sign in heaven - Another wonder or extraordinary symbol. The word “sign” here - σημεῖον sēmeion - is the same which in Rev 12:1, Rev 12:3; Rev 13:13, is rendered “wonder” and “wonders,” and in Rev 13:14; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:20…”

After this I looked, and the temple—the tabernacle of the Testimony—was opened in heaven.

“And after that I looked - After I had seen in vision the redeemed thus referred to, celebrating the praises of God, I saw the preparation made for the execution of these purposes of judgment.”

Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

“And one of the four beasts - See the notes on Rev 4:6-7. Which one of the four is not mentioned.”

And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.

“And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea - So the second trumpet Rev 8:8, “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea…”

And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

“And I saw three unclean spirits - They assumed a visible form which would well represent their odiousness - that of frogs - but still they are spoken of as “spirits.””

These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

“For they are the spirits of devils - On the meaning of the word used here, see the notes on Rev 9:20. It is used here, as it is in Rev 9:20, in a bad sense, as denoting evil spirits.”