Revelation 16:6 - Exposition

For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. This supplies the key to the interpretation of the previous visions. The ungodly have shed the blood of saints, therefore God deals out death to them. This is the meaning signified by the "blood" of the previous verses (cf. the doom of Babylon, described in Revelation 17:1-18 ., especially Revelation 17:6 .; and Revelation 18:6 , Revelation 18:24 . Cf. the words, "they are worthy," with Revelation 3:4 ). It is correct to consider that this prophecy received its first fulfilment in the violent deaths of so many of those who were the earliest Christian persecutors. On this subject see Lactantius, 'De Morte Persecutorum.'