“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).
And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 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. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments (Rev. 16:4-7).
Now comes the time for third bowl of wrath to be poured out upon Jerusalem. The previous judgment was upon the ocean; with this plague the sentence falls upon the fresh water. Again, with the trumpet judgments, the affliction was partial. Now comes the end, when the sentence is final. So in this segment, the third angel empties his bowl of wrath. Far from objecting, another angel, the angel of the waters, declares that the judgment is righteous. The Lord is righteous, and He is the one who was, is, and is to be. *He* is the one who has determined this calamity. The next statement by the angel of the waters helps to confirm the place where this sentence must fall. As a city, the murder of prophets was characteristically Jerusalems signature item (2 Chron. 36:15-16; Luke 13:33-34; Acts 7:52). When it came to prophets and saints, this was a bloodthirsty city, and so it was fitting that God turned all their fresh water to blood.
Jerusalem richly deserved to have this happen to them. Jesus had predicted this would happen, and He said that the murder of prophets over generations is *why* it would happen.
“Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation” (Matt. 23:31-36).
Earlier the martyrs had cried out from under the altar, seeking Gods vengeance on their behalf (Rev. 6:9). The tribulation of the trumpets began to answer their cry for justice, and now the finalization of justice is imminent. And so it is that another voice comes from the altar, echoing the sentiments of the angel of the waters*. Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.*
