And the fourth... — Better, And the fourth (angel) poured out his vial upon the sun; and it was given to it (the “sun,” not the “angel;” the rendering of the English version “unto him is misleading) to scorch men with fire. And men (i.e., those who were worshippers of the wild beast) were scorched... and did not repent to give him glory. The sun, the great source of light and warmth, whose beams call forth the flowers of the earth, becomes a power to blast, not to bless. This is another example of the way in which the things full of beneficence are turned into powers of sorrow to those who follow evil. Not only the pleasant gifts and influences, which, like streams, were made to gladden men, grow corrupt, but the very source of light and knowledge becomes a power to destroy. We may contrast this influence of the sun with the beneficent beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Christ rose as the light and sun upon the world, because He diffused the knowledge which gave life to men; but here we have a light and sun which scorches. There is a knowledge which withers while it illumines; there is a teaching which does not warm the heart, but dries both heart and conscience, and brings but pain. The result, painful as it is, does not work repentance. Suffering, without grace and humility, does not bless men; they grow angry; the fire hardens instead of purifying. The whole series of these judgments illustrate the awful truth that there is a stage in personal life, and in national and world life also, in which suffering loses its remedial force, because the character has become set, and even an occasional desire after higher things is no longer felt.
“When we in our viciousness
Grow hard, the wise gods seal our eyes,
In our own slime drop our clear judgments,
Make us adore our errors, and thus
We strut to our destruction.”