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The 16th Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet & the 16th Chapter of Revelation
written by Will Schumacher
The 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is ayin. It means “eye” or “fountain”. Strongs H5869 is the word “ayin” meaning “eye” or “fountain”.
My first thought was how can it mean “eye” and “fountain”? I see no connection. After further study it was explained that an eye is like a fountain. Tears come out of the eye like a fountain either through sadness or to purify your eye when you have something in it.
The eye in the Bible is related to perception and understanding.. The world we see is filtered through our eyes. The eye is connected to the brain through the optic nerve. The eye is therefore connected to our mind, or understanding. We perceive the world through our eyes based on the essence of who we are: our morals, our standards, our belief systems.
Jesus stated as much:
Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Matthew 6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
Matthew 6:23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
The most famous prayer of the jewish people is the Shema. It is recited twice daily. It begins with the word “hear”. “Hear” in Hebrew means both “to hear” and “to obey”. In the Hebrew mindset, you are what you do. If you hear and believe then you obey. That is why James has no problem saying “faith without works is dead.” -
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
The word for “hear” is shema spelled shin-mem-ayin. The ayin, the 16th letter, is enlarged in the word “shema” in Deut 6:4. God is emphasizing the ayin in this famous passage about hearing and obeying.
In Deuteronomy 6:8 God says that His words are to be “bound as a sign upon our hands and shall be as frontlets between our eyes”. So again God is emphasizing His words on our eyes.
God is the light of this world. To see clearly we need light. To see clearly spiritually we need Jesus, the light. When our eye/mind is directed by God’s words/laws/commandments then we can clearly see the world through God’s eyes with God’s heart and God’s direction. We can then obey the way God wants us too.
From Revelation we know that Jesus has eyes of the Holy Spirit. We are to have the same eyes. Seeing and obeying as God would have us:
Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Rev 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The 16th chapter of the Bible uses the Strong’s H5869=”eye” or “fountain” quite a bit:
Genesis 16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.
6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
Hagar then named the Lord “The God who sees me”. She also “saw” God. Again a link to the concept of the letter ayin and “seeing”
Genesis 16:13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
Genesis 16:14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
I have posted on Hagar and Genesis 16 before. I believe it is important to seeing the connection between the ayin, revelation 16 and the trumpets of revelation. The church age is the “times, time, and half” or “1260” days. The same time period that satan has to make war with the church.
Strong’s H1260 = Bered
It is used for the first time here:
Genesis 16:14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Kadesh is the city meaning Holy and Bered is the city meaning hail which symbolizes God’s judgement. Beerlahairoi means the well of the Living One seeing me.
SO, you have a picture of God seeing/revealing Himself to man and man has the choice of seeing/choosing God and His holiness (Kadesh) or stay in his sin and choose judgement (Bered).
For this time period of “1260” that satan has to afflict us/distort our seeing of God-our time of tribulation-we have the choice to choose wisely and follow Christ or be deceived by satan and see the world with our own sinful eyes.
Then final bowl of wrath is hail = Bered:
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
In the book of revelation in chapter 8 we have the beginning of the trumpet judgements of God which is the church being used by the Holy Spirit to call people to repent and turn to God. This is like Hagar being seen by God and also seeing Him.
Romans further says that everyone has some type of “seeing” of God:
Romans 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
The book of Psalms says we “see” God through the glory of His creation:
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
In Revelation 16 we find that the wrath of God is then poured out on those who “saw” Him but chose not to repent. They chose “Bered”- God’s judgement - rather than “Kadesh”-God’s holiness.
The phrase “repented not” is repeated twice:
Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Revelation 16:11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Let’s compare the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls and see their similarities.
The first trumpet and bowl were both cast upon the earth. Interesting that just as the last bowl of wrath was hail the first trumpet was hail. (Bered=hail) Also of note is that the first bowl fell upon those which had the mark of the beast. The mark of the beast is in direct opposition to Deut 6:8 that God’s elect are to have His words/laws/commands as a sign on their hands and between their eyes. In the book of revelation there are only 2 classes of people, those that are His and those that are the world’s:
Revelation 8:7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Revelation 16:2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.
The second trumpet and bowl were cast upon the sea:
RevELATION 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 became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Rev 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
The third trumpet and bowl fell on the rivers and fountains of waters.
Rev 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
Rev 16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 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.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
The fourth trumpet and bowl were poured out on the sun:
Revelation 8:12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Revelation 16:8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
The fifth trumpet is the warning of the spiritual battle with the beast of the sea. The fifth bowl is poured on the beast’s kingdom.
Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
The sixth trumpet is the warning of the spiritual battle with the beast of the land-the false prophet. It included a reference to the Euphrates river. The sixth bowl is poured on the Euphrates river and out of the mouth (false teaching/prophet) of the dragon, beast, and false prophet came unclean spirits.
Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
The seventh trumpet heralds a completion. There is an earthquake and great hail. The seventh bowl heralds a completion. There is a great and mighty earthquake and great hail the weight of a talent:
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 16 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
The first 4 trumpets were all measured in thirds. The first 4 bowls were not fractions. The trumpet judgements are God’s loving calls to mankind to see Him and repent. They are not God’s wrath. The bowls of wrath are God’s promised judgement on sin and on those who made a conscious choice to live in their sin and deny God.
Hag sameah! Shavu'ot (the Jewish holiday that begins tonight) commemorates the revelation of the Torah, which medieval Mystics imagined as a kind of wedding... So of course there has to be henna! North African Jewish communities held a special mock wedding on Shavu'ot for children learning the alphabet, complete with letters drawn with honey for them to lick - so that learning should always be as sweet to them as their first taste of Torah. And so may it be for us! Hag sameah! (For more about henna and Shavu'ot, check out this post! 👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👀)
The last month in the Jewish / Hebrew calendar is /e-'lool/. It visits us in Aug-Sep, right before the holidays of /teesh-'rey/ marking the new Hebrew year.
