16:10 The darkening of the (first) beast's throne appears to be literal; light will diminish (cf. Exod. 10:21-23; Isa. 60:2; Joel 2:1-2, 31; Mark 13:24). Another possibility is that this may be a figurative darkening in which God somehow complicates the rule of the beast.517
". . . in terms reminiscent of the ancient battles of Israel, John describes the eschatological defeat of the forces of evil, the kings from the East."518
The weakness of this figurative interpretation is that the fifth trumpet judgment involved literal darkness (9:2) as did the ninth Egyptian plague (Exod. 10:21-22). God also darkened Jerusalem when Jesus Christ died on the cross (Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). Since the beast's kingdom is worldwide, this darkening amounts to a global judgment. Perhaps the faithful remnant will remain unaffected by this judgment as it did earlier in Egypt (cf. Exod. 10:23).
This judgment of worldwide darkness inflicts excruciating pain on the beast-worshippers also. Just how darkness will cause so much pain is hard to understand, but the chaos that darkness caused in Egypt may suggest some ways.
16:11 The earth-dwellers still fail to repent and continue to blaspheme God. The title "the God of heaven"recalls the pride of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors (cf. Dan. 2:44). One evidence that the bowl judgments will follow each other quickly is that the sores of the first bowl are still on people in the darkness of the fifth bowl. The bowl judgments come in swift succession, one right after another. In contrast, each of the seal and trumpet bowls ended before the next one began.
"The Scriptures plainly refute the notion that wicked men will quickly repent when faced with catastrophic warnings of judgment. When confronted with the righteous judgment of God, their blasphemy is deepened and their evil purpose is accentuated."519
