Revelation 16:5: 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.

According to ancient Jewish texts, individual angels have charge over earthly elements.¹ The Book of Revelation adopts the teachings and traditions from such texts, and assigns angels to almost every aspect of John's visions.² Here, the angel of the waters has charge³ over the waters in the sea, rivers and fountains that are cursed by the first, second, and third Vial Plagues in Revelation 16:3-4.⁴ The angel of the waters is the same angel that dispenses the deadly water of third Vial Plague⁵ and he speaks to John after doing so.⁶

John heard the angel of the waters justify the Lord's genocidal destruction of telestial life caused by the deadly waters in the rivers and fountains,⁷ saying Thou art righteous, O Lord.⁸ In this verse, the Lord⁹ refers to Jesus Christ.¹⁰ He is the Holy One¹¹ which art, and wast, and shalt be.¹² These words add an eternal perspective¹³ to the deadly judgments that Christ will execute upon the wicked during the Third Woe¹⁴ on both the land¹⁵ and in the waters.¹⁶

Revelation 16:6: For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

Christ will justifiably destroy the wicked¹⁷ because they have shed¹⁸ the innocent blood¹⁹ of saints and prophets.²⁰ The wicked people in this verse are the unrepentant telestial survivors of the Second Woe (Physical Armageddon)²¹ that have the mark of the beast, and ... worshipped his image, as described in Revelation 13:16 and Revelation16:2.²² The saints and prophets are righteous people whose blood is innocent,²³ including specifically the Two Witnesses that will die in Jerusalem just before the Third Woe begins.²⁴

Telestial people that shed the blood of saints and prophets will literally be given blood to drink during the third Vial Plague.²⁵ Some scholars view this as merely a symbol of bloodshed in a time of war,²⁶ including Physical Armageddon during the Second Woe.²⁷ However, the Third Woe is a time when telestial people will die as they drink the blood of the cursed rivers and fountains²⁸ because they are worthy to die by that judgment.²⁹ The wicked have thirsted after blood, so they shall drink the blood they thirsted after and then die from it.³⁰ The wicked literally drink blood that brings death,³¹ while the saints symbolically drink the blood of Christ³² and receive eternal life.³³

Revelation 16:7: And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

After the angel of the waters bears witness that Christ's judgments are holy, another angel from out of the altar adds his witness to the first.³⁴ Many scholars believe the altar symbolically speaks for the martyrs that were under the altar that John saw in Revelation 6:10.³⁵ However, the Joseph Smith Translation confirms that John actually heard the voice of an angel bearing a second witness of Christ's holy judgments.³⁶ The angel from out of the altar is the same angel that holds the fourth Vial Plague. He speaks just before he pours out fire on the earth to consume the wicked in Revelation 16:8-9.³⁷

The altar in this verse refers to the brazen altar of sacrifice³⁸ where martyrs of the fifth seal cried for vengeance in Revelation 6:9-11.³⁹ The angel out of the altar testifies of God's justice on behalf of these martyrs and all other martyrs,⁴⁰ saying: Even so, Lord God Almighty, and righteous are thy judgments.⁴¹

The voice of the angel of fire from out of the altar combines with the voice of the angel of the waters in Revelation 16:5 to provide a second witness that the judgments of Christ (the Almighty)⁴² are true and righteous.⁴³ The testimonies of these two angels fulfill the law of witnesses.⁴⁴ In combination, the two witnesses legally validate the truth of Christ's justice,⁴⁵ immediately before the earth begins to burn with fire during the fourth Vial Plague of the Third Woe.⁴⁶