1. Revelation 16:5 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does the angel call God “O Holy One”?

Revelation 16:5 (ESV)

5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments.

The term translated here as “holy” is the same word used in Revelation 15:4. This term captures the notion of keeping commitments. This angel acknowledges that God has acted in step with his promise from the very beginning: if you sin you die (Genesis 2:17).