Book of Revelation
By: Tom Lowe Date: 4/21/17
Lesson: IV.B.7: Sixth bowl(Revelation 16:12-16)
Revelation 16:12-16 (KJV)
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.
Commentary
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.
“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;”
[Some believe this clause which pertains to the river Euphrates is not to be taken literally.] “The great river Euphrates” ran through Mesopotamia and Chaldea, and by the walls of Babylon; but, the drying up of it to make way for the Jews in the eastern parts of the world, to pass into their own land, and possess it should not be taken literally for the following reasons:
1. It is not to be taken literally, since a miracle will be created for them, which is similar to when they came out of Egypt, by dividing the Red Sea for them to walk safely to the other side; and like when they entered into the land of Canaan by laying the waters of the Jordan River in heaps, so that they passed over on dry land; which seems to be the sense of the passage in Isaiah 11:15{1], which some interpret as God smiting the river Euphrates. The river Nile in Egypt, however, is probably the focus here.
2. It is not to be taken literally, because it does not appear that there is a significant number of Jews beyond the river Euphrates; the far greater number of them is in the western and northern parts of the eastern territory; so that there will be no need for the drying up of this river for their passage into their own land;
3. It is not to be taken literally, for if there were any Jews in those parts, can any reason be given for why they would be called the “kings of the east,” since wherever they are, they are a poor contemptible people, and have not had any royalty among them for many hundreds of years.
4. It is not to be taken literally, nor can that river be considered much of a hindrance, even if all other impediments were removed, nor can drying it do much to facilitate their passage to Judea.
5. It is not to be taken literally; for this vial, like the rest, is a plague on antichrist, in some part of the antichristian federation; which, if that is not intended here, it is nowhere in the account of this vial, and therefore this must be understood supernaturally.
There is no doubt that there is an allusion to the draining of this river at the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, according to how it is predicted in prophecy (Isaiah 44:27) who, making sluices and drains, turned the river another direction, and marched through it with his army, and surprised and easily took the city, while Belshazzar and his nobles were indulging themselves in rioting and drunkenness, as Daniel relates (Daniel 5:1).
“…and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”
That is, “the water thereof was dried up” as the result of pouring out the vial. There is an allusion here, undoubtedly, to the dividing of the waters of the Red Sea, so that the children of Israel could escape the Egyptians (Exodus 14:21-22{3]). This clause has been interpreted in more than one way, but the one I will use is given most often. In it, the Euphrates is represented as a barrier to prevent the passage of “the kings of the East,” on their way to the West for some purpose not yet specified. The Euphrates is thought to be a symbol of the seat of power of Israel’s enemies, which means that “that power” is a hindrance to the progress of “the kings of the east,” and that in some way that hindrance is to be removed. However it is done, it will be as if the waters of a complete unfordable river were dried up in order to provide a safe and easy passage through.
Some believe that the literal river Euphrates is meant. The other Plagues will be real, so why doesn’t this mean the drying up of the real Euphrates River. The opening up of a dry passage through the Red Sea so that the children of Israel might escape from Egypt, and the parting of the waters of the River Jordan so that they might pass over into the Land of Canaan, are facts of history; what then could prevent the Lord from drying up the River Euphrates so that the “Kings of the East” and their armies may cross over and assemble for the Battle of Armageddon? The prophecy in Isaiah 11:15-16 refers to this time: “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.”
The drying up of the Euphrates will serve a twofold purpose. It will permit the remnant of Israel from Assyria to return, and also allow the nations of the Far East to be gathered for the "Judgment of Nations" (Matthew 25:31-46).
One theory held by some commentators is that “water” means “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15{4]). Drying up of the waters means the wasting and destruction of the dominion, kingdom and power of Israel’s enemies. Their dominion was enlarged under the sixth trumpet (Revelation 9:14), but it shall be wasted and destroyed by the pouring forth of the plagues of this sixth vial.
When the boundary between right and wrong, between the church and the world, is dried up, "the kings of the east" will come to exploit their advantage. These are not to be understood as allies of righteousness, but as enemies of it, and they come from the east. In our interpretation, this merely means that they come from "beyond" the violated boundary. Forces of evil will enter and dominate what was once true religion. Their being called kings should not mislead us; their names are given in the very next verse.
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.
“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,”
John, as he continues to describe his vision, which he saw while on the island called Patmos says, “I saw three unclean spirits.” They assumed a visible form which would well represent their loathsomeness?that of frogs?but still they are spoken of as “spirits.” They were evil powers, or evil influences (Revelation 16:14, “spirits of devils”), and the language here is undoubtedly designed to represent some such power or influence which would, at that period, proceed from the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
The word properly translated here as “frog,” does not occur in the New Testament except in the passage before us. The frog is clearly used here as a symbol, and it is intended that certain qualities of the “spirits” referred to here should be represented by that symbol. The only appearance of real frogs in Scripture previous to this is as one of the plagues of Egypt. The Hebrew word for frog means marsh-leaper; and the Egyptian conception was, that he was truly slime-born. Frogs are slimy, loathsome creatures and are used to represent three very loathsome powers and individuals. They are the dragon (Satan, Revelation 12:9), the beast (Rome) and the false prophet. The last phrase is singular in grammatical form but does not refer to any particular one of the false prophets. It means the group of evil workers who used their deceptive tactics to mislead the people all over the domain or the dominions of Rome. Hence the slimy frogs well represent the false teaching and depravities of the three monsters sent into the air in opposition to the heaven born forces bearing down upon them. And, with their dismal croaking, they are the proper missionaries of atheistic despair, and fit pleaders for a failing cause. The pagan frog-form comes forth from “the dragon”; and modern atheism is essentially pagan. It substitutes deceptiveness and lies in the place of the true God. “The dragon”, in general, represents Satan, the great enemy of the church; perhaps here Satan appears in the form of paganism. The idea then is, that, at the time referred to, there would be some manifestation of the power of Satan in the pagan nations, which would be bold, arrogant, proud, hostile to truth, and which would be well represented by the hoarse murmur of the frog.
“and out of the mouth of the beast,”
“The beast”{5] is used here for the power of spiritual tyranny. It supposes it can take the place of God in overruling the consciences of men, and thereby ruling over men themselves, to its own supreme enhancement. Its primal apocalyptic representative is the Catholic church, whose agent is the pope, and he operates through the dogma of papal infallibility. But it does not only apply to Catholicism, but to all the great spiritual dictators, whether Christian, Mohammedan, or Pagan, which through organized force and persecution, interfere between man and God.
Although the fifth vial was poured upon “the seat of the beast,” the effect was not to crush and overthrow that power entirely. The papacy would still survive, and would be finally destroyed under the outpouring of the seventh vial (Revelation 16:17-21). In the passage before us we have a representation of it still living, having apparently recovered its strength; and being as hostile as ever to the truth, and able to enter into an alliance, secret or affirmed, with the “dragon” and the “false prophet,” to oppose the reign of truth upon the earth.
“and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”
“Out of the mouth of the dragon ... the beast ... the false prophet ...” Here are the "kings of the east" mentioned above. Their purpose in crossing the boundary will quickly appear. The dragon, beast, and false prophet will evidently join in making a proclamation that will mobilize the armies of the world to converge on Palestine. Something proceeding from “the mouth” suggests a proclamation.
“The dragon, the beast, and the false prophet,” “the mystery of iniquity,” form a blasphemous antitrinity, the counterfeit of “the mystery of godliness” that God manifests in Christ, and is witnessed to by the Spirit. The “dragon” acts the part of God the Father, assigning his authority to his representative the “beast,” as the Father assigns His to the Son. They are accordingly jointly worshipped, as is the Father and Son (John 5:23). The ten-horned beast has its ten horns crowned with diadems (Revelation 13:1), and Christ has on His head many diadems. While the “false prophet,” like the Holy Ghost, speaks not of himself, but tells all men to worship the beast, and confirms his testimony to the beast by miracles, and the Holy Ghost testified similarly to Christ‘s divine mission.
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.
“For they are the spirits of devils,...”
They are of their father the devil; they are influenced by him, he works through them to accomplish his objectives, and leads them captive at his will; they do his lusts, and are murderers and liars, and false teachers, like him. The word translated here as “devils” is rendered as “demons” in other versions. The demons go out to the kings of the earth with the intention of deceiving them and convincing them to assemble their armies in Palestine for the battle of Armageddon. A deceiving spirit earlier lured King Ahab into battle (1 Kings 22:21-23). They will do this under the influence of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. The demons persuade them, but their decision is something that God, the ultimate cause, puts in their hearts?“For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled” (Revelation 17:17). With the barrier breached and Satan's propagandists able to operate in the church itself, the ultimate crisis will soon arrive (see 16:12).
“…working miracles;…”
“Working” what seemed to be “miracles”; that is, wonders meant to deceive the world into believing that they were miracles. This clearly points out who are meant, namely, the followers of antichrist, who, as they spread the doctrines of devils, endeavor to confirm them by signs and lying wonders; like that lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's false prophets (1 Kings 22:21-22). And our blessed Lord Jesus testified, that in the latter days before His second coming, there will come false Christs and false prophets (Luke 21:8; Matthew 24:24-25). See Revelation 13:13-14, where the same power is ascribed to the “beast.”
“which go forth unto the kings of the earth”
There it is, now we have the purpose for which these unclean spirits are introduced. It is so Satanic might and deception may be exerted to their utmost; insuring that the enemies of God from all parts of the world may be persuaded to go up to the war in which they shall be destroyed. The interpretation may rest upon 1 Kings 22:20-22{6], when a lying spirit goes forth to persuade Ahab to do the thing that would cost him his life. These lying spirits in like manner persuade the kings of the whole godless world to rush upon the fate prepared for them in the last great judgment of God—‘His day.’
By the “kings of the earth,”?of the whole habitable world in contrast to "the kings of (from) the east" (16:12)?is meant those kings that give their power, strength, and kingdom to the beast. No class of people has been more under the influence of pagan superstition, Muslim delusion, or the papacy, than kings and princes. We are taught by this passage that this will continue to be so during the unfolding of the circumstances referred to.
“…and of the whole world;…”
These spirit-devils will go so far spreading their false Gospel, that it might be represented as affecting “the whole world,” that is, the pagan, the Muslim, and the Catholic portions of the earth. These still embrace so large a portion of the globe, that it might be said, that what would affect those powers now would influence the whole world. They will attempt to enlist as many Pagan princes as they can; they will go forth to them like the lying spirit to Ahab's prophets (1 Kings 22:21-22).
“…to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty”;
That is, they will persuade them to gather together, to fight against the saints, the Gentile Christians in various parts of the world, and the Jewish Christians, now living in their own land; and this will be the battle of the Lord, who is “God Almighty,” and it will be fighting against Him; and therefore the attempt must be vain and fruitless, and end in the destruction of those who will be deceived and drawn into the conflict by these diabolical spirits: and this is called "the battle of that great day of God." It is not the day of judgment, for this battle will happen before that time. It is more accurately that day of vengeance upon all that remains of His and His church's enemies,?Pagan, Catholic, and Muslim?who will for this purpose be gathered together; "which", as some versions render it, "God has appointed".
“The great day of God Almighty” would determine the ascendency of true religion in the world; it would be the final conflict with those powers which had for so long opposed the Gospel. It is not necessary to suppose that there would be a literal “battle,” in which God would be seen to contend with His foes; but there would be what might be properly represented as a battle. That is, there would be a combined struggle against the truth, and in that God would appear by His providence and Spirit on the side of the church, and would give it the victory. It is in accord with all that has occurred in the past, to suppose that there will be such a combined struggle before the church shall finally triumph in the world.
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.
“Behold, I come as a thief…”
These are the words of Jesus?the same Jesus who left the earth is about to return to it?and the meaning is, suddenly and unexpectedly. The Lord Jesus had said as much in Matthew 24:43?“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” His words were intended evidently to admonish people to watch, or to be in readiness for His coming, since, whenever it would occur, it would be at a time when people were not expecting Him.
This warning of the Second Coming of Christ has the role of emphasizing the spiritual nature of the conflict and the individual responsibility of Christians not to be taken unaware. This indicates that our looking for any great deployment of world armies in this "war," is a waste of time, for absolutely nothing in this whole passage justifies the notion of massive world armies deployed in some vast military conflict. The war in view here is taking place in the hearts and minds of people.
“Blessed is he that watcheth,…”
This verse is the order of the day for the soldiers of Christ. It is not preparation for a literal battle of some kind, but a matter of prayer and watchfulness, and of "keeping" one's garments of purity, morality, and fidelity to Christ. It is a matter of being against sin, the lusts of the flesh, and the cares of this life, for fear that they will bring a sleepiness upon one, and the day of the Lord arrive at a time when he is unaware. One must be against Satan and his temptations, for he goes about seeking whom he may devour; and against his emissaries and false teachers, who lie in wait to deceive; and blessed is the man who is wishing and waiting for the coming of Christ, and so, be ready, and you will enter with him into the marriage chamber, and partake of the supper of the Lamb. The idea here is that he who watches for these events, who marks the indications of their approach, and who is preparing for them, is in a better and happier state of mind than he on whom they come suddenly and unexpectedly. (Compare Matthew 24:42-44{7])
“…and keepeth his garments…”
This clause has been interpreted in two ways:
First, the allusion here seems to be to one who, regardless of danger, or of the approach of an enemy, lays aside his garments and lies down to sleep. Then the thief might come and take away his garments, leaving him naked. The essential idea, therefore, is the duty of vigilance. We are to be awake to duty and to danger; we are not to be found sleeping at our post; we are to be ready for death, and ready for the coming of the Son of man.
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Second, the thought here is that one should keep himself unspotted from the world, undefiled in any way. This means first, keeping our gospel profession unspotted from the world?“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). Secondly, keeping the faith?“Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience” (1 Timothy 3:9). Keep thy self pure, white, and clean; which is the righteousness of saints (Revelation 19:8). Be like Nehemiah, who, when watching for the Ammonites, did not take off his clothes night or day. Wear your garments, so that when the Lord comes He may not find you naked, but robed and ready. Do not take off your clothing either for sleep or for work. Do not let the world strip you of it. Keep it and hold it tight. It is heavenly clothing, and without it you cannot go in with your Lord when He comes.
“…lest he walk naked,…”
Keep your garments on at all times, so that when the Lord comes He will not find you naked, but dressed and ready. Do not remove your clothing either for sleep or for work. Do not let the world strip you of it. Keep it and hold on to it. It is heavenly clothing, and without it you cannot go with your Lord when He comes. The scandalous sins and disorderly walking of those who profess the gospel reveals their nakedness to the men of the world, who see their shameful behavior, and hear their sinful conversation, to the dishonor of God, and shame of their profession. But those who persevere in His ways and truth; that is, his profession is unspotted from sin, and the defilements of antichrist, can go on with the Lord when He comes.
The meaning here is, that, since Christians are clothed with the garments of righteousness, they should not lay them aside, so that their spiritual nakedness may be seen. They are to be always clothed with the robes of salvation; always ready for any event, however soon or suddenly it may come upon them.
“…and they see his shame.”
"Shame" has three meanings—(1) the shameful thing or object; (2) the feeling of shame produced by the consciousness of the shameful thing; and (3) the exposure to shame and scorn from others. The first of these is what is referred to here, but all three are connected.
Adam was ashamed at being found naked when the Lord came down to meet him; how much more shame and terror shall those have who are not ready to meet with a returning Lord! It will be the beginning of shame and everlasting contempt. They shall be put to shame before men and angels; they shall be overwhelmed with confusion before the great white throne. The universe shall see their shame. O false disciple, come out of your delusion and hypocrisy, or you will be exposed in that day of revelation!
O SINNER, MAKE YOURSELF READY, FOR THE DAY OF VENGEANCE IS AT HAND!
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
“And he gathered them together,...”
Or rather "[they] gathered them together", as in Revelation 16:14 and the same spirits (“spirits of devils”) that are said there to go forth to gather the kings together, will be the same ones who do in fact gather them together; for they will persuade the Papal, Pagan, and Muslim powers,?the remains of them in the various parts of the world?to join together, and make one colossal effort for the reviving of their declining, and almost ruined wellbeing; and that is the purpose for which they will be brought together.
Who “gathered them together?” I believe it was the spirits mentioned above, but there are differing opinions held by good commentators. One theory supposes that it was God that gathered them together; others suppose that it was the sixth angel; others that it was Satan; others that it was the beast; and still others that it was Christ.
Should I ever need to defend my view of this matter, I would point out that in Revelation 16:14, the spirits are represented as going forth into the whole world for the purpose of gathering the nations together to take part in the great battle, and it is natural to suppose that the reference here is to them, for having accomplished what they went forth to do.
But who are to be “gathered together?” Evidently those who, in Revelation 16:14, are described by the word “them”?the “kings of the earth, and the whole world”; that is, there will be a situation which could be correctly described as a universal gathering of forces on a central battlefield. It is by no means necessary to suppose that what is represented here will literally occur. There will be a mustering of spiritual forces; there will be an alliance and a unity of opposition against the truth; there will be a rallying of the declining powers of paganism, Mohammedanism, and Catholicism, as if the forces of the earth, marshaled by kings and rulers, were assembled on some great battlefield, where the destiny of the world was to be decided.
“…into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon;”
And they gathered them together into the place which is called in the Hebrew tongue Har-Magedon. The ‘they’ spoken of in the first part of this verse refers to neither God nor the angel, but to the unclean spirits of Revelation 16:14. These spirits had gone forth to gather together all who had submitted themselves to the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They have accomplished their mission, but the conflict does not yet take place. The spot where the horde assembles is mentioned only in anticipation. The battle itself is described in Revelation 19:19-21.
The word “Armageddon” is believed by most Bible scholars to come from the Hebrew, “{(Har},” a mountain, and “Megiddo” in Manasseh in Galilee. This is the only place in the New Testament where this word can be found. In the Old Testament it was the scene of the overthrow of the Canaanite kings by God‘s miraculous intervention under Deborah and Barak. Israel’s king Josiah, too, as the ally of Babylon, was defeated and slain at Megiddo; and the mourning of the Jews at the time just before God shall intervene for them against all the nations confederate against Jerusalem, is compared to the mourning for Josiah at Megiddo. Megiddo comes from a root, {gadad}, “cut off,” and means slaughter.
So much of what I have said here concerns an anticipated literal battle between God and unbelieving men who are His enemies, and who hate Him. But if it is not going to be a real “no-holds-barred battle,” what is it really. I’ll try to explain what is going to happen.
Note that there is no "battle" of any kind mentioned here. "Not a word is said about the Lord God's army." Why should Almighty God need an army? "There is no such place as Har-Magedon. The name is symbolic. It signifies a conflict that is not carnal, but a spiritual conflict. John means the place of the final struggle between the powers of evil and the kingdom of God." And where is any such place if it is not in the hearts of people?
The entire concept of the so-called "Battle of Armageddon" is unscriptural; it is not some kind of a super-colossal showdown on some earthly battlefield; that is totally illogical, and contrary to the whole teaching of Christ. Even writers who generally maintain their spiritual understanding of this prophecy have a tendency to "go literal" here. Why? Could it ever be supposed that the Almighty God will fight a literal battle on earth? Remember who God is. He needs no army.
Scripture and Special Notes
[1}Isaiah 11:15 ? “And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.”
[2}Isaiah 44:27 ? “That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:”
[3}(Exodus 14:21-22) ?“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
[4}(Revelation 17:15) ? “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
[5} “The Beast” is the first beast that rose up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1).
[6}(1 Kings 22:21-22) ? “ And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.”
[7}(Matthew 24:42-44) ? “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”
