With
this post we have come to the next to the last plague to be inflicted upon
planet earth before the return of Jesus as King of kings.
Revelation 16:12–14 “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 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. 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.”
The effects of this plague will occur over a period
of time. The vial is poured over the waters of the Euphrates River to dry
it up to prepare a crossing for a great army led by the kings of the east.
John also sees spirits that look like “frogs”
emerge from the mouths of the dragon/Satan, the Antichrist and the False
Prophet—the false trinity. They are empowered to work miracles (supernatural wonders/signs) and will use these supernatural powers to
persuade the kings of the earth to join forces with the Antichrist. Note that these spirits are recruiting the armies of
the nations of the world—not just the east.
The drying up of the Euphrates is to facilitate the movement of those
coming from the east.
Again we see from scripture how the actions of
invisible spiritual forces work in conjunction with humanity in accomplishing
God’s purposes. We see these forces
(both good and evil) at work throughout the whole of scripture, and they are
just as surely at work today. Paul very
clearly stated that our fight is primarily against “principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The
writer to the Hebrews declares that the angels are “sent forth to minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation.”
Hebrews 1:13–14 “But to which of the
angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies
thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
I liked
the observations on spiritual warfare made by Tony Evans in answer to questions
from Jim Dailey (for an interview published in the February 2005 issue of Decision Magazine): “…if
we are to be victorious over the devil and his army, we must learn to fight him
on a spiritual level through the power of the Holy Spirit…. The spiritual realm
precedes, influences and, to many degrees, determines the physical realm. The
better we understand the spiritual and how it relates to the physical, the
better we are able to operate as Christians…. The materialistic nature of our culture
camouflages the spiritual world and makes it seem insignificant and
unimportant. That is to our spiritual detriment. As Christians we have
contributed by not giving the spiritual dimension high play. Look at the
theologies out there today that emphasize a physical blessing as the sum of all
things. We have to help people understand the cause-effect relationship. There
frequently is a strong link between the spiritual and physical. That is, what
we are dealing with in the physical realm often can be determined by what is
taking place in the spiritual realm. Our failure to deal with the spiritual
cause of the problems we encounter can really mess us up.”
We are not left to wonder at the purpose of this
great gathering of armies. They are gathering to do battle against
“the great day of God Almighty,” the return of Jesus as King of kings. At this point Jesus tells John to record a
word of encouragement to His followers.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I come as
a thief. Blessed is he that
watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame.”
This
statement is made in context with encouragement for the believer to stay strong
in his faith so as not to suffer shame, and I think it references the
characteristic of a thief to come suddenly and unexpectedly. The rule of
evil will be at its height, and it will be easy for one to begin to have doubts
about the outcome—just as John the Baptist did when things looked the darkest
to him.
Luke 7:19 “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he
that should come? or look we for another?”
Jesus
declares that those who stay vigilant and guard their faith as they await His
return will be “extremely blessed”(makarios, supremely blest).
Revelation 16:16 “And he gathered
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
This
is a very interesting “he” used here. You immediately think of the
Antichrist as the one who is gathering his forces together to do battle.
The last person speaking to whom the he would apply is Jesus.
Jesus is the one in control and has been all along—He will dictate the time and
place of this gathering. Where did He choose? Armageddon—the hill
country of Megiddo. Though the armies will gather in the plains of Megiddo
where other great battles have been fought, scripture declares that the final
battle will be fought in the valley of Jehoshophat outside the walls of
Jerusalem.
Joel 3:2 “I will also gather all
nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will
plead with them there for my people and for
my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my
land.”
The
Hebrew for the word “plead” makes reference to “avenge.” It is the completion of this battle that will accomplish God’s
vengeance against those that have persecuted the nation of Israel.
(to be
continued…)
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