Revelation Chapter 16
VERSES 12 -16 “And the sixth (angel) poured out his bowl upon the great river, the [river] Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that [come] from the east (or sun-rising). And I saw [coming] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as if it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walked naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-magedon (Mount Megiddo, Armageddon).”
The Sixth angel was Martin Luther
AND THE SIXTH ANGEL POURED OUT HIS BOWL UPON THE GREAT RIVER, THE EUPHRATES:
We are (presently) in the midst of this plague. The former plagues are history (except that their features continue) and are, thus, easier of discernment.
With the sixth plague we are LEAVING HISTORY and ENTERING PROPHECY -- a much less clear road.
The bowl, the event that, forces the plague upon men, is most likely the information explosion -- the media, computer-networks, social networks and etc.
The Euphrates seems to represent the people who fed the old order, the reliable source of support for the city of Babylon. The etymology seems to be “the good and abounding river.” This meaning is telling, the masses of mankind still long for the good and peaceable life (Rom 8:22, 19). This etymology of Euphrates suggests strongly that GOOD is still the dominant element in the human character. It is the “beasts” and “dragons” rather than the human race, which have so defiled human history.
The sixth plague is more complex than the first five. Both the sixth trumpet and sixth plague have events beginning in the Euphrates. In the sixth trumpet, they eventuate in the French Revolution – one tenth of the city falling. In the sixth plague, they eventuate in the gathering to Armageddon, which destroys the final nine-tenths. It is likewise also interesting to note how the sixth period events melt into the seventh period events. Likewise, here, the sixth plague melts into the seventh; they are gathered to Armageddon in the sixth, but the seventh plague IS Armageddon.
AND ITS WATER WAS DRIED UP:
In history, it was diverted. But as far as Babylon was concerned it was dried up. It is not stretching the point to say that Babylon feels its support slipping -- maybe mostly gone. The people have diverted their thoughts and efforts to other concerns.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT here, however, to remember that, while all the plagues are on Babylon, each plague is on a specific part of Babylon. In this particular instance, the plague is on the Euphrates -- ON the people. The people however are not (yet) united in opposition to Babylon.
This is NOT the thought at all. The people themselves are what are plagued here; they are upset that they cannot support things they used to support without question.
Their plague is one of doubt and instability fueled by the constant barrage of information from the ever-present media (a large proportion of which is found to be false and misleading, biased in one direction or the other).
The eventual fall of Babylon is reliant on people (individuals many) feeling betrayed.
Think about how this applies to the world today,
Is this not precisely their thought, one of betrayal, by governments, by the media?
In this sixth plague the people are not (yet) organized as opponents of Babylon. They are, rather, feeling sorry for themselves that nothing is reliable any more. Thus, they are not supportive. This plague (the information age) affects the people in general (the support system of Babylon). It makes them change the direction of their thinking and of their action (This generally dependent upon from who and from where they receive their information, the source, and on how truthful or factual it is).
In our next post we take a look at another very important element of this Sixth Plague.
