Revelation Chapter 16
We continue now from where we left off on Chapter 16 and the sixth plague.
VERSES 12 -16 continued “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 sunrising). 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 OUT TO THE KINGS OF THE WHOLE WORLD:
The Greek is important here = “The inhabited earth” – this is NOT a symbol of society (as the word “earth” generally symbolizes), but a representation of the globe itself.
This is saying that this appeal will go beyond the “Christian” world and take in all the influential ones of the diverse places on earth. Weymouth translates this interestingly: “spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth.” That is the point.
The world is going out of control. The demons want to restrain that tendency. (They wish to maintain the present order, to maintain their present control, for they know that with the passing of this present evil world they too shall pass away.)
TO GATHER THEM TOGETHER: to unite them, unity (out of necessity) will be the plea. (Zeph 3:8)
FOR THE WAR OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD, THE ALMIGHTY:
This is NOT another world war!
This is the battle between the old order and the new, between the kings of the earth (the rulers in power, both the seen as well as the unseen), and the Lamb. This is the last battle to maintain the old order. It will fail. It is the war OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD, Armageddon: it is not a war between the nations, (but rather a war between Heaven, and heavens law and the earth, which is not, subject [presently] to those laws). It is a welcome war for those who know the results.
Note however, Armageddon cannot yet proceed until the vivifying or vitalization of the Image (i.e. until the 2-horned beast gives “breath” to the image).
In spite of a universal cry of "Peace and safety," the effect of the policies of the civil powers and church systems, has been to rally the people to their respective standards in such a way as to lead them in the direction of inevitable war, and “the time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation” (Zeph 3:8, 9; Dan 12:1).
On the one side of this battle will be aligned religion, government, and big business, on the other the masses, labor, the discontent, the poor. Even now these two sides are gathering their perspective armies (as should be self-evident to anyone who is awake to the times we are living in).
Both sides are driven solely by self-interest, selfishness, both with the idea that they are in the right, that it is the other side who has gone astray, neither side is prepared to compromise with the other, to give any ground. Meanwhile both groups are being held under close scrutiny by the people their every move being judged. There is nothing hidden that won’t be revealed, for we are living in the age of the pouring out of the sixth bowl, THE INFORMATION AGE.
The great battle is coming.
We will take a look at Verse 15 in our next post.
