Revelation Chapter 16
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 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 THE ONE WHO STAYS AWAKE:
What a strange remark in light of all that is going on! Who could sleep through frogs, signs, and demons? Apparently, we can! We are far into the harvest, and our expectations have been delayed. It is so easy to slumber, to be numbed by the onslaught of media events, to be thinking it is all still far distant. (Remember Hab 2:3)
AND KEEPS HIS GARMENTS: It is a time when insufficient clothing (compromised justification due to far little exercise of faith) is a real possibility. (See Rev 3:18) The meaning is very likely that at this late time in the harvest, the tendency will be to have INFORMATION (knowledge) more than CHARACTER development -- a fatal flaw. We are not justified by what we know. Our garments are kept pure by the exercise of faith – the APPLICATION of truths to our characters.
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves” (James 1:22).
LEST HE WALK ABOUT NAKED: -- insufficiently clothed. This seems much like the insufficient oil in the possession of the foolish virgins. At this point in time, it is getting too late to buy it in the market.
AND THEY SEE HIS SHAME:
Who are THEY?
It is difficult to say. Perhaps it is the wise virgins who would have to look at the situation with pity. Perhaps it is the demons who would squeal with glee to see saints fail. After all, this is the time of their judgment. (Jude 6)
VERSE 16 -- AND THEY (The Lord and his Anointed) GATHERED THEM TOGETHER:
The demon-backed croaking’s gather the influential ones of the world (those in power) into a temporary unity (Rev 17:12, 13, 17) united against the “Lord’s Great Army” (the masses).
TO THE PLACE: Places symbolize conditions. The condition here meant is symbolized by its name,
WHICH IN HEBREW IS CALLED:
For some reason the Lord chose to add the two words: “In Hebrew.” It is likely because He wants to draw attention to the fact that the final catalyst for Armageddon will involve the Holy Land. In Rev 14:20 we saw that the winepress feature of the trouble was to be “outside the city” (of Babylon.) Babylon’s fall will occur in the Middle East. The Ezekiel 39 account of the end also ties the fall of Babylon to the deliverance of Israel. Here, in Rev 16:16, God is with two words reminding us that all of the prophecies relate to the fall of the old order and to His deliverance of His people, Israel.
HAR-MAGEDON:
Armageddon means “Mount of Destruction”. The place name represents the condition-- the old mountain is to be destroyed (Matt 21:21). It is now, after six plagues, in a condition ready for that destruction. It has been gathered there with the help of the fallen angels -- NOT what THEY had in mind!
It is important to keep in mind what the sixth plague accomplishes. It plagues the people (Euphrates) with a feeling of instability and mistrust -- a lack of desire to be supportive of their governments, leaders and institutions. It has, therefore, frightened the leaders into a confederacy of convenience for self-protection and a willingness (knowing or unknowing) to work with the powers of darkness so that they can avert a social-political crisis.
We have two sides for the battle: The people and the self-interests. They have become irreconcilable. The battle is inevitable. The Lord is “The Lord of Host”; He will fight for the people!
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