Revelation 16:12-16

Strauss-' Comments
SECTION 55

Text Revelation 16:12-16

12 And the sixth 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 sun rising. 13 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 it were frogs; 14 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. 15 (Behold, 1 come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) 16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.

Initial Questions Revelation 16:12-16

1.

What boundary line did the river Euphrates represent - Revelation 16:12?

2.

What is the geographical source of the water of the Euphrates? Unless the source is dried up too, would it be literally possible for the mighty river to be absolutely dry?

3.

Discuss God's warning in Revelation 16:15.

4.

Where is Har-Magedon - Revelation 16:16?

Revelation 16:12

The sixth bowl is in the form of a prediction of the invasion of the diabolical barbarians from the east. This bowl was poured out into the great Euphrates river; and its water was dried (up), in order that (hina - purpose clause) the way of the kings from the rising of the sun (the East) might be prepared. The invaders could cross the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, and visit mighty Babylon (Rome) with the havoc of war. The great natural barrier, the Euphrates, is now gone! There is nothing to hold back Rome's hated eastern enemies.

Revelation 16:13

God's judgments bring forth a counter attack from the strategy room of hell. Three unclean spirits are set forth by the evil trinity - the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. In the East, the image of the frog stands for everything low and defiled. In most Eastern Religions, even today, the frog is a symbol for that which is absolutely dirty.

Revelation 16:14

These unclean spirits are the spirits of demons, working (poiounta - present, active, participle, they continually worked signs) miracles (semeia - signs - 1 of the 3 basic N.T. words for miracle) which go forth unto the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them together unto the war of the great day of almighty God. The forces of Satan have heard heavens challenge to their control over the universe, and the lives and destinies of men.

Revelation 16:15

Paul makes the same claim in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 that Christ will come in judgment unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.

John reverts to the first person, as God begins to speak directlyBehold, I come as a thief. Only the one that keeps on watching and keeps on keeping his garments spotless will be ready when Christ appears again!

Revelation 16:16

The decisive battle between righteousness and unrighteousness is about to open. The symbolic place of God's judgment is the valley of Megiddo (see Joel 3:1 ff, for the prediction of this great day of judgment). The great battle ground of Palestine. The text gives the Hebrew - Har-Magedon. This means the mountains of Meggido. Some English translations contain an anglosized form of this word - Armagedon. The Hebrew consonant for our h was transcribed into Greek (via Septuagint), and Greek has no consonant for our h, but uses the rough breathing mark (h) for this sound. If the rough breathing mark is not transcribed, then the word would start with our a. (Armagedon) This is why we might find these different forms of this word in our English translations. (There are also differences in the spelling of the words, but this is due to faulty transcriptions of sounds).

It was in the valley of Esdraelon that Ahaziah the king of Judah was slain by Jehu (2 Kings 9:27). Pharaoh Neco of Egypt killed young king Josiah (2 Kings 23:29) on this battle field. The memory of this valley had been indelibly written on the minds of everyone who knows the history of the Jewish people. Israel had gained a victory over the Canaanites here, and its memory was recorded in the song of Deborah (Judges 5:1 f). (See the discussions in the standard critical commentaries such as Charles and Swete, but for the best single discussion read I. T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John; New York, MacMillan Co., 1919, p. 685.

Discussion Questions

See Revelation 16:17-21.