Revelation 16:12-21 Lesson 490

Revelation 16:12-21 Lesson 490

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The seven plagues continue.

The last two vials of the final judgment are poured out.

Study Tip:

It helps tie the Bible together in your mind if you go back and review past lessons.

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 16:12-21
Armageddon

12And 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.

13And 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.

14For 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.

15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

17And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

18And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

19And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

21And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Margin notes:

"The water thereof was dried up." (16:12) - As prophesized in Isaiah 11:15-16 2700 years ago. This is a prelude to armageddon.

"The kings of the east." (16:12) - Many Preterist believe these kings are the Parthians, the long time enemies of Rome from the area now known as Iran. Other Christians believe "the kings" simply represent the forces of evil.

"The dragon." (16:13) - Again, this is Satan.

The beast " (16:13) - The Antichrist.

"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." (16:14) - These demons will perform miracles in front of world leaders to fool and recruit them in their battle against Israel and God (Psalm 2:2-3).

"I come as a thief." (16:15) - Christ will return expectedly, like "a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3).

"Blessed is he that watcheth." (16:15) - This is the third of seven "beatitudes" in Revelation. The other six can be found in 1:3; 14:13; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, and 22:14.

"Armageddon." (16:16) - A Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word Har-Megiddo, meaning "the mountain of Megiddo." There isn't actually a mountain called Megiddo.  Rather, Megiddo is the site of a ancient city in northern Israel (twenty miles SSE of the port city Haifa) that looked down on the pass between the coastal plain and the Plain of Esdraelon. Founded by the Canaanites as a royal city (Joshua 12:21; Judges 1:27), Megiddo eventually came under the control of King Solomon and Israel. Because of its strategic location many armies have fought here from Thut-mose III of Egypt in 1450 BC to the Assyrians in 733 BC (2 Kings 23:29) to a World War I battle in 1917. Napoleon considered it a natural battlefield. Many Christians believe that the battle of Armageddon will precede judgment day and be Satan's final defeat (19:17-21).

"There was a great earthquake." (16:18) - As prophesized in Ezekiel 38:19.

"The great city was divided into three parts." (16:19) - Most scholars believe the "great city" refers to Jerusalem although some say it's Rome.

"There fell upon men a great hail." (16:21) - As predicted in Ezekiel 38:22.

"Every stone about the weight of a talent." (16:21) - Every hailstone had a weigh of about seventy-five pounds."

"Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail." (19:21) - Is it a coincidence that stoning is the Old Testament punishment for blasphemy (Deuteronomy 13:9-10, 17:-5) and that these future blasphemers will be struck down with hailstones? Since Revelation was written some well meaning Christians in almost every generation have believed they were living in the last days.  With the invention of the cannon, many theologians became convinced that the hail falling "out of heaven" symbolized cannon balls and that Christ was surely coming in their lifetime.

New Living Translation

Revelation 16:12-21

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance. 13 And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. 14 They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

15 "Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed."

16 And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon.

17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, "It is finished!" 18 Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck-the worst since people were placed on the earth. 19 The great city of Babylon split into three sections, and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon's sins, and he made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine of his fierce wrath. 20 And every island disappeared, and all the mountains were leveled. 21 There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

When you start to obey the Bible, you start to understand the Bible.

Application thought for the day:

After reading Luke 12:35-48, summarize in your own words what the most important
lesson of this passage is and how you can apply it to your life.

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress Books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; "The Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies"; "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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