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 bowls (vials) of the final judgment are poured out on mankind.

Unclean Spirits (16:13-14).

By American artist Danny Hahlbohm.

Study Tip:

Be wary of all interpretations of the Bible, including these lessons. Let God speak to you, then form your own conclusions.

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 16:12-21
Armageddon

12 And 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.

13 And 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.

14 For 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.

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

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

17 And 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.

18 And 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.

19 And 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.

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

21 And 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 great river Euphrates." (16:12) - The Euphrates River is western Asia's largest and most important river. It begins in the mountains of Turkey and flows seventeen hundred miles through Syria and Iraq before joining the Tigris River near the Persian Gulf. The Euphrates is first mentioned in Genesis 2:10-15 as one of the rivers that watered the Garden of Eden. It is the eastern border of the land God promised Abraham (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7-8) and a natural barrier to Israel's enemies. The Bible sometimes refers to the Euphrates simply as "the river" (Exodus 23:31) or "the great river" (Deuteronomy 1:7).

"The water thereof was dried up." (16:12) - The Euphrates River dried up, as prophesized in Isaiah 11:15-16 2700 years ago. This is a prelude to Armageddon.

"The kings of the east." (16:12) - Many Preterists believe these kings are the Parthians, the longtime enemies of Rome from the area now known as Iran. Futurists teach that "the kings" will be allies of Satan. Other Christians believe "the kings" represent the forces of evil found in every era.

"The dragon." (16:13) - This is Satan.

The beast " (16:13) - This is the Antichrist, the satanic beast we met in verse 13:1-4.

"The false prophet." (16:13) - The second satanic beast who deceived millions by performing miracles (13:11-15; 19:20).

"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) - This is Jesus speaking. He will return unexpectedly, 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) - Armageddon is the Greek transliteration of two Hebrew words, Har-Megiddo. Har-Megiddo means "Mount Megiddo." There isn't really a mountain called Megiddo. Megiddo is the site of an ancient city in northern Israel (twenty miles SSE of the port city of Haifa). The city looked down on the pass between the coastal plain and the southern rim of the Plain of Esdraelon. The plain was settled 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, numerous 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. Israel subdued the Midianites here (Judges 7) and defeated the Canaanites twice (Judges 4:13-16). Napoleon Bonaparte called the area a natural battlefield. Most students of the Bible believe a final battle will take place at Armageddon just before the Second Coming. Others say the final battle will take place simultaneously in Egypt (Daniel 11:40-45), Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2), and on the Plain of Esdraelon (Megiddo). Regardless of where it will take place, most Christians agree this final battle will precede the Day of Judgment and be Satan's final defeat (19:17-21).

"It is done." (16:17) - This is the voice of God announcing the end of human history on earth.

"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" is 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 weighed about seventy-five pounds."

"Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail." (19:21) - Is it a coincidence that stoning was the Old Testament punishment for blasphemy (Deuteronomy 13:9-10, 17:5), and that God will strike down future blasphemers with hailstones?

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."

Today's question:

1. When will Jesus return?

"You don't need to know where you're going if you know the One who does."

(Myles Monroe, Bahamian minister and evangelist)

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. No one except God knows when Jesus will return. But, since Revelation was written, well-meaning Christians in almost every generation have falsely believed that the Messiah would return in their lifetime. For example, the invention of the cannon convinced many theologians that the hail falling "out of heaven" symbolized cannon balls and that Jesus would surely return in their lifetime.

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 Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; 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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