The Battle of Armageddon - Part 2: Revelation 16
by Patricia Jones, February 7, 2012
In Revelation chapter 16, 7 angels are given 7 vials of the wrath of God which they are to pour out upon the earth. It cannot be determined from this chapter whether these vials are being poured out at separate times or at the same time, however, some things can be determined. In verse 2 we read that “the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth,” and later on we read that when the last angel poured out his vial into the air, a great voice was heard coming from a throne in a temple in heaven, saying; “It is done”. Thus we can be sure that the seventh angel could not be pouring out his vial at the same time as the first six angels, but that the pouring out of the seventh vial is the last event that occurs. The focus of this study will be on the events that occur when the sixth vial is poured out, and in order to give us the context of this chapter, I have separated verses 2-11 by vials.
Rev 16:1 "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."
Vial #1- Rev 16:2 "And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."
Vial #2- Rev. 16:3 "And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea."
Vial #3 - Rev 16:4 "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood."
Vial #4 - Rev 16:8-9 "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory."
Vial #5 - Rev. 16: 10-11 "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."
Vial #6 - Rev 16:12-14 "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.
The river Euphrates was one of the 4 rivers that was created in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14) and is, even to this day, the largest and longest river of western Asia. Its Hebrew name is Perath[H6578], which means "fruitfulness". In the Old Testament, the river Euphrates was an integral part of God’s covenant with Abraham.
(Genesis 15:7) "And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:18) "In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates."
And in Deuteronomy chapter 11, Moses declares to the Jews;
Deut 11:21-24 "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be."
And in Joshua 1, we see that the Promied Land included all the land towards the west (all the land toward the going down of the sun).
Joshua 1:1-4 “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast."
When the sixth angel of Rev. 16:14 pours out his vial on the great river Euphrates, its waters are dried up in order to prepare the way of the kings of the east. When I searched the Scriptures for who these kings might be, I found an account in Joshua 12:1-7, of two kings of the ease; king Sihoh, who was king of the Amorites, and king Og, who was king of Bashan. In Genesis 15, we find an interesting passage on the day that Jehovah made His covenant with Abraham that pertains to the Amorites.
Genesis 15:14-16 "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."
I am not certain if this passage of Genesis 15 pertains to end times, but this passage is saying that when the iniquity of the Amorites DOES come to "fullness", that the Amorites will come back to this land, which is from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. If anyone knows for sure about this, please let me know.
Not only was the river Euphrates an integral part of God's covenant with Abraham, but we also know that water in the Bible represents the gospel of Salvation.
John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
Could it be that the drying up of the waters of the great river Euphrates represents the cutting off of the Gospel of Salvation from the world? And do the kings of the east represent the kingdom of Satan?
Moving on to verses 13 and 14, we read:
“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.”
Verse 14 is telling us in plain language that these unclean spirits are spirits of devils, which must “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”. The proliferation of false prophets working miracles was the most significant sign of the end of the world which Christ taught his disciples in Matthew chapter 24.
(Matt 24:3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt 24:24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
We can now make the connection with what Christ taught his disciples concerning the proliferation of false prophets just prior to the end of the world, and the spirits of devils working miracles of Rev 16:14. But verse Rev 16:14 has more to tell us. It explains to us the purpose and reason for the spirits of devils working miracles. “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.” It is to gather the kings of the earth and of the whole world together for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Now notice what the very next sentence that follows states: “Behold, I come as a thief.”
Rev 16: “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. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
Now notice what is stated in verse 16:
“16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Verse 16 states that God gathered them together in a “place” called Armageddon. The word “place” was translated from the Greek word “Topos”[G5117]. There is no question that Armageddon is a “place” where a great battle will occur between all the kings of the earth, and of the whole world.
And to make it absolutely clear as to the sequence of events here, God has written these verses in the following way;
1) (in verse 14) The spirits of devlis go forth to gather the kings of the earth to the battle of that great day of God.
2) (in verse 15) Behold I come as a thief.
3) (in verse 16) And he gathered them into a place called Armageddon.
Now we have solid and undeniable truth that the Battle IN Armageddon is to occur after the Rapture.
Rev 16:1 "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth."
Vial #1- Rev 16:2 "And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image."
Vial #2- Rev. 16:3 "And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea."
Vial #3 - Rev 16:4 "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood."
Vial #4 - Rev 16:8-9 "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory."
Vial #5 - Rev. 16: 10-11 "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds."
Vial #6 - Rev 16:12-14 "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.
The river Euphrates was one of the 4 rivers that was created in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14) and is, even to this day, the largest and longest river of western Asia. Its Hebrew name is Perath[H6578], which means "fruitfulness". In the Old Testament, the river Euphrates was an integral part of God’s covenant with Abraham.
(Genesis 15:7) "And he said unto him, I am Jehovah that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.” (Genesis 15:18) "In the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates."
And in Deuteronomy chapter 11, Moses declares to the Jews;
Deut 11:21-24 "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be."
And in Joshua 1, we see that the Promied Land included all the land towards the west (all the land toward the going down of the sun).
Joshua 1:1-4 “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast."
When the sixth angel of Rev. 16:14 pours out his vial on the great river Euphrates, its waters are dried up in order to prepare the way of the kings of the east. When I searched the Scriptures for who these kings might be, I found an account in Joshua 12:1-7, of two kings of the ease; king Sihoh, who was king of the Amorites, and king Og, who was king of Bashan. In Genesis 15, we find an interesting passage on the day that Jehovah made His covenant with Abraham that pertains to the Amorites.
Genesis 15:14-16 "And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."
I am not certain if this passage of Genesis 15 pertains to end times, but this passage is saying that when the iniquity of the Amorites DOES come to "fullness", that the Amorites will come back to this land, which is from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates. If anyone knows for sure about this, please let me know.
Not only was the river Euphrates an integral part of God's covenant with Abraham, but we also know that water in the Bible represents the gospel of Salvation.
John 4:14 "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
Could it be that the drying up of the waters of the great river Euphrates represents the cutting off of the Gospel of Salvation from the world? And do the kings of the east represent the kingdom of Satan?
Moving on to verses 13 and 14, we read:
“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.”
Verse 14 is telling us in plain language that these unclean spirits are spirits of devils, which must “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”. The proliferation of false prophets working miracles was the most significant sign of the end of the world which Christ taught his disciples in Matthew chapter 24.
(Matt 24:3) And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt 24:24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
We can now make the connection with what Christ taught his disciples concerning the proliferation of false prophets just prior to the end of the world, and the spirits of devils working miracles of Rev 16:14. But verse Rev 16:14 has more to tell us. It explains to us the purpose and reason for the spirits of devils working miracles. “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.” It is to gather the kings of the earth and of the whole world together for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Now notice what the very next sentence that follows states: “Behold, I come as a thief.”
Rev 16: “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. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
Now notice what is stated in verse 16:
“16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
Verse 16 states that God gathered them together in a “place” called Armageddon. The word “place” was translated from the Greek word “Topos”[G5117]. There is no question that Armageddon is a “place” where a great battle will occur between all the kings of the earth, and of the whole world.
And to make it absolutely clear as to the sequence of events here, God has written these verses in the following way;
1) (in verse 14) The spirits of devlis go forth to gather the kings of the earth to the battle of that great day of God.
2) (in verse 15) Behold I come as a thief.
3) (in verse 16) And he gathered them into a place called Armageddon.
Now we have solid and undeniable truth that the Battle IN Armageddon is to occur after the Rapture.
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