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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.
Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Revelation 16:12-16
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
The seven bowl judgments that we read of in Revelation, chapter 16, mark the last punishments that God brings on earth during the Great Tribulation period. Afterwards, He begins paving the way for final victory over Satan before condemning everyone associated with him to Hell and then destroying Heaven and earth as we know it. The kingdom to come, the new Heaven and earth which will have a New Jerusalem as its city, will be God starting all over after purging creation from sin and evil forever.
In yesterday’s message, we saw the fifth of seven judgments poured out on the earth by the angel assigned to that particular wrath. You’ll remember that the world was cast into utter darkness, causing all the afflicted unbelievers to gnaw “their tongues in agony” while cursing “the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores’. Despite their terrible state of suffering, the scriptures tell is that “they refused to repent of what they had done”. That’s just how far the people had fallen under the spell and influence of the devil.
Today, we turn to the sixth angel and see what happened when he dumped his bowl of God’s judgment on the earth. Look again at these words in verses 12 through 16:
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East.
Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Here we find that the impact of the sixth bowl’s wrath was powerful enough to dry up the Euphrates, a river which we know had been turned to blood by the third bowl of judgment. It’s important to note that the Euphrates was a major waterway and has been so throughout human history. In present day, it runs through modern day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
So why dry up this enormous, vital river?
The scriptures tell us it was so a way could be prepared “for the kings of the East”, kings who would be gathered for battle against the Lord by “three impure spirits that looked like frogs”. These three spirits were wicked and sinful because each originated from the mouths of one of the three major malevolent evil beings in power at that moment: the dragon (Satan) and his minions, the beast and the false prophet (the beast of the sea and beast of the earth respectively). We further read that they, the “demonic spirits”, performed “signs” as they recruited the kings to fight on the side of evil.
What did the Lord Jesus say in the midst of this gathering of fighting forces?
We read His words in verse 15 of this passage:
“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Jesus’ coming would catch unbelievers by surprise, a real shock to their spiritual systems, but Christians weren’t to act as if they’re caught off guard. For ever since Jesus walked the earth as a man, He preached about the sudden nature of His return and the importance of being prepared when it happened. His words in Revelation 16 then serve as a reminder to all those on the earth who had placed their faith in Him but may not have been aware of His prior teachings and proclamations about the future.
These words not only serve to warn Christians but serve as an encouragement. For as we have touched on in earlier messages, there are seven beatitudes found in Revelation, the only place we find them outside of the Gospels. This particular one, “Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed”, speaks to how Jesus favors the continued readiness of His disciples who should be eagerly watching for His return with every day on earth they care blessed with.
So the sixth bowl of wrath begins to set the stages for a great war on earth at the end of the Great Tribulation and thankfully, we already fully know who the victor will be for good will triumph over evil, yet again.
Tomorrow, we will look at God’s seventh and final judgment bowl and its impact once poured onto the world.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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