02.48. LECTURE No. 48 -- Rev_16:13-16
LECTURE No. 48 -- Revelation 16:13-16 The People Today Need a Revelation of Divine Truth - Thank God for the Book of Revelation - A Crisis Hour for All Nations - The True Church Is Waiting for Christ to Come - The Satanic Trinity of Evil - The Spirits of Devils Will Lead Men to the Battle of Armageddon - Where the Battle of Armageddon Will Be Fought - What Kind of a Battle It Will Be
IF ever there was a time when people needed a revelation of divine truth it is today. How wonderful, therefore, that in the midst of the appalling spiritual darkness of these days in which we live we have in the Bible, the Book of Revelation, which reveals Christ unto us in His relation to things in heaven and to things upon the earth.
He Himself was once upon the earth, at which time He walked among men and taught them the words of God, and finally He was rejected and crucified. On the third day, however, He arose from the dead and ascended to the heaven, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” A Crisis Hour, Jesus Understands
It is interesting and comforting; therefore, to realize that Jesus, the Son of God, and the Saviour of men, is now secure in His place above, sheltered from the wrath of those who hate Him.
True enough, we have reached a crisis hour in human history, and the world all about us is filled with spiritual darkness and confusion. We are naturally troubled by all of these things, which are coming to pass, but from His exalted position in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Jesus views all that is coming to pass with perfect calm and deliberation because He knows full well what is in the mind and heart and purposes of God for the future.
Just as in olden times, He endured the cross, despising the shame, because He knew of the glory that was to follow, just so He now waits at the right hand of God for the purposes of God to be accomplished. He knows full well that because men have rebelled against God, terrible judgments will be brought upon them for their sin and wickedness.
He sees more clearly than we do that terror of the on-coming storm, yet He is undisturbed for He knows that when the impending conflict has come and gone, there will come the dawning of a new day of peace and blessing for the whole world. When the Church Is Completed Jesus Will Come
He knows exactly what is written in the Bible concerning His return in the clouds of heaven to receive His church and that He is to come later to establish His kingdom of righteousness throughout the world. Therefore, while we, who are Christians, are waiting with ever-increasing expectancy for Him to come and receive us unto Himself. He is waiting also with anticipation for that very moment when He shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trump of God-at which time “the dead in Christ shall rise first and then we, who are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
After this glorious event has taken place, we know and He knows also, that He will come again in His Revelation back to the earth to punish the wicked and to establish His kingdom. This is confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, where the Apostle said:
“Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be Punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from glory of his power; When he shall, come to be glorified in his saints, and to he admired in all them that believe in that day.”
Understanding these things, let us enter heartily, sincerely, and prayerfully into our study of the Book of Revelation.
We have progressed in our present study to Revelation 16:13, where our present lesson will begin.
In our last lesson we continued our study of the seven vials of the wrath of God, which are to be poured out upon the earth during the tribulation period. Our last lesson was based upon the judgments which are to occur under the fifth and sixth vials, as stated in Revelation 16:10-12, where it says:
“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. 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.”
Advance Lesson
We are now ready to advance in our study by reading what is written in Revelation 16:13-21, where it says:
“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 prophets. 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.
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
“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! 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.
“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. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
“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.” A Satanic Trinity of Evil In Revelation 16:13 just read, mention was made of the three unclean spirits like frogs, which are to 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.
It is plain to see that here you have a Satanic trinity of evil, corresponding to the divine trinity of righteousness. In the trinity of evil, Satan may be called the Anti-Father; the dragon may be called the Anti-Son; and the false prophet the Anti-Spirit. The Spirits of Devils From the mouths of these three, there are to come three unclean spirits like frogs. Now, please don’t get the idea that these are to be literal frogs, because that fact is denied in the fourteenth verse, where it says:
“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.”
The lesson text merely states that they are frog-like, in that they will come forth from the quagmires of spiritual darkness and uncleanness, represented by the hearts and the mouths of these from whence they come forth.
Frogs do not come forth except in the evening, of the day. They sit and croak in darkness while the rest of the world is asleep, and so it will be with these frog-like spirits, who shall 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. They will not come forth until the evening of man’s day, and in the darkness of that terrible hour they will fill the world with their noisy demonstrations.
The work which they are to accomplish is clearly stated. It will be their purpose to “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.”
Some people are inclined to think that the frog-like spirits have already gone forth, and I have read articles in religious magazines inferring that the unclean spirits were Communism, Fascism, and Socialism, but this argument breaks down at every point, because the things which we are studying about here pertain not to things which are coming to pass now, but to events which belong to the closing days of the tribulation period.
Let us remember that we are here studying the last seven vials of the wrath of God, which are to be poured out upon the earth, during the closing days of the tribulation period.
It is inconsistent, therefore, and also unreasonable, to believe that these three unclean spirits like frogs have already gone forth because the dragon and the beast, or Antichrist, and the false prophet, out of whose mouths they are to come have not yet appeared upon the stage of action.
Seducing Spirits
We know that in 1 Timothy 4:1-2, it says:
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron,-” but these words reveal what is taking place now, while the words of our lesson text in Revelation 16:14 refer to the future.
Today, seducing spirits are going forth teaching the doctrines of devils, in order to get men to depart from the faith; thus, their work is to bring about the great apostasy and who can deny but what these things are fast coming upon us?
Nevertheless, the work of the three unclean spirits like frogs which are to 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 are to be the spirits of devils working miracles.
Nothing is indicated in the lesson text, which would make us believe that they have anything to do with the teaching of false doctrine. On the contrary, their work will be to perform miracles and to 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.
Armageddon In the sixteenth verse (Revelation 16:16), it says:
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
In view of this striking prophetic announcement concerning the going forth by the three unclean spirits, and the preparations for the battle of Armageddon, in the fifteenth verse, the Lord gave a prophetic warning to those who will be living upon the earth at that time, saying:
“Behold, I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
These words of our Lord refer, not to the rapture of the saints, but to those who will be living upon the earth at that time. It is expected that long before the things mentioned in our lesson text come to pass, the church will have been completed and raptured away to be with Christ. Be Ready for the Rapture
Nevertheless, we who are living now are admonished also to be ready for the rapture of the church, when Christ will come for His saints, as much as those who will be living then are admonished to be ready for the coming of Christ at His revelation.
The call to watchfulness, in view of Christ’s coming for His saints was given by the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, where he said:
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”
Let us consider the fact that the three unclean spirits were to go forth to the kings of the earth and gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and in Revelation 16:16 it says:
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Where the Battle of Armageddon Will Take Place I discover that many people do not seem to have a clear understanding as to the Battle of Armageddon.
Concerning Armageddon, in his Book on the Apocalypse, Seiss says,
“Harmageddon means the Mount of Megiddo, which has also given its name to the great plain of Jezreel, which belts across the middle of the Holy Land, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan. The name is from a Hebrew root word which means to cut off, to slay; and a place of slaughter has Megiddo ever been. It is the great battlefield of the Old Testament between the Theocracy and its various enemies. In Deborah and Barak’s time, ‘the kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo.’ (As stated in Judges 5:19.) When the good king Josiah fell before the archers of Pharaoh-Necho, ‘he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.’ (as stated in 2 Chronicles 35:22-25). And where God’s King, in mortal flesh, thus fell a victim to the power of the heathen, there God’s King in resurrection glory, shall revenge himself on His enemies. Whether we take it as the mount or the valley, it makes no difference, for the mount and valley are counted as one, each belonging to the other. It was the valley in Josiah’s fall, it is the mount in Messiah’s victory.” And so, my friends, we discover that the Battle of Armageddon will be fought on this ancient battleground in Palestine, which is outside the Holy City. Not a Battle Between Nations
Few people understand that the Battle of Armageddon is to be the last great decisive Battle of the tribulation period. So many have the idea that it will be a battle between the nations of the world, which is not true, for by that time the Antichrist will have arisen to the position of supreme political and religious and military Dictator of the world. There will be no occasion, therefore, for the nations of the world to fight among themselves, for they will all be under the supreme command of the Antichrist.
If this be true, what will be the issue at the Battle of Armageddon? If we understand the scriptures, this will not be difficult to answer.
In Zechariah 12:2-3, in speak of the City of Jerusalem, the Prop said:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”
Also in Zechariah 12:8-9 of this same chapter it says,
“In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”
From these things, we are able to see that the Battle of Armageddon will be brought about by one last final effort on the part of Antichrist and the Gentile nations to destroy the Jews and the City of Jerusalem.
In order to do this, they will lay siege against the city, and then we know what will happen. At that moment, when the nations of the world are gathered together against Jerusalem to destroy the chosen people of God, Jesus Christ will appear upon the scene with the armies of heaven to judge and to make war against the armies of the earth under the leadership of the Antichrist, and deliver His chosen people.
Jesus Will Come with the Armies of Heaven This is confirmed in Revelation 19:11-16, where it says:
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
And so, my friends, we discover that the Battle of Armageddon will not be so much a battle between the armies of the earth, as it will be a battle between the armies of earth under the leadership of the Antichrist, and the armies of heaven under the leadership of the true Christ.
Understanding these things, we do not wonder that in Revelation 14:19-20, it says:
“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”
~ end of lecture 48 ~