Revelation Chapter 16:13-21/Commentary

Revelation Chapter 16:13-21

Revelation 16:13-21 “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame.") 16And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called HarMagedon.

17And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." 18And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. 19And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. 20And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe”.

16:13 “And I saw”: Introduces a new phase of the vision. “Out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet”: “Out of the mouth of the dragon had been emitted a river of lies by which he sought to engulf the woman, but which the earth swallowed up (12:15f); out of the mouth of the beast had been uttered great pretenses and blasphemies (13:5); and out of the mouth of the false prophet had come seductive propaganda (13:14-17). The false prophet is the beast out of the earth who performed the signs to deceive (13:11ff; 19:20)” (Hailey pp. 333-334).

16:13 “Three unclean spirits”: In the Old Testament a lying spirit had deceived king Ahab (1 Kings 22:21-23), and in the New Testament people would fall away 1

from the faith because they had been listening to the doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1ff). As Christians we tend to forget that we are not the only ones who are preaching. The devil has his message and his own messengers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). “Like frogs”: In the Old Testament dietary laws, frogs were unclean (Leviticus 11:9-12, 41-47). In the second Egyptian plague, a multitude of frogs had invested Egypt (Exodus 8:1-7). “Frogs are thought of as unclean, loathsome, a nuisance and an aggravation; their croaking probably symbolizes confusion” (Hailey p. 334). None of this should surprise us. In our own time we see many powerful voices in society arrayed against God and His truth. Today the devil speaks through the media, television, movies, the internet, newspapers, and magazines. He speaks through liberal professors at universities. He speaks through music and pop culture. He speaks through denominations, and religious scholars. Really look at the culture that surrounds the church today and you will find a unity of voices, both supposedly religious and secular being brought to bear against the church. We should not be shocked that liberalism in religion, politics, or any arena, speaks basically the same message, for the true speaker is one and the same.

16:14 “For they are spirits of demons, performing signs”: These frogs are further described as spirits of demons. Hailey notes, “Their signs were fraudulent imposters, for neither Satan nor his helpers can work a bona fide miracle” (Hailey p. 334). Throughout the Bible Satan has attempted to persuade people through false evidence, false proof, deceptive “signs” and smooth talk (Deuteronomy 13:1ff; Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9). Allow me to add that these “signs” probably include not only supposed predictions or trickery, but the kind of false science and false evidence that is so often put forward in the attempt to prove such things as the theory of evolution or genetic nature of homosexuality or drunkenness.

16:14 “Which go out to the kings of the whole world”: This is the objective, to deceive the nations. “Neither the Parthian threat to Rome nor some great battle just before the end of time is in the seer’s view. In the vision at this point the battle has not begun, and the campaign has not opened; what John sees is the mustering forces. The battle is that of verse 16. The day is determined by God, but the battle of that day is not described as being fought until the nineteenth chapter; even there the battle itself is not described, only the results are given (19:19-21)” (Hailey pp. 334-335). “To gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty”: Let us be impressed that this is not the Second Coming, for no battle is fought on that day, the Lord simply comes. In addition, Paul pictures sinners as being at peace when the Lord comes and not involved in all out war among themselves (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

16:15 “Behold I am coming like a thief”: “As John is receiving and recording the vision of the gathering forces for the war of the great day of God, a voice breaks in, whose words can be from none other than the Lord Jesus Himself” (Hailey p. 335). The coming as a thief certainly applies to the Second Coming (1

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Thessalonians 5:2,4; 2 Peter 3:10). In addition, it is also used of Jesus coming in judgment on other occasions, such as removing the candlestick from a congregation (Revelation 3:3). One idea seems to be that as Satan gathers his forces and allies, all which take time, Jesus can come and execute judgment against the forces of evil at any time. Satan cannot come as a thief. He must gradually build up his forces, persuade allies, and deceive nations and men.

16:15 “Blessed is the one who stays awake”: Spiritually stays awake (1 Thessalonians 5:4-8). “And keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame”: Note the present tenses in the words “stays awake” and “keeps”, this indicates the need for a constant diligence and a daily watchfulness. In the midst of all the deception that is happening in the world, and all the voices speaking against the truth, the Christian must remain faithful and unmoved. To keep one’s clothes is to keep them undefiled (Revelation 3:4, 18). God does not want these Christians caught with their pants down. “Judgment and destruction are approaching rapidly; there is no time left to waste. The churches must be awake and on the alert” (Chilton pp. 410-411).

16:16 “And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon” “John resumes his narrative which had been interrupted by the parenthetic warning of verse 15” (Hailey pp. 335-336). The name “Har-Magedon” means the “Mount of Megiddo”. In the Old Testament the city of Megiddo had been a strategic point in the protection of Israel and Judah, since it guarded the northern entrance to Israel. In the valley which this city overlooked transpired some of the greatest and most significant battles in the Old Testament. Deborah and Barak defeated Jabin and Sisera (Judges 4-5). Gideon and his three hundred defeated the Midianites (Judges 7:1). Saul and Jonathan were slain at the eastern edge of this plain (1 Samuel 31:1-6). Jehu defeated Ahaziah and Joram (2 Kings 9:27).

King Josiah fought here against Pharaoh Neco (2 Kings 23:29f; 2 Chron. 35:22).

The KJV here has the term “Armageddon”.

Unfortunately, in the ears of most people today, the term “Armageddon” means World War III, when in reality the term never meant that. Rather, Megiddo and the valley in which it was situated became a symbol for decisive battles and struggles against God’s people and the enemy. “This is the symbol for every battle in which, when the need is greatest and believers are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals His power in the interest of His distressed and defeats the enemy” (Gregg p. 383).

Premillennialists argue that this battle is literal and will be literally fought in the valley of Megiddo at the end of time, yet writers such as Walvoord must admit that actually the valley is too small for such a battle. He notes, “The area, though it is a large one, is not sufficient for all the armies of the world, though the valley of Esdraelon is fourteen miles wide and twenty miles long” (Gregg p. 387). Thus

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he offers the interpretation that Megiddo is the central point of the conflict while the actual armies are deployed over a 200-mile area. The problem with such a view is: 1. One is no longer being literal. Premillennialists are famous for claiming literalism and then in the next breath making something figurative to fit their literal interpretation. 2. Biblical writers do not see all-out world war right before the end of time (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). 3. To say that Jesus will come when all the armies of the earth are gathered in the valley of Megiddo would mean that we know exactly when He will come. There is nothing secret about the timing of the Lord’s return in the doctrine of Premillennialism. 4. Paul claimed that absolutely nothing was revealed about the timing concerning the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

16:17 “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air”: Remember, judgment always has affected the earth, water, and sun. Hailey feels that the term “air” here refers to the spiritual domain of Satan (Ephesians 2:2 “the prince of the powers of the air”). “Air would be an appropriate emblem of the prevailing influence or surroundings of the realm in which the wicked live, move, and breathe. Thus the course of this world” (p. 337). Thus this is a judgment against the true power behind those persecuting Christians. “Evil has been searched out, the power behind it must be smitten also” (McGuiggan p. 243).

16:17 “And a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne”: Apparently, God’s voice. “It is done”: “The series of plagues is now completed; God’s wrath expressed in righteous judgments has now exploded as an atomic bomb upon the world of wicked and ungodly men” (Hailey p. 337).

16:18 “And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty” In this context special emphasis is placed on the magnitude of the earthquake under consideration and on the size of the hail-stones (16:21). In the book we have already seen lightning and peals of thunder (4:5; 8:5). We have also seen the imagery of an earthquake (8:5; 11:19). In the context this earthquake is symbolically used for the collapse of a world empire (16:19-20). “This plague is earth-shaking because of what it affected: Satan’s own realm receives a devastating shock, together with the fall of Babylon and the empire over which she ruled. Since there had never been a greater realm than this present Babylon and the Roman Empire, there would never have been a greater earthquake when it fell” (Hailey p. 338).

16:19 “The great city was split into three parts”: This great city was initially introduced in 11:8, where it received a partial judgment (11:13). But this is not a partial judgment. Previously in the Old Testament, when bringing down a city or

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empire, God had spoken of dividing a city into three parts (Ezekiel 5:2f). “This indicated total destruction of the city” (Hailey p. 338). Compare with 18:8.

16:19 “And the cities of the nations fell”: “Babylon does not fall alone, for the satellite cities whom she had made ‘to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ (14:8), also go down” (Hailey pp. 338-339). This would be one more reason to view this city as Rome, instead of Jerusalem. When Rome fell she took many allies with her, but Jerusalem really did not have any allies. “The call was made to choose sides. The nations went with Rome and lost the game!”

(McGuiggan p. 244).

16:19 “Babylon the great was remembered before God”: That is, God did not remember her for good (Acts 10:31), but for evil. God remembered all her evil deeds and words. “To give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath”: It was time to drink the cup of God’s wrath.

16:20 “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found”: “God’s wrath is poured out with such fierceness that no place is left for refuge” (Harkrider p. 188). This is speech that is characteristic of the prophets when He was speaking about judging various nations (Micah 1:2-4; Nahum 1:5; Psalm 97:4-5; Ezekiel 26:18).

16:21 “And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men” Compare with Isaiah 28:17. Premillennial writers argue that these are literal hailstones, yet if all of this is literal then are there really any men left to repent?

The reason I say this is because according to the above false view, this chapter is only dealing with the people who are left on the earth after all the plagues mentioned in chapters 6-9. Then we have more plagues in this chapter that include (in Premillennial thought) all-out nuclear war. An earthquake that destroys cities worldwide, every island and every mountain follows this. Now if all of that is literal, then really who is left?

16:21 “And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe” As we have noted already, this is not the final judgment, rather all these judgments are still for the purpose of moving men to repentance. Hail had been a symbol of divine wrath and judgment since the plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 9:18-26; Psalm 78:47; 105:32; Joshua 10:11; Isaiah 28:15-18; Ezekiel 38:22).

Sin this remains after these judgments. “Only the final judgment, which would bring all men, nations, and wickedness to a total end, could surpass in intensity and finality judgments such as these” (Hailey p. 340).

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