Gathered for Destruction

Reflections on Revelation 16:12-16

When the sixth bowl is poured out, the great river Euphrates is dried up.  The Euphrates was a boundary that separated Israel from the godless kings beyond it.   For it to be dried up suggests that God removes some boundary that has prevented the nations from annihilating the saints, but the reader should not think that God is abandoning his faithful people.  Instead, he uses the nations' initial victories and resulting overconfidence to lead them to their destruction.

Three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.  In other words, Satan, human government, and false religion work together to convince the godless nations to unite in destroying the saints.  However, what the nations think is a battle to destroy the saints is the battle on the great day of God the Almighty when he will defeat all godless nations.  The article before "battle" suggests that this is the one mentioned earlier in 11:7 and 13:7 when the beast made war with the witnesses/saints and killed them.  This same battle will be referred to again in 19:19 and 20:8-9.
 

Looking across the Valley of Jezreel toward Mt. Gilboa from Megiddo

The unclean spirits deceive the kings of the whole world and gather them at Armageddon.  This part of the vision is based on Zechariah 14:2 and 12:3-4 where God gathers the nations against Jerusalem in order to destroy those nations.  In Revelation, the gathering place is Armageddon which was in the heart of Israel's homeland, perhaps drawing on Ezekiel 39:2, 17 where God assembles the nations on the mountains of Israel where they will be judged.   Thus, the gathering of the nations' armies at Armageddon is the same as the gathering of the nations to surround the saints and the "beloved city" in Revelation 20:9 .  Abiding by the principle that John uses Israel as a metaphor for the saints who have been set free by the blood of the Lamb, the gathering of the armies at Armageddon suggests that the nations will attack the camp of the saints or the church.  However, the kings of the nations have been deceived.  They have eagerly swallowed the lie that they can destroy the saints, but God Almighty is gathering the nations around the city (the church) as a harvest so that he can tread the winepress of his wrath (Rev 14:14-20).

Although God is working things out according to his will for the good of the saints, the sixth bowl poses some danger to the saints.  Their lives seem more endangered than ever before, so they must be especially vigilant lest they be caught off guard when the Lord returns unexpectedly like a thief.