The Unholy Trinity's Last Stand: Text: Revelation 16:12-16
Introduction: The Nature of Apocalyptic War
We come now in our study of this marvelous book to the sixth bowl of wrath, and to a word that has captured the imagination of the world: Armageddon. For many, this word conjures up images of global thermonuclear war, with tanks rolling across the literal plains of Megiddo in modern-day Israel. But as we have seen throughout this book, John is painting with a palette full of Old Testament colors. He is not giving us a cryptogram to be deciphered by watching the evening news, but rather a theological vision, a heavenly perspective on earthly events. And the central earthly event that this book is about is the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
The book of Revelation is a book of war, but it is a war of symbols, a war of covenants. It is the war between the Lamb and the dragon, between the New Jerusalem and the great city, Babylon, which is apostate Jerusalem. The judgments we have seen, the seals, the trumpets, and now the bowls, are covenantal lawsuits, divine de-creation ordinances poured out upon the land of Israel for her profound spiritual adultery. She had become a harlot, riding the Roman beast, persecuting the saints of God. And so God brought the beast against her to destroy her.
This passage is no different. It is not about a future battle in the Middle East, but about the mustering of demonic forces to bring about the final, catastrophic judgment on first-century Jerusalem. It is about the unholy trinity, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, making their last, desperate stand. And in the middle of this description of demonic propaganda and military maneuvering, Christ inserts a personal warning, a beatitude for the watchful saint. This is not just history; it is a perpetual exhortation to the Church in every age. We are always living in the days leading up to an Armageddon of some sort, a decisive confrontation between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world.
The Text
And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. Then 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; for they are spirits of demons, doing 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. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
(Revelation 16:12-16 LSB)
The Eastern Invasion (v. 12)
We begin with the sixth bowl itself:
"And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east." (Revelation 16:12)
The Euphrates River was the great eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, and before that, it was the promised northeastern border of the land of Israel (Gen. 15:18). To an Israelite, an invasion from across the Euphrates meant an invasion from their ancient enemies, Assyria and Babylon. The prophets regularly depicted judgment on Israel coming from the east, from beyond the river (Is. 7:20, Jer. 46:10). So when John sees the Euphrates dried up, he is seeing the removal of a divine barrier, a providential restraint, allowing judgment to come flooding in.
This is symbolic language, drawn right out of the Old Testament playbook. When God wanted to bring His people out of Egypt, He dried up the Red Sea. When He wanted to bring them into the Promised Land, He dried up the Jordan. When the prophet Isaiah foretold the destruction of ancient Babylon, he prophesied that the river would be dried up to prepare the way for Cyrus, the king from the east (Is. 44:27-28). John is applying this very same imagery to the judgment coming upon apostate Jerusalem, the new Babylon.
So who are these "kings from the east"? This is not a reference to a modern Asian superpower. In the context of the first century, the most feared power to the east was Parthia. But in the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy, the kings from the east are the Roman legions, led by Vespasian and his son Titus, who marched from the eastern part of the empire to put down the Jewish revolt. God, in His sovereign providence, dried up all political and military obstacles to prepare the way for this devastating judgment. He called for the eagles, the Roman standards, to gather against the carcass (Matt. 24:28).
The Unholy Propaganda Machine (v. 13-14)
Next, John sees the spiritual reality behind the military mobilization.
"Then 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; for they are spirits of demons, doing 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." (Revelation 16:13-14)
Here we have the unholy trinity in full display. The dragon is Satan. The beast is the persecuting Roman state, personified in the emperor, Nero. The false prophet, also called the land beast, is the apostate leadership of Israel, the high priestly class that instigated the persecution of the church and stirred up rebellion against Rome. From the mouth of each of these proceeds an unclean spirit. What comes out of the mouth is propaganda, lies, and deception. These are spirits of demons.
And they are "like frogs." Why frogs? This is a direct allusion to the second plague on Egypt (Exodus 8). The frogs came up from the Nile and infested everything, making the land unclean. They were a sign of God's judgment on a pagan nation. Here, these demonic frogs represent the unclean, croaking, incessant propaganda of the devil, the state, and the apostate church, all working to deceive the nations and muster them for battle. They perform "signs," lying wonders meant to deceive and rally the wicked. We see this in the zealots and false prophets within Jerusalem, who performed signs and promised divine deliverance right up until the end, deceiving the people and leading them to their doom.
Their mission is to "gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty." Notice the irony. These demonic spirits think they are gathering the kings of the earth for their own purposes, to wage war against the saints and establish their own kingdom. But in reality, they are simply errand boys for God Almighty. It is God's war, His great day. He is sovereignly gathering them for their own destruction. The devil may write the invitations, but God has planned the party.
The Sudden Interjection (v. 15)
Right in the middle of this apocalyptic battle scene, the Lord Jesus Himself speaks.
"('Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.')" (Revelation 16:15)
This is a parenthesis, but it is the central point of the passage for the saints. While the world is being whipped into a frenzy by demonic frogs, Jesus says, "I am coming." For the wicked world, His coming is sudden, unexpected, and destructive, like a thief in the night. But for the believer, it is a blessed hope. This "coming" in context refers to His coming in judgment upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a historical event that vindicated His people and established His kingdom in a new way. But it is also a pattern for His final coming at the end of history.
The blessing is for the one who "stays awake and keeps his garments." This is a call to spiritual vigilance. The allusion is likely to the temple guards, who had to stay awake on their watch. If the captain of the guard found one sleeping, he would be beaten and his garments set on fire, forcing him to flee naked and ashamed. For the Christian, our "garments" are the robes of Christ's righteousness, which we are to keep clean. To be found "naked" is to be found an apostate, to have abandoned the faith and been caught unprepared by the Lord's return in judgment. It is a call to persevere, to remain faithful in a time of great deception and turmoil. Don't be seduced by the croaking of the frogs. Stay awake. Keep your clothes on.
The Place of Decisive Battle (v. 16)
Finally, the demonic spirits succeed in their assigned task.
"And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon." (Revelation 16:16)
This is the famous Armageddon. But what and where is it? First, notice that there is no such literal place. There is a plain of Megiddo, but there is no "Mount Megiddo." The name is symbolic. "Har" in Hebrew means mountain. Many have suggested this refers to the "Mount of Assembly" (Har Mo'ed), a reference to Mount Zion (Isaiah 14:13). The demonic powers are gathering the nations to attack the mountain of God, which in the New Covenant is the Church of Jesus Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem.
But the name Megiddo is also significant. The plain of Megiddo was the site of many decisive battles in Israel's history. It was where Barak and Deborah defeated Sisera (Judges 5:19). It was where the righteous king Josiah was killed in a foolish battle (2 Kings 23:29). It was a place of decisive victory and catastrophic defeat. It became a byword for a place of ultimate confrontation and judgment.
So, Har-Magedon is not a place on a map. It is a theological concept. It is the place of the final, decisive battle where God Almighty gathers His enemies to pour out His wrath upon them. In the immediate context of Revelation, Har-Magedon was the siege of Jerusalem. That was the great day of the Lord's vengeance. The demonic frogs gathered the Jewish zealots inside the city and the Roman legions outside the city for a mutual, bloody destruction, orchestrated by God Himself. It was the ultimate Waterloo for the apostate covenant people.
Conclusion: Frogs, Thieves, and Mountains
What does this mean for us? The pattern holds. The unholy trinity is still at work. The dragon, Satan, still deceives. The beast, the tyrannical, godless state, still roars and demands allegiance. And the false prophet, the apostate church that makes common cause with the state, still croaks its demonic lies, promising peace and safety while leading men to destruction.
The air is thick with the croaking of these frogs today. They come from our universities, from Hollywood, from the halls of government, and, tragically, from many pulpits. They are spirits of demons, performing signs and wonders, gathering the kings of the earth, the powerful, the influential, the culture-shapers, for war against the Lord and against His Christ.
And in the midst of it all, the Lord's voice cuts through the noise: "Behold, I am coming like a thief." His coming in judgment is always nearer than the world thinks. He comes in small ways, in historical judgments on nations, and He will come in a final, glorious way at the end of the age. Our task is not to get out the charts and maps, but to heed His warning. Stay awake. Keep your garments. Do not be found asleep at your post. Do not be found naked, having compromised with the world, having been seduced by the frog-croaks of our secular age.
The enemies of God are being gathered. They are being mustered by their own lies and hatreds, but they are being gathered to a place of God's choosing, a Har-Magedon of His own design. And there, at that place of decisive battle, whether it be in our culture, in our nation, or at the end of all things, they will be utterly broken. For the Lamb who stands on Mount Zion is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the war of the great day of God Almighty is a war He has already won.