Revelation 16:12-16 – November 17

God, please give us a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ as we study the book of Revelation!

We’ll be studying Revelation through the end of November and starting an Advent study for the whole family on December 1. Please feel free to read and journal with us as often as you can, with the goal of getting to daily time at the feet of Jesus.

You can read the NIV version of today’s reading below or your favorite Bible version then spend some time meditating and journaling on the reading, letting God speak to you through it. We encourage use of the SOAP method of Bible study. Check out the What’s SOAP tab above for more info. Also, below today’s reading is a SOAP journal entry from our team to help dive into God’s Word. And we encourage you to share your SOAP journal entry, prayer requests, or questions in the Comments section on our website.

The Discover One Thing main website continues to follow the Life Journal Reading Plan which covers the whole Bible in one year. Click HERE to check out today’s Discover One Thing post.

Revelation 16:12-16 – The Seven Bowls of God’s Wrath

¹² 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. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ “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.”

¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

 

Behold | Dyea Rowland

Scripture

Revelation 16:15

Observation

In Revelation 9:13, we read about the sixth trumpet sounding in tandem with this vial being poured out, so I won’t go into too much detail about it here. It still amazes me that even after all this time of trumpets sounding and vials being poured out, people will not see this battle coming, still not turning towards the Almighty God. Five months of torment of locust with scorpion-like tails, still with sores and all in utter darkness – takes some heavy-duty pride not to want to turn away from the lifestyle you’ve been living and call on the name of Jesus. Still, such a sad theme though; in the beginning Satan deceived, in turn Adam and Eve were naked and shamefully exposed. And now upon the end of God’s wrath, Satan is still deceiving and people will continue to be naked and shamefully exposed. We know as believers it is almost done!!

The book of Joshua has a lot of parallels to this battle; it will be like a one-stop shop for Jesus, since all will be gathered there any how! Even the name Joshua and Jesus have a lot of parallels (the meaning of the two names) and check out Acts 7, but Acts 7:45 specifically, neat stuff!

Application

Let me walk illuminated and clothed in You, as I watch, wait, excited to see You, in all of Your fullness.

Prayer

Father, You gave me a warning today, “behold, I come like a thief!” Even though this warning is to the inhabitants on the earth at the time of Your wrath, I heed this warning now. The warning means “sudden”; I do not take it to be a literal sudden, because obviously there are still things that have to happen, but sudden in the sense that if I have my eyes inward and on me, my focus will not be on You. I want my eyes to be always upon You, ready for anything and everything. In Your all mighty name…Amen.