My Sheep Hear My Voice- Rev. 16:12

My Sheep Hear My Voice- Rev. 16:12

Before Jesus was crucified He told the disciples to watch and pray, something so simple, but they let their physical bodies take over and they fell back asleep. In these last hours of time you need to hear His voice. When He tells you something, it is very important, but most ignore my voice or just discuss it and go on with what they were doing. You will see many things start to happen shortly and if you do not hear and obey His voice,... it will mean death for some of you....Jesus has only your best interest in mind. Christ knows you heart, and if you are truly His you will hear His voice. He awakes many of you at 3am on the dot, but most will roll over and go back to sleep. There are a few who will get up and pray. Your day is filled with so many things and Jesus is the last thing many of you give your time to. But Christ needs to talk to you,... to fellowship with you and only when you are still and quite (3am) can you hear Him,... the rest of your day is so busy you do not have time for Him,... but you need to make time, for time is short and the Lord has instructions for you.

Revelation 16

The Sixth Vial: The Euphrates Dried Up

“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” Rev. 16:12

water thereof was... Could not this be as literal as the drying up of the Red Sea and the Jordan river in Exo. 14:13-22; Jos. 3:4; 2Ki. 2:8, 2Ki. 2:14? The purpose of this is to prepare the way of the kings of the East to come into Israel to cooperate with Antichrist at Armageddon (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19-21; Zec. 14:1-5; Joel 3:1-21). Some teach that this drying up of the river Euphrates is the drying up of the Turkish Empire, but that is far from the truth.

Seven proofs that it is not the Turkish Empire:

1. Such an interpretation destroys the literal meaning.

2. If it refers to the Turkish Empire drying up, then all the seals, trumpets, and first 5 vials have already been fulfilled.

This is contrary to the fact that all of Rev. 4-22 must be after the rapture (Rev. 4:1).

3. Just because the Turkish Empire has become small is no proof that it is the fulfillment of the 6th vial. There is no relationship between the two in Scripture.

4. All other passages about the river Euphrates are literal. It is never used as a symbol in Scripture.

5. All the other judgments of the seals trumpets, and vials are literal.

6. No kings of the East have ever come across the dried up Turkish Empire and there is no hint in Scripture of any such thing.

7. The drying up of the Red Sea and the river Jordan was literal, so why not this?

Sixth angel poured... Euphrates Dried Up: The sixth bowl judgment comes in 2 parts.

(1) The drying up of the Euphrates River, which will be a preparation for the "battle on the great day of God Almighty;" and
(2) The tremendous demon forces that will bring the rebellious armies of the world to the Valley of Megiddo for the purpose of opposing the Lord.
Is called “the great river” five times in Scripture (compare 9:14; Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; Joshua 1:4). It flows some 1800 miles from its source on the slopes of Mt. Ararat to the Persian Gulf (see Rev. 9:14). It forms the eastern boundary of the land God promised to Israel. With its flow already reduced by the prolonged drought and intensified heat, God supernaturally will dry it up to make way for the eastern confederacy to reach Israel (Isa. 11:15).
It is likely that when the Euphrates River, the natural boundary between east and west is dried up," the "kings from the east" will march a sizable army across to battle with the King of kings. That army will probably be 3 to 5 million strong. These forces will be joined in the valley of Megiddo by huge armies from all over the world, and while that valley is vast as Napoleon has said, "the most ideal, natural battlefield in the world", even it has a limit to how many people it can hold.
the kings of... God providentially draws these kings and their armies in order to destroy them in the battle of Armageddon (verse 14). Their reason for coming may be to rebel against Antichrist, whose failure to alleviate the world’s suffering will no doubt erode his popularity. Or, this may be a final act of rabid anti-Semitism intent on destroying Israel, perhaps in retaliation for the plagues sent by her God. Since the sun may have melted the ice caps on Ararat, flooding the valley of the Euphrates as the river overflows its banks and bridges, the land will be swamped. God will have to dry it up; miraculously for the eastern army to get to Armageddon.
The Euphrates River is the eastern border of the land God gave to Abraham (Gen. 15:18). It is about 1800 miles long and so large that it forms a natural barrier against the armies of the world. Most people are not particularly conscious of the fact that it served as the eastern border of the Roman Empire. The sixth bowl judgment will dry up that river to make way for the "kings of the East."
This river could have dried up because of the problems caused by some of the other vials. There will be such a drought that this waterway will dry up, and these armies from the east will come into Israel on dry land.
These kings from the east have befuddled Bible prophecy scholars for many years, for few scholars mentioned anything about them. That is, until the communist takeover of China after WWII. Since then it has become apparent that this largest of all countries, by population, has a prophetic role in end time events.
China is controlled by some of the most dedicated Communists in the world. They are not "reformers" or "progressive" as our media tried to represent them a few years ago. They are a ruthless group of elite gangsters who have never wavered in their plan to use China as a military platform from which to conquer the world. The events of the next 2 decades, if indeed we have that long, will prove that point. One thing we can be certain: China is not going to go away. John the Revelator saw them as players on the world scene in the end times.
Even so, the Bible has very little to say about China. In fact, what is said includes more than just China, for the terms "kings from the east" really means "kings from the rising sun," which would include Japan and possibly other Asian countries.
Dr. John F. Walvoord was considered perhaps the world's foremost interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was a member of the Dallas Theological Seminary faculty. He was born in 1910 and died on December 20, 2002. He was 92 years old.
He was considered the dean of prophecy scholars when he wrote: There has been some tendency to take the expression "the kings of the east" literally, "the kings of the sunrise" as referring specifically to Japan where the rising sun is a symbol of its political power. However, it is more natural to consider the term "rising sun" as a synonym for east. The Euphrates River, one of the first rivers mentioned in the Bible, has served for centuries as the natural dividing line between East and West.
The significance of the rise of China to become a principal player among the nations of the world was not lost on Dr. John Walvoord. He saw the prophetic significance of the Chinese rise to prominence back in 1967 when he wrote: The fact that the rise of Asia has occurred in the 20th century with so many rapid and unexpected developments is further evidence that the world is moving toward its final climax and the end of the times of the Gentiles. In Asia, as in other parts of the world, the stage is being set for the final drama in which the kings of the east will have their important part.
If he were writing on that subject today, he might be inclined to say the curtain is about to rise. We are the first generation to witness the sleeping giant of China reach the potential of fulfilling this prophecy. No one doubts that unless something drastic and unforeseen occurs soon, China will gain control of most of the countries of the East, with whom she shares many religious and cultural similarities.
It is realistic to believe that she could be led in these very days by her master, the dragon, "that old serpent, the devil," to rebel against God that she would actually join the armies of the world in opposition to the coming of Jesus Christ. What is needed to bring her to that point? Very little! Merely the deceiving spirit forewarned by John the Revelator. She is almost there today and could gain control of the entire Orient in 10 or 20 years.
Remember, the events of Revelation (Rev 16:12), do not take place until 7 years after the rise of Antichrist, which follows the Rapture of the church. More than enough time to be fulfilled and just one more reason to believe Christ may return for His church in our generation.

The Sixth Bowl (Rev. 16:12-16)

According to John’s revelation, the sixth angel poured out his bowl and dried up the river Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings from the East. There has been endless speculation about “the kings from the East,” with many expositors trying to relate them to some contemporary leaders of their generation. A survey of 100 commentaries of the Book of Revelation reveals at least 50 interpretations of the identity of the kings of the East. The simplest and best explanation, however, is that this refers to kings or rulers from the Orient or East who will participate in the final world war. In the light of the context of this passage indicating the near approach of the second coming of Christ and the contemporary world situation in which the Orient today contains a large portion of the world’s population with tremendous military potential, any interpretation other than a literal one does not make sense.

This is related to the great river Euphrates because this is the water boundary between the Holy Land and Asia to the east (cf. Rev. 9:12-16). While the implication is that the water is dried up by an act of God, the fact is that dams have been built across the Euphrates River in this century to divert water for irrigation so that there are times even today when there is little or no water in the Euphrates. The Euphrates River is frequently mentioned in Scripture (e.g., Gen. 15:18; Deut. 1:7; 11:24; Jos. 1:4). The drying up of this river is also predicted in Isa. 11:15.

This is just as literal as any one of the other plagues. It will take place at the very last of the great tribulation, just before Armageddon, and after the Antichrist has been successful in conquering the countries of the North and East. Then he will gather these newly conquered nations and those which he will have conquered in the first three and one-half years, together with others which will cooperate with him, to fight against Christ at Armageddon. The drying up of the Euphrates will prepare the way for those who will come from the East.

The wrath is not upon the river, for it is harmless, but it is for the purpose of preparing the way for the kings of the East to come to the determined and predestined wrath of God upon the nations at Armageddon, upon whom God desires to take vengeance for their part in the persecution of His people during the last days.