Kings of the East
Synopsis: The “Kings
of the East” are identical to the “Kings of the Earth” allied with the “Beast
from the Sea” – Revelation 16:12-19.
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| By Kyle Glenn on Unsplash |
In preparation for this final pitched “battle,”
this army is gathered to a place called “Har-Mageddon.” In painting this
picture, Revelation also employs verbal allusions from the book of Ezekiel
that originally concerned an attack on ancient Israel by “Gog and Magog.”
In the passage, there is no description of an actual battle
or any invasion of the Middle East. In the provided interpretation, the “kings
of the whole habitable earth” are assembled by demonic spirits to the “battle
of the great day of God the Almighty.” The enemy to be destroyed is not
identified until the contents of the seventh bowl of wrath are emptied, namely, end-time
“Babylon.”
- (Revelation 16:12-16) – “And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river: [the] Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be prepared of the kings who were from the rising of the sun. And I saw, 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 impure spirits, as frogs; for they are spirits of demons doing signs, which are to go forth unto the kings of the whole habitable earth, to gather them together unto the battle of the great day of God the Almighty.—Lo! I come as a thief! Happy, he that is watching and keeping his garments, lest naked he be walking, and they see his shame.—And he gathered them together unto the place that is called, in Hebrew, Har Magedon.” - (From the Emphasized Bible).
Chapter 16 serializes the meting out of divine
wrath on the “Beast” and end-time “Babylon” into seven “last
plagues, the “seven bowls of wrath.” They are unleashed sequentially
as seven angels empty the contents of their respective bowls. Throughout the
series, God initiates the action and uses the vassals of the “Dragon” to
execute His judgments against them. In this passage, the “kings
of the earth” are assembled for the “battle of God the Almighty” - This
is His “battle” - Not that of the “Dragon” or the “Beast
from the sea.”
“Prepared for the kings of the east.”
This clause alludes to a prophecy by Jeremiah about the destruction of
ancient Babylon. In the sixth century B.C., the city of Babylon was
captured when an army comprised of the “Medes and Persians” blocked
the Euphrates River to allow it to enter the city by
the (now) dry riverbed. Note the verbal parallels between Revelation and
the passages from the book of Jeremiah:
- (Revelation 16:12-13) – “And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river: the Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be prepared of the kings who were from the rising of the sun. And I saw 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 impure spirits as frogs, for they are spirits of demons doing signs, which are to go forth unto the kings of the whole habitable earth to gather them together unto the battle of the great day of God the Almighty.”
- (Jeremiah 50:35-38) – “A sword is upon the Chaldeans, says Yahweh, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon…A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.”
- (Jeremiah 51:25-38) – “Prepare against her the nations, even the king of the Medes and of the whole earth, his rulers and all his captains…Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons…without inhabitant.”
Borrowing language from Jeremiah does
not mean that the “kings of the east” are identical to the ancient “Medes
and Persians.” The passage provides fitting imagery to portray the judgment
of God on end-time “Babylon.” After the “kings of the earth” are
assembled for battle, end-time “Babylon” partakes of the “wine
of God’s wrath,” not a restored Babylonian empire in Mesopotamia - (Revelation
16:19-20).
The image of the “kings from the
sun-rising” crossing the Euphrates river is then interpreted by
what John “saw” - (verses 13-16 - “and I saw”). At
the start of the series of the “seven bowls of wrath,” John “heard
a great voice…Go and pour out the seven bowls of the wrath into the earth,”
he then described what he saw, in this case, demon spirits
from the “Dragon,” the “Beast,” and the “false prophet” dispatched
to gather the “kings of the whole habitable earth unto
the war of the great day of God.” What he saw
interpreted what he heard. Thus, the “kings
from the east” and the “kings of the whole habitable earth”
are one and the same.
The group called the “kings of the earth” was introduced at the beginning of the book – Because
of his death and resurrection, Jesus is now the “ruler of the kings of
the east.” This group appears several times in Revelation. The
term is derived from the second Psalm, a messianic prophecy used often in the New Testament and
several times in the book of Revelation - (Revelation 1:4-6, 12:5):
- (Psalm 2:1-8) – “Wherefore have nations assembled in tumult? Or should peoples mutter an empty thing? The kings of earth take their station, and grave men have met by appointment together,—against Yahweh and against his Anointed One [saying]: Let us break asunder their bonds,—and cast from us their cords! He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh,—My Lord will mock at them: Then will he speak unto them in his anger, and in his wrath confound them” – (The Emphasized Bible).
The destruction of “Babylon” is
announced when the seventh angel empties the contents of his “bowl,” then
the judgment of the “Great Whore” is detailed in chapters 17 and 18 of Revelation. The
judgments of the “Beast,” “False Prophet,” and the armies of the
“kings of the earth” are, in turn, detailed in Chapter 19 in the vision
of the “Rider on a White Horse” - (Revelation
19:17-21).
The “kings of the earth” are now
assembled for the “great day of the battle of God the Almighty” in order
to destroy end-time “Babylon,” and in preparation for their own
destruction by the “Rider on the White Horse.” Note the verbal parallels
between the present passage and the vision in Chapter 19:
- (Revelation 16:14) – “They are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole habitable earth unto gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.”
- (Revelation 19:15-21) – “And he treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, king of kings and lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God…And I saw the Beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army.”
The book of Revelation uses Old
Testament language to build its picture of how God destroys the earthly vassals
of the “Dragon” - The “Beast,” the “False Prophet,” and “Babylon”
– Often combining language from multiple passages from the Hebrew Bible.
The “kings
of the earth” may be allied with the “Beast,” but in the “sixth
bowl of wrath” they become the instruments of divine justice to destroy
end-time “Babylon.” In turn, these servants of the “Dragon” will
be judged along with the “Beast” and the “False Prophet” by the “Rider
on a White Horse,” namely, Jesus.
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