REVELATION 16:12-16
By Mike Kurtz
Read Revelation 16:12-16.
The sixth bowl judgment is a very specific judgment not of a worldwide scale, but on a specific river – the Euphrates river. Its waters will dry up in order to allow “the kings of the East” to easily enter into the area where the final war will take place (i.e. Armageddon). This judgment is also unique in that it does not inflict damages on God’s enemies, but is preparatory for their soon fatal defeat. God is allowing the armies of the world to gather together like Custard’s last stand to face defeat.
This gathering of kings is accomplished by Satanic influence through miraculous signs of some sort. It is difficult to ascertain how those signs will appear, but they will be enough to entice the kings to go to war ultimately against God. They will fail to recognize that despite all earlier warnings of God’s power, they are being cattle-herded for destruction. What will appear to be an open door for victory (i.e. the dried up river), will be misinterpreted as something to their advantage. Like bait on a fishhook, God is guiding them to accomplish His purposes even though they may believe the contrary.
I would like to suggest that God can and does use people’s misguided aspirations and selfish motives to guide them in the accomplishment of His purposes. I’d like to suggest that God knows what people will do and why they will do something, and that He can move in a way that will accomplish His purposes for their life. What does that mean for us who may see someone living in a way that is not pleasing to God? What does that mean for the person whose direction in life is in opposition to God? It means that I can be confident that God can still work in that person’s life to guide and direct (might I even say manipulate) the situation to lead him or her to Himself. I can rest knowing that I don’t have to be the one who carries the weight of change in a person’s life (it never was ours to carry anyway). God can move in ways we are not aware of.
I met a young man a few months ago who was going through a miserable time in his life. He was out of work, lost his longtime girlfriend, and had recently started having seizures for a yet to be determined reason. He was homeless when I received an email from his friend’s father in Virginia, who was a pastor of a Bible church there. He alerted me to his situation and condition, and asked for our help. When I visited the man, I found him to be very turned off to God and the gospel. While he didn’t blame God for his situation, he also did not acknowledge his need of Him despite his desperate situation. He recognized there were many Christians who helped him lately (most notably his friend’s father), and he was very thankful. Still, there was not a sense of brokenness and desire to seek help from God. He was a self-determined survivor. How could I help the gospel get through to him? More recently he called wondering if I had a tv he could use. It just so happened that I had a small tv in the garage that I had no use of, so I gladly gave it to him (have you ever tried to dispose of a tv?). Now who knows what God might do with that tv in his life. He thinks the tv is for video games. God might have other plans. Maybe he’ll hear the gospel in a way he never has before. I don’t know, but I like to think that God uses our meager efforts of love to accomplish His purposes even when someone has a different idea.
My encouragement to you today is that if you know someone who looks like they are hopelessly walking away from God, trust that He can still accomplish His purposes even in their rebellious plight. They may think they are walking away from God, but they may be walking right into His hands. Ours is to continue to love and leave the results to God.
