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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadMatthew Poole Commentary - Revelation 16:12 - 16:12
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Upon the great river Euphrates; upon the Turkish empire: See Poole on "Rev_9:14".
And the water thereof was dried up; their force, power, and strength shall be destroyed.
That the way of the kings of the east might be prepared; that a way may be prepared for the conversion of the Jews. This I find to be the sense of the most learned and judicious interpreters of this mysterious book, amongst whom I count Mr. Mede, Dr. More, Pareus, Mr. Durham; &c. But it will be reasonable to say something further to show the probability of this sense. Euphrates was a great river that ran by Babylon, the depth of it was (as historians tell us) about two men’s height. When Cyrus and Darius came to conquer Babylon, they diverted this river, Jer_51:32,36. Here is an allusion to that history. The Turks first took up their habitation about this great river, as was said in our notes on Rev_9:14, where the providence of God restrained them for many years, till the sixth trumpet sounded. The Jews, who are observed to be in greatest numbers in the Eastern countries, having had a promise, Exo_19:6, to be a kingdom of priests, may well be called here the kings of the east. Two things hinder their embracing the Christian faith:
1. The image worship and idolatry of the papists.
2. The power of the Turks, with the success they have had against Christians.
But both these being taken away, by the fall of Babylon and the ruin of the Turks, the way seems to be prepared for the Jews’ receiving of the Christian faith. In a case where nothing can be certainly determined, this seemeth a very probable opinion. To which it contributes a little, that it is probable, that the sixth vial answereth the sixth trumpet; and that as they were the people first let loose by Euphrates, where they were bound, so they are the people to be destroyed under the notion of drying up the waters of Euphrates: and this seemeth to be a work of providence brought forth after the ruin of Rome, and the total breaking of the power and dominion of the papacy. Thus we have foretold the breaking both of pope and Turk, and all their upholders; but we must not imagine them so ruined, but that parties of both should be left in the world, which combining, made up the army to fight the devil’s last battle in Armageddon, of which we shall read, Rev_16:16.