Chapter 7: The Angel of Pure Influence

 

Revelation 16:12 says,

¹² And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east.

The sixth angel is the Angel of Pure Influence. This is seen in the psalm that was sung while the sixth bowls of water and wine were being poured out at the altar in Jerusalem on the sixth day of Tabernacles. There they sang Psalm 81:6-16, which speaks of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. The psalm is thus applied to the greater deliverance from Mystery Babylon in our time.

Day 6: Psalm 81:6-16

In addition to a portion of the psalm being used during the feast of Tabernacles, the entire Psalm was sung every Thursday in the temple, commemorating the events of Exodus 17. In Exodus 17:5, 6, Moses struck the rock so that the people could obtain water to drink. Paul later said in 1 Cor. 10:4,

⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

Traditionally, Moses struck the rock on the 40^th day of the Pentecost cycle, dating from the wave-sheaf offering. Since the wave-sheaf offering always fell on the first Sunday after Passover, the 40^th day always fell on a Thursday. Hence, Psalm 81 was read every Thursday. But the 40^th day was also the traditional day that Elijah ascended, and Acts 1:3 tells us that Jesus ascended on the 40^th day after meeting with people after His resurrection.

When Jesus ascended, He took with Him the glory of God that had been seen last on the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:23). Jesus’ ascension then prepared the way for the return of God’s glory on the day of Pentecost, when He came to inhabit His people—the new temple. This established a precedent for a parallel event in our time, when the glory of God will fill the temple in a greater way (Rev. 15:8) at the feast of Tabernacles. This is prophesied later in connection with the fall of Babylon in Rev. 18:1, where another angel comes down from heaven, “and the earth was illumined with his glory.”

The sixth bowl prepares the way for the seventh. The wine is poured out in judgment upon Babylon, while the water is poured out so that the people may drink from the “spiritual rock” which is Christ. This spiritual drink is the water of the word, for Jesus said in John 15:3 that we are cleansed, or purified, by the word which He has spoken to us. Under the Old Covenant, people were cleansed by literal water; under the New Covenant, we are cleansed by the water of the word.

The Angel of Pure Influence is thus sent to counteract the “bad influence” of Mystery Babylon. The pure water of life coming from the throne of God in Rev. 22:1 is the antidote to the polluted water of Babylonian influence, culture, and values. So Psalm 81:8-10 says,

⁸ Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! ⁹ Let there be no strange god among you, nor shall you worship any foreign god. ¹⁰ I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

The passage focuses primarily on feeding Israel with the word of God. The psalmist laments the fact that “My people did not listen to My voice” (Psalm 81:11). Psalm 81:16 concludes the passage by saying,

¹⁶ But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat; and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

The spiritual rock, then, was said to feed Israel not only with water, but with wheat and with honey. These are all metaphors for the word of God in different ways. Water cleanses; wheat strengthens, and honey removes spiritual blindness, enlightening the eyes (1 Sam. 14:27). All of these aspects of the word are part of the job description of the Angel of Pure Influence.

Even as Israel of old was spiritually blind during its sojourn in the wilderness (Deut. 29:4), so also has the Pentecostal church in the wilderness been blind. Neither Israel nor the church has lacked faith to come out of Egypt (Passover-level faith that justifies). Israel, however, refused to hear the word (Exodus 20:18-21) at Pentecost when the law was given. Later, the New Testament church was able to receive the word of Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts. This showed progress, but the church under Pentecost was not ready to receive the message of Tabernacles, which is the greatest anointing and revelation of the word. This remains for the overcomers at the end of the age.

It is apparent that the Angel of Pure Influence presides over the revelation accompanying this final outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which will overturn the evil influence of Babylonian culture that has warped the hearts and minds of the people in our time.

Amalek and Babylon

There are two events in Exodus 17. The first is the water coming out of the rock. The second, in Exodus 17:8-16, is the overthrow of Amalek, which in this case serves as a representative of Mystery Babylon. Just as Amalek’s name was to be blotted out (Exodus 17:14), so also Babylon was to be “thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer” (Rev. 18:21). Amalek established the early pattern for Babylon in the context of the time between Passover and Pentecost. Babylon’s fall is greater, and it comes in the context of the feast of Tabernacles.

If Amalek had won the battle in Moses’ day, the people would not have experienced Pentecost at Mount Sinai ten days later. If Babylon should win in our time, the people will not experience the fulness of the Spirit at the feast of Tabernacles. Thankfully, John tells us in Rev. 16:12 that God has raised up the kings from the east to overthrow Babylon.

Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, the son of Esau-Edom (Genesis 36:16). Hence, the prophecies concerning Edom apply also to Amalek. Eliphaz, whose name means “my god is fine gold,” shows how the love of money rules these people. It also provides us with Amalek’s motive in attacking Israel as they came out of Egypt. The Amalekites wanted to steal the wealth that Israel brought with them out of Egypt (Exodus 12:35).

The Kings from the East

Rev. 16:12 tells us that the sixth angel is called to pour out his bowl of wine upon the Euphrates River. This dries up the river and prepares the way for the kings from the east. This verse tells us that the fall of Babylon in Daniel’s time had established a prophetic pattern for the fall of Mystery Babylon in our time.

During the days of Daniel, the kings from the east (King Cyrus of Persia and King Darius of Media) dried up the River Euphrates by diverting the water from the River Euphrates that flowed through the city of Babylon. There were walls on either side of the river with huge gates to allow people in and out of the city. Normally, these gates were closed and locked during a siege and at night, but on the night the Medes and Persians took the city, the Babylonian priests left a gate open. They were angry with King Belshazzar for making their god (Marduk) equal with the other official gods of Babylon. This was how the city was taken during the palace party mentioned in Dan. 5:1.

Thus, drying up the River Euphrates was the final prophetic act that led to the conquest of Babylon. So this became the pattern for the fall of Mystery Babylon in Revelation 16. One cannot truly understand the events of the sixth and seventh bowls in Revelation 16 without knowing some of the history of ancient Babylon and how the city fell in Daniel 5.

In fact, because so many Bible teachers are ignorant of history, they interpret the kings of the east in a negative manner. Many interpret this verse to mean that China will send an army across the Mideast to destroy the Israeli state. But if that were so, then the Israeli state would have to be Babylon. Certainly, it is part of the Babylonian system today—and, in fact, it is the modern representative of Edom and Amalek, as I have shown elsewhere. But Babylon is much bigger than the Israeli state, for it is a worldwide political and economic system.

The main thing to understand is that the kings from the east are God’s agents raised up to overthrow Babylon—not to threaten God’s people, but to set them free. It was Cyrus who issued the edict in 534 B.C. allowing the Judeans to return to their old land and to reconstruct a temple in Jerusalem. A later edict in 458 B.C. by King Artaxerxes sent Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem, beginning the final 490-year countdown toward the Messiah’s death on the cross.

Cyrus is God’s “Messiah”

Isaiah 44:27 to 45:1 says,

²⁷ It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’ And I will make your rivers dry. ²⁸ It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’

¹ Thus says the Lord to Cyrus [Heb. Koresh, “the Furnace-Fire” (i.e., The Sun)] His anointed [Heb. Messiach, “Messiah”], Whom I have taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him….

This passage makes it clear that King Cyrus of Persia was God’s “shepherd” and “His anointed” one (“Messiah”). That is, he is a type of Christ insofar as He was the conqueror of Babylon. His anointing from God authorized him “to subdue nations.” Though Cyrus was not a believer in Yahweh, he did what God called him to do, saying to Jerusalem, “She will be built,” and giving orders to lay the foundations of the second temple (Isaiah 44:28).

Isaiah 44:27 also says, “And I will make your rivers dry.” This was fulfilled when the River Euphrates was dried up in order to allow the invading army to capture Babylon.

Diverting the River Euphrates

When Rev. 16:12 speaks of the kings from the east drying up the Euphrates River, many interpret this in a negative way, as if this is a threat to God’s people. But, in fact, this is the final stage of preparation by which God overthrows Babylon. The ancient kings of the east were Cyrus and Darius, who ruled the Medes and Persians, to whom God had given the city (Dan. 5:28). The modern “kings” of this prophetic pattern are China and Russia, who have formed an alliance to overthrow “Babylon” that currently rules from its bases of power in the West.

Like Cyrus and Darius, the modern kings probably have little or no awareness of their role in prophecy. Yet those who understand the divine plan see their rise and have no fear of them, knowing that God is using them to set His people free from their Babylonian captivity. By contrast, most evangelical Christians are being taught to fear China and Russia. Perhaps in Daniel’s day too there were Judahites who were alarmed when the Medes and Persians laid siege to their great city, Babylon. Some may have joined the Babylonian army to fight God’s anointed one. For this reason, it is important to know the divine plan, and we today must understand the meaning of Rev. 16:12.

Cyrus came to power in 550 B.C., as the rising of “The Sun.” Next, he overthrew the thrones of Media and Lydia (546 B.C.). Finally, his army diverted the river Euphrates in order to enter the city of Babylon through the river (537 B.C.) Last, this led to the conquest of Babylon, the city that was ruled spiritually by “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). Hence, the seventh bowl of wine was poured “upon the air” (Rev. 16:17).

Queen Nitocris was the mother of the biblical Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1). On the night Babylon fell, when the hand wrote on the palace wall, it was this queen who remembered Daniel and called him out of retirement to interpret the writing on the wall.

Babylon had been built on both sides of the Euphrates River, but for security reasons, walls had to be built which divided and separated the two halves of the city. People had to use boats to ferry the people across the river. Queen Nitocris saw the obvious problem and wanted to build a bridge over the Euphrates to connect the two halves of Babylon.

She had her workmen dig a huge basin 47 miles in circumference just north of the city. At the same time, she prepared large stones for the bridge. When all was ready, a canal was dug upstream from the river to the basin, and the water was diverted. This allowed them to set the stones in the dry river bed to build the bridge over the Euphrates. No doubt Cyrus remembered this many years later.

Description of Babylon

Babylon was a city foursquare with each side nearly 14 miles in length and a total circumference of 56 miles. The wall itself was 85 feet thick and 300 feet high. The ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, known as the “Father of History,” tells us in Book 1 of The Histories,

“On the top of the wall they constructed, along each edge, a row of one-roomed buildings facing inwards with enough space between for a four-horse chariot to pass. There are a hundred gates in the circuit of the wall, all of bronze and bronze uprights and lintels.”

When Cyrus and Darius came to conquer Babylon, they met with little success at first. Herodotus tells us,

“The siege dragged on, no progress was made, and Cyrus was beginning to despair of success. Then somebody suggested or he himself thought up the following plan: he stationed part of his force at the point where the Euphrates flows into the city and another contingent at the opposite end where it flows out, with orders to both to force an entrance along the river-bed as soon as they saw that the water was shallow enough. Then, taking with him all his non-combatant troops, he withdrew to the spot where Nitocris had excavated the lake (which was then a marsh) and in this way [reopening the canal] so greatly reduced the depth of water in the actual bed of the river that it became fordable, and the Persian army, which had been left at Babylon for the purpose, entered the river, now only deep enough to reach about the middle of a man’s thigh, and, making their way along it, got into the town….

The Babylonians themselves say that owing to the great size of the city the outskirts were captured without the people in the centre knowing anything about it; there was a festival going on, and they continued to dance and enjoy themselves, until they learned the news the hard way. That, then, is the story of the first capture of Babylon.”

But the fall of Babylon itself is the subject of the seventh bowl, so for now, we must confine our remarks to the sixth bowl upon the Euphrates—the prelude to the fall of Babylon.

The Meaning of Euphrates

The Euphrates was the life blood of Babylon. Along with the Tigris River, the water was the only reason that Babylon and other cities could be built in the desert of Mesopotamia, “the land between two rivers.” The name Euphrates means “fruitfulness.” It comes from the same root word as found in the Hebrew name Ephraim, “double fruitfulness.”

Modern Mystery Babylon, of course, is no longer a single city, but a worldwide economic and political system. As such, it no longer requires the Euphrates River as its life blood. Modern Babylon’s “Euphrates” is its banking system. The river banks of the Euphrates are now the banks that hold money that is also called “liquidity.”

For this reason, the final form of the beast system is the beast arising from the earth (Rev. 13:11), and it is described in financial and economic terms. When Babylon falls, Rev. 18:11-15 pictures “the merchants of the earth” weeping over the loss of world trade. And in Rev. 18:14 God speaks to the merchants, saying, “the fruit you long for has gone from you.” In other words, the “Euphrates” becomes fruitless. The banks lose their liquidity and go bankrupt.

These merchants weep because Babylon has made them rich, and the fall of their city has caused them to lose this wealth. Rev. 18:17 tells us, “in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”

So when Cyrus dried up the river, he established a prophetic pattern that is fulfilled today by attacks upon the financial markets and world trade. This became apparent more than twenty years ago at the start of our Jubilee Prayer Campaign (Nov. 21-29, 1993).

God’s Answer to Prayer

The first major sign, taken from the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall in Daniel 4, was given to us precisely twelve months into the Jubilee Prayer Campaign on Nov. 29, 1994. In those days the word of the Lord revealed that this prayer campaign was following the pattern of Daniel 4, which is the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great “tree” that was defoliated and chopped down. This dream was fulfilled precisely twelve months later (Dan. 4:29).

Therefore, we knew that we were to watch twelve months from the Jubilee Prayer Campaign on Nov. 29, 1993 to the same date in 1994. I was living in Washington state at this time, and one of our senators was the Speaker of the House, Tom Foley. In the days before the mid-term election in early November 1994, I heard from Foley’s opponents that they wanted to “de-Foley-ate Washington.” Instantly, I knew that they would succeed, because it was the sign in Dan. 4:14 that we were to expect: “Chop down the tree and cut off its branches.”

Indeed, Tom Foley was defeated by George Nethercutt (“a lower cut”). The great “tree” of Babylon was defoliated and cut down. In the biblical story, Nebuchadnezzar himself was given twelve months in which to repent, but instead his heart was lifted up in pride, and when he bragged about his great accomplishments (Dan. 4:29), his prophetic dream was fulfilled. He was cast off the throne for “seven times” (Dan. 4:16, 32).

When Tom Foley was defeated by George Nethercutt, we knew that the tree was being chopped down. Understanding this historical precedent, we waited to see what God would do a few weeks later on Nov. 29, 1994.

About that time, the House began to debate the GATT treaty (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). It then passed the House on Nov. 29, 1994. As Speaker of the House, Tom Foley then gave a final speech bragging about their accomplishments and resigned as Speaker of the House. This was Nov. 29, 1994, precisely twelve months after the Jubilee Prayer Campaign.

The pattern set by Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled perfectly.

In the prayer campaign of 1993, the overcomers took Babylon to the divine court and won their case against Babylon. Essentially, our complaint against Babylon was that it had failed to fulfill its divine responsibility to bring righteousness to the earth in exchange for receiving the Dominion Mandate. We petitioned the divine court for the Dominion Mandate to be given to the overcomers—that is, the saints of the Most High (Dan. 7:22).

Legally speaking, it was like buying urban property, because Babylon is a city. For this reason, the city was given one year in which to redeem itself according to the provision of the law in Lev. 25:30. In other words, Babylon was given a full year in which to bring forth righteousness to fulfill their responsibility and obligation. When they failed a year later, we saw the sign that the “tree” of Babylon was being stripped of its leaves (“de-Foley-ated”) and then chopped down with a lower cut (“Nethercutt”).

Since that time, we knew that Babylon would soon collapse and that the saints of the Most High would be given the Kingdom. But this could not take place until after 2014, when Babylon’s “seven times” mandate actually expired. We would have to wait another 20 years.

Meanwhile, we discerned that the divine plan was to overthrow Babylon by a shift in world trade. The GATT treaty was the precursor to the World Trade Organization, which has become the main Babylonian Trade Club. The GATT treaty in 1994 admitted China to this Trade Club, and this was the start of the greatest transfer of wealth from West to East in the history of the world.

The US trade imbalance with China soon reached $40-50 billion per month. Huge ships arrived at American ports filled with goods from China, and they returned nearly empty. This “free trade” was good for big corporations, as it allowed them to produce goods freely using cheap labor in China (and other countries). However, it also served to destroy the US labor market and the economy as a whole, as wealth was transferred to China.

China then began to rise very quickly, and its new wealth soon allowed it to challenge the hegemony of the US Empire and (from a biblical perspective) to overthrow Mystery Babylon.

When the GATT treaty was passed in 1994, we knew that this was God’s answer to the Jubilee Prayer Campaign. It was a decree from the throne that Babylon would be overthrown by the kings from the east. Some politicians and economists now see how “free trade” has facilitated the rise of China and the demise of the western nations, and they are alarmed. But almost none of them understand the divine plan in this. Hence, they are sounding the alarm and promoting fear of China and Russia, without knowing that God has raised up the modern kings from the east to set His people free. God is overthrowing Babylon by diverting its source of fruitfulness (money in the banks).

Pouring out the Sixth Bowls in 2005

We were led to pour out the sixth bowls of water and wine into the Colorado River at Fruita, Colorado on Sept. 26, 2005. We did this immediately after holding a Tabernacles conference in Denver, Colorado. God did not require us to go to Iraq to pour out the wine into the Euphrates River. For spiritual purposes, the town of Fruita suited the purpose, since the meaning of the name was the same as Euphrates, and the town is known for its orchards and fruit.

As I poured out the wine into the river, I spoke the word attributed by Isaiah to King Cyrus, “Be dry” (Isaiah 44:27). As usual, we expected to see the results of this decree begin to unfold in the coming year.

One notable event took place the following June (2006).

God is Able Prayer Campaign (June 15-18, 2006)

The essence of this prayer campaign was stated in part of our prayer at that time:

“Father, because many have said You are not able to bring this people into the Promised Land (Num. 14:16), I ask that you fulfill your vow (Num. 14:21), where You swore to Moses, “As I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.”

This was connected to the bowl of water that we had poured out in Fruita some months earlier in September 2005.

On the last day of this prayer campaign (June 18, 2006), my wife and I drove through Waterloo, Iowa on the way home from Springfield, Illinois, where we had picked up two grandchildren who would stay with us for two weeks. Our three-day prayer campaign inadvertently fell on the anniversary of the famous Battle of Waterloo (June 15-18, 1815), which was a major turning point in the history of Europe. June 18, 1815 marked the end of Napoleon’s career, for he was defeated by British general, Wellington, at Waterloo.

So we found ourselves driving through Waterloo, Iowa on the last day of God is Able prayer campaign on the anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. We were led to declare victory over Apollyon. (Napoleon called himself Neo-Apollyon.)

The Brexit Vote in 2016

We always watch for “echoes” that often occur ten years after important events, according to the Hezekiah Factor. Hence, June 15-18, 2016 was a time to watch, and this coincided also with the 15-year Hezekiah Extension from June 19, 2001, when we held another prayer campaign known as We Accept Your New Covenant Marriage Proposal. At the time of that prayer campaign, we received revelation that its date of June 19 was prophetically adjusted to June 23, though the divine reason for this was unknown for ten years.

The bottom line is that June 23, 2016 was the Brexit vote, where Great Britain voted to leave (“divorce”) the European Union. This European Union was first conceived by Napoleon, who attempted to accomplish this “union” by military force. After his defeat in 1815, the “Holy Alliance” met to redraw the map of Europe, and they also began to plan for a European Union based on peaceful negotiations. (This finally became a reality in 1958.)

However, the Brexit now threatens the very existence of the EU itself, and our prayer campaign ten years earlier (in 2006) suggests that another “Waterloo” has taken place. It seems to mark the end of the “Holy Alliance” after 201 years (1815-2016).

Since the EU’s logo is an unfinished picture of the Tower of Babel, we can see that this Tower of Babel was first conceived in 1815 in conjunction with the rise of the beast from the earth in Rev. 13:11. But June 23, 2006 seems to mark the beginning of the end, when God began to scatter the rebellious people by confounding their tongues (Gen. 11:7-9).