For the last 2000 years, the principal opposition to the authority of King Jesus has come in the form of some kind of human government: Imperial Rome until the time of Constantine, the Muslim Caliphate for centuries after that, and Communist totalitarian regimes in places like China and North Korea today are just a few examples of this.

And even rulers and governments that have claimed to be Christian have all too often engaged in persecution of the faithful for their supposed heresy – just in the English-speaking world we must point with shame to the reign of Bloody Mary and the expulsion of Roger Williams from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. And what are we to say of modern American Christians who are fined by their state governments for refusing to bake cakes or arrange flowers for same-sex weddings?

Yes, it’s easy for those who wield power to do so with impunity, just as Pharaoh did in the days of Moses. Ruling the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the known world at the time, he called himself the Son of the Sun God. But the true God plunged Egypt into darkness for three days (Exodus 10:22), demonstrating not only His absolute power over everything that He had created, but also the vain impotence of Pharaoh, and of any human authority that would dare to persecute the people of God.

Just so, Satan continues to deceive the powerful, encouraging them to pit their puny weapons of war against God Himself (16:14), to range their armies against even the Lord Christ and all the hosts of heaven (19:19) in their attempt to destroy the saints (20:9). But however terrifying such kings and kingdoms may seem to us today, they are no match for the One Whose very presence causes the very earth to quake (16:18), to shake so violently that all the glittering cities around the world collapse at once (16:19). Yes, the mightiest human institutions, indeed, the mightiest mountains will be humbled at the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (16:20; Isaiah 40:4).

And just as the Lord destroyed the armies of the Amorites in the days of Joshua by raining hailstones upon them from heaven (Joshua 10:11), God Himself will destroy all His enemies on the last day with unimaginable force – what kind of cold and wind would it take to produce hundred-pound hailstones (16:21)? But since Christ will come just as suddenly and unexpectedly as a thief in the night (16:15; Matthew 24:42-44), will Jesus find us faithful on that day? Or will our fears of relatively petty human authorities lead us into compromise or even apostasy?

Revelation 16:10-21 (ESV)

10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish
11 and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
13 And I saw, coming 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 unclean spirits like frogs.
14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”)
16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
18 And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.
21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.