They gather their armies to war against the Lamb. They resist his authority. They will not have Him to reign over them. They are instigated to oppose him by “unclean spirits like frogs” (16:13), which are the spirits of devils [_demons_, understood by the Jews to be spirits of the wicked dead] working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, _Ib._ v. 14. This is when Christ is to “come as a thief;” and they are to be gathered “into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon,” 16:15, 16. This was the name of the valley at the foot of Mount Megiddo (Judg. 5:19), which was famous as a valley of slaughter. In it Jehu fought against Ahaziah and Joram, and slew both the kings of Israel and Judah, 2 Kings 9:27. It was afterwards memorable for the death of king Josiah, when Pharaoh-necho fought against him, (2 Kings 23:29); so that the mourning as “in the valley of Megiddon,” became a proverbial expression in Israel for great mourning, Zech. 12:11,12. It is therefore significantly applied to the final battle. Thus do “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed;” but “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.” For the decree has gone forth: “I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” Ps. 2:2-9. In this victory the saints, also, have a part; for it is written: “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father,” 2:26, 27. As thus predicted, in this final conflict the nations are smitten, 19:15. Those symbolized by the beast and false prophet are cast alive into the burning flame; _i.e._, the individuals constituting the bodies of those beasts are cast therein: their governments cease when taken by the Lamb and his armies. This is in accordance with what Daniel saw, who “beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame,” Dan. 7:11.