With this text fragment we arrive again at the sixth ray in the spiral. On the sixth ray oppositions are maximized and a decision has to be made. As discussed in the cycle of the trumpets, the culmination of evil forces appears in each successive cycle at a later moment,  going from the outside to the inside of the spiral. In the letters to the communities it was the third letter to Pergamon which showed the throne of satan. In the cycle of the seals it was the fourth seal which showed us Death on the pale horse, followed by Hades, the underworld. And the blowing of the fifth trumpet resulted in the opening of the pit of the abyss and the spreading over the world of locusts with the power of the scorpions. Here, at the outpouring of the sixth vial, the great river of Euphrates dries up and the counter-forces appear on the world scene and demonic spirits assemble the kings of the world for the final war. They assemble at the location in Israel where many wars were fought before: Harmageddon.

The waters of the Euphrates

And the sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river, the Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that be prepared the way of the kings of the rise of the sun. With the Euphrates is not meant, like we saw in the case of the sixth trumpet, the earthly river Euphrates, but the river stream of Paradise (Genesis 2: 10) which represents the etheric flows coming from higher worlds and guided into mankind on Earth. The ‘waters of the Euphrates’ are the flows of life force from the super-sensuous world into mankind on Earth. This spiritual river will also be present in the final vision of the Apocalypse, dealing with the New Jerusalem, as the river of crystal clear water which flows from the throne of God. But for the part of humanity which falls back, this river of life dries up. At this point, the continuation of life by the inflow of astral and etheric forces is no longer an automatic necessity, like before. We stand at the open door to heaven, but at the same time a door to the abyss is opened from which three demonic forces rise up. 

Three demonic forces spread like frogs over the Earth

At this crucial moment of the outpouring of the sixth vial of wrath, the counter-forces appear once more as the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. And I saw three unclean spirits, -like frogs, demonic spirits, which do miracles-,  come out of the mouth of the dragon and the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet; and they go forth unto the kings of the whole world sphere, to gather them for the battle of that great day of God, the Almighty ruler. 

And they assemble their armies to battle against the Lamb, which rushes in with his army of initiates, kings, at the dawn of the new day, through the dry riverbed. It is at Harmageddon, the ‘mountain of the threshold’, a place in the astral world, where the decisive battle is fought between the white and black magicians. All our consciousness and wisdom and will-power is required, before the army of the Christ, the Christ in us, is victorious.

Outpouring of the sixth vial of wrath, Great East Window, York Minster, 1405-1408; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:York_Minster_-_6th_vial.jpg

Megiddo

Harmageddon or Armageddon is presently known as Tel Megiddo, which means in Hebrew hill (tel) of Megiddo. Megiddo has been inhabited since 7000 BC and its location was in antiquity already of strategic importance. It was close to a small pass through the Carmel mountains and from the hill on which the city was built one had a good view on the lower Jezreel plane. Those who occupied Megiddo had power over the Via Maris, the main trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia and what the Egyptians called the Way of the Sea. Many important wars were fought to conquer this stronghold. In 1478 BC Egyptian pharaoh Tuthmose III overcame here the Hittite army. After the exodus from Egypt Gideon overcame here the  Midianites (around 1200 BC). Also at this place king Saul was killed by the Philistines (around 1010 BC.). And king Josiah lead his troops to Megiddo to confront pharaoh Necho II in 609 BC, but he was killed in battle. No wonder that John connects this location with the final battle.

Schult (p.273) explains that Harmageddon should also be seen as a place of separation between spirits. Besides the wars mentioned before, he points at the victory of the prophet Elijah over the priests of Baal at mount Carmel. At this location the battle is fought between the principles of power and of divine wisdom. Schult translates Hamageddon as ‘place of heavenly glory’ and seas this location as the border to the realm of the spirit, to the world called Aziluth in Kabbalah.