THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON!

 Last week we looked at “The Bowl Judgments.” Today, we are going to look at THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON! Revelations 16:16 says, “And God gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

The world today is not well. It is suffering from the cancer of carnality, the plague of perversion, and the sickness of sin. During the tribulation, God will deal with the sin that fills and pollutes our world. Sin must be judged, one way or the other. Concerning the battle of Armageddon, we will be answering seven questions:

1. What is this Armageddon the Bible is talking about? Armageddon (Hebrew: “Hill of Megiddo”), in the New Testament, place where the kings of the earth under demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history. The battle of Armageddon refers to the final war between the human governments and God. These governments and their supporters oppose God even now by refusing to submit to his ruler ship (Ps. 2:2). The battle of Armageddon will bring human ruler ship to an end (Dan. 2: 44).

The Book of Revelation shows that at “the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon,” “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered “together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty” (Rev. 16:14).

2. When will this battle take place? It will take place immediately following the last sets of judgments – the seven bowl judgments.

3. Why will this battle take place? Even though God has already unleased all of His wrath on the inhabitants of the earth, He still needs to dispose of these people together with the demonic powers that were responsible for this rebellion against God, and that is what is going to happen at the battle of Armageddon.

After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Praise the Lord! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. 2 His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of His servants….” (Rev. 19:1-8).

Notice here that there is a vast crowd in heaven singing and saying, “God You will judge and punish all the rebels and demonic powers.” 

4. Who will actually be present at this battle? We, the bride of Christ will be there (Rev. 17:12-14). Each horn on the head of the beast represents a different nation, and all these nations are going to gather together to wage war against God’s chosen people in the city of Jerusalem. Notice that we as the Bride of Christ will be there too to witness the greatness of Jehovah Nissi – the Man of War.

5. Where exactly will this battle take place geographically? The battle of Armageddon will take place at Megiddo. Megiddo is a literal place located 60 miles north of Jerusalem.

Joel suggested that this battle will take place in a valley called “the valley of Jehoshaphat.” God said, “I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming My people, My special possession, for scattering My people among the nations, and for dividing up My land” (Joel 3:2, NLT).

Jehoshaphat means “God judges.” This location was where Barak fought the Canaanites, a people known for living in depravity (Judg. 4:15). Saul and his sons perished in battle (1 Sam. 31:8) against the Philistines, one of Israel’s most known and infamous enemies. Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, of whom Israel has had a tumultuous history, killed Josiah, one of the few good kings of Judah who turned the nation back to God (2 Chron. 35:22).

The name Armageddon comes from the Hebrew word "Har Megiddo," which means the "mountain of Megiddo."

Megiddo was the capital of a portion of Canaan that was given to Joshua (Josh. 12:21; 17:11; Judges 1:27). It is the key position between the Euphrates and the Nile. 

6. Will the battle be only in Jerusalem? No! The battle of Armageddon will extend throughout the entire nation of Israel. The Bible says that blood came out of the winepress up to the horses bridle, about 184 miles long, which is the length of Israel (Rev. 14:18-20, NLT).

7. What exactly is going to happen at the battle of Armageddon? As we come to the end of the bowl judgments, the armies of the nations of this world will gather against Jerusalem in a place called Armageddon. From the book of Revelation 16, Zechariah 14:1-20, Ezekiel 38 and 39, we see the things that will happen:

1. First, the Euphrates River will be dried up "that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east" (Rev. 16:12, NLT). The 7^th angel will pour out the contents of his bowl into the air. This will be the last and final judgment, and in this judgment, the greatest and most severe earthquake that has ever hit our planet will strike.

The Euphrates River is highly significant. The Romans considered the Euphrates River as a secure barrier against invasion by the nations in the East. It is 18 miles long and 20 miles long. If the Euphrates river were dried up, nations like China, India and Japan could move westwards with ease.

Why do they come? They come to do battle against God and the Messiah. By these demonic forces that look like frogs, the kings of the earth will be gathered to make war against God and the Messiah.

The armies of the world will indeed gather at Armageddon, and the Antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan himself will meet them there.

Why? First to devour Israel. The existence of Israel and the Jews has always been a thorn on Satan’s side. If he can destroy Israel, Bible prophecy will fail, and how then can Jesus return to rule and reign from Israel if Israel ceases to be?

Second, to destroy believers. Satan hates those that believe in Jesus Christ. Having wiped out the nation of Israel, Satan would then wipe out all who oppose him.

The seventh bowl is poured out: Revelation 16:17 says, “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is done (It is finished)!”

The final judgments! “It is done,” coming from the throne itself tells us that there will be no more delay. In mercy, God has stretched out this scene as much as He could, the seal judgments were followed by the trumpet judgments, the trumpet judgments were followed by the bowl judgments. Thereafter, there will be no more judgments upon the earth – it is done! The voice from the temple in heaven shouting “it is done” is most likely that of God the Father. His Son, Jesus Christ said, “It is finished” right before He died on the cross at Calvary. Now God the Father is going to say the exact same words as His last and final judgment is thrown unto this earth. The facts that the bowls were poured into the air may show judgment against the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) and his allies.

In these final judgments, God shakes the earth with a tremendous earthquake, as in Hebrews 12:26. Now He has promised, saying, “Yet, once more I will shake not only the earth, but also heaven, yet the things which cannot be shaken will remain.” 

Finally, to determine who would rule: Satan knows that he would encounter Jesus at Megiddo (Dan. 11:40-47).

While the Antichrist is headquartered at Babylon, the king of the south, Egypt and the northern African nations will launch an insurrection against him. At the same time, the king of the north, Russia, will come south in order to assist the Egyptians and the northern African nations in their rebellion against the Antichrist. But the Russians will fool the king of the south, continues on to Egypt, and carry off the treasures of Egypt. So we see Egypt coming north, Russia coming south, the Antichrist coming from the east – they all will converge in Megiddo.

This battle is not nation against nation, but the nations of the world against God (Ps. 2:2), and one of the three important battles mentioned in prophecy: a) Gog, Magog and allies against Israel (Ezek. 38, and 39), b) The battle of Armageddon, during which the Antichrist will lead the world system against a returning Christ (Rev. 17:12-16; 17:14; 19:19), c) The final battle, when Satan and his allies, after the millennium make war against Christ (Rev. 20:7-10). The winner of this battle is apparent. It is a great day of the Lord.

2. There will appear three evil figures namely, a dragon, a beast, and a false prophet out of whose mouths will issue "three foul spirits looking like frogs" (Rev. 16:13). Those foul spirits will "go out to the kings of the whole world" to assemble them for "the battle." 

3. The possessions of the people in Jerusalem will be plundered right in front of them!  4. The city of Jerusalem will be taken temporarily. 5. The houses will be looted, and the women will be raped. 6. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.

7. Then the Lord will come, and all His holy ones with Him, to fight against those nations, as He has fought in times past. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. The Israelites will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal.

The armies of the nations that gathered around Jerusalem have one purpose: to wipe out the people of Israel once and for all. But they will get the surprise of their lives. As these armies move to destroy Jerusalem, the people of Israel will cry out to the Lord having been regenerated, having trusted the Lord, and having finally recognised Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Because of this, Jesus will move swiftly from heaven to the earth with His saints to rescue them (Zech. 12:10-12; Rev. 19:15-16).

8. On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day!

9. The Lord will be King over all the earth, and on that day there will be one Lord — His name alone will be worshiped.

10. All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses, and Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.

11. And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 

12. On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand, and Judah, too, will be fighting at Jerusalem. 

13. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be captured - great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing. 

14. This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camps.

15. In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 

All the nations that rebelled against God will be destroyed, once and for all.

Another striking thing that will happen is that the Antichrist and the false prophet will be captured, and permanently disposed of in that Jesus will cast them alive into a lake of fire burning with sulphur (brimstone) (Rev. 19:19-21).

16. The last thing that will happen at the battle of Armageddon is that Jesus is going to summon all the birds of the air to come and eat as much flesh as they desire (Rev. 19:17-18; 21).

The sword which is the Word from His mouth will destroy all. The same Jesus Christ, the Word of God through whom all things were made, will with that same Word destroy all that is evil and vile. 

Such is the meaning and result of the battle of the great day of God the Almighty, the battle of Armageddon.

Today, you have the great opportunity to change your eternal destiny. You are not going to escape the tribulation because you are acting nice. You are not going to escape the tribulation because your name is in a church register. You will escape the tribulation only on this condition: (1) you MUST be Born Again (Jn. 3:3), and (2) live a holy life (Heb. 12:14).  So hurry, and make peace with God right now! 

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Head Pastor) 04. 10. 2020 @ the HQs.