Armageddon as Foretold by Scripture

Transcript

GR 2051
09/30/2018
Armageddon as Foretold by Scripture
Revelation 19:11-18; Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

The thing of the greatness of God, He is the everlasting God, He is the sovereign God and those are just not words, they express truth and reality. Now it’s important in this world in which we live in, and the days in which we live, we keep our focus and our perspective that we serve the sovereign God who created all things and is moving all things to His appointed conclusion. It’s easy to think in the confusion and the turmoil the conflict that goes on that the world is in disarray, and from the human perspective it is, but from God’s perspective and according to God’s plan everything is under control. We’re studying the Book of Revelation and we’re getting to the end of the Book of Revelation, but were coming back and we’re going to talk about the end. Now maybe you’ve come in and here you are at the last chapter. Be of good cheer, that’s where I like to start.

Marilyn pulled off one of the old books, from the eighteen hundreds that we have on the shelf at home, and was reading it and since she was reading it, I thought I would dip into it so she was telling me some of what she was reading so I told her what I had read and was reading it. She says, “I didn’t get to that. What, where are you reading?” I said, “Well I’m reading the last chapter.” “Oh, I can’t do that, I have to start at the first chapter.” Well I always start at the last chapter. I like to know how it’s going to end and so if you’re just getting here, there may be things that seem, you know you don’t quite understand, but it’s a great place to start. How are things going to end? What is God, going to do to bring it all to a conclusion, and then you fill in as you work back?

We have a chart that one or two of you have seen called the “70 Weeks.” If you’ve been here for our study, you know this is the basic framework that God has given us for His unfolding plan for the future. It started back, and you have the date there, 444 B.C. That’s from the Book of Daniel; we won’t go back and fill that in, 70 seven-year periods, 490 years, for God’s program with the nation Israel. Never lose your perspective, no matter what they say about Russia, China the United States, the European Union and everything else. The focal point of what God is doing is Israel, the nation Israel. God refers to it as the “center of the earth,” “the pupil apple of His eye.” Everything else going on in the nations is focused on that.

With the coming of Christ, and this is where we are here, when Christ came to earth, that was 483 years in God’s plan and program for Israel that were complete. Then there is a break. Christ is crucified to provide salvation by His death. His resurrection from the dead seals it. Then He ascended to heaven in Acts chapter 1 where He is today, seated at the right hand of His Father. In Acts chapter 2, we begin what is called the church age. This is the period of time in which we are living. Where we are in this time we don’t know for sure, it’s been going on for about 2,000 years. It would seem that in light of what we know is going to happen after the church age that we might be getting very close to this time called the Rapture of the church, when all true believers in Jesus Christ are bodily removed from the earth, caught up to meet Christ in the heavens and taken to heaven.

Then God resumes His last seven-year period with Israel. This is what the bulk of the Book of Revelation is about, the first three chapters of Revelation, particularly chapters 2 and 3 talked about seven churches of the first century that Jesus Christ addresses letters to through His apostle John. That would fit in this church age here, and relevant to us even today, but with chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation, we begin this seven-year period. It will continue on down until Christ returns to earth, so we are not in this period yet. The Book of Revelation is telling us what will happen at yet a future time. We will be removed from the earth at the Rapture before this seven-year period begins.

Now as we’ve moved through the Book of Revelation, we’ve come to chapter 19, and that’s when Christ returns to earth. In chapter 19, the heavens are opened and Christ comes to earth. Events associated with that happening we know of as Armageddon, a word that’s become used broadly to refer to something climatic, and of great importance and significance. It has an awesomeness about it and our thinking connected to doom, destruction and that’s what the Scripture says about it, so we overviewed chapter 19. I just want to pick up some events associated with that as we talk about things today.

Now I want to start with you in Matthew 24 and just leave the chart up for a moment if you would Steve and I’ll just connect Matthew 24 here. In Matthew 24 Jesus is asked a question about his disciples. They’re talking about the magnificence of Herod’s temple, the temple that Herod built or remodeled and expanded. It’s what we call the second temple. It was a magnificent structure. Herod was a very evil man, but he was brilliant, as a builder, and some of the archeological finds have demonstrated that, so this temple that he had built, even though he wasn’t a Jew. He did identify with the Jews and he was functioning because of Roman authority who had appointed him as ruler of the Jews. The disciples ask him as they draw attention; look at the beauty of this temple. Jesus tells them that it’s going to be destroyed, “not one stone will be left upon another.”

Some of you have visited Israel. When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, in 70 A.D., they destroyed the temple and you have stones that have been cast down from the wall and so on that still are there to see. The temple would be destroyed. They understand pieces; they’ve spent three years with Christ during His earthly ministry. They are well familiar with the Old Testament. They have pieces of what God is going to do but how it all fits together is not yet clear to them, so they ask the question verse 3. “When will these things happen, what will be the sign of Your coming the end of the age?” I mean if this temple is going to be destroyed—we know the Messiah is going to rule and reign and there’s going to be a glorious temple. You’ll have to be present. When’s all this going to happen? They’re on the Mount of Olives which is just across from Jerusalem, there’s a valley there. Some of you again have had the privilege of being there. This is where He’s unfolding this. We’ll say more about that in a little bit.

Then He gives them instruction and there will be “wars rumors of wars,” verse eight “these are the beginning of birth pangs.” He’s talking about this period here, this seven-year period that is yet future. The beginning of birth pangs and the result of that will be the birth, the coming of the kingdom when He returns after these things. Verse nine He tells them, “They’ll deliver you up to tribulation, will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of My name.” We see some of that with the anti-Semitism that goes on in these days. That will reach its peak during this seven-year period particularly during the last 3½ years and it will seem to have reached the fever pitch, and its ultimate goal of destroying the Jews just before Christ returns to earth. Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, we’ll read that in a moment. Many of the Jews are going to die. When all hope is lost, Jesus Christ comes with salvation for the Jews.

Down in verse 15 He says, “When you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place,” then you have to get out of the city. Why? Verse 21 “Then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be.” That event as we saw in Revelation 12 and 13, the Abomination of Desolation set up in a rebuilt temple, so sometime here during this first 3½ years we will have the temple rebuilt in Jerusalem. Now it could be rebuilt toward the end of the church age here. All we know for sure is, during this first 3½ years there is a temple that has been built in Jerusalem with a functioning priesthood. I’ve read you articles about goings on in Israel today where they have prepared garments that will be necessary for the priests and so on. When the temple is rebuilt then Jewish quotes, it’s not a matter if but when, so we don’t know whether the temple will be rebuilt toward the end of the church age here in preparation for this first 3½ year period but we know it will be in existence.

That’s what He’s talking about, in the middle of that seven-year period, is when persecution breaks out under the leadership of the Antichrist, the beast that we saw in Revelation 13. The first beast there, so they’ll be persecution going on during this last 3½ year period. Persecution to the Jews, the persecution that the Jews experienced under Hitler that was severe but you note Christ said, “This will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world, and they’ll never be anything like it after,” so you get some idea and we’ve seen that in Revelation. It reaches its climax here just before Christ returns to deliver Israel. He says in verse 22, “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved.” We saw the whole world is being enveloped, in the judgments of God. All kinds of what we call natural disasters, supernaturally caused by God, and some with no natural explanation, but the hand of God pouring out His wrath on an unbelieving world.

Two purposes of this seven-year period for God to pour out His wrath on a world that has rejected Him and to bring His chosen people, Israel, to their knees in receiving their Messiah as their Savior. That will take until toward the end of these seven years. You’ll note the order here, so we’re moving through this seven-year period. Verse 29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . .” the signs in the heavens and so on. Verse 30 “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory,” so you’ll see the same movement as we had in the Book of Revelation. We’ve moved through this seven-year period, chapters 6 to 19 of Revelation, then Christ comes. We saw in the beginning, early in chapter 19, the heavens are opened, and Christ descends with the hosts of heaven to bring this climatic judgment that we’ve come to know as Armageddon on the earth. That will be followed by the setting up of the kingdom in which He will rule on the earth. We’ll get that as chapter 20 of Revelation opens up, so what I want to talk to you about are the events that take place right here in the schedule.

Christ returning to earth, the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heavens, the sky is opened and He comes in a visible way. What happens is the armies of the earth have been brought together by the devil, in the sovereign plan of God, to prepare for this climatic conflict as the devil makes an all-out attempt to thwart the purpose of God and prevent Christ from coming to earth and setting up a kingdom. This is what’s all going on in the world. This is where it’s all moving to, it’s all about Israel. If the devil can destroy Israel, then the promises of God in the Old Testament cannot be fulfilled and God fails. If God fails the devil wins, that’s what’s behind what is going on. In these days God is not primarily working with the nation Israel. During the church age God is working with the Gentiles, forming a special group called the church. Israel is under the judgment of God here. Set aside, the focus of His work is not Israel. Now obviously He is caring for Israel, working. They cannot be destroyed, but everything is moving toward this period of time when God completes His program with the church and is ready to bring to conclusion what He prophesied regarding Israel in the Old Testament, so we’re at Armageddon and come over to Revelation.

We’re going to start here. I want to look at three passages in Revelation that have to do with Armageddon. There’s only one verse in one place in all the bible that uses that name, Armageddon, but there are other titles and names and descriptions used for this same conflict or campaign, a series of battles that come as a result of Christ coming to earth in this final climatic battle before the setting up of the kingdom. Revelation chapter 14, we’ve been here so a little bit of review. Revelation chapter 14, and what He’s giving in Revelation chapter 14, is a preview of future events. He talked about in chapters 12 and 13 about what was going to happen in the middle of that seven-year period and He made it very clear we were in the middle, 1,260 days from the end. Forty-two months from the end, from the return of Christ, so now chapter 14 gives an overview looking toward what’ll happens when Christ does come back, and then He’ll get back on track with the final judgments. They culminate with chapter 19 and the return of Christ.

Verse 14 of Revelation 14, “then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand” and then the cry comes the middle of verse 15. “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour . . . has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe,” and this will be a continual picture of what we’ll see as we look at various passages, drawn from what they were very familiar with, we’ve talked about it. The earth is pictured as ripening for judgment so it’s not out of control. It’s not confused from God’s perspective. It is being prepared for judgments. We sometimes, even as believers, look and say, “Why does God let that happen, why doesn’t God intervene?” You know sometimes you watch something going on and think, “boy, if I was the Lord I’d just strike them dead in mid-sentence. That would show them something,” but God is patient but there comes a time when He is going to display His wrath and anger, and there is no way to measure the love of God, because you have to understand, there is no way to measure the anger and wrath of God either. You don’t want to be the object of His wrath and anger that will be displayed at Armageddon and ultimately with the sentencing of people to an eternal hell, so He has the sickle.

The picture is in those days they bound up their long robe. They put the ripe grapes in that bowl that’s been cut out of stone, a large area and it had a spout on the side. A number of you have been to Israel and then they would get in there in their bare feet and they would just trample on the grapes, and the juice would be squeezed out and splash up, some of that on them and it would then drain out through the spout in a collecting bowl lower. That’s the picture, when you put your sickle in, because the harvest of the earth is ripe, it pictures the devastating crushing judgement that is now going to be brought on this earth, so verse 16 “the sickle is swung the earth is reaped.” At the end of verse 18 “Put in your sharp sickle, gather the clusters from the vine of the earth because her grapes are ripe.”

At the end of verse 19, “they threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.” The wine press was trodden outside the city. Blood came out from the wine press up to the horses’ bridles for a distance of two hundred miles, so you see something of what is going to take place at Armageddon. It is a blood bath, and that blood splashing out is pictured, it doesn’t have to be a river of blood up to the horses bridle but it tells you how fierce this destruction is. It’s like somebody that is in there trampling the grapes and they’re not stepping around. They’re picking up their feet and literally smashing their feet down on the grapes so that the juice just splashes up very high. That’s the picture here this is a crushing, devastating judgment. When you talk about at end of verse 19, “the great wine press of the wrath of God,” this’ll be something like the world has never seen. The full display of His wrath in a judgment that will focus in an area, and yet will ultimately encompass the world. That’s the first reference we have in Revelation to Armageddon.

Come over to chapter 16 and verse 12, “a sixth angel poured his bowl out on the great river, the Euphrates; its water was dried up so the way would be prepared for the kings of the east.” The Euphrates is the eastern border of the land that was promised to Israel in His covenant with them, so now that is dried up and the way is prepared for armies from the east to make their way to the land of Israel. They are coming for this final conflict. They are, being supernaturally drawn by verse 14. They’ll be human instruments, the Antichrist and the false prophet, but they’re motivated by demons so there’s supernatural power here. As these men are used to “call the armies of the world,” verse 14, these are the spirits of demons. They come out of the mouth of the Antichrist, the first beast of Revelation 13, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. In other words, these are demonic controlled men, and their words have the kind of power that they are supernaturally responded to because demonic beings are out there working, and the armies from the east as well as other regions will make their way to Israel for this climatic time.

Christ warns He’ll come here unexpectedly so everybody better be getting ready, although very few will. They gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is call Har-Magedon, Har-Magedon. We usually call it Armageddon. There’s a little apostrophe kind of note, it’s really part of the spelling and we call it heavy breathing. It would be like our H but sometimes not included. It’s part of the spelling but they have some manuscripts that didn’t have it, so we get Armageddon. It’s the same thing as Har-Magedon. Har, the word for mountain. Magedon refers to Megiddo. It’s the mountains, of Megiddo and the plain that flows out from that mountain. It’s not a mountain like the Rocky Mountains, something like that, but it’s this high, very high hill kind of mountain and the plain connected with that.

This is the place, so people talk about Armageddon, and it may open doors to you sometimes. People will say, “Boy, were going to have Armageddon if they don’t do something.” Well you might pick up and say, “You know there is going to be a real Armageddon. In fact, God says that’s where the world is moving, toward a final conflict, which the bible calls Armageddon. Let me tell you about this. This is a real thing.” The world uses it somewhat indiscriminately, but this is the only use of it in Scripture and it becomes the name for this final conflict, which is really a series of conflicts sometimes called the campaign of Armageddon. We’ll talk about what is involved in the region particularly that is included after we look at some of these verses. So they’re gathered there, and this is the time. There’s judgment, there are “flashes of lightening,” verse 18, “peals of thunder, a great earthquake.” Verse 19 “the great city was split in three parts, the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.”

There are hailstones, one hundred pounds each. Now we’ve had hail. This summer, when we were in Colorado, while we were there they had a hailstorm and some of the hail got quite large, the size of tennis balls in some places. I was visiting car dealerships. Sometimes Marilyn asks me to take her to look at cars so we did, and while there it started hailing and you should have seen them trying to move cars. We were at another when, after the storm, we saw cars that had been pummeled. You would have thought somebody shot at them with a large bullet, the roofs dented in, the windows smashed out. One person showed us a car and said, “Look at that, it still has the dealer plates on it.” A brand new car, it’s salvage material. They had a field at the fairgrounds, hundreds and hundreds of vehicles just towed in there, put bumper to bumper because they’re just salvage, but they didn’t have any hundred-pound hailstones. You know what would be left of the city of Lincoln if you had a hailstone of a hundred pounds. Nothing, everything would be flattened. That’s what’s going on here. This is all preparation for this final conflict.

Come over to chapter 19. Now we’re ready. Remember Matthew 24, Jesus said, when it’s time for Him to come “the heavens will be opened, and everyone will see Him descending,” so verse 11 of chapter 19 of Revelation. “ I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it called Faithful and True and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire,” and we’ve looked through this description and verse 14, “the armies, which are in heaven clothed in fine linen, white, are following Him on white horses.” Down to verse 19, “I saw the beast the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse and against His army,” and we’re ready for this final conflict. Note what’s going to happen, verse 17, “I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds, which fly in midheaven, ‘Come assemble yourselves for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders. The flesh of mighty men, flesh of horses those who sit on them, the flesh of men, both free men, slaves, small and great.’” The judgment is going to be so devastating it’s pictured like a banquet for the birds of the air. Blood’s going for two hundred miles. A blood bath, a hundred miles wide. This area is further identified as just “piled with bodies.” We’re going to talk about “their eyes will rot in their sockets in this battle.” This is Armageddon. All associated with Christ’s coming.

He’s coming back in wrath. Why does He let people do this, why does this go on? Because “God is patient” as Peter wrote, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to the knowledge of the truth.” Do people appreciate that today is a day of God’s patience, saying, “I don’t want you to be destroyed, come to salvation that’s why I sent My Son.” When people ignore it, reject it, the consequences will be devastating.

What I want to do is identify the areas that the bible talks about with this. I just picked three major areas, and you’ll get a perspective here. The armies of the world are being gathered, so we’ll look at a map here and then, we’ll just go and look at half a dozen passages. You can read one of the prophetic books you can pick up at Sound Words; they’ll give you many passages. I’ve just picked out a half a dozen of the many that’ll give you some picture of this. We have a map here and you have three areas on it. You have Megiddo here. This is Armageddon, the Mount of Megiddo. That’s one area we’ve seen that’ll be described here. I’ll say more about it in a moment.

Then you come down here to Jerusalem, this is where Jerusalem is here and then Bozrah down here, and as you have on this map, this is Jordan, so Bozrah is part of what is called Jordan. What I want you to note, remember blood will be splashing up as high as the horse’s bridle, for 200 miles. It is 200 miles from up here, Megiddo down to Bozrah, and this region will be about a hundred miles in width. You get an idea this is going to be massive, the armies of the world are being supernaturally brought together for the final conflict, the final battle or series of battles. Let me just talk about them so we won’t be running around Scripture and going to different places. I’m just going to talk about these areas, then we’ll just read some Scriptures and we’ll note where they pertain. They’ll talk about this region, they’ll talk about Jerusalem, or they’ll talk about Bozrah.

Megiddo, Armageddon, the Mountain of Megiddo is given a couple of other names. It could be called the Plain of Megiddo because really the battle talks about a plain. Why don’t you put up that picture of the Jezreel Valley? This is also called the Valley of Jezreel, because there around Megiddo there are some other cities, there were in the biblical times. Megiddo, Jezreel, Taanach, so sometimes they’re referred to by the names and the plain, so you can talk about the plain of Megiddo or the plain of Esdraelon because it’s part of this region. It would be like we’d talk about region, we’d say eastern Nebraska that might include Lincoln, it could include Gretna, it could include Omaha, it could include some of the surrounding towns, so here you talk about Megiddo and Armageddon but it’s not limited to there, but there’s a great plain here.

In fact, it said, “Napoleon called it the greatest battlefield in the world” and he had been to some battlefields. This is the Valley of Jezreel, the Plain of Megiddo. You’re looking north toward Mount Tabor here I believe on this slide. It’s that valley, you can see that wide expanse of valley, so it’s not that they’re going to be on the Mountain of Megiddo and valley but you’re at the Mountain of Megiddo. In this plain at Megiddo, the valley of Jezreel, the Plain of Esdraelon, all talking about that same region. There’s another map there with a similar perspective. Some of you have been there, stood on the Mountain of Megiddo and looked out over the plain; get a picture you’re seeing here. Nazareth, where Christ was born, will be a little north of here. The Sea of Galilee up that way but you see this huge plain, the place where some of the armies will be gathered, so go back to the map if you would.

Incidentally, some of you have asked about the slides we use. They are on the web site with the message and it may take a week or two for the slides to be available on the web site but if you would like a copy you can go there to get them and download them. Some of you have asked about different ones we use; that’s true of all the ones we use. Jeff also said if you don’t do it that way, you can email him, so if several hundred of you send him an email that will keep him busy this week, but they are on the web site. All right, so we’ve been talking about this area up here around Megiddo. We could call that the plain of Esdraelon or we could call it the valley of Jezreel because that would encompass this area with these cities here. You’d have Megiddo and you’d have these other cities in the vicinity so that accounts for the name there.

The second area, you come down here to Jerusalem, and you’ll have Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s going to be a focal point obviously, because really, the climatic climax is Christ’s intervention to spare Jerusalem, we’ll read it in a moment, when it has been overrun, and we’ll read about some of the things that take place there. It’ll also be between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is another reference because Jesus is going to descend to the Mount of Olives, He’ll be on the Mount of Olives. When He left this earth in Acts chapter 1, ascended to the Father, it was from the Mount of Olives, and He’s going to come back to the Mount of Olives. Well, between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives is what we know of as the Kidron Valley, but it will be referred to in the Old Testament as the valley of Jehoshaphat. We’ll be talking about this region, whether we talk about the valley of Jehoshaphat, that valley between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, or just the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. We’re talking about what happens in this region.

Then we’ll come down here to Bozrah. Some of you have been there again and visited Petra, the rock city of Petra. That would be what is called here, Bozrah. We’ll see a reference to Edom, Moab, Ammon, this region, which is Jordan, today. It was the region of where the Moabites, the Ammonites, Edomites lived so they’ll be included in this area here, so we’ll be on both sides of the Jordan River and the Jordan Valley here coming down, the Dead Sea and so on. Bozrah, as I mentioned, connect it with Petra and if you were in Israel and took the trip down to Petra, you’d know something of that region and what kind of area it is. Petra is called the rock city, because to get into that city, what made it so impregnable, was you’d travel a very narrow entryway. You couldn’t take any number of soldiers for example thru there. They have to go--to what we’d call single file. Just a couple, two or three together, going through there, a small number, so very hard. People defending it could defend it from the top, from down below. That will be a refuge. You’ve got those places, these two hundred miles approximately from Megiddo up here down through Jerusalem and of course encompassing the width over to these areas as well down to Bozrah.

Now we’re going to see these areas talked about. We’ve already seen the Mountain of Megiddo. We’ll see it with some other names here. First, here in Revelation, come to Revelation 12. Two passages that will note how important this region down here is. Petra, what God is going to do is for the Jews, when that persecution breaks out in the middle of the seven-year period, He’s going to provide a place of refuge for the Jews that flee Jerusalem over here in Petra, that region. Satan will try but they’re supernaturally protected here, although the whole region here is not protected, it’s going to be destroyed, but the Jews are in a safe haven here. How many we don’t know. In chapter 12 verse 13, we are in the middle of that seven-year period when Satan loses his position in heaven and he’s cast down to earth. Verse 13, “when the dragon saw that he was thrown down earth he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child, but the woman is Israel.” That opened up in verses 1 and 2, the description there based on Genesis, I think it’s chapter 37 is clearly, the picture is Israel because it’s identified there, so Israel gave birth to the Messiah.

The devil wants to persecute Israel. You see God has promised an earthly kingdom, ruled by His Son, to Israel; that’s why the devil is so anti-Israel. The devil’s people are anti-Israel, but “the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, to Israel, so she could fly into the wilderness to her place, the place God has preserved for her. She was nourished for a time times and a half time.” Now we know 3½ years because it’s the equivalent of 42 months, down in chapter 13 verse 5, “from the presence of the serpent,” and he tries to pour out a flood to kill it but God supernaturally intervenes, so he goes to attack the rest of the Jews wherever he can find them. “I figure after I’ve destroyed all the other Jews, I’ll come back here,” I guess kind of attitude, so you see the place prepared in the wilderness. This is the wilderness down here we are talking about.

Come back to Daniel chapter 11, and we’re talking about events of this time. The Antichrist is picked up in Daniel 11:36, “the willful king the king who does as he pleases” and we’ve looked into this passage. Verse 40 “at the time of the end the king of the South will collide with him.” The king of the North, they storm in and they indicate these armies are brought here thinking a different kind of conflict than is about to happen but the devil knows that he needs all of his armies there to do battle with Christ for this final conflict. He “will enter” verse 41, “the Beautiful Land many countries will fall” but note this verse 41. “These will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon” so you see, you get over here into what you call this region, Petra, and that’s now Jordan. There are hiding places, Petra will be particularly mentioned with the name Bozrah, Edom but this region over here will provide sanctuary, even though it’s going to suffer destruction, but the Jews have their protected enclaves, if you will. So here you have there that, we identify where it’s going to be Edom Moab Ammon, that’s the region where these nations of the Old Testament were, modern day Jordan.

Okay, let’s look at a few Scriptures on Armageddon. I’m just going to use Armageddon, this final cataclysmic event, climatic event. A series of conflicts and battles, not just Christ appears from heaven and everybody on earth dies, obviously the description makes it something very fierce. I’m taking these in the order they appear in Scripture. I think I’ve got about a half a dozen of them, very limited, but you’ll see the names and that will identify where they are on the map. Let’s go to Isaiah 34, the chapter opens up, “draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it,” so this is a worldwide invitation. Listen, pay attention, God has something to say to you. “For the LORD’s indignation is against all the nations.” His wrath against all their armies and as the prophets do, they can talk in the past tense, about what God’s going to do two, three thousand years later.

Why? Because when God says it, it’s as good as if it was history, so He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out; their corpses will give off their stench, a rather ugly picture. The mountains will be drenched with their blood. All the hosts of heaven will wear away, the sky will be rolled up like a scroll and so on. Verse 5, “for My sword is satiated in heaven. Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom upon the peoples whom I have devoted to destruction,” so it’s going to be crucial. We will see Christ coming over to Jerusalem from Bozrah, which is “my sword is satiated. It shall descend for judgment upon Edom upon the people I have devoted to destruction,” so He comes here, in connection with His Second Coming to rescue the Jews that have been preserved here, and in doing so, He destroys all the enemies of the Jews. That would be the other people’s living here, part of the battle.

Come down let’s see verse 6, “the sword of the Lord is filled with blood for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.” The same place. This is the region of Edom and this would be Bozrah, usually identified with what we know of today as Petra, so what He does, He comes to destroy all the enemies here. The Jews are secured, but the enemies are there so He comes to destroy all these enemies, so the Jews are released to join with Him in His journey to Jerusalem. Part of the way the battle may unfold. Verse eight, “the Lord has a day of vengeance. A year of recompense for the cause of Zion,” so you see at this point He comes to deliver Zion, not to destroy. Israel has experienced the devastating judgment of God and it finally has brought them to their knees where now they are crying out for their Messiah to be their Savior, spiritually, and then physically. You can read more of the context of these passages.

Come over to Isaiah 63, and if you read through these chapters, you’ll see how you go from judgment on the earth to deliverance for Israel. We’re focusing on the judgment. Chapter 63, “who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah.” Here we are at Bozrah. He’s coming from Bozrah. Verse two, “why is Your apparel red, Your garments like one who treads in the wine press? I have trodden the wine trough alone. From the peoples there was no man with Me. I trod them in My anger trampled them in My wrath. Their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments I stained all My raiment. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, My year of redemption has come.”

It is a day of vengeance, it is a day of redemption. Vengeance on God’s enemy, final redemption and deliverance for God’s people. He’s coming from Bozrah. His garments are stained because remember the conflict flows all through here, so that He comes up to Jerusalem. The picture is of the catastrophic devastation. We’re talking about millions of people dying destroyed. These are the armies of the world, assembled here before the great day of God the Almighty. Down in verse 6, “I trod down the peoples in My anger and made them drunk in My wrath. I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” God’s wrath is poured out, it will be poured out very clearly, very powerfully. This world is moving toward doom for the unbeliever, but finally for a glorious redemption.

Come over Joel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel the larger books. Right after Daniel, you hit Hosea and right after Hosea, you meet Joel. Joel and we’re going to look at chapter 3 verse 1. “For in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.” Now note this, the time-period, this is going to be a time of the Jews salvation, when they are restored to their place as God’s people and the kingdom He’s promised. “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.” The valley of Jehoshaphat, now we’re focusing on what’s called the Kidron Valley, that valley here between the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. “There I will enter into judgment with them on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom I’ve scattered among the nations.” We won’t have time today but we’re going to talk about, the judgment that will go on here in our next study which will determine who goes into the kingdom He will establish.

Come down to verse 9 for time, “proclaim this among the nations; prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords your pruning hooks into spears.” You know people pick out verses from the bible that they like, and they reject the ones they don’t like. You understand this is the authoritative word of God, period. They put on the United Nations building that you are supposed to beat your swords into plowshares, because we won’t need the implements of war, but that’s a verse having to do with the kingdom, after these events. Here, you want to know what you need to be preparing for, the final conflict. Beat your plowshares into swords your pruning hooks into spears. We’re not going toward peace for this world. We are going forward to catastrophic judgments. Verse 12 “let the nations be aroused. Come down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, there I will sit to judge the nations.”

“Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. Tread, the wine press is full, the vats overflow their wickedness is great.” You think it’s bad. They’re ripening for judgement. We as believers say, “I don’t even, I didn’t think I’d live to see this happening in my country and the practice of these things.” Why? This isn’t Israel and this isn’t the time for God to bring His devastating judgment. You know what happens. It’s ripening. It’s ripening. Remember we went back, God told Abraham, your descendants will not be able to go into the land of Canaan, which becomes the land of Israel, for 400 years, because the sin of the Canaanites is not yet ripe. When God sends the Israelites in 400 years after saying that, it’s ripe. You know what He says, “You destroy every man, every woman, every child.” It will be devastating judgment.

I sometimes say, “I just can’t imagine God acting with such wrath.” There’s nothing like the wrath of God. We haven’t seen the worse that will be at the end of chapter 20 when people are sentenced to an eternal hell, but this is pouring out His wrath on the living on the earth. That repeated picture. You want to see how violent and terrible this is--well how else do you describe it. It’s like somebody in the wine press jumping around stomping with all his might on the grapes. There’s blood splattered everywhere, and those are people and animals. It’s devastating and it’s covering this whole 200-mile long stretch. A hundred miles wide. Millions and millions of people. All the armies of the world gathered for one final conflict.

Come to Zechariah. These are the last passages we’ll be able to look at. While you’re turning to Zechariah, you know that in my folder on Revelation 19 I had the notes from what I preached on this here at Indian Hills in February of 1970. Now I realize for many of you that’s not part of your history, but it is interesting just to go back and see. I’d been here just about six months and we were studying this kind of material. Then I had put a note on the back of those notes. This is too much material, so I was reminded of that as I prepared, and so the rest of what I have will next Sunday’s lesson.

Now you’ve had time to get to Zechariah 12. Here’s what God says about this period of time. “The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. ‘This is what,’ declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth forms the spirit of man within him.” You go back to the Creator. He’s the One bringing all things to its appointed end. “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around. When the siege is against Jerusalem, it will be against Judah,” so it’s going to envelop this whole area here because Jerusalem is part of, you know, in the region of Judah. “In that day” declares the LORD “I will strike every horse with bewilderment his rider with madness. I will watch over the house of Judah, strike the horse of the peoples with blindness,” so He’s going to intervene here and the armies that are there to destroy Jerusalem will be thwarted in their purpose. In verse 9, “In that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem,” and then what follows that. “I will pour out on the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication” and there is salvation for the surviving Jews.

Come down to chapter 13 verse 8, “’It will come about in all the land,’” declares the LORD, “’Two parts in it will be cut off and perish, a third will be left. I will bring the third through the fire, refine them as silver test them as gold. They will call on My name, I will answer them; they are My people. The LORD is my God.” You understand Israel shouldn’t hold out and say, “Well I’ll be one of those that believe.” Two thirds are going to die of the Jews, in judgments. God is going to save a remnant. There is a serious price to pay.

Those Jews who die today without a faith in their Savior Messiah Jesus Christ, are doomed, so in the judgment God’s bringing, it’s not saying, “Well every Jew will be saved,” because by the time you get to this point two thirds of them have died, but God is gracious. You’ll note what happens, chapter 14 verse 2, “I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle,” now note, “the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, half of the city exiled. The rest of the people will not be cut off from the city, so here about Jerusalem, it’s going to be overrun, and the terrible devastation that happens when an army overruns a city takes place.

“Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in the middle from east to west by a very large valley,” so half the mountains will move toward the north, the other half toward the south. Now we’re going this way, so there is a valley going this way, so that the Jews in Jerusalem can escape through that supernaturally created escape route when the Mount of Olives is split. “You’ll flee by the valley of My mountains, and it will reach to Azel;” and we don’t know where Azel is, so it’s somewhere east and then supernatural things in the heavens and then, verse 9, “the Lord will be king over all the earth,” so you see where the world is moving.

People say, “We who believe in a literal interpretation of Scripture and the promises are pessimists” because we’re saying, “well we can’t rescue this world.” We cannot! These are days of salvation when we offer grace. That doesn’t mean we are not to be a good influence. We can vote with our vote the way we, in our country, the way we think we should vote, which would be consistent with what we would like to happen. We can pray for rulers that we continue to have peace so that we can share the gospel of God’s redemption as Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2. All these things are true but that’s not what we are about, the ultimate end of this world is not good from the human side. It will take the divine intervention of Christ and the establishing of His kingdom, to accomplish in this world what God intends it to be. There’s no other way!

That doesn’t mean I won’t do nice things, won’t help, but the church cannot get sidetracked. We are here as the pillar and support of the truth. Repent or you will all likewise perish. There is no other Savior. The world is going to become more open, more defiant against God, but we’re not discouraged. It may become more difficult to live a godly life as a believer testifying for Christ. Things could go south, as we say, very quickly, because at heart the unbeliever is the enemy of the living God and the enemy of every child of God, and the devil knows who you are, and he would like to do nothing more than destroy you, destroy believers as he works against the Jews. We thank God we have a Savior and how gracious He is to have told us the end.

Let’s pray together: Thank You Lord for the wealth of Your word, and Lord we come amazed that You have unfolded, so long ago the truths that will take place. Lord, we even see in the day we live how some of these things are not so hard, to understand, that what takes place in the world seems to fit with so much of what You say, is going to take place in future days. Lord, whatever the timeline, our hope is in You, the Savior You’ve provided, and Lord we want to be faithful, living in light of what you have unfolded concerning the future so we don’t get caught up in the futility and emptiness that characterizes the world around us. Thank you for this day, our privilege to be in the word together in Christ’s name. Amen