“Armageddon” is a term that encompasses the direst connotation possible. It is sometimes used rather lightly to describe various situations that seem hopeless. During the COVID-19 “pandemic crisis,” for example, some have termed the financial disaster it portends “economic Armageddon.” By that, is meant that there is no hope. It is the end of any hope. Complete defeat and destruction is in the offing.

The term comes, of course, from biblical prophecy. Armageddon is the place of the great, final battle of human history. Actually, it is the end of a continuing war that will have begun, in Bible prophecy, with the gathering of armies during the Tribulation, as we’ve looked at before.

The Armageddon campaign will have its starting point with the sixth bowl judgment, as recorded in Revelation:

And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising.

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, as it were frogs:

for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

(Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.)

And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon. (Revelation 16:12–16)

The great barrier between the Oriental and Occidental world will be dried up, as we’ve seen. Satan will thus begin gathering all of the forces that oppose God for the final assault on God’s chosen land and people of Israel.

“Armageddon” is an English translation from the name “Mount of Megiddo.” This is a geographic location in Israel’s northern region. The vast area will be the center of earth’s final world war.

This is where the climax of human history occurs, when Jesus Christ returns to put an end to Antichrist’s genocidal madness. Events leading up to this war will be cataclysmic, according to Scripture. The stage-setting leading to this point will be earth-shaking, as Jesus outlined in His answer to the disciples’ question: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The Lord, while sitting atop the Mount of Olives still in human flesh, gave a number of signals that would be prevalent at the end of the age. These indicators, He later—as the resurrected, glorified Christ in Heaven—revealed through an angel, will build in severity and intensity while the Tribulation years unfold. There will be, as we’ve discussed, twenty-one judgments that will take place in a series of seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. The climax of God’s judgment and wrath upon a world of rebellious earth dwellers will be the final Battle of Armageddon.

Dr. John Walvoord wrote the following regarding the buildup to Armageddon:

According to 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2, when the rapture occurs it begins a new period of time called “the day of the Lord.” This is a familiar term in the Old Testament and applies to any period of time during which God dealt in direct judgment of Israel. This is described, for instance, in Isaiah 13:1–22 and is characterized as “a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger” (Isaiah 13:9). The book of Joel almost entirely addresses this subject; it speaks of many days of the Lord as, for instance, in chapter 1, when the invasion of locusts causes starvation. Many descriptions of the day of the Lord go beyond what occurred in the Old Testament, for instance, Joel 2:30–3:3 with the verses that follow describe this terrible time of judgment which is still in the future. The day of the Lord beginning at the rapture will continue even through the thousand-year reign of Christ when there still will be direct judgment of open sin against God, fulfilling the prediction that Christ will rule with an “iron scepter.” There will be a display of “the fury of the wrath of God Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). The major events of the judgment of God, however, may not be immediately fulfilled after the rapture but will gradually increase as the period between the rapture and the Second Coming is fulfilled.^[i]

The war of Armageddon will be God bringing all satanic evil of world history since the Garden of Eden rebellion to account. It will especially mark His dealing with the tremendous evil and all of the carnage subsequent to it that the militaries of world history have inflicted.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO:

Is THE ENCHANTRESS Controlling Our Nation?

Antichrist is representative of all anti-God tyrants and dictators of human history rolled into one. He will meet his doom, as we’ve seen as far back as 2 Thessalonians 2:

And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. (verse 8)

We have seen how this will be the worst and most dangerous of all despots to have lived. His Fourth Reich, as we term it, will put into effect Satan’s Final Solution in an effort to eradicate every last one of God’s chosen people, the Jews. This is primary to consider in thinking about the severity and completeness of the punishment in the Lord’s dealing with humanity at Armageddon. His anger against the world of rebels will be instituted largely as a result of the harsh treatment of the people through whom He chose to bring the Savior into the world.

Satan has fought through human armies and governments throughout the ages to try to negate God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That promise, in part, follows:

The Lord said to Abraham, And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:2–3)

If Lucifer can negate God’s promises, he must think—in his reprobate, anti-God mindset—that he can contravene his own doom in the Lake of Fire. So the hatred is stepped up at every opportunity against God’s chosen people.

Anti-Semitism has been the rule throughout the centuries among the nations of earth, and it’s growing once again, as many news accounts report almost hourly. Not meaning to pick on any one area of today’s world, we nonetheless need to illustrate how Satan is at work today in ramping up hatred against Israel and the Jewish people. We’ll use Australia and news reports coming from there over the past several years. The headlines read:

• “Confronting Reality: Anti-Semitism in Australia Today,” Jewish Political Studies Review, 16:3–4 (Fall 2004).^[ii]
• “Israel Arrests Woman Wanted on Child Sex Abuse Charges at Melbourne Jewish School,” (February 13, 2018).^[iii]
• “Australian Jewish Leader Condemns Senator’s Speech Calling for ‘Final Solution,’” (August 15, 2018).^[iv]
• “Anti-Semitic Attacks of Boys Who Were Called ‘Jewish Ape’ and ‘Dirty Jew’ Shock Australia,” (October 3, 2019).^[v]
• “Australian Teenager Charged over Making Jewish Boy Kiss Another Student’s Shoes,” (October 25, 2019).^[vi]
• “We Cannot Let Anti-Semitism Spread Here,” (November 21, 2019).^[vii]
• “Report Shows Anti-Semitism on the Rise Following Outrage over ‘Party Nazis,’” (November 25, 2019).^[viii]
• “Anti-Semitic Assaults and Threats up by 30 Percent in Australia, New Report Finds,” (November 26, 2019).^[ix]
• “Australia Sees 30 Percent Increase in Anti-Semitic Incidents,” (November 26, 2019).^[x]
• “Toxic Left-Wing Anti-Semitism: Australia, UK and the USA,” (December 19, 2019).^[xi]
• “Global Anti-Semitism: Select Incidents in 2019,” (December, 2019).^[xii]
• “Australian Jewish Survivors Recount How the Fire Swept into Their Home in 45 Minutes,” (January 9, 2020).^[xiii]
• “Holocaust Survivor ‘Suffering Flashbacks’ after Nazi Flag Flown Metres away from His Australian Home,” (January 17, 2020).^[xiv]
• “The BBC Has Shamed Itself with Orla Guerin’s Holocaust Report,” (January 33, 2020).^[xv]

Many other reports of anti-Semitism could be added from points around the globe. As mentioned before, all but a handful of countries that make up the United Nations show total disdain for Israel. They want Israel removed from being a nation. By this they are “cursing” Israel, the progeny of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God says He will bring all the world to account for this egregious treatment. He will bring them to the killing field, that triangular expanse in the Valley of Jezreel, on the plains of Esdraelon, beneath the mount called Megiddo. It is also known as the “valley of Jehoshaphat”:

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. (Joel 3:2)

Again, Dr. Walvoord gives us a look at history’s world empires—combined into one beast—that will be dealt with at Armageddon. These will be the armies and peoples of history who have dealt treacherously with God and the House of Israel.

The book of Daniel provides a broad prediction of how God is going to deal with the Gentile world, beginning with Babylon in the time of Daniel about 600 B.C. and continuing through the empires that followed, that of Medo- Persia, Greece, and Rome. The predictions of Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece have all been literally fulfilled and are now part of the historic past. The Roman empire, however, which was in power at the time of the first coming of Christ, is still a continuing part of God’s purpose. It continued for many centuries after Christ and then eventually disappeared, but, according to Scriptures, will be revived in the end times.

Daniel 7 pictures the four empires as ferocious beasts, with Babylon depicted as a lion, Medo-Persia as a bear, and Greece as a leopard. The fourth empire is described in different terminology in Daniel 7 as follows:

“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast-terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7).

The Roman empire literally fulfilled the picture of a beast with great iron teeth, crushing and devouring everything before it. Its well-disciplined soldiers went into countries that were unprepared to fight. The soldiers then conquered the country, carried off the able-bodied men as slaves, left a detachment of soldiers to collect taxes, and moved on to the next country. As the greatest empire of the past, it was ruthless in its destruction of whatever opposed it. Most of Daniel 7:7 has already been fulfilled.

The final statement in verse 7, however, states, “it had ten horns.” Nothing in history corresponds to this, and Bible expositors have been struggling for centuries to explain this prophecy that has not been fulfilled.

But Daniel 7:24 reveals that “The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom.” How can this be explained in view of the fact that the Roman empire today is non-existent? In order to understand this period, one has to recognize that the Old Testament described the events leading up to the first coming of Christ, but then many Scriptures skip from the first coming to the Second Coming and omit reference to what we call the present age of grace…the present age is not in view. While Old Testament Scriptures deal with the time of judgment preceding the Second Coming, they do not anticipate that the Roman empire will go out of existence for many centuries, only to be revived in the end time in the form of these ten kingdoms.

Scripture does not indicate exactly when this will happen, but as soon as the rapture occurs, the ten kingdoms are in the background and apparently the formation of the ten-kings power bloc will come together either just before or just after the rapture. The fact that the European Union is friendly today, geopolitically speaking—that is, the major players are not at odds with each other—provides fertile soil for producing a united Europe, which would fulfill, at least in part, this prophecy.…

Steps in that direction-including implementing a common currency- have already taken place. Accordingly, the situation described at the rapture of ten nations banded together is something that could occur at any time and is strategic evidence that the rapture of the church could be near.^[xvi]

So all nations, God’s prophetic Word plainly says, will be brought to Armageddon for the conclusion of the Day of the Lord. It will be the most terrible moment of human history.

We can’t look into the high councils of the Third Heaven and know the rendering of judgmental edicts. We can, however, look at God’s Word of condemnation and examine evidence to get a pretty clear understanding of what that evidence points to. You can do the same. Does the God of Israel keep His promises? You be the judge.

While anti-Semitism rages in the continent down under, so do the geophysical elements. Australia has, in the very recent past, experienced plague-like affliction almost biblical in proportion:

In the midst of raging wildfires, hailstones the size of baseballs pounded Australia in a mix of elemental opposites echoing the Egyptian plague. As if that reminder of the Exodus were not enough, a massive dust storm turned day into night. These and other phenomena created a pre-Messiah show of wonders in the hard-hit continent down under conspicuously timed to coincide with the week when Jews around the world read the section of the Torah relating the story of the plagues in Egypt.

While the northern hemisphere hunkers down for winter, Australia enters its dry summer. This year, a stark drought brought on devastating wildfires that have, so far, burned an estimated 46 million acres of land. The fires destroyed over 5,900 buildings including approximately 2,683 homes, and killed at least 30 people. An estimated one billion animals were also killed and some endangered species may be driven to extinction.^[xvii]

In a strange, horrifying mixture that can only be described as a biblical-type plague, hail the size of baseballs fell following catastrophic fire that ravaged the region.^[xviii] The article further explains the devastating phenomenon:

As if a Biblical plague of hail was not enough, a massive dust storm engulfed the town of Narromine, some 250 miles northwest of Sydney. The 186-mile wide cloud of red dust was carried by wind gusts up to 66 miles per hour. The huge storm quickly plunged the area into darkness so complete the weather service described it as “Day turns into night!”

Again, this isn’t just to pick on our good friends in Australia. The evidence, however, contrasting anti-Semitism’s assault to the very elements crying out in such fury must be noted. “America, take notice!” is the message. That goes for the rest of the world as well.

God’s chosen nation is front and center as the number-one sign of where we stand on His prophetic timeline. Although modern Israel is as evil in comportment as the nations of the rest of the world in many ways, its God neither slumbers nor sleeps. He has declared His absolute love and protection over this place he calls “the apple of my eye.”

This is what the Lord says, “He who appoints the sun to shine by day, Who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His Name;

Only if these ordinances vanish from My sight,” declares the Lord, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.” (Jeremiah 31:35–36)

Armageddon forces are being gathered even now. The Lord of Heaven knows exactly who the offenders are in exercising hatred for Israel—and for Him. A terrible price will be paid during the years ahead, particularly following the Rapture of Christ’s Bride, the Church.

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum gives additional description of what is entailed in the matter of Armageddon.

While the term, “Battle of Armageddon,” has been commonly used, it is really a misnomer, for more than one battle will be taking place. For this reason, many prophetic teachers have stopped employing that term and are using the term, “Campaign of Armageddon…” But this, too, is a misnomer because there will be no fighting in Armageddon itself; all of the fighting will take place elsewhere. A more biblical name for this final conflict is found in the closing words of verse 14: the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. This is a more accurate description of the nature and extent of this final conflict.…

The train of thought is picked up again in verse 16, which names the place where the allies of the Antichrist will be gathered: Har-Magedon. As the ASV text shows, the word is a combination of two Hebrew words which mean, “the Mountain of Megiddo.” Megiddo was a strategic city located at the western end of the Valley of Jezreel, guarding the famous Megiddo Pass into Israel’s largest valley. One can see the entire Valley of Jezreel from the mount upon which the city of Megiddo stood. So what is known as the Valley of Armageddon in Christian circles is actually the biblical Valley of Jezreel. The term Armageddon is never applied to the valley itself, but only to the mount at the western end. Here, in this large valley of Lower Galilee, the armies of the world will gather for the purpose of destroying all the Jews still living.

It should be noted that the passage says nothing of a battle in this valley, for no fighting will take place here. The Valley of Jezreel, guarded by the Mountain of Megiddo, will merely serve as the gathering ground for the armies of the Antichrist. Armageddon will play the same role that England played in the closing stages of World War II. The allied forces gathered their armies together in England, but that is not where the final battle took place. The final conflict began on the beaches of Normandy, France, on D-Day. Armageddon will also serve as a gathering place, with the battle beginning elsewhere.^[xix]

God Laughs

Man will view this gathering of the armies of the world from the perspective that it is mainly Antichrist bringing them together for some great purpose. The purpose is to finally rid the earth of the hated Jew—of Israel. It will be the Final Solution in action. All leaders of armies will know Antichrist’s purpose and will be eager to make this final thrust into what the Bible has termed “my land.”

The God of Heaven sees the gathering from an entirely different perspective at this time:

Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up.

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. (Joel 3:9–11)

God’s ironic sense of punitive humor against those opposed to Him comes to the forefront. He mockingly invites them to prepare to battle, to turn their farming equipment into weapons of war.

The leaders of these armies intend to destroy all vestiges of the Jewish race. God has quite another idea about why He, Himself, has gathered them together. His taunting of this tremendous array of forces comes further into focus with the following:

Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, And cast away their cords from us, He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure: Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion. (Psalm 2:1–6)

Dr. Fruchtenbaum further expounds on the gathering of God’s and Israel’s enemies:

The gathering of the nations is presented as a gathering against God the Father and His Anointed, that is, the Messiah Jesus. By seeking to destroy the Jews, Satan is also seeking to break the cords of God’s control of the world. How foolish! Then God is portrayed as sitting in the heavens and laughing, because He will soon have these nations in confusion. It is God who will set His own king upon Zion, and Satan and the Antichrist will not be able to prevent it. Although the nations will assemble to carry out the program of the counterfeit trinity, they will actually accomplish the purpose of the Triune God. This gathering of the armies of the nations in the Valley of Jezreel will be the first stage of the Campaign of Armageddon.^[xx]

We’ll next look at the devastating defeat of Antichrist and the forces arranged against God. All the military power on earth—neither conventional, nuclear, nor any other—can hold back the most anticipated victory of the history of man.

UP NEXT: Second Coming and the Judgment Seat

[i] hn Walvoord,Antichrist, Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ (Ang, this is from one of our books.)]***

[ii] https://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-jones-f04htm

[iii] https://www.thejc.com/news/israel/israel-arrests-malka-leifer-woman-wanted-on-child-sex-abuse-charges-at-australian-jewish-school-1.458662

[iv] https://www.thejc.com/news/world/australian-jewish-leader-condemn-senator-fraser-anning-speech-calling-for-final-solution-1.468332

[v] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.foxnews.com/world/anti-semitic-bullying-australia.amp

[vi] https://www.thejc.com/news/world/australian-teenager-charged-for-making-jewish-boy-kiss-another-student-s-shoes-1.490685

[vii] https://www.cis.org.au/commentary/articles/we-cannot-let-anti-semitism-spread-here/ 

[viii] https://10daily.com.au/news/australia/a191124hsgly/report-shows-anti-semitism-on-the-rise-following-outrage-over-party-nazis-20191125?&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_source=10daily&utm_campaign=digital:na&utm_term=google&utm_content=dsa&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0IzskZOa5wIVi5yzCh2pawFPEAMYASAAEgLDbPD_BwE

[ix] https://www.thejc.com/news/world/antisemitic-assaults-and-threats-up-by-30-per-cent-in-australia-new-report-finds-1.493612

[x] https://wwwgoogle.com/amp/s/www.jta.org/quick-reads/australia-sees-30-percent-increase-in-anti-semitic-incidents/amp

[xi] http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/24901 

[xii] https://www.adl.org/resources/reports/global-anti-semitism-select-incidents-in-2019

[xiii] https://www.thejc.com/news/world/australian-jewish-survivors-recount-how-the-fire-swept-into-their-home-in-45-minutes-1.495182

[xiv] https://www.thejc.com/news/world/holocaust-survivor-suffering-flashbacks-after-nazi-flag-flown-metres-away-beulah-australian-home-1.495548

[xv] https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/the-bbc-has-shamed-itself-with-orla-guerin-s-holocaust-report-1.495792

[xvi] Ibid. Walvoord.

[xvii] (Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, “Australia Slammed with Hail, Pestilence, Darkness Plagues in One Week,” Breaking Israel News, Latest News. Biblical Perspective, January 22, 2020)

[xviii] See https://t.co/0jmjbKmRnz).

[xix] Arnold Fruchtenbaum, THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS THE MESSIAH

Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Th.M, Ph.D

Director, Ariel Ministries

Tustin, CA]***

[xx] Ibid. Fruchtenbaum

Category: Featured, Featured Articles