So there is no system of government; of education; of psychology; of environment; or, of social order that can change the old sin nature and
prevent wars. However, the fear of war will increasingly become greater among mankind. It is a very great fear today. But it's going to become even
more fearful as the days go by. It will finally come to the point where the concept of war will be so fearful because weapons of war will have been
so refined, that when the world moves into the tribulation period after the Christians are removed from this earth, they will be happy to welcome a
man who promises them a peace. This man is the antichrist, and he seemingly provides a condition of peace. But again, in time, what he provides
proves to be a false peace. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says, "When they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as travail
upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." What the Bible actually predicts is that the worst world war is yet before us. It is called by
the name Armageddon.
Some of you folks of the generation of World War II will remember as we listened to the radio at the signing of the surrender of Japan on the
Battleship Missouri, and as General MacArthur on that occasion observed that if mankind did not find a better way for solving its problems,
Armageddon would be upon us. Well, that is true. However, mankind will not find a better way, and Armageddon eventually will be upon us.
So here's the picture. We have touched upon this and we're sort of tying this a little bit together. We have this famous event called the battle
of Armageddon that you hear about. We want to give you a little bit of background to tie it with the power blocs that we've already been studying.
The Antichrist
The antichrist is in a position of ruling the world. At the middle of the tribulation, he becomes a world ruler. Russia has been defeated by a
supernatural act of God in her aggression against Israel. The antichrist, who rules the western block of ten nations moves in to take over. This is
what is behind Revelation 13:7 that says, "It was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given unto him
over all kindred and tongues and nations. Now this is not true in the first three-and-a-half years of the tribulation period. This is only true
that he has power over all nations in the last part of the tribulation--in the last three-and-a-half years. Russia is now out of the way,
and he is able to move on to the whole scene and take the whole thing over. His world government that he establishes will last for three-and-a-half
years.
Revelation 13:5 says, "Power was given unto him to continue 42 months." So during this time, he is in full control of the political and the
religious scene over all the world. The Bible calls this period, in Matthew 24:21, "the great tribulation." It speaks about the tribulation but the
term "great tribulation" is a technical term that applies to the last half, the last three-and-a-half years. This is when things begin to wind up,
and the violence and the destruction and the judgments of God begin coming one after another like hammer blows upon all of humanity. These are
expressed in the book of the Revelation from Revelation 6:1 through Revelation 18:24 in a series of judgments under the seals, and the trumpets, and
the bowls. During this time, humanity is under a great misery, and millions of people die.
The tribulation, particularly the great tribulation, is a period of great persecution upon the Jewish people. This is the thing that leads to the
campaign of Armageddon. Why the persecution against the Jewish people in the latter part of the tribulation? The first part has been a kind of a cold
war stalemate. The antichrist has made himself the protector over Israel, and he has declared in treaty that he will go to her defense. So the
other power blocs are a little wary of coming to grips with the western confederacy. So there is a cold war situation in the early part of the
tribulation.
Jewish Persecution
But suddenly, all hell breaks loose on the earth and the nations of the world go mad. When you observe in Scripture what it is that they're ready
to tear each other to pieces over, you discover it's over a little piece of property called the land of Palestine, and over a small group of people
called the Jews. Satan is behind this. Satan is now infuriated as never before against the Jewish people. In Revelation 12:12, we read, "Therefore,
rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil has come down unto you, having
great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time."
In the middle of the tribulation period, Satan is cast out of heaven permanently. He is
removed from any access into the third heaven. Now he realizes, because he has information just like you do concerning God's program, that God has
allotted three-and-a-half more years, and then it's all over for Satan. So his time is short. He's in a panic. He senses imminent defeat, and
therefore he proceeds to strike against the Jews, and he gathers the nations of the world to do it. Now why? Why does he stand in such fear that he
brings such a worldwide persecution of the Jews when he's trying to stabilize the world under the antichrist?
You notice in Revelation 12:13 that it says, "When the dragon (that is, Satan) saw that he was cast upon the earth, he persecuted the woman (which
is Israel) who had brought forth the male child (which is Jesus Christ)." For three-and-a-half years of this persecution, Israel will have to find
refuge in the wilderness. Revelation 12:14: "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness into her
place where she is nursed for a time, and times, and a half-time (expressive of three-and-a-half years) from the face of the serpent (Satan)." The
people of Israel are going to have to rush out into the desert places and into the caves, into places where they can hide, because the persecution
will be so great. In other words, the worst anti-Semitism that the world has ever seen is yet coming. The Jew, who has suffered intensely through
the centuries, is going to face the time of Jacob's trouble which is the worst persecution yet.
Why is this? Why this persistent attack? Why this declaration of open war upon the nation of Israel? Revelation 12:17: "The dragon was angry with
the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Something
apparently has happened to bring about this kind of an intensive antagonism. Well, the purpose is this: What is God's plan for Jesus Christ after
this three-and-a-half year period is up? Well, God's plan is for the Lord to return, to bring his bride the church back with Him, and for Jesus
Christ to assume his rightful place as king over the people of Israel and to take his rightful throne, David's throne, in the city of Jerusalem, and
from that throne to rule the whole world.
So Satan again is making another one of those attempts that he has made through the centuries to frustrate
the plan of God. His thinking this time is, "If I can kill every Jew on the face of the earth, and if I can get every nation on the face of the earth
hunting down Jews and killing them (every place they find a Jew, they kill him on the spot), I'll exterminate the whole nation, and there won't be a
single Jew for Jesus Christ to rule over when he gets there." That's the point of gathering the nations to this intense antagonistic persecution of
the Jewish people. If they're exterminated, Christ can't rule them. So Satan moves the gentile powers against the Jews in Palestine.
Revelation 16:13 tells us about the unholy trinity: Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet. They're moving the nations to gather together
against the Jew: "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan) and out of the mouth of the beast (the
antichrist) and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, working miracles that 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." The expression "the battle of that great day of God
Almighty" refers to the campaign and the battle of Armageddon. They are being moved by demonic forces towards Palestine, and the place of this
gathering is a battlefield in Palestine itself.
Armageddon
Revelation 16:16: "And he gathered them together to a place which in the Hebrew tongue is called Armageddon." Armageddon means "the mountain of
Megiddo." It refers to the valley called Esdraelon or sometimes called Jezreel. It's east of the city of Megiddo in the north of Palestine, and it
is a plain that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. It is about 20 miles long and about 14 miles in width. It has in the past
been the scene of many battles. It was a place that Napoleon admired as a battleground, as a plain where armies could maneuver. The port of Haifa
today is at the western end of this valley, thus making it a very suitable place for amphibious landings.
Battles
Who are the combatants at Armageddon? This is really not a battle. You really should call it the campaign of Armageddon because it's a series of
battles that extends over the whole land of Palestine. One of the places where a battle will rage is the city of Jerusalem in Judea. Zachariah
tells us about the nations gathered by Satan for what was going to ultimately end up in the final World War on the field of Armageddon.
Zachariah 12:2: "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about, when they shall be in the siege both against
Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples." That is, Jerusalem will become a millstone,
and the gentile nations will be poured into Jerusalem and will be ground as a millstone grinds wheat.
"All that burden themselves with it shall be
cut in pieces though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, says the Lord, I will smite every horse with terror
and his rider with madness. I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah. I will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness, and the governors
of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength and the Lord of Hosts their God.' In that day will I make the
governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch or fire in the sheath, and they shall devour all the peoples round about,
on the right hand and on the left, and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. The Lord also shall save the tents of
Judah first. The glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall
the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem." There shall be a supernatural care upon the people though the nations have laid siege to the city.
"And
he that is feeble among them at that day shall be like David. And the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. And
it shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David
and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall
mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
In Zachariah 14:1-3: "Behold, the day of the Lord comes." The expression "day of the Lord" in the Scripture begins with the tribulation period and
goes all the way through the millennium. "The day of the Lord comes and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you, for I will gather all
nations against Jerusalem to battle." This is the tribulation part of the day of the Lord. "And the city shall be taken; the houses rifled, and
women ravished, and half the city shall go forth into captivity. And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the
Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle."
We have indicated that one of the battles will be in Jerusalem, and the city will fall. The inhabitants will be treated as conquered people are by
a heartless enemy. The result will be that Jerusalem will be at its lowest experience in all of history. It is at that point that Jesus Christ
comes on the scene and salvation comes to the Jew. Today, of course, you're aware that Jerusalem is a point of great friction between the Arabs and
the Jews.
Another point of battle will be the valley of Jehoshaphat. Joel 3:2 says, "I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley
of Jehoshaphat and will judge them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and parted my land.
Then Joel 3:12: "Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit and judge all the nations round about."
The valley of Jehoshaphat runs from Jerusalem eastward to the Jordan River, and then it moves northward to Assyria. Here we're told that the gentile
nations are going to be gathered together, and that God is at this point going to judge them as part of the battle, the campaign, of Armageddon.
In Joel 3:9: "Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare war. Wake 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.' Assemble yourselves, and come, all you nations, and
gather yourselves together round about. Here cause your mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of
Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put in the sickle for the harvest is right. Come, get down, for the press
is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the
valley of decision."
So here are two places where battles will be fought. Why are these nations here? Because Satan has moved them to come. What is their mission?
Destroy the Jewish nation. But in the process of these nations gathering to execute Satan's will, God moves upon the gentile nations to bring them
together for their own destruction.
Another place that the battle will rage will be in the land of Edom. Isaiah 34:1-6: "Come near you nations, to hear and hearken, you peoples. Let
the earth hear and all that is therein, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and
His fury upon all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and
their stench shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountain shall be melted with their blood, and all the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
and the heavens shall be rolled together like a scroll, and all her hosts shall fall down as a leaf falls from the vine like a falling fig from the
tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven. Behold, it shall come down upon Edom and upon the people of my curse to judgment. The sword of the
Lord is filled with blood. It is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, and with the fat of kidneys of rams, for the Lord
has sacrificed in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom."
Isaiah 63 adds another feature to the battle to take place at Edom as part of the campaign of Armageddon. Isaiah 63:1: "Who is this that comes from
Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I who speak in righteousness,
mighty to save. Why are you red in your apparel, and your garments like him who treads in the winefat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of
the people there was none with me. For I will tread them in my anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my
garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was
none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will
tread down the people in my anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth."
Here the prophet in his vision sees the nations of the world as if they were thrown into a winepress where people get in with their bare feet, and
they walk on the grapes to squeeze out the juice. God said, "This is the way I'm going to treat the people at Edom," which lies south east of
Jerusalem below the Red Sea. So here dotted in various places from one end of Palestine to the other are going to be individual battles--people
who have gathered in order to attack the Jew in one way or another. The carnage of these battles is going to be something fantastic.
Widespread Death
Revelation 14:15 gives us a little insight about that: "And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the
cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time is come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." Then in Revelation 14:19, "And
the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the
winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a 1,600 furlongs." 1,600
furlongs is two hundred miles which is the entire length of Palestine. We're told that the carnage will be so great over this land that the blood
in places will rise in depth to the horses' bridles.
Immediately, you say how can that be? It is almost unbelievable that such a thing could exist when you stop and realize that at one time the eastern
confederacy alone is going to destroy a third of the world's population, which may be billions of people. Billions of people bleeding in a
restricted area will very readily make blood that will literally flow in streams. We just have no frame of reference even to think about the kind
of slaughter that the world is coming to.
Major cities of the world are not going to escape at this time, for as the world gathers together for its conflict within itself, we're told that
there will be mass slaughter of people. Revelation 16:19 says, "And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell,
and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." So when you stop and think
of magnificent cities around the country--New York, Chicago, Dallas--these are going to be destroyed in the process of the world's final
battle.
So here Satan has gathered people together. He has brought them together on the field of Armageddon. He has moved the confederacy of the north and the
confederacy of the south against the western powers. The western power has moved in; has done battle with them; and, has conquered them. The western
confederacy moves out into the plain of Armageddon. The river Euphrates dries up. Across comes the eastern confederacy sweeping down now in
rebellion. This is at the end of the last three-and-a-half years. Things have gotten worse for the antichrist. At first he had a cold war situation.
Now the judgments of God which have been striking during the last three-and-a-half years have shown that he has not brought peace and that he has
not solved the world's problems, so the nations are ready once more to rebel.
The Second Advent
We have the final picture in Revelation 19. Here's the end of the story. These nations gather with one another to do battle against each other,
primarily to destroy Satan's man, the antichrist. And just about the time that they are ready to press the buttons on the greatest of all their
atomic weapons; just about the time they are ready to really let loose with all the slaughtering capacity they have, something happens up in the
sky. And here you have these masses of armies, of military personnel, massed to do battle. Their equipment is there. The Bible says that if God
permitted them to reach over and push those buttons, there wouldn't be any humanity left on the earth. They're not only fighting each other.
They're striking the major cities all around the world. Any place that there are major concentrations of powers; of population; and, of the enemy,
they're striking them. So if the Lord did not stop it, there would be no humanity.
Well, suddenly they look up in the sky and they see a very awesome picture. For here they see the One whom they've hated; the One whom they have
been striking out against; and, the One whose rule and reign over the Jewish nation they have been seeking to frustrate. For there in the heavens
appears the Lord Jesus Christ. Now He has not been seen since the day He left the Mount of Olives. He has not been seen except by those who were
caught up seven years before in the rapture. But the world has not seen him since he left the city of Jerusalem hundreds of years ago.
Revelation 19:11 says, "I saw heaven open, and, behold, a white horse; and He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
He judges and makes war. (This is the Lord Jesus Christ.) His eyes were like a flame of fire and on His head were many crowns. And He had a name
written that no man knew but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And His name is called the Word of God. And the armies
that were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. (This is symbolic of divine righteousness.) And out of
His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations."
Now here's how the gentile nations that are gathered at Armageddon are going to be destroyed. When they see Him coming, they forget their
differences, and instead of fighting one another, they join military forces in order to meet this army of God. Satan moves humanity now to make a
direct attack upon the Lord Jesus Christ as He returns with the church. Now you're going to be there. You're going to be coming down. You're going to
look down on the earth. You're going to see the field of Armageddon. You're going to see the masses of the armies gathered all over, and the weapons
there. And you're going to see these soldiers get ready to shoot their weapons at you. And on your side there's going to be one super weapon, and
that is the power of the spoken Word of God. This is how Jesus Christ is going to slaughter the whole mass. You're going to see the most amazing
sight by the simple statement of the Word of Jesus Christ. This army is going to fall right before your eyes.
"Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword
that with it He should smite the nations, and He shall rule them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of
Almighty God. And He has on his vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun,
and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of
the great God.'" Now what he means is that after Jesus Christ has spoken the death command upon the armies of the nations of the world, the angel
will call the birds to come and to feed on the dead bodies.
"That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty
men, the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and enslaved, both small and great. And I saw the beast,
and the kings of the Earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him that sat on the horse and against His army. And the Beast
was taken (the antichrist), and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had received the mark
of the beast and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." This is the lake which was
created for Satan and his angels. It is what we commonly refer to as hell. "And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the
horse (with the Word of Christ), which sword proceeded out of His mouth, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh."
Well that takes care of two members of the unholy trinity. What about number one? Satan himself? Revelation 20:1 says, "I saw an angel come down
from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent who is the devil
and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the
nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little season.
So here's how the battle of Armageddon ends up. The armies are slaughtered by the return of Jesus Christ and His spoken Word. The beast, the
antichrist, and the false prophet are placed into the lake of fire and brimstone. Satan himself is bound and tied into the pit of the abyss so that
for a thousand years, there is no more temptation to the nations (while Christ is ruling this earth during the millennium) there is no more
temptation to the nations from Satan himself.
When I was a boy, I learned some of the basics of prophecy and discovered that someday Satan would be bound. I was speaking to a denominational
pastor, and I can't even remember how the conversation came around to this. But I made the statement to him that the time is coming when Jesus
Christ returns and He is ruling this earth, which is what this man was trying to tell me--that Christ rules this earth. And I said, "No, Satan
rules it." And I said, "When Jesus Christ rules this earth, Satan is going to be bound." And he said, "Well I believe that Satan is bound right
now." So as a smart-alec teenager, I said, "Well if he's bound right now, I'd like to know who's doing his business so well on the earth. Who was
carrying out his business so well?" He's not bound yet, but can you imagine a world in which there's no temptation from Satan? That will be a
world in which there is a rod of iron rule where Jesus Christ deals with every overt expression of sin immediately. There will be no rebellion and
no resistance. It's going to be indeed the millennium.
The campaign of Armageddon will be triggered by Satan to get the nations of the world, at the end of the last three-and-a-half years of the
tribulation period, to remove every Jew from the earth, so that Christ can have no people to reign over as God predicted He would. This is Satan's
one last effort to frustrate the plan of God. Instead, the nations of the world get together, and they start slaughtering each other. And when they
have come to the point where they're going to make their greatest devastation on that field of Armageddon, Jesus Christ appears from heaven, and He
destroys them, and ushers in the earth's golden age.
This is the last World War. Some people call it World War III. They may be right. We don't know that for sure, but it seems hard to imagine that the
world could go through another World War of the two kinds that we've had. It seems that they're probably right that this is World War III. If you
are not a believer, you will be on the scene as part of that world war. If you are a Christian you will be an observer from heaven itself. Revelation
20:15 says, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. You may be in that condition right now, and that
may be your destiny--outside of Christ. John 3:16 has another "whosoever" that says, "Whosoever that believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life. Hopefully, you are in that category.
We invite you, on the basis of some of the things you've heard here, and the destiny that is
before the world, to rejoice in the fact that the babe who was born in Bethlehem came to die to remove a wall that separated you from God. This was
a wall of your sin; a wall of your spiritual death; a wall of your lack of holiness; and, a wall of your lack of position in Adam instead of in
Christ. This was a series of things that God Himself, through His Son, removed on the cross. You may be in the whosoever of Revelation 20 that will
be in the lake of fire and brimstone forever. You may be in the whosoever of John 3:16 that will be in the presence of the eternal God rejoicing in
an expanded level of life such as you have never dreamed of. The choice is yours. The problem has been removed by God. There is no sin between you
and Him. There is only your acceptance or your rejection. If you receive Him, you enter the family of God. It's just as simple as that. If you
accept what God has provided in the person of His Son, you are secured forever. If you reject it, you are forever doomed.
In the tribulation period, there will be people who will doom themselves forever by making a decision such as perhaps you need to make right now.
They will say, "I'll take the brand. Mark me here." And God is asking you to let God the Holy Spirit brand you with His seal. If you do, it will be
the greatest move you've made. It will be the beginning of days for you. If you thought you've lived up to now, you're mistaken. Real life begins
in Christ Jesus. The choice is yours. He that has the Son has eternal life.
Our Father we do thank You for all that Thou has shown us concerning the final end of the wars that men now seek to elude; wars that are going to
get worse until the Lord himself brings the greatest one of all to an end. And what a peace treaty that will be. We thank Thee that this is what is
ahead for the world. While it is a dark picture, it is the moment of darkness before the brightness of the dawn of the reign of Christ upon this
earth. We look forward to it, knowing that we shall share as administrators with Him in that thousand years of the earth's golden age. Thank you
for what Thou has given us in Christ's name. Amen.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1971
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