Armageddon
Revisited
Will a cavalry on horses really ride in bringing
swords and knives to a GUN FIGHT?
First
Word
·
GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K.
CORRAL –
Do you remember the 1957 movie with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday? – Armageddon is
a gunfight to the death or perhaps to life? - If one Angel can
wave his hand and kill 185,000 with a supernatural laser beam, think what a
legion of angels could do. (There’s more of us than
they are of them.)
·
As you read John’s account
in the “Revelation”, it must be noted that the many chapters are not in sequential
order, but are inserted from time to time to provide information on what
John sees and describes as best his mind can understand. - Neither John nor
the prophets had ever seen complex airborne weaponry such as a HELICOPTER.
– Have you noticed how an Apache Helicopter resembles a LOCUST? - John had
never seen a BULLET, much less a THERMONUCLEAR BOMB.
- A
nuclear bomb
can generate 150 million degrees of heat in a millionth of a second; skin
falls off their bodies while they are still standing - With pain and
anguish, faces are burned. Terror seizes mankind. The nuclear bombs
trigger earth quakes; debris is blown into the air so thick it blots out
the sun. – Fire and sulfur fills the air and rains down on the earth.
- Most
of the Middle East has “Chemical and Biological Weapons” and nuclear
weapons would just be icing on the cake.
- Biological
weapons
include microorganisms and toxins that cause plagues like cholera
and tuberculosis, there’s anthrax and botulisms and
the Super Plague for which there is no cure.
- Chemical
weapons
include nerve gas, mustard gas and Sarin gas that
attack your lungs, and now Russia has one called Novichok which is ten times more toxic than nerve gas.
·
Let’s Reason together - It is REASONABLE and
LOGICAL to CONSIDER and ASSUME that man will NOT regress backward and use horses, swords and hand to hand combat
to fight a modern day warfare of tanks, Apache helicopters, hellfire missiles,
drone surgical strikes and H-bombs. - In fact if we did, Megiddo would
become a death trap by dropping just one H-bomb; SO WHAT’S GOING ON?
Isaiah 1:18 - Come now,
let us reason together,
18 Come now, LET US REASON TOGETHER, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
18 Come now, LET US REASON TOGETHER, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
(ESV)
Revelation 19:11-21 – Horses, Riders and Swords
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white HORSE! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white HORSES.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp SWORD with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron..
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of HORSES and their RIDERS, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the HORSE and against his army.
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
21 And the rest were slain by the SWORD that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (ESV)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white HORSE! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white HORSES.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp SWORD with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron..
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds “Come, gather for the great supper of God,
18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of HORSES and their RIDERS, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the HORSE and against his army.
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
21 And the rest were slain by the SWORD that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (ESV)
Rev 9:7-10 – Sounds like Apache
helicopters to me
7 The LOCUSTS looked like horses prepared
for battle and their faces resembled human faces.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of
iron, and the sound of their WINGS was like the thundering of many
horses and chariots. 10 They had tails and stings like scorpions. NIV
12 There was a great EARTHQUAKE. The sun
turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned
blood red,
13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth,
as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.
14 The SKY RECEDED LIKE A SCROLL, rolling
up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. NIV
Zech 14:12 – Their eyes will rot while they are
standing
12 This is the plague with which the LORD will
strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem
Isa 13:6-8 – Terror, Pain,
Anguish and Faces burned
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will
come like destruction from the Almighty.
7 Because of this, all hands will go limp, every
man's heart will melt.
8 Terror will seize them, pain and anguish
will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast
at each other, their FACES AFLAME. NIV
2 Kings 19:35 – One angel – 185,000 dead
35 And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (ESV)
35 And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (ESV)
2 Kings 6:16 – There’s more of us that are those
with them
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us ARE MORE than those who are with them.” (ESV)
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us ARE MORE than those who are with them.” (ESV)
Megiddo
·
This Study will DEPART
FROM THE ORDINARY
and ignore the Systematic Theology
that we have always been taught and
take a close look at the rich SYMBOLISM as painted by John the
Revelator. – NYOBS 07.002 - ESCHATOLOGY
·
The actual word “Armageddon” appears only once in
the Greek New Testament and it comes from the Hebrew word Har Məgiddô, meaning "Mountain
of Megiddo". - Megiddo is actually not a mountain at all,
but A HILL created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the
same spot. – The Word “Mountain” is symbolic for Power. - NYOBS 22.02 - ARMAGEDDON
·
What we think of as a
battlefield
lies at the mouth of the great valley Esdraelon; a narrow PASS in the northern part of Israel, east of Mount Carmel that
stretches from the Mediterranean Sea eastward across the northern part of
Israel. – (This is where we get the expression “Cut
them off at the Pass”.)
·
Many wars have been fought on this plain called Megiddo
- In the final battle, the restraining force, which is the Holy Spirit, has gone from the earth and there is no longer any
restraint on man and he will do whatever is in his heart. - The term
“Armageddon” has been used “symbolically” whenever in a Great War the need was
the greatest for God’s help.
·
This study jumps over the thinking
that Megiddo is a specific geographical location on earth and looks at the
final battle of Armageddon as strictly symbolic.
·
SYMBOLICALLY I ask that you shift your
mind to grasp that Megiddo is a BATTLEFIELD
where a WAR is taking place. – JUST HOLD JUST THAT THOUGHT – Megiddo is a Battlefield -
Revelation 16:16 - A place called Armageddon
16 And they assembled them at the PLACE that in Hebrew is called ARMAGEDDON. (ESV)
16 And they assembled them at the PLACE that in Hebrew is called ARMAGEDDON. (ESV)
The
Battlefield
·
If you can just grab hold
of the thought
that Revelation is a symbolic book and the battle presented is symbolic, you will
start to see other symbols in scripture that will enable you to unlock the symbolic
codes thus gaining a whole new perspective on the “Revelation”.
·
The Battle is not physical hand to hand
combat with army against army, it’s a spiritual battle against cosmic spiritual
forces of evil that operate in heavenly places.
·
Our weapons are not tanks, Apache
helicopters, bombs and chemical warfare, but is the Word of God; what He has
already spoken. We are to be armed with
the whole armor of God and He clearly spells it out for us.
·
SYMBOLICALLY we are to put on the BELT of truth, the BREASTPLATE of righteousness, SHOES of readiness, the SHIELD of faith, HELMET of salvation, & SWORD of the Spirit. If you notice that in the descriptions that
God gives us, there is nothing to protect our backs. The instructions are for us to STAND and be able to withstand
the fiery darts of Satan; there will not be a retreat with our backs exposed,
because God has our backs.
·
Our Weapon is KNOWLEDGE of
the Bible.
– The battlefield is our MIND, soul
and spirit. You must get this; we PERISH for the lack of knowledge of God’s
power, what He has already spoken. – You must STUDY the Word for yourself.
Ephesians 6:12 – The battle is against Spiritual
Forces of Evil
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the heavenly places. (ESV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the heavenly places. (ESV)
Ephesians 6:13-17 – The Armor of God
13 Therefore take up THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 STAND therefore, having fastened on the BELT OF TRUTH, and having put on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15 and, as SHOES for your feet, having put on the READINESS given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the HELMET OF SALVATION, and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God, (ESV)
13 Therefore take up THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 STAND therefore, having fastened on the BELT OF TRUTH, and having put on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15 and, as SHOES for your feet, having put on the READINESS given by the gospel of peace.
16 In all circumstances take up the SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the HELMET OF SALVATION, and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God, (ESV)
Isaiah 5:13 - My people perish because of lack of
knowledge
13 Therefore my people go into exile for LACK OF KNOWLEDGE; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst. (ESV)
13 Therefore my people go into exile for LACK OF KNOWLEDGE; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst. (ESV)
Matthew 22:29 – Deceived because you don’t read
the Bible
29 Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the POWER OF GOD. (HCSB)
29 Jesus answered them, “You are deceived, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the POWER OF GOD. (HCSB)
2 Timothy 2:15 – Study to rightly divide the word of truth
15 STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing THE WORD of truth. (KJV)
15 STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing THE WORD of truth. (KJV)
War Games
- Satan who is the Anti-god; the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet all make up the
COUNTERFEIT UNHOLY TRINITY.
- The
Dragon
symbolically is Satan who has created myriads of little gods, false
religions and institutions.
- The
Beast
is symbolic of the false teachings of the pagan religions and
institutions.
- The False
Prophet
is considered by some to be Mohammad promoting the pagan religion of
Islam. – NYOBS 39.20 - ISLAM
vs; CHRISTIANITY
– NYOBS 46.17 - QUR’AN ON JESUS
- FROGS are considered unclean
by the Hebrew nation. Notice that
the three frogs came out of the MOUTHS of the Counterfeit Trinity. - These slimy, filthy, loathsome,
disgusting frogs are evil spirits that come spewing out PROPAGANDA and FAKE
NEWS, FALSE DOCTRINE, PERVERSIVE IDEAS and DISTORTIONS
OF TRUTH
through the Internet, Twitter and Facebook, Radio and TV, plus Newspapers and
Tabloids seducing and deceiving all the Leader of THE WORLD. (Kind of like what’s going on NOW) – FAKE NEWS -
- They
take advantage of man’s weaknesses; fear, pride, lust, greed and even
laziness, seducing them to join in the battle of Armageddon. - Sadly, the
kings of the world that will be deceived includes a multitude from
the USA.
- Frogs
are SYMBOLIC of a spiritually impure,
and unholy false church with false teachings. The
adversary is SATAN and his weapon is War
Games of the mind; DECEIT.
- Satan’s
weapon
is to put DECEIT in our MIND. - INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION
-
- God’s
weapon
is to put KNOWLEDGE in our MIND. – SWORD OF
TRUTH;
THE BIBLE
- The
WAR GAMES are MIND GAMES concerning God’s Spiritual values.
Rev 16:13-16 – The Satanic Trinity
13 Then I saw three
evil spirits that looked like FROGS; they came out of the mouth of the dragon,
out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
14 They are spirits of
demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of THE
WHOLE WORLD, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God
Almighty.
15 "Behold, I come
like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so
that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."
16 Then they gathered
the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
Revelation 16:14 – Demonic Spirits performing
signs
14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (ESV)
14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (ESV)
Revelation 19:15 – Out of God’s mouth comes a
sharp sword
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (ESV)
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (ESV)
Gog & Magog
- Ezekiel
prophesied
twenty five centuries ago of a war between an un-walled city
(Israel) and a nation to its North,
(Russia). When Israel became a
Nation again in 1948, this war became imminent.
- Gog,
which is the nation of Russia and Magog which is its army of allied
nations will invade Israel and there will be an earthquake so
catastrophic that the whole world will be affected. God will rain down hailstones on them
with burning sulfur, plagues of pestilence, and they will be in such
confusion, that they want even know who they are fighting and will be
killed by their own friendly fire.
- It’s
possible the Russian army will be destroyed by their own thermonuclear
bomb, fire and brimstone. - The modern nation’s names are; Russia, East
Germany, Poland and Bulgaria plus Persia (Iran) Ethiopia, Libya and Turkey.
- Names
change,
nations change and the players change; the identity of the players really
does not matter… there has always been many threats to Israel –
Symbolically SPIRITUAL ISRAEL is the Church which are God’s people and the
threat against them is coming from the SATANIC
TRINITY.
- Satan
is the Prince of the Power of the Air; Air is invisible
and everywhere – Satan’s unseen evil is all around us.
- Christ’s
army in heaven is THE
SAINTS whose names are written in THE BOOK
OF LIFE
and Satan’s army is those whose names that are not written in THE BOOK OF LIFE. – Whoever is NOT with
Christ is against Him – Whoever does NOT gather with Him; scatters. – They
will make war on the army of Christ and will LOSE.
- SYMBOLICALLY we can boil it all
down to ONE FACT; there is a SPIRITUAL
WAR going on between the CHURCH
and SATAN. – AND WE ARE THE CHURCH -
Ezekiel 38:2-3 – Gog is the Chief Prince of
Meshech and Tubal
2 Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him
3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O GOG, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. (ESV)
2 Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him
3 and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O GOG, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. (ESV)
Ezek 38:19-21 – Prophecy – Earthquake; Confusion, Kill each
other
19 In my zeal and fiery
wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in
the land of Israel.
20 The fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along
the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at
my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will
crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 I will summon a sword
against GOG on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's
sword will be against his brother.
Ezek 38:22 – Prophecy - Rain hailstones of burning sulfur
22 I will execute judgment
upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones
and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with
him. NIV
Ephesians 2:2 – Satan is the Prince of the Power
of the Air
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—(ESV)
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—(ESV)
Revelation 20:15 – Name in the Book of Life
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in THE BOOK OF LIFE, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in THE BOOK OF LIFE, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
Matthew 12:30 - Whoever is not with me is against me
30 whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (ESV)
30 whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (ESV)
Revelation 17:14 – They will make war but the Lamb
will conquer
14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (ESV)
14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” (ESV)
Summary
- Frogs
are symbolic
of a spiritually impure, and unholy false church with INFORMATION DISSEMINATION - False teachings.
·
Megiddo is a battle field where a war is taking
place.
- The
war games
are mind games - The battle is over our mind, soul and spirit.
- Satan’s
weapon
is to put deceit in our mind.
- God’s
weapon
is to put knowledge in our mind.
·
Symbolically we are to put on the belt
of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield
of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. – Our instructions are for us to just stand.
- This
is a spiritual war taking place between the Church and Satan and its takes
place within us. We are both the Warrior
and the War.
·
I don’t ask that you
embrace this study of symbolism, but just
think about it. – It’s what you put in your mind and into your heart that
determines the outcome of YOUR battle. – Make no mistake the battle is one MIND
at a time. – Without KNOWEDGE… YOU
will perish We all are born on the wrong side of the battle, but we can be born
again. - You must decide which side you want to fight on; there are no
bystanders.
·
Do you feel the battle
within;
you are not a bystander. You are the WAR and the WARRIOR
·
Life is Choice driven; the decisions you make
on this side of life have eternal consequences.
JUST
THINK ABOUT IT
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Proverbs 11:14
I am grateful to those that went before me
providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses. Because of them I can stand on their
shoulders
and see further that I otherwise ever could
have.
A Commentary; Critical,
Experimental and Practical - Eerdmans
Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius
Josephus Matthias
Apocrypha – Goodspeed
Baker Commentary on the
Bible – Elwell
Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row
Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake
English Standard Version
Bible – ESV
Expositor’s Bible
Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein
Haven’t you Heard? There’s A War going on! – Eldred Echols
Illustrated Bible
Dictionary; The – Tyndale
Interlinear Greek-English
New Testament - Baker
King James Version Bible –
KJV
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest
Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan
New International
Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas -
Tenney
New International Version
Bible (2011) – NIV
NOTE: The “new” NIV has
been corrupted and made gender neutral. AVOID IT.
Thru the Bible – J. Vernon
McGee
Vincent’s Word Studies of
the New Testament – Mac Donald
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Wycliffe Bible Commentary;
The – Pfeiffer & Harrison
Wikipedia –
Zondervan Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney
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