CHAPTER 13
Armageddon is a Biblical name that's familiar to everyone. It is also nearly universally misunderstood. The term, Armageddon, has come to stand for the final earthly conflict, which ends in the destruction of civilization. Considering the weapons at our disposal, it is not surprising that each new war brings to mind the specter of Armageddon.
Everyone agrees the problems facing today's leaders are enormous: wars, famine, ecology, and world health to name just a few. But many think the greatest challenge is to avoid Armageddon. That is why whenever conflicts arise, international pressure to restore peace comes so swiftly. It is hoped that treaties, disarmament efforts, and halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons can serve to lessen the threat of Armageddon. The prevailing mind set is that, while a final Armageddon conflict is a possibility, it can be avoided.
It's no surprise the world's view of Armageddon is different from that of the Bible. Scripture indicates that Armageddon is not a final doomsday consequence if diplomacy should fail. Rather, it is a specific battle God has declared WILL occur. Even if all the nations try to avoid it, Armageddon is inevitable. To underscore that fact, consider a few specifics revealed in the Scriptures:
1. The Participants
Armageddon is not a nuclear war between two or more unnamed super powers. It is a battle which will pit the little nation of Israel against ALL the nations of the world. We may be allies now, but don't expect to see America or any other nation standing with Israel during Armageddon.
And I looked, and there was NO ONE to help, and I was astonished... (Isaiah 63:5)
2. The Place
Nations from all over the world are involved, but the battle is fought on one front. It will be confined to the land of Israel, on a battlefield inside the valley of Megiddo. Beginning ten miles south of Nazareth, the valley extends south for 200 miles, with Jerusalem right in the middle.
3. The Time
Armageddon takes place at the time Messiah returns in power to the earth. It will mark the end of this age.
4. The Outcome
Though no nation stands with Israel, she is not alone. This is definitely a case of having friends in high places! For "the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations," and He will bring all the holy ones (the saints) with Him. The Bible graphically depicts the fate of those who go to war over Jerusalem (at Armageddon).
Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouth. And it will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another (Zechariah 14:12-13).
An inescapable fact is that God is the one who makes Armageddon happen.
I will gather all the nations, and bring them down into the valley of Jehoshafat (east of Jerusalem). Then I will enter into judgment with them there... (Joel 3:2).
Suppose you were the ruler of a nation that was going to be wiped out in the battle of Armageddon. You would probably be interested to learn how your nation got in such a mess. In Joel, Chapter Three, we get the explanation:
Then I will enter into judgment there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land (Joel 3:2).
Mistreatment of Christians and Jews
In whose behalf did God say He would enter into judgment? Notice that God named (1) His people and (2) His inheritance, Israel. This is consistent with the account in Revelation 12. There, we learn that Satan leads campaigns against Israel and the Jews, then he goes after "those who hold to the testimony of Jesus."
The first question to be asked is, just who are God's people? According to the terms of the Old Covenant, as long as Israel obeyed God they would be His people. But they were disobedient, and thus forfeited their right to be called, His people. Now, only one group can be called the people of God. They are the ones who have become His through the promised New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah—that is, the followers of Messiah.
And this is the covenant which I will make with the HOUSE OF ISRAEL ... I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will BE THEIR GOD, and they shall BE MY PEOPLE (Jeremiah 31:33).
That God should enter into Armageddon on behalf of Messiah's followers is consistent with the End Time positions we've already taken. The church will undoubtedly suffer at the hands of Antichrist and the false prophet; some will even be martyred. But the Bible says God will avenge their deaths.
I saw underneath the altar the souls who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 6:9-10).
The second group of people God will avenge are the people of Israel. He speaks of them as "My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations." The word "inheritance" gives some insight into God's relationship with Israel. The people are valuable to Him, but He does not yet possess them to the extent He will in the future.
The message of Joel is that God looks upon the scattering of His people as a personal insult. For that, God will punish the nations. Then it will be their turn to be scattered. But that is not the only sore spot with God. He also resents the harsh treatment given His inheritance, especially the Jews. History records many attempts to exterminate them, but none compare to what is prophesied in the last days. From Zechariah we learn that End Time persecution will result in the deaths of two-thirds of the world's Jews. (At today's population figures that would mean over ten million deaths.) For this, God will also require vengeance.
Dividing Up God's Land
The second reason for Armageddon has to do with the land of Israel. Regarding that land, there is one fact which has obviously escaped the nations' notice. Strange as it may sound, the creator of the universe has laid claim to the land of Israel for Himself!
The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine (Leviticus 25:23).
They will not remain in the Lord's land... (Hosea 9:3).
What's more, God made His land part of the everlasting covenant with Abraham's descendants. It is true that 400 years later, God gave the Israelites conditions for continuing to enjoy His land (the terms of the Sinai Covenant), but the right to possess it was always theirs—by covenant. As we developed in an earlier chapter, the banishment for breaking the Sinai Covenant ended May 14, 1948. Since then, Israel has had God's complete blessing to possess His land. If you don't believe it, ask those who have tried for five decades to drive the Jews into the sea! With this in mind, what can be said about the Land from a Biblical perspective?
Some also argue Israel has no right to the Land because of continued rejection of her Messiah. Again, God did not make the ownership conditional on acceptance of Messiah. Possession of the land was strictly a matter of promise. It is prophesied in the Book of Zechariah that they will one day receive Messiah, but that occurs after they are back in the Land.
Still others maintain that the Palestinian Arabs have a right to the Land because they've been there longer. This argument may wash in the United Nations, but it is meaningless with the Lord God. From His point of view, Israel's claim can never be revoked; after all, it is guaranteed by His own word. The land God gave the Arabs extends from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates—all except for the land of Canaan.
Our former President and Secretary of State were preoccupied with bringing about a lasting peace in the Middle East. Regrettably their solution was for Israel to give up land in exchange for peace. Their thinking (?) was that Israel's neighbors would make peace if Israel gives back the "occupied territories" of the West Bank and Golan Heights.
One only has to look at the historical record to see the flaws in that position. In 1948 the UN planned to partition Palestine in the following manor: 5,500 square miles for Israel, 4,500 for the Palestinians. Were the Moslem Arabs willing to make peace at that time? On the contrary. As soon as the British pulled out, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt all invaded Israel, vowing to drive the Jews into the sea. If you compare the events of today with those of 1948, you will witness an amazing about-face. Then, Israel accepted the existence of a Palestinian state, while the Arab world rejected it. Now the Arabs say they want a Palestinian state, but Israel won't hear of it!
The harsh reality is that politicians will never solve the "Palestinian question." That is because it is a supernatural struggle between warring spiritual kingdoms. On earth it surfaces as a conflict between two books: the Koran and the Bible. Followers of Islam believe the Koran supersedes the Bible. That is why Moslems are so distressed over the mere fact of Israel's existence. The rebirth of the Jewish state right in the midst of the Arab countries is a direct contradiction of Islamic teaching. Has not Allah finished with the Jewish people? And if Allah has predetermined all things, how is it possible that a Jewish state should have come into existence once again? For Islam this is not only an impossibility but sheer foolishness.1
Inevitably the peace plan will involve Israel trading land for peace. It is a hopelessly flawed plan, but it is the one world leaders will pursue. Getting back to Joel's prophecy, is there any doubt that "land for peace" falls into the category of "dividing up of God's Land?" Ironically, the prime architects of this plan, Bush and Baker, are both Christians, meaning they are part of God's New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. But their actions show they didn't understand God's position. You see, there is no Palestinian question in His mind! Listen to what Ezekiel prophesied about the fate of those who usurp God's Land:
Because you have said, "These two nations [Israel and Judah] and these two lands will be mine, and we will possess them"" although the Lord was there, "Therefore as I live," declares the Lord God, "I will deal with you according to your anger and according to your envy which you showed because of your hatred against them; so I will make Myself known among them when I judge you" (Ezekiel 35:10-11).
Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom [read Palestinians], who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with whole-hearted joy and with scorn of soul... (Ezekiel 36:5).
Could God's position be more plain? He will repay the usurpers of His Land with the same animosity and hatred they have shown toward the Jews. In the Persian Gulf War, Palestinians were photographed cheering Iraqi missiles passing overhead on their way toward Tel Aviv. God says those people can expect similar treatment from Him. Politicians debate the future of the Palestinians, but God says He will destroy those who take His land.
As you rejoiced over the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I [God] will do to you. You will be a DESOLATION, O Mount Sier, and all Edom, all of it (Ezekiel 34:15).
At a time when America has become the most powerful nation in the world, you would expect rejoicing in Israel. What enemy can challenge Israel's security when she has a champion like America? Who can now hinder the prophetic return of her people and the rebuilding of the Land?
Yet, there is no rejoicing in Israel. The U.S. has chosen to forego a golden opportunity to bless Abraham's descendants. America's legacy has instead become one of pacifying the enemies of the Abrahamic Covenant and the resolution of the "Palestinian question." Former Secretary of State Baker thought there could be a lasting peace by coercing Israel to surrender (to divide up) God's Land. Obviously he didn't understand Joel's message. Otherwise, he would have pressured Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon to give up their land for peace. Hey, they might as well, because God is going to take it from them anyway!
World leaders will continue seeking to pacify Moslem nations by pressuring the Israelis into returning "occupied territories" to the Palestinians. Will Israel yield to this pressure? Recent events indicate they will cede land for peace. Be advised, however, that the promised peace will be as elusive as catching the wind in a bottle. Whatever the Palestinians gain through negotiations, they will want more.
Ultimately, they will demand the one thing Israel will not give. That is Jerusalem. According to Zechariah, this will put the nations of the world on a collision course with none other than the Lord God. When the nations around Israel rise up over the Jerusalem issue, it will result in a multi-national siege, first against Jerusalem and then against all Israel. This, of course, will lead to the gathering of all the nations for the battle of Armageddon. Unquestionably, the seeds have already been sown.
Notes on Chapter 13