Armageddon

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On September 2 in the year 1945, the Japanese formerly surrendered, and WWII came to an end. Later that day, the day of their surrender, General Douglas MacArthur broadcast a speech from the USS Missouri to the American people. This, in part, is what the General said that day,

Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won. The skies no longer rain death. The entire world is quietly at peace. Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations all in turn fail, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. 

And then MacArthur continues with these sobering words: he says, 

We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological, and the solution involves a spiritual improvement of human character.

MacArthur was only partly right. He was right that the problem is theological, but the solution is not mere reformation. The only solution is regeneration. It’s when the human heart is made new. And without that war will continue across this planet until the end and the end will come as MacArthur admitted in one last great battle, the battle of Armageddon. 

And as we return to our study of Revelation this morning, we come to that future battle. Here we meet Jesus, again in this letter. But this time we see Him not as a little pet lamb having been slain which is how He is presented often throughout this book. Instead, this morning we meet Him as a Lion—as God’s Holy Warrior, dealing out perfect justice against rebellious mankind. Let me just remind you of the context in which this occurs. We are looking at chapters 19 to 22, which includes what theologians have called the seven last things. Chapter 19 introduces us to these seven last things and last time we studied the first of them and that is the Second Coming. Today we examine the second, which is the defeat of Antichrist at Armageddon. Let’s read it together, Revelation chapter 19 beginning in verse 17:

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

This passage, a very sobering passage, explains how at the future battle of Armageddon, mankind will gather for war in one last desperate, defiant act of rebellion against Jesus Christ and He will completely destroy them. 

John’s description of history’s greatest battle unfolds in the passage that we have just read in three astonishing scenes. I want us to look at those scenes together this morning. The first scene let’s call “An Angel’s Ominous Invitation to the Great Supper of God.” We see this in verses 17 and 18. Let me remind you that the backdrop for these verses is the paragraph before, verse 11 through 16, where heaven opens and Jesus Christ the warrior king rides out of heaven with His armies ready to wage war. 

The very next thing John sees, in verse 17, is “A Divine Messenger.” Notice what he writes, “Then I saw an angel.” Literally, in Greek, “I saw one angel standing in the sun.” The angel positions himself with the sun as his backdrop with it behind him. In other words, he makes himself conspicuous so that earth’s people can see him and also those he is about to summon can see and hear him as well. 

Now, the sun is now present so clearly the darkness of the fifth bowl has gone by this point in time. And, having assumed this position, this conspicuous position, verse 17 says, “He cried with a loud voice.” We have seen this often in the book of Revelation, literally, “he cried with a”—the Greek word is mega—“he cried with a mega voice.” Not only wanting to be heard by the birds he is about to call, but wanting to be heard by sinful mankind as well. Why? As a warning of what is about to happen. Think about it: the armies of Antichrist will hear this angel and will be given yet another opportunity to repent. Here’s another example of many that we have seen in this book that until the very end, God is still extending saving grace. 

Next, we meet the unexpected guests, verse 17 goes on the say, the angel said to “all the birds which fly in midheaven.” The Greek word used here is a general word for birds. This planet is literally covered with birds. Scientists estimate there are 50 billion birds on this planet, six for every human being. And there are about 60 percent of those birds who are omnivores. They eat any and everything. Only about three to four percent of them are carnivores and that seems to be where this is leaning. In fact, describing this same battle, Jesus uses a specific Greek word in Matthew 24, verse 28, “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” 

So, this angel is calling those birds, the 60 percent that are omnivores and the three to four percent that are carnivores, he calls them to gather. Now where will all of these birds and vultures come from? This is a very interesting fact that if you have been to Israel, you may have discovered, Israel is actually the bird migration capital of the world. You see, twice a year over five hundred million birds from 550 different species fly over Israel. What happens is in the Autumn from late August to mid-December, all of the birds in Europe and in Asia want to go south. They fly over that little channel of land that is Israel because you have the Mediterranean on the other side, you have the desert on the other. They come from Europe and Asia funneled down through the land of Israel and they are headed to their wintering grounds in Africa. Israel is the last fueling spot before their five-day journey across the Sahara Desert. 

So, the angel speaks to all the birds, including those migrating through Israel especially the vultures and the carnivores. This call is an ominous foreshadowing of the scope of the impending slaughter. To these birds, notice, the angel extends, thirdly, a gruesome invitation, verse 17: “Come, assemble for the great supper of God.” The angel issues this summons, literally, “Come here!” And then he explains the reason, “Gather for the great supper” or the great banquet of God. The invitation is to a huge dinner, to a huge banquet that God Himself will provide. Now this gruesome metaphor of the great supper of God is, of course, describing the battlefield of Armageddon after Christ’s total defeat of His enemies. The only way to describe the carnage is as a great feast for vultures.

What a stark contrast in this chapter. This chapter began with the marriage supper of the Lamb, and it ends with the great supper of God. It’s a sobering reminder that how you respond to Jesus Christ and His gospel matters. You see, God graciously saves those who respond to His gospel, and He invites them to the marriage supper of the Lamb. But for those who will not bow, who will not repent, who will not believe in His Son, in spite of all He has offered, then He will invite them to be part of a different supper. 

This picture of scavengers feeding on the Lord’s defeated enemies is actually taken from one of the Old Testament prophecies of Armageddon. Turn back with me to Ezekiel 39. You will want to keep your finger here or put a little bookmark in I will come back a couple more times to this significant passage on Armageddon but look at Ezekiel 39, verse 17. This is where the image comes from. 

As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, “Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, ‘Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war,’” declares the Lord God.

That is a sobering gruesome invitation. 

But go back now to chapter 19 of Revelation, because this gruesome invitation really predicts Christ’s inevitable victory. Notice the angel invites the birds to assemble for this reason, verse 18: “so that”—here’s why—“you may eat the flesh of kings”—the rulers of the world—“the flesh of the commanders”—the generals who lead these armies—“and the flesh of mighty men”—the heroes, the mighty men of valor who are part of these armies—“and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them”—the calvary—“and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

As one older commentator puts it, “at ordinary banquets men eat the flesh of birds. Here the birds eat the flesh of men.” The victims who fall at Armageddon, we are told here in verse 18 will include people from every category of human life: all of them who have the mark of the beast and who follow and worship the Antichrist. You see, God is no respecter of persons. God is completely unimpressed by the greatness, the nobility, the wealth, the accomplishments, the intellect of any human being. God is no respecter of persons and that includes in His judgment. So, here we find this supper of God.

In the ancient world, to leave your defeated enemies unburied was the ultimate act of desecration. And we understand that. I mean, even as we read these words, we kind of wince. So, why? Why does God treat the bodies of the fallen with such indignity? I mean, if we are honest with ourselves, we might even be tempted to think less of God, as though He is being capricious or even sadistic. But no! This is perfect divine justice. Why do I say that? Because God treats the bodies of Antichrist’s armies exactly as the world treated the bodies of His two faithful witnesses back in chapter 11. Probably, Moses and Elijah, you remember? Antichrist kills them and they leave their dead bodies rotting on the streets of Jerusalem for three days and they have a party. 

This is how the world treated the bodies of believers that they have tortured and martyred by the millions for the last three and a half years of the Tribulation. And so, this is how God treats them. You see, the divine standard of justice is Lex Talionis. And eye for an eye, a life for a life. In other words, the penalty must exactly fit the crime. And that is exactly what happens on the battlefield of Armageddon. 

Another reason in a practical way that they remain unburied is the sheer number. There will be millions who will die that day. Ezekiel says that they will eventually be buried but it will take seven months to bury them all. But don’t miss the main point of this angelic invitation. The main point of these verses is this: by inviting the vultures to feast on the carnage before the battle even begins, God is declaring Jesus’ victory is certain. It is inevitable. It’s done before it even begins.

There is a second scene here in our text. The second scene is the final human rebellion against Jesus Christ. The final human rebellion against Jesus Christ. It is found in verse 19. Now, let me just say for those of you who are students of God’s Word, I know that there will be one last battle after the Millennium. It’s recorded in chapter 20. We will look at that when we get there. This is what I mean by this is the last battle of human history before Christ returns. The final human rebellion against Jesus Christ.

Now, let’s start by looking at the background, because we are sort of dumped into this here. Some of you have studied through Revelation with me, others of you have not. So, let me give you the background of this rebellion. This battle comes at the end of the future seven-year Tribulation. At the beginning of that seven years, Antichrist initiates a false peace treaty with Israel. And then after three and a half years, when they have served their purpose, at the mid-point of the Tribulation, Antichrist will break that treaty. He will actually erect an image of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem, what Daniel and our Lord called the Abomination of Desolation. He will demand that he and he alone be worshipped. Then at that point, three and a half years into the Tribulation, he will initiate a systemic systematic worldwide genocide of all who refuse to worship him, especially the Jews and gentile Christians, those who come to believe in Christ during the Tribulation, who responded to the gospel the many times that it is offered during that time. And it will be huge. The genocide will be worldwide, and it will be unbelievable slaughter. In fact, listen to what John writes back in chapter 7, verse 9, describing those who will be martyred during the Tribulation. He describes them as a “great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues.” Antichrist will launch in those three and a half years, the greatest genocide that has ever been committed on this planet. It will be aimed at Jews, and it will be aimed at Christians.

At the end of the seven years, Antichrist will gather a worldwide military coalition in the Middle East with one purpose and that is to annihilate God’s people Israel. Antichrist’s final war against Christ and his people reaches its climax at the battle of Armageddon. He will deploy his armies (“armies” is the word that is used) in the millions. He will engage the latest, the most sophisticated equipment, aircraft and weapons. His navy will have all the latest sophisticated technology. It’ll will undoubtedly anchor off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. And he will launch an all-out war to destroy the people of God to finish what he has begun.

Now, John has already mentioned this battle several times in this book. Back in chapter 14, verse 17-20, he compares it to a grape harvest in which Christ is like a vintner stomping on the grapes. In chapter 17, verse 14, he writes “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them.” But the fullest account John has given so far is back in chapter 16. Go back there. Chapter 16, verse 12, “The sixth angel poured out his bowl”—so this is the sixth bowl of judgment—“and he poured it out on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.” In other words, we are getting ready for this battle. 

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 like frogs; for they are spirits of demons,

So, they are energized by three demons who enable them to perform signs and they 

go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

Verse 16, “and they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.”

The battle in our text in chapter 19, is this battle at Har-Magedon. Now, Har-Magedon is the Hebrew place name, but of course, we often refer to it as Armageddon. Har means “mount.” So, literally it’s “Mount Megiddo.” There is no mountain by that name in Israel, but Har can also refer to the hill country as it does here. It’s referring to the hill country surrounding the plain of Megiddo and to the plain itself. Now, the plain of Megiddo is called the Valley of Jezreel as well. It is located some sixty miles north of Jerusalem as you can see on the map. It is that great valley which is in the shape of an arrowhead. Napoleon called the greatest natural battlefield he’d ever seen. And the greatest battle in human history will be fought there, the battle of Armageddon. Now the focal point of the battle will be the plain of Megiddo but as we have already learned in our study of this book, the last battle of this age will take place across the entire length of Israel. The end of chapter 15, we are told that blood will splatter up to horse’s bridle for 200 miles. The entire length of the country. A series of battles will occur from as far south as Bosra according to Isaiah 63 and includes several near Jerusalem. 

The key battle around Jerusalem will be in the valley of Jehoshaphat as shared by the Old Testament prophets. It is also known as the Kidron Valley, the valley that runs between the city of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. That will be the key site of the battle in the area of Jerusalem. Now that is the background, then, behind this battle. 

Let’s go back to chapter 19 of Revelation and notice next the leaders of the rebellion. The leaders of the rebellion, verse 19: “And I saw the beast.” This is the beast from the sea that we met back in the first ten verses of chapter 13. He is the world ruler, a human world ruler. He will arise and he will truly be the face of evil. He will be completely controlled and empowered by Satan. He will create a one-world government and eventually become the object of all worship. He is so entirely evil that Paul refers to him as the “man of lawlessness.” He is marked by absolutely denying rebelling against the law of God. And he is called “the son of destruction.” He destroys everything in his path and he himself will one day be destroyed. 

This is the Antichrist. Think about that title for a moment: Antichrist. It means he is against the real Messiah, and he also offers himself as the substitute for the real Messiah. Both are true. He will lead the rebellion against Jesus Christ.

Verse 19 goes on, “and the kings of the earth.” This includes the ten kings who are his chief allies and who rule under his authority over the ten worldwide districts into which he has divided his empire according to chapter 17. It probably also includes those to whom these ten kings have delegated lesser authority over smaller regions and even over countries. These are the leaders of the rebellion.

Notice next the supporters of the rebellion, verse 19 says, “and their armies.” These armies consist, obviously, of representatives from across the planet ultimately representing the peoples from which they come. So, ultimately then, the supporters of this rebellion are all human beings who have not repented and believed in the Messiah, all who have bought into the lies of Antichrist. They are the supporters of this rebellion. It’s all humanity. 

Notice verse 19 also tells us the reason for the rebellion. Antichrist, the kings of the earth, their armies ultimately all of humanity is behind this massive military buildup in the Middle East. They have assembled, notice, for one reason, verse 19, they have “assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.” Against Jesus Christ. That’s the reason they have gathered. Back in chapter 17, verse 14, it says, “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them because He is the Lord of lords and King of kings.” 

Although there are other reasons that contribute, we will see them in a moment, their chief objective is to make war with the Lamb. Can you imagine? This is real, folks. This will happen. All the world will gather together in the Middle East not only to destroy the people of God, but ultimately to make war against Jesus Christ. It’s as if they gather collectively and lift their fists in the very face of Christ saying, “We will not have You to rule over us.” 

The outcome of this battle, however, is never in doubt. In the last two verses of this chapter, we are introduced to a third and final scene which is “Jesus Final Victory at the Battle of Armageddon,” verses 20 and 21. Now before we look at those two verses, let me first take you back and note the key Old Testament prophecies about Armageddon. I am not going to take you to each one. You can look at the notes and you can chase these down yourself this week if you would like. But the key Old Testament prophecies about Armageddon are found in Isaiah 63, in Micah chapter 4, in Joel chapter 3, and in Zechariah chapter 12. But I want you to turn with me to Zechariah chapter 14. Notice how it begins, Zechariah 14, verse 1: “Behold, a day is coming for [Yahweh] when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.” In other words, God is going to act on Israel’s behalf, verse 2, God says, “For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.” How does that happen? Verse 3, 

Then [Yahweh] 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 in front of Jerusalem.

Now I want you to turn from there with me back to Ezekiel, because Ezekiel 38 and 39, those two chapters provide the fullest account of the battle of Armageddon. I personally enjoyed working my way through them in detail this last week. We don’t have time to do that but let me point out a couple of things to you. Before we look at these two chapters, let me warn you about something. In the next chapter of Revelation, chapter 20, John uses the language of these chapters—he talks about Gog and Magog—he uses the language of these chapters to describe the satanic rebellion that occurs after the thousand-year reign of Christ. But it is clear that that battle in Revelation 20, is different than the battle of Armageddon described in chapter 19 and here in Ezekiel 38 and 39. How do we know that? Well, look at them, you’ll find that the battles occur in different locations, with different leaders, with different armies, with different weapons and with different results. They are clearly two entirely different battles. We will see that when we get to chapter 20. 

In addition, the sequential pattern in Revelation 19 to 22 makes it clear that these two battles are distinct events: one precedes the thousand years; the other follows it. Here in Ezekiel 38 and 39, God is describing the battle of Armageddon that will occur at the end of the seven years of the Tribulation and at the time of Jesus’ Second Coming.

Now these chapters deal with much about that event. But the actual battle is recorded in Ezekiel 38 and look at verse 18. Here’s all we know about how the battle itself will unfold. “It will come about on that day, when Gog”—that is Antichrist, the leader of the armies—"comes against the land of Israel,’ declares the Lord God, ‘that My fury will mount up in My anger. In My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.’” 

Here’s how it begins. We have already seen this earlier in Revelation: the greatest earthquake the world has ever known. And this earthquake will affect the entire land, verse 20, 

The fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence.

The topography will be changed: 

The mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. I will call for a sword against him on all My mountains, declares the Lord God.

How will it happen? “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.” We have seen this in redemptive history before. God turns them against one another, irrationally against one another, verse 22: 

and with pestilence and with blood I will enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire and brimstone. I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the Lord.

That’s the battle itself. Now with that background turn back to Revelation 19. John doesn’t describe the battle at all here in our text because it is over before it begins. And so, he skips to its aftermath and here he describes first of all in verse 20, the arrest and damnation of the leaders, verse 20: “And the beast was seized.” The passive verb points to a divine actor, undoubtedly Jesus is the One who does this because 2 Thessalonians 2:8 says that it is Jesus who will destroy Him. Verse 20 goes on, 

and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image.

Christ will seize not only Antichrist, but He will also seize the false prophet, the beast from the earth we met back in chapter 13, verses 11-18. The false prophet as we have seen will be the chief architect of religious deception during the tribulation. For the first three and a half years, he will use all false religion, all ecumenical false religion in order to promote antichrist. But at the midpoint, he will abolish all false religion and promote Antichrist alone as the sole object of worship. He performs miracles it appears to convince people to worship Antichrist. But here he has no miracles left to save himself and Antichrist. 

Jesus Christ will seize them both, verse 20 says, “these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” Having captured them alive on the battlefield, Christ sends them alive both body and soul to their eternal destiny in full consciousness. 

He will throw them into, notice here: “the lake of fire.” A lake that isn’t filled with water but with fire. By the way, this is the first time this expression occurs in Scripture. It refers to the final dwelling of the unbelieving dead. This lake of fire, we are told, burns with brimstone. What is brimstone? Brimstone is simply a combustible sulfur. In fact, there are still sulfur balls in the area of Sodom and Gomorra. They look like simple white rocks but when you set them on fire they continue to burn like torches and then they slowly melt and run like lava. That’s the lake of fire. 

Jesus chooses a different word to describe this final place. He calls it Gehenna. This future place of punishment. Literally, Gehenna means “the Valley of Hinnom.” It was an actual valley outside of Jerusalem where in Old Testament times tragically they burned children to death to the false gods of the land. When they repented, they turned that valley into a garbage dump. In Jesus’ day a trash fire burned there constantly and occasionally, the bodies of criminals were dumped there instead of receiving a proper burial. So, the Valley of Hinnom became a profound picture of the reality of hell. When you read Jesus using the word “hell” it’s the word Gehenna. It's the Valley of Hinnom because it was a powerful picture of the eternal place of punishment. 

Jesus taught that sinners in that place will be there both body and soul. Matthew 10:28, He says, fear God “who is able to destroy both your body and soul in hell.” Is there literal fire in hell? Well, it’s certainly possible; that’s the language that is used. We can’t be absolutely certain. Many orthodox scholars take the fire to be literal. I lean that direction myself. Many others believe it to be metaphorical or symbolic. Regardless, don’t miss the point: God chose fire to help us picture the terrible reality of hell. It’s a real place just as heaven is. But it is a place of intense physical and mental suffering. John MacArthur writes, “If the fire is symbolic, the reality it represents will be even more horrifying and painful.”

It is also eternal. Jesus ends the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25, verse 46, by saying, the wicked “go away into eternal punishment, but the righteousness into eternal life.” Notice that both states are eternal: the wicked endure eternal punishment and the righteous enjoy eternal life. The same Greek word is used for both. That means that unbelievers, listen carefully, will be punished in hell as long as the righteous have eternal life. This will be the fate of Antichrist and his false prophet. They will be given eternal bodies, and they will be the first of millions of humans and then of fallen angels to arrive there. 

What about the rest? Verse 21 records the death and desecration of the rebels. Verse 21, “The rest were killed.” Now Matthew 25 tells us that at the end of the Tribulation there will be many unbelievers who survive the Tribulation, and they are judged at the judgment of the nations there in Matthew 25. So, “the rest” here doesn’t mean the rest of humanity. It means the rest of Antichrist’s armies. Those who joined these rebel armies, they will be killed. They had plenty of opportunity to repent, even the words of the angel right before the battle begins but they refused. So, Christ will kill them. And their bodies will litter the battlefields of Palestine. Their souls are sent to hell until the Great White Throne of Judgment when they too will be sent eternally to the lake of fire. 

How will Jesus defeat these armies? Verse 21, they were “killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.” Antichrist’s armies will undoubtedly use conventional weapons and they will use whatever technological advances that are available to them. Maybe many of those will be destroyed during the seven years of judgment on the earth. But whatever they have, they will use. Our Lord will use primarily as His weapon His Word. He will simply speak, and they will be defeated in the ways that we read about in Ezekiel 38. 

Verse 21 ends, “and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” The scene closes describing as reality what the angel had predicted when he invited these birds together. It was inevitable. 

What are the reasons for the battle of Armageddon? Why does it happen? Let me give you several. First of all, the human reasons. Ezekiel 38 tells us that part of the human motivation will be to get the spoil. It’s always behind war, right? It’s about greed, human greed for land or other things. 

It will also be a simple act of rebellion against Christ’s rule. In Psalm 2 this whole scene is described. There the nations gather, the kings of the earth, gather against the Lord and against His anointed. And what is it they say? Psalm 2, verse 3, “Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” It’s as if humanity lifts up its fist in the face of Jesus Christ and says, “We will not have this Man to rule over us.” Revelation 19:19 says, “They are making war with the Lamb.”

There is also a demonic reason behind Armageddon. We saw it in Revelation 16: the demons are behind this. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, Paul says the same thing. Satan will be behind a worldwide deception. 

But then there are divine reasons for Armageddon. Second Thessalonians 2 also says that because they believe the deception of Satan, God will send them a strong delusion that they might believe a lie. 

But what exactly is God accomplishing in Armageddon? Turn back to Ezekiel again. Ezekiel 38 and look again at verse 23. Here’s the divine reason. Ezekiel 38:23, “I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself,”—that is, I will make sure that I am set apart in the sight of peoples, and I—“will make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the [Yahweh].” Go down to chapter 39, verse 21, “I will set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have laid on them.” 

But there is also a redemptive purpose, verse 22: “And the house of Israel will know that I am [Yahweh] their God from that day onward.” And God says that “I am going to vindicate My name. I am going to make sure that people know that the reason My people went into captivity was because I sent them, not because I was too weak to keep them.” Verse 25: “Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name.’” In other words, I am going to keep My promises. Verses 29: “I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ declares the Lord God.’”

Reminds of you of Zechariah, right? “In that day a fountain of cleansing will be opened for them. They will look on Him whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only Son.” That fountain of cleansing is opened, and God redeems His people. Proving that He is a Savior. In the end Armageddon is about judgment, yes; but Armageddon is about redemption. 

So, what are the lessons that you and I can learn from that future battle? What can we learn from Armageddon? Let me give you just very briefly a couple of things that you need to remember. Here are some lessons. Number 1, there is a lesson about the character of Jesus Christ. In fact, there are a number of lessons about His character. Think about what we learned here about Jesus Christ. We learn about His grace. Because even during the Tribulation He continues to extend invitation, after invitation, after invitation to believe the gospel and be saved. It’s why He came. He didn’t come to condemn the word, remember, but to save the world the first time. And He is still saving. 

We learned about His patience. Since the fall, He has patiently endured human rebellion and withheld His judgment. But listen folks, there are limits to the patience of Jesus Christ. Let this ring in your ears and settle in your heart, He will not always be patient. On that day that we have just studied, on that day, there will be no grace, there will be no mercy, there will be only justice and judgment. 

We learned about His faithfulness. He will keep His promise to His people in salvation to His enemies in judgment. We learned about His justice. Christ’s justice is perfect. You see, Paul writes “Do not be deceived. Whatever a man sows, this will he also reap.” That’s the justice of Jesus Christ. 

We learned here about His power. Thank about this: with almost every human being on this planet, maybe at the time, we don’t know how many will be left but billions left surviving on this planet when they rise up together in rebellion against Jesus Christ; when they amass all of their greatest technology and all of their weapons and all of their nuclear bombs to launch them against Jesus Christ, He says a word and in a moment they are destroyed. 

Secondly, we learn here about the insanity of sin. Not only the character of Christ but the insanity of sin. You know, when you read this passage, I hope you are struck as I am with the fact that it is clear to declare war on your Creator is insanity. And yet that is exactly what they will do. Wait a minute folks, every time you and I sin, it is equally insane. The insanity of sin. 

Thirdly, we learn the eternality of heaven and hell. Antichrist and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire in chapter 19. We see them again in Chapter 20, and they are still there a thousand years later, and the text says, “and their torment will ascend forever.” That’s the reality. Listen, your soul’s destiny is forever. Make sure you know the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We learn here about the need for the gospel. If you have never believed in Jesus Christ, understand if the Lord Jesus were to come today in the Rapture for His church, if a number of us even as we sit here are immediately taken away and you’re left, this is your story. You will live this reality. That’s why every one of us needs the gospel. Because apart from the gospel, this is our story. The only hope we have is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son who took on flesh, who lived a perfect life among us so that He could die in the place of those who would believe in Him, and then He died the death that we as sinners deserve to purchase the forgiveness of our sins with God. God raised Him from the dead and everyone who will believe in Him has forgiveness of sin and eternal life he promised. That is your only hope. Because if you don’t, Jesus is warning you today this is your story.

This passage also teaches us the necessity of sovereign grace. The necessity of sovereign grace. Because after all of the judgment that is poured out on this world during those seven years of the Tribulation, and after all of the gospel invitations that are extended: the 144,000 Jews preaching; the gospel in the sky; the gospel presented from those who come to believe again and again and again. The gospel, the gospel, gospel. In spite of all that and in spite of the fact that they know that it is God pouring out this judgment on them—we have seen that earlier in the book of Revelation—in spite of all of that, what happens? All humanity joins in rebellion against God. Folks, left to ourselves, we would join the rebellion. That’s why our only hope is God’s sovereign grace. Our only hope is for Him to intervene and save us from ourselves and from Himself.

Believer if you have trusted in Jesus Christ, every time you hear about Armageddon, I want you to remind yourself that left to yourself you would join the rebellion. And the only reason you sit here today as a follower of Jesus Christ is because God is gracious and in His grace, He intervened and called you to Himself. That’s the lesson of Armageddon. Let’s pray together. 

Father, thank You for this sobering passage. Lord, these are hard things, but we thank You that you have told us beforehand. We thank You that You are perfectly just. Lord, I pray for those of us here who know and love you through your Son. Lord, may we be filled with gratitude that You have delivered us from the wrath to come. That we are Yours and Yours forever. And Father, fill our mouths and our hearts with true concern for the people around us that if our Lord came back today for us, this would be their story. 

And Father, I pray for those who may be here this morning who are still in their sin, who have never repented and believed in your Son. Lord, help them to see that this is their story—will be if our Lord were to come soon. And Father, may they give up their rebellion today and cry out for forgiveness through the life, death and resurrection of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, may they do that for the glory of His name. And it’s in His name we pray. Amen.