The Gathering Of The Armies Of The World
The armies of the world which converge upon the Middle East according to Revelation 16:13 are induced to engage in the final conflict by satanic influences. This is introduced in the statement of John the Apostle: I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which 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 .
Three major armies are mentioned in the Bible, namely, the army from the north, the army from the east, and the army from the south. These three armies are combining their efforts to wrest power from the Roman ruler who may be considered as the king of the west, although this title is never given to him in the Scriptures. The focal point for their gathering is declared in Revelation 16:16 to be a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Although various explanations have been given of this title, it seems to refer to the valley of Esdraelon also known as the valley of Jezreel located to the east of Megiddo in northern Israel. The word Armageddon actually means Mount of Megiddo from har meaning mount and Megiddo.
War In The New Testament
In the New Testament we see fewer depictions of war, but it is still discussed. God shows us that war is still going to be a part of life here on earth. We can also see that God encourages us to protect ourselves with enough force to stop someone.
20. Luke 3:14 What should we do? asked some soldiers. John replied, Dont extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.
21. Matthew 10:34 Dont imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
22. Luke 22:36 He said to them, But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
What Does God Say About War
The Bible tells us of a great many wars. God many times ordered the Israelites into war against their enemies. He even would sometimes order the Israelite army to slaughter all the inhabitants of certain people groups. He created people, and He can choose to take them out at any time He pleases. For He is God and we are not. We have all committed treason against Him and deserve nothing less than the full force of His wrath which would be eternal torment in Hell. He is being merciful by not killing all of us right now.
4. Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war, and a time for peace.
5. Isaiah 2:4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
6. Matthew 24:6-7 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
7. Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
8. Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
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The Early Battles Of The Final World War
Scripture does not provide much detail on the characteristics of the final world conflict. The main significance is that they are assembled in the Holy Land at the time of the second advent and oppose Christ in His return to the earth. However, some indication of the nature of the battles preceding the second coming of Christ is given in Daniel 11:40-45. If the order of introduction of events is taken chronologically, it appears that the first stage of the battle is an attack by the king of the south. According to Daniel 11:40, And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him.
In rapid succession an attack also comes from the north which apparently is successful. The Scriptures state that the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. This king of the north may be Russia. The force of his invasion is such that he proceeds through the Holy Land and conquers Egypt at least temporarily. The warfare brought about by the invasion of the king of the north and the king of the south, however, is now followed by another phase, namely, the arrival of the host from the east.
What Is The Just War Theory
Some believers hold to a Just War Theory. This is when there is a CLEAR just cause. All aggression is highly condemned and that defensive war is the only legitimate war. It must also have just intention peace is the goal, not revenge or conquest. A Just War also must be a last resort, be given a formal declaration, with limited objectives. This must be conducted with proportionate means we cant just go and nuke a whole country and be done with it. A Just War also includes immunity for the noncombatants. God doesnt LOVE war or rush to it, nor should we. He allows it and uses it for our good and His glory. But ultimately it is the result of sin.
23. Ezekial 33:11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
24. Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.
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Gog Will Be Thwarted By The Power Of Two Witnesses
One question that arises as one studies the prophetic picture is, How could a nation as tiny as modern Israel stand against the combined armies of the world? The answer lies in an understanding of the role of two important participants in these great events.
John the Revelator gave the most detailed picture of these two participants. They are called the âtwo witnesses,â the âtwo olive treesâ and the âtwo candlesticksâ . Latter-day revelation teaches that they are âtwo prophets ⦠raised up to the Jewish nationâ who will âprophesy to after they are gathered and have built ⦠Jerusalemâ .
Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
âThese two shall be followers of that humble man, Joseph Smith, through whom the Lord of Heaven restored the fulness of his everlasting gospel in this final dispensation of grace. No doubt they will be members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church. Their prophetic ministry to rebellious Jewry shall be the same in length as was our Lordâs personal ministry among their rebellious forebears.
âThe two olive trees, and the two candlesticks symbols of the two witnesses; meaning, perhaps, that as olive trees, they shall provide oil for the lamps of those who go forth to meet the Bridegroom; ⦠and that as lamp stands they shall reflect to men that light which comes from Him who is the Light of the World.â
These prophets will have power to pronounce great judgments upon the earth .
The Value Of Human Life
First and foremost, the Bible is very clear that all mankind is created as Imago Dei, the Image of God. This alone makes all human life extremely precious.
1. Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
2. Exodus 21:12 Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.
3. Psalm 127:3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, children, a reward.
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Jerusalemholy City For Three Religions
Jerusalem is sacred to the three major monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. As a result, it has been a focus of conflict for centuries.
Conquered by the Romans before Christ’s birth, Jerusalem was in the hands of Byzantine rulers when it fell to a Muslim army led by Caliph Umar in 638. In 1071, the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem andby cutting pilgrim routes from the Westgave impetus to the First Crusade. This crusade brought Jerusalem under Western control in the “Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem,” which held the city from 1099 to 1187, when Saladin reconquered Jerusalem for Islam. Later crusades brought Jerusalem briefly under Western control from 1229 to 1239, and from 1243 to 1244, when it was sacked by the Tatars. In 1247, the city fell to the Egyptian Mamluks, under whose control it remained until 1517, when Ottoman sultan Selim I conquered the city.
Jerusalem remained under Ottoman control for almost exactly four centuries. In 1917, during World War I, General Allenby and the British army defeated the Ottoman Turks and entered the city. In November of that year, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, which declared Britain’s intent to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine, with the understanding that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
War In The Old Testament
We see the most descriptive depictions of war in the Old Testament. This was a time in history when the Lord was showing everyone that He requires holiness. God has established His people, and He wants them completely set apart. So He showed us on a large scale what that means. He also used war to show us how seriously He takes any sin. All in all, we can see in the Bible that war is the result of sin in the world. That is the root of the problem.
15. Isaiah 19:2 I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.
16. Lamentations 3:33-34 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.
17. Jeremiah 46:16 They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.
18. Jeremiah 51:20-21 The Lord says, Babylonia, you are my hammer, my weapon of war. I used you to crush nations and kingdoms, 21 to shatter horses and riders, to shatter chariots and their drivers.
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Examples Of War In The Bible
41. Genesis 14:1-4 14 At the time when Amraphel was king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goyim, 2 these kings went to war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, and the king of Bela . 3 All these latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim . 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
42. Exodus 17:8-9 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.
43. Judges 1:1-3 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites? 2 The Lord answered, Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands. 3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours. So the Simeonites went with them.
44. 1 Samuel 23:1-2 When David was told, Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors, 2 he inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go and attack these Philistines? The Lord answered him, Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.
Seals Trumpets And Bowls
We cannot discuss end-time wars against Israel without asking; Where do the Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of the book of Revelation fit in? Lets take the futuristic view of prophecy, where the events discussed probably occur just before or during the last i.e. 70th week of Daniels prophecy . This approach to prophetic interpretation fits well with the observed world scenario today.
Traumatic Times for a Rebellious World
The exact chronology of the events in this brief but traumatic time of history is not revealed in the book of Revelation. There are different prophetic interpretations here, but at the outset it is clear that they are mostly literal events. They describe in detail Gods judgments upon a godless, rebellious world and run parallel in time to the great tribulation of Israel . Here we have a few years of unparalleled trouble in the world a world suffering the tyranny of a Satanically inspired world government, widespread war, famine, martyrdom and death .
A possible chronology of these events is shown in Figure 1 of Daniels Seventieth Week. This figure spans about seven years the last seven years of this age just prior to the return of Christ. It assumes that the true church is taken up to be with Christ around the middle of the week. Alternatively based on prophecies like Rev 3.10, Mat 24.36-44 and 2 Thes 2.7,8 many see the rapture of the true church prior to the opening of the first seal.
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The Book Of Ezekiel And The Book Of Enoch
The books of Ezekiel and the book of Enoch BOTH warn of a prophetic Russia-Iran war against Israel which will trigger an IRREVERSIBLE series of events which will lead to the Battle of Armageddon
Note:; The book of Enoch is an ancient book , and portions of at least 10 copies of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.; Although the book of Enoch is relatively unknown because it is in disfavor with many churches today for its detailed description of angelic interactions with mankind, many of the early church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Tatian, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Methodius of Philippi, and Ambrose of Milan also accepted the book of Enoch as Scriptural writing. The ancient Ethiopian Church and the Coptic Church in Egypt have always accepted it as Biblical canon.; Another prophecy from Enoch is found quoted directly in the book of Jude in the New Testament .
End Times Chronology: Timing Of The Gog
End Times Chronology: Timing of the Gog-Magog WarBy Dr. David Reagan
In the chronology of end time events, when does the Gog-Magog War happen?
For a fascinating discussion of this and other questions concerning end time chronology, we invited Dr. Ron Rhodes to our television program Christ in Prophecy. Dr. Rhodes is a prolific Bible prophecy author with over 80 books to his credit! He is a professor and also the founder and director of a ministry called Reasoning from the Scriptures which specializes in defending Christianity against atheists, agnostics, skeptics, the cults, world religions, and any group that teaches false doctrine. As an expert in the field of Bible prophecy, were going to focus on one of his books in particular titled, The End Times in Chronological Order.
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War Between Israel And Judah
The Hebrew Bible claims that the kingdom of Israel split apart during the reign of King Rehoboam . After the split, Rehoboam ruled a kingdom based at Jerusalem that was called Judah, while another Jewish state that kept the name Israel formed a separate kingdom. The Hebrew Bible claims that disputes over taxes and Corvée labor drove apart the kingdom that formerly united the Jewish people.
The Hebrew Bible claims that Israel;and Judah often fought each other, sometimes allying with different powers in the region. In their last war, Judah allied with Assyria while Israel allied with another power named Aram. This last war led to the destruction of Israel by an Assyrian force in 723 B.C.
While archaeologists and historians generally agree that two separate Jewish kingdoms existed, how they broke up or whether they were ever united is a matter of debate among scholars.;
The Second Coming Of Christ And The Annihilation Of The Armies
As the armies of the world are engaged in struggle for power throughout the Holy Land and in the very act of sacking the city of Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord appears in heaven and the majestic procession pictured in Revelation 19:11-16 takes place. At the head of the procession is Christ, described as riding on a white horse coming to judge and make war. His eyes are as a flame of fire and on His head are many crowns. His vesture is dipped in blood. Accompanying Him are the armies of heaven also riding on white horses and clothed in fine linen. In verse 15 it is stated of Christ, Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
In contrast to His lowly birth in Bethlehem where He was laid in a manger, this advent is the triumphant King of kings and Lord of lords coming to claim the world for which He died and over which He is now going to exercise His sovereign authority in absolute power. The verses which follow invite the fowls of the earth to feed upon the carnage of the flesh of kings and mighty men and of their horses .
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