What Is Written 28-Feb-99: Armageddon

Have you ever heard of The Four Horsemen? A Pale Rider? The Apocalypse? Armageddon? Each of these is a theme taken from the book of Revelation in the Bible. Furthermore, each of these suggests affliction and devastation to most people. To be very frank about the matter, most people only know what some Hollywood director tells them about the Four Horsemen, or The Pale Rider, or an Apocalypse, or Armageddon. Movies have been made about each of these subjects and they are not even loosely based upon what the Bible actually has to say. Therefore, most people think what they are seeing on the screen must be taken directly from the Bible.

As we count down to a new millennium, people are becoming increasingly afraid. Many people are facing the new millennium with apprehension about what the future holds. Television commentators are doing all they can to frighten the American population into thinking the worst. Is it the end? Will the world continue after January 1? Does some cataclysmic upheaval await the world in the coming millennium? Politicians are often the worst at fearmongering so they can raise more money for their favorite projects, which is usually their reelection. People are being frightened into believing that the year 2000 will be the end of life as we know it, and even perhaps the end of the world. The dreaded Y2K bug has many wondering what crisis the new millennium will bring. Fear, destruction, disaster, and annihilation are the outlooks many are taking with them through this year, counting the days and the hours until the year 2000. Will 9/9/99 begin the countdown to Armageddon? Then, will Armageddon happen January 1, 2000? What do we really know about Armageddon?

Most have heard the word Armageddon, especially since last year’s movie. The word Armageddon immediately invokes two images in the minds of most people. First, it calls to mind total devastation and annihilation of the earth and the entire human race. Second, it is generally thought that Armageddon is a word found somewhere in the Bible. As a matter of fact, it is found there, but only once. Rev. 16:16 says, “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” Therefore, it is true to say that Armageddon is a biblical word. what is not true is to conclude that the year 2000 will bring disaster of colossal proportions. For example, the movie Armageddon was no more biblical than The Wizard of Oz, but you would surely have thought so. Armageddon opens with a voiceover by Charlton Heston (is this Moses speaking for God, or is it the authoritative voice of modern science?). The voiceover reminds the audience that 65 million years ago the earth was nearly destroyed by an asteroid similar to the one featured in this film. Heston says, “It will happen again. It’s just a question of when.” Now, in case you still don’t get it, actor Billy Bob Thornton (playing the head of NASA) soon explains the consequences of an asteroid the size of the state of Texas hitting the earth. This would be, he tells us, “the worst parts of the Bible.” The movie Armageddon does not depict something the Bible says will happen in the near or the distant future. It is fiction, pure and simple.

So what is being projected here? Probably three things: First is the classic American belief in the sanctity and power of the individual. The hero is a do-it-yourself savior of the world who rides in with his younger sidekick to bring about the happy ending just in the nick of time. By comparison, the NASA scientists, government officials, and bureaucrats, including the military, political figures, and even the President of the United States are all impotent against the impending disaster. Only the rugged individualist is capable of saving the world. Second is the more contemporary belief in the sanctity and power of science, which is the god of modern America. When faced with the ultimate destruction of the planet, the hero calls upon his own apparently limitless personal resources — of course he also has the technology. He has the drill he alone designed, the rockets, the computers, and the thermonuclear weapon that ends up saving the planet. Humanity’s savior came from the wisdom and technology of science. The message is not all that subtle. The third theme being projected is the remote and diverse belief in the efficacy of an appeal to some higher power, but not the God of scripture. In the concluding moments of the film, the people of the world are united across lines of religious differences in a common prayer of intercession. In turn we see so-called Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus gathering in their temples and sanctuaries and mosques to pray for a miracle. When all hope seems to be lost and the scientists are prepared to give up and go home, the rescuers arrive. Behold, it’s a miracle. And the whole world is united in one great prayer of thanksgiving. “Thank you Jesus,” as one character puts it, but it’s really science that saves the world from this Armageddon. That is Hollywood’s version of Armageddon.

There is a religious version of Armageddon that is just as foreign from the truth of the Bible as the movie version. The more common version of Armageddon is that of premillennial churches. These churches believe that Jesus will return to this earth in person to reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years. Premillennial churches suppose that Armageddon is the last great battle and it will take place at the end of time between the forces of Christ and the forces of Satan. Those who advocate this belief are often divided as to when the battle will occur. That is, will it be before the return millennium begins or after? Most think the battle of Armageddon will happen prior to the one-thousand–year reign of Christ. Therefore, whenever some new conflict arises in the Middle East, many people assume this is a sign of the coming Armageddon. Think back to the fall of 1990. Iraq had invaded Kuwait. Most expected a terrible war to take place. Many were saying these events would lead to the biblical Armageddon. There was a brief war with some American and many Iraqi casualties, but it certainly was not an Armageddon. Those who see the book of Revelation giving us a blow-by-blow description of the end of the world say that the battle of Armageddon will take place with modern weaponry somewhere in Palestine.

Several years ago a man by the name of Hal Lindsey wrote a book advancing what has become the modern belief of premillennialism entitled The Late Great Planet Earth. Lindsey says this battle of Armageddon would take place on the great plain of Jezreel, a region stretching from the Mediterranean Sea westward to the Jordan River, separating Galilee from Samaria. Lindsay writes that the “Orientals” will “move a 200 million man army” to the scene, and that so many will be slaughtered that their “blood will stand to the horses bridles for a total distance of 200 miles northward and southward of Jerusalem.” Is this what we are to expect? Will Armageddon be the last great battle fought on earth? Will it happen in this lovely valley in the Middle East? Not according to the Bible! Like the 1000-year reign, Armageddon is found only one time in the Bible. And like the 1000-year reign, its context demands that it be understood figuratively. Just because a preacher or a church tells you that the battle of Armageddon will be an actual battle ushering in the end of the world does not mean it’s true. They are no more correct in this assertion than is Charlton Heston when he says what he does at the beginning of the movie Armageddon.

Anyone who tries to study the book of Revelation must recognize from the start that the book is written in figurative language. Much — if not most — of what is revealed in the book is intended to be understood figuratively, not literally. For example, the very first verse of the book says this. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants; things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John.” I want to draw your attention to the word signified. Notice that the book contains a message that has been signified. This word is translated from a Greek word meaning “a mark,” and it always denotes a sign or a symbol. The word is used in five other verses besides Rev. 1:1. It is used in Jn. 12:32-33: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. This he said, signifying by what death he would die.” Here Jesus spoke of being lifted up. He did not say crucified — he said lifted up. We are told, however, that lifted up signified how he would die. “This he said, signifying by what death he would die.” Lifted up figuratively describes crucifixion. The word is also found in Jn. 21:18–19, where Jesus tells Peter, “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” In verse 19, John explains why Jesus said what he did about Peter being girded by another and led, with outstretched hands, to a place he does not wish to go: “This he spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God.” It signified that Peter would be crucified. Each time the word is used in the New Testament it always indicates symbolism or some other means of figurative language. And this is especially true of the book of Revelation. Look again at how the book begins in 1:1. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants; things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John.” He said the book was a book that is signified — that is, written in signs and symbols. The signs and the symbols represent something other than what might be the literal meaning of the word or phrase.

Certainly there are words and phrases that must be understood literally in the book of Revelation, but these are obvious. For example, in Rev. 1:5, John says the book is “from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” Jesus is the author and inspiration of the book. This is to be understood literally. Yet the description of Jesus is highly figurative. In Rev. 1:14–15, John writes, “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.” Now, we all know and understand that this is a symbolic description of Jesus. We know that he does not have eyes that look like a flame of fire. We know his feet are not actually like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace. Also, no one really believes that when Jesus speaks his voice is like the sound of many waters. These descriptions signify something. They are not to be taken literally. Now, if we can get this firmly etched in our mind, then we will not yield to the temptation to make Armageddon into a literal, end of the world, battle involving millions of men in the actual valley of Jezreel between the army of Jesus and the army of Satan.

Armageddon is mentioned within the context of God pouring out his wrath upon the world. Rev. 16:14–16 says:

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

If you just lift these verses from the book and read them, it is hard to understand the context. As a matter of fact, it becomes impossible to understand the context unless one begins much earlier. The context begins back in Chapter 12 where the conflict between good and evil, heaven and hell, Christ and the devil begins. Chapter 12 is a microcosm of the entire Bible. The devil tried to destroy all of mankind, and beginning in the Garden of Eden he seemed to have been successful. After the coming of Christ, the devil had Christ crucified and this time seemed to have conquered God’s anointed. But when Jesus was raised from the dead, the devil was defeated. However, he did not surrender; instead, he turned his efforts from Christ to Christians. Using the corrupt empire of Rome, the devil implemented a campaign of persecution against believers. The war rages, with the devil and his allies (Rome and false emperor worship) against Christ and his elect (the church). Rev. 16:16 refers to the battle between good and evil, not a literal end-of-the-world conflict. If we are to understand the battle to be an end-of-the-world conflict, then we have several problems. For example, according to verse 13, the generals in this campaign are frogs.

But a more challenging problem lies in that Armageddon has reference to Mount Megiddo. It actually means “hill of Megiddo.” Har signifies “hill of,” or “mount of,” or “mountain of.” Interestingly, the Bible does not reveal a literal mountain by this name. Instead, this has probable reference to the mountains that were near the town of Megiddo. The Bible does say that Megiddo had its three hilly regions, according to Josh. 17:11. Other Bible references tell us of Megiddo’s towns, its waters, and its valley. But no mention is made of a Mount of Megiddo. This should serve to tip us off that the book of Revelation signifies something other than a literal understanding of a literal battle in a nonexistent mountain. The area around Megiddo was the site where many famous battles were fought, some which pertain to religious history, and others to secular history. For instance, Deborah and Barak had defeated Sisera and his army here in Judg. 5:19. King Saul, along with his son Jonathan, was slain in this region by the Philistines, according to 1 Sam. 31:1–6. Josiah was put to death in Megiddo by Pharaoh Neco in 2 Ki. 23:29–30. It was also in this same area where Gideon’s three hundred men defeated the Midianites in Judg. 7. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, this region has “witnessed perhaps a greater number of bloody encounters than have ever stained a like area of the world’s surface.” A similar remark is made in Halley’s Bible Handbook. In describing the area it says, “More blood has been shed around this hill than any other spot on earth.”

In Revelation, John sees Armageddon as the symbolic place where Rome is destroyed and her hold over Christians broken. Armageddon in Rev. 16:16 is not used with reference to an ultimate physical battle. Instead, it stands for any conflict that exists between good and evil. Armageddon is a symbol of great victory by the Lord over the enemies of his people. When John wrote to these believers who were suffering greatly at the hands of an evil Roman empire, he was reminding them that God was still in control and that his son would be victorious. The suffering would stop when Rome met its Armageddon. Similarly, we use the word Waterloo to refer to an overwhelming defeat. And when we do we are not misunderstood. For example, we might say that someone will meet his Waterloo in a particular encounter. When using this term, we are not implying that the battle we are speaking of is the one that was in this village of Waterloo in central Belgium where Napoleon was defeated on June 18, 1815. Instead, we mean that someone will suffer a crushing defeat like Napoleon did at Waterloo. We use the idea of Waterloo to pertain to other conflicts also that have occurred even outside the region of Waterloo itself. Prior to there having been a Waterloo, there was a Megiddo. And, all down through history this region has been known as a bloody battleground. Megiddo had come to stand, in Jewish and therefore in early Christian minds, for a great and decisive struggle.

We must resist the urge of reading too much into this text. John does not discuss some end-time battle where Jesus leads his people into a carnal campaign with the forces of the devil. Jesus is not that kind of King, nor is his kingdom that sort of kingdom. He made this clear when he told Pilate in Jn. 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here.” Since the kingdom of Jesus is not carnal, there will not be a literal carnal battle. John sees the defeat of Rome as having been at Mount Megiddo, or as an Armageddon. The Armageddon to which John refers in Rev. 16:16 is a symbolic description of a great decisive spiritual battle between the army of Satan and the forces of God, which would determine the fate of each. This battle was fought and won by the Lord in the complete defeat of the Roman Empire and paganism behind which Rome threw its total power. To look for a physical military battle between human armies to be found in northern Palestine at some future date is completely without scriptural support and foreign to the spirit and purpose of Revelation.

Now this does not mean that the book of Revelation has no meaning for us. Neither does it mean that the term Armageddon will have no meaning for believers today. Both have a great meaning. The Revelation letter in every generation shows that the faithful Christian will ultimately overcome and be more than a conqueror through the Lord. God will avenge the faithful, and their enemies will untimely be defeated. Regardless of the obstacles the church, the Lord’s spiritual army will prevail and become the victors through Christ because “they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11). As we consider the heavy persecution and martyrdom that were inflicted upon the early church by tyrants such as Emperors Nero and Domitian, the thought of an ultimate victory in Jesus must have been very comforting to those who were suffering so cruelly and unjustly at the hands of these wicked rulers. And how applicable to them is the phrase they did not love their lives to the death. Though they willingly yielded to torture and execution, the hope of God within their hearts could not be destroyed — their reward awaited them in glory. As the beautiful promise of Rev. 2:10 says, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Just because this had an immediate application does not mean that we cannot benefit from it. Down through the years, the Lord has had many enemies, but they, too, will remain defeated by his invincible, omnipotent power. The only victors to stand triumphantly in the Battle of Armageddon are those who are on the side of the Lord of hosts. In view of this, we must respond to that timeless exhortation given so long ago by Joshua when he said in Josh. 24:15, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” When one makes the decision that he will choose the side of the Lord, then whatever the battle, he will be victorious.

Armageddon is not some end time disaster, whether a battle between armies or an earth-ending disaster from outer space. It was and is an indication that God rules and that he reigns and that he will be victorious. All enemies of God and all enemies of righteousness will meet their Armageddon. Good will always rule out if we have made the decision to be on the side of God. Anytime there is a conflict between good and evil there is an underlying spiritual battle of eternal importance. Sometimes evil will win those conflicts. Sometimes it seems that wrong will rule the day. Often it seems like the world has gone totally mad and that sin and unrighteousness will come out on top. Today, believers are scorned and ridiculed by the media. Men of integrity and morality are considered threats to our way of life while men like Larry Flint and his kind are touted as good for society. Christians witness the wholesale slaughter of innocent babies in abortion clinics and conclude that all is lost. Open homosexuality is not only on the increase but it is being touted as a good thing, and Bible believers conclude that we are plunging headlong into Sodom and Gomorrah. When we consider all the civil, criminal, and immoral victories the devil has won, we tend to conclude there is nothing that can be done. But don’t give up and don’t ever surrender. The devil and his allies might win a few battles, but the war is far from over. Just remember when all seems to be lost, the devil and his allies will meet their Armageddon. Christ will be triumphant.