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Armageddon

SERIES: Standing Firm #5 of 6

2006-10-08

PRODUCTION #: 1035

SPEAKER: Shawn Boonstra

It's just a word, not even an English word, but it is rich with meaning for English speaking people. We use it to describe disasters and catastrophes of apocalyptic proportions. Newscasters have used it to describe the horrors of war. Movie producers have used it to describe what might happen if a giant meteor were to collide with the earth. But the Apostle John used it to describe the battle of all battles, and with tensions rising in the Middle East, many students of Bible prophecy are wondering: Are we sitting poised on the eve of Armageddon?

The valley of Megiddo isn't very big. It's only about 20 square miles and lies among three mountain peaks. One of the mountains is Mount Tabor, which some people believe to be the location of the Transfiguration on the Mount. To the south of Mount Tabor is Mount Gilboa, where King Saul and Jonathan died; and across the valley, to the west, is the most famous of the three mountains, Mount Carmel, where the prophet Elijah defeated the priests of Baal.

It might be a small valley, but this piece of real estate has seen more of these events than just about any other place on earth. That is probably because it sits near the crossroads of the ancient world. From the valley of Megiddo, you could take a road north into Europe, south into Egypt and Africa, or east to the Middle East and Asia Minor; and because the roads all converged in and around the valley of Megiddo, this became the place where the armies of the ancient east met, and fought some of their bloodiest battles.

For example, in the book of Judges, chapter four, you will find that Deborah and Barak defeated the armies of Sisera at Mount Tabor on the edge of the Megiddo Valley. And while this was certainly a military victory, it was also a spiritual victory because it represented the care of God for His chosen people. Deborah and Barak were successful only because God promised they would win.

Another good example of a decisive spiritual battle fought in the valley of Megiddo took place over on the eastern edge of the valley, just south of Mount Tabor, in a little place called Endor. This was the place where King Saul, in the face of possible military defeat at the hands of the Philistines, decided to consult a spirit medium for advice.

The result of this disastrous visit was both a military and spiritual catastrophe for the nation of Israel. Not only had the leader of God's chosen people reached the zenith of apostasy by doing something expressly forbidden in scripture, but the very next day, at Mt. Gilboa, his forces were wiped out and he was killed on the battlefield. Once again, Megiddo came to stand for a momentous struggle among God's people.

And of course, perhaps the most memorable spiritual battle fought at Megiddo was on Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a showdown. Almost all of God's people, you see, including the royal family, were worshiping the chief national god of the Canaanites. So Elijah assembled the Israelites at Mount Carmel, where he dared the priests of Baal to invoke their god to send fire from heaven to devour a sacrifice.

And at that pivotal moment in spiritual history, Elijah, standing on the mountain, overlooking the valley of Megiddo, called God's people to clean up their act. We read about his challenge in First Kings, chapter 18 and verse 21. The Bible says 
(1 Kings 18:21 NKJV):

"And Elijah came to all the people, and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.' But the people answered him not a word."

Nobody moved. Nobody said a thing. Nobody had the courage to take their stand for God, and so the contest began. The priests of Baal built an altar and sang and danced and cut themselves all day long, desperately hoping that their pagan idol could send fire from heaven. But of course nothing happened, because they had placed their faith in something false. The religion of Baal was nothing but a cheap counterfeit of the truth. At the end of the day, it was Elijah's turn. He uttered a short, simple prayer, and the Bible says, God sent fire from heaven so hot that it devoured both the sacrifice and the altar.

It turned out to be one of the most decisive moments in sacred history. It was a final call to a wandering people to take their stand for God, and for the 450 Israelites who had been serving as priests to a heathen idol, it was their last chance to do what was right. The valley of Megiddo, all through history, represents decisive battles. It is the place where important and everlasting spiritual decisions have always been made.

And that's the reason it figures so prominently in the sixteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, where John speaks about the battle of Armageddon, which is a word very closely related to the valley of Megiddo.

If you have your Bible handy you might want to pull it out and keep it open to this passage, because it's a long one. Revelation, chapter 16, beginning in verse 12, the Bible says (Revelation 16:12-16 NKJV):

"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 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."

This passage of scripture has been the subject of a lot of speculation, because the word "Armageddon" is derived from the word "Megiddo." And because this passage talks about "the battle of the great day of God Almighty," a lot of Bible students have come to the quite reasonable conclusion that John is describing a literal, physical battle that will take place in the valley of Megiddo just before Jesus comes back.

Some prominent Christian writers, for example, have described the possibility of the Russians invading Israel in behalf of the Arab states. Or maybe a massive army of millions coming from the east, perhaps from China, and marching across the Euphrates River on their way to join the fight in the valley of Megiddo.

With tensions continuing to rise in the Middle East, you can see why this would be an exciting interpretation. Other scholars have offered other plausible scenarios; and what most of them have in common is the idea that this passage in the 16th chapter of Revelation primarily describes a literal, physical battle in the actual valley of Megiddo.

But stop and examine the passage carefully sometime. While there is no doubt that it talks about a battle in the context of the great day of God Almighty, John spends more time talking about spiritual issues than military issues.

For example, he talks about unclean spirits and he talks about devils working miracles. He also talks about the dragon, which we know from the 12th chapter of Revelation is the devil. A false prophet is also mentioned, and so is the beast, who demands worship, and the fifteenth verse also has a warning to be ready for the Second Coming of Christ.

Weigh all the evidence and ask yourself: What message is John trying to get across? Is it possible that we have become so enraptured with a little piece of real estate in the Middle East that we are entirely missing the point?

Students of the book of Revelation have often noticed that Revelation is not a very original book. Some scholars have actually estimated that about two-thirds of the language of the book of Revelation has actually been borrowed, or even quoted directly from other parts of the Bible. Now, this is particularly true of the book of Daniel.

For example, when the book of Revelation describes a mysterious beast coming out of the sea in Revelation 13, it bears a striking resemblance to the four beasts that come up out of the sea in the seventh chapter of Daniel. What John is doing is using well-known imagery to get his point across.

Another good example of this is the description of people being forced to worship an image in Revelation 13 or face certain death. That brings to mind the story of Daniel three where Nebuchadnezzar tried to force Daniel's friends to worship a golden image or face the fiery furnace.

The story of Armageddon in the sixteenth chapter of Revelation works exactly the same way. John is using imagery from the Old Testament to make an important point. First of all, he describes the Euphrates River drying up to make way for the kings of the east. Now, why does he use the Euphrates River?

Well, because it was the river that ran right through the ancient city of Babylon. The Euphrates was one of Babylon's best military defenses, because nobody had to leave the city to get water. If an army came and surrounded Babylon, the people could survive for years, and there was little chance that anybody would ever penetrate the massive walls of Babylon. Thanks to the Euphrates, Babylon was a completely impenetrable fortress, or so they thought. 

It turns out that the Euphrates River was also their greatest weakness, because it created a vulnerable spot in their defenses. People couldn't go over the wall, or through the wall, but they could conceivably go under the wall, and as a matter of fact, that's exactly how Babylon fell.

When Cyrus, the Persian general, saw the Euphrates flowing under the massive walls of Babylon, he knew exactly what to do. He ordered his men to dig 180 channels on each side of the river, until the water dropped low enough to create a virtual highway into the city. He literally dried up the Euphrates River; and once he was inside, there was only one last obstacle, a pair of walls that ran the length of the river with locked gates in them.

Now, the fifth chapter of Daniel describes what was going on inside the city that night. Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was throwing a blasphemous party to prove that Babylon could never fall. Even though there was an army from the east parked in his backyard, Belshazzar really believed that nothing could happen. And to prove his point, he had his men drag out some of the most important spoils of past Babylonian victories, including the temple vessels from Jerusalem.

"Why should we worry?" he said, "we've got a wall around this city so thick that you can drive two chariots side by side along the top, and it's so high there's not a chance any army could climb over it. And we've got so much food in this city we can go for 20 years before we have to go outside. And on top of that, we have a limitless supply of water."

He really thought nothing could happen, but today, Belshazzar is a symbol for anyone who thinks that self-sufficiency is enough. He's a symbol of all those who doubt the Word of God and place their faith in their own accomplishments.

I personally have trouble believing that Belshazzar had never heard of his grandfather's faith in God, or had never heard about the dream of the golden statue that predicted the fall of Babylon. At some point, he must have heard about those things. He just chose to ignore it. Like so many people today, he chose to believe his will was stronger than God's Word.

But then while everybody was drinking and making a mockery of sacred things, God sent a startling reminder that Cyrus the Persian was going to overthrow Babylon. We read about it in Daniel, chapter five, beginning in verse five, where it is written (Daniel 5:5, 6 NKJV):

"In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other."

A severed, bloodless hand wrote just four words on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. None of the wise men of the kingdom could tell him what it meant, so somebody sent for Daniel, who interpreted the words.

"Belshazzar," he said, "I'm afraid it's not good news. It says, Numbered, numbered, you are weighed in the balances and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians."

Belshazzar thought the party would never end. He thought that he was indestructible, but that night, God informed him that nothing lasts forever. There will come a point where you will be held accountable.

And if Belshazzar had only read the book of Isaiah, he would have seen that God had predicted the fall of Babylon in graphic detail, right down to the draining of the Euphrates River. You know, God even named the man who would do it in Isaiah, chapter 44, beginning in verse 27. Listen to what the Bible says (Isaiah 44:27-28; Isaiah 45:1 NKJV):

"Who says to the deep, Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers;" who says of Cyrus, "He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut."

It was written more than 100 years before Cyrus was born, and, you know, God got it right, right down to the last detail. Everybody in Babylon was drunk that night, and as a result, the guards forgot to lock the gates along the river. So Cyrus marched his armies into the city on the dried-up bed of the Euphrates.

It was one of the most decisive moments in military history. The great city of Babylon fell to armies from the east. It was the city they thought would live forever. And, you know, it's this story that John is reminding us of in Revelation 16, when he talks about the battle of Armageddon.

Notice the components of this story: the river Euphrates is dried up, the armies from the east march into the city, and Babylon falls. Those are precisely the same events depicted in the story of Armageddon.

Let's read it one more time, and now pay attention carefully. It's found in Revelation, chapter 16 and we'll read verses 12 and 19, where it is written:
(Revelation 16:12, 19 NKJV)

"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath."

You know, sometimes we get so caught up in minor details that we miss the big picture. John is not just talking about a literal, physical battle in Revelation 16. This is much bigger than that. He's trying to direct our attention to the fact that time will not last forever. Ancient, literal Babylon fell, and modern spiritual Babylon is going to fall, too. God will not tolerate pain, and suffering, and sorrow and death forever. It just hurts Him too much. He would rather see it come to an end, but because He is not willing that any should perish, He calls us to make a decision just before that moment comes.

And that's where Armageddon comes into the picture. You might notice in the 16th verse of this chapter that John is very deliberate about choosing that word, Armageddon. Listen. Revelation 16, verse 16 says (Revelation 16:16 NKJV):

"And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon."

Now, the book of Revelation is written in Greek, but here John reverts to Hebrew for just a moment. He says that God gathers everybody together into a place called Armageddon. Now, what does that mean? Does it mean that God is going to literally gather the whole world into a little valley of about 20 square miles?

Of course not, the language is symbolic, and the word Armageddon in Hebrew is Har-Meggidon, which literally means the "Mountain of Megiddo." And the dominant mountain of Megiddo is Mount Carmel, the place where the prophet Elijah gathered everybody together to make an important spiritual decision.

Everybody had to make a choice. The entire nation of Israel was gathered at the Mountain of Megiddo or Armageddon, and it was time to make a final decision. Were they going to serve God, or were they going to turn their backs on Him?

The battle of Armageddon in the book of Revelation is a repeat of that moment. In Revelation, John is telling us that the whole world will be faced with a decision. And the issues are not military, they're spiritual. Jesus is coming, so God gathers all of us on the Mountain of Megiddo, to make a decision. If money is your god, if idols are your god, if you are your own god, then feel free to follow those things, God says. But if I am God, then follow me.

Armageddon is not a war with tanks, and guns, and fighter planes. It's a war for your allegiance. The battle doesn't take place in the Middle East. It takes place in your heart. And because God paid such a high price for your salvation, and because He loves you desperately, He calls on you to make a decision. "Will you follow me?" He asks.

And when you stand under the cross and look up at the battered, broken, bleeding body of Jesus, you realize that He's hanging there for you. When you finally realize that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, how could you decide any other way? How could anyone conceive of saying "no" to Jesus? How could anybody put off their decision?

You know, there once was a reporter working in his hotel room in Chicago, when he heard a terrible racket in the hallway. When he opened the door to investigate, he found that people were fleeing for their lives because of a fire. He closed his door and called his editor.

"You are not going to believe this," he said. "But I'm on the 18th floor of a burning hotel, and we are going to get the story of a lifetime!"

"You fool!" said the editor. "Get out of that building. You are going to die!"

"Ah, don't worry," said the reporter, "I've got my escape all planned out."

And that was that, there was no talking the reporter out of it. So the editor started to take notes as the reporter described what it was like to listen to people trying to get out of the building, and then, eventually, the time came for the reporter to make his escape. He opened his hotel door and crawled down the hallway, only to discover that his route of escape had been cut off. He crawled back to his room and started to panic. He opened his window and screamed for help.

A fireman, way down on the sidewalk below, heard him and looked up. He couldn't believe that some guy was still up there when everybody had time to get out.

"You are going to have to jump!" he called. They spread the net.

The reporter got up on his windowsill, took a deep breath, pinched his eyes shut, and jumped. He missed the net, and died.

Some people think they have their escape route all planned out, but God says the time to decide is today. Not only is He gathering the whole world on Mount Carmel for one last time, but He's also gathering us on Mount Calvary to examine the evidence that God is love, and He's asking you to make a decision to spend eternity in His presence.

Today, once more the writing is on the wall. All of heaven is watching and the prophetic clock is racing toward midnight. Jesus is coming, a king from the east, and Babylon will fall; and at this moment you can still decide to be ready for Him. The choice is yours to make.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, today, we are deciding that there's no time to waste. As we see what your Son did for us at the cross of Calvary, and we contemplate your love for us, we decide today that you are everything you claim to be; and we give our hearts entirely to you. And we pray it in Jesus' name, amen.

Scriptures Used in “Armageddon”

"And Elijah came to all the people, and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.' But the people answered him not a word."
—1 Kings 18:21 NKJV

"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 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."
—Revelation 16:12-16 NKJV

"In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other."
—Daniel 5:5, 6 NKJV

"Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers;' who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."' Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut."
—Isaiah 44:27-28; 45:1 NKJV

"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath."
—Revelation 16:12, 19 NKJV

"And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon."
—Revelation 16:16 NKJV