Armageddon: What? Where? When? / Part 2

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Scripture references are from the King James Version Bible.
(This message is also included in the hardback book, J. Vernon McGee On Prophecy,
Copyright 1993 by Thru the Bible Radio.)

And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. (Revelation 9:13, 14)

That river has been a boundary. In fact, the meaning of the name Hebrew is "the man from the other side." Abraham is called a Hebrew in Genesis 14:13, which means he came from the other side of the Euphrates River. That has been the boundary between the East and the West. If Kipling was accurate, "East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet," the Euphrates River has been the separating point. Now God says He is going to pull the rug out and is going to let the hosts out of the East march beyond the Euphrates for the first time.

Note Revelation 16:12. "And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." That’s the white man’s dilemma today, I can assure you, because in that area is the majority of the population of the world.

You put India and China together and let them march out there before us, and you will see that the white man is outnumbered. The East has never moved so far into the West. Oh, Genghis Khan came, Solomon came, but they were stopped.

Islam attempted to come up into Europe, but Charles Martel stopped it. They also attempted to come through Australia and were stopped there. But the Orient so far has never yet moved. Why? Well, I don’t know. Napoleon said that China was a sleeping giant, and God pity the generation that wakes it up. Well, we have waked it up. And out of the Orient will pour these multitudes in this final conflagration. May I say to you, it is breathtaking to comprehend.

Let me turn to the eleventh chapter of the Book of Daniel and lift out three verses here:

And at the time of the end [not the end of the time but the time of the end, meaning the Great Tribulation period] shall the king of the south push at him: and 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.

He shall enter also into the glorious land [that’s Palestine], and many countries shall be overthrown.… But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him [that’s Antichrist who is troubled by this gigantic movement out of the East]: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. (Daniel 11:40, 41, 44)

We find marching at this time something that actually is tremendous. They’re marching from every direction against Jerusalem. I am not at this point going to attempt to fill in details. It’s breathtaking to begin with, and you may say this is oversimplification to leave it like this, but I’m going to leave it. I’d rather do that than to do what was done a number of years ago.

A man of God, a man whom I respect, an excellent preacher, went out on a limb in prophecy. He identified the king of the south as Great Britain and named Mussolini as Antichrist! That sounds absurd in our day.

And that’s the danger of trying to nail down specifics, especially in a day when we are not told to try to figure out all the details. Let’s keep in mind that the true believer is not looking for the battle or the War of Armageddon or for the time of Armageddon.

We are "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). I’ll leave it at that particular juncture.

Purpose of Armageddon

The War of Armageddon is, first of all, a great rebellion against God. Consider this language:

And they worshipped the dragon [Satan] which gave power unto the beast [Antichrist]: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:4, 5)

Forty-two months is the last half of the Great Tribulation period. During that period Antichrist is a world dictator, and it is the worst period the world has ever seen.

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear. (Revelation 13:6-9)

And then he goes on to say:

He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword.… (Revelation 13:10)

The message to God’s people who remain on the earth in that day (God have mercy on them!) is not to resist – this is Satan’s day. God is taking His hands off for this brief period of time. This is hell’s day on the earth, because God will let Satan have that. It’s a rebellion against God. The rebellion of man began as just a little pimple on the surface in the Garden of Eden. Now the sin of man leads to the man of sin and to humanity’s great running sore of rebellion against Almighty God.

During that period they are going to try to exterminate every vestige of God on the earth. They are going to drive Him from His universe if they can. Naturally, they are going to come against the city that has represented God down through the ages. And at this particular time there will be 144,000 witnesses from the tribes of Israel. The church (meaning every true believer of the church age) is gone.

The church will have been caught up to meet the Lord in the air and will be with Him in heaven during this period. On the earth there will be these witnesses, and their headquarters will be Jerusalem. So, for those men from every quarter who want to get rid of God, the starting place will be Jerusalem, of course, and the target will be those who are witnessing for Him. If they can destroy the witnesses, they will have gotten rid of God on the earth. By the way, that’s exactly what multitudes are attempting to do even at this very moment.

Now we may not be able to pinpoint the beginning or the course of Armageddon, but we sure know how it’s going to end.

End of Armageddon

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And 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. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)

This gathers up all the prophecies that tell about all nations being gathered against Jerusalem. Christ is coming to the earth. He is coming to put down the rebellion that is here on this earth. One of the purposes of His coming and one of the reasons that Armageddon must take place is that there is rebellion in the heart of man today. Rebellion is actually being held back a great deal, although it may not seem like it. The Spirit of God is hindering evil, but when He is removed for that brief Great Tribulation period, the rebellion will break out on this earth in a tremendous way.

A former president of the United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Charles Malek, a Christian from Lebanon, made this statement: "If I were asked to choose between the dialectical materialism of the Soviet and the practiced commercialism of the West, I’m not sure I would choose the Western brand.…We have lost the sense of the eternal battle raging between Christ and the devil." And Armageddon is the consummation of that rebellion. Christ’s return to the earth brings it to a conclusion. We have lost the sense of there being a struggle going on in the world today. However, the pitched battle between light and darkness, between right and wrong, between God and Satan, between that which is good and right and that which is evil and wrong will culminate in this tremendous War of Armageddon.

Christ is going to put down this rebellion that is in the heart of man. It is quite interesting to note the men who have led in rebellion and their final reaction. Let me give you a remarkable quotation from George Bernard Shaw that is rarely used. Near the end of his life he wrote an article entitled "Too True to be Good" which contains this paragraph:

The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, have led directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their name I helped to destroy the faith of millions of worshipers in the temples of a thousand creeds, and now they look at me and witness the great tragedy of an atheist who has lost his faith.

How tremendous!

Oh, my friend, the battle between light and darkness has been and is raging, but it seems that Christians are asleep. There is a war, there is a conflict, and many of us have run for cover. Let me quote from Bertrand Russell who wrote in the Atlantic Monthly way back in 1951:

Before this century ends, unless something unforeseeable occurs, one of three possibilities will have been realized. The end of human life, perhaps of all life on our planet. Second, a reversion to barbarism after a catastrophic demonization of the population of the globe. Third, a unification of the world under a single government.

He called it all unforeseeable, and to him it was, but he sensed what was coming. Scripture teaches that one world government is coming, and it will be as godless as it possibly can be. But Christ is coming to put down rebellion. You see, Armageddon is necessary.

The second reason Christ is coming is to get glory to His name. He is going to declare to a rebellious and Christ-rejecting world that He is God and that He is holy! And I say reverently that it is about time He is doing it, because the world has about forgotten Him. Often I think of a line from the New York play of many years ago entitled "Green Pastures." The man who portrayed God said something thing like this, "As I look down at the earth, it looks like my children done forgot all about me." Certainly He is not being given the glory due Him. Rather, He is being blasphemed in every way possible in my own country as well as throughout the world.

Mankind needs to be reminded that God created this earth and made it a wonderful home for human beings. Who would want a home on the moon – or on any other planet out there in space? A fine looking fellow many years ago gave me a deed to a lot on the moon! He really did! Friend, I have that lot up for sale today, and I’ll be very happy to make you a good price. In our exploration of space we have not found in this vast universe another place where human beings live. Yet here on this earth they are in rebellion against their Creator! If I were God (forgive me for saying it – I don’t mean to be irreverent) I would look over this great universe, populated with created intelligences who praise My name, and when I would see little men down there lifting their midget fists against Me, I’d lean over the battlements of heaven and say, "I’m through with you – poof!" I’d blow them out of existence!

But, my friend, thank God He is not doing that. He loves this little earth. He loves the human family. He loves us to the extent that He gave His Son to die for us down here! He is patiently dealing with us, but He must get glory to Himself.

Why does God permit Russia to come down against His people? And why does God destroy the enemy? This is not senseless. Listen to God’s reason:

And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen [the Gentiles] may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. (Ezekiel 38:16)

Russia’s godless leaders have been blaspheming God for years, and people ask, "How do they get by with it?" I remember as a boy when I swiped my first watermelon. I actually thought that lightning would come out of heaven and strike me dead. But, you know, after you do that about half a dozen times, you come to the conclusion that God is not going to do anything about it. That is the feeling of mankind at the present moment. They think that God is not going to do anything about their rebellion.

God’s name is being blasphemed, and God is going to get glory to Himself. Listen to Him again:

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. (Ezekiel 39:7)

He hasn’t done that yet, but He is going to do it. This world must know that He is God, that He is holy, but that He is also the Savior.

Now, I conclude with this question: How else but by force should God put down mankind’s rebellion? If you are one who likes to criticize God for what He does, how do you think He ought to do it?

Suppose that Jesus came back to this earth tomorrow, like He came some two thousand years ago, the man of Galilee, the carpenter of Nazareth, the gentle Jesus. Suppose He goes to the Kremlin, knocks at the door and says to the man in charge, "I’m Jesus. I’m here to take over." Do you think they would say, "Wonderful, we’ve been waiting for You!"? No, more likely they would put Him before a firing squad in the morning. How do you think He could take over Russia today? He would have to break them with a rod of iron, would He not? Suppose He goes to France. Would they turn over the reins of government to Him? Suppose He goes to Rome. Not long ago I went over the Tiber and listened to a man speak. Although I could not understand what he was saying, I was told that he was telling the world how they ought to do it.

Suppose Jesus knocks on the door of the Vatican. The man with the long garment would come to the door, and the Lord Jesus would say, "I’m here to take over." What do you think he would say? I think he would say, "Now look, You’ve come a little too soon. I am doing so well that I don’t really need You." Suppose He comes to the United States and stops by the Democratic headquarters or the Republican headquarters and says, "I am here to take over." I am sure they would say, "We have all our candidates for the next presidential campaign; we don’t need You." Suppose He comes to the World Council of Churches today and says to Protestantism, "I’m here!" Would they receive Him? Perhaps you think they would. Then why don’t they receive Him today? My friend, when He comes the second time He will come exactly as He said – "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel" (Psalm 2:9).

He is a potentate, a despot. When a despot comes to power, he bowls over all opposition. Whether you like it or not, Jesus Christ will be the dictator on this earth someday. But, my friend, when He is, He will be a benevolent, wonderful dictator, and the earth will be a safe and good place to live. That is the plan in the mind of God. He has a glorious purpose for this earth. He is not going to turn it over to Satan with his minions and to evil men. The Lord Jesus is going to take it back to Himself and rule on this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Good Shepherd who has given His life for His sheep. The Lord is my Shepherd; His rod and His staff they comfort me. That rod will someday break down all opposition. That is a great comfort to us who are His own.

But if you are not going to yield to Him now, you will in that day when "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and … every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10, 11).

This is a day when God is not moving to put down rebellion. I am very frank to say that He is permitting it to escalate. Do you know why? It is because He is patient, longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all might come to the knowledge of the truth.