The Battle of Armageddon

by Michael G. Mickey

Armageddon. The mere mention of the word automatically produces frightening images in the minds of most people. People, upon hearing the word, tend to envision nuclear war, the end of all human life, and, in some cases, the destruction of the earth itself. None of this, however, is descriptive of what is actually going to take place when Armageddon takes place, as I'm about to demonstrate.

The Bible paints a clear picture concerning the fact there is going to be a time of testing for mankind the likes of which has never been seen in human history nor will ever be seen again (Matthew 24:21). This time of testing will take place during a seven-year period of time most Christians refer to as the Tribulation Period - the beginning of which will be marked by a peace treaty between Israel and her enemies seven years in duration (Daniel 9:27). The man who will bring this peace treaty will come from the revived Roman Empire - today's European Union. This coming peacemaker is the prophesied Antichrist - a man the prophet Daniel refers to as a "king of fierce countenance" in Daniel 8:23.

Although the world will hail the accomplishments of the Antichrist when he secures what appears to be a workable peace in the Middle East, a region marked by years of instability and religious and ethnic conflict, the Bible makes it clear there will be no peace.

1st Thessalonians 5:3: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Over the course of the seven years that will follow the Antichrist's rise to power, the Bible tells us the world will suffer immensely as a result of 21 specific judgments which will be sent from God to test mankind for its refusal to obey Him and worship Christ as its Savior. To name a few, there will be: natural disasters, cosmic disturbances, earthquakes, objects striking the earth from outer space, diseases running rampant, famines creating a global food shortage, a global economic crisis, and warfare unlike any ever witnessed before.

The dramatic events which will lead to Armageddon

Before describing the Battle of Armageddon itself, it's important for us to understand what will be taking place prior to it, setting the stage for the final showdown between good and evil to take place before Christ's Millennial Kingdom is set up on the earth.

At the midpoint of the seven-year Tribulation Period, approximately 3 1/2 years into the Antichrist's peace plan, the Antichrist will be assassinated, but will miraculously be resurrected (by some means) from the dead, as seen in Revelation 11:7, Revelation 13:3, Revelation 13:12, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 17:8.

This resurrection will take place for two reasons:

After the Antichrist is resurrected from the dead (by some means), his body will be empowered by Satan himself and he will make his way to a rebuilt Holy Temple of the Jews where he will proclaim himself to be god, providing supernatural evidence to support his claim - power given to him by Satan himself. This desecration of the Jewish Holy Temple is referred to as the abomination of desolation and can be found in Daniel 9:27, Revelation 13:6, 2nd Thessalonians 2:4, and Matthew 24:15.

In the Scripture below, we see a description of the Antichrist's desecration of the Temple and how his demonic power will lead him to victory over all those on earth who oppose him at the time.

Revelation 13:6-7: 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.

In the Scripture below, we see this event will take place with 3 1/2 years (42 months) remaining in the Tribulation Period - the 42 months leading up to Christ's return at Armageddon.

Revelation 13:5: 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.

What will the Antichrist do during these final 42 months? He will gain control of the world economically, socially, religiously, and militarily. In the end, he will wage all out war on the people of Israel, seeking to devour them all.

Ironically, the Antichrist, who will have miraculously delivered Israel from a turbulent and violent period of time prior to the implementation of his peace plan, will go from being their perceived hero to being a monster so terrible he will make Hitler look like a boy scout!

Antichrist's war on the Jewish people and tribulation saints

The twelfth chapter of Revelation is essentially an overview of the entire history of Israel, from the birth of Christ to the second half of the Tribulation Period leading up to the return of Christ.

In Revelation 12:7-8 we see Michael, the commander of the armies of Heaven, and his angels go to war with Satan in Heaven and cast him to the earth: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven."

Although many people fail to realize it, Satan still has limited access to the throne of God, but his access is currently limited to being that of an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), unlike before his fall when he was God's anointed cherub, an angel of great beauty and immense power (Ezekiel 28:14-17).

Satan, who is currently the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), as you have just read, is going to get his wings clipped at the midpoint of the Tribulation Period. In the aftermath of Michael's victory over Satan, Heaven will celebrate. On the earth, things will be far from happy as Satan will arrive with a vengeance!

Revelation 12:12-13: Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

In the passage above, the nation of Israel is represented by the woman. The child she brought forth? Christ, of course.

Because Satan will realize, upon his arrival on earth, all his efforts to prevent his own fate from coming to him will have been in vain, he will, realizing he can't defeat Christ head-on, wrathfully go after the next best thing: God's chosen people - the Jews - and those who've accepted Christ during the Tribulation Period, commonly referred to as tribulation saints.

It's at this time - the midpoint of the Tribulation Period - when Satan will somehow resurrect and empower the Antichrist. In turn, the Antichrist will then go after the Jewish nation and the tribulation saints in an attempt to destroy them all in one final act of defiance before Christ's return.

Jesus made it very clear to the Jewish people they should flee immediately upon seeing the Antichrist declare himself to be god for this reason. He told them to be swift in their evacuation because, once the Antichrist is satanically resurrected, his desire to destroy the Jewish people and Christians, coupled with his satanic power, will be so great only one person will be able to stop him from achieving his goals - Christ Himself.

Matthew 24:15-18: When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

The Bible indicates the woman (Israel) will flee into the wilderness when the Antichrist declares himself to be god and sets out to destroy her. There she'll be fed for time, times and a half a time - the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation Period. Most teachers of prophecy believe God has a place prepared for the Jewish people to flee to - the stone city of Petra, Jordan. I share in this opinion because the site is perfectly situated to fulfill the prophecy of the earth swallowing up the woman (Israel) to shield her from the Antichrist.

Revelation 12:14: And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Revelation 12:16: And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

After this elect group of Jewish people is tucked safely away, the Antichrist will realize God isn't going to allow him to kill them so he will turn his attentions toward the "remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ", as seen in Revelation 12:17.

The final confrontation

The Bible tells us there will be any number of battles which will take place during the Tribulation Period, including God's destruction of the Antichrist's seat of global governmental power (Babylon the Great), but the final conclusive battle is the one most of us think of when we speak of Armageddon.

Although many people envision the armies of man destroying one another in nuclear warfare when Armageddon is mentioned, that isn't the description the Bible gives us concerning what is going to take place, as I stated earlier. Although nuclear weapons assuredly will have been used by the armies of the world leading up to the event, the Battle of Armageddon will be not be a battle between the forces of mankind against one another, but the armies of earth against the returning Christ!

In preparation for Christ's return, God will lead the armies of the earth to the Middle East where they will surround Jerusalem. The forces of the Antichrist will be there, as well as the armies of the kings of the east - a group of nations which will have crossed a dried-up Euphrates River (Revelation 16:12) marching toward Jerusalem.

Revelation 16:16: And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

By the time these forces are gathered, the Antichrist will be close to achieving his goal of committing genocide against the Jewish people, having killed 2/3 of them. In their moment of desperation, the Jewish nation will cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ and He will hear them! The Battle of Armageddon will then begin in earnest!

Zechariah 13:8-9: "And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God"

Visualize this as you read on! Burn it into your memory!

Upon hearing the cry of His people, the Lord will gather the armies of Heaven - the saints of God who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior prior to the Rapture of the Church. These saints - even YOU if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - will accompany Christ when He makes His triumphant ride to earth to take the planet away from those who have nearly destroyed it.

At the time of Christ's return at the Battle of Armageddon, the Bible tells us the world - likely as a result of nuclear warfare (nuclear winter), volcanic eruptions, and objects striking the earth from space - will be enveloped in darkness.

Matthew 24:29: Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Suddenly, as the survivors of the seven-year Tribulation Period are huddled in darkness wondering what is going to come next, a burst of energy like a bolt of lightning will envelope the world in light.

As unrepentant mankind looks up, the nations will see the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens and begin to wail because they will know they have waited too long to accept Him and their fate is sealed. It is within that period of time Jesus Christ, whose countenance will be shining like the sun, will appear in the skies dressed for battle!

Matthew 24:27: For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Matthew 24:30: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Revelation 19:11-13: 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.

Upon the Lord's feet touching the earth in Jerusalem, His power will be so immense the Mount of Olives will melt like wax beneath His feet and split right down the middle! Jesus Christ has returned!

Zechariah 14:4: And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Squaring off against the armies of the Antichrist upon His return, Jesus will destroy them all, not with swords, rockets, tanks, or aircraft, but with the sword that proceeds out of His mouth - the Word of God. For all it's hype, the battle of Armageddon will be over in an instant! The Antichrist's attempt to stand against Christ will amount to nothing! Jesus will speak and it will be GAME OVER for the Antichrist.

In the aftermath of the Lord's victory, He will seize the Antichrist and his False Prophet, cast them into Hell, and set up His Millennial Kingdom upon the earth where Christ will reign from Jerusalem for a period of 1,000 years prior to the beginning of Christ's eternal reign.

Are we close to Armageddon?

As you have just read, the event that will begin the Tribulation Period leading up to the Battle of Armageddon will be a peace plan seven years in length between Israel and her enemies. As I'm sure you're aware, all the world's leaders are currently striving to get such a plan in place.

Soon, I believe, a leader from the European Union will come forward with this plan and the clock will begin counting down the final seven years of history prior to the return of Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.

If you're reading this and you're a Christian, there is more reason to believe the Rapture of the Church may be coming in the near future to remove you and the rest of the Church from the earth in preparation for God to administer His wrath against a world that has rejected Him than at any previous time in recorded history. As such, we need to be reaching out to the lost, trying to lead them to the only hope of salvation for mankind - a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While our safety as a Church is assured in the Scriptures, there are many who are going to find themselves left behind if we don't act now so it's imperative we lead as many as we can to Christ while we're still here to do so.

If you're reading this having never accepted Christ, you need to do so at once! Only those who've accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be spared the horrors of the Tribulation Period when He comes for His Church so you'd be wise to be ready to go! Want to know how you can accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Click HERE.