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GoBeDo ministriesGo Be and Do as the Lord commands!
Study the Prophecies of Revelation and Daniel |
last update: 14 August 2005 |
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Armageddon The battle of Armageddon is the sixth plague. Strong's Concordance 717-of Hebrew origin 02022 and 04023; TDNT - 1:468,79; n pr loc AV - Armageddon 1; 1 Armageddon = "the hill or city of Megiddo" 1) In Rev. 16:16 the scene of a the struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battle plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories, of Barak over the Canaanites, and of Gideon over the Midianites; and for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah. Hence in Revelation a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. The RSV translates the name as Har-Magedon, i.e. the hill (as Ar is the city) of Megiddo. 04023 M@giddown (Zech. 12:11) {meg-id-done'} or M@giddow {meg-id-do'} from 01413;; n pr loc AV - Megiddo 11, Megiddon 1; 12 Megiddo or Megiddon = "place of crowds" 1) ancient city of Canaan assigned to Manasseh and located on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon 6 miles (10 km) from Mount Carmel and 11 miles (18 km) from Nazareth Easton's Bible Dictionary Armageddon-occurs only in Rev. 16:16 (R.V., "Har-Magedon"), as symbolically designating the place where the "battle of that great day of God Almighty" (ver. 14) shall be fought. The word properly means the "mount of Megiddo." It is the scene of the final conflict between Christ and Antichrist. The idea of such a scene was suggested by the Old Testament great battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon (q.v.). Megiddo was a place of slaughter where bloody battles were fought in ancient times. (2 Chronicles 35:22; Judges 5:19; 2Kings 9:27; 23:29) There is no literal place called Armageddon. The only time the word is used is in Revelation. And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the east, And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. "Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his shame." And they gathered them together to the place, which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Revelation 16:12-16 Notice that it is here that Jesus is coming like a thief. Heard that one before? Armageddon describes a place or state the world reaches. This battle will be a worldwide battle. Contrary to the belief of many, Armageddon will not be fought exclusively in the Middle East. The world will be brought to the mountain of Slaughter because of their rebellion. Just like in the days of Elijah on Mount Carmel the world will see the wrath of God Almighty. The actions of God will cause the ten kings of the world to unite in battle against the King of Kings. Satan's global kingdom will be destroyed. Drying up of the river Euphrates and The Kings of the East The river Euphrates today runs out of Turkey through Syria and into Iraq. Many interpret the fulfillment of the Battle of Armageddon near this river. It is applied literally to make a way for the kings of the east, China, to attack Israel. Why would China even bother to attack Israel by crossing this river? Why wouldn't they just drop bombs from aircraft? On the surface this may appear to be an appropriate interpretation, but there is a much broader meaning to this text. Revelation 16:12 is using the symbols of Old Testament language and applying it spiritually to a global war. Easton's Bible Dictionary The Euphrates is first mentioned in Gen. 2:14 as one of the rivers of Paradise. It is next mentioned in connection with the covenant which God entered into with Abraham (15:18), when he promised to his descendants the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates (comp. Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:4), a covenant promise afterwards fulfilled in the extended conquests of David (2 Sam. 8:2-14; 1 Chr. 18:3; 1 Kings 4:24). It was then the boundary of the kingdom to the north-east. In the ancient history of Assyria, and Babylon, and Egypt many events are recorded in which mention is made of the "great river." Just as the Nile represented in prophecy the power of Egypt, so the Euphrates represented the Assyrian power (Isa. 8:7; Jer. 2:18). In the Old Testament (Genesis 15:18) the river was to be a natural barrier of protection for God's people on the northern boundary. When Israel rejected God, nations from the North forded the river and they captured or destroyed the tribes of Israel. The difference in Revelation is that God comes out of the North to deal with the devil and the wicked. Remember divine punishment always comes from the north. "Out of the North comes golden splendor; Around God is awesome majesty." Job 37:22(Jeremiah 6:22; Jeremiah 25:9; 46:20; 50:2-3 The drying up of the river Euphrates makes way for the kings of the East. These kings of the East are not China, but the Father and the Son. In the Interlinear Bible, Greek translation it reads: from (the) rising of (the) sun. They are coming to destroy the wicked and gather up the righteous. They will put an end to the ploys of the devil to kill God's people. "For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." Matthew 24:27 But Jesus isn't coming alone; the Father is coming with Him. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne (The Father), and from the wrath of the Lamb (Jesus); for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?' Revelation 6:15-17 The river Euphrates is involved with the 6th trumpet and the 6th plague. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they might kill a third of mankind. And the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. Revelation 9:13-16 A bit history The Promise Land that God intended for Israel to have, reached from the Nile in the South to the Euphrates in the North. The river Euphrates occasionally causes flooding and causes great destruction. So the releasing of the 4 angels bound at the Euphrates to kill a third of mankind is describing a war that comes from the North. Notice these verses about a flood. "Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Chilean, And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through…Isaiah 8:6-8 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26 The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; On them I will pour out My wrath like water. Hosea 5:10 The point is that war is often referred to as a flood in the Bible because both cause great destruction. The fact is that the Euphrates is mentioned in connection with 6th trumpet war implies that the coming destruction will be great. Look at the number of the troops. We don't even have that many serving in the military right now in the whole world. This war will be of a great magnitude. The sixth trumpet war is not Armageddon. Armageddon is the 6th plague and they are two separate wars. A bit of history Ancient Babylon "sat" upon the river Euphrates. (Jeremiah 51:63-64) The city was invincible, as there was a never-ending source of water so no one could set siege and starve the people into surrender. They were heavily armed and no one could overcome them. King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem in 605BC and besieged it. Jerusalem was conquered and taken into captivity for 70 years. (Daniel 9:2) Babylon became proud and arrogant. 'The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?' Daniel 4:30 In Jeremiah 50:29 we read: "Summon many against Babylon, . . . Repay her according to her work; According to all that she has done, so do to her For she has become arrogant against the Lord, Against the holy One of Israel. 41:"Behold a people is coming from the north, And a great nation and many kings Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. 51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad. Suddenly Babylon has fallen and been broken. . . . Jeremiah 51:7-8 45:"Come forth from her midst, My people. . . . "It is I who says to the depth of the sea, 'Be dried up!' And I will make your rivers dry. "It is I who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire. And he declares of Jerusalem, She will be built,' And of the temple, Your foundation will be laid. Isaiah 44:27-28 45:1 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, Who I have taken by the right hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze, and cut through their iron bars. God raised up Cyrus. The very night of ancient Babylon's fall, the king and his men were drunk with wine. They even drank from the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. (Daniel 5) While they were drunk they forgot to shut the gates fully. Cyrus had diverted the water of the Euphrates by digging trenches and the water level became low enough for them to enter under the doors of the city and kill the king and conquer Babylon. Then he issued a decree to let Israel go. (Ezra 1) Cyrus came from the east and was a "type" of Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation uses the places and the terminology and events in the Old Testament and then applies them universally to Mystery Babylon and Jesus Christ during the endtimes. God is going to dry up the authority of Mystery Babylon and the devil's world order will begin to break apart. And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and whose who dwell on the earth were made drunk with wine of her immorality.' Revelation 17:1-2 5 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. Notice that John is in the Spirit. We too, must be in The Spirit to understand spiritual things. And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, And upon her forehead a name was written, a mystery "BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
This is not ancient Babylon and the river Euphrates is not a literal river, but a spiritual river! John tells us what the waters represents. And he said to me, "The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are people and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. Revelation 17:15 16 "And the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire. For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God should be fulfilled. The ten horns will come to hate this one-world religion and they will destroy it.
18 "And the woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth.' A woman in prophecy represents a church, and this woman represents the one-world church. The ten horns are ten kings that will stand over political affairs of the world after the world has been divided into ten sectors. Remember the ten toes in Daniel 2.
And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues . . .Revelation 18:4
And another angel, a second one, followed, saying,"Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality." Revelation 14:8 When we read these passages in the Spirit and apply the meaning spiritually we see this does not apply to the Middle East, but to a spiritual Israel, the people of God. Mystery Babylon is not ancient Babylon, but modern Babylon. Just as Revelation 11:8 speaks of places mythically called Sodom and Egypt. 3 Unclean spirits like frogs The Bible clearly identifies these unclean spirits. They are demons who influence the kings of the earth to kill the saints and make war against Jesus. God warned king Josiah not to fight against Egypt, but he wouldn't listen and he perished in the battle at Megiddo. (2 Chronicles 35:20-24; 2 Kings 23:29.) Just as Josiah the kings of the earth will go against the will of God and go out to fight. They will meet their destruction at the appearance of Jesus. The outcome of the war "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. Revelation 19:11-20
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©GoBeDo 2004-2005 14 August 2005
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