Armageddon
- Michael E.B. Maher
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
As with the first resurrection, certain events must take place before the second resurrection can occur. In this section, we will briefly outline the three primary events that must precede the resurrection of condemnation. These events are:
1. Armageddon
2. The millennial reign of Christ
3. The destruction of Gog and Magog
1 Armageddon
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 16:13-16)
During the three years in which the church is absent, God’s wrath will be poured out upon the earth through various judgments. A significant portion of the world’s population will perish during this time. In one judgment alone, an angelic army numbering two hundred million will invade the earth, destroying one third of humanity (Revelation 9:13–19).
Even so, despite the enormous loss of life, the majority of mankind—approximately two-thirds—will still be alive at the conclusion of this period.
Once God’s wrath has been completed, Satan and the Antichrist will know that the return of the Lord Jesus to establish His millennial reign is imminent. In an attempt to prevent His reign, they will assemble a vast army to oppose Him and His saints at His coming. The passage above describes Satan (the dragon), the Antichrist (the beast), and the False Prophet gathering this army at Armageddon to make war against the Lord.
It is estimated that this army will number approximately 1.5 million. Two critical constraints limit the size of the Antichrist’s forces. First, the Valley of Megiddo can accommodate no more than approximately 1.5 million troops when arrayed for battle. Second, the Antichrist’s kingdom would be stretched to its absolute logistical limits to field an army of that size; any force larger than this would be impossible to sustain.
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great." And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
(Revelation 19:11-21)
Although this passage describes the Antichrist and the kings of the earth gathering their armies to make war against the Lord and His saints, the conflict itself will be entirely one-sided. The Lord will destroy the Antichrist’s armies with the sword of His mouth, while the saints simply stand by and witness their destruction.
All who followed and worshiped the Antichrist will be destroyed on that day. However, because the Antichrist and the False Prophet are immortal, they will not be destroyed. Instead, they will be captured by the Lord’s angels and cast alive into the lake of fire—the place Scripture calls the second death. These two will be the first ever cast into that eternal fire.
Satan and his angels will also be seized on that day and imprisoned in the bottomless pit for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1–3). In other words, they will be removed from the earth for the duration of the Lord’s millennial reign.
As an aside, it is noteworthy that the Holy Spirit describes the Antichrist’s army as an army of men on horseback. This is because, during the three years of God’s wrath, the world’s infrastructure—including all military capabilities—will be utterly destroyed. As a result, only primitive weapons such as swords, shields, and spears will remain.
Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the Lord neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And in that day it shall be-- That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be "The Lord is one," And His name one. All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbour, and raise his hand against his neighbour’s hand; Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule, on the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.
(Zechariah 14:3-15)
Zechariah reveals that when the Lord Jesus returns, His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives—the same Mount of Olivet from which He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9–12). Earlier, we saw that at the beginning of the great tribulation, the Antichrist’s forces—comprised of the surrounding nations—will invade Israel (Zechariah 14:2). This passage continues that prophecy by describing the judgment of those nations at the Lord’s return in the battle of Armageddon.
Zechariah provides a vivid account of the fate awaiting the Antichrist’s army: by the word of the Lord, their flesh will dissolve as they stand, their eyes will dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.
As a further aside, it is important to note that under the Antichrist’s reign, the nation of Israel will be completely destroyed. By the time the Lord returns, the nation as it presently exists will be no more, and the Old Covenant will have passed away.
Michael E.B. Maher
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