Slides: The Last Battle - Armageddon

The Last Battle: Armageddon
by David Feddes

God against Gog

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him ³ and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army… (Ezekiel 38:1-4)

Gog’s plot is in God’s plan

^38:15 You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Wrath and earthquake

¹⁸ But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God, my wrath will be roused in my anger. ¹⁹ For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ … all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.

Sword, hail, fire

²¹ I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. ²² With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. ²³ So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.

God drives Gog into a trap

^1 ”“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog… ² And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel… ⁴ You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. (39:1-4)

Gog’s army is dead meat

¹⁷ “…Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field, ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. ¹⁸ You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth… ²⁰ And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 39:17-20)

Forces of the future (Revelation 12-13)

• Demonic power
• Oppressive government
• Deceptive religion
• Seductive culture

Armageddon: The Last Battle
Harvest of the Earth (14:19) = Battle of Armageddon (16:14-21) = Rider defeats Beast (19:11-21) = Last Battle Against Satan (20:7-10)

Angels announce judgment

“Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.” (14:7)

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.” (14:8)

“The smoke of their torment goes up forever … these worshipers of the beast.” (14:11)

The angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (14:19)

Seven angels with seven bowls containing seven plagues

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished… one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God (15:1,7)

Painful sores, seas become blood, rivers become blood, sun scorches, darkness, Euphrates River dried, earthquake and hail.

Evil forces gather for battle

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way 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 demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (16:12-14)

Assembled at Armageddon

 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” (16:15-17)

Devastating wrath

And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people. (16:18-21)

Invitation for vultures

I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. (19:17-19)

Utter defeat

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (19:20-21)

Utter defeat

^20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

Echoes 16:14. Demonic spirits, performing signs … go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

Devil’s doom

^20:9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, ¹⁰ and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The last battle

• The Lord’s overwhelming presence
• An earthquake like no other
• Hailstones and fire from heaven
• Bloody banquet for birds and beasts

In Ezekiel 38-39, these things happen to the evil armies of Magog and their leader, Gog.

In Revelation 14-19, these things happen to Babylon and its leader, the beast.

In Revelation 20, Satan gathers Gog and Magog for battle, but they end up in hell.

Armageddon = the last battle

• The judgments in Ezekiel 38-39 are pictured in Revelation 14-19.
• Gog and Magog’s defeat in Ezekiel 38-39 is pictured in Revelation 20.
• This means that the last battle of Revelation 20 (against Gog, Magog, and Satan) is the very same as the battle of Armageddon in Revelation 16. These are not different events a thousand years apart.

Armageddon: The Last Battle
Harvest of the Earth (14:19) = Battle of Armageddon (16:14-21) = Rider defeats Beast (19:11-21) = Last Battle Against Satan (20:7-10)

Forces of the future (Revelation 12-16)

• Demonic power
• Oppressive government
• Deceptive religion
• Seductive culture

Judgment of Babylon (Revelation 17-­‐18)
Babylon = Rome = Magog = prostitute = final seductive culture
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! (18:1)

Judgment of Beast and False Prophet (Revelation 19:11-­‐21)

Beast = antichrist = Gog = man of lawlessness = final oppressive government
Second beast = false prophet = final deceptive religion

The lawless one

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. (2 Thess 2:7-8)

1. Lawless power already at work
2. Lawless power on a leash till end is near
3. Lawless one unleashed and revealed
4. Wiped out by Jesus’ appearing (Armageddon)

Devil’s doom

When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle… but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (20:7-10)

Armageddon: The Last Battle

Beast = antichrist = Gog = man of lawlessness = final oppressive government
Second beast = false prophet = final deceptive religion

The millennium is now

• We are living in the period when Satan is bound, cast down, and restrained.
• We are living in the period when Christ’s reign is already underway.
• “The first resurrection” has already happened for millions of people.
• Millions have already refused the beast’s mark, have come to life, and are now reigning with Christ on heavenly thrones.

Binding Satan

“But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?” (Matt 12:28-29)

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of  the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” (Luke 10:18-19)

Casting out Satan

“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:31-32)
> cast out is the same Greek root as “casting” Satan into the pit in Rev. 20:3

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

… that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. (Hebrews 2:14)

The Second Coming:  Judgment Day

• Near the close of the present millennium, Satan will be released and Antichrist unleashed.
• Loud, visible coming of Jesus with angels.
• Dead believers are resurrected, living believers transformed, and are caught up to meet Christ.
• God’s enemies perish at Christ’s appearing..
• All unbelieving dead are resurrected and judged according to God’s books.
• Satan and all God’s enemies go to hell.
• Christ presents his church to the Father, heaven comes to earth, and believers reign.