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The History of the Ages – Lesson 57

Now we’re ready for Armageddon. Essentially, this is covered in Revelation 19:17 to 20:3. So, first we’ll look at 19:17-21. “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun’s light, and with a loud voice he shouted to all the birds that fly across the sky, Come, gather yourselves together for the great supper of God. And you will eat the flesh of rulers, captains and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great. Then I saw the beast and the rulers of the earth with their armies gathered together to make war against Him Who is mounted on the horse and against His army. But the beast was captured, and so was the false prophet, who had performed miraculous signs on his behalf. It was with these signs he had deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and had worshipped his image. Now both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone. And the rest of them were killed with the sword that comes from the mouth of Him Who is mounted on the horse. Then all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh.”  

Here in John’s revelation, and in many of the Old Testament accounts, Armageddon is symbolized as a great supper. The birds are the invited guests (verse 17). The main course is the flesh of men and horses (verse 18) gathered to the battle by the beast (Antichrist) and the rulers who follow and support him (verse 19). Then the supper is prepared and eaten (verses 20-21). That’s the short version of Armageddon.

Here’s a somewhat longer, more complete one. Let’s break it down into 6 parts: 

1. The place is Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). I told you how to locate this specific place at the end of Lesson 47. In Joel 3 it is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:2).
2. The time of the battle is described in Ezekiel 38, 39 and Zechariah 14, when the enemies of Israel have gathered together against Jerusalem. To clarify the names used in some of these passages, Gog is the Antichrist and Magog is the armies that follow him. As already discussed, this is at the end of the tribulation period, when all of the judgments of the seals, trumpets and bowls have ended, and Christ has returned to establish His earthly kingdom.
3. Who will be involved in the battle? On one side will be Christ and His heavenly army of both saints and angels (Revelation 19:11-14, Zechariah 14:5, II Thessalonians 1:7-10, Jude 14), along with earthly Israel (Zechariah 14:14). On the other side will be Satan and his fallen angels (Revelation 12:7-9, 20:1-3), demons (Revelation 16:13-16) and the earthly armies commanded by the Antichrist (Revelation 19:19-21, Zechariah 14:1-5).  
4. Of course both sides have a purpose in fighting this battle. Satan wants to prevent Christ from taking possession of the earth and from establishing His kingdom to avert his own impending doom (Revelation 12:12, 20:1-3). And, I’m sure by now the Antichrist and the false prophet have come to the same desperate conclusion. The Lord’s purpose is to deliver Israel from her enemies once and for all and rid the earth of those who would openly oppose the divine government He is going to establish. As we will soon see, the Millennium will be the last step in God’s plan for the ages in restoring man’s dominion on the earth as it was before the fall and the resulting curse (I Corinthians 15:24-28, Ephesians 1:10).
5. This will not be an ordinary battle or series of battles between two armies. The length of the battle will be just one day (Zechariah 14:1-7). However, it will not be instantaneous destruction. As I noted in Lesson 55, the Lord will punish them with torrents of rain, huge hailstones and fierce lightning strikes (Ezekiel 38:22) before He finishes them off with His spoken word (Revelation 19:21). And those who accompany the Lord to this battle will not have to do anything but watch.
6. The results of this battle will be devastating for those who oppose God. Blood will flow up to the horse’s bridles through the whole valley, or a distance of about 180 miles (Revelation 14:17-20). It will take 7 months to bury the dead (Ezekiel 39:11-12). The beast and the false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20, 20:10). Satan and his angels will be confined in the abyss for the next 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3). As for the other side, Israel will be delivered, Christ will be recognized by Israel and by the world, the saints will be vindicated and Christ will begin to establish His kingdom.

Before we move on, I need to comment on a statement found in verse 20 at the beginning of this lesson. With reference to the Antichrist (the beast) and the false prophet, the last part of the verse says, “Now both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone.” In a previous lesson I mentioned that the Antichrist and false prophet are not killed at Armageddon, but instead are captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire. When I’m wrong, I like to correct myself.  

There are several issues here. The first is that both Daniel 7:11 and II Thessalonians 2:8 tell us the Antichrist is killed at Armageddon. The second is that neither the antichrist nor the false prophet could survive the lake of fire in their mortal bodies. The lake of fire is a place especially intended as a place of continuous, eternal torment for those who have been given spirit bodies at what is commonly called the second resurrection (Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8), which I will explain later in a lesson on the first and second resurrections. Therefore, I must conclude that both the beast and the false prophet are killed at Armageddon, then immediately resurrected and thrown into the lake of fire to begin their torment, while the rest of the wicked dead wait for 1,000 years to be resurrected, judged and sent to the lake of fire.

Then the last order of business regarding Armageddon is found in Revelation 20:1-3. “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he subdued the dragon, that old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And threw him into the abyss, closed it and sealed it over him, so he could no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were ended. Then after that he must be loosed for a short time.”

If you remember back, when we were looking at Revelation 12:7-12 that describes the war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels and defeated them. I said then that I could not really describe how that works or what it looks like. Angels are not mortal beings. They cannot be killed or even injured. But it is obvious that they can be defeated or subdued. And that must be determined by who has God’s authority. In Revelation 12 Michael and his angels prevailed, because God had pre-determined that they would. Satan was powerless to avoid it. In Revelation 20 the angel is said to have the “key” to the abyss, this is symbolic of authority (compare Revelation 1:18, 3:7). In the spirit realm, those who have God’s authority will overcome those who don’t.

We also know that those in the spirit realm have the ability to enter our material realm and participate in it in a material way (read Genesis 19:1-25 for an example) and are not limited by the physical restraints that we are. On the other hand, this passage shows us that when God determines it, the material realm can affect those in the spirit realm, in this case Satan is confined in a real, material place.