Jesus announced His return with these words, “Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31). After that, the final struggle between Christ and Satan will commence. It will not be with materially destructive weapons, but between good and evil spirits. The Word of God shall come out of the mouth of Christ and demolish the earthly forces of Satan (Revelation 19:11-18). Before that day of reckoning, God will commission two witnesses to warn the world for three and one half years. But the world will kill them and God will resurrect them and take them up to heaven (Revelation 11:1-14). These are the two olive trees and the two Lampstands that Zechariah linked with Zerubbabel and Joshua, two individuals that represent the resurrection of Israel as a nation and Jesus the Christ and the constant rebirth of New Testament Christianity (Zechariah 4). Both, Israel and Christianity were and still are God’s witnesses in the world and are the blot in Satan’s domain on earth that he used to bribe the Son of God (Matthew 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-8). “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalms 24:1), but Satan was kicked out of heaven and landed on earth and all his efforts are aimed at destroying anything and anyone that links this world with God, Christ or Muhammad (Revelation 12). Muslims should take notice that after they help Satan destroy Judeo-Christianity, he will go after Islam. At the end you may crave to join the followers of Christ and remove the destroyer from the world. Satan and atheism have no place for any religion that believes in a Creator God. Armageddon will be Satan’s last stand against any faith in a supreme God.
Armageddon was the region surrounding Mount Megiddo. It was a Canaanite stronghold during Joshua’s invasion and a Baal worship center in Elijah’s day. In Megiddo, Yahweh worship never replaced Baal rituals. Visionaries began to regard Megiddo as Satan’s headquarters where all the kings will gather to destroy Yahweh and His followers at the end of time. In the last battle with Judeo-Christian believers, Euphrates will join Megiddo in the conflict (Revelation 16:12-16). The two represent two branches of a world system that never did see eye to eye until they joined forces to defeat western capitalism and Judeo-Christian morality. Prior to Armageddon, theocratic dictators, from the seventh century to the present, have disposed one quarter of Jews and Christians. Recent statistics appear to agree with the number 666 that over six hundred and one half million were killed. Toward the end of time, the splintered system will replace their dictators with a union or a brotherhood for the purpose to destroy capitalism and the Judeo-Christian system. During the brotherhood, one third of humanity that will not bow to their theocratic belief will be killed. Those that shall remain faithful to Jesus as their Messiah shall be their main targets. After the first conflict Christianity will be too weak to mount any opposition. At Armageddon, the final conflict between good and evil, Satan and his forces shall seek to destroy the last theocratic religion; it could well be the Islamic brotherhood (Revelation 17:12-14). The appearance of the Son of Man with his heavenly host will be a welcome sight for that religion left to face Satan or the beast (Revelation 14:14-20). John’s vision is no longer subject to doubt and speculation nor is it a mystery (Revelation 19:11-21). Unfortunately, the followers of Satan or the beast have and are suppressing it. They use economics and new laws to subdue humanity to their will.
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called ‘Faithful and True.’ With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one but he himself knows. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is ‘the Word of God.’ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in white linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written: ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.’ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in the midair, ‘Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.’ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on the flesh.”
At Armageddon, man’s right to govern himself shall be terminated. Also, God no longer will employ other human powers to discipline and punish His unfaithful people. He used Babylon and Rome to stop a nation that was no longer his people (Hosea 2:23). Before Christ returns to take on his enemies, He will delegate the Muslim brotherhood to punish the atheistic and socialistic world system and with it western Christianity that has misrepresented or denied their relationship with her own Savior (Revelation 17-18). The description of the sinful world system as “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abomination of the Earth” is despicable; nevertheless, accurate with regard to its policies regarding the life of the unborn and the tolerance toward those that hunt the adherers to the Judeo-Christian belief in Jesus, as the Christ. God is just, and He will deal with those that presumed to serve Him with atrocities against those that deny others the right to believe in Him through Jesus (Luke 18:6-8). On His return, He shall set up a Kingdom for those that have been slain or denied the right to live and believe. The godless materialistic world, without Judeo-Christian guidelines, will be held accountable with the same measure it treated those that opposed Christ’s system (Matthew 7:2).
Armageddon shall mark a new beginning for Christ and those only that laid down their lives on their Lord’s behalf. John was allowed to see a glimpse of Christ and His Bride and their marriage celebration that shall last a thousand years. The Bride consists of those that died for Him. These shall also reign with Christ for a thousand years without being interfered by Satan. “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations any more until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”
Armageddon and a thousand years in prison will teach Satan nothing. He will resume his carnage and economic hardships against God’s people and even persuade his followers that it was God’s doing. It will be a time when men will seek death and not find it (Rev. 9:6). John had this vision: “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth –Gog and Magog (similar to the beast and the false prophet, both are enemies of God) – to gather them for battle. In numbers they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Regarding the world situation, its cup of sin and sorrow is running over. The last number of Christ’s followers may be sacrificed in the next world conflict between atheism and religion. In that case, Christ is on His way back to establish order in the world. At Armageddon, the old will end and the new will begin with Christ in charge. According to Paul, He will turn the redeemed world over to God who will create a new heaven and a new earth, the ultimate promise of promises.
Stop and Think - Rev Dr. Daniel Kolke 