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The Popular View

The word Armageddon has featured in our language very often during the 20th and the 21st Century. Movies have been made and the general concept of the word Armageddon is that it implies a terrible catastrophe.
It is either a super world war wiping out all life or perhaps a large meteorite colliding with the earth. From these examples it appears that the idea of Armageddon is of a major cataclysm that can destroy all life.

As the word is drawn from the Bible it may be wise to consider what the Bible itself has to say about Armageddon.

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The Bible’s Description

The word appears in Revelation 16 and is there described as the war of the great day of God the almighty.

(Revelation 16:13-16) 13 And I saw three unclean inspired expressions [that looked] like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. 15 “Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he may not walk naked and people look upon his shamefulness.” 16 And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Ma·ged´on.

Let us carefully analyze the verses and see if we can make sense out of it.
First of all we need to remember that Revelation was written in signs or symbols so that by analyzing the symbols we can very often get to understand what the Bible is referring to.
Under the law covenant, frogs were regarded as unclean and forbidden to eat.

(Leviticus 11:12) . . .Everything in the waters that has no fins and scales is a loathsome thing to YOU.

From the law in Leviticus we understand that frogs were regarded as unclean so these frog-like expressions must refer to foul propaganda, or misleading information

We have already identified the symbols in other articles on my site such as ”Can Revelation Be Understood?” and “Can You Trust Bible Prophecy?”

1.    The Dragon is Satan the Devil (Rev.12:9)
2.    The Wild Beast (Satan’s political systems) and the Image  (UNO) (Rev 13 and 17.)
3.    The False Prophet (The Anglo- American world power (Rev 13.)

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A Great Propaganda Campaign

The propaganda that emanates from these systems collectively gathers the nations of the earth into a position of opposition to God and therefore to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, Armageddon.

An examination of the article “Can you Trust Bible Prophecy?” in my site supplies the evidence that God’s kingdom was set up in 1914 in the heavens. Jesus Christ was installed as earth’s rightful ruler by his father Jehovah God. Psalm 110 explains what was to take place in 1914

(Psalm 110:1-7) . . .The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: “Sit at my right hand Until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.” 2 The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, [saying:] “Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.” 3 Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force. In the splendors of holiness, from the womb of the dawn, You have your company of young men just like dewdrops. 4 Jehovah has sworn (and he will feel no regret): “You are a priest to time indefinite According to the manner of Mel·chiz´e·dek!” 5 Jehovah himself at your right hand Will certainly break kings to pieces on the day of his anger. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations; He will cause a fullness of dead bodies. He will certainly break to pieces the head one over a populous land. 7 From the torrent valley in the way he will drink. That is why he will raise high [his] head.

Psalm 110 shows what was to happen after Jesus was resurrected in 33 CE (common era).  He had to sit at his father’s right hand until the appointed times of the nations had expired, These times are explained in more detail in the article entitled “Can Revelations Be Understood?” They amount to 2520 years counting from 607 BCE (Before common era) until 1914 CE.(common era) In that year Jehovah told Jesus at verse 3:-

“The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, [saying:] “Go subduing in the midst of your enemies”

Jesus was crowned in the midst of his enemies. (Satan and his demons in heaven and the nations that are hanging onto their national sovereignty on earth)
Jesus began subduing by first fighting  with Satan and his demons. That war resulted in Satan and his demons being cast out of heaven.  Apparently before proceeding further he instructed the angels that were  going to unleash the forces of destruction, to hold back for a while.  This was because his servants on earth had to preach the  “good new of the kingdom” which  he had commanded to be preached in these last days. This was to give individuals an opportunity to learn what had happened and to show them the way of escape. God always warns people before he acts.

(Revelation 7:1-3) . . .After this I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow upon the earth or upon the sea or upon any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrising, having a seal of [the] living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3 saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads. . .

(Revelation 6:1-8) Records the ride of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I have discussed this in detail in the article “Can Revelation Be Understood.”That article  showed how Satan threw the nations on earth into the 1st world war over the issue of world domination.  According to (Matthew 24:7,8) this World War was the beginning of the visible sign of Jesus’ presence in kingdom power. Jesus had commanded that at that time, the” Good News of the Kingdom had to be preached”

(Matthew 24:14) . . .And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.

Who are Used to do the Work

Just as in the first century of our common era at Jesus Christ’s first presence, it was not the clergy of that time that took the good news to the people but the ordinary man in the street (ex:- Jesus disciples who volunteered their services to preach the good news) In fact it was the Jewish clergy that opposed the preaching work. History has repeated itself in this regard as Jesus warned. (see persecution link)

According to Psalm 110:3

“Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day of your military force. In the splendors of holiness, from the womb of the dawn, You have your company of young men just like dewdrops.”

Up to this time 7,000,000 willing volunteers are busy taking the message out to the people in the face of much opposition by the clergy who misrepresent and try to pressure the governments to stop the work.
All of this was foreseen in Psalm 2:1-12.

(Psalm 2:1-12) . . .Why have the nations been in tumult And the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing? 2 The kings of earth take their stand And high officials themselves have massed together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one, 3 [Saying:] “Let us tear their bands apart And cast their cords away from us!” 4 The very One sitting in the heavens will laugh; Jehovah himself will hold them in derision. 5 At that time he will speak to them in his anger And in his hot displeasure he will disturb them, 6 [Saying:] “I, even I, have installed my king Upon Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: “You are my son; I, today, I have become your father. 8 Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance And the ends of the earth as your own possession. 9 You will break them with an iron scepter, As though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces.” 10 And now, O kings, exercise insight; Let yourselves be corrected, O judges of the earth. 11 Serve Jehovah with fear And be joyful with trembling. 12 Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed And YOU may not perish [from] the way, For his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him.

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David Foreshadowed Jesus

The application of the above prophecy in its initial fulfillment is explained by the apostles in the book of Acts. In the first century, Jesus was anointed by God’s spirit at his baptism but he did not receive the kingdom at that time. At that time he was anointed as Jehovah’s king designate just like David was. David was anointed has King designate while still young by Samuel, and then later as king according to Jehovah’s instructions

Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the time when his kingdom would be set up because it would only be at that time that God’s will would be done on earth.

The first anointing of David:

(1 Samuel 16:12-13) . . .Accordingly he sent and had him come. Now he was ruddy, a young man with beautiful eyes and handsome in appearance. Then Jehovah said: “Get up, anoint him, for this is he!” 13 Accordingly Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the spirit of Jehovah began to be operative upon David from that day forward.. . .

The Second anointing.

(2 Samuel 5:2-3) . . .And Jehovah proceeded to say to you, ‘You yourself will shepherd my people Israel, and you yourself will become leader over Israel.’” 3 So all the older men of Israel came to the king at He´bron, and King David concluded a covenant with them in He´bron before Jehovah; after which they anointed David as king over Israel.

The apostles applied Psalm 2:1-12 to the conspiracy between the Jews, led by their religious leaders and the Romans to put Jesus to death.

(Acts 4:23-31) 23 After being released they went to their own people and reported what things the chief priests and the older men had said to them. 24 Upon hearing this they with one accord raised their voices to God and said: “Sovereign Lord, you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, 25 and who through holy spirit said by the mouth of our forefather David, your servant, ‘Why did nations become tumultuous and peoples meditate upon empty things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one.’ 27 Even so, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with [men of] nations and with peoples of Israel were in actuality gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 28 in order to do what things your hand and counsel had foreordained to occur. 29 And now, Jehovah, give attention to their threats, and grant your slaves to keep speaking your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand for healing and while signs and portents occur through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had made supplication, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were one and all filled with the holy spirit and were speaking the word of God with boldness. . .

The Bible also reports that the alliance between Israel represented by Herod and Rome as represented by Pontius Pilate,was actually instigated by the Jewish clergy (the Scribes and the Pharisees) in an effort to stop the preaching work. The same thing is happening today in fulfillment of prophecy.

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Why the Clergy Oppose the Good News

(John 11:47-48) . . .Consequently the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the San?he·drin together and began to say: “What are we to do, because this man performs many signs? 48 If we let him alone this way, they will all put faith in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.. . .

The preaching of the “good news” exposes the clergy for their neglect of the people. Instead of imparting Bible knowledge, they have taught traditions and involved their flocks in politics.  They are afraid of exposure and of losing their control over people.  They similarly do as the clergy of Jesus day. They try to misrepresent the witnesses making out that they are a threat to national security. However their real motive is their fear of  losing their honored position in the eyes of the people.

Many things recorded in the Bible that happened in the past were intended to foreshadow what was to happen in the future.

(1 Corinthians 10:11) 11 Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the systems of things have arrived.

All of this shows that Revelation 16 is being fulfilled in that the propaganda emanating from Satan’s controlled systems are gathering the people of the nations into a position of opposition to God. Once again the religious clergy  oppose the witness work by influencing the governments of the earth. Instead of paying back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and paying back to God what belongs to God, the clergy take a very patriotic stand presenting Jehovah’s witnesses as a threat to national security just as they did to Jesus and his disciples in the first century. By doing this they elevate patriotism and nationalism to a position of worship of the state. This rejection of the kingdom message (which is God’s way of helping people to survive) and their opposition to the message constitutes a refusal on the part of the nations to accept Christ and his kingdom’

(Psalm 2:6-12) 6 [Saying:] “I, even I, have installed my king Upon Zion, my holy mountain.” 7 Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: “You are my son; I, today, I have become your father. 8 Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance And the ends of the earth as your own possession. 9 You will break them with an iron scepter, As though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces.” 10 And now, O kings, exercise insight; Let yourselves be corrected, O judges of the earth. 11 Serve Jehovah with fear And be joyful with trembling. 12 Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed And YOU may not perish [from] the way, For his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him.”

This gathering of all things that are opposed to God means that they are all being gathered to the great war of the day of God Almighty.

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What Armageddon Means

(Revelation 16:16)“And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Ma·ged´on.”

(Har–Ma·ged´on) [from Heb., meaning “Mountain of Megiddo”].
This name is directly associated with “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” The term applies specifically to the condition, or situation, to which “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” are gathered in opposition to Jehovah and his Kingdom by Jesus Christ. In a number of versions it is rendered “Armageddon.” (Re 16:14, 16, AT; KJ; JB; RS; TEV)
The name Har–Magedon, taken from Hebrew, means simply “Mountain of Megiddo.”
There does not appear to have been a literal place called “Mountain of Megiddo,” either inside or outside the Promised Land, before or during the days of the apostle John, who recorded the vision. Hence, Har–Magedon evidently draws its significance from the events associated with the ancient city of Megiddo.

The site of Megiddo was associated with many battles in ancient times when God fought battles with the enemies of Israel. As such it is a typical symbol of the condition of opposition to God that the world comes to. Common sense show that it would be unreasonable to imagine that all the kings of the earth and their associates could literally gather together in any one specific place the world. It is once again a question of the clergy misapplying scripture and making it sound ridiculous.

Scriptural descriptions of Jesus’ war against the nations use symbols. The spirit world existed long before the material creations. The Bible uses words that create pictures in the mind so that we can conceive and appreciate matters that are invisible..

(Revelation 19:11-16) . . .And I saw the heaven opened, and, look! a white horse. And the one seated upon it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. 12 His eyes are a fiery flame, and upon his head are many diadems. He has a name written that no one knows but he himself, 13 and he is arrayed with an outer garment sprinkled with blood, and the name he is called is The Word of God. 14 Also, the armies that were in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. 15 And out of his mouth there protrudes a sharp long sword, that he may strike the nations with it, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron. He treads too the winepress of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

None of those words are to be taken literally.  We have no problem in discerning that Jesus wearing crowns and diadems is being pictured as a warrior king in heaven going to war against unrighteousness. The armies of riders on white horses all clothed in white linen pictures the clean angelic forces at Jesus disposal. As Jesus outer garment is sprinkled with blood, this draws attention to his sacrificial death and by calling him the “Word of God,” this completes the identification of the person as being Jesus. The white horses picture righteous warfare. The bible refers to the word of God (the bible) as the sword of the spirit.  So this all draws attention to Jesus as the spokesman of God.  Therefore the sword proceeding from his mouth, refers to his command to  strike the nations, and of course all throughout the passage words are used that can be associated with events listed in the Bible that bring pictures to our minds.

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Other Word Pictures

At verse 15 the reference is to the “winepress” of God. Here the present wicked system is being pictured as a wild vine that has grown uncontrolled over the earth. It needs to be uprooted and destroyed. What an accurate picture of this present  wicked world with the unimaginable atrocities that are being committed world wide. God’s angels are depicted as uprooting this malignant vine and throwing it into an enormous “winepress.” The extent of the slaughter is well illustrated by the treading of this winepress. What is the lesson for us? If the destruction is so great then the vast majority of mankind are going to be destroyed. Should not this shake our complacency. How can we imagine that “all roads lead to God” or “it does not matter what one believes as long as one believes “ or “we all worship the same God”. Can you see why God uses such graphic symbols to stir us to action and motivating us to “make sure of all things”

(Revelation 14:18-20) 18 And still another angel emerged from the altar and he had authority over the fire. And he called out with a loud voice to the one that had the sharp sickle, saying: “Put your sharp sickle in and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes have become ripe.” 19 And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and he hurled it into the great winepress of the anger of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress as high up as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs.

Here are some more examples of word pictures of that great day.

(Zephaniah 1:18) . . .Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s fury; but by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

(2 Peter 3:11-13) . . .Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of persons ought YOU to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 awaiting and keeping close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah, through which [the] heavens being on fire will be dissolved and [the] elements being intensely hot will melt! 13 But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.

The important point is that we need to allow the Bible to have the final say as to what these symbols mean.
For example consider the heavens and earth as an example. Are we to conclude that God is going to destroy our literal planet, or the literal universe?

(2 Peter 3:5-7) . . .For, according to their wish, this fact escapes their notice, that there were heavens from of old and an earth standing compactly out of water and in the midst of water by the word of God; 6 and by those [means] the world of that time suffered destruction when it was deluged with water. 7 But by the same word the heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.

Did the literal heavens and earth perish in the days of the flood? No! When we say that the word was preached throughout the earth do we mean that people talk to the literal earth? No! God expects us to be reasonable. He talks to us in the same way that we use language. If I say I will pick you up in town do I mean that when I get into town I am going to get out of my car and pick you up? No! we are not imbeciles, but Bible critics who are looking for excuses to break down the faith of God’s servants use these ridiculous arguments.

The heavens are above the earth and if one considers that humans have often looked to the heavens for guidance. Especially in the lands of the Bible where we might have to note the position of the sun or the stars at night when traveling. Therefore the heavens picture those authorities that provide guidance to man.  Governments and religions fit the symbol.  A world is a “system of things” that consists of the “rulers and the ruled”. That is what was destroyed. Likewise the world today consists of the “rulers and the ruled” The Bible hints at this when it speaks of the destruction of “ungodly men”

The new heavens and new earth consist of Christ’s heavenly government and the earthly society that will serve under it. That is the new world. Will you be part of that earthly society?.

Taking Advantage of the Good News

(Psalm 37:8-11) 8 Let anger alone and leave rage; Do not show yourself heated up only to do evil. 9 For evildoers themselves will be cut off, But those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. 10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. 11 But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

(Psalm 37:27-29) . . .Turn away from what is bad and do what is good, And so reside to time indefinite. 28 For Jehovah is a lover of justice, And he will not leave his loyal ones. To time indefinite they will certainly be guarded; But as for the offspring of the wicked ones, they will indeed be cut off. 29 The righteous themselves will possess the earth, And they will reside forever upon it.

(Psalm 37:34) 34 Hope in Jehovah and keep his way, And he will exalt you to take possession of the earth. When the wicked ones are cut off, you will see.

(Psalm 37:39-40) . . .And the salvation of the righteous ones is from Jehovah; He is their fortress in the time of distress. 40 And Jehovah will help them and provide them with escape. He will provide them with escape from wicked people and save them, Because they have taken refuge in him.

To sum the matter up we see that “Armageddon” is also called “The Great Day of God Almighty” and “The Day of Jehovah,” and it refers  to the time when Jehovah rises up to settle accounts with the nations by destroying the willfully wicked.

However like the flood of Noah’s day God promises to protect those persons who are serving him faithfully.
We cannot be complacent about this because the majority of mankind will be destroyed.

To survive we need to take advantage of the “preaching of the good news of the kingdom” message that Jesus has commanded to be preached because it brings us up to date with accurate knowledge of God’s purposes. When the destruction comes we many be able to see it and pass through it under God’s protection like Noah did. Is it difficult to understand how God will accomplish this? Just remember that he created this entire universe and just as someone who lived two thousand years ago would find it extremely difficult to understand how you and I could see and talk to someone a thousand miles away and yet it is being done daily when you switch on your TV. Even so with the power and know how that our creator has at his disposal, preserving us is easy, but don’t think that with our limited understanding we could figure out how he is going to do it.

Studying the Bible can be fun. Jehovah’s witnesses have already done all the work for you. They first took the basic teachings one by one. Using concordances and other tools they have looked up all the scriptures on subjects and made sure that these all harmonize. They have then printed these in publications in an easy to understand form. By setting aside a small amount of time, and under the guidance of a study conductor who is already familiar with the truth, you are in a position to obtain the answers to any questions you might have.  Sometimes you may require explanations on points that you may not fully grasp or you may require answers to any additional questions you might have.  In a very short time you will find that the Bible will make sense to you and you will be equipped to defend your faith. You will then be thoroughly equipped to survive the destruction of this system of things  provided you do what it tells you to do.  All of this is done free and without charge. The collection plate is never stuck under your nose. Jehovah has supported this work solely by voluntary contributions and that is why the literature is distributed without charge.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17) . . .All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.

(Ephesians 5:15-17) . . .So keep strict watch that how YOU walk is not as unwise but as wise [persons], 16 buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. 17 On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.

If you want to further you knowledge immediately choose articles that interest you in my list of articles link.

If you want to contact Jehovah’s witnesses and are not in a position to do so contact me by e-mail and we can work out something.

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