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The Wars of the End Times
How
many and when will they happen?
Eternal peace is
coming. War is going to be gone forever.
By Dr. David R.
Reagan
Every
time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and
email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon.
This
question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one
end time war — the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the “Battle
of Armageddon.”
The
concept comes from the book of Revelation where it says that armies will gather
in the end times at a place “which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon” (Revelation
16:16).
This
term literally means the Mount of Megiddo and refers to the ancient fortress of
Megiddo that controlled the Valley of Jezreel.
In
English the word was transliterated as Armageddon, and the term came to be
applied to the Valley of Jezreel which lies in front of Har-Magedon, running
diagonally across Israel from Haifa to the Jordan River.
The
Valley of Armageddon
Most
people are surprised to discover that there is no reference in the book of
Revelation, or any other place in the Bible to the “Valley of Armageddon,”
nor is there any reference to the “Battle of Armageddon” — but more
about that later.
People
are even more surprised to learn that Bible prophecy reveals nine wars in the
end times and that Armageddon relates to only one of these.
The
Next Prophetic War
Most
prophetic scholars have long believed that the next great end time war will be
the War of Gog & Magog that is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
This,
for example is the stated position of Joel Rosenberg in his popular book,
Epicenter. This war will start when Russia invades Israel with certain
specified allies, all of whom are Muslim nations today.
But
I seriously doubt that the conflict described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the
next war of end time Bible prophecy. There are two reasons why I feel this way.
First,
there is a condition for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that has not been met.
Three times in Ezekiel 38 — in verses 8, 11, and 14 — it states that the war
described in that chapter will not occur until the people of Israel are living “securely”
in “unwalled villages.”
Israel
is not living in security today. It is bombarded daily by missiles from Gaza,
and it is constantly under the threat of missile attacks from Hezbollah in
Lebanon.
There
is also the ever-present threat of terrorist attacks, a threat that has forced
Israel to construct a 400 mile long wall down the center of the country.
In
short, it is laughable today to even think of the Jewish people of Israel as
living “securely” in “unwalled villages.”
The
second reason I doubt that the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next end
time war of Bible prophecy is because the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6
as the allies of Russia do not include a single Arab state with a border
adjacent to Israel.
The
nations identified are Persia (Iran), Cush (most likely modern-day Sudan), Put
(Libya and possibly Algeria and Tunisia), and two regions that lie within
modern day Turkey (Gomer and Bethtogarmah).
There
is no mention of the nations that share a common border with Israel — namely,
Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza.
Why
are the nations located next to Israel not mentioned as allies of Russia? I
believe the best explanation of this mystery is the one supplied by Bill Salus
in his book, Isralestine.
He
proposes that the next end time prophetic war will be the one described in
Psalm 83, a war between Israel and its neighbors. He believes this war will
produce the conditions that are necessary for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and
I agree with that conclusion.
With
that point clarified, let’s now take an overview of the end time prophetic wars
in their likely chronological sequence.
1)
The War of Extermination — Psalm 83
The
psalm states that the immediate neighbors of Israel will launch a war for the
purpose of “wiping out Israel as a nation” (verse
4).
The
nations described as being a part of this nefarious effort are those with a
common border with Israel today (verses 6-8).
The
rest of the psalm is a prayer for the victory of Israel (verses
9-18).
The
outcome of the war is not stated, but we know from other scriptures that Israel
will be victorious.
For
example, in Zechariah 12:6 we are told that in the end times Israel will be
like “a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so
they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding
peoples…”
Also,
in Amos 9:15 we are told that once the Jews are re-established in their land, “they
will not again be rooted out from their land.”
Bill
Salus believes this war will result in an overwhelming victory for Israel,
resulting in great territorial expansion and enhanced national resources. It
will also produce the security spoken of in Ezekiel 38.
2)
The First War of Gog & Magog — Ezekiel 38 and 39
But
the security provided by the Psalm 83 war will not last long. The Arab nations
will turn to their natural ally, Russia, and cry out for help.
And
the Russians will be very happy to respond, for they have always dreamed of
taking the oil fields of the Middle East.
They
will, therefore, launch an invasion for the stated purpose of helping the
Muslims destroy Israel, but their unstated agenda will be to use the Arab
invitation as an excuse to expand their sovereignty over all the Middle East.
This
ulterior motive is described in Ezekiel 38:12 where it says the Russians will
come “to capture spoil and to seize plunder.”
The
invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God “on the mountains of
Israel” (Ezekiel 39:4).
The
Lord will accomplish this destruction through earthquakes, pestilence, hail
storms, fire, brimstone, and battlefield confusion (Ezekiel
38:19-22).
Even
the Jewish people will recognize that the victory belongs to the Lord, and many
will open their hearts to the Lord (Ezekiel 38:23).
In
fact, this event could mark the occasion when the 144,000 Jews of Revelation
7:1-8 accept Yeshua as their Messiah and are sealed by the Lord for special
service throughout the seven-year period of the Tribulation.
The
greatest mystery concerning this war is its timing. Most have placed it at the
beginning of the Tribulation.
Others
delay its start to the middle of the Tribulation. Increasingly in recent years,
the tendency has been to place it before the beginning of the Tribulation.
The
best discussion of timing that has yet been written can be found in Ron Rhodes’
book, Northern Storm Rising. He concludes that it is most likely to occur 3 1/2
years prior to the Tribulation.
One
of his most important reasons for this conclusion is that Ezekiel 39:9 says the
Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons captured in the war, and the
book of Revelation says they will be run out of the land in the middle of the
Tribulation (Revelation 12:13-17).
Since
the middle of the Tribulation will occur 3 1/2 years into that seven-year
period, that means the only way the Jews could spend seven years burning the
weapons is for the war to start at least 3 1/2 years before the Tribulation
begins. (Note: The “burning of weapons” could refer to captured nuclear
fuel.)
Does
this mean the wars of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 must occur before the
Rapture? Not at all.
The
Rapture could occur anytime before, during, or after these wars. Keep in mind
that the Rapture is not what marks the beginning of the Tribulation.
The
Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist signs a security treaty with Israel (Daniel
9:27).
There
could be a period of several years between the Rapture and the beginning of the
Tribulation.
3)
The Conventional War of the Tribulation — Revelation 6
The
book of Revelation states that a major world war will break out soon after the
Tribulation begins. This war is described in Revelation 6.
Although
the Antichrist will rise to world power in Europe through cunning, deception,
and intrigue (Daniel 8:23),
he will have to resort to military power to conquer the world.
Asia,
Africa, and South America have spent too long casting off the shackles of
European colonialism for them to suddenly surrender their sovereignty
peacefully to a new European dictator — regardless of how brilliant and
charismatic he may be.
We
are told in Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will ultimately achieve “authority
over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”
This
authority will be achieved through war. Revelation 6 records the outbreak of
this world war. It results in the death of one-fourth of humanity, or 1.5
billion in today’s terms (Revelation 6:8).
The
War of Psalm 83 results in the destruction of the inner ring of Muslim states
around Israel.
The
War of Ezekiel 38 and 39 produces the defeat of the immediate outer ring of
Muslim states.
But
the vast majority of all Muslims live outside the Middle East, the largest
Muslim nations being Indonesia (201 million), India (144 million), Pakistan
(140 million), and Bangladesh (115 million).
These
nations are the ones who are most likely to produce the strongest resistance to
a Western, non-Muslim dictator, and they will be destroyed either in this war
or the one that follows it.
In
other words, I believe God is going to use the Antichrist as His hammer of
wrath to destroy Islam.
But
many other nations in the world will also have to be subdued, and that leads us
to the next war of the end times.
4)
The Nuclear War of the Tribulation — Revelation 8 & 9
At
some point, the book of Revelation indicates that the conventional war will
morph into a nuclear holocaust, resulting in the deaths of another one-third of
Mankind, or another 1.5 billion people (Revelation
9:15).
This
means that in the first two wars of the Tribulation, more than one half of
humanity will die.
A
hint that the conventional war will become a nuclear one is found in Revelation
8:7 where it states that the escalation of the war will result in one-third of
the earth being burned up.
Another
hint is found in Revelation 16:2-11 where we are told that “loathsome and
malignant” sores will afflict people at the end of the Tribulation,
something that would be a natural consequence of radiation from the use of
nuclear weapons.
It
could very well be that this nuclear holocaust could be what Jesus had in mind
when He stated that in the end times men will faint from fear over the
expectation of the things coming upon the world, “for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).
This
war is portrayed in the book of Revelation in chapters 8-9 as a series of
“Trumpet Judgments.”
5)
The War in the Heavens — Revelation 12
The
next end time war is totally different in nature from all the rest.
It
is a supernatural one that will occur in the heavens in the middle of the
Tribulation.
It
is most likely prompted by an attempt of Satan to once again take the throne of
God.
Satan
and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels.
Michael
is an archangel who is pictured in the Hebrew Scriptures as the
commander-in-chief of the armies of God (Daniel 10:13,
21 and 12:1).
Michael
and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth. His access
to God’s throne is cut off (Revelation 12:9-10).
When
this happens, Satan realizes that his time is short because he knows Bible
prophecy (Revelation 12:12).
In
his rage, Satan decides to destroy the Jewish people, and this decision leads
to the next war.
6)
The War Against the Jews and the Saints — Revelation 12
Satan
hates the Jews with a passion for several reasons:
They
are the Chosen People of God.
God
used them to provide the Scriptures to the world.
It
was through them that the Messiah came.
God
has promised that He will bring a great remnant of them to faith in His Son at
the end of the Tribulation.
There
is going to be another holocaust during the latter half of the Tribulation.
When
Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation
13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the
Jews.
This
is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as “the
great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21)
— not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the
wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.
Some
of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the “wilderness” where
they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation
12:13-14).
Many
believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a
box canyon in modern Jordan.
There
is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist
will be prevented from conquering Jordan when it is part of an end time
rebellion.
But
Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by
the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will
also war against the “offspring” of Israel — namely, those “who keep
the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
I
believe this is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and
Savior during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.
It
is no wonder that Revelation 7:9-14 pictures a great multitude of martyrs in
Heaven, so great that it cannot be counted.
They
are identified as “the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation
7:14).
So
the Antichrist will be very successful in his war against the Jews and the
Saints, but he will fail in his ultimate goal of annihilating all the Jews.
For
we are told repeatedly throughout the Scriptures that a great remnant of the
Jews will live to the end of the Tribulation at which time they will receive
Yeshua as their Messiah. (See: Isaiah 10:20-23; Zechariah 12:10;
Romans 9:27-28; and Romans 11:25-26.)
7)
The Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist — Daniel 11
Daniel
11:40-45 describes a military campaign of the Antichrist in the Middle East
that occurs at the end of the Tribulation.
These
verses and related verses in Revelation could very well indicate that when the
Antichrist becomes insanely obsessed with destroying the Jews and the Saints,
the nations of the world will see an opportunity to rebel against him.
The
nations in the Middle East will be led by the “king of the North” (most
likely Syria) and the “king of the South” (Egypt).
The
Antichrist responds by invading “the Beautiful Land” and subduing all
the area except Jordan.
But
just as he seems to be completely victorious, he hears “rumors from the East
and from the North” that deeply disturb him.
He
retreats with his armies to the area “between the seas” where “he
will come to his end.”
The
geographical description here of a location between the Mediterranean Sea and
the Sea of Galilee corresponds to the Valley of Armageddon.
I
believe the rumors that frighten him are, in part, the news that “the kings
from the East” (Revelation 16:12)
who are bringing huge armies from Asia have arrived at the Euphrates River and
are ready to cross into Israel to challenge him.
The
rumors from the North could relate to a reconstituted rebellious army from
Russia.
8)
The Battle of Armageddon — Joel 3, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19
It
appears that just as the armies from the East and the North start arriving in
the Valley of Armageddon to challenge the Antichrist, the Lord breaks from the
heavens, returns to the Mount of Olives, speaks a supernatural word, and all
the armies are instantly destroyed.
In
other words, there really is no such thing as the “Battle of Armageddon.”
The
armies are assembled to do battle, but the Lord annihilates all of them in a
microsecond “with the breath of His mouth” (2
Thessalonians 2:8).
Joel
3:16 says the Lord will “roar from Zion” and “utter His voice from
Jerusalem.”
Isaiah
10:16 says the result will be “a wasting disease.”
Zechariah
14:12 says it will be a plague that will cause the flesh of the soldiers “to
rot while they stand on their feet.”
Their
eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. It
will be like the explosion of a neutron bomb.
9)
The Second Battle of Gog & Magog — Revelation 20
Mercifully
and joyfully, the “battle” of Armageddon will be followed by one
thousand years of peace as the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem results in the
world being filled with righteousness and justice (Isaiah
11:4-5,9).
Swords
will be beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, and “nation will
not lift up sword against nation…” (Isaiah 2:4).
All
the money that is spent today on armaments will be spent on agricultural
implements.
The
world will be flooded with agricultural abundance (Amos
9:13).
There
will be no homeless or hungry people. Every man will have his own vineyard and
orchard (Micah 4:4).
Satan
will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3).
Sin
and crime will be greatly reduced. But there will be seething rebellion in the
hearts of many, if not most, that are born during that time.
This
is hard for most people to understand. Why would there be resentment in the
hearts of people in the midst of such a perfect reign of Jesus?
The
initial population of the Millennium will be all those, both Jew and Gentile,
who live to the end of the Tribulation and who have accepted Jesus as Lord and
Savior.
All
others will be consigned to death when the Lord returns.
So,
the Millennium will begin with only believers.
But
they will begin to propagate, and since death will be curtailed and life spans
will be greatly extended (Isaiah 65:20),
the population of the world will grow exponentially.
Those
born during this time will still have the old sin nature. They will desire all
the things of the flesh — booze, drugs, gambling, and promiscuous sex.
But
they will see that any violation of the Law of God results in swift and certain
justice.
Immediate
arrest will be followed by an immediate trial and an immediate judgment.
There
will be no appeal, for all judges will be Saints in glorified bodies who will
make perfect decisions.
So,
the average person in the flesh will say, “I love you Jesus!” but he or
she will do so with clinched teeth.
The
Bible states repeatedly that Jesus will rule with “a rod of iron” (Psalm
2:9 and Revelation 2:26-27).
And
despite the fact that His reign will produce righteousness, fairness, and
perfect justice (Isaiah 11:4-5),
most of those living in the flesh will deeply resent the fact that they cannot
freely pursue their worldly lusts.
It
is no wonder that when Satan is released at the end of the Lord’s millennial
reign (Revelation 20:7),
the majority of those in the flesh will unite in one last rebellion against God
that is pictured in Revelation 20:7-9.
Led
once again by Gog & Magog, this war is often confused with the war of
Ezekiel 38 and 39.
But
the two are very different. The Ezekiel war pictures Russia coming against the
nation of Israel with certain specified allies.
In Revelation 20 Russia is portrayed as
leading all the nations of the world against Jesus Christ.
History
is going to end as it began. It started out with two people living in a perfect
society, but deciding to rebel against their Creator.
It
ends with all of humanity living in a perfect society, and the majority making
the same decision to rebel against God.
One
of the many purposes of the Millennium is for God to prove that Mankind’s
inherent sin defect can be remedied only by the Holy Spirit through faith in
Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The
religion of Satan has always been Humanism — the belief in Man.
This
philosophy teaches that Man is inherently good and is capable of perfection
through education and social justice.
Humanists
therefore believe that if society can be perfected by supplying each person
with a guaranteed job and income, Mankind will be transformed.
But
the Bible teaches that Mankind is fatally flawed with a sin nature that makes
people naturally evil (Jeremiah 17:9).
And
the Bible teaches that the only solution to the problem is the transformation
of the Holy Spirit that begins when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.
God
will prove this beyond doubt when He puts all of Mankind into a perfect society
for one thousand years and Mankind responds in rebellion.
The
Abolition of War
The
Second War of Gog & Magog will be the final war of history.
Following
it, God will take the Redeemed off the earth and place them in the New
Jerusalem He is now preparing.
He
will then consume the earth with fire to burn away the pollution of Satan’s
last revolt.
Out
of that fiery inferno will come new heavens and a new earth — this earth
redeemed and perfected (2 Peter 3:10-13).
He
will then lower the Redeemed down to this earth inside the New Jerusalem (Revelation
21:2-7), and He will come to earth to live in their
presence eternally (Revelation 22:1-4).
Eternal
peace is coming. War is going to be gone forever.
This
hope of Mankind will not be achieved by diplomats. It will be a gift of God
through Jesus Christ who died to redeem Mankind and all the Cosmos.
Lamb
& Lion Ministries
was founded in 1980 as a non-denominational, independent ministry. The Ministry
does not seek to convert people to any particular church. Rather, it seeks to
lift up Jesus and draw people to Him as Lord and Savior.
The
Ministry was established for the purpose of proclaiming the soon return of
Jesus. We do not believe it is possible to know the date when Jesus will
return. But we do believe it is possible to know the season of the Lord’s
return, and it is our conviction that we are living in that season.
The
message of the Ministry is directed at both believers and non-believers. To the
unsaved, the Ministry says, “Flee from the wrath that is to come by fleeing
into the loving arms of Jesus.” To believers, the Ministry says, “Commit
yourselves to holiness as you await the appearance of your Blessed Hope.”
We
believe that Jesus is the only hope for the world today. He is the Gospel — the
“Good News.”
We
believe the Church, as expressed through the local congregation, is the basic
unit of God’s plan for the proclamation of the Gospel and the discipling of
believers. Lamb & Lion Ministries exists to serve the Church in its effort
to win souls for Christ and to disciple those who accept the Lord.
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