INTRODUCTION:

1. Among the closing scenes of the book of Revelation, the vivid picture
portrayal of the battle of the "great day of God Almighty " is presented, the consummation of which is said to take place in "Harmagedon" (Revelation 16:14-16).

2. This is the location of the most famous battleground in the Old Testament. It involved a plain running from northwest to the southeast along the foot of Mt Carmel in Palestine.

 (a. It is near Megiddo, a hillside town. "Armageddon" actually means "mountain," or "Mount of Megiddo," but most commentators on the book of Revelation agree that the term has reference to the area around Megiddo, which included the Plain of Esdraelon.

 (b. No other spot in Israel held such memories as a place of critical warfare (The term conjures up thoughts of critical times in history much like Waterloo, Pearl Harbor and Normandy).

3. Though this event is referenced only in Revelation 16:16, it has been
labeled by various students of the Bible as "The Battle Of Armageddon."
 (a. All this passage says is that there is a gathering at Harmageddon (a final stand), and little else.

 (b. Yet, the subject has impressed itself upon the imagination of many who seek knowledge of God's word.

 (c. At the same time it has resulted in a number of wild, fanciful
expositions which are propagated with frenzied zeal and unending enthusiasm.

 (a. This zealousness has created a number of blunders that should cause the serious student of the Bible to treat carefully his interpretation of this panorama of events.

BODY:

IV. EVEN THOUGH A FIRSTHAND STUDY OF "ARMAGEDDON" CAUSES ONE TO GET THE FEELING OF PASSING THROUGH  A  MYSTERIOUS, UNTRAVELED REGION, THE SUBJECT CAN BE UNDERSTOOD.

 A. It not only can be understood, it must be understood, for it is a part of the revelation of God designed to make men perfect (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

 B.  Furthermore, the child of God will find a great blessing issuing forth from the promise: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein"  (Revelation 1:3).

II THEORIES ABOUT ARMAGEDDON.

  A. Observe first of all the fact that throughout the New Testament the people of God are spoken of as  warriors and soldiers, with Christ as their leader, guiding them forth to wage war with the forces of evil.

  B. This conflict between good and evil constitutes the theme of the book of Revelation.

   1. Therefore, the battle of Armageddon is to be identified with the other pictures of conflict (11:7-10; 19:11; 20:7), for in all of these, the "kings of the earth" (forces of evil) are doing battle with the heavenly armies (forces of good, Revelation 19:19).

   2. The manner in which the conflict has taken hold on the imaginations of men is seen in the many artists' portrayals and writings which come forth from time to time .

  C. The various theories centered around "Armageddon" are each presented authoritatively, even though there is little agreement among the theorists regarding the basic elements of the subject.

   1. Some look upon the subject as literal, while others look upon it as a spiritual conflict. In each of these areas there is diversity of opinions.

III. THE CARNAL WAR THEORY:

 A. The most  common theory is the one which regards everything described as taking place in a literal sense at some future date.

  1. This literalistic class is often described as the "Futurist School" of interpretation.  To them the battle of Armageddon is a carnal war taking place in the literal "Valley of Megeddo," an area which runs through to the Euphrates Valley and Asia Minor.

  2. Implements of modern warfare, such as screaming bombs, flames that belch forth destruction, tanks on the ground, planes over head, and men slaying men are all part of this fantastic position (Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, pp. 696-698). This position is aptly summed up in the following quotation:

 B. "Writers of this  school uniformly consider the Beast to be the personal anti-Christ of the last days, and think that his army will be a literal
military force, brought to the land of Palestine for warfare against the Jews,
who will by that time have repossessed the land" (Albertus Pieters, Studies in the Revelation of  St . John, p. 269).

 C. That this battle cannot possibly be a battle fought on the carnal field, with modern instruments of war, is seen in the fact that Christ is the Prince of Peace.

  1. He can never be the author of carnal war. His people cannot and will not engage in a carnal war in defense of the spiritual kingdom. This battle, says B. W. Johnson, must be a "moral and spiritual conflict which is fought in the hearts of men" (A Vision of the ages, p. 201).

 D. It is apparent that the battle pictured in Revelation 16:16 is not
material; it is spiritual, otherwise, it is out of harmony with the spirit of
Christ and would have no value for  first-century Christians, who needed so badly the encouragement found in the study of the book of Revelation
(Revelation 1:3).

IV "JACOB'S TROUBLE" THEORY:

 A. In a paper-back publication known as The Battle of Armageddon, by Orlin L. Mankamer, one will find another position argued (p. 58).  This composition maintains that fleshy Israel will pass through a seven year tribulation to be consummated in the battle of Armageddon, after which they will turn to  God.

  1. This "fiery trial" is said to be "Jacob's trouble" out of which the Lord is to save them, causing them to turn from rebellion against God to that of praise for Him as "my Lord and my God" (John 20:26-27).
  2. This theory completely misapplies  passages dealing with the restoration of fleshy Israel and stumbles over those in the New Testament which deal with the spiritual Israel (1 Corinthians 9:1-3; Romans 11:25).

V. THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH VS THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH THEORY:
 
 A. This class of men is known as the "continuous Historical school of interpretation,"  view  the battle of Armageddon as a conflict between the Roman Catholic Church and the New Testament  church revealed in scripture.

 B. They view the battle as a symbol of victory for the forces of light.
  1. "Thus Megiddo fitly symbolizes the world wide distress of righteousness and evil engaged in deadly combat, says" Roy Summers (Worthy is the Lamb, p. 89).

  2. Armageddon is not a literal place of battle, nor is it confined to religious issues. "This is a battle of truth against error, God against Satan, and all the world is a field of battle" throughout the New Testament dispensation (Johnson, op. cit., p. 201).

  3. It is a battle involving political and religious forces in opposition to Christ.

VI. DISCUSSION OF THE FIGURE:

 A. "Armageddon" is a place used as a figure of an event, that is, a struggle between opposite forces, that concludes with a final and decisive victory of good over evil.

 B. The context of Revelation 16:12-16 depicts two classes of combatants: the forces of righteousness, made up of God's people who reign with Christ (Revelation 1:16; 1 Peter 2: 5-9) and the forces of iniquity (Revelation 16:13-14).

 C. The encouragement given to struggling saints is in the form of a symbol depicting a final overthrow of all the forces of evil by  God almighty.

  1. It is a message of hope and victory over the legions who oppose us.
  2. It is a message of encouragement to live and die for Christ, to overcome severe trials and suffering, regardless of the generation in which one lives.

 D. God's army  comes from the "sunrising," a term denoting the region of light and hope (Revelation 7:1-2; Matthew 2:1).

  1. These challenge the three anti-Christian powers who are described as "three unclean powers" coming out of the mouth of the  dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the false prophet  (Revelation 16; 13-14).
  2. Their origin indicates their nature, as well as their false religion. They, like the forces of good, have royalty.

  3. But their's is of the "whole world" and not from the "sunrising" (Revelation 16:14, Cf. Wm. Hendrickson, More Than Conquerors, pp. 196-198).

 E. In verse 15, a solemn warming is issued: "Behold, I come as a thief ."
  1. At the point under consideration in the context, nothing is said of a battle actually taking place.

  2. Revelation 16 does not in fact describe the battle. The forces are merely gathered awaiting "the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (v. 14).

   (a. The event of the Lord's second coming is expected (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

   (b. It is yet to come! However, we know that the "day of God" is the day of His final judgment (2 Peter 3:12).

  3. So what better figure could be used to symbolize the climactic nature of this confrontation than to say that it takes place at Amageddon?

  4. To the unrighteous it is a coming designed for dethronement. The righteous are admonished to keep themselves in readiness the final victory of truth.

 A. The finality of this overthrow is reserved for chapter 19, where the demise of the beast, the false prophet, and their forces is described as
coming by one, sudden stroke (Revelation 19:19-21; 21: 8).

  1. These are punished "day and night forever."

CONCLUSION :

1. Armageddon is a symbol (John often uses places as symbols for events) representing a battlefield, wherever and whenever that which is right is confronted with that which is wrong ,with the inclusion of assurance of complete victory over evil.

2. The battle occurs again and again, with the enemy taking various forms throughout the Christian dispensation. Continued rebellion will unexpectedly, but decisively,  be brought to an end in the final judgment. In this sense it is a symbol of victory. We therefore should be ready at all times.

Thou judge of quick and dead, Before whose bar severe, With holy joy or guilty dread, We all shall soon appear, -Our cautioned souls prepare For that tremendous day And fill us now with watchful care, And stir us up to pray. (Charles Wesley)

3. The following quotation adequately supports this conclusion:

  "It is a vivid picture of a complete victory, and entire conquest, that we have here; and all the imagery of war and battle is employed to give it life. This is the symbol. The thing  symbolized is obviously the complete victory of the son of God over all the hosts of wickedness. Only a single hint of this signification is afforded by the language of the description, but  that is enough. On two occasions we are carefully told that the sword by which the victory is won proceeds out of the mouth of the conqueror. We are not to think, as we read, of any literal war or manual fighting; therefore, the conquest is wrought by the spoken word in short by preaching of the gospel" (Pieters, p. 277).