The Judgment, the Wedding,and the Suppers
STUDY NO. 19
CH. 19:1-21
For the purpose of establishing the setting of this chapter, we will say ...
The events of the opening of the sixth seal are about completed ... the seventh seal is about to be opened.
The seven years of tribulation are at an end. Heaven is standing 'open'. People can see into heaven. Evil ones run and hide1. Perhaps some dare to shake their fists at God. The last trumpet sounds2. Christians are taken up to heaven. The ten horns/kings who have joined themselves (lent their power) to the 'beast system' under the rule of the Beast (King of the North), do not like the harlot, Babylon, who has been 'in the drivers seat', and controlling things via the monetary system. The seventh bowl3 has been emptied onto the earth, resulting in the destruction of Babylon (The King of the South).
In our last study I said that America, a country founded on Christian principles, a country that has become powerful in every way, has fallen. America has held the balance of power in the area of military might ever since WWII. The American dollar has become the standard for trade worldwide which is another form of power which America has enjoyed for many years. International banking is headquartered in New York. Very likely America has something to do with the economic side of things during the tribulation. As the beast reaches out to form a one-world government, it looks like America is contributing its expertise to form a 'one-world' currency, and a system of buying and selling that will be enforced worldwide.
Whoever the 'ten kings' are ... they do not like Babylon and are responsible for destroying her. Is it the monetary supremacy that they hate? Or is it that these ten kings are followers of Islam and have a deep seated hatred for America? If so, what we have here is ten Islam kingdoms joining the beast and then removing the Harlot. To a Muslim, America represents Christianity. They have used their collective power to finally wipe her out. To them, America is a Christian nation. Apparently they have not noticed that the real Christians have just disappeared.
There is silence in heaven for half an hour. . It is time for the judgment seat of Christ. Christ rewards his faithful ones. We now will read about what happens next in heaven. By the time we get to verse 19 we discover what the beast has been doing on earth while all this is going on in heaven.
Verses 1-9
In the first four verses we have a glimpse of a praise session in heaven.
It is the praise of a huge multitude. Who is the multitude? Well, of course it could be angels. It could also be believers from the beginning of time. It could be believers who have just been persecuted and killed because of the wicked system of 'beast worship' that Babylon has inflicted on the world. It could be all of the above.
The twenty-four elders begin to praise. Separately? We don't know.
And then another instruction is given ... this time for EVERYBODY to praise. (5)
The immediate response is ... praise. Again ... a great multitude. This time John reaches for words to show us how great this praise is. Greater than the last multitude! It sounded like a huge waterfall. It sounded like the greatest thunderstorm ever! Saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
In between verse 4 and verse 5 I think there is a gap. Verse 4 seems to sum up the praise that took place after mystery Babylon was destroyed. But in verse 5 is another command to praise. It is a second praise session and it is huge. The reason for the first praise session: Babylon is destroyed. The reason for the second praise session: God is now reigning on earth.
In between these two praise sessions something takes place. What is it? The clue is in the announcement itself.
An announcement goes out, The marriage of the Lamb has come! But then a comment is made that it is easy to miss. 'The bride has made herself ready'. As in any wedding, the bride needs to be dressed in the appropriate wedding garment.
In Ephesians we read Paul's remarks about the church.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is clear to see what kind of Church God wants; one without spots, wrinkles or blemishes. And while, as a church, as the bride of Christ, we work at that, trying to serve him, trying to live for him, trying to keep ourselves un-spotted while we live in this wicked world, we know all too well that we fall far short. The church is spotted and blemished.
But there will be an event in heaven that will leave us spotless.
The Judgment
2Co 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
We Christians are encouraged strongly in scripture to live clean and holy lives. We are also told how to do it. John tells us that the key to living clean lives has to do with how closely we want to 'walk with God.'
He said, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, (in this case 'one another' does not mean one christian with another, 'One another' means you and God. ) and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:5-7
So that is how we are to get clean and stay clean. But, in reality, we know that many of us will end up at the judgment seat of Christ ... not totally clean. Why? Because we did not walk in the light like we should have. And next thing we know, we are in heaven at the judgment. Paul referred to the judgment in First Corinthians like this:
11 ¶ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (3:11-15)
The Wedding
Following this event, the bride is now dressed in white ... and we come to the Wedding Supper. (9)
A 'speaker' says to John ... “Write, blessed (happy) are those who are invited .. etc.” We have no earlier mention of who it is speaking with John. In verse 5 it says a voice came from the throne.
John bows at the speaker's feet to worship, but he is soon stopped. (10) The person says, “I am one of you”.
In essence he is saying, “I have the testimony of Jesus. I have the word of Jesus. Jesus is the Word. I have Jesus. I am not Him. It is the testimony (word) of Jesus that is worthy of worship. Not me or my words!”
In the next scene we see the wedding is over. Jesus is now mounted on a white horse and he is moving from heaven to earth. (11-13)
John gives a beautiful description of the Lord. Included is the phrase, His eyes were like a flame of fire. If you remember, that is how John described Jesus way back in the beginning of this book. He saw Jesus moving about among the lampstands (churches) and eyes were like a flame of fire. Isn't it wonderful that He sees and knows all. He knows me, yet He loves me. Wow!
But what He sees in front of His eyes now is the wickedness of Antichrist and the armies gathered below. And He is coming to put an end to it all.
Coming with Him to earth is an army dressed in white. This is His bride. We are coming to earth with Him ... and we will be with Him wherever he is ... from this point forward. Those dressed in white also includes angels. (14)
15-17
Jesus is coming to rule... with a rod of iron. This will begin by removing out of his kingdom everything evil.
Mt 13:41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
From this verse we come to understand that God will use His angels in this last battle.
God's Great Supper 18-21
This horrific slaughter is called the Battle of Armageddon. We will look additional scriptures to throw more light on this event, but before we do I want to look at verse 20; These two were cast alive into ... I have been saying that the small beast, (who is here called the false prophet) is the Antichrist and that the large beast is the powerful world government headed by the King of the North. It is the King of the North, (we could call him 'The Beast' ... not Antichrist) who sits in the temple claiming to be God and thereby defiles it. (Dan 11:31). Paul describes the same person and the same incident in this way; 2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In verse 20 the language sounds like both beasts are persons.
So, if my understanding is correct, the seven headed beast is a powerful system, but the head of it, the King of the North, is really the beast.
The second beast that is called 'the False Prophet', is the false Christ or Anti-Christ.
What do we know about the Battle of Armageddon?
Preceding the Battle of Armageddon is an army from the North descending on and plundering Israel. Ezekiel 38:1- 16
Ezekiel does not mention the seven years of tribulation. His prophecy is regarding the very end. God is working behind the scenes and bringing the prince of Rosh (Meshech and tubal) and his forces down on upon Israel.
Bible commentators agree that Rosh is Russia, Meshech is Moscow and Tubal is Tobolsk. These last two are capitol cities of Russia and Siberia. According to this, Russia will rise again. This chapter is a great expansion on what we have read in Daniel.
Some of Russia's allies are listed. While some of the names are somewhat nebulous, others are very clear. And still others are identified by names which have since been changed.
Persia is Iran. Ethiopia and Lybia are part of Africa. Gomeria is Germany (and his troups). Togarmah is Turkey (and its troups).
Notice the question in Ezekiel 38:13.
‘Have you come to take plunder?
Who is questioning the actions of the king of the North?
Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish.
Tarshish was a son of Javan, who had settled the area of Southern Greece after the confusion of languages. ----------- a reference to ancient Tartessus, a seaport in southern Spain, near Gibraltar. Still others recall the sea going navies of the Phoenicians, who operated out of nearby Cadiz. The Phoenicians sailed as far north as England for tin, a metal used in the making of bronze and other alloys, which they mined in Cornwall, and which leads some to connect Tarshish with England. It may be that the name Britannia is actually derived from a Phoenician word meaning “source of tin.” If so, this reference could be to Great Britain making the “lions” (KJV) or “villages”(NIV) of Tarshish Great Britain’s colonies, of which the US is most prominent today. The fact that the lion is a symbol of the British Empire lends support to this view.
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/who-are-the-onlookers-of-ezekiel-3813/
The King of the North takes action with allies – the ten horns. He does this minus the harlot that is now thrown down. (The King of the north (Daniel) has just defeated the King of the South Daniel 11:40-45)
God brought this army down on his own people for a reason. But no sooner is the reason accomplished and God puts an end to it. Eze 38:18-23
By what means does Christ destroy Rosh? (the King of the North)
Paul states in 2 Thessalonians - 2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
I have never heard this commented on. We read it and sort of think it must be some kind of a figure of speech.
Look how literally Zechariah describes the Battle of Armageddon.
Zechariah 14:1-15
1 ¶ Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.
It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD—Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
8 ¶ And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—"The LORD is one," And His name one.
10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king’s winepresses.
11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
Jesus has descended to the mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem. Jude says, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 ¶ "to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:14
The Millennial Reign follows the Battle of Armageddon. For EXTRA STUDY you may wish to read and re-read chapter 20. Add to this, Ezekiel 39:1-16.
Even though we will be with Jesus in our indestructible and eternal bodies, unable to be touched by the evil one, reading about this terrible event still causes us to shrink back with the horror of it all. Because we are not 'there yet' we need to have our faith strengthened.
We need to maintain our focus!
Re 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."’
Re 2:11 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."’
Re 2:26 "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—--
Re 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Re 3:11 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Re 3:12 "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Re 3:21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne
1 Revelation 6:16
2 Revelation 11:15
3 Revelation 16:17
The events of the opening of the sixth seal are about completed ... the seventh seal is about to be opened.
The seven years of tribulation are at an end. Heaven is standing 'open'. People can see into heaven. Evil ones run and hide1. Perhaps some dare to shake their fists at God. The last trumpet sounds2. Christians are taken up to heaven. The ten horns/kings who have joined themselves (lent their power) to the 'beast system' under the rule of the Beast (King of the North), do not like the harlot, Babylon, who has been 'in the drivers seat', and controlling things via the monetary system. The seventh bowl3 has been emptied onto the earth, resulting in the destruction of Babylon (The King of the South).
In our last study I said that America, a country founded on Christian principles, a country that has become powerful in every way, has fallen. America has held the balance of power in the area of military might ever since WWII. The American dollar has become the standard for trade worldwide which is another form of power which America has enjoyed for many years. International banking is headquartered in New York. Very likely America has something to do with the economic side of things during the tribulation. As the beast reaches out to form a one-world government, it looks like America is contributing its expertise to form a 'one-world' currency, and a system of buying and selling that will be enforced worldwide.
Whoever the 'ten kings' are ... they do not like Babylon and are responsible for destroying her. Is it the monetary supremacy that they hate? Or is it that these ten kings are followers of Islam and have a deep seated hatred for America? If so, what we have here is ten Islam kingdoms joining the beast and then removing the Harlot. To a Muslim, America represents Christianity. They have used their collective power to finally wipe her out. To them, America is a Christian nation. Apparently they have not noticed that the real Christians have just disappeared.
There is silence in heaven for half an hour. . It is time for the judgment seat of Christ. Christ rewards his faithful ones. We now will read about what happens next in heaven. By the time we get to verse 19 we discover what the beast has been doing on earth while all this is going on in heaven.
Verses 1-9
In the first four verses we have a glimpse of a praise session in heaven.
It is the praise of a huge multitude. Who is the multitude? Well, of course it could be angels. It could also be believers from the beginning of time. It could be believers who have just been persecuted and killed because of the wicked system of 'beast worship' that Babylon has inflicted on the world. It could be all of the above.
The twenty-four elders begin to praise. Separately? We don't know.
And then another instruction is given ... this time for EVERYBODY to praise. (5)
The immediate response is ... praise. Again ... a great multitude. This time John reaches for words to show us how great this praise is. Greater than the last multitude! It sounded like a huge waterfall. It sounded like the greatest thunderstorm ever! Saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
In between verse 4 and verse 5 I think there is a gap. Verse 4 seems to sum up the praise that took place after mystery Babylon was destroyed. But in verse 5 is another command to praise. It is a second praise session and it is huge. The reason for the first praise session: Babylon is destroyed. The reason for the second praise session: God is now reigning on earth.
In between these two praise sessions something takes place. What is it? The clue is in the announcement itself.
An announcement goes out, The marriage of the Lamb has come! But then a comment is made that it is easy to miss. 'The bride has made herself ready'. As in any wedding, the bride needs to be dressed in the appropriate wedding garment.
In Ephesians we read Paul's remarks about the church.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
It is clear to see what kind of Church God wants; one without spots, wrinkles or blemishes. And while, as a church, as the bride of Christ, we work at that, trying to serve him, trying to live for him, trying to keep ourselves un-spotted while we live in this wicked world, we know all too well that we fall far short. The church is spotted and blemished.
But there will be an event in heaven that will leave us spotless.
The Judgment
2Co 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
We Christians are encouraged strongly in scripture to live clean and holy lives. We are also told how to do it. John tells us that the key to living clean lives has to do with how closely we want to 'walk with God.'
He said, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, (in this case 'one another' does not mean one christian with another, 'One another' means you and God. ) and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:5-7
So that is how we are to get clean and stay clean. But, in reality, we know that many of us will end up at the judgment seat of Christ ... not totally clean. Why? Because we did not walk in the light like we should have. And next thing we know, we are in heaven at the judgment. Paul referred to the judgment in First Corinthians like this:
11 ¶ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (3:11-15)
The Wedding
Following this event, the bride is now dressed in white ... and we come to the Wedding Supper. (9)
A 'speaker' says to John ... “Write, blessed (happy) are those who are invited .. etc.” We have no earlier mention of who it is speaking with John. In verse 5 it says a voice came from the throne.
John bows at the speaker's feet to worship, but he is soon stopped. (10) The person says, “I am one of you”.
In essence he is saying, “I have the testimony of Jesus. I have the word of Jesus. Jesus is the Word. I have Jesus. I am not Him. It is the testimony (word) of Jesus that is worthy of worship. Not me or my words!”
In the next scene we see the wedding is over. Jesus is now mounted on a white horse and he is moving from heaven to earth. (11-13)
John gives a beautiful description of the Lord. Included is the phrase, His eyes were like a flame of fire. If you remember, that is how John described Jesus way back in the beginning of this book. He saw Jesus moving about among the lampstands (churches) and eyes were like a flame of fire. Isn't it wonderful that He sees and knows all. He knows me, yet He loves me. Wow!
But what He sees in front of His eyes now is the wickedness of Antichrist and the armies gathered below. And He is coming to put an end to it all.
Coming with Him to earth is an army dressed in white. This is His bride. We are coming to earth with Him ... and we will be with Him wherever he is ... from this point forward. Those dressed in white also includes angels. (14)
15-17
Jesus is coming to rule... with a rod of iron. This will begin by removing out of his kingdom everything evil.
Mt 13:41 "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,
From this verse we come to understand that God will use His angels in this last battle.
God's Great Supper 18-21
This horrific slaughter is called the Battle of Armageddon. We will look additional scriptures to throw more light on this event, but before we do I want to look at verse 20; These two were cast alive into ... I have been saying that the small beast, (who is here called the false prophet) is the Antichrist and that the large beast is the powerful world government headed by the King of the North. It is the King of the North, (we could call him 'The Beast' ... not Antichrist) who sits in the temple claiming to be God and thereby defiles it. (Dan 11:31). Paul describes the same person and the same incident in this way; 2Th 2:3 ¶ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In verse 20 the language sounds like both beasts are persons.
So, if my understanding is correct, the seven headed beast is a powerful system, but the head of it, the King of the North, is really the beast.
The second beast that is called 'the False Prophet', is the false Christ or Anti-Christ.
What do we know about the Battle of Armageddon?
- What immediately precedes it?
- How long does it last.
- By what means is the victory won?
- Who survives the battle?
- Are there any effects which last into the millennium?
- Who will be the mortal residents during the millennial reign?
- What part will immortal beings play during this time?
- What changes when the ‘curse’ placed on the earth in the Garden of Eden is removed?
- What effect will this have on people and animals?
- Will people still sin during the millennial reign of Christ?
- Will people still need to repent and accept Christ as Saviour during the millennium?
- When will they stand before God’s judgment seat?
Preceding the Battle of Armageddon is an army from the North descending on and plundering Israel. Ezekiel 38:1- 16
Ezekiel does not mention the seven years of tribulation. His prophecy is regarding the very end. God is working behind the scenes and bringing the prince of Rosh (Meshech and tubal) and his forces down on upon Israel.
Bible commentators agree that Rosh is Russia, Meshech is Moscow and Tubal is Tobolsk. These last two are capitol cities of Russia and Siberia. According to this, Russia will rise again. This chapter is a great expansion on what we have read in Daniel.
Some of Russia's allies are listed. While some of the names are somewhat nebulous, others are very clear. And still others are identified by names which have since been changed.
Persia is Iran. Ethiopia and Lybia are part of Africa. Gomeria is Germany (and his troups). Togarmah is Turkey (and its troups).
Notice the question in Ezekiel 38:13.
‘Have you come to take plunder?
Who is questioning the actions of the king of the North?
Sheba, Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish.
Tarshish was a son of Javan, who had settled the area of Southern Greece after the confusion of languages. ----------- a reference to ancient Tartessus, a seaport in southern Spain, near Gibraltar. Still others recall the sea going navies of the Phoenicians, who operated out of nearby Cadiz. The Phoenicians sailed as far north as England for tin, a metal used in the making of bronze and other alloys, which they mined in Cornwall, and which leads some to connect Tarshish with England. It may be that the name Britannia is actually derived from a Phoenician word meaning “source of tin.” If so, this reference could be to Great Britain making the “lions” (KJV) or “villages”(NIV) of Tarshish Great Britain’s colonies, of which the US is most prominent today. The fact that the lion is a symbol of the British Empire lends support to this view.
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/who-are-the-onlookers-of-ezekiel-3813/
The King of the North takes action with allies – the ten horns. He does this minus the harlot that is now thrown down. (The King of the north (Daniel) has just defeated the King of the South Daniel 11:40-45)
God brought this army down on his own people for a reason. But no sooner is the reason accomplished and God puts an end to it. Eze 38:18-23
By what means does Christ destroy Rosh? (the King of the North)
Paul states in 2 Thessalonians - 2Th 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
I have never heard this commented on. We read it and sort of think it must be some kind of a figure of speech.
Look how literally Zechariah describes the Battle of Armageddon.
Zechariah 14:1-15
1 ¶ Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.
It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD—Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
8 ¶ And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—"The LORD is one," And His name one.
10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king’s winepresses.
11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
Jesus has descended to the mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem. Jude says, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 ¶ "to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:14
The Millennial Reign follows the Battle of Armageddon. For EXTRA STUDY you may wish to read and re-read chapter 20. Add to this, Ezekiel 39:1-16.
Even though we will be with Jesus in our indestructible and eternal bodies, unable to be touched by the evil one, reading about this terrible event still causes us to shrink back with the horror of it all. Because we are not 'there yet' we need to have our faith strengthened.
We need to maintain our focus!
Re 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."’
Re 2:11 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death."’
Re 2:26 "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—--
Re 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Re 3:11 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
Re 3:12 "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
Re 3:21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne
1 Revelation 6:16
2 Revelation 11:15
3 Revelation 16:17