Armageddon



Because "Armageddon" is mentioned in the great book of Revelation, many see it as a future event, as many claim everything in the book is yet to happen in the future. The gospel truth is that Revelation was NOT sealed, because the time was at hand for all to be fulfilled (Rev 22:10), these things were to "shortly come to pass" because "the time was at hand" (Rev 1:1-3).

The great book of symbols is a complete testimony of our Lord and King Jesus, the Christ. A symbolic testimony of events that occurred in the lifetime of Christ -"things that were", things that were happening right then as the book was being written -"things that are", and things that were to shortly come to pass -"things that are yet to be", a behind the scenes look as seen by the Holy Spirit, but made known to mankind.

See: The Revelation Of Jesus Christ

Many claim "Armageddon" is a certain world wide battle called "Armageddon", but the gospel truth is that "Armageddon" is not the name of a battle, but a place, a place in Palestine, a range of hills, a gathering place for the armies, and it was outside of Jerusalem.

Rev 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

"Armageddon" was a place, a range of hills and a gathering place outside of Jerusalem in Palestine. The name Armageddon was used in Revelation, the book of symbols. The Hebrew meaning is two part, "Har-Megiddon", "Har" meaning "a range of hills", and "Megiddon" meaning "rendezvous", also, "Megiddo" being a place in Palestine. So "Armageddon" is a way of saying "a range of hills, a gathering place for the armies to rendezvous."

(See [a] Below for STRONG'S definitions of the word "Armageddon" in Hebrew)

JESUS spoke of this gathering of armies as "Jerusalem compassed with armies", a warning to "Judea" was given, saying "Jerusalem" would be trodden of the Gentiles...

Luk 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
Luk 21:21 Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Luk 21:22 For THESE be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Luk 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
Luk 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

See: *The Siege Of Jerusalem

So Jesus spoke of the gathering of the armies outside Jerusalem, saying Jerusalem would be trodden of the Gentiles, even giving time indicators as to why and when this would come to be, saying "For THESE be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled", and Jesus made it clear as to when this would come to pass saying "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation".:

Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

See: Jesus Said "This Generation"

What's more is that Jesus' words have come to pass! This all happened exactly as Jesus said it would, and when. It was about 66.5 AD when the armies of the Roman Empire began to gather troops from all over the known world in the hills outside Jerusalem, in "Armageddon" and within that same generation; intention, to sack Jerusalem. The war persisted roughly 42 months, and by 70AD, Jerusalem was trodden of the Gentiles and the temple in Jerusalem was made desolate, just as Jesus had said:

Mat 24:1-2 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

That temple Jesus was looking at is not there anymore. It was crushed, trampled, burned with fire, and made desolate by 70 AD, within that same generation, just like Jesus said. Not one stone of the temple was left upon another, because there was gold between the stones, and the Romans pried apart each stone for the gold. This can NEVER be fulfilled again because that temple, the first century temple of the Jews, Herod's temple is not there anymore, nor shall it ever be. This was fulfilled by 70 AD.

The "house", the "holy house" as they called it, the religious system, the Temple of the Jews, the husbandmen, the brides, the whole system and works was to be made desolate:

Mat 23:37-38 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

See: *The Siege Of Jerusalem

What was the crime you might ask? Jerusalem was to be charged with the blood of all the prophets. Jesus made this very clear! Does that sound familiar to you from Revelation, "The blood of all the prophets"? It should. It is the very next thing mentioned in Revelation chapter 16 and into the next chapter, how the harlot was judged, because in HER was found "the blood of all the prophets"! Who did Jesus say would be charged with the blood of all the prophets, New York City? California? No. JERUSALEM.

See: BABYLON, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS

Remember

FIRST CENTURY JERUSALEM! Not the Jerusalem of today. She was trodden of the Gentiles, she was charged double for the blood of all the prophets, she was cleansed, she was pardoned, she has paid her price in full. Now there is redemption. It is a good thing to realize this, or else you must conclude this is yet to be, and if this is yet to be, if you believe we live in the "last days", why say some Jerusalem is a safe place to be?

The gospel truth is that the "last days" were in the first century. The Messiah had come! Messiah! The Apostles knew they were living in the "last days":

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, {2} Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds ...

Peter explicitly says, "This is that which was spoken of by Joel". He then explains that what the multitude were experiencing was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel. Peter tells them they are not drunk, but it was a sign Joel spoke of concerning the "last days", and it was being fulfilled:

Acts 2:14-17 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: {15} For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. {16} But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; {17} "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" ...

The Last Days Were In The First Century

How can that be?

The nation had promised great things to God. When all the other nations were like trees without leaves, making no profession of allegiance to the true God, the Jewish nation was covered with the leafage of abundant religious profession. Scribes, pharisees, priests and elders of the people were all sticklers for the letter of the law, and boaster of being worshipers of the one God, and strict observers of all his laws. Their constant cry was, "The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these." "We have Abraham to our Father" was frequently on their lips.

They were a fig tree in full leaf.

But there was no fruit upon them; for the people were neither holy, nor just, nor true, nor faithful towards God, nor loving to their neighbor. The Jewish church was a mass of glittering profession, unsupported by spiritual life. Our Lord had looked into the temple, and had found the house of prayer to be a den of thieves. He condemned the Jewish church to remain a lifeless, fruitless thing; and it was so. The synagogue remained open; but its teaching became a dead form. Israel had no influence upon the age. The Jewish race became, for centuries, a withered tree: it had nothing but profession when Christ came, and that profession proved powerless to save even the holy city. Christ did not destroy the religious organization of the Jews: he left them as they were; but they withered away from the root, till the Roman came, and with the axes of his legions cleared away the fruitless trunk. "Soon" was right, within 40 years this came to be, within that same generation.


--

[a] Footnotes

STRONG'S:

G717
Ἀρμαγεδδών
Armageddōn
ar-mag-ed-dohn'
Of Hebrew origin [H2022] and [H4023]; Armageddon (or Har-Megiddon), a symbolical name: - Armageddon.
-

H2022
הר
har
har
A shortened form of H2042; a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively): - hill (country), mount (-ain), X promotion.
-

H4023
מגדּו מגדּון
megiddôn megiddô
meg-id-done', meg-id-do'
From H1413; rendezvous; Megiddon or Megiddo, a place in Palestine: - Megiddo, Megiddon.

___




Would you like to download a FREE e-Bible?