“When Russia makes its grand move for the building up of its Image Empire, then let the reader know that the end of all things, as at present constituted, is at hand…” (John Thomas, Elpis Israel, Preface).
At the start of the 19th century, a pioneer of the Christadelphian movement penned these famous words. He did so confidently because they are based on an understanding of what God has set out in His prophetic scriptures. As we currently witness an aggressive Russia, and a leader who seems set on rebuilding the Russian Empire, it is a profitable exercise for us to review the prophetic word and remind ourselves of what God has declared. In this article, we will review what we call “The Armageddon Prophecies” which depict a coming war between the nations, Israel, and God Himself. A war that will see the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, to establish God’s Kingdom on the earth and to rule, in peace, from Jerusalem. This is the marvelous outcome of all that true Bible believers are looking and hoping for.
The Bible and Inspiration
Before we get into the prophecies, it is important we first set out our premise for expositing them. The Bible is not simply the product of men—men who were limited by their own cultural understanding and knowledge. As Christadelphians, we believe in the doctrine of inspiration. Every word was designed and chosen by God who compelled men to write these words down through the power of His Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; Neh. 9:30). Sometimes the prophets themselves did not fully understand what they had written, but had to diligently examine their own prophecies to gain a better understanding (1 Pet. 1:10-11). This being the case, we believe the words of the Bible to be truth because they come from God who does not lie (Dan. 10:21; Titus 1:2). We also believe these prophecies have purpose behind them—that we might learn and be encouraged (Rom. 4:3; 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:17). Therefore, they were not simply written for an audience at the time they were penned, nor were they constrained in any way. As the enlightened generation living through the days in which these prophecies are being fulfilled, it is reasonable to conclude that they have been designed, recorded and preserved for us specifically, to gain encouragement. Therefore, it is obvious that we can and should seek to understand them, else why would God have caused them to be written? The prophecies of scripture are wonderful—they do indeed give understanding unto us who are “simple” (Psalm 119:130).
With these foundational points in mind, let us examine the Armageddon Prophecies.
The Armageddon Prophecies
The main Armageddon passages are: Revelation 16, Joel 3, Daniel 11, Ezekiel 38 and Zechariah 14. This is not an exclusive list but these passages give us a framework to develop our understanding of the events leading up to Christ’s return.
Being inspired by one Divine author, they are found to all speak of the same event, just in different ways. Some passages give certain details that others do not, and so we must blend them together to build a full picture. For example, there are the four gospels which one has to piece together to get a full appreciation of the life of Christ. God has not designed His word for the casual browser, but for the diligent seeker of truth. It is important that we “seek out the matter” (Prov. 25:2). When we do that, we will see that these prophecies contain similar words, phrases, ideas, characters, time periods, locations and outcomes. These overlap across the Armageddon prophecies and help us to appreciate that they are all teaching us about the same event, giving sightly different details each time.
Revelation 16
Revelation is a continuous historic prophecy given to the servants of God to tell them about events that would happen. The contents of the prophecy are encoded or “signified” (Rev. 1:1). The word “Armageddon” is found in Revelation 16:16, in the prophecy about a time period known as the sixth vial. This period is marked by the symbol of the drying up of “the great river Euphrates” (v. 12). In Biblical symbology rivers denote the national power through which they geographically run. For example, in Isaiah 8:7-8 we read of the invading Assyrian power being like a river flooding and overflowing its banks. Therefore, the river Euphrates drying up, indicates an evaporation of power and territory.
In recent history there is one power which has had control of the territory of the river Euphrates. That is the Ottoman Empire, which controlled this area from around 1400 AD. However, since it came to the peak of its power around 1800 AD, this once vast empire has indeed been drying up and has shrunk to the territory now known as the Republic of Turkey, which formed in 1923 after World War I. We can be confident therefore that this sixth vial period depicts the days we are living in right now.
In verses 13 and 14 the prophecy speaks of three unclean spirits which cause “the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” In verse 16 we read: “He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” This is a battle between God and the nations. The aftermath of this battle is recorded in verses 17-21 in symbolic language. Note the phrase mentioned in verse 17: “It is done”. We will come back to this point later when we look at Ezekiel.
In Hebrew the word Armageddon means: Arema, “a heap of sheaves”; Gai, “valley”; and Dan, “judgement”. Put this together and you have: “A heap of sheaves in a valley for judgment.” This is a symbolic term depicting the nations being gathered like sheaves of corn or wheat, stacked in a valley ready to be judged by God. This symbolic phrase links the prophecy to Joel 3.
Joel 3
Joel prophesied around the time of Hezekiah—C. 900 BC. In chapters 1 and 2 the prophet speaks of terrible calamities that will come upon Israel and their country by the lions of Assyria, and others. In chapter 3 the inspired prophet prophesies of a national revival and looks forward to the Kingdom of God—the restored Kingdom of Israel on earth. For example, in verse 17 we read that Israel will eventually “know that I am Yahweh your God dwelling in Zion”—we also read of Jerusalem being holy.
Leading up to these wonderful events, the prophecy reveals clues as to what is going to happen just before the Kingdom is established.
Verses 1 and 2 mention the time period when the prophecy will unfold: “For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem…”
We have witnessed the area of Judah being brought back from captivity in 1948 when Israel declared its independence. In the Six Day War in 1967, Jerusalem was freed and came under Israeli control. Since then, the Jewish population in these areas have grown dramatically. Therefore, we can safely say that we are living in this time period when the captivity is being restored.
In verse 2 we read of what will happen at this time: “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat” (God’s judgment). This is elaborated in verse 14: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (margin: threshing): for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Here we have a link to the Hebrew Armageddon (Rev. 16). It is the same prophetic story: all the nations are being gathered like sheaves in a valley for threshing. This is a harvesting term referring to the beating of sheaves before they are thrown in the air—the chaff is then blown from them and only the useful kernels of grain remain. In verses 4-8 we read about two areas which seem to join with the nations in this battle against Israel. These areas are described as “Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine.” We note in passing that we do currently have people antagonistic to Israel in these locations—Tyre and Zidon are located in modern Lebanon where Hezbollah has a huge influence, and the coasts of Palestine are Gaza where Hamas has a huge influence. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are sworn enemies of Israel. It would be reasonable to conclude that these people are in place so that this prophecy can be fulfilled. In verses 9-11 we read that this will be a time when nations get ready for war. Perhaps we are seeing this begin to come to pass in the rise of an aggressive Russia, as the nations “prepare war,” and “wake up” their mighty men. To combat this, we see in verse 16 that God acts and roars out of Zion. The plea of the prophet is for God to cause His “mighty ones to come down” (v. 11). This is a reference to Christ and the saints who will wage war on the invading nations to save Israel. The outcome is that the nations will know God: “so shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy.”
Daniel 11
Our next Armageddon prophecy is Daniel 11. This was given to Daniel by an angel to specifically inform him what would happen in a time period called “the latter days” (Dan. 10:14). The prophecy is all about what happens to two key territories that made up the Greek empire, under Alexander the Great. These two areas are occupied by various foreign powers, down through time, and are called “the King of the North” (the territory of the Seleucid Empire) and “the King of the South” (the territory of the Ptolemaic Empire). The King of the North territory included part of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The King of the South consisted mainly of Egypt. As the prophecy continues, we find that eventually there is only one “king” mentioned (e.g. v. 36) and this is because, in history, the Roman power enthroned in Constantinople, dominated both the territories of North and South. This Constantinople power was eventually taken over by the Ottomans. When we reach the climax of the prophecy in verse 40, we read that the King of the South pushes against “him” (the King of Constantinople). This had a fulfilment when Britain, the occupier of Egypt in World War I, “pushed” the Turks out of Palestine and back up to the north, thus also fulfilling the drying up of the great river Euphrates in the prophecy of Revelation 16 that we looked at earlier. But the prophecy continues: “the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.” So, we expect an occupying power to take control of the territory of the ancient Seleucid empire to become the latter day “King of the North,” and attack and defeat Turkey before overflowing onwards. The prophecy speaks of this invader coming into Israel (the “glorious land” of verse 41). It goes down into Egypt before coming back up to Jerusalem, where we read “he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.” A few North African nations are mentioned as being allied with the invader in verse 43, namely “Libya” and “Ethiopia.” This is the same event as we have seen in Joel—the nations being gathered together against Jerusalem for battle.
Ezekiel 38
Ezekiel 38 is also a prophecy about “the latter days” (verses 8 and 16) when the Jews have been regathered to their land after a period of captivity. We note that this prophecy is speaking of our days, where we see Jews once again in their ancient homeland. Again, like in Daniel 11, the prophecy speaks of an invasion of Israel from the north (v. 15). During this time, God Himself acts to save the people of Israel. One of the things God does is to “plead against him [the invader] with pestilence and with blood”. The word plead is the same word used in Joel 3:2, meaning to judge. It is also interesting to note, in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, that God will use pestilence in His judgments.
At this time a massive earthquake also takes place. We read in verse 19, “Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel,” and this is alluded to in Joel 3:16—albeit in symbolic terms.
The northern invader comes to “take a spoil” (v. 12), and it would appear that Israel is wealthy at this time. The invader comes upon the mountains of Israel (v. 8), or the West Bank area as it is known today. There is no mention of a Palestinian state in this area in the prophecy, which may indicate the West Bank could be annexed by Israel at some point.
As in Joel 3, the outcome is that the nations “know” Yahweh, the God of Israel (v. 23). In Ezekiel 39:8, after the invaders are destroyed, we read the phrase “it is done,” linking this prophecy with Revelation 16:17.
In Ezekiel 38:17, we read that God has spoken about this dramatic event via other prophets, and that it is the same picture of events recorded in the previous Armageddon prophecies.
In verses 2 to 6 we have a description of the invading nations—all recorded by their then current names (C. 600 BC). These are as follows:
Rosh, Meshech & Tubal, Russian peoples
Magog, Central & Eastern Europeans
Persia, Iranians
Ethiopia and Libya, North Africans
Gomer, Western Europeans
The house of Togarmah, Turkic peoples
The confederacy is headed up by a character entitled “Gog”, who, we are told, is the “prince of Rosh” (v. 2 YLT). This Gog is of the land of “Magog.”
As Bible students, we expect these peoples to be somewhat united together before Christ returns. It is interesting to note that we do not expect them to be aligned with the nations of verse 13, namely Tarshish, who we believe is Britain, her independent political offspring (such as the USA), and the Gulf states (Sheba and Dedan).
Zechariah 14
Our final passage for consideration is Zechariah 14. In verses 1 and 2 of this chapter the same events are being described as in the previous prophecies. Israel has been regathered to their land. They have a “spoil” in the midst of them (as in Ezekiel 38). God declares, “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.” The city is taken by the invaders; however, God will act:
“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south… and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.”
This appears to be the cause of the earthquake of Ezekiel 38, and it takes place when one who bears God’s name (Yahweh) descends upon the Mount of Olives. With this name bearer are all of God’s saints. We believe this refers to those who have been raised from the dead and gathered together to be with Christ (Dan. 12:2; John 5:29; 11:24; Luke 14:14; Matt. 22:30; Acts 17:18; 1 Cor. 15:21). They are those who have gone through the judgement and been found acceptable (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). They are also those who have been given the gift of eternal life, and had their nature changed (Rom. 6:23, Phil. 3:21; 2 Pet. 1:4). It will be their honour to fight against the wicked, and to help establish God’s Kingdom in that day (Psa. 149:9). But, who is the one here, who is bearing the Yahweh name and who leads them? This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who left the earth from the Mount of Olives 2000 years ago. This is the declaration of scripture at that time:
“And while they [the disciples] looked steadfastly toward heaven as he [Jesus] went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
The next verse says, “then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet.”
We expect that the great Battle of Armageddon will be at the time when Jesus will visibly return to the earth, and all the nations will know God. But prior to that, the resurrection and judgement must have taken place—for the saints are with him when he saves Israel from the armies of Gog, as we have seen in Zechariah. So, as we look up from our scriptures and witness the waking up to war of the mighty men of the nations and as we see an aggressive Russia looking to dominate and control Europe, we know that the time is short before our Lord will return. We can expect the Tarshish powers (the UK and USA) to find themselves on the outside of the European powers, those who will come under the influence of Russia. These nations, under the control of Russia, will be drawn down into Israel to meet their end at Jerusalem by the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is Christ coming? Zechariah tells us: “the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.” This Kingdom is the restored Kingdom of Israel, promised to Christ the seed of David (2 Sam. 7:12-13; Luke 1:32). This brings us full circle back to Revelation 16 where it states that as the nations are being gathered, but before the battle of Armageddon, Christ will return. We read in verse 15:
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
Indeed God’s Kingdom is coming on the earth. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we ready? Current events indicate the time is at hand.