Now let no one be seducing you with empty words, for because of these
things God's indignation is coming on the sons of Stubbornness
(Eph.5:6).
IN our
previous chapter on "The Coming of the Lord," we pointed out by the Scriptures
that, at the presence of the Lord and the beginning of the Lord's day, the dead in Christ
would be rising first, thereupon we, the living who are surviving, will be snatched away
together with them for meeting the Lord in the air.
With this event the present Secret Administration ends, and the day of the Lord with
all its terrors is on! Great scenes begin to transpire, both in heaven and on earth. In
heaven the dais of Christ is set, in front of which all the saints of Christ's body stand
for adjudication and requiting. Michael and his messengers mobilize to battle against the
great red dragon and his messengers to oust them from their place in heaven.
On the earth God's Jewish clock--the times and eras--will run again, and the final, or
seventieth seven, of the seventy sevens decreed on Israel (delayed until God
completed the Secret Administration pertaining to the celestial realms), will run its
course. As pointed out in Chapter VI, the Scriptures set it forth by such appellations as
the "one seven," "the future, or coming indignation," the latter half
being the "time of great affliction," "Jacob's trouble." We quote it
again from Daniel 9:27:
"And he shall empower a covenant with many for one seven, and for half
of the seven he shall cause the sacrifice and present to cease, and on a wing shall be
desolating detestations, even until the conclusion decided shall be poured forth on the
desolator."
This reveals that "one seven" of years is required to complete the
"seventy sevens" decreed upon Israel and their holy city. It is yet future. Its
beginning will be signalized by the making of a treaty or "covenant" by a
personage described as the coming governor or desolator. This covenant he will violate in
the middle of the one seven, that is, after three and one-half years, causing the ancient
sacrifice and gift offerings to cease. Then he inaugurates the great affliction on the
people of Israel.
THE DESOLATOR
It might be well for us to consider first of all, what the Scriptures reveal concerning
the personage entitled the Desolator. We find him designated in the Hebrew (Old Testament)
Scriptures as
The Assyrian (Isa.10:5,6; 30:27-33),
King of Babylon (Isa.14:4),
Son of the Dawn (Isa.14:12),
The Little Horn (Dan.7:8,9-12),
The King of Strong Presence (Dan.8:23),
The Coming Prince [Governor] (Dan.9:26),
The Willful King (Dan.11:36).
In the Greek Scriptures he is designated as
The Man of Lawlessness (2 Thess.2:3),
The Son of Destruction (2 Thess.2:3,4),
The Lawless One (2 Thess.2:8),
The Wild Beast (Rev.13:1,2).
Our Lord made prophetic allusion to him when speaking to the sons of Israel concerning
His own ministry among them, saying,
"I have come in the name of My Father, and you are not getting Me. If another
should come in his own name, him you will get" (John 5:43).
He will be the "Superman," posing as the great humanitarian, the friend of
men, and the special friend of the Jewish people, many of whom he will persuade that he
has come to usher in the golden age as pictured by their prophets, who will hail him as
their Messiah. He will intoxicate men with the strong delusion of his never varying
success. When he receives the death blow of the sword and is resurrected, he will have
lost none of these powers, but will be, in addition, the embodiment of all kinds of
wickedness and blasphemy. The Scriptures tell us that
"He shall declare a declaration to set aside the Supreme, and shall wear out the
saints of the supremacies, and he shall mean to alter stated times and edict[s]. And they
are granted into his hand for a season and [two] seasons and the distribution of a
season" (Dan.7:25).
"And, being broken, and four stand up under it, four kingdoms shall stand up from
the nation, yet not with his vigor. And in the latter [time] of their kingdom, as the
trespass comes to an end, a king of strong presence and understanding problems shall stand
up. And his vigor is staunch, yet not by his vigor, and marvelously he shall ruin and
prosper and do, and he shall ruin the strong and holy people. And by intelligence he will
cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He shall magnify [himself] in his heart, and by peace
shall ruin many. And against the Chief of chiefs shall he stand, and at the limit of his
hand he shall be broken" (Dan.8:22-25).
"And the king does as is acceptable to himself, and shall exalt himself, and
magnify himself over every deity. And against the Deity of deities is he speaking
marvelously. And he shall prosper till the menace is concluded, for that which is decided
shall be done" (Dan.11:36).
"...the man of lawlessness...the son of destruction, who is opposing and elevating
himself above everything termed a god or an object of veneration, so that he is seated in
the temple of God, demonstrating that he himself is God?...whose presence is in
accord with the operation of Satan with all power and signs and false miracles, and with
every seduction of injustice among those who are being destroyed, because they do not
receive the love of the truth, for their salvation" (2 Thess.2:3-12).
There has never yet appeared on this earth a person who answers to the description
given in the foregoing Scriptures.
HIS UNVEILING
After the rapture of the church which is the body of Christ to the meeting in the air,
that which is "restraining" will be "out of the midst," and the
"lawless one will be unveiled."
"And now you are aware what is restraining, for him to be unveiled in
his own era. For the secret phase of lawlessness, already in operation, is only till
that which is restraining at present may be coming to be out of the midst.
And then the lawless one will be unveiled" (2 Thess.2:6-8).
In the disguise of the "white horse rider" of Revelation 6: 1,2, he will
come, promising peace and prosperity, and "empower a covenant with many for one
seven," that is, of the sons of Israel in the land of Palestine, under which their
ancient form of sacrificial worship will be restored.
He will not only be received by the Israelites, but the gentile nations--the sons of
Stubbornness--will hail him as their leader, king, and saviour, for he will be the last
head exercising world dominion, to whom "authority will be given over every
tribe and people and language and nation" (Rev.13:7), who will seat himself in the
temple of God in Jerusalem and demand worship or death!
Then will be realized the federation, or "League of Nations," headed up by
the Man of Lawlessness, the king who does what is acceptable to himself, exalting himself
and magnifying himself over every deity, and to whom is given authority to do as he wills
forty-two months, or three and a half years (Rev.13:5; Dan.7:25).
It goes without saying that a puny man, without energizing aid from another source,
could never attain such power and influence. And neither are we left to conjecture as to
where he gets it. Paul says his presence is in accord with the operation of Satan with all
power, and signs and false miracles (2 Thess.2:9), while John tells us that the dragon
gives it (the wild beast) its power and its throne and great authority (Rev.13:2). This
leads us to the study of Satan in the Scriptures.
ORTHODOXY AND SATAN
It is little known among the saints of God that Satan is not in the "hell" of
orthodox theology today, but in heaven! This usually comes as a shock to most nominal
church members, because they have taken for granted that their teaching on the subject,
hoary with the centuries, must be scriptural! However, the truth as God has been pleased
to reveal it in the Scriptures concerning Satan, is radically different from what is
taught in Christendom.
THE ORIGIN OF SATAN
I find it very helpful in these studies to carry my readers back to the origin and
purpose of things as the Scriptures detail them, by which we can clear away most of the
errors and false conceptions and open the way for a clearer apprehension of God's eoian
administrations. For example, to speak of the beginning of Satan, immediately our minds
are filled with the traditional idea that he was a "perfect" creature, an
"archangel" of heaven; that he and Christ were the two morning stars who sang
creation's anthem, and that through sinister motives, "Lucifer" fell, and
was cast out of heaven and became Satan!
Of course, we are familiar with the favorite passage of Ezekiel twenty-eight used to
prove that he was first perfect and then "fell." But a careful study of this
passage will clearly show to anyone, that the prince of Tyre was emphatically a human
being, a man. Furthermore, we are involved with inexplicable difficulties unless
the dirge refers to the prince, governor, or king of Tyre, with especial reference to his
government (verses 16,18). If we insist that it refers to Satan, we must be prepared to
say that he is "not now" (Ezek.28:19)!
Another favorite passage which seems to afford conclusive evidence that Satan fell from
an exalted place in heaven, is found in Isaiah 14:12. But the flood of erroneous teaching
spread abroad among truth-lovers, would never have been tolerated if consideration had
been given to the context of the text upon which it is all based. It is
always quoted as found in our common version, and apparently few ever stop to question its
accuracy. There it reads,
How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
Now an examination of the Hebrew text for evidence that "Lucifer" here refers
to Satan, reveals little, indeed! It is the same word which our translators rendered
"howl" in Zechariah 11: 2! In the feminine, it occurs again in this same
chapter of Isaiah at the beginning of verse 31, and is rendered "howl." In
slightly different forms, it is found in Isaiah ten times (13:6; 15:2,3; 16:7,7;
23:1,6,14; 52:5; 65:14), and is always rendered "howl." For the sake of
those not having access to a correct translation of the original, we will give the text
and context which, considered together, will prove to all that it does not refer to
Satan's fall in the past, but looks forward to the future when the
"Desolator," the "Man of Lawlessness," who exalts himself above every
deity, is brought down.
The unseen from beneath is disturbed for you [cf Isa.14:4],
To meet you at your coming.
It rouses the Rephaim [healers] for you,
All the he-goats of the earth.
It rouses all the kings of the nations to rise from their thrones,
All of them respond and are saying to you:
"Even you ailed as we!
You are a proverb with us!
Your pride is brought down to the unseen!
The clamor of your zithers!
Under you berths the
worm,
And covering you is the
maggot.
How fall you from heaven!
Howl, son of the
dawn!
You are hewn down to earth,
Overcomer of nations!
For you say in your heart,
`I will ascend to
heaven.
Above the stars of
deity will I exalt my throne.
And I will sit in the
mount of testimony
In the lengths of the
north.
I will ascend on the fane heights of a thick
cloud
I will be like the Supreme.'
Surely you shall
descend to the unseen,
To the lengths of the
cistern.
Those who see you shall peer at you and understand you.
"Is this the man who disturbed the earth, quaking kingdoms?
Who placed the inhabited earth as a wilderness, and doomed its cities?
He opened not the house of his bound ones" (Isa.14:9-17).
A study of this passage reveals how futile are the efforts to find a foundation for the
fall of Satan. "Lucifer" is a misnomer of human invention, pure and
simple, and should find no place in the teachings of those who desire to speak as God has
spoken!
We should accept the Scriptures in their purity and exactness of expression, that
"...the Slanderer is sinning from the beginning" (1 John 3:8).
"He [the Slanderer] was a man-killer from the beginning, and has not stood
in the truth, seeing that the truth is not in him....he is a liar, and the father of
it" (John 8:44).
"I [Jehovah] created the waster to destroy" (Isa 54:16).
Here is sufficient evidence that Satan was a sinner and murderer from the beginning,
has not stood in the truth, seeing that the truth is not in him; is a liar and the father
of it; was created a waster to destroy! Furthermore, we are safe when we hold to the
titles by which the Scriptures designate him, but we are headed for confusion and
difficulties when we turn to the unscriptural titles of tradition.
SATAN'S ORIGIN
The Scriptures designate him as the ancient serpent, Adversary, Slanderer, and Satan,
titles which clearly emphasize his character and work. Not something that came to him
after a supposed "fall," but that which was in him from his beginning.
When he began, he came forth from the hands of his Creator a crooked serpent and
the embodiment of all covetousness, conceit, envy, egotism, pride, and concupiscence,
through and by which he finds access to the hearts of mankind, deceiving and destroying,
testing, and sifting them. A consideration of what the Scriptures say concerning his
origin, verifies this teaching.
"By His spirit He makes the heavens seemly,
His hand travails with the fugitive serpent"
(Job
26:13).
In this couplet we immediately note the contrast of making the heavens seemly by His spirit,
and the painful production of the "fugitive serpent" by His hand. The
spirit is used of intimate and vital association, while the hand holds its work at a
distance and suggests power and skill rather than communion.
These lines find immediate application to the physical universe, but no one, who has
given conscientious study to the stars and their relation to the Scriptures, will fail to
see the far deeper significance of their meaning. The stars are often used in the
Scriptures as figures of celestial beings, while the ancient constellations, Draconian and
Serpents, have always represented the Satan of the Scriptures. In the Unveiling we read,
"The dragon's tail is dragging a third of the stars of heaven, and casts them into
the earth" (Rev.12:4).
We immediately see that the text suggests messengers, or angels, of heaven rather than
literal stars, as verses seven, nine, and ten of the same chapter reveal. In another place
we read,
"And I perceived a star falling out of heaven into the earth. And to him was given
the key of the well of the abyss" (Rev.9:1).
Even as "stars" are figures for celestial beings, just so do we find that the
"fugitive serpent" is a figure for Satan. And we have one more evidence which
will put the matter beyond question. It is a study of the usage of the Hebrew nachash,
meaning "serpent." Not only is it the name of Eve's tempter in the garden of
Eden (Gen.3:1,2,4,13,14), but Isaiah uses identically the same term in describing the
closing days of the future indignation when Jehovah comes forth from His place to bring
punishment upon Satan. It reads,
Go, My people, enter into your chambers,
And shut your portals behind you.
Hide, as a little lull,
Till the menace shall pass.
For lo! Jehovah passes forth from His place
To visit the depravity of the earth dweller on him.
And the earth reveals her blood,
And no more is a covering on those who are
slain.
In that day shall Jehovah punish
With His sword, stiff, and great and mighty,
The crocodile, the fugitive serpent,
And the crocodile, the tortuous serpent,
And kill the monster which is in the sea."
(Isa.26:20-27:1).
This Scripture clearly shows that all this is to be when the Lord comes to punish the
"fugitive serpent," a figure of speech which can refer to none other than Satan,
who will then be on the earth and the energizing cause of the great affliction, in the
great "sea"--"peoples and throngs and nations and languages"
(Rev.17:15; 13:1-3).
SATAN NOW IN HEAVEN
Having identified the "ancient serpent" to be the Slanderer and Satan, a
creature of God, created for the particular work embodied in the titles by which he is
designated, we will next turn our attention to the consideration of what the Scriptures
reveal concerning his location and operation.
As we have insisted before, it is useless to follow blindly after tradition in hope of
getting anywhere with this subject. Our only course for a clear understanding of where
Satan is, and what he is doing, is to give reverent consideration to the Scriptures. In
Job we are given an account of a celestial council with Satan in the midst, which throws
much light on his position and operations.
"Now there came the day when the sons of God come to take their stations before
Jehovah. Moreover the Adversary came also in the midst of them. And Jehovah is saying to
the Adversary, `Whence come you?' And the Adversary is answering Jehovah and saying, `From
going to and for in the earth and from walking in it.' And Jehovah is saying to the
Adversary, `Did you place your heart on My servant Job [Enemied] seeing that there
is no one as he is in the earth, a man flawless and upright, fearing God and withdrawing
from evil?' And the Adversary is answering Jehovah, and saying, `Does Job fear God
gratuitously? Dost Thou not put a hedge about him and about his house and about all which
is his, round about? Thou dost bless what his hands have made, and his cattle make a
breach in the land. Howbeit, send Thy hand, now, and touch all that is his. Would he not
curse Thee to Thy face?'" (Job 1:6-11).
All are familiar with the account of the ordeal that was brought upon Job by Jehovah
through the Adversary (Job 2:3; 42: 11). But the particular point to which I am calling
attention here is that the ancient serpent, called the Slanderer, Satan, and the
Adversary--the waster, created to destroy--has access to the very presence of
Jehovah, and performed the work for which he was created by bringing about the destruction
of all that Job had!
SATAN FALLING FROM HEAVEN
Just here it will be well to consider a statement of our Lord found in Luke 10:17-20,
in connection with the ministry of the seventy-two whom He dispatched before His face into
every city and place where He was about to be entering. Presently we find them returning
exultantly saying, "Lord, the demons are subject to us in Thy name!" Yet He said
to them,
"I beheld Satan as lightning falling out of heaven. Lo! I have given you
authority to be treading upon serpents and scorpions and on the entire power which is
of the enemy, and nothing will be injuring you under any circumstances."
This has no reference to the so-called "fall" of Satan in the past, of
which the Scriptures know nothing, but has an immediate and particular application to
Satan's actions in response to the distress among his demon minions under the power of
Christ's name in the ministry of the seventy-two disciples. He dashes like lightning out
of heaven to earth to render them aid. The expression, "falling," has no
reference here to "casting out" Satan, but is often used of the descent
of some celestial being from heaven, so swift as to be spoken of "as lightning"
or a "star falling." Note the following Scripture:
"And the fifth messenger trumpets. And I perceived a star falling out of heaven
into the earth. And to him was given the key of the well of the abyss" (Rev.9:1,2).
But let us get back to the consideration of Satan's location and operations. Another
wonderful vista of light on his location and operations, together with the "spiritual
forces of wickedness among the celestials" under his suzerainty, may be gained by a
study of the revelations made to Daniel while in Babylon. He says,
"And as I am still praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,
and causing my supplication to fall before Jehovah, my God, on the holy mountain of my
God, and as I am still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
at the start, faint with flight, touches me at the time of the evening present. And he is
causing me to understand and is speaking with me. And he said, `Daniel, I come forth now
to cause you to be intelligent in understanding. At the start of your supplications came
forth the word, and I come to tell, for you covet these things. Now understand the
word and cause the sight to be understood'" (Dan.9:20-23).
This gives an explicit account of Gabriel, the messenger who stands before God (Luke
1:19), being dispatched with a message to Daniel to give him understanding in that
concerning which he was praying. Considering the briefness of Daniel prayer, it shows that
it took the celestial messenger only a very short time to come from the throne of
God to Daniel.
Now let us contrast all this with another experience of Daniel when setting his heart
for understanding of what was to befall his people in the latter days. It follows in the
tenth chapter.
"In the third year of Cirrus, king of Persia, a matter was revealed to Daniel,
whose name is called Belteshazzar, and the matter is true, and the host great, and he
understands the matter, and he has understanding of the sight.
In those days I, Daniel, come to be mourning three weeks [sevens of days]. I ate no
coveted bread, and flesh and wine come not into my mouth, and I rubbed not with an [oil]
rub until three weeks [sevens of days] are fulfilled. And on the twenty-fourth day of the
first month I came to be on hand at the stream Hidden [Tigers]. And lifting up my eyes to
see, and lo! one man clothed in linen and his loins girded with pure gold of Uphaz. His
body is as topaz, and the appearance of his face is as lightning, and his eyes as torches
of fire, and his arms and his feet are to the eyes as scintillating copper, and the sounds
of his words are as the sound of a throng...
And he is saying to me, `Daniel, the man who covets these things, understand the words
which I speak to you. Stand on your position, for I am now sent to you.' And at his
speaking this word with me, I stand trembling. And he is saying to me, `Fear not, Daniel,
for from the first day on which you gave heart to understand and to humble yourself
before your God, your words were heard, and I come by your words. And the chief of the
kingdom of Persia stands in front of me twenty-one days. And lo! Michael, one of
the head chiefs, came to help me, and I was left there beside the king of Persia. And I
come to cause you to understand what will befall your people in the latter days, for the
vision is for future days....'
And he is saying, `Do you know why I came to you? And now I shall return and fight with
the chief of Persia, and I shall pass forth. And lo! the chief of Greece comes! I am
telling you what is signified in the writing of truth. And there is no one holding fast
with me in these things save Michael, your chief.'" (Dan.10, tentative CV).
As we learn from Ephesians, Satan is the "chief of the authority of the air, the
spirit now operating in the sons of Stubbornness," the head or suzerain of the
sovereignties and authorities, the world-mights of this darkness, the spiritual forces of
wickedness among the celestials (Eph.2:2; 6:12,13). And here in Daniel we are given a
glimpse of his operations through his chiefs, withstanding messengers like Gabriel, from
the throne of God, twenty-one days!
But it should be remembered that Satan is not confined to the heavens in his
operations, but, as we learned from Job, he keeps in touch with earth's affairs by going
to and fro and walking in it! He is the god of this eon (2 Cor.4:4), with the authority
and glory of its kingdoms under his suzerainty, a truth which modern Christendom
vehemently rejects!
"And the Slanderer, leading Him up into a high mountain, shows Him all the
kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time. And the Slanderer said to Him, `To
you shall I be giving all this authority and the glory of them, seeing that it has been
given up to me, and to whomever I will, I am giving it'" (Luke 4:5,6).
Some who are more inspired by patriotism than truth deftly evade this Scripture by
labeling it one of Satan's lies, apparently not realizing they are making void God's word,
by turning the temptation of our Lord here into the most empty, hypocritical mockery that
can be conceived! O the power of tradition! What atrocious violence it causes us to
practice on God's holy word in order to get support for it!
This statement of Satan, instead of being a lie, breathes forth an awful truth,
the realization of its outcome being so overwhelmingly stupendous as to stagger all who
meditate upon its reality! By this, I mean that the same Adversary who offered the
kingdoms of the inhabited earth to our Lord, will actually give them with great
authority and glory to a man at the end time--the Desolator, the Man of Lawlessness, the
Wild Beast--who will take the authority and rule as the most blasphemous, nefarious tyrant
the world has ever known.
"And the dragon gives it [the wild beast] its power, and its throne and
great authority....And authority was given to it over every tribe and people and
language and nation" (Rev.13:2,7).
With all this, it is clear that Satan is not in the "hell" of orthodoxy, but
in the heavens, with access to the very presence of God.
SATAN TO BE CAST OUT
About the middle of the "one seven," wherein the covenant is empowered
with many of Daniel's people (Dan.9:27), corresponding to the time when the fifth seal
is broken in the Revelation (6:9), Satan and his host of wicked forces among the
celestials are ejected out of their place in heaven and cast down to the earth.
"And a battle occurred in heaven. Michael and his messengers battle with the
dragon, and the dragon battles, and its messengers. And they are not strong enough for
him, neither was their place still found in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast down, who is the ancient serpent called Slanderer and
Satan, who is deceiving the whole inhabited earth. It was cast into the earth, and its
messengers were cast with it.
And I hear a loud voice in heaven saying: `Now came the salvation and the power and
the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ, seeing that the accuser of our
brethren was cast down, who was accusing them before our God day and night. And they
conquer him through the blood of the Lambkin, and because of the word of their testimony,
and they love not their soul unto death. Therefore, make merry, O heavens, and those
tabernacling in them! Woe to the land and the sea, seeing that the Slanderer descended to
you having great fury, being aware that the season he has is brief'"
(Rev.12:7-12).
A comparison of Daniel 7:25; 9:27; Revelation 12:6; 13:2-5, reveals that the
"brief season" which is allotted to Satan after his expulsion from heaven is the
last half of the "one seven" of Daniel's prophecy, a period of three and
a half years, forty-two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days.
Satan, cast down to earth, in his "great fury" contrives various means for
destroying the holy people, Israel. Standing on the sand of the sea, which figures
"peoples and throngs and nations and languages" (Rev.17:15), he brings up out of
the sea a seven-headed, ten-horned wild beast. This is the realization of the dream which
men are dreaming today which has already taken form in the League of Nations and the world
court. It will be a religio-political federation of the nations, a world-dominion headed
up by the Desolator, the king of Strong Presence, the Man of Lawlessness, and
"the dragon gives it its power and its throne and great authority. And one
of its heads was as it had been slain to death, and its death blow was cured, and the
whole earth marvels after the wild beast. And they worship the dragon, seeing that it
gives authority to the wild beast, and they worship the wild beast, saying, `Who is like
the wild beast?' and `Who is able to battle with it?' And to it was given a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies. And to it was given authority to do what it wills
forty-two months. And it opens its mouth in blasphemies toward God, to blaspheme His
name and His tabernacle, and those tabernacling in heaven. And to it was given to do
battle with the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to it over
every tribe and people and language and nation. And all who are dwelling
on the earth will be worshiping it, every one whose name is not written in the scroll of
life of the Lambkin Which has been slain from the disruption of the world'"
(Rev.13:2-8).
Human imagination is incapable of realizing the awfulness of this great affliction that
is surely coming on the world under the tyrannical reign of the Desolator. It is a worse
time than the world has ever known or ever will know, and except those days are
discounted, no flesh at all would be saved, yet because of those who are chosen, those
days shall be discounted (Matt.24:22).
This leads us to the study of the battle of the great day of God Almighty, by which the
days are curtailed and deliverance is brought to waiting Israel, the reign of the
Desolator ended, his world kingdom destroyed, and Satan bound.
HARMAGEDDON
For many years students, statesmen, and soldiers have lived in the somber shadow of a
coming world war which they have been pleased to designate the "battle of
Armageddon." When the great world conflagration burst forth in 1914, the metropolitan
dailies printed their editions with flaming headlines, "Armageddon!" "Is
this the Battle of Armageddon?" "The Battle of Armageddon is Being Fought!"
After the war was over and things began to adjust themselves to normalcy again,
speakers, lecturers, and preachers began a series of messages to the people, many of which
were entitled "The Battle of Armageddon has been Fought."
It usually comes with a great surprise to almost all students of the Scriptures to be
told that there will be no "battle of Armageddon!" As far as the Scriptures
reveal (and that is as far as we care to go), "Harmageddon" is simply the Hebrew
name for the place where the kings of the earth and their armies of the nations will
mobilize for "the battle of the great day of God Almighty."
Therefore, that we may consider profitably, understand wisely and decide favorably, we
shall pursue our study under three headings: (1) where the battle will be fought, (2) when
it will be fought, and (3) by whom it will be fought.
I. WHERE THE BATTLE WILL BE FOUGHT
The term "Harmageddon" occurs but one time in the Scriptures and that is
found in the Unveiling, chapter sixteen, verse sixteen. The text with its immediate
contexts reads,
"And the sixth [messenger] pours out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. And
its water is dried up in order that the road of the kings of the orient may be made ready.
And I perceived, out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the wild beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as if frogs (for they
are spirits of demons, doing signs), which are going out to the kings of the whole
inhabited earth, to be mobilizing them for the battle of the great day of God Almighty....And
they mobilized them at the place called, in Hebrew, `Harmageddon'"
(Rev.16:12-16).
This great valley, by way of distinction, is called the "great plain" in the
Scriptures, also the field of Esdraelon, the field of Megiddo, the Galilean plain, and is
a vast meadow covered with the richest verdure throughout its breadth and length. It is at
the head of a great trough, which runs down through the valley of Jehoshaphat to
Bozrah, a distance of about 183.86 miles. This long depression is the real field of the
battle.
Harmageddon has been the chosen place for encampment in every contest from the days of
Sargon 11, king of Assyria (2750 B.C.) to the disastrous march of Napoleon Bonaparte into
Syria (1799 A. D.). It was here that Barak defeated the Canaanites (Judges 5:19), Gideon
defeated the Midianites, and Pharaoh-nechoh slew Josiah (2 Kings 23:29).
In fact, gentile nations, Jews, Saracens, Christian crusaders, antichristian Frenchmen,
Egyptians, Persians, Druses, Turks, Arabs--all have pitched their tents on the plain of
Esdraelon, the field of Megiddo, called in Hebrew "Harmageddon," and beheld
their banners wet with the dew of Tabor and Hermon.
II. WHEN THE BATTLE WILL BE FOUGHT
The Scriptures do not reveal the date of the battle as regards the year, month or day,
but they do specify the time in relation to other events. We find by careful study of the
account recorded in the Scriptures, that the battle occurs just before the thousand years'
reign, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven. Proof for this is the fact
that the three powers instrumental in mobilizing the kings of the earth and their
armies for the battle--the Dragon, the Wild Beast, and the False Prophet--are all
captured as a result of the battle, following which comes the millennial reign of
Christ and His saints.
Before presenting the scriptural proof for this, let us note what is revealed
concerning the powers who instigate the mobilization for the battle. We have already
considered the ancient serpent, the great red dragon, who is called the Slanderer and
Satan. He, of course, is the chief of the authority of the air, the spirit now operating
in the sons of Stubbornness (Eph.2: 2), and the suzerain of the kingdoms of the earth
(Luke 4:5,6; Rev.13:1-8).
THE WILD BEAST
Having identified Satan, our next concern is to know who the Wild Beast is, to whom
Satan gives his power and throne and great authority. By referring back to Chapter V, we
will find a tentative CONCORDANT VERSION of the entire seventh chapter of Daniel, dealing
with the end time and the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. In this
chapter, Daniel beholds four monstrous animals coming up from the vast sea, differing one
from the other. The foremost is as a lioness, and the second like a bear, the third is as
a leopard and had four heads, and the fourth was a nondescript, terrible and awful,
and different from all the animals before it (as to position), and had ten horn,
and it eats all the earth and threshes and pulverizes it.
Daniel became terrified at the vision and drew near to the messenger and requested an
exact interpretation of it all, and the messenger made known to him the interpretation of
the declarations. Hence we have no need for theorizing in the matter. The vast sea is a
figure for the peoples and nations of the earth, verified by the unequivocal
statements of the messenger that the beasts are kings and kingdoms.
"These monstrous animals--they are four--are four kings which shall rise
from the earth" (Dan.7:17).
"So he says, `The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom coming on the
earth, that is different from all [other] kingdoms. It shall eat all the earth, and thresh
it, and pulverize it. And the ten horns from this kingdom are ten kings
who will be arising, and another shall be arising after them, and he shall abase three
kings, and shall declare a declaration to set aside the Supreme, and shall wear out the
saints of the supremacies, and he shall mean to alter stated times and edict[s]. And they
shall be granted into his hand for a season and [two] seasons and the distribution of a
season" (Dan.7:23-25).
Daniel preserves these declarations in his heart, and later, when the messenger is
giving him further visions concerning the closing events of the end time, he cries
"`My lord, what is after these things?' And he is saying, `Go, Daniel, for the
words are stopped up and sealed until the era of the end'" (Dan.12:8).
But to John, in the Unveiling of Jesus Christ, the "era of the end" was made
known, so we will turn to a study of his Lord's day visions and get the revelation of what
Daniel asked to see and was denied. In other words, Daniel, in his visions, beholds the
four monstrous beasts in the earth at the era of the end, with the fourth--the terrible
and awful nondescript beast--eating, threshing, and pulverizing, but is not permitted to
see the outcome of his work. To John is given the vision of the beast after he has
accomplished his work. He describes it as follows,
"And it [the dragon] was standing on the sand of the sea. And I perceived a wild
beast ascending out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on its
horns ten diadems, and on its heads blasphemous names. And the wild beast which I
perceived was like a leopard, and its feet were as a bear's, and its mouth as the
mouth of a lion. And the dragon gives it its power and its throne and great
authority" (Rev.13:1-3).
Here John gives us a composite picture of the four wild beasts of Daniel, which may be
summed up graphically as follows:
| 1. |
The Lioness |
1 heads |
0 horns |
| 2. |
The Bear |
1 " |
0 " |
| 3. |
The Leopard |
4 " |
0 " |
| 4. |
The Nondescript |
1 " |
10 " |
|
|
|
|
| |
The Wild Beast |
7 " |
10 " |
In other words, John's vision brings before us the final act of the
world drama at the end time, after the terrible and awful nondescript beast of Daniel's
vision has devoured the other three beasts which were before (in front of) it.
Now let us not forget that, while these wild beasts are kingdoms, yet, as it was
in Nebuchadnezzar's day, "religion" will be the object of rule. Worship rather
than rule will be the dominant note. And we may be assured that the wild beasts here bring
before us graphic pictures of kingdoms and confederacies bound together by a common
religion. The cry of the hour is federation in government and business,
religion and society. And the urge will grow stronger as the end time draws nearer. The three
eastern beasts will be kingdoms dominated by the three great religions of those
countries--Buddhism with 460,000,000 followers in China and Japan; Brahmanism with
230,000,000 communicants in India, and Mohammedanism with 220,000,000 worshipers in Turkey
and adjacent countries. While the terrible and awful nondescript beast, with its
ten horns, west of the other three beasts, can be none other than federated Christendom
with ten allied Christian military powers!
Therefore, according to Daniel and John, in time, the three eastern beasts will be
conquered and absorbed by Christendom into one great world-religio-political-monarchy,
which will worship the dragon, and the wild beast, who is the Desolator, the king
of Strong Presence, the Man of Lawlessness, the eighth head of the wild beast, and the last
head of apostate world dominion
And it will be of the utmost help to bear in mind that this empire will not be
limited to any ancient boundaries, but will include every tribe and people and language
and nation--all who dwell on the earth will be included in its dominion.
THE FALSE PROPHET
This brings us to a consideration of the "false prophet" who plays such an
important role in the religious phase of the empire, securing worship for the first wild
beast, through signs and false miracles which are given to it to do.
"And I perceived another wild beast ascending out of the land, and it had two
horns like a lambkin, and it talked as a dragon. And it is exercising all the authority of
the first wild beast before it, and making the earth and those dwelling in it to be
worshiping the first wild beast whose death blow was cured.
And it is doing great signs, that it may be causing fire, also, to descend out of
heaven into the earth before mankind. And it is deceiving those dwelling on the earth
because of the signs which it was given it to do before the wild beast, saying to those
dwelling on the earth to make an image to the wild beast which has the blow of the sword
and lives. And it was given to it to give spirit to the image of the wild beast, that the
image of the wild beast should be talking also, and should be causing that whoever should
not be worshiping the image of the wild beast may be killed" (Rev.13:11-15).
Here we can see that the second wild beast, which is called the "false
prophet" (Rev.16:13), makes every effort to get worship for the first wild beast. We
know that, in Elijah's day, the test of Deity was the calling down of fire from heaven.
Elijah said, "the God that answereth by fire, He is God" (1 Kings 18: 24). So
here we find the false prophet causing fire to descend from heaven before mankind. Here is
demonstrated the "power and signs and false miracles" which Paul declared that
God would send the sons of Stubbornness, "the strong delusion," "an
operation of deception," that they should believe the falsehood, that all may be
judged who do not believe the truth, but delight in injustice (2 Thess.2:11,12).
Hence, we find that the powers federated on earth to battle against the Lambkin, Who is
Lord of lords and King of kings, are Satan, the Wild Beast, and the False Prophet. The
Wild Beast will be an earthly monarch, energized by Satan, the suzerain of the federated
kingdoms of the world; and the False Prophet will be a pope, heading up the federated
religious system of the world, exercising all the authority of the first wild beast before
it, securing worship for the first wild beast through the power and signs and false
miracles given it to do before mankind.
THE MOBILIZATION
"And I perceived out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the wild
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as if frogs (for
they are spirits of demons doing signs), which are going out to the kings of the whole
inhabited earth, to be mobilizing them for the battle of the great day of God
Almighty....And they mobilized them at the place called, in Hebrew, `Harmageddon'
(Rev.16:13,14,16).
And the ten horns which you perceived are ten kings--those who obtained no kingdom as
yet, but are obtaining authority as kings at one hour with the wild beast. These have one
opinion, and they are giving their power and authority to the wild beast. These will be
battling with the Lambkin, and the Lambkin will be conquering them, seeing that He is Lord
of lords and King of kings and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful"
(Rev.17: 12-14).
"And I perceived heaven opened, and, lo! a white horse. And He Who is
sitting on it is called `Faithful and True,' and in righteousness is He judging and
battling. Now His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, having names
written of which no one except Himself is aware, and He is clothed in a cloak dipped in
blood, and His name is called `The Word of God.' And the armies in heaven followed Him on
white horses, being dressed in cambric, white and clean. And out of His mouth a sharp
saber is issuing, in order that with it He should be smiting the nations. And He will be
shepherding them with an iron club. And He is treading the wine trough of the
furious indignation of God, the Almighty. And on His cloak and on His thigh He has a name
written: `King of kings and Lord of lords.'...
And I perceived the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to
do battle with Him Who is sitting on the horse and with His army" (Rev.19:11-16,19).
This array of Scripture mobilizes the armies for the battle of the great day of God
Almighty on the plain of Esdraelon, called in Hebrew, "Harmageddon."
THE BATTLE
Almost all who have attempted an exposition of this battle have gone astray by reading
into it fancy and vision instead of holding to the verities of Scripture. The battle is not
between nation and nation, capital and labor, or government and religion, but is the
"day of avenging," when Christ, as King of kings and Lord of lords, will tread
the wine trough of the furious indignation of God, the Almighty (Rev.19:15). He defeats
the kings of the earth and the armies of the sons of Stubbornness energized by Satan! So
great and horrible will be the destruction of human life in the battle of the great day of
God Almighty, that God will prepare for it in advance, by calling the scavengers of the
air and field to come and eat the flesh, lest the stench of the unburied dead should breed
pestilence in the land. Let us hear the call of the messenger to the birds flying in mid
heaven:
"`Hither! Be gathered for God's great dinner, that you may be eating
the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of the
strong, and the flesh of horses and of those who are sitting on them, and the flesh
of all freemen as well as slaves, and of small and great'" (Rev.19:17,18).
Only those biased by some theory would ever think of spiritualizing this passage of
Scripture. In fact, the details are given in such a manner as not to permit of any
spiritualization. The flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of horses and those
who are sitting on them, the flesh of all freemen and slaves, small and great, sets before
us a carnage of man's mightiest array of armies, visited by voracious scavengers for
removing their foul remains from the earth. A still more graphic description of the great
dinner is given in the Hebrew Scriptures.
"And you, son of mankind,
Thus my Lord Jehovah is saying:
`Say to the bird of every wing,
And to every animal of the field,
'Gather together and come!
Gather from around
To My sacrifice which I
sacrifice for you--
A great sacrifice on
the mountains of Israel--
And
you shall eat flesh
And
drink blood.
You shall eat the flesh
of the mighty,
And drink the blood of
princes of the earth,
Rams,
meadow lambs, and he-goats, bullocks,
All
of them fatlings of Bashan.
And you shall eat suet
to satisfaction,
And drink blood to
drunkenness,
Of My sacrifice which I sacrifice for you.
And you are satisfied at My table
With horse and rider,
With mighty ones and every man of war,'
Avers my Lord Jehovah" (Ezek.39:17-20, tentative CV).
In this same chapter, we are told that the "house of Israel," the occupants
of Palestine in that day, will be seven months burying the bones of the dead from
which the birds and beasts have eaten the flesh! We are told also, that the dwellers of
the cities of Israel shall make fires of the weapons of warfare for seven years,
without taking wood from the field or cutting down out of the forests!
The prophet Isaiah gives us a majestic description of Christ treading the great wine
trough at the time of this battle, in power and much glory taking vengeance on His
adversaries and destroying the powers of evil.
"Who is this, coming from Edom [red],
Fermenting in garments from Bozrah [vintage]?
This One, in clothes of honor,
Berthing in increased vigor!"
"I, speaking in righteousness,
A multitude to save!"
"Wherefore is there red upon Thy clothing,
And Thy garments as one treading in a wine trough?"
"I tread the wine press alone,
And of the people there is no man with Me,
And I am treading them in My anger,
And I am tramping them in My fury,
And their gore spatters
on My garments,
And I sully all My
clothing.
For
the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And
the year of My redeemed has come.
And I am looking and there is no helper,
And I am desolated, and there is no supporter.
And My own arm is saving,
And My fury, it supports Me!
And I am trampling the peoples in My anger,
And I am breaking them in My fury,
And I am bringing their gore to the
earth." (Isa.63:1-6, tentative C.V.).
Many outrages on Holy Writ have been committed by those who extract the phrase "I
tread the Wine press alone" and apply it to Christ's work on the cross. There was no
vengeance in Christ's heart on the cross. But the prophet is here foretelling the day of
Christ's vengeance on His enemies and the deliverance of His chosen people Israel from the
power of the wild beast.
"And the trough was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the trough to
the horses' bits, from a thousand six hundred stadia [183.86 miles]" (Rev.14:20).
It would he a waste of time to comment upon the ridiculous expositions that have been
drawn from this text by reading into it fanciful visions to which all spiritualizing
interpretations lead. As we have so often said, it is much easier and far safer to believe
what God has written than to attempt to follow out the interpretations of men. Why not
accept this as God has spoken it and believe it will be literally true? From Harmageddon
down through the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:1,2,9-16) to Bozrah (Isa.34:6-8; 63:1-60),
is a line of about 183.86 miles--the length specified here by the Scriptures. It is
likened to an enormous trough for treading grapes, such as was found in almost every
vineyard in Palestine. So great will be the slaughter in that day, that the blood will
flow down through the trough and rise to the horses' bits at the lower end of the valley!
Of this time, Isaiah tells us that the land will be "soaked with blood"
(Isa.34:1-8). It is called the valley of "decision," for here is where the
controversy between Jehovah and the nations is decided.
HOW THE DESTRUCTION WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED
No doubt but this terrible destruction on the host of armies of the wild beast and
false prophet led by Satan, will be brought about by the great calamity of hail which
falls under the "seventh bowl of wrath," at the time when the battle is fought.
"And the seventh messenger pours out his bowl on the air. And a loud voice came
out of the temple of God, saying, `It has occurred!' And lightnings and voices and
thunders occurred. And a great earthquake occurred such as did not occur since mankind
came to be on the earth, a quake prodigious, it is so great. And the great city came to be
divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fall....And every island fled, and
the mountains were not found. And hail large as a talent weight is descending out of
heaven on men. And men blaspheme God as a result of the calamity of hail, seeing that
great is its calamity tremendous!" (Rev. 16:17-21).
Hail has been used of old as God's engine of destruction. He used it against the
enemies of Israel in the days of Joshua, at the battle of Beth-Horon (Josh.10:1-11), then
why can He not use it literally again in this great battle? Jehovah of hosts reminded Job
of His treasuries of hail which He reserved for the day of attack and war, when He asked:
"Do you enter the treasuries of the snow,
Do you see the treasuries of the hail,
Which I keep back for seasons of distress,
For the day of attack and war?" (Job 38:22,23).
Humanity seems almost incapable of grasping the realities of the awful horrors of the
event closing the present wicked eon. The Dragon, the Wild Beast, the False Prophet, and
the kings of the whole inhabited earth with their armies are present in the heart of
Palestine, between the mountains of Israel, to do battle with the White Horse Rider and
His armies from heaven, Who is Lord of lords and King of kings. Now let our minds go back
over the Scriptures already presented, which describe this awful scene. Think of the sun darkened,
and the moon not giving her beams, and the blackness of the sky stabbed by millions
of menacing meteors, thick as a barrage of bullets in a battle, when the stars fall! At
the same time the earth is being swayed to and fro by an earthquake such as has never
occurred since mankind came to be on the earth, so that the mountains and islands leave
their places! Think of the great cities of the nations with all their wonderful
skyscrapers falling! Think of the calamity of hail, each stone as large as a talent weight
(85 to 114 pounds) falling from heaven on men! Can we imagine a more desperate situation?
Is it any wonder that the kings of the earth and the magnates and the captains and the
rich, the strong, the slaves, and freemen go scurrying to the eaves and cry for the rocks
of the mountains to fall on them?
Yet all these things are but a prelude to the most momentous vision earth will ever
see! All of a sudden, the black pall wrapping the earth in midnight darkness will roll
back and reveal the sign of the Son of Mankind in all His glory. Like a new luminary,
blotting out the sun in its brightness, there appears the most glorious majesty of the
epiphany of the coming of Christ, the White Horse Rider from heaven. Just as the lightning
flashes forth from the sullen clouds, so will be the presence of the Son of Mankind. The
veil of pitch darkness will roll back like a scroll and the glorious One will be revealed
from heaven in all His power and majesty.
One mighty blow from above, one flash of glory and the Man of Lawlessness, the
Desolator, the Wild Beast, and the False Prophet are rendered powerless, captured and cast
into the lake of fire and sulphur, while the kings of the earth and their armies of the
sons of Stubbornness are destroyed and feasted upon by the birds of the air and the beasts
of the field. The Stone of Daniel two, will have fallen, and with one blow the dominion
and misrule of the gentiles is ended, and
"The world kingdom became our Lord's and His Christ's and He shall be reigning for
the eons of the eons" (Rev.11:15).
When Satan, the chief of the authority of the air (Eph.2:2), the suzerain of the world
mights and spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials (Eph.6:11,12) is bound and
cast into the abyss, locked and sealed so he cannot deceive the nations until the thousand
years may be finished (Rev.20:3), then will begin earth's jubilee, when
"the kingdom and the authority and the majesty of the kingdom under all the
heavens is granted to the people of the supremacies. The kingdom is an eonian kingdom,
and all authorities shall serve and hearken to it" (Dan.7:27).
