From Gog to Armageddon.

A look at the Different Wars of End Times Prophecy.

When you bring up the general topic of end times prophecy, and the subject of war gets mixed in, most people think of Armageddon and nothing else. The truth is that when you lay out all the events of prophecy in a straight line a much broader picture of multiple wars starts to unfold. The anti-Christ, after all, will be a war monger and the supreme leader of a religion based governmental system that practices the killing of “nonbelievers” through execution and war. That system, which already exists in the Middle East today, is Islam.

To begin this discussion it is important to mention the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:6-8, Luke 21:9 and Mark 13:7,8. There will be “wars and rumors of wars”, “nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” Jesus immediately dismissed these things as simply the normal ongoing course of events in a world that is controlled by sin. As we see these things come to pass Jesus informs us that “the end is not yet.” In other words, we are not to be misled into thinking these ongoing travails are any kind of indicator that the end has arrived.

When it is time for things to get rolling at the end of the world things are going to start out with a spectacular display of God’s grace and judgment through divine intervention.

The story of Gog of Magag in Ezekiel 38 and 39 does not fit into any other end times prophecy. It is not Armageddon. In fact, it precedes all other prophecy, but by only a matter of perhaps days. The reason that we know this is because of the intervention of God. In all other prophecy there is no indication of God stepping in to put a stop to the atrocities of the anti-Christ until Jesus comes to remove His people from the earth. We do read about God holding back Satan and the anti-Christ until the appropriate time of the end, but that is not the same as stepping in and putting a stop to evil works already in progress. God slowly lifts these restraints until the day that Daniel 9:27 begins to unfold. That’s where we learn of the false 7 year covenant of peace being broken at the halfway point. Also, in Revelation 6:4 we see the rider of the red horse take peace from the earth after the anti-Christ arrives on the white horse of verse 6:2. Add to these prophecies all the others which complete this series of events and we see that the anti-Christ makes war before the middle of the 7 year treaty, and then only escalates things to an all out world war after the mid point of the treaty. That is when peace is removed from the earth. We will discuss these things as we go along, but for now the point is that after Gog is divinely defeated by God, God does not step in with any type of similar intervention until the Rapture, and then His wrath which begins immediately after our departure.

Ezekiel 38 and 39 draw a circle around the Middle East from the northern borders of Turkey, to the far reaches of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and much of North Africa. With the naming of (ancient) Persia, Ethiopia, Libya and various provinces of Turkey in the first 6 verses of chapter 38, Ezekiel gives us a word map that describes what the Muslim confederacy of the future will look like. The main purpose of this confederacy will be to destroy Israel, but even Islamic teachings make it clear that they will not succeed until the Mahdi (anti-Christ) is in full control of the Muslim world.

The King James Bible tells us in verse 39:2 that God will spare only one-sixth of the armies that come against Israel to see another day. In verses 16-23 of chapter 38 God declares that He will be sanctified in the eyes of the heathen when He sends pestilence, turns every mans sword against his brother, and pours out an overflowing rain with great hailstones, fire and brimstone. This is just one final spectacular Old Testament type warning from God that He is not in the mood to mess around. However, as we will see, the world, and primarily the Muslim world that surrounds Israel, is to a large extent going to ignore the warning.

In verse 38:16 we are told that this will happen in the latter days. Then in verses 39:9-10 we learn that Israel will spend the next seven years plundering those who came to plunder them. For those seven years they will burn the weapons of those who sought to destroy them.

That seven years is a key point. It is about that time that the Mahdi (anti-Christ) rises upon the international scene as a hero. He is the war making rider of the white horse in Revelation 6:2. According to scripture the ten nation Middle East alliance that attacks Israel comes together before the anti-Christ is made known. That is what we have just been looking at with Gog of Magog. Gog will be a collection of ten nations who attack Israel before the anti-Christ comes to power, and they will meet with failure because of divine interference.

The seven years that Israel burns the weapons of the enemy is the seven years of Daniel 9:26&27. Within those verses we see the words “unto the end of the war desolations are determined,” and “even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” The war mentioned here is the war that begins in Jerusalem and spreads to the rest of the world. The consummation is the completion of all things before that which is determined is poured out. That which is determined is God’s wrath. This is contrary to popular belief, but, the second half of the seven year covenant is the Great Tribulation; Jesus said that He would return to gather His New Testament elect after the Great Tribulation; the Wrath of God has nothing to do with the Great Tribulation; the Wrath of God is not part of Daniel’s seventieth week; the Wrath of God follows the false seven year peace covenant; and the anti-Christ is still around after causing the Tribulation to experience the Wrath of Gog.

The first three and one-half years is a time of peace for Israel but not for the rest of the Middle East. The nations that joined together for Gog’s failed attack against Israel are the same ten nations of Daniel and Revelation. They remain together under the anti-Christ, however, in Daniel 7:8,20&24 we see that three of those kings and kingdoms will be subdued by the anti-Christ even though they are a part of the ten nation coalition before the anti-Christ arises. Each of these passages make it clear that the anti-Christ arises after the nations have joined forces. Apparently there is dissension, or a desire to withdrawn their support from the union and the anti-Christ must conquer them to keep them in line. This appears to happen during the first half of Daniel’s final seven year period, between the failed attack of Gog and the successful attack of the anti-Christ when he enters Jerusalem to conquer it and enter the temple. The three aforementioned verses with the surrounding text, along with Jesus’ prophecies in the Gospels confirm that the ten nation coalition must be intact before they launch the attack that begins the Great Tribulation.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

Luke 21 is the clearest picture of what is going to happen when the Great Tribulation does begin, or more accurately what it is that starts the Tribulation. We will see Jerusalem surrounded by armies and then a massacre will begin. However, we need to look at Matthew 24 and Mark 13 also to get the full picture. Luke gives us a regional look at what is happening in Israel, and Jerusalem in particular, but when you add the text from Matthew and Mark we see that not only in Jerusalem, but no flesh from around the world will survive if the Tribulation is allowed to continue beyond three and one-half years. All three texts mention the return of Jesus in the clouds to gather His New Testament elect from the four corners of the earth after the Tribulation so we know that they are all tied to the fall of Jerusalem.

Luke 21

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21 Then let them which are in Judaea 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.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

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.

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.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Matthew 24

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains....

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

We are never told that the anti-Christ gains control over the whole earth as part of the Tribulation. Many believe that he will control the earth without having to fight for it, but that is based on an improper reading of scripture. Revelation 13:4 says that people will worship the beast with words like “Who is able to make war with him?” If he controlled the world there would be no need for him to make wars. Revelation 6:2 shows him going forth with a bow, not just conquering, but conquering and to conquer. War will be his trade mark, and it will be a religious war at that. The defeat of Jerusalem will be just the beginning of what would be the final war that destroys all mankind if not for God’s intervention when He resurrects and then raptures His people.

The latter part of Daniel 11 speaks of the activities of the anti-Christ, and in verse 40 we are told that at the time of the end he will overflow Israel, Egypt and Libya. Libya is named by name as part of the Gog conspiracy while Egypt is likely a part of the ten nations, but not necessarily. It was suggested earlier that the anti-Christ has to subdue three of the ten kingdoms before the Tribulation begins, however, Daniel 11 gives the impression that they are subdued during the Tribulation, or that some are conquered before and the others during. The words of Jesus concerning no flesh surviving should leave no doubt that this is only the beginning of a global meltdown.

So far there has been no mention of Armageddon, and there is a reason why. Armageddon is a very clear and distinct act of retaliation by God during the Wrath of God. It is the final act of retaliation against the anti-Christ and those who follow him after several years of other acts of vengeance against mankind in general. All of these acts of vengeance follow after the Great Tribulation, and after the seven year false covenant of the anti-Christ. They have nothing to do with the Great Tribulation. “Vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord. He does not send the anti-Christ as an act of vengeance. He does, however, allow Satan to send the anti-Christ as the executor of his evil plan of destroying God’s people and bringing the world into submission to himself. It has always been Satan’s plan to reign over God’s creation. He does this through terror and deception, and men submit to him because of pride, lust and fear. God allows this final onslaught of Satan as a means to bring even more people to a place of saving grace as the options are narrowed to only two­Christ or the anti-Christ.

There is a misconception that the anti-Christ will be the ruler of a one world government or system. There are some scriptures that convey this idea when taken alone, but you have to ignore the bulk of scripture that paint a totally different picture in order to hold this unified world concept. The battles that we have already mentioned are just some of the evidences of a world entering into the final stages of self-destruction rather than a one world government. From the limited nature of the ten nation kingdom of the beast, to the verses from Daniel that clearly describe how the anti-Christ will tread down and devour the whole earth, and finally the words of Jesus which state that no flesh will be saved except that God cut it short, all of this speaks of world war and mass destruction.

Luke 21:25 further states that there will be “distress of nations with perplexity.” This is not talking about the Wrath of God, but rather that time of Tribulation leading up to the time when Jesus appears in the clouds to gather His New Testament elect. If the anti-Christ were a one world ruler with all the answers, as some suppose, the nations would have no reason to be perplexing and distressing. The first six seals that are opened in Revelation 6 and 7 all reveal different chronological aspects of the Tribulation. It begins with the warring anti-Christ being revealed under the first seal; Peace taken from the earth under the second seal; famine under the third seal; plagues and war, with one-quarter of mankind eliminated, under the fourth seal; Christians slaughtered under the fifth seal; and finally, the Rapture under the sixth seal. These six seals show nothing but death and destruction after the anti-Christ is revealed until God cuts it short be rapturing His people under the sixth seal. After that the Wrath of God is revealed under the seventh seal in chapter 8 where the seven trumpets of wrath begin to sound.

One must fully comprehend the difference between the Tribulation and the Wrath of God before the things mentioned in this article become self-evident. When properly understood the bulk of prophecy points to a world descending into chaos and not a functioning world wide governmental system. Even the mark of the beast is implemented with a death sentence to those who refuse, and it begins in the ten nation kingdom of the beast before being exported through means of war, trade and religion. The religion of the Middle East where the kingdom will arise is Islam, and it is preparing its adherents to embrace the one who will simultaneously fulfill both Christian prophecy of the anti-Christ and Muslim prophecy of the Mahdi.

All that has been discussed so far is part of the seven year tribulation period, the second half being the Great Tribulation. It is impossible to explain in minute detail what is taking place across the globe because most of prophecy is focused around Israel and the Middle East. Suffice it to say that world war will spread outward from the Middle East. We can also be reasonably assured that militant Muslims around the world will take action on their own local fronts to implement the will of the Mahdi.

There are three more wars yet to mention. Two of them are a part of the Wrath of God after Jesus removes “those who are alive and remain” of His people. The third one takes place out in the distant future after the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ. The first seems somewhat minor, but it is described as a war in the Bible.

Revelation 11:7 informs us that the beast will make war with the two witnesses. These two witnesses have been passed off as preachers of the gospel during the Tribulation, however, they are actually part of the sixth trumpet of wrath. They are portrayed as ministers of wrath rather than preachers of good tidings. They speak their prophetic word to a world who is void of Christians during the Wrath of God, and their words only anger the world. They dispense plagues and death to their enemies rather than blessings and salvation. They act in a manner totally contrary to the commands of Jesus Christ and the gospel. They are given a three and one-half year period equal to that of the Great Tribulation, but they have nothing to do with the Tribulation. At the end of that three and one-half year period the anti-Christ launches some type of war to overcome these two individuals. The only way he is able to succeed is that the two have finished their course and God is ready to receive them into heaven.

After the two witnesses receive their own personal rapture into heaven we read these words from Revelation 11:14,15. “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

The seventh trumpet signals the conclusion of the Wrath of God, but it doesn’t just come to a sudden halt with the world under the control of Jesus Christ. This is where Armageddon comes in. While the Wrath of God is taking place on earth, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is taking place in heaven. We read about the wedding supper in Revelation 19. In verse 11 we begin to see what happens after the celebration. The heavens open and the Lord of all creation appears on a white horse. This is not the impostor who appeared on a white horse in Revelation 6. He’s the real deal.

After the Lord appears on His white horse the armies of heaven are seen all on white horses. These soldiers are the saints who just finished celebrating with their Lord. Together they ride through the heavens to the earth to take control of the earth and rule with a rod of iron. Armageddon is not named in Chapter 19, but verse 19:15 declares that “he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Verse 19:19 informs us that “the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” The beast is fully aware that Jesus will be returning yet once more, and he knows where. This time it will not be in white clouds to gather believers, but it will be with believers following Him on white horses to reign.

Most people don’t realize that the Revelation repeats itself several times. When we read about the vials of wrath in chapter 16, they actually correlate to the trumpets of wrath earlier in the Revelation. And then there are the last 15 verses of Revelation 14 that provide a highlight of the entire end times with both the Tribulation and the Wrath of God. In Revelation 16:12-16 the sixth vial is poured out and we see the armies of the earth being gathered to the beast in Israel at a place called Armageddon, “to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” The Wrath of God will conclude at Armageddon, and yet, this is the first time that we actually see the kings of all the earth in cooperation with the beast. We see in verse 14 that the armies are drawn from the independent nations and kings of the world, but only through the workings of demon powers rather than the workings of a one world government.

The correlating sixth trumpet in Revelation 11 showed the two witnesses being slain and then the seventh trumpet announcing the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord. Those armies that gather to the beast are the ones who slay the two witnesses and then await Jesus arrival to do battle. The seventh vial is almost an exact replica of the seventh trumpet. They both announce the end of all things as the Wrath of God is concluding. Again, this is an announcement that Jesus is about to return to conquer and rule.

In Revelation 14:6-13 we read about the gospel being preached to all the earth and then the Tribulation which follows. After the Tribulation we read in verses 14:14-16 about the reaping of the saints which is the Rapture. And finally, verses 17-20 show another reaping. This time it is a reaping of sinners. Again, we see that winepress of wrath which we saw in Revelation 19:15. This final references from Revelation 14 along with the others just mentioned all point to the same event­Armageddon at the end of the Wrath of God when Jesus takes all things to Himself. We also read about aspects of Armageddon in Joel and other places.

After Armageddon Jesus reigns with his saints for a thousand years. Then in Revelation 20:7-10 we see Gog and Magog rear the ugly head one final time. At the end of the thousand years when Satan is loosed for a season he is able to deceive once more. This time God waits just long enough to allow the deceived to gather for battle and then He consumes them with fire. No messing around this time and no survivors. They have spent a thousand years with Christ on His earthly throne and God does not allow for this disobedience. As far as we know, that will be the last uprising to ever take place in all the universe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prayer

Pray for every person who logs on to the site that they will be led of the Lord to that information that will help bring them into a proper understanding of prophecy and the reasons for the events of the end times.

Pray and stand in agreement that one hundred million Muslims will turn from Islam and receive Christ, either directly or indirectly through the truths that are being revealed on this site.

Pray about who to to send this letter to.

The things that you have read in this article are probably different from what you have learned in the past. To learn more about the simple truths of prophecy order The Kingdom of the Beast and the End of the World from Amazon.com, or order it from your local Christian bookstore.

Please forward this letter to all those who would benefit from it.

In His Service

Mike