Armageddon is not just a biblical topic. Many believe time on this Earth is running out. What does the Bible have to say about the closing events of time? Join Pastor Mark Finley for this Bible study on Armageddon.

<p>Armageddon is not just a biblical topic. Many believe time on this Earth is running out. What does the Bible have to say about the closing events of time? Join Pastor Mark Finley for this Bible study on Armageddon.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

HopeLives365

Mark Finley

On the Eve of Armageddon

In 1945, after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing tens of thousands of people, Albert Einstein and a group of scientists that had developed the atomic weaponry in something called the Manhattan Project met together and they developed what they called the Doomsday Clock.

Now, the Doomsday Clock was a clock that would help the world, its political leaders, social leaders, educators, and scientists to know kind of where we were in the stream of time.

In January of 2022, the scientists set that doomsday clock to 100 seconds before midnight.

We are on the eve of Armageddon, approaching midnight.

Now I want to read to you the rationale why these scientists set the doomsday clock 100 seconds before midnight.

US relations with Russia in China remain tense.

All 3 countries engaged in an array of nuclear modernization and expansive efforts, including China's apparent large-scale program to increase its deployment of silo-based long-range nuclear missiles pushed by Russia, China and the United States to develop hypersonic missiles in the continued testing of anti-satellite weapons by many nations.

If not restrained, these efforts could mark the start of a dangerous new nuclear arms race.

Other nuclear concerns include North Korea, its expansion, unsuccessful attempts to revive the Iran nuclear deal contribute to growing dangers.

And they wrote this before the current war in Ukraine.

They said, Ukraine remains a potential flashpoint in Russian troops deployments to the Ukrainian border heightened day-to-day tensions.

So here these scientists looking at the world, these are not religious preachers preaching behind some desk to their congregants in worship on a Sunday morning or Sabbath morning.

These are hard nosed intellectual scientists that look at the facts.

And they say from our standpoint, when we look at the world at large, we see the ecological disasters in climate warming, we see the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we see the deterioration of our planet, we sense that we're a hundred seconds before midnight.

Could it be that we are on the eve of Armageddon?

The Bible describes Armageddon in its last book, Revelation chapter 16.

It's the only place that it directly mentions Armageddon.

And here, Revelation the 16th chapter, describing the battle of Armageddon under the sixth plague.

The sixth plague just before the coming of our Lord.

And as I read it for you, we'll go over it phrase by phrase.

Let the Word of God speak to our hearts as we try to understand Armageddon.

The sixth angel poured out his vial on the great river Euphrates, and it dried up so that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

And I saw 3 unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, out of the mouth of the false prophet.

They are the spirits of demons, which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

Behold he that watches and keeps his garments and doesn't walk naked and see his shame.

They gathered them together to the battle in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon.

What does it mean that the river Euphrates would be dried up?

What does it mean that the way the kings of the east would be prepared?

Are they coming from China and the Orient?

What does it mean that 3 unclean spirits would come out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet?

What does it mean that the kings of the earth would be gathered to that great battle of God Almighty?

Well, let's take a look first at this idea that the river Euphrates would be dried up.

In ancient times, the river Euphrates ran through the city of Babylon, but yet Babylon was long destroyed.

The prophets of Isaiah and Jeremiah say it would never be rebuilt, so this can't be talking about the literal River Euphrates running through literal Babylon.

In Scripture, we have the Old Testament Babylon, the ancient city, and we have New Testament Babylon, spiritual Babylon, representing confusion or false religion.

So when you come to the book of Revelation, it's obviously not talking about literal Babylon that was destroyed long ago, but it's talking about confusion, it's talking about apostasy, It's talking about rebellion against the true God.

You remember in Revelation 17, it talks about a woman riding upon a scarlet-colored beast, church, state, union, and it talks about she has on her forehead Babylon mystery the great.

So we talk about Babylon's the great apostasy.

What was the river Euphrates that ran through Babylon in ancient times?

Revelation 17 verse 15 says, the waters which you saw are peoples, nations and tongues.

So the river Euphrates represents the support system of spiritual Babylon.

But during the 7 last plagues, when there are calamities and crisis in the world, the support system of Babylon dries up, so the kings of the east could be prepared.

Well, when you look at ancient Babylon, how was it that ancient Babylon was overthrown?

Cyrus, the king of the east, came, diverted the Euphrates river, it was literally dried up, marched his troops down under the river, they came up under the gates through the dry riverbed, they came up inside the city.

Those gates inside the city were left open that had bordered the river Euphrates because Babylon was in a drunken feast and Cyrus the king of the east defeated Babylon and allowed the Israelites that were in captivity to Babylon to go free.

This expression, the kings of the east, refers to the coming of Jesus.

We first go to Revelation chapter 7, Revelation chapter 7 and verse 1.

It says, After these things I saw 4 angels standing on the 4 corners of the earth, holding the 4 winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea or on any tree.

So in the Bible, what does the 4 represent?

According to Jeremiah 29, verse 32, wind represents devastation, destruction, disaster.

So the angels of God are holding the winds back until something happens.

Then I saw another angel ascend from the what?

And he cried to the 4 angels upon whom was granted to harm the earth and the sea, don't harm the earth and the sea and the trees, till we've sealed the servants of God in their foreheads.

So the 7 last plagues would not be poured out until God's people had settled into truth.

They were faithful to God and obedient to his commands.

And the Holy Spirit moved upon their hearts and their lives.

God's work, God's plan, God's spirit descends from the East.

That kind of reminds us of what scripture says in the book of Matthew chapter 16 and Matthew chapter 16 verse 27.

For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he'll reward each according to his works.

So the Son of Man comes with the glory of his angels, just like Cyrus came to deliver Israel from Babylonian bondage.

So the Son of Man comes and what direction does he come from?

Matthew chapter 24 verse 27, for as lightning comes from what?

The East and flashes to the West, so the coming of the Son of Man be.

So Cyrus in Old Testament comes from the East, drives up the Euphrates River, and as he drives up the Euphrates River, his army marches under the walls, they attack Babylon, overthrow it to let God's people go free.

In the last days, the support for spiritual Babylon, this apostate, the religious system, this system that's filled with error and falsehood.

The river Euphrates representing, according to Revelation 17, 15, the peoples.

As it dries up, it prepares the way for the kings of the east, lightning shining from the east even into the west.

It prepares the way for the coming of Jesus.

Does the Bible talk about Jesus coming as king of kings and lord of lords?

He is The King that comes from the East, Jesus the living Christ.

Revelation 19 verse 11, Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse.

He who sat on him was faithful and true, and righteously he judges and makes war.

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On the Eve of Armageddon

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