by Tad Lindley
Right now Israel is at war with Hamas. Many people are wondering if this is the beginning of the end of time as prophesied in the book of Revelation. Let’s take a look at where the current situation might fit with Bible prophecy.
Revelation
John, one of the original twelve apostles, wrote five books in the Bible: John, I John, II John, III John, and Revelation. At one point in his life, John was incarcerated on the Isle of Patmos for preaching the gospel. While he was there, he received visions from God. Those visions are recorded in the book of the Bible that we know in English as the Revelation. These visions describe things that would happen in John’s future, and presumably in our present. In the course of these visions, John saw what would best be described as World War III, and a separate military event that we refer to as the Battle of Armageddon.
WWIII
In the course of John’s vision, seven trumpets were blown. These represent events in human history or human future. Here is what John described at the blowing of the sixth trumpet:
The sixth angel blew his horn. I heard a voice coming from the four corners of the altar made of gold that is before God. The voice said to the sixth angel who had the horn, “Let the four angels loose that have been chained at the big river Euphrates.” They had been kept ready for that hour and day and month and year. They were let loose so they could kill one-third part of all men that were living. The army had 200 million soldiers on horses. I heard them say how many there were.
I saw, as God wanted to show me, the horses and the men on them. The men had pieces of iron over their chests. These were red like fire and blue like the sky and yellow like sulfur. The heads of the horses looked like the heads of lions. Fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. One-third part of all men was killed by the fire and smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. (Revelation 9:13-18 NLV) We are certainly at a point in time where China alone, or perhaps a coalition of nations could send forth a two hundred million man army. This is not a local war, but global, as it kills one third of the people on the planet.
Battle of Armageddon
Just as there were seven trumpets in John’s vision, there were also seven containers that were emptied out on the earth. The King James version uses the word, “vial”, while some other translations use the term, “bowl”. At the sixth vial/bowl judgment, we see the name of the place Armageddon.
The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. Then I saw three impure spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are demonic spirits that perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.
“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12-16 NIV) This is clearly describing a battle, but unlike the events of WWIII in Revelation 9, the Battle of Armageddon is clearly tied to the Day of the Lord. That is the time when Jesus will return to the earth and stand on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:4), destroy the armies of the antichrist (Revelation 19:11-21), and establish His kingdom on earth (Daniel 7:14).
WWIII, yes, Armageddon, no
The current situation in the Middle East can easily plunge us into WWIII. Such a loss of life will certainly result in a climate where a one world government, the government of the antichrist will be established. Once that occurs, and the majority have taken the mark of the beast, the time will be short, and the armies of the antichrist will gather together against the holdout nation of Israel in a place whose Hebrew name is Armageddon. To get a clear picture of these events, I urge you to read Zechariah 13-14, Daniel 7, and Revelation 19.
Are you ready for WWIII?
Because the loss of human life will be so staggering, there is a strong possibility that you and I may not survive WWIII. Will you be ready to lay down your life and step out into eternity? Have you repented (Luke 13:1-5)? Have you been born again (see John 3:1-7, and Acts 2:38)? If not, the time is now.
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
