The last times - 9 Gog & Magog, Armageddon - the last battle.

Hymn 769.

Indian & English - In the name of Jesus

In our last study, I showed that we should understand the 1,000 years of Revelation 20 as the present Gospel age.

The "millennium" begins with the LORD Jesus' victory over Satan on the cross.

After his victory, Jesus commands his apostles to take the Gospel to every nation, in all the world.

At the end of the "1,000 years" Satan is set free to gather the nations for one last battle against the LORD and his people.

I want to look more closely at the last battle of Satan against God & the people of God.

This last battle is given names like "Armageddon", "Gog & Magog".

Armageddon is called the plain of Megiddo in the Old Testament Scripture.

[OHP]

It is an area in northern Israel where many battles were fought.

Barak & Deborah, & Gideon had great victories there.

The kings Saul & Josiah died there in battle.

Any invading army from the north would pass through Megiddo.

Perhaps the greatest victory was Elijah's victory on Mount Carmel.

Mount Carmel overlooks the plain of Megiddo.

There Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call fire from their gods.

The LORD himself answered Elijah's prayer by sending fire from heaven.

You will find the only reference to "Armageddon" in Revelation 16.

It comes after the 6th bowl of God's wrath is poured out.

The nations of the whole world gather for battle but the battle is never fought.

Then the last bowl is poured for judgement.

We will read Rev. 16:12-17.

12 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.
13 Then I saw three evil 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.
14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous 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.
15 Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.
16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, It is done!

When we turn to Rev. 20, we see that the Gog & Magog battle is described in very similar terms to the Armageddon battle.

Both battles involve the whole world, & neither battle is fought, for both end with destruction from God.

Rev. 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

Why does John refer to Gog & Magog?

We need to turn to the prophecy of Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39.

As we read this we need to remember that all the promises of God to Israel are for the church, comprising the redeemed from all nations.

Israel therefore consists of believers all over the world.

A battle of evil nations against New Covenant Israel will be persecution of believers wherever they live.

The battle is prophesied as an invasion of Israel by armies from many nations, led by king Gog, of the land of Magog.

We need not look for his identity as an earthly king, of an earthly country.

This is in fact a war led by Satan against the people of God.

We can read Ephesians 6 about Christian spiritual warfare against Satan.

When we read Ezekiel 38, we will see why the LORD God releases Satan at the end of time.

We see in verses 1- 7 Gog gathering the nations for battle.

1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; prophesy against him
3 and say: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
4 I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army--your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords.
5 Persia, Cush and Put will be with them, all with shields and helmets,
6 also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops--the many nations with you.
7 'Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them.

Gog leads a vast army intending to battle against Israel, the people of the LORD God redeemed from many nations.
8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety.
9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
10 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme.
11 You will say, I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of them living without walls and without gates and bars.
12 I will plunder and loot and turn my hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations, rich in livestock and goods, living at the centre of the land.
13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?'

The LORD God speaks in judgement of Gog.

Gog is allowed to lead his mighty army against the people of the LORD, so that God will be glorified and shown to be holy in the eyes of people from every nation.
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it?
15 You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.
16 You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land. In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

The battle never takes place, for the LORD God destroys the invaders.
17 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Are you not the one I spoke of in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel? At that time they prophesied for years that I would bring you against them.
18 This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD.
19 In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.
20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.
21 I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother.
22 I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulphur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.
23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'

We need to read that last verse again.

23 And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.'

The LORD Jesus Christ comes again in glory. The war is over.

God is glorified by his redeemed people from many nations.

Even the wicked must recognise that the LORD is God.

As Paul writes in Philippians 2

10 at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Judgement follows, when all the wicked are condemned to hell, and all the redeemed are resurrected from the dead & the living are given glorious bodies to live in the New Heaven & New Earth.

We have great encouragement to be faithful to our God, and to pray for those who are suffering for his name.