Armaggedon-The War To End All Wars

 

 

 

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” ¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. ²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."

Revelation 19:17-21

 

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to pray that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days!

   

I want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so thankful your prayers and continue to pray for all of you. Prayer is such a powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory! 

 

As we conclude our study on Revelation chapter 19, there are just a few important notes I would like to make. The United States of America has never been a Christian nation under ruled by God nor will it ever be. Though it was founded upon Judeo Christian values, the Word of God clearly teaches us that Satan "is the god of this world." In fact, in John 12, Jesus referred to him as "the ruler of this world." 

 

In Ephesians, Paul says of Satan, he is "the prince of the power of the air” meaning that he rules the demonic powers who occupy the air, the heavenly sphere that encompasses the earth, who influence men to act and think consistent with his diabolical and rebellious purposes. Since his rebellion against God, Satan’s kingdom of darkness has existed throughout redemptive history. Therefore, there has never been a single kingdom of the world in terms of a global empire. In fact, the world would not be able to exist had God not ordained it. 

 

Satan's rule will at last end during the time of the Tribulation, just as we've seen in Scripture, where he will be cast eternally into the Lake of Fire. Though this transference of power from Satan to God is still future, the certainty of it is as sure as though it were already done. What a testimony of the omnipotent sovereignty and power of our God!

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father, 

 

Father, we thank You for Your Word, the eternal truths that remind us of Your sovereignty and holiness. Lord, I pray that You will use these words to do a mighty work in the heart that You would be glorified. Merciful and loving God, soften the hearts of unbelievers that might hear and receive the truth and surrender to Christ as Lord and Savior. Burden our hearts, with the concern for people who are facing eternal punishment and torment and grant us boldness to proclaim the Gospel. Awaken those in the church and those in false religions, who are being deceived.  And, let us display, the mercy, compassion, grace and forgiveness that You have extended to us, even while we were yet undeserving sinners. May it be for Your glory and Christ's sake.

In His precious name we ask and pray

Amen

Today's Message: Armaggedon-The War To End All Wars

Throughout history, a number of wars have been billed as the war to end all wars, this is the only battle fought to end all battles and the war waged to end all wars. Christ fought this war to quiet our souls and deliver to us the perfect peace that has eluded the world since Satan's fall to earth. WW I was one such war, however, of course we know there was later a WW II. God's Word promises the Battle of Armageddon, will be the last and final war, when justice will at last be served.

It is again my honor and great privilege to minister the Word of God to you. I must confess, I have often wondered why God has chosen me, I am unworthy of such a high calling. Through His grace and mercy, He has however, equipped me for such a weighty task, for which I am so very grateful. At the time, I had no idea that the Holy Spirit would place such a strong hunger, and burning desire within my soul. It has truly transformed my life and I am so privileged to share that with all of you. All praise and glory to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Open with me your Bibles and turn to Revelation chapter nineteen. Revelation 19. Today, we will bring this fascinating chapter to a close with verses 17 through 21. I will warn you, some of the language and imagery here is, rather graphic. I have not been called to sugar coat and dilute it, but to teach His Word as God has revealed it. I'd like you to note, just vividly different is His first coming of Christ as a baby in a manger, one who does not come to give life, but to take it away. I believe that this is really an awfully horrifying story. The greatest, most powerful world leaders are essentially reduced to roadkill.

 

I now invite you to follow along with me as I read verses 11 through 21,to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for what the Spirit of God is saying to us. Listen for the voice of our Lord. Revelation 19:11-21.

 

"Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.  And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

 

To anyone who has read and studied the Old Testament, this is a very familiar message, the promise of final judgment upon the world.There are many passages that speak of that final judgment on the world. One such passage is found in Isaiah chapter 2, no need to turn there, I'll just read it to you. "For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased.

 

Then, in verse 19, we read "Men will go into caves of the rocks and into holes of the ground before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble."

 

Before we begin, I would like to add, that though God is loving, God is patient, God is merciful and He is a God of salvation, He will not be mocked. The day of judgement and wrath will come! Make no mistake out it, when He returns, it will be a public event.

 

Look at what Ezekiel 38 says " And the word of the Lord came to me saying,  “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you." This appears to be a reference to what we would see as Modern Turkey.

 

"Then, beginning in verse 7 "Be prepared, and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them. You will go up, you will come like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you."

‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’"

God is gathering all these forces to come against Israel, listen to this "and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog." This word is so powerful, because this is the truth, we can actually see this beginning to play out. Of course, we know that Christ will instantaneously defeat them. 

Listen as I read Ezekiel 39, verses 17-18, "As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings."

While the New Testament church shares in the promises of Israel, it does not in her unique identity as a chosen nation. Despite her rebellion, God has not abandoned Israel, God will avenge their blood. I would encourage you continue reading on your own. I know this was rather a scenic journey to arrive at our text, but is so rich, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share with you. All through Scripture, we are reminded of this final day of reckoning, when Christ returns in blazing vengeance and glory as a consuming fire even as the world shakes its fists in defiance.

Notice the consistency of Scripture about "calling the birds to feast on the flesh." These prophecies in Scripture of final judgment, is exactly where the world is headed.And, it's closer than its ever been.

Back to Revelation 19, verses 17-18: "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God. so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." We've noted before, that angels are often associated with the judgment. All throughout the book of Revelation,  angels appear in very important times of judgment. I'm not going to belabor that because we've discussed that in length several times.  It is interesting to mention, this angel is standing in the sun. "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun." Obviously the sun temporarily pierces the darkness of the fifth bowl judgement.  By the way, the angels position will make him impossible to go unnoticed. The whole world will see this.

You may remember, the first place we read about it is in Joel chapter 2. "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered." The sun will go out, Revelation affirms that. Before the sun goes out, "an angel stands in the sun, and makes this announcement. "and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God."

Now, in the original text the word for supper is "deipnon," which is the primary meal of the day. You will recall, back in verse 9, there’s a marriage supper of the Lamb. This is a very different supper. A very different kind of meal, in fact, this supper is one you do not want to be invited to, because those invited are the meal. The birds called to eat the flesh of those killed in this battle. Either one accepts God’s supper of grace, or he must face the one of God’s judgment.

I'd like you to notice, the angel doesn't even acknowledge the Antichrist or his armies. Rather he summons the  birds to come to supper, and their corpses will be the main dish. The word birds, is the word "orneon," meaning foul, to feed on the carnage. All through human history birds have eaten the flesh of those who were killed in battles. The armies of the world will be gathered around Israel and the plain of Megiddo, stretching two hundred miles north and south. This will be unlike anything the world has ever seen.  This feast will be the feast of flesh all over the world.

In my research, I found this to be quite interesting, "Israel, located at the junction of three continents is crossed by migrating birds on a scale unparalleled anywhere.  Studies over the past decade show that about 500 million birds cross Israel’s narrow airspace twice every year in the course of their migrations. Consequently, Israel has become an attraction for bird enthusiasts world wide.”  

It goes on to say, “Although Israel has laws that protect migrating birds, the massive migrations have created a grave safety problem for both the Israel air force and the birds.  A joint study conducted over the past decade by the Israel Air Force and the society for the protection of nature in Israel led to several solutions that have reduced the number of accidents involving aircraft and birds by 88 percent thereby helping to protect pilots, aircraft and the migrating birds that fill Israel’s skies by the millions twice each year.  

Research on migrating birds in Israel, based on satellite and radar monitoring makes it possible today to track the birds from Israel to their winter nesting grounds in Africa and back northward via Israel to their summer nesting grounds in Europe." There will be no shortage of birds, birds of all kinds could eat the carrion of this slaughter.

You will recall, in our earlier studies, we discussed  that by now the topography of the earth will be very difficult to traverse because of all of the earthquakes, because of all of the catastrophic plagues that have wrought havoc upon the earth. No technology, no military aircraft, no missiles. So, they will have to ride horses as we see in our text.  "so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." Here we see that God's judgement shows no partiality. 

In verse 19, John says "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army." This is the final war. Further, I believe that Scripture supports that the satanically empowered Antichrist will have deliberately assembled his troops while he awaits the arrival of the warrior king, having the understanding Bible prophecy. In fact, Daniel 11 says "He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him."

At His first coming, His enemies succeeded in killing Him when He came in humility and grace.Because they hated Him. Just imagine their contempt for Him when they have been under His unrelenting judgment!

Now, the drama increases in verse 20, "And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone." At last, these two satanic leaders,  one political and the other religious, are captured and are thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

Here is the first mention of the final eternal hell, and it's first two occupants are the Antichrist and the false prophet. Imagine the sheer terror of this scene. And, I imagine there is nothing more humiliating to a man than to be picked up and thrown. Trying to elect the right politicians in order to turn this country and the rest of the world around makes about as much as attempting to float down a river on a toothpick! Or the occupants of the Titanic rearranging the deck furniture as it's going down. This world is going into the abyss of ungodliness and destruction.

That brings us to verse 21, "And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."

In Closing..

Our society today is being prepared for and easy prey for the Antichrist, for the false prophet. In spite of their self proclaimed wisdom and knowledge, the people of this world that is insanely gullible and naive. Brimstone is a sulfuric chemical that can become explosively hot. This is reminiscent of the judgment that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The lake of fire was prepared for the Satan and his angels, for demons; but it will be the location of humans as well.By the way, this is clear evidence that there will be no annihilation. The lake of fire neither annihilates them, nor purifies them. 

Matthew 13, "A furnace of fire where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth."

God, in His Word makes plain that God so loved the world that He gave His Son, and that all who avail themselves of the grace of God are immeasurably blessed in time and eternity. On the other hand, the same Word of God states plainly that those who reject God’s mercy must experience His judgment. without mercy. These words in Matthew 25, should haunt every man who rejects Christ as Savior and refuses to serve him as Lord. "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." The mounting evidence is conclusive, God brings every evil work into judgment. 

The modern contemporary church has been given the illusion that Jesus is a compassionate, sin accepting Savior who wants to do for you whatever you’d like to do for yourself. If you've said the sinners prayer, do whatever you'd like, continue sinning and living sexually immoral lives because He is friend, not your Judge. If you have not accepted His Lordship in your life, He is your Judge. And, I will continue to dispute those false and damnable claims with the authority of Scripture. Today He is longsuffering, He’s waiting for you to come to Christ repentance. Soon, He will come in judgement and wrath.

May it be so..
 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen 

 

 

 

 

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