The War of Armageddon
(Rev 16:12ampsim16)
Jeong Eun Kim from North Korea has been to South Korea for the summit talk recently. The world is anxious about the third world war and many countries are working out on their interests. If a war breaks out, it probably would be a nuclear war like the war of Armageddon in todays passage. Lets see what the war of Armageddon is like, which means the mountain of Megiddo.
1. Its the war where the dike of the Euphrates, the final defense line collapses by the sixth bowl. The river of Euphrates is the eastern borderline of Canaan, the land that God promised to give to Abraham (Gen 15:18). God pours his bowl on the river of Euphrates and the river dried up, making a way for the kings who invade the land from the East. The dried river is a judgment on Satan, but to Gods chosen people, it is a salvation. God used Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon for the spiritual pruning of his chosen people, Israel. Thus by putting Israel into the hands of the great power of Evil, God trained Israel into a great country which gives great spiritual influence upon all mankind. Once the banks of Euphrates collapses, the Maginot line of our spiritual values, the world kings will rush in on the prepared way with pleasure, extravagance, violence, lust etc. Without being awake, we cant get out of the torrents of the worldy temptation and war.
2. Its the war where all the demon spirits rally. All the demon spirits of Satan carry out their full scale attack. The words from the beast and the false prophet produced by demon spirits are against the gospel even though they are like the gospel. People are fascinated by their catch phrases, freedom from poverty and disease, not from sins. Satans policy is Like attracts like. No matter how nice they look, human gatherings without Jesus are those of demon spirits, whether they are with parents or brothers or friends. Worldly leaders show off their power through some miracles even against God without minding their evil deeds. The QT passage for the day when Jeong Eun Kim came to South Korea was about the provisional withdrawal of Babylon from Israel. The same might apply to the situation on the Korean peninsula if Kim declared the end of the Korean War just as Cyrus emancipated the Israelites from Babylon 70 years after the Babylon Captivity. Would Kims visit be an incident of salvation or judgment? Would the prayer of the underground church members in North Korea bring the emancipation sooner or later?
3. Its the war that we can win when we are awake. Despite the demon spirit gathering, the Christians who are spiritually awake win the war. Jesus coming like a thief does not mean that no one knows when he will come, but only that those who are spiritually asleep wont know it. Knowing the time means knowing Gods time, Kairos. Being awake means trusting in God and accepting his providence, administration, and sovereignty under all circumstances. What we need to do is rely on Gods promise instead of waging the war against flesh and blood, This does not refer to protesting with our own power, but to being armed with the spirit of martyrdom against the stream of the times. Blessing is not always prosperity. We need to obey God first in order to teach others about his providence. Life without repentance is meaningless. Theres no exception. Being spiritually awake urges us to show our disgrace, confessing that theres nothing good in ourselves. By revealing our physical disgrace, we can be spared from spiritual disgrace. The key to being spiritually awake is to confess our filthy nature.
4. Its the war that brings destruction to one side and salvation to the other. Despite Christians being awake as in verse 15, the demon spirits gather the kings together as in verse 16. They do this because Gods salvation has already been achieved, but not yet completed. The word Megiddo from the mountain of Megiddo, which Armageddon refers to means to pierce through demons, implying that God will judge whomever stands against Him, whether believers or non-believers, the Jews or gentiles. We also face the critical situation in our countless life battles. People will moan in the plain of Megiddo 'each clan by itself' (Zech. 12:11). Even though Megiddo is the place of judgment, it can also be a place of salvation when we moan. God always gives us a way out even in the midst of his judgment. We should win the war of Armageddon by seeing and moaning over our sins. We should win the war by repentance. God stands by us. He is our protector. Whenever we face an incident, we try to flee from it. However, when we confess that theres nothing good within us, we will be guided by the Lord to his kingdom.
The frog-demons gathered the kings together at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon (Rev 16:16).
