6. The War against the Jews and the Saints - Revelation 12
Satan hates the Jews with a passion for several reasons:
1. They are the Chosen People of God.
2. God used them to provide the Scriptures to the world.
3. It was through them that the Messiah came.
4. God has promised that He will bring a great remnant of them to faith in His Son at the end of the Tribulation.
There is going to be another holocaust during the latter half of the Tribulation. When Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation 13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the Jews. This is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as "the great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21) - not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.
Some of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the "wilderness" where they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation 12:13-14). Many believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a box canyon in modern Jordan. There is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist will be prevented from conquering Jordan when it is part of an end time rebellion.
But Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will also war against the "offspring" of Israel - namely, those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." I believe this is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.
It is no wonder that Revelation 7:9-14 pictures a great multitude of martyrs in Heaven, so great that it cannot be counted. They are identified as "the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14).
So the Antichrist will be very successful in his war against the Jews and the Saints, but he will fail in his ultimate goal of annihilating all the Jews. For we are told repeatedly throughout the Scriptures that a great remnant of the Jews will live to the end of the Tribulation at which time they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah. (See: Isaiah 10:20-23; Zechariah 12:10; Romans 9:27-28; and Romans 11:25-26.)
7. The Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist - Daniel 11
Daniel 11:40-45 describes a military campaign of the Antichrist in the Middle East that occurs at the end of the Tribulation.
These verses and related verses in Revelation could very well indicate that when the Antichrist becomes insanely obsessed with destroying the Jews and the Saints, the nations of the world will see an opportunity to rebel against him. The nations in the Middle East will be led by the "king of the North" (most likely Syria) and the "king of the South" (Egypt). The Antichrist responds by invading "the Beautiful Land" and subduing all the area except Jordan.
But just as he seems to be completely victorious, he hears "rumours from the East and from the North" that deeply disturb him. He retreats with his armies to the area "between the seas" where "he will come to his end." The geographical description here of a location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee corresponds to the Valley of Armageddon.
I believe the rumours that frighten him are, in part, the news that "the kings from the East" (Revelation 16:12) who are bringing huge armies from Asia have arrived at the Euphrates River and are ready to cross into Israel to challenge him. The rumours from the North could relate to a reconstituted rebellious army from China/Russia.
8. The Battle of Armageddon - Joel 3, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19
It appears that just as the armies from the East and the North start arriving in the Valley of Armageddon to challenge the Antichrist, the Lord breaks from the heavens, returns to the Mount of Olives, speaks a supernatural word, and all the armies are instantly destroyed.
In other words, there really is no such thing as the "Battle of Armageddon." The armies are assembled to do battle, but the Lord annihilates all of them in a microsecond "with the breath of His mouth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Joel 3:16 says the Lord will "roar from Zion" and "utter His voice from Jerusalem." Isaiah 10:16 says the result will be "a wasting disease." Zechariah 14:12 says it will be a plague that will cause the flesh of the soldiers "to rot while they stand on their feet." Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. It will be like the explosion of a neutron bomb.
9. The Second Battle of Gog & Magog - Revelation 20
Mercifully and joyfully, the "battle" of Armageddon will be followed by one thousand years of peace as the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem results in the world being filled with righteousness and justice (Isaiah 11:4-5,9). Swords will be beat into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, and "nation will not lift up sword against nation..." (Isaiah 2:4). All the money that is spent today on armaments will be spent on agricultural implements. The world will be flooded with agricultural abundance (Amos 9:13). There will be no homeless or hungry people. Every man will have his own vineyard and orchard (Micah 4:4).
Satan will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3). Sin and crime will be greatly reduced. But there will be seething rebellion in the hearts of many, if not most, that are born during that time.
This is hard for most people to understand. Why would there be resentment in the hearts of people in the midst of such a perfect reign of Jesus?
The initial population of the Millennium will be all those, both Jew and Gentile, who live to the end of the Tribulation and who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. All others will be consigned to death when the Lord returns. So, the Millennium will begin with only believers. But they will begin to propagate, and since death will be curtailed and life spans will be greatly extended (Isaiah 65:20), the population of the world will grow exponentially.
Those born during this time will still have the old sin nature. They will desire all the things of the flesh - booze, drugs, gambling, and promiscuous sex. But they will see that any violation of the Law of God results in swift and certain justice. Immediate arrest will be followed by an immediate trial and an immediate judgment. There will be no appeal, for all judges will be Saints in glorified bodies who will make perfect decisions. So, the average person in the flesh will say, "I love you Jesus!" but he or she will do so with clinched teeth.
The Bible states repeatedly that Jesus will rule with "a rod of iron" (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 2:26-27). And despite the fact that His reign will produce righteousness, fairness, and perfect justice (Isaiah 11:4-5), most of those living in the flesh will deeply resent the fact that they cannot freely pursue their worldly lusts.
It is no wonder that when Satan is released at the end of the Lord's millennial reign (Revelation 20:7), the majority of those in the flesh will unite in one last rebellion against God that is pictured in Revelation 20:7-9. Led once again by Gog & Magog, this war is often confused with the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. But the two are very different. The Ezekiel war pictures Russia coming against the nation of Israel with certain specified allies. In Revelation 20 Russia is portrayed as leading all the nations of the world against Jesus Christ.
History is going to end as it began. It started out with two people living in a perfect society, but deciding to rebel against their Creator. It ends with all of humanity living in a perfect society, and the majority making the same decision to rebel against God.
One of the many purposes of the Millennium is for God to prove that Mankind's inherent sin defect can be remedied only by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
The religion of Satan has always been Humanism - the belief in Man. This philosophy teaches that Man is inherently good and is capable of perfection through education and social justice. Humanists therefore believe that if society can be perfected by supplying each person with a guaranteed job and income, Mankind will be transformed.
But the Bible teaches that Mankind is fatally flawed with a sin nature that makes people naturally evil (Jeremiah 17:9). And the Bible teaches that the only solution to the problem is the transformation of the Holy Spirit that begins when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.
God will prove this beyond doubt when He puts all of Mankind into a perfect society for one thousand years and Mankind responds in rebellion.
The Abolition of War
The Second War of Gog & Magog will be the final war of history. Following it, God will take the Redeemed off the earth and place them in the New Jerusalem He is now preparing. He will then consume the earth with fire to burn away the pollution of Satan's last revolt. Out of that fiery inferno will come new heavens and a new earth - this earth redeemed and perfected (2 Peter 3:10-13). He will then lower the Redeemed down to this earth inside the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-7), and He will come to earth to live in their presence eternally (Revelation 22:1-4).
Eternal peace is coming. War is going to be gone forever. This hope of Mankind will not be achieved by diplomats. It will be a gift of God through Jesus Christ who died to redeem Mankind and all the Cosmos.
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