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accurately be called a "battle of
Armageddon," ended with a total
rout of the Canaanites.
King Solomon fortified the city
in the 1Oth century B.C. as a mili–
tary center and char iot town
( I Kings 9: 15). An est imated 450
horses could be stabled there.
Three centur ies later, King Josiah
of ancient Judah was slain in the
valley of Megiddo, unintentionally,
at the hands of the Egyptians
( 11 Kings 23:29).
These batt les and others men–
tioned both in the Bible and in sec–
ular sources gave the valley of
Megiddo an infamous reputation.
lt
became a very symbol of war
itself.
Even in post-biblical times–
including this century- the strate–
gic expanse has been the scene for
large-scale confrontations.
N ear the end of World War 1,
the British general Yiscount Allen–
by won a crucial victory over the
Turks at the Battle of Megiddo on
September 19, 1918. Journalist
Lowell Thomas, in his book
With
Allenby in the Holy Land,
refers to
the engagement as the " Battle of
Armageddon," while implying no
biblical fulfi llment of prophecy.
"Allenby was a master-strategist,"
Lowell Thomas quotes a partici–
pant in the fighting, in reference to
Megiddo's strategic location.
Seven Last Plagues
Now see w.hat prophecy has in
store for this ancient battlefield.
The book of Revelation describes
Mediterranean
Sea
•HAIFA
•TEL AVIV
a dramatic ser ies of catastrophic
events to precede the return of
Jesus Christ to this earth to restore
the government of God and to
bring world peace. (Request our
free booklet
The Book of Revela–
tion Unveiled At Last
for full
details.)
Among tbese events is the
sound ing of seven prophetic trum–
pets ( Rev. 8-l 0), symbolizi ng
God's direct intervent ion in human
affairs.
The seventh and last of these
trumpets will announce
the Second Coming of
J esus Christ to establish
his rule on earth (Rev.
11:15; 1 Cor . 15:52; I
Thess. 4:16) . This trumpet
will also initiate on a rebel–
lious world a series of
divine punishments known
as the "seven last plagues"
(Rev. 15 and 16).
These seven last
plagues, designed to bring
bumani ty to repentance,
are pictured symbolically
as seven vials, or small ves–
seis holding liquids. These
vials are "poured out"
upon a corrupted earth by seven
angels. Tragically, mankind as a
whole will still refuse to repent of
sin!
The s ixth of t hese vials or
plagues is described in Revelation
16:12 and introduces us to Arma–
geddon:
"And the sixth angel poured out
his vial upon the great river Euph-
Sea
of
Galilee
Jordan
River
rates; and the water there–
of was dried up, that the
way of the kings of the east
might be prepared."
lt
is important to under–
stand the geography in–
volved here. The Euphra–
tes River rises in Turkey
and flows southeastward
for sorne 1,700 m il es
through Syria and lraq,
ultimately emptying into
tbe Arabian or Persian
Gulf.
i
Across this river bed
~
wi ll come the "kings of the
~
east" and their armies- a
%1
prophesied communist-
_.yalley
JERUSALEM
~.ot
" Ktdron
oead Sea
~
dominated Eurasian con–
li:
federacy.
32
This confederacy will have cer–
tain geopolitical goals motivating
their mil itary offensive. But an
unperceived, behind-tbe-scenes in–
fluence will be the ultimate motiva–
tion underlying their actions.
Notice:
Revelation 16:14 reveals that it
will be
demonic spirits
that will
influence "the kings of the eartb
and of the whole world" to gather
for battle. These spi ri ts are fallen
angels who followed Lucifer (Sa–
tan) in his rebellion against God
(lsa. 14: 12-14; Ezek.
28: 12-17; Rev. 12:4).
They will stir up this
world's leaders to pre-
pare for war. Tbe world 's armies
wi ll unknowingly become their
pawns.
The God of heaven will allow
these seducing demons to marshal
the armies of the kings of the east
and the whole world (the United
Nations, too!) at Armageddon, as we
earlier saw in Revelation 16:16.
But the battle
wi/1
not be fought
at Armageddon!
In the meantime, another great
mi litary power and its allies will be
in force in the Middle East to oppose
the oncoming "kings of the east. "
This power is referred to in the
Bible as the "beast"-a powerful
union of 1O European nations or
groups of nations to arise in the
closing days of this world's civiliza–
tions (Rev. 17:12-14). This Euro–
pean power- led by a mili tary
superdictator also referred to in
prophecy as the "beast"-wi ll be
the fi nal, end-time revi"val of the
medieval Holy Roman Empire.
The
PLAIN TRUTH