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ARMAGEDDON- the
hi/1 of Megíd–
do-líes 55 miles north of Jerusalem
and overlooks the expansíve Va/ley
of Jezree/ (map, Jower left). Here the
world's armíes wí/1 gather before the
prophesíed final battle. From the hí/1-
top síte of the ancíent cíty of Megíddo
one en}oys a commandíng víew of the
va/ley, also called the Plaín of
Esdraelon (center photo). Many vísít
the archaeologíca/ excavatíons at
Megiddo each year (Jeft photo). Sígn
at Megiddo (Jower right) detaíls the
long hístory of the ancient síte. The
Kídron Va/ley (top photo) at Jerusa–
lem wi/1 be the síte of the climactíc
battle agaínst the returníng Chríst.
Working with the beast will be a
great miracle-working religious fig–
ure called the false prophet (Rev.
13:13-14; 16:13; 19:20; 11 Thess.
2:3-4). This charismatic figure will
preside over a great centuries-old
false religious system labelled by
the Bible "BABYLON THE GREAT"
(Rev. 17:5).
Earlier, the beast will have con-
March 1982
quered portions of the Middle East
and established a foothold there
(Dan. 11 :40-43) . The prophet Dan–
iel refers to the endtime beast as
"the king of the north."
"But," as Daniel continues, "tid–
ings out of the east and out of the
north shall trouble him [the
beast] ..."(Dan. 11:44). The beast
will be challenged by the might of
the communist East!
The result?
" ... therefore he [the beast]
shall go forth with great fury to
destroy, and utterly to
make away many" (end of
verse 44).
The beast and bis allies
will move to confront the
oncoming armies of the
"kings of the east." The
stage will be set for a des–
perate battle to determine
who will
rule the world!
(For the answer to why
the armies of the United
States will not be in–
li:
volved, write for
The
),
United States and Britain
~
in Prophecy.)
·~
The world will stand at
~
the brink of the most ter–
~
rible battle in all of his–
i
tory! Were the enormous
14
power of the world's
armies actually to be
unleashed,
global annihilation
would be the result!
No fiesh
would
be saved alive (Matt. 24:22)!
Satan's goal of erasing all life
from this earth would become real–
ity!
Battle of the Great Day of God
Almightyl
But
no battle
will be fought at
Armageddon!
The seventh trumpet that set the
stage for the confrontation at
Megiddo also announces the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ! He- Jesus
Christ-will descend from heaven to
the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem
(Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11-12).
Notice Revelation 11:15: "And
the seventh angel sounded ; and
there were great voices in heaven,
saying, The kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of bis Christ; and he
shall reign for ever and ever."
This world's two great military
powers-ready to fight each other
for world domination-will be sud–
denly confronted by what they con–
ceive to be, in their deceived minds,
a common "enemy"- the returning
Jesus Christ! ' Jesus, in Jerusalem,
will proclaim
his
dominion over the
world!
How will the assembled forces at
Megiddo react?
"And the nations were
an–
gry
... "
declares Revelation
11 :18. Men will not want to submit
to God's rule! Instead, they will
seek to destroy Jesus Christ–
whom they will regard, falsely , as
the Antichrist-and bis ange1ic
armies from heaven who accompa–
ny him to Jerusalem.
Instead of fighting each other,
the Beast and the kings of the east
will
join forces- to
"make war
with the Lamb" (Rev. 17:14).
From the staging ground or mus–
tering area of Armageddon the
world's armies will move to con–
front Jesus Christ himself.
Where will that climactic battle
be fought? The prophet Joel pro-