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and from the mouth of the false
prophet, tbree foul spirits like frogs;
for they are demonic spirits, per–
forming signs, who go abroad to the
kings of the whole world, to as–
semble them for battle on the great
day of God the Almighty.... And
they assembled them at the place
which is called in Hebrew Armaged–
don" (Revelation 16: 12-16).
Armageddon refers to the broad
valley of Megiddo north of Jerusa–
lem, where historically, armies have
gathered and fought on the plain of
Esdraelon. The term "Armaged–
don" signifies a place of great
slaughter. Zechariah warns, "Then
the Lord will go forth and fight
against those nations as when he
fights on a day of battle. On that
day
bis
feet shall stand on the
Mount of Olives which lies before
Jerusalem on the east; and the
Mount of Olives shall be split in two
from east to west by a very wide val–
ley. . . . Then the Lord your God
will come, and all the holy ones with
him" (Zechariah 14:3-5).
The Seventh Plague
Here, the second coming of Jesus
Christ is vividly described, and it is
stated that it occurs during the "day
of the Lord." This is the time period
mentioned in Revelation. But what
is prophesied to occur next?
Notice once again, Revelation 16,
this time verse 17, describing what
happens after armies gatber in Me–
giddo: ' 'The seventh angel poured
bis bowl into tbe air, and a great
voice carne out of the temple, from
the throne, saying, 'It is done! ' And
there were flashes of lightning, loud
noises, peals of thunder, and a great
earthquake such as had never been
since meo were on the earth, so
great was that earthquake . .. and
great hailstones, heavy as a hun–
dredweight, dropped on meo from
Qeaven . .." (verses 17-21).
lf You Were There
Imagine that you are living near
Jerusalem when this happens. Your
44
mind is in turmoil, your life has
been greatly affected by the calam–
ity of the times, but somehow you
have survived - you have come
through it all mentally and psycho–
logically sound, and you are won–
dering what
all
these things mean.
You notice the arrnies gathering
around Jerusalem and in the valley
of Megiddo to the north. You hear
that they are rapidly approaching
the city.
Suddenly a tremendous blast
rends the air. You see a bright flash,
like a surging bolt of lightning, you
clap your hands to your ears be–
cause of the roar of pealing thunder,
and you try to bide.
You 1ook - and there He is -
Jesus, setting foot on the Mount of
01ives to the east of Jerusalem. At
that moment, a seismic temblor
shakes the ground beneath your
feet. You cannot run - but you try.
You slowly realize tbat you have
witnessed an epochal event - the
very second coming of Jesus Christ!
The Bible describes it, in the
words of the apostle John: "Then I
saw heaven opened, and behold, a
white horse! He who sat upon it is
called Faithful and True, and in
righteousness he judges and makes
war. His eyes are like a ftame of fire,
and on his head are many diadems;
and he has a name inscribed which
no one knows but himself. He is
ciad in a robe dipped in blood, and
the name by which he is called is
Tbe Word of God."
John continues: "And the armies
of heaven, arrayed in fine lineo,
white and pure, followed him on
white horses. From bis mouth issues
a sharp sword with which to smite
the nations, and he will rule them
with a rod of iron; he will tread the
wine press of the fury of the wrath
of God the Almighty" (Revelation
19: 11-15).
So we ask again: Are we really
living in the end time - the period
which will culminate in this awe–
some event?
ls This the End Time?
Jesus wamed, "From the fig tree
learn its lesson: as soon as its branch
becomes tender and puts forth its
leaves, you know that summer is
near. So also, when you see all these
things, you know that he is near, at
the very gates" (Matthew 24:32-33).
Jesus also said, "But of that day
and hour no one knows, not even
the angels of heaven, nor the Son,
but the Father on1y" (Matthew
24:36). He wamed against trying to
pinpoint precisely the close of this
age.
In
fact, He went so far as to say,
"Therefore you also must be ready;
for tbe Son of man is coming at an
hour you do not expect" (Matt.
24:44).
Jesus compared His coming to
tbat of a thief in tbe night. A thief
comes unexpectedly; nobody is
aware of his intentions; tbe house–
hold is usually asleep or away. Even
so will be the coming of Christ. He
will come and catch the world by
surprise! Nobody will be able to an–
ticípate exactly when He will return.
But we can know whetber the
signs Jesus said would precede His
coming are unfolding in the world,
today. Unlike the Middle Ages, we
live in an age in which global life
could be extinguished in thermonu–
clear war. Unlike those who pre–
dicted and prognosticated that Jesus
would returo in the Middle Ages, or
1844, or 1914, we can look at the
very words of Jesus in the gospel ac–
counts and see for the first time that
we stand on the brink of total anni–
hilation by the hand of man.
Scoffers will always deny it.
Skeptics will point to the previous
centuries when theologiaos misun–
derstood the Bible and thought
Jesus would return in their day.
They can scoff at any thought of His
returning in our generation.
But examine the prophecies of the
Bible and judge for yourself. Study
the evidence. Aod then decide what
YOU
ought to do about it.
o
PIAIN TRUTH April 1973