The battle of Armageddon that wasn’t

Sermon for Midweek of Trinity 12

Revelation 16:12-21

John’s visions are taking us closer and closer to the end of the world. His vision of the sixth and seventh bowls filled with the wrath of God show us the “last battle” at the place called Armageddon. Except, as we’ll see, it isn’t much of a battle. In fact, there’s no battle at all. It’s the battle that never was.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.

This is the second time we’ve come across the river Euphrates in John’s visions. It was the great river on whose banks the city of Babylon was built. It ran down from the north and then split around Babylon, so that part of the river flowed to the west of Babylon, while the other part flowed to the east. You have to remember your history here. Babylon was the capital city of the Babylonians, who, led by King Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem and took the Jews captive in Babylon for 70 years in the sixth century BC. He was a wicked king, but God used him to punish the Jews for their idolatry. Eventually, his successors became even more wicked than he was. So God sent the Mede and Persian armies to conquer the Babylonians. The Medes and Persians came from the east, and each had its own king: Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian. So here, in John’s vision, the sixth angel’s bowl dries up the Euphrates so that the “kings from the east” might have easy access to Babylon, to destroy it, because its days are numbered. The prophet Jeremiah had much to say about Babylon’s impending fall in chapter 51 of his book.

Here in Revelation, Babylon symbolizes the world powers that stand against God and His Church. So the message here is that, although God has allowed the world powers to threaten and mistreat His Church for a time, just as He allowed the Babylonians to hold the people of Jerusalem captive for a time, now it’s time for the hostile forces of the world to pay, just as Babylon paid at the hands of the Medes and Persians for their mistreatment of God’s people.

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth, indeed, of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.

You recall that the dragon stands for the devil, the beast stands for world government, and the false prophet stands for the Antichrist. From the mouth of these three, John sees unclean spirits going out like frogs, croaking their lies and their deceptions to all the kings of the earth, so that all the world rulers are allied against the true Church. Now, remember, this doesn’t only mean openly anti-Christian hostility. The false prophet is involved, too, who speaks his lies from within the outward Christian Church. That means that the persecution against the Church may well have a veneer of godliness, of being pro-religion, and yet it will be hostile to the true religion taught in Holy Scripture.

It says that the demons will influence the kings of the earth by performing signs. St. Paul said that the coming of the Antichrist would be similar to this: false miracles designed to lead astray all those who refused to be led by the Scriptures themselves. So these demons will perform signs. Now, here are some things I would include in those signs that serve to confirm the rulers of the world in their rejection of Christianity: UFO sightings. The fact is, if there were actually aliens out there, then the message of Scripture really falls apart. So the claimed UFO sightings end up turning people away from trusting in Scripture, which is exactly what the goal of the demons has always been, to make people doubt God’s Word. Another demonic sign would be all the supposed “evidence” that’s asserted to “prove” that the earth is millions of years old. Now, there’s no actual evidence to support that, and yet the teaching of evolution undergirds practically all the sciences in the modern world. We might even include the climate change religion among these demonic delusions that permeate the nations of the world and end up turning the rulers of the world against the Christian religion, which teaches an entirely different cosmology and purpose for mankind and for the world. Add to that the demonic delusion of the “Pride” flag and the “Trans” flag, and most of the “isms” that have filled the world, which target both Christian doctrine and Christian history.

Yes, the powers of the world are being gathered together for a final battle against God’s people who hold to the pure doctrine of Christ. The place where they’re gathered is said to be called in Hebrew “Armageddon,” which only shows up here in the Bible. Armageddon isn’t a single Hebrew word at all. People have debated its meaning over the centuries. But it seems to be a combination of the word “Har,” which means “mountain of,” and “Megiddo,” a place in the land of Israel. Now, what is Megiddo known for? Well, King Josiah of Judah was killed there by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt. But that was in the Valley of Megiddo. What is the mountain of Megiddo? Well, the most famous one is Mount Carmel. Do you remember what happened there? There was a “battle,” of sorts, but a battle with swords. The prophet Elijah faced off against wicked King Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal. It looked like the end for Elijah. But the Lord gave him the victory that day with fire from heaven, and all the prophets Baal were put to death.

So Armageddon isn’t a scary thing at all for the people of God. It’s a symbol of God’s victory over the idolaters who threaten His people. That goes along perfectly with what John says here, that the kings of the earth are being gathered to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. What the world powers imagine will be a decisive defeat of the Christian Church is actually the “great day of God Almighty,” the day that belongs to God, not to His enemies, the great day of judgment.

And that’s exactly what we see revealed in the seventh plague.

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

It is done!, says the Lord. It’s just one word in Greek. So much for a battle! There wasn’t even a fight. The world powers gather together against the Church of God, and God turns the tables on them and defeats them with a word.

And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth…Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.

Again, this is a picture of the final destruction of the earth that will take place on the last day.

Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

The “great city” here is Babylon. The world powers can’t stand in the presence of God. They’re broken apart, and all the cities fall—the cities which already today are becoming lost causes for every form of wickedness and violence and destruction. And God will remember all the ways in which men have threatened or harmed His people. And justice will finally be served.

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

There’s an interjection from Jesus Himself in the midst of this vision, a warning and an encouragement, not for the unbeliever, but for the believer who listens to the reading of this book of Revelation. I am coming as a thief! He’s said that before. In other words, you won’t be able to predict the day or the timing of His coming. It won’t be that obvious. Things will be going on in the world more or less as they have been. So He urges His people to watch, to notice the signs, and to expect Him at any moment. Then He urges His people to “keep their garments,” to hold onto faith and to the righteousness that covers us through faith. Only faith in Christ will make us worthy to stand before God on His great day. Only faith in Christ will keep us safe at the battle of Armageddon, which won’t really be a battle at all. Amen.