On the surface, the simple
and basic principles of the gospel, like faith, and repentance, and enduring to
the end, can seem mundane and small when compared to the terrible glory of the
end times. It is also my opinion
that these principles are often overlooked because the principles of the
gospel require daily transformation, and self-evaluation, which can be
difficult and uncomfortable, and therefore much less fun to consider in a
priest quorum meeting than the “exciting” events leading up to the second
coming of Christ.
I therefore preface
this post by declaring that learning to live the gospel, and developing a
relationship with God through the Holy Ghost, is more important than knowing
the particulars of the events of the end times, or becoming an eschatological
expert. It is important to know "the signs of the times," but not at the expense of the "weightier matters," like justice, mercy, faith, and faithfulness. If we are truly converted,
through faithful obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, then the last days
need hold no fear for us. If we have
truly become converted as a disciple of Christ, we can look forward with
anticipation, and without trepidation, for the day of His return, and there is
no need to continually pore over and dwell on the accounts of the suffering and bloodshed that will come
in the days leading up to His coming, especially if doing so causes us to lose
sight of the truly important study and application of the gospel.
“The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They
are a time to be believing and remember our covenants” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “The
Ministry of Angels,” Ensign, Nov.
2008).
With
that said, I chose to publish this post about Armageddon because I found that
there is an everyday spiritual application which we can gain from a study of
the terrible fighting that will usher in the coming of Christ. While I spend most of this post outlining the
events and conditions during the battle of Armageddon, I conclude it with
advice concerning how best to fight the everyday spiritual battle which each of
us must fight in order to stay true to the Lord and His gospel, and ultimately,
to prepare for His coming.
My
friend Shari asked me this question in an effort to deepen her knowledge so
that she could answer some questions that her friends had concerning the end
times. What follows is an expanded
version of my original answer.
A: The battle of Armageddon, which will take
place shortly before the second coming of Jesus Christ, will indeed be a
physical battle.
The word Armageddon is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Har Megiddo, which refers to the mount of Megiddo which is an actual physical place roughly sixty miles to the North of present day Jerusalem. Megiddo is a Hebrew word which means “the place of troops” (Old Testament Student Manual, 291). Both the mount of Megiddo and the surrounding valley have been the site of countless bloody battles throughout the ages, and nearly every power that has occupied the region has at one time built or maintained a fortress on the Mount of Megiddo as it “guard[s] the strategic pass that cuts through the mountain range separating the coastal plains from the inland plains and hill country of Galilee…[Which was] one of the most important highways of the ancient world—the main link between Egypt and Asia” (LTJCA,55-31). This highway was called the Via Maris, or "the way of the
The word Armageddon is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Har Megiddo, which refers to the mount of Megiddo which is an actual physical place roughly sixty miles to the North of present day Jerusalem. Megiddo is a Hebrew word which means “the place of troops” (Old Testament Student Manual, 291). Both the mount of Megiddo and the surrounding valley have been the site of countless bloody battles throughout the ages, and nearly every power that has occupied the region has at one time built or maintained a fortress on the Mount of Megiddo as it “guard[s] the strategic pass that cuts through the mountain range separating the coastal plains from the inland plains and hill country of Galilee…[Which was] one of the most important highways of the ancient world—the main link between Egypt and Asia” (LTJCA,55-31). This highway was called the Via Maris, or "the way of the
Megiddo
will likely be the place where the last battle before the second coming begins,
but as you will see, there is a bit more to it than that. Armageddon, therefore has become more of a
shorthand for the events of this last great battle rather than a simple place
name. What follows is a basic outline of
the events surrounding what we call the battle of Armageddon, which I have
endeavored to present in a simplified and linear way.
In
his Revelation, the Apostle John describes a gathering of the forces of evil at
Armageddon in anticipation of the great and final battle of a vicious and
terrible war:
Revelation 16:12-14,16 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon
the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of
the kings of the east might be prepared.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the
dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet. For they are the spirits of
devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the
whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty.
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
Armageddon.
The
nations of the world will be gathered to Armageddon to make war upon the people
of Israel.
Ezekiel 38:8-9 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the
latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword,
and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have
been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall
dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt
ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land,
thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
Joel 3:9-11, 14 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare
war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come
up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let
the weak say, I am strong. Assemble
yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round
about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Ezekiel 38:15-16 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the
north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a
great company, and a mighty army: And thou shalt come up against my people of
Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I
will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be
sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
The
prophet Ezekiel refers to Gog, of the land of Magog, as a prince who is to lead
those who come together to fight Israel. However, “Gog is a symbolic name for the leader or leaders of this great evil
power that will arise in the last days” (Old
Testament Student Manual, 292).
While Ezekiel refers to certain regions of the ancient world in
connection with the forces led by Gog, “These designations refer to general
areas of the ancient world, so a list of modern nations fighting in Armageddon
cannot be compiled from these sources. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “The
prophecies do not name the modern nations which will be fighting for and
against Israel, but the designation Gog and Magog is given to the combination
of nations which are seeking to overthrow and destroy the remnant of the Lord’s
chosen seed.” (Mormon Doctrine, p.
298.)” (Old Testament Student Manual,
292).
Joel
also refers to this army as being so great and terrible that its coming is as “A
day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as
the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath
not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years
of many generations” (Joel 2:2). He also
mentions that at this time “The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars
shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 3:15).
The
slaughter and savagery that takes places during this war, and especially during
the final battle of Armageddon, will be incredible.
While
the fighting may start at Armageddon, it will end at Jerusalem. The nations will lay siege to Jerusalem and
it will eventually fall. The apostle
John saw the sack of Jerusalem in his Revelation:
Revelation 11:1-2 And there was given me a reed like unto a
rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the
altar, and them that worship therein.
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not;
for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under
foot forty and two months.
During
this time, two witnesses will stand against the forces of darkness, in bearing
testimony of Christ.
Revelation 11:3-6 And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth. These are the two olive
trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will
hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their
prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the
earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Bruce
R. McConkie speculated that “No doubt [these witnesses] will be members of the
Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary,
3:510).
 |
| A modern Apostle bearing witness of the truths of the gospel |
“Their
miraculous power seems to be the force preventing Gog and his army from
succeeding in annihilating Israel. Elder Parley P. Pratt wrote: “John, in the
eleventh chapter of Revelation, gives us many more particulars concerning this
same event. He informs us that after the city and temple are rebuilt by the
Jews, the Gentiles will tread it under foot forty and two months, during which
time there will be two prophets continually prophesying and working mighty
miracles. And it seems that the Gentile army shall be hindered from utterly
destroying and overthrowing the city, while these two prophets continue.” (A
Voice of Warning, p. 33.)” (Old
Testament, Student Manual, 293).
However,
after a period of roughly three and a half years, the forces of evil will
overcome these two prophets, who will be martyred and their bodies left to rot
in the streets of Jerusalem for all to see.
Revelation 11:7-10 And when they shall have finished their
testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war
against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street
of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our
Lord was crucified. And they of the
people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three
days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in
graves. And they that dwell upon the
earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to
another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
Without
the protection of these men of God, the city of Jerusalem will be sacked and
destroyed.
Zechariah 14:2 For I will gather all nations against
Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and
the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the
residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
This
great siege, and the sack of Jerusalem, and the destruction that will accompany
it, represents the second fulfillment of “the abomination of desolation” that
was foretold by the prophet Daniel.
“Conditions
of desolation, born of abomination and wickedness, were to occur twice
in fulfillment of Daniel’s words. The first was to be when the Roman legions
under Titus, in A.D. 70, laid siege to Jerusalem (Matt. 24:15; JS—M 1:12).
“Speaking
of the last days, of the days following the Restoration of the gospel and its
declaration ‘for a witness unto all nations,’ our Lord said: ‘And again shall
the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled’
(JS—M 1:31–32). That is, Jerusalem again will be under siege.”
(Bible Dictionary, “Abomination of
desolation”).
The
abomination of desolation also has reference to the desecration of the temple,
which will have been rebuilt in Jerusalem by this time, which is why Christ
refers to the abomination of desolation as standing “in the holy place” (see
Matt. 24:15).
NIV Daniel 11:31 His armed forces will rise up to desecrate
the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up
the abomination that causes desolation.
The
city of Jerusalem will finally be overwhelmed, and made utterly desolate, at
which point the people of Israel will flee headlong before their enemies.
Matthew 24:16-21 Then let them which be in Judæa flee into the
mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out
of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his
clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in
those days! But pray ye that your flight
be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be.
“During
this siege, when the nations are gathered and the Lord comes, there will be
great destruction. The armies will become so confused they will fight among
themselves. There will be great slaughter” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Signs of the Times, p. 171.)
Then
the three witnesses, whose bodies have lain in the streets of Jerusalem for
three and a half days, will be resurrected and they shall ascend to heaven.
Revelation 11:11-12 And after three days and an half the Spirit
of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great
fear fell upon them which saw them. And
they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud;
and their enemies beheld them.
There
will be a great earthquake, which will destroy all but a tenth of the city of
Jerusalem and shake the whole world.
Revelation16:16-18 And he gathered them together into a place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a
great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is
done. And there were voices, and
thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not
since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
Revelation 11:13 And
the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city
fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant
were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Ezekiel 38:18-20 And it shall come to pass at the same time
when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my
fury shall come up in my face. For in my
jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there
shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea,
and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping
things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the
earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and
the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
It
is at this point, when all seems lost, that Christ will return to deliver His
people.
“All [the prophets] speak of [this day]; and
when that time comes, the Lord is going to come out of His hiding place. You
can see what a terrible condition it is going to be; and the Jews besieged, not
only in Jerusalem but, of course, throughout Palestine are in the siege; and
when they are about to go under, then the Lord comes. There will be the great
earthquake. The earthquake will not be only in Palestine. There will not be
merely the separation of the Mount of Olives, to form a valley that the Jews may
escape, but the whole earth is going to be shaken. There will be some dreadful
things take place, and some great changes are going to take place, and that you
will find written in the book of Ezekiel (38:17–23).” (Smith, Signs of the
Times, p. 170.)” (Old Testament Student
Manual, 294).
During
this terrible earthquake, “The Mount of Olives will be split in two, providing
an avenue of escape for the house of Israel (see Zechariah 14:4–5)” (Old Testament Student Manual, 294).
Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the
mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and
there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove
toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Zechariah 14:5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the
mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall
flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of
Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
“Then
the Lord comes to the Jews. He shows Himself. He calls upon them to come and
examine His hands and His feet, and they say, ‘What are these wounds?’ And He
answers them, ‘These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my
friends. I am Jesus Christ.’…Then they will accept Him as their Redeemer, which
they have never been willing to do.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Signs of the Times, p. 171.)
Zechariah 13:6 And one shall say unto him, What are these
wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in
the house of my friends.
D&C 45:51-53 And then shall the Jews look upon me and say:
What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet? Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for
I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in
the house of my friends. I am he who was
lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God. And then shall they weep because of their
iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.
Zechariah 12:10-11 And I will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:
and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for
him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as
one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the
mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
*Note: This will in fact be Christ’s SECOND
appearance in His second coming, because the scriptures say that He will first
return to His temple. (See Malachi 3:1-4 and D&C 133:1-3).
At
the same moment as the terrible earthquake, angelic voices shall speak from
heaven to announce the commencement of Christ’s kingdom on Earth
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 his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Then
the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem against those nations which
have gathered against them to destroy them.
D&C 45:47-40 Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the
nations. And then shall the Lord set his
foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall
tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake. And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all
the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn,
and they that have laughed shall see their folly. And calamity shall cover the mocker, and the
scorner shall be consumed; and they that have watched for iniquity shall be
hewn down and cast into the fire.
Zechariah 14:3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight
against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zechariah 12:8-9 In that day shall the Lord defend the
inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be
as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord
before them. And it shall come to pass in
that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against
Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:2-4 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of
trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both
against Judah and against Jerusalem. And
in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that
burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the
earth be gathered together against it.
In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment,
and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah,
and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
In
a show of divine wrath and power, a plague will strike the enemy armies, and they
will begin to turn on each other in the chaos.
Zechariah 14:12-13 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD
will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall
consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume
away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a
great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every
one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand
of his neighbour.
Then
a hail of fire will rain down on the enemy armies, and also on some of their
lands.
Revelation 16:21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of
heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God
because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
Ezekiel 38:22-23 And I will plead against him with pestilence
and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many
people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and
brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known
in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
The death toll shall be so great that there will be too many to mourn, or even to bury.
Jeremiah 25:32-33 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil
shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the coasts of the earth. And the
slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Isaiah 34:2-3 For the indignation of the Lord is upon all
nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he
hath delivered them to the slaughter.
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of
their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
After
this terrible bloodshed and suffering is concluded, the survivors will be
humbled, and those who fought against Israel will travel to Jerusalem from
year-to-year to worship God. Christ will reign personally on the earth, and there will be an end to sin and bloodshed and suffering.
Zechariah 14:16-17 And it shall come to pass, that every one
that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up
from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast
of tabernacles.
Isaiah 2:3-4 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Armageddon
thus ends in a spectacular display of power wherein Christ triumphantly returns
to intervene directly to fight for His people and to destroy their enemies, and to institute a reign of peace and righteousness. However,
one might ask why Christ would wait until what to us seems like the last possible
moment. Why does Christ wait until after
the litany of horror, bloodshed, and persecution described by the scriptures
has already taken place? Why doesn’t
Christ simply come now and let us avoid the whole mess?
Our Daily Spiritual War
When
we speak of Armageddon we tend to focus on the horror and the bloodshed that
accompany any war, and which the scriptures promise will reach untold depths
during this great and last war. While
such wars are surely terrible, we occasionally forget that there is another,
seemingly quieter, war which is being fought every day over the fate of our
very souls. While the battle of
Armageddon will be a literal battle, there is a spiritual war which all of
those who seek to follow Christ will have to wage before He comes again.
“There
is another war that has gone on since before the world was created and that is
likely to continue for a long time. It is a war that reaches beyond questions
of territory or national sovereignty. John the Revelator speaks of that
struggle…. That
war, so bitter, so intense, has never ceased. It is the war between truth and
error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those
who have denied Him. His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict.
They’ve indulged in lying and deceit. They’ve employed money and wealth.
They’ve tricked the minds of men. They’ve murdered and destroyed and engaged in
every kind of evil practice to thwart the work of Christ.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Unending Conflict, a
Victory Assured,” Ensign, June 2007).
Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might. Put on
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand.
Christ
chooses to delay His coming out of mercy and in order to give us a chance to
decide for ourselves whom we will serve and what side we will fight for in the
spiritual war that is raging all around us, and which will continue to rage
through Armageddon.
We will each be called upon to fight our own individual battles against sin, temptation, and evil, which we will win or lose based on our own choices and the degree to which we become converted to the cause of Christ. Each time we choose to follow Christ and reject evil we make a declaration as to whose side we are on, and the more fully we obey Christ the more fully we become His servants. C. S. Lewis explained that, while Christ elects for now to operate in this world through the agency of His disciples and the apparatus of His church, soon He will reveal Himself openly and in the fullness of His glory, at which point it will be too late to choose a side.
2 Peter 3: 3-4, 8 Knowing this first, that there shall come
in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is
the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
We will each be called upon to fight our own individual battles against sin, temptation, and evil, which we will win or lose based on our own choices and the degree to which we become converted to the cause of Christ. Each time we choose to follow Christ and reject evil we make a declaration as to whose side we are on, and the more fully we obey Christ the more fully we become His servants. C. S. Lewis explained that, while Christ elects for now to operate in this world through the agency of His disciples and the apparatus of His church, soon He will reveal Himself openly and in the fullness of His glory, at which point it will be too late to choose a side.
“Why
is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of
secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading
it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to
land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He
wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you
and I would have thought much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were
marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade.
But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our
world quite realise [sic] what it
will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When
the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all
right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see
the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else
-something it never entered your head to conceive- comes crashing in; something
so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have
any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so
overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible
horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There
is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand
up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we
discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized [sic] it before or not. Now, today, this
moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us
that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 64-65).
P.S. Just as a
matter of clarification: Occasionally
people confuse the battle of Armageddon (which will take place shortly before
the second coming of Christ which will usher in the millennium) with the great
and last battle which will take place at the end of the millennium. It is after this war that Satan will finally
be cast out and defeated, and the last great judgment will begin.
Revelation
20:7-15 And when the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the
nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather
them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth,
and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came
down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented
day and night for ever and ever. And I
saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and
the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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