The Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon. The problem is some people hear that phrase, the Battle of Armageddon, but they don't really know what it means. So tonight, hopefully, if there's anybody like that, you'll get a good idea what the Battle of Armageddon is taught, how it's taught in the Bible. Not how it's taught in some science fiction movie or some nonsense, but what the Bible says. Look at Revelation 16, please. If you need to borrow a Bible, just raise your hand and one of the ushers can gladly give you one, I think, right, ushers? Ushers, can you give out a Bible? Brother Emerson, any Bibles lying around? Back when I was the pastor, we always had a big stack of Bibles ready to give out. And we want people to have a Bible in front of them because we're gonna look at a lot of Bible tonight. Brother Gary, give one to Joe, will you? There you go. Thanks, Brother Gary. Revelation chapter 16. The book of Revelation, chapter 16. As I said this morning, you know, a lot of people are fearful, especially with this COVID situation. People are afraid. But there's no reason for Christians to be fearful. We know how things turn out. Just read the book of Revelation. We know how things turn out. And besides all that, it's not right for Christians to be fearful. For example, don't turn there now, but in Joshua chapter one, he says, be strong and of good courage. Only be thou strong and very courageous. You see that all throughout the Bible. Be strong, be courageous. Fear not, for I am with thee, God says. So there's no reason to be fearful. But if you study scripture and we understand Bible prophecy, we know God's in control and everything's gonna work out. So I'm gonna speak tonight about Armageddon. I typed the word Armageddon in my Google search engine And 41 million websites came up. 41 million. I didn't look at all 41 million. I didn't do that. But I looked at a few out of curiosity. And as I expected, most of them were unscriptural. All right. I would say probably out of the 41 million, majority of them were unscriptural. For example, here's one from a popular website. Armageddon is a climactic battle between good and evil. Mentioned in the book of Revelation in the New Testament or more generally an upper apocalyptic catastrophe. That's not Really what it's all about The Battle of Armageddon is more than a climactic battle between good and evil and it is far more than an apocalyptic catastrophe But that's how people think of Armageddon now. Here's my outline Very simple outline. First, Armageddon is a literal place. It's not symbolic. It's not mythical. It's a literal place. Secondly, Armageddon is a literal battle. It's a literal battle. Thirdly, Armageddon is God's judgment. And as I said this morning, a lot of people don't like to think about judgment. You might not like to think about it, but it's real. And not thinking about it doesn't mean it's going to go away. We need to understand God is the righteous judge. He is going to judge this world. And certainly Armageddon is a good example of that. Nowadays, many people associate Armageddon with some sort of nuclear holocaust. I don't know how many times I've heard that. That is not true. The word Armageddon has come to symbolize World War III or some future war. That's the war to end all wars. They said World War I and II were bad, but the next one is gonna be like Armageddon. That, of course, is not true. A few years ago, there was a TV documentary. Let me stop right now and say I did not watch it, but I read about it. A few years ago, there was a TV documentary, and it was called Avoiding Armageddon. Before I explain about that TV show, let me tell you the best way to avoid Armageddon. Get on your knees and pray and say, Lord, I need to be saved. Please save my soul. I know I'm a sinner, I don't deserve grace and mercy, but please be merciful and gracious, save my soul. And I can tell you, God will save you, because the Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then if you're saved, when the Lord comes back, you're gonna meet the Lord in the air. We saw that this morning, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. So then we're not going to be around for Armageddon. We're not going to be here. That's the only way I know to avoid Armageddon. So this TV documentary was not scriptural. Anyway, the advertisement for avoiding Armageddon said, and I quote, it explores the explosive intersection between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. That is the way the world thinks about Armageddon, you see. Armageddon is much, much more than an intersection between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. It is a literal place. Armageddon is a literal place. It is not a symbol of some future nuclear holocaust or some other terrible catastrophe. Geographically, Armageddon refers to the Mount of Megiddo. overlooking the plain of Megiddo. So if you have one of those Bibles, like I do, where you got some maps in the back, you can look it up. Or if you don't have one of those Bibles or maps, you can look it up maybe on the internet or something. But it's a literal place. It's a literal place. Armageddon refers to the Mount of Megiddo overlooking the plain of Megiddo. It also includes the plain of Estrelan. Armageddon, and this is very important, Armageddon is the northern gateway to Palestine, and it is strategically located at the crossroads of three continents. You see how strategic it is? Armageddon is at the crossroads of three continents, Asia, Africa, and Europe. The area of Armageddon is a perfect battlefield. In fact, the great Napoleon called the plain of Megiddo the world's greatest natural battlefield. Napoleon, the famous general, actually stood at Megiddo and looked around and said there was sufficient room there for all the armies of the world to maneuver. Now you think about that. You could say he's an expert witness. If he looked around at Megiddo and said, this is the greatest natural battlefield, it's large enough for all the armies of the world to maneuver, that is quite significant. Many great battles have already been fought at that location. Judges chapter 5, verse 19 records that back in the days of Daburah and Barak, the kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan and Tanakh by the waters of Megiddo. So there was a battle way back in Judges chapter 5 verse 19 at that location. King Saul died at that location. King Saul died on the battlefield at Megiddo. And so did the good King Josiah. So King Saul and King Josiah both died at Megiddo. It should be pointed out that the Battle of Armageddon will not be limited to the Megiddo area. You've got to consider that also. As wonderful, I say maybe wonderful is not the right word, magnificent, as that location is for a battle, it is more than that. It's going to spread out beyond the perimeter of the plain of Megiddo. I'll tell you why I say that. Zechariah 14. Zechariah 14 tells us that the city of Jerusalem will be attacked. Why don't we look at that for a minute? We have time keep your place in Revelation chapter 16 By the way, did I say turn to Revelation 16 before I didn't read the scripture, right? That's a problem. I'm so excited to come here for the prophecy conference. I'm getting ahead of myself. Look at Revelation 16, then we'll go to Zechariah, all right? Revelation 16, and let's start, let's start at verse number eight, all right? Revelation 16, verse number eight. Well, to save time, we'll go to verse 13. Revelation 16, verse 13. And I saw three unclean spirits. Now those unclean spirits are devils, demons. They're often called unclean spirits in the Bible. They're devils. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon. If you know your book of Revelation, the dragon is Satan. He's often called the dragon in the book of Revelation. So I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, the Antichrist is called the beast often here in the book of Revelation, you have the devil, you have the Antichrist, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. The false prophet is a religious leader who is closely associated with the Antichrist. So three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of Satan, out of the mouth of the Antichrist and out of the mouth of the false prophet. Let's keep reading, verse number 14. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, and watch this, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Notice the battle of Armageddon is called the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Now, the Bible often says Christ is coming back as a thief in the night. All right, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. Now, verse 16, and he gathered them together into a place called, in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. So here you have a prophecy regarding Armageddon. And there are others to it. We'll look at some others tonight. For example, go with me please to Zechariah 14. Zechariah, way back in the Old Testament, Zechariah, if you get to Malachi, keep going. Next one back, Zechariah 14, and verse 1. Zechariah 14, verse 1, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, The day of the Lord often refers to events that are gonna take place during the tribulation period and so on, when the Lord comes back. The day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem's battle. Notice God says he's gonna do that. The Lord is gonna gather all nations, all nations. Now when you look at the situation in the Middle East now, that's not hard to understand. Israel's opposed by almost everybody. We're really the only ally Israel has left. And even that's on shaky ground since last January. So I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. That's not a very pleasant situation there, right? All nations against Jerusalem, city taken, houses rifled, women ravaged, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off of the city. Now look at verse 3. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations. So the Lord is going to stick up for Israel. And that's taught all throughout the Bible. The Bible says way back in Genesis 12, I'll bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee. And I believe that's one of the reasons God's blessed America all these years because we always did stick by Israel you know when Israel became a nation again in 1948 the first country to recognize them was America and President Harry Truman said he learned how important it was to stick by Israel when he was a little boy going to Sunday school at a Baptist Church And that's why Harry Truman was the first President the first leader world leader to recognize Israel back in 1948 But anyway, let's keep reading shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet, whose feet? The Lord's feet. The Lord's coming back. His feet are going to stand 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 be moved toward the north and half toward the south. So when the Lord comes back and his feet land on the Mount of Olives, the Mount of Olives is literally going to split in half and a big valley is going to be formed. Now, what I'm trying to bring out is that when we talk about the Battle of Armageddon, it's more than just the Plain of Megiddo. It goes beyond that, and it includes the city of Jerusalem. I guess the good way to put it would be Armageddon will be the central point of the conflict, okay? I'll give you another scripture, Revelation 14, verse number 20. tells us the battle area will cover 1,600 furlongs. You might want to turn there, go back to Book of Revelation, jump ahead to chapter, go back I should say to chapter 14 and verse 20, talking about the Lord coming back. And the winepress was trodden without the city, that's the city of Jerusalem. Notice it's the winepress of the wrath of God. We're talking about the judgment of God here. Like I said this morning, people don't like to think about these things, but you can't avoid it. It's taught all through the Bible. I guess I gave you an illustration this morning. You might get bills in the mail, and I don't want to deal with that. You take the bills and throw them away. Well, those bills got to be paid. You can avoid them. You can ignore them. They believe they're not there, but they're there, and you got to pay them. Well, the same thing with judgment. You can avoid it. You say, I don't want to look at that. I don't want to think about that. Don't talk to me about that. But you can't escape it. Verse number 20, and the winepress was trodden without the city. So what winepress is that? Well, verse 19 tells us, the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and that's the city of Jerusalem, and blood came out of the winepress. So this is not your normal winepress. Blood was coming out, even, now watch this, even unto the horse's bridles. So that blood is all the way up to the horse's bridles. It's like a river of blood. all the way up to the horse's bridles. And then it also says in verse number 20, by the space of 1,600 furlongs. Now we very seldom use the word furlong, but I'll tell you what that means. 1,600 furlongs is about 200 miles. So the Battle of Armageddon is gonna spread out 200 miles, with the Valley of Megiddo being the focal point, and it's gonna spread out all the way to Jerusalem. So we can see that Armageddon is a literal place. And furthermore, Armageddon is a literal battle. Revelation 16, verse number 14, calls it the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Look also, please, at Revelation 19. Revelation 19 and verse 19. Revelation 19, well, I guess to get a bit of context, let's go back to verse 11. And we'll look at the whole prophecy here, because the whole thing is quite spectacular. Revelation 19, verse 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he that sat upon it was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. Now, of course, that's a picture of the Lord Jesus coming back at the Battle of Armageddon. His eyes was a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. Now look at verse 13, he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God. Now of course Jesus is called the word of God back in the gospel of John. And also in John's epistles too. And of course John wrote the book of Revelation. I think most of you know that. Verse 14, and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. So armies are gonna follow the Lord to the battle of Armageddon. Now look at verse 15, out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that with it, he should smite the nations. So we see all the nations turning against Israel, all the nations turning against Jerusalem, and here we see the Lord has a sharp sword coming out of his mouth, and with it, he's gonna smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. So people get upset, and people are worried and fretful about what's happening in the world today, and I understand all that. But remember, the Lord's coming back. The Lord's coming back, and he is going to rule with a rod of iron. And he treaded the winepress, there's that word winepress again, we just saw that back in Revelation chapter 14. In Revelation 14, we saw in verse 19, the great winepress of the wrath of God. Here we see the winepress again. He treaded the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. So it's obviously the Lord Jesus here. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is coming back. Now look at verse 17. And I saw an angel standing in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, come and supper, I'm sorry, come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God. that he may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men. Now that doesn't sound very appetizing, but you know, I guess to vultures, it's pretty delicious, but that he may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. Verse 19 I saw the beast as the Antichrist and the kings of the earth and their armies and watch this gathered together to make war Against him that sit on the horse and against his army. So these these Arrogant worldly leaders are going to actually declare war on the Lord Jesus You can imagine that well, they're doing it right now too, by the way. I But here they're really in for trouble. And verse 20 says, and the beast was taken, that's the Antichrist, and with him the false prophet, that's the religious leader closely associated with the Antichrist, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that I received the mark of the beast, and them that worship his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. That takes care of them. I said this this morning, I'll say it again, and I got a feeling I'll say it a few times before this conference is over. Here we have a reference to the Mark of the Beast. The major prophecy concerning the Mark of the Beast is found in Revelation 13. And we can turn there, Revelation 13, and verse 16, Revelation 13, 16. And he, meaning the Antichrist, Causes all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand Or in their foreheads that no man might buy or sell Say if he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name number told of verse 18 the number 666 now I said this morning. I want to keep saying it because a lot of people are mixed up about this the Vaccine mandate passport is not the mark of the beast but yet you keep hearing people say that and Now, I will say this, I think it's leading up to, it's preparing people for it. Whether you realize it or not, we're being programmed. We are. Stay home. You can't go to work. Kids can't go to school. Stay in the house. Lockdowns. Six feet. Hey, you're going five feet. Step back. You know, they're controlling us. And it's easy to control people when they're afraid. And now they're putting the pressure on with these vaccines. You know, a year ago, the nurses and doctors were heroes, right? Now they're being fired if they don't take a vaccine. Not only fired, but they're told you can't get unemployment insurance. I mean, that's gonna really hurt a lot of families. So I think these vaccine mandates are preparing people. Now there's Dr. Fauci who says you shouldn't be able to travel without one. I mean, this is totalitarianism, authoritarianism, communism. It's not the home of the brave and land of the free that I grew up in. And it's frightening how this has been happening so quickly people willing to give up their freedoms because they're afraid Now I mentioned this morning just uh senator feinstein is trying to prepare trying to pass a law now where? You can't travel without the vaccine mandate. She wants to get it done by the christmas holiday. She says I want to save lives. I want to save lives for a virus that has got a 99% survival rate. But thankfully, though, Senator Feinstein, first of all, there's no guarantee it's going to pass. Hopefully, many senators will say, no, I'm not going to vote for that. But even if it does pass, she says she is willing to allow for people with natural immunity. That refers to those of us who had COVID. Now we have the antibodies. We have natural immunity. What I'm trying to say is these vaccine mandates being pushed by people like Mayor de Blasio and Governor Hochul and Joe Biden and all these other people is not the mark of the beast, but it is certainly leading the way, preparing people for it. And we can see how that could easily happen. I used to read the book of Revelation and I'd say, how can people be so cheap? You know, I'll take the mark, give it to me, okay. What happened to people's common sense? Now, keeping up with the news, I can see it. I'll take it, I'll take it, I'll take it, yeah. May I go to Walmart now? Oh great, give it to me, I'll take it. It's shocking how people have been beaten into submission. But let's go back to Armageddon. We'll leave the mark of the beast for some other message this week. So Revelation 14, 20. tells us the battle is going to cover an area about 200 miles. Now, Armageddon is a literal place. It's a literal place. And let me say also, when we talk about the Battle of Armageddon, it's more than just a battle. It's more than just a battle. In fact, it's more like a war, a war. The same Greek word that's translated as battle In Revelation 16, verse 14, why don't we go there. Revelation 16, 14, where it talks about he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Now go back to verse 14. It's called the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Notice the word battle. That's what we often hear, the battle of Armageddon. That same word translated battle is often translated as war. I'll give you a few examples. Go to Revelation 13, 7. Revelation 13, 7. It was given unto him to make war with the saints. The same word, make war, is translated battle in Battle of Armageddon. And then look at Revelation 19, 19. We were just there a couple of minutes ago. Go back, Revelation 19, 19. It talks about the Lord Jesus coming back and it says the Antichrist and the kings of the earth and Aramis were going to gather themselves together to make war. against the Lord, make war. That same word, make war, is the same word translated battle in the Battle of Armageddon. I'll give you another example. When Jesus, people say, what are the signs of your coming? There's gonna be wars and rumors of wars. We're all familiar with that. And Luke says, Luke has recorded wars and commotions, and boy, there's a lot of commotions today. And of course, there's a lot of wars and rumors of wars. So when Jesus said, you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. That's Matthew 24, verse six. Our Lord was using the same Greek word. Wars and rumors of wars is translated battle here in Revelation chapter 16. You know, many years ago, a long time ago, I heard a preacher, and he referred to the Battle of Armageddon as a military campaign. I'll never forget the way he phrased it. He goes, it's more than a battle. It's really a military campaign. And he said the reason he said that, he goes, because it's a series, a series of military skirmishes which will lead up to Armageddon. I thought that was interesting. And ever since then, I started changing my way of thinking. I still use the term Battle of Armageddon because it's so familiar to people, but it's more than a battle. Now look, keep your place in Revelation, but go to Daniel chapter 11. And I want to say this for those of you who have a keen interest in Bible prophecy. You really can't understand Revelation without studying the book of Daniel. They complement each other. And it's so important. A lot of symbolism in Revelation is easily understood if you're familiar with Daniel, for example. But if you go to the book of Daniel and go to chapter 11, Daniel 11 and look at verse 40. I'm talking about a series of military skirmishes leading up to Armageddon. Go to Daniel 11 and look at verse 40. And at the time of the end, end of what? Tribulation period, right before the Lord comes back. At the time of the end shall the king of the south now in these prophecies the king of the south refers to egypt I think it's more than it's egypt probably allies of egypt, but Perhaps perhaps headed up by egypt the king of the south shall push it him push it to the antichrist And the king of the north now, I believe that's definitely russia Russia plays a pretty big role in bible prophecy, especially if you study the book of ezekiel You know, we don't have time to get into all this right now because there's so many things we could explore tonight but Ezekiel 38 and 39 a deal with Russia coming down and invading Israel and That is a fascinating prophecy. But anyway here it says the king of the south. That's Egypt and king of the north That's Russia shall come against him like a whirlwind. What does it indicate the Antichrist? His days are numbered now. All these other armies are coming against him now. I He was ruling the world for a while without any serious opposition, but now people are turning against him. King of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, with horsemen, with many ships, and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over. Look at verse 41. He shall enter also into the glorious land. What's that? Well, the glorious land is the promised land, it's Israel. He's gonna cross over into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. Again, it's a series of skirmishes. various little battles leading up to the great battle of Armageddon. And many countries shall be overthrown, but thee shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, those are the descendants of Esau, the Edomites. You say, who are they now? I think all these people are still around, they've just been kind of amalgamated into the various Palestinians and Arab groups and so on. Even Edom and Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon, the Ammonites. He, verse 42, shall stretch forth his hand also Upon the countries and the land of egypt shall not escape. So here the king of the south egypt's not going to escape but He shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver And over all the precious things of egypt and the libyans and the ethiopian shall be at his steps Now verse 44 is very interesting but tidings out of the east And out of the north shall trouble him who are the kings of the east trouble any China, communist China. In fact, communist China is mentioned a few times in the Book of Revelation. The Euphrates River is literally gonna be dried up so China can cross over to the Battle of Armageddon. And again, if we have time this week, I'd like to get into that, but tonight I'm trying to stay focused on Armageddon here. But if you look at verse number 44, tidings out of the east, China, tidings out of the north, Russia, shall trouble him. Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many So here we see He's getting boxed in And verse 45 and he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas and a glorious holy mountain. That's not Zion Yet he shall come to his end and none Shall help him. So again to summarize. It's more than just a battle or we think of a battle It's a series of skirmishes leading up to this great big Battle of Armageddon In fact, many Bible teachers, such as Dwight Pentecost, who's probably one of the greatest teachers of Bible prophecy, Dwight Pentecost said it's really the campaign. He called it the campaign, a campaign which will conclude at Armageddon, all right? Now, there's gonna be four major coalitions assembled at Armageddon. I've already referred to them. We can look at them again, four major coalitions. that will convene at Armageddon. The Antichrist, or as he's called in the Book of Revelation, the beast, will head up the Western coalition. I believe that's the revived Roman Empire. European Union, if you will. He will be in charge of that. Now, I think it's foolish to start speculating who's the Antichrist, which country he's gonna come out of. We don't know those things, but we shouldn't be concerned about those things. Like I mentioned this morning, let's focus on the Lord's coming back. Let's not focus on who the Antichrist is. We're not gonna be here when he emerges, when he's identified. But he will definitely head up the Western coalition, the revived Roman Empire. You say, well, I'm not familiar with the revived Roman Empire. I'll tell you this, you study Daniel chapter two, and you study Daniel chapter seven, and you'll find out a lot about the revived Roman Empire. Daniel gives a great prophecy about the revived Roman Empire. Of course, that was way in the future in Daniel's day. That's why scoffers and cynics criticized the Book of Daniel. That's a forgery, that can't be. No, it happened. God's able to predict the future, amen? So Daniel was able to do that because the Holy Spirit directed him. Now, there's gonna be four major coalitions. We've already looked at the revived Roman Empire, And then there's a northern confederacy, I already mentioned, that's Russia. And again, if you want more information on that, read Ezekiel 38 and 39. Two fascinating chapters dealing with that. And then there's gonna be southern forces. I mentioned the king of the south is Egypt, but I think it's gonna be other Muslim nations. There's gonna be an alliance. It's not just gonna be Egypt, there'll be other Muslim countries aligned with Egypt. And we just saw that in Daniel 11. And then the kings of the east, of course, refers to China. Let's look, we have time to get into this a little bit. Let's go back to Revelation chapter 16 and verse 12. Revelation 16 and verse 12. Revelation 16, 12. And the sixth angel poured out his vial. Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with this, in the book of Revelation, there's various judgments. It starts with the seals. The seals are open. The Lord Jesus opens up the seals, and there's seven seal judgments. And that's with the four horsemen of the apocalypse and so on. And then comes seven trumpet judgments. Seven seal judgments, seven trumpet judgments, and then there's seven vial judgments. And here, in chapter 16, the sixth vial is poured out upon the great river Euphrates. Now the great river Euphrates goes all the way back to the early chapters of Genesis. Very important river in the Bible. And the water, watch this, the water thereof was dried up. Now, why would God do that? Why would God have the angel pour out the vial on the Euphrates River to dry it up? Well, here we see why. That the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. The kings of the east is referring to China. Now, go with me to Revelation 9, verse 16. Revelation 9 and verse number 16. And the number of the army, and again, this is the same referring to the Chinese. If you look at verse number 14, it refers to the great river Euphrates. And look at verse 16, and the number of the army, the horsemen were 200,000,000. You know what that is? That's 200 million. And people think China has an army that big. And they're to be reckoned with. Anybody who doesn't take China seriously is foolish. You know, China knew they couldn't defeat us militarily, so they created that virus in the Wuhan lab. That's the way they tried to destroy us. Unleashing that virus, it crippled our economy. It affected our election last year, you know, the mail-in voting and all that nonsense. And that was their way to try to not only hurt America, but the whole world. So, you know, China is a force to be reckoned with, and we see they are prominent in Bible prophecy. Jerusalem, of course, is the key to Bible prophecy. Jerusalem. Everything goes back to Jerusalem. All the other nations are only important in regards to how they relate to Israel. Jerusalem is the key. Israel is the key. I think we read from Zechariah before. Let's look at some more of that. Zechariah, in the back of the Old Testament. I think we already read Zechariah 14. This time, let's go to Zechariah 12. Zechariah 12. and verse number two. And notice in these verses that God says, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna assemble these nations. I'm gonna dry up the Euphrates River. What does that indicate to you? God's in control. God's in control. God's not looking down from heaven and saying, oh no, look what those Russians are doing. Oh, look at China. Oh, look at those Muslim nations. God knows, God is in control. He is the one behind all of this. Now, that doesn't mean man is not responsible for what he does, but God is in control. Now, Zechariah 12, verse two, behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about. So Jerusalem here is called a cup of trembling. When they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem, that's the battle of Armageddon. And in that day, what day is that? During the end times, right before the Lord comes back. And 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 the stones. All the people of the earth, all of them, gather together against it. You say, would that include the United States of America? I'm afraid so. In fact, I might preach a message this week. I have the notes with me, but The title is, Is the USA in Bible Prophecy? And I have to say this, no it's not. Study your Bible, read it carefully. You're not gonna find America in Bible prophecy. Which is sad, greatest superpower in the world, really the only superpower in the world, just totally disappeared. But if you look at what's happening in the news the last few months, you see how we're rapidly going down, we're going down fast. Like dropping a rock into the ocean, going down, that's how America's going down so quickly. Now the campaign of Armageddon will extend to the Valley of Jehoshaphat on the east, all right? The Lord says in the book of Joel, chapter three, verse two, in Joel three, verse two, it says, I, notice God says he's gonna do this, I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, all right? And then in Joel chapter three, verse 14, multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Day of the Lord is a term used often in prophecy, first of the end times, tribulation period, second coming of Christ, even the first sometimes in the millennial kingdom. Our Lord's gonna come back and establish his kingdom. Day of the Lord would cover all of that. The armies of the world will all be assembled in this Valley of Decision, and they will eventually unite around their common enemy. Who's their common enemy? The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. You know, a lot of people hate Christians, and you hear a lot of ugly stuff, and really it's directed at the Lord. They hate us because they hate the Lord. That's basically what it is. The armies of the world will be assembled in the Valley of Decision, Uniting around their common enemy the Lord Jesus Beloved Jesus is coming soon. He's coming soon Are you ready? You know, there are many many more prophecies about the second coming of Christ than there are about the first coming of Christ Are you aware of that? And all of the prophecies regarding the first coming of Christ, he'll be born in Bethlehem, born to a virgin, the prophecies regarding his crucifixion, all of those were accurately fulfilled, down to the most minute detail. Well, if all those prophecies regarding the first coming of Christ were accurately fulfilled, we can be confident all these prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ will also be accurately fulfilled. There's no question about it. So he's coming soon, and I think the second coming of Christ is gonna be a surprise for most people. That's why Revelation, going back again, Revelation 16, going back to our text, verse 15, behold, I come as a thief. He's gonna come, a thief doesn't give you a call and say, hey, I'm coming tonight. Why don't you make it easy for me? Leave your windows unlocked. Leave your valuables out, so I don't have to go rifling through your doors and everything. I'm coming tonight. He doesn't do that. A thief comes unexpectedly. But you don't expect him to come. You come home, and oh, the whole place is ransacked, things are stolen. The Lord is coming back as a thief, and it says, blessed is he that watcheth. And I tried to explain that this morning. The judge is standing at the door. We gotta be watching, we gotta be waiting. eagerly anticipating his return. I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. So it's gonna be a thief, it's gonna be like a thief of the night for those who are not watching. And this warning is given over and over again in the Bible. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 24, verse 43. Matthew 24, 43, but you know this, he said, but know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. These scriptures teach us we should be watching. For those not watching, our Lord's return is gonna be totally unexpected. Furthermore, these scriptures teach us that our Lord's return will result in loss and shame for those who are not ready. You say, well, why do you say shame? Well, in Revelation 16, verse 15, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. They see his shame. I want to show you a few other verses that have always made a big impression on me. Keep your place in Revelation. Just go back a little bit to 1 John, chapter 2. John, of course, wrote 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, just like he wrote the Book of Revelation, and he wrote the Gospel of John. He also wrote the Epistles of John. And go back to 1st, the 1st Epistle of John, Chapter 2, and Verse 28. 1st John 2.28. Now, little children, John frequently uses that term referring to Christians, and now little children abide in him. Abide in who? Abide in Christ. Abide in Christ. You wanna be happy? Abide in Christ. Abide in Christ. Abide in him that when he shall appear, John says he's coming back, and when he shall appear, we may have confidence, now watch this, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Some people, according to that verse, are gonna be ashamed when the Lord comes back. Maybe they're doing things they shouldn't be doing. Maybe they're in a backslidden condition, I don't know. Could be a lot of explanations for this verse, but one thing's for sure, some Christians are gonna be ashamed when our Lord returns. I hope that that would not, doesn't include anybody in this room tonight. I hope you're not gonna be ashamed when the Lord returns. I'll give you one more, and then we'll move on. 2 John, so you have 1 John, then 2 John, verse eight. 2 John, verse eight. 2nd John verse 8, look to yourselves. Now that means, you know, check yourself out. Look to yourselves. That we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Now listen, if you're saved, if you're born again, you're a child of God, you're going to heaven, you're not going to lose your salvation, but you could lose According to the scripture you could lose those things which you have wrought and you're not going to receive a full reward at the judgment seat of Christ. So it's something to consider. Be ready. The Lord's coming back. Don't get careless. Don't get cold. Don't get complacent. Don't get backslidden. Don't get carnal. A lot of carnality in Christian circles today. A lot of carnality in churches today. Everything's carnal about some churches. The music, everything is just carnal. Even the preaching is carnal. It's just a shame what's going on. So we have to be ready for our Lord's return. So my message tonight is Armageddon's a literal place. Secondly, Armageddon is a literal battle or series of battles, a campaign. And thirdly, Armageddon is God's judgment. Now, My wife goes to a certain website, and people put messages on this website, like I'm looking for a good dentist, I'm looking for a good plumber, I'm looking for this and that. And sometimes there's interesting things on there. In fact, we found a couple of contractors on there too, I think. But one guy went on there looking for a church. And that caught my wife's eye. Look at this, this guy's looking for a church. And sure enough, I want a church, but not one that's judgmental. I'll scratch off Bible Baptist Church, enough of that one, amen? You know, when they say that, I know what they mean, I think you know what they mean. No preaching against sin, you know, easy going preaching, you know, God loves you, I love you, the devil loves you, we all love you, you know, that kind of baloney. Listen, that kind of preaching is not gonna get the job done, amen? This world is going to hell pretty quickly. People need to wake up. People need to repent, need to get right with God. Christians need to know what the Bible teaches. And tickling their ears is not getting the job done. So, not a judgmental church. I don't want to go, ooh, those judgmental churches. No, no, no. So, worldly people don't like the word judgment. It's not in their vocabulary. We had a guy used to come here and after a while he stopped coming and I said, brother, why'd you stop coming? He goes, well, my wife found another church and I gotta go with my wife to church. You know how it is, you gotta make your wife happy. So, I said, all right, tell me about it. He goes, well, it's kind of worldly. I said, oh yeah? He goes, people come to church in their pajamas. Okay, and some sit there and drink coffee and eat donuts during the service. Okay, that's kind of worldly. And then he said, and I, one day I said to the preacher, can we talk? He said, yeah. He made an appointment, I went to his office, we talked. I said, pastor, I've noticed, I've been coming here a few weeks, you never use the word judgment. You never use the word sin. I never heard you mention the word sin. You never mention the word hell. You just don't use these Bible words, repent, sin, judgment, hell. He goes, you're right, and you'll never hear me use those words. Let me tell you something, those words are in the Bible, those are good Bible words. For him to say that, he's omitting a lot of things in the Bible, probably most of the Bible when you think about it. So that's what we're up against today. Worldly people, especially these real sinful types, they don't like the word judgment. They denounce judgmental churches, judgmental preachers, judgmental Christians. They call us names, you know, we're legalistic, we're cultic, and you go on and on. I've heard it all before. I remember one time some guys were sitting in my parking spot smoking pot. And a couple of young guys smoking pot, and I walked over, knocked on the window and said, you can't park here. Go smoke pot somewhere else. And the guy brushed me off, get lost, take a hike. I said, I'm not kidding around, you better get out of there. And so the other guy, he kept giving me a hard time. The other guy said, let's get out of here, man. My mom told me this is nothing but a cult. Well, she's doing a good job raising her son, huh? And that's what we're up against. So this is what the world looks at churches that preach the gospel. You're a cult. I remember years ago when they went after that David Koresh cult. And man, they really was brutal. They killed innocent women and children. It was horrible what they did. And Janet Reno said, this is a warning to all those other cults out there. We're coming for you, something like that. And I'm thinking, who's gonna define what a cult is? Janet Reno? Bill Clinton? You see? That's what we're up against. They don't like the word judgment. They don't like churches who preach judgment. And they're going to slander us, call us names, and so on. Back in 1935, William Newell. Now, if you're not familiar with William Newell, he wrote some great commentaries, like on the Book of Revelation, Book of Romans, Book of Hebrews. He also wrote that hymn. We sing it all the time. Years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified. He wrote that song in Calvary. Great man of God. But back in 1935, he wrote these words, and I quote, an evil and adulterous generation today. Notice he was referring to the evil and adulterous generation back in 1935. Hello, it's gotten a lot worse since 1935, amen. I got a lot of old books in my library. I got a kick out of reading some of them. And these preachers are denouncing the wicked sinners in their day, and I'm saying, wow, things haven't changed too much. In fact, it's gotten a lot worse since then. Back in 1935, he said, an evil and adulterous generation today hates the thought of judgment. Sin is sweet to them. Therefore, the sword of Jehovah is bitter. But you know, while wicked sinners and not a few spineless preachers want to ignore the judgment of God, Bible-believing Christians sincerely want to know what the Bible has to say about these things. We want to know about the Battle of Armageddon. We want to know about the Lord's return. We want to know what the Bible says about prophecy. That's why we're having a conference. When I first discussed this with Pastor Lubin, he was enthusiastic about it. He said, yeah, it's a great idea. Let's have a prophecy conference. And I'm glad you folks came out tonight to hear more about what the Bible says about Bible prophecy. And I mentioned this earlier, I'll say it again. You notice in Revelation 16, 16, it's the Lord, it's God, who's gonna assemble all the kings of the earth at Armageddon. And I mentioned Joel 3, 2 says, God says, I will gather all nations. And God is gonna use demons to do it, according to Revelation 16, verses 13 and 14. The dragon, the beast, the false prophet are followed by three unclean spirits, demons, who go forth to persuade and to deceive all the proud and deluded kings of the earth to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. This is gonna be the day of God's judgment upon these wicked, haughty kings, these Christ-haters and their armies and so on. Now, second Thessalonians, Chapter 2, you don't gotta turn there. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this prophecy. 2 Thessalonians 2, 11 says, for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Ever thought about that? It's gonna get so bad, God's gonna say, I'm gonna send you a strong delusion. You love your sin so much, you know, you love your pornography, You love your booze and your drugs, you're dope. I'm gonna send you a strong delusion. I believe it's coming. In fact, I said don't turn. I think we ought to turn there. I'm looking at the clock. We have a few minutes left. 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians and chapter two. And verse four refers to the Antichrist. He wants to be worshiped. He's gonna sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. And verse 7 says, the mystery of iniquity doth already work. And then verse 8, the wicked one is going to be revealed, that's the Antichrist, but he's going to be destroyed at the second coming of Christ, according to verse 8. Verse 9 says, even him, the Antichrist, whose coming is after the working of Satan, will all power and signs and lying wonders. and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, and them that perish." Why are they going to perish? Why are they so easily deceived by the Antichrist? Well, here you have it in verse 9, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. They don't love the truth, they don't want to get saved, and so they're going to be easily deceived by the Antichrist. You see that? with all deceivableness. Why? Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved. Verse 10. Now look at verse 11, which I think is one of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible. And for this cause, what cause? Because they don't believe, they don't want the truth. They hate the truth because they love their sin. They don't want to get saved. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Look at verse 12. Now they all might be damned. And I think you know what that means. Go to hell. They're all going to be damned. They're going to be sent to hell. Who believed not the truth. Today, most people don't want the truth. They'd rather be told a lie. Every time you see Dr. Fauci on TV, remember that. They want that. Keep talking. We're brainwashed. We like to hear what you have to say. Dr. Fauci, you don't need to wear a mask. Wear two masks. In fact, wear three of them now. On and on and on. Now he's saying you can't travel, he says, without getting the COVID vaccination. But people sit there in front of the TV nodding their head, oh, he's right. No, he's not right. He's a crazy man. And it's unfortunate he has such influence today. And by the way, he was behind that Wuhan lab thing right from the get-go. Here he's trying to help us get through this pandemic, he's responsible for the pandemic. I don't wanna get too into that because I'll be so angry, I'll be jumping up and down there yelling, I don't wanna do that. But anyway, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So the last days would be characterized by delusion, by confusion, deception, In fact, when they asked Jesus what's it gonna be like at the sign of your coming, he said, let no man deceive you. And he warned about deception, false prophets, false teachers. And there's so many of them around today, it's amazing. Just drive around Queens County, probably Nassau County too, I guess, but especially Queens, and you'll see all these different churches, the prophetess and prophet and the apostle and all these false churches and false teachers, they're all over the place. And people are getting swindled, people are being confused, people are being led astray. multitudes are being deceived. I mentioned what Jesus said in the Olivet Discourse. You know, I'm gonna turn there. I'll just read a little bit for you. Matthew 24, he said, what are the signs of thy coming? The very first sign he said is take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many. And then he goes on to say, further on in verse number 11, Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. Not deceive a few, deceive many. People are easily deceived. Why? Why are people deceived? They're not reading the Bible. They don't know the Bible. You can talk to them about books, some of them are educated, some are pretty well read, but yet they admit they don't read the Bible. But love, forget about the other books, it's the most important book. I'm all for reading, I got a very big library, I read a lot, but number one is the Bible. Number one is the Bible. And that has to come first and foremost. All other books should be secondary. They say when Sir Walter Scott was dying, he was on his deathbed and said, bring me the book. Bring me the book. And his son-in-law said, which book? You have thousands of books in the library. Man, he said, there's only one book, the Bible. Bring me the Bible. The Bible is the most important book. And the reason we're in such trouble today is people are not reading the Bible. The great expositor Joseph Ceas wrote this, the final outcome of this world's wisdom, unbelief, and repudiation of the rule and government of Jesus Christ is the assembly of all the kings and armies and captains of thousands and mighty men and men of all ranks and classes upon the hills and valleys of Palestine from Idumila to Ejdelelon equipped, resolved, eager, and confident of success to meet the Son of God and his army in hostile collision, to decide by dreadful battle whether they or he shall have the sovereignty in the earth. Everyone that denies Christ is on his way to defy Christ. I like that. I'll repeat that. He says, everyone that denies Christ is on his way to defy Christ and to take up arms for the usurper, to conquer Christ. That's quite a quote. Now, after the Battle of Armageddon, there's going to be the Supper of the Great God. We looked at that already. All the vultures are going to come and eat the Antichrist's army up. All the buzzards and vultures and ravens and fowls that fly are invited to eat the flesh of all those people who tried to attack the Lord Jesus. Well, this is where it's all heading. This is where it's all going. There are two, by the way, there are two great suppers, two suppers mentioned in Revelation 19. And if you look at Revelation 19, you'll see what I'm getting at. In Revelation 19 is the supper of judgment at the end of the chapter, when the fowls of the air are eating all the dead soldiers and their horses and everything. But there's another supper. It's a much nicer one. And that is recorded in verse seven, Revelation 19, verse seven. It says, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb. Of course, the Lord Jesus is referred to repeatedly as the lamb in the book of Revelation, because he's the lamb of God which take away the sin of the world. He's referred to as the lamb, emphasizing his vicarious death on the cross. So it says here, The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife, that's the bride of Christ, if you're saved, you'll be part of that bride, his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. Now look at verse nine. And he said unto me, write, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God. So there's two suppers in this chapter. The first one is the marriage supper to Lamb, which Lord willing, everybody here is going to be there. And then there's a second one, which is a time of judgment. It'll be following after the Battle of Armageddon. One thing we can conclude by saying, it's going to be a horrible judgment in store for those who reject Christ. We need to warn people what's in store for them if they continue going the way they're going. Leaving Christ out, God is unimportant to them. Don't read the Bible, don't pray, don't go to church. Just live as if God didn't exist. That is heading for danger. A few years ago I read an article, I referred to it earlier, How to Survive Armageddon. The author said things that you'll need are a shortwave radio, a rifle, ammunition, three months' supplies, three months' food and water, gold and silver, horse tent, and a wind generator. Well, at least I got my guns. I got nothing else, but I get the rest of the stuff. I got some of these things ready. But anyway, the writer recommended moving far away from nuclear power plants, building a shelter, preferably a walled fortress. Can you get this guy? move away from nuclear power plants, that's easy to do, building a shelter, preferably a walled fortress that can withstand a siege, and organizing an adequately prepared militia. None of this worldly advice is scriptural. None of this worldly advice would do any good when the Lord Jesus returns. Can you imagine that, hiding in a walled fortress? All right, we're safe in here. Check the ammo, check the ammunition, make sure we're okay, you know? So stupid, I mean, people are so foolish. Why don't they just read the Bible and see what the Battle of Armageddon's really about? Instead of hiding out in a walled fortress with three months supply of dry food and guns and ammunition and generator and so on. Listen. When God pours his wrath down on this world, the generator and three months' supplies of food and guns and ammo aren't gonna do you any good. Not gonna do any good. Look at Revelation 16, verse 17. The seventh angel poured out his violence in the air and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done. And then it says there's voices and thunders and lightnings, and it was a great earthquake such as were not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. And look at verse number 19. It talks about the fierceness of his wrath. And verse 20, every island fled away. By the way, that would include Long Island. That would include Manhattan Island. That would include City Island, Staten Island. In fact, a lot of islands around here. All gonna move around. And the Bible also says the mountains were not found. No more Catskill Mountains, Appalachian Mountains. They're all gonna be gone. Hiding out in a walled fortress isn't gonna help you. And I can give you so many other scriptures. Revelation 16, 21. 16, 21, there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven. Every stone about the weight of a talent. Now you would think with that happening, men would get on their knees and say, Lord, have mercy, Lord, I'm sorry, I repent. But no, look what it says. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was exceedingly great. So rather than humble themselves, rather than repent, they blasphemed God. That's where it's heading, you see. So by the way, in case you're wondering about every stone the weight of a talent, a talent is about 100 pounds. 100 pounds coming down on people's heads. So hiding out in a fortress isn't going to do any good. Building shelters and fortresses will not help when God judges this world. No way to escape the judgment of God. It's unavoidable, inescapable, inevitable. So what should a person do to prepare themselves for this? Well, in Acts 16, the Philippian jailor said to Paul, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And thy house, meaning if your household, if your family believes, they'll be saved too. My wife claimed that verse when she got saved and the whole family got saved, amen? So thank God for the grace of God. There's still time. God's dispensation of grace hasn't ended yet. People are still getting saved. People are still responding to the gospel call. If there's anybody here tonight that's not saved, I pray you'll respond tonight. The Battle of Armageddon is coming. It's going to be real. It's not going to be the way the world portrays it or Hollywood portrays it, but we see an accurate picture of it in the Word of God. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful for the Word of God. We're thankful that we don't have to be mixed up or confused about these things, Armageddon and the second coming of Christ and Bible prophecy. We know what the Bible says. It's plain and clear. And we can read it with our own eyes and see what it says and act accordingly. And Lord, if there's anybody here tonight that's not saved, I pray they'll get saved tonight, not to put it off. Not to shrug it off and say, well, I'll get saved later on. I'll get saved by and by. No, now's the time to get this settled. Well, our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. I want to give a very brief invitation. I'm going to say, Pastor, I'm not saved. I know that. There's no getting around it. When I look at what the Bible says about being saved, being born again, I know I'm not, but I know I need to be and I want to be. Please pray for me. Please pray for me that I will be saved. I want to get genuinely saved. That way, when the Lord comes back, I'm ready. I'll be ready for him. And not only that, but in the time I have left, I can go tell others about Jesus as well. Anybody like that, just slip your hand up. We'll pray for you right now. Anybody like that? Just raise your hand, we'll pray for you. All right, I'm gonna give another invitation. Very simple. I'm gonna say, Pastor, I'm saved. I know the Lord. I'm saved by the grace of God, but I haven't really been thinking about these things. I'm not really ready for the Lord to return, but coming to this prophet conference has certainly showed me certain things. Please pray for me. I wanna be a good witness, a good testimony, and tell others that the Lord's coming back. Just raise your hand. Amen. Anybody else? Amen. Amen. See, a few hands. That's good. That's encouraging. Let's pray. for those who really want to get serious about living for God in these last days. Keep your hand on Pastor Luke. We know he's serious about these things. And you put him here in this position as a pastor to lead this church, and we thank God for him. Let's end the service now. Bring folks out tomorrow night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Pastor? Lord, what a tremendous challenge. I hope that we keep in mind these events that are coming down the pike. And again, it's to motivate us, because there's a lost and dying world out there of people that we know, that we rub shoulders with, that need the Lord, that need the gospel. And may God give us a Holy Spirit burden, compassion, and boldness to witness and to reach them. I'm gonna ask our ushers to make their way to the front at this time. Let's collect a love offering.