|
The rise of China to become a dominant world
political force during the past decade has enormous significance from a
prophetic point of view. Many students of prophecy believe it signifies a
trend that world geopolitical conditions are shaping up for the worlds last
great conflict described over nineteen hundred years ago by the Apostle
John when he wrote...
"Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up, so
that the way of the kings from the East might be prepared." (Rev 16:12)
These "kings from the east" have befuddled Bible prophecy
scholars for many years, for few mentioned anything about them. That is, until
the communist take-over of China during World War II. Since then
it has become apparent that this largest of all countries in the world has
a prophetic role, however minor it may be, in end time events. We can
readily understand that, for China has been content to stay within
its vast borders for thousands of years and live pretty much to itself. Their communist dictators have changed all that
for they seem to have the same obsession that characterized communists
before them - world conquest.
AMERICA: COMMUNIST CHINA'S PRIMARY TARGET
One hundred eighty years ago Napoleon Bonapart
said, "When China awakens, the world will tremble." You don't
have to be a prophet to recognize that time of trembling has already come
to Asia and within one decade will probably
come to the whole world.
No longer is China, with the world's largest
population the paper tiger she has been for almost five thousand years. In
our lifetime she has startled the world and frightened many in the military
complex with her enormous economic and military potential. Many observers
recognize that within ten or at best twenty years China could very well threaten the
entire world even more than the Soviet Union did just a decade ago. She
already has the nuclear bomb or will have soon and she has a delivery
system that is the fear of every country in the Orient. She is trafficking
in arms beyond belief by buying them from Russia and any of the former
impoverished satellite countries that will sell them and turning around and
selling what they do not want to any of their oil rich allies that can
afford them, like Iran, Iraq or even India.
Their aggressive demand for Hong Kong, Taiwan and the
Sprately Islands proves they have a strategy to
control all of Asia. Whoever controls the Spratelys not only
controls the oil check points to the oil dependant countries of the East
like Japan, Taiwan, the Philippians - but Australia, Indonesia and
Singapore - where 50% of the worlds population lives. Basing their claims
to these almost uninhabitable islands to centuries old documents, they are
probably more interested in the suspected rich oil fields under them than
their location. They know that no country can prosper today or in the
foreseeable future without oil.
But it is not just the Orient they are interested in. In 1997 they
almost negotiated an incredible coup in the Americas. First it was disclosed they had
leased an important pier in Long Beach, California, being vacated by the U.S. Navy for their government owned COSCO company to help speed their
enormous imports into the United
States. Our balance of payments with
them already shows a deficit of $50 billion dollars and is expected to go
as high as $70 or $100 billion, a tribute to the greed of American
capitalists whose concern for profits exceeds their concern for the safety
of our country. Another still amazing effort was their attempt to gain a
foothold in the Panama Canal area when the U.S. withdraws from that region
before the turn of the century. By long term leases at each end of the
canal they could virtually control the shipping through the canal. Some
military experts believe this could force the United States to have two
separate Navy's, for no longer in emergencies could warships be sent to
support our naval forces from one ocean to the other - without China's
permission. At this writing neither of these negotiations have been finalized, but it does show the long-range
goals of the Chinese Communist government.
Keep in mind, China is not controlled by democracy
loving liberals like most countries in the world. Their leaders are among
the most dedicated communists in the world. They are not "agrarian
reformers" or "progressives" as our liberal media tried to
represent them a few years ago. They are a ruthless group of elite
gangsters who have stolen the opportunity for freedom from the 1.2 billion
freedom loving Chinese people and have never wavered in their plan to use China as a military platform from
which to conquer the world. The events of the next two decades, if indeed
we have that long, will prove that point. It is obvious that the obsession
of America's leadership to appease these
ruthless communist leaders will strengthen their position and weaken ours.
Liberal American leaders have never been able to deal successfully with
communists, much less with Oriental communists. Our leaders have assumed
when communist gangsters become dictators or "presidents" of
their country that they become nice people whose word can be trusted or for
that matter, whose signatures on treaties can be trusted. History shows
that is a naive concept. Only former President Ronald Reagan who regarded
communists for what they were, "an evil empire," understood them.
He dealt with diplomacy backed by force, that is
why the Soviet Union finally collapsed.
Appeasement seems to be the watchword of the present leadership in
our country - which is why the World Bank, which is controlled and financed
by the American Taxpayer, has financed the Chinese economy until all
experts expect it to challenge our own economy for world markets in ten to
twenty years. When I was in Beijing in 1995 I read the English
version of the Asian Press and saw the Chinese government bragging about
the fact that they had obtained the highest loans from the World Bank of
any country on earth. Twenty-two billion dollars! For several years they
allowed American companies to buy twenty-five percent of corresponding
companies in China (to gain capitol). If you were
to drive through Beijing you would no doubt be
dumbfounded to see the names of countless American companies that have
affiliates in China. This of course has contributed
to our enormous trade deficit that has provided China untold billions to support their
socialistic economy.
If further evidence is needed that China has indeed awakened from her
centuries old economic slumber that should have been erased for those who
saw the TV special recently showing that of the ten tallest building in the
world, seven of them are in China! (Not exactly ideal places to be
during the enormous earthquakes prophesied for the coming Tribulation
period.)
THE GREATEST POLITICAL SCANDAL IN AMERICAN HISTORY
In a desperate attempt to be reelected in 1996, Bill Clinton took
millions of dollars in illegal campaign donations for himself and his
party. Much of it came from the Chinese Communist government. It is
reasonable to ask - What concessions were promised the communist leaders of
China in return? For historically
using state money as bribery is an accepted path to obtaining national
communists objectives. Renewal of Most Favored Nation (MEN) trading status,
which the President asked for and received in 1997, was obviously one
objective. In spite of the fact that he ridiculed George Bush in 1992 for
granting them the same trading preferences.
Even though fifty-five witnesses have fled the country, pleading the
Fifth Amendment, or refusing to testify before congress it is common
knowledge that special favors were promised for that early cash that bought
the TV ads that guaranteed his reelection in 1996.
The payoff that U.S. veterans find most odious is
that after the Clinton administration rejected the U.S.
Marines request to occupy a strategic pier in Long Beach, California, being abandon by the U.S. Navy
during the downsizing of our military - it was leased to the Chinese
Communists instead. Prophecy writer and political analysts, John Wheeler
Jr., describes it;
In 1996, Clinton and his top aides met with Long Beach officials to urge the city to
make the deal with the Chinese Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), which promises
to infuse fresh money into the cash-strapped local economy. The Chinese
would rent the port facility for $14 million per year.
The huge 600-ship merchant fleet has long been suspected of various
illegal activities by U.S. authorities. In 1992 the Federal
Maritime Commission fined COSCO $400,000 for providing illegal kickback in
violation of the 1984 U. S. Shipping Act.
In 1996, U. S. Customs agents intercepted a shipment of 2,000 AK-47
assault rifles aboard the COSCO ship Empress Phoenix, which was docked at
Oakland, Cal. The weapons were shipped by the
Poly Technologies Group and were intended for sale to street gangs in
Los Angeles. The main problem with allowing
the Chinese to operate a port terminal in the defense-rich environment of
Long Beach involves national security.
"I am astonished that we would be providing COSCO, a known tool
of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with a beachhead anywhere in
California, but especially in
Long Beach, " said the Heritage Foundation's
Asian expert, Richard Fisher. "I can't even begin to imagine the
degree or amount of under-the-water, on-top-of-the-water and land-based
surveillance that would be needed to ensure that COSCO did not use this
port for intelligence gathering, insertion or recovery of agents, or other
forms of espionage, " Fisher said.
Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-NY), chairman of the House Rules Committee,
urged Attorney General Janet Reno to appoint a special counsel to
investigate the plan. "Everywhere we turn, we see China taking active measures to compromise,
infiltrate, neutralize or otherwise undermine American economic and
security interests," Solomon said. "Is this what China is getting in return for its big
contributions to Clinton and DNC campaign coffers?"
A Chinese-American entrepreneur named Johnny C hung made more than 50
visits to the White House during Clinton's first term. Chung took six
Chinese officials - one of whom was a COSCO adviser- into the White House
in 1996.
Chung donated $366,000 to the Democrats during that period, including
a $50,000 contribution he hand-delivered to Hillary Clinton's aide Margaret
Williams at the White House, in violation of federal law. The money was
later returned to Chung.[1]
Outcries from irritated citizens
and veteran groups alerted the U.S. Congress and the agreement was put on
hold temporarily, pending the outcome of the 98 elections. In the meantime
the recent red carpet treatment extended to the new dictator of China included an October welcome at
the White House usually reserved for kings and potentates of friendly
nations could also be considered a pay-off. What has many observers worried
is that there may still be other secret agreements that must be met which
will further compromise the military and industrial security of the United States.
Of one thing we can be certain, China is not going to go away. Liberal
Americans who have a long history of trusting socialists and communists
fail to recognize the present leaders of China as the real threat they are to
the world - and one billion, two hundred million people will not be denied!
More important, John the revelator saw them as players on the world scene
in the end times.
CHINA AND THE BIBLE
Very little is said about China in the Bible. In fact, what is
said includes more than just China, for the term "kings of the
east" really means "kings of the rising sun" which would
include Japan and possibly other Asian
countries. As Dr. John Walvoord, considered the
dean of prophecy scholars living today, writes of this expression;
There has been some tendency to
take the expression "the kings of the east" literally, "the
kings of the sunrise'-as referring specifically to Japan where the rising sun is a symbol
of its political power. However, it is more natural to consider the term,
"rising sun" as a synonym for eastΙ[2]
Some Bible teachers suggest that
"the Smite" referred to in Genesis 10:17 and again in the prophecy of
Isaiah 49:12 is where the "land of Sinim" is located. These "Sinites" along with other peoples evidently
settled in the east in what we know today as China, after God scattered them from
the Tower of Babel, and became isolated from the rest of the world.
There is little doubt that those
earliest settlers carried with them after the great flood the stories of
creation and the one true God. One of the things early missionaries to China pointed out is the truth of God
in the Chinese pictographic language. My brother-in-law was a missionary to
Taiwan for over twenty years and shared with me that the Chinese name for
God is "Shang Ti," which is made up of
two pictographic symbols, "above" (or heavenly) and
"emperor." The Chinese name for God is Heavenly Emperor. In a
country that worships many gods it is interesting that the earliest of
Chinese characters (going back as some suggest, 4,500 years ago) means they
recognized one that is above all emperors, or gods, as the "Heavenly
Emperor."
Chuck Missler
writes;
Another example is the word
"boat" made up of three Chinese characters; vessel, eight and
mouth - which could be a carry over from the eight mouths on the ark. The
word "beginning" (of sin) combines the pictographs for
"woman, secretly and mouth." The Chinese word for devil combines
four words; motion, garden, man, and privately. Even more obvious is the
word for "desire or covet." It is made up of two trees and the
symbol for woman.[3]
Doubtless there are many other
Chinese characters that could be traced to Genesis before the
Tower of Babel. Another interesting factor
students of China find is that the most ancient
Chinese calendars are seven-day calendars. Given their pagan background one
can only speculate that too is a carry over from Genesis. Geographically
the Euphrates River, one of the first rivers
mentioned in the Bible, has served for centuries as the natural dividing
line between east and west. It is evident to Bible scholars that Judaism
and Christianity had an enormous impact on the world west of the
Euphrates River, but very little influence on
the east. Instead the Master Deceiver has damned the billions of souls of
the peoples of the east with a succession of false religions. First there
was Confucianism, then Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and combinations of all
of them. The dragon, the official symbol of China, overpowered the primitive
Biblical teachings possessed by the first settlers with the polytheistic
pantheism they have today. The idea that god is all and all is god is
really a rejection of the God of the Bible.
There is little doubt that the
early settlers of Asia carried with them the account of the one true God and his early acts
of creation, the Garden of Eden, the fall, and the world wide flood in the
days of Noah. Unfortunately, the devil, the deceiver of the minds and souls
of mankind made the Orient his chief capital for the religions of
Babylon. In Rome you have Babylonish
mysticism mixed with Christianity. In China you have the pure religion of
Babylon - Polytheism - the worship of
many god's.
Joseph Lam, who loves China, having been born there to
missionary parents who spent most of their lives there, believes the national
symbol of China, which is a dragon, is the true
symbol of the God of China. In the book of Revelation our Lord called him a
"liar and deceiver." The Apostle John calls Satan a dragon, and
predicts that when he is cast out of Heaven he will deceive billions of
people into taking the mark of the beast and worshipping his image
(Revelation 13). During the Tribulation that old serpent the devil will
lead billions to reject Christ and worship himself.
The story of how he made China and the Orient his personal
religious prison, successfully closing them off to the gospel for almost
two millenniums is too lengthy to go into here.
Dr. Henry Morris writes of the
Chinese;
For ages they have been dominated
by religions (Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism and others) which are
fundamentally evolutionary religions. That is, they all envision an eternal
universe, with no concept of a transcendent, omnipotent, personal God who
created all things. Their emphasis is solely on present behavior. To them
history consists mostly of interminable cycles, without beginning or
ending.
Associated with these pantheistic
systems was (and is) always the worship of spirits. Whether these are
understood as spirits of ancestors or as the spirits of trees and other
natural objects, such worship is in reality worship of demons, or fallen
angels. Such religions thus are also commonly associated with idolatry.
This eastern religion-whatever specific form it may assume in a particular
time or place-is essentially the same old worship of idols which God's
prophets continually condemned. Comprising a monstrous complex of
evolutionary, pantheistic, polytheistic, idolatrous, astrological,
animistic humanism, it is merely a variant of the primeval religion
introduced by Nimrod at Babel and promulgated through the
world by the confusion of tongues and subsequent worldwide dispersion from
Babel. By its very nature it lends
itself to control of its devotees by demonic influence.[4]
Joseph Lam writes;
The
Himalayan Mountains of Tibet and Nepal gave Lucifer the high ground he
adores (Isaiah 14:13-14). He dwells in high places
like the sacred mountains of Taishan in
Shandong province. All his false temples
are amazingly similar-reaching upward to heaven. Be it at the
Tower of Babel, the pyramids of Egypt, the Inca copies of ancient Ziggarots in Mexico, Egypt, or the stupas
of Burma-all exalt the concept of man and demons reaching upward. It is no
surprise that so many forms of animism, demon worship, Hinduism, and
Buddhism have been born in the Himalayan Mountains.[5]
It is not difficult to see how
the master deceiver of the souls of men can easily deceive "the kings
of the east" and their followers into making the long trek west to the
Meggido Valley to do battle with the King of
Kings. Already steeped in humanistic religions for centuries and currently
controlled by humanistic communists with an obsession for world
conquest-their vision of spreading their might and culture over the entire
world will make them easy targets for one last gigantic deception -
Armageddon.
CHINA SUFFERED THE AFFECTS OF ISRAEL'S SIN
When God performed a biological
miracle on the loins of Abraham and Sarah over 3500 years ago, he created a
nation He intended to be his "torchbearers" to bring the light of
His grace and truth to the whole world. His blessing on the nation during
the early reign of Solomon that caused the queen of Sheba to say, "the half has not
been told me" (I Kings 10:7), indicates that God wanted to use Israel as a powerful testimony to the
peoples and nations of the world that He blesses those who obey Him.
Unfortunately, Solomon later disobeyed God and permitted his wives to bring
in their pagan worship. After his death many Israelites followed them to
paganism. So many that God finally permitted a pagan nation to take them
into captivity and their lamp was almost extinguished. Instead of being a
nation blessed of God the centuries showed they incurred the curse of God
for their disobedience. The rejection of their own Messiah was of course
the last straw and they were driven from the land for eighteen hundred
years.
In all probability, one of the
areas of the world God intended them to evangelize was east of the Euphrates. Joseph Lam reminds us;
King Solomon traded with China. The ancient Silk Road superhighway went from the New Testament
port of Antioch to Changan (Sian). Silk routes also went by sea
from Jerusalem to Ningbo in the Tang and Song dynasties.
The caravan land routes went through Baghdad and connected with nearly all
the ancient capitals from Babylon to Khanbalik (Beijing).
[6]
There were plenty of ways to get
the message behind those vast mountain passes if Israel had only been faithful to God
instead of worshipping idols.
CHINA'S ANTI-CHRISTIAN OBSESSION
The story of missionary efforts
in China is a heroic tale, but not nearly
as successful as in other countries where the people are not so exposed to
demons and spirits of devils. After over one hundred years of courageous
efforts there are estimated to be 60 million Christians in China. We all rejoice at this many
born again souls, but that is only one half of one percent of the
population. Few countries boast of more continuous persecution of
Christians that even today is rampant. It has long seemed to us that the
U.S. State Department and the current administration are blind to the human
rights violations of Christians throughout the world, especially in China. There is however much more than
politics involved, there is a satanic struggle in the Orient today, between
the spiritual "powers of the air" - Satan, against the Spirit of
God.
When we were in Beijing we interviewed several
Christians secretly. They know what it is like to be persecuted and to live
under the constant threat of persecution. Several of the Christians we
talked with indicated they first heard the gospel over short wave radio
through which the Spirit of God witnessed to their empty heart. Several
were former Buddhists, another a committed
communist. All admitted emptiness in their hearts prior to turning on the
short wave radio broadcasts out of Hong Kong. There is something satanic to
the opposition that Christians are subjected to behind the bamboo curtain.
While in their country we learned they had two kinds of churches. 1) The
approved or mainline churches that agreed not to teach the forbidden
doctrines of the inerrancy of Scripture and the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ. (The two doctrines Satan has always opposed!) 2) The underground or
house churches teach the whole Bible until they are discovered and
imprisoned. It is in these house churches where thousands are coming to
Christ each week.
Joseph Lam puts it in
perspective;
In the West, we think of
bomb-making instructions on the Internet as dangerous. Not to the dragon.
To him, the "most dangerous" message on the Internet is the
"Second Advent of Christ." The soon return of Christ is the
message the thought-police most want to censor out. In fact, in many areas
the police are registering modems and even fax machines in order to keep
the end-times message of Christ's return from being circulated. You see,
Chinese Christians believe passionately that Christ is coming again, not
just someday-but "in this generation." The dragon knows he must
stop this Apostolic message of hope. If somehow he can stop these New
Testament-style Bible studies, he knows he will cripple Church growth in China.
The
kingdom of God and the Second Coming of Christ
are the rarest sermon topics preached in China's government-controlled pulpits...
The dragon persecutes the house churches because he is terrified of the
end-times gospel they preach. This message liberates the people from
bondage to their control and so it has to be denounced as
"anti-revolutionary" superstition.
Christians are consistently
forbidden the right to do any public evangelism of
any kind. Private worship is
reluctantly permitted but gospel preaching is banned.
Directives to the
state-controlled churches warn pastors not to preach the message of
Revelation.
Pastors in congregations of the
"Three Self Patriotic movement" skip liturgical readings about
the second coming of Christ such as Hebrews 9:28 and Rev. 19 and 22:20-21
Sunday School teachers are not
allowed to discuss the "day of the Lord" predicted in both the
Old and New Testaments.
The Olivet Discourse, recorded
in three of the four Gospels is forbidden (the most important outline of
prophecy in Scripture)
Many Chinese hymns of advent,
missions, judgment, and the millennial reign of Christ are no longer sung
in registered Chinese churches. Such music isn't politically correct. Lam
concludes, "Nothing so upsets the dragon as the mention of Christ's
return,
and nothing so comforts the Chinese
church and missions. "[7]
I could not help thinking that in
America, where pastors have the freedom
to preach anything they please, thousands of churches never hear that Second Coming message. Not because they are
forbidden by government, but because they were tricked by seminary
professors into thinking it is "confusing" or "not relevant
for today." Satan uses different tactics in different
cultures-anything that will produce silence on the Blessed Hope of Christ's
soon return. Why? Because there is no more spiritually motivating teaching
in the entire Bible.
THE KINGS OF THE EAST DO NOT
INCLUDE EZEKIEL 38-39
Some writers have fused the
emergence of China and "the kings of the
east" of Revelation 16 with the destruction of Russia and her Arab allies of Ezekiel
38 and 39. A closer examination of the two passages will indicate that they
are not the same in people, mission or in timing. The prophet Ezekiel had
what today is considered "the near east" coming down against Israel,
while John the Revelator saw the kings of the east joining the kings of the
whole world to go down to Israel against Christ the Messiah in the Battle
of Armageddon. They are definitely two separate battles - at least seven to
ten or more years apart.
THE IDENTITY OF "GOD AND
MAGOG"
"Magog"
is an ancient name for the nation now known as Russia. "Gog"
merely means "the chief prince of Magog," or more
literally, the chief prince of "Meshech and Tubal" (Ezekiel 38:2-3; 39:1). Genesis 10 helps to
establish the identity of these people. Magog was
the second son of Japheth who, according to Josephus, the great Jewish
historian, settled north of the Black Sea. Tubal and Meshech were the fifth and sixth sons of Japheth, and
their descendants settled south of the Black Sea. It is believed that these
people intermarried and became known as Magog,
the dominant tribe. The name "Moscow" derives from the tribal
name "Meshech," and "Tobolsk," the name of the principal state, from
"Tubal." The noun "Gog" is from the original tribal name "Magog," which gradually became "Rash,"
then "Russ," and today is known as "Russia."
Another significant reason for
identifying Russia as Magog
is her geographical location. The Bible usually describes geography in
relation to Israel. For example, "south"
means south of Israel' "north" signifies
north of Israel. The only likely exception would
come in this instance, in that Ezekiel was in Babylon when he spoke the prophecy. A
case could be made that he may have meant "north of Babylon" when he said, "You
will come from your place in the far north" (38:15), or "I will
bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel" (39:2).
While looking at a map it is easy
to see that it doesn't matter whether one starts in Israel or Babylon; north in either case leads to
the broad expanse of the former Soviet Union. Unquestionably the invading
forces that will march against the nation Israel, recalled from the nations of
the world and established in her own land, will be led by Russia.
RUSSIA'S ALLIES
There is general agreement today
on the identity of Russia's allies as primarily the Muslim
countries. The only war that Russia has ever fought alone was being
lost to Afghanistan. We can be certain that the
Russians will not invade Israel alone. The prophet stipulates
that they will bring "many nations with you,...
hordes gathered about you" (Ezekiel 38:6-7). But he also notes that Russia will be in command (v. 7).
Russia's confederates, as disclosed in
Ezekiel 38:5-6, are among her current friends. Those not in her orbit of friends at present are being cultivated either
secretly or openly. When Russia comes down to invade Israel, she will use Middle East hatred of the Jews to her
advantage and inveigle these nations to help her in the fighting.
This will probably be the most
massive invasion army assembled in the history of the world - all in
opposition to Israel, a nation of less than 4 million
people. For the first time since World War II, Israel's friends will betray her.
When Russia's invasion forces rattle their
spears, the western democracies, including America, will use the impotent
instrument of diplomacy instead of the one power that all terrorists,
murderers, dictators, and lawless individuals or nations
understand: force.
GOD DELIVERS ISRAEL
The scenario that develops at
this point in our prophetic story is exciting. Confronted by overwhelming
forces from Russia and forsaken by her friends, Israel will turn to God, and He will do
for modern Israel what He did for ancient Israel. As the God over all forces, He
will deliver Israel from the hands of the oppressor.
As certain as it is that Russia and her Middle East hordes will come down
against Israel, so certain is it that God will destroy the invading forces
and deliver Israel supernaturally.
The prophet does not leave us in
doubt as to the methods that God will use in this destruction. It is
noteworthy that this in not the first time they will have been used by the
Almighty, for all of them have precedence in the Old Testament.
1. A mighty earthquake
"For in My jealousy and in
the fire of My wrath I have spoken: 'Surely in that day there shall be a
great earthquake in the land of Israel, 'so that the fish of the sea, the
birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that
creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall
shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places
shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground." Ezekiel 38:19-20
Evidently God permits the
Russians and their hordes to begin an airborne invasion while the infantry
launches a ground assault. But at a strategic moment He generates a
powerful and destructive earthquake that causes people to
"tremble" at His presence. This catastrophe will manifest the
power of a supernatural God.
2. The sword of the Lord
"I will call for a sword
against Gog throughout all My mountains,"
says the Lord God. "Every man's sword will be against his
brother." Ezekiel 38:21
3. Plague and bloodshed
"And I will bring him to
judgment with pestilence and bloodshed..." Ezekiel 38:22
4. Floods, hailstones, burning
sulfur
"...I will rain down on him,
on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain,
great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Ezekiel 38:22
"WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS
BE?"
Whenever we discuss the future
events of Bible Prophecy, someone immediately
asks, "When will this take
place?" Admittedly, Bible teachers do not concur as to the
"when"
of this event. But for at least four reasons it cannot be confused with the
Battle
of Armageddon.
1. Armageddon is not directed
against Israel, but constitutes an attack on
the part of the world's nations against Christ (see Revelation 16:12-21 and 19:11-21). The deception of the
Antichrist and his insane hatred of Jesus Christ at the end of the
tribulation period will culminate with his bringing together - even from
the Orient over the dried-up river Euphrates - hordes of people against, not Israel, but Jesus Christ, the coming
King. That he will utterly fail is |