| Highlights of Dawn | July 1959 |
Armageddon, Then World Peace
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” —Revelation 16:16
THE Bible contains a number of words and phrases which, because of their almost universal application to human fears, hopes, and experiences are often quoted by the world, although not necessarily because of a genuine faith in what they imply. The expression, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks,” is one of these. (Isa. 2:4) The word “millennium” is another. And still another is the often used word “Armageddon.” President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “We stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord.”
The word “Armageddon” appears only once in the Bible, which is in our text. In the second verse preceding, reference is made to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” In the next verse Jesus declares, “Behold, I come as a thief.” Thus it seems clear that the Armageddon of our text is related to events at the close of the present age, when Christ would be present to establish his kingdom.
Revelation is a book of symbols, and the Armageddon of our text is no exception to this. We are not to suppose that the gathering of the nations to a place called Armageddon means that they will be assembled in some particular location. In the symbology of the Bible, places usually represent conditions, and this is true with respect to the “place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” The conditions, or situations, symbolized by places are determined by that which is historically true concerning them. Thus mount Zion of Jerusalem symbolized the kingdom of the Lord because God once ruled his people through the kings of Israel, whose thrones were established in mount Zion.
Armageddon was a battleground in Israel, the site where many of Israel’s most important battles against her enemies were fought. God fought with and for Israel in these battles. This was the unique fact which made them different from any other battles which have ever been fought. God did not always give Israel the victory. At times his people needed to be punished, and he permitted them to be defeated. But in every case God directed the outcome of the battles fought by the Israelites at the “hill of Megiddo.”
The Battle of Waterloo now has a definite symbolic meaning, based, of course, on what actually happened at Waterloo. It was there that the previously victorious Napoleon was defeated. When we speak of armies and of individuals meeting their “Waterloo,” everyone knows what we mean. So the symbolic Armageddon is a great world struggle at this end of the age in which God takes a part, and directs the issue, that outcome being the glorious triumph of righteousness through the establishment of the long-promised kingdom of Christ.
Not True in the Past
THROUGHOUT the professed Christian world, among the people of the various nations of “Christendom” the claim has been made in the past that God fought with and for their armies when they went to war. The incongruity of this was that usually it was a case of one “Christian” nation fighting against another, with both sides calling upon God to help them. Even the clergy participated in this fraud, teaching that soldiers who were killed in battle went directly to heaven.
But all of this was false, a deception, and in reality a blasphemy against the true God of the Bible. Nor does the fact that God directs the issue of the great Armageddon imply that he fights for one nation against another. it is simply that there is such a divine overruling in the affairs of the nations as a whole that they defeat and destroy one another to the point where all concerned finally recognize the complete failure of human wisdom and planning to establish peace and order throughout the earth, and are caused to look to the Lord for help.
When our first parents transgressed divine law and were sentenced to death, the human race lost the benefit of God’s directing and protective hand in their affairs. From the fall of man to the closing period of the present age God has not interfered in the affairs of men, except when the course of human selfishness would have been detrimental to the outworking of his plan for the ultimate recovery of his human creation from the result of sin.
Throughout all the more than six thousand years since man was driven from Eden, God’s hand has been very definitely in the affairs of his own people here on earth. And in every age he has had a people, consisting of those who exercised faith in his promises, and to whom the rewards implied in his promises were esteemed more highly than all the riches of fame, glory, and material possession the world could offer.
God’s first reference to this people of faith is in his statement to “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,” in the Garden of Eden. We quote, “The Lord God said unto the serpent, … I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”—Rev. 20:2; Gen. 3:14,15
Primarily this “Seed” of promise is Jesus, the Redeemer and Savior of the world. But in a larger sense it includes all those of the present age who have exercised a living faith in the promises of God to deliver the world from sin and death. Later God said to Abraham, “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18) In the New Testament we are informed that this promised “Seed” of Abraham is Jesus, and together with him, those who are baptized into his death.—Gal. 3:8,16,27-29
Righteous Persecuted
GOD said that there would be enmity between the “seed” of the woman—his people—and the “seed” of the “serpent”—those who, under the influence of Satan, have persecuted the people of God. In keeping with this, the true servants of God in every age have been a persecuted people. Any and all of those upon whom the favor of God has been manifested have been the special targets of the Adversary.
This was especially true with respect to Jesus. He was persecuted by the hypocritical religious leaders of his day, those whom he identified as the children of the Devil, as the “seed” of the “serpent.” (John 8:44) Working through his “seed,” Satan did all he could to destroy Jesus, and finally did bring about his crucifixion.
This was by divine permission, because in the divine plan for the salvation of the human race from death, it was necessary that Jesus die as a Redeemer, that he give himself “a ransom for all.” (I Tim. 2:3-6) Instead of defeating the divine cause as Satan designed, redemption was provided, and God intervened and raised Jesus from the dead.
Thus, in the case of Jesus, God’s hand was manifested in human affairs, not to change events as such, but to accomplish his purpose as centered in Jesus. To a lesser degree this has been true with respect to the people of God in every age. These have been his special care, and whenever it has been necessary God has intervened in the affairs of men and of nations in order that his purposes in connection with his own chosen ones might be accomplished.
Otherwise the world has been allowed to go its own selfish and sinful ways until the end of the present age, and the time for the establishment of Christ’s kingdom. There is a prophecy concerning this which reads, “The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man: he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.” Then the Lord speaks through the prophet, saying, “I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once.”—Isa. 42:13,14
Notice how, in the text just quoted, the Lord explains that he has held his peace, that he has refrained himself from interfering in human affairs. The Lord also explains that he would not do this forever, that the time would come when he would go forth “like a man of war,” and that he would “destroy and devour at once.”
The Day of Vengeance
THE prophetic and symbolic Armageddon of the Scriptures belongs to a period in the divine plan described as the “day,” or time of God’s vengeance. It is that time foretold by Isaiah when the Lord’s indignation would be upon “all nations, and his fury upon all their armies,” the “day of the Lord’s vengeance.”—Isa. 34:2,8
It is the time foretold by the Prophet David when he wrote, “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.” (Ps. 46:8) The purpose of this time of “trouble,” however, is not the destruction of individuals, but of selfish and warlike nations; for in the next verse we read, “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.”
Elsewhere in the Scriptures this great “time of trouble” is symbolically represented as a “storm,” as a “whirlwind,” and as a “fire.” After the present selfish order shall have passed away in this great struggle, God himself, through Christ, will manifest his authority and power for the uplift and blessing of the distraught masses of the people. Concerning this he has promised, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen [or nations], I will be exalted in the earth.”—Ps. 46:10
“Wait Ye Upon Me”
IT IS during the time when God has refrained from interfering in the sinful and downward course of men and nations that many of the righteously inclined in the world, and even God’s own people, have wondered why evil has been permitted to continue with apparently nothing being done by the Creator to halt human suffering. To these the Lord replies, “Wait ye upon me, … until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.”—Zeph. 3:8,9
In this prophecy of the conflict of nations by which man’s social order, the symbolic “earth,” is destroyed, it is said to be “devoured” by the “fire” of God’s “jealousy.” We know that this does not refer to the destruction of the human race itself, for we are assured that after the “fire” the Lord will turn “to the people a pure language,” and that they will have an opportunity to call upon and serve him, which they could not do if they were all destroyed.
Nor are we to think of the “fire” of God’s “jealousy” as indicating vindictiveness on his part. The Hebrew word here translated “jealousy” is the same one that is translated “zeal” in Isaiah 9:7, where we read, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” And what is it that will be performed by the Lord’s zeal? This prophecy answers:—
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”—Isa. 9:6,7
This is one of the divine promises of the kingdom of Christ, that world government, the responsibility for which rests upon the “shoulder” of Christ at the time of his return and second presence. Throughout the centuries Satan and his “seed” have endeavored to thwart the purpose of God to establish his rulership of righteousness over the earth. They have done this by persecuting and destroying those whom God was preparing to be its rulers.
Jesus, the “King of kings” in this government, was put to death. His true followers from among both Jews and Gentiles are promised that if they suffer and die with him they will live and reign with him. (Rom. 8:17; II Tim. 2:11,12) When Jesus was put to death the purpose of God was not thwarted. The “zeal” and power of the Almighty raised him from the dead. At this end of the age those who have suffered and died with him are likewise raised from the dead, to live and reign with Christ.—Rev. 20:6
Surely nothing can hinder the accomplishment of the divine plan when such power can be, and is used to carry it forward to success. That is why we can have full confidence that peace through Christ’s kingdom will become a reality following the great Armageddon struggle; for the “zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
The same zeal and power that brought about the miraculous birth of Jesus, that raised him from the dead when the “seed” of the “serpent” destroyed him; the same mighty power that raises Jesus’ followers to reign with him, is also utilized in bringing about the destruction of all institutions and influences that could possibly stand in the way of the victorious rulership of the messianic kingdom, that world government of peace and righteousness which will rest upon “His shoulder.”
A “Pure Language”
ONE of the contributing causes of world strife is the confusion of tongues. Thoughts are conveyed from one to another by means of language, and the Lord has promised that following the “devouring” of the earth by the “fire” of his “jealousy,” or zeal, he will turn to the people a “pure language.” Doubtless in time, under the administration of Christ’s kingdom, all nations will speak one language, literally; but in this prophecy language is used symbolically to denote the dissemination of truth—truth concerning God and his will for the people.
It is through the dissemination of this “pure language” that the people of all the earth learn to know the true God, to call upon him and worship and serve him “with one consent.” The people of all countries will be united in their worship of and devotion to their Creator and Lord, not through fear, but because they will respond, saying, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:9
With the people enlightened concerning God, and desirous of doing his will, they will, through Christ, be at peace with him. To be at peace with God is a requisite to being at peace with one another. Through obedience to the laws of righteousness they will learn the advantages of love over selfishness. Then, willingly and wholeheartedly they will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks,” and the nations will not learn war any more.—Micah 4:1-4
Peace with God will result not only in peace among people, but also in health and life. When, in the Garden of Eden, God turned his back upon his rebellious human creatures, condemnation to death also carne upon them. In God’s favor is life, the Bible informs us. (Ps. 30:5) The withdrawal of God’s favor resulted in a long nighttime of sin, suffering, and death. But “joy cometh in the morning,” the morning of that new millennial day of Christ’s kingdom, when, of “the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end.”—Isa. 9:6,7
More than six thousand years have passed since God said that the “Seed” of the woman would “bruise” the “serpent’s” head. Those during this long waiting period who have loved righteousness have often inquired, “How long, O Lord, how long?” And the answer has been, “Wait ye upon Me.” Paul wrote, “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”—Rom. 16:20
Now the “shortly” period is almost ended. Already the rumblings of the great Armageddon, which signal the end of the reign of sin and death, can be heard. This means that we who hope, by being faithful unto death, to live and reign with Christ as part of the “Seed” of promise, should more than ever give “all diligence” to make our “calling and election sure,” knowing that the only ones who will reign with Christ are those who are “called, and chosen, and faithful.”—II Pet. 1:10,11; Rev. 17:14