Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #19 of Revelation, chapter 16, and we are going to be reading Revelation 16:16-17:

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.

This will be the last vial, the seventh and final vial, full of the wrath of God. Then all seven vials will have been poured out upon the earth and all seven are pointing to Judgment Day. We should not think they are different stages of Judgment Day; there is not a beginning stage, a middle stage, with the seventh vial being the end. They are all applicable to May 21, 2011, which was the very beginning of Judgment Day and they are all applicable to the entire period of the prolonged Day of Judgment, which very likely may continue for a total of 1,600 days. If we are correct, it would extend from May 21, 2011 to October 7, 2015. The entire period of time is Judgment Day and it could be said that the first vial of the wrath of God was poured out on May 21, May 22, May 23 and all the way through to the final day and it is the same with all the vials; all were poured out on May 21, 2011 and were poured out continually throughout the elongated day of the wrath of God.

Let us look at Revelation 16:16. But first, let us remind ourselves that we did see in the previous verses that after pouring out the six vials pretty rapidly, one after another, God retreated in His focus to the time at the beginning of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the judgment on the house of God, the corporate churches. He spoke of Satan as the dragon, the beast and the false prophets and the frogs that represented the destruction on the corporate churches and He spoke of devils working signs and miracles. We discussed that and we saw that the churches today have charismatic leanings such as tongues, dreams and falling over backwards and these are the workings of Satan, as God had turned the churches over to Satan for their destruction. Then Satan gathered together his forces within the churches and congregations that were now full of his emissaries, spiritually. He gathered them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty and that is Judgment Day, just as Gog gathered Magog together and came against the camp of the saints. This is just another way of saying it. Then we saw in verse 15 where the Lord says He comes as a thief and we spent some time talking about that.

Now it says in Revelation 16:16:

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

This goes along with what we read in verse 14: “to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” So based on the context, Armageddon is the place where this battle will take place. Theologians have read these verses and they have come to the conclusion that there will be a great literal battle fought at Armageddon. Notice that it says it is called “Armageddon” in the Hebrew tongue and when we look up the word in Hebrew, it is a compound word: the word “har” means “mount,” “hill” or “mountain,” and the word “Megiddo,” which is a place. Megiddo is a mountain and there is also the plain of Megiddo. Theologians have speculated and they have come up with all sorts of scenarios about Israel fighting a great battle against the forces of Satan at that location in the Middle East where Mount Megiddo and the plain of Megiddo lie. We should not think even for a moment of a literal battle. God has not written the Bible that way and He definitely did not write the Book of Revelation to be taken literally. God has something else in mind.

Armageddon or Mount Megiddo does point to Judgment Day and we can go back to the Old Testament to learn a little bit about it. First of all, let us turn to 2Kings 9:27-28:

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

This historical account shows that Jehu slew the king of Judah and the king of Israel in the same day. It pictures God utilizing Satan to destroy the churches, as Jehu is a type and figure of Satan and he takes over the kingdom of Israel after destroying these kings. That was one thing Jehu did very well (to destroy), just as Satan did an excellent job in destroying the corporate churches, according to God’s will. God loosed him and Satan became a servant of God in carrying out the task of bringing judgment on the churches and congregations of the world.

Another place we find Megiddo mentioned is in 2Chronicles, chapter 25. It says, speaking of Necho, King of Egypt, in 2Chronicles 35:21-24:

But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

This is a different king, but he is also slain at Megiddo. Especially here in this passage, we can see the focus of God’s judgment which occurs at the time of the end, the time in which judgment began at the house of God. How can we say that? It is because when good King Josiah was killed in battle on this day in the valley of Megiddo, it was the year 609 BC. He was the last good king of Judah and his death started the period of the seventy years from 609 BC to 539 BC when Judah would be oppressed first by the Egyptians and then by King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon until 539 BC. That seventy-year period typifies the Great Tribulation, so the death of Josiah pictured the beginning of the Great Tribulation and the Great Tribulation was the beginning of God’s final judgment program for the world. It would continue for an actual 8,400 days and then on May 21, 2011, it would transition to the final Day of Judgment upon the world, which will very likely be an additional 1,600 days, for a total of 10,000 overall days of judgment.

So we see that Jehu’s slaying of Ahaziah at Megiddo and the Egyptian’s killing of Josiah in the valley of Megiddo ties into the time of the end when judgment began at the house of God.

Let us also go to the Book of Judges where we find an historical parable, the account of Barak and Deborah. Barak is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ coming in judgment at the end of the world. How can we say that? Let us look at the language in the middle of the verse, in Judges 4:6:

…Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

It also says in Judges 4:10:

And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

Now the Hebrew word for “Barak,” Strong’s #1301, is identical (even with the vowel pointing) to Strong’s #1300; and Strong’s #1300 is translated as “bright” or “glittering” or “lightning.” For instance, it is the word in Exodus 19:16, which says, “there were thunders and lightnings,” in the time that God was on Mount Sinai. It is also the word used in Deuteronomy 32:41 where the Lord speaks of “whetting” and He says, “If I whet my glittering sword.” The word “glittering” is the same Hebrew word translated as “Barak.” It is also used in Psalm 97:4: “His lightnings enlightened the world.” We think of the Lord Jesus who comes as the lightning, as we read in Matthew 24:27:

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

So Barak comes with ten thousand men or we could say “lightning” comes with ten thousand men and, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ is the one that lighteth the world and He is the one that comes with “ten thousands of his saints.” Just to make sure we do not miss it, God says it a third time in Judges 4:14:

And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which JEHOVAH hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not JEHOVAH gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.

Barak, the “lightning,” goes forth with “ten thousand men,” typifying the completeness of all God’s saints, the elect. There is also a statement made in the song that Deborah and Barak sing in Judges, chapter 5, which further confirms the spiritual picture of Barak as Christ. It says in Judges 5:12:

Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.

The phrase “lead thy captivity captive” can be shown to apply to the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament, so Barak comes with ten thousand men to do battle with Sisera. Where is the battle taking place? It is in the valley of Megiddo. It says in Judges 4:12-14:

And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. And Deborah…

By the way, Deborah is emphasized greatly in this battle and, in fact, Barak refused to go up unless Deborah went with him. That is because the name “Deborah” is the feminine form of the word “debar,” which is the Hebrew word for “word,” the Word of God. When we find the Hebrew word that is translated as “word,” it is the word “debar.” So Deborah represents the Word of God and Christ is inseparable from His Word, as He is the “Word made flesh.” God does execute the vengeance written through the Word of God. It is the Word that judges in the last day and which is judging presently in our time. It is God’s Word that is opening up and showing forth the revelation of the righteous judgment of God in this time of Judgment Day. So Deborah and Barak are together and we read in Judges 5:18-20:

Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.

The battle took place by the waters of Megiddo and that would have been in the valley of Megiddo. That is where this battle (which pictures Judgment Day) took place and that is where the language in our verse in Revelation 16 is coming from, as it says in Revelation 16:16:

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

This compound word translated as “Armageddon” is only found here, so understanding it can only be done by what we just did by looking at how the word “Megiddo” is used in the Old Testament and we saw it is used in relationship to the Great Tribulation and judgment beginning at the house of God and the final judgment. So the “gathering together” took place, as Satan gathered his forces during the course of the Great Tribulation. Then when Satan comes against the Lord in that final battle of Judgment Day (once the Great Tribulation concluded), God does battle with Satan and all the unsaved people of the world. That battle is described in Revelation 19, where it says concerning the Lord Jesus, in Revelation 19:11-15:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Then it says in Revelation 19:19-20:

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him…

This matches the context of what we read earlier in Revelation 16. We read of the beast and the false prophet in Revelation 16:14:

For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Well, here they are in Revelation 19, daring to do battle with Christ and his army, the “ten thousands of his saints,” which represent the completeness of all the elect. Again, it says in Revelation 19:19-21:

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

This is the end result of the battle of Armageddon. It is really not much of a battle. God wins the victory; the Lord Jesus Christ is triumphant. He overcomes and He is exalted. He puts down Satan and casts him into the lake of fire. All of Satan’s forces and the unsaved peoples of the earth are destroyed and Christ and His army, the elect, are victorious for evermore.