The Final Battles

At the end of the 70th Week (the final seven years of this age), Jesus the Messiah (Christ) will return to earth to rule and reign.  It commonly is believed that, at that time, He will attack and destroy the armed forces of the Antichrist at the Battle of Armageddon.  Although this encounter will  occur, it can be demonstrated, by carefully examining Scripture, that it will not  happen as soon as Jesus returns but, rather, soon thereafter (that is, a month later).

Concerning the day on which the armies of Gog/Magog are eliminated, the prophet Ezekiel wrote this:

From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God (Ezekiel 39:22).

The armies Jesus will “trample,” like grapes in a winepress, on the very day of His future descent to earth from heaven, are the forces of Gog and Magog, along with those from the nations who have joined them—all of whom will be attacking Jerusalem and Israel.  It will not be until 30 days after this carnage, as the Antichrist and his armies gather to attack specifically Jesus in Jerusalem, that He will destroy them at the famed Battle of Armageddon.

As is written in the Book of Revelation, John envisioned the future return of the Lord Jesus—the “Faithful and True” and the “King of kings and Lord of lords”—to earth as the Rider on a white horse, with the armies of heaven following Him (Revelation 19:11-14).  We know that this is Jesus, the “Word of God” (19:13b), because John previously had described Him as being “the Word” in John 1:1-18.

Besides coming to rule and reign on the earth, John described that Jesus will have yet another very specific mission:

He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty (Revelation 19:15c).

John did not see Jesus being still or passive.  Rather, John noted that “he judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:11b).  Evidently, John observed Jesus in the process of  making war in this vision of the future, since John saw Jesus’ “robe dipped in blood” (19:13a).  Furthermore, Jesus was seen to be wielding a “sharp sword with which to strike down the nations” (19:15a).

The great Old Testament prophet Isaiah foretold this same scene of the future, including the crimson (red) garments, the treading of the winepress, and the Lord’s sword (Isaiah 63:1-6, 34:5,6).  From these two passages (63:1a, 34:6b), we can see that Jesus’ future “touchdown” back on earth will be at or near Bozrah (in Jordan), which is the ancient capital city of Edom and is about 26 miles south-southeast of the Dead Sea, near Petra.

John foretold Jesus’ return in three parallel passages:

1. Revelation 11:13-17,
2. Revelation 14:14-20, and
3. Revelation 19:11-16.

Yet another Old Testament prophet, Joel, had a similar observation about swinging a sickle to harvest these wicked “grapes,” to be trampled in the winepress (Joel 3:13).  Joel indicated that this would take place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (3:12), which is a valley along the eastern edge of Jerusalem, next to the Mount of Olives.  This “treading of the winepress” is not  the Battle of Armageddon, nor is it associated with the Plain of Megiddo.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat is the primary location where Jesus will destroy the armies of the Gog/Magog nations attacking Jerusalem.  These are not  the armies of the Antichrist; all of the latter will be destroyed as they are gathered on the Plain of Megiddo, with the intent of going to Jerusalem to attack Jesus—after He has returned and is sitting on His throne in Jerusalem.

Joel also wrote,

I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.  There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land (Joel 3:2).

Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it?  You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.  You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land.  In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. ... I will execute judgment upon him...and on his troops and on the many nations with him” (Ezekiel 38:14-16,22).

But your many enemies will become like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blown chaff.  Suddenly, in an instant, the LORD Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.  Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Ariel, that attack her and her fortress and besiege her, will be as it is with a dream, with a vision in the night... (Isaiah 29:5-7).

I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.  Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.  Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:2,3).

Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty (Revelation 19:15).

After John’s reference to the treading of the winepress, he described how all the birds flying in midair will be told,

Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great (Revelation 19:17,18).

“Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel.  There you will eat flesh and drink blood.  You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth....  At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,” declares the Sovereign LORD (Ezekiel 39:17,18a,20).

Soon after the Lord Jesus returns to earth at the end of the 70th Week, the whole world (including the Antichrist) will know about it.  Furthermore, at that time, Jesus will become the Lord of Israel forever (Ezekiel 38:23, 39:21,22,28).  It is then that the Lord will pour out His Spirit on Israel:

I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD (Ezekiel 39:29).

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.  They will look on me [Jesus], the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zechariah 12:10).

In the Old Testament, a “prince” can indicate a demonic or angelic being who, in the spirit realm, is in control of a nation, such as Persia, Greece, or (in the case of the archangel Michael) Daniel’s people, Israel (Daniel 10:13,20,21).  Ezekiel described Gog as being the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2,3).

Some translations add the “prince of Rosh” to the mix, and many have interpreted “Rosh” to be a reference to Russia.  However, the regular meaning of “Rosh” is “head” or “chief”; for instance, “Rosh haShanah” means “head of the year”—that is, the Hebrew new year.  Therefore, I have adopted the interpretation that Gog will be, simply, the chief (“rosh”) prince of Meshech and Tubal.

Those who consider “Rosh” to be Russia usually will equate “Meshech” and “Tubal” with the two Russian cities, Muscova (Moscow) and Tobol’sk (Tubalsk), respectively.  However, I feel that, more likely, they refer to Mushki and Tabal, cities in Anatolia or Asia Minor, most of which is present-day Turkey.

From Ezekiel 38:5,6, Persia has become Iran; Cush  probably is Sudan, just south of Egypt; and Put  is identified as Libya (but may also include Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania).  Gomer probably refers to Gimarrai of north central Asia Minor (Cappadocia), in present-day Turkey.  Togarmah  apparently refers to Tilgarimmu, in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), near Syria.  All of these regions are, primarily, Islamic.

Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer were sons of Japheth (Genesis 10:2), a son of Noah.  Togarmah was a son of Gomer (10:3).  Cush and Put were sons of Ham (10:6), another son of Noah.  Magog’s descendants settled in central Asia, in the land that, today, constitutes the Soviet break-away republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as possibly northern Afghanistan.

See more details on Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, and Put.  See other theories about the identities of Gog and Magog.

In the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament), there is a reference to Gog in this verse, indicating that he may be the king of a “swarm of locusts”:

Thus the Lord showed me, and behold a swarm of locusts were coming, and, behold, one of the young devastating locusts was Gog, the King (Amos 7:1).

A swarm of demonic locusts is seen to come out of the Abyss during the Fifth Trumpet Judgment (Revelation 9:1-3).  The angel Abaddon (the Destroyer) is described as the king over them (9:11).  Conceivably, then, Abaddon, the king angel of the Abyss, could be Gog, or else the fallen angel in command of Gog.

Near the end of the 70th Week, then, it seems plausible that a future leader will become possessed by the demonic spirit, Gog, and will head a conglomerate of demonic and Islamic armies.  The armies of many other nations will join the armies of Gog and Magog, and altogether they will come from the north to invade Israel (Ezekiel 38:15,16).  And God will execute severe judgment on Gog and the armies with him (38:22).

Many have examined the scriptural passages which, I believe, plainly indicate not only that the Gog/Magog bloodbath is the same as the winepress of God’s wrath, but also that it will take place at the very end  of the 70th Week.  Assuming also (erroneously) that the Battle of Armageddon will occur immediately upon the termination of the final seven years, on the day that Jesus returns to earth, some of these have come to the conclusion that Gog and the Antichrist will be one and the same person.  I completely disagree.  (See also the Assyrian.)

We know that Gog will come from the north to attack Israel:

You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army.  You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud that covers the land.  In days to come, O Gog, I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I show myself holy through you before their eyes (Ezekiel 38:15,16).

...the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships (Daniel 11:40).

A possible scenario, though very speculative, is this:  After the Antichrist proclaims himself to be “God” and sets up the “abomination that causes desolation” in the “holy place” (Matthew 24:15) in Jerusalem—essentially making his “mark” on Jerusalem and claiming it as part of his domain—he will move and take up residence elsewhere, either then or soon thereafter.  He does not necessarily have to be sitting in Jerusalem to “exercise his authority for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).  Maybe, once the constantly-changing Iraq situation stabilizes, the Antichrist will move to literal Babylon for a time.

In my Chronology of Revelation commentary, I have noted how the Antichrist and his forces may come to be centered in Babylon, Iraq, or this actually may turn out to be symbolic of Mecca, Sauda Arabia.  In any case, another ancient prophet spoke how a nation from the north would attack Babylon:

This is the word the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians: ... A nation from the north will attack her and lay waste her land.  No one will live in it; both men and animals will flee away.  For I will stir up and bring against Babylon an alliance of great nations from the land of the north.  They will take up their positions against her, and from the north she will be captured (Jeremiah 50:1,3,9).

“Then heaven and earth and all that is in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for out of the north destroyers will attack her,” declares the LORD.  “Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain, just as the slain in all the earth have fallen because of Babylon” (Jeremiah 51:48,49).

Persia is modern-day Iran, an Islamic nation.  Prophetically, it appears that Gog of the land of Magog will be allied with Persia (Ezekiel 38:1,5).  Presumably, this indicates a coalition between Russia and Iran.  Thus, as in ancient times, it seems that we can expect another attack on Babylon (Iraq) by Persia (Iran) and its allies.

It may be that while the Antichrist is residing in Babylon, Iraq, Gog will engage him in battle there.  As a result, the Antichrist might think that it is in his best interests to escape, so he will take some armies and invade Israel (“the Beautiful Land”—Daniel 11:40,41), to occupy it before Gog does it first.  Perhaps once the Antichrist has occupied Jerusalem, the “reports from the east and from the north” will include a report that Gog is about to attack Jerusalem/Israel, causing the Antichrist to “set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many” (11:44).  In that case, he would not necessarily have to be there when the Gog/Magog armies attack Israel (Ezekiel 38:16).

Jesus said this:

Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then can his kingdom stand? (Matthew 12:25,26).

Both of the main branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia, seek the absolute destruction of Israel.  I believe it is entirely plausible that the forces of Gog/Magog will be one branch of Islam and the forces of the Antichrist the other branch, both vying to capture the ultimate “prize”: Israel.

See Larger View

At the very end of the age, the dominant factions of the evil demonic realm will know that the time of Jesus’ return to earth is soon.  As such, they very well may vie and struggle, fiercely against each other, for ultimate control over Israel and the world—and even over Jesus Himself, a very futile endeavor.

extensions to the 70th Week

Before describing when I believe the Battle of Armageddon and the destruction of the Antichrist will take place, I feel it is important to understand a brief but very important passage written by the ancient prophet Daniel:

From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.  Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days (Daniel 12:11,12).

Jesus warned that, at that time, those in Judea should “flee to the mountains” (24:16).  John wrote that the “woman” (a remnant in Israel) would flee into the desert and remain there for 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6).  The place where these Israelites will flee commonly is believed to be Petra, an ancient city made of rock located in the mountain-desert area of western Jordan.  The 1,260 days is equivalent to 42 months (of 30 days each), or 3½ years—the last half of the 70th Week.

This accounts for 1,260 of the 1,290 days in the first part of the prophecy given to Daniel (Daniel 12:11).  The 1,260 days will begin at the midpoint of the 70th Week and, I believe, will end when Jesus returns to earth, at the end of the 70th Week.  There are yet 30 days for which to account, and beyond that yet another45 days, which will bring us to the end of the 1,335 days in the second part of Daniel’s prophecy (12:12).

Recall how the prophet Zechariah, speaking of the Messiah who would come, wrote that “they will look on me, the one they have pierced [Jesus] and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son” (Zechariah 12:10).  Twice in Israel’s past, Israel mourned 30 days for leaders (Aaron and Moses) who had delivered the people out of bondage into freedom (Numbers 20:28,29; Deuteronomy 34:5-8).

Similarly, since Aaron and Moses were “types” of Jesus in what they stood for and did (sacrificing for the people, as well as leading them to new heights), it seems quite plausible that 30 days is the period of time the people in Israel again will mourn in respect for their ultimate Leader, Jesus.  He will have sacrificed His life for them (at His first coming), as well as delivered them from the clutches of the armies of Magog and the allied nations under Gog (at His second coming).

The nation of Israel never properly mourned for the death of Jesus, their beloved Messiah, after His crucifixion; however, during the 30 days following His next return, I believe they will.  This 30-day period will be one of two extensions to the 70th Week, which will fulfill Daniel 12:11,12.

Furthermore, I suspect that this 30-day period will be a time of national repentance, during which Israel will forsake all idol worship, destroy all graven images, and acknowledge Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.  At this time, and forevermore, Israel finally will be purified and cleansed from its transgressions, sins, and unrighteousness.  This will fulfill a portion of the prophecy, given by Gabriel to Daniel, of what will happen at the conclusion of the seventy “sevens” or “weeks” of years:

Seventy “sevens” are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin... (Daniel 9:24).

Interestingly, King Darius once issued an edict stating that, for 30 days, no one could worship any god or man other than himself.  Whoever did so would be thrown into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:6-9).  Similarly, anyone who does not acknowledge Jesus as King and Lord during the 30 days following the 70th Week will receive the second wave of wrath (Bowl Judgments) of Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

After Jesus descends to earth as the Rider on a white horse, then the Seventh Trumpet will sound, indicating that He has “begun to reign” and will have the immediate mission of “destroying those who destroy the earth” (Revelation 11:15-18)—that is, “treading” the armies of Gog and Magog, and those of the nations who will have joined them, in the “winepress of God’s wrath” (14:17-20).  Immediately thereafter, the Bowl Judgments will be poured out upon the earth (15:1–16:21).  (Note:  Revelation 12:6–16:21 is a chronological, sequential  restatement by John of the final half of the 70th Week, plus a short duration of time, 30 days, thereafter.)

John wrote, “All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:4c).  The fact that the nations will worship the King also was written in Zechariah 14:16, adding that the people of the nations, after going to Jerusalem (where Jesus will be), would celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot (which, I suspect, is the time of Jesus’ actual birthday).

Sukkot is 5 days following Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement); and I believe Yom Kippur is the actual day that Jesus will return physically to earth, at the end of the 70th Week.  Just as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), His robe will be spattered by the blood of the “grapes” (Genesis 49:11; Isaiah 63:1-6), at the winepress of God’s wrath, as He rides into Jerusalem on His white horse.

We know that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” of sins (Hebrews 9:22).  Because of the bloodbath that will take place when Jesus returns, to carry out the great winepress of God’s wrath, final atonement  will be made for the sins of the remnant of Israel.  That is, God’s wrathful punishment will have been deflected from them onto their enemies (Isaiah 27:7-9,12,13), who will shed enough blood to rise as high as the horse’s bridles (Revelation 14:20).

Each year, Yom Kippur falls on the tenth of the first month (Tishri) on the Jewish calendar.  I believe it is no accident that Ezekiel’s vision of the future Millennial Temple (this vision followed chronologically after Ezekiel 39) occurred “at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month” (40:1)—that is, on Yom Kippur.  (See also millennial Temple and Holy Mountain.)

For those nations not  sending representatives to worship Jesus and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in Jerusalem, the Lord will bring a “plague” upon them (Zechariah 14:18,19), which I believe parallels one or more of the plagues of (Revelation 15:1–16:21).  During the 30 days following Jesus’ return, the Antichrist or “beast” (13:1-8), and those in his kingdom who have received his mark (13:16-18), will not  go to Jerusalem to worship Jesus; so the Bowl Judgments will be poured out upon them (16:2,10).

I have shown what I believe will occur in conjunction with Jesus’ physical return to earth.  John described how Jesus will be treading the winepress in a great carnage (which will destroy the man possessed by Gog and those from the nations who have helped him attack Jerusalem and Israel).  Following that will be the gorging of the fallen armies by the birds of the air (Ezekiel 39:17-20; Revelation 19:15c-18).

After this, John began a new section with the word Then (in the NIV).  I believe that what follows is a depiction of what will occur next:  The Antichrist (or “beast” ), along with “the kings of the earth and their armies,” will gather together and take their stand against the Anointed One (Psalm 2:2)—“the rider on the horse and His army” (that is, Jesus and the glorified saints who will have returned with him 30 days earlier, all of whom will be located in Jerusalem at the time).  But all the attackers will be destroyed (Revelation 19:19-21) while they are congregated at Armageddon (16:16-21).

The ten kings, allied with the beast/Antichrist, will have received authority “for one hour” (Revelation 17:12).  Just as the length of one hour, on the face of a circular clock, is one-twelfth of the circle, one-twelfth of a year of twelve months is one month.  As such, this could correspond to the 30 days following the return of Jesus and the saints back to earth, during which the Bowl Judgments will be poured out on the kingdom of the beast (16:10).

As explained before, the forces of Gog and Magog and all the nations with them will attack Israel  and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 38:15,16,18; Zechariah 12:3,9, 14:2).  On the other hand, the Antichrist (“beast”) and the “kings along with the beast,” once they have have gathered at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), will be planning to make war specifically against the Lamb (Jesus); however, the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings (17:12-14, 19:19-21).

The “king” (Antichrist) who exalts and magnifies himself (Daniel 11:36) ultimately will pitch his tents between the (Mediterranean) sea and the “holy mountain” (see the footnote for 11:45).  Two other translations read as follows:

And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him (Daniel 11:45—American Standard Version).

He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him (Daniel 11:45—New American Standard Bible).

Zechariah noted, “Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle” (Zechariah 14:3).  I believe this well could mean that the Lord will fight against the forces of Gog who have come against Jerusalem, just as, 30 days later, He will fight against the armies of the Antichrist at the Battle of Armageddon, the final battle.

During the 30 days following Jesus’ return to earth, He will be in Jerusalem, and the Bowl Judgments will be poured out upon the kingdom of the Antichrist.  As a result, those being afflicted by the plagues will suffer greatly and will curse God (Revelation 16:8-11,21).  The enraged kings and rulers, with their armies (all who follow the Antichrist), will gather together against God’s Anointed One—that is, the Messiah, Jesus.  He is the King that will be installed on the holy hill in “Zion”—that is, in Jerusalem (Psalm 2:1-6).  In a Psalm, King David described this:

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One.  “Let us break their chains,” they say, “and throw off their fetters.”  The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.  Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, “I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill”(Psalm 2:1-6).

Some believe that Gog and the Antichrist are the same person and that there is only one huge battle at the end of the 70th Week.  I disagree, because clearly the human leader Gog will be given “a burial place in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:11), plus the spirit of Gog evidently will return 1,000 years later to inhabit another man for yet another battle (Revelation 20:7,8).  However, following the Battle of Armageddon, the Antichrist “beast” (along with the False Prophet) will be “thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur” (19:20ac).

In the brief prophecy given to Daniel, there still is an accounting to be made for the period of 1,335 days (Daniel 12:12).  So far, an explanation has been given for 1,260 days of that period, as well as for 30 days beyond that (for a total of 1,290 days).  However, there still are an additional 45 days for which to account.

As stated before, I believe that Jesus will return to earth, at the end of the 70th Week, on a Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. 

Hanukkah Candles: Night #1

In any given years, adding 75 days to Yom Kippur (occurring in late September or early October each year) will bring us to the first or second day of Hanukkah (Chanukah), or the Feast of Dedication.  Hanukkah is an 8-day festival of lights (always in December), celebrating the rededication of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem after it had been desecrated by the Syrians.  At that time, the lamps miraculously stayed lit for eight days while the temple was being rededicated, even though there was enough oil for only one night’s light.

After Jesus comes back to Jerusalem, a new Millennial Temple (see Ezekiel chapters 40–47) will be constructed (see also millennial Temple and Holy Mountain).  It would make sense, then, that the new, glorious Temple will be dedicated during Hanukkah, 75 days following Jesus’ return to rule and reign—1,335 days after the midpoint of the 70th week (in fulfillment of Daniel 12:12) and 45 days after the defeat of the Antichrist and his armies at the Battle of Armageddon.