Can you contrast the Winepress of Gog/Magog with the Battle of Armageddon?


Email Received:

From what you have written, I see that you distinguish between the Winepress of Gog & Magog (which you believe takes place on the day Jesus returns to earth) and the Battle of Armageddon (which you believe occurs 30 days after His return). Can you contrast and differentiate between the two in an email summary?


Ted's Response:

Most of the following is included in my Final Battles commentary. After the Messiah returns to Bozrah, Edom, His garments will be seen to be stained red. This will be due to the bloodbath left behind, after He tramples the winepress of God's wrath:

Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I [the Messiah], speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground." (Isaiah 63:1-6)
Here is the same treading of the winepress, as described briefly by another prophet:
Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow—so great is their wickedness!" (Joel 3:12,13)
All of this parallels Jesus' return in Revelation, where there are two accounts of the treading and trampling of the winepress:
The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia. (Revelation 14:19,20)

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter" [Psalm 2:9]. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. (Revelation 19:11-15)
I believe that all of this describes the carnage that Jesus, upon His physical return to earth, will create while destroying the hordes of Magog, led by Gog. It will occur while tremendous torrents of rain and hail are pouring down, which explains how the blood can reach the horses' bridles (Revelation 14:20):
I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Sovereign LORD. Every man's sword will be against his brother. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. (Ezekiel 38:21,22)
The Gog/Magog forces will have come, specifically, against the land of Israel:
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 38:16).
After the bloodbath that Jesus brings about, slaughtering the hordes of Gog/Magog, animals and birds will be summoned to eat the flesh and drink the blood of those who have been slaughtered. There are parallel passages describing this is in Ezekiel and in Revelation:
On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. ... Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: "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 as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan. At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind," declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezekiel 39:4,17-20)

And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "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)
Jesus, referring to the 70th Week prophecy (Daniel 9:27), said this:
So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation," spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15,16)
Presumably, once the abomination that causes desolation has been set up, the Great Tribulation will ensue. The passage above parallels this passage in Revelation:
The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. (Revelation 12:6)
So, at the midpoint of the seven years, a (smart and perceptive) remnant of Israel will flee, probably into the mountain-desert region of Jordan (many believe Petra). There, they will be protected for 3½ years, or 1,260 days, after which time Jesus will return to earth.

Now look at this prophecy:

From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. (Daniel 12:11)
We know that from the day the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,260 days until Jesus' return (to destroy the Gog/Magog hordes). Yet, that leaves 30 days (that is, 1,290 days minus 1,260 days) remaining to fulfill Daniel 12:11.

I believe those 30 days will contain the bowl judgments (Revelation 16:1-21) poured out upon the kingdom of the beast/Antichrist (16:10). Finally, having had enough of this (as described in Psalm 2:1-12), the beast and the kings will gather at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). On day 1,290, the purpose of the beast and his kings will be to make war specifically against the Lamb, Jesus, but He easily will overcome them at the Battle of Armageddon:

The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers. (Revelation 17:12-14)
Now, we know that, when Israel's Messiah, Jesus, returns, this will happen:
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, 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)
Israel will mourn for their Messiah who was pierced to death, almost two millennia ago. Interestingly, the Israelites mourned for both Aaron and Moses, two of their greatest leaders, for 30 days when they died (Numbers 20:28,29; Deuteronomy 34:5-8). Likewise, they will mourn for what happened to Jesus (since they did not mourn for Him properly in the past), for 30 days after He returns.

During that time, the bowl judgments will be being poured out upon the kingdom of the beast/Antichrist. However, Israel will be exempt from these judgments, because they will be dutifully mourning for the Messiah that was killed millennia ago.

A couple of my tables of the 70th Week may be helpful. They contain scripture references that I believe apply to the various time periods. I also have included blue hyperlinks that you can click on to get further information. Those tables are here Brief Chronology of Revelation and The 70th Week and Extensions: "Pre-Wrath" Rapture.


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