Hope of Our Calling
Session 4
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Hope of Our Calling: Session 4
The Battle of Armageddon
Another name for this battle is The Battle of Great Slaughter.
Luke 21:20 KJV:
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
In the midst of this, Jesus Christ returns to earth—with us.
Jude 14–15 KJV:
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Picture Jesus touching down on the Mount of Olives, and we’re right there with him.
Isaiah 14:12–13 KJV:
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
The mount of the congregation is the Mount of Olives, where these events occur. This is the culmination of what Lucifer wanted from the beginning.
Isaiah 14:15–19 KJV:
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. 19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
I recommend that you take time to read all of Ezekial 38 and 39 to enhance your understanding.
There are many people who believe the Battle of Armageddon will take place in the valley of Megiddo. However, this cannot be true because all the armies are gathered around Jerusalem. There is no indication that they will stop and relocate. Let’s look at when the battle begins.
Ezekial 38:14 KJV:
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
“Gog” is a symbolic reference to all the enemies of God.
Ezekial 38:15–23 KJV:
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: 16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them? 18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.
We will be with Jesus Christ. What will we be doing? Remember, God does the fighting; God is our banner.
Zechariah 14:12–15 KJV:
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. 14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
The emphasis is on what God does, not what we are doing. We will be following what Jesus Christ tells us to do.
The Supper of the Great God
Revelation 19:17– KJV:
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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.
Let’s review the events so far just to keep it clear.
- The beast and the false prophet are cast alive into the lake of fire.
- The mighty men are slain.
- The birds are invited to eat the bodies.
Christ is going to call all those who were not killed in the battle to the Valley of Jehoshaphat in the Kidron Valley between the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. There will still be people alive after the wrath and after the battle. People will be judged according to how they treated Israel during the tribulation.
The next event will be the Resurrection of the Just. Christ is now beginning to prepare Israel for the thousand-year reign. This is when all of Israel, from its beginning in the Old Testament up until this time, is raised.
Revelation 20:4–6 KJV:
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
As you replay the details of this mental video, all the way through until the end, the telos, you are going to have an expanded energy, vitality, and resolve to stand. It will change the way you see things.
Ezekial 37:1–10 KJV:
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4 Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Listen to the song, Valley of Dry Bones by Michael Card.
You can read the lyrics for the song here.
The Millennial Kingdom
The Thousand Year Reign of the Messiah
Revelation 20:1–6 KJV:
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
This will be Christ’s kingdom and His reign upon the earth when peace and prosperity will prevail. The area around Jerusalem will be prepared for this reign. For the first seven months, people will be busy burying the bones from the battle.
Ezekial 39:12–15 KJV:
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
A new temple will also be built, which you can read about in Ezekial chapters 40–48. Also, during this time, the land will be apportioned to the tribes. God’s covenant promises to Israel will be fulfilled when Christ governs from His throne in Jerusalem. The entire world will observe His glory. He will be their king, priest, judge, shepherd, savior, and teacher. He will take His rightful place on the throne of David and will show His righteousness, holiness, mercy, and goodness as He rules the earth.
Remember, God declared Israel as His chosen people. And God is faithful and fulfills His promises. It is the fulfillment of the Shabat (Sabbath) Rest. The Old Testament Sabbath pointed toward this Millennial Kingdom.
Christ will be there as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and we will be with him and will have our new bodies. Think of all the others who will be there: all the saved of Israel, the 144,000, all those in the resurrection of the Just, the martyrs killed during the tribulation, and also other people who were alive at the time of Christ’s return with us. Those people will be judged on how they treated Israel during the tribulation. They won’t live in Jerusalem but outside of the city.
God’s heart and will throughout all time is for all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
What are the conditions on the earth during this time? Glory and blessings will be poured out. There will be true peace and fullness of joy and comfort. There will be true justice, true instruction in knowledge, and a removal of all sickness and disease. Longevity will be restored. Freedom from Oppression. Economic prosperity. Work won’t be in vain. Worldwide worship of the one true God. Fellowship with God will be experienced at an unprecedented level. There will be a great increase of light on the earth, and because of that, the earth will thrive and produce in abundance.
How could this be possible? Remember, Satan and his host are in the bottomless pit during the thousand-year reign.
The seasons will be different.
Isaiah 30:26 KJV:
Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
Take some time and imagine the setting, the healing, and the deliverance.
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