What Is the Battle of Armageddon and How Long Will It Last?
Bible Study Guide
The Tribulation is going to be a time of wars. Nations will rise against nations and kingdoms against kingdoms. Even families will be warring against one another. Today, the family unit has never been more divided. The great deceiver has won the battle in breaking up the family.
By the time Christ returns, the church of believers will have been raptured and kept apart from God’s great day of wrath upon the earth.
When Christ returns, He’ll not be returning to us. We will already be with Him in the place He’s prepared for us.
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:2-4)
We will be returning with Him.
“They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Revelation 17:14)
I hope your heart is filled with overwhelming joy and peace that can only come from Christ when you read these words of His. What an incredible blessing we have in store for us.
Now that we’ve seen Christ return to earth, and remember we’ll be returning with Him, He has a bit of unfinished business to take care of.
What Is the Battle of Armageddon and When Does It Begin?
(Verse 15) Christ is not going to return to earth with military armament ready to fight in the battle of Armageddon. He’s not going to have dozens of air force squadrons at His command ready to shoot hellfire missiles at His enemies. In fact, He’s not even going to have a pistol at His side in a holster.
Christ will have the only thing He’s going to need to wage war against all the nations that have come up against Him in the valley of Megiddo. His word will be all He needs to win the battle and the last war of this age.
The word of His command is symbolized here by the sharp sword coming out of His mouth.
Then Christ will rule them with His iron scepter. This scepter is similar to a shepherd’s staff used to wrangle up and keep watch over his sheep. In this case, the iron scepter will represent His absolute power over the nations and the world.
Do you want to hear something truly amazing? We, as believers in Christ and those who’ve put their faith and trust in Him and follow Him will be given an iron scepter to rule the nations alongside our Lord and Savior.
Yes, that’s right!
“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father.” (Revelation 2:26-27)
What an incredible and amazing plan God has for us who love Him and His Son. But this doesn’t even scratch the surface to reveal all the plans He has in store for us.
When Christ returns for the second time, the battle of Armageddon will be His first order of business. This will culminate at the end of the seven year Tribulation period.
The Ultimate Full Titles of Jesus Christ
(Verse 16) The fourth of four names Jesus is given in this passage of Revelation 19 is now revealed to us. Three that are made known to us and the fourth is kept as a secret to Himself. It’s possible that it may be revealed to us when we one day find ourselves in His glorious presence.
| Four Names for Christ (Revelation 19) |
| 1) Faithful and True |
| 2) Name Unknown To Us |
| 3) Word of God |
| 4) King of kings and Lord of Lords |
The fourth name of “King of kings and Lord of lords” recognizes Christ as the all sovereign ruler of the nations and universe. He’ll inherit creation as promised by the Father and He’ll receive His righteous kingship over all.
We see the term King of kings six times throughout scripture. It’s used to describe God, Jesus and the human kings Artaxerxes and Nebuchadnezzar. When Christ comes a second time, it will not be as a humble servant riding a donkey. But as the “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Revelation 17 reverses the order of the fourth name of Christ when He returns for the Battle of Armageddon.
“They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Revelation 17:14)
The Great Supper of God
(Verse 17) The devastation of the armies that will come against Christ and His people will be almost incomprehensible. Revelation 14 gives us the first glimpse of God’s destructive power over His enemies and all unbelievers who’ll gather against Him in the final battle of Armageddon.
“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 (180 miles or 300 kilometers).” (Revelation 14:20)
None of the ravages of Armageddon will go to waste. It’ll all become a part of the great supper of God. All the birds of the air will feast on the ruins of God’s enemies for a long time to come.
The book of Revelation is the only place in all of scripture that the Greek word translated to bird is used.
This great supper of God is not to be confused with the wedding supper of the Lamb mentioned in verse 9 of this chapter. These are two different suppers with two different purposes.
(Verse 18) Notice that John doesn’t leave out any particular class of people who’ll serve as food for the scavenging birds of the air. Everyone from king to slave who has come to oppose God and His people will be ravaged and will become a feast for the birds.
Will the Battle of Armageddon Be a Real Battle?
(Verse 19) If you examine these last three verses, do you notice anything interesting? Look closely. What’s missing here is the actual battle.
Verse 19 speaks of the armies who will gather in the Jezreel Valley also known as Valley of Megiddo. This is where we get the word Armageddon.
There most certainly will be an attack on Israel and the city of Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah gives us a glimpse of what that will look like.
“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.” (Zechariah 14:2)
There’s clear biblical evidence that there will be an attack. As we’ll see in a moment, this will not be such a battle.
The Spiritual Victory Over the Antichrist and the False Prophet
(Verse 20) John describes the scene from the gathering of the Lord’s enemies and moves directly to the capture of the beast (Antichrist) and his false prophet. The two are taken hold of and thrown into the fiery lake of sulfur as John describes it.
It appears there’s one missing from Satan’s unholy trinity that has not been captured in this scene. This is Satan himself. We’ll get to him in a moment as we explore the next Bible study guide on Revelation 20. He’ll be bound for a different destination for a thousand years.
The fiery lake of sulfur is the place of eternal damnation. This is where every resurrected soul that’s rejected God and His gift of salvation will spend eternity. They will be forever licked by the flames of hell without relief. This includes even those who don’t believe in hell or eternity. There’s a horrifying surprise that awaits even them.
Satan will join them at a later date. We’ll examine why in the next Bible study.
How Long Will the Battle of Armageddon Last?
(Verse 21) This verse gives us our answer to the question, “how long will the battle of Armageddon last? Notice, there is no battle real battle. By the words of His mouth (“sword coming out of His mouth”), He’ll destroy all His enemies who’ve gathered in their attempt to destroy Him.
The prophet Zechariah adds more details about when Christ enters the picture.
“Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.” (Zechariah 14:3)
The answer to our question is simply, it’ll be the shortest battle of any war. We can take it even one step further. It’ll be the first, last and only “none battle” battle ever to be never fought. When Christ gets involved, He will destroy His enemies with the breath of His words. Then the great supper of God will take place.
God used the prophet Zechariah again to shed more light on the great and final battle.
“This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.” (Zechariah 14:12-13)
It will be a futile attempt by man to come up against Christ and expect to have the slightest chance to defeat Him. It goes to show the foolishness of mankind and those who don’t believe will carry this foolishness to the very end.
Answers to what is the battle of Armageddon and more details can be found at The Battle of Armageddon Biblically Explained Bible study.
The end of the current age that we’re familiar with today has arrived. It’s time to see the plans God has in store for Christ and the believers.
Death is not the end. It’s the beginning. If more people understood this, there would be more people who would come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Prayer of Hope and Victory in Christ
Almighty God, I tremble at the coming judgment, when Christ will return in glory to strike down the nations and cast down Satan forever. Yet I rejoice in the hope You’ve given me through the blood of Jesus, that I will not face Your wrath but be counted among those who return with Him in victory. Lord, keep me faithful, pure, and steadfast until that day. Let my heart burn with anticipation, not fear, knowing that Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. Strengthen me to stand in Your truth, and may I be ready to ride with You in triumph when evil is crushed forever. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
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