Category Archives: Bible Studies

Armageddon — The Gathering

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I found five Scripture passages from Joel, Zechariah, Daniel, and Revelation that speaks of the gathering of armies (or nations). Interestingly, I found from my reading that there is not one clear purpose for the gathering. There will actually be four different purposes or goals. As we read from the following passages, I’m sure we will be able to see the different intentions.

Joel 3:1-3, 9-16

1″For behold, in those days and at that time,

When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 I will gather all the nations

And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Then I will enter into judgment with them there

On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,

Whom they have scattered among the nations;

And they have divided up My land.

3 “They have also cast lots for My people,

Traded a boy for a harlot

And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

9 Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!

Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!

10 Beat your plowshares into swords

And your pruning hooks into spears;

Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”

11 Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,

And gather yourselves there.

Bring down, O Lord, Your mighty ones.

12 Let the nations be aroused

And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

For there I will sit to judge

All the surrounding nations.

13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.

Come, tread, for the wine press is full;

The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon grow dark

And the stars lose their brightness.

16 The Lord roars from Zion

And utters His voice from Jerusalem,

And the heavens and the earth tremble.

But the Lord is a refuge for His people

And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

It seems here, from verse three, that the nations will be coming to raid Israel—to take their “fortunes.” But the rest of the passage tells a different story. God will be using their greed to gather them together in order to judge them for their sins against Israel.

Zechariah 14:1-3

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

Here is a similar situation. The nations will gather to capture and plunder Jerusalem; but the Lord will take advantage of their greedy gathering, to judge and destroy them.

Daniel 11:40-44

“At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. 41 “He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. 42 “Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 “But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. 44 “But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.

In this passage, which is describing the final conflict, the objective in battle seems to be to gain power. And for the most part, it will be the Antichrist and his forces against the rest of the world. Here we see that the Antichrist is winning—until the end (see verse 45).

Revelation 16:12-14, 16

12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.

13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.

In this sixth bowl judgment the gathering of the nations of the world are demonically engineered through the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. I wonder what the message will be that the demons will send. We don’t know whether it will be a clear, direct message like, “Let’s all gather together to destroy the Jews.” Or perhaps there won’t be any clear message; perhaps the demons will put them in a mindless trans, and by demonic power they will be pulled to the place of war with a great hook in their jaw (see Ezek. 38:4).

Revelation 19:19-21

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

These three verses describe what happens at the very end of the Battle of Armageddon and the Tribulation. Here we see a fourth purpose for the gathering, to make war against Christ.

To review the different purposes: 1) coming from the nations, to raid and destroy the Jews; 2) again, from the nations, to gain power over other nations; they will gather to fight each other; 3) the purpose of God will be to judge the nations for their sin; and 4) from the nations, to make war against Christ.

As it appears from the text, the nations will probably not think that Christ will show up. But when they see Him coming, riding on a white horse, they will stop fighting each other; and verse 19 says that “their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

Can you imagine it? You know, there is nothing like the ultimate enemy (Christ) to make you shake hands with the ones you are fighting with. That is what will happen. All the nations—the beast and the kings of the earth (v. 19)—will come together and make peace with each other, and thus combine forces, in order to destroy their real enemy—Christ. Of course, it will happen the other way around!

The Lord’s Prayer: Its Form

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

 

The prayer is arranged in three main parts: the address—“Our Father who is in heaven,” six petitions, and the doxology. We will focus, in this blog, on the six petitions.

The Six Petitions

As for the six petitions, the first three are directed toward God and His purposes, and the second three are directed toward man and his needs.

The first three petitions are:

1 That the name of God will be revered—“Hallowed be Your name,”

2 That the role of God would be established—“Your kingdom come,” and

3 That the will of God be done—“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Notice how each of these petitions is dependent on and related to each other. The hallowing of His name is dependent on the coming of His kingdom, and the coming of His kingdom requires the doing of His will.  Each is a separate…

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Wisdom — Proverbs 8:1-6

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Does not wisdom call,

And understanding lift up her voice?

2 On top of the heights beside the way,

Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,

At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

4 “To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

5 “O naive ones, understand prudence;

And, O fools, understand wisdom.

6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things;

And the opening of my lips will reveal right things (Prov. 8:1-6).

Wisdom can be found at every corner, at every turn in the road or at every decision point. It is calling out to us to be wise. We must listen for its voice.

Armageddon — An Introduction

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I have been writing a book on the Tribulation, and I am at the end of it. The last chapter, which I am beginning now is entitled: Armageddon, The Fall of Babylon, and The Judgement of the Nations.

ARMAGEDDON

When we think about Armageddon we should think of it first as a war, or as an extended, escalating conflict. Then at the very end it will be a bloody battle, normally called the Battle of Armageddon.

In my research I found that some of the most popular authors on this subject seem to be quite sure that the campaign of Armageddon involves eight phases or stages: 1) the gathering of the armies of the Antichrist, 2) the destruction of Babylon, 3) the fall of Jerusalem, 4) the Antichrist moves against the Jewish Remnant, 5) Israel is saved, 6) Jesus Christ Returns, 7) the final battle, and 8) Christ ascends to the Mount of Olives.

Using the same Scriptures, I came up with a slightly different and shorter list of stages. Here are my five stages: 1) the gathering of the armies, 2) A Great Earthquake, or a nuclear exchange, 3) the fall of Babylon, 4) the fall of Jerusalem, and 5) the climax of the battle, or the return of Christ. Also note that I am not positively sure about the order of stages two, three, and four; but I will do my best to explain things as I see them, as you will read in upcoming blogs.

The Lord’s Prayer: Its Two Settings

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

The study of prayer would not be complete without examining the Lord’s Prayer. It is no doubt the most comprehensive piece of work on prayer ever composed.  Here in this very short prayer Jesus has woven every possible principle of prayer together and has given it to us to show us how to pray.  It is the best and simplest prayer tool we could possibly have.  John MacArthur, in his book, Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer, said, “It [The Lord’s Prayer] is an absolute masterpiece of God’s infinite wisdom to somehow encompass every conceivable element in prayer and reduce it to one simple pattern.”1

In this first blog on the Lord’s Prayer, as an introduction, I want to talk about its settings. In upcoming blogs we will talk about its sources, its form, and generally what it teaches us about prayer.

The Two Settings of the Prayer 

 Since…

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Wisdom — Proverbs 7:4-5

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Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

And call understanding your intimate friend;

5 That they may keep you from an adulteress,

From the foreigner who flatters with her words (Prov. 7:4-5).

Wisdom and understanding always go together. They together will keep you from an adulteress.

Wisdom — Proverbs 5:1-4

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My son, give attention to my wisdom,

Incline your ear to my understanding;

2 That you may observe discretion

And your lips may reserve knowledge.

3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey

And smoother than oil is her speech;

4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood (Prov. 5:1-4).

Wisdom comes from the father. He will teach you discretion and purity (which is wisdom).

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil

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Stephen Nielsen's avatarPrayer A to Z

We have been looking at the Lord’s Prayer and we have been trying to practice praying as our Lord outlined for us. We have come to the part where it says, “And lead us not into temptation…

So, after we have prayed for daily bread and forgiveness, we are made clean and strong, ready for duty and for battle.  But before we go out into the world we must pray that God would lead us and protect us.

The petition here for leading is really a plea for mercy—that God would not lead us into situations where it would be too difficult for us to bear under trials, so that we would give into sin.  The second part, that He “deliver us from evil,” is the answer to the first part.  That is, if He does not lead us into temptation, what He does is the opposite—He delivers us out of…

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8 Things God has given to us in His Son

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God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:1-4).

8 Things God has given to us in His Son

1 He has spoken to us in His Son.

2 He appointed His Son to be the heir of all things.

3 Through His Son He made the world (the ages).

4 Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory.

5 Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature.

6 Jesus upholds all things by the word of His power.

7 Jesus made purification of sins (our sins).

8 Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

And He has done all these things for us!

The Seventh Bowl – Earth is Shaken (Revelation 16:17-21)

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This last bowl, interestingly, is poured out into the air. What does that mean? We will get to that in a minute. But first we read here that a loud voice from heaven, the voice of God, says, “It is done.” This could only mean one thing: that this plague is the last one. And when it is done, that will be the end of the Tribulation.

The second thing I want to mention is that when this bowl begins, and all during its devastation, the great battle of Armageddon is raging. The event that sets this plague off is, presumably, a great earthquake. However, there is one scholar, Hal Lindsey who seems to think that it is not really an earthquake, that it is a nuclear exchange. In his book, There’s a New World Coming, he writes,

The [Greek word for earthquake] simply means ‘a great shaking of the earth.’ The earth could be shaken either by a literal earthquake or by a full-scale nuclear exchange of all remaining missiles. I lean toward the nuclear conflict; I believe that when these powers lock forces here, there will be a full-scale exchange of nuclear weapons, and it’s at this time that ‘the cities of the nations fall.’8

I want to return now to my “interesting” comment about this bowl being poured out into the air. If you side with the nuclear exchange idea this makes sense, because nuclear bombs always affect the air. According to an article I read, “Basic Effects of Nuclear Weapons,” the writer said,

Most damage comes from the explosive blast. The shock wave of air radiates outward, producing sudden changes in air pressure that can crush objects, and high winds that can knock objects down. In general, large buildings are destroyed by the change in air pressure, while people and objects such as trees and utility poles are destroyed by the wind.9

This nuclear description goes along well with what is written in verse 19—that “the cities of the nations fell.” That certainly makes sense—that if a full nuclear exchange occurs, the tall buildings in all of the world’s cities (all buildings really) will crumble to the ground. Of course, a very large world-wide earthquake could do this too. Or perhaps both will occur together, the nuclear exchange causing the other.

Now whatever this “great shaking of the earth” will be, there will be six results.

1. Lightning and thunder. To be fair, we don’t know that the cause of this will be due to the great shaking; nonetheless, it will occur. And I’m guessing that it will be dark, except for the lightning flashes, accompanied by loud, terrible thunder.

2. The great city will be split into three parts. Some suggest that the great city is the rebuilt Babylon. Others say that it is Jerusalem—which I happen to agree with. John MacArthur suggests that the splitting of Jerusalem is written about in Zechariah 14:1-8, and that it is not a judgment, but an improvement, preparing the city for its millennial kingdom.10

I agree with that comment. The only uncertainty I have is that in the Zachariah passage the city will be split through the Mount of Olives dividing the city into a northern section and a southern section. Hence that is two parts, not three, as Revelation indicates.

3. The cities of the nations fall. Here is what I talked about earlier. A great earthquake, or possibly a full-scale nuclear exchange will level the great cities of the world. London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and all the others will crumble to the ground. In just a few minutes we will see a great judgment of God on the world.

4. Babylon the great falls. We will look at this in detail in the next chapter, so we won’t say much here; except that it will be God’s wrath on the Antichrist’s evil empire.

5. The islands and mountains disappear. Along with the crumbling of the cities, the earth will shift so much that the islands as well as the mountains disappear. Revelation 6:14 seems to describe this same occurrence, except in the sixth chapter the mountains and island only move out of their places. But here they disappear completely. Hence what began in the sixth seal is completed in this seventh bowl. I presume that they will plunge into the earth, as if they are plowed under by God’s great plow when He levels the earth. This again will be God’s preparation for His millennial kingdom.

I invite you to read Isaiah 40:3-5 and Jeremiah 4:23-27. Could this be a prophetical description of what will happen in Revelation 16:19-20?

6. One-hundred-pound hail stones! It is hard to imagine hail this big. As far as we know, the largest hailstone on record fell in South Dakota in 2010, weighing nearly two pounds and measured eight inches in diameter.11 If we calculate how large a 100-pound hailstone would be compared to this one in South Dakota, I come up with one about three or four feet in diameter. That’s pretty big. And I’m sure one stone will kill any human or animal if it falls directly on his head. If you can picture what it will be like when all the city buildings fall and all the islands and mountains disappear into the earth, I imagine that this barrage of hail will level anything that is left.

But since we know that there will be survivors, apparently the hail will be far enough apart that it will miss some people, or perhaps some will be hiding underground.

But will they be thankful to God for their safety? No. Verse twenty-one tells us that they will blaspheme God because of the hail. This tells us that they will know that it was meant for them—to punish them for their wickedness. Hence they will remain unrepentant until the end.

8 Hal Lindsey, p. 214.

9 Basic Effects of Nuclear Weapons, at https://www.atomicarchive.com/science/effects/basic-effects.html#:~:text=Blast%20Effects&text=The%20shock%20wave%20of%20air,are%20destroyed%20by%20the%20wind.

10 John MacArthur, John MacArthur’s notes on Revelation 16:19.

11 Kyle Mounce, at https://www.wrtv.com/weather/how-is-hail-formed-and-why-do-hailstones-sometimes-get-so-big-heres-the-science.