The word Armageddon appears only one time in all of scripture but what

happens at this place is a topic that comes up several times. I want to take

just a moment to offer a perspective on this great and final battle.

It says in Chapter 16, verse 16, “And they gathered them together to the

place called in Hebrew Armageddon.” We then read in Chapter 19, verse

19, “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered

together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His

army.” Armageddon marks the final battle of the kings of the earth, all the

nations, once and for all and finally destroyed by the coming of the Lord

and the ushering in of His eternal kingdom.

Now interesting, there is another final battle that is very detailed in the

Bible and it’s found in Ezekiel 38. Here’s the knot to untie. How can there

be two final battles? This is an offering of a perspective. I see a

connection between the battle we read of in Revelation, the final battle, and

the battle we read of in Ezekiel 38 and 39, the final battle. Ezekiel 39:7-9,

“So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and

I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall

know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Surely it is coming, and it

shall be done, says the Lord God. This is the day of which I have spoken.”

We then go on to read how all weapons are destroyed, because they aren’t

needed anymore. And finally, this finality we read of in Ezekiel 39:21-22,

“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My

judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.

So, the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that

day forward.”

If the battle of Armageddon is the final battle between the nations of the

world and Jesus, culminating in His second return, well…, it’s a clear line

of connectivity to what we read as the result of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 war.

Now, there are some knots to consider. The Ezekiel 38/39 war is led by

Gog of Magog. Magog has been identified plentifully by historians and

writers of the past all the way back to Pliny in the first century AD, and it

is what we know today as modern day Russia. Revelation speaks of the

kings of the east coming to the battle of Armageddon…, Russia is due

North. Not a big deal to me…, they are joined by and ultimately led by

God, the prince of Magog, or Russia.

Now, this battle is also described for us in Zechariah 14, lets look at verse

1-6, “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided

in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;

The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of

the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be

cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those

nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand

on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount

of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large

valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it

toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the

mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the

earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will

come, and all the saints with You.”

Ok, so here, the final battle (and again, if it’s the final battle then it must be

one, there can’t be more than one final battle), takes place and ends in

Jersualem! Megiddo is about 50 miles from Jerusalem so we have a bit of a

mystery here. Why? Because we still have two, even three FINAL battles.

So, it could be that the nations gather at Armageddon and there campaign,

so less of a single battle and more of a campaign of sorts all the way to

Jerusalem. It’s a stretch but it’s the only way it works for three final battles

given to us in Revelation 16 and 19, Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Zechariah 14!

(Quick comparison chart for us of these battles.) So, I offer a perspective

that consolidates all final battles of the Bible into one. It’s not without

controversy for sure in terms of verses that have to be worked out…, but it

is far less controversial than explaining multiple final battles and multiple

returns of Jesus Christ (which is most certainly not taught in the Bible). On

to Revelation Chapter 17…

All of the judgements are complete at this point. The seven seal judgements

have been opened. The seven trumpet judgements have sounded. The seven

bowl judgements have been poured out. The earth is effectively destroyed,

but God is not through yet. The very root and origin of it all is next.

Since the Garden, since the moment that sin entered the world…there has

been the ultimate that must be dealt with. Something that is revealed by

acts of disobedience against God and unrighteousness in a life…and that

ultimate, that must and one day will finally be completely dealt with and

put away is sin itself, corruption itself. False worship…

That is what sin really is…it’s simply and spiritually put…false worship.

Time, attention, obedience to something or someone other than the One

true God. Isaiah 45:5 says, “I alone am God, there is none other…” Yet

worship of false gods has been the story of man since the garden…

To offer false worship, there must be an object of that worship. A person,

a place or a thing…many false gods are mentioned in the Bible. Baal or

Balaam or Nimrod or you may have heard of Osiris, Zeus, Saturn…all the

same dude, all the same false god. Ashtaroth, Semiramis, Diana, or you

may have heard of Juno, Isis, Ishtar (where we get our word Easter), all the

same false goddess…but again, God is in the business of getting right to

the root of the matter and behind all of these man-made false gods,

powering all of these objects of false worship which has robbed God of the

praises of His people…and ripped off multiplied millions of lives, behind it

all…is a constant…an ultimate evil…a spirit of false worship…

The Bible calls it the “great harlot,” the, “Scarlet Woman,” the “Scarlet

Beast,” “Mystery Babylon,” “Babylon the Great.” For understanding

purposed, I call it, “The Fallen.” The very origin root spirit of false

worship and corruption. The religion set up by Satan and fueled by sin.

And the great commandments of this false worship are love yourself (the

serpent said to Eve, “I will make you like Him,” love yourself with all of

your heart, soul mind and strength. And put your neighbor second.

This false worship that has polluted the perfection of God’s creation and

led many men and women to eternal separation from God, has been judged

in the form of consequence, judgements upon all those who took her in…all

those who chose her over Him. The finality of the Great Tribulation, it is

revealed to John that God will deal with everything, even the root cause of

all corruption.

Chapter 17 we’ll see the religious aspect, the spiritual side of this ultimate

idol destroyed and then in Chapter 18 we’ll see the political, the physical,

the consequential side destroyed…what it boils down to is that we will see

her destroyed entirely and eternally as God sets the scene for all things to

be made purely new, without evil, without sin and without death…

What is the completion of the fallen? An eradication? To remove it? Not

even close…., that completes nothing. The completion, to totally deal with

sin…there is always a complete reversal. An un-doing. Just what Jesus did

on the cross. The wages of sin are death. Jesus took death on in a sinless

state and in that death failed. Death was defeated, but even more…it was

overturned, reversed…as He had the power to raise Himself from the

grave. Now we see the next reversal and that is a return to innocence. The

New Heaven and the New Earth are on the horizon, the Garden re-

established with no serpent…choices made (everyone there already chose

the Lord) so no more choice is needed…just everything purely new,

without evil, without sin and without death…even the possibility is

removed…a home without Lucifer…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verses 1 – 2

 This angel says this is THE great harlot who sits upon many waters.

And we know from our previous studies (and even later in this

chapter) that this term “many waters” means all of the nations. The

angel mentions the kings and the inhabitants of the earth had

communed with her…, and so this is THE one…the one who from the

beginning has been intoxicating, tempting and devouring God’s

creation.

 And note the universal power and presence of the false religious

system…, false worship of false gods…, whether it’s Buddhism,

Islam, Satanism, Hinduism, Rastafarianism, Wicca, Athiesm,

Agnosticism, …doesn’t matter…its all the great harlot! Any worship

that is not offered directly to God Almighty through the intercessory

blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God Himself in the person of

the Savior, is fornication on God, …cheating on Him. Jesus said, “No

one comes to the Father except through me…” and so note this

universality and singularity of this great harlot…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 3

 We’ve seen seven heads and ten horns before, right? We’ve seen a

scarlet beast before! Revelation Chapter 13 and the scripture identifies

him at that time, the anti-Christ! And who’s riding him, controlling

him? The fallen. The rider is always superior to the ridden. A person

rides a horse. He-Man rides Battle Cat! HA! The point is that the Anti-

Christ is a pawn. All the power of the earth and yet all he is is a

puppet, a tool, of this great Harlot.

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 4

 Where’d she get all that? All those garments and garnishments of

royalty? Where did sin and false worship and rebellion and religion

and me-mentality (all the same things), where did she get all of that?

From men!!! Payment for her services. It’s so incredibly interesting

how sin promises to pay but ends up costing you so much! This is

payment…

 Note the unlimited prosperity and the unholy passion as she is adorned

with the treasures of this world which are the gravel of the world to

come…the treasures of the world to come are

love…peace…joy…gentleness, kindness, pure and undefiled worship,

not these trinkets, not these elements that are only temporary…and the

golden cup that she carries is filled with abominations, filthiness and

fornication on our God…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 5

 Two cities dominate the scriptures. One is Jerusalem of course. The

city of God. Founded by God. The capital of Israel, literally the people

that are governed by God. The other city is Babylon. Mentioned over

300 times in the Bible. The city of revolt. Founded by Nimrod whose

name literally means, “one who rebels.”

 You see this is the Book of Revelation. Here it is revealed what is the

evil even behind Babylon…even behind revolt, rebellion, false

worship, confusion…it’s the harlot and she represents this spirit that

has been at work in the hearts of men since the fall…the spirit of

selling yourself and abomination!

 And notice she is intoxicated. She appears drunk. In a stupor…from

what? Look at verse 6…

Revelation Chapter 17 Verse 6

 Teaching in the synagogue in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, Jesus raised

His head and Mark writes for us in Mark 6:6 that Jesus marveled at

their unbelief. I bring that up because I don’t want you to think John is

admiring this beast and this evil that rides upon him. Jesus didn’t

admire the unbelief of the people, He mourned over it…to the point

that He had to take a step back and say, “What is the problem? I don’t

get it…these folks are lost, blind, weak and weary and yet they harden

themselves…” and so He marveled. Great grief came upon Him and

He departed…

 Here something clicks. John, filled with the Holy Spirit for 50 or 60

years by this time has seen great evil, great cruelty, great stupidity as

folks have chosen to rebel against God, harden their hearts in refusal

to humble themselves and choose Jesus and He has watched people be

destroyed because of it…and now it has been revealed…this evil that

has been at work the whole time…pride, rebellion, selfishness,

religion…and he wonders in amazement that the whole time…every

circumstance was spiritual…every argument he witnessed, every child

he saw dirty and hungry, every single parent, every abandoned

husband, every boasting religious elite…all the same…all spiritual…

 And the angel sees that he gets it…sees that he sees…and so what’s

next? What’s always next when truth is revealed and you face it, you

receive it…more revelation!!