THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Spiritual Warfare
Message Five—The Ultimate War—the War at Armageddon
Scripture Reading: Gen. 3:15; Matt. 6:9-10, 13b; 12:28; Eph. 6:10-13; Rev. 12:1-17; 19:11-21
I. Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is set against God’s will—Matt. 6:10; Isa. 14:12-14:
A. If we would know how the church can be God’s warrior to engage in spiritual warfare, we need to realize that in the universe there are three wills—the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will:
1. Spiritual warfare has its source in the conflict between the divine will and the satanic will.
2. God wants His creature man to deal with His fallen creature Satan; for this, the human will must stand with the divine will―Gen. 1:26; Matt. 26:39; 12:30; 7:21.
3. As the church, our fighting is to subdue the satanic will and to defeat God’s enemy—Rev. 12:11.
B. The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God—Rev. 12:10:
1. Spiritual warfare is the warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan—Matt. 12:26, 28.
2. The kingdom of God is the exercise of the divine will and the overthrowing of the power of Satan by the power of God—6:10; 12:28.
3. The work of the church on earth is to bring in the kingdom of God―Matt. 16:18-19.
4. Through prayer the church must release the power of the kingdom of God upon the earth—6:9-10, 13; 18:19.
II. Revelation 12 presents a great vision concerning the war in heaven—the warfare in the universe between God and His enemy:
A. The vision in this chapter unveils the true situation in the universe—the view that God’s enemy is fighting against Him—vv. 1-4, 7-9, 13, 17:
1. For us to know God’s economy, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical things, the spiritual world behind the physical world—Dan. 10:12-13, 20-21.
2. It is crucial for us to see that behind the physical scene a spiritual struggle, a struggle not seen with human eyes, is taking place.
3. In our fighting we deal not with things that appear on the surface but with the power of darkness behind these things—Eph. 2:6; 6:12; S.S. 4:8.
B. Among the many crucial matters in the second section of Revelation is the vision of the universal bright woman with her man-child fighting against the dragon—12:1-4:
1. War is raging between the dragon and the woman, who symbolizes God’s people and represents God.
2. We all need to be aware of the warfare between the dragon and the woman; this vision must become a governing vision to us—Prov. 29:18a.
C. The battle is fought by the man-child, the stronger part within the woman, who bears the responsibility to fight against the enemy—Rev. 12:4-5, 11:
1. The overcomers fight against Satan continually, even unto death, and defeat him on earth; however, heaven is still waiting for them to arrive there that war may be waged to cast Satan out of heaven—vv. 5, 7-11.
2. The part of the church which will be the man-child to fight against the enemy in the heavens will also be the army to fight against Satan on earth—19:14; 17:14.
3. We should begin now to be qualified, equipped, and perfected to be among those who will be raptured to execute God’s judgment upon Satan.
III. According to Revelation 19:11-21 Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers who are His army, to fight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon:
A. Under the instigation of Antichrist, man will wage war against the King of kings and the Lord of lords—v. 16:
1. Christ is God coming to fight against rebellious mankind, and mankind is represented by a man who is one with Satan—Antichrist—v. 19.
2. These two parties—Christ and Antichrist—will fight; man will fight against God directly.
B. When Christ comes with His army to fight against Antichrist and his armies, He will come as the Son of Man—Matt. 26:64; Rev. 14:14:
1. As the Son of Man He will need a counterpart to match and complete Him; this counterpart will be His bride—John 3:29a.
2. Before His coming back, Christ will have a wedding, uniting His overcomers to Himself as one entity—Rev. 19:7-9.
3. After His wedding Christ will come with His bride to destroy Antichrist.
4. The wedding garment—Christ lived out of us as our daily righteousness—qualifies us not only to attend the wedding but also to join the army to fight with Christ against Antichrist in the ultimate war—the war at Armageddon—Matt. 22:11-12; Rev. 19:7-8, 14.
Ministry Excerpts:
In this message we come to the war at Armageddon (19:11-21). After His wedding feast, Christ will come as a fighting General with His Bride, the overcoming believers who are His army, to fight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon. Although the third party, the great prostitute, will have been annihilated, the Lord will still have three enemies: Satan, the dragon; Antichrist, the beast out of the sea; and the false prophet, the beast out of the land. These three will continue to oppose Him. Under the instigation of Antichrist, man will even wage war directly against the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Antichrist, the false prophet, and the ten kings and their armies will make war against the Lamb. How terrible! If this were not recorded in the Bible, I would not be able to believe that man could actually declare war on God.
In 19:11-21 we see that the Bridegroom comes to fight against His enemies with the help of His Bride. The Bridegroom is the Commander-in-chief, and the Bride is the army. What a honeymoon this will be! During His honeymoon Christ will clear up the universe. Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire, and Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. At that time Christ will be happy, and we, His Bride, shall also be happy as we enjoy a wonderful honeymoon with our Bridegroom.
AFTER THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB
In chapter nineteen the wedding and the war are put together. We may even entitle this chapter, “The Wedding and the War.” Immediately after the wedding, Christ will come to fight against the enemy. He will not wait even one day.
BEFORE THE MILLENNIUM
The war at Armageddon will remove all the obstacles to the coming millennial kingdom. Before we can have a feast, we must clean up the feasting room. The entire universe will be the feasting room, and Christ and His Bride will work together to sweep away the dirt, which will be put into the “trash can,” the lake of fire. God’s sweeping in the universe began in Genesis chapter one. Firstly, God swept the dirt into the sea (Gen. 1:2); for at that time the sea was the “trash can” in this universe. Eventually, all the dirt will be put in the ultimate “trash can,” the lake of fire.
THE WARRIOR
Riding on a White Horse
Verse 11 says, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.” Here Christ, the Bridegroom as the Commander-inchief, appears riding on a white horse. The horse of the first seal is also white and signifies the preaching of the gospel (6:2). Thus, both Christ and the gospel ride on a white horse. In the book of Revelation, white indicates being pure, bright, justified, and approved. This is vastly different from what is indicated by the colors of the other three horses in chapter six—red, black, and pale green. Even today we are riding on this white horse. Our preaching of the gospel is pure, bright, justified, and absolutely approved by the Lord. Christ will ride on this horse as He fights against His enemy.
His Name Being Called the Word of God
Verse 13 also says, “His name is called The Word of God.” The Word of God is the definition, the explanation, and the expression of God. As the Word of God, Christ speaks for God not only by imparting life as grace to God’s chosen people in the Gospel of John (John 1:1, 4, 14), but also by executing God’s judgment upon the rebellious people in the Revelation of John. Even as the Lord fights, He speaks for God and expresses God. The fighting of Christ is the speaking of the Word of God. God is righteous and sovereign. He is also a God of order and He cannot tolerate disorder and rebellion. As Christ fights against the enemy, He will speak that God is sovereign, righteous, and orderly. He will declare that God is the God over everyone and that He does not tolerate rebellion against His authority. Hence, the Warrior is the Word. His fighting is the speaking of God’s Word.
Out of His Mouth Proceeding a Sharp Sword
Verse 15 says, “And out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations.” The sword, which proceeds out of the mouth of Christ, who is the Word of God, is the word which will judge the rebellious (John 12:48). When the Lord Jesus comes to fight against Antichrist, He will not need nuclear weapons. He will simply need to speak a word. If He were to say, “Antichrist, go to the lake of fire,” Antichrist would immediately be cast there. The Lord’s word is more powerful than a nuclear weapon. As the Lord is speaking, we who follow Him shall say “Amen.” When the Lord says, “Antichrist, go to the lake of fire,” we all shall say “Amen,” and Antichrist will immediately be cast into the lake of fire. This is the Lord’s way of fighting. Undoubtedly, Antichrist will use the most modern weapons, but Christ will defeat him with the sharp sword, the almighty word that proceeds out of His mouth.
Treading the Winepress of the Wrath of God
Verse 15 also says, “And He treads the winepress of the wine of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” The Lord’s fighting in the war at Armageddon will be the treading of the great winepress. All the grapes, the Gentile military forces, will be gathered into the winepress and will be trodden by the Lord Jesus.
THE ARMIES
Verse 14 says, “And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and pure.” The armies here are the called and chosen believers in 17:14. They are also both the Bride and the guests invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb (vv. 7-9). The guests invited to the wedding feast and the Bride are the same. The Bride consists of the invited guests, and the invited guests make up the Bride. After the wedding, all the guests will become the army.
Verse 14 says that the armies are dressed in fine linen, white and pure. In the previous message we saw that the overcoming saints have two garments, the one for salvation and the other for reward. The fine linen here is the second garment. This second garment of the overcomers qualifies them both to attend the marriage dinner of the Lamb (vv. 8-9) and to fight with the Lord against His enemy. Thus, the wedding garment becomes the fighting garment. The second garment qualifies us not only to attend the wedding, but also to join the army. As we have seen, this garment is Christ lived out of us to be our daily righteousness. Even today, we are fighting by Christ as our garment. Ephesians 6 indicates that the whole armor of God is Christ. Furthermore, the Lord’s army will be on white horses. We shall not be guerrillas; we shall be a properly formed heavenly army. Hallelujah!
THE ENEMIES
In verse 19 we see the Lord’s enemies. This verse says, “And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with Him who sits on the horse and with His army.” According to this verse, Christ’s enemies are the beast, Antichrist (undoubtedly including his associate, the false prophet), and the kings of the earth and their armies. The kings of the earth (16:12-16) especially include the ten kings under Antichrist (17:12-14), and the armies include the two hundred million cavalry troops from “the rising of the sun” (9:16; 16:12).
THE DEFEAT OF ANTICHRIST AND HIS ARMIES
In verses 20 and 21 we see the defeat of Antichrist and his armies. Verse 20 says, “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who in his presence had done the signs, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worship his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” Antichrist and the false prophet will be the first to perish in the lake of fire. All the rest will be killed “with the sword which proceeds out of the mouth of Him who sits on the horse” (v. 21), and all the birds will be gorged with their flesh, devouring a great meal.
THE WAR AT THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT
The war mentioned in this chapter is the war at the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:9-12; Zech. 14:2-3, 12-15). This will be very close to Jerusalem (message forty-eight, p. 560).
THE TREADING OF THE GREAT WINEPRESS
The fighting of Christ in the war at Armageddon will be the treading of the great winepress. That will be the judgment on all the evil forces of the world, the death blow to all of them.
The Bible reveals the destiny of the nation of Israel. Because so many Israelites are still in unbelief, before the Lord comes back Jerusalem will be like Sodom in the eyes of God (11:18). Therefore, God will use Antichrist and the ten kings with their armies to purge and to purify the nation of Israel. Those who remain will be preserved by God for the millennial kingdom. As Isaiah 2:2-3 and Zechariah 8:20-23 clearly reveal, in the kingdom the saved and preserved Jews will be priests teaching the nations to know God and to serve Him. (Life Study of Revelation, msg. 55)