There are some words in the English language that people just like to play with. They describe a particular imagery that we wish to connote. Armageddon is just one of those words. Just in the past few weeks, we have heard the use of it in connection with the closing of Interstate 405 in California. We have also heard it used by our President in connection with the potential economic impact if our congress does not act to raise the debt ceiling (“an economic Armageddon”). The idea I think they are trying to convey is that of chaos. It is the idea that things will slip completely out of control and it will be extremely difficult to come back to normalcy.
However, that is not the real usage of the word Armageddon. Armageddon is only used once in the Bible and it is found in the above verse. And it really refers to the lunacy of an army trying to assemble and attack the living God. It is the final attempt to overthrow God by the forces of evil. This conflict will reach its final conclusion at the battle of Armageddon. The word actually comes from the plains of Megiddo in Israel where many believe this final battle will take place. It is a vast plain where many historical battles have taken place. It connects several major trade routes. This is no battle however – it is a slaughter. The Bible tells us in Revelation 19 that this was a one-sided battle. The forces of evil will be wiped out completely. I remember trying to picture this army assembled when we visited the plains of Megiddo in our trip to Israel in 1999.
So there is really no confusion in the word Armageddon. God is not surprised at the attempts to overthrow Him. The battle for good and evil has been occurring since the fall of man. Why does a Norwegian man go in and systematically kill over 90 people, mostly children? Because evil still exists. But the good news is that a righteous and holy God has already pronounced judgment on evil. Game over. We just have not seen the battle played out yet, but we know the outcome is already certain. So our usage of this word to promote the idea of disarray and confusion couldn’t be further from the truth. It should even remind us that the truth is in fact known and the victory is certain. We can bank on it – rely on it.
As it turns out, the drivers on Interstate 405 found this out when everyone stayed home and they coined a new term Carmaheaven. But that is for another day.
Interesting as I always like discussion on the end times. I think I am in the minority group that believes in a post-tribulation rapture. I think persecution will lead to proclamation and we need to be aware and alert that as Christians we will be persecuted for our beliefs. We're very sheltered in the U.S. in that we have rarely experienced the magnitude of persecution for being Christians, but I think in time we will see this start to occur as it does around the globe. We need to be ready as Christians not to be fooled and step back from the Church during this time, but to face it head on. Mark 13: 9-13 does a good job of helping us understand what our role will be during this and I believe this is part of the tribulation. I'm not one who judges others if they believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, and quite frankly that would be much easier to ensure, but I don't think it will be that way. In the end it doesn't matter, the end game is the same, it's just important that we are prepared for either way. I had a laugh when I saw them use the term "Carmageddon." I thought, "how bad could traffic be? Just stay home for a day" and that's exactly what people did. A good perspective on this is that people were aware and prepared which turned a bad thing (persecution) into a good thing (proclamation.)
ReplyDeleteGreat comments TB - I don't agree with the post-trib position, but I agree with all your other comments. I don't think we take very seriously the divine judgment or we wouldn't be making these silly comparisons. A traffic jam is no comparison.
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