(For Real This Time) Ezekiel, Armageddon, and the Return of Jesus

So…. It looks like last night I sent out a half-finished draft of this post.

Sorry about that.

Here’s the real thing.

How do you know if it’s the end of the world?

The Bible describes two climactic battles between Israel and a multitude of Gentile nations at the end of time: Ezekiel 38-39 and Armageddon, in Revelation 16.

The question for us is: are they the same battle, or two different battles?

Does Israel face off against the nations of the world once, or twice?

This may seem like a boring academic point, but it won’t be for Israel. It will be life and death.

If they get attacked once, then they have smooth sailing for a while. The climactic battle of Armageddon will come after an unmistakable seven-year period of global tribulation. They’ll see it coming.

But if they get attacked twice, then not only do they get attacked at the end of the tribulation period, but also before. They won’t see this one coming, not as well as the second. They’ll have to brace for invasion twice.

So which is it? Is the battle in Ezekiel the same as the one in Revelation, or are they two separate invasions of Israel?

Let’s compare these two battles. As we do, remember the first principle of studying the End Times: it’s all about Jesus. As you read these two accounts, look for Jesus. He will be your key to understanding them.

First, let’s dive into Ezekiel. It’s a big chunk of text, but the key points are easy to spot:

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. And I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD.

“And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.

“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and make fires of the weapons and burn them, shields and bucklers, bow and arrows, clubs and spears; and they will make fires of them for seven years, so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make their fires of the weapons. They will seize the spoil of those who despoiled them, and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.

“On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord GOD. They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make their search. And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. (Hamonah is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.

“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field: ‘Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth—of rams, of lambs, and of he-goats, of bulls, all of them fat beasts of Bashan. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood till you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all kinds of warriors,’ declares the Lord GOD.

“And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. The house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God, from that day forward. (Ezekiel 38:14–23, 39:1–22 ESV)

Now let’s shift to Revelation. With Ezekiel in your mind, compare it to the battle of Armageddon. Remember your primary question: where is Jesus?

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 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. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. […] And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. […]

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. (Revelation 16:12–16, 19:11–21, 20:1–3 ESV)

Ezekiel and Revelation both describe intense, climactic invasions of Israel by a multitude of nations. In both books, the battle is won before it starts. Israel doesn’t have to fight. God wins for Israel. There’s nothing the armies of the nations can do.

There are a lot of similarities between these descriptions.

Yet they must be different battles.

Armageddon is won by Jesus instantly, immediately, decisively. Upon Jesus’ victory, this phase of history ends. The devil is thrown in a pit, unable to trouble the world for a thousand years. Our current phase of human history ends, ushering in a new era when Jesus Himself reigns from Jerusalem personally.

But after the battle in Ezekiel, history continues on. The people of Israel gather up the weapons of their fallen enemies, taking up what was left on the ground. The invading armies brought so much with them that it sustains the people of Israel for seven years. Their era of history continues.

Before the invasion described in Ezekiel, the people of Israel dwell securely in villages without walls. Life in Israel is at peace.

Before Armageddon, life in Israel is nothing but tribulation, having followed seven years of global tribulation. No one is living at peace in unwalled villages.

Remember: it’s all about Jesus.

After Armageddon, the whole world sees Jesus, because He wins the battle personally. The world turns to Jesus, because denying the existence of the living God who rides in on a white horse and personally defeats the greatest fighting force ever assembled is rather difficult to do.

After the battle in Ezekiel, this doesn’t happen. The world realizes that Israel’s God is real, and Israel realizes that Israel’s God is real, but history continues on.

Let’s use this information to calibrate our expectations.

Remember the third principle: You must be ready.

We’ll experience the battle of Ezekiel.

As we explored in Matthew 24, Jesus describes Himself returning twice. The first time, He comes when no one expects, when life is continuing as normal. The second time, He comes at the end of the period of tribulation, a time of distress so great that none would survive if it hadn’t been cut short.

If the first coming of Jesus involves the Rapture, gathering His people to Himself — it won’t have happened by the time of Ezekiel’s battle.

How do you know? Simple: the people in Israel are living at peace, the villages without Walls, before the battle. The world is at peace.

But if one or two or three billion people suddenly disappeared, the last word to describe it would be “peace.” There will be mass chaos, governments breaking down, armies and police forces decimated, positions of power left vacant, vehicles left without drivers, parents left without kids, kids left without parents.

There are some who say that no prophecy remains to be fulfilled before Jesus returns. Based on Ezekiel 38 to 39, I disagree.

We will see this battle. Every Christian who is still alive will see this battle. Before the church is taken away, we will see this battle playing out on our new screens and social media feeds.

This battle is not yet imminent. It is certainly getting close, as all the major nations described in Ezekiel 38 have already united to launch one attack into Israel. But Israel is not living at peace, in any sense. They are not yet dwelling securely in their land. Nor are these nations ready for an eminent invasion.

Therefore, while we can see the pieces moving into place, we can also see enough of a distance between where they are now and where they need to be that we can know this battle will not happen tomorrow.

But it is closer today than it has ever been.

We must be ready.

And not Christians only, but also the entire world.

When God wins the first battle, the one described by Ezekiel, the world will have a choice. It will see the power of God unveiled. It will see one of the largest armies ever assembled defeated in a moment, defeated by the hand of God. The world will see the glory of God on display and will have to make a choice.

Because when God wins the second battle, when Jesus personally wins the battle of Armageddon, the time for choosing will be over. The devil will be thrown into a pit. The world will be judged. The consequences of each persons’ choice will be unveiled — sudden, inescapable, unavoidable.

We must be ready.

Choose wisely, while you still can.

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