Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Guest (Male): Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith. It's a huge, peaceful, flat plain in Israel. One day it will be filled with blood. The place, the valley of Jezreel. The event, Armageddon. The Bible tells of a climactic war that will culminate in the personal return of Jesus Christ. Today, the final sign that precedes the glorious appearing of the Messiah. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is running to win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Erwin Lutzer is in a series on seven signs of Christ's return. Today, we come to sign number seven, the world's bloodiest conflict.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: There is a story about a boy who was reading a novel in the living room. His mother called to him and said, "Johnny, come do the dishes." But he said, "No, Mom, I can't because right now I'm in chapter six and the villain has the hero down and he's about to kill him and I have to see how it turns out." Well, as most mothers do, she persisted and she said, "Johnny, I said you are to come to do the dishes." Knowing that he had to go, he flipped to the last page of the book and read it.

And that day when he went into the kitchen, he said, "You know, the villain is doing fine in chapter six. But is he ever in for a shock when he gets to the last page." Today, we're talking about the last page. Today, we're talking about the battle of Armageddon and the glorious return of Jesus Christ to this very, very sinful planet. We're talking about finally the villain getting his just deserts. We're talking about righteousness. We're talking about a time when the whole world will no longer wander at the beast as we talked about, but glorify and honor and worship Jesus Christ.

What a day that is going to be. If you've been with us, you know that this is the last in a series of messages, seven signs of Christ's return. We've talked about the return of Israel, the unification of Europe, the rise of Antichrist, the one world religion, the rebuilding the temple. Last time we spoke about a war that originates in the north and comes into Israel and God protects his people and wipes out those armies. But today we come to Armageddon which culminates in the return of Jesus Christ. The very word Armageddon, I'm sure, has many evokes many emotions within us.

I think it was Disney that used the word to refer to a video that was done when an asteroid hit the earth and it was called Armageddon. The Wall Street Journal talks about Armageddon in a context of reviewing a book about a final battle. That word Armageddon has a long history in our own thought and we we think finally of the time when all the armies of the earth will be gathered together, concentrated in the Middle East. Let me say that Antichrist, you will remember, if our scenario is correct, will have signed a covenant, a peace covenant with Israel guaranteeing its security.

In this series, we didn't go into detail, but that is based on the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel. And having done that, Israel lived securely thinking at last it will be at peace. But three and a half years after the covenant is signed, Antichrist goes into Jerusalem. He then goes into the temple, which some of us believe will have been built at that time, and he declares himself to be God. He harasses the Jews, turns against them, but the whole world worships this beast and he has his false prophet. And he has also a third member of that Trinity so that together the beast and the Antichrist, the beast of course being the Antichrist, but being together now suddenly try to rival the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is in that context that all the armies of the earth basically gather toward Jerusalem. It says, for example, in the ninth chapter of Revelation that there are some angels at the Euphrates River. And those angels allow the river to be dried up so that an army of 200 million 200 million come from the east. We think, for example, of China and Japan and India. And we think of those armies all converging at Jerusalem, as we shall see in a moment. What can we say about this battle and the circumstances that will take place after it has been ended?

How can we describe it? Well, let me give you what I believe to be today five facts, five facts that will help us put all of this into some perspective. First of all, this battle, which is called Armageddon, will be fought in Israel. It will be fought in Israel. Now take your Bibles and turn to the only passage in all of Scripture that mentions Armageddon. You might be surprised to discover that the word Armageddon occurs only once in the Bible. Now we think that there are many references to this battle, but it's the 16th chapter of Revelation that actually uses the word Armageddon.

I'm going to begin at verse 13 Revelation 16:13. "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." There you have it, the dragon representing Satan, the beast representing Antichrist, the false prophet representing the Holy Spirit in that unholy Trinity. And you'll notice it says three unclean spirits like frogs, for they are the 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.

Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his garments lest he walk about naked and men see his shame." And they gathered them together to the place which is called in Hebrew Har Mageddon. Two words really. The word Har means mountain. Now we say Har with an A, Armageddon, but you have to understand that the H was very soft and so the text here says Har Mageddon, but we say Armageddon. But it is the mountain of Megiddo. Now if you've been to Israel, you've been to Megiddo because all tour groups go to Megiddo.

It is there that Solomon had his stables. It was one of the large cities of the ancient world. But when you're at Megiddo, that is the town of Megiddo, the city, and you go through those ancient ruins, you look out and you see the plain of Megiddo, 20 miles long, 15 miles wide. By the way, if you ever go to Israel with Pastor Schwartz and you're standing at Megiddo, ask the tour guide to show you the city of Nazareth because Nazareth is across the plain, maybe 15 miles or perhaps nearer than that, but nevertheless it is there on the edge of the rift that goes into the plain of Jezreel, as it is also called, or the plain of Megiddo.

I mentioned that only because it dawned on me Jesus being brought up in Nazareth, I can imagine as a little boy he'd often run to the edge of the cliff and look over. Little boys do that. And I wonder if at that time he contemplated even then that this would be the place that the battle would begin, that would be earth's final, serious conflict. So it is fought in Israel, but please do not think that it is somehow limited to that plain. As a matter of fact, it may begin there, but the real focal point is Jerusalem.

The Bible says in the book of Zechariah, God says all the nations of the earth will be gathered again to Jerusalem and we'll read a similar passage in just a moment. So here you're going to have a battle that will spill throughout all the land encompassing at least 200 miles, as I shall point out in a second or two. It will be fought in Israel. The Middle East will be the focal point of that battle. Secondly, it will be the world's bloodiest conflict. The world's bloodiest conflict. I base that on Matthew 24:21 where Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and he says there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the creation of the world.

And that actually is a picture of the coming tribulation because a few verses later he says immediately after those days the tribulation takes place after the days of tribulation. It is then that you will see the light in the sky and as the lightning shines from the east and even onto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. So the destruction of Jerusalem is a little cameo. It is a little picture of the battle that is still to come. And it is the greatest tribulation. Great tribulation such as has not been seen since creation.

In Revelation 14:20, it speaks of a battle and I take it to be the same where it says the wine press was trodden outside the city and the blood came out from the wine presses up to the horses' bridles for a distance of 200 miles. Now of course blood cannot flow as high as the bridles of horses. No, there's not been any human blood upon all of planet earth put together that means that there's a river of blood like that. Maybe it means that the blood was splattered up unto the bridles of the horses. But at any rate, even if there is some symbolism here, the simple fact is that this is a terribly, terribly bloody time and a time of great conflict, of great heartache.

It will be awful. We think today of World War I, we think of World War II, we think also of what is happening in Kosovo or Bosnia and we think to ourselves all of the atrocities and the evil things that are done. I take it that the battle of Armageddon means that at last all the wickedness of man comes to the surface in this gigantic battle which is basically a battle of east and west. I mentioned that Antichrist exalts himself and there's a whole eastern confederacy that says to itself it is time that we unseat this world ruler who demands that we worship him.

And so the conflict gathers there of centering in Jerusalem. Thirdly, it is interrupted by the return of Jesus Christ. It is interrupted by the return of Jesus. Now there are two passages I want to read. One is found in Zechariah 14. And because this passage is so important, I would appreciate very much if you turn to it in your Bibles because I want you to see the text to make sure that your pastor is not making this up. All right, Zechariah 14. Actually, if this wasn't in God's word, not a one of us would dare to make this kind of stuff up.

But notice Zechariah 14. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 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 the city exiled. But the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights in a day of battle. And in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east.

And the Mount of Olives will be split in the middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half the mountain will remove toward the north and the other half toward the south.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, this is Pastor Lutzer. That's certainly frightening, isn't it? When we look at prophecy, we see the judgment of God. We see the sovereignty of God. But thankfully we also see the mercy of God. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled When Jesus Returns. The subtitle is Living in Expectation of the End Times. This is really a book of hope. Yes, it does discuss the judgments that are going to come, but in the midst of it those who have trusted Jesus Christ will not only be exempt, but they will be in the presence of the living God.

For a gift of any amount this book can be yours. I encourage you to make sure that you have your copy. It will help you in your spiritual journey when Jesus returns.

Guest (Male): Erwin Lutzer with part one of the world's bloodiest conflict. The seventh sign in his series, Seven Signs of Christ's Return. Next time, more details about the war to really end all wars. When Jesus returns, living in expectation of the end times, that's a book compiled by Jan Markell. It contains the best teachings on Bible prophecy from a wide range of authors. This book is our gift to you for your gift of any amount to support running to win. For full information, call us at 1-800-215-5001. That's 1-800-215-5001. Online, go to offer rtw.com. That's offer rtw.com or write to us at Running to Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614.

Running to Win comes to you as a ministry of the Moody Church.