With all the talk about peace efforts in the world today, many people have gotten the impression that we are looking into a benign future, and all of our problems are past. Never make such a mistake! The idea that peace is God's plan for all the world, while mankind continues to wage its rebellion against Him, is totally false. And when we think of it a second time, it is entirely ridiculous.

You and I are moving into a time that will be absolutely amazing. . .a time that has been prophesied for thousands of years! Soon a series of developments shall burst upon us, one after the other, and with increasing rapidily. To the astonishment of an unsuspecting world, almost every circumstance of life will be changed. The Bible says:

"For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape," 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

In just a very short time we may witness the unveiling of scenes that are prophetic in nature, that are devastating as far as the world is concerned, and for which we must certainly be prepared.

That's why we want to take these valuable moments to talk together about what we have called "the battle of Hamon-Gog." We have used the expression "Hamon-Gog" to distinguish this battle from a final, devastating conflict that will end the age, known to all as "the Battle of Armageddon."

The story of "the Battle of Hamon-Gog" represents one of the most exciting set of events found anywhere in all of literature. The Old Testament account of that awful conflict predicts it will bring to pass the end of a certain age, called the Day of Grace, and will bring onto being another age, called the Tribulation. Because signs indicate that the Tribulation may soon burst upon us, we should think together about the Battle of Hamon-Gog.

It is the story, as perhaps you know, given to us in the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekiel. It tells of a massive invasion from an army to the North, as it attempts to overwhelm the entire Middle East. The consequences of that battle will cast their dark shadow for many years to follow. In fact, when we consider the impending fulfillment of this End-Time prophecy, we should catch our breath, as we anticipate the amazing chain of events that may soon take place.

The Gathering Storm

We should take the time to think about this battle from more than one point of view. First of all, let's consider the gathering storm. Just at you can watch the clouds gather before a storm, there are several situations that must come together to make this battle possible. In order to have that battle of Ezekiel 38 take place, we must first have a very remarkable development. God must reach out into 100 nations of the world, and perform one of the most astonishing miracles that could ever be conceived. Namely, He must bring to pass a regathering of the nation of Israel.

Analogously, the Bible talks about this in the sense of God speaking to a valley of dry bones, a virtual cemetary. He calls on these dry bones to live again. He says, that's what it's going to be like with the nation of Israel. When we see Israel regathered into the land, we are watching that set of events which, according to the Old Testament, is the immediate prelude to the Battle of Hamon-Gog. Listen to what the Scripture says about Israel:

". . .Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all," Ezekiel 37:21-22.

This passage goes on to talk about how God would reconstitute a nation that had for all practical purposes disappeared. Has that happened to the nation of Israel? Yes, indeed. For 2,000 years, Israel was just a shadow of a nation, existing only in ghettoes, scattered across the world. But we have lived to see that astonishing prophecy fulfilled, Israel restored to the land of Palestine.

In order to bring about the Battle of Hamon-Gog, we must also have a condition where Israel appears to prosper, and therefore becomes the envy of other nations of the world. In fact, the Scripture says that when the battle begins, the enemy says:

". . .I will go up to the land of unwilling villages; I will go to those who are at rest. . . To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited. . ." Ezekiel 38:11-12.

So at the time of the Battle of Hamon-Gog, we must also have a condition where Israel will have turned that desolate land into a beautiful garden of roses and vines and plenty and prosperity. This, again, is already apparent.

Thirdly, Israel must become provocative in the eyes of the nations of the world. The nations must look at it with envy. They must think of Israel, perhaps, as some kind of a cosmic enemy. There are many evidences that that is taking place in our time as well.

But it's also true that Israel must appear to be undefeated. It must appear to possess riches that then become the envy of the onlooking nations of the world, and especially this nation from the north. Is this happening today? Indeed it is.

By the way, about a nation appearing undefeated, and possessing great riches - did we not see what could happen to a nation like that in the battle for Kuwait? Kuwait, with its immense wealth, was looked upon by Saddam Hussein of Iraq, and he said, "Let's go take that land, because they can't defend themselves."

Any nation of the world that appears to be undefended becomes the potential object of aggression, especially if that nation possesses wealth that may be the desire of those looking on.

That situation, I submit to you, has already developed before our very eyes in the Middle East today. Israel is dwelling safely. Other nations, particularly those mentioned in Scripture, now look upon the nation of Israel with great desire. Who are those nations, and what are their intentions?

Thunder from the North

"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Son of man, set thy face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. . .," Ezekiel 38:1-2.

I know that there are many who wonder about the meaning of that expression, "the chief prince." The Hebrew meaning is "the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal." So what it really says is "the prince of Rosh, Meshech (which is an ancient name for Moscow), and Tubal (which sounds like Tobolsk)."

The leader of this complex, this land called "Rosh" or "Russia," will look with great desire to the south, a desire which will precipitate the battle of Ezekiel 38.

But of course he will not come alone.

"And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Cush and Put (Ethiopia and Libya) with them; all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer, and all its hordes; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all its hordes; and many peoples with thee," Ezekiel 38:4-6.

So the Bible talks about a group of nations that will band together with this great power from the north. To look at a modern-day map provides a stunning picture.

Tiny little Israel hugs the Mediterranean Sea, a lonely sliver of land on the east coast of the Mediterranean. It is already surrounded by tremendous hostility. But if you look beyond her surroundings, and travel due north from the city of Jerusalem, you will arrive at Moscow, "the prince of Rosh." The Bible says he will decide to move against the Middle East, but he won't come alone. He will bring with him an alliance consisting of Iran (that is Persia), Turkey, Gomer (which we believe to be elements of Eastern Germany), and from the south, Ethiopia and Libya.

With the alliance of the nations he will put together, he will think of himself as being invincible.

We should keep in mind that nobody moves to accomplish military aggression unless there are at least two conditions prevailing. One is a desirable prize. You don't go to battle unless there is something that you want to get. Well, that desirable prize is certainly obvious to the discerning observer.

We've already had a number of wars, and one rather recently, Desert Storm, which was all about who controls the oil in the Middle East. That can be a very desirable prize indeed. Plus, Israel would make a perfect land bridge connecting the kingdoms of the north with the oil-rich lands of the Middle East. That prize, namely that nation of Israel, will beguile "the prince of Rosh" to move to the south.

Secondly, when you undertake military action, you also have the presumed absence of effective resistance. You don't go to war against anybody if you're rather sure you will be killed in the process

Now, why hasn't Russia, in days gone by, moved to the attempted conquest of Israel? The answer is, primarily, that the nation of Israel has been protected by a mighty nation with which you are familiar. That nation is the United States of America. It's America's nuclear capability and its willingness to mobilize itself that have protected Israel up until today. The United States has been the number one friend of Israel.

Therefore, we can ask the question, and it's a most scary question to ask, "What has happened to that protection, by the time we see the prince of Rosh move to the south? There are a number of possibilities.

Fire in the Coastlands

Possibility number one is that America will have become the object of some kind of a military blow that will take it out of contention for the battle of the world. I've noticed a verse, in the midst of this military description, in which God refers to the destruction of a vague, unnamed area:

And I will send a fire on Magog, and among those who dwell securely in the coastlands and they shall know that I am the Lord," Ezekiel 39:9.

So God is talking about somebody else, who thinks that he dwells securely, "in the coastlands." That nation will be among the many who feel the effects of this devastating war, and its destruction will testify to spiritual reality as well.

Is it possible that sending a fire to the coastlands may even mean that God would send a fire to the coastlands of the United States? I have some friends who analyzed this, not particularly from a Christian point of view. They have long considered the possibility of America being the object of a nuclear strike, perhaps especially on one part of its coast.

If the city of New York were taken out with one nuclear weapon, it would demoralize America. It would take out its business leadership, but not its manufacturing capability, and it would make America preoccupied with that disaster, at least long enough to forget any obligation to protect the Middle East. This possibility ought not to be discounted.

Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, has said that Russia is the one nation in the world that could still destroy the United States in 30 minutes. In spite of the many rumors of peace and talk about pointing our missiles into the sea, it is a warning which must be remembered.

There are other possibilities that could take the United States out of contention for the world. One in particular is the Rapture of the Church. The Rapture of the Church would have an effect upon every nation of the world, but it would take out many of America's top leaders. With a sudden vacuum of leadership in our government, everyone would be wondering very much what to do, and how to handle the crisis. Perhaps that very confusion will convince the Prince of Rosh to make his move, while the opportunity still prevails.

According to the Scripture, an army moves thunderously from the north in its attempt to conquer the Middle East, and particularly, to destroy the nation of Israel. What will happen then, as a result of that battle?

Well, there are some concomitant developments that we need to keep in mind. Their impact will contribute to the wreckage, and produce a new set of intentions that will overspread the world.

While these events have been going on, with reference to the gathering of Israel, and the positioning of the nations of the world, there will also be, according to the Scripture, a reconstituting of a tremendous, modern-day Roman Empire. That Roman Empire, revived and revised, will produce a very charismatic, communicative, and convincing individual called the Antichrist, the man of sin.

The Bible says that the Antichrist will make a covenant with the nation of Israel. Is that covenant in the offing today? Yes, it is. Israel looks out from that narrow sliver of land and says, "Who can we depend upon to be our friend in the days to come?"

Israel is not now satisfied with the attitude of the United States. Many Israeli publications decry the fact that a new anti-Semitism is gaining strength in the United States, and suggest that Israel must look in new directions to find a real friend. What will Israel do?

Israel will look out from the ramparts of its tiny nation and decide that America cannot be depended upon. All they ever get is "maybe" from America. And so they will look to the emerging empire of Europe, to make a treaty with its rising leader. On the basis of that covenant, Europe, in my opinion, will send an army to the nation of Israel to keep the oil lines open.

When this tremendous invasion comes from the north, the leader of Europe will get a piece of the action, and aid in the destruction of the Russian army. Before an onlooking and amazed world, he will take credit for having saved the world from this last, smashing, irrational outburst from Russia.

Surveying the Wreckage

And my, the wreckage there will be, when Russia and its armies are destroyed! In fact, the description of that ghastly scene is quite pointed in the Scripture.

"And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handspikes, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years," Ezekiel 39:9.

It will take seven years to burn the weapons that are torn from the hands of that awful and beleaguered invading army. It also says:

"And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land," Ezekiel 39:12.

Here is especially where the expression "Hamon-Gog" comes in to play. They will bury them in a place called the "Valley of Hamon-Gog," the multitude of Gog. Those that follow this fierce military leader will in all probability be buried by the millions in this place called "Hamon-Gog."

The result of that battle will not be that the world ends, or the nations are destroyed. But the world will rather reconstitute itself, relieved of the threat from the "prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."

The leader of Europe, out of this amazing victory (which he will claim for himself), will be escalated to world leadership. What will he produce? Peace and plenty and prosperity? No. He will produce a period of time so horrible it is called the Tribulation, which will ultimately mature into the Great Tribulation. The Battle of Hamon-Gog will launch an era that threatens the very existence of life, precipitating the most spectacular event in history: the glorious Return of Jesus Christ.

So the Battle of Hamon-Gog, prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39, will take place on or near the beginning of the Tribulation. It seals the doom of Russia, implies the disintegration of the United States as a world power, and will make possible that set of events whereby the Antichrist is escalated to world power.

"Surely we can bring to pass a time of peace. Surely we are intelligent enough to manage the problems between nations, so as to take away the devastation of war which has occurred so many, many times across the world."

That's the cry, and the plea, of hearts today. "Surely we can put together some kind of a new world order, so we don't have to grind up the nations against one another from time to time." This is certainly the hope in the heart of practically every person. It's certainly the fond hope of the nations of the world today. As never before, they are talking about the utter necessity of peace. They say, "We have nuclear weapons. We have the possibility of exterminating one another. The issue is critical. We must find a way to bring peace on earth." There is enormous pressure along those lines today.

I rather guess that from this day on, we are going to hear more about the utter necessity of world peace than we have heard in most of our lifetimes. Now that fond hope is certainly understood, but it presses the question, "Are we going to have peace?" Will it be possible to bring to pass peace on earth?

I'm afraid that I must answer that question by saying "No." We've got to understand that up front. The Bible says that the world is infected with a dreadful disease called "sin." It makes people wicked. The Scripture says:

"There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked," Isaiah 57:21.

Just when you think you've got peace glued together, along come another person, like an Adolf Hitler, a Saddam Hussein, or a Benito Mussolini, and suddenly the world is embroiled in war again. I'm afraid that I must tell you, that's what we can expect from here on out. There will be many prospects for peace, and on occasion some people may even think that they have peace, but it will invariably end in war. . .devastating war!

The series of wars that will characterize the end time has earned the names "The Prophetic Wars" and "The End-Time Wars," and of these wars, two stand head and shoulders above the rest. The Battle of Hamon-Gog, that you know about, and then there's that awful, culmination battle that will take place, called the Battle of Armageddon.

There's coming a period of time which the Bible calls the Tribulation. That will be a period in which the world will be forced to face up to what it really is. It will be the beginning of an era which is called the Day of the Lord, in which the judgment of God will fall upon man, and man will face the consequences of his attitude of rebellion against God.

Jacob's Trouble

The Tribulation, which could begin in the very near future, is called by a very special name in the Word of God. The Prophet Jeremiah says:

"Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it," Jeremiah 30:7.

So in thinking of the Battle of Armageddon, which will bring to pass the consummation of the Tribulation, we must consider it in light of a set of activities which the Bible calls "Jacob's trouble." Now how does this work?

The nation of Israel is already back in its land in the Middle East. It is surrounded by trouble already. Israel has always had to think in terms of making an alliance with somebody, in order to survive and be protected. What's happening now is that Israel is becoming disillusioned with its old friends, like the United States.

When the Bible speaks about the advent of the Antichrist, the "prince that shall come," it says:

"And he shall confirm the covenant with many (the word is 'the many,' meaning Israel) for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate," Daniel 9:27.

The Bible says that there will be a covenant between the nation of Israel and another protector. That protector will make that covenant on the basis of guaranteeing the borders of Israel against its enemies, moving to the defense of the nation of Israel.

We can picture how that happens. Israel is surrounded by an infinity of hatred from the Arab world. Israel has depended upon the United States to be its protector, and in fact, its only friend in the world. But there must come a time when even that friend, the United Staes, is no longer thought by Israel to be reliable. That time is now. "Will you help us?" is the question that the Israelis have asked, and the recent answers from America have been a definite "Maybe."

"Maybe" is not good enough when your life is at stake. It has to be "Yes." I tell you, because the Bible tells you, you can count on Israel looking for another protector. She will look across the world and say, "Who can we depend upon? Who will help us stay alive in these times of trouble that continue to come upon us?"

That person emerges. He is the leader of Europe. He is called in the Bible "the prince that shall come" has an interest in Israel, because his oil, his energy supply, comes out of the Middle East. So he has to make a covenant with the nation of Israel to keep that supply going.

Israel has a very definite interest in a new, strong protector. They will ask the question, "What is the new, emergent political force in the world? Who will be strongest tomorrow?" Their answer to that question will be "Europe."

Europe is already coming together as a United States of Europe. In soft, cooing tones, Israel will court "the prince that shall come." They will say, "Let's be friends. We don't just want to be a Mideast power, we want to be a Mediterranean power."

So they make a deal with the leader of Europe. That deal is a covenant. If you'll notice by looking at a map, the only really practical place for a landfall by which the military powers of Europe could move into the Middle East is by having that landfall in the nation of Israel.

From there, they could reach out, and with military force, protect the oil pipelines that feed Europe its energy. So they make a deal with the nation of Israel. That deal is, "We will protect you, and guarantee your borders, and we will not let those hostile Arabs take over and overwhelm you. In return, you will give us the opportunity of operating militarily out of the nation of Israel."

Now the Antichrist, the leader of Europe, will make many other promises to the nation of Israel: "We will help you rebuild the temple. We will establish you as a respectable nation across the world. You can count on us as being partners in progress." (The Antichrist will be vey persuasive!)

What will happen to that covenant? Will it become a key to peace, an alliance between Israel and the nations of Europe? The answer to that question can mean a lot to you and me.

With just a touch of memory, most of us will be able to remember that practically every dictator who came to pass in the history of the world did so at the promise of peace, "Elect me, put me into power, and I will guarantee that there will be peace in the world."

Usually, the promise of that dictator has been peace on the basis of national supremacy. So it was with Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and all of these. But no matter what voice bore the message, the promise of peace has always been the cry of the world.

In international conferences all across the world, the speakers who are making the strongest impression, drawing the longest applause, are those who are talking about peace. They all claim to have a plan whereby the nations of the world will get together once again. (And by the way, when have the nations of the world ever been together?)

And so it is that Israel will court the king of Europe, the one who leads an 10-nation complex and aspires to rule the world. Israel will chase him until he catches her! And according to Scripture, their unholy arrangement will produce the ultimate tragey for Israel: a time which is called "Jacob's trouble." What happens?

According to the Prophet Damiel, this covenant that is made between the Antichrist and the nation of Israel becomes just another broken promise. "He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week" (Daniel 9:27). That is a week of years. It is a seven-year period that the Antichrist guarantees to be friends with Israel. "And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." That's an interesting expression. He helps the people of Israel build the temple, and he even appears to agree that Israel represents the true religion. And so the temple is built.

But that temple becomes such an attraction to the world - an embodiment of the Judeo-Christian heritage - that the Antichrist says, "Look, I can use the temple for my own purposes. I can use it to make the world recognize who I truly am - not just a man, but God."

So, he will break that covenant that he has made with Israel. He will say, "This is not the true worship, but a prelude to the true worship. I represent the one true God in human form, and have come to you for the purpose of producing peace on earth, and goodwill toward men."

So he breaks the covenant that he had with the nation of Israel. The Bible says that he makes an image of himself - an image, by the way, that is able to speak. He places that image in the temple. The Antichrist, and the image that he leaves there, sit in the temple, "showing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

This is too much for the believing remnant of Israel. They can't stand this gross blasphemy, even from a friend, and so they rebel against him. And that rebellion is what really brings to pass "Jacob's trouble," and causes Israel to become the object of a tremendous persecution on the part of the Antichrist.

There will be days of carnage. Israel's cycle of discipline is not done as yet. A very high percetage of the population of Israel will be killed by the Antichrist. The rest will flee, possibly into the rose-red city of Petra. Israel will have pressed upon her a terrible time of persecution.

But during that time, Zechariah says, God will open to Israel a fountain of cleansing (Zechariah 13:1). Israel will think about itself and about its God. Israel then will have a special dispensation of grace opened up to them. In fact, the Bible says:

"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends," Zechariah 13:6.

And so Romans Chapter 11 says "And so all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26). Out of that persecution, God brings to pass, not a terrible consequence, but a blessed consequence. These stubborn members of the nation of Israel, who so long have resisted Divine grace, who God calls a "stiffnecked people," will suddenly realize how wrong they have been. They will accept Christ as their Messiah and King, and will become Christians.

But there is an occurrence that takes place in the midst of all of this, that I think could be very provocative. It produces a tremendous indignation across the world. Let me make a suggestion as to what that occurrence is.

A Cry Among the Nations

Babylon is still around. Iraq, which as you know is the modern name of Babylon, has been in part destroyed as a result of "an assembly of great nations" (Jeremiah 50:9). We believe that prophecy found its fulfillment in the war called Desert Storm. But the Bible says there are three entities that will destroy Babylon: that "assembly of great nations," a single great nation to the north, and then Israel will be used to deal the final deadly blow to the land of Babylon.

"At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations," Jeremiah 50:46.

There will be a cry of indignation that comes, because Babylon is attacked and destroyed. In my judgment, Israel will finally be brought to the place where it must use nuclear capability against Babylon. It will organize a nuclear strike against the land of Babylon, bringing the whole place to an ignominious end.

The nations, just about ready to promise peace on earth and goodwill, just about ready to say, "We have completed our plan under the leadership of the Antichrist," are tremendously indignant. The nations of the world set up a cry against the people of Israel. The result of that will be one of the most astonishing gatherings of actions that has ever happened in the history of the world. The Bible says that every nation will put together a segment of that mighty army and they will finally march. They will march to the Middle East for the purpose of going against Israel, and against the city of Jerusalem.

As a consequence of the nations of the world gathering against the city of Jerusalem, there will be a tremendous result, so spectacular that you could never make a movie about it. It will be a marvelous form of Divine intervention that will come to pass for the whole world to see.

It is my judgment that by that time, as the Tribulation moves along, the nations of the world will be scarred by the End-Time Wars, totally disillusioned by it all, and yet utterly convinced that humanism and atheism are the only thing to believe. They will have organized a common, one-world religion, with the ungodly world ruler at its head. It will be an anti-God proposition all the way.

The drift of the world into total insanity will finally culminate in the nations of the world, indignant against Israel, against God, and against Judeo-Christian heritage, actully bring to pass a vast international army, to launch an all-out attack against the nation of Israel.

"The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the peoples round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem," Zechariah 12:1-2

Describing this, David, in the second Psalm, speaks with indignation, and says:

"Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us," Psalm 2:1-3

"Let us be free of the influence of God" is what the nations will say. So they come together against the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, in a vain attempt to once and for all do away with the Judeo- Christian heritage. It will be an all-out attempt to break what they see as the last connection between God and the world!

They will march against Jerusalem. We have seen that at that time, God says:

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. . .," Zechariah 12:10.

And that will be a touchstone of their conversion.

"In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness," Zechariah 13:1.

This results in the conversion of Israel, who will find herself in a seemingly hopeless position, with all the nations of the world arrayed against Jerusalem. All this will transpire in the final days of the Tribulation. And what will happen? Israel, having been converted, will fall on its knees to say to God, "This is too much for us. We can't handle this. It looks like the end of everything."

Invasion from Heaven

But, it is not the end of everything. It will, in a very real sense, be the beginning of everything! The event that marks the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of hope for the future, is the terrible Battle of Armageddon.

The Battle of Armageddon will be in various stages as it moves up to Jerusalem. A 200-million-man army, led by the Kings of the East (Revelation 9:16; 16:12), will move into the Plains of Jezreel, where it will be virtually destroyed. Finally, the remaining armies will gather against Jerusalem, and it will look as if things are hopeless, that the devil and the Antichrist will indeed win. But what does the Bible say?

"And I saw heaven opened and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies that were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean," Revelation 19:11-14.

Now there's an astonishing development: a massive invasion of armies from Heaven, led by a returning Christ. Who are those armies? Jude says:

". . .Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints," Jude 14.

A saint, of course, is any one who has believed the Gospel. The army that comes with Christ, "clothed in fine linen," is comprised of the saints of God: believing people of all ages, who have come to know Christ as Savior.

You and I will be a part of that army that will produce the final conquest of the world in the name of Jesus Christ. What a beautiful destiny is ours!

My advice is, do not believwe in the world's program to bring peace simply on the basis of humanistic philosophy. But rather, believe, as the Bible says, that finally the world will run out of its capacity to be indignant against God. The world will be conquered by an invasion from Heaven in which Christ will be the leader, and you and I will play a part. What a marvelous destiny lies ahead, then, for every believing Christian! In the light of that day, even this day, remember that you can walk in triumph for our soon-coming Savior.

Join the Army on the Winning Side

The most marvelous privilege in the whole world is to be a Christian. When you are a Christian, you know that you have Heaven before you, God's gift of everlasting life. And no matter what happens, you will be with Jesus Christ.

Don't you want to be saved? You can be. The Bible says believe on Christ, and you will be saved. It tells us that He died for you; that He rose again; that He is the Son of God; and that He is returning again to save the world. Would you like to receive Him today, knowing that He will save you? If so, pray this prayer, and believe God to make salvation real to your own heart.

Heavenly Father, I know that I'm a sinner, and that I need Jesus as my personal Savior. I want to receive Him now. Please bring to my heart the assurance of salvation. I pray in Jesus' Name, Amen."

If you've prayed that prayer meaningfully, you are now a Christian - a Child of God! The prospect of End-Time War is not a threat to you, as you know you will be a member of the victorious army of Jesus Christ.