Battle of Armageddon - Part 1

The theory of the "Battle of Armageddon" is based on many books contained throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible and in the Nevi'im and Kethuvim of the Tanakh.

(i.e: Psalms 2; Ezekiel 38-39; Daniel 9:27; Joel 2-3; Zephaniah 1-3; Zechariah 12-14; Malachi 4; Revelation 6, 11, 16, 19, 20). 

Purporting to be the ultimate fight between good and evil, the "Battle of Armageddon" is another mysterious prophecy forewarned long ago by the ancients.

During what the Christians refer to  as the "End Times", a seven year period known as "The Great Tribulation" will ensue and mankind will experience a most turbulent world, one like has never been seen before. The seven-year tribulation period will herald in the "fight of all fights". Neither man, woman, nor child will be safe during this era of corruption, murder and natural disasters.

According to some scholars, the Anti-Christ (an agent of Satan) will appear out of a global organization, such as the United Nations (UN) or European Union (EU). He will make a grand entrance into a very vulnerable world.

This person will have the ability to convince many people and nations to follow and worship him. The lies and deceit will be embraced as truth and salvation by many when the Anti-Christ, a suave character of charming persuasion, will be successful in uniting all countries through a long awaited peace treaty will Israel and the Middle East.

The Anti-Christ will rule for seven years. During the first half of the "Great Tribulation" (3.5 years) his world leadership will be embraced by many as that of a savior. Some theologians believe this agent of Satan will be instrumental in having the third Jewish Temple built. His reign on Earth will be viewed as that of an extraordinary and awesome leader. This is the first half of "The Great Tribulation".

The second 3.5 years will become a nightmare as Satan's agent takes complete control and makes the world his own. He will force followers, and those who were struck with awe by his wonderous person, to take a mark on their forehead or their hand which will unknowingly establish a commitment to Satan. Some religions refer to this as the "mark of the beast" (also referred to as the number 666). Any who deny or renounce him will be put to death.

Some scholars today believe a numerical mark is already being established through the products we buy (bar codes) and the credit cards we use (numerical sequences or lines). 

Other theologians believe the "mark of the beast" already occurred during the ancient era of John the Evangelist (also known as John of Patmos). These skeptics claim the "mark" referred to the Roman Emperor Nero, a tyrannical persecutor of Christians, whose Greek name (Neron Caesar) was the numerological equivalent of the beast's number (666).

As the Anti-Christ rules over the world, he will speak blasphemous words against the Creator and inflict intense persecution upon those who do not convert to his sacrilegious ways. 

In Revelation 7:9, it speaks of a "great multitude, which no man could number". 

Many members of the Christian faith believe that great multitude of people will become known as the "tribulation saints" or those who will be left behind after the Christian Evangelical belief in a "Rapture" and come to find faith in Jesus Christ during "The Great Tribulation". 

The state of the world union will continue for the next forty-two months as the Anti-Christ is unleashed on the unsuspecting planet. Then, according to Christian belief, at the end of "The Great Tribulation", the Creator will send His son, Jesus Christ, to confront the evilness and put an end to the interference of Satan. At least for one millennium.

According the the scriptures of the Christian Bible, [after 1,000 years] Satan will be released from the bottomless pit by the mercy of the Creator. A second chance for the Devil to redeem himself to his Creator is supposed to be bestowed upon the angel Lucifer (Satan). But that is another mystery that has yet to be defined.

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while." ~ Revelation 20:1-3

Ultimately, good wins over evil according to the beliefs of Christianity. But exactly when the "Battle of Armageddon" will occur or when it will even begin is anyone's guess. The Christian Bible states: 

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." - Matthew 24:36-37

The "Battle of Armageddon" will conclude next week with Part 2 covering the Jewish and Islamic versions of an "end time battle".