My dear friend, we are seeing the signs everywhere of the coming of that Great and terrible day of the LORD as prophesied in the Bible (Joel 2:31). The specific verse which cites the battle to which you refer is found in Revelation 16:16, and I will quote verses 15-16 here in the New King James version of the Bible: “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.”

I do indeed believe that the nations of the world are headed for a great time of judgment, a period of tribulation upon the earth…the final event of which will be the battle of Armageddon. As to the judgment of the nations, the world has been warned as we read in Acts 17:30-31: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” (Some OT prophesies include Joel, Zechariah 14, Daniel 9, Malachi 3 and 4, and several other Scriptures).

The Bible prophesies regarding the end times are many, but I will attempt to give a brief outline of the key events.  First of all, we know from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and also John 14:1-3 that the Lord Jesus will return someday soon to the clouds, and at that time, He will take up all the true believers in Christ (the Rapture), both the living and those who have died in Christ, to meet Him in the air.  Thus, the church in its universal sense will at that time be removed from the earth to heaven to be with the Lord forever. This will include the New Testament saints, those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and as well, the Old Testament saints, those who looked forward in faith to the coming of Messiah as the consolation of Israel. After this has happened, a period of 7 years of time will begin called the “Tribulation.” The Morrish Bible Dictionary describes the final 3.5 years of this time of tribulation as follows: “the Lord spoke of a distinct period of distress, such as never had been, or should be again (Matthew 24:21-29.) These verses refer to a great tribulation that shall fall upon the Jews in a future day: cf. Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 12:1.”  For more about this time of tribulation, see Daniel 9:24-27, and Revelation 6 through 16. As to Armageddon, I this battle occurs at the end of the Tribulation Period as we read in Revelation 16:17: “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”

Despite how things might appear on the news, neither the Tribulation nor Armageddon have as yet begun. First, the church will be removed to heaven, then the Tribulation Period will begin, with wickedness multiplying on the earth, the arrival of the antichrist and the beast (Revelation 12 and 13), and all the righteous judgments being poured out on the nations. The fact that the church is yet on the earth as I write this response tells me that the end times, though perhaps near at hand, are not yet. The body of true believers, Christians making up the body of Christ, the Church, will be caught up to be with the Lord in the clouds prior to the coming of this Tribulation Period and so will not experience this terrible period of time (Revelation 3:10), the last 3 years of which will be particularly hard on Israel. For more verses regarding this tribulation period, Revelation 12 and 13 speak of the antichrist and the beast, and Revelation 16 speaks of the final judgments being poured out, culminating with the battle of Armageddon, where Satan moves the unbelieving of the nations to take up arms against the Lord Himself when Christ Jesus returns to the earth in power and glory.

In summary, Christ Jesus will return to the earth in power to put down all His enemies and to establish His millennial kingdom (See Zechariah 14; Malachi 3 and 4). From the Scriptures, we see that this battle of which you inquire marks the end of the Tribulation Period, and as the Tribulation cannot begin until the church is taken to heaven, the Tribulation and the final battle are yet in the future. However, that day is coming, and Armageddon will mark the time when Christ defeats all His enemies, who have gathered together at Armageddon to prevent Him, and then Christ will sit down on David’s throne to rule in righteousness for 1,000 years.

My dear friend, and all who may be reading this response, are you saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)? You must come to know the Lord Jesus as your Savior from the judgment to come while there is yet time; otherwise, you will know Him as your judge in some future day. There will be a few saved for earthly blessings out of the Tribulation, but that will be a time of terrible trouble. Now, my friends, is the time to be saved (see John 3:16; John 5:24, and John 1:12).  (SF)  (686.1)