The Appointed Day--Part 5

We’ve seen that the Last Day, the 7th Day in God’s prophetic great Week, is the Appointed Day, the Day of the Lord. We commonly know it as Christ’s millennial reign, for He reigns over the earth for that 1,000-year Day. As joint-heirs, the Body of Christ reigns with Him, the Bridegroom and the Bride fully united as one at the rapture. 
 
We’ve seen that the first 31/2 years of this reign coincides with the Wrath of that Day and God’s vengeance against evil. Our righteous rulings bring judgment to the earth and the one-world order of the Antichrist and his evil forces. This treading of the enemy was foreshadowed in the Old Testament when God raised up Judges to deliver Israel from her enemies, and then bring righteous rule to the kingdom. 
 
What looks like World War III to the world is what we like to call Operation Consume and Destroy (2 Thessalonians 2:8). On the earth, as a result of Israel finally accepting Jesus as the Messiah, the latter rain outpouring of the Spirit empowers them to become mighty men of valor.
 
They are backed up by our heavenly intercession and declarations of God’s will. For out of our mouths comes a two-edged sword that strikes the nations. The 7 angels with 7 trumpets “sound” upon the earth with God’s vengeance. For the King of kings and the Lord of lords will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (Revelation 19:15-16).
 
The rest of chapter 19 describes the mop-up operation, known as the Supper of the Great God. The beast (Antichrist) and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is bound in the Pit, a compartment of Hades (Hell) for the time being. More on that later.
 
The war is over. Israel is restored as the natural head of the nations. We continue to reign with Christ over the earth, ruling with a rod of iron. Iron means strength, for the people of the earth still have a fallen nature, unless they have received Jesus as their personal Savior. It is always a matter of faith.
 
Does this ending of the war surprise you? You may have been taught that it ends at the Battle of Armageddon instead of the Supper of the Great God. That idea comes from one reference in Revelation 16, just before the 7th bowl judgment is unleashed.
 
The BibleStudyTools.com website explains that Armageddon is a Hebrew word, although it does not occur in the Old Testament. Its meaning is not exactly clear, but it is best taken to mean Mount Megiddo, since "Har" in Hebrew means mountain and "Mageddon" is the place-name of Megiddo. The passage in chapter 16 describes it as the staging area for the Antichrist’s armies.
 
That one verse has been taken out of context and has become a man-made momentous event that is not scriptural. Why does this matter? Because this non-battle is said to be the marker for the equally unscriptural views of the end-times sequence of events.
 
It’s time to let God’s Word determine the sequence. It’s time to be in the know.

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