If you’ve just tuned in, you are listening to a special UNIVERSAL NEWS BROADCAST. We are recapping the major past events, from Israel’s rebirth through the Tribulation and destruction of the world during the Battle of Armageddon.
Note: The Mount of Olives was located on the east side of the narrow Kidron Valley and the Temple Mount. It was approximately 300 feet higher than the Temple Mount. The Old City wall of Jerusalem was across the valley to the west.
The Mount of Olives was one of three mountains that were joined together. These were Mt. Scopus to the north, with a height of 2710 feet; the Mt. of Olives at 2678 feet; and to the south, the Mt. of Corruption at 2451 feet.
On the eastern side of the Mt. of Olives was the Judean desert. Part of the western side of the Mt. of Olives was covered with approximately 150,000 graves.
Opposite the Mt. of Olives was the Old City wall, which included the Eastern Gate. No one could enter the Temple Mount from this gate, as it was sealed shut on the outer eastern side.
Within the Eastern Gate was a large room with a high ceiling and a door on the western side that led to the Temple Mount. This was used by the Arabs before the Tribulation. Classes, among other things, were held inside at times.
When Jesus returned, His feet stood upon the Mount of Olives. As His feet touched down, the mount split in two. Half of the mountain moved north, and the other part moved south. This formed a very large valley or canyon that ran in an east and west direction.
There was a fault there that was ready for the feet of Jesus to touch down.
Then the chosen ones of God fled to the valley of the mountains. That valley reached to AZAL.
The Lord (that is, the Redeemer) came down to Zion. He fought for Mount Zion and for the hill thereof.
It was the Day of the Lord’s vengeance. It was the year of retribution to uphold Zion’s cause.
God redeemed Zion with justice.
He saved Zion, which was located just southwest of the Old City, outside of the present Old City wall.
Upon mount Zion, there was deliverance.
Out of Zion, the deliverer came. He turned away ungodliness from Jacob. This was His covenant to them, when He took away their sins. And so it was, that all that were left of Israel were saved.
This was the judgment of Israel at His coming.
As already covered, the Antichrist had previously stood up against Jesus, but had been broken by spiritual power. Jesus had consumed him with the breath of His mouth and destroyed him with the brightness of His coming. Both the Antichrist and the False Prophet had already been cast alive into the lake of fire. Their power had been broken, taken away and completely destroyed.
In the day of the Lord’s return, He poured on the house of David and people of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and humbleness, humility, and prayer. The people looked upon Jesus, Whom they had pierced. They cried bitterly in the same way one cries over their firstborn son. In that day, the weeping in Jerusalem was great.
When Jesus returned, He was glorified in His saints. Jesus received glory from those that believed (as a result of the “Word” being believed) in that day.
It is written, 2 Thes 1:10-WHEN HE (Jesus) SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, AND TO BE ADMIRED (or marveled at) IN ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE (BECAUSE OUR TESTIMONY AMONG YOU WAS BELIEVED) IN THAT DAY.
Ps 98:1-O SING UNTO THE LORD A NEW SONG; FOR HE HATH DONE MARVELLOUS THINGS: HIS RIGHT HAND, AND HIS HOLY ARM, HATH GOTTEN HIM THE VICTORY.
It was written, Ps 5:5-THOU HATEST ALL WORKERS OF INIQUITY.
The Lord saved the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants would not be greater than that of Judah.
The Lord fought for His people against their enemies, and so will they sing and praise His power.
Then, as birds flying, the Lord defended Jerusalem. He preserved it. All that had chosen to fight against Jerusalem were cut to pieces. Their flesh rotted away while they stood on their feet. Their eyes rotted or disintegrated in their sockets, and their tongue rotted away in their mouth.
(God’s People Were Strong)
As the Battle of Armageddon transpired, the leaders of Judah believed that the people who lived in Jerusalem would be their strength, because the Lord was their God.
In the Day of the Lord, the Lord’s people were strong.
In the Day of the Lord’s return, God made the leaders of Judah strong. They consumed the people around them. Jerusalem remained intact.
Jesus poured upon the house of David and the people of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplications.
In the Day of the Lord’s return, the weakest among those of Jerusalem were like David. The angel of the Lord went before them. The Lord defended the people of Jerusalem, so that even the feeble among them were strong like David. Judah also fought at Jerusalem.
Jesus made the leaders of Judah like a firepot among the woodpile. He made them like a flaming torch of fire in a sheaf. They consumed all the people around them on the right and left.
Then the fourth and last of the huge earthquakes struck the entire planet. The great city of Jerusalem was divided into three parts.
Jesus thundered from heaven. He uttered His voice before His army, which was very great. With the breath of His lips he slayed the wicked. Like a warrior, a mighty man of war, He shouted and uttered the battle cry out of Zion against His enemies.
The Day of the Lord was very terrible. Who could endure it?
The greatest weapons of mass destruction that had ever been created were now set to try and destroy Jesus Christ and His armies as they returned; weapons, they thought, could defeat any adversary.
Among these weapons were lasers, guided by radar, that could fire a destructive beam at the speed of light. It could disintegrate whatever it hit. There were great missiles in Israel, as well as in the sky above.
There were the awesome weapons used by the Kings of the East at the Euphrates River, as they were marching to Israel. These had caused one-third of the world’s population to die; however, no weapon ever created was able to have any effect on Jesus Christ.
Jesus returned. Among all the dark clouds, a white cloud, and Jesus sat on it. He had a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle. He was ready to judge, for the harvest was completely ripe. Sin had reached the point that was beyond full. The people were as wicked as they could be.
It appeared an angel gave instructions to Christ from God the Father. These appeared to be urgent instructions, which said, “Do not delay.”
But what happened next was almost beyond comprehension. Jesus did not use one or two weapons. He used every destructive force of nature, together, at the same time. The result was immense devastation. Jesus roared out of Zion. He spoke from Jerusalem.
He struck the earth with His Word. He went forth with flames of fire.
The battle at Judah and Jerusalem was over. The enemies of the Lord had been destroyed.
The Battle of Armageddon at Megiddo was next. It followed immediately after the battle at Judah and Jerusalem.
It was written: Rev 16:16-21-AND HE GATHERED THEM TOGETHER INTO A PLACE CALLED IN THE HEBREW TONGUE ARMAGEDDON. The armies of the world had been gathered.
This was also referred to as the great WINEPRESS.
Multitudes of people were gathered together in Israel for the Battle of Armageddon, to fight against Jesus. They were as fully ripened grapes that were gathered and thrown into a winepress. Then this multitude (hundreds of millions of people) were crushed as grapes. The blood of the harvest was deep. The winepress is the place called Armageddon, and the area in which the blood flowed stretched all the way to Bozrah.
Jesus had said: I HAVE TRODDEN THE WINEPRESS ALONE; AND OF THE PEOPLE THERE WAS NONE WITH ME: FOR I WILL TREAD THEM IN MINE ANGER, AND TRAMPLE THEM IN MY FURY; AND THEIR BLOOD SHALL BE SPRINKLED UPON MY GARMENTS.
Zech 12:11-IN THAT DAY…THERE was a GREAT MOURNING IN JERUSALEM, AS THE MOURNING OF HADAD-RIMMON IN THE VALLEY OF MEGIDDON.
Generally, an ancient winepress was a large circular or rectangular stone basin about three feet deep. Fully ripened grapes were cut from the vine with a sharp instrument, gathered, and emptied into this structure.
People would then enter and stomp the grapes with their feet, crushing them completely so every bit of juice was released. It then flowed down through a run-off drain into a container where it was collected.
This was a picture of the Battle of Armageddon in Israel.
In the Valley of Megiddo in Israel, there were all sorts of armor and vehicles. There were missiles, lasers, and the most advanced detection equipment ever created. There were destructive annihilation beams that could obliterate objects. These beams traveled at app. 186,000 miles a second—the speed of light.
Overhead there were aircraft, both large and small, many of which could fly much faster than the speed of sound.
Above the earth, there were weapons of mass destruction and satellites. There were areas, it was believed, that no object could penetrate without being destroyed.
It was a fearsome day, a day of thick clouds and darkness upon the earth.
The Lord went forth to fight. The Lord fought with His Word.
Jesus had gathered all nations and assembled the kingdoms. He had brought His guests.
As the morning came, there was a strong and great people upon the mountains of Israel. They were unlike anything that had ever been before. They were like a great lion.
The Word of God had portrayed them as having the teeth of a lion. In the history of the world, there had never been any like them.
The kings of the earth and their armies were gathered in Israel to fight against the Lord Jesus.
God had gathered them into a place called in the Hebrew tongue ARMAGEDDON (or Har Megiddo). This was the Valley of Megiddo.
Megiddo (or Har Megiddo) or the place called Armageddon, was a large hill or mound of ruins from ancient times (called a “tel”). It sat on the edge of a vast plain, known as Esdraelon or the Jezreel Valley. This fertile farmland of northern Israel, extended to the Jordan Valley. The great armies of the world were gathered here.
Their numbers (or armies) stretched from the Valley of Megiddo, down to the Jordan Valley, and all the way to Bozrah—a distance of about 161 miles. The armies had also extended up to Jerusalem into the Valley of JEHOSHAPHAT.
This was the area that the Lord pleaded or contended with the armies of the world for His heritage, Israel; the nations that had parted God’s land.
These were great men of war that had been well-trained and handled powerful and terrifying weapons. They were without number, that is, hundreds of millions.
There were multitudes and multitudes in the valley.
The sin of the world was at its fullest. The harvest was ripe. The winepress was full. Their wickedness was great. The precise time for complete ripeness (or fully ripe) was at hand. It was the exact time for those in Megiddo to be trampled and crushed in the great winepress.
The patience of Jesus Christ had ended. The fierceness and wrath of Almighty God was immediate.
First, the grapes (the wicked) were cut off the vine. Then they were cast into the great winepress.
The grapes (or people) of the earth were cast into the “great” winepress of the wrath and fury of God.
Mankind had chosen to obey and follow after everything possible that was wicked, unrighteous, unclean and hateful. Upon such people, the wrath of God came.
However, throughout His fury against the wicked, He did not forsake those that sought Him. This included those of Egypt.
Jesus spoke and His sword devoured flesh.
The arrows of Jesus were drunk with blood.
His sword devoured much flesh.
Their blood that came out was deep.
Jesus washed His clothes in the blood of grapes.
The eyes of Christ had become red, and His teeth were white.
Angels had come forth out of the altar which had power over fire.
A sharp sickle was thrust in, as the sin of man was fully ripe.
All was ready to be cut. The winepress was to be trampled.
Nothing was able to deliver the multitude of the unrighteous in the Day of the Lord. Sin was removed from the land in one day. Everything was brought low.
Fire went before Jesus. It burned up His enemies on every side.
People were screaming for fear, hoping they might some how be hid from Christ, and from His anger and fury.
The mountains melted like wax before the Lord.
The mountains were melted with the blood of the dead.
Some hid in caves in the nearby mountains. They were crying out for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from Jesus Christ. Many were crushed.
Those that had been confident, just a short time before, were now so afraid that some fell over dead from sheer fright.
Before this happened, the people had no understanding of how horrifying the Day of the Lord would be.
They had no understanding of what was ahead.
They had no understanding the earth was going to be reshaped.
They had no understanding that the mountains would no longer exist.
They did not understand that, at the end of the Battle of Armageddon, there would be few people left alive.
No weapon, no amount of gold or silver—nothing was able to save or deliver the wicked in that Day of the Lord.
Those that had plundered others, now became plunder.
The soldiers were screaming and terrified, as they died.
The enemies of Jesus were devoured with fire. The sword of the Lord was filled with blood.
Then a great panic or madness came upon the people from the Lord.
They went berserk.
They went mad, and then began to seize and attack each other.
Others ran for their lives.
The camels, horses, mules, and other animals did the same.
There was pandemonium.
Even neighbors attacked each other with their weapons.
The people’s blood was poured out like dust. Their flesh was as dung.
As already said, the fury of the Lord was upon the armies of the world, which had come to Israel. He had delivered them to the slaughter.
Then at Megiddo and throughout the area that stretched about 161 miles, something strange happened.
The armies of the world in Israel were as grapes thrown into a great winepress, and then trampled on again and again. The armies of the world were crushed. Their blood gushed out of their bodies. The blood in the areas from Megiddo to Bozrah was deep.
Rev 14:20-AND THE WINEPRESS WAS (trampled) (outside) THE CITY (which is, Jerusalem), AND BLOOD (flowed) OUT OF THE WINEPRESS, (rising) EVEN UNTO (or as high as) THE HORSE BRIDLES, BY THE SPACE OF A THOUSAND AND SIX HUNDRED FURLONGS (or approximately 161 miles or longer).
It was written in the Scriptures, in Rev 15:4-WHO SHALL NOT FEAR THEE, O LORD?
The sword of the Lord came down upon the land of Idumea. There was a great slaughter there. The Lord had a sacrifice in Bozrah. The sword of the Lord was filled with blood. The land was soaked with blood.
Then there was the noise of the thunders of the lightnings and the noise of the earth quaking. The noise was so loud that the screams of the soldiers could barely be heard.
Huge hailstones began to fall. Each weighed about 70 to 100 pounds.
Then the greatest earthquake came to pass since man had been on the earth. This was the 4th and last one. This transformed Jerusalem, Israel, and the whole earth.
(This should also be covered under the topic of Armageddon and the earth.)
The birds were summoned to the supper of the great God. They ate the flesh of kings, and generals, and of captains, and the flesh of both small and mighty and great men. They ate the flesh of both the free and bond men, and slaves. They ate the flesh of horses.
The birds and animals had a great feast. They were filled with the flesh of the dead.
The birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
Those protected by God, the remnant, gave glory to God.
Thus, the battle was in the areas of Megiddo to Jerusalem in Israel, but also to Bozrah.
It was also all over the world. As already mentioned, the entire world had rebelled against Christ.
Israel was judged at the coming of Jesus.
In the final count, regarding the Judgment of Israel during the Tribulation, two parts had been cut off and died, BUT THE THIRD were LEFT.
When Jesus returned, He destroyed the sinners out of the land. Those that had forsaken the Lord were consumed.
Jesus came to turn them from their transgressions. Upon the house of David and Jerusalem, the Lord poured out the Spirit of grace; as it was written, SO ALL ISRAEL was SAVED (or all that were left alive). This was the Judgment of Israel at the coming of Jesus.
After Armageddon was over, Jesus then reigned and ruled the entire earth, from Jerusalem, for one thousand years.