Revelation 14:14-20 portrays the battle of Armageddon two different ways: First the ripe harvest—sinners fully ripe for judgment, like wheat in a field. The second account of Armageddon describes that battle as the treading of grapes in a winepress, revealing that in that final battle of this evil age the carnage will be so great that blood from men and animals will come up to the horse bridle level for nearly 200 miles. That battle will take place in the valley of Megiddo—hence the name Armageddon—with mountains on each side; limiting the width of that blood alley. It will take Israel 7 months to bury all the bones (Ezekiel 39:12).
The few Gentile survivors of that final battle will go into the Millennium (Isaiah 66:19, Zechariah 14:16). These prophecies will all come to pass! Remember, I said those Trumpet Judgments will be a step up in intensity from the seal judgments. You will also notice that each set will contain seven divine judgments. That third set of divine judgments, the seven bowl judgments, will complete the wrath of God (Revelation 15:1). Those seven will be by far the most painful and destructive of the three sets and will affect Antichrist’s kingdom subjects more than any other group of people in that last seven years of this age.. They will be so intense that even heaven itself will be affected. The smoke of God’s glory will fill the heavenly temple, and no one will be able to enter that temple until all seven of those final plagues fulfil their mission on earth. This is not science fiction or religious imagination. All of it will happen in time. The first of the seven judgment bowls of God’s wrath poured out on the earth in the Great Tribulation will be a foul and painful sore affecting only those humans who have the mark of the beast—the Antichrist—and who worship his image. Whereas that may seem to be unusually cruel to those people for such a seemingly harmless activity, just remember that Jesus said that no man can serve two masters. Those people who serve the Antichrist will actually be serving the devil. And think: If that Bible Truth was true 2,000 years ago, and will still be in force during the Tribulation, it is obviously in effect today. (Just giving the reader something to seriously consider.) Second bowl: The angel will pour out his bowl on the ocean, and the entire ocean will become blood like a dead man’s blood—coagulated. And, every living creature in the ocean will die. Thus, nature itself will be affected by some of those final plagues. If that blood-plague will be a mere symbol, then whatever it will be a symbol of, it will still have the literal effect of killing all sea creatures. And, even if some of the prophetic details are obviously symbolic, the symbols are explained either in Revelation or some other Bible book. Thus, the book of Revelation must be taken both literally and seriously (Revelation 1:3, 22:6, 10, 18-19). Again, remember that each set of seven divine judgments will become more intense than the previous set. Just as human beings will become more evil and corrupt toward the end time, so will God’s judgments upon their evil and corruption also become more unbearable: Revelation 16:10 says that the bearers of the beast’s mark or number will gnaw their tongues for pain. But the craziest thing will be that despite those miseries those people will bring upon themselves—for their rebellion will be the occasion for the judgments—they will still not repent, but instead blaspheme God for all those plagues (Revelation 16:11). We have covered only two of those seven last great plagues, and the earth is already in a mess. And, each succeeding plague will become more intense!
(Ron Craig is pastor, teacher and author of Christian books; and these articles. You may view all the books by logging onto www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged on the website you can even listen to audio Bible-lesson podcasts. You may also send your questions or comments to ronwritercraig@gmail.com)
