Introduction: In 2008 Todd Bentley became
an overnight sensation after being promoted online 24:7 by the God Channel.
This year Mike Bickle’s group the International House of Prayer,
(I.H.O.P) have rapidly grown in influence after receiving the same exposure.
I doubt whether many people realise exactly what is being taught behind
the scenes at I.H.O.P though. The primary focus of this article is therefore
Mike Bickle’s teaching on a violent Messiah returning to earth,
a person who bears no resemblance at all to Jesus Christ of the bible.
Towards the end we look briefly at how this fits in with I.H.O.Ps central
teaching on the Bridal Paradigm. This study is taken from Bickle’s
twenty page transcript on his website, (link). I have also included the
full version of this transcript, copied in October 2010, at the end of
this article. All scriptures were taken from the N.K.J.V.
1 Thess 5; 21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
Mike Bickle’s teaching from the transcript “Armageddon Campaign:
The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty,” from “Armageddon
and the Second Coming of Christ,” (link).
A violent Jesus: Bickle depicts a brutal, violent Christ who is nothing
like the Jesus the Gospels or Book of Acts describe as being raised from
the dead. Bickle’s version of Jesus returns to earth and then personally
butchers to death masses of people, physically killing them with his
own hands. Bickle states that, quote; “For some of you, this is
new” (p. 10), “Jesus kills people, their blood will splash
up on His garments... it is gruesome,” (p.9), “this is not
figurative,” (p. 9), “He is intimately involved in the battle
killing people, and their blood spurts up on Him,” (p. 10), “and
the blood gets on Him. That is in the second coming,” (p.10). Mike
Bickle claims that this is why Rev 19; 13 states that Jesus’ is “clothed
in a robe dipped in blood.” Bickle has been deceived by taking
prophetic symbolism as if it were literal. As a result I.H.O.P has fallen
into great error and an earthbound, false doctrine on the Second Coming
and the very person and nature of Jesus Christ Himself.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart
from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” (1
Tim 4: 1).
Bloodshed: Bickle claims that this violent Jesus will fight in battle
just as King David did. However, the scripture’s tell us that God
would not allow King David to build Him a temple because he had killed
people in battle; instead the work was left to his son Solomon because
he was a man of peace. This reflects Gods view on these matters and what
a great error Bickle has made in this teaching.
“And David said to Solomon: “the word of the Lord came to
me, saying, “You have shed much blood and have made great wars;
you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood
on the earth in my sight,” (1 Chron 22; 7, 8).
[I made this additional note in Jan 2011, after some feedback from others,
to give a little extra context to Bickle’s teaching. We know that
in the end times the armies of the Antichrist will be equipped with modern
weapons of warfare, i.e. jet fighters, nuclear weapons, machine guns,
tanks and armoured vehicles etc. This is therefore the type of army that
Mike Bickle believes that Jesus will charge against whilst riding on
a literal white horse and will slay with a literal sword at His Second
Coming. Bickle also believes that the resurrected saints will engage
in this carnal battle in like manner, also fighting whilst riding on
literal horses with swords themselves. I expect most readers will agree
that when put in context this looks not only unlikely but quite ridiculous.
This surely clarifies Bickle’s error of taking literally some of
the symbolic images contained in Old and New Testament prophecies relating
to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?]
Bickle’s interpretation: Parts IV) D and E of Bickle’s transcript
have been removed since June 2010. I am going to refer to a copy I have
of these briefly here though as they reveal much about Bickle’s
perspective, (you can see that Bickle has removed these parts by going
down to page 17 of the most recent Oct 2010 copy of this transcript which
now jumps from point C to F).
“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who
sat on him was called Faithful and True,” (Rev 19: 11).
In those notes Bickle asked us, quote, “Why is Jesus fighting
on a horse?” Then he answered this question by stating that “Horses
will be the only way that people will get from 1 place to the other.
After 9 11 for several blocks, cars could not drive through because of
the rubble. Armageddon is happening after Rev. 16. The horses are not
figurative. The landscape will require actual horses. God’s judgments
will destroy infrastructures that cause the oil supply to get to the
people. There will not be fuel for vehicles.” From this it is clear
that Bickle believes that Jesus will literally ride on a white horse
because there will be too much rubble on the ground for a modern vehicle
to pass through and because Jesus will not be able get any fuel for such
a vehicle anyway. The same theme continues in Bickle’s present
version of the notes, “He is actually riding on a white horse on
the earth,” (p. 11). However we know that when Jesus returns He
will have a resurrection body and be returning as God incarnate. He won’t
have to ride on a literal horse to get around, be blocked by rubble on
the ground or be incapable of finding fuel for a modern vehicle even
assuming He did want one.
“For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… they
will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away
from the truth, and be turned aside to fables,” (2 Tim 4: 3, 4).
Resurrection bodies: We see in Mark Ch 16, Luke 24, John 20 and 21 and
Acts Ch 1 that Jesus will be able to appear and disappear wherever and
whenever He wants to due to the glorious body He now has. When Jesus
Christ returns to earth at His second Coming He will not fight literally
in human wars as Bickle describes but will be manifest as the all powerful;
“KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS,” (Rev 19; 16).
A military campaign? We can compare standard teaching with Bickle’s
teaching here. The standard teaching on Armageddon and the Second Coming
is that the antichrist will persecute Christians, mobilise his military
forces on earth and attack Jerusalem, and also fight spiritually against
the knowledge of God and Christ in the world. So this is both a physical
and spiritual battle; Jesus then returns at His Second Coming in a display
of supernatural power and glory that destroys the beast/antichrist and
his armies. The following scripture describes the antichrists appearance
and the way in which the Lord will destroy him;
“Let no one deceive you... the son of perdition, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so
that he sits as God in the temple of God... that he may be revealed in
his own time... whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth
and destroy with the brightness of His coming,” (2 Thess 2; 3,
4, 6 and 8).
It is clear from this scripture that the antichrist is destroyed by
the glory and brightness of Jesus’ Second Coming to earth. This
however is not what Bickle teaches. His teaching starts out in the same
way, with Jesus returning supernaturally to earth, but states that instead
of Christ first setting foot down on the Mount of Olives just outside
Jerusalem, as Zech 14; 4 and Acts 1; 11, 12 appear to teach, Jesus sets
foot down first in Egypt instead. From there Bickle claims that Jesus
travels on horseback, at the head of a military force, all the way up
to Jerusalem during a period of thirty days. It is in those thirty days
that Bickle’s claims that Jesus will engage in carnal bloodletting
as part of a military campaign across the Middle East, quote, He” – Jesus – “actually
kills millions of people. The time it takes to actually kill them takes
time. He marches up through the land. It is a thirty-day process where
He marches up from Egypt,” (p. 4). “There will be military
battles in other nations... all over the Middle East area,” (p.
10), “Gentile nations will fall under Jesus’ military force,” (p.
11).
So Bickle’s has inserted this thirty day period of carnal warfare
right in the middle of 2 Thess 2 verse 8. In order to justify this Bickle’s
claims that it is not the “the brightness of His” – Jesus’ – “coming,” to
earth that destroys the antichrist but the brightness of Jesus arriving
on horseback in Jerusalem thirty days later. Quote, “From the beginning
of the second coming procession to the very final moment when the Antichrist
is consumed by the brightness of Jesus’ appearing and the word
of His mouth, it is a thirty-day period and quite an involved military
campaign,” (p. 4). However this isn’t what 2 Thess 2; 8 teaches,
there is absolutely no indication of any such thing in the scripture.
Resisting Christ after the Second Coming? Bickle also claims that during
this invented thirty day period the antichrist will resist Jesus using
military weapons, even though the Second Coming has already taken place, “The
nations have seen His” - Jesus’- “procession across
the sky, but they believe He is able to be defeated. They believe He
has power, but He does not have more power than the Antichrist and Satan”,
(p. 4),” “the nations” - will attempt to - “use
a military arsenal to defeat and kill Jesus,” (p. 4). This is clearly
not right as Jesus will return to earth as the all powerful God incarnate
and therefore no one will be able to resist Him, for thirty days or otherwise,
or even believe that this is possible. Bickle has reduced the power and
glory of the Second Coming of Christ in order to fit his literal interpretation
of prophetic symbolism into this doctrine. He has inserted this carnal
killing spree in between the two great demonstrations of Christ’s
supernatural power, i.e. Christ’s Second Coming and His destruction
of the antichrist “with the brightness of His coming” which
occur simultaneously.
“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly sensual
demonic,” (Jas 3: 15).
A Prophetic warning: There is a well known 1965 prophecy by Stanley
Frodisham which warns us that false teachers will arise within the church
who will mix truth in with error, (prophecy
link), and this appears to
be what Bickle has done here. This is no doubt unintentional though,
we know from the past how open to deception Mike Bickle is, (see other
articles).
Real warfare: A more obvious point of course is that modern warfare
is not undertaken on horseback or with swords today as Bickle describes
anyway, quote; “This is not a figurative sword. His actual sword
is filled with blood, which means that He has used His sword in battle,” (p.
13), “real arrows, real enemies... the Antichrist’s army,” (p.
11). This is a particularly weird idea considering that Bickle states
that the antichrist will attempt to use modern weapons himself.
The Sword from Jesus’ mouth: Bickle attempts
to fit the following scripture in with his doctrine that Jesus will order
His militia to kill
people in carnal battles;
“
Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet...
These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth
of Him who sat on the horse,” (Rev 19; 20, 21).
In order to do this Bickle states that “the sword which proceeded
from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse,” simply means here
that Jesus will give verbal orders to his military to go and kill people,
quote, “He speaks, the sword is released into the hands of His
soldiers and warriors.” (p. 16), “He speaks at them, releases,
and mobilizes His army,” (p. 16), but again this dosnt fit in with
St Pauls teaching in 2 Thess 2 or St John’s book of Revelations
Ch 19.
The Bridal Paradigm: This concept lies at the very heart of I.H.O.P’s
teaching. Bickle claims that in order to become one of the five wise
virgins, from Matt 25; 1- 7, so we will be ready for Christ’s return,
we must develop a particularly type of intimacy with Jesus. However it
is the image of this violent Jesus that Bickle encourages people to relate
to. Bickle also teaches that this should be a romantic, lover’s
relationship with Jesus based on the model of the woman’s desire
for her lover in Song of Songs. Whilst this may have a parallel at a
corporate church level it is verging on homosexual for Christian men
to relate to Jesus individually in this way and incestuous for Christian
women as Jesus is their brother not their lover. New songs now have lyrics
that reflect this teaching on the Bridal Paradigm, an e.g. from Mike
Bickle; “We’re lovesick... Your beauty ravishes us,” and
from Heather Clark, “Kiss me with the kisses of your mouth... No
wonder the maidens love you... Let the King take me to His chamber.” For
more details visit this
link. In pursuing this type of intimacy visualisation
and other New Age techniques are also taught at I.H.O.P which will open
a person up to another spirit altogether, see this
link and this article for more information. I wonder if we are starting to see “the working
of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders,” (2 Thess 2;
9), partly as a result of this? We certainly can’t assume that
just because healings and miracles take place that these are necessarily
coming from Gods Spirit. Jesus has specifically warned us that these
things will also come from Satan too.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great
signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect,” (Matt
24; 24).
“do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they
are of God,” (1 Jn 4; 1).
We can see here how it is the violent false Jesus that Bickle believes
we should all relate to in this way, quote, “The next time that
you sing Song of Solomon 3:11, I just challenge you to throw a little
Armageddon twist in there,” (p. 11). “Lord... We say that
you are beautiful, terrible. You are terribly beautiful. You are beautiful
and terrible, Lord, we ask you to reveal to us this zeal that is in your
fiery eyes” (p. 20). “Psalm 45 is about Jesus’ beauty
when He is killing His enemies in the nations,” (p. 11), “Jesus
is going to be up close in the battle next to them, and their blood will
actually get on his garments,” (p. 9), For more details on the
Bridal Paradigm click
here or view this
article.
Conclusion: History appears to be repeating itself here. The Alecs’ who
run the God Channel are responsible for raising up Mike Bickle and his
I.H.O.P group today just as they did Todd Bentley in 2008. Both Bickle
and Bentley also come from the same Kansas City influenced prophetic
stream that the Alec’s also draw from and follow, (see other articles
for more details).
During these events Bickle perceives himself and his followers in their
I.H.O.P room praying for Jesus’ victory over the antichrist despite
acknowledging the fact that Christ will have already returned and they
will have their resurrection bodies by then. Concerning his teaching
Bickle says “Do not think of how odd it is to you,” (p.10), “it
is almost surreal, and we cannot really relate to it,” (p. 20),
but that is because it is deceptive. By taking as literal much of the
bibles prophetic symbolism Bickle has created a false teaching on the
Second Coming and the very nature of Jesus Christ Himself. Bickle also
claims that “He” – Jesus – “does more in
thirty days to impact the mindset of the human race forever,” (p.
14), but what a horrific and unpleasant memory this would be. Judgement
will come but not in this way with Jesus literally hacking people to
death with a sword, quote, “His heavenly garments were stained
with blood... He stained all of them,” (p. 13), “It is not
figurative,” (p. 13), “He” – Jesus - “is
enraged. He does not want to kill them at a distance. He wants to be
involved in the battle in a real way” (p.10).This is not the way
Christ will be glorified at His Second Coming. Bickle leaves us with
a picture of Jesus as a brutal man of violence and that this is how he
says we shall remember Him throughout eternity. It is the antichrist,
however, who will appear with these characteristics not Jesus Christ.
Think of how this teaching could therefore open many Christians to other
deceptions in the end times. It could also affect people’s opinions
towards carnal warfare and many may start adopting views similar to those
the Catholics had towards the crusades. This teaching will have a truly
appalling affect on anyone receiving it and will open many up to another
spiritual influence instead of the Holy Spirit. It will also jeopardise
their relationship with the real Jesus.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not
be carried about with various strange doctrines,” (Heb 13: 8, 9).
S. Dobbs, November 2010, for further reading try www.wordconnect.org or here of articles by others.
The source material: A copy of Bickle’s entire transcript on this
teaching follows below, copied in October 2010. I have done this because
it appears that Bickle’s notes have been changing over time although
the date has remained the same. The quotes used above have been highlighted
in this copy. You can also find these notes on Bickle’s own site
by going to www.mikebickle.org, click - “End Times and Eternity” section,
click – “Second Coming”, click – “transcript
(PDF)” under the title “Armageddon and the Second Coming
of Christ,” or use this
link.
IHOP–KC Missions Base www.IHOP.org Free Teaching Library www.MikeBickle.org
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
ARMAGEDDON CAMPAIGN:
THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY.
Transcript: 3/4/06
Armageddon
Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
As I was preparing the signs related to the Gentile nations,
I was thinking how necessary it is to understand the Armageddon campaign
in order to
understand the signs that are happening right now among the Gentile nations.
Last week, we looked at what is happening to Israel and some of the key
signs that give us the awareness that we are drawing near to that day.
The
Armageddon campaign is one of the significant events of the end times,
and there are political developments that are happening right
now that lead up and play into this; but we have to have a fundamental
foundation of the Armageddon campaign to grasp those signs.
INTRODUCTION
Roman numeral I. Paragraph A. The political and military
developments among the Gentiles are key signs of the times. They lead
up to Armageddon
campaign. It is necessary to first understand the Armageddon campaign
in order to grasp the prophetic significance of what is happening in
this hour in the Gentile nations.
Paragraph B. Human history does not end
with a nuclear war, as is commonly communicated. The drama of human
history does not come to a close with
the superpowers of the nations blowing each other up in a massive explosion,
which has been the popular Hollywood theme. Scripture makes it clear
that natural history ends with a battle, but this battle is not between
the East and the West, it is not about communism verses capitalism, etc
The
two sides of this great battle will be evil human beings led by the Antichrist
against God. The nations are going to gather together
in unity to declare war on God—not just Israel, but they are going
to declare war on Jesus. They seek to muster up all the human resources
and demonic power to actually overthrow Jesus when He returns; that is
what is on their minds.
It is preposterous beyond anything we can imagine
because we know Jesus; we think how can anybody even for one moment imagine
that this could
be doable? That is what the battle of Armageddon is about. It is declaring
war on God—not just Israel. Israel is in the mix, but the final
battle is actually against God Himself. They think that they can overthrow
Jesus and His right to be king of the earth.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 2
THE HIGH POINT OF THE SECOND COMING IS JESUS’ PROCESSIONAL
Paragraph
C. The high point of the second coming procession is Jesus’ re-entry
into the city of Jerusalem as the messianic King. That is the key point
when He enters into the city of Jerusalem and is received by the governmental
leaders of Israel as king.
Matthew 23:39: “I say to you”—governmental leaders
in Jerusalem—“you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed
is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
Paragraph D. Jesus’ second coming is in context of ending the
three-and-a-half year military conflict called the Armageddon campaign
and ends at the battle of Jerusalem to establish His throne over all
nations. The final event of natural history is the appearance of Jesus
as that warrior and king with all the saints and angels. The second coming
is in context of a military conflict. He is not just coming to glorify
the saints although that is very big on His agenda, but He is coming
to win a battle. He is going to strike the nations and rule them with
a rod of iron, which means with severity. He is going to be strong in
His government against all who opposes Him. Revelation 19:11-16: “Behold,
a white horse. He”— Jesus—“who sat on him…judges
and makes war . . . Out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it
He should strike the nations. He Himself will rule them with a rod of
iron. .. He has . . . a name written: KING OF KING”
THE ARMAGEDDON
CAMPAIN WILL LAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS
Paragraph F. The Armageddon campaign is often thought of as an
isolated battle called the battle of Armageddon that occurs just before
Jesus
returns. There is no such term in the Bible as the battle of Armageddon.
Armageddon is a place but not a battle. It is a geographic location that
we will look at in a minute. It is a military campaign that lasts three
and a half years and will involve many different battles. It ends with
the final battle, which is the fiercest battle. It is the bloodiest battle
in all of human history and is referred to as the battle of Jerusalem.
It is fought in the Valley of Jehoshaphat just outside of Jerusalem.
When people talk about the final moments of the great conflict at the
end, they are really talking about the battle for Jerusalem. The Antichrist
will conduct numerous battles around the world in context of the three-and-a-half
year Armageddon campaign.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign:
The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 3
ARMAGEDDON IS THE PLACE GOD CHOSE TO GATHER THE NATIONS
Paragraph
G. Armageddon is the place God chose to gather all the nations for the
war so that He might judge them. It is a military staging area
where the military from many nations gather in this place called Armageddon.
The reason God gathered all the nations is because He wants to judge
them. They have declared war on Him, and He has accepted the challenge.
They actually declare war on God, and He accepts it. Jesus comes back
to do His part in the war.
Paragraph I. There are three reasons that all
the nations will come to make war against God in northern Israel at the
place called Armageddon.
First, God draws them, and this can confuse you if you are not clear
about what is happening. God is drawing the nations, but at the same
time, Satan is drawing the nations.
They are drawing them for two different
reasons. God, by His spirit, is drawing the evil nations to their own
graveyard. Satan is using deception
to draw them to northern Israel in order to defeat Jesus. There is a
third reason that the Scripture makes clear. This is that men are gathering
because of their own sinful motives of greed, anger, and envy against
Israel. These men are angry and bitter toward the nation of Israel. They
hate Israel.
It is not just that they are bitter; they want what Israel
has economically. One of the great reasons for the Holocaust in Nazi Germany
was greed.
The Nazi command infrastructure wanted the money of the Jews who they
were killing. Most of them did not hate the Jewish people; they simply
wanted their money. They coveted their property. Of course at the top
it was very different than that. It was a spiritual in terms of Adolf
Hitler’s motivation. It was financial for the vast majority of
those involved in it. The same thing is going to happen again.
Ezekiel 35:11: “I”—God—“will
do according to your anger and . . . the envy which you showed in your
hatred against
them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you.”
THE
SECOND COMING IS IN CONTEXT OF THE BATTLE OF JERUSALEM
Paragraph
L. The second coming is in context of the battle of Jerusalem and involves
the nations gathering to fight Jesus on earth—not
in the sky. What I mean by this is I have talked to people about this,
and they see Jesus coming back on a white horse. Somehow they picture
people shooting cannons in the sky, or nuclear weapons to blow him up
in the sky.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign:
The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 4
Jesus is actually on the earth marching up to Jerusalem from
Egypt, and then from the south through Jordan. He is killing His enemies.
The
nations have seen His procession across the sky, but they believe He
is able to be defeated. They believe He has power, but He does not have
more power than the Antichrist and
Satan who they deem to be the true
God.
They want to defeat this imposter in the very same way that we have
confidence; we can defeat the Antichrist. They see Jesus as the counterfeit
that is coming to cause trouble. They believe He can be defeated; so
they are gathering actually to go to war against Him. That is a very
clear biblical concept, but it is an idea that is new to most people.
There are several verses that make it clear. Two strong ones: Revelation
17 & 19 says that they are warring against Jesus along with Psalm
2. We scratch our heads and say, “Well, they are warring against
Jesus through warring against Israel.”
No. They are actually warring against Jesus in the way that we would
take a stand against the Antichrist. Of course, we will not use military
means, but the nations will use a
military arsenal to defeat and kill Jesus in the way that we would
think of the Antichrist dying. It is exactly reversed in their mind.
THE
BATTLE FOR JERUSALEM WILL NOT BE OVER IMMEDIATELY
Paragraph M. The battle
for Jerusalem will not be over in fifteen minutes. Jesus does not come,
wave His hand, and it is over. He actually kills
millions of people. The time it takes to actually kill them takes time.
He marches up through the land. It is a thirty-day process where He marches
up from Egypt.
From the beginning of the second coming procession
to the very final moment when the Antichrist is consumed by the brightness
of Jesus’ appearing
and the word of His mouth, it is a thirty-day period and quite an involved
military campaign. He will first appear in the sky. He will appear
in the sky with all of His angels, and then He will strike the evil nations
in a progressive battle, causing the blood to flow far and wide.
THREE TYPES
OF PEOPLE: REDEEMED, REPROBATE, AND RESISTERS
Paragraph O. There will be three types of people on earth when
Jesus appears in the sky. The redeemed will be raptured. Then, the reprobate
who took the mark of the Beast will be judged and then
killed. They will not be killed in an instant but over a period of time.
All the people who took the mark of the Beast will not be killed in the
final thirty days related to the battle of Jerusalem.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL
OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great
Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 5
The soldiers in the land will all be killed at that time,
but there are a couple billion of them on the earth who took the mark of
the Beast.
It will take time before they are all executed. Then, there will be the
resisters who are the unsaved survivors of the tribulation who refused
to worship the Antichrist. Those are the ones; many of them will be saved.
Then, they will repopulate the earth. There will be the nations that
continue and go forward after the second coming of Christ.
THE SECOND COMING
PROCESSIONAL INVOLVES THREE STAGES
Paragraph P. The second coming procession involves a three-stage
process, which includes many events. The procession begins in the sky at
the seventh
trumpet with the rapture. It ends on the earth after the seventh bowl,
which will end the Armageddon campaign. There will be an astonishing
victory over the armies of the Antichrist at Jerusalem.
You can lay it out
any way you want; these are just the ways that I view it. I am talking
about the stages; you can make it four stages if
you break it down differently. Every eye sees Him as He comes into the
sky first. I do not know how long that takes, but it might take a couple
of days, maybe sooner, but it does not just happen in one moment. He
covers the entire earth, and every human being on the earth sees Him.
It takes a little bit of time.
The third stage is Jesus is on the earth
marching up to Jerusalem. In this stage, He is marching in a procession
into Jerusalem being coroneted
as King and received by the nation of Israel. They celebrate, worship,
and receive Him as King. He says yes. The second coming is not just that
He is coming to the earth. He is coming back to Jerusalem.
Stage number
one: Jesus’ procession across the sky: to rapture
the Church (Mt. 24:30-31; Rev. 1:7). Stage number two: Jesus’ procession
on the land—travelling from Egypt through Jordan (Isa. 63; Hab.
3). Stage number three: Jesus’ procession into Jerusalem: to the
Mount of Olives followed by His coronation.
UNDERSTANDING THE ARMAGEDDON
CAMPAIGN
Roman numeral II. Understanding the Armageddon campaign,
the only passage in the Bible that uses the word Armageddon is here in
Revelation 16:16.
Let’s go ahead and read
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 6
Revelation 16:14: “demons performing signs . . . go out to the
kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle
of that great day of God Almighty.” So demon spirits are going
out doing signs and wonders to gather; that is the point—to gather
them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That is what it
is called, “The battle of the great day of God Almighty.” That
is the technical name of it—the great day of God. I refer to it
as the battle of Jerusalem. Revelation 16:16: “They gathered them
together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” The demons
gather them together to a geographic place in northern Israel. In Hebrew,
the place is called Armageddon.
JOHN CALLED THE BATTLE THE “GREAT DAY” OF
GOD ALMIGHTY
Paragraph A. John called it the battle of the “great day” of
God Almighty. The day will be very great because it is God’s great
day of power when He displays His sovereignty for all nations to see
(Ezekiel 38:23). It is God’s great day in history. It is interesting
that God has a great day in history. It is the final day—the final
hour of natural history before the second coming. This is where the Antichrist
is going to be defeated. The Antichrist will be defeated related to this
battle. The seventh bowl may break out while armies are gathered around
Jerusalem (Rev. 16:17-21).
Paragraph B. The term Armageddon appears only
once in the Bible (Rev. 16:16). The phrase the “battle of Armageddon” is
never used in Scripture. Armageddon is a place that God chose to gather
the Gentile
nations for war. John informs us that Har-Magedon is a Hebrew name that
comes from two different words. The Hebrew har can be translated as mountain,
hill, or mount. Magedon speaks of the small town of Megiddo. So it is
the hill of Megiddo, or the Mount of Megiddo is what Armageddon means.
Paragraph
C. What is Megiddo? Megiddo was an Old Testament city in northern Israel,
sixty miles north of Jerusalem. Megiddo is located within a famous
valley that exists today. Within this valley is a vast open plain with
mountain ridges on each side of it. This area is called the Valley of
Jezreel (Jewish name in Hosea 1:5, 11), or Esdraelon (Greek name). Hosea
is prophesying about the Valley of Jezreel at the end of the age. That
is Armageddon—the hill of Megiddo.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 7
This plain is approximately fifteen miles wide
at its widest point and twenty miles long. It is a quite large plain or
valley. It is a valley
because it is in between two mountain ranges. This valley is the military
staging area. It is where the nations are gathering in the fifteen-mile
wide valley—the Valley of Jezreel, or the Plain of Esdraelon. This
entire geographic area is identified by this town Megiddo and a little
mount (not a mountain but a hill). It is very flat plain with a hill
in it.
A MOUNTAIN IS ON BOTH THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDE OF MEGIDDO
Paragraph D. It is interesting that Mount Carmel is very close,
and that is where Elijah took on the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). It
is
going to be a very similar replay. A mountain is on both the north and
south side of Megiddo and the Valley of Jezreel. Mount Tabor is on the
northeast side of Valley of Jezreel and Mount Gilboa is on the southeast
side. Mount Carmel is close to Megiddo, to the northwest. Megiddo is
on the edge of the plain of Jezreel about 20 miles from Haifa today.
There
is another town quite close to the Valley of Jezreel. It is called Nazareth.
It is up in the hilly area. Jesus looked down from His hometown
as a boy on the plains of Armageddon, if you will. He grew up in His
back yard seeing this area with His own eyes. Imagine whatever age He
was when He came to fullness of understanding as to what was going on.
He knew that one day that would be the geographic area that would be
the military build-up area where all the nations would gather to defeat
Him. I just imagine, as He is thirteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-two,
and twenty-five years old: imagine Him sitting out there under a tree
talking to the Father. Imagine Jesus saying, “Father this area:
I know about this area. I know what the prophets said. I understand about
this area.”
JOHN IS SPEAKING OF A LITERAL GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Paragraph E. John is speaking of a literal geographic location.
The reason I am saying this is because it is common for people to make
Armageddon
purely figurative. I have heard it many times; Armageddon is figurative
of that which is anti-God. It is true that it is figurative, but that
is not what it is mostly used here. Certainly, it symbolizes a great
conflict with God, but it is a literal battle. John names the place of
it, and even gave us the translation so we would understand the geographic
place.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 8
In context in Revelation 16, which is where it says Armageddon.
It talks about this in a verse or two before the Euphrates River; it talks
about
the hill of Megiddo and both of them are literal names of literal places.
Neither of them is symbolic . . . the Euphrates River is really the Euphrates
River and the hill of Megiddo is really the hill of Megiddo. It is 100
percent literal geographic regions. So do not let anyone reduce this
to being merely symbolic of the conflict in the Spirit through the ages.
No, this is a real geographic area that is going to have very powerful
significance.
MANY STRATEGIC BATTLES IN BIBLE HISTORY WERE IN THIS VALLEY
Paragraph
F. I list a couple of the battles. These are biblical battles that have
been fought in this area. There have been many more battles
that have been fought in the Valley of Jezreel—the Plain of Esdraelon.
I give you a few of the battles there.
Paragraph G. For those who are really
going after this: the Valley of Jezreel, in the plain of Esdraelon, was
prophetically renamed by God
as the Valley of Hamon Gog, which literally means the “hordes of
Gog” (Ezek. 39:11). God names this very valley because Ezekiel
38-39 is one of the two most important chapters about the end times.
It is talking about the Armageddon campaign. The Valley of Jezreel instead
of being called Armageddon is called the Valley of Ham Gog. It is the
valley where the hordes of Gog, who is the Antichrist gathers, and many
will be killed there. It is interesting to note that Armageddon has a
prophetic name as well.
THE AREA IS TOO SMALL TO HOST MILLIONS OF SOLDIERS
LONG TERM
Paragraph H. This area is too small to host millions of soldiers
long-term, and there will be millions of soldiers, who will land there,
get organized,
and then spread throughout the land. They will not all stay there in
that fifty by twenty mile area. That is the place where they mobilize,
but they will be all over the Middle East.
It is large enough to act as
a place to gather and dispatch armies throughout the land. In other words,
it will be a military staging area. John spoke
of an area 200 miles long (1,600 furlongs), which is the distance from
the Megiddo in the north of Israel to Bozrah in the south. The real point
of Revelation 14 is that the carnage— the destruction of human
life. Jesus trampled the winepress outside the city of Jerusalem. Revelation
14:20: “The winepress was trampled:”—by Jesus—“outside
the city”—Jerusalem— “and blood came out of the
winepress up to the horses’ bridles for 1,600 furlongs” (1,600
stadia in NIV or 200 miles).
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 9
I quote a few verses in Joel 3, Isaiah 34 & 34, and Revelation 14 & 19
here in the handout. Those are five passages right there. Those five
passages talk about the pinnacle of the Armageddon campaign. They speak
of it as a winepress. They describe it as God putting all of His enemies
in a wine vat—a big tub. When the harvest would come in, they would
put the grapes in a big winepress or vat.
In the ancient world, it could
be like ten-feet in diameter. People would get into the vat and stomp
on the grapes. It was a festive occasion
because the harvest just came in, and they are tramping the grapes. Grapes
are getting all over them, and some places in the world still do that
today. The grapes splash all over the person who is trampling them. The
picture is this: in this agriculture society, the grape has no power
to resist that weight of an adult. It would not matter what the weight
is of the adult, as the grape does not have a chance. That was a very
clear picture in everyone’s mind in Israel, as the enemies of God
would be compared to the grapes.
God is telling the nations, “I am
putting you in a winepress. I am bringing you to Israel to put you in a
winepress.”
“ Oh, we do not believe it!”
The Lord makes it very clear in His Word. He basically says, “My
Son will crush you; will trample you as effortlessly as a man would stomp
on a grape. You have no power to resist Me.” That is the first
thing. God is bringing them together into the winepress. He is calling
them to Israel as a winepress. Secondly, they have no ability whatsoever
to resist the power of Jesus as the one treading the grapes. His victory
is effortless to Him. It cannot be resisted. It is completely futile
that they try. There is not a chance that a grape will hold up under
the pressure of an adult stomping on it.
THE BLOOD WILL SPLASH AS HE TREADS
THE WINEPRESS
The third point that is brought out on a number of occasions is that
the blood will splash. Just as grape juice splashes upon the garments
of the people treading the winepress, when Jesus
kills people, their blood will splash up on His garments. That point is made a number of
times in Scripture, and you think that it
is gruesome, but the Lord wants
the nations to know with certainty (this
is not figurative) that Jesus
is going to be up close in the battle next to them, and their blood will
actually get on His garments. It is not a remote control, or Him
waving
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 10
His hand. He actually walks through the battlefield, and the blood gets
on Him. That is in the second coming.
For some of you, this is new
because the idea of the second coming is that He appears in the sky; we
all go up to heaven, and play harps on
clouds forever—that is it. That is just not the biblical picture
of what is going to happen. He is intimately involved in the battle killing
people, and their blood spurts up on Him.
That blood on Him is actually
a badge of honor because when He looks at His redeemed, it is as if Jesus
says, “I am deeply and intimately
involved with the cause that I have given you. I was not at a distance.
I was not removed. I was stirred in my zeal” (Rev.19:2, paraphrased).
It says that Jesus is angry because they were killing His people. He
is angry with them; He is enraged. He
does not want to kill them at a distance. He wants to be involved in
the battle in a real way. To our
modern sensibilities, that is Jesus saying, “Do not think of how
odd it is to you.” Think about how personal Jesus is in
taking this battle; how intimate and up close He will be when the battle
takes
place.
THE MAJOR BATTLEFIELDS OF THE ARMAGEDDON CAMPAIGN
Roman
numeral III. We will look at the three major battlefields of the Armageddon
campaign. The mountains are in the north and in the south.
There will be military battles in
other nations. There will be troops
dispatched from the Valley of Jezreel—all
over the Middle East area. They will not just be in the nation
of Israel. There will be millions and millions of soldiers in the conflict.
Roman
numeral IV. The Armageddon campaign in Scripture is not all of
the battles at the end of the age, but a lot of the major ones.
THE ARMAGEDDON
CAMPAIGN IN SCRIPTURE
Paragraph A. In Psalm 45, this is the psalm
about the beauty of God and about the beauty of the coming King. Psalm
45:2 begins with, “You
are fairer than all the sons of men.” Psalm 45:1 actually begins
with: “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I will address
my verses concerning the King.” This is a real regular psalm in
our community here. So the theme is about the coming king and the psalmist
is overflowing and he starts out, “You are fairer; you are more
beautiful than the sons of men. You are blessed and your lips.” Then
it goes on and describes the beauty of Jesus at the battle for Jerusalem
in the context of the Armageddon campaign.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 11
Psalm 45 is about Jesus’ beauty when He is killing His enemies
in the nations. The sons of Korah wrote of this final conflict of the
evil, end-time campaign, crying out to the Messiah to, “Gird Your”— Jesus—“sword” (Ps.
45:3). Jesus is drawing a real sword in Psalm 45:3-4: “Gird your
sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty,
and in Your majesty, ride prosperously.” He
is actually riding on a white horse on the earth because of truth, humility, and righteousness.
This psalm portrays the glory and the terror of Jesus returning to Jerusalem
to fight till the end with the Armageddon campaign. Psalm 45:3-5: “Gird
Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty.
In Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness
. . . Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's enemies”—real
arrows, real enemies—“the peoples”—nations— fall
under You”—the Antichrist’s
army.
Whenever you see the word “peoples” in end-time prophecy,
you can almost always put the word nation, and obviously referring to
the Gentile nations who are the guys who say no to Jesus. Two hundred
and ten Gentile nations will fall
under Jesus’ military force.
Then it goes on to talk about Jesus. He is coming in context of receive
a throne, and He is called God.
PSALM 45:6: “YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS
FOREVER AND EVER”
Psalm 45:6-7: “Your Throne, O God,
is forever and ever . . .You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore
God . . . has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” It
is interesting: Jesus’ beauty from verse two, His sword in verse
three, His throne in verse six, and His gladness in verse seven all come
together
in the same place. His gladness and His beauty will be seen in the Armageddon
campaign, as He brings it to a conclusion. We think of the verse automatically
in Song of Songs 3:11: “on the day of His wedding, the day of the
gladness of His heart.”
Song of Songs 3:11 is a verse that we sing a lot. The day of His wedding
is this day! The day of the gladness of His heart is not just that He
receives His Bride although that is the ultimate— He is destroying
the enemy who has persecuted His Bride. That is called the day of the
gladness of His heart. The next time
that you sing Song of Solomon 3:11, I just challenge you to throw a little
Armageddon twist in there. This
shifts our paradigm because the beauty of God, and His gladness is seen
in context of the Armageddon campaign.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 12
JESUS WILL TRAMPLE OR CRUSH THE UNRIGHTEOUS LIKE GRAPES
Paragraph B. Jesus will trample the unrighteous like grapes in
a large winepress. The wine of human blood will fill the land and stain
His garments.
Jesus will stomp these nations in righteous rage. The blood of His enemies
will actually fill the land in Revelation 14:20. The blood will flow
for 200 miles. We will look at that verse again in a minute.
Isaiah 63:1, “Who is this who comes from Edom”—modern-day
Jordan—“with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious
in His apparel”—Jesus— “traveling in the greatness
of His strength?—I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." Jesus
is marching up from the south after the second coming on His way to Jerusalem,
and the question is being asked all over the world, “Who is this
man coming up from Edom; coming up to Jerusalem? Why are His garments
dyed red? He is coming up from Bozrah. That is the capital of Edom—the
capital city of modern-day Jordan.”
This One is glorious in His apparel; His clothing is glorious. The interesting
thing is that His apparel is so glorious, but He does not mind getting
blood on His very expensive garments. How many of you know that His garments
are majorly cool garments. His apparel is glorious. We have never seen
garments, but you would naturally think if you had garments that expensive,
rare, and glorious that you would not want blood on them. The blood on
them is a declaration of His intimate involvement and zeal for His Bride—for
His people.
Now Jesus speaks, and it is as if Jesus says, “I speak in righteousness
and am mighty to save. It is Me who is mighty to save” (Is.63:1,
paraphrased). He is going to save the nation of Israel. He is going to
save them from the Antichrist’s armies. The first question is, “Who
are you?” The next question is, Isaiah 63:2, “Why is Your
apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?” In
other words, you look like somebody who has been stomping grapes in the
winepress. Why does it look like you have been stomping grapes?”
Jesus’ answer is, “Because I have been!” Isaiah 63:3: "I
have trodden the winepress . . . from the peoples no one was with me,
for I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them”—like
grapes—“in My fury; their blood”—He solves the
dilemma—“ is sprinkled upon My garments”— in
context of the Battle of Jerusalem—“and I have stained all
My robes.”
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 13
His heavenly garments
were stained with blood and not just a little bit. He stained all of them. Why is He
doing this? Isaiah 63:4-6: “For
the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has
come . . . I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk
in My fury, and brought down their strength.”
Isaiah 34:1-2: “Let the earth hear, and all that is in it . .
. For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations, and His fury
against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given
them over to the slaughter.” This is talking about on His way to
Jerusalem.
Also their slain shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise
from their corpses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
You find
in Joel 2:20 that the stench of the northern army in the land of Israel
is so terrible. It is not figurative. There will be such a flow of blood
on the hills that it will actually disrupt some of the soil; it actually
affects some of the topsoil.
Isaiah 63:4-5: “For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the
year of My redeemed has come. I looked, but there was no one to help,
and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm
brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. I have trodden
down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, And brought
down their strength to the earth.” Isaiah 34:4: “All the
host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up
like a scroll; All their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from
the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.” All the host of
heaven, the stars, shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled
up like a scroll; all of their host shall fall down.
THE SWORD OF THE LORD
Isaiah 34:5: “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it
shall come down on Edom.” Isaiah 34:6, “The sword of the
Lord is filled with blood . . . for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.” This
is not a figurative sword. His actual sword is filled with blood, which
means that He has
used His sword in battle. Remember Bozrah is the city in Edom
(modern Jordan). Edom and Moab are modern-day Jordan. This is going to
happen
literally in the region of modern-day Jordan. This is going to be a real
event that takes place over some days.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript:
3/4/06 Page 14
He may be marching up through Jordan for a day, two, three,
or five, but more than five minutes. He could be there longer; He is in
no hurry.
His goal is not to get it over in five minutes. He wants this thing to
make its impact on world history in the future because even on into the
millennial kingdom what He did in those thirty days will be in the corporate
memory of the human race.
What He does on this day will impact us in eternity!
He is making a memory; He is impacting history. He is shifting the genetic
code of human
history. He is really shifting things by this thirty-day period. He does
more in thirty days to impact the mindset of the human race forever.
Isaiah
63:4: “For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the
year of My redeemed has come.” It is the day of the Lord’s
vengeance; there it is again.
Isaiah 24:1-6, “The LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste,
distorts its surface”— through the seven bowls of wrath in
Revelation 16—“and scatters abroad its inhabitants . . .
the land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered . . . the haughty
people of the earth languish . . . The earth is defiled under its inhabitants,
because they have transgressed the laws . . . Therefore the curse has
devoured the earth”—in other words the inhabitants of the
earth are living in such gross sin that the curse of their sin is hurting
the earth—“and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore
the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.” Beloved,
there is a day coming where this passage will come to pass that few men
are left on the earth.
There is another passage in Isaiah 13 where it says
men will be as rare as gold, comparing the men with the gold of Ophir,
which is a rare gold.
Isaiah 13:12: “I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a
man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.” In other words, there
is still going to be millions and even tens of millions; beloved, compared
to six billion and possibly up to six and a half billion, and there may
be seven, eight, nine billion people when this entire process begins.
It will get down to tens of millions because of Gods’ judgments
on the earth and the transition into the age to come.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL
OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of the Great
Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 15
JOHN’S VERSION OF ARMAGEDDON
IS SEEN IN REVELATION 19:11
Paragraph C. John's version of Armageddon
is seen in Revelation 19:11-21. Here he develops the military theme of
the Armageddon campaign as seen
in Isaiah 63 and Psalm 45. Jesus will wear a robe that will be dipped
in blood as the armies of heaven follow Him on white horses. Jesus will
strike the nations with a sharp sword, as He treads the winepress of
God’s wrath. We know this passage well, so I will just look at
it briefly.
REVELATION 19:11-15: THE WORD OF HIS MOUTH
Revelation19:11-15: “Behold, a white horse. He who sat on him
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes
war”—His second coming is to make war—“His eyes
were like a flame of fire”—that is the zeal in His eyes at
the Armageddon campaign when He is coming for His Bride at the battle
for Jerusalem—“and on His head were many crowns . . . He
was clothed with a robe dipped in blood”—a reference to Isaiah
63—“the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it He should strike the nations.”
The word of His mouth is a sharp sword; that is one of the key phrases
that appear several times in this Bible. The other phrase is called the “rod
of His mouth,” which is mentioned three or four times as well.
He will break the nations by the rod of His mouth, or He will strike
the nations by the sword of His mouth. Which is it? What it is saying
is that when Jesus commands people through His word, all His people are
mobilized, dispatched, deployed, and it is the word of His mouth that
loses the swords of His army. They wait until the sword, or the rod goes
forth. There are times when His very word, as He spoke in Genesis 1,
His word is creative—the word of His mouth; the brightness of His
appearance is what consumes the Antichrist.
He will speak, do it, and have
direct power released when He speaks; but Jesus, as the Captain of His
armies, releases the word of His mouth,
and the rod of His mouth so that the hosts go forth—that is military.
The rod is political—it is the civil laws and the punishment that
is released upon society when they break laws. It is the rod; it is the
court system, so to speak, and they are all dispatched when He speaks.
FORERUNNER
SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of
the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 16
Everybody waits till He gives the word, and once the word
is given, the rod goes forth in the civil arena. The sword goes forth in
the military
arena. The entire company of His people is totally loyal and obedient
to what the Word of His mouth is. It is not like you see the poster where
you see the sword coming out of His mouth. It is not that a physical
sword comes out of His mouth, but when He
speaks, the sword is released into the hands of His soldiers and warriors. When He speaks, it has power
directly even without the agency of anybody helping Him to bring destruction
on His enemies.
He speaks and slays some of them, but do not limit it to
only that because there is real blood flowing, and it gets on His garments.
So it is not
just that He speaks, and they die of a heart attack. He
speaks at them, releases, and mobilizes His army. So with the sword, or rod of His mouth,
He strikes nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. Remember
the iron has to do with the civil laws, and the sword has to do with
military might.
And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself
treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. He is
borrowing
this imagery from Isaiah 34 & Isaiah 63. He gathered the nations
because He was gathering them into the wine vat. They did not know that;
they thought they were coming to Israel to get rid of Him. He was drawing
them to Israel to crush them. I can just imagine the dilemma that the
Antichrist is going to have because he is telling all the nations that
this man is defeatable. They will say, “We can take Him! Let’s
go!”
The prophets of God will respond, “No, you are going to the winepress!
You are going to your own death!” It will be a real prayer room
dilemma of two conflicting prayers. People will question, “Which
is true? Are we going to defeat this Man, this supernatural Man who is
an imposter?” That is what they will say. He is coming on a white
horse and a cloud. But the Antichrist will remind them, “Hey, I
had a head wound, and I came back from the dead. He never did that!”
There will be many signs that the Antichrist will have, but we as God’s
forerunners—I am talking about millions worldwide—millions
of forerunner messengers who have been saying all along, “It is
a winepress! You are going there to be crushed like grapes. You have
no more chance to withstand this than a grape does under the stomping
of an adult man.”
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 17
Revelation 19:17-21: “Then I saw an angel . . . saying to all
the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together
for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings,
the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and
of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave,
both small and great . . . I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and
their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the
horse and against His army”—they are going not just to make
war against the Jews but against Jesus; that is insane to us—“Then
the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet . . . these two
were cast alive into the lake of fire . . . the rest”—of
the soldiers and the military personnel—“were killed with
the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.
All the birds were filled with their flesh.”
JOHN DESCRIBES A PROPHETIC
PICTURE OF THE FINAL BATTLE
Paragraph F. John described a prophetic picture
of the final battle of natural history when all the land of Israel becomes
a blood-soaked
battlefield. Beloved, the entire land will become a blood- soaked battlefield.
I do not mean every square inch of the land. That is not what I mean
by north, south, east, and west. Every region of the land will have the
marks of this battle.
It says in Revelation 14:19-20: “The angel . . . gathered the
vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath
of God and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles,
for 1,600 furlongs” (1,600 stadia in NIV, or 200 miles from Megiddo
or Armageddon in the north to Bozrah in the south).
The winepress in right
there in the land of Israel; it is the people who are coming to war against
Him. The nation of Israel is a big wine
vat. Jesus trampled the winepress. It was not trampled in the city of
Jerusalem, but just outside the city of Jerusalem in the Valley of Jehoshaphat
is what it says in Joel—just a couple of miles outside of Jerusalem.
That is where the most intense battle will be. That is why it says the
winepress was trampled by Him because that is the most intense place
of blood flow. The blood came out of that winepress—that geographic
region. In some ways, the winepress is the entire land of Israel, but
the winepress in the most focused way is right there in the Valley of
Jehoshaphat in the south. That is not the Valley of Jezreel, which is
Armageddon up north.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 18
Revelation 14:20: “and blood came out of the winepress, up to
the horses' bridles” (about 4 feet, 1,600 furlongs, 1,600 stadia,
or 200 miles from Megiddo, or Armageddon in the north to Bozrah in the
south). The nation of Israel is only two hundred and sixty miles. The
two hundred miles is the length from up north in Megiddo where the Armageddon
campaign began in the Valley of Megiddo. It goes all the way south to
Bozrah to the area of Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula right now. It is
a two hundred mile area where the blood flows.
Revelation 14:20, “And the winepress was trampled” by
Jesus outside the city Jerusalem.
JOEL PROPHESIED OF GOD STORMING THE ENEMIES
OF ISRAEL
Paragraph G. This is the Scripture from Joel and is the
same language as the winepress. It says here in Joel 3:2: “I will
also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
and I
will enter into judgment with them there.”
God says that He is going
to gather all the nations. Notice in this emphasis, it is not the Devil
gathering as in Revelation16, but here
the prophet Joel says that God is gathering. Well, both are gathering,
and men are coming on their own as well because of greed, envy, and hatred.
Joel
3:12-13: “Let the nations . . . come up to the Valley of
Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest”—of iniquity—“is
ripe. “Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for
their wickedness is great." The enemy is all there, and they are
not afraid to take Him on. This is where He is marching up from the south,
and they are coming down from the north; that is where the two front
lines meet each other right there in the Valley of Jehoshaphat outside
Jerusalem. The winepress is full—that means the blood of the enemy
is flowing like no time in history. There will be more people killed
in that battle than any other time in history.
Joel 3:14: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” This
Valley of Jehoshaphat contains the fate of all the nations—not
just their fate right then, but the fate of the future of the world is
all in that valley.
FORERUNNER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE
BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The
Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 19
ZECHARIAH PROPHESIED THE BATTLE OF JERUSALEM
Paragraph
I. Zechariah prophesied of the battle of Jerusalem. Zechariah 14:3: “Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations,
as He fights in the day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on
the Mount of Olives . . . and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
from east to west, making a very large valley.” Then, the Jews
will be trapped against the mountain and surrounded by the enemy. The
mountain is going to split; so instead of the Red Sea splitting, here
this mountain is going to split, and people are going to escape through
it. Jesus is there, and I do not fully get this; but they escape with
panic, like in the days of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah. When
Jesus splits the mountain, they say, “Thanks,” and run through
it. “Who was that man on the white horse?”
I would be running
to Jesus not away from Jesus. I do not fully get it. Not everyone is fully
aware of what is happening yet. The city of
Jerusalem has not officially received Him as their Messiah yet. This
is still a little before then.
Zechariah 14:12: “This shall be the plague with which the Lord
will strike all the people”—the soldiers—“who
fought against Jerusalem:”—this is literal—“their
flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall
dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their
mouths.”
Zechariah 14:14: “Judah also will fight at Jerusalem”—which
means it is the region around Jerusalem. They are going to be one for
all and all for one. They are going to be there together. It is not like
they will say, “Jerusalem, what is your problem?”
Zechariah 14:14: “For the wealth of all the surrounding nations
shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.” How
did clothing get on Zechariah’s list? Gold, and silver, and shirts!
What? This is significant just to make it in the description; clothing
will obviously be a real issue. Clothing will be in great abundance.
The plague is also going to hit the horses.
Zechariah 14:15: “Such also shall be the plague on the horse and
the mule, on the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will
be in those camps. So shall this plague be.” This plague is real;
it is not figurative. This is really going to happen in real time and
space.
Paragraph J. Daniel prophesied about the Armageddon campaign.
FORERUNNER
SCHOOL OF MINISTRY – MIKE BICKLE
Armageddon Campaign: The Battle of
the Great Day of God Almighty
Transcript: 3/4/06 Page 20
DAVID SPOKE OF THE ARMAGEDDON CAMPAIGN AND THE
BATTLE
Paragraph K. David spoke of the Armageddon campaign and the battle
of Jerusalem. Jesus goes through the land killing Gentile kings who sought
to destroy Jerusalem. Psalm 110 is the famous enthronement psalm where
God the Father promises that Jesus will be king over everything. We all
know the passage well.
Psalm 110:1-6: “The LORD”—Father—“said
to my Lord”—Jesus—"Sit at My right hand, till
I make Your enemies Your footstool." The Lord is at Your right hand;
He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath”—battle of
Jerusalem—He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places
with dead bodies; He shall execute the heads of many countries.” The
blood flow is beyond anything we can imagine, and Jesus is going to fill
the places with dead bodies, and execute the head of many nations.
I have
a funny story about this passage. Years ago, when we first began to do
worship with the Word, we sang into Psalm 45 about, “Thou
art fairer than the sons of men” with Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 all
together.
One time we were singing into Psalm 110 in the prayer room, and
the final worship cycle began. As the singers began to sing Psalm 110,
one
singer sang out with such a beautiful voice, “He will execute kings,
and He will fill the places with dead bodies.” The singer looked
at up at me and was shocked. The expression on his face said, “Oh
my goodness!” After that singer sang Psalm 110, then poor Misty
had to antiphonalize it and develop it into something. She had a twinkle
in her eye though. It was that day that we started naming her “Moses
of Bethany,” instead of “Mary of Bethany.” There are
few more passages about David you read on your own. We will just end
with that! Let’s stand.
MINISTRY TIME
This is a very serious subject; I mean it
is almost surreal, and we cannot really relate to it. We read it and just have overload. I understand
overload, but the longer you stay with it, the more the Jesus we worship
becomes the Jesus of the Bible in these passages. The Jesus of the Bible
is the Jesus of Armageddon as well.
“Lord Jesus, we come to you.
Lord, we want to say that we honor you. We
say that You are beautiful, terrible. You are terribly beautiful.
You are beautiful and terrible. Lord, we ask you to reveal to us this
zeal that is in your fiery eyes for your Church that you will show forth
on that day.”
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