Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Armageddon

Two weeks ago, our Junior/Senior high class on Wednesday night discussed, briefly, the book of Revelation. I had asked for study ideas and one of their choices was the book of Revelation. As you might expect, they had never read the book, but had heard a great deal about it with most of what they had heard being false. Coincidentally, a few days before the class I found a copy of "The Watchtower" from the Jehovah's Witnesses laying on a table in a restaurant where I was eating. Looking through it, I found a short article on the coming "battle of Armageddon." I was astounded at the misinterpretation and misunderstanding with which the article was written. I read through it and made some notes and then had class with my kids a few days later. Their understanding of Revelation followed the writing found in the article I read. They had heard that there would be a final earthly battle between the forces of God and the armies of man. I was not surprised at this, it seems to be a plot point in many motion pictures over the years.
One of the verses used to predict this battle is in Luke 21:34, 35 - "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting (drunken nausea), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Unfortunately for the author of the article, verse 32 states "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." This tells us that all of the thing written in verses 34-35 would happen in the lifetime of the people Jesus was speaking to.
Another scripture referenced as proof of this "world war" is 2 Peter 3:11,12 - "Seeing then that all of these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" In verse 10, though, Peter tell us "but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." What thief warns his victims beforehand? The Bible clearly states that the Second Coming of Christ, described as a surprise, will be accompanied by the destruction of the Universe and all it contains. We will be translated from our earthly bodies into everlasting spiritual forms and we will all go to our eternal reward or punishment.
The author goes on to say that one of the reasons for Armageddon is to destroy those who are polluting the earth, using Revelation 11:18 - "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." - to prove his point. This gives the wrong impression of the object of God's anger: not the physical pollution of the earth, but the spiritual pollution of the earth shown by the men in Revelation 9:20 that "repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver , and brass, and stone,and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk." God is always jealous of our worship.
I can study to see through the misinterpretation and misuse of scripture, but our children are not always so lucky. We have an obligation to not only teach them the milk of the word, but to confront unscriptural teachings and help them see through them.