Hey kids, let’s talk Armageddon. You know, that battle at Tel Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley which will end all battles. It will be a whiz bang smash ‘em up like no other, putting such trivial clashes as Waterloo, Antietam and Stalingrad to shame. More importantly, it will be the precursor of the end of history as we know it. Woo Hoo!!!!
I do not intend to denigrate anyone’s belief. Millions worldwide view the Bible as not only a guide to a true and just life but also as a predictor of the future. What we as individuals and as a society can expect down the road. Many of these are smart, thoughtful people. I am in no position to proclaim that they are deluded. I do not know.
However, I get worried when a belief in an ultimate outcome becomes tied to specific events, especially when those events are divined to be happening in our lifetime. I get worried when those events involve war and the massive loss of life. I especially become worried when those in power look forward to these events and pray for them to come about.
As central as Armageddon has become to certain dispensationalist views of end times, it has only one mention in the Bible. Revelation 16: 13-16 says (King James version):
” 13. And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14. For they were the spirits of demons, working miracles, that go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
The battle itself is described in Revelation 19. In essence, Jesus comes down from heaven (vs. 11) leading a heavenly army (vs. 14). These armies, backed by “all of the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven” (vs. 17) engage with the armies of the beast and the false prophet, defeating them and casting them down “into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (vs. 19 – 20). The result is the coming of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1).
The book of Revelation is thought to have been written near the end of the First Century A.D. It was traditionally attributed to St. John the Apostle, but modern scholarship has set the author as a different John, of no relation. It was the last book to be accepted into the Christian canon, and its inclusion has remained a matter of controversy among the various Christian sects ever since.
Revelation has attained a central position in the theology of many Protestant denominations, though the interpretations of vary widely. “The Late Great Planet Earth”, written by Hal Lindsey and published in 1970, popularized one of these interpretations and sold 28 million copies worldwide. The “Left Behind” series of best-selling books (80 million) and subsequent movies, video games, graphic novels and teen-lit novellas further ingrained a certain view of Revelation’s apocalyptic future into public and, more specifically, Protestant Christian consciousness.
The impact of these books should not be underestimated. According to religion historian Crawford Gibbon, senior officials in the Reagan administration were major fans of Lindsey. He is said to have briefed staff at the Pentagon, State Department and American War College. Influential luminaries such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell enthusiastically endorsed the Left Behind series, with Falwell saying, “In terms of its impact on Christianity, it’s probably greater than that of any other book in modern times, outside the Bible.”
These beliefs have spilled over into the Iranian War. In a recent interview Pete Hegseth opined “We’re fighting religious fanatics who seek a nuclear capability in order for some religious Armageddon…. But from my perspective, I mean, obviously I’m a man of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their faith, rely on God”. He has called Iran the “enemies of righteousness”. Two of his tattoos draw from crusader imagery: the Jerusalem Cross and the phrase “Deus Vult,” or “God wills it,” which Hegseth has called “the rallying cry of Christian knights as they marched to Jerusalem.”
It has been alleged that Hesgeth’s views have permeated the U.S. efforts against Iran. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation says that it has received numerous complaints from U.S. soldiers alleging that they have been explicitly told that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to earth.” These allegations have not been verified, but they certainly would seem to be in keeping with Hegseth’s beliefs.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has been even more explicit in his apocalyptic beliefs. Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind books, endorsed Huckabee in his failed bid for the 2007 Republican Presidential nomination and acted as his spiritual advisor. Huckabee recently suggested that Isreal would be justified in taking over the “essentially the entire Middle East” on Biblical grounds. He unabashedly sees Israel as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies that auger the end times.
Huckabee and Hegseth are just the most prominent of the Trump sycophant’s wo have embraced end times rhetoric. Paula-White Cain, who espouses the apocalyptic interpretations of Revelation, has led White House faith initiatives.
That office is a key liaison with the evangelical Christian base which is so essential to Trump.
Again, the problem is not what these people believe. The problem is that they seem to see themselves as instruments to usher in the outcome they desire. You get the sense they have convinced themselves that that have correctly foreseen God’s plan and have been put into positions of power to bring it about. The fact that their discernment of the future involves a significant loss of life is immaterial.
It is worth noting that the Bible describes Jesus’ return as akin to a “thief in the night”. This is not only specified in the Revelation verses set out above, but also in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 5:4 and 2 Peter 3:10. As far as I know thieves who come in the night rarely align themselves with government officials or publish chronicles about what they plan to do. Yet this admonition does not dissuade true believers into presuming that they have it all figured out.
The problem is obvious. If someone believes that a war in the Middle East will lead to the fulfillment of all their hopes, then anything is justified in helping bring that about. When that person controls the deployment of troops, or is instrumental in the setting of policy, it is hard to fathom that they will not make decisions they see as leading to the outcome they seek. That’s only human nature.
The problem is not intractable. In a government of checks and balances those individual views should not predominate. That’s especially true if you have leaders who have a strong humanistic moral vision which recognizes war as not a means to an end, but as an abomination to be avoided whenever possible. Such leaders also need to recognize that when wars occur, they need to be executed to avoid as much loss of life – on both sides – as possible.
I know, that’s unrealistically idealistic. Yet it beats the heck out of the war lust that leads to threats to wipe a people and their civilization from the face of the earth. That mentality only encourages those who see war as a precursor to heaven on earth, something it’s never been and never will be.
P.S. I have been drafting this for some time, but have been unhappy with it. I just need to move on and get it off my computer.