Picture the scene, its just gone 7:00 in the morning in a small Russian village, the local people

are getting prepared for the days activities, there is a fantastic view over the hills, but what happens next just changes everything. The date is June 30th 1908, so just over a hundred years ago, eyewitnesses describe an unusual phenomenon, Tungus natives and Russian settlers observed a column of bluish light, nearly as bright as the sun move across the sky, 10 minutes later, there was a flash, and a sound that could be likened to loud gunfire, the sounds were accompanied by a shockwave that was so fierce, it knocked people off their feet. In fact, later studies showed that it would be the equivalent to an earthquake of 5 on the Richter scale. For days after, night skies in Asia and Europe were lit up. UFO? Well, theres a few people who thought that was the cause, but scientists believe through their research, that the explosion was caused by the air burst of a large meteorite or comet fragment about 3-6 miles above the earths surface. Imagine how you would feel if you was there, the noisy confusion, the tremors, you would think that this is it, this is the end. Funnily enough, how many times do we hear that the world is going to end by some huge object colliding with our earth? Hollywood jumped on it too, making films about asteroids that were supposed to end everything. There are all kinds of theories about Armageddon, a word that is getting quite common whenever some kind of disaster strikes. Some think that it will be because of the advancement of nuclear warfare, that humans wont be satisfied with blowing each other up until theres nothing left, others include the shift of magnetic fields shifting causing chaos, super volcanoes and earthquakes and so on, so what really is Armageddon? Well, the reason were all here today is to hear what the Bible has to say, and it does say a lot about this subject. Now the word Armageddon appears just once in the Bible, so lets start off by having a look at this text together in REVELATION 16:14, 16. (read) . Right, so Har-Ma-gedon, or translated into English, Armageddon, is described as the war of the great day of God the Almighty. The name Har-ma-gedon is rendered as mountain of Megiddo, or mountain of Assembly of troops. This makes things interesting, because there is no literal Mountain of Megiddo, only a 70 ft. high mound where the ruins of ancient Megiddo lay The name is fitting though, because the plain below Megiddo was used for decisive wars in ancient times, this doesnt mean that Jehovah (Gods name) will use this area, because in verse 14 that we read in REV 16 talks about the kings of the entire inhabited earth will be involved along with their troops, so it would be impossible for them all to fit in this area which was triangular, about 20 miles long and 18 miles wide. So the reason for choosing this name is purely symbolic of the decisive qualities of this battleground. We know that Armageddon is Gods war, fighting against the Kings of the entire inhabited earth, or world rulers. So, thats what Armageddon is, fair enough, but why does it have to happen, we might reason that if God is all powerful, then surely he could just take away the wickedness, just like that (CLICK FINGERS).

Well, we cant deny that He has the power to do so, he is after all, the Creator of all things, but for that reason, being the Creator, He has the right to rule over His creation, us. Turn with me to another scripture, in Jeremiah 25:31 (READ) (Controversy that Jehovah has with the nations) To understand that a little bit better, look at another account which describes the world leaders relationship with God and what this controversy is, in Psalms 2:2-6 (READ) . They have actually rejected Jehovahs rule through his Son, Jesus. So that is the first reason, the world leaders have turned their backs on God completely, stubbornly trying to rule over man without any real success, in fact, because of man, the earth is dying, which is obviously something that Jehovah needs to address. Although I have just described humans as the ones in charge of the earth, the Bible shows us the bigger picture, at 1 John 5:19 we can identify Satan the Devil, an angel who believed he deserved the right to rule over man instead of God, as the wicked one when it says that the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one. So Satan and his demons, or his angelic followers, are the ones influencing the decision to reject Jehovahs rule. So to the end, people under Satans influence will blaspheme and defy God and his rulership, so this is why Jehovah must act for the reason described in Ezekiel 38:23 turn that up. (READ) We have discussed what Armageddon is, and why it must happen, something vital we should learn is, when is it? Right now, we are living in a time period called the last days in 2 Tim 3:1, meaning the last days of this system under Satans control. This period began when Gods Kingdom was established in heaven, and we have found out through our study of the Bible that this began in 1914, unfortunately we dont have enough time to explain this momentous date, but if you want to learn more about that, then dont hesitate to ask one of Jehovahs Witnesses about it. In the Bible, there are events noted down for us to look for that lead up to Armageddon, lets take a look at these. Matt 24:14 (READ) This is a prophecy that is certainly being fulfilled right now, as this is being done by Gods people in over 230 lands, also if you turn back to verse 4, and well look to verses 4-8 because this shows us something else that is happening as we live now. (READ) Next is a huge event that we are all waiting for, lets turn this up in Revelation 17. Now you have to remember that Revelation is a highly symbolic book, a few things to take note of is that the Dragon refers to Satan, the Wild Beast refers to the entire political system and the harlot refers to the entire world empire of false religion. So lets read Revelation 17:12, 16 (READ) In other words, the nations will turn against false religion and destroy her completely, imagine that, the people start to realise that all the things that false religion has told them have been lies, they will be angry at the waste of time and resources spent on worthless things, so they will bring it all to nothing.

It will be a great shock for people to see false religion destroyed. Bible prophecy shows that even some of the kings of the earth are going to declare regarding that destruction in Revelation 18: Too bad, too bad, . . . because in one hour your judgment has arrived! The Bibles use of the words one hour shows that this event will take place relatively swiftly. And then: The great tribulation. The end of false religion will mark the beginning of this short time period, when things will get difficult to handle for Jehovahs servants, but we neednt be worried because we know well that Jehovah will not allow us to endure more than we can handle. Somewhere between Babylons destruction and Armageddon, Satan will make a final attack on Gods people to try and destroy them, but at that point, Jehovah will step in marking the start of Armageddon. Bible prophecy shows that the great day of Jehovah will come suddenly, there is a fitting illustration in 1 Thess 5:2 (READ). When you think about a thief, his goal is to catch people off guard, so he can break in and steal. You cant imagine that thief sending a letter saying Ill be round at 2 a.m. Tuesday, signed your neighbourhood burglar. No, they would strike when you least expect it, and thats really the point this verse is making. Jesus will come unannounced, to fulfil Jehovahs purpose. So we need to stay awake to these events, or signs, just like we would when driving a car, we would see signs at the side of the road every so often, letting us know where we are, and roughly how far off our destination we are. The book of Daniel is very interesting to us because of the time period we are living in, it a book full of prophecies, and in particular it speaks of two kings, the king of the north, and the king of the south, two rivals. These kings have risen up as different kings or empires on earth through the years, just going back as far as the first world war, if we take a look at Daniel 11:27-30a (READ) This is describing the King of the north as the German empire in World war I, while the King of the south represents Britain, followed by the Anglo-American world power (or Britain and America combined) Verse 30b-31 describes Hitlers 3rd Reich in world war II, as the king of the north against the king of the south which remains as the Anglo American world power, verses 32-43 describe the cold war, against the king of the south, who remains the same, but this time the king of the north is the communist bloc. Heres us now, the king of the south again is the Anglo American world power, and will be right to the end, but we dont yet know the identity of the king of the north that it refers to in verses 44-45 (READ). Although we dont yet know who this king is, we know what he is going to do, as those verses that we read show that the rivalry is nearing its end, all that is left to be fulfilled in this prophecy are those final stages.

These kings will not actually destroy each other, Daniel 8:25 shows that it will not be by human hands, but what will remove these kings is in fact Jehovah, at Armageddon, when he will remove all earthly kings to make way for HIS kingdom. This is described for us in Daniel 2:44 (READ) Satan and his demons will be locked away and eventually destroyed, so his influence will be removed mankind. This means brothers, sisters, and friends that we need to act now, Habakkuk 2:3 emphasises the point that Jehovahs Day will not be late, even if it seems like it is delaying, Jehovah has picked his time right from the beginning, and will not change it. We can act by the counsel found at Isaiah 55:6,7 (READ) So we need to Seek Jehovah for his guidance and mercy, we need to seek righteousness by bringing our lives into harmony with the requirements found in Gods word- the Bible, and we need to seek meekness, by being humble and willing to make changes, we must stay close to the organisation set up by Jehovah, as information on how to survive Armageddon is being progressively released. Going back to the introduction, all of these predictions about the end of the world and how people think all these nasty things will wind up destroying everything. This isnt the case according to the scriptures, because it shows that Armageddon is necessary to clear out all wickedness upon the earth so it can pave the way for peaceful conditions, described for us in many verses, but probably the most well-known one is found in Revelation 21:3,4 (READ) Blessings will flow to Jehovahs people, the ones surviving Armageddon, as they transform the earth into a paradise that will be free of the things we see today like pollution, pain, tears, death, sickness and so on If we take action, and by our actions, survive Jehovahs war, we can be thankful to Him each day, forever.