What is Armageddon? (4)

What do your "garments" look like?

Are you standing with Jesus Christ today? Do you stand with God in truth when we see signs of spiritual and moral decay all around us? Have you looked at popular culture lately? The signs of inner-cancer are plain to see. Of course, we would all say that we try to stand our ground and keep our morals intact. But it's so easy to slowly allow tolerance of sin to seep into our lives.

Megiddo was a place where empires sought to control the ancient world. In this prophecy, it represents sinful man's final effort to control the world apart from the righteous creator God. And, there is a parallel to our society today. Let me explain why. Let me give you just one example.

There is one vivid lesson from the old city of Megiddo that illustrates my point. At the edge of the city is a large circular altar. Throughout history people would offer sacrifices on this altar in the worship of a fertility god. Now some historians even believe that human sacrifices were made here. This would also include child sacrifice. Imagine what one of those worship services might be like. Loud music. Worshippers dancing, shouting and calling out to the fertility god. A large fire roaring on the altar. And then they throw a small child into the embers to die an excruciating, senseless death in service of a fake god. It's difficult to imagine how people could do such a thing. Today, we recoil in shock and horror at the thought.

But you know what? It happened in Megiddo way back then - and it happens today. We don't call it child sacrifice, we call it abortion. Every year we sacrifice millions of babies to our modern gods - the gods of convenience and personal choice. We can't bring ourselves to call it murder. We call it planned parenthood. And instead of calling it a child, we call it a fetus. We deny that the child is a life and then we deny the child its life. We have corrupted our sense of right and wrong. We call good evil, and evil good. The stain of abortion today is but one of many sins that will bring God's judgment on our country and the whole world.

Yet abortion is just one sin that we've allowed to control us - greed, gluttony, adultery, drunkenness, and much more convict us before God. We are a society turned inside out, incapable of discerning righteous judgment.

Mankind's sin and rejection of God's way is exactly why this battle - that many people call "Armageddon" - why that battle must take place. This final battle represents God's judgment on a world that has forgotten and rejected Him in favor of their own desires.

We have forgotten God and abandoned His spiritual law. We are a people who do not want to admit that God has a sovereign claim on our lives. We are unwilling to submit to Him in obedience. What the apostle Paul wrote applies to us: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans:1:28).

Megiddo was a key city in the ancient world. Whoever controlled it controlled a vital link in world commerce. And in the end of the age, Megiddo - or it's other name, Armageddon - represents man's last effort to control the world without God. Let God's words motivate us to discern this time and not be caught unaware, naked and ashamed.

To be cont'd. 

God bless you.