All Nations DO NOT Invade Israel at Armageddon
Do all the nations of the world invade Israel in the last days? This is a question I have asked God about for decades. The established teaching is yes, all the nations of the earth. Isn’t that what it says? But this never set with me. I mean, really, is Peru going to invade Israel? Is Paraguay? Nepal? Nonsense. I always knew we were missing something.
In this short teaching, I will show you that only some of the surrounding nations invade Israel at Armageddon.
The Great Wine Press of the Wrath of God
The battle of Armageddon is called the great wine press of the wrath of God.
Revelation 14:18-20 “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred stadios (600 feet or about 23 miles).
The wine press is trodden outside the city. The blood runs for 23 miles. Here’s another verse on the wine press from chapter 19.
Revelation 19:15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
Armageddon
Now for the only verse that says Armageddon.
Revelation 16:14,16 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. (the hill or city of Megiddo usually called Armageddon)
We’ll get to the ‘kings of the whole world’ issue in a minute.
All the Surrounding Nations
Now to find out what nations actually invade Israel. When John speaks of the wine press in Revelation, he is referencing the prophet Joel. The whole context of Joel chapter three is the Day of the Lord. The day when Messiah returns, destroys the enemies, and establishes the kingdom of Heaven on earth.
Joel 3:10-14 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones.
12 Let the nations be aroused
And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge
All the surrounding nations.
13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
Put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe. This is exactly what Rev 14 says. The next verse confirms we are talking about the day of the Lord.
The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The battle in Joel three is the wine press of the wrath of God, Armageddon. Joel tells us exactly what nations invade Israel at Armageddon. All the surrounding nations!
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations.
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Why Does Everyone Say All the Nations of the Earth?
Two times Joel says all the surrounding nations. So why does everyone say it is all the nations of the earth at Armageddon? Zechariah also talks about the battle of Armageddon.
Zechariah 12:3 It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.
Zechariah says all the nations of the earth will be gathered at Armageddon. Joel says only the surrounding nations will be gathered at Armageddon. Is one of these guys wrong? Which one is it?
In English, we pretty much have two definitions of “earth”. One is the dirt we plant stuff in. The other is the planet we live on. Sector 001 for you Star Trek fans. But the Bible wasn’t written in English. Zechariah was written in Hebrew. So, what does the “earth” mean in Hebrew?
Hebrew Meaning of the Word Earth
Earth – The Hebrew word אֶרֶץ (eretz), Strong’s H0776, a noun meaning earth, land, ground, country, territory.
The second two meanings in Hebrew do not occur in English. Country or territory — a defined land area, such as the land of Israel. Eretz Israel.
Joel has already made clear that the nations invading Israel at Armageddon are the surrounding nations. So, when Zechariah says, “all the nations of the earth,” he is referring to all the nations within that territory or defined land area—in other words, the surrounding nations Joel describes.
Later in Zechariah 14, the same war is mentioned again. It says, “all the nations”, also.
Zechariah 14:1-2 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle.
But now look at verse 14.
Zechariah 14:14 and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
This time, while describing the same war of Armageddon, Zechariah says, all the surrounding nations. Exactly what Joel says. The surrounding nations. Going back to chapter 12:
Zechariah 12:2 Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around.
Not all the people on the earth. Only the people around Jerusalem.
Kings of the Whole World
Let’s go back to our verse in Revelation 16.
Revelation 16:13-16 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.
The unclean spirits of demons go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the battle of Armageddon. The kings of the whole world or earth. Once again, this implies that it is all the nations of the earth. Just like in Hebrew, the word world or earth, in Greek does not necessarily mean the whole planet.
Greek Meaning of the Word Earth
Strong’s Number G3625 Greek word: οἰκουμένη (oikouménē)
In biblical Greek contexts, this word can refer to a specific part of the earth. In bible days it was commonly used to describe the Greek-speaking world in the time of the Greek Empire.
The biblical Greek word, world or earth, is a flexible term reflecting the historical and cultural scope of the Greek-speaking world in the New Testament era.
Walid taught me this many years ago. If you look at a map of the Greek empire under Alexander the Great, it is all the nations surrounding Israel.
The Kings of the Whole World – What Kings? Ten Kings
The kings of the whole world or earth are gathered together at Armageddon. What kings?
Revelation 17:12-13 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. 13 These have one purpose, and they give their power and authority to the beast.
In chapter 16, when it says the kings of the earth are gathered at Armageddon, it is referring to the ten kings who receive a kingdom with the beast. They are given ten kingdoms surrounding Israel.
Revelation 19:15,19 He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh, He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
Ten kings receive a kingdom and authority from the beast. The beast and the ten kings assemble to make war against Him who sat on the horse. Ten nations surrounding Israel. These are the ten toes in Daniel’s vision. Messiah will return to the earth and strike the ten toes.
This is the final battle – Armageddon.
Conclusion
All nations do NOT invade Israel at Armageddon. Only the surrounding nations. Ten of them. Most of the nations surrounding Israel today are Muslim. Many of them have already committed to the destruction of Israel. Ten of these nations will join with the beast and invade Israel. Jesus will destroy the armies and throw the beast into the abyss and establish the 1000-year kingdom on earth.
The obvious question now is, what about the Gog Magog war? Are there two last day battles or just one? Is Gog Magog and Armageddon two separate wars or the same war? We’ll answer that question in another teaching.