Beyond Armageddon

By Kenneth Anderson

Have you noticed? As the bible proclaims, Satan now seems to be aware that his existence is soon doomed. As promised, He has released his demons to create havoc and destruction on the earth and its inhabitants.

But keep looking up! Our redemption draws near! Countless victims of Satan’s smokescreens have believed the lie that the world's timeline is waiting for the 4th chapter of Revelation to unfold. Due to that very error, your first epiphany may come in the first chapter, when you learn how much we have missed. Events foretold nearly 2000 years ago have come to pass without being recognized!

After that aha moment, every detail given in Revelation to John, probably the first (at age 15) and surely the last living apostle of Jesus, will be considered and researched. We are today, by my research, past the best opportunity to introduce this book. Indeed, I offered some of its information to William Goodling, my Congressman from PA at the time. I did not get a response from him.

As time has passed, I have seen event after event come to pass, with little or no understanding by those involved to recognize, much less believe, how they will be affected by God's sequence of events. It’s time to change our direction, and all of us—you and I—must agree and participate, to find the swamp in our own church home, and drain it now. The time is short, but Jesus will help once we determine the urgency. He promised. Trust Him.

Wars and rumors of war, told by Jesus to forewarn us, have in fact become a part of our daily life, along with worldwide pestilence. These will soon fade into our past. Again, it’s a team effort, countries and their citizens are progressing, to ensure God that we are aware of His love for us and (believe it or not) His need for our love in return.

I firmly believe we are entering an era of great revival, goodwill, prosperity, and ultimate victory, climaxed with the return to earth of Jesus Christ. There will remain a residue of demonic activity, but that too will fade away. Speak as Jesus did: “Get behind me, Satan.” Again, Jesus promised to help us emerge victorious.

Like Adam, we will again enjoy walking and talking with Jesus in a new Garden of Eden called New Jerusalem. You can anticipate the events and mark them in this book, keep track of their progress, project your approval to God the Father, and believe they are already finished in heaven, and now await our invitation. Come, Lord Jesus, welcome to Your party!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Anderson
• Release date: Sep 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370080090

Kenneth Anderson

Ken Anderson is a former teacher, musician (USAF Bands), photographer, coder, writer...and perpetual student. He will never retire. His interests are still in family, church, music, photography, travel, and writing. This is his first book, and it's about religion, a subject he has been interested in and studying since he was a teenager.Ken holds a BS in Music Education, an MS in Applied Music and several certificates in computer programming. He earned a second prize in the Asahi Pentax World Photo Contest in 1972, published a song that became a gold record one week after its release, and wrote arrangements for a Panamanian TV entertainer and led the TV band. USAF band tours included several Latin American countries, with time off for public relations to also tour as tenor soloist and assistant conductor with the national choir of Panama to David, Panama, and Cali, Columbia. He has played oboe in the Binghamton (NY) Opera Orchestra, the Brico Symphony of Denver, CO, USAF bands in Colorado and the Canal Zone, and the Spring Garden Band of York, PA in addition to various venues contracted through the musician's union.

Book preview

Beyond Armageddon

Copyright 2001 by Kenneth Anderson

Published by Kenneth Anderson at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Prologue

A Wakeup Shock

Setting the Stage

The Seven Seals

The Seven Trumpets

The Mystery Play

Clues

Babylon

Daniel’s Visions

The Family of God

The Unholy Trinity

Daniel Revisited

The Harvest

Seven Last Plagues

From the False Prophet

From the Dragon

From the Beast

The Army of Christ

Appendix One

Appendix Two

About the Author

Connect with Kenneth Anderson

Prologue

7-20-2016

Something sinister is happening.

I'm sure many of you feel the same way about events or changes in your own life. Here are my latest clues and the reason I have decided to tackle this task again.

I am currently editing the final draft of a book manuscript I started in 1974 and completed years ago, around 1985. I had set the book aside for reasons you may understand when you read it. Since then I have watched as events predicted 2000 years ago have emerged and expanded. This introduction will give you a taste of my reason to reconsider offering this book. These brief dated notes represent events that seem very small until you see them in the context of the subject.

Less than a month ago I made a rare visit to a local bookstore. What I wanted was not there so I browsed. In the bible reference section was a new version of Strong's Concordance to the King James Bible. That intrigued me. It was also interesting that the original (and familiar) Strong's was not there; it is a staple in every church library in the nation, or so I thought. I couldn't resist checking out a few items.

In the early pages of the new version the contributors declare some corrections had been made, but did not elaborate. These days, such claims make me suspicious. So I looked up a word that is vital for this book—Armageddon. Indeed, the definition had changed considerably. Because of what I know about today's educational conditions in general, I immediately got very negative vibes about this edition, especially since the original was not available to compare.

When the original and trusted definition of Armageddon changes it indicates that someone, or a group with an agenda, has discovered a need for revision. In this case the nature of its change is loss of the original. For me it is an attempt to alter or hide the true meaning of the word; the only source for it was Strong's Concordance. So I looked up the work on the Internet. Fortunately there is still an internet source that is comprehensive—it includes the definition I deem important as well as the revised one. I am satisfied that the definition of the root words I use is an accurate one, and it may be available for a little while longer on the internet. You will understand its importance when you read the first chapter.

When I looked at one of my other sources for old books—the Project Gutenberg web site—a message told me it was for sale. Yet when I searched for information for Sir Isaac Newton I was pleasantly surprised to find it was still there. Again the question pops up: Why insert a false message to steer users away from a trusted web site?

The challenges confront me daily to read the signs of the times, as Jesus suggested. I'm sure you see some of them, too. False prophets, entire countries going bankrupt, terrorism on a global scale, along with new scientific and technological breakthroughs, anarchy, Christians and Jews under persecution falling away from their faith—these are just a few today's obvious conditions that Jesus Himself and other scriptural resources predicted 2000 years ago.

Every 100 years or so since 1600 someone has updated an interpretation of prophecy that seems to start with the Apostle John. Sir Isaac Newton, however, gets credit for the first definitive study. I have found evidence that some of the early church founders of the Reformation movement trusted this interpretation. For years I have expected someone else to put forth the update for this century, but it has not happened. One or two groups considered to be cults have entertained a version of it, but they lose focus when they tend to make a religion out of it at some point. I have therefore reluctantly felt the call to issue this and include massive footnotes to support both the interpretation and the process going forward.

There are quite a few references in this book. Normally they are found at the end of the book, or at the bottom of each page, or at the end of a chapter. To automate the conversion so ebooks can be made available for all the media—readers, phones, tablets, PCs and whatever else comes around later—I have had to make some adjustments. Instead of linking each reference and providing a return link, too many such links would lose you, the reader, in some never-never land of no return if you slid past the wrong link by accident. Therefore, each source reference has been attached directly below the passage it represents.

In addition I have removed several pages of web addresses that will soon reside in my blog site archive. There you may find updates sooner than you would if you waited for them here. In that regard, because you bought my book you will qualify for free updates for a year beyond your purchase date.

I truly hope you will gain something worthwhile from my book—new insights, a different way to look at things, maybe even a new direction for your life.

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A Wakeup Shock

Buzzwords

Armageddon—666—The mark of the beast. What do you think and feel when you hear or read these words? Are you fearful? Uneasy? Curious? Skeptical? Excited? Doubtful? Or just plain Bored? Thanks to books, book series, movies and now the internet, these terms keep us in fear and challenge our sense of logic.

Even if you know nothing else about the Bible or the Christian belief system you know these terms all refer, in some way, to The End Of The World As We Know It—TEOTWAWKI is the survivalist acronym for that event. The media buzz includes fictional images of demonic characters with super abilities, able to start fires with their eyes, toss around people and objects with their thoughts and thus to lead the resisting world to the final conflict that wipes out all life on earth.

We will deal with all these terms later in the book. First, consider the word Armageddon. It will set up the need to dig deeper.

Popular religious books claim an event called Armageddon is supposed to happen on the plains of Megiddo in Israel. That sounds reasonable, doesn't it? The words are so close. The most popular views of prophecy expect an epic battle to occur there among many countries of the world. But they combine this passage with a passage from the book of Joel that says the battle on the Day of the Lord will take place at the valley of decision—also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat. (Joel 3:1-2, 9-16.)

Would it surprise you to learn the word Armageddon only appears one time in Scripture?

Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16.)

That’s all it says. Two verses earlier there is this:

They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:14.)

But is Armageddon the site of the battle? Does the battle actually occur when and where the kings are gathered? Most scholars think so, but how precise must our interpretation of scripture be? For now, consider that the meaning of each word is absolute, no variation permitted. Based on that, there will be a gathering that takes place, and its purpose is a battle. Where does it say this battle actually happens? Nothing in the Bible declares that a battle will occur at the place called Armageddon. In spite of the two-verse distance here, there is no reference to an actual battle called Armageddon. Just a gathering of kings.

According to Scripture, Armageddon is a Hebrew word. It is also the name of a place, not the name of an event. If you don’t speak Hebrew how will you know the place if it doesn’t have the Hebrew name? Hebrew became nearly a dead language soon after John wrote Revelation. Greek was the common language during his life. The New Testament was written in Greek—except for this one word. Why not use the Greek name? And why would John, writing in Greek, insert this single Hebrew word? Do you think God may have had a reason to give us the name only in Hebrew? Since the rebirth of Israel in 1948 ancient Hebrew has become very much a live, vibrant language. Yes, for those of you who are too young or haven't learned about that, Israel became a nation a second time in 1948. But that's a different story.

Consider the meaning of Armageddon from this perspective: If you visit France, would you order escargot from a menu, not knowing what it is? Wouldn’t you ask what the word means in your own language before you decide to try it? An Italian delicacy is known as calamari. Would you taste it before you know what the word means in English? You will probably answer no way. Then why, for the past two thousand years, has nobody ever bothered to find out what the Hebrew word Armageddon means when you translate it into English? Or other active languages.

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the King James Version of the Bible, the word Armageddon (Greek #717) comes from two Hebrew words: Har (Hebrew #2022) and Megiddown (Hebrew #4023.) N

The source for all definitions of original text – Hebrew, Chaldean, or Greek – is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, by James Strong, published by Regal Publishers, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee 37206. (No date given.) The reference in parentheses shows which dictionary was used and the entry number.

An examination of the word Har yields a mountain or a range of hills. Megiddown, in turn, is defined as rendezvous, or gathering. Combining these two words, as the Revelation prophecy does, we get a place that is called Mountain Rendezvous in English.

Interesting discovery? The experts all agree that a battle is to occur on the plains of Megiddo, also called the "valley of decision." But the place is named Mountain Rendezvous. So exactly what is Armageddon, a plain, a valley or a mountain?

Is there a place today called Mountain Rendezvous—in any language? I believe there is, and it is known in every language. If we can use synonyms for the Hebrew words, there is a place that meets the criteria for the Hebrew name Armageddon. You have known it for years.

The Soviet Union and the United States were on the same side during World War II. When it ended, however, much of Europe remained under the control of Communist Russia—the Soviet Union. Germany was divided into East Germany and West Germany, with a wall built by the Soviet Union to keep them apart. When the Soviet Union produced the atomic bomb and continued its policy of Communist aggression, the United States and the Soviet Union entered into a dangerous standoff known as The Cold War.

In 1957, Dwight David Eisenhower was President of the United States and Nikita Khrushchev was the Soviet Union Premier. These two nations were called super powers. They were the only nations able to destroy not only each other but the entire world. More than one close call nearly resulted in nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. The incidents persuaded the leaders of both countries to have a meeting to discuss the rules for the Cold War in hope of averting a nuclear holocaust. The first ever meeting between the two super-powers was to be held in 1958.

I asked a schoolmate who for years lived and worked in Russia as a translator, to see who first gave a name to this meeting. It was the Communist leader, atheist Nikita Khrushchev, who supplied the name for them. He called them (excuse my phonetic spelling) vstrech’-nee na vwesh’-an u-rav’-nyeh. The literal English translation for this phrase is meetings at the highest level. It is an accurate Russian translation of the ancient Hebrew word Armageddon. And in English? In the United States we have shortened that to summit meeting or summit conference.

Is this Mountain Rendezvous the place the bible named Armageddon? One of the synonyms for mountain is summit. One of the synonyms for rendezvous is meeting. Another one is conference. We have had many such summit meetings since 1958, calling some of them summit conferences. You can trade the words; they mean almost the same thing.

Do you think summit meeting is a proper English translation of the Hebrew word Armageddon? It requires no stretch of the imagination. Moreover, the concept can also qualify as a valley of decision. It is a battleground as surely as the more violent version we expect. Indeed, if a summit meeting fails to reach an accord, the expected violent version of the battle will surely erupt.

This brings us to the reason for this book title: Beyond Armageddon. I believe we are living through events foretold in the 16th chapter of Revelation. The pop view tells us the church will be raptured before events of the 4th chapter occur. Everything after that expected rapture event is in our future, say the writers of the popular views. I am able, however, to present evidence in support of a different perspective, one that does not require revision every decade.

The view expressed here may shock you. It shocked me. But it is not new. It may be instead the earliest explanation of the book of Revelation, first realized by Sir Isaac Newton, who is best known for his scientific discovery of gravity. The events cannot be easily recognized until after they have happened—a drawback for those who are not history buffs. Incidents in Revelation are so couched in symbolism it is nearly impossible to predict what will happen in the future, but easy to follow the clues (established by Sir Isaac) when we see what has already happened.

We will try to include all relevant data, but many details are left out. When evidence makes a gory gash in your soul there is no reason to pour salt on the open wound. An appendix, however, lists web sites where you can search in greater detail the subjects presented here. I have listed some web sites with opposing views so you may draw your own conclusions about this work.

For nearly 40 years I have resisted publishing this book. I was sure an experienced or better known writer would produce a similar view. That has not happened. Recent events have caused me to rethink my reluctance, revisit and expand this interpretation.

God’s people are urged to escape from Babylon before it is too late. (Revelation 18:4.) It is thus vital to know what Babylon is, what it represents spiritually and how it has affected the world. In essence that is what we seek to examine along with the means to exit before TEOTWAWKI, or Armageddon comes to pass.

It is common for people to mistrust or dismiss the Bible as outdated. I hope to prove to you the Bible is as important as ever—the most important book you will ever read. As you continue, it may become apparent to you that this world vibrates with signs and evidence of the activity of God!

Ground Rules

For centuries Jewish scholars studied diligently to understand the nature and scope of the Messiah they expected. Some expected a Messiah described as suffering servant by the prophet Isaiah. (Isaiah 53:3) Others looked for a great leader, descended from their king, David, who would bring them to a victorious kingdom. (II Samuel 7:5a, 16.) While both views were flawed or incomplete, it is also true that both were partly correct: Jesus was both the suffering servant and the descendant of David who ushered in an everlasting spiritual kingdom. Because of their errors, Jesus described them as blind leaders, unable to read the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:1-3, 23:23-24.)

Has anything changed? Jews still look forward to the arrival of their Messiah. Christians expect Jesus to return as the true Messiah. Scholars study Scripture to comprehend the nature of Christ’s return. Opinions vary widely—likely all of them are still partly right and partly wrong.

Christians look for Jesus to return in person, but when? A few say He is already here. Most hold one of three other opinions.

1. He will arrive at any time, but soon.

2. He will arrive to interrupt the final conflict and carry away the faithful.

3. He will arrive after a thousand years of coming prosperity, peace and happiness.

Can we improve the odds for accuracy? Perhaps so, if we discipline ourselves. To that end each step will include the following ground rules.

1. Interpret Scripture using symbols defined in scripture itself, where possible.

2. Keep scripture in context and document chapter and verse so the context can be verified.

3. Identify sources, either in the text or in footnotes.

4. Apply the scientific method where possible.

The Scientific Method

Are science and religion opposites? Why would a Christian presume to incorporate science in a study of prophecy? Science is simply the practice of testing various theories. A scientific test seldom leads to proof in the black and white sense, but the results do tend to strengthen or weaken a given theory. That is my intention.

By definition, the term revelation refers to something exposed, or revealed. The book of prophecy called Revelation claims to disclose a message to God’s servants regarding events that would soon occur. (Revelation 1:1-3.) Is the book of Revelation just what it claims to be? That will be the first theory to test.

The second theory assumes that when a word symbolizes one thing in Genesis it will also symbolize the same thing in Psalms or Revelation. Our purpose is twofold: to eliminate variations in the meaning of symbols and to rely instead on scripture to define how each symbol should be defined. Indeed, one goal of science is to eliminate variables. A Christian who believes that God never changes and that the Bible is the Word of God should accept such consistency.

If you find the prophecy is what it claims to be and you ensure the symbols are consistent in scripture, then you can apply the third theory: constructing an event (hypothesis) based on what the symbols require.

The law of probability is another viable test used in scientific method. During my research I relied on the law of probability on more than one occasion to help me deal with my own distrust, doubt and disbelief. Since it is not relevant to the descriptive portion of this book, however, the results of this test have been placed in an appendix. Perhaps they will impress you as they did me.

Ways to View Prophecy

There are three ways to interpret prophecy, according to internal evidence from the Bible. I call them literal, spiritual and typical.

Prophecy requires literal (exact, 100%) fulfillment. To qualify as prophecy, all the events foretold must come to pass. (Deuteronomy 18:17-22.) Jesus, for example, quoted the passage from Isaiah 11:1-5 when he announced the beginning of his mission. (Luke 4:16-21.) Christians accept this announcement by Jesus as the literal fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah.

Several years later, the apostle Paul quoted this same passage. Writing to the church at Corinth, he said the gifts of the spirit Isaiah described are available to all Christians through the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:7-11) Paul repeated the Isaiah gifts in his letter to the Ephesians in a call-to-arms variant he called the armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11-14.)

Such additional references to the same passage pose a way to interpret prophecy that goes beyond the literal. Paul writes that the gifts identified by the prophet Isaiah are available to any Christian under the same anointing of the Holy Spirit. To interpret a passage in a spiritual sense is to show how it may apply to anybody who takes ownership. Because Paul made such a spiritual interpretation we have permission to do the same. We are not permitted to omit a literal interpretation, only to superimpose a spiritual one.

The third way we are permitted to interpret Scripture is called typical. It applies to any Scripture, not only to prophecy. Any event may be the start of a characteristic, or pattern, for similar events that happen later. Our brief description would be history tends to repeat itself. Consider briefly the story of Jacob and Esau and see how later events are characterized by referring to the original.

In Genesis 25:29-30 Esau begs Jacob for some red stew. He is identified there as Edom, a word that means red. Esau is indeed regarded as the father of the Edomites. Thus the country of Edom inherits the character of Esau, and the character of Esau describes, in type, the character of the Edomites.

You may be familiar with other types so common that Christians need no further scriptural reference. Jesus, for example, refers to John the Baptist as a type of Elijah. He speaks of the church as The Holy City, which we know refers to Jerusalem. A person anointed by the Holy Spirit is called a temple, showing the temple to be a type for believers. Paul tells us Jesus Christ is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the priest of the God Most High at Salem, where Jerusalem stands today. Melchizedek was without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. (Heb. 7:3) Abraham brought him what is the first instance of a tithe recorded in the bible. (Gen. 14:18-20.) Melchizedek is also the first example of someone who was transfigured instead of dying—what the pop view of Revelation identifies as the first instance of a rapture.

Early in the book of Revelation there is a prophecy that has been interpreted in all three of these ways. We will begin our journey there. It turn, it will serve to introduce us to the study of the symbolic language used in Revelation. It will also clarify some confusion found in the popular views.

Letter to the Church at Ephesus

The city of Ephesus was the capital of Asia. A church was started there by Paul, the apostle. (Acts 19:1-10.) Timothy was a young leader at that church when Paul wrote to him. (I Timothy 1:3.) John, the apostle, lived and taught there for over 20 years. Two of John’s students, Ignatius and Polycarp, are known as church fathers; a third church father, Irenaeus, was a student of Polycarp. Indeed, the church at Ephesus had a rich blessing in the first two centuries after the death of Christ.

The first letter in Revelation is to this church at Ephesus. (Rev. 2:1-7.) Jesus Christ commends them for exposing false apostles, for enduring persecutions and for hating evil men, especially the Nicolaitans. But he also reprimands them for abandoning their first love, and warns them to repent or he will remove their lampstand.

Revelation itself identifies the lampstand as a symbol for a church. (Rev. 1:20.) We expect the meaning of symbols to be consistent throughout scripture. Is that true of the lampstand symbol?

The church