In This Issue

• “ARMAGEDDON” AND “HELL”

• MODERN VERSIONS AND PERVERSIONS

• THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX

• MORE INFORMATION...

“ARMAGEDDON” AND “HELL”

Today, many believe and teach that there will be one last horrific battle fought here upon the earth between good and evil known as the battle of Armageddon. It is a battle that will occur just prior (or subsequent) to the 1000 year reign of Christ on the throne of David in the Temple in Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, like the 1000 year reign, Armageddon is mentioned specifically in only one chapter of the Bible, Revelation 16:13-16. This reference describes a scene in which frogs come forth from the mouths of creatures to do battle for the devil, the result of which is a war in which there are 200,000 horsemen and a river of blood 200 miles long. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? Well, it is.

To begin with, we must remember that while most view the book of Revelation as a book of prophecy, it is in reality, a book of history, for it deals with “things which must shortly take place” (Rev. 1:1). Not only so, these events were “signified,” that is, written in signs or symbolic language. Consequently, Christ reveals a vision to John concerning real events that were to happen in the lives of first century Christians masked in a cloak of figurative language. Understanding this, the language of Revelation 16 describes a real conflict between good and evil that existed in the first century as Rome persecuted faithful disciples of Christ.

Exactly what is Armageddon (Har-Magedon)? The Hebrew word “har” was used loosely to refer to “hill” or “hill country.” The hill of Megiddo was approximately 70 feet high in John’s day in the vicinity of the Carmel range. It was here, in the Valley of Jezreel where a number of famous battles were fought that historically stood as a battleground between the forces of good and evil. It was here that Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanites (Jdg. 4:15), Gideon defeated the Midianites (Jdg. 7), and Saul was defeated by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:8).

It needs to be recognized, however, that in speaking of Armageddon, or the hill of Megiddo, that John is not alluding to a literal place. Instead, Armageddon stands symbolically for the battleground where Satan and his army are destroyed and overcome by Christ. The entire message of Revelation was intended to encourage Christians to remain faithful in the midst of enormous pressures to worship the emperor of Rome. John wrote to inspire first century disciples to endure horrific persecution intended to force them into emperor worship. Armageddon describes this battle. So when Rome fell and false emperor worship ceased, the battle of Armageddon was over.

To understand this, consider that the use of geographical points to emphasize spiritual truths is a common Biblical phenomenon. For instance, the word “hell” (gahenna in Greek) relates to the Hebrew gehinnom, which was the valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem. 

It was in this valley the Jews offered their children as burnt sacrifices to pagan gods. Because of its connection with such events, Hinnom eventually became the city dump of Jerusalem in which fires burned constantly in an attempt to destroy the refuse. Consequently, because of its connection with suffering and pain and constant burning, gahenna became a symbol for the final punishment of hell.

It is just as absurd to believe that there will be a literal battle of Armageddon fought in the Valley of Jezreel as it is to believe that on the Day of Judgment God will cast the wicked in the literal valley of Hinnom just south of Jerusalem. The fact is, those fires went out centuries ago.

- Clark Dugger, The Proclaimer, Tyler, Texas

MODERN VERSIONS AND PERVERSIONS

There are over 450 versions of the Bible in English alone. New versions continue to be published, not all of which have as their primary interest that of being a precise translation of the ancient manuscripts. In fact, very few have that as their intended purpose.

The September 25, 1995 issue of U. S. News & World Report carried an article entitled "Street Talk, Simplicity and PC" which reported the aim of many of the modern-day versions of the Bible is to make the “ancient” scriptures more relevant and comprehensible to modern readers than the standard King James Version." I am all for comprehending the Biblical text and for using understandable translations that help us understand it. Current language rather than archaic words and expressions can be very helpful toward that end. At the same time we must recognize there are Bible "translations" that do not faithfully translate the ancient text. Rather than producing faithful translations, such versions are "thought" translations, offering us interpretations of the text rather than translations of it. These will not help us arrive at an accurate understanding of God's word since their objective is not a word for word translation. Such versions cannot be confidently relied on as God's word.

Some attempts at modern language Bibles are nothing short of blasphemous. THE NEW TESTAMENT AND PSALMS: AN INCLUSIVE VERSION, published by Oxford University Press, uses gender-neutral language and other departures from the original text. God the Father is now the "Father-Mother" and the Son of Man is "the human one." So as not offend left-handed people, God's right hand is now His "mighty hand," and to avoid racial overtones, "darkness" is not used to depict evil. Ah yes, politically correct scriptures yet woefully corrupt translations.

Then there is the BLACK BIBLE CHRONICLES, a paraphrase by P. K. McCary, a Houston educator. She has used slang to "liven up" Biblical narratives for African-American teenagers. Here is her treatment of creation from Genesis One: "Now when the Almighty was first down with his program, He made the heavens and the earth. The earth was a fashion misfit, being so uncool and dark, but the Spirit of the Almighty came down real tough, so that He simply said, 'Lighten up!' And that light was right on time." McCary also offers a paraphrase of the gospel called RAPPING WITH JESUS.

We can learn at least two things from this. First, when we are not convinced the Bible is the verbally inspired word of God we begin to take more and more license with it. We fail to respect it as we should. We begin to shape it and mold it into what we want it to be, instead of conforming ourselves to it. The Bible calls such manipulation of the scriptures sin that leads to destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). Man has become the standard by which the Bible is judged instead of the other way around.

Second, could it be that we have become so lazy in our reading and study of the Bible that we simply do not want to exert the energy and effort required to know and properly use it? (2 Tim. 2:15) We want all the work done for us. We have become comfortable with mediocre Bible knowledge. We should remember that Israel was destroyed for her lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6).

God's word is "living and active" and "abides forever" (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23-25). We should use a translation of the Bible we can easily read and that is faithful to the Hebrew and Greek text. But we must not alter the text and meaning of God's inspired word with "modern versions" that are really perversions (Gal. 1:6-9).

– Joe Price via Eastside church, Athens, Alabama

THE LION SHALL EAT STRAW LIKE THE OX

Many religious people are looking for a coming kingdom of Christ here on earth. They expect Jesus to return, conquer the forces of evil, and establish a physical kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. It will last for 1000 years, and Christ will personally and literally reign on David's restored throne.

There are a host of scriptures that are twisted to arrive at this conclusion. It is a theory most commonly referred to as "premillennialism”. A favorite proof text is Isaiah 11:1ff:

"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him . . . and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." 

This passage is clearly messianic; that is, it is a prophecy of the work to be accomplished by the Christ. But what does it actually foretell?

The premillennialist looks forward to a wonderful 1000-year reign of Christ. Everything will be so beautiful and peaceful, so they say, that the wolf will literally dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, etc. Even the lion will stop being a predatory animal and will eat straw like an ox, according to their view.

Is this literal interpretation right? Or could the prophet be using figurative, symbolic language? Thankfully we have an inspired commentary on these verses in Romans 15.

In much of the book of Romans Paul deals with some of the Jew/Gentile problems that plagued the early church. In the immediate context of chapter 15, Paul instructs them to: "be like-minded one toward another" (vs. 5) "with one mind and mouth glorify God" (vs. 6) "receive ye one another" (vs. 7)

He then reminds them that Jesus' mission was "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (vs. 8,9). To prove this he then quotes from Psalms 18:49, Deut. 32:43, Psalms 117:1, AND Isaiah 11:10.

By inspiration Paul has explained that Isaiah 11 is symbolic language, referring to a time when the Messiah would make peace where it had not existed before. Not literally among the animal world, but rather between the Jew and Gentile. In His kingdom (now existing) we are one (Gal. 3:28). In Ephesians 2:14-16 the apostle affirms the same truth: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby."

Here, then, is the promised peace of Isaiah 11. There is no future earthly kingdom to come. We can enjoy citizenship in the kingdom of Christ NOW, with all the benefits He has promised.

– Greg Gwin via Bible Studies web page

MORE INFORMATION...