How Close Are We to Armageddon?

0:00Hi there, Rabbi. Hello, Joe. With the stuff going on in the world today, especially in the Middle East, we're hearing lots of talk on the news about different groups, crying out, it's Armageddon. It's the end of times. Most people dismiss that kind of talk as being just religious fanaticism and not very important or significant. What do you think of that? It's very important, it's very significant, and the movement, they're called Christian Zionists and there's millions of dollars, and they're lobbying. And so it's extremely important for us to look at and take seriously and also to respect how they view the book of Revelation, how they view God's plan unfolding.

1:02So because we really should understand where they're coming from because it's not silly or ridiculous, it's not fringe, it's truly based on theology. Well, turning to my theological expert, can you give us some background on Armageddon? Certainly, the word comes from the book of Revelation, chapter 16, verse 16, one verse. It's mentioned there, and it's a, what's, what's together word? Har Megiddo, Megiddo is a place in the Jesuil Valley and was a crossroads, any of the armies that were marching east to west, west to east, it was the road. It was a very important strategic place, and so everyone would have recognized a reference to the mountain at Megiddo in Hebrew, it's Har Megiddo, okay?

2:09And if you say, Har Megiddo, if you say it fast enough, it comes out as Armageddon. And so that's all that the word means, and it's a, it's a very real place. It's on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Megiddo. And so it's odd that one verse in the book of Revelation has taken on so much importance because it's really connected with the, the prophet Zachariah. And he talks about Megiddo, but there was never a battle there. All that happened was a gathering place when we look at the book of Revelation itself. It says, the forces of evil will assemble before the end. And they're going to assemble Har Megiddo.

3:09So it's a mustering ground in military terms. We're all going to gather at this place. And these, these forces of evil were described. We have to go back to Zachariah. And it talks about some type of a confrontation, some type of a battle that's going to take place. And there's a listing of the countries that would be gathered there. And it talks about Persia, which we know is modern-day Iran. It talks about Russia. It talks about Kush, which is North Africa. And it tells us that there'll be a gathering of forces from these countries, these places, at this designated location. So I can see how some modern people would interpret that as the end of days.

4:14Is that, and I suppose to a person who was firmly convinced that in literal translation of the Bible, that this is something significant. How significant is that in modern-day politics? So we have to go back to 1948, because that's where this all begins. Because the prophecy says that the Jews will be restored to their land. And the founding of the State of Israel was a beginning of that process of the founding, of the fulfilling the prophecy. So we start in 1948, and then we can move through each of these steps and we can watch the prophecies unfolding in real time. Okay, so now that we have established that this is all very real to some people,

5:16what are the types of groups that are using this information as political leverage in the current administration? How are, who are they? You mentioned Christian Zionism. Christians united for Israel, founded in 2006 by Pastor John Hagey. He was a minister in one of the mega-churches in Texas, San Antonio, I think. And they have conventions, and they go to Congress, and they lobby, and then they go back and talk to voters. So not everyone is really members of this organization. This organization is a grassroots organization. And they were instrumental in moving the embassy of the United States from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That was in 2018. They were very real political power.

6:16What kind of numbers are we talking about here? I keep thinking, you know, guys in little wooden churches getting together. Between 15 and 40 million Americans. That's a big number. It is. It's larger than APAC, the main Jewish pro-Israel group. It's not a fringe. It's a serious political constituency that's influencing politicians in the halls, then going back to the community and pointing out that we're watching the fulfilment of the prophecy. And they're throwing money into this as well, I assume? Lots of money. Lots of money. I don't remember the figures somewhere, but there's a lot of money. Well, how do Jews feel about this? I mean, the Christians are coming to save us. Oh, boy, it's really a serious problem because Israeli politicians welcome it enthusiastically

7:24because it's money, it's political support from the United States. They're not looking at the end of time framework. And that's what American Jews are looking at. Because ultimately we, the Jewish people, will convert to Christianity and welcome Jesus in Israel, in the promised land. And that is the end of the story. All that aside, it doesn't seem like anybody politicians with any common sense at all are doing anything more than paying lip service attention to these political groups. And the Jews you're saying are not bothered by it so much, as long as they keep sending money to Israel to support. So what do we do about this? What do we take away from this? You're absolutely right. They're not doing anything wrong.

8:25They're not subversive. They're actually very democratic. Because from their perspective, any deal that stabilizes Iran and keeps it as a regional power is working against the prophecy. The prophecy says Iran will fall. And that's the goal. So they're engaging millions of voters. They're well funded lobbying organization. And they are just promoting what they believe. And that's why we're doing this show show with this show Joe. So that people can become aware that they're a legitimate political organization and not doing anything subversive. And they want everything to blow up. They want everything to be destroyed. They want all the armies of evil to gather and descend upon Israel.

9:25Because they think with Armageddon that what? We're good at we're all good. The rapture will start or exactly. The Jews will return to Israel. Recognize Jesus as the Christ. And the prophecies will be fulfilled. And Jesus will reign on earth. And supporting Israel then is scripturally grounded and morally right. And there's no reason for them to apologize. They're not doing anything wrong. OK, well, this should raise the eyebrows of at least a few. What's the word I want to find here? Rational people who weren't aware of this intent. I never thought it was going to be that much of a difference. What a fringe group had in mind. But now you've convinced me that it's a little bit more than that. So what do we do? Do we form a large group and start lobbying Congress or what?

10:31The first step is to become aware of the prophecies and then to publicly for Christian preachers, Catholic, Protestant, to point out that this is just one view of the scriptures. And it's not the dominant view. But as long as only one group is promoting it, it appears to be the dominant view among Christians. It's up to Christians to pick up the banner and challenge this group's use of scripture and say that that's not the prophecy. And we're not watching a prophecy unfold on the evening news. Well, I'm going to take pen and hand. Rabbi, thank you for this information. And I hope our listeners hit that subscribe button or follow. We appreciate it and it doesn't cost you anything to do the same because as you and I have often agreed upon, anything that's

11:31based on a book written by the angels is not necessarily the best guide for political strategy. And for those watching and listening, just because they pour millions of dollars into Israel, we don't want to take it at space value and think, oh, this is a great thing. This is supporting Israel. We need to step back and look at the their prophetic message and what they're saying will happen and what the end of days will look like. And if we agree, support them. But if we don't agree, we have to speak out.