BY STEVE WOHLBERG

T'S ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING LIST: Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages, book 11 in the Left Behind series. Unleashed on April 8, 2003, in the wake of a $5 million ad campaign, Armageddon is now being read across the U.S. by Christians and "secular searchers" looking for answers in the midst of an America at "war against terror." Leftbehind.com, in its description of Armageddon's basic story line, portrays a final remnant of scattered believers as being "drawn inexorably toward the Middle East, as are all the armies of the world, when history hones in on the battle of the ages."

Though fiction, Armageddon echoes the (nonfiction) theology of millions. History's last battlefield: the Middle East. The final contestants: Antichrist versus the Jews. The nature of conflict: military. The epicenter: a valley near Jerusalem where "all the armies of the world" will converge for "the battle of the ages."

Supposedly (at least according to books like Armageddon, radio programs like Irvin Baxter's Politics and Religion, TV networks like Pat Robertson's CBN, and high-budget apocalyptic films like The Omega Code), the Bible's final prophecies will swirl around modern Israel and the blood-stained city of Jerusalem. During history's last moments-again, supposedly-the Almighty will finally pulverize Israel's invading enemies and defend His chosen people, the Jews. This scenario is now being taught in Christian circles all over the world.

The belief that God will ultimately defend Middle East Jews at Armageddon is so strongly embedded within the twenty-first century evangelical psyche that it has spilled over into politics and even influences U.S. foreign policy toward the Jewish state.¹ Not only does the United States support Israel as a democracy-which it should, but countless U.S. citizens, including prophecy-minded, politically active Christians in Washington, D.C., believe strongly that if we support Israel, God will support us. From California to New York, on radio and TV, the line is often heard, "He who blesses Israel will be blessed, and He who curses Israel will be cursed" (although this exact phrase is not in the Bible).

I am a Jew myself and, of course, love Jewish people. But I also believe in Jesus Christ as my Messiah and Savior. As any Christian should, I long to see God's blessing come upon both Jews and Arabs alike. The purpose of this article is not to condemn U.S. support for Israel or to try and solve a seemingly unsolvable Middle East mess; rather, its assignment is to take a second look at what the New Testament-especially the book of Revelation-really says about Israel, Jerusalem, and Armageddon. Is Armageddon correct in its core assumption that God will defend modern Jerusalem during earth's last war? Is Christianity's massive God-is-behind-Israel theology valid, or could there be something wrong with that picture?

A Shocking Text
First of all-and this truth has seismic implications-the New Testament actually describes two Israels, not just one. Paul wrote, "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel" (Rom. 9:6). What does this shocking text mean? Look closely. Those "of Israel" refer to people belonging to the literal Jewish nation. But just because people are "of Israel" (or Jewish) doesn't necessarily mean they are, indeed, "Israel." To clarify, Paul said there is an "Israel after the flesh" (1 Cor. 10:18) and an "Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16) centered in Jesus Christ. For simplicity's sake, I'll call the first group Israel One and the second group, Israel Two.

Israel One is composed of "Israelites" "according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:3, 4), which refers to literal Jews who can trace their blood line back to Abraham, but who do not as yet believe in Jesus Christ as Messiah. Quite pointedly Paul wrote as follows: "They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God" (verse 8). Thus Israel One, although it has a wonderful religious heritage, is made up of people who spiritually "are not the children of God." In the New Testament sense, "the children of God" applies only to those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord (see John 1:12).

Israel Two, "the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16), refers to a composite group made up of both Jews and non-Jews who, believing in the Crucified One, have died to self and been born again (see verses 14, 15). This group is called "the Israel of God" because it is God-centered, being made up of people who have a genuine experience with the Lord. Sadly, the majority of Israelis today don't fit this description.

Writing to non-Jews, or Gentiles, Paul wrote, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:28, 29, NKJV). Don't miss this, for it's of megaimportance. This passage teaches that a Gentile, if he or she "belongs to Christ," is mystically injected into "Abraham's seed," which (according to Isaiah 41:8) is "Israel." In Galatians 6 Paul summarized his doctrine by saying that anyone, circumcised or uncircumcised, who becomes a "new creature" through faith in Jesus, is now part of "the Israel of God" (verses 15, 16). They belong to Israel Two.

Here's the explosive question: Which group-Israel One or Israel Two-is Heaven's focus in the book of Revelation? Is it "Israel after the flesh" (modern Israel) with its present capital of Jerusalem? Millions of prophecy-believing, conservative, politically active Christians think so. Armageddon says so. But what does Revelation really teach? The answer will not be discovered casually, but through a deep study of God's Word.

Unlocking the Book
When we open Revelation's mysterious pages, we do discover predictions about Mount Zion (14:1), the twelve tribes of Israel (7:4-8), Jerusalem (21:10), the Temple (11:19), Sodom and Egypt (11:8), Babylon (17:5), the Euphrates River (16:12), and Armageddon (16:16). Thus Revelation does use the terminology and geography of the Middle East in its prophecies.

But wait a minute. Once again, here's the megaquestion: Does God want these prophecies to be applied to those literal places in the Middle East and to "Israel after the flesh" centered in modern Jerusalem (Israel One)? Or might He intend for a spiritual application of His prophecies to "the Israel of God" centered in Jesus Christ (Israel Two)-that is, to a spiritual Israel made up of only born-again Jews and Gentiles scattered around the world? A large number of conservative Bible scholars apply the prophecies of Revelation to Israel One and to literal Middle East locations, but is that correct?

Let's start at the beginning of Revelation. The Bible's last book is ultimately "the Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:1). Jesus Christ is the source, the center, the interpreter. In chapter 1, John was "in the Spirit"-don't forget this-when he saw Jesus walking "in the midst of the seven candlesticks" (verse 13). The idea of seven golden candlesticks takes our minds back to the seven-branched candlesticks inside the Jewish Temple before it was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Roman army. Yet in Revelation, the seven golden candlesticks are clearly symbolic.

What do they represent? Explaining "the mystery," the interpreter declared: "The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches" (verse 20). Thus in Revelation's very first chapter Jesus Christ took something extremely Jewish and used it symbolically to represent His church. As we shall see, this is the key interpretive principle to understanding the entire book.

In Revelation 2:18, in a dictated letter to "the church in Thyatira," Jesus reproved His people for allowing "that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants" (verse 20, NKJV). Jezebel was a wicked woman in Old Testament days who entered Israel and caused problems. Was Jesus saying "Jezebel" had been reincarnated, or resurrected, and was literally teaching deception within Thyatira? Obviously not. A little reflection reveals that He used the word "Jezebel" as a symbol of an evil movement that was affecting His church. As with the seven golden candlesticks, God's Messiah took something from Jewish history and applied it to His church, "the Israel of God."

In Revelation 3:7, 12, the heavenly interpreter dictated another letter to "the church in Philadelphia" in which He said a Christian could become "a pillar in the temple of My God," and have a place in "the city of My God, the New Jerusalem" (NKJV). Don't miss the significance of this. Not only did Jesus again use Jewish Temple imagery and apply it symbolically to His church, but He also identified another city, "the New Jerusalem," as God's real city. This city will not be a remodeled earthly Jerusalem, with its bullet holes covered and the blood of suicide bombers scrubbed away. This one "comes down out of heaven," as verse 12 indicates.

Remember, in Revelation's first chapter, John was "in the Spirit" (verse 10) when he received his vision. In fact, throughout Revelation he was "in the Spirit," seeing different things (Rev. 4:2; 17:3; 21:10). When someone is "in the Spirit," they see through Holy Spirit eyes instead of with fleshly vision. Remember also, Paul described two Israels, one "after the flesh," and one in Christ. Again, the question is Which Israel is the focus of "the Revelation of Jesus Christ"? When God's final prophetic masterpiece talks about Israel (7:4), Mount Zion (14:1), Jerusalem (21:10), the Temple (11:19), Sodom and Egypt (11:8), Babylon (17:5), Euphrates (16:12), and Armageddon (16:16), do these refer to literal, earthly, war-torn, "fleshy" places in the Middle East?

The fact is that every specific reference to "Jerusalem" in God's last book concerns the "New Jerusalem" (3:12; 21:2) which sits on a "great and high [heavenly] mountain" (Mount Zion) (21:10; 14:1), that houses "the temple of God . . . in heaven" (11:19; 15:5; 16:1, 17) and is the final home of a victorious "Israel" (7:4) that follows the Lamb "wherever He goes" (14:4, 1). The enemy of God's "New Jerusalem" is a "great city" called "Babylon" (14:8; 17:5; 18:2), which "sits on [the] many waters" (17:1, NKJV) of the "great river Euphrates" (16:12) until God's wrath finally demolishes it at "Armageddon" (16:16, 19).

What's happening here? A little reflection, combined with Holy Spirit enlightenment, shows that Revelation is ingeniously using the terminology and landscape of the Middle East in a unique, heavenly, and spiritual sense.

What, Where Is the Euphrates?
The Bible says, "Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared" (Rev. 16:12, NKJV). Those who interpret Revelation's Middle East terminology literally-such as in Armageddon-usually apply this passage to Asian kings marching across a dry riverbed to shoot bullets at Jews at Armageddon. One well-known American radio preacher suggests a Turkish dam might be the means of drying up the river.² But is this what Revelation 16:12 is really about?

In order to understand this incredible prophecy, we must first study some Bible history about ancient Israel and literal Babylon. In 605 B.C. "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon" came "unto Jerusalem, and besieged it" (Dan. 1:1). Jerusalem was conquered, and Israel was taken captive for 70 years (Dan. 9:2). After 70 years an amazing set of circumstances occurred. The Euphrates was dried up, Babylon was conquered from the east, and Israel was delivered. This history forms the background for a true understanding of Revelation 16:12.

Ancient Babylon sat on the Euphrates (Jer. 51:63, 64). A wall surrounded the city. The Euphrates ran through Babylon, entering and exiting through two spiked gates whose bars reached down to the riverbed. When these twin gates were shut and all other entrances closed, Babylon was virtually impregnable.

In 538 B.C., on the night of ancient Babylon's fall, her king and subjects were drunk with wine (see Dan. 5). So were the guards, who forgot to close the double doors fully. More than 100 years earlier God had predicted concerning Babylon and the Euphrates:

"I will dry up your rivers" (Isa. 44:27, NKJV). The Lord also spoke about Cyrus, the man who conquered Babylon, saying, "I will . . . open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut" (Isa. 45:1). Moreover God called Cyrus "my shepherd" and "his anointed" (Isa. 44:28; 45:1). Thus Cyrus was a type of Jesus Christ. And he came "from the east" (Isa. 46:11)!

Inside the British Museum in London lies the famous Cyrus Cylinder, which describes how Cyrus, a general of Darius, conquered Babylon. Cyrus and his army dug trenches upstream alongside of the river Euphrates, which diverted the water. The river gradually went down as it ran through Babylon. No one noticed. That night at the height of Belshazzar's drunken party (see Dan. 5), the water became low enough for Cyrus and his men to slip stealthily under the double doors, which had been left open. Quickly they overran the doomed city, killed the king (verse 30), and conquered Babylon. Then Cyrus issued his famous decree to let Israel go (Ezra 1). The Jews were free.

Ingeniously, the book of Revelation applies the dusty history of this ancient event with stunning apocalyptic force to another "Babylon," another "Israel," another "Euphrates," and another deliverance from "the east."

So How to Interpret "Babylon"?
In the Old Testament the battle was clearly between the literal nation of Israel and literal Babylon (Dan. 1). In Revelation we also find a struggle between "Israel" and "Babylon" (7:4; 14:1, 8). As many of us well know, the majority of prophecy teachers apply this, at least the "Israel" part, to literal Jews on the West Bank. But let's be consistent: What about "Babylon"? Does this apply to a rebuilt city south of Baghdad? Some say yes. The evidence suggests otherwise.

In Revelation 17 a shiny angel beckoned to John: "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters" (verse 1, NKJV). "So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy" "having in her hand a golden cup" (verses 3, 4, NKJV). "And on her forehead a name was written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (verses 3-5). John was "in the Spirit" (verse 3) when he received this prophecy. So must we be "in the Spirit" to interpret it correctly.

The woman's name is "Mystery, Babylon." The word "Mystery" is significant. In Revelation 1 the true interpreter, Jesus Christ, used the same word as He applied the Jewish imagery of seven golden candlesticks to His church. In Revelation 17 the same word is applied to the enemy of His church, to "Mystery, Babylon." And this "Babylon" has no application to the ancient city whose sun-cracked bricks are now whitening south of Baghdad.

In Old Testament days literal Babylon sat on the literal river Euphrates. In "the Revelation of Jesus Christ" "Mystery Babylon" also "sits on many waters" (Rev. 17:1, NKJV), yet these waters don't refer to the literal murky Euphrates River now trickling through modern Iraq. For John's angel interpreter gives this explosive divine interpretation: "The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues" (verse 15, NKJV).

According to the angel interpreter, the "many waters" of Revelation's Euphrates represent "people" all over Planet Earth who now support "Mystery, Babylon." They are "drunk with the wine of her fornication" (verse 2), "wine" being obviously symbolic-as is "her fornication." The "wine" stands for Babylon's false doctrines, while "her fornication" applies to her unlawful union with "the kings of the earth" (verse 2).

"Mystery, Babylon" is also "a woman" (verse 3), which in prophecy represents a church. God likens His people to a "wife" that "has made herself ready" for "the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7-9, NKJV). The Babylonian woman has also "fallen" (Rev. 14:8). This must mean that "Mystery, Babylon" in Revelation represents a globally supported church that has "fallen" away from her true lover, Jesus Christ, and from Bible truth. Yet God still has people inside of Babylon, whom He calls "my people." Before the last act of history's drama, He calls them to "come out" (Rev. 18:4). Why? Because the river Euphrates is destined to run dry.

"The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up" (Rev. 16:12). Left Behind's Armageddon and countless other sources apply this drying up of Euphrates to a literal drying up, so Asian armies can shoot bullets at the Jews at Armageddon. But what does the Bible say dries up the river? Turkey? No. The Word says, "the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates." This "vial" is one of the seven "vials of the wrath of God" (verse 1). Thus it is the wrath of God, not Turkey, that dries up the Euphrates! What does it mean? Brace yourself. If the "waters" represent "people," and if the vial of wrath falls on the water, then this means God's wrath will finally be poured upon people who steadfastly continue supporting Mystery Babylon.

When Heaven's judgments fall on the swirling waters of Babylon-supporting people, reality will be inescapable. They will realize they've been misled. Then they will "hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (Rev. 17:16). Thus their misplaced support for a false system will vanish. This is how Babylon's water will dry up, preparing the way for "the kings of the east" (Rev. 16:12).

In Old Testament days, Cyrus came from "the east" to conquer Babylon (Isa. 44:26-28; 46:11). The word east means "sun rising," and the name Cyrus, means "sun." Cyrus came not to attack the Jews, but as their deliverer, and again, Cyrus was a type of Jesus Christ, the "Sun of righteousness" (Mal. 4:2). In Revelation God's angels come from the east (7:2), and Jesus Himself said, "As the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:27, NKJV). Therefore just as Cyrus came from the east to deliver literal Israel from the clutches of literal Babylon, even so will King Jesus descend from the eastern skies with "the armies which were in heaven" (Rev. 19:14) to conquer spiritual Babylon and to deliver "the Israel of God" (Israel Two) at Armageddon.

What About "Armageddon"?
Surprisingly, this exact word is used only once in the Bible, in Revelation 16:16. The Word says, "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." For a fact, there is no literal "place" anywhere on earth bearing this exact name. It's true, there is a valley north of Jerusalem which was called "Megiddo" (Judges 5:19) in Bible days. It was a place where the armies of Israel met foreign enemies in bloody battles. Because "Megiddo" sounds like "Armageddon," millions assume this same place will be the location of a final showdown against the Jews. But is this correct?

"Armageddon" represents the apex, the climax, the final battle in Revelation. Will it be a military battle in the Middle East?

Let's be consistent. Throughout Revelation, as shown above, we've seen Middle Eastern terms used in a Christ-centered, heavenly, spiritual sense. When it comes to "Armageddon," which is a term depicting the grand finale in the greatest apocalyptic book ever written, does it make sense for God's last book suddenly to shift gears away from its thematic focus by pinpointing a literal, local, high-tech, Middle East-based conflagration involving Russians, Chinese, Syrians, and literal Jews?

We don't have to guess. The answer is in the context surrounding Revelation 16:16. While it is outside the scope of this article to discuss the details, here are the main points:

1. The battle involves "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" (verse 14), which could not possibly fit inside the valley of Megiddo.

2. Revelation's focus is "the temple of heaven" (verse 17), not a supposedly soon-to-be-rebuilt Jewish Temple on earth.

3. The effects of Armageddon are global, far beyond the Middle East (verses 18-20).

4. The primary system identified as being destroyed at Armageddon is spiritual "Babylon" (verse 19), not Russia, China, or Syria.

In essence, "Armageddon" depicts the final battle between King Jesus and His heavenly armies (Rev. 19:11-19) against the worldwide forces of Satan and Mystery, Babylon. At the Second Coming the devil loses, and his global kingdom comes crashing down. Jesus doesn't need to nuke His foes, but only to use His "sharp two-edged sword" (Rev. 1:16; see also Rev. 19:15), which represents His Word of truth (Eph. 6:17). When Christ descends from the east He will deliver "Israel" from the clutches of "Babylon." But which Israel will He deliver? According to the thematic genius of the entire book of Revelation, it must be "the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16) centered in Jesus Christ whose home is the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10).

The Middle East remains a powder keg. The U.S. struggle against Muslim radicals continues. And there's no earthly solution on the horizon. In the midst of such a high-tension environment, millions of America's conservative, politically active Christians believe God Himself is not only behind modern Israel, but that He will finally annihilate the enemies of the Jewish state at Armageddon, an idea forcefully proclaimed in the book Armageddon. Yet this doctrine is contrary to the New Testament.

Beyond this, I think the teaching actually is harmful, because it adds extra fuel to an already raging Arab fire. An America at war against terror doesn't need this!

A careful study of "the Revelation of Jesus Christ" shows that conservative Christianity's massive God-is-behind-modern-Israel theology is not true. Revelation's focus is not on "Israel after the flesh" (Israel One), but on "the Israel of God" (Israel Two) composed of both Jews and non-Jews (including Arabs), who are centered in Jesus Christ.

Real peace can be found in only one place, and it's available to Jews, Palestinians, and Christians alike. It's found at the foot of the cross, in the heart of a Man who loves us all and who died for the whole world.

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¹ See Grace Halsell, Prophecy and Politics: The Secret Alliance Between Israel and the U S. Christian Right (Lawrence Hill & Co., 1989).
² Irvin Baxter's Endtime Magazine, January/February 1998, p. 2.

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Steve Wohlberg, author of Exploding the Israel Deception, and other books is the speaker/director of Endtime Insights Radio and TV Ministries. For more information on this theme from the writer, you may go to www.israelinprophecy.com or e-mail him at [email protected]