With the daily news and horrific scenes coming out of Gaza, the on-going armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, has also brought renewed attention among some Christians (particularly Evangelicals) to another particular conflict, the Bible’s predicted battle of Armageddon which is believed to take place in the land of Israel.

“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; 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.  (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”)  And they [spirits of demons] gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon (some Bible versions read Armageddon) Revelation 16:13-16 (NASB).

As Seventh-day Adventists, what do we believe when it comes to the battle of Armageddon or “war of the great day of God, the Almighty”?

I recently reread a book from an Adventist author and former Ellen White Estate historian titled, ADVENTISTS AND ARMAGEDDON: Have we misinterpreted prophecy?

What this author brought out in his book were some guard rails that we as Seventh-day Adventists would do good to pay attention to and not lose sight of when it comes to our own understanding of Bible prophecy, or in this case, the battle of Armageddon!

Guard Rail #1: We are not prophets but proclaimers of the sure word of prophecy

We shouldn’t make predictions based on current events or the changing political winds of the day. Will the conflict between Israel and Hamas spill over into a much bigger war between nations? Maybe, but that still doesn’t predict what the Bible predicts will be a gathering between the good and evil forces at the end of time. Furthermore, when we make predictions based on current events aligning with Bible prophecy, we will not only be most often disappointed, but shall surely bring confusion to others as to what the sure word of prophecy has to say.   

Guard Rail # 2: Traditional and Present Truth don’t always go hand-in-hand  

When it comes to the question of Armageddon being a spiritual or physical battle and the identification of the king of the north (Daniel 11); Seventh-day Adventist interpretations have not only evolved over time but have pretty much gone full circle on these Biblical prophecies. Years ago, I attended a sabbath school class which examined Daniel 11 and to my surprise, the heated discussions which incurred over which interpretation was correct quickly led to the sabbath school teacher dropping the study altogether for the sake of keeping the peace and unity of the class! Adventist history also speaks of the public clash between Uriah Smith and James White over the identity of the king of the north—last power of Daniel 11, which Ellen White finally put a stop to for the unity of the Church.

Guard Rail #3: Learning from our past mistakes

It is said that history is often our best teacher, but that only applies when we are willing to review and admit our past mistakes and then afterwards, reform from hopefully repeating them again in the future.

The author of AVENTISTS AND ARMAGEDDON had this to say in closing to his readers, “It is up to us to determine whether or not we shall profit from our past mistakes or are condemned to repeat them. The history of our interpretations of Armageddon and the king of the north are prime examples of the embarrassments we [as Seventh-day Adventists] have brought on ourselves by following popular Protestant interpretations of prophecy and trying to be prophets rather than what God intended us to be—the proclaimers of ‘the sure word of prophecy’ (2 Peter 1:19). Let us never forget there is a difference. Without the sure word of prophecy to guide us, we would do well to heed James White’s caution to ‘tread lightly’ when it comes to unfulfilled prophecy.” As the author of this blog, I concur and would also add, when it comes to prophetic truth, it is often unfolding with time and is to be fully understood in the time in which it is to have its perfect and complete fulfillment. Which for the spiritual battle of Armageddon will culminate at Jesus’ second coming as the conquer of conquers!