Armageddon For Beginners by Dave Mckay (book recommendations for teens TXT) 📕

Christ had, on several occasions, talked of his followers ruling over or judging cities or tribes when he comes to establish his kingdom on earth. (Matthew 24:44-47; 25:21; Luke 22:29-30) It appears that we will be doing just that. We will be given a chance to show the world how it should have been done when the Beast was running things. That thought in itself should provide plenty of food for thought to those of us who are critical of governments that now run the world.

Ask yourselves, "How would I do it?" Think seriously about your answer, because, if you decide to give your life to the Lamb, you may one day have an opportunity to do it just as you have thought about doing it now.

Of course it will only be possible because the Devil will be locked up for a thousand years. When he is freed "for a little season" at the end of the thousand years, the troubles start all over again. But, as we said earlier, that's another story.

Appendix, Chapter 25

Revelation 19:7-9, 11, 14-15, 17-21. The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. To her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints… Blessed are they which are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb… I saw heaven opened and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war… The armies which were in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God… I saw an angel… saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all, both free and bond, both small and great." I saw the Beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. The Beast was taken, and with him the False Prophet… which deceived them that had received the Mark of the Beast… These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth.

Revelation 20:2-4. He laid hold on the Dragon, that old serpent which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years… that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season. I saw thrones and they sat on them and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of them… which had not… received the mark on their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Revelation 16:2-4, 8, 10. 12-17, 19. The first poured out his vial on the earth and there fell a noisome and grievous sore on those which had the Mark of the Beast… The second angel poured out his vial on the sea, and it became as the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. The third angel poured out his vial on the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood… The fourth angel poured out his vial on the sun, and power was given to it to scorch people with fire. The fifth angel poured out his vial on the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness… The sixth angel poured out his vial on the great River Euphrates, and the water dried up, that the way of the kings of the East might be prepared. I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet… which go forth to the kings of the earth… to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty… And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon… And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Matthew 24:44-47. Be ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man comes. Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over his household…? Blessed is that servant… He will make him ruler over all his goods.

Matthew 25:21. His Lord said to him, "Well done, faithful servant. I will make you ruler over many things."

Luke 22:29-30. I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me, that you may… sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

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26. Summing Up

We said at the start of this book that most people would read it for the wrong reasons: idle curiosity; to find flaws in the theories; to work out a way to cheat fate. But I wrote the book anyway. And I did it on the off-chance that someone with real faith would read it, and be stirred into action by it. But that is a very long shot, against incredible odds.

Jesus said that the world that killed him was a spiritually green tree compared to the one that we are living in today. (Luke 23:29-31) He asked a sad rhetorical question about our generation: "When the Son of Man comes, will he find [any] faith [at all] on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) St. Paul promised that the return of Christ would not come without a great "falling away" amongst God's people first. (II Thessalonians 2:3) And each of the Bible writers has promised, along with Christ himself, that the so-called Christian world will be riddled with false teachings, lukewarm faith, and cold comfort in these final days of history. (Matthew 24:4-5, 9-12; II Timothy 3:1-5; II Peter 2:1-3; 3:3-4)

One of the cleverest of false teachings is the one that says the false teachers will only be those who operate outside the authority of the mainline Christian denominations. It overlooks the fact that Christ said it would be the officially recognised church leaders themselves who would be most prominent in persecuting his true followers. (Luke 6:26)

He said, "They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues [church buildings] and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake… You will be betrayed both by parents and brothers and sisters, and by other relatives and friends. Some of you they will cause to be put to death. And you will be hated of all people for my name's sake." (Luke 21:12, 16-17)

The religious masses are controlled by a universal fear of something called "cults". Few dare to openly discuss what the word actually means; but they all fear it. The dictionary says the word "cult" has no objective meaning; it's an emotional term used to put down anyone who does not conform with mainstream society. A religious cult could be anything from a group of Satan worshippers to a Baptist Church that worships on Saturdays instead of Sundays. The masses can't tell the difference; but then they don't need to tell the difference. They just run from anyone whom their masters say is a "cult".

And where does Jesus Christ fit in with all of this cult paranoia? He did not conform with the religious mainstream of his day. He was hated and killed because he represented a threat to orthodox Judaism. And he was considered a "cult" leader. (Acts 24:5; 28:22) So, in order for anyone to follow him, they needed to have the courage to step out from under the safety net of status quo respectability.

Followers of the Lamb were rugged individuals, able to tell the difference between real truth and superficial religious double-talk. The Bible says that when Jesus finished his famous Sermon on the Mount, the crowds were amazed because he spoke "as one having authority" (Matthew 7:28-29) and not like the scribes and Pharisees.

But wait a minute! The scribes and Pharisees were the religious authorities in the eyes of the general public. So there must be more than one measure of religious "authority". The real message of this book is that if you want to follow Christ, you must recognise that real authority only comes from speaking the truth in obedience to the ultimate Authority, which is God. The underlying revelation of all Bible prophecy is that authority which comes only through acceptance by the political powers of a godless world is not authority at all in God's eyes.

Real character, the kind that does what is right even when it is not popular… even when it costs you everything, even when the laws of the land condemn it, is practically non-existent in today's world. But that is the quality which God is looking for, and that is what Jesus Christ taught. Real character doesn't do what is right just because your pastor or your parents or your friends support you in doing so. You do what is right because it is right. Do you have enough faith in God and enough understanding of right and wrong to take such a stand... on your own if necessary?

You need to ask yourself whether the message of this book is the truth. Is the world really as corrupt as the Bible says? Is the Devil really the "prince of this world"? Is friendship with the world really "enmity with God" as James said? (James 4:4) Doesn't it make perfect sense that God would ask us to take a stand for him which will put us at direct odds with the values of the rest of the world? And isn't it true that virtually all those whom we have traditionally thought of as "Christians" are more concerned with obeying the "laws of the land" than they are with obeying Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world? (John 1:29)

Jesus Christ has, in his teachings, zeroed in on all that matters in our lives, and asked us to forsake it all for him. (Luke 14:33) He shows us that God is jealous; he will not allow us to put anything before him. He wants our "all". But our "all" is really nothing by comparison to what we get in exchange… peace of mind, real meaning and purpose in life, immortality, and a place in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 13:45-46)

After all the theories about this country versus that country and this symbol versus that symbol have faded from your memory, what really matters about this book is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has a plan for your life. He wants you to conform to that plan and to become part of his eternal kingdom. If you will not do that, then you will end up becoming part of the Devil's kingdom.

You only have one life. Don't waste it in indecision, torn between your desire for safety and security and your desire to do what your heart tells you is right. We would like to hear from you if you are interested in following Jesus Christ in total obedience to all that he taught. But more than that, God would like to hear from you. Talk to him about it. Ask him to show you what you should do. And when he shows you, do