An Army of 200 Million

Armageddon is the name of a catastrophic battle at the end of the age, detailed repeatedly in the book of Revelation. The battle has attracted the attention of Christians and non-Christians alike, conjuring up visions of the end of the world. Armageddon has taken on such familiarity that it is often used to describe massive catastrophes and military clashes. In some regards the modern use of the word Armageddon has reduced the Biblical Armageddon to a fictional horror story rather than a factual future battle. But it will be a very real battle -- World War 3, in modern vernacular.

The Armageddon battle is described in the prophecies of Revelation in several different places – at least five, to be exact. In chapter nine Armageddon is described as the sixth trumpet warning (Rev 9:13-16). This description mirrors the description of Armageddon in the sixth bowl judgment (Rev 16:12-16). The armies that engage in this future battle are the massive army of the eighth beast and the army of the Lamb (Rev 17:14), that is, the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:11-21). The battle is depicted as a focal point of God pouring out His wrath upon a particular enemy, the eighth beast, and the kings of the earth. Most people are familiar with the phrase, “the winepress of God’s wrath” (Rev 14:17-20; Rev 19:15).

The army that wages the war is extremely large. In the sixth trumpet warning most translations say that the mounted troops that John sees in his vision numbered 200 million. This number prompted many Bible scholars in the past to postulate that the army must be from China, the only nation large enough to deploy an army of that size. That number is incredibly large, we must realize. Two hundred million is more than half the entire population of the USA. Could you imagine that many soldiers crammed in to the tiny nation of Israel, where the battle will be focused? Impossible. That number, in the Greek, is written as “ten thousand times ten thousand times two,” or “two myriads of myriads” (Rev 9:16; cf Rev 5:11).  Ancient civilizations did not use numbers in the hundreds of thousands, or millions, or billions, like modern culture is accustomed to. They did not even have the vocabulary for numbers that large. Most likely the number is not literally 200 million, but rather figurative, like many details in Revelation, including the description of the sixth trumpet. For instance, the troops will likely not be “mounted troops” (9:16-17), but rather tanks, aircraft, missile launchers, and foot soldiers. Killing one-third of mankind is also figurative, mirroring the same number used in other trumpet warnings. The colors on their breastplate – red, blue, and yellow – probably are figurative of the fire, smoke and sulfur which will characterize the warfare. So then, the number two hundred million is probably also figurative. The vast size of the army is what is intended to be conveyed. Use of the number, as it is in the Greek, is similar to two Junior High boys talking about their discovery of the concept of infinity. But in this case it is further emphasized by saying that the size of the army is infinity times two – something that is not possible, but it sure gets the point across.

This army will be gathered by deceiving demons going out into the world to convince kings and peoples to unite in an effort to attack Israel.  This army will be under the leadership of the Lawless One (II Thes 2:3-4; aka Antichrist), who unites ten kingdoms (“ten horns”, Rev 17:12), that is, ten other Arab-Islamic nations, to rise up in Jihad against the Jews and their coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. The identity of the eighth beast army as a coalition of Arab-Islamic nations is developed at length in my book, Right At The Door. It is only briefly mentioned here to help understand the size of this army and the source of enmity that drives them.   

When we see the buildup to Armageddon, as described in the sixth trumpet warning and the sixth bowl judgment, then we can know that the return of Christ is very, very soon. Until that time keep your seat-belts fastened, it is going to be a rough ride. And let your heart not grow faint, but rather strengthened in the faithfulness of God’s steadfast love and eternal purposes.