PTNews

P r o p h e tic Truth in the N e w s

July 2024

   Published monthly by Mike Wingfield Ministries

All Bible references are from the KJV   

Download this Newsletter

(Examining Current Events in the Light of Bible Prophecy)

P.O. Box 67, Boones Mill, VA 24065

Hell’s Battleground against Heaven

“For they are the spirits of [demons], working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:14

By Mike Wingfield

At this very moment, the angels in the heavens are preparing themselves for the final battle between heaven and hell. According to the Bible, since the early days of creation, a constant war has been unfolding in the spiritual realm over the affairs of this world. In a battle of opposing agendas, God and his angels in heaven are at war against Satan and his demons. As revealed in the final book of the Bible, Revelation, this war will culminate in a violent struggle that will encompass the nations of the world and all of creation. This war will last for seven years. We call it “The Tribulation.”

As we focus upon this coming war, I want to examine three questions from the Scriptures. (1) What is at the center of this war over the affairs of this world? (2) What do the agendas of heaven and hell focus upon? (3) What does this tell us about where we are now in relation to the beginning of this final war? The answers to these questions are found in the book of Revelation.

I am convinced that we have entered the final days of preparations for this war. Satan and his demons are very busy orchestrating their schemes to trick and deceive the wicked nations. They want the nations to join the forces of hell in their battle against God and His angels. One final battle on earth will culminate this seven-year war. It is called the Battle of Armageddon. Satan is already beginning to orchestrate his power moves in a desperate and futile attempt to defeat God. The Bible tells us how he will do this. Revelation 16 reports that Satan will use his Antichrist and False Prophet to deceive the nations by luring them into a military conflict in the Holy Land. Revelation 16:14, 16 states, “For they are the spirits of [demons], working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, 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.”

It is very revealing to observe that this final battle of the ages will begin and end in Israel. It will begin when Satan’s superman, the Antichrist, confirms a false peace covenant with Israel, luring the Jewish nation into a time of deceptive peace (Daniel 9:27). As stated above, this war will end in Israel when the Antichrist deceives the nations of the world to join him in his final attempt to annihilate the Jewish nation of Israel.

Concerning that final day of the defeat of all nations at Armageddon, the prophet Isaiah wrote 2,700 years ago, “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood” (Isaiah 34:1-3).

The call of Satan and his demons to draw the nations into battle with God in Israel fits perfectly into God’s sovereign permissive will. In Zechariah 14:2, God says, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.” The Lord will allow the world to join Satan in his final feud against His chosen people so that He can destroy all that gather against Him in the Holy Land. Zechariah 14:3 declares that at Armageddon, “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” After Armageddon, Satan and his demons will be cast into the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).

Look back to October 7, 2023. It is obvious that the heinous acts of brutality and savagery by Hamas and other radical Muslim terrorist groups against Israel have produced the initial momentum that will force hell and the nations to attack God at Armageddon. What happened on October 7 was preceded by decades of spiritual and physical preparations by Satan. His diabolical goal was to bring about a global demonic reaction against God and His chosen people, Israel.

The hateful extreme violence against the Jewish people on October 7, was preceded by 100 years of Satan-fueled hatred, jealousy, and vengeance (Ezekiel 35:5, 11). Since the beginning of the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland 100 years ago, the Arabs have carried out numerous murderous attacks upon them. Arabs in the Middle East are licking their wounds from the losses they have suffered at the hand of Israel in previous wars. These Arab nations have made it their perpetual goal to drive the Jewish people from the Land of Israel. The political environments, education systems, and religious cultures in Arab countries are all geared toward one thing – the defeat of Israel. It is their ultimate goal.

Clearly, Israel was caught off guard when it was attacked by Hamas on October 7. The result of the attack sent the Islamic world into a feeding frenzy. This frenzy, spawned by demonic activity, has led the Islamic world to believe that Israel, for the first time in its modern history, is ripe for defeat. To make matters worse, the United States is openly supporting the creation of a Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital. Muslims are now chomping at the bit, as they believe their long-awaiting dream of ridding the world of Israel is within their grasp.

These rapid events are spawning a global tsunami of hatred toward Jews and Israel. This is not a surprise. Jesus told His Jewish disciples that at the end of this age “ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). A multitude of Scriptures teach that the nation of Israel will face a time of distress and trouble like no nation in all human history shall face (Jeremiah 30:3-7; Daniel 12:1). It will be this hatred for Israel that will drive the nations to Armageddon for their ultimate destruction.

The nations of Canaan prior to Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land in Joshua’s day heard about how God fought for Israel and a great fear of the Jewish people overwhelmed them. Listen to what Rahab told the Jewish spies that came into her house at Jericho, “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (Joshua 2:9-11).

Fast forward to modern times, the world has seen the hand of God upon Israel in the wars that Israel has faced while defending itself against hostile Arab nations. They have dreamed of attacking Israel, but they had to overcome the fear of God.

In time of Joshua, the enemies of Israel were elated when Israel was defeated at Ai. As a result, these enemy nations in the land of Canaan were emboldened to attack Israel. God used this to harden their hearts against His people. Joshua 11:20states, “For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly…”

I am convinced that history is repeating itself. God is allowing pride within the nations of the world to turn against Israel and to side with the terrorists who are filled with hate, violence, and murder. This hatred will blind them and numb their consciences while leading them in their foolish pride to attack God and His eternal promises given to His chosen people.

The hatred and rejection of Israel and the Jewish people have their origins in the heart of Satan. Satan hates what God loves. He wants to curse what God blesses. He is determined to destroy what God has promised to build. One of hell’s major objectives is the annihilation of Israel. This is a strike at the heart of God and His eternal plan revealed in the Word of God.

It is apparent that God’s plan has become Hell’s prime target. In Genesis 12:1-3, God plainly stated that He chose a people and a land for His eternal purposes. God’s sovereign choice is what He is currently orchestrating in the Middle East. God has said to the world, “And I will bless them that bless thee [Israel and the Jewish people], and curse him the curseth thee (Genesis 12:3).

In the Bible, God has repeatedly declared six things that are holy unto Him. The word “holy” signifies that which God has set apart unto Himself for His eternal purposes. That which is holy becomes God’s unique possession and represents His nature, purposes, power, and divine calling. Therefore, Hell’s target is focused upon what God calls “holy.”

The identification of these six things that are holy to God will help us to answer our three questions. (1) What is at the center of this war over the affairs of this world? (2) What do the agendas of heaven and hell focus upon? (3) What does this tell us about where we are now in relation to the beginning of this final war?

Let us examine the six major aspects of God’s eternal plan:

1. Hell’s War against the Holy Nation

History repeatedly demonstrates that there is no nation or people group that has been hated and despised like the Jews. Because of their disobedience to Him, the Lord scattered them among the nations of the world (Deuteronomy 28:63-64). The dispersion of the Jewish people from their land occurred in the first century and continued for 18 centuries until they began to return to their ancestral homeland at the beginning of the 20^th century.

God promised them that wherever they lived while being dispersed, they would be rejected. God said, “And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see” (Deuteronomy 28:65-67).

The hatred and rejection of Israel and the Jewish people have their origins in the heart of Satan. Satan hates what God loves. He wants to curse what God blesses. He is determined to destroy what God has promised to build. One of hell’s major objectives is the annihilation of Israel. This is a strike at the heart of God and His eternal plan revealed in the Word of God.

God chose the Jewish people out of all the nations to display who He is among the nations. He declared His love for them and designated them to be a holy nation (Deuteronomy 7:6-10). Therefore, those who wish to harm Israel are attacking God. Zechariah 2:8 declares, “For he that touches you [Israel] touches the apple of his eye.”

According to the eternal prophetic Word of God, the nation of Israel will be in existence at the end of this age. This nation will be the central focus of God’s blessings for 1,000 years!

The fact that our world is currently exploding with anti-Semitism is a clear indication we are nearing the end of this age. It appears that the demonic attack upon Israel on October 7 has triggered the events recorded in the Bible that speak of the end of this age.

2. Hell’s War against the Holy Land

Hell’s war against the nations is focused upon the land of Israel, God’s holy land (Zechariah 2:12). In Leviticus 25:23. God says, “the land is mine.” In the Bible, God continually refers to this land as “my land.” In Deuteronomy 11:12, the Holy Land is described by God as, “A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”

The Holy Land was chosen by God as a place for Him to unfold His eternal plan. It was prepared by Him for the Jewish people (Deuteronomy 32:8-9). He promised them this land in an everlasting land covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:7-8).

God’s choice of this land has caused it to become the battleground with the forces of hell. From the very beginning, this land has been the center of a conflict between the children of Israel and their enemies. God told Abraham, “thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Genesis 22:17).

It is God’s passion to complete His promises to His covenanted people, Israel. Listen to Isaiah 62:4-5, “for the LORD delights in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” God says His delight is in His people and in His land. God has married the land to the Jewish people.

At the center of the world’s conflict with God is the ownership and occupation of the Holy Land. The world refers to biblical Judea and Samaria as “the West Bank.” The world is attempting to force Israel to surrender its Promised Land to the Palestinian people. This is not what Israel wants and it is not what the Arabs want. The Arabs want all the land that God gave His people. Their passionate desire is based upon the traditions of their religion – Islam. The battle for the Promised Land is a holy war between heaven and hell. The current war in the Middle East is a holy war.

3. Hell’s War against the Holy City

There is no city in the world like Jerusalem! [See photo on this page of the modern city of Jerusalem.] Jerusalem is mentioned by name more than 700 times in the Bible. It is repeatedly called “the Holy City,” and “the City of God.” According to Deuteronomy 12:11, God has chosen Jerusalem as the place of His Name. The Lord has declared, “I am jealous for Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:14). Obviously, this indicates that the city of Jerusalem is very significant in the eternal plan of God.

Because of God’s love for Jerusalem, Satan has determined to afflict this city and bring it to shame and destruction. Jerusalem has been besieged more than any other city in the world in history. According to World Atlas, “Throughout its history, the city has been destroyed at least two times, attacked 52 times, besieged 23 times, and recaptured 44 times.”

During the final years of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be focused upon his dominance over this city. His forces will be swiftly and severely defeated by Messiah when He returns to Jerusalem to defend His people. In this final assault of Jerusalem, all the nations of the world will assist the Antichrist in his siege of Jerusalem. The ancient prophet Zechariah wrote with great detail about the events surrounding the battle of Armageddon and its attack upon the Holy City (Zechariah 12-14).

It appears that our world is currently being steered toward this final assault against Jerusalem. Israel is more hated and isolated than at any time in its modern history. The world wants to make Jerusalem the capital of a terrorist entity called Palestine. The Messiah will defeat these enemies and Jerusalem will be liberated.

Following this liberation, Messiah will rule over the nations of the world from Jerusalem, Israel for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-7). During this time, Jerusalem will become the capital of the world. Furthermore, Jerusalem will become the spiritual hub of the world (Isaiah 2:1-4).

Obviously, Satan and his demons will do anything to thwart God’s determined plan to elevate Jerusalem to its divine status before the eyes of all the world. Hell’s battleground is centered upon the city of Jerusalem. However, Satan’s demonic strategies will fail and God and His people, Israel, will prevail (Isaiah 14:24, 26-27).

4. Hell’s War against the Holy Mountain

The Holy Mountain of God is known in the Bible as Mount Zion or the Temple Mount. This mountain holds a very special place in the plans of God. Psalm 78:68 refers to this location as “the Mount Zion which He loved.” God considers it the focal point of His eternal plans on earth. “For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it” (Psalm 132:13-14).

Since the days of Abraham, 4,000 years ago, this mountain has been called “the mount of the LORD” (Genesis 22:14). This mountain is on the east side of the ancient city of Jerusalem, facing the Mount of Olives. This mountain is also known as Mount Moriah, which was known as the place of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son Isaac. Later, this mountain was purchased by King David (2 Samuel 24:18-25) as the location of the first temple to be built upon this site in the days of King Solomon (1 Kings 5-8). Since the days of Solomon, the Temple Mount became the exact location of all future temples in Israel.

Since the advance of Islam over the Middle East in the seventh century A.D., this mountain has been under the control of Muslim forces. Today, two Islamic structures stand upon this mountain, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock. Islamic authorities consider the Jewish Temple Mount to be the third most holy site in all the Muslim world.

One of the major flash points that will lead to a global war, with its epicenter in the Middle East, is the control of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. There is perhaps no piece of property on earth that carries more significance in the plans of God and of Satan’s future Antichrist than the Temple Mount.

Today, this mountain is at the center of world controversy. Israel states that it is its one and only capital. It has been its capital for 3,000 years. The final war that pits hell against heaven will be riveted upon the control of this mountain. The Bible calls the time of the Tribulation “the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion” (Isaiah 34:8).

The Bible commands us to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). This means we are to be praying for the Jewish people and supporting them in their rightful place of occupying and defending the nation against all enemies who are attempting to dislodge them from the holy places He has given to them as an everlasting possession. Those who stand with Israel in this struggle are standing with God. Those who oppose the nation of Israel are the enemies of God (Psalm 83:1-18). We are exhorted to do this “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18).

It is apparent that the whole world is at war with God and His people Israel. Without question, hell is about to enter the final phase of its war with heaven.

5. Hell’s War against the Holy Temple

There are many other temples on earth. However, there is only one temple that is called the Holy Temple. The Temple of God on His holy mountain in Jerusalem has been the ultimate place where God has demonstrated and displayed His glory, power, and blessings to mankind.

According to the Bible there have been two temples constructed upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Solomon’s temple was finished in 957 B.C. This magnificent temple stood in its hollowed place until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. When the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem, they built another temple upon the Temple Mount (Ezra 5-6). This temple was ultimately expanded and embellished by King Herod the Great beginning in 20 B.C. This temple was still under construction when it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

The Bible tells us two more temples will be constructed upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. According to Revelation 11:1-6, God will send two Jewish witnesses [Moses and Elijah] to help build a temple and reinstitute temple worship in Jerusalem during the Tribulation Period. This temple will be assaulted and desecrated by the Antichrist at the mid-point of the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27).

The final temple will be constructed in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of the Messiah. This temple will be grand and will dwarf all previous temples (Ezekiel 40-46). It will be the location of global worship and the administration of the holy government of the Messiah over all the nations (Isaiah 2:1-4). The prophet Habakkuk wrote of this day when he said, “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

What a day that will be when Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, will rule over all the nations from His throne in Jerusalem. His kingdom will be a government of great peace and blessings to all people. Satan and his demons will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit at the beginning of this kingdom. This will prevent him from deceiving the nations (Revelation 20:3). Is it any wonder that he is feverishly working to prevent all of this from taking place? This is at the core of Satan’s frantic war against heaven.

6. Hell’s War against the Holy of Holies in the Holy Temple

The most holy place on earth in the future will be the holy place in the holy temple on the holy mountain, in the holy city of Jerusalem. In ancient days, only once a year at Yom Kippur, was the High Priest in Israel allowed to enter the Holy of Holies to present the yearly sacrifice upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. However, in the kingdom, the Messiah will rule over the nations from this most holy place. The One who shed His blood upon the cross for the sins of the entire world will rightfully take His seat in the Holy Place to bless the nations over whom He will rule.

The saved people from the former nations that were the enemies of Israel shall come up to Jerusalem to pay homage to the Jewish Messiah. Isaiah wrote, “The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 60:14). Jerusalem and its temple will be the global place of blessings for Israel and the world. Finally, the Jewish people will be honored for being the people of God who blessed all the nations (Genesis 12:3).

There will be no more war in Israel or in the world (Isaiah 2:4). The Bible gives this promise to Israel, “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18). What a day that will be!

Satan does not want this day to arrive. His Antichrist will attempt to thwart the plan of God by entering the Holy of Holies at the time that is known as “the abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15). This day will occur at the mid-point of the Tribulation Period. The Apostle Paul spoke of the Antichrist’s rebellion against God as the one “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).

As Psalm 2 declared, the entire world is in a rage of hatred for the Jewish people and the Holy One of Israel. The stage is set for the final war in the spirit world, and the Jewish people and the land of Israel are at the center of it all! At the heart of the world’s rejection of Israel is the rejection of Torah (the Word of God), and the Holy One of Israel.

God has determined that the rebirth and restoration of the nation of Israel be a beacon of truth, flashing a message of hope and warning in the face of an unbelieving world that Jesus the Messiah is soon to return.

God is judging the nations based on how they treat Israel. However, the citizens of the nations have been deceived by Satan and his demons. They have been conditioned by a blinding hatred and lies against the Jewish people so that they are blind and deaf to the will and power of God being displayed on earth today.

Friends, as we watch the war unfold in our world against Israel and the Jewish people, guard your heart against the great deception of our time. Do not believe the lies about Israel. Their army is the most moral army in the history of the world. The world is believing those who are calling for the destruction of Israel. Those who are fighting against Israel are not just using bullets, mortars, missiles, and bombs. Their chief weapon is deception. The enemies of Israel have been slandering the Jewish people for millennia of time. Don’t forget that Jesus has warned us that Satan is a murderer and a liar (John 8:44). Be careful who you believe. Our world is filled with liars who are like their father, the devil.

Stand with God and the Word of God. If you are not saved, now is the time to surrender your life to the Lord. We are rapidly approaching the end of this age. Your time to believe and trust in Christ is drawing to an end. Do not be foolish. Do not wait. Your soul and where you will spend eternity is at stake. I am convinced that many who are already in hell were waiting for the perfect time to trust in the Lord. They waited too long. Now, they are suffering their eternal damnation in fire. Do not let that happen to you!

God has great things in store for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. According to the prophetic Scriptures, the Lord will display His power and protection for His people and His land. Just as in the days of the Old Testament, there are many miraculous events that are about to take place for the glory of God and the protection of His people. Speaking of the Tribulation, the prophet Joel wrote, “Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. … Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things” (Joel 2:18, 21).

Get ready for the shout that will take us out!

URGENT REQUEST