How does Jesus defeat the armies of the world at Armageddon?

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normdplume

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I’m currently doing a detailed study of Revelation. To my surprise, the author of the Catholic study guide I’m using (which is otherwise excellent) reminds his readers twice in chapter 19 (the battle with the Antichrist and his armies) that the chapter is to be read symbolically, not literally. However, Jesus comes to Earth followed by His army (angels and holy ones), then personally destroys the armies of the Antichrist with a sword coming from His mouth (i.e. the word of God). That begs two questions:
  1. How can the word of God destroy massive armies? It doesn’t say He converted them, but rather destroyed them.
  2. Why bring an army from Heaven when Jesus is powerful enough to destroy all the armies of the world single-handedly?
Dispensationalists view this chapter more literally, believing there will be a massive battle.

Thank you.
 
Both of your questions involve reading the passage literally, not symbolically.

That said, Jesus is God and, if he needed to destroy some armies, could do so with an act of will, much less a word.

The angels and saints aren’t there to fight. They are the bridegroom’s escort coming with him to claim his bride.
 
Usagi said:
Both of your questions involve reading the passage literally, not symbolically.
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I don’t quite understand this statement. Are you saying I’m being too literal in reading it, or that I should read it more literally?

Thanks
 
God speaks and it is so–you see this in Genesis. You see this in raising Lazarus from the dead.
 
normdplume said:
How can the word of God destroy massive armies? It doesn’t say He converted them, but rather destroyed them.
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It is an image that parallels John 18:6 when, by Jesus pronouncing the Divine Name as a self-reference, the cohort was rendered incapacitated.
 
Is yours a mainstream Catholic interpretation of this scene in Revelation? God says die and they all die?
 
Hmmmm interesting question!!

I’m a firm believer in the all-encompassing power of Love (the Divine virtue, not luv 😊) so the “sword from His mouth” makes me think of that. But Love does not destroy things… unless that thing is evil, which is actually an absence of a good… so maybe “destroying” the armies of the Evil one will be to eradicate their lack of goodness and fill that lack up with goodness?

I’m not sure if that makes sense.

I like to think Jesus will come with an actual sword and charge into battle like Aragorn in the LOTR 🤓
 
I’m providing context to the idea of destroying armies with a Word, not an interpretation to the thing.

I feel you might be thinking too literally, but then again Revelation is a very difficult book.
 
Kei said:
I feel you might be thinking too literally, but then again Revelation is a very difficult book.
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I’ll say. I’m on my seventh study guide to try to interpret this book from a Catholic perspective (I’m doing research for a novel). Of those guides, the two best disagree significantly, yet both are Catholic interpretations.
 
I don’t see Jesus as some sort of Warrior God with sword wielding angels charging behind him. What kind of sword would Jesus carry?
I vote for a figurative, non-literal reading.
 
Of the seven study guides I have for Revelation, the two best ones speak of the armies of the Beast (Antichrist) and Gog/Magog being destroyed by God. The armies of the Beast are destroyed by Christ by a sword coming out of his mouth, so this isn’t allegory for love, unless one interprets “destroyed” as converted to Christianity, which is an unbelievable stretch to me. And right after comes the final judgment, so this is OT-style wrath of God.

One possibility that I’ve been able to piece together as an alternative is that the Antichrist and his armies represent secular society, and Jesus’s coming erases all that is evil about it. Why the “armies” are destroyed rather than converted may be due to the fact that they waited too long to repent. If they’re real people, they’ll be resurrected and judged like everyone else.
 
St. Augustine wrote about two worldwide cities - that of Christ and that of the devil - as the site of the final battle.
 
It might come down to the question of “what does divine justice require, or what will it take to satisfy divine justice.” If that means the demons are slaughtered on a battlefield that is what it will be. It could be that all the demons floating around earth will all find themselves sealed in hell in the blink of an eye, courtesy of the swing of a sword. The sword is divine justice.
 
The Antichrist’s armies are human (non-Christians). Demons attack the people of the earth at an earlier point in time during the Apocalypse.
 
Wait. Is it just Jesus who is doing the destroying? Or do His armies destroy evil with Him? I mean, do we get to participate… or just watch?
 
Jesus personally destroys the Antichrist’s armies with a sword coming out of His mouth (i.e., His words). The final assault by a prophesied OT figure named Gog (and his armies) are destroyed by fire from heaven. Jesus’s army does not participate in the battles.

Now how do I read that allegorically and not literally? I supposed one could say that Jesus is already doing battle through the Eucharist, but He literally returns from heaven in the Second Coming, which is in the Catechism. The Catechism also says that the Church will not accomplish its mission solely through human efforts, but through the Second Coming.
 
I’m virtually certain that the sword coming out of His mouth is symbolic of His Words, which is why I wonder what He says. My study guide doesn’t address that point.
 
It is my opinion that everything up to Chapter 20 of the Book of Revelations has already happened. It is mostly symbolic and relates to the beginning of what is called the church age, which is the same as the millennium.

As for the battle, I think it is symbolic of Jesus and his followers spreading the good news.
 
I have a study guide that agrees with you, whyeyeman. Nevertheless, I chose a forward-looking Catholic interpretation, which is equally valid. It works better for the novels I’m currently planning. Someday I may write a story set in the first century, a favorite period of mine.

I’m not sure Jesus’s sword is entirely symbolic. The Catechism refers to an end times adversary that nearly destroys the Church, and both John and Paul refer to an individual. The seals, trumpets, and bowls are all violent events, as is judgment if you’re destined for hell. I therefore interpret the slaying of the Antichrist’s armies as a literal event, but it will be done by Jesus’s spoken Word, not an actual sword/battle. (I believe a physical battle at Armageddon is a dispensational interpretation.)
 
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