Gideon’s Battle
GIDEON’S THREE HUNDRED-A PREVIEW OF THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON (Judges Chapters 6-8)
The Biblical narrative of Gideon and his three hundred men encodes numerous prophetic parallels that apply to the battle of all battles, the battle of Armageddon, alluded to in Revelation 16:16. The English translation reads, “He (God) gathered them together…”
Recorded in Judges chapters 6 through 8, the Midianites were invading Israel and there were no judges to prevent their invasion. God raised up Gideon and his small army to deliver the Israelites from their captors.
| Gideon | Armageddon |
|---|---|
| Gideon’s battle occurred during the time of the threshing of the wheat (Judges 6:11) | Christ alludes to the time of the end as the time of “harvest” calling his final harvest of souls for the kingdom the “end of the world” or as some translations say, “the end of an age” (Matthew 13:39, 49) |
| In ancient times, the wheat harvest was gathered and separated on a threshing floor. | In Roman times, rocks or other rough objects were embedded into large wooden boards used to separate the stem and shell from the hard wheat. In Latin this board is called tribulem. The final harvest before the return of the Messiah will occur in the time of the Tribulation. |
| In Judges 6:25, God instructed Gideon to offer a bullock of seven years. In Judges 6:27 that 10 men accompanied Gideon at night. | These two numbers are significant in the future Tribulation, as the Tribulation will be seven yours in length (Dan. 9:27) and there will be ten kings at the end of days when the Messiah returns (see Dan 7:24 & Rev. 17:12) |
| In Judges 6:33, the children of the east” are mentioned. | A similar phrase is sound in Revelation 16:12, John records that the “kings of the east” cross the Euphrates River to join in the battle of Armageddon. |
| In Judges 6:33 it says, “The Children of the east were gathered together.”. | The word “gather” is also used in Zechariah 14:2, when the prophet saw the time of the end and how all nations would be gathered together against Jerusalem for the final battle. |
| These “Children of the east” “pitched in the valley of Jezeel” This is the same valley where the future nations will gather. | In Revelation 16:12, “these kings of the east” are gathering to battle at Armageddon. The area of Armageddon is actually the valley of Jezreel, which today is a two-hundred-square-mile area of open farmland in central Israel. |
| Prior to Gideon’s war he blew a trumpet (Judges 6:34) to gather his people together. | there will be the sound of trumpets at the gathering together of the believers (see 1 Thess 4:16-17) |
| Gideon began with 32000 men, and the army was reduced to a final group of a “remnant” of three hundred men. | The Bible predicts that the Lord will blow a trumpet (Hebrew shofar) and bring together a remnant (see 1 Thess 4:16 & Isa. 10:20-22) |
| In the battle, Gideon and his army slew two princes. 1. Ored: name means raven 2. Zeeb, meaning “wolf” (see Judges 7:25) These two princes were the leaders of the battle. | At the conclusion of the seven-year Tribulation there will be two men identified. 1. the first beast or Antichrist (see Rev13:1-2) 2. the second beast, the false prophet (a wolf in lamb’s clothing so to speak) Both will be defeated at the battle of Armageddon (see Rev. 19:20) |
| We read in Judges 7:25 that the leaders Oreb and Zeeb were slain at the winepress of Zeeb. | The word winepress is also used in the book of Revelation it refers to God pouring out his wrath during the Tribulation. John uses the image of the crushing of grapes when he calls this the winepress of the wrath of God” (Rev. 14:19-20) |
| Gideon’s battle was concluded at a winepress. | This battle will be identified with a winepress. |
| After crossing the Jordan, the men met at Succoth (see Judges 8:15) | Sukkot (Succoth) is the Hebrew word for Tabernacles, the seventh and final festival. The Feast of Tabernacles is a prophetic picture of the future kingdom of Christ in which he will reign on earth for one thousand years (see Rev. 20:4) |
| An interesting phrase in the Gideon narrative indicates that they “taught” the enemy with thorns and briars (see Judges 8:7, 16) | The prophetic parallel is that when Christ returns, he will tread down his enemies. (Psalm 60:11-12) |
| Gideon’s three hundred soldiers blew trumpets and broke clay pitchers to create confusion in the camp of the Midianites (see Judges 7:20-22). | In Revelation 2:27 we read “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” |
| The Ishmaelites brought Gideon an offering after the battle concluded (see Judges 8:24-26). These son of Ishmael were Arab descendants from Abraham’s son Ishmael who lived in the area. | At the return of Christ, the nations surrounding Israel will be the sons of Esau and Ishmael. The sons of Ishmael will join the other nations in worshipping the Messiah when he returns, as the Bible says: “All nations shall come and worship before thee” (Zech. 14:16) |
| In Judges 8:21, Gideon removed the ornaments around the camels’ necks. The Hebrew word for ornaments means “a round disk like the moon.” Ornaments were moon-like emblems placed around the necks of the camels | A common symbol of Islam is the crescent moon, often seen atop mosques worldwide. Today, Israel is surrounded by Islamic nations, and some believe the future Antichrist may come from an Islamic background. |
| Two statements that summarize Gideon’s leadership are: “The Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23) and the “Country was in quietness” (Judges 8:28). | These statements describe the state of the earth at the end of the Tribulation when the Messiah returns. Christ will reign over the nations for a thousand years (see Rev. 20:4), bringing peace throughout this entire period. |
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