We don’t arrive at the peace of New Jerusalem by going to Armageddon first; we find New Jerusalem by following the Lamb. Armageddon is the antithesis of New Jerusalem. The two are always distinct possibilities but divergent fates. New Jerusalem is the ever-present hope and possibility that the nations can forsake the Beast with its endless Armageddons and follow the Lamb into the heavenly city whose gates are never shut. Armageddon and the burning lake are symbols John of Patmos employs to warn us against following the Beast of empire.
