so i found myself out on mount megiddo in israel, overlooking the plain of armageddon. and if you know a little bit of mythology in revelation, the plain of armageddon is where the mother of all battles is going to take place. so in this short roll-in, i'm just kind of musing about how the apocalypse in the book of revelation could be reapplied and reinterpreted doctrinally to be an apocalyptic theodicy for people who find themselves suffering in this own culture. did jim jones in fact have an apocalyptic theodicy? something to keep in mind. but let's check the roll-in. >> looking out on the peaceful jezreel valley on the sabbath, we see people coming home from the beach, crops growing in the field- indeed a peaceful scene. but as we've mentioned, this is armageddon- the field of armageddon, where the mother of all battles will take place. now it's an interesting case. we've mentioned that this is a kind of eschatological myth, but with an addition to it, an apocalyptic theodicy. what we mean by a theodicy is an explanation of why it is that humans suffer if god is all