Armageddon Series

tom lowe

1/11/2022

Armageddon

Who, what, where, when, why. I will attempt to clear away Armageddon's mystery by answering these five questions.

WHO?

Revelation 16 describes the end of the age and the last battle being fought at Armageddon between the forces of good and evil; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the entire world, to gather them together for the battle on the "great day of God Almighty."

Revelation 16:16 is the key verse of Chapter 16: "Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. "Verse 16 also gives the locations where the spirits of demons are mentioned in verse 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the entire world, to gather them together for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

Where?

They assembled the international armies. They collect these fighters at a place called Armageddon. This name transliterates (translates) the Hebrew words har Megid'do, meaning "the hill/mount of Megiddo." Mount Megiddo is close to the city of Megiddo, a former royal Canaanite city (Joshua 12:21) and close to the plain of Esdraelon. Megiddo is also mentioned in Zechariah 12:11 as a reference to the mourning for Josiah, whom Egyptian archers killed in that area (2 Chronicles 35:22–25). The Lord enabled Barak to overthrow the Canaanites at this site (Judges 5:19).

What?

While this event is commonly referred to as the "battle of Armageddon," it looks to be an extended series of ongoing fights. Zechariah prophesied in Zechariah 14:1–2 that, before the Lord returns, the war of Armageddon will include plundering and raping in Jerusalem. Half of the city will be taken into captivity. "Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle" (Zechariah 14:3). This means that there will be something of a "war of Armageddon," ending in the return of Christ at the second coming.

Revelation 16:8–16 reports what happens when the fourth, fifth, and sixth angels emptied their bowls of God's wrath. The apostle John's description of the bowl judgments continues, which began in Revelation 16:1–7. The fourth and fifth bowl judgments resemble some of the events of the trumpet judgments but are much more intense. These events occur just prior to the return of Christ to subdue His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth (Revelation 17—19).

In Hebrew, the place called Armageddon can be interpreted as "Har-Megiddo," where Har is a mountain or hill, and Megiddo is the ancient site of Tel Megiddo.

Where? (Location):

The ancient city of Megiddo is located 30 Km southeast of Haifa and is located at a strategic entrance through the eastern Carmel/Manasseh hills, where an ancient trade road (Via Maris). On this site, a vital City once flourished and was mentioned in the Old Testament as a vital city that played an essential role in the history of Biblical Israel.

The hills behind the Tel (mound) are in the south, right next to the Tel. These hills can be called Har-Megeddon, the source of the name of Armageddon. The hills are a lower eastern extension of Mount Carmel. This section is called the Manasseh mountains, and they continue towards the great depression of the Jordan valley. This mountain ridge presented a problem since the passage south had to climb up the mountains in ancient times. There were only a few passages, and Megiddo was one of them – a sort of gatekeeper.

Why?

Why Megiddo area?:

Why was the area of Megiddo selected in Revelation as the place of the future battle between the forces of evil and forces of good? The following factors can explain this:

? Megiddo area (and the Carmel/Manasseh mountains) was a boundary between the Kingdoms of the South (Egypt) and the Kingdoms of the North (Mesopotamian Kingdoms – Assyria, Babylon, Acadian). This friction line was always the center of great battles.

? One of the earliest recorded battles occurred south of Megiddo. In 1468 BC, the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III won a decisive battle against the revolting Canaanite cities, headed by the King of Megiddo and inspired by Egypt's rival Mitanni (an empire based in northern Mesopotamia). After 7 more months of siege, the city was lost. The result was a capture of 119 cities in the land of Israel, as displayed in the Egyptian temples in Karnack. The victory over the Canaanites also resulted in the Egyptian conquest of Canaan for 350 years. The important battle echoed through the centuries, and was probably the reason this area was selected.

? Prophet Zechariah also placed the future decisive battleground near Megiddo (Zechariah 12: 9, 11): "And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem… In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon".