What is Armageddon?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

“Armageddon” in Greek comes from the Hebrew “Har Magedon,” meaning “mountain of Megiddo.” The word “Armageddon” appears only in Revelation 16:16, but it refers to both the historical site of some important battles (e.g., Judges 5 and 2 Kings 23:29) and the place where future nations will gather for a final battle against God. That future battle is described in Revelation 19 and prophesied in Zechariah 14:1–4 and Joel 3:9–16. When Jesus returns (Revelation 19:11–16), He will destroy the nations, bringing God’s wrath. The defeat will be so swift and complete that the land will be filled with a “feast” of corpses for the birds (Revelation 19:17–18). Note that this is not the final battle. After a thousand years (Revelation 20:1–6), Satan will be released to again gather all the nations against Jesus (Revelation 20:7–9). God will intervene and destroy them all, and then He will throw them and Satan into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10–15).

In popular culture, “Armageddon” often refers to any large-scale catastrophe. However, the seriousness of the battle at the location of “Har Magedon” far outstrips anything we consider big today. It’s the point when Jesus defeats His enemies and rules the Earth. Because of this, believers need not fear this war because Jesus will win decisively and singlehandedly, showing just how ineffectual humanity is at waging war against God!

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Megiddo is a location in the Jezreel Valley of modern northern Israel, near the city of Haifa. “Har” means “mountain” in Hebrew, so Har-Megiddo, transliterated as “Armageddon” in Greek, means the “mountain of Megiddo.” For example, in the Old Testament, some battles occurred there. In Judges 5, the judge Deborah, along with Barak, rescued Israel. Speaking about their enemies, Deborah sang, “The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver” (Judges 5:19). In another example, King Josiah, a relatively good king, was killed there by Pharaoh Neco (2 Kings 23:29). So, historically, Megiddo was a location where Israel encountered other nations in battle.
• However, Megiddo was also prophesied to be the place where all of Israel’s enemies would band together to try to overthrow her. However, God would crush them. We read in Zechariah 12:2—3, “I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.” Also see the descriptions in Zechariah 14:1–4 and Joel 3:9–16, where the nations will gather against Israel in a final battle and God will defeat them on Israel’s behalf.
• Echoing the battle scene in Revelation 19, in Isaiah we read, “Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree” (Isaiah 34:1–4).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• While Armageddon is often used in popular culture and even in some Christian writings as the name of a war, it actually refers to the location of the war. Revelation 16:12 opens with the sixth bowl judgment, which dries up the Euphrates to prepare for “the kings from the east” to be able to come against Israel (Revelation 16:12). Then we read that there are demonic spirits which enter all the kings of the earth “to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). The demons will assemble “them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16). This is the only reference to Armageddon and refers to where the nations will gather before attacking Israel.
• The battle itself is described in Revelation 19:11–16. It begins when heaven opens up, and Jesus comes riding. “In righteousness he judges and makes war” (Revelation 19:1). While there will be armies following Him (Revelation 19:14), they come only to observe because Jesus will “strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron” and then “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). It will be a swift, decisive defeat as the nations will be completely unable to stand up against Jesus.
• The death toll will be immense. After it is over, an angel will call out from heaven “to all the birds that fly directly overhead, ‘Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great’” (Revelation 19:17–18). The land will be filled with corpses, being a feast for the birds such that “all the birds were gorged with their flesh” (Revelation 19:21b).
• Then the beast and the false prophet who led the attack will be captured and cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). Satan will also be captured and bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:1–3). He will then be released one last time to gather the nations against Jesus again (Revelation 20:7–8). However, even before they reach the city, “fire came down from heaven and consumed them” (Revelation 20:9). Then Satan will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), and the nations in the rebellion, and all people throughout history who were God’s enemies, will be resurrected, judged, and also cast there (Revelation 20:11–15).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

When WWI began, it was called the war to end all wars. Yet, it ended, and wars remained. Not only do they continue to happen, but humankind seems determined to invent newer ways of killing each other. Earth history being as it is, it seems inevitable that war will continue for eternity…or until mankind destroys itself.

Yet, this is not true. The book of Revelation describes the final two wars. The one at Armageddon will be the second-to-last one. It promises to make WWI and WWII look small in terms of gathered military might, with the world joining forces against Israel. Yet it will also be one of the shortest wars in humankind’s history.

Throughout Scripture, we read about the nations deriding God and God’s people (e.g., Psalm 2:1–3). The war at Armageddon will be one of mankind’s final attempts to overthrow God. Yet God sits in the heavens and laughs at them because they are nothing to Him (Psalm 2:4).

God has clearly told us how these final two wars will end: Jesus will slaughter the nations opposed to Him at Armageddon, and God will rain fire down on the nations’ final attempt. Both will be won by God, not human might. Therefore, as frightening as “Armageddon” has become in popular culture, it is not to be feared by believers as it’s a war between Jesus and sinful humanity—and Jesus will win singlehandedly. That’s how feeble mankind’s attempt will be.

Rather than fearing that great war, let us use it to remind ourselves that in every war at every point in history, God has been in control. He is bringing history and the nations to Armageddon. There, He will send His Son back to earth to defeat evil and establish His eternal reign over the earth.

UNDERSTAND

• "Armageddon" refers to the location of the final battle, not the battle itself.
• At Armageddon, Jesus will come and defeat the gathered nations swiftly and completely, with the beast and false prophet immediately cast into the lake of fire and Satan bound for a thousand years.
• Armageddon is not the final battle; after the millennium, Satan will be released, gather the nations one last time, and be immediately destroyed before being cast into the lake of fire along with all God's enemies.

REFLECT

• How does the reality that Jesus will one day return to defeat all His enemies and establish His reign change the way you think about culture in the way it opposes God?
• In what ways does knowing the certain outcome of history affect the way you face opposition, suffering, and uncertainty in your own life?
• How does the swiftness of Jesus' defeat of the nations at Armageddon challenge any tendency to think of evil as a genuine rival to God's power and purposes?

ENGAGE

• What does the gathering of all nations against God at Armageddon reveal about the depth of human rebellion?
• How should the certainty of Armageddon and its aftermath impact the urgency of the gospel for those who will stand among God's enemies at that day?
• What do the events at Armageddon reveal about God and His working in human history?