Lesson 33 Explore 1: What Is the Battle of Armageddon? | Bible Questions
The Bible’s answer
The battle of Armageddon refers to the final war between human governments and God. These governments and their supporters oppose God even now by refusing to submit to his rulership.
(Psalm 2.2: The kings of the earth take their stand And high officials gather together as one Against Jehovah and against his anointed one.)
The battle of Armageddon will bring human rulership to an end.-
(Daniel 2.44: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. And this kingdom will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it alone will stand forever,)
The word “Armageddon” occurs only once in the Bible, at
(Revelation 16.16: And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon.)
Prophetically, Revelation shows that at “the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon,” “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered “together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.”-
(Revelation 16.14: They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and they perform signs, and they go out to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.)
Who will fight at Armageddon? Jesus Christ will lead a heavenly army to victory over God’s enemies.
(Revelation 19.11-16: I saw heaven opened, and look! a white horse. And the one seated on it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. His eyes are a fiery flame, and on his head are many diadems. He has a name written that no one knows but he himself, and he is clothed with an outer garment stained with blood, and he is called by the name The Word of God. Also, the armies in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. And out of his mouth protrudes a sharp, long sword with which to strike the nations, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron. Moreover, he treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his outer garment, yes, on his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.)
(Revelation 19.19-21: And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the one seated on the horse and against his army. And the wild beast was caught, and along with it the false prophet that performed in front of it the signs with which he misled those who received the mark of the wild beast and those who worship its image. While still alive, they both were hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur. But the rest were killed off with the long sword that proceeded out of the mouth of the one seated on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.)
These enemies include those who oppose God’s authority and who treat God with contempt.-
(Ezekiel 39.7: I will make my holy name known among my people Israel, and I will not allow my holy name to be profaned any longer; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.’)
Will Armageddon literally be fought in the Middle East? No. Rather than being restricted to one area, the battle of Armageddon will encompass the whole earth.-
(Jeremiah 25.32-34: This is what Jehovah of armies says: ‘Look! A calamity is spreading from nation to nation, And a great tempest will be unleashed from the remotest parts of the earth. “‘And those slain by Jehovah in that day will be from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth. They will not be mourned, nor will they be gathered up or buried. They will become like manure on the surface of the ground.’ Wail, you shepherds, and cry out! Wallow about, you majestic ones of the flock, Because the time of your slaughter and your dispersion has come, And you will fall like a precious vessel!)
(Ezekiel 39.17-20: “As for you, son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Say to every sort of bird and to all the wild beasts of the field, “Gather yourselves together and come. Gather all around my sacrifice that I am preparing for you, a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. You will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty ones and drink the blood of the chieftains of the earth—the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all the fattened animals of Bashan. You will gorge yourselves on fat and drink blood until you are drunk from the sacrifice that I prepare for you.”’ “‘At my table you will be filled up with horses and charioteers, mighty ones and all sorts of warriors,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.)
Armageddon, sometimes rendered “Har-Magedon” (Hebrew Har Meghiddohnʹ), means “Mountain of Megiddo.” Megiddo was once a city in the territory of ancient Israel. History tells of decisive battles that were fought in its vicinity, including some that are recorded in the Bible.
(Judges 5.19, 20: Kings came, they fought; The kings of Canaan then fought In Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo. No spoil of silver did they take. From heaven the stars fought; From their orbits they fought against Sisera.)
(2 Kings 9.27: When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled by way of the garden house. (Later Jehu pursued him and said: “Strike him down also!” So they struck him down in the chariot on his way up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. But he continued his flight to Megiddo and died there.)
(2 Kings 23.29: In his days Pharaoh Nechoh the king of Egypt came to meet the king of Assyria by the Euphrates River, and King Josiah went out to confront him; but when Nechoh saw him, he put him to death at Megiddo.)
However, Armageddon cannot refer to the literal area near ancient Megiddo. There is no large mountain there, and even the entire adjoining Low Plain of Jezreel could not contain all those who will fight against God. Instead, Armageddon is the worldwide situation in which the nations assemble in their last stand against rule by God.
What will conditions be like during the battle of Armageddon? While we do not know how God will use his power, he will have at his disposal weapons such as those he has used in the past-hail, earthquake, flooding downpour, fire and sulfur, lightning, and disease.
(Job 38.22, 23: Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail, Which I have reserved for the time of distress, For the day of battle and war?)
(Ezekiel 38.19: In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, I will speak; and in that day there will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.)
(Ezekiel 38.22: I will bring my judgment against him with pestilence and bloodshed; and I will rain down a torrential downpour and hailstones and fire and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many peoples with him.)
(Habakkuk 3.10, 11: Mountains writhed in pain at the sight of you. A downpour of waters swept through. The deep roared with its voice. It lifted its hands high. Sun and moon stood still in their lofty abode. Your arrows went out like the light. The lightning of your spear was brilliant.)
(Zechariah 14.12: “And this is the scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples who wage war against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot away while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot away in their sockets, and their tongues will rot away in their mouths.)
In confusion, at least some of God’s enemies will kill each other, yet they will ultimately realize that it is God who is fighting against them.-
(Ezekiel 38.21: “‘I will call for a sword against him on all my mountains,’ declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. ‘Every man’s sword will be against his own brother.)
(Ezekiel 38.23: And I will certainly magnify myself and sanctify myself and make myself known before the eyes of many nations; and they will have to know that I am Jehovah.’)
(Zechariah 14.13: “In that day confusion from Jehovah will be widespread among them; and each one will grab hold of the hand of his companion, and his hand will come against the hand of his companion.)
Will Armageddon be the end of the world? It will not be the end of our planet, since the earth is mankind’s eternal home.
(Psalm 37.29: The righteous will possess the earth, And they will live forever on it.)
(Psalm 96.10: Declare among the nations: “Jehovah has become King! The earth is firmly established, it cannot be moved. He will judge the peoples fairly.”)
(Ecclesiastes 1.4: A generation is going, and a generation is coming, But the earth remains forever.)
Rather than destroying humanity, Armageddon actually saves it, because “a great crowd” of God’s servants will survive.-
(Revelation 7.9: After this I saw, and look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands.)
(Revelation 7.14: So right away I said to him: “My lord, you are the one who knows.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.)
(Psalm 37.34: Hope in Jehovah and follow his way, And he will exalt you to take possession of the earth. When the wicked are done away with, you will see it.)
Besides referring to the earth, though, the word “world” in the Bible sometimes refers to wicked human society opposed to God.
(1 John 2.15-17: Do not love either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.)
In this sense, Armageddon will bring “the end of the world.”- King James Version.
(Matthew 24.3: While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”)
When will Armageddon take place? When discussing the “great tribulation” that culminates in the battle of Armageddon, Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.”
(Matthew 24.21: for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.)
(Matthew 24.36: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.)
Nevertheless, the Bible does show that Armageddon takes place during Jesus’ invisible presence, which began in 1914.-
(Matthew 24.37-39: For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the Flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they took no note until the Flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.)
[End of article.]