What Is "Armageddon"?

[Darris McNeely] What do you hear when the term Armageddon comes to mind? Is it a final battle between the forces of good and evil that has been portrayed in many different ways? Or perhaps is it even a popular movie by that name a few years ago about an asteroid that was going to hit planet Earth and just blow the earth to pieces? The idea of Armageddon represents something that is a very important lesson for all of us to learn about the Bible, what it does say as opposed to what we think that it might say. In Revelation 16, we have the one place in the Bible where this term Armageddon is mentioned. Let's read it and get the context and understand what is said here. 

The setting is the time of the tribulation and the events leading to the close of the age that are portrayed in the book of Revelation. And beginning in verse 12 of Revelation 16 it talks about an angel pouring out a plague upon the land and the kings of the East being prepared and brought into actually the land of Israel. The land of the Bible as the map here shows. John writes here, "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs going out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet," figures and an image of Satan, the devil that are mentioned here. "They are the spirits of demons, performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

So there is a battle, but let's look at what it says in verse 16 then, "And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." The one place in Scripture, Revelation 16:16, where the term Armageddon is mentioned. Now, closer look at what it says here, and what it really means. It's pointing us to, not to an event, but actually to a place, and the place is Megiddo, or the mountain of Megiddo, which is actually in the valley of Jezreel, far to the north of Jerusalem, in the land of Israel today. You can go there, you can see it. I've actually been there a couple of times. It's an archaeological site. Tel Megiddo, the place of Megiddo. And it is a place that's been inhabited for quite a long time. It actually was the topic or the setting for a very famous novel written a number of years ago called 'The Source' that told the story of civilization that grew up and lived around in that area. But Megiddo is a place. And the scriptures are saying that armies that are gathered at this time of the end just prior to Christ's return are gathered in the place of Megiddo. And then what happens as we know from other scriptures, especially in the book of Joel, the third chapter, these armies then move south to Jerusalem, several miles to the south and a little bit to the east. And that is where this final battle takes place in the valley...of the Kidron Valley next...and within Jerusalem at the return of Jesus Christ. 

And so the place called Megiddo or Armageddon is actually a place. Not necessarily an event, though there is a battle that does take place between the armies of the earth and Christ at His return.

Now, here's the point that I think is larger for us to think about today. As I said, Armageddon is a place not an event. Culture, preconceived ideas about what the Bible tells us show sometimes that we may be wrong. Apply this to a lot of other ideas that you might have about Scripture that you've either been taught or you think you know from whatever source that has taught you is not always the matching up to be the truth.

Challenge some of the other assumptions, some of the other ideas, some of the other beliefs that you might have about what the Bible really does teach and you're going to be in for a surprise. This is just one example. But it helps us to understand that the Bible does hold a great deal of understanding and truth for us.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.