Are We Approaching Armageddon?

The short answer is no.  For the longer answer, keep reading.

When you hear the word, “Armageddon,” what comes to mind?  Many think of it as the final, catastrophic world war at the end of the world before Christ comes back.  “Prophecy experts” have always claimed that Armageddon was going to happen in their own generation.  They’ve always been wrong.  

What does the Bible say about Armageddon?  The Bible only mentions the word Armageddon one time (Rev 16:16).  The context of the passage is not the end of the world, but the final destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, almost 2,000 years ago.

In Revelation 16 we find the bowl judgments.  Seven angels pour out seven bowls of God's wrath.  One of the bowls is Armageddon.  To understand Armageddon, it is essential to understand the context of Revelation 16, which is about God's judgment on first century Jerusalem for rejecting the Messiah and instead worshiping the Roman emperor.

What evidence is there that the seven bowl judgments are being poured out on first century Jerusalem?  First, we know that Revelation is not about the end times, but about events that "must soon take place," "because the time is near" (Rev 1:1-3).  Second, the theme verse of Revelation (Rev 1:7) indicates that Revelation is about Christ's coming in judgment against the first century Jews ("... even those who pierced him.  And all the tribes of the earth [land] will mourn over him").  Third, the bowls of wrath are poured out on the "land" (Rev 16:1).  Most Bible translations say "earth," but the Greek word (ge) can be translated "land," such as the land of Israel, or the Promised Land, which is what Israel is frequently called in the Bible.  Fourth, the bowls of wrath are poured out on the "great city" (Rev 16:19), and we know from Rev 11:8 that the great city is Jerusalem ("where their Lord was crucified").  Fifth, the bowls of wrath are poured out on those who killed the saints and the prophets (Rev 16:6).  Yes, Rome was persecuting Christians at the time of Revelation's writing, but historically Jerusalem is the best fit for this description.  Rome never killed a prophet, but Jerusalem killed both prophets and Christ-followers (Mt 23:37; Lk 11:47).  Therefore, we can conclude that the bowls of wrath in Rev 16 are being poured on first century Jerusalem.

The topic of Armageddon comes up when the sixth bowl is poured out (Rev 16:12-16).  A brief explanation of this passage will help in our understanding of Armageddon.  

Rev 16:12 says, "The sixth poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east."  The Euphrates also comes up in the sixth trumpet judgment (one of many indicators that the trumpet and bowl judgments are pointing to the same events).  In the sixth trumpet judgment, four angels are released at the Euphrates river with two hundred million mounted troops to kill a third of the human race.  In the sixth bowl judgment, the water of Euphrates is dried up so that armies from the east can cross it to attack Jerusalem.  Both judgments refer to the same thing.  Historically, all of Israel's great enemies came from the Euphrates region (Assyria, Babylon, and Persia), the northeast border of the Promised Land.  The meaning of this prophecy is that just as God sent destroying armies into Israel from the Euphrates in the past, He is about to do it again.  When the Roman general Titus was sent to destroy Jerusalem in AD 70, part of the destroying force assisting him -- the 10th Legion -- came from the Euphrates river.  

Rev 16:12 also refers to "kings of the east."  Notice the plural.  The Roman empire was made up of many nations, with many kings subordinate to Caesar.  The Roman army represented all the kings and nations of the empire.  

Rev 16:13 says that John saw three spirits like frogs coming from the mouths of Israel's three great enemies -- the dragon (Satan), the beast (the Roman empire), and the false prophet (the Jewish priesthood).  They were assembling armies for battle -- the final battle that would take place against Rome and Israel at Jerusalem in AD 70.

In Rev 16:15 Jesus said, "Look, I am coming like a thief."  In other words, unexpectedly.  This does not refer to Christ's second coming at the end of history, but to his coming in judgment against the Jews in the first century.

Rev 16:15 says, "They assembled the kings at the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon."  In Hebrew, Armageddon is made up of two words: Har and Megiddo.  Har means "mountain."  Megiddo the name of a well known field in Israel.  Literally Armageddon means "Mountain of Megiddo."  Geographically this is problematic, because there is no mountain on the field of Megiddo.  It is flat land.  So, the reference has to be symbolic rather than literal.  So what is the meaning of Armageddon?  Three questions will help us.

First, what is the context?  Revelation 16 is about God's judgment against first century Israel.

Second, what do we know about Megiddo?  It was a famous battlefield in Israel.  Joshua won a battle there, as did Deborah.  King Ahaziah lost a battle there.  But the most significant event that occurred at Megiddo was the death of King Josiah.  Josiah was a very godly man, and Judah's greatest king.  At the end of his life God warned him not to go to war against the Egyptians, but Josiah disobeyed and was killed in battle at Megiddo.  After Josiah's death the nation of Judah quickly descended into idolatry and was destroyed by the Babylonians.  Megiddo became known as a place of defeat and judgment.  

Third, what do we know about the word "mountain"?  Since there is no mountain at Megiddo, it likely refers to something else.  Jerusalem was on a mountain.  It was called Mount Zion.  

Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Armageddon refers to the final battle in Jerusalem in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed the city and the temple.  Armageddon refers to the Mountain of Defeat, or the Mountain of Judgment.  

Gary DeMar wrote, "Israel remembered Megiddo as a place where God vented His divine wrath against rebellion, whether exhibited by Israel or a foreign power.  God brought the nations of the world against first-century Jerusalem as He had promised (Mt 22:7; 24:34).  Rome, as an empire of nations (Syria, Asia Minor, Palestine, Gaul, Egypt, Britain, and others) representing all the nations of the world, came up against Jerusalem and destroyed her."

Lary Ball added, "Armageddon is not something you have to fear, because it has already happened.  Yes, you heard that correctly! The war at Armageddon has already happened.  It happened about 2,000 years ago… Armageddon was a metaphor for the last great battle at Jerusalem.  It was a reference to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in the apostolic age.”