View source for Armageddon

{{Short description|Biblical apocalyptic battle site}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Battle of Armageddon|the hymn|The Battle of Armageddon}}
[[File:תל מגידו.JPG|thumb|[[Tel Megiddo]] with archaeological remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages]]
[[File:JPF-TelMegiddo.JPG|thumb|Ruins atop Tel Megiddo]]
{{Christian Eschatology}}

'''Armageddon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɑːr|m|ə|ˈ|g|ɛ|d|ən|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-armageddon.wav}} {{respell|AR|mə|GHED|ən}}; {{Langx|grc|{{Wikt-lang|grc|Ἁρμαγεδών}}|{{grc-transl|Ἁρμαγεδών}}}};<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bibletranslation.ws/trans/revwgrk.pdf |title=Bibletranslation.ws |website=bibletranslation.ws |access-date=2009-09-23 |archive-date=2011-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716112352/http://www.bibletranslation.ws/trans/revwgrk.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://biblehub.com/revelation/16-16.htm |title=Revelation 16:16 And they assembled the kings in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. |website=biblehub.com |access-date=2019-04-01 |archive-date=2012-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027132808/http://scripturetext.com/revelation/16-16.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> {{langx|la|label=[[Late Latin]]|Armagedōn}};<ref>''Collins English Dictionary'', HarperCollins, 3rd ed., p. 81</ref> from {{langx|he|הַר מְגִדּוֹ|Har Məgīddō}}) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the [[Eschatology|end times]], according to the [[Book of Revelation]] in the [[New Testament]] of the Christian [[Bible]]. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a symbolic location, although the term has since become more often used in a generic sense to refer to any [[eschatology|end-of-the-world]] scenario. In [[Schools of Islamic theology|Islamic theology]], Armageddon is also mentioned in [[Hadith]] as the Greatest Armageddon or [[Al-Malhama Al-Kubra]] (the great battle).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hadith - Book of Tribulations - Sunan Ibn Majah - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم) |url=https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/147 |access-date=2020-12-24 |website=sunnah.com |archive-date=2020-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112011312/https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah/36/147 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The "mount" of [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]] in northern Israel is not actually a [[mountain]], but a [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]] (a mound or hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding at the same spot)<ref>[http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/travel/16family.html "Amateur Archaeologists Get the Dirt on the Past"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308111520/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/travel/16family.html |date=2021-03-08 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref> on which ancient forts were built to guard the [[Via Maris]], an ancient [[trade route]] linking [[Egypt]] with the northern empires of [[Syria]], [[Anatolia]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. Megiddo was the location of various ancient battles, including [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)|one in the 15th century BC]] and [[Battle of Megiddo (609 BC)|one in 609 BC]]. The nearby modern [[Megiddo, Israel|Megiddo]] is a [[kibbutz]] in the [[Kishon River]] area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bloganavazquez.com/tag/anales-tutmosis-iii/ |title=Maps and pictures of Megiddo mountain and the surrounding plain (in Spanish) |website=www.bloganavazquez.com |access-date=2010-06-22 |archive-date=2017-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170614105632/http://www.bloganavazquez.com/tag/anales-tutmosis-iii/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word ''Armageddon'' appears only once in the [[Novum Testamentum Graece|Greek New Testament]], in [[Revelation 16]]:16. The word is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew ''har məgīddō'' ({{lang|he|הר מגידו|rtl=yes}}). ''Har'' means "a mountain" or "a range of hills". This is a shortened form of ''harar'' meaning "to loom up; a mountain". ''[[Tel Megiddo|Məgīddō]]'' refers to a fortification made by [[Ahab|King Ahab]] that dominated the [[Jezreel Valley|Plain of Jezreel]]. Its name means "place of crowds".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/4023.html |title=Strong's Number 4023 Hebrew Dictionary of the Old Testament Online Bible with Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon, Etymology, Translations Definitions Meanings & Key Word Studies |website=lexiconcordance.com |access-date=2014-02-25 |archive-date=2014-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301082204/http://lexiconcordance.com/hebrew/4023.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>BC The Archaeology of the Bible Lands. By Magnus Magnusson. BBC Publications 1977</ref>

[[Adam Clarke]] wrote in his Bible commentary (1817) on Revelation 16:16:<blockquote>''Armageddon'' – The original of this word has been variously formed, and variously translated. It is {{lang|he|הר־מגדון}} ''har-megiddon'', "the mount of the assembly;" or {{lang|he|חרמה גדהון}} ''chormah gedehon'', "the destruction of their army;" or it is {{lang|he|הר־מגדו}} ''har-megiddo'', "[[Mount Megiddo]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revelation 16 Clarke's Commentary |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/clarke/revelation/16.htm |website=Bible Hub}}</ref></blockquote>

==Christianity==
{{See also|Christian eschatology}}
[[File:Johannes op Patmos Saint John on Patmos Berlin, Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Gemaldegalerie HR.jpg|thumb|''Saint John the Evangelist on [[Patmos]]''. Painting by [[Hieronymus Bosch]] (1505).]]

Megiddo is mentioned twelve times in the [[Old Testament]], ten times in reference to the ancient city of [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], and twice with reference to "the plain of Megiddo", most probably simply meaning "the plain next to the city".<ref name="Bible cite">{{cite web |year=2011 |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=megiddo&version1=9&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no |title=Bible Keyword Search Results: megiddo (KJV) |access-date=2011-01-15 |archive-date=2012-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715041951/http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=megiddo&version1=9&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no |url-status=live }} Listing of the 12 Biblical Old Testament passages containing the word "Megiddo".&nbsp;</ref> None of these Old Testament passages describes the city of Megiddo as being associated with any particular prophetic beliefs. The one [[New Testament]] reference to the city of Armageddon found in {{bibleverse|Revelation|16:16}} makes no specific mention of any armies being predicted to one day gather in this city, either, but instead seems to predict only that "they (will gather) the kings together to&nbsp;... Armageddon".<ref name="No armies referred to">{{cite web |year=2011 |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+16&version=NIV |title=Revelation 16, The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath |access-date=2011-01-15 |archive-date=2011-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111112320/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+16&version=NIV |url-status=live }} New Testament excerpt describing various apparent calamities of nature with respect to Armageddon.</ref> The text does however seem to imply, based on the text from the earlier passage of Revelation 16:14, that the purpose of this gathering of kings in the "place called Armageddon" is "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty". Because of the seemingly highly symbolic and even cryptic language of this one New Testament passage, some Christian scholars conclude that Mount Armageddon must be an idealized location.<ref name="Biblical Horizons, No. 85">[[James B. Jordan]], [http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-85-some-observations/ Biblical Horizons, No. 85] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801052848/http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-85-some-observations/ |date=2010-08-01 }}</ref> [[R. J. Rushdoony]] says, "There are no mountains of Megiddo, only the Plains of Megiddo. This is a deliberate destruction of the vision of any literal reference to the place."<ref>Rousas John Rushdoony, ''Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation'', 190.</ref> Other scholars, including [[C. C. Torrey]], [[Meredith G. Kline|Kline]] and [[James B. Jordan|Jordan]], argue that the word is derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''moed'' ({{lang|he|מועד|rtl=yes}}), meaning "assembly". Thus, "Armageddon" would mean "Mountain of Assembly", which Jordan says is "a reference to the assembly at Mount Sinai, and to its replacement, Mount Zion".<ref name="Biblical Horizons, No. 85"/>

Most traditions interpret this Bible prophecy to be symbolic of the progression of the world toward the "great day of God, the Almighty" in which God pours out his just and holy wrath against unrepentant sinners led by Satan, in a literal end-of-the-world final confrontation.<ref>{{cite book|first=Roger |last=Chapman|chapter=Premillennial Dispensationalism|title=Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices|location=London|publisher= Routledge|year= 2015|pages= 517–518|isbn=978-1317473510 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XO9nBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA517}}</ref> 'Armageddon' is the symbolic name given to this event based on scripture references regarding divine obliteration of God's enemies. The hermeneutical method supports this position by referencing Judges 4 and 5 where God miraculously destroys the enemy of their elect, Israel, at Megiddo.<ref>{{citation |url=https://intertextual.bible/text/judges-5.19-revelation-16.16 |title=Judges 5:19 {{!}} Hebrew Bible |access-date=2022-01-09 |archive-date=2022-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109030641/https://intertextual.bible/text/judges-5.19-revelation-16.16 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Christian scholar [[William Hendriksen]] writes:
{{blockquote|For this cause, Har Magedon is the symbol of every battle in which, when the need is greatest and believers are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals His power in the interest of His distressed people and defeats the enemy. When Sennacherib's 185,000 are slain by the Angel of Jehovah, that is a shadow of the final Har-Magedon. When God grants a little handful of Maccabees a glorious victory over an enemy which far outnumbers it, that is a type of Har-Magedon. But the real, the great, the final Har Magedon coincides with the time of Satan’s little season. Then the world, under the leadership of Satan, anti-Christian government, and anti-Christian religion – the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet – is gathered against the Church for the final battle, and the need is greatest; when God's children, oppressed on every side, cry for help; then suddenly, Christ will appear on the clouds of glory to deliver his people; that is Har-Magedon.<ref>[[William Hendriksen]], ''More Than Conquerors'', 163.</ref>}}

===Dispensationalism===
{{See also|Dispensationalism}}
In his discussion of Armageddon, [[J. Dwight Pentecost]] has devoted a chapter to the subject, "The Campaign of Armageddon", in which he discusses it as a [[Military campaign|campaign]] and not a specific [[battle]], which will be fought in the [[Middle East]]. Pentecost writes:
{{blockquote|It has been held commonly that the battle of Armageddon is an isolated event transpiring just prior to the second advent of Christ to the earth. The extent of this great movement in which God deals with "the kings of the earth and of the whole world"<ref>Rev. 16:14</ref> will not be seen unless it is realized that the "battle of that great day of God Almighty"<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|16:14|NKJV}}</ref> is not an isolated battle, but rather a campaign that extends over the last half of the tribulation period. The Greek word "polemo", translated "battle" in Revelation 16:14, signifies a war or campaign, while "machē" signifies a battle, and sometimes even single combat. This distinction is observed by Trench (see [[Richard Chenevix Trench|Richard C. Trench]], ''New Testament Synonyms'', pp. 301–32) and is followed by Thayer (see [[Joseph Henry Thayer]], ''Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament'', p. 528) and Vincent (see Marvin R. Vincent, ''Word Studies in the New Testament'', II, 541). The use of the word ''polemos'' (campaign) in Revelation 16:14 signifies that God views the events culminating in the gathering at Armageddon at the second advent as one connected campaign.|Pentecost, p. 340}}

Pentecost then discusses the location of this campaign, and mentions the "hill of Megiddo" and other geographic locations such as "the [[Valley of Josaphat|valley of Jehoshaphat]]"<ref>{{bibleverse||Joel|3:2|NKJV}}</ref> and "the valley of the passengers",<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|39:11|NKJV}}</ref> "Lord coming from [[Edom]] or Idumea, south of [[Jerusalem]], when he returns from [[Last judgment|the judgment]]"; and Jerusalem itself.<ref>Zech. 12:2–11; 14:2</ref><ref>Pentecost, p. 341</ref>

Pentecost further describes the area involved:
{{blockquote|This wide area would cover the entire land of Israel and this campaign, with all its parts, would confirm what Ezekiel pictures when he says the invaders will 'cover the land'.<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|38:9–16|NKJV}}</ref> This area would conform to the extent pictured by [[John of Patmos|John]] in Revelation 14:20.<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|14:20|NKJV}}</ref>}}

Pentecost then outlines the biblical time period for this campaign to occur and with further arguments concludes that it must take place with the [[Prophecy of Seventy Weeks|70th week of Daniel]]. The invasion of Israel by the Northern Confederacy "will bring the Beast and his armies to the defense of Israel as her protector". He then uses [[Book of Daniel|Daniel]] to further clarify his thinking.<ref>{{cite web |title=Daniel 11:40–45 (King James Version) |publisher=BibleGateway.com |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dan.%2011:40-45;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073621/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dan.%2011%3A40-45%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Again, events are listed by Pentecost in his book:
# "The movement of the campaign begins when the King of the South moves against the Beast–False Prophet coalition, which takes place 'at the time of the end'."<ref>{{cite web |title=Daniel 11:40 (King James Version) |publisher=BibleGateway.com |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dan.%2011:40;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073626/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dan.%2011%3A40%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref>
# The King of the South gets in battle with the North King and the Northern Confederacy.<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|11:40|NKJV}}</ref> Jerusalem is destroyed as a result of this attack,<ref>{{bibleverse||Zechariah|12:2|NKJV}}</ref> and, in turn, the armies of the Northern Confederacy are destroyed.<ref>{{bibleverse||Ezekiel|39|NKJV}}, {{bibleverse||Zechariah|12:4|NKJV}}</ref>
# "The full armies of the Beast move into Israel<ref>Daniel 11:41</ref> and shall conquer all that territory.<ref>Daniel 11:41–42</ref> Edom, [[Moab]], and [[Ammon]] alone escape."
# "... a report that causes alarm is brought to the Beast"<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|11:44|NKJV}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|16:12|NKJV}}</ref>
# "The Beast moves his headquarters into the land of Israel and assembles his armies there."<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|11:45|NKJV}}</ref>
# "It is there that his destruction will come."<ref>Daniel 11:45</ref><ref>Pentecost, p. 356</ref>

After the destruction of the Beast at the [[Second Coming]] of [[Jesus]], the [[Kingdom of God|promised Kingdom]] is set up, in which Jesus and the [[saints]] will rule for a [[Millennialism|thousand years]]. Satan is then loosed "for a season" and goes out to deceive the nations, specifically Gog and Magog.<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|20:8|NKJV}}</ref> The army mentioned attacks the saints in the [[New Jerusalem]], they are defeated by a judgment of fire coming down from heaven, and then comes the [[Great White Throne]] judgment, which includes all of those through the ages<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|20:11–15|NKJV}}</ref> and these are cast into the [[Lake of Fire]], which event is also known as the "second death" and Gehenna, not to be confused with Hell, which is Satan's domain. Pentecost describes this as follows:

{{blockquote|The destiny of the lost is a place in the lake of fire.<ref>Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14–15; 21:8</ref> This lake of fire is described as everlasting fire<ref>{{cite web |title=Matthew 25:41 (King James Version) |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2025:41;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073727/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2025%3A41%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Matthew 18:8 (King James Version) |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2018:8;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073722/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt.%2018%3A8%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> and as unquenchable fire,<ref>{{cite web |title=Mark 9:43–44 (King James Version) |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209:43–44;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073712/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209%3A43-44%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mark 9:46–48 (King James Version) |url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209:46-48;&version=9; |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125073717/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209%3A46-48%3B&version=9%3B |archive-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> emphasizing the eternal character of retribution of the lost.|Pentecost, p. 555}}

===Jehovah's Witnesses===
{{See also|Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses}}
[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that Armageddon is the means by which [[God]] will fulfill his purpose for the Earth to be populated with happy healthy humans who will be free from [[sin]] and death.<ref name="w2005881">{{cite journal |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005881 |title=Armageddon&mdash;A Happy Beginning |date=December 1, 2005 |pages=4&ndash;7 |journal=The Watchtower |access-date=May 22, 2015 |archive-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929031820/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005881 |url-status=live }}</ref> They teach that the [[Heavenly host|armies of heaven]] will eradicate all who oppose the [[Kingdom of God (Christian denominational variations)#Jehovah.27s Witnesses|Kingdom of God]], wiping out all wicked humans on Earth, only leaving righteous mankind.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241 |title=Armageddon—God's War to End All Wars |pages=5&ndash;8 |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=May 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720213025/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241 |url-status=live }}</ref>

They believe that the gathering of all of the nations of the earth refers to the uniting of the world's political powers, as a gradual process which began in 1914 and was later seen in manifestations such as the [[League of Nations]] and the [[United Nations]] following the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second World War]]s.<ref>''What Does the Bible ''Really'' Teach'' pp. 215–218 "1914 – A Significant Year in Bible Prophecy"</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=author? publisher? year?|date=June 2022}} These political powers are said to be influenced by [[Satan]] and they are disgusting in that they stand in the place of God's kingdom before men as the only hope of mankind.<ref name="w2005881" /> [[Babylon the Great]] is interpreted as being the world empire of false religions, and it will be destroyed by the beast just prior to Armageddon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102006290 |title=The End of False Religion is Near |website=wol.jw.org |access-date=2015-05-22 |archive-date=2015-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502200231/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102006290 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Mankind's Search for God chap. 16 p. 371 par. 13 "the destruction of Babylon the Great will usher in a period of 'great tribulation' that culminates in 'the war of the great day of God the Almighty ... Har–Magedon.{{'"}}</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=what is this, a book? who wrote it and when?|date=June 2022}} Witnesses believe that after all other religions have been destroyed, the governments of the world will turn their attention to destroying Jehovah's Witnesses, provoking God to intervene and precipitating Armageddon.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |date=September 15, 2005 |page=19 |title=Walk by Faith, Not by Sight!}}</ref>

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the armies of heaven, led by Jesus, will then destroy all forms of human government and then Jesus, along with a selected [[144,000#Jehovah's Witnesses|144,000]] humans, will rule Earth for 1,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992009 |title=The Marvelous New World of God's Making |website=wol.jw.org |access-date=2015-05-22 |archive-date=2015-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831130456/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992009 |url-status=live }}</ref> They believe that Satan and his demons will be bound for that period, unable to influence mankind. After the 1,000 years are ended, and the second resurrection has taken place, [[Satan]] is released and allowed to tempt the perfect human race one last time. Those who follow Satan will be destroyed, along with him, leaving the earth, and humankind at peace with God forever, free from sin and death.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |date=June 1, 1996 |page=18 |title=Flight to Safety Before the 'Great Tribulation'}}</ref>

The religion's current teaching on Armageddon originated in 1925 with former [[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania|Watch Tower Society]] president [[Joseph Franklin Rutherford|J. F. Rutherford]], who based his interpretations on passages that are found in the books of Exodus, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Psalms as well as additional passages that are found in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. The doctrine marked a further break from the teachings of the Watch Tower Society's founder [[Charles Taze Russell]], who for decades had taught that the final war would be an anarchistic struggle for domination on earth.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alan Rogerson |title=Millions Now Living Will Never Die |publisher=Constable |year=1969 |page=47}}</ref> Tony Wills, the author of a historical study of Jehovah's Witnesses, wrote that Rutherford seemed to relish his descriptions of how completely the wicked would be destroyed at Armageddon, dwelling at great length on prophecies of destruction. He stated that towards the close of his ministry, Rutherford allocated about half the space that was available in ''The Watchtower'' magazines to discussions about Armageddon.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wills |first=Tony |title=A People For His Name |publisher=Lulu Enterprises |year=2006 |page=154 |isbn=978-1-4303-0100-4}}</ref>

===Seventh-day Adventist===
{{Main|Seventh-day Adventist eschatology#Armageddon}}
[[File:Armageddon flowchart.png|thumb|[[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventist]] understanding of Revelation 13–22]]
The teachings of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] state that the terms "Armageddon", "Day of the Lord" and "The Second Coming of Christ" all describe the same event.<ref>"Seventh-day Adventists believe" 1988 by the Ministerial Association General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists</ref>{{verify source|reason=A conference by itself is not a [[WP:V|verifiable]] source. Are we actually citing conference proceedings here, or something else?|date=June 2022}} Seventh-day Adventists further teach that the current religious movements taking place in the world are setting the stage for Armageddon, and they are concerned by an anticipated unity between [[Spiritualism (beliefs)|spiritualism]], American [[Protestantism]] and [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]]. A further teaching in [[Seventh-day Adventist theology]] is that the events of Armageddon will leave the earth desolate for the duration of the [[premillennialism|millennium]].<ref>''Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology'' 2000 Review and Herald Publishing Association and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists</ref>{{full citation needed|date=June 2022}} They teach that the righteous will be taken to heaven while the rest of humanity will be destroyed, leaving Satan with no one to tempt and effectively "bound".<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|20:2|NKJV}}</ref> The final re-creation of a "new heaven and a new earth";<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|21:1|NKJV}}</ref> then follows the millennium.

===Christadelphians===
For [[Christadelphians]], Armageddon marks the "great climax of history when the nations would be gathered together 'into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon', and the judgment on them would herald the setting up of the Kingdom of God."<ref>''The Christadelphian'' (1970), Volume 107, pp. 555–556.</ref>

==Baháʼí Faith==
{{See also|Battle of Megiddo (1918)}}
From [[Baháʼí literature]], a number of interpretations of the expectations surrounding the Battle of Armageddon may be inferred, three of them being associated with events surrounding the World Wars.<ref name="Lambden">{{cite journal |last=Lambden |first=Stephen |title=Catastrophe, Armageddon and Millennium: some aspects of the Bábí-Bahá'í exegesis of apocalyptic symbolism |journal=Baháʼí Studies Review |volume=9 |url=http://bahai-library.com/lambden_catastrophe_millennium |access-date=2007-06-10 |archive-date=2018-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224184227/http://bahai-library.com/lambden_catastrophe_millennium%20 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The first interpretation deals with a series of tablets written by [[Bahá'u'lláh]], founder of the [[Baháʼí Faith]], to be sent to various kings and rulers.<ref name="Lambden"/> The second, and best-known one, relates to events near the end of [[World War I]] involving [[Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|General Allenby]] and the [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)]] wherein World Powers are said to have drawn soldiers from many parts of the world to engage in battle at Megiddo. In winning this battle Allenby also prevented the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] from killing [['Abdu'l-Baha]], then head of the Baháʼí Faith, whom they had intended to [[Crucifixion|crucify]].<ref>{{cite book |year=1997 |title=The Servant, the General, and Armageddon |publisher=George Ronald |isbn=0-85398-424-7 |author=Roderic Maude and Derwent Maude}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith |first=Peter |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |encyclopedia=A concise encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |publisher=Oneworld Publications |location=Oxford |isbn=1-85168-184-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope0000smit/page/18 |year=2000 |page=18}}</ref> A third interpretation reviews the overall progress of the World Wars, and the situation in the world before and after.<ref name="Lambden"/>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
* [[1 Maccabees]]
* ''[[Al-Malhama Al-Kubra]]''
* [[Amik Valley]]
* [[Antiochus Epiphanes]]
* [[Apocalyptic literature]]
* [[Armageddon (novel)|''Armageddon'' (novel)]]
* [[Futurism (Christianity)#Book of Revelation|Futurist view of the Book of Revelation]]
* [[Historicist interpretations of the Book of Revelation]]
* [[List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events]]
* ''[[Megiddo: The Omega Code 2]]''
* [[Millenarianism]]
* [[Millennialism]]
* [[Preterism#Interpretation of the Book of Revelation|Preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation]]
* [[Ragnarök]]
* [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)]]
* ''[[Waiting for Armageddon]]''
* [[World War III]]
* [[Dagor Dagorath]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|Armageddon}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline|Armageddon}}
* [https://www.cdamm.org/articles/armageddon Armageddon], in James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) ''Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements''. 2021

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[[Category:Apocalypticism]]
[[Category:Battlefields]]
[[Category:Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses]]
[[Category:Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:New Testament Hebrew words and phrases]]
[[Category:Prophecy in Christianity]]
[[Category:Seventh-day Adventist theology]]
[[Category:Tel Megiddo]]