Revelation 16; Gathering at Armageddon.

Introduction.

Now we are going to look at one of the most difficult verses in the Bible, Revelation 16:16, and there is a particular word in this verse that makes this verse extra difficult, and this word is Armageddon, and because this word only occurs once in the entire Bible, we have no verse to compare it to.

Our verse is like this: He gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon, (Revelation 16:16).

Usually it is relatively easy to figure out what the different words that are used mean, even when they are in a prophecy, as here, or in a parable. Usually the words are used several times and in different contexts and are explained both in one place and in several places, which makes it relatively easy to figure out what the words mean. This is not the case with Armageddon. In the case of this word, we must try to understand what the verse in which it is found tells us so that we can get some understanding of what Armageddon might mean. Once that is done we can see if we can find a similar story in the Bible that tells us the same thing. The Bible, as we know, is a typological book, which means that an event that happened in ancient times and which we can call the type, happens again in a similar way in our time, which we can then call a antitype.

We know for sure that there has never been a place called Armageddon anywhere in the world throughout history. We can therefore reject the idea that Armageddon refers to a specific place in the Middle East as many claim it does. The first thing we must do is find out what the Hebrew word actually means, only then we can begin to approach an understanding of what we need to look for.

First, it is important to understand that the word Armageddon is a compound word, and is made up of two Hebrew words, H2022 har which means mount, and H4023 mo´ed (mageddón) which means rendezvous, and which in the Old Testament is also used to describe a congregation or an assembly. The symbolism here then becomes mount, which is the place where God has revealed Himself throughout history – where He has met His congregation / assembly, which describes God’s people.

To understand this better we must include the previous verses that tell of three unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast and the mouth of the false prophet. These three entities are God’s adversaries and are explained as Satan and the fallen churches on earth that Satan uses to cause God’s faithful remnant to fall away from God in the end times. He in verse 16 must therefore be Satan.

We must also consider who Satan is gathering at Armageddon. These must be all people on earth, both God’s faithful remnant in the end times, the apostate Christians and all other people who are in opposition to God the Creator. We therefore have only two groups of people, those who follow God the Creator, and those who do not. Those who do not follow God the Creator will, together with their leader, the dragon, try to fight God’s church in the end times. We must remember that Satan is Mr. CopyCat in person and imitates absolutely everything God does.

When we know that God throughout history has used mountains to meet his people, as when God met Moses on Horeb, and later all of Israel in the same place, it is not unnatural that Satan in the end times will use mounts to meet his people. But this meeting does not happen literally, but in a figurative sense. We can then read verse 16 as follows: He, Satan, gathered the whole world to the place called the Mount of Assembly.

We can then conclude for the time being that we must find a story where God gathers his people and their enemies on a mount. As we move forward, we will discuss in more detail what we have looked at so far.

All Bible texts are taken from the King James Version 1611 / 1769, unless otherwise stated.

Armageddon is not a physical place.

What do most Christians say Armageddon is? Most Christians say that Armageddon will be the battlefield where the last great physical war will be fought. According to Revelation 9:16, one side in this war will consist of an army of 200 million soldiers. How many soldiers will be against this army is not known, but it cannot be significantly smaller. Many will probably ask me to calm down with the number of soldiers, but as long as the same people interpret Armageddon literally and say this is a place in Israel, they must also interpret the number of soldiers literally. Because you cannot interpret one part of a prophecy literally while interpreting another part of the same prophecy figuratively.

But the big question is: Is there a place in the Middle East (Israel) called Armageddon, and is this space possibly big enough to accommodate two gigantic armies?

What is certain is that we are in time just before the return of Jesus. Satan has had the goal ever since he was cast out of heaven to destroy mankind completely, and the Bible tells us in many places about a great war that will be fought in the end times. But what kind of war is it? We also know that Satan wants to take God’s place and thereby receive the worship that God the Creator alone has the right to receive. So this war is a spiritual war, not a physical war.

It is certain that Armageddon (verse 16) is the place where the final great battle between Christ and Satan will take place, because the Bible tells us so. However, what is important to us is to find out where Armageddon may be located or what Armageddon is. Armageddon has been explained in many ways, and the most common explanation is, as already stated, that it is a physical location in modern-day Israel where the last great war will be fought.

A particularly interesting word in this verse is place, and this small, significant word is often overlooked. The Greek word for place is G5561 to´pos. This word is translated as place, space, region, country, occasion and opportunity. In our case, the chosen translation is place (noun masculine singular accusative). If we were to choose to translate with a geographical location, it is most likely that it refers to the Valley of Megiddo, also called the Valley of Jezreel and the Plain of Esdraelon, and is an area in Israel that extends from the Carmel Hills and Mount Carmel in the west to the Jordan Valley in the east. This was Israel’s greatest battlefield from ancient times, and the place where the British and Turks met in a major battle during World War I. This must be the reason why many Christians today choose to interpret Armageddon as a physical place.

In other word a physical location is the literal interpretation, but the word can also be interpreted in a figurative sense, and since this is a prophecy, we should probably interpret it figuratively and then to’pos would be best translated with the words occasion, or opportunity, and then in the form of setting up a mindset. We then have a situation where the wicked gradually set up a mindset that involves blaming God’s faithful people for all the misery that befalls them through the last plagues that fall on the wicked, because they see that the plagues do not affect God’s faithful remnant, and they will therefore try to kill them. It is good that the Bible itself gives us comfort: A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation. Psalm 91:7-9.

What? A mind-set? We are heading to a situation where the devil together with the wicked eventually set up a mind-set, which is to blame God’s faithful people for all the misery that afflicts the wicked through these plagues, because, as I have already mentioned, they see that the afflictions do not affect God’s faithful remnant. Therefore, they will try to kill them, because they believe that the plagues will stop by eliminating Gods faithful remnant.

And if you dare to look out of the window and look at the world outside, it seems like we’ve ended up in the middle of a psychedelic movie where everyone is painted in the colours of the rainbow flag, and where anything is permitted as long as you’re politically correct. This is part of the mindset that is being established in our time.

Armageddon has been explained in many ways, but we must all understand that the battle between Christ and Satan is a battle that takes place on the spiritual plane, and that this must always be the backdrop to understanding the Bible. The question is: Who will receive your worship?

First, as far as we know, there is no geographical place that has been called Armageddon. We must therefore find out what the meaning of the word is. As mentioned in the introduction, it is crucial to understand that the word Armageddon is composed of two Hebrew words, H2022 har which means mountain, and H4023 mo´ed (mageddon) which in the Old Testament is used to describe a congregation or an assembly. The symbolism here then becomes mountain, which is the place where God has revealed himself throughout history, and congregation or assembly, which describes God’s people. We can then read it as the three unclean spirits gathering the people of the world on the mount of the assembly.

In Isaiah 14:13 where Har-mo`ed has been translated as precisely the mount of the congregation, this refers to Solomon’s temple which in Solomon’s time was located north of ancient Jerusalem, because when the temple in Jerusalem was dedicated, the Spirit of God rested inside the most holy place of the temple and above the ark of the covenant. It has always been Satan’s desire and goal ever since he was cast out of heaven to take God’s place.

Secondly, we must look at the second part of Armageddon – mo´ed (mageddon), for which there are two different explanations. The first explanation is that mageddon is derived from the place Meggido in, among other things, 1 Kings 9:15 and Zechariah 12:11. The second explanation is that mageddon (see above), is derived from the Hebrew word mo’ed which is used throughout the Old Testament to describe when the congregation would hold a fixed feast or gathering.

The first alternative places Armageddon as a geographical place – mageddon, and the second alternative suggests a connection with the great conflict between Jesus and Satan. Since it is this conflict that is the backdrop for the Bible, and the fact that the symbolism in the use of the word points to mountains, which are the places where God has revealed himself throughout time, I believe that we should consider the second alternative as the correct explanation.

In Isaiah 14:13 where Har-mo`ed has been translated as the mount of the congregation, it refers to Solomon’s temple which in Solomon’s time was located north of ancient Jerusalem. Joel 3:7 calls the place the Valley of Jehoshaphat: … I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land, (the nations here are the Gentiles). It is more than interesting that God says He will enter into judgment with the enemies of His people in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, since we know that the Valley of Jehoshaphat is also called Armageddon.

We can then read it as the three unclean spirits gathering the people of the world on the Mount of the congregation, to take God’s place. It may seem like a contradiction here, but the explanation is that the Bible here describes a typology. The Valley of Jehoshaphat was the place where God intervened and fought for His people, and Jerusalem is a picture of God’s people. So what the Bible is telling us here is that God will intervene and fight for His people again.

Now we have a background, and then it is easier to catch the thread. Northwest of the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Jezreel Valley), or the Valley of Megiddo as it is also called, is a mountain called Carmel. It was here on Carmel that Elijah put the people to the test. Whom will you serve, the Lord God or Baal? The Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Valley of Megiddo and Armageddon describe the same thing, it is the same place, and we can call it the Valley of Choice.

The battle between Jesus and Satan is, in short, about who will receive your worship. This battle takes place in a place that the Bible calls Armageddon and is a spiritual battle. Armageddon is then actually inside your mind and mine. The battle that is fought there will intensify even after the door of mercy has been closed and God’s remnant has been sealed, because the trials for God’s people are still not over. This battle will continue until we see the Savior coming on the clouds of heaven to redeem his people.

What happened on mount Carmel?

As I said, God has always used mountains to meet with his people since the time just before He raised up Moses as His prophet. Before Israel was enslaved in Egypt, we find the story of Abraham who was told by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, and Abraham was told to go to the land of Moriah: And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of, (Genesis 22:2). There Abraham was met by God on Mount Moriah. This mountain is located just outside ancient Jerusalem, close to where Solomon built the temple and the place where Jesus was crucified. When God raised up Moses, it happened on Mount Horeb in Midian, which is in present-day Saudi Arabia, and Moses was told to bring Israel to Horeb after they had been released from captivity in Egypt.

If we go to the time when King Ahab was king of Israel, about 873-852, we can see that God again chose a mountain to meet his people: In 1 Kings chapter 18 we find the story of the prophet Elijah, King Ahab and his queen. Ahab was the king who, together with his queen Jezebel, led Israel into rampant idolatry. We read in verse 19 what Elijah said to King Ahab: Now therefore send, [and] gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

Why did Elijah gather all Israel at Carmel? The reason is found in 1 Kings 18:20-24: So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, [even] I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets [are] four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay [it] on wood, and put no fire [under]: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

What God asked Elijah to do was to deal with the idolatry King Ahab was behind. As mentioned earlier, Elijah gave Israel a choice: Whom would they worship, God or Baal!

To show which God was the only true God, Elijah challenged the king’s 850 Astarte and Baal prophets and had them call on their god first. But no matter what these false prophets did, the false gods did not respond with fire from heaven that lit the fire on the sacrificial altar. They did this all day long, but there was no reaction from their false gods. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He had a deep trench dug around the altar, and poured a lot of water over the altar, the wood and the burnt offering. Then he said a short prayer and the Lord God responded by sending fire from heaven that consumed not only the burnt offering, but the wood and the altar as well.

This story is our typological story. Now we will look at what will happen in the end times.

What will happen at Armageddon in the end times?

Let’s read through Revelation 16:12-16 again. We see that the cosmic conflict is outlined in these five verses, and now I’m going to insert what the different verses mean.

Verse 12: And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Preparing the way of the kings from the east is the same as the return of Jesus in all his glory with the angels of God. The Euphrates is a symbol of the evil forces in the world, because it was at the Euphrates that the opposition to God began after the flood. When the Euphrates dries up, it means that the evil forces will lose the power they have had for 4,500 years. The parallel to this is found in the conquest of Babylon by King Cyrus. Babylon was considered impregnable. They had large stores of food, and they could grow food within the outer and enormously high city walls, and the Euphrates River flowed through the city, so they had water. When Cyrus conquered Babylon, he diverted the water from the Euphrates, which flowed through the city, and in this way the water in the river dried up, and the soldiers were able to enter the city and surprised the Babylonians and conquered the city and the empire during the night. What is interesting is that King Cyrus came from the east, with all his generals. Verse 12 tells us that what happened when physical Babylon was conquered will happen again with spiritual Babylon in the end times.

Verse 13: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. Verse 14: For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Verses 13 and 14 show us the contrast with Jesus and His angelic army. Here we see the evil forces and how they work to gain influence over the whole world. This unholy trinity, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet together preach a false gospel. Now it is not that the dragon, who is Satan, preaches himself, but he stands in the background and pulls the strings, and will perform miracles in the end times that will deceive even the elect, (see Matthew 24:24). That this is about preaching we see that the fact that three unclean spirits that look like frogs come out of the mouth of the unholy trinity. When something comes out of the mouth, in this context it is preaching.

It is also particularly fascinating that frogs are used to describe this. All frogs use their mouths to catch their prey. I would just like to mention that when the unholy trinity preaches their false gospel, they also use their mouths. Another special thing about frogs is that they are all poisonous. Some are more poisonous, while others are less poisonous. This seems to be related to the appearance of the frog, because the more beautiful it is, the more poisonous it is. The most poisonous frog we know of is also described as the most beautiful, it is called Phyllobater bicolor, and it is so poisonous that 0.0001 gram of its poison is enough to kill a human. What this unholy trinity preaches are impure doctrines that are simply poisonous. In other words, the teachings that these three, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet preach are deadly.

Verse 15: Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Here Jesus comes with a clear message about his return. He says that no one knows when he is coming, because he comes like a thief. No one knows when the thief comes to steal. Then Jesus continues to say that the one who watches and waits for Jesus’ return is blessed, that is, the person who does this will be blessed by the Lord.

Verse 16: Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon, (New International Version 1984).

The Norwegian translation says that he gathered them together, this refers to verse 12 and the angel who poured out the sixth vial over the Euphrates. This can be defended because the Greek word G0846 avto’s can be translated both in the singular (he) and plural (they). The context indicates that the plural, like here in NIV, should be used, and then it is the unholy trinity that gathers the whole world at Armageddon.

Many, including Adventists, believe that the last two vials are about Armageddon. People are gathered under the sixth vial, and the war is fought under the seventh vial. However, this is not coherent with the text under the seventh vial. The seventh vial first tells that it is done. Then we see clear signs of Jesus’ return, such as voices, thunders, lightnings; and a great earthquake – incidentally the largest (strongest) earthquake ever.

This gathering of the whole world (see verse 13) cannot take place in a physical place. What we are talking about here is therefore a spiritual gathering in a spiritual place called Armageddon, and the battle, or war, that is being fought is a spiritual battle, and it is about who will receive your worship. Will you worship God the creator or Satan? There are no other options, only these two, and it has been that way since Cain killed Abel.

In Joel 3:7, as we looked at earlier, it says: I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

As said earlier, Armageddon is the same as the Valley of Jehoshaphat or the Valley of Megiddo. It is the same place, and we can call it the Valley of Choice, because all people must choose sides in the spiritual battle that is being fought.

It was God who took the initiative to gather all of God’s people, Israel, on Carmel in the time of Elijah. God did this to show who is truly God, and who are false gods. Now in the end times Satan will imitate God in this area as well and will gather the whole world against God’s faithful remnant in the end times to overcome them before Jesus returns, so that he can overcome Christ.

Satan will put everyone on the same choice that God gave Israel on Carmel: Whom will you worship? Back then, idolatry was the crux of the conflict, and it certainly is in the end times as well. Now in the form of a Sunday law that Satan, through his allies who are the two beasts we see in Revelation chapter 13 which are the Catholic Church and the United States, will impose on all people with the threat of death penalty to those who will not submit to the Sunday law.

We can then read it as Satan gathering the people of the world on the mount of Assembly to take God’s place, (Revelation 16:16).

Conclusion: Armageddon is not a physical place, nor is there a physical war to be fought there. On the contrary, it is a spiritual place where a spiritual war will be fought, and this spiritual battlefield is my mind and yours. The fight really started when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, and has been going on ever since, and it intensifies with each passing day until Jesus returns.