Armageddon

/ahr'meuh ged"n/, n.

1. the place where the final battle will be fought between the forces of good and evil (probably so called in reference to the battlefield of Megiddo. Rev. 16:16).

2. the last and completely destructive battle: The arms race can lead to Armageddon.

3. any great and crucial conflict.

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In the New Testament, the place where the kings of the earth under demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history.

Armageddon is mentioned only in the Revelation to John. The name may mean "Mountain of Megiddo," a reference to the city of Megiddo, which held strategic importance in Palestine. Other biblical references suggest Jerusalem as the battle site.

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▪ biblical place

      (probably Hebrew: “Hill of Megiddo”), in the New Testament, place where the kings of the earth under demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history. Armageddon is mentioned in the Bible only once, in the Revelation to John, or the Apocalypse of St. John (16:16).

      The Palestinian city of Megiddo, located on a pass commanding a road connecting Egypt and Syria, was probably chosen as a symbol for such a battle, because it had been the scene of many military encounters owing to its strategic location. (Megiddo was also the site of a crucial battle in 1918 during the First World War and lent its name to the victor: Lord Allenby of Megiddo.) The term Armageddon has often been used by Protestant fundamentalists to refer to an impending cataclysmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. (See apocalyptic literature.) It has also been used figuratively, often by peace activists, to describe a possible nuclear world war.

Robert E. Lerner

 

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