Pentecost has devoted an entire chapter to the subject, titled "The Campaign of Armageddon", in which he discusses Armageddon as a campaign and not a specific battle, which will be fought in the Middle East. Pentecost writes

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" (Rev. 16:14) will not be seen unless it is realized that the "battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14)[6] 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 C. Trench, New Testament Synonyms, pp.301-2) 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 would signify that the events that culminate in the gathering at Armageddon at the second advent are viewed by God as one connected campaign. —Pentecost, p.340

Armageddon in the Bible


In Revelation, angels pour "seven bowls of the wrath of God" upon the Earth. Armageddon follows the pouring of the sixth bowl:

“ The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.”

This passage is ambiguous whether any event actually takes place here, or whether the gathering of armies is only to be seen as a sign.

In fact, a gathering of the Roman army occurred at this place as a staging ground for one of their assaults on Jerusalem in AD 67. This is consistent with the preterits interpretation that seventh bowl of wrath refers to events culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. However, one indication that the book predicts a future event is the mention of an army from the east of 200 million, a number that would not have been possible in any battle of that period.

Another interpretation is that the sudden death of Josiah, a religious reformer in his early 30s who showed great promise of renewing a theocratic Jewish state, resulted in myths of his triumphant return. Josiah is said to have died at the hands of the Egyptian pharoah Necho II just as the Davidic monarchy was in ascendancy after a period of disarray and corruption. His death precipitated the decline of a strongly monotheistic faction in Judea in the years prior to the Babylonian captivity. The idea that a Davidic king would return someday to fight and win at Megiddo is an example of the myth of eternal return.

Megiddo is mentioned various times in the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Kings and Chronicles describe a battle that took place there in 609 BC. This resulted in the death of Josiah, a young and charismatic ruler whose quick and untimely death precipitated the decline of the dynasty of David and may have inspired stories of the return of a Messiah from this lineage. The valley is marked by the presence of the archaeological mound or tell, representing the accumulated ruins of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements that flourished between 5,000 years ago and 650 BC. Some would argue that the word "Armageddon" is an early example of a mondegreen.

he word Armageddon in Scripture is known only from a single verse in the Greek New Testament, where it is said to be Hebrew, but it is thought to represent the Hebrew words Har Megido, meaning "Hill of Megiddo". Megiddo was the location of many decisive battles in ancient times. Before the Second World War, the First World War was commonly referred to in newspapers and books as "Armageddon", in addition to "the Great War".

Present-day highway sign indicating the approach to Megiddo Junction, nearby Har Megiddo

Armageddon (Late Latin: Armagedōn, Ancient Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών Harmagedōn, Hebrew: הר מגידו‎ har məgiddô) is the site of an epic battle associated with the end time prophecies of the Abrahamic religions.

According to traditional Christian interpretations, the Messiah, the "Lamb", will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist, the "Beast", in the battle of Armageddon. Then Satan will be put into the bottomless pit or abyss for 1,000 years, known as the Millennial age. After being released from the abyss, the Beast will gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth. They will encamp surrounding the holy ones and the "beloved city". Fire will come down from God, out of heaven and devour Gog and Magog at the Armageddon, and the Devil who deceived them is thrown into Gehenna (the lake of fire and brimstone) where the Beast and the false prophet have been since just before the 1,000 years.

The word Armageddon appears only once in the Greek New Testament.[5] The word comes from Hebrew har məgiddô (הר מגידו), meaning "Mountain of Megiddo". Megiddo was the location of many decisive battles in ancient times (see Battle of Megiddo). The town Megiddo is approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Tiberias to the Romans) in the Kishon River area.

Christianity Dispensationalism

The Dispensational viewpoint interprets biblical prophecy literally and expects that the fulfillment of prophecy will also be literal, depending upon the context of scripture. In his discussion of Armageddon, J. Dwight :

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