The Battle of Armageddon, Past or Future?
The Battle of Armageddon (Har-Magedon) is a popular theme among end time enthusiasts. Many await the signs that indicate when this event draws near. Armageddon is the place of the last days battle mentioned in Revelation 16:16.
The name is generally understood to derive from Megiddo in the valley of Esdraelon in northern Palestine where many of Israel’s battles were fought. (Zondervan’s Pictorial Bible Encylopedia of the Bible, Vol 1, 1980, p. 311.
The Battle of Armageddon equates with Joel’s end time battle in the valley of Jehoshaphat, (Joel 3:1-2). Both involve the gathering of all nations to battle ending in judgment and destruction of the forces of evil.
Clues from Scripture lead to a path far different than that of most modern interpreters. They are concerned with the future, while textual indicators point to the past. In Revelation, the battle is associated with the fall of the great city, Mystery Babylon, (Rev. 16:19).
The great city of Revelation has three significant characteristics:
1. It is the city where the Lord was crucified, thus identifying it with first century Jerusalem.
2. It spiritually called Sodom and Eqypt, names denoting sin and bondage. Paul writes that Jerusalem was in bondage with her children and would shortly be cast out of covenant inheritance, (Gal. 4:23, 24).
3. The great city was guilty of murdering the prophets apostles and saints, 16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 18, 24.
Remember the Lord’s words. It could not be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem, (Lk. 13:33). See also Matt. 23:34-38.
Each of the three facts above point directly to first century Jerusalem as the Biblical setting of end time conflict. The Battle of Armageddon was a code word for the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans. Thus, today the event belongs to past history finding its fulfillment in that event.
Time parameters in the beginning and end of Revelation support the nearness of the event to those living in the first century. John wrote that the time had drawn near for the message of Revelation to shortly come to pass, (Rev. 1:1-3). This included the message of Armageddon.
At the end of the book, he was given a warning by the angel not to seal the contents, repeating the time indicators that the time had drawn near, (Rev. 22:6-10). Finally, the Lord prophesied that when Jerusalem was destroyed all prophecy was fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-22, 32).
William Bell is the author of The Re-Examination, A Study of the Lord’s Second Coming. He also speaks regularly in Bible prophecy seminars, workshops and teleconferences. For more info visit: http://www.allthingsfulfilled.com
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