Armageddon

a place spoken of, Rev 16:16, which literally signifies “the mountain of Mageddon,” or “Megiddo,” a city situated in the great plain at the foot of Mount Carmel, where the good prince Josiah received his mortal wound, in the battle against Necho, king of Egypt. At Armageddon, the three unclean spirits coming out of the dragon’s mouth shall gather together the kings of the earth, to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, Rev 16:13-14; where the word Armageddon, according to Mr. Pool, does not signify any particular place, but is used in allusion to Megiddo, mentioned Jdg 5:19, where Barak overcame Sisera with his great army, and where Josiah was slain, 2Ki 23:30. If so, the term must have been a proverbial one for a place of destruction and mourning.

Armaged´don, properly ’the mountain of Megiddo,’ a city on the west of the river Jordan, rebuilt by Solomon (1Ki 9:15). Both Ahaziah and Josias died there. In the mystical language of prophecy, the word mountain  represents the Church, and the events which took place at Megiddo are supposed to have had a typical reference to the sorrows and triumphs of the people of God under the Gospel. ’In that day,’ says Zec 12:11, ’shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon;’ referring to the death of Josias. But the same spot witnessed, at an earlier period, the greatest triumph of Israel, when ’fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo’ (Jdg 5:19). ’He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon,’ is the language of the Apocalypse; and the word has been translated by some as ’the mountain of destruction,’ by others as ’the mountain of the gospel;’ many ingenious speculations having been employed on the passage in which it occurs, but with little satisfaction to the more sober readers of divine revelation.

Mountain of Megiddo,\par A place mentioned, Jer 16:16 . Megiddo is a city in the great plain at the foot of Mount Carmel, which had been the scene of much slaughter. Under this character it is referred to in the above text as the place in which God will collect together his enemies for destruction.\par

Armaged’don. (the hill of Megiddo or the city of Megiddo). Rev 16:16. The scene of the struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories, of Barak, over the Canaanites and of Gideon, over the Midianites; and for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah.

Hence, it signifies in Revelation, a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. (The Revised Version gives the name as Har-Magedon, that is, the hill (as Ar is the city) of Megiddo. -- Editor).

("Mount of Megiddo": from a root gadad, "to cut off," i.e. "slaughter" (Rev 16:16)). The plain of Esdraelon, the great Old Testament battle field between Israel and the various enemies of Jehovah’s people: the scene of Barak’s victory over Canaan, and Gideon’s over Midian (Judges 4; 5; 7), the scene also of Saul’s death and Israel’s defeat before the Philistines (1 Samuel 31), and of Josiah’s death in battle with Pharaoh Necho (2Ki 23:29-30). Both this and "the valley of Jehoshaphat" (the scene of his great victory, 2Ch 20:26, compare Zec 14:2-4) may be figurative phrases for the scene of the final conflict of Christ and Antichrist. But they may also be literal.

The mourning at Josiah’s death in the valley of Megiddo became proverbial for the most poignant grief. As he and his army represent the professing church, so Pharaoh Necho and the Egyptians the God-opposed world. The triumph of Pharaoh then shall be utterly reversed in the last conflict of the ten confederate kings under Antichrist against the Lamb and His hosts (not merely professors, but "called, chosen, and faithful") (Rev 17:12-14; Rev 19:11-21). The last Antichrist is developed after executing judgment on the whore, the apostate church; he then, with his ten confederate kings and the false prophet, opposes Christ Himself, and perishes.

(Α᾿ρμαγεδδών, Rev 16:16), properly " the mountain of Megiddo" (Heb. הִר מְגִדּוֹ), a city on the west of the river Jordan, rebuilt by Solomon (1Ki 9:15). SEE MEGIDDO. In the mystical language of prophecy, the word mountain represents the Church, and the events which took place at Megiddo are supposed to have had a typical reference to the sorrows and triumphs of the people of God under the Gospel. "In that day," says Zechariah (Zec 12:11), “shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon;" referring to the death of Josiah (q.v.). "He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon," is the language of the Apocalypse; and the word has been translated by some as "the mountain of destruction," by others as "the mountain of the gospel"-a passage that probably has reference to the symbolical use of the name in Zechariah. Into a valley ominous of slaughter the unclean spirits (representing the heathen influence of the Roman empire), under the special guidance of Providence (Rev 17:17), conduct the assembled forces of the beast and his allies; and there in due time they come to an overthrow through an almighty conqueror (Stuart, Comment. in loc.). The passage is best illustrated by comparing a similar one in the book of Joel (Joe 3:2; Joe 3:12), where the scene of the divine judgments is spoken of in the prophetic imagery as the "valley of Jehoshaphat," the fact underlying the image being Jehoshaphat’s great victory (2Ch 20:26; see Zec 14:2; Zec 14:4). So here the scene of the struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battlefield, the plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories-of Barak over the Canaanites (Judges 4, 5), and Gideon over the Midianites (Judges 7); and for two great disasters, the death of Saul in the invasion of the Philistines (1Sa 31:8), and the death of Josiah in the invasion of the Egyptians (2Ki 23:29-30; 2Ch 35:22). With the first and fourth of these events, Megiddo (Μαγεδδώ in the Sept. and Josephus) is especially connected. Hence Α᾿ρ-μαγεδών, "the hill of Megiddo." (See Bihr’s Excursus on Herod. ii, 159.) As regards the Apocalypse, it is remarked by Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, p. 330) that this imagery would be peculiarly natural to a Galilaan, to whom the scene of these battles was familiar. SEE ESDRAELON.

Armageddon (är-ma-gĕd’don), the hill, or, perhaps, the city of Megiddo. A symbolical name for the place where a final struggle between the hosts of good and evil must take place. Rev 16:16. Spelled Har-Magedon in R. V. For an exposition of the apostle’s meaning, the reader must be referred to commentaries; it will be sufficient here to say that there is an allusion to that great battle-field where Barak and Gideon conquered, Jdg 4:1-24; Jdg 5:19; Jdg 6:33; Jdg 7:1-25; where Saul and Josiah fell, 1Sa 29:1; 1Sa 31:1-13; 2Sa 4:4; 2Ch 35:20-24; the plain of Esdraelon, on the southern border of which Megiddo stood.

[Armaged’don]

The Hebrew name of the place where the kings of the earth and of the whole world will be gathered together to make war against the Lord Jesus in the great day of Almighty God. Rev 16:16. There seems to be an allusion to the great battle field of Palestine in the Esdraelon, and to the Megiddo mentioned in Jdg 5:19; 1Ki 4:12; 2Ki 23:29-30. The word itself is translated ’the mountain of slaughter,’ and may be used symbolically for the destruction that will surely fall upon the enemies of the Lord Jesus.

In Biblical prophecy, the scene of a great battle between the forces of good and evil, to occur at the end of the world

ARMAGEDDON.—See Har-Magedon.

ar-ma-ged´on Ἀρμαγεδδών, Armageddō̇ň: Rev 16:16; the Revised Version (British and American) “HAR-MAGEDON”) (which see).

See Har-Magedon.

The word "armageddon" only occurs in Rev 16:16. It is the location of the final great battle between good and evil called the Great Day of God Almighty.