Armageddon
Revelation 16:16

16:16a
Gathering the kings

   ^   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. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14-16)


Gathered for a surprise
   The kings are gathered or joined in an alliance for battle. In the next chapter we see the vile woman on a beast, then we are told that the beast's ten horns are "ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful." (Rev. 17:12-14) 1714. The kings are gathered to enforce the demands of the image 1315 but instead of killing the righteous who do not bow to the false religion, they find themselves overcome by the Lamb.

A place called Armageddon
   And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16).
   The meaning of this mystery word has always intrigued scholars and curious readers. For a good understanding of a text we must see the context and similar passages. If we are rejecting God's call to follow what we learn as truth,  the spirit by our side will not be the Holy Spirit (Rev. 1:3; John 7:17).
   The eyes of the Christian world tend to focus on the Arab-Israeli tension expecting that the good guys (Israelis) will smash the bad guys (Arabs) in this battle. This is a totally false concept according to the way I read the Scriptures in the larger context. First of all, we are looking at symbols. A physical battle may be involved, in a sense, but the war is between the kings of the earth and the King of kings as we have seen in parallel passages above. We will understand it better as we study the seventh plague. And who does God see as good people? Maybe neither side in this tension.
   The map shows only those places significant to our study plus a few main landmarks. 

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Sources of imagery
   The Greek word Armageddon transliterated may be seen in the Hebrew, Har-Magedon. "Har" is mountain. "Magedon" could be the same as "Megiddon," the name of a Canaanite fortress from very early times. It was located in what is now the plain of Esdraelon (east part of the Valley of Jezreel) which is bordered by the ridge of Mount Carmel.
   There is no mountain of Megiddo, although Mt. Carmel is the mountain seen in the Megiddo area. Why not then just say "Har Carmel"? Because the valley is actually the location of what we will see in the 7th plague as the battle. In the side bar, is the record of fire from heaven on Elijah's sacrifice on the mountain.
   Israel had fallen into apostasy and truth had been obscured. People were worshipping idols and following the priests of Baal while having a form of following the true God. When the fire came down, it was clear to all that the God of Israel was the true God. So it will be at in the final test brought on by the image to the beast, 1315. When all understand and will have made a choice for Christ or for Satan, probation will close. That was represented in the scene on Mt. Carmel. What happened next? At Elijah's command, the people grabbed the priests of Baal who had deceived them. They drug them down to the valley, to the brook Kidron and Elijah killed them under the direction of God (below).
   During the time of the sixth plague, the religious leaders of the world will have chosen to believe falsehood — gathered by the deceptions of the three-part coalition of evil (1613b) as were the priests who had chosen to practice idolatry. The battle of Armageddon is decided on the mountain, in the hearts of the people, some for God and some against. It is executed under the seventh plague in in the valley. This is the battle of the mountain which is above the valley of Megiddo — the battle of Har-Megiddo.
    Let's remember that the three-frog deception is for the whole world. Its results, not its location, is pictured by the ancient story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel. The deception will include acting like Elijah and performing miracles calling fire from heaven, 1313.
 
   Because of the sins of Israel under King Ahab whose wife, Jezebel, had killed God's prophets (1 Kings 16 29-34; 18:4), God sent Elijah to tell Ahab that there would be neither dew nor rain for a period of time (17:1). At the end of 3½ years, God sent Elijah back to Ahab.

Israel gathered for a decision (kings of the East in the Euphrates) Baal priests also gathered (kings of earth), 6th plague
   "And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. 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. 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 [limp] ye between two opinions [i.e. be indecisive]? 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 [oxen or head of cattle]; and let them choose one bullock [ox] 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.

Failure of the prophets of Baal
  "And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure [maybe] he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

The fire falls (probation closes)
   "And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
   And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

False prophets slain (7th plague, Armageddon)
   "And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

Abundance of rain (after wicked are destroyed God blesses the earth; the small cloud is the sign of the coming of the Son of Man)
   And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain." (1 Kings. 18:17-41).
   Then the prophet went back up to Carmel and prayed for rain. At the seventh time the servant went to look for a cloud he saw a small one. Then the rain came.

More clues from the imagery
    In Judges 4 and 5, we find a prophet-inspired call for Israel to face its enemies jg0404ff. Sisera, the Canaanite general came to fight and the Lord, by the hand of the two faithful tribes of Israel, quickly overcame the enemy jg0415. The kings of Canaan came to fight near "the waters of Megiddo" jg0519 apparently called by Sisera.  We also have a mount of Megiddo — Mt. Tabor jg0406. I'm adding this note above about Judges 4 and 5 after developing other comments for this chapter. This may well be the principal source for understanding Armageddon. Another parallel is the false religious front orchestrated by Sisera while the king was out of the scene but finally destroyed. We see this in Rev. 19:20-20:1. The scene with Elijah happened in the same general area. He killed the prophets of Baal by the same River Kidron. The Holy Spirit may have intend both to help us understand Armageddon. 9/2001. Perhaps the term Har-magdeon combines the experiences on the mountain, Carmel, and at the waters, Megiddo.

Who gathers the kings? (note a2)
   The three evil spirits of verse 14 gather the kings for Armageddon, while verse 16 says "he" gathered them. The word "he" could represent the one who keeps his garments or Christ who comes as the thief. In verse 14, however, neither of these gather the kings. "The spirits of devils" gather them. Many translations show "they" instead of "he" for who gathers the kings, making the gathering, in both verses to be by the evil spirits. This is also acceptable. I have chosen to follow the singular, "he" because it finds a closer antecedent — he indicating God or the one who keeps his garments. The truth of the text is unchanged by the pronoun although choosing "he" brings a little more information.

Translation Note

In Greek, as in other languages, the subject (he or they in verse 16) must agree with the verb (gather or gathers). The verb is singular so we expect a singular subject (he). A special rule, however, allows a plural subject in this case. Verbs (and nouns) in Greek may be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Here the verb (gather/s) is neuter. The special rule allows a neuter, singular verb to accompany a plural subject.

   "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. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev. 16:14-16)
   At first the spirits gather the kings as Ahab gathered the priests of Baal. At the end of the showdown, Elijah ordered the gathering under divine inspiration. The text says, "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." I believe God should be seen in a second gathering — this time for destruction.
   The deceptive spirits sent out by the three-part religious coalition will induce the kings into a union to destroy those who are faithful to Christ and who keep God's law 1217c. God will allow the wicked to believe the lie of the coalition because that is their choice (2 Thess. 2:8-12). Thus He gathers kings and people for destruction. We will see it in chapter 19.
   "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." (Rev. 19:19-21)

16:16b
How God's people will be ready for the final battle

   Another historical event describes the final day of the Lord 2ch20. 

Three-part power set against God's people
   Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. (2 Chron. 20:1, 2)

God's people seek His protection
   And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. (3-5)

Promises are claimed in prayer
   And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. (6-13)

In the time of crisis, a prophetic voice and assurance of victory
   Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. (14-20)

Victory in praise 
   And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. (21-25)

God gave peace
   And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. (26-30)
   Did you notice that, in the battle of Jehoshaphat, the people drew close to God and He gained the victory for them. During the time of trouble, God will save His people while He will slay the wicked, partly by allowing them to destroy themselves. This is not the final end of the wicked, however. They will live again as we will see in chapter 20.

 

16:16c
In the Hebrew tongue

   ^   And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Rev. 16:16)

   John, along with other New Testament authors, wrote in Greek. Why did the Holy Spirit, through him, direct us to think in terms of the Hebrew language? I have a suggestion for you to consider. He wants us to connect this this battle with the one the Jewish people lost. God had chosen them for a unique mission to the world. He gave them light to share but they tended to focus on making themselves great instead of reaching out to the world.

Daniel helps us understand
   Daniel had been studying the promises of God made through Jeremiah. He realized that the time had nearly come for God's people to leave Babylon and restore worship in Jerusalem. Here is the promise from the book of Jeremiah.

   "For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. . . . And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations. . . ." (Jer. 29:10-14)

   Daniel realized that God's people had not been seeking Him and he was concerned. He prayed for them and for the restoration of the city and the temple. God then sent Gabriel to explain the vision (of several years earlier, chapter 8). Let's quote Gabriel speaking to Daniel.
   "Seventy weeks [of years] are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be . . . [69] weeks. . . . And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week [His death on Calvary] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. . . ." (Dan. 9:24-27).  Underlines show two main concerns of Daniel

A sad story
   In other words, at the end of the seventy years which Jeremiah wrote about, the people would indeed go back and rebuild Jerusalem. During the seventy weeks (490 yrs.), however, would be another opportunity to choose to be faithful to their calling. (Actually only a remnant, a small portion of faithful ones went back to rebuild Jerusalem. The others preferred to stay in Babylon.)
   The Messiah would be anointed at the end 69 weeks. Sadly, the chosen people were not faithful and, according to the prophecy, their time as a divinely appointed nation came to an end. They rejected the Messiah, and their city was again destroyed in AD 70.
   The objective of Daniel's people was for the restoration of the city and the reception of the Messiah. They rejected the Messiah and finally lost their city forever as a divinely appointed nation (not as individuals).
   What then does all this have to do with the word, Armageddon, being "in the Hebrew tongue." This story of the conflict on Mt. Carmel is a repetition, on a global scale, of the failure of the Hebrew people. It is one committed Christian Jews could tell personally — as if in their tongue. The Christ who came the first time to Bethlehem and was rejected by His people is coming a second time. As we read in Revelation 13, all the world will wonder after the beast. And all the world, except the few whose names are retained in the Lamb's book of life, will reject Him. They will offer Him man-made worship, 1407f, 1407g. Their "city," the earth, will be burned awaiting renewal as the new earth. That destruction is Armageddon. It will be the Hebrew story, played over!

 

16:16d
So what happens under the sixth plague?

   The text sequence is as follows:
 

verse 12 Plague 6. Vial emptied. Way for kings of East prepared.
verse 13 I saw 3 spirits come out
verse 14 Devil spirits do deceptive miracles to gather kings of earth
verse 15 I come as a thief. Keep ready
verse 16 Kings gathered again
verse 17 Plague 7. It is done. World comes apart. Punishment and slaying of the wicked.

   At the end of chapter 15 we learned that there would be no intercession during the plagues 1508. The righteous are sealed at this time and do not need to have sins forgiven. Then why the admonition to be ready? We concluded that they verses 13 to 15 1615c explain what happened earlier for the gathering of the kings. Now the job is completed.
   The sixth plague describes the work of the image to the beast 1315.

Kings against kings
   Did you notice two sets of kings? In verse 12, the kings of the East have come like the Medes and the Persians to deliver Babylon 1612. They oppose the kings of the earth in verse 14.

   And let's remember that God's people will be saved out of the time of trouble. It is for the wicked. Let's each one  determine to remain faithful in every way to our Lord Jesus.

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