Armageddon

Armageddon

Armageddon

Armageddon = Mount of Assembly (Symbolic Battle, not Military War)

The term “Armageddon” appears only once in Scripture:

Revelation 16:16 “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

Armageddon is derived from the Hebrew Har-Megiddo, meaning “Mount of Megiddo.” However, there is no literal mountain at Megiddo, only a valley (Jezreel Valley) near Mount Carmel.

Symbolic Layer: Megiddo = Valley of Decision = Calvary

The Valley of Megiddo was historically a place of decisive battles in Israel’s history (Judges 5, 2 Kings 23:29). But in Revelation, the true "battle" is not a physical war, it is a spiritual one that centers on the Cross. Thus, the "gathering for war" becomes symbolic of the forces of darkness gathering to crucify Jesus, the ultimate battle between light and darkness, truth and deception, life and death.

Golgotha = The Real Armageddon

Golgotha (Hebrew: Gulgoleth, meaning “skull”) is where Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:33). This is in the vicinity of ancient Jerusalem, which sits near the larger region connected to Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley, forming a prophetic connection. At Golgotha, the Lamb overcame the Beast, defeating sin, death, and the devil.

Joel 3:14  “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” This valley of decision reflects Calvary, where the fate of all mankind was decided, will they follow the Lamb, or the Beast?

Armageddon is not a future world war!

It is a symbolic battle scene that was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Jesus, where spiritual enemies gathered to oppose God’s Son. The real location is Golgotha, the valley of decision, the center of redemptive history. Just as Megiddo was known for decisive victories, the Cross was the greatest victory in all creation.

Armageddon Settled at Calvary

The Charge: Futurists claim Armageddon is a coming world war in the Middle East.
The Evidence: Scripture itself testifies that Armageddon has already been fought and won in Jesus at the Cross.

Prophetic Shadows at Megiddo (Old Testament)

Judges 5:19–21  “The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo… the river of Kishon swept them away.” At Megiddo, God overturned the oppressor’s iron chariots. The enemy was crushed, foreshadowing Genesis 3:15.

2 Chronicles 35:22–25  “Josiah… came to fight in the valley of Megiddo… and he died there.”The righteous king fell at Megiddo, and all Judah mourned. Zechariah 12:11 later referenced this mourning as a prophetic sign. Together, these shadows point forward: one shows the enemy’s crushing, the other a righteous king dying at Megiddo.

Fulfillment in the Messiah (New Testament)

John 12:31–32 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” At the Cross, the true battle began. Satan, the “Sisera” of all ages, was cast down.
Colossians 2:15  “Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Jesus triumphed at Calvary, disarming the rulers of darkness.

Matthew 27:50–51  “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent… and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.” The death of the righteous King, like Josiah at Megiddo, brought mourning. But this death was not defeat; it was the very moment of victory.

Revelation’s Unveiling

Revelation 16:16  “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” John’s “Armageddon” is not a battlefield on a map, but a prophetic symbol. The strange word points back to Megiddo’s shadows: crushing the oppressor and the death of the righteous King. Both are fulfilled at Calvary. Jesus bore wrath, crushed the serpent’s head, and drew all men into Himself.

The Verdict

Armageddon is not a future war, it is a finished battle.

The Cross = the crushing of the enemy (Judges 5).
The Cross = the righteous King’s death and mourning (Josiah at Megiddo).
The Cross = victory and triumph, declared in Revelation as the true gathering point of judgment and grace.

Therefore, Armageddon was settled at Calvary. The Lamb has won.

The Battle of the Seed!

Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Protoevangelium — the first Gospel.
God promises a Deliverer (“her seed”) who will strike the serpent’s head (decisive defeat), while the serpent wounds His heel (real suffering at the Cross).

“Her seed” points to the virgin-born Messiah.
The unusual phrasing (seed of the woman, not the man) foreshadows Jesus birth by the Holy Spirit (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:18–23).

Cross & Resurrection: heel bruised, head crushed.
Jesus’ suffering and death = heel bruised (Isa 53:5); His resurrection/exaltation = serpent’s head crushed (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14–15).

Two seeds = two lines of allegiance.
Those aligned with the serpent vs those united to Jesus by faith (John 8:44 vs 1 John 3:8–9). The Church shares in His victory (Rom 16:20).

Eden to Calvary to New Creation.
The conflict begins in Eden (Genesis 3), climaxes at Calvary (John 12:31–33), and is portrayed in apocalyptic imagery as the dragon vs. the Woman and her seed (Rev 12), ending in final triumph (Rev 20–22).

Virgin birth / promised Son: Isa 7:14; 9:6–7; Gal 4:4.
Jesus destroys the devil’s works: 1 John 3:8; Heb 2:14–15.
Cross as apparent wound; victory as head-crushing: Isa 53; Col 2:14–15; John 12:31–33.
Believers share the triumph: Rom 16:20; Luke 10:19; Rev 12:11.

Genesis 3:15 is the Bible’s first announcement of the Gospel: the virgin-born Messiah will suffer (heel bruised) yet decisively overthrow the serpent, freeing humanity from bondage and inaugurating God’s new creation.