Daily Devotional For October 5, 2025
And he gathered them to the place that in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Rev 16:16.
The word “Armageddon” has become famous because of its role in the King James Bible as the location of the final battle of earth’s history. The word appears only once in the Bible, right here in Rev 16:16. But in the Greek there is a little breathing mark above the “a” that indicates an “h” sound precedes Armageddon. So the actual word in the Greek is “Harmagedon.” According to the text, it is a word with a Hebrew background.
In Hebrew the word “har” means mountain and “magedon” is a frequent translation of the Hebrew “Megiddo” in the Greek Old Testament (Josh 12:21; Judg 1:27; 2 Chr 35:22). So the most natural understanding of this enigmatic term is “Mountain of Megiddo.”
The region of Megiddo was an ancient battleground. There the armies of Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera and his Canaanite army (Judg 5:19). Later the same place was the scene of the fatal struggle between Josiah and Pharaoh Necho (2 Kgs 23:29, 30; 2 Chr 35:22). This was such a memorable event in Israel’s history that the mourning for Josiah was recalled a hundred years later (Zech 12:11). If the author of Revelation was alluding to this ancient battleground, it is an appropriate background to the final battle of earth’s history.
The problem with the text is the “Mountain” of Megiddo. The Old Testament speaks several times of a city of Megiddo (Josh 17:11; Judg 1:27, etc.), a king of Megiddo (Josh 12:21), a valley of Megiddo (2 Chr 35:22), and waters of Megiddo (Judg 5:19). But it never speaks of a “mountain of Megiddo.” A number of solutions to this problem have been offered by scholars but most don’t work unless you alter the text in some way.
The best understanding of the phrase, therefore, would seem to be as a reference to Mount Carmel, a 20-kilometer long ridge running from Haifa southeast toward the Jordan River. The high point of the ridge is in view from the ruins of the ancient city of Megiddo. There Elijah the prophet precipitated a showdown with the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:16-45). There fire was called down from heaven to prove that Yahweh rather than Baal was the true God (cf. Rev 13:13-14). There the false prophets of Baal were defeated (cf. Rev 16:13-16).1
By alluding to the Mount Carmel showdown, John indicates that the Battle of Armageddon is a spiritual battle over worship (Rev 13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:7, 9-11). It is a battle for the mind (Rev 16:15, 17:14). Everyone in the world is brought to a fateful decision with permanent results.
Lord, I know that every day a battle is going on in my mind. Help me to recognize the decisive moments of that battle in my life and in the lives of those around me.
1 For more information on the background of the term Armageddon see Jon Paulien, “Armageddon,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 1: 394-395.