Revelation 16:16 – “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armagedon.”
Throughout scripture a theme of final climactic battle is taught. This battle is often referred to as the Battle of Armagedon. Several themes are mentioned throughout scripture in relation to this battle: the sickle, a harvest, all nations, and a valley of judgment. Let’s take a look at these themes, and a couple more that are relevant.
Traditional View
The traditional view of this battle is that it is fought at the Mount(ain), or Har [הַר H2022], of Megiddo [מְגִדּן Megiddo or מְגִדּוֹן Megiddon H4023b]. Unfortunately, there is no mountain (har הַר) at Megiddo – only a small hill, often called a tell in scripture and other references. 2 Chronicles 35:22 only speaks of the Plain [biqah בִּקְעָה H1237] of Megiddo, as does Zechariah 12:11. The word Plain is the Hebrew word biqah [בִּקְעָה H1237], which means a wide, level valley. Judges 5:19 speaks of the waters [mayim מַיִם H4325] of Megiddo, but again, no mountain.
The Scrolls
Revelation 16:16 states clearly that this word, Armagedon, must be understood in the “Hebrew tongue.” There are about 5000 scrolls that make up the Majority or Byzantine Text. Only between six and twelve of these scrolls (The Textus Receptus) were used to translate the Authorized King James version of the Bible. And it is only in the Textus Receptus scrolls that one finds the word, armageddon, [Ἁρμαγεδδών G717] spelled with two “d”s. The vast majority of the other scrolls spell this word with only one “d”.
Textus Receptus – armageddōn Ἁρμαγεδδών
Alexandrus / Vaticanus – armagedōn Ἁρμαγεδών
Byzantine – armagedōn Ἁρμαγεδών
Some contend that the apostrophe in front of the “A” in the Greek scrolls indicates an “H”, therefore it must reference a “har”. But in Hebrew, the “H”, or letter hey, simply means “the”, so nor “har”! Also, the vowels of armagedon and of Megiddo do not match. Megiddo is spelled with an: e – – i, not an: a – – e, and has no H in front! Most translations follow the King James, spelling: Armageddon. The CEV and Darby spell it correctly as Armagedon, The NASB, ASV, and NRSV add the “H” and spell it Har-magedon.
The Word Armagedon
Luke 3:17 – “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
The word ‘Armagedon’ is made up of three Hebrew words presented below:
Aremah – [עֲרֵמָהH6194]: a heap, a pile, a heap of sheaves. Aremah comes from `âram [עָרַם H6192]: to be heaped up. This word is taken from “Come against Babylon from every quarter; open her granaries; pile her up like heaps of grain, and destroy her utterly” (Jeremiah 50:26). Boaz slept on an aremah. During harvest time they would tie the grain stalks into bundles, and then heap them up into piles (Ruth 3:7). Micah 4:12 says: “For He has gathered them like sheaves [amir עָמִירH5995] to the threshing floor.”
Amir, âram, andʽâmar עָמַרall mean to heap up, and all use essentially the same Hebrew letters, a עָ r ר m ם, as the first three letters in the Greek armagedon, just in differing order. This is very typical of Hebrew writing, which regularly transposes letters in like meaning words.
Gayê – [גַּיְא H1516]: a valley, a steep valley, a narrow gorge. This word can be found in Joshua 15:8 & 18:16, 2 Kings 23:10, Nehemiah 11:30, and Jeremiah 7:31-32 – speaking of the valley of Ben-Hinnom.
Don – from diyn [דִּין H1777 or den דִּין H1778]: meaning to judge, contend, plead, judgment. It is essentially the same word as shâphaṭ [שָׁפַטH8199], as in Jeho-shaphat (Yahweh Judges).
When all these elements are combined, the word is found to mean: “The heap of sheaves in a valley for judgment.”
The Sickle And The Heap of Sheaves
Joel 3:13 – “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!”
Micah 4:12 – “He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.”
Zechariah 12:9 – “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples . . .”
Revelation 14:14-20 – “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”
The harvest theme during which the sickle is used to harvest the ripe grains and the wine press is trodden are common themes regarding the last days, the time of the battle of Armagedon. Each of these themes also has in common that they take place outside the city of Jerusalem within the surrounding peoples.
All Nations At The Valley of Judgment
Micah 4:11 – “And now many nations have been assembled against [Zion], who say ‘Let her be defiled’.”
Zechariah 12:2-3 – “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured.”
Zechariah 12:9 – “I will destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 14:2 – “I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem.”
Joel 3:2 – “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, Yahweh, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.”
Joel 3:12 – “Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”
Joel 3:14 – “For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
All the action takes place outside the city of Jerusalem, not sixty miles north near Megiddo. In Joel 3:11-17, details of a major conflict in the Valley of Jehoshaphat are given. This account runs parallel to that battle of Armagedon recorded in Revelation 16:14-18. The Middle East will be the focal point of the battle of Armagedon in the southern part of Israel, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The Valley of Jehoshaphat is also known as the Kidron Valley. Armagedon, therefore, takes place in the Kidron Valley.
Gideon Fighting The Midianites: A Picture Of Armagedon (Judges 6-8)
It was a time of the threshing of the wheat – 6:11, Israel served the Midianites for seven years, God sent a prophet to them, fire fell on the sacrifice, they took ten men at night – 6:1-27. The children of the East come across the Jordan River and come into the Valley of Jezreel. There they gathered together, pitched their tents, and blew the trumpet– 6:33-34. There were two princes slain – 7:25. They were slain at the wine press – 7:25. They cross the Jordon and meet at Succoth – 7:25. Israel destroyed the Ishmaelites – 8:24. They beat the enemy with thorns – 8:16-17.
The Armagedon Parallel:
All the end time events happen at the end time harvest. The tribulation will be 7 years – Daniel 9:27. Elijah will come to restore all things – Revelation 11:1-2. Elijah will call fire from heaven – Revelation 11:5. There will be 10 kings that arise during this time – Revelation 17:12. Kings of the East will come across the Euphrates to the valley of Jezreel for the last great battle – Revelation 16:12. All nations will be gathered together in the Valley of Jezreel – Zechariah 14:2, and Revelation 16:16. When Messiah returns, there will be a blowing of the trumpet – Matthew 24:31. Two beasts (antichrist and false prophet) are slain – Revelation 13:1-2, 11. They were slain in the wine press of the wrath of God, – Revelation 14:20, 19:15. The Lord comes with a rod of iron to tread down his enemies. The Arab (and Edomite) nations surrounding Israel are destroyed – Revelation 19:15.
Blood Up To The Bridal
Isaiah 34: 2-3 – “For Yeshua is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, dooming them to slaughter Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood.”
Isaiah 63: 3 – “I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes.”
Revelation 14:20 – “And the wine press was trodden outside the city [of Jerusalem], and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.”
Only in a tight, deep gorge, could the blood rise to such levels. Blood, like water, will seek its own level, and on the plains of Megiddo this would be virtually impossible, but not in the Kidron Valley, not in the Valley of Jehoshaphat – a valley that sits just outside the city of Jerusalem to the east and just west of Edom! Here it could easily reach a height of around five feet.
Conclusion
Revelation 16:16 – “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Har-Magedon.”
This verse states clearly that this word, Armagedon, must be understood in the “Hebrew tongue.” It is made up of three Hebrew words: Aremah, Gayê, and Don. When all these elements are combined, the word is found to mean: “The heap of sheaves in a valley for judgment.” All nations are gathered together in a valley and the sickle is brought out to harvest the fields and heap up the sheaves. That valley is clearly described in scripture as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, another name for the Kidron Valley – a valley that sits just outside the city of Jerusalem to the east and just west of Edom! Armagedon, therefore, takes place in the Kidron Valley, just outside the city of Jerusalem, exactly as prophesied in the Bible scriptures.
Prophecy continues to unfold as foretold by the Hebrew prophets. The stage is being set. History is moving extremely quickly towards the prophesied one world government, the one world financial system, and the rise of both the Antichrist and the False Prophet. The birth pangs are just over the horizon. Yeshua Ha’Mashiach is coming soon – get busy reaching the lost.
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