The Battle of Armageddon

By John F. Walvoord, Th.D.
Chancellor, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas

The so-called Battle of Armageddon will occur during the final days of the Great Tribulation. As revealed in Revelation 16, God will pour out a series of seven devastating judgments on the earth called “vials of wrath.”

The first six vials of God’s wrath will serve as an introduction to what the Bible refers to as Armageddon. When the sixth vial is poured out, verse 12, the time of the Second Coming of Christ is very near. Verse twelve says the waters of the Euphrates River will be dried up to prepare the way for a military invasion of Israel by the kings of the East.

As John contemplated this end-time scene, he recorded, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. 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,” verses 13 and 14. Galilee

At the beginning of the Great Tribulation, through satanic deception and power, a world government is formed with the ruler of the ten nations of the revived Roman Empire becoming a dictator over the entire globe: Revelation 13.7. From the same source of power which put this world government together will come the influence to gather the armies of the world to challenge this world government. These armies are led to converge upon the Holy Land to fight for superiority. However, it is apparent the satanic purpose of the Battle of Armageddon is to gather all the military might of the world to contend against the armies from Heaven.

Revelation 16.16 declares, “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” The ensuing battle will center on the Mount of Megiddo, known in Aramaic as Armageddon, which is located in northern Israel.

Actually, as other Scriptures describe this scene, see Daniel 11.40-45, both the invading and the defending armies will probably be dispersed all over the land of Israel, which will be some 200 miles from north to south and will extend from the Mediterranean Sea on the west all the way to the Euphrates River to the east. These armies will engage in a war for global supremacy against the world ruler as the entire world crumbles under the various judgments of God. The war, however, will be unresolved and even on the day of the second coming of Christ, there will be house-to-house combat in Jerusalem: Zechariah 14.1-3.

Revelation 16.17-21 describes a seventh and final “vial of wrath,” a devastating worldwide earthquake. It will destroy Babylon, Revelation 18; “the cities of the nations” will collapse and islands and mountains will disappear, verses 16-20. The judgment of the earthquake will climax in a supernatural hailstorm in which the hailstones will weigh approximately one hundred pounds each, verse 21. The world will be left in shambles and its cities will be in ruins. Apparently, only Jerusalem and the cities of Israel will be left unscathed. It is to this scene Christ will return in power and glory, as described in Revelation 19.11-16.