What is Armageddon?
By Dr. Eliyahu Lizorkin-Eyzenberg
According to Revelation, God’s wrath will one day be poured out upon the enemies of His people as they gather to fight in a place called Armageddon. The verse explicitly states that Armageddon is a Hebrew word (see Rev 16:16).
Magiddon (as it is known in Zechariah 12:11) was once a Canaanite city southeast of Mount Carmel (modern-day Haifa). It was originally conquered by Joshua (Joshua 12:21) and assigned to the tribe of Manasseh (17:11), son of Joseph, as its perpetual inheritance in the land. Since that time, this valley has been a place of numerous military conflicts. King Solomon’s cavalry was once stationed there, ready to be dispatched to defend Israel’s northern borders from foreign invaders. When you visit Israel you can see this very place!
The entire region of ancient Israel connected various trade routes between Europe, Africa and Asia. Whoever controlled Israel had a powerful upper hand in the world economy of that time. In fact, the word for “road” in Hebrew is directly related to the Hebrew root word meaning, “to conquer.” Hebrew is a very physical language.
The word "Armageddon" is actually two Hebrew words combined and then transliterated into Greek (har and magido). First word is הר (har) which means “mountain.” The second word, מגידו (Magido), has an uncertain meaning but probably comes from the Hebrew root גדד (gadad), which carries the basic meaning of “invasion.”
The powerful Jewish imagery of Armageddon in Revelation foreshadows a time when Gentile kings of the world (as represented by the first-century Roman Empire) will be defeated by Israel’s God through His Jewish Christ. Through this judgment of God, the Great Roman Empire and all subsequent enemies of God's people will be no more. There are even more hidden treasures just waiting to be unearthed when you begin to read the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective.
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