Editing Christian eschatology (section)

===Armageddon===
{{Main|Armageddon}}
[[File:The Lamb Defeating the Ten Kings, about 1220 - 1235. Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment, The J. Paul Getty Museum.jpg|thumb|250px|right|''The Lamb Defeating the Ten Kings'' (c. 1220–1235), miniature from [[Beatus of Liébana]]'s ''[[Commentary on the Apocalypse]]'' (''Commentarius in Apocalypsim''), [[J. Paul Getty Museum]], Los Angeles]]

''Megiddo'' is mentioned twelve times in the [[Old Testament]], ten times in reference to the [[Tel Megiddo|ancient city of Megiddo]] in the [[Jezreel Valley]], and twice with reference to "the plain of Megiddo", most probably simply meaning "the plain next to the city".<ref name = "Bible cite">{{cite web
| year = 2011
| url = http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=megiddo&version1=9&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no
| title= Bible Keyword Search Results: megiddo (KJV)
| access-date = 2011-01-15}} Listing of the 12 Biblical Old Testament passages containing the word "Megiddo". 
</ref> None of these Old Testament passages describes the city of Megiddo as being associated with any particular prophetic beliefs. The one [[New Testament]] reference to the city of Armageddon found in Revelation 16:16 also makes no specific mention of any armies being predicted to one day gather in this city, but instead seems to predict only that "they (will gather) the kings together to .... Armageddon".<ref name = "No armies referred to">{{cite web
| year = 2011
| url = http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+16&version=NIV
| title= Revelation 16, The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath
| access-date = 2011-01-15}} New Testament excerpt describing various apparent calamities of nature with respect to Armageddon.</ref> The text does however seem to imply, based on the text from the earlier passage of Revelation 16:14, that the purpose of this gathering of kings in the "place called Armageddon" is "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty". Because of the seemingly highly symbolic and even cryptic language of this one New Testament passage, some Christian scholars conclude that Mount Armageddon must be an idealized location.<ref name="Biblical Horizons, No. 85">{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=James B. |title=biblicalhorizons » No. 85: Some Observations |url=http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-horizons/no-85-some-observations/ |access-date=2023-10-27}}</ref> [[R. J. Rushdoony]] says, "There are no mountains of Megiddo, only the Plains of Megiddo. This is a deliberate destruction of the vision of any literal reference to the place."<ref>Rousas John Rushdoony, ''Thy Kingdom Come: Studies in Daniel and Revelation'', p. 190.</ref> Other scholars, including [[C. C. Torrey]], [[Meredith G. Kline|Kline]] and [[James B. Jordan|Jordan]] argue that the word is derived from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] ''moed'' ({{lang|he|מועד|rtl=yes}}), meaning "assembly". Thus, "Armageddon" would mean "Mountain of Assembly," which Jordan says is "a reference to the assembly at Mount Sinai, and to its replacement, Mount Zion."<ref name="Biblical Horizons, No. 85"/>

The traditional viewpoint interprets this biblical prophecy to be symbolic of the progression of the world toward the "great day of God, the Almighty" in which the great looming mountain of God's just and holy wrath is poured out against unrepentant sinners, led by Satan, in a literal end-of-the-world final confrontation. Armageddon is the symbolic name given to this event based on scripture references regarding divine obliteration of God's enemies. The hermeneutical method supports this position by referencing Judges 4 and 5 where God miraculously destroys the enemy of His elect, Israel, at Megiddo, also called the [[Valley of Josaphat]].{{citation needed|date=July 2014}}

Christian scholar [[William Hendriksen]] says:
{{blockquote|For this cause, Har Magedon is the symbol of every battle in which, when the need is greatest and believers are oppressed, the Lord suddenly reveals His power in the interest of His distressed people and defeats the enemy. When Sennacherib's 185,000 are slain by the Angel of Jehovah, that is a shadow of the final Har-Magedon. When God grants a little handful of Maccabees a glorious victory over an enemy which far outnumbers it, that is a type of Har-Magedon. But the real, the great, the final Har Magedon coincides with the time of Satan's little season. Then the world, under the leadership of Satan, anti-Christian government, and anti-Christian religion—the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet—is gathered against the Church for the final battle, and the need is greatest; when God's children, oppressed on every side, cry for help; then suddenly, Christ will appear on the clouds of glory to deliver his people; that is Har-Magedon.<ref>[[William Hendriksen]], ''More Than Conquerors'', 163.</ref>}}