Editing Armageddon (section)

===Jehovah's Witnesses===
{{See also|Eschatology of Jehovah's Witnesses}}
[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] believe that Armageddon is the means by which [[God]] will fulfill his purpose for the Earth to be populated with happy healthy humans who will be free from [[sin]] and death.<ref name="w2005881">{{cite journal |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005881 |title=Armageddon&mdash;A Happy Beginning |date=December 1, 2005 |pages=4&ndash;7 |journal=The Watchtower |access-date=May 22, 2015 |archive-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929031820/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2005881 |url-status=live }}</ref> They teach that the [[Heavenly host|armies of heaven]] will eradicate all who oppose the [[Kingdom of God (Christian denominational variations)#Jehovah.27s Witnesses|Kingdom of God]], wiping out all wicked humans on Earth, only leaving righteous mankind.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241 |title=Armageddon—God's War to End All Wars |pages=5&ndash;8 |date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=May 22, 2015 |archive-date=July 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720213025/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2008241 |url-status=live }}</ref>

They believe that the gathering of all of the nations of the earth refers to the uniting of the world's political powers, as a gradual process which began in 1914 and was later seen in manifestations such as the [[League of Nations]] and the [[United Nations]] following the [[World War I|First]] and [[World War II|Second World War]]s.<ref>''What Does the Bible ''Really'' Teach'' pp. 215–218 "1914 – A Significant Year in Bible Prophecy"</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=author? publisher? year?|date=June 2022}} These political powers are said to be influenced by [[Satan]] and they are disgusting in that they stand in the place of God's kingdom before men as the only hope of mankind.<ref name="w2005881" /> [[Babylon the Great]] is interpreted as being the world empire of false religions, and it will be destroyed by the beast just prior to Armageddon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102006290 |title=The End of False Religion is Near |website=wol.jw.org |access-date=2015-05-22 |archive-date=2015-05-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502200231/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102006290 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Mankind's Search for God chap. 16 p. 371 par. 13 "the destruction of Babylon the Great will usher in a period of 'great tribulation' that culminates in 'the war of the great day of God the Almighty ... Har–Magedon.{{'"}}</ref>{{full citation needed|reason=what is this, a book? who wrote it and when?|date=June 2022}} Witnesses believe that after all other religions have been destroyed, the governments of the world will turn their attention to destroying Jehovah's Witnesses, provoking God to intervene and precipitating Armageddon.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |date=September 15, 2005 |page=19 |title=Walk by Faith, Not by Sight!}}</ref>

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the armies of heaven, led by Jesus, will then destroy all forms of human government and then Jesus, along with a selected [[144,000#Jehovah's Witnesses|144,000]] humans, will rule Earth for 1,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992009 |title=The Marvelous New World of God's Making |website=wol.jw.org |access-date=2015-05-22 |archive-date=2015-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831130456/http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101992009 |url-status=live }}</ref> They believe that Satan and his demons will be bound for that period, unable to influence mankind. After the 1,000 years are ended, and the second resurrection has taken place, [[Satan]] is released and allowed to tempt the perfect human race one last time. Those who follow Satan will be destroyed, along with him, leaving the earth, and humankind at peace with God forever, free from sin and death.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Watchtower |date=June 1, 1996 |page=18 |title=Flight to Safety Before the 'Great Tribulation'}}</ref>

The religion's current teaching on Armageddon originated in 1925 with former [[Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania|Watch Tower Society]] president [[Joseph Franklin Rutherford|J. F. Rutherford]], who based his interpretations on passages that are found in the books of Exodus, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Psalms as well as additional passages that are found in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. The doctrine marked a further break from the teachings of the Watch Tower Society's founder [[Charles Taze Russell]], who for decades had taught that the final war would be an anarchistic struggle for domination on earth.<ref>{{cite book |author=Alan Rogerson |title=Millions Now Living Will Never Die |publisher=Constable |year=1969 |page=47}}</ref> Tony Wills, the author of a historical study of Jehovah's Witnesses, wrote that Rutherford seemed to relish his descriptions of how completely the wicked would be destroyed at Armageddon, dwelling at great length on prophecies of destruction. He stated that towards the close of his ministry, Rutherford allocated about half the space that was available in ''The Watchtower'' magazines to discussions about Armageddon.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wills |first=Tony |title=A People For His Name |publisher=Lulu Enterprises |year=2006 |page=154 |isbn=978-1-4303-0100-4}}</ref>