Armageddon - what is it? Meaning of the word “Armageddon”

Armageddon scare us from year to year. The mass media is just an excuse to raise people to their ears and make them flee to supermarkets for stocks of strategic goods. But, fortunately, we successfully survived many of the most diverse "armageddons" according to impressionable journalists and psychics. Now, living in our wonderful time, let's analyze the concept of "armageddon": what is it, where to wait and much more interesting about it.

armageddon what is

Armageddon: concept

We heard it both in colloquial speech and on the screen, for sure, we managed to catch a film about the epic end of the world with the same name once or several times - “Armageddon”. So let’s, in the end, analyze the sonorous word “armageddon”. We are primarily interested in the significance, as well as the historical realities associated with it.

So, initially Armageddon - this is not a common name, but the name of the area where, as the Apocalypse says, a decisive battle between good and evil is to be accomplished.

The origin of the modern word form is attributed to the Hebrew name of one of the highlands - Har Megiddo, which literally means "highlands of Megiddo." Geographically, it is located in the Haifa region (now it is Israel). It will help you to see with your own eyes what Armageddon is, a photo of the map and from the excavation site of the city.

what is armageddon

There are more than a dozen historical events associated with Haifa, mainly battles. According to the Christian scriptures, the "kings of the whole land" converge in these "mountains of Israel." The forces of evil will outweigh the battle, and the satanic hordes will destroy the divine fire of heaven. This is the initial mention of Armageddon as a geographical point, and it belongs to John the Theologian.

Neo-mysticism about Armageddon

Over time, the version of the battle at the Megiddo area was transformed. Basically, the meaning has shifted from designating a geographical object to defining a decisive battle. It was overgrown with new and new definitions, mystical assumptions, superstitious fears.

Armageddon firmly entered the doctrines of various sects. Among them are the well-known Jehovah's Witnesses, and the less common Living Ethics. The intimidation of parishioners by Armageddon became an integral part of their teaching, encouraging voluntary donations in the name of salvation.

what is armageddon photo

Technogenic Armageddon

In an era of active technological development, Armageddon began to acquire technogenic definitions. So, the news about the appearance of nuclear weapons raised the corresponding fears - "nuclear Armageddon." During the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States, similar fears began to spread throughout the planet.

With the advent of new products in the field of technology, almost everyone is beaten by science fiction as a prerequisite for a "decisive battle." From a mobile phone to the Internet, andron collider and other high-tech discoveries.

bible armageddon

Armageddon in Protestantism

Protestant teaching tells us that a decisive battle will take place near the Megiddo Mountains, and Jesus Christ will come back to earth to overthrow the Antichrist (aka Satan, aka the Beast). After this miracle, Satan will be closed for a thousand years in prison.

Megiddo and the area referred to in the Scriptures as the "mountain of Israel" are also identified. The biblical Armageddon, as we see, is a completely unambiguous concept, however, over time it has moved to other contexts of meanings. And today it is used for various purposes as a bright and defiant turn.

Mass Culture and Armageddon

Today, the mystical fear of Armageddon has waned, and the word has come to be used in various contexts. They are not afraid to take him for the names of various projects and social phenomena. Since the true meaning is taken as the basis (both direct and symbolic), and not invented by mystics, the interpretation can be very different.

For example, in Moscow there is a historical and philological almanac called "Armageddon". The creators interpret the meaning of the name as some kind of attempt to gather all available forces for a decisive war for beauty and truth in this world.

Cinema pleased us with the fantastic film "Armageddon" in 1998. Events unfold epic: an inevitable cosmic threat in the form of a meteorite hangs over humanity. It is still possible to avert her, which is what Bruce Willis is doing successfully. As we see, there is a direct appeal to the significance of Armageddon as the end of the world, and no relation to the primary. The film became the reason why Armageddon began to ascribe the importance of the extinction of mankind precisely because of the threat of a meteorite falling.

Now we know what Armageddon is in its original form and modern realities.

Megiddo and the battles at its walls

In its history, the city of Megiddo has experienced many wars, of greater and lesser significance. At least, such data are provided to us by various historical and philosophical scientific sources.

For example, historian Eric Cline reports some data in his study of The Battles of Armageddon. So, the Mongols, who managed to brilliantly capture a significant part of Asia in the 13th century, it was at the walls of the city of Megiddo that were first defeated.

The 20th century was also marked by the battle of Megiddo. The English army, led by Edmund Allenby, defeated the Turkish.

In biblical writings, Megiddo appears in many significant events besides the Apocalypse. So, for example, the army of Judge Varak defeated Sisera, the Canaan general. Gideon with his small army (only 300 people) wrested victory from the Midianites from their fate.

The fact that so many times the area near the city of Megiddo has become the center of significant battles is explained by its strategic position. For 4 thousand years, Megiddo’s battle pictures occurred with noticeable periodicity. This confirms the meaning of the word Armageddon that has developed over time as an event affecting the fate of all people on Earth.

armageddon meaning

Conclusion

So, in our article we touched on a very ominous term: we examined what Armageddon is, in what sense it is used today and in history.

For many, the discovery was that the word came from the name of the locality in Israel - the city of Megiddo. Throughout history, there have been dozens of battles, because the location of the area is strategically important.

The biblical Armageddon is mentioned in the Revelation of John the Evangelist and nowhere else in the Scriptures. However, the pictures imagined by people when reading his texts spread the rumor about the end of the world after the battle of Good and Evil.


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