One thing yet remains to be done after the war at Armageddon, and with swiftness it is accomplished!
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. June 15, 1975 p. 376
Could it be that events in the Middle East are shaping up for what the Bible calls “Har–Magedon” or “Armageddon”? (Rev. 16:14, 16)
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. July 1, 1975 p. 387
What Will Armageddon Really Mean for Mankind?
THE word “Armageddon” keeps showing up in the news. “On to Armageddon” headlined the New York Times editorial page when India exploded her first nuclear device last year. “Oil Armageddon,” “economic Armageddon,” “the winter before Armageddon” and similar expressions have also appeared during recent months.
The ultimate disaster—that is what flashes through the minds of most persons who hear the word “Armageddon.” Many of them envision in its wake a charred, radioactive cinder of an earth, with few, if any, survivors.
But is that what Armageddon really means? Does it spell only bad for the future? The answer may surprise you.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
The source of the word “Armageddon” is the Bible book of Revelation.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
The prophecy includes these significant words: “They called the kings together at the place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon.”—Chap. 16, vss. 13 to 16, Jerusalem Bible.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
There is no actual geographical location, past or present, that is specifically named Armageddon.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
Therefore, the events associated with Megiddo point to Armageddon as symbolizing a confrontation far more significant than any that occurred there in Palestine in ancient times. The full Hebrew expression is Har Meghiddohn, meaning “mountain of rendezvous” or “mountain of assembly of troops.” Armageddon, then, must refer to the situation to which all the kings or governments of the world “rendezvous” against a common adversary.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
Section heading: WHY ARMAGEDDON?
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 515
That is why the war at Armageddon is a must. Political nations are powerless to break the stalemate. Moreover, they stand now at Armageddon, aligned against and refusing to yield sovereignty to God, whose time has come to exercise his Kingdom rule for the common good of all mankind.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 516
That is why the Bible says that God the Almighty will act decisively at Armageddon: “[His kingdom] will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” For those aligned against God’s kingdom, Christ Jesus predicts that this will mean “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.”—Dan. 2:44; Matt. 24:21; see also Jeremiah 25:31-33.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 516
Section heading: BENEFITS OF ARMAGEDDON
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 516
Did the horrors of World Wars I and II, for example, clean up the bad system of things and provide the foundation for a righteous world? God’s war at Armageddon is the best thing that could possibly happen to our globe, because it will do just that! Only Armageddon can clear the way for a righteous earthly state where man-made causes of sorrow, pain and death will be permanently removed.—Rev. 21:1-4.
The word “Armageddon,” then, should not cause fear or dread to well up, but, rather, anticipation and hope, both for it and for what lies beyond it.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 1, 1975 p. 516
Let us make it our decision to look heavenward and to put the kingdom of God and its concern first in our lives. If we do this, we are assuring ourselves of countless blessings, indescribable blessings, both material and spiritual, for ourselves now and also, after Armageddon, eternal life in God’s new system of things. That is something that all the money in the world cannot buy.
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom. September 15, 1975 p. 567