Below is a historical interpretagion of the Battle of Armageddon:
Although the references may pertain generally to World War I, they also have a specific significance to the Holy Land. Except for a relatively brief period during the Crusades, the Holy Land had been under the control of Islam since the Umayyids had taken it over in the 7th century AD. The end of Islamic control of the Holy Land paved the way for the creation of the modern state of Israel, which had been prophesied in the Old Testament, and has been associated with the coming of the Promised One in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Armageddon is also a reference to a physical place - the hill (Har in Hebrew) of Megiddo. It is located southeast of Mt. Carmel overlooking the Jizreel Valley, opposite Nazareth. It lies at the junction of two ancient trade routes, where the flow of trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia crossed the route from Turkey to the Arabian Peninsula.
Naturally, it was the scene of many battles throughout history. British forces, moving northward into the Holy Land from Egypt, were forced to follow that ancient route in order to re-capture the Galilee.
World War I was different from all previous wars. It was a world war, involving the "kings of the whole world" [SIZE=-1](v. 14)[/SIZE]. With tremendous advances in the size and power of artillery, its launching was like lightning and thunder, while its impact was like an earthquake. With the advent of powerful warships, and airplanes with bombs from the sky, there was no island nor mountain to which one could flee for safety. Consider, then, the accuracy of John's vision in verses 18 to 21: "And there were flashes of lightning, voices, and peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as had never been seen since men were on the earth, so great was that earthquake ... And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; and great hailstones, heavy as a hundredweight, dropped on men from heaven, till they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague." A hundredweight (or a "talent" in the King James version) is estimated to be 113 lbs., by current measure. The weight of the bombs that the airplanes dropped during the battle for the Holy Land in World War I was 112 lbs.
.
