What does Revelation 16:16 mean?
This verse gives the location to which the demons mentioned in verse 14 assembled the international armies. They collect these fighters at a place called Armageddon. This name transliterates the Hebrew words har Megid'do, meaning "the hill / mount of Megiddo." Mount Megiddo is close to the city of Megiddo, a former royal Canaanite city (Joshua 12:21), and close to the plain of Esdraelon. Megiddo is also mentioned in Zechariah 12:11 as a reference to the mourning for Josiah who was killed by Egyptian archers in that area (2 Chronicles 35:22–25). The Lord enabled Barak to overthrow the Canaanites at this site (Judges 5:19).While this event is commonly referred to as the "battle of Armageddon," it looks to be an extended series of ongoing fights. Zechariah prophesied in Zechariah 14:1–2 that, before the Lord returns, the war of Armageddon will include plundering and raping in Jerusalem. Half of the city will be taken into captivity. "Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle" (Zechariah 14:3). This means that there will actually be something of a "war of Armageddon," ending in the return of Christ at the second coming.