What does armageddon mean? Definition explained - what US President Joe Biden said

US president Joe Biden has claimed that the world is facing its biggest threat of nuclear “armageddon” in over 60 years.

Biden’s off the record comments were overheard by journalists from the White House pool. But what is the meaning of armageddon and what context were Joe Biden’s comments used?

What does armageddon mean?

The word Armageddon is used to describe a prophesied place where the final battle will take place between the forces of good and evil. The term is derived from the bible in the Greek New Testament and armageddon is mentioned in 16:16 to describe the place where demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history.

Armageddon is often used in modern times to describe the possibility of nuclear war or an end of the world scenario unfolding.

What did Joe Biden say in reference to armageddon?

Joe Biden was speaking at a Democratic Party fundraiser in New York. During the event Biden described Russian leader Vladimir Putin as someone he had got to know “pretty well” and also made it clear that he feels he is someone to be very concerned about.

Biden said: “He’s not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological chemical weapons because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming. For the first time since the Cuban missile crisis, we have a direct threat of the use of nuclear weapons if in fact things continue down the path they are going.”

Biden later added that it is the first time that the world has faced the prospect of armageddon since John F Kennedy’s term in office and the Cuban missile crisis.

What happened during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Cuban Missile crisis started as a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union but later escalated into an international crisis which is described by historians as the closest the world has ever come to nuclear warfare.

The Cuban Missile Crisis came as a result of the failed Bay Of Pigs invasion which took place when the US invaded Cuba in 1961. The failed invasion from the US helped solidify Castro’s role as a national hero and widened the political division between the US and Cuba. It also pushed Cuba to form an alliance with the Soviet Union.

As a result of the failed Bay Of Pigs invasion. The Soviet Union agreed to secretly deploy nuclear weapons on the island to deter a further invasion. It was also a response to the presence of American missiles in Italy and Turkey.

As the tension intensified between the two nations Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba to prevent further missiles from being delivered.

During this period there was immense concern that nuclear warfare would break out, however following a 13 day show down Kruschev and Kennedy came to an agreement which would see the Soviet Union dismantle their weapons in Cuba in exchange for Kennedy promising that the US would not invade Cuba again.

As a result of the crisis, a Moscow-Washington hotline was formed to allow direct and efficient communication between the two nations.