A Place Called Megiddo
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Part1
In northern Israel lies a legendary site, perhaps the world's most contested piece of territory. Bible prophecy tells us it will once again be a focal point for a battle almost beyond comprehension.
by Darris McNeely
Rising out of the pastoral Jezreel Valley is a rocky mound containing the remains of a city whose foundations go back several millennia. On a modern map, it is called Tel Megiddo. A "tel" is a geographic feature, a hill often rising out of a flat plain, marking the site of a city dating from ancient times. Megiddo is a site that has seen more battles than perhaps any other location on earth. It will be the staging ground for the final battle at the time of Christ's return.
In Revelation 16:16 we read of the armies of the kings of the east being "gathered ... together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon." This is the only place in Scripture where the term Armageddon is mentioned. The word Armageddon comes from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Har Megiddo (the Hebrew prefix Har means "hill" or "mountain" ).
Today the site of Megiddo is one of the crown jewels of Israeli archaeology. Remains of more than 25 cities, representing every period of ancient history in the land of Israel, have been uncovered. Understanding why the armies of the world will gather here requires that we understand the history of the site and its importance in the ancient world.
Megiddo controlled a narrow strategic stretch of road called the Via Maris, "the Way of the Sea," a major international highway in the ancient world. This road stretched from Egypt in the south to Babylon in Mesopotamia, linking the major empires and trade routes of the day.
Megiddo's position on this highway made it a prime mercantile city. Whoever controlled Megiddo controlled access to trade all along this road. Megiddo was a choke point, therefore, for the empires of the ancient world. Control of Megiddo was crucial to controlling any regional empire.
Many battles took place at Megiddo over the course of history. In 1479 B.C., Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III launched a campaign near Megiddo to assert dominion over territories in and north of Canaan.
Thutmose marched his armies north and paused just south of Megiddo and engaged his generals in a war council. The Egyptian generals proposed attacking along a circuitous route that provided easy access to Megiddo and the adjoining broad Jezreel (or Esdraelon) Valley—also known as the valley or plain of Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:22; Zechariah 12:11). Thutmose preferred a more direct, yet dangerous route. His generals said, "How is it possible to march upon this road which becomes narrower"?
Thutmose's plan prevailed and caught the Canaanite troops completely by surprise, routing them easily. Megiddo eventually fell and the Egyptians asserted control once again over this vital location. -
Part2
Megiddo: "Armageddon" of Revelation
In Joshua 12:21 we find the first reference to Megiddo in Scripture in a list of Canaanite kings defeated during the Israelite conquest. In Joshua 17:11 we see that Megiddo fell within the inheritance of the tribe of Manasseh.
In 1 Kings 9:15 we see reference to the largest period of building at Megiddo during the reign of King Solomon of Israel. Solomon made Megiddo one of his district capitals as well as one of his three main fortress cities.
Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of several structures built by Solomon to garrison soldiers with their horses and chariots. The massive gates that stand today at the entrance to Megiddo date from this period and are evidence the city was a strategic regional site.
During the reign of Judah's King Josiah, another Egyptian pharaoh, Necho, came to Megiddo to engage the king of Assyria. Josiah involved himself in this battle and was killed (2 Kings 23:29). Josiah's death at Megiddo was a stunning blow to Judah. He was the last good king before the nation's destruction at the hands of Babylon.
The city of Megiddo went into decline during the Babylonian and Persian periods. However, in modern times the site continued to see battles. Both Napoleon (1799) and the British General Allenby (1918 ) defeated Turkish forces here. The area has never lost its significance as a battleground for control over this crucial crossroad of empires.
Megiddo today is a major archaeological site that tells a rich story of past civilizations. But it is the future story that captures our attention. Holy Scripture reveals to us that this is more than simply one more tourist site of dust and bones from past times.
The living words of God in the book of Revelation convey to those who will understand that the greatest gathering of armed forces in history is yet to occur here. At the end of the age, the Valley of Jezreel, in which Megiddo is located, will be the gathering place for an immense army that will fight the returning King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
The setting of this battle is found in Revelation 16, where we see "bowls of the wrath of God" poured out on the earth. The seven "bowls" of plagues mentioned here represent God's final terrible judgment on an unrepentant humanity. The intensity of these judgments will be severe, indicating that time is very short till the coming of the Lord. The impact of these plagues alone would bring life on earth to a halt.
The first bowl brings painful sores on those marked with the sign of the ruling superpower the Bible calls "the Beast." The second turns the sea to blood. The third fouls the fresh water of the earth by turning it to blood as well. A voice from the altar pronounces these as "true and righteous" judgments of God.
As if this is not enough, the fourth bowl impacts the heat of the sun as its energy is increased and scorches mankind with great heat. And still, there is no repentance from men to give glory to God. The fifth bowl brings darkness on the throne of the Beast, and the pain and anguish produces only blasphemy against God (verse 11). -
Part3
Nations gather for the ultimate battle
It is the sixth bowl that deals with the gathering of forces at Megiddo: "Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.
"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty ... And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon" (verses 12-14, 16).
Powerful demons influence the political and religious leaders of the world to send armies into this region of the modern state of Israel. Prior to this there will have been war, possibly involving nuclear exchanges, between nations leading to a movement of troops into this region (Revelation 9; Daniel 11:40-45).
This struggle for global dominion involves the armies of the Beast power and armies from beyond the Euphrates River, all moving toward a final confrontation. It is the final battle that Jesus Christ prophesied when He said all life could be destroyed if not for divine intervention (Matthew 24:22).
Popular telling of this final battle has led to it being called the Battle of Armageddon. Armageddon has become the term to describe the war to end all wars. But notice that Revelation 16:14 calls this "the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
Megiddo is merely the gathering place for the forces. Other scriptures tell us this is not the actual location of the battle. That takes place in Jerusalem, about 55 miles to the south. The broad flat plains of the Jezreel Valley are only the staging area for this climactic confrontation. -
Part4
Old Testament prophets speak
Zechariah 14 tells us more details of where this will be. "Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem ... Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle" (verses 1-3).
Now go to the prophet Joel's account of this time: "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand" (Joel 2:1). Jerusalem is the location of Zion and God's holy mountain.
Joel also indicates the specific location within Jerusalem. Notice: "I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land" (Joel 3:2).
So it is in Jerusalem that the battle of the great day of God Almighty is fought. The steep valley that is today called Kidron, between the Old City of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, will be the focal point.
Jesus Christ will descend with a spirit army and tread the winepress of His wrath (Revelation 19). It will indeed be a great battle, the final battle that will end in the peace of the Kingdom of God. -
Part5
Setting the stage for the great battle
Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley provide an ideal staging point for this battle. We can imagine Western forces flowing in through the port of Haifa, a few miles to the northwest. Transport planes, helicopters, troop carriers and tanks will ferry men and materiel into the region. Eastern forces will also come from the north and east, having crossed the Euphrates River.
Jet fighters and missiles will no doubt be engaged in a battle between East and West that suddenly turns its attention to a force coming from an unexpected location—the heavens above Jerusalem. In their folly and deception, they will join together to fight Jesus Christ, not recognizing Him as the Messiah.
It's difficult to imagine this today as we read these scriptures and ponder the modern geopolitical landscape. Not that we cannot easily see that the current Middle East conflicts could quickly lead to war, even nuclear war, between antagonists. But how could political leaders of nations in Europe and Asia be led by deceptive spiritual forces to move massive forces toward Jerusalem and fight Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
The answer may lie in one verse we skipped over in Revelation 16. Notice that verse 15 is a thought injected by Jesus Christ, the author of the book. "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." Here Jesus is saying to those with ears to hear that there is a way to avoid being part of this great end-time deception.
Remember, we saw that Megiddo was a crucial site on the Via Maris. Whoever controlled Megiddo controlled this vital link in world commerce. Megiddo represents man's last effort to control his world apart from the guidance of his Creator. Is there something deeper at Megiddo to help us understand this grand deception?
Perhaps a key to the answer lies back at the site of ancient Megiddo. We'll go there in the second part of this article in the next issue. GN -
Part6
A Place Called Megiddo, Part 2
In last issue's article we raised the question of how today's political leaders could be deceived to fight Christ at His second coming. Could something at the site of Megiddo lead to an answer?
by Darris McNeely
Megiddo (or Armageddon), an ancient city in northern Israel and site of some of the world's earliest battles, is mentioned in Revelation 16:16 as the gathering place for the armies of the kings of the earth prior to the return of Jesus Christ.
It will be a time of global struggle for world dominion involving the armies of the Beast power and armies from beyond the Euphrates River. They will move toward Jerusalem and the prophesied "battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Revelation 16:14).
How could this happen? What will bring the world to this day of battle and judgment? More importantly, how can you avoid the same deception that will grip our world, sending it careening into battle against God Himself and threatening to, as stated in Matthew 24:22, bring all life to an end? This will be a time unlike any we can imagine, and it's critical that you understand the times to avoid the trap of deception.
In Revelation 16:15, right at the peak of the narrative, Jesus Christ injects a warning: "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
In Revelation 19:8 we are told that the Bride of Christ, the Church, will "be arrayed in fine linen . . . for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Before one can engage in righteous acts, he or she must be able to discern between righteousness and unrighteousness. On that point, we can return to the site of Megiddo and learn a lesson about how our world has developed. -
Part7
Megiddo's sacrificial altar
In the lowest excavation levels of the huge mound at Megiddo, archaeologists uncovered a large sacrificial altar about 29 feet (nearly nine meters) around.
Within this area, called the sacred precinct, are the remains of a large temple, which indicates the importance of this part of the city. Large concentrations of animal bones and ashes have been found in the vicinity. Scholars also think that this altar saw the most insidious form of sacrifice in the ancient world—human beings.
The chief deity worshipped on this altar would have been the Canaanite god Baal, thought to be ruler of the earth. His worship was connected to nature, especially rainfall. Baal supposedly controlled thunder and lightning, and his blessing on the land was considered essential for soil fertility and successful crops.
The inhabitants of Megiddo would have been addicted to the seductive forms of worship associated with Baal. The worship would have included animal sacrifice, ritualistic meals and licentious dancing. Sacred prostitutes lived in the temple buildings and at prescribed times would perform licentious dances before assembled crowds.
To the beat of drums and other musical accompaniment, the chants of priests and the increasing cries of the enthralled citizens, these rituals would inflame the passions of all present and end in a mass orgy of sexual activity for everyone assembled. This was done in the belief that it would ensure fertility for the crops and the well-being of the populace.
Asherah was the female consort of Baal. She and her colleagues dealt in sex and war, and her shrines were temples of legalized vice. In some manifestations she appears in fantastic bloody orgies of destruction, butchering people young and old, while wading ecstatically in human gore up to her knees.
Versions of this goddess have been found throughout Canaan, adding to the evidence that human sacrifices were offered at places like Megiddo.
It's no wonder that God gave instruction to the Israelites to wipe every vestige of such religion from the land when He gave them their inheritance. Yet the story of ancient Israel reveals that they rarely obeyed God's every instruction.
The gods of Canaan—Baal and Asherah—were a perpetual snare for the Israelites. The extent to which Israel embraced the worship of Baal is seen in the dramatic clash between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, not far from Megiddo (1 Kings 1
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It's difficult to understand how a people could be led by religious and political fervor to carry an infant to an altar, hand the child to a priest and then stand by to watch it burned in a blazing cauldron of fire—all in the name of a god.
Yet it happened at Megiddo as a routine part of life, accepted by everyone as necessary for the well-being of their society. The pagan idolatry of the land reached its lowest form with this readiness of people to sacrifice their own children. The gods people worship determine the morals and values of those people.
The gods people create with their own minds and hands are a poor substitute for the God who revealed Himself to Abraham and Moses. Those pagan gods led the Canaanites and later the Israelites into destruction and captivity. History shows that any culture that practices child sacrifice to its gods of convenience eventually falls from power and is eclipsed. -
Part8
Continuing struggle between good and evil
Megiddo serves as a symbol of the age-old struggle between good and evil. The struggle echoed in Elijah's stirring words: "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). In our modern world not everyone bows down to gods of stone or wood. We are too sophisticated for that. We have fashioned gods of money, power, celebrity and status.
Instead of idolatry, which prophets like Elijah railed against, we have formed with our own hands a neo-pagan worship called relativism.
Instead of one God, there are many gods one may worship. Instead of one way, clearly defined by the one true God, the common belief today is that there are many ways to access a spiritual life and worship the deity. Instead of "traditional values," many subscribe to the philosophy of "different strokes for different folks." The great issue of our time is whether there is one God, one way and one law—not two or more.
In 45 years the West has gone from the idea that "God is dead," proclaimed loudly from the pages of a leading newsweekly, to the present where we have created the multicultural gods of diversity.
In our supposed enlightenment, we think there is no source of revealed truth to which we can appeal as a standard of righteousness. Every religion is as good as any other. Every culture is equal. Every man can decide for himself what is right and what is wrong. This falsely makes human beings equal to God and is the essence of idolatry.
It's the problem God found with ancient Israel when He said through the prophet Isaiah: "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as if with a cart rope; that say, 'Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it.' Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:18-20).
This describes not only ancient Israel but also our world today. We cannot distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, because we have forgotten God and abandoned His spiritual law.
We are a people who do not want to admit that God has a sovereign claim on our lives and who are unwilling to submit to Him in obedience. What Paul wrote applies to our society: "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting" (Romans 1:28 ).
A culture is "debased" when it sacrifices its children and their future in the fires of idolatry. Our people do the same today when we "sacrifice" our children through abortion, thus offering them up to our self-made god of personal convenience (the reason for abortions more than 90 percent of the time).
When abortion on demand is justified as a right and made possible by whatever human statute is legally required, we are seeing a society turned inside out, incapable of telling right from wrong, unable to discern righteous judgment.
It's little wonder that judgment has fled when the prime consideration in evaluating a candidate for America's highest court, the Supreme Court, is his or her willingness to uphold the "right" to abortion. That is a sad commentary on American culture, and unless the nation awakens to the gravity of this unconscionable tragedy, it will go the way of ancient Israel. -
Part9
Back to Megiddo
Jesus Christ's statement in Revelation 16:15 shows a key to avoiding the end-time deception that inspires the armies of the world to gather in Megiddo. You will know how to discern righteousness based on the "commandments of God and . . . the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17).
The deception that grips today's world prevents understanding the true gospel of the Kingdom of God. It also prevents the world from knowing Christ's real personality.
The image of Jesus presented to today's world is not the Christ of the Gospels. He is not fully understood by religionists today, and that is why, at His return as King of Kings in full glory, He will not be recognized. Mankind's resistance to God will increase to the point that they will fight to the death, not knowing they do the work of the real Baal, the god of this world, Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4).
The idolatry that shoves the true God out of the picture leads to a self-deification, where man decides what is right and wrong, something that is the prerogative of God alone. So it has been since the beginning of the human family. This idolatry of the self will find its final and supreme expression at a place called Megiddo, in the last battle of the great day of God Almighty.
Don't be too sure that you are clothed with the proper garments of righteousness. Examine your values in light of Christ's teachings and make sure you love His commands more than the spirit of this world. Only then can you be sure to escape the deception of the time of the end. Your eternal life depends on it! GN