THROUGH THE LAND OF ISRAEL II: Visiting Armageddon (Tel Megiddo), 5th September, 2008

I guess when you hear the term Armageddon; most frequent words that pop into your mind could be, "doomsday", "apocalypse", "end of the world", "judgment day", "return of the Christ" etc. All because of a single reference in the last book of Bible, according to which Armageddon shall be the venue for the final battle between God and Satan. Obviously, it brings a lot of curiosity and fantasy to most who visit the site.

Just to quote that famous passage from Bible: "And the sixth angel (angel of death) poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" (Revelation 16:12-16).

Armageddon comes from the Hebrew word Har Megiddo (Har in Hebrew is hill or mountain). Today, the archaeological site Tel Megiddo or Tel-el-Mutesellim (spread in an area of about 15 acres) occupies the venue of the ancient city of Megiddo. A modern kibbutz settlement bearing the name of Megiddo is also located near the Tell. Located on a 700 ft hill and controlling an ancient trade route and an international highway, Megiddo was one of the most strategic cities in Israel. In ancient times, two important roads passed by Megiddo: one from the Mediterranean Sea to the fertile plains of central Israel and another from Egypt to Mesopotamia ("Via Maris" or "Way of the Sea"). Whoever controlled Megiddo thus controlled the crossroads of the Middle East and had the advantage of considerable wealth and prestige. No doubt why Megiddo was called "the queen of cities of Canaan and Israel".

Megiddo is also surrounded by a fertile valley called the 'Plain of Esdraelon' or 'the Valley of Megiddo'. Today, the valley is known as the 'Valley of Jezreel' and due to its fertility it's sometimes called the "Breadbasket of Israel". Looking towards the valley from Megiddo, you can see the regions where Jesus spent much of his life time (especially Nazareth and surroundings). Many traditional Christians believe that the valley will serve as the gathering place for an immense army which will engage the returning messiah, Jesus Christ, and his supernatural army in the Day of the Lord.

Coming to the historicity of Megiddo, the Tel Megiddo has blessed archeologists with remains of at least 25 cities, built one on top of the other, over a period of 6000-8000 years. A city inhabited continuously from 7000-500 BC, was also a permanent battleground. Megiddo probably had seen more battles than any other place in human history. Armies of Assyria, Canaan, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Persia, Philistine, Rome, Turks and British, all roamed through its soil. Megiddo first appears in history when Thutmose III (1479-1426) of Egypt conquered the city in 1468 BC (as recorded in the walls of the Temple of Karnak). Later, it appears in the letter sent by Biridiya, king of Megiddo, to pharaoh Amenhotep IV (18^th Dynasty of Pharoahs) in the 14th century BC. Further mention of the town appears in the records of the Egyptian 19th Dynasty Pharaohs Seti I, Rameses II and Mernepta.

Megiddo is also very much Biblical. In Bible, Megiddo is mentioned 11 times, first in Joshua 12:21. At that time the city was inhabited by Canaanites and Joshua defeated and killed the King. It was here around 13th century BC, Deborah and Barak overcame Sisera (see Judges 4:15, 5:19). Although allocated to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:11), this tribe was unable to occupy Megiddo (Judges 1:27), until the time of King David in ca.1000 BC. Later, his son King Solomon (967-927 BCE) fortified the city and made into one of three major chariot cities used to control the "Way of the Sea" (I Kings 4:12). Around 922 BC, Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq (Shishak of Bible) destroyed the city, but was rebuilt by Israeli Kings Omri or Ahab in mid 9th century BC. Megiddo is also associated with the deaths of two Jewish kings viz. Ahaziah (II Kings 9:27) and Josiah (II Kings 23:29). In 732 BC, Assyrian King, Tiglath-Pileser III conquered and destroyed Megiddo drastically (II Kings 15: 29). The city remained in use only until Josiah's fall in 609 BC, when it was destroyed permanently. Megiddo's decline started and it was finally abandoned during the Persian rule, in the 5th century BC, only to be rediscovered 2300 years later by modern archaeologists in 1925! About some recent battles fought here: in 19th century, Napoleon and in 1918, the British General Allenby fought at Megiddo. Allenby's victory established British rule in Israel and ended the 400-year rule of the Turks in Israel. Interestingly, after the battle, Allenby took the title, First Viscount Allenby of Megiddo! More recently in 2005, from a prison in Megiddo, Israeli archaeologists discovered the remains of a church, and a mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to "the God Jesus Christ", the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land. Considered as the “Cradle of Biblical Archaeology”, Megiddo has some very interesting findings to offer the archaeology buffs. See the details with the photographs uploaded.

Ok…coming to my trip to Megiddo (88 km from Tel Aviv / 200 km from Beer Sheva / 250 km from Sede Boker). It was not an easy task for me to travel 500 km on a Friday in Israel, as all the public transportation (especially buses) gets halted by afternoon. In other words, to make the trip successful I had to start as early as possible. I accepted the challenge and grabbed the first Metropolin bus 60 from campus to Beer Sheva at 5.30 am. Waiting almost 1 hr in the Beer Sheva Central Bus Station, took Metropolin 370 to Tel Aviv at 7.15 am. Reaching 8.40 am in Tel Aviv Central Bus station, I went to the 7^th floor and took Egged 835 (9.1o am) that runs to Tiberias via Megiddo junction. At 10.20 am I was in Megiddo junction and walked the remaining 2 km to Tel Megiddo. After spending some 1.30 hr in Megiddo, I decided to wrap up the visit. I was lucky to get a lift to the main junction from a member of the nearby Kibbutz Megiddo. The return bus Egged 835 arrived at 12.40 pm in the Megiddo junction…. Back to Tel Aviv by 2.00 pm….Got the Metropolin 370 from the 6^th floor of Tel Aviv Central Bus Station at 2.20 pm and reached Beer Sheva at 3.45 pm. Early enough to catch the second last bus to campus (4.00 pm, Metropolin 60) and reached Sede Boker at 4.45 pm. Before starting, I was a bit skeptical about making such a calculative trip ...thanks to the punctuality of Israeli public transportation system…..