Megiddo

An Old Testament stronghold, Megiddo guarded the main pass through the Carmel mountain range that linked Egypt with the Fertile Crescent. Many settlements have been found here, some dating back to 2500 B.C. One of the strongest and most important Canaanite strongholds was destroyed about 1125 B.C.

During the 10th century B.C., Solomon rebuilt and fortified Megiddo and made it one of his chariot cities, stabling three hundred horses in a great stone building. Many battles have been fought on the plain of Megiddo, also known as the valley of Jezreel and plain of Esdraelon. Napoleon called it the finest battlefield he had ever seen. The Hebrew Har-Magedon (hill of Megiddo) is the basis for the New Testament Armageddon – the location of the gathering for the war of the great day of God the Almighty. The beast’s armies will surround Jerusalem then go to where God’s people have fled to the wilderness according to Revelation 12.

We awakened to the sound of rain the morning we were to go to Megiddo. And it rained during the first part of our Bible study. Kay taught the entire book of Revelation. My Bible has pages that are watermarked with the rain and with my tears.

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. Revelation 16:12-16

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16

The following pictures are all pictures of the Jezreel Valley. The word, Jezreel, means “God will sow.” Although it used to be a swamp, the Israelis have reclaimed the land and it is now the breadbasket of Israel. It is bordered by the Carmel mountains, Mt. Tabor, which some think is the mount of Christ’s transfiguration, and the Nazareth Mountains, and Mt. Gilboa, the site of the battle between Israel and the Philistines, in which Saul was mortally wounded. Mt. Tabor is also the place where Deborah, a prophet/judge in Israel, along with her general Barak, defeated a Canaanite army under the command of Jabin and his general, Sisera. (Judges 4:14-15

This valley will be the gathering place of the Antichrist and his armies as they prepare to do battle with God Almighty. This will be the most one-sided battle in history, Jesus leading His saints to victory. One army will lose every soldier; the other won’t have a single casualty.

And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. Revelation 14:20

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Revelation 22:12-13

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20