Megiddo – The Site of Armageddon

Harmagedon (Megiddo)means place where enemies are destroyed

Megiddo was sight of ancient battles Judges 5:19 Deborah and Barak fought Canaanite leaders King

Jabin and Sisera1 Kings 9:15 - During time of Solomon the city was firmly

Israelite, since he fortified it 2 kings 9;27 – King Ahaziah of Juda fled to Megiddo and died

after being pursued by King Jehu 2 Kings 23:29-30- King Josiah led the forces of Judah in a

disastorous battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh NecoRevelation 1616Mount of Megiddo will be where the kings of

the world are gathered for that final battle in the last day of the Lord. Where Israel was initially frustrated during their conquest of Canaan is exactly where they will be victorious with Christ in the End.

MegiddoAnciently Megiddo's gates and walls

witnessed the armed struggles of Assyrians, Canaanites, Egyptians, Greeks, Israelites, Persians, Philistines, and Romans. Although Megiddo was not a fortress in the days of World War I, note that the critical battle enabling the British Field Marshal Edmund Allenby to wrest control of the Holy Land from the Turks occurred at Megiddo where he began his offensive against them on September 18, 1918.

Strongly fortified throughout the ages, Megiddo boasted a stone Syrian-type gate in the days of Canaanite inhabitation.   This gate is later than the bent-axis gate (straightened to accommodate chariots) and earlier than the famous "Solomonic" gate, part of the construction of King

Solomon described in 1 Kings 9:15.

Megiddo was first fortified by the Canaanites around 2000 BC. Megiddo is one of Israel’s most extensive ongoing archeological

digs.

La yers of oc cupation

Bema – Altar for Ritual Sacrifices for Canaanites

Megiddo is filled with elaborate watersystems.In the 9th c. B.C., Ahab constructed a massive system with a 30 meter deep shaft and a 70 meter long tunnel. This continued in use until the end of the Iron Age.

TunnelThis Iron Age tunnel connected the bottom of Ahab's shaft to the spring.  Before its construction, Megiddo residents had to leave the city walls in order to get water from the spring.  

This tunnel was hewn from both ends at the same time (like Hezekiah's Tunnel) and its builders were only one foot off when meeting in the middle.