Mendalla
Happy headbanging ape!!
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Ha ha.
Now on to the serious stuff. I know you're thinking, "Why isn't this in the R&F forum?" Well, it's not about Armageddon in Christian religious beliefs, but about the city that the battle at the end of time takes its name from.
Armageddon comes from the Hebrew Har Megiddo, Hill of Megiddo. An accident of transliteration caused the loss of the "H", giving us "Armegiddo" or "Armageddon". Megiddo was a city in the Jezreel Valley, now in modern day Israel, inhabited continuous from the Neolithic through the Iron Age.
So why did the author of Revelation use this ancient city, already abandoned by his time, as the scene for the penultimate battle in the final conflict between good and evil? Well, Megiddo was a major crossroads of trade, diplomacy, and military activity for centuries in the BCE era. As a result, it was the scene of many battles including a famed 1457 BCE attack by the Egyptians under Pharoah Thutmose III that is regarded as the first documented battle in history. Author and professor Dr. Eric Cline, who worked in the archaeological digs at Megiddo for 20 years of his career, counted 19 battles at or near Megiddo just up to the time of Revelation and another 15 or so since. So it likely made perfect sense to place a key battle in prophecy there.
Anyhow, I listened to an episode of The Ancients today about Megiddo with Cline as the guest. It is another of those ancient sites with a very long and storied history that is reflected in its multiple layers of habitation. It dates to the Neolithic Period and was continuously inhabited through to the Persian period. Cline mentions that it was probably empty by the time Alexander passed through in the late 4th century BCE. At the time of Thutmose's attack, it was a Canaanite city-state. Later, it was part of the kingdom of Israel (both the early unified one and the Northern Kingdom of that name after the split between Israel and Judah) and 1 Kings mentions Solomon fortifying it though no archaeological evidence pointing to his involvement with the city has yet been found. Stables initially claimed to be the "Stables of Solomon" in fact have now been dated to later, probably the reign of Omri or Ahab. Of course, it became part of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires as each conquered the region.
There's still lots to be found and learned about Megiddo and Israeli and other archaelogists keep digging and documenting their finds. Fascinating stuff. Here's a link to the show. Cline also has a couple books on Megiddo.
shows.acast.com
Links to the books on Amazon (so you can get the particulars). The first is about the city's ancient history, the second is a history of modern archaeology at Megiddo.
Now on to the serious stuff. I know you're thinking, "Why isn't this in the R&F forum?" Well, it's not about Armageddon in Christian religious beliefs, but about the city that the battle at the end of time takes its name from.
Armageddon comes from the Hebrew Har Megiddo, Hill of Megiddo. An accident of transliteration caused the loss of the "H", giving us "Armegiddo" or "Armageddon". Megiddo was a city in the Jezreel Valley, now in modern day Israel, inhabited continuous from the Neolithic through the Iron Age.
So why did the author of Revelation use this ancient city, already abandoned by his time, as the scene for the penultimate battle in the final conflict between good and evil? Well, Megiddo was a major crossroads of trade, diplomacy, and military activity for centuries in the BCE era. As a result, it was the scene of many battles including a famed 1457 BCE attack by the Egyptians under Pharoah Thutmose III that is regarded as the first documented battle in history. Author and professor Dr. Eric Cline, who worked in the archaeological digs at Megiddo for 20 years of his career, counted 19 battles at or near Megiddo just up to the time of Revelation and another 15 or so since. So it likely made perfect sense to place a key battle in prophecy there.
Anyhow, I listened to an episode of The Ancients today about Megiddo with Cline as the guest. It is another of those ancient sites with a very long and storied history that is reflected in its multiple layers of habitation. It dates to the Neolithic Period and was continuously inhabited through to the Persian period. Cline mentions that it was probably empty by the time Alexander passed through in the late 4th century BCE. At the time of Thutmose's attack, it was a Canaanite city-state. Later, it was part of the kingdom of Israel (both the early unified one and the Northern Kingdom of that name after the split between Israel and Judah) and 1 Kings mentions Solomon fortifying it though no archaeological evidence pointing to his involvement with the city has yet been found. Stables initially claimed to be the "Stables of Solomon" in fact have now been dated to later, probably the reign of Omri or Ahab. Of course, it became part of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires as each conquered the region.
There's still lots to be found and learned about Megiddo and Israeli and other archaelogists keep digging and documenting their finds. Fascinating stuff. Here's a link to the show. Cline also has a couple books on Megiddo.
The Real Armageddon | The Ancients
Listen to The Real Armageddon from The Ancients. Armageddon is more than just a biblical prophecy hailing the end of days. It is a real place: Megiddo, an ancient city that for thousands of years stood at the crossroads of empires, trade routes and wars in the ancient Near East.In this episode...
shows.acast.com
Links to the books on Amazon (so you can get the particulars). The first is about the city's ancient history, the second is a history of modern archaeology at Megiddo.
The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age: Cline, Eric H.: 9780472067398: Books - Amazon.ca
The Battles of Armageddon: Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age: Cline, Eric H.: 9780472067398: Books - Amazon.ca
www.amazon.ca
Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon eBook : Cline, Eric H.: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon eBook : Cline, Eric H.: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
www.amazon.ca
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