MEGIDDO

Megiddo was in control of the Plain of Esdraelon and was its chief fortress city. Joshua mentions this city in Joshua 12:21. This is the city that has given "Armageddon" its name. "Armageddon" comes from two words, "Har" and "Megiddo"...the "hill of Megiddo." Its history goes back to 3500 B.C., and some 22 cities have been built on this site one on top of the other. It was a "chariot city" for King Solomon where he kept horses and chariots in this particular military district. Megiddo is 20 miles southeast of Haifa. Megiddo stood in the path between Syria and Egypt and was a strategic city to all the people living in the area. The tribe of Manasseh owned this territory. King Ahaziah died here in the middle of the ninth century B.C. (II Kings 9:27) The name occurs in Zechariah 12:11 and also in Revelation 16:16. Megiddo lies in the most famous battlefield in the world. More battles have been fought here than in any other battlefield. It was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites and was the scene of vulgar, sometimes brutal, pagan worship. Excavations show that the stables there could have cared for 450 horses and 150 chariots. The Via Maris (way of the sea) came by here making it a vital city along a main route. It was continuously inhabited from some 4000 years B. C. to 400 B.C. King Josiah also died here in the seventh century B. C.

Megiddo lies in the Valley of Armageddon and is believed to be the battlefield of the final conflict between good and evil. It is the classic battlefield of Israel. It is associated with the Plain of Esdraelon and the Valley of Jezreel. David, Joel, Isaiah, and Zachariah mention this place in the Old Testament.