Day 5: Megiddo and the Jordan River (5/5/12)
by Lee Pinkard on 05/27/12
Megiddo is a "Tel". A "Tel"
is an excavation of a site where multiple civilizations existed throughout the
centuries. As one group was conquered and destroyed, if it was an important
place, the conquering force would rebuild on the old site. This creates an
archeological site of immense interest. The more important the site was the
more layers or strata that needed to be researched to unlock its history. Tel
Megiddo is one of the most important Tel’s in history. Why? Because it was on
one of the most important sites in history and it has an important role to play
in the future.
For a site to have strategic importance, it
needed three things:
1. First, a defendable position –
usually a walled high place.
2. Its own water source –
accessible from within the walls
3. A strategic location – usually
on a key trade route.
Megiddo meets all three. It has high walled and
defendable position. It has a hidden tunnel to a spring. And, it is on the
important trade route between the East and West of the known world. It was
strategically placed between the King’s Highway that bordered the east side of
the Jordan River and the Via Maris (the “Way of the Sea”) that ran from Egypt
to Damascus near the Mediterranean Sea.
If you controlled Megiddo, you controlled the
fertile land of the Jazreel Valley (some of the best in the world) and the entrance
to Jerusalem. More wars have been fought on the Plain of Jezreel than any other
place in the world. Napoleon called it the “most perfect battlefield on earth.
King Solomon made it the northern fortress of his empire. This was important
ground in the ancient world.
Megiddo has 27 different civilizations in it,
more than any other known site. There are altars for pagan worship and sacrifice;
there is evidence of Roman occupation and much more.
Perhaps to the current world, Megiddo is best
known for its “future” role. It is after all, Har Megiddo (Mount Megiddo) from
which is derived Armageddon! Armageddon
is the prophetic site of the staging of the battle to end all battles, where
the kings of the earth will be gathered to come against Jerusalem. But unlike
most "end times prophecy" commentaries, the so called Battle of
Armageddon does not take place there. The armies are only gathered there.
(Revelation 16:16) It is the battle between the powers of the earth and the
Sovereignty of Heaven and it takes place in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which is
the Kidron Valley. (Joel 3: 2, 12)
