Megiddo (place of troops) is first mentioned in the Old Testament in the account of the 31 kings conquered by Joshua. - Josh. 12:21 - Megiddo refers to a walled city in the Carmel Mountain range where many important battles were fought in the Old Testament times. Megiddo was situated on the main road that linked Egypt and Syria. Overlooking the Valley of Jezreel (Plain of Esdraelon) in fact, Megiddo was the most strategic city in Palestine. All major traffic through Palestine traveled past Megiddo, making it a strategic military stronghold.

In the Old Testament, and in the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes of the Hebrew people, Megiddo was awarded to Manasseh. But the tribe was unable to drive out the native inhabitants of the city. - Josh. 17:11-12 - 1 Chr. 7:29 - "Manasseh did not subdue Beth-shean and its outlying villages or Taanach and its villages. He did not drive out the inhabitants of Dor and its outlying villages, or of Ibleam and its villages, or of Megiddo and its villages; in those parts the Canaanites held their ground. - Judg. 1:27 -

During the period of the judges, the forces of Deborah and Barak wiped out the army of Sisera 'by the waters of Megiddo.'  "The kings came, they stood in line of battle; then they fought, those kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by Megiddo's waters, yet bore away no silver spoils." - Judg. 5:19 - During the period of the United Kingdom under Solomon, the Israelites established their supremacy at Megiddo. The city was included in the fifth administrative district of Solomon. Along with Hazor, Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor, Megiddo was fortified and established as a chariot city for the armies of king Solomon.

This is an account of the forced labour king Solomon levied for the building of the Temple of Yahweh, his own palace, the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, (Pharaoh king of Egypt went up and captured Gezer, he burnt it down and massacred the Canaanites living there; he then gave the town as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon wife, and Solomon rebuilt Gezer) Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, Tamar in the wilderness, inside the country, all the garrison towns owned by Solomon, all the towns for his chariots and horses, and all it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and in all the countries subject to him. - 1 Kin. 9:15-19 - 1 Kin. 4:12 -

The prophet Zechariah mentioned the great mourning which would one day take place "in the plain of Megiddo." - Zech. 12:11 - The fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy: the battle at the "end of time" known as the "Battle of Armageddon."

Armageddon is the New Testament reference to Megiddo. Armageddon refers to mountain of Megiddo - the site of the final battle of this age in which God intervenes to destroy the armies of Satan and to cast Satan into the bottomless pit.

They called the kings together at the place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon. - Rev. 16:16 -

Then I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the Abyss in his hand and an enormous chain. He overpowered the dragon, that primeval serpent which is the devil and Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and shut the entrance and sealed it over him, to make sure he would not deceive the nations again until the thousand years had passed. At the end of that time he must be released, but only for a short while. - Rev. 20:1-3 -

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive all the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, and mobilise them for war. His armies will be as many as the sands of the sea; they will come swarming over the entire country and besiege the camp of the saints, which is the city that God loves. But fire will come down on them from heaven and consume them. Then the devil, who misled them, will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their torture will not stop, day or night, for ever and ever. - Rev. 20:7-10 -

The likely location of this place is the valley between Mount Carmel and the city of Jezreel. This valley was the crossroads of two ancient trade routes and thus was a strategic military site. Armageddon is the Greek word for this area, which was the scene of many ancient battles. Megiddo became a symbol of the final conflict between God and the forces of evil is because of this history. "The Great City was split into three parts and the cities of the world collapsed." - Rev. 16:19 -

In the Old Testament, Genesis chapter 3 shows God's response to human sin, and because of its sin and unrighteousness, God cursed the world which He had just made. At the other end of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, and in the New Testament, Revelation 22:3 - The ban will be lifted - thus announces there will no longer be a curse. All that happens between Genesis chapter 3 and Revelation chapter 22 is related to God's effort to reverse His curse and redeem His creation. This illustrates that eschatology is related to salvation.

Eschatology is a theological term that designates the study of what will happen at the end of history, particularly the event known as the SECOND COMING of The Lord Jesus Christ. Eschatology reveals the end of history and how God reverses His curse upon the world by separating the good, holy, righteous, and those whom God loves from the bad, evil, fortune tellers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters, and everyone of false speech and false life.

In the end times, God will destroy the armies of the Beast and the False Prophet in the battle of that Great Day of God Almighty - This is how it will be: I shall come like a thief. Happy is the man who has stayed awake and not taken off his clothes so that he does not go out naked and expose his shame - They called the kings together at the place called, in Hebrew, Armageddon. - Rev. 16:13-16 -

The Lord Jesus Christ will ride out of heaven on a white horse as the "King of kings and Lord of lords." At this event, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." - Rev. 11:15 -

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, "You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone." - Rev. 21:1-4 -

I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I had heard and seen them all, I knelt at the feet of the angel who had shown them to me, to worship him; but he said, 'Don't do that: I am a servant just like you and like your brothers the prophets and like those who treasure what you have written in this book. [Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible] It is God that you must worship.'

This, too, he said to me, 'Do not keep the prophecies in this book a secret, because the Time is close. Meanwhile let the sinner go on sinning, and the unclean continue to be unclean; let those who do good go on doing good, and those who are holy continue to be holy. Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man according to what he deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Happy are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates. - Rev. 22:8-14 -

The one who guarantees these revelations repeat his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus. - Rev. 22:20 -

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -