At the time of the Roman pagan emperor Domitian, at the end of the 1st century, one of the first Christians, the Apostle John the Theologian, was exiled to a remote Greek island in the Aegean Sea called Patmos as punishment "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ". And on this island one of the main secrets of our world was revealed to him …
John the Evangelist named the place where the decisive battle between good and evil will take place
The Apostle John the Theologian spent some part of his life in exile on the Greek island of Patmos. And once, being there, he heard the voice of God “as if trumpet”: “I am the Alpha and Omega … what you see, write in a book,” after which an imaginary grandiose picture of the coming cataclysm appeared before John. The one that will put an end to the present sinful world.
Later, John described everything that was revealed in a vision in a book long known to the world as "Apocalypse, or Revelation about the fate of the Church and the whole world." This is the last book of the Bible and the most difficult to understand. Researchers have long had the desire to decipher John's allegories and find real historical events behind them. They wondered over who was hiding behind one of the cardinal images of the work - the "Babylonian harlot", dressed in purple and pearls, and decided what the "seven-headed beast" symbolized, who drank in the blood of the holy righteous.
Rome or Atlantis
Most scholars are inclined to believe that the phantasmagoric picture of Revelation reflects the atrocities of the emperor Nero, his merciless war with unarmed, but strong-minded Christians, although the same can be attributed to the reign of Domitian. "The Babylonian harlot" John allegedly called the sovereign Rome, and encoded the name of Nero with the sign of the Antichrist - "666". In vague symbols and allegorical images, the author of the Apocalypse predicts imminent death, famine, fire, desolation for Rome.
Promotional video:
An independent point of view, which found supporters among those who believe in the truth of esoteric legends, was expressed at the end of the 19th century by the American writer Edward Bellamy. In his opinion, the prophecy of John is a translation into Greek of some passages from ancient, little-known sources. In the image of Babylon, “a city that sits on many seas,” Bellamy sees a parallel with the plane tree Atlantis, and speaking of the “ten kingdoms” of John, he also recalls the information of the Greek philosopher about the ten kingdoms of Atlantis. The reference to the "crimson beast" symbolizes the crimson sea of sunset, that is, the Atlantic, as the ancient writers often called the ocean. For greater persuasiveness Bellamy reminds that the works of Plato were well known in the era of early Christianity and John the Evangelist could not be unfamiliar with them. Howbeit,but it is unlikely that we will be able to realize what the apostle actually "saw" and meant. There are also the following words in the Apocalypse: “And I saw [those coming out] from the mouth of the dragon… these are demonic spirits, performing signs; they go out to the kings of the earth of the whole universe to gather them for battle … to a place called … Armageddon "(Rev. 16: 13-16). In other words, John names the place on our planet where the very last universal battle between the forces of good and evil will take place, the greatest battle will be fought. Since then, the expression "War of Armageddon" has come to mean the concept of the end of the world, of the final apocalyptic war.called … Armageddon "(Rev. 16: 13-16). In other words, John names a place on our planet where the very last universal battle between the forces of good and evil will take place, the greatest battle will be fought. Since then, the expression "War of Armageddon" has come to mean the concept of the end of the world, of the final apocalyptic war.called … Armageddon "(Rev. 16: 13-16). In other words, John names a place on our planet where the very last universal battle between the forces of good and evil will take place, the greatest battle will be fought. Since then, the expression "War of Armageddon" has come to mean the concept of the end of the world, of the final apocalyptic war.
On the plain of Megiddo
Meanwhile, Armageddon, unlike other images that were born in the head of John, has a very specific explanation and place on the geographical map. We are talking about the plain of Megiddo, Megiddon or Armageddon. This straight and wide valley, located in the north-east of Israel, is also called the Jezreel Valley. It separates the mountains of Galilee from the mountains of Samaria, forming a kind of corridor between the Jordan River and the lowlands of the Haifa Bay.
The Apostle John named this very place, because he could not imagine another, because he was born and lived in Israel. A section of the Sea Trade Route (Via Maris), which ran from the Nile to the Euphrates, ran along the valley, along which there were cities, including the fortress of Megiddo. For the possession of this important road since ancient times, blood has been shed here more than once. So, in 1457 BC, the first documented battle in history took place. The Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III decided to seize Palestine and for this he sent numerous troops there. His enemy, the coalition of the Canaanite principalities, concentrated near the well-fortified city of Megiddo, the approaches to which were difficult to reach because of the nearby mountains.
The Annals of Thutmose III contains a detailed account of the campaign. "Annals …" report that, disregarding the cowardly opinion of his dignitaries about taking a detour, safer road, the pharaoh chose a risky path through a narrow gorge.
He suddenly appeared in front of an opponent who did not expect him. Thutmose III sent archers forward, and they bombarded the enemies with a cloud of arrows. The hostile mass hesitated, but managed to reorganize into ranks and release 3 thousand chariots rushing towards the Egyptians forward. But Thutmose did not sleep either. His archers parted to open the way for an avalanche of their chariots. Egyptian horses, covered with light blue blankets, tied with red and yellow belts, moved at a measured trot towards the enemy. On one side and on the other, charioteers fired bows and threw javelins. When the participants in the battle approached, everything was mixed: overturned bodies, the corpses of horses and soldiers, wounded charioteers who jumped off the chariots. Screams and groans were heard everywhere.
Numerous Egyptian infantry struck into this turmoil. In their left hand, the infantrymen held a shield covered with leather, in their right - a bronze sickle-shaped sword or a heavy spear. Under the onslaught of the Egyptians, the worse armed enemy retreated, and then fled in panic, trying to get to the fortress walls. The Egyptians won, but the Megiddo fortress was captured only after a grueling seven-month siege. After defeating the coalition, Thutmose III became master of Palestine and most of Syria. Thousands of prisoners, including women and children, were taken to Egypt.
Since then, dozens of battles have taken place in the Megiddo Valley, many of which are described in the Bible. Around 1004 BC, the Israelites fought the Philistines. In that struggle, King Saul and his son Jonathan were killed.
Their bodies were exhibited by the Philistines on the walls of the city of Beit She'an, located not far from Megiddo. In 732 BC, the Assyrian king Tiglathpalasar III, passing through the Jezreel Valley, conquered Galilee and turned it into his province. In 609 BC, the righteous Jewish king Josiah died in the valley. The battles in this valley did not only take place in Old Testament times. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the troops of the Ottoman Empire, and in 1918 the Turks were defeated by the English General Allenby.
Layer by Layer
The ruins of Megiddo have long been examined by archaeologists. The excavations include 26 cultural layers that have formed a 60-meter-high hill. The city existed already in the III millennium BC and was surrounded by an eight-meter wide wall!
Among the ruins are the remains of King Solomon's vast stables for 500 horses. The stables were located around a large area where the animals were circled and watered. In order to always have running water in the stables, the king ordered the creation of a well-thought-out water supply system. Today it is still possible to go down the steps 30 meters down to a horizontal tunnel about 120 meters long, at the end of which there is an underground spring outside the city fortifications. There is also an Assyrian granary, seven meters deep, with a spiral staircase carved into the wall.
Nowadays, along the green flowering Jezreel Valley, there is a straight, like an arrow, motor road, passing along which, every time you notice the high rounded peak of Mount Tabor - the place of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. It is difficult, even impossible to imagine that here, at the foot of such a sacred mountain, the terrible prophecy of the Apostle John the Theologian will ever come true.
But his prophecies tend to come true.
Source: "Secrets of the XX century"