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Judges describes a battle at Megiddo where kings fought by the waters of Kishon, with heavenly forces joining the fight. Revelation reuses this location under the name Armageddon, transforming it into the setting for the final, eschatological conflict.
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Judges 5:19
Hebrew Bible
16 Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks? As for the clans of Reuben—there was intense searching of heart. 17 Gilead stayed put beyond the Jordan River. As for Dan—why did he seek temporary employment in the shipyards? Asher remained on the seacoast; he stayed by his harbors. 18 The men of Zebulun were not concerned about their lives; Naphtali charged onto the battlefields. 19 “Kings came, they fought; the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no silver as plunder. 20 From the sky the stars fought, from their paths in the heavens they fought against Sisera. 21 The onrushing torrent* carried them off; the river confronted them—the Kishon River. Step on the necks of the strong!
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 16:16
New Testament
13 Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. 15 (Look! I will come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen.) 16 Now the spirits gathered the kings and their armies to the place that is called Armageddon in Hebrew. 17 Finally the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying: “It is done!” 18 Then there were flashes of lightning, roaring, and crashes of thunder, and there was a tremendous earthquake—an earthquake unequaled since humanity has been on the earth, so tremendous was that earthquake. 19 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. So Babylon the great was remembered before God and was given the cup filled with the wine made of God’s furious wrath.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Megiddo is first mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 12:21 as one of the cities conquered by Joshua’s army. Subsequently, in Joshua 17:11, the city was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 7:29), although the Canaanites were determined to keep living in Megiddo and other towns and were not driven out by the Israelites (Joshua 17:12; Judges 1:27). A reference to “Taanach by the waters of Megiddo” in the Song of Deborah in Judges 5:19 probably refers to the river Kishon, which runs near to both sites. During the reign of Solomon, Megiddo is listed in 1 Kings 4:12 as one of the towns in the administrative district of Baana son of Ahilud, and in 1 Kings 9:15, along with Hazor and Gezer, as one the royal cities built up by Solomon. Later, Megiddo is the scene of two famous deaths: Ahaziah, king of Judah, who retired to there to die after being wounded by Jehu during the latter’s coup d’etat against the house of Omri in Israel (2 Kings 9:27), and Josiah, king of Judah, who opposed Pharaoh Neco’s march to Carchemish to aid Assyria against Babylon in 609 BCE and was killed in battle at Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:20-24). A final postexilic reference is found in Zechariah 12:10, where the name occurs as “Megiddon,” the form used later in the New Testament reference to Armageddon (Har-Megiddon) in Revelation 16:16 ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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