Tel Aviv University archaeologists are studying Tel Megiddo, the New Testament location of Armageddon, and unearthing truths about King Solomon.
Some come to dig the archeological site at Tel Megiddo because they are enchanted by ancient stories of King Solomon.
Others come because they believe in a New Testament prophecy that the mound of dirt will be the location of a future Judgment Day apocalyptic battle. Hence the second, rather more chilling, name for the site: Armageddon.
According to some premillennial Christian interpretations, Jesus Christ, will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist in the battle of Armageddon. Then Satan will be put into the bottomless pit or abyss for 1,000 years, known as the Millennial Age. After being released from the abyss, Satan will gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth.
They will encamp surrounding the holy ones and the beloved city. Fire will come down from God, out of heaven and devour Gog and Magog after the Millenium, and the Devil who deceived them is thrown into Gehenna (the lake of fire and brimstone) where the Beast and the False Prophet have been since just before the 1,000 years.
This prophecy is intensely confusing, for much of it comes from the biblical book of The Revelation of Saint John, the last book of the New Testament. Many scientists agree Revelation was written in code, and is therefore difficult, if not impossible, to fully interpret by scholars. The word Armageddon appears only once in the Greek New Testament. It comes from Hebrew and means Mountain of Megiddo.
Whatever your religious beliefs, however, Megiddo is a fascinating place. It is actually a small mountain on which ancient forts were built that guarded the main highway, the Via Maris, that connected Egypt with Mesopotamia.
Megiddo was the location of many decisive battles in ancient times (including one in the 15th Century BCE and one in 609 BCE). The town Megiddo in Israel is approximately 25 miles (40 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee (or Lake Tiberias to the Romans) in the Kishon River area.
Professor Finkelstein, from the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University, said "Megiddo is one of the most interesting sites in the world for the excavation of biblical remains. Now volunteers and students from around the world can participate in the dig which lets them uncover 3,000 years worth of history - from the late 4th millennium BCE to the middle of the first millennium CE."
Professor Finkelstein, who belongs to the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, has been co-directing the site with Professor David Ussishkin, also of Tel Aviv University, since 1994.
Likened to a "lightening rod" by the journal Science, Professor Finkelstein is famous for his unconventional way of interpreting biblical history: he puts emphasis on the days of the biblical authors in the 7th century BCE and theorizes that ancient rulers such as David and Solomon, who lived centuries earlier, were "tribal chieftains ruling from a small hill town, with a modest palace and royal shrine."
Yet, "new archaeological discoveries should not erode one's sense of tradition and identity," he states.
Professor Ze'ev Herzog, who heads the archaeology institute at Tel Aviv University, said, "There has been an important revolution in biblical history in the last decades.
"We are now uncovering the difference between myth and history, and between reality and ideology of the ancient authors. This is the role of our generation of archaeologists - to unearth the real historical reality to find out why and how the biblical records were written."
The archeologists aren't the only ones looking for answers. More than 100 volunteers come from all corners of the world to dig Megiddo alongside Professor Finkelstein every year. They are teachers, journalists, actors, construction workers, professors and housewives, as well as archaeology, history and divinity students who dig for credit.
All are curious, as are most people, about a place so rich in ancient history and a biblical prophecy of the final battle of good versus evil, ending the world as we know it.
Author: Lori Henshey | Source: Examiner [July 05, 2010]