by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
The 7-day ceasefire has definitely ended and the fighting has resumed. Israel has advanced into Khan Younis in the southern part of Gaza. The 8-day Jewish Feast of Dedication/Festival of Lights known as חֲנוּכָּה Hanukkah started last Thursday evening, December 7 and lasts until Friday evening, December 15. It is traditionally a very festive time in Israel. But more than a hundred (~137) hostages, including the remaining 20 women, children and an 11-month old baby are still held in Gaza. Many Israeli families are still praying for the return of their kidnapped loved-ones. Let us continue to pray for the release of all hostages and a just end to this war between Israel and Hamas.
As we have seen last time, Jerusalem appears to be the site of where the final eschatological battle will occur. Many parts of Scripture certainly point to Jerusalem and its environs. We had already looked at Zechariah 12:1-11, 14:3-4; Joel 2:28-32, 3:1-2, 12, 14; and Revelation 20:9. And there are a lot more. The task is to tie up these scriptures clearly referring to Jerusalem with “Har Magedon” of Revelation 16:16.
Scriptures do not contradict itself. They all point to God’s truth in his Word. To have convergence and alignment in our interpretation, there has to be a mountain (“Har”) and this “Har Magedon” somehow has to point to Jerusalem. The first clue we got from the scriptures we referred to earlier is Zion (mentioned 152x in the OT). Mount Zion is well known as part of Jerusalem, south of and adjacent to the Temple Mount’s location; so a mountain/hill or high place is present. Second, as mentioned before, Dr. Michael Heiser says that “Har Magedon” refers to Jerusalem as stated by the prophet Isaiah after an analysis of the word “Magedon” and the use of the Hebrew letter ע, “ayin.”
As we’ve learned earlier, the letter “g” can be pronounced in Hebrew either with the use of the letter ג, “gimel” or with ע, “ayin.” Dr. Heiser says that in the Hebrew triconsonantal system, the transliterated “magedon” in Revelation 16:16 can be reduced to 3 basic consonants: M-G-D. For example, the place name Megiddo (מְגִדּוֹ) or even Megiddon (מְגִדּוֹן) comes from these 3 basic consonants (the other letters and pointing signs designate vowel sounds). But we know that the G can actually be either the letter ג, “gimel” or the letter ע, “ayin” to produce that “g” sound. So in Hebrew it could be either מ ג ד (Mem-Gimel-Daleth; read right to left) or מ ע ד (Mem-Ayin-Daleth; read right to left).
Assuming and taking מ ע ד (Mem-Ayin-Daleth), the Greek-speaking world in the 1st century AD reading the μαγεδών (“magedon”) in Revelation 16:16 would see it as M-G-D and not know that the original Hebrew word contained the letter ע, “ayin” and not the letter ג, “gimel.” The next step is to recognize what Hebrew word uses these 3 basic consonants מ ע ד (Mem-Ayin-Daleth) and also, more importantly, points to Jerusalem. Dr. Heiser says that this word is מוֹעֵד (“moed” meaning appointed time, place or meeting) and he identifies its particular use with “har” (mountain) in Isaiah.
The word מוֹעֵד (“moed”) is used 292x in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (OT), mostly in the Pentateuch. It is more popularly known when it is translated as “appointed time/season” (translated in the Greek LXX frequently as καιρός “kairos”). Another is “tent of meeting,” the Mosaic tent (אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד “ohel moed” in Hebrew; translated invariably as σκηνη του μαρτυριου” in the Greek LXX meaning “tent of the testimony”). But it is used only once as הַר־מֹועֵ֖ד “har moed” meaning “mount of assembly” in a unique manner in Isaiah 14:13.
In Isaiah 14:13 this “mount of assembly” is conceptually identified with Mount Zion, in Jerusalem through its connection to Ezekiel 28:14-17 and Psalm 48:1-2. In context, Isaiah 14:12-15 speaks of a fallen supernatural being who wanted to usurp God’s status, the “Most High,” and sit on the הַר־מֹועֵ֖ד “har moed,” the “mountain of assembly” on the summit of zaphon [north] (Isaiah 14:13). Psalm 48:2 says that the city of our God, in his holy mountain, is Mount Zion [Jerusalem], in the heights of the north, the city of the great king. Ezekiel 28:14, 16 speak about an anointed guardian cherub who rebelled and was expelled from the LORD’s “holy mountain” or “mountain of God.” The “mount of assembly” then is the mountain of the LORD God on earth. In the Hebrew Bible/OT, that would only point to Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
Another evangelical scholar, Dr. Meredith Kline, is cited by Dr. Heiser in a text note in The Unseen Realm, 2015, 371-372 as one who also finds the connection between “Har Magedon” and Mount Zion in “Har Magedon: The End of the Millennium,” Journal of Evangelical Theological Society 39.2 (June 1996): 207-222. Dr. Heiser also cites G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary; 1999, 840 saying that “Presupposing the correctness of deriving ‘Armageddon’ ultimately from har moed, Kline’s contextual analysis is quite plausible.” The “Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements,” 15 January 2021 also mentions הַר־מֹועֵ֖ד “har moed” meaning “mountain of assembly” being referenced by “Harmagedon” (https://www.cdamm.org/articles/armageddon).
And so it seems clear with the combined use of Hebrew (and Greek) grammatical, syntactical and contextual tools and approaches that Megiddo (or Megiddon) is not the “Har Magedon” of Revelation 16:16 but הַר־מֹועֵ֖ד “har moed” meaning “mount of assembly.” The Scriptures are in agreement that this Mount of Assembly means Zion/Mount Zion/Jerusalem.
As a final note, Dr. Heiser even has an explanation for the “n” at the end of the transliterated word “Magedon,” which, as we have seen, is found only in Zechariah 12:11. He says it was the Apostle John’s way of securely linking the visible return of Messiah Jesus, “whom they pierced” stated in Zechariah 12:10 and the subsequent great wailing/mourning with the final eschatological conflict on earth in Revelation 16:16 in the appointed place uniquely identified in Isaiah 14:13. The other scriptures we have also seen attest to this woven theological mosaic.
The Apostle John, writing the Book of Revelation at the close of the 1st century AD, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to emphasize this linkage for his fellow Jews. For it is only when they recognize the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and repent and wail in Jerusalem and in their land can they be redeemed.
We will continue next week with another topic.
God bless us all.