Megiddo has been the site of some of the most fierce and decisive battles in Middle Eastern history. It all began during the second millennium B.C.E. with Egyptian ruler Thutmose III’s smashing victory over Palestinian and Syrian rulers, and stretched through the centuries to the year 1918 when British field marshal Viscount Allenby inflicted a stinging defeat on the Turks.

But more important to Bible students, Megiddo witnessed the magnificent victory of the Israelite forces under the command of Judge Barak over King Jabin’s mighty Canaanite army led by war chief Sisera. Jehovah God intervened and provided the Israelites with a resounding triumph.​—Judges 4:7, 12-16, 23; 5:19-21.

Your destination is only a short ride from Haifa. Under the blaze of the Middle Eastern sun, your car speeds along south of the meandering Kishon River until the valley tapers. Through the narrow gap between the towering Carmel range and the Galilee hills you go, until suddenly the valley opens out before you like a wide, flat saucer​—the Plain of Esdraelon. You are motoring on the south side of the plain when your eye catches sight of one hill with an unnaturally level plateaulike top. This is what you are looking for! The tell, or mound, of Megiddo, the source of the word Armageddon.