Page B4
June 14, 2000
CLPje ^ o r t lattò (lObemwr
i Metro/Religion
Have a Happy
Father's Day
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Armageddon: Disagreements Lx)calchurchhostssessionofuieOægon/
about a famous place
Washington annual conference
A ssociated Puts*
It’s one o f those biblical places
everyone has heard of: Armageddon,
site o f a raging battle between the
forces o f good and evil at the end o f
time. Armageddon is named only
once, in Revelation 16:16, which says
three demonic spirits will assemble
the w orld’s kings “at the place which
is called in Hebrew Armageddon.”
The first question here is whether
Armageddon is meant to be symbolic
or literal. That relates to the competing
ways o f interpreting the mysterious
Book o f Revelation.
To oversimplify, the “past” school
th in k s R e v e la tio n a d d re sse s
persecution o f Christians in the late
first century, when the book was
written. The “present” school thinks
it depicts believers’ struggles through
history. Both regard the book as
poetic and symbolic.
The “future” school is popularized in
A m erica by m any E v an g elical
Protestants, including writers o f pulp
fiction in the “Left Behind” genre,
and sects like Jehovah’s Witnesses.
They deem Revelation a depiction o f
End-Times events, includinga literal
climactic battle.
Whether literal or symbolic, what is
Armageddon?
E lisabeth Schussler Fiorenza o f
Harvard University considers it a
merely “mythological place” whose
name “eludes all scholarly attempts
o f definition.”
However, most scholars think the
definition is obvious, reports Eric H.
Cline o f the University ofCincinnati,
who examines the famous location in
an article in the current issue o f Bible
R ev iew
m a g a z in e and the
forthcoming book “The Battles o f
A rm a g e d d o n ” (U n iv e rsity o f
Michigan Press).
The Hebrew “Har Megiddon” means
“Mount o f M egiddo.” And most
conclude that Revelation refers, either
literally or sym bolically, to that
ancient town in Israel ’ s Jezreel Valley.
However, there’s a minority view that
the “H” was a breathing mark that got
added to the original Hebrew “Ir
M e g id d o ,” m e a n in g “ C ity o f
Megiddo.”
Another theory ties Armageddon to
the Hebrew “Har M o’ed” or “Mount
o f Assembly,” meaning Jerusalem ’s
Mount Zion. (After all, Revelation
locates history’s final battle, long
after Armageddon, at Jerusalem.) But
some scholars, including Jon Paulien
o f M ichigan’s Andrews University,
think there’s too big a linguistic leap
from Har M o’ed to Armageddon.
Some Evangelicals object that since
there’s no literal mountain at Megiddo,
the Bible must be referring to a nearby
peak, perhaps Mount Carmel.
But Cline, an archaeologist with the
Megiddo excavations, insists there
is indeed a mount at this site _ not
some giant peak, to be sure, but a 70-
foot mound created by the building
o f successive cities on top o f each
other in ancient times.
Cline also argues that Megiddo is an
appropriate setting since more than
30 conflicts have occurred at the
crossroads town or nearby during
the past 4,000 years. The warfare has
in v o lv ed E g y ptians, Isra e lite s,
G re e k s, M uslim s, E uropean
C ru sa d e rs and M o n g o ls, and
modern-day Germans, British, Israelis
and Arabs.
C o m m an d ers in th e se bloody
co n flic ts included the biblical
Deborah, Gideon, Saul, Jonathan and
Jezebel; Egypt's Pharaoh Thutmose
III; Ptolemy; Saladin; Napoleon; and
World War I’s General Allenby.
Cline also finds Megiddo fitting due
to a biblical link that has been noted
for centuries and rates a footnote in
the Catholic edition of the Revised
Standard Version.
King Josiah, the “second David,”
ascended the throne o f Judah in 639
B.C. and ordered sweeping reforms
to wipe out paganism and purify
worship o f the one true God. But it
turned out that Josiah was the last
truly independent ruler in the family
line o f David. He died at Megiddo in
a battle against Egypt in 609 B.C. (2
Kings 23:29-30,2 Chronicles 35:20-
27) and Judah became a mere puppet
o f Egypt under Josiah’s sons.
The later Old Testament prophet
Zechariah (in chapter 12) referred to
M egiddo w hen he foretold the
restoration o f the Davidic monarchy.
And the Gospel o f Matthew (in
chapter 1) traced Jesus C h rist’s
ancestry through Josiah back to
David.
The meaning, says Cline, is that the
Messiah will restore the line o f David
a, Megiddo, the very town where it
disappeared.
So the battle o f Megiddo in 609 B.C.
ended an epoch, while the future battle
o f Megiddo will “initiate a new era
and re-establish the kingdom ofGod."
Obituary
In Loving Memory of
Baby Ruth Armstrong
Baby Ruth was bom in Wichita Falls,
Texas in 1924. She moved to Portland
in the late 1940’s. She married Thedios
Armstrong in June o f 1965. She
survived by her husband Theios R.
Armstrong a son Claud Edward Davis
and daughters, Althea L. Davis,
B obbie A gbonze and D oris R.
Armstrong all o f Portland. She is lay
to rest at W illam ette N ational
Cemetary.
CONTRIBUTED STORY
Approximately 150 church leaders
and appointed delegates from
O regon and W ashington w ill
convene June 21 -2 5 in Vancouver,
W A.
C o m m u n ity
A frican
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
w ill host th is y e a r’s annual
gathering.
The conference is being held this
year at “The Worship, The Work
and The Witness” Romans 8:1-
5.The conference meets annually
to re c e iv e re p o rts, ap p o in t
conference officers and pastors and
review other items o f interest.
An important topic at the conference
will be a discussion centering on the
proposed m erger o f AME Zion
denomination with the Christian
M eth o d ist E p isc o p a l (C M E )
denomination.
Another issue before the conference
is the declaration o f Harriet Tubman’s
home (located in Auburn, NY) as a
national historic site.
Scheduled to attend the 108th
Opening Session on W ednesday,
June 21 is: Royce Pollard, Mayor,
Vancouver, Washington
Vernon Stoner, Vancouver City
Manager
Val Joshua, NAACP President,
Vancouver
M ayor Pollard is expected to
proclaim June 21 - 25 as African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Week
The African Methodist Episcopal
Zion Church wasestablished in 1796
because blacks were unable to
worship and grow in leadership
under
then
M eth o d ist
denomination. As a result, blacks
separated and formed their own
denomination.
TeeBee Enterprises
Mr. Terrell Brandon, CEO/Founder
PROUDL Y PRESENTS
Portland's Gospel Explosion 2000!!!
A two - day Music Extravaganza
Featuring:
Pastor Shirley Caesar & The Caesar Singers
Friday, June 23, 2000. 8 p.m.
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
SW Broadway & Main
Tickets $25.00 in advance
$28.50 at the door
Congratulations
You have worked hard.
Pastor John P. Kee & The New Life
Community Choir
Saturday June 24, 2000 7:30 p.m.
Portland Foursquare Church
1302 SE Ankeny
Tickets $18.50 in advance
$21.50 at the door
Also featuring
The TeeBee Enterprises Mass Choir
To register and participate in the Mass Choir call (503) 727-2677
T ickets N ow A vailable at
All Ticketmaster locations
Terrell Brandon's Barber Shop, Melodies From Heaven and
Christian Supply Stores
For more information call (503)460-0348
ticketmaster
Marcus V. Spencer
18
Jarvey Hall
18
G.I. Joes, Meier & Frank, Lamb's Thriftway and other indipendent locations
(503)224-4400
www.ticketmaster.com
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