Mt. Carmel.....amazing!

We drove down the back side of the mountain where Nazareth is nestled at the top and lo and behold, we saw a valley that we could not believe.  I don't even think I snapped an adequate picture.  It was HUGE.....with a rim of mountains all the way around it.  When we looked at our map, we were stunned.  This is Megiddo......or known to us as the place for Armegeddon, the final battle.  Scripture was not kidding when it describes a gathering of all people for all time who've ever lived and did not choose to serve YHVH.  They will be gathered to this valley, be slain, and the blood will rise to a height we can't even interpret.

To get to Mt. Carmel, an equally sobering story, we descended into this valley and up the other side almost all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.  In fact, we could see Haifa perched next to the Med from the mountain top of Carmel.

For those of you who need a refresher, Elijah had Jezebel's hubster gather all of Israel to have a showdown of who is actually God and who is a wannabe.  Ahab's prophets, 450 of them, built and altar and laid out their sacrifice.  Calling on Baal, they pleaded and coaxed and chanted and danced and did all sorts of nonsense to get this figment of their imagination to light up their sacrifice.  Didn't happen even when Elijah cajoled and taunted.  This went on almost all day until the time of the evening sacrifices of Israel.

Elijah had his altar but digs a trench around it.  He asks to have gallons and gallons of water poured over his altar, the sacrifice, filling up the trench.  And then.............drum roll.........Elijah asked the Creator, who instructed Elijah in this contest, to show Himself.  Indeed He did just that.

Valley of Megiddo, site of Armageddon

View of Mediterranean Sea and Haifa from Mt. Carmel