The Dead Sea Scrolls

Every Christian should have some understanding of
the Dead Sea Scrolls

In a day and age when the reliability of the Bible is under such attack these manuscripts found in the late 1940's and early 1950s are some of our most valuable assets.  While the Muslims claim Israel has no historical claims to Jerusalem and the Mormons argue that the bible is only as reliable as far as it is translated correctly this pile of texts found in various caves around the Dead Sea prove otherwise.  In harmony with the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948 this material sheds light on both the religious and political ideas of the Jews during the days in which they were hidden.  They compile a library of over 800 texts that date back to nearly two centuries before the time of Christ and are housed in the "Shrine of the Book" in Jerusalem.

Shrine of the Book

They were found in numerous caves in the cliffs above Wadi Qumran.  A wadi is simply a dry creek bed.  Though most were in pretty bad shape buried under hundreds of years of dust and bat dung others such as the book of Isaiah is pretty much complete and can be seen on display to this day.  The first scrolls were found by some Bedouin shepherds in 1947 looking for some lost sheep but soon the word got out to the authorities and a serious search began by a list of scholars. The first pieces to be examined by Professor E. L. Sukenik at the Hebrew Univeristy were found to be that of the book of Isaiah dating a 1,000 years older than any manuscript of its kind. The only Old Testament book not found in this collection is the book of Esther.  Other books found fall into the pseudepigrapha category, which means they appear to be of a religious nature but fall outside the historical Jewish Bible.  First Enoch and the Book of Jubilees would be in this list.  Something called the Manual of Disciples and the Temple Scroll bring insight into tradition of the community as well as to their view of the temple establishment in Jerusalem.  The Copper Scroll is possibly the most fascinating, it is a list of temple treasures and a guide to where it is all hidden.  How to make sense of it presents a list of difficulties.  Because of the turmoil during those early years it took decades for much of this material to be translated and released to the public.

The ruins of an ancient settlement lies near Wadi Qumran.  It appears to have been some sort of religious community possibly linked to the scrolls.  Much of the sectarian texts found may have been connected to a Jewish community called Essenes which some have suggested where John the Baptist may have spent some time.  There is no mention of Jesus in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Not All that Glitters is Gold

One of the most challenging problems one has as a Christian evangelist is, where do we direct people if they are interested in getting connected to a church?  In order to have a basic understanding of safe church tradition and doctrinal creeds one needs not only an understanding of basic bible but a bit of understanding of church history as well.  Over the years I have often found myself turning to the Handbook of Denominations by Frank S. Mead, Samuel S. Hill and Craig D. Atwood.

One will quickly find that not all Baptists are on the same page.  Nor are those who fall in the Pentecostal category.  Many of those which have a "Christian" name are far outside the lines of historical orthodoxy.  Which brings up another question what is orthodox?  This handbook can help you wrap your head around the various Catholic traditions as well.  Many religions are offshoots of something else.  Lutherans and others came about as an effort to clean up the Church of Rome during the Reformation.  Buddhism sprang from Hinduism.  The Bahaii Faith is an offshoot of Islam, and so on.  Understanding the roots of a movement often gives us a clue as to what we are looking at.  Many church groups are merely a result of a spiritual revival in which people were simply trying to get back to basic biblical truths.  There has been enough time in some cases for these to have drifted of into the far left liberal world we live in, but for the most part this Handbook of Denominations gives us a place to start.  Someone once said that as Israel was scattered to the nations, the church has been scattered to the denominations.  It is like a river that starts crystal clear in the mountains but as it moves down stream it begins to slow down and becomes contaminated with the run off from the farmer's fields as well as the pollution of every town along the way.

Catch the foxes for us,

 the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards.

Song of Solomon 2:15

The Mountains of Moses

A cautionary remark in archaeology is

"If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is."

The two Mountains of Moses are first, the historical one on Sinai where there is the Saint Catherine Monastery, then there is another mountain in Saudi Arabia with similar more recent claims.  On Sinai at the Saint Catherine Monastery there is a document call the Ashtiname of Muhammad which is alleged to be a covenant granted by Muhammad protecting the Christian monks of the monastery from pillage by Muslims.  This raises a number of questions.  If there was a real mountain of Moses in Saudi Arabia why would Muhammad acknowledge this place on Sinai?

Ashtiname of Muhammad

Above is the Muslim Masjid (mosque) on Sinai claiming their part of history.  This is typical of Islam.  They laid claim to the temple mount in Jerusalem as well by building the Dome of the Rock on the foundation of the ancient Jewish temple.  They have also built shrines over many biblical burial sites in Israel and throughout the Middle East.

The place in Saudi Arabia has been getting more recent attention because of the likes of Ron Wyatt and his followers. Wyatt made some very wild claims in his day.  He supposedly found chariot wheels under the Red Sea, the arch of the covenant, Noah's arch, and even some of the blood of Jesus left behind in Jerusalem.  The Red Sea crossing that many point to is actually in the Gulf of Aqaba at Nuweiba where they point to what they refer to as a shallow bridge.  This bridge however is still a whopping 2,509 feet deep.  About 100 miles southeast of the Gulf of Aqaba crossing there is a mountain called Jabal al-Lawz (mountain of almonds 8,460 ft.).  Like most of the mountains in the area it is composed of alkaline granite but it differs slightly from others because it has a darker volcanic dike (likely basalt) covering the top.  This has led some to believe it was burnt by God during a visit by Moses.  There are actually numerous ancient volcanoes in Saudi Arabia so this is not an uncommon occurrence.  Much of this area is fenced off due to numerous archaeological sites.  Among these sites are petroglyphs of various animals carved in the rocks.  These type of artifacts are rather common in Arabia and can be seen on videos of other ancient sites but those who are eager to find easy solutions to biblical stories are quick to apply them to biblical history.  One should be cautioned against believing stories of Bedouins who have been brainwashed by hundreds of years of Muslim propaganda. Many pre-Islamic cultures were known to sacrifice animals and worship idols and that is what Muhammad set out to destroy.  It is said by some that the Saudi government simply wants to protect this prize from the outside world or from becoming a place of worship.  Well, Mecca has become a place of worship where Abraham supposedly built an altar.  I would think that the Muslims would want to capitalize on this prize possession and make it a pilgrimage site as well considering how often Moses is mentioned in the Quran.  There is some rumors of plans to build a major city in the area so maybe that is what they have up their sleeve.  Saudis have a plan to reduce dependence on oil by including tourism and recreation in a project called Saudi Vision 2030.  So they appear to be trying to revise the previously ruling of the Hejaz region and the entire Red Sea coast which did not allow non-Muslims.  Underwater diving could bring in lots of cash to the Muslim coffers if they could simply be polite to us kaffirs.  Some of the sites around Tabuk that are related to those of Petra and the ancient Nabataeans could bring in lots of tourist kafir cash as well.

Saint Catherine Monastery

www.saudi-archaeology.com

Flat Earth Cult? Examined by Dale Brown

I once had a Muslim mock my Christian faith by claiming we believe in a flat earth.  I reminded him of Columbus, a Catholic who believed in the Bible, believing he could sail west to reach India.  Columbus understood the movement of the earth and the moon which cause the rise and fall of ocean tides.  Understanding the logic I was soon praying with this Muslim man.

Anyone who has sailed offshore in a boat discovers that mountain peaks can be seen for a very long distance while the base of the mountains are hidden by the curve of the ocean surface.  It is for this reason navigators would send a man up to the crows nest to look for land.  Those on deck would not be in a position to see very far even on a clear day.

I took this picture of Mt. Fairweather

at daybreak after crossing the Gulf of Alaska

One will notice the further one gets from the direct rays of the sun at the equator the colder things get.  The obvious curve of the earth makes solar panels less effective as one gets closer to the poles.
Another navigation tool that has been used since the beginning of time is the North Star.  This bright star remains stationary as all other stars revolve around it because of the rotation of the earth.  If one goes south of the equator this star is no longer visible because of the curve of the earth therefore a group of stars called the Southern Cross is used as the reference.  If the earth was flat this northern and southern hemisphere issue would not be a problem.

Lighthouses found on navigation charts are shown with information regarding its height so that the sailor will know at what distance the light will dip below the horizon.   Normally on deck the sailor will not be able to see the direct light unless he is closer than about 18 nautical miles (depending on how high it is from tide water).  Further than this one might see only a faint glow upon each flash thus giving the navigator some idea of his distances from the shoreline.  This was understood thousands of years ago when the famous four-hundred-foot lighthouse stood near Alexandria, Egypt.  It could be seen for thirty-eight miles.  One might notice that the farther one gets from the equator the more pronounce are the ocean tides which of course are caused by the gravitation force of the moon pulling on the oceans as the earth rotates.  The KJV of Genesis uses the word "seas" in place of oceans which presents a problem.  Seas differ from oceans in that they do not have tides because they are surrounded by land masses that hinder this pull toward the equator.  Oceans of the northern and southern hemisphere also exhibit circular currents that are influenced by the fact the earth is turning on its axis.  The Japanese current constantly flows north and eastward toward Alaska then south to the equator, then westward again.  South of the equator the direction is reversed.  A flat earth would not display this kind of movement.  On a smaller scale the direction water spins in a drain in a sink in the northern hemisphere is clockwise whereas in the southern hemisphere it is the opposite direction.  This suggests that Genesis should be more correctly read like the Psalms which are more poetic in nature and not meant to be taken so literal.  In Genesis 1:6 the firmament (land) divides the waters, whereas in Genesis 1:8 the "firmament" is called Heaven by God.  In Genesis we read of the "generations" of the heavens and the earth, as though it is talking about the generation of a person.  This is referred to as a toledoth, which in the bible is usually referring to the genealogy of a certain person.  Modern versions use "account" in place of generation in Genesis 2:4 to avoid such confusion.  Flat-earthers like confusion however because it creates a word salad that is hard to debate. 

Today we have tide books that tell us when the tide is at its peaks and lows

We would often take advantage of the tides to do maintenance inspections on the bottom of our boat.

I remember once flying from Fairbanks, Alaska to London over the northern icecap.  One can actually see the curve of the earth from such a high altitude.  Obviously there is no flat earth from up there.  When a Christian begins to promote this flat earth business to an educated adult he has lost all credibility in the eyes of an unbeliever.  Why would they listen to the gospel from such an unreliable  source?  How can a Christian feel comfortable promoting what is obviously a lie?  I remember when I was a kid hearing my grandfather claim that God would never allow man to land on the moon.  A few months later when the first moon landing happened my grandfather had to come up with some other strange ideas.  He was no longer one that I would turn to for advice.  Yes, we have actually been to the moon and the GPS in your smart phone is tracking you from a couple dozen satellites that orbit the earth.  A flat earth would require only three satellites, but let's not get technical.  All that is necessary is to look up into the dark sky and one can see some of these satellites moving along in their orbit.

People often argue that the picture above is fake because we can see no stars.  Can anyone see stars in the light of day?

Astronauts who trusted God

Many of the astronauts who went to the moon were believers in God.  John Glenn (NASA's first crewed orbital flight), Frank Borman - Apollo 8, (first flight around the moon) read bible verses from space, Jim Irwin - Apollo 15 (eighth person to walk on the moon, spoke of the presence of God there), Charlie Duke - Apollo 16 (tenth person to walk on the moon) gave his life to Jesus in the front seat of his car in New Braunfels, Texas.

Now and again the earth passes between the moon and the sun causing a shadow across the moon and for a short time the moon appears a dull red which we call a blood moon.

There are places in Washington and Oregon state where one can see the tips of volcanoes such as Mt. Rainier, Adams and Mt. Hood when they are hundreds of miles away, but only the tips, because of the curvature of the earth. 

 

People who reject basic scientific logic are often the same people who cannot understand what gender they are.  The LGBTQwxyz folks keep adding letters to their alphabet.  We are having a hard time keeping the holy water from running off the edge of a flat earth.  Though some of the bible one must accept on faith, there are other things that are pure logic and have archaeological proof in their favor.  We do not serve a New Age gospel of fiction.

Auroras or lights that are seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres further debunk the flat earth conspiracy nuts.  Notice that this interaction with radiation from the sun does not appear in the same way near the equator.  I painted the painting below which is a typical scene while cross country skiing during my many years in Alaska.  The magnetic field of the earth is created by the rotation of the earth thus we have a magnetic north and south.

King James Bible only?

Evolution of King Jimmy
by Dale Brown

It is common persuasion, usually by those unfamiliar with the difficulties of translating ancient languages, that the Bible translated in 1611 under the authority of King James was not merely authorized by the king of England but rather the "King of the Universe." They compare the style of modern English to that of 1611 and come to the conclusion that all modern translations have been tampered with and are therefore corrupt. Though it is possible for scholars to make mistakes it is generally not their intention. Even within the same language, over time there are spelling and definition problems that arise. Compare the following styles of "Englysh."

The Lord’s prayer in Old English of A.D. 1000:

Fæder ure, thu the eart on heofonum, si thin ama gehalgod . . . Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg.

1300 English:

Fader oure that is i heuen, blessid be thi name . . . Oure ilk day bred gif us to day.

1600:

Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name . . . Give us this day our daily bread.

Modern:

Our father who is in heaven, may your name be hallowed . . . Give us our daily bread today.

The evolution of English can be seen in general greetings outside the Bible as well. The origin of the modern phrase, "Good Bye," shortened to simply "Bye!" came from the gesture, "God be with you," which in 1659 was "God b ‘wy" and later in 1687 was "B’w ‘y." 

Most would be offended by the King James description of men, as those who "pisseth against the wall." (1 Sam. 25:22,34, 2 Kg 9:8) However, to urinate in 1611 was nothing other than to piss, and that is how the Bible scholars spelled it. Thus we might haply peraventure to be holden to aforetime terms that no longer make for pleasant communication.  What most English translations have translated "wild ox" the KJV translates unicorn in Job 39:9 and other places.  This gives ammunition for critics who claim the Bible is nothing more than a book of myths.

Geneva Bible
King James Bible Authorized by Who?

The first Bible brought to America by the Puritan Separatists in 1620 aboard the Mayflower was the Geneva Bible.
Few people understand that the Authorized King James Version Bible of today is not an exact copy of the 1611 edition. Most people today would have a very difficult time reading the Bible as it was translated in 1611 simply because of it’s archaic style. This is especially true for people which English is their second language. It was originally printed including the Apocrypha which nearly all Evangelicals reject. Compare John 3:7 with a modern KJV. The 1611 reads, "Marueile not that I saide vnto thee, Ye must be bourne againe." The KJV went through a major revision in 1769 to correct problems in translation, wording and punctuation; and several other revisions since then, yet there are minor problems that remain to this day. In Acts 19:37, is one example. Where the Greek reads hirosulous, "robbers of temples," the KJV incorrectly renders "robbers of churches." The Greek word for Passover pasch has been mistranslated in Acts 12:4 to Easter.

A Hot Topic!

A word study of the word hell in any good concordance of the KJV reveals that there was a bit of confusion regarding hades and gehenna. Though they are two different things they are both translated hell. Revelation 20:14 further adds to the confusion by stating that hell is to be cast into the lake of fire, whereas it should read hades is to be cast into the lake of fire. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are quick to point out this problem. 

How many Devils are there?

The KJV presents us with another problem in the way it translated Devil and demons.  DIABOLOS is the word used for Satan or the Devil, whereas another word Daimon, a demon, is often mistranslated devil.  Therefore we see devils being cast out of people when in fact it should read that demons are being cast out.  There is only one Devil but many demons.  Jesus cast out an unclean spirit and then it is later called simply the devil. (Mark 1:34, 5:2,15)  

The KJV even has God repenting of doing evil in Exodus 32:14.  When did God become an evil doer?

In Matt. 9:17 we see wine bottles breaking when in fact it should be wine skins.

Recognizing the weaknesses of the KJV we now have a New King James Version on the market. It must be understood that the apostles did not speak English.

Though we hold to the idea that the scripture is accurate in its original language "All scripture is given by inspiration of God"(1 Tim. 3:16), we unfortunately do not have those originals available to us. We therefore strive to examine manuscripts dating as close to the originals as possible.

It’s All Greek Anyhow

It is claimed by some that the KJV was translated from superior manuscripts, mainly the Texus Receptus (or "Received Text"). This is a Greek translation by Catholic priest and scholar Desiderius Erasmus published in 1516, based on a few Greek manuscripts, along with the Catholic standard Latin Vulgate. This group of manuscripts is generally referred to as the Byzantine family of manuscripts. The Hebrew (Masoretic) text used in 1611 is still considered the Old Testament standard.

Since then a family of other manuscripts have been collected which come from outside the Byzantine tradition which are the Alexandrian, Western and Caesarean families. They shed new light on the scripture for a number of reasons. First, they strengthen the credibility of the Bible because though many are much older than previous manuscripts, they still harmonize, differing mainly in style but not content. Where one might say Jesus Christ, another could say Christ Jesus, etc. The 1948 discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls dating about 200 B.C. make them the oldest Jewish (Hebrew/Chaldean) manuscripts of the Old Testament. They are hundreds of years older than the standard Masoretic text yet tell the same story. Secondly, these all help clear up some areas that in the past the translators, because of ambiguity in the text, were left scratching their heads. By comparing the most reliable and oldest Greek and Hebrew text we can come up with a clearer picture of what the original author had in mind. Studying the letters or legionaries of early church fathers (especially those who were direct disciples of the apostles) is helpful because we can see how they understood the text.

In order to make the transition from a language which has a different alphabet, different structure, and is addressed to a culture of a different time period, one must use certain liberties yet within the confines of rather strict rules of textual criticism. Should lamp be translated "torch" or "flashlight" or should it remain lamp and simply let the reader bridge the gap for himself. It is often impossible to translate exactly word for word from the original language to the receptor language because one language might have no word equivalent. Or, where one language might have one word, it may require several in the other to get the point across. In English we have only one word "love" to express three Greek words, agape, phileo, and eros.  If a guy says he loves his truck, we usually understand this is something quite different than his love for his wife.
Though the KJV has served us well, one needs to be careful not to elevate any translation to the point of idolatry, and end up straining at gnats and eating camels. Nor do we want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Modern translations have approached the task of communicating a message to a diverse people using different philosophies. A "word-for-word" approach might be more accurate but makes readability wooden. The "thought-for-thought" method makes for easier reading yet leaving more room for error in translation. The "paraphrase" version is an attempt to bridge the cultural and historical gap. It serves well those who do not read well but misses the mark as far as literal meaning. A good study Bible of any version will have notes in the margin where there is discrepancy among manuscripts. It has been said that the devil is in the details. The cults who are critical of the scripture are famous for zeroing in on these minor details, and thus missing the whole picture.

Translations with an obvious cult bias such as the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witnesses), The Clear Word Bible (Seventh-Day Adventist) and the George Lamsa version based on the Peshitta (Syriac Bible) with it’s Nestorian and anti-Greek bias are best avoided.

Some of the manuscripts housed in the British Library in London that were not available to the translators of the KJV:

The Codex Sinaiticus This is one of the two earliest complete Bibles in Greek. Constantine Tischendor discovered it in the Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai where it had been for a thousand years. It was transferred to the Czar of Russia in 1859. The Russians sold it to Britain in 1933 for £100,000.
The Codex Alexandrinus This 5th-century Greek Bible was in the Patriarchal Library of Alexandria for 300 years. It was presented to Charles I in 1627 by Cyril Lucar, the Calvinistic Patriarch of Constantinople.

A comical illustration of language evolution

Books helpful in understanding the difficulties in Bible translations:
History of the New Testament in Plain language, by Clayton Harrop, Word Inc. 1984
How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, by Gordon D. Fee; Douglas Stuart, Zondervan 1993
So Many Versions?, by Sakae Kubo and Walter Specht, Zondervon, 1983
The King James Version Debate, Donald Carson, Baker, 1979
The Men Behind the King James Version, by J.S. Paine 1959
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English by Geza Vermes 1997
The Story of the Scrolls by Geza Vermes 2010
Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason L. Archer Jr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9a76n-xzqg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp0yeV_uWSU

Rock of Ages?

It has been said that it is better to know the Rock of Ages
 rather than the age of the rocks.

Debates abound as to the age of the earth and it's rocks, and none of us were around when God spoke it into existence.  Considering that God is outside of time, us trying to relate to his procedure of things is like an ant climbing up a blade of grass in a golf course and proclaiming he now understands the size of the earth.

Coastal redwoods of California as the one above can be dated by its growth rings showing some over 2500 years old and still going strong.  So while Christ walked the earth this tree was just getting started.  Then, there are petrified fossils of such trees like the one below 12.5 feet in diameter found at 8,200 feet above sea level at the Florissant fossil beds in Colorado that were buried by volcanic ash and lahar mud-flows long before there were pyramids in Egypt.  Similar stumps can be see at the Ginko Fossil beds of eastern Washington left over from when there were no Cascade Mountains to hinder the flow of marine air to what is now a desert climate.  How many thousands of years did it take for these mountains to push up to where they are today?  Many of them are volcanoes which have been dormant for hundreds of years.  But not all of Washington's mountains are volcanic, some are due to upheaval of the earth's crust and the layers of various levels of history are clearly displayed.  When Mount St. Helen erupted in 1980 it was a reminder of our ancient past that created petrified wood with the help of hot mud flows.

 For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday 

when it passes by, or as a watch in the night. (Psm. 90:4)

Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth tusks are dug out of the ground every year in Alaska such as the ones below that I turned into pieces of art.  The last of these big hairy elephants disappeared over 10,000 years ago and those that we find today have been frozen in the tundra for all of these years.

This scrimshawed drawing above is on a piece of ancient mammoth/elephant tusk measure about 5 inches tall.  These disappeared about 13,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.  The Ice Age may have been linked to some degree to the gyroscopic precession, or wobble, of the earth as it spins, considering a complete wobble takes 26,000 years.  This would cause the sun to shine more directly on different places on the surface of the earth because of the nature of the poles have a different location.  Below I did a relief carving on this large tusk sitting on my work bench which was then mount on two pieces of Alaska jade for the late Mel Quakenbush of Fairbanks, AK

Lower jaw of Mastodon 

Skeletons of ancient extinct whales have been found in the Egyptian desert from a time when there was an inland sea large enough for whales.  But these are whales nothing like what we have today.

Wadi El Hitan - Whales in the desert

Many types of fossils have been found high in the mountains around the world.  Most often they are found in sedimentary type rock that at one time was lying flat on an ocean floor and now it is elevated at every possible angle thousands of feet in the mountains.  A global flood is one explanation but it is more complicated than that.  I don't recall God giving Noah any instructions about dinosaurs or woolly mammoths.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice,
 beloved, that with the Lord  one day is as a
 thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
(2 Pet. 3:8)

Those that argue for 24 hour days in Genesis, when God created the world and everything in it, claim that the bible is so simple even a child can understand it.  However when they get to chapter three of Genesis where God is recorded "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" most children (like the Mormons) are going to think God is a big man, with hands, feet, eyes and ears.  The bible clearly teaches that God is spirit and is not a man.  So the "day" (or should I say "hour") has come when the simplistic approach to interpretation suddenly gets a bit more complicated.
 
Peggy Brown standing next to one very large fossilized bone,

Saber tooth cat found near White Bluffs along

 the Columbia River up stream from the Tricities

Dinosaurs in the Bible?

For those who try to find dinosaurs in the bible there presents many problems.  They point to dragons in the KJV as the solution.  But, are you seriously saying that the den of dragons mentioned in Jere. 9:11, 10:22 and dragons of the wilderness in Malachi 1:3 were anything other than figurative language?  Job said, he was a brother to dragons (Job. 30:29).  So did he really have dinosaurs for relatives?  The New Testament, Rev. 12:3,4,7, etc. clearly uses the dragon as a picture of the Devil not a literal creature walking on all fours.  The word dragon in the Old Testament is a King James translation issue.  Modern translations use the word jackal rather than dragon for obvious reasons.  Job was probably not a brother to Satan or dinosaurs but referring to his enemies as a brood of vipers as did Jesus in the NT.  The King James bible does similar things with the words for Devil and demons which I have addressed in my article about the King James Only problems.

There are many problems in trying to connect the biblical flood with the age of dinosaurs and ancient history.  To start with the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods produced different kinds of fossils which came to a rather sudden end and beginning which speaks to three catastrophic events or floods not just one.  They appear to be global events not simply local floods.

https://youtu.be/RKiRPCexdZk

https://dale-apologetica.blogspot.com/2018/09/king-james-bible-only.html

http://dale-apologetica.blogspot.com/2018/08/reading-between-lines.html

Reading between the Lines

The lines in our face tell a story of our life's emotions and exposure to weather, and the lines in the crosscut of a tree tell a history of weather and annual growth even centuries after the tree has died if it has been buried and fossilized as in petrified wood.  Lines in the core samples of dry lake beds can tell a story of variance in weather patterns and vegetation types by the pollen deposits left over the centuries.

Notice detail below

Lines in this tree records hundreds of years of history

Petrified tree

The bible speaks of four rivers that flowed from Eden, one of which has been a mystery because it no longer exists.  The Pishon River dried up some time between 3500 and 4500 B.C. and only recently we have found clues as to its existence.  Satellite images of the Saudi Arabian desert north of Riyadh show an ancient river bed, partially filled with sand, working its way toward Kuwait.  Pebbles in the riverbed are consistent with the granite and basalt found 650 miles to the southwest in the Hijaz Mountains.  The bible claims that there was gold in the area of the Pishon River.  Rediscovered in 1932 by American engineer Karl Twitchell the Mahd edh-Dhahab (Cradle of Gold) is one of the richest gold mines in Saudi Arabia.  There has been found in the area remains of ancient mining efforts.  Core samples of dried lake beds show how the weather in the Arabian desert was once quite different than it is today.  The pollen count indicates a much wetter climate during the Chalcolithic period (4500-3500 B.C.).  There was once forests where there is now nothing but rocks and sand.  When we read the story of Noah building an ark we often think of him doing it in a desert with his neighbors rolling their eyes at his foolishness, when in fact there was likely plenty of trees available for the huge project.

Palouse Falls

 the product of  the Missoula flood sweeping through

 the scabland of eastern Washington

In eastern Washington there are signs of what is called the Missoula Flood that shaped the landscape during the Ice Age (15-13,000 years ago).  Large fields of ice moved down into what is now northern Washington and Montana and dammed up a large area around modern Missoula, Montana.  At various times the dam would break sending mountains of water and debris flooding into the Columbia basin all the way to Oregon.  Around Missoula can be seen lines in the mountains that were formed by the wave action of this huge lake just as we can see in man-made reservoirs as they ebb and flow with the annual rain fall.  These lines give us a clue as to how many times the lake was flushed and how many years between it remained stable.  Down stream of this lake are the signs of erratic drop stones, some were carried by glaciers while others were pushed along by the swift current during each massive flood.  We can find rocks hundreds of miles from where they were once carved out of a mountain.

This large piece of granite is totally foreign to the local basalt here in  south eastern Washington.  There is nothing like it for well over a hundred miles to the north.  It was left high and dry by a raft of ice.

Notice the weathered lines in this erratic bolder lying on a bed

of sharply broken stones.  The worn rounded surface suggests
 it had been at some other location for hundreds of years and
eventually it was carried here by glacier ice which
 melted leaving it resting on these sharp bits of basalt which
are a totally different type of stone.

The sedimentary rocks formed by glaciers however is different than that formed by oceans that are full of life.  Ice Age silt produces few fossils whereas rocks like limestone are often loaded with signs of life.

Ancient layers of lava flows now exposed by the floods that 

rushed through the Wallula Gap in southeast Washington.  

Rock that has been exposed to the sun's radiation gets a surface tan much like we get on our skin.  Break the stone open and you can see the natural color of the minerals.  Tests can be made that can give a pretty accurate date of how long the stone has been exposed to the sun.  Stones that were dropped by glacier ice or flood waters can be dated as to when they found their resting place in the sun, thus giving us a time line as to the floods and glacier activity.

For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday 

when it passes by, or as a watch in the night. (Psm. 90:3)

Wallula Gap is where the water escaped the Columbia Basin

 after each of the Ice Age floods.

Like the lines on the shore of any reservoir the horizonal lines on the hills above Missoula show the erosion from various periods when a huge lake would fill this area being held back by glaciers.

Dale Brown standing in the desert next to petrified trees that grew thousands of years ago.  Since that time mountains have pushed up in what is the Cascade Range that hold back the moist air from the Pacific coast.  No forests of this kind have grown in this area for thousands of years.

A mined pit near Finley, Washington exposing various layers of lava flows.  Between the layers are an occasional layer of light colored ash from explosions of Cascade Range volcanoes which are up wind and to the west.  Mount Mazama exploded 7,700 years ago leaving us Crater Lake in Oregon and a white ashen historical marker all over eastern Washington and Oregon.

Each of these volcanoes of Oregon and Washington tell us a history by the lava and plumes of ash that they have emitted over the centuries.  The prevailing wind comes from the ocean therefore the ash is usually deposited inland to the east.

Cargill Salt Mine 1,800 ft. below Lake Erie

Layer upon layer salt is found under Lake Erie which was deposited by a sea or ocean thousands of years ago.  These layers can be counted which speaks of various time periods of ebb and flow of climate change over the centuries.

https://dale-apologetica.blogspot.com/2018/07/rock-of-ages.html?showComment=1535203814061#c6692121311261237339

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King James and his Dinosaurs

Limestone fossils are found around the world at many different elevations leaving evidence of ocean beds that have been lifted by upheaval of the earth's crust over thousands of years.

There are several different approaches we find when having bible discussions.  There are those who believe that if it is not found in the bible it is not true.  Then there are those who admit that there are things in this world that the bible simply does not address or at least not in obvious definitive terms.  Then there those who admit there are things in the world that are difficult to explain and will go out of their way to force the bible to explain it.  They will often go so far afield as to be dishonest about it.  The topic of dinosaurs is one of those areas that get people in lots of trouble.  There is no question that there is ample evidence of dinosaurs for there are museums around the world that display a large variety of collections as proof.  On the other hand there are bible believers who reject this evidence as simply manufactured fantasy dreamed up by secular science as a means to push their agenda and make money.  You could take them to a dig where fossilized bones are being dug out of the ground and they would reject what their very eyes are witnessing.

Peggy next to a petrified dinosaur bone with other fossils

The King James bible is usually what is cited for proof that dinosaurs are in the bible.  The word dragons appears numerous times in the Old Testament, but only in the KJV.  In the New Testament  all bibles agree that the dragon which is found in several places in the Book of Revelation is simply referring to the devil (Rev. 12:3-13, 16:13, 20:2).  In the OT dragon is used many different ways.  Job says in his misery, "I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls" (KJV 30:29)  The psalmist writes, "Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons and covered us with the shadow of death" (Psm 44:19).  In most cases newer translations have come up with jackals in place of dragons.

It might be worthy to note that the Hebrew word that is translated serpent in Exodus where Moses threw down his staff and it became a serpent is the same word that the KJV translated dragon in these other disputed passages.  So if dragons are dinosaurs, were Job's brothers really dinosaurs or is this merely a figure of speech like when Jesus said of his enemies that they were a brood of vipers?  The answer appears obvious.  Even the NKJV has avoided the word dragon in the OT.

Another creature mentioned once in the book of Job is a behemoth.  It is often cited to "prove" dinosaurs in the bible.  The passage reads "Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eatheth grass as an ox" (Job 40:15).  Though many dinosaurs were vegetarians,  many were actually carnivores which would not have eaten grass as an ox.  So once again this is a forced effort to make the bible explain something that is not there.

Job chapter 40 speaks of a Leviathan, a mighty sea creature with a heart of stone.  Some try to link this chapter with some prehistoric creature of the age of dinosaurs, however verse 34 says "he looks on everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride".  This is the same kind of language used to describe the Devil in other places of the bible.  Rev. 13:1-2 speaks of a beast coming up out of the sea and it is the dragon that gives him his power.

In the KJV of Ezekiel 29:3-5 we read of a great dragon that lies in the river of Egypt.  It is likened to the Pharaoh who says of the river "it is mine" yet he has scales.  The illustration here is nothing more than a run of the mill crocodile of the Nile, though more recent bibles simply call it a great monster.  And it was a monster the the Egyptians and given divine respect.  But no dinosaurs here in the days of Ezekiel, just a poetic picture of a Pharaoh who God is about to judge.  Ezekiel uses similar illustrations as in chapter 28 referring to the King of Tyre, where the language compares him to Satan in the garden of God. 

The cult of Sobek

Some people will even go so far to "prove" that dragons existed that they will cite the Alexander Romance a largely fictional account of his exploits in India where he supposedly had an encounter with a dragon.  The original version of this story was composed in Greek and later translated into Latin.  

https://rumble.com/vbnno9-king-james-and-his-dinosaurs.html?mref=96v59&mc=9ww3k