Cataclysmic History of the Ancient World

 The Bible speaks of several cataclysmic events that shook the civilized world.  We read of the destruction of the tower of Babel and the flood of Noah.  Then there are smaller events that destroyed more localized areas like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the walls of Jericho.  In AD 363 an earthquake put an end to the city of Petra leaving us with more modern mysteries.  While the bible addresses the first man Adam, and Jesus as the last Adam there is much that the bible simply does not address.  How one is to fit the ancient South American pyramids and cultures into a biblical context is a bit of a challenge unless you are willing to fabricate a false narrative as the Mormons have done.  Josephus (A.D. 37- A.D. 100) goes into detail describing where the descendants of Noah settled but it is confined to Europe, Africa and Asia.  There is no mention of the American western hemisphere.  In the bible we read of fallen angels and demons, of giants and or Nephilim, which parallels the legion of Greek giants.  The God of the universe is outside of time and the bible gives only vague hints of the actual timeline of the early events.  How much of Greek mythology, Hindu tradition and American native traditions are based on some distant reality is merely an educated guess.  Josephus makes mention of historical writers outside of Jewish tradition that mention the flood story.

1943

Sphinx with no face and no feet

1867

Covered in sand with face disfigured

1843

Face unmolested, body covered in sand

2012
The limestone that makes up many of these Egyptian treasures
contain marine fossils call nummulites (little coins)

Feet exposed showing lack of weathering but walls of limestone around it, as Dr. Robert Schoch points out in his book Forgotten Civilization, show water erosion from a much earlier time.  Egypt was not always a desert.  Oyster fossils can be found on the Giza Plateau not far from the pyramids.  Later upper level erosion is from wind driven sand.  Much of the other dynastic era tombs and temples dating back to as early as 3,000 BC show little or no water erosion yet much of the wind driven variety, and huge statues toppled by earthquakes and other unknown events. As in other megalithic sites around the world such as South America, at some point about the time of the end of the ice age something happened that brought civilization to a screeching halt.  Then technology changed.  While huge pre-bronze age megalithic stones were being fit together with some unknown ability, and signs of highly advanced machining, then suddenly there was a step backward in craftsmanship.  As Brian Foerster in his book Aftershock points out the following people stacked much smaller recycled stone on top or used softer stone like limestone and sandstone rather than the granite or basalt of earlier builders.  Often man resorted to baked bricks instead of cut stone.  That certainly does not fit with the idea of man evolving upward.

Something like the Stonehenge of England, the Gobekli Tepe limestone columns of southeastern Turkey were mysteriously backfilled about 8,000 BC almost as though man was preserving a time capsule.  The artwork has been preserved in fine detail. What had been going on there for hundreds of years remains a mystery.  Did it have something to do with the stars?  One of the oldest text of the bible refers to the constellations of Orion and Pleiades (Job 38:31 and Amos 5:8) and it appears from the layout of megalithic stonework that quite sophisticated study of the stars was common in cultures around the world.

Easter Island carvings, what was the point?

Who carved them and why did they stop?

There are nearly a thousand of these guys facing inland with backs to the sea

Where did all the dirt come from that covered them from eight to ten feet on a small island out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and how much time was required to do so?  Are they downwind of volcanoes that could have covered them in ash? No.  The amount of time required to bury these huge moai might very well put them back at the time of the ice age.  Why did the people suddenly decide to neglect their precious work?  Why were their unfinished pieces left still lying in the quarry?  Did they suddenly lose faith in some ancient vision or god?

Some moai statues are as much as 32 feet tall and 82 tons.  How were they moved from the quarry?  Some have suggested that there was some paranormal power employed.  While that might sound rather farfetched we have biblical stories of Moses dealing with magicians in Egypt and the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea on dry land.  Do we throw that out as fantasy as well?

Pre-Inca stonework in Peru

When the Spanish rode into town like gods on horseback carrying steel swords the locals were overwhelmed.  So what was the global fascination with pyramids?

When Antifa pisseth against the wall

Numerous times in the King James version of the Old Testament we see references to those who "pisseth against the wall".  In the case of the house of Ahab the prophet Elisha proclaimed judgment on him, "For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel" (2 Kgs 9:8).  We see the same language in 1 Kings 14:10 where God proclaims judgment against the house of Jeroboam.  In effort to avoid such vulgar language newer bible translations use more polite words and it comes across as simply "males" instead of those who piss against the wall.  So what are we missing here?  If God brings judgment against someone house does he only judge the males?  That doesn't seem likely.  But in 1 Samuel 25:22,34 we read where David had sworn to kill all that pertain to the house of Nabal, those who pisseth against the wall.  In this case it does seem to suggest only males because they had wronged David and his men and Nabal's wife came out to reason with David regarding the foolishness of her husband.

In more modern terms we hear of those who are having a "pissing contest" or simply challenging someones authority or masculinity.  We see Antifa and others challenging the police and civil authority of our day, and it will not end well.  Those who challenge God's authority will be met with judgment which will address not just the males of the house but the women and children as well.  In fact God's judgment can often be seen on the whole of society upon the children down to the third and fourth generation.

Fish, Bread and the Poor

"For you always have the poor with you;

 but you do not always have Me." 

 Jesus Christ (Matt 26:11)

Anyone who has worked at a mission in a large city will soon discover that there are people you can help others you cannot.  Some will learn all the right bible verses and tears will stream down their face all the while they are looking for a way to lift your wallet.  Some will never follow advice and you can throw piles of money at them and they will flush it down the toilet.  They would rather live with their pets in poverty then to build relationships with humans.  Their pets will put up with them but other humans will not.  They can never keep a job because they can never learn to keep their mouth shut.  They always know more than the boss.  I have housed such people, and I have had to throw some out in the middle of the night.  Some people will follow Christ and go to church as long as they are getting something.  Jesus had people who followed him merely because he had fish and bread.  If you are not a good steward of the resources God gives you the Devil will send parasites to bleed you dry.  This is one of the tests of being a Christian, knowing when to be gracious and knowing when to guard your assets. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

 I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

  Jesus Christ (John 10:10)

Covid-19 and Tonic Water

Long ago the British learned while in India that quinine was useful in fighting malaria, but because quinine derived from the bark of the South American cinchona tree is not very tasty they dreamed up a mixed drink of gin and tonic that was less offensive to the taste buds to give to their soldiers and staff.

Chloroquine is the synthetic version of quinine and some tests claim to be a possible remedy to the Covid 19,  coronavirus.  Most grocery stores carry various brands of tonic water but not all contain quinine (read the fine print).  It has been found to help with leg cramps and restless legs at night.

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