More archaeological proof

Although this isn’t technically biblical history (though there are prophetic relevancies in Daniel), a new discovery in Israel lends credence to that history.

Recently a horde of silver coins from the era of the Maccabees was uncovered in the Negev. Once again, we find biblical-era figures in the secular record. Can we forget the 19^th century conventional “wisdom” that said the Hittites never existed, and the biblical mention of them was therefore flawed?

Their existence was doubted because modern archaeology had not yet discovered them. It didn’t help that Darwinian philosophy was all the rage then, casting doubt on the historicity of the Bible. In other words, secularists wanted the Bible to be false. A person like that will find “evidence” to strengthen his argument.

Then of course, the Hittite civilization was found. In 1834, ruins were discovered at Kanesh. Since then, beginning with biblical archaeologist William Albright, the Bible’s truthfulness has been buttressed countless times in the sifted soil of the Middle East.

I am reminded here of the wonderful quote from the novelist, Walker Percy. He once wrote that he was puzzled as to why he never saw Hittites walking down the streets of New York City.

“But I do see Jews,” he wrote. You see his clever point: biblical history tells us that the Hittites eventually were lost to history, as all great civilizations are. Yet the Jews are eternal.

So it is that if one can cast doubt on the Bible, one can dismiss Jewish history and perhaps more importantly, deny their modern claims to the land. Men often go to absurd lengths to do this. Who can forget Yasser Arafat claiming he was descended from the Canaanites, therefore “Palestinian” rights to the land trumped Israel’s!

At any rate, I’ve seen marvelous archaeological sites myself in Israel. Th walls of Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian invasion. The Temple Mount and its relics (ironically, many dug up by the Palestinians!). Acra, the fortress built by Antiochus Epiphanes in Jerusalem, but denied historically by the deniers, only to be discovered under a parking lot!

The lengthy list goes on.

The discovery of the silver from the time of Alexander the Great is wonderful. The tale is told in the book of 1 Maccabees, which of course is not in our Bible, but is a record of the revolt over persecutions launched by Antiochus a couple hundred years before Christ. This led to the rise of the family of Judah Maccabee; his family pushed back their tormentors and established a brief period of Jewish sovereignty in the land (before the Romans took over).

As with other conquering civilizations, the Jews ran afoul of the law when choosing to worship their one true God. This was the environment in the years after Persian rule, when the Greeks were on the ascent.

According to the Times of Israel:

“During rescue excavations in May, a small, incredibly preserved wooden box holding 15 silver tetradrachma coins was discovered in a cave in the Darageh Stream Nature Reserve. The coins were minted by Ptolemy VI, king of Egypt, and date to up to 170 BCE, which is just before Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes began handing down harsh measures against Jews’ freedom of worship.

“According to Eitan Klein of the Israel Antiquities Authority, which announced the find on Tuesday, the hoard was stashed by a fleeing Jew, who presumably subsequently died in the violence leading up to the Maccabean Revolt.”

You can rest assured that many more such discoveries will come to light in the future. For those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, biblical history will always shine bright.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com

 

It’s All in the Timing

One of the most fascinating aspects of Bible prophecy is paying attention to details. If we are in the season of the very end of the end-times (remember, John told us it was “the last time” 2,000 years ago), big things are happening, but are we paying attention to those details?

Probably the hottest topic going is the timing of the Gog-Magog war. A key detail is found early on:

“And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates…” (Ezekiel 38:11)

That certainly does not describe Israel today, as the security barrier and myriad other checkpoints and barriers exist throughout the country. So it is not accurate to say that Gog-Magog is ready to break out any minute. (Too, Putin—if he were Gog—is, shall we say, preoccupied at the moment?)

Now, we must always remember that things can “change on a dime,” especially in the Middle East. It could be that something unforeseen can change the situation regarding the Palestinians and their hatred/incitement. In order for the Ezekiel War to launch, Israel would have to be feeling quite safe. Currently it is anything but.

This week comes word that perhaps things are moving in that direction, although there is the matter of nuance.

With the coming back of the Netanyahu reign in Israel, attention will once more be turned to the Abraham Accords, that is, reinvigorating them. Since 2020, the historic agreements between Israel and Gulf States has been on the backburner, as the globalists hate the initiative. It is possible though that we are seeing the outlines of a period in which Israel might dwell more securely. If relations can be established between the Jewish state and Saudi Arabia, for instance, that would be monumental.

However, here is the nuance: those Arab states are wanting to see “progress” on the Palestinian issue. It is that point that I have long believed will light the bomb culminating in the “Zechariah” invasion of Israel.

For the moment though, long-time Israeli politician Danny Danon sees progress on the Abraham Accords:

“’I expect we’ll see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia this year,’ he told the first Abraham Accords Global Leadership Summit held in Rome with representatives from 30 countries.

“’Netanyahu’s first state visit will be to Abu Dhabi, and we hope that Riyadh will follow,’ said Danon who is a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party.

“’The Abraham Accords were not built in a day. The hardest part was going public. We have been in contact with the Saudis for years. I worked personally with them at the United Nations on matters of regional stability and security. It’s just a matter of time before courageous leaders step out of the shadows and full peace is achieved between all the children of Abraham,’ Danon said.”

Extraordinary.

Further, is it possible the situation with Iran can turn around?

“In Rome Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, a  Shi’a Muslim Scholar and vice-president of The Global Imams Council said he saw a future in which both Saudi Arabia and Iran had relations with Israel. He recalled that Jerusalem and Tehran enjoyed close relations before the Iranian revolution.

“Despite the enmity between those two countries, he said,  ‘peace between Israel, Iran, and even between the Shi’a and the Sunni world is closer than ever.

“’The people of Iran have seen the fruits of the Abraham Accords, they have witnessed how fast peace can be built and many remember the days of Israeli tourists visiting Tehran and long for those days to return,’ Tawhidi said.

“He later told The Jerusalem Post by telephone from Rome that he believed Danon’s assessment was correct about Saudi Arabia, noting that their tacit consent would have been needed for the creation of the Abraham Accords.”

Oddly enough then, as we see the possibility of Israel and the Arabs moving toward each other, that eventuality can eventually cause Israel to feel “false security,” as in a land of unwalled villages, thus allowing the Arabs to lure them into a false peace.

Is that what the Abraham Accords are in the end? Could this positive development be a Trojan Horse of sorts?

We shall see. But let us always keep in mind what Scripture says. The day is coming when Israel will find herself alone. History cannot conclude without that.

“All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.” (Jeremiah 30:14)

God will fight for her in the end. Of that we can be sure.

Jim1fletcher@yahoo.com