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by Chuck Missler and Bob CornukeIn our previous article we explored some hints, in the Old Testament Scriptures, that the fabled Ark of the Covenant may, indeed, presently reside in Ethiopia, in accordance with a tradition that goes back over 2,600 years. Many of us have been skeptical of the colorful legends surrounding Menelik, the offspring of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is reputed to have removed the Ark of the Covenant out of reach of Solomon’s apostasy. (These views are still retained by the current leadership in Ethiopia. They believe they have a destiny to deliver their sacred relic to the Messiah when He rules from Mt. Zion.)1
What might be overlooked is that the Ark may have reached Ethiopia by a different path altogether: the Levites may have removed it during the dark days of Manasseh’s persecutions2 and sought refuge under Pharaoh Necho II.3 Pharaoh Necho II was not Egyptian: he was Ethiopian: he was the grandson of Necho I of the 25th, or Ethiopian, dynasty.4 Our skepticism concerning the whereabouts of the fabled Ark of the Covenant would seem to be supported by Jeremiah 3:16:
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
But most of us have failed to fully apprehend the verse that follows!
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. – Jeremiah 3:17
An Overlooked Piece of Furniture?
We are often guilty of stumbling over our own presuppositions. As we read the various passages concerning the Tabernacle and its seven appliances (the Brazen Altar, the Molten Sea, the Menorah, the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Incense Altar, the Ark of the Covenant, and the Mercy Seat) we tend to view the Mercy Seat as the “lid” of the Ark, since that is where it was located: covering the Ark.5 However, if we examine the passages carefully, we note that the Mercy Seat is distinctively separate: it is always described separately and it’s made of different materials. The Ark was made of wood, covered with gold.6 (This is suggestive of both the humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ.) The Mercy Seat was made of pure gold. (This would seem to make it a more enduring relic.)
It is profoundly significant to recognize that all of this was a copy of a heavenly reality which had been shown to Moses.7 It is also important to note that the Holy of Holies was described as the location of the Mercy Seat.8 God Himself is described as “He that dwelleth above the Cherubim” of the Mercy Seat. 9
Millennial Throne
The Throne of the Messiah is surprisingly prominent in Scripture.10 It is interesting to note that there are Messianic psalms that associate the Ark with the Millennial Throne as His resting place forever.11 (It is also noteworthy that on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would sprinkle the blood upon the Mercy Seat, and also in front of it.12 This is provocatively suggestive of the picture presented of the “soles of His feet” in the Millennium.13)
The Gift from Ethiopia
The Ethiopians believe that the relic presently in their trust will be the subject of a very prominent gift to the Messiah when He rules on Mt. Zion.
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. - Zephaniah 3:10
The word “bring” is yabal, to bear or carry, as in a royal procession; the word for “offering” is hxn>mi minchah, a gift, tribute, present. This apparently is the presentation by the Ethiopians which receives such special emphasis in Isaiah 18.14
The Ethiopian Treasurer
This all lends a revealing perspective on the strange events which occurred with Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian Treasurer in Acts Chapter 8. In the middle of a major revival in Samaria, Philip is sent to the desert:
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, “Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” Acts 8:26-30
He finds this royal dignitary reading from Isaiah 52 and 53.
And he said, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, “I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” Acts 8:30-34
It is important that Philip interpreted this important passage in terms of the Messiah Himself (and not as symbolizing the nation, as some cling to).
Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:30-39
But, why was the Ethiopian Treasurer visiting Jerusalem? And then, why was he confused? Perhaps he was on an official errand for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. He came to worship the Messiah, but learned that He had been killed! Philip shows him that this was all a fulfillment of prophecy and that the Messiah was destined to return in the future.
After being baptized, the official returns to his Queen and when she inquires, “Has the time come?”
He replies, “Not yet!”
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This article includes some of the startling disclosures that were presented jointly by Bob Cornuke and Chuck Missler at the Prophecy Summit at Branson, Missouri, August 22-24, 2001, and is the result of the many visits to Ethiopia by Bob Cornuke and extensive research notes by Ken Durham. Bob can be contacted at the Biblical Archaeology Search & Exploration (BASE) Institute, (719) 540-9799. See also The Seat of Mercy , by Chuck Missler and Bob Cornuke.
by Chuck Missler[This article is the first in a series regarding some of the startling disclosures that were presented jointly by Bob Cornuke and Chuck Missler at the Prophecy Summit at Branson, Missouri, August 22-24, 2001.]
The Mystery of the Lost Ark
The Ark of the Covenant, a prominent fixture in the narratives of the Old Testament, certainly seems to have disappeared from view after the Babylonian captivity, which began in 606 B.C. There are many theories as to what happened to the Ark of the Covenant. This issue was, of course, popularized in the well-attended fantasy movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Among the many theories as to its subsequent whereabouts, the “official” position by conservative rabbis in Israel – and also the Temple Institute – is that it remains hidden in some secret location under the Temple Mount to this day. But there are many who doubt this. Some believe it was among the items plundered by the Babylonians during the captivity (however, it is conspicuously absent from the detailed inventories associated with those events). Some believe it was taken by Pharaoh Shishak;1 others believe it was hidden by Jeremiah on Mt. Nebo.2 Ron Wyatt claimed to have found it under Golgatha. Each of these views has various scholastic and technical rebuttals.
Many link its future to the rebuilding of the Temple that appears to be destined before the Second Coming of Christ. We know that the Temple will be rebuilt at that time: Jesus,3 Paul, 4 and John5 each make reference to it. However, the Ark of the Covenant is not an essential. The Tenach, the Tosephta, and the Mishna, regarded as the primary authorities in these matters, all indicate procedural steps regarding its absence. The Ark of the Covenant was not in Herod’s Temple, the Temple that was standing during the ministry of Christ.
The Ethiopian Tradition
Many of us have heard of the belief that the Ark was taken to Ethiopia by Menelik I, the offspring of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba who, raised by priests until he was of age, and then leaving behind a replica, removed the Ark to separate it from Solomon’s apostasy. (These ideas were developed by Graham Hancock in his book, The Sign and the Seal, 6 and also popularized by Grant Jeffrey in some of his publications.) Emperor Haile Selassie has been regarded as the 225th descendant of Menelik, and these traditions continue to be embraced by the current leadership of the government of Ethiopia.
The idea that the Ark is presently ensconced in Ethiopia is a well-documented tradition dating from at least 642 B.C. when it ostensibly was at Elephantine Island, in Egypt; then moved to Tana Kirkos Island, Lake Tana, Ethiopia; and finally to its present site in a well-protected bunker at St. Mary’s of Zion Church at Axum, Ethiopia. The Ethiopians believe that it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mt. Zion. 7 Most of us have dismissed these tales for various reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the Ark appears in the Scriptures well after Solomon.8 Perhaps the biggest death knell for these various theories would seem to occur in Jeremiah:
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. -Jeremiah 3:16
And yet there are some aspects of this mystery, in the Scriptures, that suggest a very different possibility. What may be presently in Ethiopia may have arrived there by a different path altogether, and may have a destiny that has been widely overlooked in the Biblical texts.
The Reign of Manasseh
The very positive reign of Hezekiah was, unfortunately, succeeded by his twelve-year-old son, Manasseh. Reigning for 55 years, and continuing the paganism of Ahaz, he relapsed into idolatry with all its vices. The worship of YHWH was banished; yet faithful prophets, including Isaiah and Micah, lifted up their voices in reproof and in warning. However, their fidelity only aroused bitter hatred, and a period of cruel persecution against all the friends of the traditional practices spread “blood from one border to the other.” An ancient Jewish tradition indicates that at this time Isaiah was “sawn asunder.”9
Manasseh was succeeded by Josiah, who led a significant revival and thereby gained a personal reprieve from the coming judgment that God had declared as a result of Manasseh’s disasters.10
Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. - 2 Chronicles 34:28
What is strange is that Josiah receives his instructions through Huldah the prophetess. Why not through the traditional path involving the Levites and the Ark of the Covenant? Josiah had instructed the Levites to return the Ark to the Temple:
And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel… – 2 Chronicles 35:3
The Ark was, obviously, not in the Temple at that time. It is a reasonable conjecture that the Levites, due to the widespread mischief of Manasseh, removed the Ark to a place of safekeeping: out of the Temple, out of Jerusalem, and probably out of the entire jurisdiction of Manasseh. It was apparently in transit: “a burden upon [their] shoulders.” (This may also explain why Josiah had to resort to Huldah the prophetess for his counsel.) Notice that this was Josiah’s request. There is no evidence that they complied (quite the contrary!).
Pharaoh Necho
The Assyrian Empire, which had ruled the region for many centuries, was on the wane, and Egypt’s Pharaoh Necho was moving to pick up some of the pieces. But he is surprised that King Josiah was taking up arms against him. Pharaoh Necho’s response is one of astonishment:
But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. -2 Chronicles 35:21
Why would Josiah go against Pharaoh Necho? The Assyrians were the adversary of Judah as well. What did Josiah expect to gain from this aggressive commitment? And why did Pharaoh Necho believe that God was on his side? The Chronicler adds an additional provocative insight:
Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. - 2 Chronicles 35:22
How could Pharaoh Necho have heard the words “from the mouth of God”? Is it possible that the Levites had sought refuge from Manasseh in Egypt, and had set up shop there? Was this what Josiah was after? Was this how Necho heard “from the mouth of God”?
In any case, Josiah goes in disguise and gets killed at Megiddo. After this battle Necho marched on to Carchemish (a Syrian city on the middle Euphrates River), where he met and conquered the Assyrian army, and thus all the Syrian provinces and Israel came under his dominion. On his return march he deposed Jehoahaz, who had succeeded his father Josiah, and made Eliakim, Josiah’s eldest son (whose name he changed to Jehoiakim), king. Jehoahaz he carried down into Egypt, where he died.11
Four years after this conquest, Necho again marched to the Euphrates, but this time his army was met and routed by the Chaldeans under a crown prince by the name of Nebuchadnezzar, who drove Necho back and took from him all the territory he had conquered, from the Euphrates unto the “river of Egypt.” 12 The establishment of the Babylonian Empire would thus be the means that God would use to complete the judgment He had pronounced in response to Manasseh’s disastrous reign. But what about the fabled Ark of the Covenant? Did the Levites continue to keep it separate from the vicissitudes in Judea? Did this begin its trek southward from Egypt to Ethiopia? (It is interesting to note that Pharaoh Necho II was not Egyptian: he was Ethiopian. He was the grandson of Necho I, of the 25th, or Ethiopian, dynasty.13 )
More Surprises to Come
In the next article we will explore some common misconceptions about the ancient relic that may presently reside under such diligent care in Ethiopia. Perhaps it is not the Ark of the Covenant that is the key issue! There is a separate element of equipment that is closely associated with the Ark, but has a distinct purpose and, perhaps, a distinct destiny: the Mercy Seat.
And, perhaps, there is also a uniquely distinctive role that was involved in the incident with Philip and the Ethiopian treasurer in Acts Chapter 8. Join us for some startling conjectures in the next issue.
* * *
[This article was, in large measure, the result of the many visits to Ethiopia by Bob Cornuke and research notes by Ken Durham. Bob can be contacted at the Biblical Archaeology Search & Exploration (BASE) Institute: (719) 540-9799 or www.baseinstitute.org.]
by Chuck MisslerIn the late 19th century, Charles B. Huleatt, an Egyptologist, acquired three small fragments of papyrus that were unearthed in Upper Egypt and subsequently bequeathed them to his Alma Mater, Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1901.
These three segments contain the Greek text of Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 26, verses 23 and 31. There are a total of 24 lines, text on both sides. (This implies that they were part of a codex-a book with pages rather than a traditional scroll, which was written on the smooth side only. These were beginning to make their appearance during the Gospel period. In his final letter, Paul requested Timothy to bring his notebooks to him. 1 )
In 1953, Colin H. Roberts, a notable British papyrologist, declared that these papyrus fragments were probably from the late second century A.D. It would be 40 years later that advanced technology would reveal that these three small fragments are apparently the oldest New Testament manuscripts in existence, contemporaneous with the Apostles themselves and other eye witnesses!
In 1994, Dr. Carsten Peter Thiede, Director of the Institute of Basic Epistemological Research in Paderborn, Germany, used a scanning laser microscope to more carefully examine these fragments, “P.Magdalen Greek 17/P64,” as they are formally designated.
A scanning laser microscope can now differentiate between the twenty micrometer (millionth of a meter) layers of papyrus, measuring the height and depth of the ink, and can even determine the angle of the stylus used by the scribe. Dr. Thiede compared the fragments with four other known references: a manuscript from Qumran, dated to 58 A.D.; one from the Herculaneum, dated prior to 79 A.D.; one from Masada, dated between 73-74 A.D.; and one from the Egyptian town of Oxyrynchus, dated 65-66 A.D. He astounded the scholastic world by concluding that the Magdalen fragments were either an original from Matthew’s Gospel, or an immediate copy, written while Matthew and the other disciples and other eye witnesses were still alive! Matthew’s skills in shorthand (an essential requirement for a customs official in a society devoid of printing, copiers, and the like) are evident in his inclusion of the extensive discourses, which he apparently was able to record verbatim!
The Magdalen papyrus discovery is distinctive in that it was dated on the basis of physical evidence rather than a literary theory or historical suppositions. This is just an example of how advanced technology can reveal discoveries in existing artifacts.
Other technologies discussed in our currently featured Briefing Pack, Digging Up the Truth, a review of Biblical archaeology by Chuck Missler and Bob Cornuke, include ground-penetrating radar,2 microgravity sensors, and thermographic (infrared) scanning3 , as well as laser microscopy. Bob discusses some of the amazing adventures he has had with the discovery of Jabel al Lawz, which appears to be the real Mt. Sinai in Arabia,4 and other recent discoveries. His clandestine penetration of forbidden areas, eluding armed patrols, etc., and the astonishing discoveries encountered are gripping. [Our article on "Nehustan" in this issue also highlights some of the dangers that can accompany the excessive veneration of artifacts, however authentic they may be.]
* * *
Source:
Thiede, Carsten Peter & D’Ancona, Matthew, The Jesus Papyrus, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1996.
(An exclusive story translated from German and reprinted with permission of News Agency NAI)
For 714 years, entering the Jewish forefathers’ grave had been forbidden by law to all non-Muslims -and now it is once again.
In 1981, Dr. Seev Jevin, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, forced himself through a narrow opening in the underground grave chamber of the Machpela cave, where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were believed to be buried. He did this under strict observation by the Islamic Waqf. Behind bolted doors in Yitzhak Hall, the secret entrance in the southeast wall was opened. Jews had long suspected that the entrance to the real burial chamber must be here, and because of that they placed their prayer slips of paper in wall cracks on the exterior of the building at this same location.
The discovery that Dr. Jevin made in 1981 was concealed for political reasons. However, now that Hebron has been handed back to the Muslims, he has recounted to Nachrichten aus Israel (News from Israel) how he forced himself through a narrow entrance, went down 16 steps and crawled along a 20-meters long, 60-cm high and 100-cm wide tunnel in order to finally reach a 3.5 x 3.5 meter room. The chamber, tunnel and steps were all made of the same worked stones as the building exterior. They were a homogenous group of building materials belonging to Herodian-era construction, identical to those used in the Jerusalem temple.
Dr. Jevin determined that plaster covering the black walls in the grave chamber dated from a later time and was designed to hide the original Herodian stones. “This is a customary tactic of the Muslims by which they attempt to cover up the original,” said Dr. Jevin.
Behind broken-off plaster, he discovered Latin script, dating to Crusader times, containing the names Jacob and Abraham. It was obvious Christians regarded this location as a holy place. Could this room be the true burial chamber?
Earlier Moshe Dayan, both Israel’s Defense Minister and an amateur archaeologist, had been curious about this site. Following the Six Day War, he and 12-year-old Michal lowered themselves with a rope through the 30-cm, narrow opening into this chamber, which was 20 cm from the blocked floor opening in Yitzhak Hall. They measured this chamber but found no bones. Now, Dr. Jevin was standing in this same underground chamber. He was prepared to break off his search when he stumbled on a floor plate. Suspecting a hollow space underneath, he lifted the plate, found a hole and slid through the narrow opening. Now Dr. Jevin found himself in a 3.5 x 4 meter room from which a passage to a second smaller oval room led. He recalled the Talmud (Baba Bathra 58,770), which indicated two caves and recalled that the name “Machpela” itself means “double cave.”
So Dr. Seev Jevin became the first Jew to discover the true burial chamber of his ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-three floors below the north grave chamber. In a nearby chamber in the cave, their wives Sarah, Rebekah and Leah would be resting.
With uncanny silence surrounding him, Dr. Jevin looked around full of awe and found clay shards dating from Israelite times, perhaps from Abraham’s era-artifacts almost 4,000 years old. He found pieces of a lamp and also an intact wine jug. Could this be the jug in which monks washed the bones of the forefathers in 1119 A.D., as old texts explain?
The archaeological find proves that Machpela is a Jewish burial place and that hundreds of years prior to Mohammed it had been a holy place for the Jews. Now Palestinians maintain that “Jews are foreigners in Hebron.” Also, when the Muslims succeeded in removing almost all Jewish traces from the halls above, only the actual grave chamber itself remained Jewish. The still walled-in passage in the tunnel pointed towards an underground labyrinth, perhaps a Herodian necropolis.
Muslims falsified Jewish holy places, converting them into “lifelong” Muslim holy places. From the Jewish temple mount in Jerusalem they made their third holy place al-Aqsa and are now converting Solomon’s stables into a mosque. At the same time they are protesting Israel’s Judaizing of Jerusalem.
“And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had made in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. And the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah which was before Mamre the field and the cave, which was therein, and all the trees which were in the field, that were in all the borders round about were made sure. Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of all the children of Heth and all went in the gate of the city and after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, the same in Hebron the land of Canaan. And the field and the cave that is therein were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the sons of Heth.” (Genesis 23:16-20) “…and his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him (Abraham) in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar, the Hittite, which is before Mamre.” (Genesis 25:9)
What is important is that Abraham obtained the burial place by paying the full price, which signified under law that he and his posterity had in so doing bought legal rights to this land. The Armana letter said this 1,400 years before Christ and it is still local legal custom today. Abraham rejected all offers of Ephron to bury his dead in Hittite graves, because that would not have given him perpetual rights. Abraham stood on the fact that the contract mentioned that he had obtained the cave and the trees which surrounded it and that according to both the law of that time and today he had rights to harvest from that ground.
In the Bible, Machpela is mentioned three times; this is the cave which has guarded its secret for 4,000 years as the burial place of the Jewish forefathers. Dr. Jevin was the first to bring its secret to light. He recounted to NAI that Hebron has once again become a political challenge.
Before King David conquered Jerusalem, he reigned for seven years from Hebron. Around the end of 1 B.C., Herod had artisans, who were adorning the second temple, construct a 60-meter long and 32-meter wide holy building, which has been regarded as a holy place to the present day. Whoever sees the construction over the Machpela cave site can imagine how the earlier exterior walls of Jerusalem appeared. Hebron and Jerusalem belong together.
The Byzantine Christians overlaid part of the Jewish construction and made a basilica out of it. The grave sites of the forefathers became from this time forward a holy place for Jews and Christians. An eyewitness from the sixth century, Antonius the Martyr, said, “Jews and Christians entered the four walls through separate entrances.” After the Holy Land was conquered by the Muslims, the Jewish/Christian prayer site was converted to a Muslim one.
In the 12th century, the Crusaders made a church out of the site, and 150 years later the Mame-lukes made it a mosque once again and added two minarets, wall decorations, and a marble facade. For 700 years, from 1267 to June 8, 1967, the Muslims forbade Jews and Christians access to the Machpela cave. During this time, Jews could only approach the steps on the east side and only to the seventh step, where they would stick their prayer papers in wall crevices, behind which ran eight grave chambers-a newly discovered fact which they didn’t know. So it was drafts of wind that carried their letters of petition directly to Abraham’s bosom.
Around the turn of the century, archaeologists Aly Bey, L.H. Vincent, J.H. Mackay and Pierotti made more contemporaneous measurements of the site, but only Dr. Jevin got into the actual (and unknown) burial chambers, because the Waqf commissioned him to examine the already-known chamber to determine whether or not foreigners had caused damage. Thereby he had discovered the grave of his ancestors and proved that this spot was primarily a holy site of the Jews-which was not made known due to political considerations.
by Chuck MisslerA recent article in the Los Angeles Times1 highlighted that U.S. archaeologists have found the remains of a 7,500-year-old building more than 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea. This is being heralded by some as the strongest evidence yet of a catastrophic flood similar to the one portrayed in the Biblical account of Noah’s ark.
Last November, explorer Robert Ballard, famed as the discoverer of the Titanic, reported evidence of a submerged shoreline several miles offshore from the current edge of the Black Sea and hundreds of feet below the surface. The newly found house appears to have been on that beach.
“Now we know that people were living on that surface when [the flood] took place, because we are finding evidence of human habitation,” Ballard said in a telephone interview with the Washington Post from his ship 12 miles off the Turkish coast.
“This is amazing. It’s going to rewrite the history of ancient civilizations because it shows unequivocally that the Black Sea flood took place and that the ancient shores of the Black Sea were occupied by humans,” said marine geologist William B.F. Ryan of Columbia University. “This is a stunning confirmation of our thesis.”
Ryan and his colleague Walter C. Pittman III have argued – first in a series of research articles and ultimately in a book published last year called Noah’s Flood - that rising waters in the Earth’s oceans caused the Mediterranean to crash through a natural earth dam blocking what is now the Bosporus Strait.
For as long as two years, water rushed through the narrow Bosporus with the flow of 200 Niagara Falls, eventually inundating an area the size of Florida. They argued that residents who fled the area carried stories that eventually were incorporated into the flood stories that seem to permeate numerous cultures worldwide.
Ballard’s team found the rectangular structure 311 feet below the sea’s surface about 12 miles east of the Turkish city of Sinope. The construction material of the 39-by-13-foot structure was identified as traditional Black Sea “wattle and daub” architecture: wood branches and sticks embedded in a clay matrix. “This struck a bell because it was familiar to me from [ancient buildings on] land,” said archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert of the University of Pennsylvania, part of Ballard’s team.
The expedition also found old tree branches, pieces of wood and a trash heap with polished stones and other debris indicating human habitation, Ballard said. Nearby, they discovered two old shipwrecks containing ceramic amphorae – large clay vessels used for transporting olive oil, wine and other materials. The team is not yet sure if the wrecks are from the same period or later.
The team photographed the structure and recovered some artifacts from the site using a remote-controlled submersible, called Argus , that is not much bigger than a washing machine. It is connected to the ship by fiber-optic cables.
The artifacts were extremely well preserved for their age because the depths of the Black Sea have a very low oxygen level – too low to support the marine worms and bacteria that normally would destroy wood, sails and other materials.
Ballard has long argued that this anoxic environment should make the floor of the Black Sea a literal museum containing the preserved hulks of hundreds or even thousands of ancient vessels. He plans to begin exploring the sea floor after he examines the immediate area of the newly discovered house to see if more dwellings lie nearby. “Now we are looking for neighbors,” he said.
For a Flood of Information
There are, of course, many other evidences of the Flood of Noah as reported in Genesis. For those who are interested in exploring this topic further, we suggest you contact:
Institute for Creation Research, 10946 Woodside Avenue North, Santee, CA 92071, www.icr.org
Dr. Kent Hovind, Creation Science Evangelism, 29 Cummings Road, Pensacola, FL 32503, www.drdino.com
by Chuck Missler[Ed. note: A few years ago, I was visited by a couple who revealed to us, with photos and their personal video, a spectacular discovery in Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, this was one of these situations-surprisingly frequent in our strange enterprise-which we couldn't disclose publicly because certain lives would have been endangered. Fortunately, information has now come out in public sources that makes it possible to reveal what appears to solve one of the great mysteries in the Bible: Where is the real Mount Sinai?]
Bob Cornuke,1a dear friend, visited us this past week and shared with us one of his recent adventures, which parallels several previous surreptitious visits to Saudi Arabia and clearly appears to corroborate some surprising discoveries. Bob Cornuke and Larry Williams managed – by means we will defer discussing here – to spend some time in Saudi Arabia and made it a point to check out an astounding theory about the Exodus in the Bible.
Most people understand that Mount Sinai is Jebel Musa, in the Sinai Peninsula, where the Monastery of St. Catherine’s is located. Look at any competent Bible atlas, and it will probably include a “?” since that location is traditional, but speculative. There are a number of tenuous conjectures associated with this location and numerous books have been written suggesting alternative candidates, among them Jebel Helal further north in the Sinai Peninsula, or Jebel Serbal, in the south. Another candidate is Har Karkom, known to the Bedouins as Jebel Ideid, also in the north.2 None of these, all in the Sinai Peninsula, have any real archaeological evidence supporting them.
However, Moses, when first exiled from Egypt, dwelt in Midian, at the base of Mt. Sinai. Midian was in the northwest corner of Saudi Arabia. The New Testament has always referred to Mount Sinai as being in Arabia.3
An alternative route for the Exodus according to Cornuke and Williams is suggested in the accompanying map.
The Crossing Point
With scuba gear, they discovered a remarkable land bridge crossing the Strait of Tiran and the southern extremity of the Gulf of Aqaba, between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. Presently about 50 ft. underwater and several hundred yards in width, it drops several thousand feet on either side. The topography of the southern tip of the Sinai also fits the details of the Exodus narrative well.
Jabal al Lawz
Passing the bitter springs of Marah, they came to the mountain known as Jabal al Lawz. Moses kept sheep at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 2:21; 3:1ff); Bob and Larry found vegetation suitable for grazing. (The Israelites camped there 11 months.)
Jabal al Lawz rises about 8,000 feet above the desert. It consists of two snub-nosed peaks, with a natural amphitheater between them; the stage on which the most momentous drama in history had been played out. However, as one approaches closer to the mountain, one encounters military guards and a chain link fence, 15 feet high, topped with barbed wire and a sign, in Arabic and English:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA WARNING:
“IT IS UNLAWFUL TO TRESPASS.”
VIOLATORS ARE SUBJECT TO PENALTIES STIPULATED IN THE ANTIQUITIES REGULATIONS
PASSED BY ROYAL DECREE NO. M 26,
U 23.6.1392
Nevertheless, slipping past the guards at night and digging under the fence, Bob and Larry continued their adventure. Just south of the mountain, they found what they believe may have been the battlefield of Rephidim (Exodus 17:1, 8; 19:2; Numbers 33:14, 15), a dozen football fields in size.
They also found a large altar made up of extremely large, stacked boulders. On one of them they found pictographs of cattle, not sheep native to Arabia. These pictographs resembled the Apis bulls of Egypt. Could this have been the altar for the Golden Calf? (Cf. Exodus 32.)
As one reaches the higher elevations of Jabal al Lawz, the ground turns black, dark like obsidian; the rocks look almost like coal. (Yet when they’re broken, they were actually granite.) They were not volcanic; they appeared as if scorched from above (Exodus 19:18). They even found an unusually large crevice in which a man could hide (Exodus 33:22?). They also found an old stream bed; “the brook that descended out of the mount” (Deuteronomy 9:21?).
At the base of the mount, they also found two huge rocks-perhaps 60 ft. long-wedged together, with a flat stone in the middle; possibly the altar of the Bible? (Exodus 20:24-26). Nearby, they also found the remains of the 12 pillars, all in a row, each one about 18 ft. in diameter, spaced 5 ft. apart (Exodus 24:4). Around the mountain, about 400 yards distant, they also found what appeared to be the boundary markers, the bounds set by Moses at the base of the mountain (Exodus 19:12, 21-23).
Needless to say, Bob and Larry are convinced that Jabal al Lawz is, indeed, the long-sought Mount Sinai of the Bible. We understand that a number of books will begin to assemble what is known about the site, and there has been talk of a television documentary.
An Arabian Museum
A national archaeological museum is presently under construction in Riyadh. While Saudi Arabia struggles to pay off its $55 billion Gulf War debt, the Kingdom is spending more than a billion riyals-about $266 million-on a new museum, to be completed by the year 2000. Officials believe it will attract international attention. “It will surprise the world.” Why?
The mountain labeled Jabal al Lawz also boasts an unparalleled strategic vantage point for military applications as well. We also understand that new roads have been built, leading directly to Jabal al Lawz. Two towers, four stories high, have been erected: they are part of the FPS-117 radar systems for Site N-4 of the Peace Shield Air Defense System.
* * *
Excerpted in part from the article, “Mount Sinai’s Deadly Treasure,” by Howard Blum, Vanity Fair, February 1998, pp.74-90, which in turn was an excerpt from The Gold of Exodus: The Discovery of the True Mount Sinai, by Howard Blum, in publication by Simon and Schuster.
by Bob Cornuke BASE Institute In April of 2000, I was with my expedition team in Ethiopia conducting research for a book titled, The Lost Ark of the Covenant. I had just spent the afternoon on a tiny island, which was located in the middle of a vast lake. We had just started our 40-mile journey back to shore when the captain of the ship pointed out a large storm gathering on the distant horizon.
Within 30 minutes, the storm grew into an enormous, swollen bank of white gray thunderheads mushrooming heavenward. Our boat was 50 years old, a rusty-hulled, 40-foot poor-excuse-for-a-vessel. It had an old, clattering engine that made loud, exploding noises and belched thick, black diesel smoke. By nightfall, the swells had begun pounding against the boat – angry, rolling whitecaps hammering the rusty metal hull, lifting the bow out of the water, then slamming it nose-headlong into the surf. The rain felt like lead pellets against my face, driving down and then horizontal by the gathering gale, with only lightening breaking through the consuming darkness.
That’s when we hit the rocks. The impact threw us forward with the horrible and unforgettable sound of metal crunching upon rock. As the hull slid over the rocks, I heard the grinding clatter of propeller blades shearing and shattering. Plumes of diesel smoke swirled around us, and below deck someone shouted that we were taking on water. My research team quickly gathered for prayer (we were still 3½ miles from shore). I didn’t want to think of the long swim through unfriendly waters to the shore, where my Ethiopian guide, Misganna, informed me we would be met by crocodiles, hippos and poisonous snakes. After a brief prayer, a small light suddenly appeared on the horizon – disappearing and then reappearing in the rhythm of each careening swell.
Struggling mightily against the waves, a small, 14-foot, open-hulled aluminum fishing boat came to our rescue. Three fishermen wearing rain slickers, rain pants, and rubber boots brought us safely to shore.
On my flight home from Africa, I found myself thumbing slowly through my Bible, reading about another shipwreck in Acts 27, Luke narrates the story of Paul traveling to Rome on a large Alexandrian grain freighter. This ship endured one of the worst storms in history, eventually shipwrecking off the coast of Malta.
The shipwreck story has more words assigned to it by Luke than are found in the entire Genesis account in Scripture. Luke’s amazing details include everything from the vessel’s nautical headings, the type of storm, the ship’s direction of drift, geographical landmarks on Malta, reef configurations, and even the depths of the seafloor. Every detail, including how every man on board, including Paul, survived is included.
I assumed from repeated readings of the book of Acts that I knew the story of Paul’s shipwreck well. But as I re-read it that night over the eastern Atlantic, my eyes kept returning to one verse in the Bible. “…In fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak…” (Acts 27:29). Then reading further, I stopped at the words “…and casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea…” (v. 40). I kept returning to those words: …four anchors…they left them in the sea…
Experience had proven to me time and time again that history had left behind many subtle clues to validate many of the Biblical stories, and that most of those clues were contained in the Bible itself, so at 39,000 feet, I asked myself a couple of seemingly simple questions. “Could those anchors mentioned in Acts 27 survive all this time? And if they did, could I find them?”
But who was I to think that I could find four anchors on a spot on the earth’s 130 million miles of sea floor? It was a foolhardy notion at best, except that I had in my possession a treasure map – the Bible. A document I had long ago learned should allow me to pinpoint the exact location. Prior to shipwrecking off Malta, the last known location of Paul’s ship was when the huge Alexandrian grain freighter was driven off course as it sailed by the southern coast of Crete. It was then blown past the small island of Clouda in the direction of Syrtis, the northern coast of Africa. The ship would have made a slight arching towards the west–northwest in the direction of Malta.
This unique storm system that drove Paul’s ship was called a Euroclydon or a northeaster. The storm was so violent that cables had to be lashed underneath the ship to keep the planking from pulling apart. Rigging had to be tossed into the sea, along with cargo. The Bible says in Acts 27:20, “…now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest beat upon us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up…”
Finally, after 14 nights of hopeless, interminable drifting and driving wind and rain, the men aboard heard something. Over the howling wind, the sailors made out the faint rumblings of waves crashing the rocks. “Now when the 14th night had come as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.” (Acts 27:27).
When the sailors heard the waves crashing they knew that they were going into shallow water. The helmsmen commanded that they find out the depth. In first century Roman times, a lead sounding device was a bell-shaped lead object affixed to rope. The sounding device would be dropped overboard so that the sailors could determine the depth of the water. The first recorded depth was 120 ft. or 20 fathoms. A second sounding was made and the depth was 90 ft. or 15 fathoms. The captain of the ship knew that they were approaching land and gave the order to drop four anchors from the stern. First century anchors on an Alexandrian grain freighter would be approximately 12 ft. long made entirely of wood. The anchor’s stock, or the cross bar of the anchor would have been made of solid lead. The wood would, over the years, decay in the sea and not survive, but the lead crossbar would last indefinitely.
The Bible describes the location of Paul’s shipwreck as being in front of a bay with a beach.
When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible (Acts 27:39).
Since most of Malta’s coastline is cliff area, the vast majority of the search area could be quickly eliminated. The Bible describes this bay with a beach as having a reef in front of it where the two seas collide.
But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves (Acts 27:40-41).
After calculating the only spot on Malta which matched the Biblical description, we verified the course of drift using a multi-million dollar computer system, courtesy of the operations center of the armed forces of Malta which serves, among other things, as the search and rescue coordination center of Malta. The end results of that computer program matched the course of drift as the Bible describes and revealed that the ship of Paul would have impacted on the southeast coast of Malta. The only bay that matched all the criteria in Scripture and computer findings was St. Thomas Bay.
As with most Biblical events, there is a traditional site on Malta where people believe the shipwreck to have occurred. This site, known as Saint Paul’ bay, is on the northern coast of Malta. This traditional site does not fit the drift scenario that Scripture offers and was proposed as the shipwreck site approximately 1,200 years after Paul’s arrival on the island of Malta.
When I started the Malta project, I though it would be a simple process. Go to the place Luke describes in the Bible, hire a boat, dive down, find the anchors, and then bring them up. I would follow an old storm that spoke a lost message written on the waves of time and on the ancient pages of the Bible. I hoped that the Mediterranean had kept these anchors hidden for almost 2,000 years under the protective canopy of the sea. Ninety feet below, as the Bible indicates, they would quietly wait for me to come along and awake them from their long slumber. But more than three decades before I started my search, I discovered, several young Maltese spear fishermen got there first. With rubber and glass masks on their faces, and metal cylinders of compressed air latched to their backs, they dove down into the clear blue sea, discovering an archeological find that I believe is of monumental importance. There, stuck in the sand in front of St. Thomas bay, in the precise spot that the Bible describes, lay a cluster of four, huge lead Roman anchor stocks in a tangle of swaying seaweed. These divers however, didn’t even consider that those artifacts could have been from the lost ship of Paul. The legend of Paul shipwrecking in St. Paul’s Bay had existed for so long that it was indelibly etched in the Maltese culture, and consequently anchors produced from any other bay could not be seen as being from Paul’s ship.
I consider it a blessing that I was not the one to dive down and discover those anchors lying on the seafloor. Circumstances shielded me from the temptation of saying that I discovered them. I did not pull anything from the sea. I can now only point to the incredible accuracy of Luke’s narrative and say “these are the facts and they all line up.” For me, that is the greatest discovery I could ever hope to make.
It took me more than two years to hunt down these anchors that were brought to shore by these young Maltese fishermen. One of the anchors, unfortunately, was melted down as scrap metal for diving weights. Two of the anchors have been turned over to officials in Malta. The family who possesses the fourth anchor is in dialogue to determine an appropriate disposition. Since it is illegal for anyone to possess ancient artifacts in Malta, a presidential pardon has been signed by the President and Prime Minister of Malta, giving amnesty to those persons who possess the anchor stocks found on the seabed of St. Thomas Bay.
The surviving anchor stocks have been inspected by Professor Bonanno, who is considered to be the foremost expert in Malta on Roman antiquities. Dr. Bonanno earned a Ph.D. from the prestigious University of London Institute of Archaeology and has taught at the University of Malta since 1971. Dr. Bonanno concluded that the anchor stocks are appropriate to the era of St. Paul’s shipwreck in Malta.
Egypt Blocks Iranian Weapons Headed For Gaza – January 28, 2009
An Iranian freighter carrying weaponry for Hamas has been blocked by Egypt from entering the Suez Canal, amid concerns that Tehran is trying to supply the Palestinian militant group with missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv. The ship is docked in the Red Sea outside the Suez Canal after Cairo refused to permit it to cross the waterway to the Mediterranean. ‘This is a big test for the Egyptians. So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez and we hope it will stay that way.’ The Australian
Australia Now Alone In Restricting Abortion Aid – January 27, 2009
President Obama’s decision to rescind the ‘Mexico City Policy’ – which denies aid funds to non-governmental organizations that promote or perform abortions – is providing new impetus for activists in Australia who want their government to remove similar regulations in place there. The US policy shift will reportedly leave Australia alone among donor nations to implement abortion-related restrictions on overseas development aid. CNSNews
Nearly 3000 Dead in Zimbabwe Cholera Outbreak – January 27, 2009
There has been a sharp rise in the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe with the death toll nearing 3,000, the United Nations said Tuesday. The UN humanitarian office said 2,817 new cases were reported Monday, taking the cumulative number of infections since the outbreak began to 56,123. AP
White House Wants A ‘Fair’ Media – January 26, 2009
On Obama’s agenda, according to his White House website, is the goal to ‘encourage diversity in media ownership.’ The plan apparently aligns with longstanding Democratic suggestions to resurrect the “Fairness Doctrine.” The policy was abandoned in 1987 under President Reagan when there were 75 radio talk shows in the US. Reagan opposed the policy because it required broadcast TV and radio programs to air ‘opposing views’ on political issues, which had the practical effect of virtually eliminating opinion programs. WorldNetDaily
Homeschooled Teen Publishes Her Historical Novel – January 25, 2009
When young Stephanie Scheffler had to write a story for a Girl Scout project, she penned the tale of a young girl whose family fought in the Revolutionary War. What was to have been a short story, however, kept growing. “It’s about an 11-year-old girl in Williamsburg, Virginia,” Stephanie explained in a recent interview. “Her brothers and dad are fighting in the war, and when she hears they’ve been captured, she makes a plan to go to prison camp and save them.” The fledgling author is the second of the Schefflers’ 10 children who are being taught at home on a 40-acre homestead in Peyton, Colorado. The Washington Times
Churchgoers Less Likely to Commit Suicide – January 16, 2009
Psychiatric researchers at the University of Manitoba have established a link between going to church and a decreased interest in suicide. “Among people with a history of mental illness – those at the highest risk of suicide – religious attendance appears associated with a decrease in suicide attempts,” said Daniel Rasic, who led the research. “But simply being ‘spiritual’ was not significant enough to reduce the effect.” The Washington Times
It is difficult to understand the caldron of the Middle East without first studying the remarkable prophecies found in the book of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel was among the captives with King Jehoiachin in the second of three deportations under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He mentions Daniel three times, who had been in Babylon nine years before Ezekiel arrived. Ezekiel ministered, as did Jeremiah, to a nation experiencing judgment for their sins. In his captivity he lived at the River Chebar, which was the great ship canal branching off from the Euphrates above Babylon and turning through Nippur to the Tigris. This was the primary settlement location of the Jewish captives.
Ezekiel was born in approximately 627 B.C. and lived in a time of moral decline, distress and uprooting. His messages were not well received at first, but did ultimately result in the nation being purged of idolatrous practices. He was married and owned his home. His wife died during his ministry, and he was forbidden to mourn her.
We also learn that God intended his life to be a series of signs to Israel; therefore, he does all kinds of strange things. He shuts himself up in his home. He binds himself. He is struck dumb. In a formal ritual, he was to lie on his right and his left sides for a total of 430 days. He ate bread that was prepared in an unclean manner. He shaved his head and beard, which was considered a shame in his particular calling.
Throughout the book, his main theme was the sovereignty and glory of God. This is good for us, because we can get so focused on God’s grace that we tend to forget there is also a governing role of God, and that His glory requires justice.
Ezekiel was very direct. He carefully vindicated God’s justice throughout the book, although he deals more in symbol and allegory that any other Old Testament prophet. He is probably the greatest mystic of the Old Testament. He was well suited for the calling God gave him, which included a remarkable vision of God’s Throne in Chapter 1. This dramatic vision of God never left him. It is not just introduced in the first chapter, it is referenced all the way through.
The Prophet of the Regathering
The famed vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones in Chapters 36 and 37 is unquestionably the monumental Biblical fulfillment of the 20th century. Beginning in the last half of the 19th century, the regathering that climaxed in the establishment of the State of Israel is one of the most irrefutable evidences that we are on threshold of God’s climax for the nations mentioned throughout the Bible – and remarkably detailed in the writings of Ezekiel.
The final chapters, 40-48, climax with a remarkably detailed description of the Millennial Temple to be rebuilt. Ezekiel was uniquely qualified for this role due to his priestly background. He was the son of Buzi, who was also a priest. It is interesting that even though he never served as a priest, he apparently so influenced later worship that today he is called by some, “The Father of Judaism.” From Numbers 4:3 we know that Kohathites had to be 30 years old before they could begin service as priests. When Ezekiel became 30, however, he was deported, in approximately the eightieth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The Temple which Ezekiel describes has never yet been built. Most scholars regard it as the details for the Temple which will be established during the Millennium on Planet Earth.
Between the regathering of the nation in Chapters 36 and 37, and the Millennium Temple described in Chapters 40-48, there is a climactic event that intervenes. The invasion of Gog and Magog, described in Chapters 38 and 39, are among the most famous prophetic passages in the Bible. For a variety of reasons, the identity of “Magog” as the people of Russia seems well established.
Have you ever studied this incredible book carefully? See our verse-by-verse Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, click on the link below to learn more.
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. See also The Seat of Mercy , by Chuck Missler and Bob Cornuke.
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