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The recent decoding of a cryptic cup, the excavation of ancient Jerusalem tunnels, and other archaeological detective work may help solve one of the great biblical mysteries: Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
The new clues hint that the scrolls, which include some of the oldest known biblical documents, may have been the textual treasures of several groups, hidden away during wartime—and may even be “the great treasure from the Jerusalem Temple,” which held the Ark of the Covenant, according to the Bible.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered more than 60 years ago in seaside caves near an ancient settlement called Qumran. The conventional wisdom is that a breakaway Jewish sect called the Essenes—thought to have occupied Qumran during the first centuries B.C. and A.D.—wrote all the parchment and papyrus scrolls.
But new research suggests many of the Dead Sea Scrolls originated elsewhere and were written by multiple Jewish groups, some fleeing the circa-A.D. 70 Roman siege that destroyed the legendary Temple in Jerusalem.
“Jews wrote the Scrolls, but it may not have been just one specific group. It could have been groups of different Jews,” said Robert Cargill, an archaeologist who appears in the documentary Writing the Dead Sea Scrolls, which airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel.
The new view is by no means the consensus, however, among Dead Sea Scrolls scholars.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be very disputed,” said Lawrence Schiffman, a professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University (NYU).
Dead Sea Scrolls Written by Ritual Bathers?
In 1953, a French archaeologist and Catholic priest named Roland de Vaux led an international team to study the mostly Hebrew scrolls, which a Bedouin shepherd had discovered in 1947.
De Vaux concluded that the scrolls’ authors had lived in Qumran, because the 11 scroll caves are close to the site.
Ancient Jewish historians had noted the presence of Essenes in the Dead Sea region, and de Vaux argued Qumran was one of their communities after his team uncovered numerous remains of pools that he believed to be Jewish ritual baths.
His theory appeared to be supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves, some of which contained guidelines for communal living that matched ancient descriptions of Essene customs.
“The scrolls describe communal dining and ritual bathing instructions consistent with Qumran’s archaeology,” explained Cargill, of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Dead Sea Scrolls: “Great Treasure From the Temple”?
Recent findings by Yuval Peleg, an archaeologist who has excavated Qumran for 16 years, are challenging long-held notions of who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Artifacts discovered by Peleg’s team during their excavations suggest Qumran once served as an ancient pottery factory. The supposed baths may have actually been pools to capture and separate clay.
And on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, archaeologists recently discovered and deciphered a two-thousand-year-old cup with the phrase “Lord, I have returned” inscribed on its sides in a cryptic code similar to one used in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
To some experts, the code suggests that religious leaders from Jerusalem authored at least some of the scrolls.
“Priests may have used cryptic texts to encode certain texts from nonpriestly readers,” Cargill told National Geographic News.
According to an emerging theory, the Essenes may have actually been Jerusalem Temple priests who went into self-imposed exile in the second century B.C., after kings unlawfully assumed the role of high priest.
This group of rebel priests may have escaped to Qumran to worship God in their own way. While there, they may have written some of the texts that would come to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The Essenes may not have abandoned all of their old ways at Qumran, however, and writing in code may have been one of the practices they preserved.
It’s possible too that some of the scrolls weren’t written at Qumran but were instead spirited away from the Temple for safekeeping, Cargill said.
“I think it dramatically changes our understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls if we see them as documents produced by priests,” he says in the new documentary.
“Gone is the Ark of the Covenant. We’re never going to find Noah’s Ark, the Holy Grail. These things, we’re never going to see,” he added. “But we just may very well have documents from the Temple in Jerusalem. It would be the great treasure from the Jerusalem Temple.”
Dead Sea Scrolls From Far and Wide?
Many modern archaeologists such as Cargill believe the Essenes authored some, but not all, of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Recent archeological evidence suggests disparate Jewish groups may have passed by Qumran around A.D. 70, during the Roman siege of Jerusalem, which destroyed the Temple and much of the rest of the city.
A team led by Israeli archaeologist Ronnie Reich recently discovered ancient sewers beneath Jerusalem. In those sewers they found artifacts—including pottery and coins—that they dated to the time of the siege. (Related: “Underground Tunnels Found in Israel Used In Ancient Jewish Revolt.”)
The finds suggest that the sewers may have been used as escape routes by Jews, some of whom may have been smuggling out cherished religious scrolls, according to Writing the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Importantly, the sewers lead to the Valley of Kidron. From there it’s only a short distance to the Dead Sea—and Qumran.
The jars in which the scrolls were found may provide additional evidence that the Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of disparate sects’ texts.
Jan Gunneweg of Hebrew University in Jerusalem performed chemical analysis on vessel fragments from the Qumran-area caves.
“We take a piece of ceramic, we grind it, we send it to a nuclear reactor, where it’s bombarded with neutrons, then we can measure the chemical fingerprint of the clay of which the pottery was made,” Gunneweg says in the documentary.
“Since there is no clay on Earth with the exact chemical composition—it is like DNA—you can point to a specific area and say this pottery was made here, that pottery was made over here.”
Gunneweg’s conclusion: Only half of the pottery that held the Dead Sea Scrolls is local to Qumran.
Scroll Theory “Rejected by Everyone”
Not everyone agrees with the idea that Dead Sea Scrolls may hail from beyond Qumran.
“I don’t buy it,” said NYU’s Schiffman, who added that the idea of the scrolls being written by multiple Jewish groups from Jerusalem has been around since the 1950s.
“The Jerusalem theory has been rejected by virtually everyone in the field,” he said.
“The notion that someone brought a bunch of scrolls together from some other location and deposited them in a cave is very, very unlikely,” Schiffman added.
“The reason is that most of the [the scrolls] fit a coherent theme and hang together.
“If the scrolls were brought from some other place, presumably by some other groups of Jews, you would expect to find items that fit the ideologies of groups that are in disagreement with [the Essenes]. And it’s not there,” said Schiffman, who dismisses interpretations that link some Dead Sea Scroll writings to groups such as the Zealots.
UCLA’s Cargill agrees with Schiffman that the Dead Sea Scrolls show “a tremendous amount of congruence of ideology, messianic expectation, interpretation of scripture, [Jewish law] interpretation, and calendrical dates.
“At the same time,” Cargill said, “it is difficult to explain some of the ideological diversity present within some of the scrolls if one argues that all of the scrolls were composed by a single sectarian group at Qumran.”
Caves Were for Temporary Scroll Storage?
If Cargill and others are correct, it would mean that what modern scholars call the Dead Sea Scrolls are not wholly the work of isolated scribes.
Instead they may be the unrecovered treasures of terrified Jews who did not—or could not—return to reclaim what they entrusted to the desert for safekeeping.
“Whoever wrote them, the scrolls were considered scripture by their owners, and much care was taken to ensure their survival,” Cargill said.
“Essenes or not, the Dead Sea Scrolls give us a rare glimpse into the vast diversity of Judaism—or Judaisms—in the first century.”
- Prophecy News Watch
An ongoing archaeological excavation in Tel Tzafit continues to unearth the ruins of what was once the city of Gat – described in the Bible as the hometown of Goliath. Professor Aren Maeir, who is directing the dig, spoke to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew-language news service to discuss the latest finds.
Recent finds from the Tel Tzafit excavation are “fascinating,” Maeir said. The site, inhabited at times by Canaanites and at other times by Philistines, has remnants from many periods of history. “We are focusing on the Canaanite period, the Philistine period, and the Israelite period, and for now we’re primarily in the Philistine period,” he said.
One of the most interesting finds was a piece of writing containing, among other things, Philistine names, some of which were similar to the name “Goliath.”
“We’ve found a rich variety of artifacts” showing that Gat was a major city at that time, he continued. “We are now discovering remnants from metal craft and bronze, and from the destruction of the city at the hands of King Chazel of Aram as described in the second books of Kings.”
Findings show that Chazel and his army laid siege to the city until its residents had exhausted their food supply, then attacked. Dozens of buildings were found that were demolished by the invading army.
Other buildings appear to have collapsed in an earthquake, possibly the one mentioned at the beginning of the book of Amos, he said.
The relationship between the nation of Israel and the Philistines was more complex than people tend to assume, Maeir revealed. “The Philistines… were often more than just enemies. We can see this in the Bible as well, for instance, in the fact that Samson married a Philistine woman,” he said. There appears to have been crossover between the two cultures – for example, findings show that elements of Philistine cooking became common among the Israelites as well.
- Prophecy News Watch
ISRAEL: AN ARCHAEOLOGIST’S PARADISE
The Holy Land sits on thousands of years worth of human history. The stories hidden under Israel’s soil are not only important to anthropologists and historians, but also to the religious faithful of several religions. On any given day of the year, dozens of archaeological digs are carefully uncovering the physical remnants of ancient civilizations. While any one discovery might have great historical, religious, or political significance, we keep a look out for those discoveries that add insight to the Biblical text. Here are a few of some interesting recent finds:
Ancient Beekeeping
God told Moses in Exodus 3:8 that He would free the Israelites from Egypt and take them into a land “flowing with milk and honey.” While many think this refers to honey made from dates and figs, ancient beehives found in northern Israel demonstrate that honeybees were cultivated there 3,000 years ago. The hives, made of straw and unbaked clay, were lined up in orderly rows in what must have been a serious honey production plant in the middle of the thriving city of Rehov. As many as 100 hives might have fit in the room. The hives had a hole in the front through which the bees entered and left, and a door in the back through which bee tenders could collect wax and honey.
Another find next to the beehives - an altar decorated with fertility figures - also speaks volumes about Israel’s constant battle against idol-worship and the Canaanite fertility religions. While the Israelites might have taken over the land flowing with milk and honey, they also adopted many of the Canaanites’ religious practices (for which they were repeatedly judged).
King Herod’s Quarry
After the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites returned and rebuilt the holy Temple in Jerusalem since it had been destroyed in 586 B.C.. Several hundred years later, King Herod (the same King Herod who tried to murder the infant Jesus) renovated and expanded the Second Temple.
Archaeologists have recently discovered a massive quarry, which they believe is the source of the massive stones on the Temple Mount. Coins and pottery found at the site date the quarry to the time of Herod, and the quarry is located just 2 1/2 miles northwest of the Old City. A number of quarries have been found in the area, but this is the first to be considered the source for the construction of the Temple Mount, including the Western Wall. From it were cut beautiful white 5-7 ton stones resembling marble - stones strong enough to support the Temple Mount for thousands of years.
X-Raying The Dead Sea Scrolls
Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are too delicate to unroll and study, which until recently has kept researchers from reading all of their contents. The scrolls contain texts from the Bible as well as information on the way of life of the Essene community that lived in the area from about the Second Century B.C. to the First Century A.D.
Through the use of powerful x-rays and digital technology, however, the secrets of the fragile scrolls may soon be exposed. Because the ink used in the scrolls contained iron, the words can be detected using an x-ray technology that - while about 100 billion times brighter - is similar to the x-ray technology used to detect our bones. By taking x-rays of the parchments from several angles and feeding the information into a computer, the computer can analyze the jumbled material from the x-rays and piece the words together into readable text. The technique has been successfully used to translate some Scottish texts, and scientists hope that soon the technology will be used to reveal the contents of the final Dead Sea Scrolls.
While archaeologists love to put together puzzles from the ancient world using bits of clay and rock and art found in the dust, we know that there is a more reliable way to know the history of the Holy Land. Scribes for thousands of years painstakingly made copies of the history of the land of Israel, and the prophecies and works of the God of Israel. It is that God whose Son lives in our hearts, and continues to make an impact on our lives today because He rose again from the place where he was buried - after just 3 days, and not 3000 years.
Related Links:
• Archaeologists Discover Ancient Beehives in Israel - AP
• Israeli Archaeologist May Have Found Tomb of King Herod - AP
• Archeologists Find 2nd Temple Quarry - The Jerusalem Post
• Super X-rays Could Unravel Dead Sea Scrolls - Breaking News
- FROM: Koinonia House News Letter
More than one university professor has cast doubt on the existence of King David and the ancient Kingdom of Israel. Academics are prone to say David was the Jewish equivalent of King Arthur, the stuff of myths and legends. Once again, archeology is proving these doubts wrong. An inscription on a pottery shard found near the valley where David slew Goliath offers evidence that the books of the Old Testament are much older than academics previously thought, and scribes certainly could have been recording the lives of David and his sons 3000 years ago.
An inscription on a pottery shard dating to the 10th century BC has been declared to be in Hebrew. Not only does the ancient language on the shard use certain words specific to Hebrew, but the inscription speaks about taking care of the weaker people in society - widows, orphans and strangers - and calls for the king to get involved. Other Middle East cultures of the time did not promote the protection of the weak; these were ideas unique to the Old Testament and the Hebrew culture.
Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa, who deciphered the inscription, argues that this pottery shard offers evidence that the Kingdom of Israel was indeed in existence in the 10th century BC (the time of David), had a king, and had people capable of writing down histories. It therefore gives evidence to something some of us have never stopped believing, that the Scriptures are as old as they claim to be, despite what modern day scholastics may think.
“It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century BCE, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel,” Galil said.
Galil points out that the shard was found in Khirbet Qeiyafa, a rural Judean town near the Valley of Elah. He argues that if scribes out in the country were able to write the complex text found on this pottery shard, a number of capable scribes would have also lived in central Judea and in the city. This contradicts many academics who have argued that the Hebrew Scriptures could not have been written before the Babylonian captivity because of widespread illiteracy.
While the inscription does not match any exact Old Testament passage, the gist is similar to ideas expressed in verses like Exodus 22:21-23; 23:3, demonstrating a flow of ideas in line with what Scripture taught.
Academics have long complained that the great kings David and Solomon did not really exist because archeological evidence of them has not popped up all over Israel. Yet, conquest during the time of the kings, destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, Israel’s years of being a battle ground between Syria and Egypt, the destruction of the 2nd Temple and eventually the razing of Jerusalem by the Romans all would have played a big part in wiping out the majority of King David-related artifacts. King Solomon’s golden shields (1 Kings 10:17) would have been long gone. Still, David’s story remained safe in the Scriptures, protected and fastidiously copied down through the centuries.
This new inscription offers evidence outside the Scriptures by establishing that the Israelites of David’s time had writing capabilities. It isn’t alone; there are other evidences of ancient Israel outside the Bible. The Tel Dan Stele describes the victory of a king of Damascus over a “king of Israel” and a king of the “House of David” during the 9th century. (After King Solomon died, Israel was split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Southern Kingdom of Judah, which was ruled by the descendents of David.) The Mesha Stele, excavated at the capital of ancient Moab, also declares victories over a king of Israel – Ahab, son of Omri. And the Sennacherib Prism describes the Assyrian king’s attack on Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah – an attack which failed as described in 2 Kings 18-19.
The Hebrew Scriptures are more than just Jewish history and mythology jotted down hundreds of years after the facts described. These books, penned by dozens of authors, are a consistent message from the I AM, the God not constrained by Time. The Scriptures not only provide readers with the history of Israel, but also give previews of events hundreds or thousands of years before they occur. Most importantly, they describe in advance the death of the Jewish Messiah for our sins (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Acts 8:26-39) and his victory and future reign on the throne of his father King David (2 Sam 7:16-17; Psalm 110:1-2; Matt 22:42-46; Isaiah 9:6-7).
DIGGING UP THE TRUTH
“God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” - 1 Corinthians 1:27
Archaeologists have uncovered a “rich layer of finds” from the First Temple period near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is the first time that building remains from the First Temple period were exposed so close to the Temple Mount, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Archaeologists have found various objects from the First Temple period, including a seal from a signet ring, pottery, figurines, and other artifacts. Archeologists hope the discoveries will help to fill in details about life in ancient times.
Israel Antiquities Authority also recently announced the discovery of a rare Tyrian shekel coin from the Second Temple period. Archaeologists digging near the City of David have found the silver coin, which is the type used to pay the half shekel Temple tax mandated in the book of Exodus. Only seven other similar coins have ever been found.
It seems that each week new archaeological discoveries are being made – both big and small – that help to bring the pages of Scripture to life. Matthew 17:24-27 says that when the tax collectors came to Jesus to collect the Temple tax, Jesus told Peter to cast a hook into the sea, catch a fish, and open the mouth of the fish. Miraculously, inside the fish’s mouth was a shekel coin (similar to the one uncovered by archaeologists) with which Peter was instructed to pay the tax. What a dramatic demonstration of Christ’s deity!
Without Excuse
The archaeological evidence in support of the Biblical record of history is overwhelming. Yet it seems that no matter how much tangible proof is uncovered, there are those who refuse to accept the Bible as fact. Science and the Bible can coexist – they are not mutually exclusive. Yet secular scientists continue to reject the growing body of evidence. With each new discovery it becomes more and more clear that such skeptics are not rejecting the evidence, they are rejecting the Word of God. Why do they “suppress the truth”? Because if the Bible is true, it means that mankind will be held accountable for its actions.
Many hope science will one day give us the answers to life’s most troubling questions: Who are we? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Since the time of the ancient Greek philosophers, the answers to these questions have been sought by examining the nature of the universe and its life forms. In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul made a remarkable statement regarding the relationship between our understanding of the universe and the existence and attributes of God. According to Paul, not only is the existence of God inexcusably evident, but the invisible attributes of God can also be discerned with an examination of creation:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).”.
To learn more about this subject listen to our briefing titled Digging Up The Truth, in which Chuck Missler and Bob Cornuke examine a few of the fascinating archaeological discoveries that substantiate the Biblical texts.
Related Links:
• Digging Up The Truth: Biblical Archaeology - Special Offer!
• Ruins from First Temple Period Exposed - Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Scripture Comes Alive in the City of David - CBN
• Archaeologists Find Second Temple Coin - yNet
- From Koinonia House News Letter
Joshua 1:4
From the wilderness and this Lebanon to the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites [meaning Canaan], and to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea on the west shall be your territory.
Although the Hittites are mentioned 48 times in the Bible, some critics long refused to accept the possibility or at least the probability of the importance of such an ancient people.
But archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century have confirmed the importance of Hittites beyond all question.
For instance, G.A. Barton in Archaeology and the Bible records the existence of an archive of clay tablets containing among other things a military treaty made by the Egyptians and the Hittites nearly thirteen centuries before the birth of Christ.
- Amplified Bible : page 258
Skeptics ridicule and historians mock, but the historical accuracy of the Bible continues to be confirmed by archeological finds.
by Chuck Missler
David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David a house.
Skeptics ridicule and historians mock, but the historical accuracy of the Bible continues to be confirmed by archaeological finds. An Israeli archaeologist named Eilat Mazar has uncovered, in East Jerusalem, what may be the palace of King David.
While excavating in the ancient City of David, Mazar uncovered various Byzantine-era artifacts, including a well-preserved room with mosaic floors. They were found about two meters below ground level and date back between the 4th and 6th century a.d. Beneath this room, water cisterns, pools and a purification bath from the Second Temple period were then uncovered. However, the archaeological find that has sparked debate is the discovery of an ancient building, which Mazar believes could be the palace of King David as described in 2 Samuel. According to the Biblical account, the structure was built by Hiram king of Tyre, after David conquered Jerusalem.
Below the pools, Mazar discovered the ruins of an immense 3,000- year-old stone structure. Inside the building archaeologists found pieces of pottery dating back to the 10th century b.c., the days of David and Solomon. Mazar has also uncovered a bulla, or ancient government seal, belonging to Jehucal son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi. This government official is mentioned in Jeremiah 37: “And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us.” Jehucal is mentioned a second time at the beginning of the subsequent chapter.
It has yet to be proven that this discovery is indeed the ancient palace of King David or some other ancient structure. Numerous skeptics have already voiced their doubts. However, most agree that it is an important archaeological discovery.
The Pool of Siloam
Last month the Biblical Archeology Review reported the discovery of another ancient site of Biblical importance. Workers repairing a sewage pipe in the old city of Jerusalem stumbled upon the Biblical Pool of Siloam.
In the 8th century b.c. King Hezekiah built a 1,750-foot-long tunnel under the ridge where the City of David was located. The tunnel connected Gihon Spring in the adjacent Kidron Valley to the side of Jerusalem that was less vulnerable to an attack. Hezekiah’s tunnel was built in order to protect the water supply should the Assyrians lay siege to Jerusalem. The first Pool of Siloam was the reservoir that held the water brought into the city by the tunnel. It presumably was destroyed in 586 b.c. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar razed the city.
The pool the workers uncovered is believed to be the pool of Jesus’ time. It was built early in the first century b.c. and was destroyed by Roman emperor Titus in about 70 a.d. The Gospel of John describes an incident in which Jesus cures a blind man at the Pool of Siloam.
The Battle for Jerusalem
Such archaeological discoveries underscore Israel’s long and rich history in the Promised Land. It is a legacy that Israel’s enemies would like to erase from the annals of time. Many Arabs deny the Jew’s roots in Israel. They claim that the idea of a historical Jewish homeland is a hoax, invented to justify Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Any archaeological discoveries that appear to substantiate the Biblical account of history undermine the Palestinian cause. This explains why Wakf (Islamic Trust) officials are bulldozing sensitive archaeological sites on the Temple Mount with blatant disregard for the treasures buried there.
Our faith in Jesus Christ and in the accuracy of the Scriptures is not based on archaeological finds. However, it is exciting to watch as these ancient discoveries are revealed. It also makes us wonder: what other treasures from the past are waiting to be uncovered?
**FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH STUDY**
Digging Up The Truth: Biblical Archaeology - MP3 Download - Chuck Missler and Bob CornukeJoin Chuck Missler and the real-life Indiana Jones, Bob Cornuke, as they take you on an overview of the archaeological proof for the Bible. Bob and Chuck will also talk about the modern world of archaeology and the search for the Ark of the Covenant.
Neanderthals, the prehistoric subspecies of humans known as Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, are believed to have been muscular, thicker-skulled, erect creatures similar in intelligence to anatomically modern humans (the subspecies Homo sapiens sapiens). The Neanderthal has been considered, according to prevalent paleontological myths, a squat, powerful hunter who dominated Europe for more than 100,000 years, but then disappeared forever when modern humans evolved in Africa and moved to the other continents.
Neanderthal DNA Analyzed
Much controversy has raged over whether the muscular, heavy-boned Neanderthals played a role in the development of modern humans. In recent reports, scientists claim to have successfully extracted mitochondrial DNA from a Neanderthal bone believed to be 30,000 to 100,000 years old, and have compared a short sequence of it to mitochondrial DNA from modern humans, including Africans, Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, Australians, and Pacific Islanders.
The researchers have stated that the high degree of variation between the Neanderthal DNA and the DNA of modern humans suggests that Neanderthals were not ancestral to modern humans - despite fossil evidence indicating the two groups coexisted in close proximity in Europe as recently as 30,000 years ago - and that an evolutionary split occurred some half million years before modern humans first emerged.1
The sudden and mysterious disappearance of Neanderthals around 30,000 years ago would presumably be due not to a merging of the two human groups through interbreeding but more likely to some catastrophic event. (A flood, perhaps?) Furthermore, Richard Klein of Stanford University recently wrote in the prestigious journal, Science, that the Neanderthals may now be regarded as a fascinating, but extinct, side branch of humanity.2
This new view, again based on genetic and fossil studies, contradicts the previous studies that have suggested extensive interbreeding between the Neanderthals and modern humans. Those previous studies, based on a comparison of Neanderthal fossils and modern human bones, had concluded that Neanderthal genes were a part of a European heritage.
“There is no convincing evidence,” says Klein, “that Neanderthals and modern humans ever mixed in substantial numbers, which means that when the Neanderthals died out, so did their genes.” He said modern studies of mitochondrial DNA from Neanderthal fossils suggest that the modern humans and the Neanderthals may have had a common ancestor about 500,000 years ago. But he said the studies do not support the notion that there was interbreeding after modern humans evolved in Africa and invaded Neanderthal habitats, starting about 45,000 years ago. “The Neanderthal was a highly successful species,” said Klein, “but the reasons they became extinct are still unknown.”
“There is little to suggest that Neanderthals could behave in a modern … way,” Klein writes in Science. “This inability may explain why they disappeared so quickly and completely.”
It is interesting that now that we have DNA techniques, it has been proven that we did not come from the “Neanderthals.” Yet the Neanderthal had been advanced as one of the major proofs for Evolution in the first place. But now what is being suggested is that they were a separate race that was ultimately wiped out by modern man after having dominated Europe for 100,000 years. This is a prime example of circular reasoning: First they use the Neanderthal to “prove” Evolution; yet, when modern DNA testing indicates that we are not genetically similar, is Evolution thus “disproved?” Of course not. The results of the DNA tests are now simply forced into their Evolutionary model.
In actuality, the Neanderthal may have been simply contrived from scattered bits of evidence; or, perhaps, he may have been derived from the Nephilim.
Post-Flood Nephilim
The Nephilim were the strange hybrids of Genesis 6, apparently the principal reason for the judgment of the Flood of Noah’s time. However, Genesis 6:4 also includes the haunting phrase, “…and also after that….” Apparently these strange events were not confined to the period before the Flood.
We find that there seems to be some recurrence of those bizarre things which resulted in unusual “giants” appearing in subsequent periods later in the Old Testament narrative, specifically the giant-races of Canaan.
There were a number of tribes such as the Rephaim,3 the Emim, 4 the Horim,5 and Zamsummim6 that were giants.7
The kingdom of Og, the King of Bashan, was the “land of the giants.”8 Later, we also find Arba,9 Anak, and his seven sons (the “Anakim”10) also as giants, along with the famed Goliath11 and his four brothers. 12
When God had revealed to Abraham that the land of Canaan was to be given to him, Satan then had over 400 years to plant his “mine field” of Nephilim in his attempt to thwart the plan of God.13
When Moses sent his twelve spies to reconnoiter the Land of Canaan, they came back with the report of giants in the land. 14 (The very Hebrew term used was Nephilim.) Their fear of those terrifying creatures resulted in their being relegated to wandering in the wilderness for 38 years. When Joshua and the nation Israel later entered the land of Canaan, they were instructed to wipe out every man, woman and child of certain tribes.15 That strikes us as disturbingly severe. It would seem that in the Land of Canaan, there once again was a “gene pool problem.”
These Rephaim, Nephilim, and others seem to have been established as an advance guard to obstruct Israel’s possession of the Promised Land. Was this also a stratagem of Satan?
Jesus warned us,
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. -Matthew 24:37
This is one of the reasons why some conjecture that the UFO phenomena may be a contemporary manifestation of a recurrence of these same hybrids.16
Foreclosing Hyperdimensionality?
Our working premise in this series of articles has been that the “real” UFOs are demonic in nature, and that they enjoy some apparent ability to transit dimensions into and out of our own physical reality. If these premises are correct, we can expect that the roles of these alien encounters may substantially increase as we plunge into the “end times.”
In Revelation Chapter 12, we learn that Satan will apparently lose his current access to heaven and will then be confined to the earth:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. -Revelation 12:7-9,12
If Satan, and his angels, thus lose their current freedom from dimensional constraints, does that mean that the UFOs and their occupants will lose theirs? Will the sky suddenly be filled with strange craft as we approach the final climax of this cosmic drama?
The late Dr. Walter Martin loved to quote Luke:
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. - Luke 21:25, 26
With “those things which are coming on the earth,” he would always gesture with his hand, as if a flying saucer was landing. (As one of his board members, we tried to keep him off this subject in public for fear it would cloud his credibility for his more vital ministries, but he would rarely miss an opportunity to discuss this provocative area!)
“And the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” As we approach the end times we can expect “spiritual warfare” to increase and become ever more visible. The Restrainer is undoubtedly restraining far more than we can possibly imagine.
Your Weapons
In addressing these issues, one doesn’t try to use a Geiger counter or a telescope; it is absolutely essential to have your spiritual armor on! Twice Paul emphasized that we must “put on the whole armor of God.”17 But of what does this armor consist? It is more crucial than ever to truly understand these seven elements of spiritual armor detailed in Ephesians 6:10-18, and then be diligent and vigilant!
* * *
Our book, Alien Encounters, is now in an expanded and revised fifth printing edition, and our revised briefing pack and video, Return of the Nephilim, are also available.
The Rephaim were a race of giants (Deuteronomy 3:11) who lived on the east of the Jordan, from whom Og was descended. They were conquered by Chedorlaomer (Genesis 14:5), and their territories were promised as a possession to Abraham (Genesis 15:20).
They were terrors, a warlike tribe of giants who were defeated by Chedorlaomer and his allies in the plain of Kiriathaim. In the time of Abraham they occupied the country east of the Jordan, afterwards the land of the Moabites (Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:10). They were, like the Anakim, reckoned among the Rephaim, and were conquered by the Moabites, who gave them the name of Emims; i.e., “terrible men” (Deuteronomy 2:11).
The inhabitants of Mt. Seir before its occupation by the Edomites (Deuteronomy 2:12).
A race of giants: “a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims” (Deuteronomy 2:20,21). They were overcome by the Ammonites, “who called them Zamzummims.”
Alien Encounters (Revised and Expanded!) - Chuck Missler and Mark EastmanThis book confronts the issues surrounding the sightings of UFOs and alien abductions and offers answers to many of the most pertinent questions.
Return of the Nephilim - 2003 Update - Chuck Missler What’s behind the UFO’s? Are they real? Where are they from? Are they the Nephilim of ages past? What does the Bible say about them? What’s their agenda for Planet Earth?
Each year, the Jerusalem Temple Conference proves to be one of the best ways to keep up-to-date on the progress being made in preparing to rebuild the coming Temple.
Precise Location?
One of the controversies involves the actual location of the original First and Second Temples. The traditional site, of course, is the Dome of Rock, the prominent Muslim shrine which dominates the Temple Mount. Most of the rabbis in Israel take this site for granted.
Many have become aware of Dr. Asher Kaufman’s research, which deals with the possibility that the Temples may have stood about 100 meters to the north of the Dome of the Rock.
Perhaps the most provocative conjecture has emerged from Tuvia Sagiv’s studies which suggest a location to the south of the Dome of the Rock. (Each of these views have been previously presented in our newsletters, briefing packages, and the publications from the previous Conferences.)1
Infrared Fly-by
The most interesting session at the Fourth Annual Jerusalem Temple Conference was, again, Tuvia Sagiv’s presentation. Tuvia first reviewed a number of the traditional view’s questionable aspects which emerge from 3-D computer studies, including elevation problems conflicting with ancient records citing both Agrippa’s and Titus’ apparent ability to view the Azarah, the water aqueduct implications, etc. He then showed us infrared photography, taken only two weeks earlier on a fly-by over the Dome of the Rock.
Since the differential rates of cooling can often reveal subterranean structures, these techniques can be quite revealing under the right conditions.
The heat-sensitive photography reveals a pentagonal structure underlying the present Dome. This pentagonal structure may have been Strato’s Tower, part of the Antonia Fortress. A similar pentagonal structure, also called Strato’s Tower, was part of the Roman buildings at Caesarea, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.2
Aristobulus I, King of Judea 104-103 b.c., had his brother Antigonus murdered in a subterranean passage to Strato’s Tower, which was between the Temple and the Antonia Fortress proper.3 This would seem to indicate that the rock outcropping presently covered by the famed Dome of the Rock was actually part of the Antonia Fortress, not the Temple. This makes much more sense since this also would place the fosse (moat) north of the Antonia rather than between the Antonia and the Temple.
Jerusalem was always vulnerable from the north, as it is protected by valleys on the east, south, and west. The ancient records also indicate that the Antonia was directly adjacent to the Temple precincts. It all seems to make sense.
Conclusion
Only real access to the mount and careful archaeological exploration will resolve these controversies. And the volatile political situation renders speculation pointless. Since Moshe Dayan–in his own “land for peace” deal–granted control of the Temple Mount to the Muslim WAQF, it will take some major changes to even permit serious investigations to take place, let alone any rebuilding dreams.
But we do know that the Temple will be rebuilt. Paul, John, and our Lord all make reference to the Temple in events immediately preceding Christ’s Second Coming.4 And the preparations have begun. The major components are moving into place for the final countdown. Have you done your homework?
Personal UPDATE, January 1993, p. 19-20; May 1993, p. 9-15; The Coming Temple:UPDATE Audio Book, Jerusalem Temple Conference notes, 1993 & 1994; The Coming Temple (book).
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