The Israel/United States War With Iran

        Recently, during the current Middle East conflict of the United States and Israel (and now, a growing list of other countries) against the Islamic Revolutionary State of Iran, I have seen numerous people online who believe that this is the beginning of World War Three and that the End Times have begun. One commenter flatly stated that the Rapture would occur in the next few days.

        Christians!!!! Listen to the Bible! Base what you believe on what the Bible says. Read Matthew 24:1-36, Mark 13:33-37, and Acts 1:7. The Rapture may occur in the next few days and it may not. We should not worry and fret about it. What we should do is always be ready, not just during worrisome times.

        There are numerous Christian eschatological (End Times) positions ranging from preterism, amillenialism, premillenialism, to postmillenialism, with all sorts of gradations and combinations of the different interpretations. These various interpretations exist because the Bible does not explicitly spell out what will happen during the End Times.

        Questions for which we will have to wait for answers: When will the rapture occur? Will Jesus return during our lifetimes? Who is the Antichrist? Are any modern countries mentioned in the Bible? Is the Antichrist already alive and active? Which of the Christian eschatological interpretations is correct? Are any of them correct?

        If events do not play out as you have believed that they will, do not reject the faith. Perhaps you, perhaps I, perhaps all the scholars and theologians, have misunderstood what the Bible has said about the End Times. We all start with our own underlying worldviews and, inevitably, our understandings are colored and influenced by those worldviews. Justin Martyr (2nd century) expressed premillenial views but also said "...many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and who are true Christians, think otherwise."

         We really do not know when the End Times will play out, but we do know that to attempt to establish elaborate and highly specific future timelines is forbidden. Jesus told us that.

Place Names with Religious Origins

Mokapu Beach, Maui, Hawaii (USA): The Hawaiian word “kapu” means “forbidden” or “sacred,” the same meaning as the Polynesian word "tabu" or "taboo."  Mokapu beach was forbidden because it was for held for used only by the Hawaiian kings and their servants.

Damanhur, Egypt: The ancient Egyptian name of this city was Timenhor (in ancient Egyptian: Dmi-n-Hr, the “city of Horus”), derived from the name of the Egyptian deity, Horus. The Greeks called the city Hermopolis Mikra or Hermopolis Parva (from the Roman god Hermes.)

Izamal, Mexico: Itzamma was the supreme god the ancient Mayans. Most of the buildings in modern Izamal are painted yellow and it is popularly known as the Yellow City.  Settlement of the site predates the 15th century.

Ani, Turkey: The name of the ancient Persian goddess, Anahid or Anahit, survives in the name of the ruins of this medieval Armenian city. Anahit was the mother protector of the Armenian people.  She was the goddess of fertility, healing, wisdom, and water. 

The city is first mentioned in 5th century documents and flourished between 961 and 1045 as the “City of 1001 Churches.” It was sacked by the Mongols in 1236 and further damaged by an earthquake in 1319.

Omkareshwar, India: “Om” is the Sanskrit word which represents the “holy sound” used in Hindu  meditation practices. Omkareshwar is a  temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is on an island in the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh State.

ESCHATOLOGY SERIES, POST #2: ESCHATOLOGIES FROM VARIOUS CULTURES

Eschatology is theology concerned with the final events of history. The word is derived from the Greek words  ἐσχάτος  eschatos ("last") and λόγος logos ("word"). Eschatology is therefore the study of “last things.” The focus of eschatology is usually on reality as a whole rather than on the individual. The word eschatology first appeared in the English language about 1550. 

In most known cultures, including the most primitive, there has been a belief in some sort of existence of the individual after death. Some held that the afterlife would be a dull and dreary thing., others that only the good would survive into an afterlife.  Some felt that the afterlife would be largely an extension of this one, perhaps on a more exalted plane as reward for bravery or great skill.  Many held that the retribution for an evil life was annihilation.

The Babylonians and Assyrians felt that retribution for evil came largely in this life as did the divine rewards of long life, strength, prosperity, and many children. The ghost of the individual existed in the underworld with the other dead. Demons ran around in the underworld inflicting punishment for sins committed during life.

In the ancient Egyptian religion, the good individual could hope for unending life with Osiris, the sun god. The existence was in some ways physical and this is the reason for mummification of the body. In the afterlife the actions of the deceased during life are weighed and judged. The dead face several trials and are subject to a second death if they fail.

Ancient Persian (Persia, modern Iran) religion (Mazdaism, Zoroastrianism, Parseeism, etc) was dualistic with a conflict between equally powerful good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Ahriman) deities. The two deities were co-creators of the universe. The evil deity will, in the end, be vanquished and a judgement of people based on their life's deeds will occur. Those with evil deeds will be purified by fire, Hell will be purged, and the earth will be renewed by a purifying fire.

The ancient Greeks believed that life on Earth was the highest good for man. After death, the soul survived in a dull attenuated existence with little emphasis on retributive justice for life's misdeeds. A few very evil individuals would receive eternal punishment in Tartarus and a few favorites of the gods
would exist in eternal bliss in the Elysian Fields.  

Recently, there was much popular discussion of "2012." This was based on Aztec mythology which predicted the end of our current cycle of time on 21 December 2012. The Aztec mythology describes several cycles ruled by deities who are destroyed at the end of each cycle along with all the humans living during that cycle. The sun is the deity of the current cycle.

The human sacrifices regularly performed by the ancient Aztecs had a specific purpose. The blood and the extracted human hearts were seen as the food or fuel which maintained the ability of the Sun god to function. The stability of the universe depended upon regular human sacrifices.

Norse (Scandinavian) eschatology is presented in the story of Ragnarok, the climactic battle of the  cyclical Old Norse mythology. Nearing the end of the cycle, people, and the Gods themselves, will become increasingly corrupt, not honorable, dissipated, apathetic, and nihilistic. The Frost Giants, led by the renegade god Loki, will come and the battle will begin, accompanied by natural disasters. Most of the Norse gods will be killed and the world will eventually be dead and silent, covered with water and in total silence. After a time, fertile land will emerge from the water and the few gods who survived the battle will gather. A new first couple of humans will repopulate the new clean earth and the gods will celebrate.

In some religious/philosophical systems, such as Baha’ism and Jainism, there is neither a beginning nor an end.  Baha’is believe that reality consists of a series of progressive revelations by prophets. The coming of each new prophet is the judgement of the previous religion., with the prophet Bahaullah having brought the ultimate revelation.

The most severe forms of Buddhism deny even this. Within each moment in time, both birth and death are present. As each moment is born, the previous moment dies. The only reality is the present moment. There is no reward or punishment and no God. Individual existence with its cravings and desires is the ultimate evil.  Salvation is the extinction of every type of desire, even the desire for existence.

Hinduism sees reality and time as a series of repeating cycles as Shiva destroys and regenerates the universe repeatedly. The individual is part of this cyclical nature and ultimately will come to realize that individuality is an illusion. The individual consciousness is in actuality part of the Ultimate Reality and its ultimate destiny is absorption back into the Whole. All reality will contract into a singularity which will then begin again to expand.

Islamic eschatology points toward a Day of Judgement in which each persons good deeds will be balanced against their evil deeds. The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad give many signs which will indicate the approach of the Day of Judgement.

Judaism is most concerned with life now, in the present time, and is more corporate than individual. The concept is that the important thing is observance of the Law in order to prepare ourselves and the world for the coming of God's kingdom on Earth. The religion is absolutely monotheistic and God is absolute in His control of the universe. Man is intended to live in friendship with God during this life. There is very little discussion of retributive justice in the afterlife. 

Jewish eschatology is based on the Nation of Israel as a whole, not on the individual. The promises of the Old Testament are to the nation, the people of the land Am ha'aretz (עם הארץ), not the individual. The hope is for the establishment of a theocratic Messianic kingdom, based in Jerusalem, which will rule the world with justice and peace. 

An introduction to Christian eschatology will be presented in the next post.

Modern Names of Biblical Places

Ecbatana: Mentioned in Ezra 6:2, Ecbatana (aka: Agbatana) was probably first occupied by the Assyrians in 1100 BC/BCE.  About 700 BC/BCE, the city was the capital of the Medean Kingdom (“Persians and Medes”) under King Diokes.  The city is the site of the tombs of Esther and Mordecai and is known today as Hamadan, Iran.  The main exports of the city are leather, carpets, and ceramics.

Gerasa: The agricultural city of Jerash, Jordan (48 km north of Amman) is mentoioned in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 as Gerasa.  It was also known as Antioch on the Golden River.  The city was founded in 331 BC/BCE either by Alexander the Great or by his general, Perdiccas, as a retirement city for career soldiers.

Pergamum: Revelation 2:12. The name of Pergamum probably is derived from the Luwian word  “parrai” of the Hittite word “parku.” Both words mean “high.”  The city was founded by Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great’s generals.  Under the Romans, the city had a population as large as 150,000.  The modern city, with a population of 55,000, is known as Bergama, Turkey and  produces cotton, gold, and carpets.

Neapolis: The seaport of Neapolis (Greek = “new city”) was settled in the 7^th century BC/BCE to exploit nearby silver and gold deposits.  In 168 BC/BCE Neapolis became a Roman city.  The modern name is Kavala, Greece.  The city is mentioned in Acts 16:11.

Puteoli: Acts 28:13 mentions the Roman colony of Puteoli.  The name is derived from the Latin word “putere” (“to stink”), probably because of the strong sulfur smell in the area. The Roman colony was established at the earlier Greek colony of Dicaearchia.  The city produced blown glass, marble, wrought iron, and mosaics and was a port for the Greek grain trade.  The modern name of the city is Pozzuoli, Italy.

Modern Names of Biblical Places: Susa

Susa, mentioned in Nehemiah 1:1, Esther 1:2, Ezra 4:9, and Daniel 8:2,16 survives as the modern city of Shush, Iran which had a population of 53,897 in 2006.  Ancient Susa (aka: Shushan, Susan, and Susun) was occupied as early as 4395 BC/BCE and was a city of the Elamite, Persian, and Parthian Empires.  The palace of King Xerxes and Queen Esther was excavated late in the nineteenth century.

Johnny Cash Singing "Belshazzar"

Belshazzar was long believed by many scholars to be a fictitious character but is now known to have been a real person.  Archeological evidence has proven that the drunken orgy detailed in Daniel chapter 5 occurred on 29 October 539 BC/BCE when Cyrus of Persia was easily able to take Babylon.  Belshazzar was killed and Darius, in the name of Cyrus, took the throne.  In a document from the period, the Nabonidus Chronicle, Cyrus expresses his contempt for the weak and corrupt Belshazzar.

The Nabonidus Chronicle, now housed in the British Museum in London, is a cuneiform script clay tablet which deals with the history between 556 BC/BCE and about 539 BC/BCE.  Nabonidus was easily overthrown by Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia.  The inscription ends while speaking of Cambyses, Cyrus' son.

"Belshazzar" is a Hebrew version of the Persian name, Bel-shar-usur.  Belshazzar was the weak, corrupt, and hedonistic son of Nabonidus, King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.  Nebuchadnezzar (d. 562 BC/BCE) is called his father because he was an ancestor.  The incident is the origin of the phrase, "the writing is on the wall."  The phrase is used to denote easily foreseeable and probably inevitable consequences of foolish and/or corrupt actions.

Daniel 5 King James Version 1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.5In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied. 10Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 12Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation. 13Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing: 16And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. 20But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 21And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. 22And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.28PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. <

Non-Canonical Books Mentioned in the Bible: Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia

The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia is a now lost secular Persian historical work mentioned three times in the book of Esther.

“And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.” Esther 2:23

“On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.” Esther 6:1

“And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?” Esther 10:2


Esther (the Persian name of the beautiful Jewish girl, Hadassah) was made the queen of King Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) who ruled Persia 486-465 BC/BCE.  The Medes were ethnic Iranians who were important in the Persian government.  They were descendants of the Median Empire (fl 726-549 BC/BCE). 

Extra-Biblical Evidences of Biblical Persons and/or Events: Nehemiah's Wall

Since no archeological evidence had ever been found to corroborate it, archeologists over the years have tended to discount the historicity of the book of Nehemiah and its account of the repairs on the damaged wall of Jerusalem.  That is, until 8 November 2007, when archeologist Eilat Mazar (b. 1956, Israel) announced that she had found it.  Her discovery is now fully recognized as the correct interpretation.  The wall fits the biblical description of the area and the site was dated by pottery found at the wall.  Pottery? Yes, it would have been used to carry drinking water for the workers and possibly food.  When a pot broke, the pieces were left where they fell.  Pottery styles are different for different cultures and are often used in dating archeological sites.

נְחֶמְיָה

Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah (Nehemiah 1:1) was a captive/slave of the Persian King Artaxerxes I (d. 424 BC/BCE).  He served as the king's "cupbearer" and was sent by the king to be the governor of Jerusalem in 445 BC/BCE.  Why would the king of Persia choose a minor, non-Persian slave to be his representative in a faraway country?  Because Nehemiah asked him to.

Think about this. It was punishable by death to speak to, or even to approach, the king unless one was summoned.  This is shown in the book of Esther, where the beautiful Jewish girl Hadassah was afraid to approach King Ahasuerus of Persia (aka. Xerxes I the Great; Khshayarsha, ruled 486-465 BC/BCE).  She was afraid to speak to him even though she had been chosen as his new queen; she was his wife.


"All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days." Esther 4:11


No wonder that Nehemiah said, "Then I was very sore afraid,"  Of course, he was afraid.  He was just a minor house servant, but he had to be a very well trusted servant.  He was in a position where he could have poisoned the king's wine, and, in order to hand the king his cup of wine, Nehemiah would have been close enough to the king to successfully lunge at him with a concealed knife or with his bare hands.


Artaxerxes obviously trusted Nehemiah; it seems that he may have even liked Nehemiah. 

"And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.  Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,  And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?  Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.  And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it." Nehemiah 2:1-5.


Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah letters of recommendation and building supplies, and appointed him as governor of Jerusalem.

Links for more information on Nehemiah’s wall:

http://www.biblicalarchaeologytruth.com/nehemiahs-wall.html 

http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=83627 

If You Don't Do It ...

Mordecai, a Benjamite who was one of the Jews of the Diaspora, deported during the reign of Jehoichin (Esther 2:5-6) was one of those brilliant and capable men who rise to positions of prominence wherever they end up.  He ended up as a trusted Persian official.

He raised, as his own daughter, Hadassah, a cousin whose parents had died when she was a child.  Her Persian name of Esther is probably from the Akkadian goddess named Ishtar, the equivalent of Venus.

After the Persian king, Xerxes, divorced his wife Vashti, he sent out an order to collect up all the beautiful young virgins in his kingdom for what is best described as a "tryout."  Esther was the clear "winner," and won the king's favor, but even she did not dare to just walk in to the king and say "Hi."

Esther was secretly Jewish at the instruction of her adopted father.  Then, when Xerxes was manipulated into issuing an order to exterminate the Jews, Mordecai asked Esther to do something which terrified her.

"When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.  But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

When Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions." Esther 4:1-17

God's will cannot and will not be thwarted.  When you are called to act, you must choose to act or to step aside and someone else will step up to answer their call from God.  When you step out of God's plan, you are not promised protection from what may happen.

Christian Heresies: Nestorianism

Nestorius (b. ca 386 - d. ca 451) was the Archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) from 428 until 431, when he was condemned and removed from office for teaching that Christ exists as two persons, the human man Jesus and the Son of God, the Logos.  This was in opposition to the orthodox doctrine that Jesus is one person who is fully human and fully divine.  Nestorianism was condemned by the Council of Ephesus (Efes, Turkey) in 431.

The first known Christians in China (635) were converted by Alopen, a Persian.  Nestorian Christians are known to have been present in China until the 14th Century.

The First Archeologist?

    Nabu-na'id (aka Nabonidus) reigned from 556-539 BCE as the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.  He is not mentioned in the Bible, being overshadowed by his father, Nabu-kudurri-usur (aka Nebuchadnezzar), and by his son Bel-shar-usur (aka Belshazzar).  On 29 October 539 BCE, he ran away as Babylon was taken by Kurose (aka Cyrus), King of Persia.  In Daniel 5: 2-22 his father is named as the father of his son.  This may have been literally true or the listing may have been due to a common Semitic practice of naming an important  ancestor as the father of a person.

    In northern Bablyon, at Sippur, Nabonidus found a temple platform built by NrimSin, son of Sargon I (2400 BCE).  He had the site excavated for its treasures and catalogued.