Archaeology supports the Bible.

Transcription

1 Archaeology supports the Bible. It cannot prove the Bible true but it does give us excellent reasons :- Why we should read the Bible with care and greater confidence.

2 0. The Bible has foretold the future. Genuine prophecies include :- About cities and nations to be Eliminated:- Nineveh, Tyre, Babylon, Edom, Ammon, Philistines. About cities and nations to Survive until the Kingdom comes:- The Jews, Esau (Arabs), Egypt, Persia (Iran), Libya, Ethiopia. I propose to look at a tale of Two Cities; Tyre and Babylon. Both to be eliminated but in different ways. Probably spending much more time on Tyre than on Babylon! I shall be using an ESV to help us understand the poetic language a little better where it is prolific in most of the prophecies.

3 0. The Bible has foretold the future. When some Israelites followed the idolatry of the then world; God challenges the heathen Gods to show proof of their Superhuman knowledge. Is 41:21 Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. v22 Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. v23 Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods;

4 1. The Bible is crammed full of history. There is no other world religion that begins to have anything like this historical and prophetic book of The Bible as their basis. Higher Criticism of the Bible is not always bad. But in the last 150 years or so they ( Higher Critics ) have had to change their tune. The Bible has proved to be a most reliable historical record.

5 1. The Bible is crammed full of history. Evidence of Prof W F Albright, qualified as a theologian, historian, philosopher and orientalist. Died Regarded as the greatest archaeologist in USA and perhaps one of greatest in world. He comments on Abraham s story in Gen 11: A generation or two ago most critical scholars regarded these chapter as very late and quite unhistorical. We cannot say that today. These chapter (Gen 11 ff ) present some exceedingly early allusions carrying us directly back into the Middle Bronze Age ( BC).

6 1. The Bible is crammed full of history. He offers one example found in Gen 14:14. Gen 14:14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. (ESV) {NB KJV trained servants }. S02593 חניך chaniyk kaw-neek, a 1x (a oncer); from a root initiated, skilled, tried fidelity (Gesenius). Now known to be an Egyptian word used in the Execration Texts of late C19th BC and used 4 centuries later in one of the Taanach tablets. Also some of the towns mentioned in this chapter are now proved to be very ancient. W F Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine, Penguin Books, 1960.

7 1. The Bible is crammed full of history. Similarly in another book he sums up the situation by saying:- our case for the substantial historicity for the tradition of the patriarchs (i.e. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) is clinched. W F Albright, The Bible period from Abraham to Ezra, Harper & Rowe, New York. NB. His scholarly caution in the following quotation:- the substantial historicity is proved. The real value of Biblical Archaeology is that it has shown many criticisms of the Bible to be false.

8 2. A tale of two cities Tyre and Babylon were to be destroyed by God for their wickedness. They were both great capital cities of the ancient world. Tyre s navy dominated the Mediterranean, she had the largest merchant fleet of the ancient world. Each of them were to be destroyed sometimes taking over hundreds of years. But the nature of their punishments were to be very different. Tyre was destroyed but not to remain as ruins, all its stones were to be cast into the sea. Whereas Babylon after its destruction was to remain a collection of uninhabited ruins for all time.

9 3. The city of Tyre Note Judah, Edom, Moab, Ammon & the Phoenicians with Tyre & Sidon.

10 3. The city of Tyre צר Tyre (20 x ) and Tyrus (22 x )42 x come from same Hebrew term Tsor or צור Tsowr Tyre or Tyrus = "a rock. Former used in all historical books, Psalms & Isaiah.; the Latter chiefly used by later prophets from Jeremiah onwards. Exactly same Hebrew word. According to Herodotus Tyre s history began BC Josh 19:29 of boundary of tribe of Asher Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre..... In the days of David & Solomon the city became a great maritime commercial centre with mutually beneficial trade. Expanded to include Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia and much of the Mediterranean coast as far as Spain. In days of king David (2 Sam 5:11) and Solomon (1 Kin 9:11) Tyre greatly helped them with materials to build their house and the LORD s house. Tyre had successfully resisted a 5 year invasion by Shalmaneser (of Assyria) when the 10 tribes of Israel were deported ~ BC 722. Tyre became rich, arrogant and morally decadent. No evidence that it ever showed any interest in the God of Israel and His promises.

11 3B The city of Babylon Yet later in days of Zedekiah (last king of Judah) Jer 27:2 Thus the LORD said to me:... 3 Send word to the king of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon... 4 Give them this charge for their masters:... 5 It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth., and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant,... 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson, until the time of his own land comes. Then many nations and great kings shall make him their slave To Zedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as the LORD has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

12 3.The city of Tyre Tyre was a growing city on the coast of the Phoenicians with Sidon originally as its capital. It was sited in a very fertile and irrigated area. They developed a large and proficient navy which allowed their trade with many other nations to grow. About half a mile offshore were two sandy reefs which they joined together by infill and made a separate off-shoot of the city. They transported by boats food and water from the mainland Ancient Tyre to support Insular Tyre. Two harbours were built on north and southern ends of the island.

13 3. The city of Tyre Let s look at Ezekiel s recorded prophecy against Tyre in ch 26. Its structure is important and greatly aids its interpretation.. (A) 26:2-6 THE REASON FOR THE JUDGEMENTS NB. general over-all effects of many nations (v3) invading. v2 Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished,... v3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. v4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre... and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. v 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets,... v6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword... Then they will know that I am the LORD.

14 3. The city of Tyre (B) 26:7-11 INVASION BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR (ESV) v7 For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring against Tyre... Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,... with horses and chariots,... and a host of many soldiers. KJV Nebuchadrezzar. v8 He will kill... your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall... Throw up a mound... Raise a roof of shields... v9 He will direct... battering rams against your walls,... with his axes he will break down your towers. v10 His horses will be so many... Your walls will shake at the noise of... wagons and chariots, when he enters... a city that has been breached. v11 With... his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people..., and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. (similar to RV) NB 3 rd person singular pronouns He and His, cf with section (C). All here relating to Nebuchadnezzar.

15 3. The city of Tyre (C) 26:12-14 INVASION BY MANY NATIONS v12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. v13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. v14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. NB the They 3 rd person plural pronouns are so different from He and His pronouns of v7-11 section. How did all these prophecies work out in history?

16 3. The city of Tyre (D) How did all these prophecies work out in history? Brief notes:- Section (B) After capture of Jerusalem (586 BC) Nebuchadnezzar patiently besieged Ancient Tyre (mainland) for 13 years. It was captured and turned to rubble, by 573 BC. During this time the Tyrians took much of their wealth and fled by boat to Insular Tyre on island. Neb. had no navy and was powerless to invade and complete his conquest. God makes plain this failure of Neb. In the chapters to do with Egypt (ch 29-32) he says Ezek 29:19-20:- 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall carry off its wealth and despoil it and plunder it; and it shall be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt as his payment for which he labored, because they worked for me, declares the Lord GOD. So Ancient Tyre was left in ~ 573 BC as a conquered and much reduced city. Whereas Insular Tyre continued its trade as before.

17 3. The city of Tyre Sections (C & A) deal with many nations (26:3) attacking the great cities of Tyre (Ancient and Insular). Alexander the Great initially wanted to sacrifice to his favourite God Hercules in their temple in Insular Tyre. He was refused and offered a similar temple in the ruins of Ancient Tyre. He became furious, sacked what was left of Ancient Tyre on mainland and then wanted to do the same to Insular Tyre. He constructed a new mole (0.6m long and 200 wide) from the seashore out to the Insular Tyre citadel. It took 6 months of construction and he used up all of the walls, towers, pillars, rubble, stone, rock and even the soil from Ancient Tyre. Alexander was then able to transfer his heavy siege gear over the mole and properly confront the citadel of Insular Tyre so that it fell. Later the effect of the tides and silt caused the mole to become a peninsula jutting out into the sea.

18 3. The city of Tyre (C) Alexander the Great s invasion of Insular Tyre

19 3. The city of Tyre (C) Alexander the Great s invasion of Insular Tyre and Present coastline.

20 3. The city of Tyre The more general section (A) includes many nations :- Eze 26:3... Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. Been True ever since. The historian Didorous attests these facts. (Paul Ferguson ARB). In 315 BC Insular Tyre was taken by Antigomus of Syria (seige of 15m). In 248 BC treacherously surrendered to Antiochus the Great by Theodotus (lieutenant of Ptolemy Philopater). Tyre became a Roman province, was capital of Roman s Syria-Phoenician province. AD 1124 taken by the Crusaders from the Saracens (siege 5.5m) when ⅓ assigned to Venice. In 1187 it successfully resisted Saladin (a sultan of Egypt & Syria). In 13 th Century the grandeur of ancient Tyre was still visible. But its final destruction was in AD 1291, (when the Crusaders lost to the Muslims) ~ 1865 years after Ezekiel was written.

21 4. The city of Babylon Babylon is the 2 nd great city to consider. - In the form of a square, 14 miles on each side, and of enormous magnitude - The brick wall was 56 miles long, 300 feet high, 25 feet thick with another wall 75 feet behind the first wall, and the wall extended 35 feet below the ground towers that were 450 feet high - The Euphrates River also flowed through the middle of the city. - Eight massive gates that led to the inner city and 100 brass gates - 2 golden lions, a solid gold human figure (18 feet high) - Nebuchadnezzar s palace was considered to be the most magnificent building ever erected on earth.

22 4. The city of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian empire Babylon This is a map of the extent of the Babylonian empire, the biggest the world had then ever seen. The genius of the teenage Commander Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian army helped him to win battles, succeed his father Nabopolasar as Ruler and extend Babylon s power and influence. He ruled BC.

23 4. The city of Babylon Bible prophecies about the city of Babylon (1 of 2). Isa 13:1 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 17 Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendour and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them. 20 It will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there; no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there. 21 But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.

24 4. The city of Babylon Bible prophecies about the city of Babylon. (2 of 2) Jer 50:1 The word that the LORD spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet: 39 Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations. 40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities, declares the LORD, so no man shall dwell there, and no son of man shall sojourn in her. Jer 51:1 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon, No stone shall be taken from you for a corner and no stone for a foundation, but you shall be a perpetual waste, declares the LORD. 37 and Babylon shall become a heap of ruins,... without inhabitant.

25 4. The city of Babylon All that remains of great city of Babylon today is a variety of mounds. Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild the great city. IE in opposition to God s word. The role of Saddam Hussein's Babylonian palace was more symbolic than functional. When American troops entered Babylon in April, 2003, they found little evidence that the palace had ever been occupied or used. In 1982, Saddam's workers began reconstructing Babylon's most imposing building, the 600-room palace of King Nebuchadnezzar II.... The original bricks, which rise two or three feet from the ground, bear ancient inscriptions praising Nebuchadnezzar. Above these, Saddam Hussein's workers laid more than 60-million sand-coloured bricks inscribed with the words, "In the era of Saddam Hussein, protector of Iraq, who rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon. The new bricks began to crack after only ten years.

26 5. Quick conclusions The ancient site of Tyre on the mainland has been destroyed and thrown into the sea by Alexander s construction of his mole. It is difficult to identify the original site except by measurements from the new Insular Tyre. But the prophetic words have been fulfilled over a long time period of many nations invading what was left. All that remains of the great city of Babylon today is a variety of mounds. It has been reduced to rubble and despite a few attempts to rebuild the glory of the old city of Babylon they have all failed. Even nomadic shepherds do not like to bring their sheep to this site feeling it has been cursed. I would suggest that God s words have foretold the end results for both of these two once great capital cities, in quite different ways.

27 5. Quick conclusions There is a third capital town (among many other examples) Which has suffered more conquests and rebuilding than any other capital city. It has suffered the indignity of its temple site being plowed like a field Mic 3:12 Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Fulfilled over at least part of the site by Emperor Hadrian in AD 135. Yet it is the one city of this world which has been chosen to be the centre of God s world kingdom ruled by the returned Lord Jesus. Mic 4:1 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. But that is all part of another story for another time?