Levitt Letter Extra News

Joel C. Rosenberg, the New York Times best-selling author of Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future, announced that on April 4th he will host the 2009 EPICENTER CONFERENCE to examine several rising global geopolitical and economic crises in light of Bible prophecy. Rosenberg will be joined at the conference by Lt.-General (ret.) Jerry Boykin, the former commander of the Army’s elite Delta Force and the former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence; and Pastor Chuck Smith, Bible teacher, author, radio host, and prophecy expert.

“With wars and rumors of wars dominating the Middle East, the eyes of the world are riveted on Israel, Iran and their neighbors, the epicenter of the dramatic events that are shaping our world and shaking our future,” said Rosenberg. “Americans are reading apocalyptic headlines out of the Middle East. They are looking for answers to questions like, Is there any chance of peace in the Middle East in the near future, or are we headed toward even more catastrophic wars? Why are Iran’s leaders saying the end of the world is near, and the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah is to annihilate the U.S. and Israel? What happens if Iran gets nuclear weapons? Why is Russia helping Iran go nuclear? How will coming events in the Middle East affect us as Americans, economically and geopolitically? Were the global crises we see unfolding today foretold thousands of years ago by the Hebrew prophets? And given the urgency of such crises, is there any hope in the world today?”

WHO: Joel C. Rosenberg, Pastor Chuck Smith, Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Jerry Boykin, and others

WHAT: The 2009 EPICENTER CONFERENCE: UNDERSTANDING TODAY’S GLOBAL CRISES IN LIGHT OF BIBLE PROPHECY.

WHEN: April 4, 2009 – 9:00am to 4:00pm

WHERE: Cox Arena, San Diego, and web cast gavel to gavel at www.epicenter09.com

The San Diego event will be the first EPICENTER CONFERENCE held in the United States. In April 2008, Rosenberg, Boykin and Smith spoke at the inaugural EPICENTER CONFERENCE which was held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.

EXCLUSIVE: CURIOUS DEVELOPMENT IN SYRIA
By Joel C. Rosenberg

On Monday night, something remarkable is taking place in the capital of Syria. More than 1,100 senior Syrian government officials, journalists, business leaders and religious leaders — Muslim, Catholic and evangelical Christian — will attend the gala premiere of a major motion picture entitled “DAMASCUS,” written, produced and directed by entirely Arab Christians. The film, part documentary and part narrative drama, tells the story of how Saul of Tarsus — one of the first prominent persecutors of Christ-followers in the Holy Land — himself became a follower of Jesus during a miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and eventually became known as the Apostle Paul, going on to write much of the New Testament.

It is unheard of in the Middle East to have a major Christian film about the events of the New Testament debut in a Muslim-majority country run by the secular Ba’ath Party, much less have the premiere supported and attended by senior government officials. That’s what makes the “DAMASCUS” docu-drama project so extraordinary. What’s more, the film is hosted and narrated by one of the most well-known Syrian TV newscasters who explains the historic events of the life of Paul in the very places where those events occurred. Numerous events in Paul’s life are then dramatized using famous Syrian Muslim actors playing the parts of Jews and Jewish followers of Jesus.

After the premiere, the film is expected to be launched throughout Syria and the rest of the Muslim world. Sources indicate senior Catholic leaders in the Vatican recently reviewed the film and were favorable.

The remarkable film debut comes at a sensitive time for Syrian officials who are feeling quite isolated from the West. U.S. and European leaders have been sharply critical of President Bashar al-Assad’s government on a number of fronts, for supporting Hezbollah’s war against Israel, supporting Hamas’ war against Israel, forming a strategic alliance with Iran, buying billions of dollars worth of advanced weapons systems from Russia, and building a nuclear facility with the help of North Korea (a facility that was bombed and destroyed by an Israel airstrike several years ago). Syria’s government has never been controlled by Radical Islamic jihadists. Still, it has long stifled activities by Arab Christians to teach others about their faith. It is not clear what the Assad government’s motives are for both allowing and supporting the release of the “DAMASCUS” film. But it is an encouraging development indeed.

It is especially noteworthy given two Bible prophecies — one in Isaiah 17 and the other in Jeremiah 49 — that suggest the city of Damascus will be obliterated in what the Bible calls “the last days.” The Scriptures do not say exactly when or how the Syrian capital will be destroyed. But let us pray that the powerful message of Paul’s life and Jesus Christ’s love and forgiveness for all people is clearly communicated to every Syrian, particularly those in the capital.

Zero Hour Approaches

We’ve been counting down to the year that Iran will finally become a nuclear power ever since Iranian dissidents exposed the Iranian nuclear program in 2002. European intelligence estimated it would take Iran until 2012 to achieve this. Israeli intelligence figured late 2007.

Last year’s National Intelligence Estimate completely undercut the Bush administration’s Iran foreign policy when it estimated Iran was still “many years” from being able to build a bomb.

The NIE predicted: “… with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough HEU [highly enriched uranium] for a weapon is late 2009, but that is very unlikely.”

Unlikely though it may have been, the International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran had enriched enough uranium to make its first atomic bomb on Nov. 21, 2008. By now, as it brings new centrifuges online, Tehran may well have enough for a second.

The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, was quoted from the Kremlin on Wednesday confirming the launch of the Bushehr reactor later this year. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are no longer even remotely unclear.

Yet, knowing this, Moscow fully intends to supply Iran with all the nuclear material it needs.

In Gaza, Hamas is claiming victory on the same ground as did Hezbollah in 2006. It survived, and Israel pulled out without meeting all its objectives. Rockets continue to rain down on Israel from Gaza, and Hamas continues to hold Israeli solider Gilad Shalit hostage.

To the north, either out of nervous tension or tactical plan, Hezbollah launched several rockets into Israel. Syrian troops opened fire with small arms on Israeli troops on their side of the border near Sheba Farms. In a couple of days, Israeli voters are likely to return Benjamin Netanyahu to power, which changes the whole equation in the region.

WorldNetDaily reported yesterday of a secret message sent by Netanyahu to Hamas’ top leadership saying that if they don’t stop the rocket attacks against Israel, he will order the IDF to “wipe them out.”

Netanyahu makes three specific promises to voters upon the strength of which he is expected to win. The first is the destruction of Hamas.

The Jerusalem Post quoted Netanyahu speaking from the site of a Grad missile strike in Ashkelon on Monday, saying: “A government under my leadership will overthrow the Hamas rule in Gaza and bring about a cessation of rocket fire,” he said. “The policy of blindness followed in the past years has brought us to this situation.”

The second is the destruction of Hezbollah and Syrian influence over Lebanon. The third promise is left deliberately vague: “Iran will not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.” Netanyahu doesn’t elaborate on exactly how Israel will prevent it. But notice something curious about that. Not many Israelis want him to.

Taking a step back and looking at the Big Picture, it is hard to miss the fact that events are developing in concert with the ancient prophecies of Scripture.

The Prophet Isaiah foretold the “burden of Damascus” (Isaiah 17:1) in which the prophet predicts the overnight destruction of that great city in the last days: “At evening time, behold there is terror! Before morning they are no more. Such will be the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who pillage us.” (Isaiah 17:14)

The Prophet Ezekiel predicts an alliance between Russia and an Islamic confederacy headed by Iran, or Persia.

Hamas continues to attack Israel with rocket attacks for the sheer joy of the violence of it all. Related to this, the Prophet Obadiah pronounced this verdict against Edom, who is one of the forefathers of the people of Hamas, saying, “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame, and you will be cut off forever.” Interestingly, the word translated as “violence” in this Scripture is the Hebrew word, chamac, pronounced “hamas.”

Of all the generations in history, it is to this generation that the prophecies of the last days are addressed. Previous generations looked for the signs given by Scripture, but only this generation can truly see them all come together at one time – which is itself a key fulfillment of prophecy.

The Prophet Daniel predicted these conditions: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’” (Daniel 12:8-9) We are witnessing the “unsealing” of the end-times prophecies.

The same Spirit that inspired the incredible accuracy of the prophets to this point is not likely to suddenly have a misstep. So what does that mean? The Lord of the Universe is getting ready to judge the world. But before that, He will come for His own. Make sure you are one of them.

By Dr. Chuck Misler, Koinonia House,
The Jerusalem Connection International, support.tjci.org

Russia’s invasion of Georgia has caused a uproar in the international community and further strained Russia’s diplomatic relationship with the West. These events could help pave the way for the famed battle prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39. It is during this battle, that God will directly intercede to protect Israel from Magog and its allies:

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. . .And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horse-men, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: – Ezekiel 38:1-4

So begins this classic passage in which Gog and Magog, with their allies, are drawn into an invasion of Israel only to have the God of Israel use the occasion to show Himself strong by intervening on behalf of His people and destroying the invading forces. To understand this passage, it is essential to first determine who the players are. Despite the many controversies, these participants are surprisingly well identified. Just who are the people represented here by these ancient tribal names?

Why Such Weird Names?

Have you ever wondered why the Biblical prophets always seem to refer to various peoples by such strange names? It’s actually our fault! We keep changing the names of things. There once was a city known as Petrograd. For many years it was known as St. Petersburg. Then it was changed to Leningrad. Now it’s St. Petersburg again. What will it be named a few years from now? (My friends in Russia say that in Russia, even the past is uncertain!) The capital of the old world, Byzantium, was renamed Constantinople. Now that city is known as Istanbul. This occurs even in our own country. How many of you remember when “Cape Canaveral” was renamed “Cape Kennedy”? Ten years later it became “Cape Canaveral” again.

But we do not change the names of our ancestors! So, if you were the prophet Isaiah and were called upon to speak of the Persians over a century before they emerged as an empire, how could you refer to them? You would speak of them as the descendants of Elam, the forebears of the Persians.(2)

The Table of Nations

Did you realize that you and I are related? All of us are descendants, not only from Adam, but from Noah. Noah and his three sons repopulated the entire Earth after the flood. Thus, we are all descendants of Noah’s three sons: Ham, Shem, and Japheth. We are all relatives. (Perhaps that’s why we don’t get along any better!) The genealogical records of Noah and his three sons are listed in Genesis 10, and the 70 original tribal groups described there are often called by Biblical scholars, The Table of Nations. Specifically, to understand the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 – 39, we need some background on Magog and his allies.

Magog was one of the sons of Japheth (3) and his descendants are often referred to by their Greek name, the Scythians. (4) One of the earliest references to Magog was by Hesiod, “the father of Greek didactic poetry,” who identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C. (5) Hesiod was, in effect, almost a contemporary of Ezekiel. Another of the major sources on the ancient history of the Middle East is, of course, Josephus Flavius, who clearly identified Magog:

Magog founded the Magogians, thus named after him, but who were by the Greeks called Scythians. (6)

Another first century writer was Philo, (7) who also identified Magog with southern Russia. But most of our information comes to us from Herodotus, who wrote extensively in the 5th century B.C.

The “Father of History”

Herodotus of Halicarnassus is known as the “Father of History.” He wrote the earliest important historical narrative, in which he described the background and the course of the great war between the Greeks and the Persians in the 5th century B.C. Numerous archeological discoveries have clearly confirmed Herodotus’ reports in general, and his Scythian accounts in particular. (8)

The tortuous path from the horseback archery of the early Scyths to the nuclear missiles of the Russian Federation includes many centuries of turbulent history. The various descendants of Magog terrorized the southern steppes of Russia from the Ukraine to the Great Wall of China.

The “Steppes of History”

The earliest origins of the area settled by the descendants of Magog, the extreme north and east, are clouded by the passage of time and war. Only faint traces remain, but enough to establish the critical identities. Our indebtedness extends from writers predating Ezekiel to the energies of the Russian archaeologists in more recent years. In the 9th century B.C. a number of nomadic tribes created a new state in the region of Lake Van in present-day Turkey, which immediately became a competitor of Assyria. The Assyrians called this state Urartu. The Urartean state quickly became powerful, and in the first half of the 8th century B.C. extended its rule over a wide area.

Assyria could not stand by indifferently as Urartu expanded and grew more powerful. During the reign of Argishti’s son, Sarduri II (764-735 B.C.), the Assyrians undertook two campaigns against Urartu, in 743 and 735 B.C. In the second, they reached and besieged the Urartean capital of Tushpa. Two groups are frequently referred to in Urartean and Assyrian texts: the Cimmerians and the Scythians. Both will figure prominently in subsequent identifications.

The Cimmerians

The Cimmerians are the oldest of the European tribes living north of the Black Sea and Danube, and whom we know by the name they used for themselves. The Cimmerian period in the history of southern Ukraine began in the late 11th century B.C. The Cimmerians were the first specialized horse-nomads to make their name in history. (9) The earliest osteological evidence of the domestication of the horse occurs south of Kiev about 2500 B.C. (10) Their nomadic lifestyle, including mounted warriors, fully developed between the 10th and 8th centuries. (11)

They are first mentioned in secular literature in The Odyssey and The Iliad of Homer (8th century B.C.), and in Assyrian cuneiform texts from the 8th century B.C. (before Ezekiel), and of course, in Herodotus (5th century B.C.). Herodotus indicates that the whole North Pontic steppe region, occupied in his time by the Scythians, belonged earlier to the Cimmerians. (12) Homer (13) associated the Cimmerians with a fog-bound land, perhaps the Crimean peninsula on the north shore of the Black Sea. Some scholars derive the name of “Crimea” from the Cimmerians. (14) The Cimmerians surged into Asia Minor in the late 7th century B.C. They annihilated the Phrygian kingdom after destroying and looting its capital, Gordium. In 652 B.C. they captured Sardis and plundered the Greek cities of the Aegean coast and Asia Minor. In the early 7th century, Cimmerian forces were checked and routed by the Assyrians who came to the aid of the Scythians. By the 6th century B.C. the name of the Cimmerians disappeared from the historical scene.

In the 5th century B.C., Herodotus (15) related that the Cimmerians were driven south over the Caucasus, probably through the central Dariel Pass, by the Scythians in a domino-like effect as the Scythians themselves were pushed westward by other tribes. This can be correlated with Chinese records. (16) The numerous references in the Talmud has left little doubt that these descendants of Gomer then moved northward and established themselves in the Rhine and Danube valleys. (17)

The Scythians

We know the descendants of Magog by their Greek designation as the Scythians (depicted in their legends as descending from Scythes, the youngest of the three sons of Heracles, from sleeping with a half viper and half woman). (18) The name Scythian designates a number of nomadic tribes from the Russian steppes, one group of which invaded the Near East in the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. After being repulsed from Media, many of the later Scyths settled in the fertile area of the Ukraine north of the Black Sea. Other related tribes occupied the area to the east of the Caspian Sea.

Herodotus describes them living in Scythia (i.e., the territory north of the Black Sea). He describes Scythia as a square, 20 days journey (360 miles) on a side. It encompassed the lower reaches of the Dniester, Bug, Dnieper, and Don Rivers where they flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. (19)

The Scythian language belonged to the Iranian family of the Indo-European languages. (20) The Ossetian dialect of central Caucasus appears to be a survivor. (21) The original area in which Iranian was spoken extended from the mid-Volga and the Don regions to the northern Urals and beyond. From here, Iranian-speaking tribes colonized Media, Parthia, Persia, Central Asia, and as far as the Chinese border.

In the 7th century B.C. the Scythians swept across the area, displacing the Cimmerians from the steppes of the Ukraine east of Dnieper River, who fled from them across the Caucasus. (22) It is provocative that even the name “Caucasus” appears to have been derived from Gog-hasan, or “Gog’s Fort.” (23)

The hippomolgoi (”mare-milkers”) mentioned in Homer’s Iliad (24) were equestrian nomads of the northern steppes and several authorities also identified these with the Scythians. (25) [One of the delicacies I was presented with when I was being hosted by the Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Union was fermented horse milk! These traditions may have a deep history, indeed.]

Tombs That Tell Tales

The fact that the Scythian culture extended more than 2,000 miles east from the Ukraine was demonstrated by the sensational discovery of tombs in the Chilikta Valley of East Kazakhstan, published in Russian in 1965:

…prove that Scythian material culture had spread to the Mongolian border as early as the 6th century B.C. (26)

Countless Scythian burials, ranging from the 6th – 2nd century B.C., have been uncovered in the areas to the north and east of the Black Sea, in many cases beyond the limits of what Herodotus demarcated in his day as “Scythia” proper. Soviet scholars have, of course, worked broadly in this region. (27) More than 1,200 graves were investigated by A. Leskov in the Crimean area between 1961 and 1972. Aerial surveys also have been employed. (28) Hundreds of Scythian graves from the 4th and 3rd centuries have been discovered since the 1930s by B. Grakow, A. Trenoschkin, and E. Tschernenko, in the Ukraine. One of the many implications of the Soviet finds is the authentication of the reliability of Herodotus as a source of knowledge of the Scythians. The leading authorities on the Scythians, T. Rice, T. Sulimirski, and others, all regard Herodotus as thoroughly vindicated. (29)

Remarkable circumstances led to the preservation of otherwise perishable materials. The frozen conditions marvelously preserved textiles, remains of horses, human skin and hair, entrails, undigested food, etc., for more than 2,300 years! In July 1995, Russian archaeologists found a 2,500 year old Scythian horseman under more than seven feet of ice in Siberia near the Chinese and Mongolian borders. More than 6,500 feet above sea level, the Ukok Plateau is blanketed by a thick layer of rocks that keeps the ground frozen year round. The horseman had been given his ceremonial burial in his fur coat and high leather boots, alongside his horse in a log-lined chamber in the Altai Mountains. He also had his ax, quiver, and dagger. (30)

According to Herodotus and archaeological evidence, the Scythians occupied territory from the Danube to the Don. The northern boundary extended beyond the latitude of Kiev. Near Olbia lived the Callipidae and Graeco-Scythians, and farther north, the Alazones.

Defense in Depth

One reason Herodotus gave so much detailed information about the Scythians was that he wanted to describe the people who had succeeded in defeating the Persian king, Darius. This was a most important element in the history of Scythians, and the memory of it remained with them for many years. In resisting the Persians, a provocative strategic tradition was born: Defense in Depth. This unique strategy also would characterize these descendants of Magog in more recent times against both Napoleon and Hitler.

Darius I crossed the Bosphorus and invaded Scythia. The Scythians, however, had devised an unusual tactic for conducting warfare. The Persians expected to crush the Scythians in a decisive engagement, but the Scythians avoided such a battle. They retreated deep into their own territory, laying waste the region and wearing down the enemy by means of small raids. In pursuing the Scythians, Darius soon came to appreciate the cunning of these “partisan” tactics. Reaching the Volga, Darius, acknowledging defeat, had to retreat from Scythia in shame.

As every student of military history knows, Napoleon and Hitler, each, in more modern times, encountered the same tactics from the Scythian descendants and yielding similar results. When Napoleon entered Russia in 1812, Field Marshall Kutuzov’s similar strategy, including the sacrifice of Moscow itself, resulted in reducing Napoleon’s Grande Armée from 453,000 to less than 10,000, and yielding the ignomious defeat now commemorated in Tchaikovsky’s Overture of 1812. In 1941, Hitler suffered a similar defeat from the same Scythian strategy: allowing a quick advance deep into the Russian interior only to have his Wehrmacht swallowed up in the harsh winter.

Decline

Greater Scythia disintegrated in the late 3rd century B.C., and the territory extended only from the Lower Dnieper to the Crimea. There were several causes; the main one was apparently ecological. Evidently the natural and climatic conditions of life on the steppe were changing. According to some experts there was a “desertification” of the steppe. (31) The population moved to more favorable areas, in particular southwards to the southern Dnieper. The Scythians finally succumbed to attacks from the Goths.

Scythians in the New Testament

The word Scythian occurs once in the New Testament. Paul stresses the fact that people from the most diverse backgrounds can be one in Christ:

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
- Colossians 3:11

These unsavory associations mean nothing to readers today but would have aroused a strong emotional response from Paul’s audience. According to this passage, not only were all classes of society, civilized and uncivilized, one in Christ, but even those cruel, barbaric Scythians – the epitome of savagery in the ancient world (32) – were eligible for redemption through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Even as you and I are. No matter how barbaric or cruel our own history is, His redemption is available for the asking.]

* * *

**NOTES**

1. Ezekiel 39:9-15.
2. Isaiah 11:11; 21:2; 22:6.
3. Genesis 10:2; I Chronicles 1:5.
4. Keil, C.F., & Delitzsch, F., Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel, T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1891, vol 2, p.157; Gesenius, Wilhelm, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Crocker & Brewster, Boston, 1872, pp.534, 626, 955, 1121; Scofield, C.I., ed., The Scofield Reference Bible, Oxford University, 1917, p.883; The New Scofield Reference Bible, English, E.S., 1967, p.881.
5. F. W. Gingrich & Frederich Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago & London, 1957.
6. Josephus, Antiquities, 1.123; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel 38:2.
7. F. H. Colson, G.H. Whitaker, & Ralph Marcus, Philo, Loeb Classical Library, London, 1929-1953.
8. W. Spiegelberg, The Credibility of Herodotus’ Account of Egypt in the Light of the Egyptian Monuments, Blackwell, Oxford, 1927; O. E. Ravn, Herodotus’ Description of Babylon, A. Busck, Copenhagen, 1942.
9. E. D. Phillips, “New Light on the Ancient History of the Eurasian Steppe,” American Journal of Archaeology 61, 1957, p. 274.
10. J. F. Downs, “The Origin and Spread of Riding in the Near East and Central Asia,” American Anthropologist 63, 1961, p. 1196.
11. K. Jettmar, “Die Entstehung der Reiternomaden,” Saeculum 17, 1966, p. 1-11.; E.D. Phillips, “New Light on the Ancient History of the Eurasian Steppe,” American Journal of Archaelogy, 61, 1957.
12. Herodotus 4.11.
13. Odyssey, 11.13-19.
14. Strabo 7.4.3.
15. Herodotus 4.11-13.
16. T. Rice, The Scythians , 3rd ed., Praeger, NY, 1961, p. 43.
17. Targum Yonasan and the Midrash: identification with Germania.
18. It is interesting to notice how frequently a woman is linked with a serpent: Genesis 3; the legends surrounding the birth of Alexander the Great, etc.
19. B.A. Rybakov (Rus: Herodotus’s Scythia ), Nauka, Moscow, 1979, p. 19.
20. See R. G. Kent, Old Persian, 2nd ed., American Oriental Society, New Haven CT, 1953, p. 6; J. Potratz, Die Skythen in Sudrussland , Raggi, Basel, 1963, p.17.
21. See “Scythian”(Rus: Great Soviet Encylopedia ), 3rd ed., 1979, vol 23, pp.259-260. Also, Herodotus 4.117, 4.108, 4.106.
22. Herodotus 4.12.
23. Dr. John Gill, A Commentary on the Old Testament, 1748.
24. Iliad, 13.5.
25. B.N. Grakov, Die Skythen , Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin, 1980, p.4.
26. M. Van Loon, review of J. Potratz, Die Skythen in Sudrussland, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies , 29, 1970, p.71.
27. Rybakov, pp.104-168; T. Sulimirski, “The Scythian Age in the U.S.S.R.,” Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology, London, 10, 1971, pp.114-131; V. S. Olkhovski, “The Scythian Catacombs in the Steppes of the Black Sea” Sovetskaia Arkheologiia, no. 4, 1977, pp. 108-128; “The Ancient Tombs of the Scyths According to Herodotus and the Archaeological Data,” Sovietskaia Arkheologiia, No. 4, 1978, pp. 83-97. A. M. Leskov, “Die skythischen Kurgane,” Antike Welt 5, Sondernummer; 1974.
28. A. M. Leskov, “Die skythischen Kurgane,” Antike Welt, 5, Sondernummer; 1974.
29. T. Rice, Scythians, p. 42; Rybakov, Gerodotova Skifiia, pp. 239-240; M. I. Artamonov, Treasures from Scythian Tombs in the Hermitage Museum, Thames and Hudson, London, 1969, p. 16; K. S. Rubinson, “Herodotus and the Scythians,” Expedition, 17, Summer, 1975, p. 20; T. Sulimirski, “Scythian Antiquities,” p. 294, citing works of C. F. Lehmann-Haupt, V. Struve, G. C. Cameron, and A. Baschmakoff in support of Herodotus. Also, J. Przyluski, “Noveaux aspects de l’histoire des Scythes,” Revue de l’Universite de Bruxelles, 42, 1936-1937, pp. 210ff.
30. “Experts struggle to preserve 2,500-year-old Horseman,” Orange County Register, Sept 1, 1995.
31. Some believe that orbital perturbations may have altered the Earth’s ecological balance in ages past. See Signs in the Heavens, Koinonia House.
32. i.e., II Maccabees 4:47; III Maccabees 7:5; Josephus, Contra Apionem 2.269.
33. The notorious exploits of Ivan The Terrible are hardly more shocking than the Massacre of St. Bartholemew’s Day or the methods of the Roman Catholic Inquisition. See Dave Hunt’s A Woman Rides the Beast, Harvest House, 1994.

By Abe Selig, THE JERUSALEM POST

‘They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” Thus is the prophecy of Isaiah, the eighth-century BCE prophet who preached a message of universal peace, and whose lips, according to biblical sources, were divinely anointed with fire.

As the Jewish people mark Shavuot, the celebration of receiving the Torah from God, the Israel Museum is proudly displaying Isaiah’s scroll, one of the world’s oldest known scrolls, and the most complete Dead Sea scroll ever found.

Discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea, the scroll dates from about 100 BCE, and is thus 1,000 years older than the oldest Hebrew biblical manuscript known prior to its discovery. Besides this initial manuscript, some 20 additional, but fragmented, copies of Isaiah were discovered at Qumran, shedding light on the details surrounding the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, among other things.

On a long, complicated journey from the hands of the Bedouin shepherd, the scroll, along with three others, passed through many hands, traveling the Middle East, from Israel and Lebanon to Syria, and on to New York. On June 1, 1954, an advertisement appeared in the Wall Street Journal under the category “Miscellaneous For Sale,” which read: “‘The Four Dead Sea Scrolls’ Biblical Manuscripts, dating back to at least 200 BC, are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group. Box F 206.”

Yigael Yadin, son of the great Israeli archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik, was in New York at the time, saw the ad and immediately began pursuing the scrolls through secret negotiations (the Jordanian government was claiming rights to all scrolls found at Qumran). After purchasing them for $250,000, the scrolls wound up at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, about 100 kilometers from where they had originally been found.

SINCE THEN, however, the scroll has been displayed to the public only once, from 1965-67, as part of the original design concept for the Shrine of the Book. Due to conservation requirements aimed at the scrolls’ long-term preservation, scroll sections are rotated on a regular basis in the shrine, limiting the time the parchments come into contact with light and oxygen.

The preservation efforts that have gone into the scroll have been intense, with experts conducting the process in a dark room with climate-controlled air.

“After you get used to the darkness, the eye adapts itself,” Michael Magen says of the work he does as head of the Paper Conservation Lab at the Israel Museum. He explains that his work is “preventive conservation,” aimed at facilitating the longevity of the scroll’s parchment, which is made from animal skin.

“This is different from active conservation, which aims to repair or patch an object,” Magen says. “The scroll does have some fractures, but we preferred to leave it in its state, and not change its condition at all.”

Magen and his team have identified the possible factors that might affect the scroll’s parchment, and they have come up with ways to block them.

“While on display, the scroll is subject to more light than usual,” Magen says. “We put it behind bullet-proof glass and installed a data logger to monitor the temperature and humidity inside, and we are constantly checking on it to keep the parchment stabilized.”

But the laborious efforts that go into the scroll’s preservation, and the possible damage that its display could cause, beg the question: Why? Why go to the trouble of displaying a rare and valuable artifact such as the Isaiah Scroll, when doing so might damage its condition and expose it to harm?

“I think when you are in front of the scroll, you can imagine the person behind the scroll,” says Adolfo Roitman, curator of the Isaiah Scroll exhibit at the museum. “You can imagine the person who was writing it 2,000 years ago.”

Roitman explains that through its display, the scroll is fulfilling its prophecy.

“The Isaiah Scroll plays such an important role in both Judaism and Christianity, I see the exhibit, and the Shrine, as a place of encounter for people from different denominations and races – a sort of institute for universal peace. It’s not just a display,” Roitman says. “It’s a ground from which we can build understanding.”

Accordingly, Isaiah’s words serve to promote their theme, so many years after they were spoken, hidden away and discovered again in the caves at Qumran. Possibly, through its current display, the message will take hold, and swords will be beaten into plowshares as the teachings of war become the teachings of peace.

Janet L. Folger, www.worldnetdaily.com

As I wrote about in my book, The Criminalization of Christianity, Jeffrey Satinover, who holds an M.D. from Princeton and doctorates from Yale, MIT, and Harvard, was on my radio program one day and I asked him about where we are in history. He explained that according to the “Babylonian Talmud” – the book of rabbis’ interpretation of the scriptures 1,000 years before Christ, there was only one time in history that reflects where we are right now. There was only one time in history, according to these writings, where men were given in marriage to men, and women given in marriage to women.

Want to venture a guess as to when? No, it wasn’t in Sodom and Gomorrah, although that was my guess. Homosexuality was rampant there, of course, but according to the Talmud, not homosexual “marriage.” What about ancient Greece? Rome? No. Babylon? No again. The one time in history when homosexual “marriage” was practiced was … during the days of Noah. And according to Satinover, that’s what the “Babylonian Talmud” attributes as the final straw that led to the Flood.

On my Faith2Action radio program, Rabbi Aryeh Spero verified this to be true.

Rabbi Spero spoke of God’s compassion before the Flood, in hopes people would repent and turn back to His ways. He showed patience for hundreds of years.

But, he said, the Talmud’s writings reveal that “before the Flood people started to write marriage contracts between men, in other words, homosexual ‘marriage,’ which is more than homosexual activity – it’s giving an official state stamp of approval, a sanctification … of homosexual partnership.”

In fact, he said, “the writings indicated that it wasn’t even so much the ’straw that broke the camel’s back,’ but that the sin in and of itself is so contrary to why God created the world, so contrary to the order of God’s nature, that God said then and there ‘I have to start all over … to annihilate the world and start from the beginning. …’”

Rabbi Spero went on to say, “Even in ancient Greece they did not write marriage contracts between men. There was homosexuality, and it was wrong, but there was not an official ‘blessed’ policy. … Marriage is ’sanctification’ (not simply a partnership).” He said to confer the title of sanctification and holiness upon this behavior is “probably one of the greatest sins of all that one does against God’s plan for this world.”

The one time it happened was: “During the days of Noah.” When I first heard this, my mind immediately went to a verse I’ve heard many times but never with such relevance. The verse is found in Matthew 24:37. It reads:

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. – Mathew 24:37 (NIV)

I used to read this verse and think: It was bad at lots of points in history; it doesn’t necessarily mean now, but if these Jewish writings are true, we are uniquely like the “days of Noah” right now – and only right now.

But it can’t be yet, you say. You have a lot going on in your life? You’re getting married? Here’s how the New Living Translation describes that very sentiment in Luke:

When the Son of Man returns, the world will be like the people were in Noah’s day. In those days before the Flood, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat, and the flood came to destroy them all. – Luke 17:26-27

Happily going about as if everything was fine was what they did, too.

You don’t like this possibility? Don’t even believe in the Flood? Doesn’t matter. Some things are true whether you believe them or not. How can you be sure? There’s a way. Did you know that about one-fourth of the Bible is prophecy? A quarter of the Bible is a lot – it’s a big book. And did you know God’s standard? Perfection. That means that if even one of those prophecies is wrong, you can discount the whole thing. Kind of like a prophet who makes a false prediction – that made him a false prophet and a candidate for stoning. Did you know that 4,000 prophecies in that Bible have already come true down to the last detail? That leaves about 1,000 left to be fulfilled – those are the ones regarding the last days before the return of Christ, which are being checked off the list right now.

If 4,000 out of 5,000 prophecies have already occurred exactly as the Bible predicted they would, you might want to pay attention to the rest.

Why am I sounding the alarm? Here’s why:

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand. – Ezekiel 33:6

I’m praying and working to protect marriage not only because I care about marriage, but because I care about civilization. And, if we obey God, he just may spare us from the judgment we deserve.

By Ruchama King Feuerman, www.aish.com

In Israel’s darkest moment, outnumbered and surrounded by enemies, an old woman sees what no one else can see.

The Six Day War had ended. The generals assembled the commanders and foot soldiers for a customary review and analysis of the battle. After the military questions had been asked, and the investigative committee was about to disperse, a commanding officer pointed to one of the soldiers. “Wait a minute. I have a question for you. Yes, you, the soldier who put up the flag on the Temple Mount.”

The soldier nodded.

“Where did you get an Israeli flag, and why did you put it up?”

The soldier spread out his hands and smiled, a gesture that indicated that here was more than just a one sentence response. He told the following story:

The night before the Old City was liberated, a contingent of soldiers fighting near the Old City took cover in a shelter in a Jerusalem neighborhood. Hordes of children, mothers, old men and women packed inside the bunker alongside the soldiers. People looked frightened and bereft. The government had imposed a news black-out so that the Arab countries wouldn’t be able to figure out their positions. And the news — originating from Jordan, Egypt and Syria — was enough to induce hysteria: calls from Saudi King Faisal for the total elimination of Israel, calls from every Arab country to push the fledgling country into the sea.

Things looked so bad, Israelis famously converted public parks into mass graves, in preparation for the expected casualties. (Israel’s Chief of Staff, Yitzchak Rabin, had even suffered a nervous breakdown.)

As the soldier sat there in the bunker, hopeless and uncertain, he saw an old woman slowly make her way over to him. “Excuse me,” she said, standing at his side. She held a satchel in her arms.

He lifted his eyes. “Yes, Doda. Tell me, what is it?”

“Tomorrow you’ll go to the Old City and you’ll go to the Kotel [Western Wall].”

He shook his head at the absurdity. He said, “No, we won’t.” There were no army plans to liberate the Old City. First, they were fighting just to hold their positions. Also, overtaking the Old City would entail hand-to-hand combat which was greatly feared: Many people would die. Moreover, any bombardment of the Old City might demolish even more of the holy sites than had already been destroyed by the Jordanians. He tried to explain all of this.

The old woman looked at him, steady-eyed. “No, you will go,” she said, not as if she were trying to convince him, but as if relaying simple facts.

He shrugged. An old woman’s delusions. He wasn’t going to argue with her.
Before he turned away, she said, “I have a favor to ask you.” She reached into her satchel and took out an Israeli flag. From the way she touched it, it was clear the flag had some personal meaning for her. Had she made it? Perhaps it had been draped over a loved one’s grave? But what was she now saying? “When you go, please take this flag, and when you get to the Temple Mount, I want you to hang it up there.” She held out the flag.

The soldier repeated, “We’re not going into the Old City.”

“You’re going,” she said. Again, she held out her arm.

A thought struck him. “I can’t take it,” he told her. “It’s against army regulations.”

“It’ll be all right. Just take it.”

“I’ll get in trouble. You’re only allowed to carry a few specified items.”
Please,” she said hoarsely. “Do me this favor.”

He shrugged again. Why was he arguing with this old woman? Let him take the flag, let him make an old woman feel good. He could always get rid of it later.

The next day, the Israeli army, contrary to everyone’s expectations, took the Old City. Sure enough, the soldier’s unit ended up at the Temple Mount. As he and the other soldiers came close to the Western Wall, he suddenly remembered the flag and the old woman’s words. Yes, he would do it, he would! He enlisted two buddies, and together they draped the flag over the grating on the upper left most side of the Kotel, and there they hoisted and hung the Israel flag.

The commanding officer conducting the investigation said to the soldier, “And what were you thinking when you put up that flag?”

The soldier said, “I was thinking that this was the answer to 2,000 years of Jewish suffering.”

And so ends the story of the soldier, our hero.

But there’s an unsung hero, too. What about the old woman who supplied the flag? One wishes the investigating officers had tracked her down. What did she have in mind as she entered a shelter with an Israeli flag in her satchel? And who was she, anyway? The only identifying feature is that she was old and carried a bag. But her advanced age already tells us plenty: that she knew something about Jewish history, probably having personally lived through it…World War I, Arab attacks, the Holocaust, the War of Independence, 1956. What hadn’t she seen?

There, in Israel’s darkest moment, outnumbered and surrounded by enemies, terrified that the next morning there will be no Israel, the old woman sees what no one else can see, what no one else is capable of conceiving. She insists on her vision, she practically browbeats the soldier into carrying out her plan. We’ll never know how she knew, only that, like many Jewish women before her — the Matriarchs, the midwives in Egypt, the righteous women in the desert — she just knew. There are two kinds of prophecy. One that predicts the future, and one that makes the future.

Ruchama King Feuerman, MFA, was the winner of the Christopher Isherwood Fellowship Prize for Fiction 2007. She is the editor of a brand-new collection: Everyone’s Got A Story – 41 short stories from a new generation of Jewish writers (Judaica Press).

By Joseph Farah, www.wnd.com

There is a Bible story familiar to practically everyone that relates directly to efforts by the international community to divide Israel for the purpose of creating a Palestinian state.

It can be found in 1 Kings 3.

The young king Solomon dreams of a conversation with the Lord in which he asks for wisdom to judge God’s people. God grants the desires of Solomon’s heart as well as bestowing upon him a long life, great riches and honor.

Immediately after Solomon claims this promise with sacrifices, peace offerings and a feast to all his servants, he gets to judge the most famous case of his life.

Two harlots come before him – each claiming a baby as their own.

“And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

“And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.

“Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

“Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

“Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.

“And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.”

That’s the story everyone knows. But is there special meaning for today in these words? Could this story relate directly to the two-state solution being planned by the internationalist busybodies who seek to split Israel in half? Is it possible that this familiar old Bible story actually contains a prophecy yet to be fulfilled?

Assume for the moment that King Solomon in this story represents the King of all creation, the Lord of the universe. The first woman in the story represents the Jewish people. Her baby represents Israel. Let’s further assume the second mother represents the Arabs.

Notice the second woman had her baby three days after the first woman. The Jewish state was first created 3,000 years ago. The Arabs are trying, 3,000 years later, to create an Arab Palestinian state where none has previously existed.

The Bible tells us in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that one day is like a thousand years to God. There is the reference in Psalms 90:4: “For a thousand years in Thy sight are like yesterday when it passes by.” And there is the reference in 2 Peter 3:8: “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

So, three days, or 3,000 years, ago the Jewish people gave birth to the nation of Israel. Today, three days, or 3,000 years, later, Palestinian Arabs who are mostly recent migrants to the land with no established history there and no prior national claim arrive and try to steal the baby.

It’s also worth noting that a tactic used by the Arabs is to sacrifice their own children as suicide bombers in their effort to “liberate” the land.

Further, did they not, perhaps even unknowingly, kill their own baby when they rejected a state of their own with the 1947 partition plan?

Like the first mother, haven’t the Jewish people expressed a willingness to give up half the land in a division plan just to keep their precious baby alive?

And haven’t the Arabs, like the bitter second mother, agreed to the division plan – the splitting of the child in two, knowing it would result only in the death of the baby.

If my analogy is true, though, it’s not going to happen. The baby will not be killed. Because like King Solomon, God Almighty has already decided the baby belongs to the Jews.

By Wayne Stewart, www.PalestineHerald.com

I had every intention to continue to look at the personage of the Antichrist this week, but a strong urging by the Holy Spirit has made me have to put it off for a week. Instead, I feel called to make a call for repentance, not just personal repentance, but for national repentance before the hour gets too late.

Before I jump into this, there is something about which we as Americans must be very sober — there is not even a hint of us being an end-time player on the Day of the Lord. There are some who will debate this point, but they cannot prove America will be there (at least in strong national force sense.)

There may be many reasons for that; one could be a large chunk of the Bible believing Christians in the world call the U.S.A. home; and after the rapture this country could see millions of its people gone in an instant.

Even if America is not in scripture, it doesn’t mean there are not warnings for a people such as us that cannot be found in Scripture.

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In the pride of your heart you say, I am a god; I sit on a throne of a god in the heart of the seas. But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god. Are you wiser than Daniel? Is no secret hidden from you? By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud.’” — Ezekiel 28:2-5

This prophecy was written about the city of Tyre, the great Phoenician city and merchant class of people that made fortunes trading with other countries.

In Israel’s early days, Tyre was a friend of the nation and paid tribute to David and to Solomon and provided much of the materials that were used to build the Temple and Solomon’s palace.
Greed spelled doom as the people of the great trading nation desired possessions and material over anything else. The Lord said the sword would come against Tyre in Ezekiel 28:6-10 as God promised to bring the country low and humble them.

Those prophecies came true as Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, laid siege to Tyre for 13 years. Alexander the Great finished the job in 332 B.C. when he destroyed the island city.
God’s word is true, but could this warning for an ancient city also be a warning for another great country of traders and business people? Has America forsaken God in the chase for wealth and possessions? As a whole, you bet it has.

Pay attention to Ezekiel’s lament for Tyre.
“Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub from the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.” — Ezekiel 28:12-18

We must first ask ourselves an honest question as Americans; what nation in the world has ever been as materially blessed as the U.S.? We have been given every advantage imaginable, in large part due to our dedication to God.

Here is an emphatic declaration of Christian principles from the great Patrick Henry: “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shall not fight alone. God presides over the destinies of nations. The battle is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God? Give me liberty or give me death!”

Whether or not you want to admit it, the U.S. was founded on the principles of God and our forefathers put the gospel of Jesus Christ ahead of all things.

Now, if you want to get chills, think about this, God surely allowed us to become a great nation for two specific purposes, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the entire world, and to be the midwife at the rebirth of Israel.

It is America, over the last century, that has sent Christian missionaries throughout the world to spread the Good News of Christ; and it was America that was there at the birth of Israel, who helped free Jews from Nazi concentration camps, and up until recently, was a somewhat reliable friend of Israel.

I am afraid those days are gone.

Instead we pressure Israel to give up lands to an enemy bent on her destruction. In our incessant lust for wealth and material, the country has mortgaged itself to other nations in order to satiate its ungodly passion and has spread our love of money above all things to other countries.

We have set up commerce as the national god and all knees of this country must bow before it. What heretics we have become.

Now, we know from the gospels that Christ spent some of his ministry on earth in the region of Tyre. For those in Tyre, there could be repentance and forgiveness, so it can be for us.
“Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.” — Matthew 11:20-22

America will not escape judgment, but we can repent and if we present the true Word of God to people then there will be some who will be saved from the coming judgment.

Christ desires that all people repent and come to him and acknowledge him as God. We all must acknowledge that God created us, just as God created and blessed America.

Remember, all the U.S. has obtained was gained through God’s blessing. Now, we are in decline, morally, economically and in terms of our strength.

Now, we must ask ourselves another question, are we Americans, or are we Christians?
I hope the answer is Christian, because there will not be an America without the protecting hand of Christ. It seems, though, we have forsaken Christ. We have kicked him out of our schools, government, homes; and in some cases we have kicked Christ out of our churches.
There will be a penalty for this, now let’s finish up our look at Ezekiel 28.
“All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.” — Ezekiel 28:19

I pray that all repent before this becomes our fate. We have fallen so far from the principles men like Patrick Henry and George Washington once espoused. It may be too late to save America from judgment and the terrible Day of the Lord, but it doesn’t have to be for us personally.

Repent, confess your sins to Christ. “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Don’t throw your lot in with the world. Don’t rely on the worthless pursuit of wealth to save you. Salvation only comes through Christ.

There is only one message of the day. Repent!

By Hal Lindsey, author of Late Great Planet Earth

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

The prophet Isaiah lived some 500 years before the birth of Christ. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, among the rich library of documents discovered to be preserved was the complete book of Isaiah.

What makes this significant is that the book itself was buried by the Essenes in A.D. 70 and remained unseen, untouched (and unedited) for almost 2000 years until it was unearthed in 1947 at Qumran. The Isaiah Scroll itself was dated at 100 B.C., so it was already 170 years old when it was buried.

Comparisons between this ancient document and our modern book of Isaiah show that after all the variations in spelling, dialectical differences, Aramaic environment, etc. are taken into account, the Isaiah Scroll is essentially the same text we read today in our English Bible.

The Prophet Isaiah is the Old Testament’s major messianic prophet. Five hundred years before Christ, Isaiah predicted the Messiah would come as a “son,” born a male human being. Isaiah said that He would be born of a virgin and named Immanuel, meaning, “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14) Isaiah predicted the “son” born of a virgin would be God in the flesh, both truly God and truly man.

“Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7)

He will be born of the seed of David, but His kingdom will be perfect and will be eternal. Perfection and eternal existence are both attributes possessed only by God.

Isaiah 11:1 says the Messiah will come as “a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of His roots.” Even more amazing, considering Isaiah was a Jewish prophet, was the prediction that the Messiah would become “an ensign to the Gentiles” FIRST, and that AFTER that, God would “assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:10-12)

Isaiah 53 describes the purpose, method and manner of His death with eyewitness precision 500 years in advance.

Purpose: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Isaiah predicted He would be spat upon, beaten and His face “marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” (Isaiah 52:14)

The Gospels record that Jesus was beaten, slapped, punched, His beard was plucked from His face by the roots, and he was given 39 strokes with a cat o’ nine-tails.

Isaiah 49:7 says He was hated without cause. Jesus was guiltless of any sin. Pilate himself could find no cause to pronounce judgment. Pilate ordered the crime for which He was condemned posted above His head in the four working languages of the day – “Jesus, King of the Jews.”

He was executed for the sins of His people, exactly as Isaiah prophesied.

“He made His grave with the wicked” (He was executed between two thieves) “and with the rich in death.” (Isaiah 53:9)

His body was claimed by the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea and buried in a rich man’s tomb.

I chose the prophecies of Isaiah in part because they were so literally fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. But also because the book of Isaiah’s historical perspective is unassailable by the skeptics. It is impossible to argue Isaiah was edited after the fact to conform prophecy to history. The Isaiah Scroll predates Jesus by more than a century.

Every year at Christmas, Christians the world over celebrate the fulfillment of the ancient Isaiah prophecies fulfilled at the First Advent of Christ. It is a good time to remember that the same God who inspired Isaiah’s incredibly accurate prophecies about Christ’s First Coming also inspired Isaiah’s prophecies about His Second Coming.

Which means they will be fulfilled with equal precision and attention to detail. And I believe all the signs are pointing to the fulfillment of those remaining prophecies in the very near future.

As you celebrate the Christmas holiday, remember that keeping “Christ” within “Christmas” is more than just a slogan. It is a reminder that He is alive, His Spirit is still with us, and He will come again.

And that is the greatest Christmas gift of all. Merry Christmas!