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By Arlene Bridges Samuels

In the current era of lawlessness, inflation, soaring mental illness, and appalling number of fentanyl deaths, it is easy for Americans to overlook news about world-altering events. However, an event on May 4 is worth noting. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi flew into Syria for a two-day meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. This may not sound momentous, yet when Raisi deplaned he stepped onto a red carpet and was welcomed by al-Assad. 

That official, deadly handshake marking the Islamic regime’s total takeover of Syria occurred right there on Israel’s northeastern border. The expanded reality bodes ill for Israel, called the “little satan” by Iran, which has dubbed the United States the “big satan.” I now call Syria “little Iran.” Most mainstream media overlooked or downplayed the gravity of Raisi’s visit.

Bashar al-Assad is a dictator whose cruel policies have shredded his country for 12 years. The results of this tyrant’s autocratic leadership are staggering. A horrific personal toll has been exacted since the civil war began in 2011. Upwards of 400,000 civilians are dead, 12.3 million have fled to other countries, and of the Syrians remaining in the country, 90 percent live in poverty.

Iranians call Raisi “Ayatollah Mass Murder.” As a judge in the 1980s, Raisi willingly oversaw the executions of some 3,000 political prisoners following fake trials. He remains a monster to more than 88 million Iranians, many who have bravely revolted against their oppressors in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. The ayatollahs and their enforcers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) wield the tools of unjust murder and imprisonment against millions in their own population who crave freedom. 

Not only is Iran’s elite IRGC embedded in Iran, but these military units are also entrenched in Syria and beyond. For years, the regime has shipped strategic weaponry and troops into “little Iran,” resulting in an ever-more-dangerous country next door to Israel. Raisi and the Supreme Ayatollah are Hitler-like in their hatred for the Jews.

However, times have changed since the birth of the modern State of Israel. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has kept His promises to His chosen people to reestablish their ancient Holy Land into a modern Jewish nation 75 years ago on May 14, 1948. 

Zechariah 9:16 (NIV) reminds us: “The LORD their God will save His people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in His land like jewels in a crown.”

Israel is not helpless. The Israel Defense Forces are among the world’s best. No one should question Israel’s repeated attacks on Iranian weapons convoys and depots in Syria. The Islamic regime frequently announces its goal to destroy Israel. Jews absolutely understand the hateful mentality of genocide after the unending tragedy of the Holocaust.

Many Americans hear about Iran, Israel, and the Middle East—a complex region that changes sometimes by the hour. However, there are aspects of the Iranian threat that directly affect the United States of America in three ways. 

First, I daresay most Americans are unaware that the U.S. deployed our soldiers to northeast Syria in 2015 as part of the fight against ISIS. Some 900 American troops are still there, working with Kurdish forces that control this part of Syria. U.S. officials report that Iran has launched “80 attacks against U.S. forces and locations in Iraq and Syria since January 2021,” mostly in Syria. President Biden responded, ordering retaliatory air strikes and saying he will “forcefully” protect our soldiers. An Iranian drone killed a U.S. contractor and injured five U.S. troops and another contractor on March 23. 

In addition to the despotic rule in Iran and Syria, Venezuela is ruled by dictator Nicolás Maduro. He has carried out the destructive policies of the former tyrant, Hugo Chavez, leading to the ruination of this once- prosperous country. Maduro’s policies have brought Venezuelans to their knees in a food and jobs crisis, and 5 million have fled their country since 2015. Maduro and the Islamic Ayatollahs are closely aligned. IRGC’s elite military personnel are posted in Venezuela, and Iranian embassies are scattered throughout South America to help promote Iran’s plan to create another caliphate, this time worldwide. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a U.S. research group, confirms in a report that the Latin American branch of Iran’s al-Mustafa International University is Iran’s main institution for recruiting, indoctrinating and training foreign converts to Shi’ite Islam. 

Indeed, of grave concern on our open southern border, rivers of illegals are flooding in from more than 100 nations. Not all of the illegals are friendly, and thousands of Venezuelans are among them. Many would be considered refugees because they are targets of their dictatorship. Nevertheless, a bigger problem exists for Americans. The overwhelmed U.S. Border Patrol cannot adequately determine who is an Iranian or Iranian-trained Venezuelan terrorist. 

Accomplices to dictatorships are not confined to one region. Iranian, Syrian, and Venezuelan leaders are bent on no good toward their own populations. An accomplice “actively participates in a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense.” Accomplices, for instance, like the European Union, have increasing trade with Iran—€5.23 billion in 2022, a 7.95 percent rise over the previous year that helps fund their IRGC. The U.S. administration is still attempting to revive the failed Iran deal from the Obama/ Biden administration in 2015. If enacted, it would result in aiding Iran’s nuclear weapons quest.

During the last 44 years, the Islamic regime has vaulted itself into the position of being the world’s worst terror-subsidizing country. When Raisi visited Syria, he met with leaders of both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In April 2023, IRGC commander Hossein Salami said, “Invisible hands [Tehran’s clerical regime] have armed the West Bank, and you [now] see modern automatic rifles and automatic weapons in the hands of the Palestinians.” With Iran’s regime now installed in the West Bank (Israel’s biblical heartland), it is clearer than ever why Israel is forced to defend itself against Palestinian terrorists plus Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. 

Tremendous prayer and advocacy for Israel among the World’s 600 million evangelicals is broadcast by CBN Israel and other ministries to gather one million believers for the Isaiah 62 Global 21-Days of Prayer and Fasting (May 7-28, 2023). We invite you to join us! 

Prayer Points:

• Pray for the both the U.S. and Israel during the 21-day call to prayer. 
• Pray for our American soldiers stationed in northeast Syria.
• Pray for citizens in Iran, Syria, and Venezuela who are suffering oppression.
• Pray for wise decisions from leaders in the U.S. and European Union about how to stop Islamic hegemony. 
• Pray for Israeli security and unity.

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

“We had to leave our city with rockets flying overhead,” Oleg remembered. He and his wife Victoria, both 59, have two teenagers—one with a disability—and an elderly mother who was ill. The bombings left their Ukraine apartment in ruins, destroying what they owned. 

As the Russians invaded their country, the family fled Ukraine, shaken by living in the crossfire. Escaping by train, they had to sleep on the hard floor. They headed for Israel, and upon arriving, stayed in a refugee absorption center.

Eventually, they were able to rent an apartment, but it had no refrigerator, and a very old stove. Like most refugees, they were alone in a new country with no possessions—only what they could carry with them. Where could they find help to feed their kids and get established? 

Fortunately, friends like you were there for this family through CBN Israel. Donors provided them with groceries and essentials—along with a new refrigerator and stove! Oleg exclaimed, “You have no idea how much this helps. Back in Ukraine, we would have had to work hard to buy this. And you just said, ‘This is for you.’ This is a precious gift for us, and we are grateful!” 

We live in a time when many who are fleeing war and poverty seek refuge in the Holy Land. Your gift to CBN Israel can be a blessing to those in need who call this land their home. You can be there with food, basic necessities, financial aid, job training, and more. 

The needs are great everywhere—from elderly Holocaust survivors and terror victims, to single mothers and new immigrants. Your support can offer them compassionate relief—while reporting crucial frontline news and stories. 

Please let us hear from you today!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Shiloh served as the place where the Israelites erected the Tabernacle and placed the Ark of the Covenant after they conquered the land (Joshua 18:1). It became a place for religious pilgrimage and the celebration of festivals (Judges 21:19; 1 Samuel 1:3). The parents of Samuel, Hannah and Elkana, came to Shiloh and encountered the priest Eli, who delivered God’s promise to Hannah’s prayer that she would give birth to a son (1 Samuel 1). Then, when Samuel came of age, she brought him to serve the Lord and Eli at Shiloh, and, at Shiloh, God revealed himself to Samuel (1 Samuel 3:21). 

News of the capture of the Ark by the Philistines reached Eli in Shiloh, as well as the death of his sons, Hophni and Phineas (1 Samuel 4). Shiloh apparently suffered a destruction, not mentioned directly in the Bible, prior to the period of David and Solomon because, when the Ark returns to Israel (1 Samuel 6), the people did not return it to Shiloh, and the prophet Jeremiah mentions its destruction in his oracle against Jerusalem and the Temple: “Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel…therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors, just what I did to Shiloh” (7:12, 14; 26:6, 9).

Shiloh sits about twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem. The book of Judges provides a clear description of its location: “north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah” (Judges 21:19). Shiloh, then, sat on the primary north-south roadway that ran through the central hill country. Other well-known biblical towns and villages also resided along this roadway, Hebron, Bethlehem, Gibeah, Ramah, Mizpah, Bethel, Shiloh, and Shechem. Jerusalem sits just to the east of this road. 

Excavations of the site of Shiloh revealed a destruction layer caused by a fierce fire in the eleventh century B.C., which coincides with the period of the priesthood of Eli, Samuel, and the capture of the Ark. The destruction of Shiloh likely coincided with the Philistine victory against the Israelites, which resulted in the Ark’s capture. Excavations also attest in this period that Shiloh served as a religious and economic center. 

The Tabernacle and Ark remained at Shiloh for a long period of time prior to the city’s destruction. Although a small settlement appears in the latter part of the monarchy, it never had the importance that it previously had. In Jeremiah’s oracle, it became an object lesson for those who thought the mere presence of God’s dwelling place insulated the people from his judgement and destruction. What mattered to Him was obedience; if you don’t believe Him, just go and look at Shiloh.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14-15 NASB).

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12 NIV). Because, in Christ, we have been forgiven everything, God asks us to extend that same measure of forgiveness to others.

Elsewhere Jesus taught, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NASB). The degree to which I receive mercy is correlated to the mercy I show others. He communicated a similar message about judging: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2 NASB). In other words, I will be judged in the same way I judge others. 

Jesus understood that forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a choice. And it is a choice we are capable of making now, wherever we are. If we desire to receive mercy and forgiveness, then, according to Jesus, we must choose to show mercy and forgiveness to others. We are to forgive those who have wronged us; others who don’t agree with us or act like us; or others who have hurt us. 

This is where Jesus’ message challenges us in very practical ways, just as it did His original audience. He understood that people have the propensity to treat others horribly, without mercy or forgiveness. Yet, it is because we have peace with God, that we should work to have peace with others. The Bible tells us that the love of Christ has been shed abroad in our hearts. We have an ample supply of love and forgiveness to share with those around us.

This is a profound thought with incredible implications. Think how different our world would look if we all lived by the principle that since we have received unending mercy and forgiveness, we must also show mercy and forgiveness to others. It would transform our world, our communities, our neighborhoods, and our families.

PRAYER

Father, let us share the forgiveness you have given us with others. Amen.

Archaeology by itself can neither prove nor disprove the Bible. But archaeology does help us understand the world of the Bible, daily life, culture, and religious practices. The field of archaeology makes it possible to discover and study the material culture of people in a specific time and place.

The Bible conveys peoples’ interaction with God in time and place, which does not show up in the archaeological record. Archaeology can help us interpret details of the Bible. It can widen our understanding of the biblical world. It can even offer correction to our interpretations. But it cannot prove the faith claims of the Bible. That’s not its purpose.

Archaeology has advantages and limitations. Yet archaeological discoveries must be interpreted. Archaeologists do not excavate an entire site. Finds undergo comparison with other excavations, and the material remains are interpreted, just as a written text.

Archaeology adds new evidence and information to help us reconstruct the biblical world. It helps us understand the daily lives of ancient peoples. It can enable us to visualize objects mentioned in the Bible and life as described by the Bible. It can assist us in illuminating sections, sometimes difficult, within the Bible. We can see the people of the Bible come alive as real people who used tools, weapons, farmed, raised families, buried their dead, and worshipped their God/gods. Archaeology does supplement written records, like the Bible.

At the same time, archaeology has limitations. The physical artifacts excavated by archaeologists are fragmentary. More artifacts remain buried than have been uncovered. Even if we uncovered everything to be found, archaeology could not find enough material remains to fully reconstruct daily life in the biblical world.

When excavators uncover artifacts from the earth, they are mute and silent. They must be interpreted, and all interpretations are subjective. For example, someone setting out to prove his or her theory about the Bible has a built-in bias one way or the other, which can impact how they interpret the finds. Because archaeology deals with physical remains, it cannot prove or disprove theological statements.

Archaeological methods continue to change as technology and archaeological processes improve and evolve. Archaeologists can study things today within a site they could not twenty or thirty years ago. This allows new study and questions. But archaeology is a science of destruction; therefore, once something has been excavated a certain amount of data has been destroyed. Future generations cannot return and rediscover or restudy what was destroyed. For this reason, older excavations have inherent limitations and should be used with care.

Archaeology sheds light on the world of the Bible. It provides crucial information for us to understand the past. We should not overstate its possibilities, however. Neither should we use it as a tool to prove or disprove the Bible. But as a tool to enter the world of the Bible, it is invaluable.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

The recently released book, Every Generation’s Story: 75 Years of American Christian Engagement with Israel, is a banquet of first-person insights and inspiration gleaned from 18 multigenerational Christians. Eighteen stories in 18 different voices reflect the symbolism of the number 18 in Jewish practice: It represents life or luck with regard to donations or gift giving.

Every Generation’s Story is indeed a gift of life (chai). It recognizes modern Israel’s 75th anniversary through the eyes of those who have invested their hearts and activism in their spiritual homeland. God’s words, engraved into their lives through the Old and New Testaments, also serve to assure the Jewish communities in Israel and elsewhere that they are not alone.

Without divulging too much of each uplifting account, I can say that the generational view covering 75 years is intriguing. Many of the 18 stories mention historic moments about and in the land that built their commitments into permanence.

From what is called the “Silent Generation” (born 1925–1945), JoAnn Magnuson recalls her grandmother’s repeated certainty that the Jews would return to their homeland. She vividly remembers the day she came home from school and saw the May 14, 1948, newspaper headline: “State of Israel Declared.” In JoAnn’s pro-Israel career she has led 69 tours to Israel and served on the staffs of five organizations, including Christian Friends of Yad Vashem, and has helped to expand each organization’s influence.

Evangelical biblical scholar Dr. Marvin R. Wilson, professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Gordon College, experienced a shocking arrival in Israel on his first trip in 1972. Landing in Tel Aviv’s Lod Airport—now Ben Gurion International Airport—he learned that three Japanese terrorists working for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine had murdered 26 passengers and wounded 80 others just hours before he landed. Walking into the terminal, smelling the disinfectant used to clean up the blood, and seeing the bullet holes in the walls implanted a lifelong motivation in Dr. Wilson. “My entry into the Holy Land remains a powerful reminder of the ubiquitous nature of anti-Semitism and the fact that Jews are not safe in their own country.”

From the Baby Boomer generation, Tim King, now vice president of the University of the Holy Land, was part of the small founding group of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) in 1980. They prayerfully presented a proposal to establish a Christian embassy in Jerusalem and approached Mayor Teddy Kollek, Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and Rabbi Maurice Jaffe at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue. Forty-three years later, ICEJ oversees a substantial outreach with branches in 90 nations representing many millions of Christians. Through its supporters, ICEJ has paid for and helped 170,000 Jews make Aliyah (immigrate) to their ancestral homeland and has placed portable bomb shelters in vulnerable Israeli towns.   

Born as a member of Generation X, Pastor Dumisani Washington is founder and CEO of Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI). He traveled to Israel in 2012 on a trip for pastors. Leaning against the Western Wall for the first time, he felt compelled during his prayers to create IBSI to help his community understand the importance of Zionism and set the record straight that Israel is not an apartheid nation. He makes his case in his latest book, Zionism and the Black Church.

The 10 stories from Millennials and Generation Z highlight the imperative need for their generations’ advocacy for Israel. Already, their contributions to the pro-Israel movement grow ever more important. Allison Ngo Griffin describes herself as “a thirty-year-old Chinese Vietnamese millennial girl.” Growing up in a Buddhist family, then graduating from college, Allison became a legislative director in the Texas House of Representatives. Beset with a deepening depression, one day in the State Capitol (and alone) she experienced a radical conversion to the Lord. As a new Christian, Allison initially encountered the erroneous teaching of Replacement Theology—that the church has replaced Israel and the Jews. However, on her first trip to Israel in 2019, the Lord “replaced” those wrong concepts with the truth that God’s promises to the Jews and Israel are unbreakable. Allison is now on the staff of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast and ICEJ USA.

Hannah Delamarter is a Generation Z nursing student at Northwest Nazarene University. Her initial understanding of modern Israel developed in college through Save a Child’s Heart (SACH), an Israeli humanitarian organization. Then in 2021 she joined a trip to Israel sponsored by Christians United For Israel (CUFI). At 20, she was markedly impacted by Israel’s religious freedom and “feeling safe and welcome as a woman.” She is now the president of CUFI’s college student group. She expresses her outlook “not as a temporary love but I will always support and invest in Israel.” She hopes to join the staff of SACH.

The impact and influence of Christian Zionists for the last 75 years is immeasurable, both individually and organizationally. Christian innovations have grown alongside the innovation nation, blessing Israel in magnificent ways. I recommend Every Generation’s Story as a prompt for any believer, from any place and any background, to read this remarkable set of stories. Edited by Dr. Susan Michael, director of ICEJ USA, it is a product of Embassy Publishers, yet another among numerous ICEJ startups. It may be purchased though Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Embassy Publishers.

Every Generation’s Story: 75 Years of American Christian Engagement with Israel is the perfect theme for two upcoming gala dinner events in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 7 followed by a gala in Washington, D.C., on May 17. International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s U.S. branch (ICEJ USA) initiated a celebration in 2018 with a gala dinner hosted at the Museum of the Bible to recognized Israel’s 70th. Four hundred leaders joyfully celebrated the U.S. Embassy’s move back to Israel’s capital in Jerusalem with more than 40 organizations cosponsoring the beautiful event. Fifty organizations are sponsoring the May 2023 galas—among them, CBN Israel. For tickets, click here: https://icejusa.org/israel75. 

May we give thanks today as Romans 11:17 reminds us that Christians are “grafted in … and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root” (NIV).

Please join with CBN Israel this week in prayer for the Jewish nation and people:

• Pray giving thanks for this important book and the leaders highlighted.
• Pray for many to read the book and inspire them to become advocates for Israel in both large and small ways. 
• Pray that the Jewish community worldwide will accept our sincere friendship.
• Pray for the numerous fine Christian organizations, their leaders, and staff in their efforts to combat rising Jew hatred worldwide. 

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her part-time as Outreach Director for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel, guest columnist at All Israel News, and has frequently traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a board member for Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene attends Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on Facebook.

The Russian invasion had begun—and Lyuba was terrified. Living in Ukraine with her husband Michael, she recalled, “When we heard the bombs in the morning, we knew the war had come. We saw how brave our men were as they defended our city.”

At 70 years old, Lyuba felt trapped in her own home. She and Michael hid in their dark, frigid basement to stay alive, and wore as much clothing as possible to keep warm. Ten days later, the couple decided to flee to Israel. Escaping under gunfire, they could only take one suitcase. Crossing into Moldova, they had to stay in a camp, with a dozen people in each room.

Eventually, they were able to land in Israel by way of a rescue flight and settled near Nazareth. Lyuba was relieved to be in a safer place. But how would they survive?

Thankfully, friends like you were there. Through CBN Israel, caring donors gave them food vouchers, appliances, and other essentials. “We were so happy to be received warmly in Israel. Everything we have was donated to us,” Lyuba exclaimed. “We are so thankful for the washing machine, refrigerator, and vouchers to buy groceries. We are grateful for so much support and kindness!”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can provide support and kindness in so many ways to those who are struggling in the Holy Land. You can offer them food, shelter, financial aid, job training, and more. You can be a friend to those with nowhere to turn.

More and more people across Israel desperately need our help. Your support can bring compassionate relief and encouragement to elderly Holocaust survivors, terror victims, single mothers, new immigrants, and others.

Please join us in blessing those in need today!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Situated in the western Jezreel Valley at the foot of the lowlands of Mount Carmel stands the ancient mound of Megiddo. It overlooks where Nahal Iron crosses through the Carmel lowlands, which provided passage for one of the branches of the most important highway in the Ancient Near East, a highway that connected Egypt via Israel’s coastline, through the Jezreel Valley, onto Damascus and Mesopotamia. Megiddo’s importance stemmed from its location guarding this most import roadway. 

Archaeological excavations have revealed twenty layers of civilization beginning in the Neolithic period until the fourth century B.C. Its strategic significance made it the stage for battles through much of its history, with Pharoah Thutmoses III in 1468 B.C., Pharoah Merneptah in 1220 B.C., Pharoah Shishak in 924 B.C., and the battle in which Josiah, king of Judah, died at the hands of the forces of Pharoah Neco in 609 B.C. (2 Kings 23:29-30). 

Megiddo’s strategic importance made it the object of Israelite conquest when the Israelites entered the land (Joshua 12:21). By the “waters of Megiddo,” the forces of Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite forces of the king of Hazor (Judges 5:19). Megiddo fell within the territorial allotment of Manasseh (Joshua 17:11), but the Manassites could not take possession of Megiddo. It remained under the control of the local Canaanites (Joshua 17:12; Judges 1:27). 

During the United Monarchy, Solomon is said to have fortified Megiddo, along with Gezer and Hazor (1 Kings 9:15)—all three cities provided overwatch of the international coastal highway running from Egypt to Damascus and Mesopotamia. The final mention of Megiddo within the Bible is the death of King Josiah (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:20-24). Within the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., Megiddo became an administrative city of the Assyrians, but its settlement steadily declined until it was abandoned in the fourth century B.C., most likely due to Alexander the Great’s conquest of the land. 

Visitors to the site today can visit two multi-chambered gate complexes from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Two separate palace and administrative complexes have been excavated, as well as an area that contained several cultic places of worship from different time periods. The site contains the remains of horse stables, stone mangers, and an exercise corral for the horses. Kings of Israel stationed horse and chariot forces, which were the tank corps of the ancient world, at Megiddo due to its strategic location. 

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the site that has been excavated is the water system. Ancient sites, especially administrative centers like Megiddo, had to provide the water needs for the city in times of peace and war. Most ancient sites sat on hills to offer the protection of elevation from an attacking army. Springs, however, usually do not sit on hills; they are found at their base. At Megiddo, the spring sits at the bottom of the west side of the mound. To bring the water into the city, the engineers cut a square shaft through the earth within the city’s fortified walls that connected to a long horizontal tunnel (80 meters long) that had been dug to the source of the spring. This tunnel brought the water to the area where the shaft had been dug, and the shaft enabled the people in the city to descend and draw water. 

A final word should be made regarding the well-known idea that the ancient site of Megiddo had some connection with John’s mention of Armageddon in Revelation (16:13-14, 16). The usual explanation, Armageddon represents the Hebrew meaning the “mountain of Megiddo.” People will speak about the Valley of Armageddon, yet the Bible never mentions a Valley of Armageddon. This is a modern fiction, which appears for the first time in the nineteenth century. 

No ancient Church father or Christian source ever connected Armageddon with Megiddo. Moreover, as we noted, Megiddo ceased to be inhabited in the fourth century B.C. The location of the site was forgotten. The first century Jewish historian Josephus did not know of it. In fact, he relocated the death of Josiah to a town he knew on the border between Egypt and the land of Israel. The fourth century Church father, Eusebius, did not know its location, nor did he connect Megiddo with Armageddon. No one, then, knew in the first century, when John wrote Revelation, where Megiddo was. 

Finally, while Megiddo sits on a hill created by layers of civilization, it cannot be described as a mountain. Hebrew has a word for “hill,” a word that accounts for the names of places like Gibeah, Geva, and Gibeon. Megiddo is a hill, and not a mountain. Time does not permit a full explanation for what stands behind John’s Armageddon, but suffice to say, he expected the gathering point for the armies of wickedness to fight against God to be Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2; 14:20; and 20:9), the mountain of assembly.

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:5 HCSB).

These words describe the early days of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. He started out his reign by seeking God and fearing Him, but unfortunately, he did not continue on that path.

Eventually, the Lord struck Uzziah with leprosy, which he had until the day he died. The end of his life was a tragic disappointment from its promising beginning. His initial path, however, is instructional for us in several ways.

First, the Chronicler makes clear that seeking God means fearing (or revering) Him. How does one fear the Lord? “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name” (Deuteronomy 6:13 NKJV). One fears the Lord by serving Him, i.e., obeying Him. Within the Bible, then, one seeks the Lord by obeying Him. King Uzziah began his reign in this manner.

Second, “during the time that he sought the LORD, God gave him success.” If we make our principal priority seeking God, then He takes care of us and prospers us. Seeking Him, however, is not about pursuing a heightened emotional or charismatic experience. Seeking Him means obeying His words and doing what He has commanded.

Too often we identify “seeking God” as an emotional feeling. The Bible never identifies those actions as emotions; rather, we show them through our obedience to God.

Finally, King Uzziah serves as a warning to each of us. We can start out well—by seeking the Lord and experiencing the prosperity that He brings—but then we drift away from pursuing Him first. We begin to buy into ourselves too much, and we become disobedient. When that happens, we have ceased seeking God, no matter what we tell ourselves.

Do you seek the Lord each day and walk in a healthy fear of Him? Is seeking God your primary purpose? If so, you’ve set yourself on the right course.

PRAYER

Father, may we seek You daily with our whole hearts, striving to obey Your word in everything we do and say. Amen.

Replacement theology refers to the faulty belief that God replaced Israel as His chosen people with the Church. According to those who hold this view, God’s promises to Israel now belong to the Church, and His plans no longer extend to the Jewish people or Israel. The origins of this belief are ancient. They stem from social and theological forces.

Ancient Judaism attracted non-Jews. Most chose not to identify fully with Judaism, which required a man to undergo the rite of circumcision. So too, the Jewish commandments proved too hard for non-Jews and alienated them from their families and civic identities. Non-Jews attracted to Judaism were called God-fearers (or God-worshippers).

The Jewish followers of Jesus attracted non-Jews as well. The Jewish followers of Jesus decided non-Jews could remain non-Jews, but they had to avoid meat sacrificed to idols, prohibited sexual unions, and bloodshed. Jesus’ community required them to adopt a Jewish morality without fully converting to Judaism. They lived Jewishly without being fully part of the Jewish community. This was Paul’s position as well.

Non-Jews stood on the edge of the synagogue, not fully part of the community. This created an inferiority complex, a sense of being an outsider. Such feelings can produce resentment over time. They can be overcome by the outsiders concluding they represent the true faith. Jews failed, and God rejected them. Their laws were null and a hinderance to salvation. Scattered evidence of this logic appears among non-Jews prior to the rise of Christianity, but with the rise of Christianity, these ideas became more widespread as Christianity showed itself as the true religion and Israel’s replacement.

An apocryphal work known as Fifth Ezra reflects this belief. This work likely dates to the second century A.D. Preserved in Latin, it was originally written in Greek. The author proclaims, “What can I do about you Jacob? You would not listen to me, Judah. I will turn to another nation and give it my name in order that they may keep my decrees. Because you have forsaken me, I will forsake you…I am going to deliver your houses to a coming people who, though they have not heard me, believe; [those] to whom I showed no signs will do what I decreed. They did not see the prophets, yet they will keep in mind their time-honored [admonitions]” (1:24-25, 35-36).

Justin Martyr (about A.D. 100-165) also embraced this belief. In his Dialogue with Trypho a Jew, he interpreted Genesis 9:27 as, “Accordingly, as two peoples were blessed—those from Shem, and those from Japhet—and as the offspring of Shem were decreed first to possess the dwellings of Canaan, and the offspring of Japhet were predicted as in turn receiving the same possessions…so Christ has come calling men to…a living together of all the saints in the same land whose possession He promised, as has already been proven.

Whence men from all parts, whether slave or free, who believe in Christ and know the truth in His and the prophets’ words, know that they will be with Him in that land, there to inherit the things that are eternal and incorruptible” (139:4-5). Justin elsewhere described Gentile Christians as the “true Israel” (Dialogue 11:5; 120:5). The idea emerged quite early within Gentile Christianity that God had rejected the Jews, and their laws were not relevant.

It is critical that Christians understand the dangers of these distorted beliefs. For centuries, sermons and writings espousing replacement theology have planted the seeds of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism. Not only did this lead to widespread discrimination and violence against the Jewish community in much of Western society; it left the door wide open for six million Jews to be murdered in the Holocaust. 

While not all Christian groups accept this theology, it has seen a resurgence in recent years within many Christian circles, and it is absolutely imperative that we oppose and root out this toxic thinking. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

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