The Search for Noah's Ark

Noah's Ark (1846), a painting by the 
American folk painter Edward Hicks.

The story of Noah's Ark appears in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6–9) as the vessel in which God spares Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from a world-engulfing flood. The Genesis flood myth is similar to numerous other flood legends from a variety of cultures, such as the Sumerian flood myth of Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which many historians believe is the most likely source of the Genesis flood story. The earliest known written flood narrative comes from a Sumerian source found in the Deluge Tablet in which the hero is named Ziusudra. The story in Genesis is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the ark appears as Safina Nūḥ (Arabic: "Noah's boat"). 

Searches for Noah's Ark have been made from at least the time of the ancient historian, Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 275–339 CE), and believers in the myth continue to search for it in modern times. Many searches have been mounted for the ark, but no confirmations or physical proof of the ark have ever been found. According to Genesis 8:4, the Ark came to rest "on the mountains of Ararat." Early commentators such as Titus Flavius Josephus and authorities quoted by him, Berossus, Hieronymus the Egyptian, Mnaseas, and Nicolaus of Damascus, record the tradition that these "mountains of Ararat" are to be found in the region then known as Armenia, roughly corresponding to Eastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey).

Syrian tradition of the early centuries BC had a tradition of the ark landing at Mount Judi, where according to Josephus the remains of the ark were still shown in the 1st century BC. The location of the "Place of Descent" described by Josephus was some 100 km to the southeast of the peak now known as Mount Ararat, in what is today Iraqi Kurdistan.

According to Jewish Rabbinic tradition, the Ark was looted in antiquity, the remains being used for idol worship, as related in the Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin by Sennacherib circa 705 – 681 BC, and as related in the Midrash anthology Yalkut Shimoni by Haman circa 486–465 BC.

Other traditions: The flood myth motif is found among many cultures as seen in the Mesopotamian flood stories, Deucalion and Pyrrha in Greek mythology, Manu in Hinduism, the Gun-Yu in Chinese mythology, Bergelmir in Norse mythology, in the lore of the K'iche' and Maya peoples in Mesoamerica, the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa tribe of Native Americans in North America, the Muisca, and Cañari Confederation, in South America, and the Aboriginal tribes in southern Australia. 

There are some scholars and historians who believe Eric H. Cline, a biblical archaeologist, summed it up the best when he said, 

"The earlier Mesopotamian stories are very similar where the gods are sending a flood to wipe out humans. There's one man they choose to survive. He builds a boat and brings on animals and lands on a mountain and lives happily ever after? I would argue that it's the same story."

During antiquity a few notable explorers took part in trying to locate Noah's Ark, such as Marco Polo, (1254–1324) whom wrote in his book, The Travels of Marco Polo:

"In the heart of the Armenian mountain range, the mountain's peak is shaped like a cube (or cup), on which Noah's ark is said to have rested, whence it is called the Mountain of Noah's Ark. It [the mountain] is so broad and long that it takes more than two days to go around it. On the summit the snow lies so deep all the year round that no one can ever climb it; this snow never entirely melts, but new snow is for ever falling on the old, so that the level rises."

In circa 1616, Sir Walter Raleigh made a laborious argument taking up several whole chapters of his History of the World, that the term "Mountains of Ararat" originally encompassed all the adjoining and taller ranges of Asia, and that Noah's Ark could only have landed in the Orient – especially since Armenia is not technically east of the plain of Shinar (or Mesopotamia), but more northwest.

In modern times the race continues to find the fabled boat of Noah: 

• In 1829, Dr. Friedrich Parrot, who had made an ascent of Greater Ararat, wrote in his Journey to Ararat that "all the Armenians are firmly persuaded that Noah's Ark remains to this very day on the top of Ararat, and that, in order to preserve it, no human being is allowed to approach it." 
• In 1876, James Bryce, historian, statesman, diplomat, explorer, and Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, climbed above the tree line and found a slab of hand-hewn timber, four feet long and five inches thick, which he identified as being from the Ark. 
• In 1883, the British Prophetic Messenger and others reported that Turkish commissioners investigating avalanches had seen the Ark.

Searches since the mid-20th century have been largely supported by evangelical churches along with local farmers and sustained by ongoing popular interest, faith-based magazines, lecture tours, videos and occasional television specials. The following is the official findings of various other explorers:  

• In 1949, Aaron J. Smith, dean of the People's Bible College in Greensboro, NC, led an unsuccessful expedition to locate the ark.
• Former astronaut James Irwin led two expeditions to Ararat in the 1980s, was kidnapped once, but found no tangible evidence of the Ark. "I've done all I possibly can," he said, "but the Ark continues to elude us."
• In the 1980s and 1990s, the Durupınar site was heavily promoted by Ron Wyatt. According to the local authorities a nearby mountain is called "Mount Cudi" (or Judi), making it one of about five Mount Judis in the land of Kurdistan. Geologists have identified the Durupınar site as a natural formation, but Wyatt's Ark Discovery Institute continues to champion its claims.

The search for Noah's Ark continues into the 21st century as well. There are many explorers, archaeologists, and biblical enthusiasts undertaking various measures to prove a claim to Noah's Ark.

• In 2004, Honolulu-based businessman Daniel McGivern announced he would finance a $900,000 expedition to the peak of Greater Ararat in July of that year to investigate the "Ararat anomaly". After much initial fanfare, he was refused permission by the Turkish authorities, as the summit is inside a restricted military zone. The expedition was subsequently labelled a "stunt" by National Geographic News, which pointed out that the expedition leader, a Turkish academic named Ahmet Ali Arslan, had previously been accused of faking evidence of the Ark for a CBS documentary.
• In June 2006, Bob Cornuke of the Bible Archeology Search and Exploration Institute (or BASE Institute) took a team of 14 American "business, law, and ministry leaders" to Iran to visit a site in the Alborz Mountains, purported to be a possible resting place of the Ark. The team claimed to have visited an "object" 13,000 feet above sea level, which had the appearance of blackened petrified wooden beams, and was "about the size of a small aircraft carrier" [400 ft long (120 m)], and supposedly consistent with the dimensions provided in Genesis of 300 cubits by 50 cubits. No one outside the expedition has offered independent confirmation, and apart from a few purported beams, no photographic images of this supposed Ark have been made available (though short video segments have been made available).
• In 2007, a joint Turkish-Hong Kong expedition including members of Noah's Ark Ministries International (NAMI) claimed to have found an unusual cave with fossilized wooden walls on Mount Ararat, well above the vegetation line. In 2010, NAMI released videos of their discovery of the wood structures. Members of NAMI reported carbon dating suggests the wood is approximately 4,800 years old. It is unlikely that there was any human settlement at the site at altitude of 4,000 meters. In April, 2010 it was reported that Turkey's culture minister ordered a probe into how NAMI brought its pieces of wood samples from Turkey to China. A Scottish explorer investigating the NAMI claim was reported missing, on 14 October 2010, from an expedition on Ararat. His last camp site and personal effects were subsequently located but the circumstances remain unresolved.
• In an interview with Christiane Amanpour for ABC News, Robert Ballard, one of the world's best-known underwater archaeologists, talked about his findings. His team is probing the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in search of traces of an ancient civilization hidden underwater since the time of Noah. According to a controversial theory proposed by two Columbia University scientists, there really was one in the Black Sea region. They believe that the now-salty Black Sea was once an isolated freshwater lake surrounded by farmland, until it was flooded by an enormous wall of water from the rising Mediterranean Sea. The force of the water was two hundred times that of Niagara Falls, sweeping away everything in its path. Fascinated by the idea, Ballard and his team decided to investigate. Four hundred feet below the surface, they unearthed an ancient shoreline, proof to Ballard that a catastrophic event did happen in the Black Sea. By carbon dating shells found along the shoreline, Ballard said he believes they have established a timeline for that catastrophic event, which he estimates happened around 5,000 BC. Some experts believe this was around the time when Noah's flood could have occurred. Ballard does not think he will ever find Noah's Ark, but he does think he may find evidence of a people whose entire world was washed away about 7,000 years ago. He and his team said they plan to return to Turkey next summer.

Many attempts have been made to find Noah's Ark for thousands of years. Critics and non-believers are quick to give their opinion, such as Michael Shermer, who said, "There is no possible way that Noah could've retained all ten billion species on a single boat and then distributed them appropriately, where the marsupials are all in Australia, and so forth... This is just ridiculous. It is so ridiculous, I find it embarrassing for people who attempt to prove that it's true!"

Other critics claim there is no scientific evidence that Noah's Ark existed as it is described in the bible, nor is there evidence in the geologic record for the biblical global flood. Even a few historical scholars and theologians agree that catastrophic events of this kind are not unique to the Bible. Some contemporary examples include the 2004 Indonesian earthquake tsunami that wiped out villages on the coasts of 11 countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. There was also Hurricane Katrina, described as the worst hurricane in United States history. Scholars aren't sure if the biblical flood was larger or smaller than these modern day disasters, but they do think the experiences of people in ancient times were similar to our own. 

Some of the details of the Noah story seem mythical, so many biblical scholars believe the story of Noah and the Ark was inspired by the legendary flood stories of nearby Mesopotamia, in particular "The Epic of Gilgamesh." These ancient narratives were already being passed down from one generation to the next, centuries before Noah appeared in the Bible. The theory goes on to suggest that the story of this traumatic event, seared into the collective memory of the survivors, was passed down from generation to generation and eventually inspired the biblical account of Noah.

Whether or not Noah's Ark existed is still up for debate, but only one question truly remains ... Who's ? Right

Islamic Prophecies

The following article was aquired from Crystalinks.com -

The Final Signs of Qiyaamah (Islam)

• The ground will cave in: one in the east, one in the west, and one in Hejaz, Saudi Arabia.
• Fog or smoke will cover the skies for forty days.
• The nonbelievers will fall unconscious, while Muslims will be ill (develop colds).
• The skies will then clear up.
• A night three nights long will follow the fog. It will occur in the month of Zil-Hajj after Eidul-Adha, and cause much restlessness among the people.
• After the night of three nights, the following morning the sun will rise in the west.
• People's repentance will not be accepted after this incident.
• One day later, the Beast from the earth will miraculously emerge from Mount Safaa in Makkah, causing a split in the ground.
• The beast will be able to talk to people and mark the faces of people, making the believers' faces glitter, and the nonbelievers' faces darkened.
• A breeze from the south causes sores in the armpits of Muslims, which they will die of as a result.
• The Ka'aba will be destroyed by non-Muslim African group.
• Kufr will be rampant.
• Haj will be discontinued.
• The Qur'an will be lifted from the heart of the people, 30 years after the ruler Muquad's death.
• The fire will follow people to Syria, after which it will stop.
• Some years after the fire,
• Qiyaamah begins with the Soor (trumpet) being blown.
• The year is not known to any person.
• Qiyaamah will come upon the worst of creation.

Prophets are men specially elected by God to be his messengers. Prophethood is indivisible, and the Qur'an requires recognition of all prophets as such without discrimination. Yet they are not all equal, some of them being particularly outstanding in qualities of steadfastness and patience under trial.

Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jesus were such great prophets. As vindication of the truth of their mission, God often vests them with miracles: Abraham was saved from fire, Noah from the deluge, and Moses from the Pharaoh. Not only was Jesus born from the Virgin Mary, but God also saved him from crucifixion at the hands of the Jews. The conviction that God's messengers are ultimately vindicated and saved is an integral part of the Qur'anic doctrine.

All prophets are human and never part of divinity: they are simply recipients of revelation from God. God never speaks directly to a human: he either sends an angel messenger to him or makes him hear a voice or inspires him. Muhammad is accepted as the last prophet in this series and its greatest member, for in him all the messages of earlier prophets were consummated.

He had no miracles except the Qur'an, the like of which no human can produce. (Soon after the Prophet's death, however, a plethora of miracles was attributed to him by Muslims.) The angel Gabriel brought the Qur'an down to the Prophet's "heart." Gabriel is represented by the Qur'an as a spirit, but the Prophet could sometimes see and hear him.

According to early traditions, the Prophet's revelations occurred in a state of trance when his normal consciousness was in abeyance. This state was accompanied by heavy sweating. The Qur'an itself makes it clear that the revelations brought with them a sense of extraordinary weight: "If we were to send this Qur'an down on a mountain, you would see it split asunder out of fear of God."

This phenomenon at the same time was accompanied by an unshakable conviction that the message was from God, and the Qur'an describes itself as the transcript of a heavenly "Mother Book" written on a "Preserved Tablet." The conviction was of such an intensity that the Qur'an categorically denies that it is from any earthly source, for in that case it would be liable to "manifold doubts and oscillations."

Eschatology

In Islamic doctrine, on the Last Day, when the world will come to an end, the dead will be resurrected and a judgment will be pronounced on every person in accordance with his deeds. Although the Qur'an in the main speaks of a personal judgment, there are several verses that speak of the resurrection of distinct communities that will be judged according to "their own book." In conformity with this, the Qur'an also speaks in several passages of the "death of communities," each one of which has a definite term of life.

The actual evaluation, however, will be for every individual, whatever the terms of reference of his performance. In order to prove that the resurrection will occur, the Qur'an uses a moral and a physical argument. Because not all requital is meted out in this life, a final judgment is necessary to bring it to completion.

Physically, God, who is all-powerful, has the ability to destroy and bring back to life all creatures, who are limited and are, therefore, subject to God's limitless power.

According to strict Qur'anic doctrine, there is no intercession, although God himself, in his mercy, may forgive certain sinners. Those condemned will burn in hellfire, and those who are saved will enjoy the abiding pleasures of paradise. Hell and heaven are both spiritual and physical.

Besides suffering in physical fire, the damned will also experience fire "in their hearts"; similarly, the blessed, besides physical enjoyment, will experience the greatest happiness of divine pleasure.

Quite early, however, Islamic tradition developed the notion of intercession, probably in answer to the Christian doctrine of redemption.

Related Articles:

Moslem Prophecies for Modern Times

Islam's Prophecies for the Future, and Signs of the Day of Judgment - Made Easy

Islamic Eschatology: What are the end-time prophecies of Islam?

Crop Circles and the End Times?

Crop Circles – a sign of the end-times?

Published 15th September 2016 | By truth

Crop circles may seem like a very unlikely subject of a blog on a website committed to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these last days. However, this is a phenomenon we don’t feel we can ignore as they appear to be impossible to explain and we believe they may be connected to the signs of the end times. Not only do crop circles seemingly appear in a very short duration of time, they are incredibly intricate and complex. Many of them are stunning in appearance and are completed in perfect arrangement within hours which would appear to rule out any possibility of being man-made. Their appearance has increased in frequency in the UK and Wiltshire, in particular, seems to be a hot-spot with approximately 90% of the world’s crop circles appearing in this English county.

While there have been many attempts to counterfeit crop circles, it is easy to tell the difference between fakes and the real thing. Any internet search will reveal huge crop circles that we believe are impossible to explain naturally and we believe it is inconceivable that they are all man-made. Here are a few examples although many hundreds could have been used.

Have a look at the amazing crop circle that appeared a few weeks ago (photos: Ansty, Nr Salisbury, Wiltshire):

This breathtaking crop circle appeared in Wiltshire in 2012 (photos: Hackpen Hill, Wiltshire):

It’s 159 ft from the centre to the furthest part of the cube, excluding the outside ring. It has a distinct flow, with the triangular parts showing examples of multi-layering, where the crop appears to sit well above the ground as a result of swathes of stems laying beneath the surface. The majority of inner triangles are not accessible on the ground, sealed by a wall of standing crop, with no damage or evidence that anyone has walked through. There are narrow, straight pathways only a few inches wide that which criss-cross, parallel to the edges of the cube.

This crop circle is equally staggering (photos: Milk Hill, Wiltshire):

This crop circle, noticed on Milk Hill in Wiltshire (Southern England) on August 13, 2001 is being hailed as the most awesome ever made. It is composed of 409 individual circles in a spiral pattern. Appropriately, it was found in the heart of crop circle country in the United Kingdom.

The sheer size and complexity of this formation is amazing. It has been estimated that would-be hoaxers would have had to make one circle every 30 seconds during the night time hours in order to create this design! Furthermore, the field in which the design was created is not flat, but consists of small, undulating hills, making it virtually impossible for someone to lay out and create an accurate design without being noticed.

Summary

It is obvious to us that there is no natural explanation for these crop circles and given that there is no mention of them in Scripture we suspect that they are manifestations of demonic activity. The Bible warns of increased supernatural activity in the days leading up to Christ’s return and we suggest that this is just one of many indicators that we are in the end times. Scripture states that in the days immediately prior to Christ’s return, many will be lead astray by “signs and wonders”:

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24, emphasis added)

Whilst we do not claim that crop circles are clear evidence of these “signs and wonders”, we do believe they could be one part of the jigsaw that causes many to have a dangerous fascination with the occult and deceptive spiritual forces. We believe it is very important to be aware of this type of thing as the mainstream media often choose to ignore strange events that defy human explanation – Christians need to stay informed and keep on guard. Whilst UFO sightings and crop circles need not be top priorities for the Christian, it certainly does no harm to have an awareness and keep up-to-date with these wonders.

For more information about crop circles, please visit:
http://www.livescience.com/26540-crop-circles.html
http://cropcircleresearch.homestead.com/1945-crop-circles.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPT3AXaWnTQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuE7-VYExPg&t=200s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfZ5xDutu48

Bible Facts You May Not Know

1 - Written over many centuries by various authors

Most biblical scholars believe the Bible was written over a 1,600 year period - 1500 BC to 1 AD. There were at least 30 authors who contributed writings in the Old Testament and about 10 scribes in the New Testament. Most Christians believe these Bible writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Moses was the first person to write portions of Scripture while John, the disciple of Jesus, was the last. Other famous people who wrote the Bible include: David, Solomon, Daniel, Isaiah, Jonah, Peter, and Paul.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God..." ~ 2 Timothy 3:16

2 - The best-selling book of all time

A survey by the Bible Society concluded that around 2.5 billion copies were printed between 1815 and 1975. Recent estimates in the 21st century put the numbers at over 5 billion. By the end of 1995, combined global sales of Today's English Version (Good News) New Testament and Bible (copyright for which is held by the Bible Societies) exceeded 17.75 million copies. No book has ever been read more, bought more, or cherished more than the Holy Bible. There has never been a better seller at any time in all of human history than the Bible, and it is still the most widely read and most often bought book of all time.

"Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face." ~ President Ronald Reagan

3 - Jesus did not author any books of the Bible

While Jesus is not considered as being one of the scribes of the New Testament, he is purported to have written an ancient letter to King Abgarus, who ruled from 9 AD to 46 AD in what is today's modern day Turkey. In response to a letter Jesus had received from the king asking the savior to heal him, Jesus replied that his ministry was not yet complete, but he would send one of his disciples to cure him after His ascension. According to Eusubeius, the 4th century historian, Thaddeus (also known as Jude) was the disciple that cured King Abgarus.

"Blessed is you who believes in me without seeing me." ~ John 20:29

4 - Various translations of the Bible

The entire Bible has been translated into 300+ languages around the world.  And another 2,100+  languages have translated at least one of the books of the Bible. The Bible has been adapted into many dialects from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The Latin Vulgate translation was dominant in Western Christianity through the Middle Ages. Since then, the Bible has been transliterated into many more languages. English Bible translations also have a rich and varied history of more than a millennium.

"The goal of Bible translation is be transparent to the original text - to see as clearly as possible what the biblical authors actually wrote." ~ Leland Ryken

5 - The Bible is the "Word of God"

While other holy books believe in a Higher Power, the Bible is the only book that claims to be the "Word of God". The Bible says more than 3,000 times: "Thus saith the Lord". Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Yet this book, for the past 200 years, has been under increased attack.

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever." ~ Isaiah 40:8

6 - The Bible predicted the rise and fall of empires

In Daniel, Chapter 2 , the empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome are represented by various symbols. In Daniel 2:32-33 the narrative describes an image of "fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay". Many biblical historians believe the following empires qualify as proof that the predictions came true:

Head of Gold represents Babylon (605 BC-539 BC)
Chest & Arms of Silver represent Persia (539 BC - 331 BC)
Belly & Thighs of Bronze represent Greece (331 BC - 168 BC)
Legs of Iron represents Rome (168 BC - 476 AD)
Feet of Iron & Clay represents Divided Rome (476 AD - present)

7 - The Bible is scientifically accurate

Over the centuries, the Bible has been scientifically tested for the biblical accuracy and has never failed. For example: for thousands of years mankind believed the earth was flat, but Isaiah 40:22 boldly proclaims, "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:". This flat earth theory was finally laid to rest in the late 1950s when the first man was launched into space. Another interesting example is human longevity. Back in the late 1970s a government-funded group of scientists concluded that humans can live to a maximum age of one hundred and twenty years. Around that age the process which causes body cells to reproduce stops, and the body then dies.

"And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." ~ Genesis 6:3

8 - The Bible is historically accurate

The Bible has been proven to be historically and archaeologically accurate, more than any other book in the world. The discovery of the Elba tablets in northern Syria in the 1970s is a good example. These tablets enlightened that there was a race of people known as the Hittites. Before this 20th century discovery, many scholars deemed the Hittites to be biblical legends. It’s not that the Bible verifies what archaeologists and paleontologists have unearthed. It’s actually the other way around. The findings of archaeologists and paleontologists continue to discover what has already been recorded in the Bible for thousands of years.

"Physics is the only profession in which prophecy is not only accurate but routine." ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson

9 - There is a bible called "The Wicked Bible"

"The Wicked Bible" is a Bible published in 1631 by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, the royal printers in London, meant to be a reprint of the King James Bible. The name is derived from a mistake made by the compositors: in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:14), the word "not" in the sentence "Thou shalt not commit adultery" was omitted, thus changing the sentence into "Thou shalt commit adultery". This blunder was spread in a number of copies. The majority of the Wicked Bible's copies were immediately cancelled and burned, and the number of extant copies remaining today, which are considered highly valuable by collectors, is thought to be relatively low. One copy is in the collection of rare books in the New York Public Library and is very rarely made accessible; another can be seen in the Dunham Bible Museum in Houston, Texas, USA.

10 - The Book of Isaiah and the Bible

Just like the Bible has a total of 66 books, the Book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. Interestingly, the first 39 chapters contain scriptures about the law, and the last 27 books contain texts about grace.  Some biblical theologians divide the books as the Book of Judgment (Chapters 1-39) and the Book of Comfort (Chapters 40-66).  This is exactly how the Gospel is shared: law to the proud but grace to the humble.  It is also interesting to note, the Book of Isaiah was the tome that Jesus most often quoted. He quoted Isaiah eight times.

“He [Jesus] said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” ~ Matthew 21:13  (cross-reference: Isaiah 56:7)

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Other Amazing Bible Facts by Karin Lehnardt @ https://www.factretriever.com/ :

• The Geneva Bible is the first Bible to use numbered verses. It is also the Bible Shakespeare used and the one that the Pilgrims brought to America in 1620.

• William Tyndale produced first printed edited of the New Testament in English. He was later burned at the stake for his efforts.

• Muslims believe that the Bible is revelation from God that has been corrupted by men. They believe that the Qu’ran is its correction.

• Robert Aitken’s Bible (The King James Version without the Apocrypha) was the first English Bible printed in America.

• The Bible doesn’t mention how many wise men visited Christ, only that they brought three types of gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

• The Gutenberg Bible was the was the first book to be printed using movable metal type.

• The world’s smallest bible can fit on the tip of a pen. Scientists etched the 1.2 million letters of the Old Testament on a tiny silicone disk, which they call the Nano Bible.”

• The world’s largest bible weighs 1,094 pounds. Built by Louis Waynai in 1930, the book is 43.5 inches tall and a laid open width of 98 inches.

• Nearly all of the villians in the Bible have red hair.

Top 10 Most Accurate Prophets in History

The following article is presented by www.trendingtopmost.com

Prophecy is a very dangerous and tricky activity for any person to perform. The reason why prophecy is so dangerous is that people can use this form of religious or spiritual practice to deceive individuals. Throughout the millennia there have been thousands of prophets. Some of these individuals were major prophets while others where minor seers. Most prophets do prove to be false. However, some individuals who provided prophetic predictions were (or still are) very accurate. The following list will describe the top 10 most accurate prophets in history and their important predictions that have come true.

10. Jeremiah

Jeremiah the prophet was used by God of the Jewish and Christian people at some time between 628 BC to 586 BC. His message was to the Jewish people and what was going to happen to them at the hand of the Babylonians. God was punishing the Jews for their disobedience and he used the Babylonian people to carry out his discipline. Jeremiah told the Jews that they would be taken into captivity for 70 years by the Babylonians. He also told them that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would be a descendant of King David. All of Jeremiah’s predictions came true even though the people of his time ridiculed and dismissed him.

9. John the Baptist

John the Baptist was the last prophet to speak out about Jesus Christ before he arrived on the scene in Jerusalem. John was born shortly before Jesus and that would have been sometime between 10 B.C. and 0 B.C. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah spoke of John’s coming shortly before Jesus’s arrival. Once John the Baptist was preaching about Christ, he started to make predictions about the coming Messiah. John was actually Jesus’s cousin. The predictions that he made about the Messiah were all true and they all came to pass.

8. Abraham

Abraham is a Jewish patriarch that lived close to 4000 years ago in the Middle East. He was the first person that God used to start the Jewish nation. During his lifetime, Abraham had many adventures with God and he also made many prophecies. Abraham revealed that God would be the father of many nations, that his descendants would have their own nation, that the Jewish people would be a great race in the world and that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would be one of his future descendants. All of these predictions came true thousands of years after Abraham had passed.

7. The Brahan Seer

The Brahan Seer was a Scottish prophet who served the Earl of Seaforth during the 19th century. The Brahan Seer’s prophecies were more about the fate of the Scottish people – especially those in power. He made predictions about how certain noblemen such as the MacKenzies of Fairburn will lose their wealth and possessions. He also said that certain monuments and landmarks within the kingdom of Scotland would be destroyed. He also told his people that when the five bridges over the River Ness in Inverness would be destroyed. Once this happened world chaos was supposed to have followed. Unfortunately, this prediction came true when Hitler invaded Poland during WW II. Brahan Seer lost his life when he predicted that the Earl of Seaforth was cheating on his wife. Apparently, the Earl’s wife had him killed for stating such things – even though they were true.

6. Joan Quigley

Joan Quigley was an unusual prophet or seer because she was used by President Reagan and his First Lady Nancy. Normally, most presidents would not consult a psychic or medium before they engaged in political affairs. However, the Reagans did. They would often consult Quigley before they would meet other political leaders or before they made some type of major political decision. Eventually the public found out that the Reagans were using a medium to help determine political affairs. However, this incident was quickly and quietly swept under the rug. No American really wants a president who consults mediums and psychics to figure out political affairs.

5. Edgar Cayce

Edgar Cayce was a popular seer that lived during the early 20th century. He would invite people to his home and have them ask questions about their future. While they asked the questions, Cayce would lie down and enter a trance like state. He would then answer them. Cayce made thousands of predictions. He supposedly accurately predicted Hitler’s activities and the Great Depression. He also predicted that California would fall into the ocean. However, as we already know, this did not happen. Not all of Cayce’s predictions came true.

4. Madam Marie

Madam Marie was an American seer that performed this activity for well over 70 years. She made her predictions in the New Jersey area of Asbury Park Boardwalk. One of her most notable predictions was that Bruce Springsteen would become a music star. This prediction did come to pass. Springsteen referenced the Madam Marie in his song 4th of July and he even helped her to gain a following. Other notable stars such as Ray Charles, Woody Allen and Elton John used her services as well.

3. Noah

Noah is the famous Jewish Patriarch that lived about 10,000 years ago. He built the great ark which as used to withstand the flood waters that God sent to destroy the world. Many people might be familiar with Noah and the ark but what they probably did not know is that Noah preached for over 100 years while building the ark. He was trying to get people to turn from their sins and follow God. While he was preaching, he prophesized that the world would be destroyed by water and this came to pass. He also prophesized that people would be destroyed if they did not repent. He was right.

2. Nostradamus

Nostradamus was an unusual prophet because he could accurately predict a lot of things and they really would happen. Nostradamus never claimed to be a prophet and he often stated that his predictions might not happen at all. However, this seer did not have all of his predictions to come true. He predicted some things about WW II that actually happened. Yet, other of his prophecies have yet to manifest. Nostrodamus still remains one of the most influential prophets in modern time even though he died in 1566.

1. Jesus

Jesus Christ is the most controversial figure in all of humanity. One of things that makes him such an enigma for many people is his bold prophecies. Jesus predicted that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and it happened. He also predicted that he would die and rise again to become the savior of humanity. This happened as well. Jesus made predictions about the start and spread of Christianity and he made prophecies concerning the end times. Christ is also the Messiah and many Old Testament prophets made many prophecies about him in the past. Christ is a prophetic making machine and all of his prophecies have come to pass or will happen in the future. Keep in mind that all people who make prophecies should be taken with caution. All of the people on this list made accurate predictions but keep in mind that they are the exception and not the rule.

Ancient Prophecies Coming True

The following article was written by Gregg Braden

Ancient Scriptures

The visions of a world-age transition, and what follows it, extend far beyond the ancient and indigenous worldviews into the era of recorded history. For more than 400 years such visions of the future have fallen into the realm of prophecy, and the word itself has been nearly synonymous with the names of great seers such as Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus.

Born in 1503, Nostradamus was fascinated by the profound visions of ancient oracles and studied them to work on his own techniques of prophecy. Using what he learned, Nostradamus developed a gift of second sight that allowed him to peer—to remote-view—well into his future and even beyond ours, to witness events that had yet to occur with extraordinary detail and accuracy. In what is arguably his best-known work, Centuries, he recorded what he saw from his vantage point in the 16th century, through the next ten centuries, and then even beyond our time, ending in the year a.d. 3797. Some scholars believe his future sight may have extended even further.

Because of the stigma surrounding the use of prophecy in his time, Nostradamus couldn’t write about his visions directly. Instead he recorded them in a coded format called quatrains—mysterious verses of four lines each. By the time of his death, Nostradamus had set down his visions for each century as 100 verses of such quatrains.

The Prophecies of Nostradamus

While many of the things that Nostradamus recorded do appear to be surprisingly accurate, just as we find for other prophecies, without specific dates they are open to interpretation. Among the dates that are noted, however, are the specifics for the two world wars that cannot be mistaken.

Nostradamus also recorded Hitler’s name and a description of the swastika; the discoveries of penicillin, nuclear energy, and the AIDS virus; the failure of Communism; and the assassination of U.S. President John F.Kennedy. Even though the interpretations are subjective, scholars generally agree that he did foresee a great change on a global scale around the transition from the 20th to the 21st century. Similar to the Native American and biblical traditions, the changes that Nostradamus witnessed in his visions were accompanied by tremendous cataclysm.

Only when he felt that the event in his vision was critical or urgent did Nostradamus include an actual date. On the rare occasions that he did so, those dates have become the touchstones to orient us in history for the things that happen before and after. For this reason, I find it fascinating that one of those rare dates occurs in the late 20th century. In his book Centuries X, quatrain number 72 reads: “In the year 1999 and seven months, / A great King of Terror will come from the sky. / He will bring back the great King Genghis Khan [of the Mongols] / Before and after Mars [war] rules happily.”

In the Epistle to Henry II, verse 87, Nostradamus further clarifies this time in history, stating, “…this will be preceded by a solar eclipse more obscure and more dark…than any since the creation of the world except that after the death and passion of Jesus Christ.”

A solar eclipse that was visible throughout much of Europe did occur on August 11, 1999. In verse 88, Nostradamus continues describing the cataclysmic nature of his millennial vision, identifying a specific month of Earth changes:

“…and there shall be in the month of October a great movement of the globe, and it will be such that one will think the Earth has lost its natural [gravitational] movement…there will be initial omens in the spring, and extraordinary changes in rapid succession thereafter, reversals of kingdoms and mighty earthquakes . . .”

While there have, in fact, been record-setting earthquakes (the 2004 Indian Ocean quake registered between 9.1 and 9.3 on the Richter scale) and nations, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, have certainly changed their affiliations and forms of government, it’s difficult to say that these are precisely the things that Nostradamus saw in his visions.

What’s important here is that although the specifics of Nostradamus’s future sight may vary from those of other prophets and prophecies, the general theme of a great change at century’s end does not. Although they were born 374 years apart, there is a surprising consistency between Nostradamus and the man known as the “Sleeping Prophet” in the 20th century, Edgar Cayce.

The Prophecies of Edgar Cayce

In what have become some of his best-known prophecies, Cayce stated that the late 20th and early 21st centuries would herald a time of unprecedented shifts upon the earth. Just as many ancient prophecies described two paths that could carry humankind through such an upheaval, Cayce foresaw the possibility of a future brought about by gradual change as well as a time of tumultuous shifts that are obviously catastrophic in nature. What makes his prophecies especially significant, however, is that he saw both possibilities happening during the same period of time.

During his lifetime, Cayce gave approximately 14,000 readings that cover topics ranging from the diagnosis of ailments for specific individuals to the future and fate of humankind and the world. In reading number 826–8, which is dated August 1936, Cayce was asked specifically about the kind of changes he foresaw for the millennium that would not happen for another 64 years into his future. His response was a tangible statement regarding a measurable change for the Earth: “…there is the shifting of the pole. Or a new cycle begins.”4

Prediction of the Pole Shift / Changes in Earth’s Magnetic Field

The rapid decline in the magnetic fields of the Earth — the kind that precedes a magnetic reversal of the poles — has led some scientists to speculate that we may be in the early stages of just such a shift. In the absence of extenuating circumstances, however, and with the insights from our Time Code Calculator, it appears unlikely that such a shift will occur in the years immediately before or following 2012.

Although a number of Cayce’s early predictions for the new millennium sound catastrophic, later readings take on an interesting, although subtle, change. Reading number 1152–11 in 1939 describes the close of the century as a series of gradual changes rather than the sudden shifts he previously foresaw.

Once again, Cayce shares his future visions with the specifics of an actual date. He states, “In 1998 we will find a great deal of activity that has been created by the gradual changes that are coming about.”5 He continues: “As to the changes, the change between the Piscean and the Aquarian Age is gradual, not a cataclysmic one.”6

The Significance of Prophecies

The prophecies of Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, the Aztecs, the Hopi, the Maya, and others have sent the reverberations of an unmistakable message throughout time. Separated by hundreds of years of history and thousands of miles of distance, all point to now. They all see something powerful, possibly wonderful and possibly destructive, happening on a global scale during a time that spans the last years of the 20th century and the first years of the 21st century.

The odds against such similar stories developing “out of nowhere” for such vastly different people and places suggest that this is more than simply a coincidence. What did they know that we’ve forgotten? Why did the Mayan timekeepers choose 2012 rather than the 2000 millennium date as the end of their calendar What difference could those 12 years possibly make in the ending of a 5,125-year-long cycle?

Prophecies of the Mayan Calendar

Perhaps the best way to answer that question is through a better understanding of the Maya themselves. To appreciate just what the Mayan calendar and the end of time means, we must look beyond the calendar itself. Its symbols and codes are the lasting legacy of an obsession with vast cycles of time and our relationship to that time. It’s the Maya’s advanced knowledge of the cosmos and their ability to preserve it for generations to come that modern archaeologists have called the “Mayan mystery.”