DID KING SOLOMON’S FLEETS VISIT AMERICA?
IN ancient times, the Hebrews and Phoenicians used very similar scripts. There is a lot of confusion about this, with many believing that the Hebrews got their alphabet from the Phoenicians. At the same time, most scholars assert that Hebrew and Phoenician are virtually identical languages. The reason for the confusion is the fact that the Phoenicians popularized their own script because of their trade operations throughout the Mediterranean, thus giving prominence, not historical precedence. to the Phoenicians. This has led to the popular but false conclusion that the Phoenican language preceded the Hebrew. Again, historians who do not take the Bible seriously get these things wrong.
In the words of Max Muller:
“The Semitic languages also are all varieties of one form of speech. Though we do not know that primitive language from which the Semitic dialects diverged, yet we know that at one time such language must have existed; but we can well understand how both may have proceeded from one common source. They are both channels supplied from one river, and they carry, though not always on the surface, floating materials of language which challenge comparison, and have already yielded satisfactory results to careful analysers.”
The Bible tells us that, before the Tower of Babel incident, the known world had one form of speech. Since civilization sprang from the Garden of Eden into Mesopotamia, we would have to assume that Adam, Eve, Cain, Seth, Enoch, etc., spoke a common language, which I call proto-Hebrew. The Hebrew people, and the language that they spoke, are named after our patriarch, Eber (Heber). But, of course, the language Heber spoke preceded Heber. Heber learned it from his family, who learned it from their ancestors.
Now, from Easton’s Bible Dictionary, we have this statement:
The Phoenicians were the most enterprising merchants of the old world, establishing colonies at various places, of which Carthage was the chief. They were a Canaanite branch of the race of Ham, and are frequently called Sidonians, from their principal city of Sidon
Now, since Ham, Shem and Japheth were brothers, did they not speak the same language in Noah’s household? Heber was Shem’s great grandson. How much different could the language of the Hebrews and the Phoenicians have been under these circumstances? It was essentially the same language, but historians have assumed that “Phoenician” was the primary language and “Hebrew” the secondary language. Max Mueller is correct, the two languages are essentially dialects of an older language, which was spoken by Noah’s family. Of this, there can be no doubt! If anything, paleo-Hebrew would be a purer form of the original speech, uncontaminated by Egyptian influences as the Phoenician certainly was. Therefore, the fact that the Phoenician alphabet achieved greater notoriety in the ancient world is not evidence that the Phoenician language is older than the Hebrew. If anything, the Phoenician is a dialect of paleo-Hebrew, not the other way around.
In the article below, it is obvious that the paleo-Hebrew inscriptions that have been found in America derive from the Hebrew-speaking Israelites of the ships of Solomon.
Did ancient Hebrews reach the shores of the North and South American continents thousands of years before Christopher Columbus? What evidence is there for Hebrew and Israelite occupation of the Western Hemisphere even a thousand years before Christ? Was trans-Atlantic commerce and travel fairly routine in the days of king Solomon of Israel? Read here the intriguing, fascinating saga of the TRUE DISCOVERERS OF AMERICA!
A stone in a dry creek bed in New Mexico, discovered by early settlers in the region, is one of the most amazing archaeological discoveries in the Western Hemisphere. It contains engraved on its flank the entire Ten Commandments written in ancient Hebrew script! Hebrew scholars, such as Cyrus Gordon of Brandeis University near Boston, have vouched for its authenticity. I visited the site of the huge boulder, near Las Lunas, New Mexico, in 1973 and photographed the Hebrew inscriptions. A local newspaper reporter guided me to the mysterious site, located out in the middle of the New Mexico desert. We watched for rattlesnakes, as we hiked in to the spot where the boulder lies, unmoved and in situ for who knows how many mysterious centuries. Who put it there? Who wrote the incredible inscription of the TEN COMMANDMENTS in an ancient Hebrew dialect?
In his new book The Origins and Empire of Ancient Israel, author-historian Steven M.Collins points out that the “Las Lunas Stone” inscription in archaic Hebrew was written in the Hebrew letters of the style of the Moabite Stone, dated to about 1,000 B.C. This would place the writing on the stone to the time of the kingdom of ancient Israel under its most affluent and powerful king, Solomon, who reigned from 1014 B.C. to 974 B.C. Exactly how old the writing is, however, is not known. George Morehouse, a geologist, studied it and concluded it is between 500 and 2000 years old, based on the weathered patina on the rock. However, the inscriptions have received periodic scrubbings, says Collins, and therefore some of the ancient evidence of weatherisation could have been removed in the process. Collins points out that the punctuation in the inscription matches that found in ancient Greek manuscripts of the fourth century. Dr.Barry Fell states that separation points found in the artefact date to as early as 1200 B.C. Says Collins,
“In view of the above, this Las Lunas inscription predates the arrival of Columbus by at least a thousand years, but it most likely dates to the time of King Solomon for several reasons. The first reason is that the inscription is in the Paleo-Hebrew characters in use from approximately 1200-600 B.C., which includes the reign of King Solomon.”
A second piece of evidence is what the inscription says! Since it is an inscription of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, it was obviously made by Israelites at a time when they worshipped the God of the Bible. Since the Kingdom of Israel quickly degenerated into pagan practices after the reign of Solomon, it argues that this inscription was made during the reign of Solomon when God’s laws were the standard for the nation” (Steve Collins, Origins and Empires of Ancient Israel, pages 218-219).
We will demonstrate later in this article that sea voyages around the world were fairly common during the time of king Solomon, the son of David, during Israel’s “golden age.” Solomon’s incredible wealth also strongly points to the Las Lunas stone inscription as having been carved during his reign. Financing sailing voyages of discovery and maritime trade is no small feat. Vast sums and investments are required. Solomon was the wealthiest king who ever lived, and undoubtedly had the resources to fund such far reaching and dangerous voyages. Also, during his reign Israel was in league with the other major world powers of the day, including Tyre and the Phoenicians, and the nation of Egypt (Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh, thus cementing that alliance). Steve Collins writes:
”Another factor powerfully supporting a dating of this ancient Hebrew inscription to the time of Solomon are the economic and logistic realities in the ancient world. Transoceanic expeditions and colonization efforts in the ancient world required a very large commitment of monetary and human resources. The source of such resources had to be the king of a wealthy nation. Because the New Mexico inscription is in ancient Hebrew, the sponsor for that ancient expedition had to be a very wealthy king of the ancient Israelites! Solomon was the wealthiest ancient King of Israel, and he reigned at a time when the Israelites kept the Ten Commandments” (ibid., page 220).
The “Decalogue Tablet”
Another fascinating archaeological discovery in America is an ancient artefact bearing an old Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments unearthed in Ohio in 1860.The tablet also includes a scene of an individual-Moses-carved into the front of the tablet in considerable detail, holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments. This artefact was discovered in an ancient burial mound. The Hebrew inscription also has characteristics of the old Phoenician alphabets. Writes Steve Collins on this remarkable discovery:
”A Hebrew inscription with Phoenician features is exactly what ancient Israelite inscriptions should be like. The Israelites were close allies of the Phoenicians and shared a common culture and navy from the time of King David until the fall of Israel circa 721 B.C. Their artefacts would naturally exhibit the traits of both cultures.”
Collins continues:
“While this artefact unearthed from an Ohio burial mound cannot be specifically dated, the alphabet used indicates that it was made by ancient followers of God who spoke Hebrew. While it would be tempting to date this artefact to the time of King Solomon, the fact that it was engraved with square Hebrew letters indicates a date several centuries more recent than the Los Lunas tablet, which exhibited the more ancient Paleo-Hebrew letters” (ibid., page 223-225).
The fact that the Decalogue was buried at the ancient grave site may be evidence of a strong Levitical presence with the early Israelite explorers. It was customary in ancient times for explorers to be accompanied by priests and religious officials, and the Levites were the chosen tribe to officiate in religious matters in the Kingdom of Israel. It was their responsibility alone to conduct Temple services and to perform the duties associated with Temple worship, religious instruction and education, and sacrifice.
Evidence of Ancient Egyptians
Literally hundreds of inscribed Phoenician, Celtic and Basque stone grave markers have been found in Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania, dated to 800-600 B.C, over 2,000 years before the fateful voyage of Columbus! It must be said, therefore, that Christopher Columbus did not really “discover” America. Rather, he and his intrepid sailors rediscovered the “New World”!
Incredible as it may seem, the presence of ancient Egyptians has been found in the writing system of the Wabanaki/Micmac Indians in Maine, a sub-tribe of the Algonquins. It has even been documented, says Collins, that the ancient Egyptians sailed the Pacific Ocean as far as Polynesia and Hawaii, searching for gold, about 1,000 B.C.- during the very time of Solomon’s Empire in Israel.
One proof of this fact is an inscription in ancient Ogam and Libyan – the language of Egyptian merchantmen – found near the Rio Grande River of Texas. The inscription states than an Egyptian-Libyan king by the name of Shishonq visited North America a number of times. It is translated as, ”A crew of Shishonq the king took shelter in this place of concealment.” Says Dr. Barry Fell, several kings of this name ruled Egypt and Libya between 1000 and 800 B.C.
Interestingly, the Bible itself mentions a king of Egypt by the name of “Shishak” (“Shishonq”) who invaded the Kingdom of Judah during the time of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, after the kingdom of Israel separated from allegiance to the throne of David. Shishak was no doubt an ally of Jeroboam, the king of Israel, at that time. He was a mighty king and plundered the Temple and riches of the kingdom of Judah (see I Kings 14:25-26).
Steve Collins declares:
“It is significant that Dr. Fell noted the time period of ‘1000-800 B.C.’ as marking a period of significant Old World exploration of the New World. This time frame exactly parallels Bible records showing international travel and commerce flourished with fleets undertaking multi-year voyages and visiting other continents. This time frame begins with the reigns of Kings David and Solomon, but continues through much of the history of the northern kingdom of Israel, the dominant partner in the Phoenician alliance until Israel fell circa 721 B.C. The conclusion is inescapable that the record of ancient history verifies the biblical accounts. The Bible is not a detailed history of all that happened in the ancient world, but it confirms what archaeology and epigraphy have shown about the real state of commerce and travel in the ancient world” (Collins, page 227, emphasis mine except bold face).
Mystery Hill
More evidence of early Hebrew-Phoenician presence in North America hundreds of years before Christ was found in New England. At Mystery Hill, named for the “mystery” concerning the origin of the site, in North Salem, New Hampshire, a large temple observatory site of about twenty acres was discovered by early colonial settlers. It included shrines with dedications to the god Baal, a Phoenician-Canaanite deity condemned by the God of Israel. Dr. Barry Fell dated these inscriptions to about 800-600 B.C., a time of apostasy in ancient Israel. Radio-carbon dating of the site, however, indicates it was also inhabited back to the second millennium before Christ.
Such a site dedicated to Baal should be expected, since most of the kings of Israel, after David and Solomon, worshipped Baal and the Babylonian pantheon, including Astarte (Easter), and Tammuz.
Early settlers used stones from the site as building materials for their own homes. Nevertheless, Barry Fell found enough conclusive evidence to demonstrate that the ancient site was composed of stone slab chambers and henge stones used for determining summer an winter solstices. Many temple dedications were found in the stone walls. Radio-carbon dating indicates the site was in use for hundreds of years, showing that the Phoenician-Hebrews had a strong and thriving colony in the New World that endured through many centuries.
The Davenport Stele
More evidence of Hebrew-Phoenician explorers being present in the New World comes from a burial mound found in 1877 near Davenport, Iowa. Unfortunately, it was ignored for decades by scholars and historians because no one could read its inscription. Also, it was considered “suspect” because some of the signs on it resembled Hebrew, and others resembled Phoenician, and this was utterly contrary to prevailing scholarly opinion. Barry Fell has investigated this ancient stele and found it contains joint inscriptions in three ancient languages – Iberian-Punic[related to Phoenician/Hebrew], Egyptian, and ancient Libyan.Why these three languages? During the time of King Solomon of Israel, the leading world alliance of the time was a triple alliance consisting of Israel-Phoenicia, Egypt, and Libya!
Comments Steve Collins, “These are the language groups of the triple alliance that the Bible reveals began in the reign of Solomon! Since this ancient stele confirms that these groups were travelling and working together in the interior of North America, it indicates that this alliance not only existed but also had a global reach!”(Collins, p.210).
Why would there be parallel inscriptions on the same stone, in Davenport, Iowa, in these ancient languages, unless these three nations had been working and exploring together?
Says Dr. Fell, “The date is unlikely to be earlier than about 800 B.C., for we do not know of Iberian or Libyan inscriptions earlier than this date. . . . It seems clear that Iberian and Punic speakers were living in Iowa in the 9th century B.C.” (Fell, America B.C., page 268).
The terms “Iberian” and “Punic” refer to languages which are closely related to Hebrew/Phoenician. Dr.Fell noted the Phoenician “character” of the script on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The Iberian peninsula (Spain) was at one time largely settled by peoples of the tribes of Israel. In fact, the term “Iberian” comes from the Hebrew word “Eber,” meaning “Hebrew”!
The Iowa stele indicates that the “triple alliance” begun in the days of Solomon, between Israel, Phoenicia,and Egypt/Libya, continued on into the 800s B.C. It probably lasted until Israel was carried away into captivity in 721 B.C.by the growing Assyrian empire. The Bible states plainly that the northern kingdom of Israel, ruled by Ahab, was still “in bed” with Phoenicia during his reign, around 850 B.C. Ahab married the daughter of Hiram, king of Tyre, a woman by the name of Jezebel, a priestess of the Baal-Astarte abomination. The Jewish encyclopaedia tells us that Ahab was a very powerful king – one of the four greatest kings of all history! According to the Targum Sheni, four kings reigned over the entire world – and these did NOT include Alexander the Great. They were in order: Solomon, Ahab, Nebuchadnezzar, and Cyrus of Persia.
The Aggagah declares that Ahab was one of three or four kings who will have no portion in the world to come (Sanhedrin 10.2). Over the gates of Samaria he placed the inscription: “Ahab denies the God of Israel.” Influenced by his wife Jezebel, he became an enthusiastic idolater like none before him. He left no hilltop in Israel without an idol before which he bowed. He substituted the names of idols for the divine Name of God in the Torah. Ahab is said to have ruled over the “whole world” and “his dominion extended over 252 kingdoms” (Encyclopaedia Judaica, “Ahab”, vol.1, p.439).
Thus during the 800s, Israel was still a very powerful kingdom, and the triple alliance forged by Solomon with Phoenicia and Egypt was still going strong, in the hands of Ahab. An inscription noting this alliance, by being in three languages of the three kingdoms, found in Davenport, Iowa, attests to the fact of this continuing and powerful entente. Ahab was a worldly despot whose wickedness was only surpassed by his foolishness. Nevertheless, he was still the most powerful monarch in the world during his time, and the triple alliance brought Israel great wealth and might. Writes Steve Collins:
“A date of 800-700 B.C. for this stele confirms that the triple alliance of Israel, Egypt and Phoenicia lasted long after the lifetime of King Solomon. The Bible records that the ten tribes of Israel forsook worshipping the Creator God after Solomon’s death, and adopted the religious customs of Egypt, Tyre and Sidon. Biblical accounts show that Israel and Phoenicia were still very closely allied during the reign of King Ahab of Israel (circa 850 B.C.), and there is no evidence that their alliance suffered a breach until approximately 721 B.C., when Israel ceased to be a nation in the Mideast. . . . Therefore the Iowa stele showing that these ancient nations were still working together around 800 B.C.in the New World is consistent with biblical accounts” (ibid., p.212).
In addition to these discoveries, another stele exhibiting the ancient Egyptian-Libyan script was unearthed on Long Island, New York. Dr. Barry Fell states that it also probably dates to around the ninth century B.C. Still another amazing discovery was made in Oklahoma, where another stele was found which contained references to the gods Baal and Ra, with an inscription which was “an extract from the Hymn to the Aton by Pharaoh Akhnaton.” Although the dating of Akhnaton is purported to be in the 13th century B.C., new Egyptian dynastic dating methods indicate he was much closer to 800 B.C. Immanuel Velikovsky points out that Akhnaton was a member of the 18th dynasty in Egypt, which co-existed with the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the 800s B.C. He was a contemporary of king Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem, and reigned from 870-840 B.C. (see Ages in Chaos, p.229). This Oklahoma stele is written in Iberian-Punic, a language descended from Phoenician-Hebrew, and Barry Fell declares that it is “scarcely older than 800 B.C.” (see Collins, p.212, Fell, America B.C., p.159).
Peruvian Discoveries
In December, 1989, it was reported that an American explorer in Peru’s highland jungles had found evidence that indicated king Solomon’s legendary goldmines may have been in that region. The explorer, Gene Savoy, declared that he had found three stone tablets containing the first writing found from the ancient civilizations of the Andes. The inscriptions, he reported, are similar to Phoenician and Hebrew hieroglyphs! The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
“The hieroglyphs on the tablets are similar to those used in King Solomon’s time and include one identical to the symbol that always appeared on the ships he sent to the legendary land of Ophir, which the Bible described as the source of his gold, Savoy said” (December 7, 1989).
Savoy is no newcomer to archaeological discoveries. He was the discoverer of the last Inca city of Vilcabamba in 1964. Savoy declared that the three tablets each weigh several tons and measure about 5 by 10 feet. They were found in a cave near Gran Vilaya, the immense ruins of the Chachapoyas Indian civilization which he discovered in 1985.
Hebrews in the Americas 1,000 B.C.?
In 1973, while travelling to do research for an article I was writing for The Plain Truth magazine, I visited with Dr.Joseph Mahan in Atlanta, Georgia, an expert in ancient Indian ethnology of the south-eastern Indians of the United States. He showed me samples of pottery uncovered from the waters around the Bahamas, and told me of Indian legends, including that of the Yuchis, stating they had migrated to the area of Florida and Georgia from the region of the Bahamas. According to their legends, the island sank beneath the sea and they fled for their lives.
These same Yuchis later migrated to the Oklahoma territory, where they eventually settled down. Amazingly enough, they show strong evidence that they had contact with the Old World in historic times. They have a custom which is unique among the American Indians. They are racially and linguistically different from their neighbours. Every year on the fifteenth day of the sacred month of harvest, in the fall, they make a pilgrimage. For eight days they live in “booths” with roofs open to the sky, covered with branches and leaves and foliage. During this festival, they dance around the sacred fire, and called upon the name of God. The ancient Israelites had the virtually identical custom, in many respects. In the harvest season in the fall, on the 15th day of the sacred month of harvest (the seventh month), they celebrate the “festival of booths” for eight days. During this time they lived in temporary booths, covered with branches, leaves, fronds. This festival goes back to the time of Moses and the Exodus from ancient Egypt (Leviticus 23).
How is it that two totally separated peoples observed the identical custom? The chances of this occurring by pure “accident” are equivalent to the chances of survival
of a snowball in hell!
Dr.Cyrus Gordon, of Brandeis University in Boston, was privileged to sit in on one of the fall harvest festivals of the Yuchi Indians, and listened to their chants, songs, and sacred ceremonies. An expert in Hebrew, Minoan, and many Middle Eastern languages, he was incredulous. As he listened, he exclaimed to his companion, “My God! They are speaking the Hebrew names of God!”
Dr. Joe Mahan is a strong believer in cultural contacts between the Indians and the East, long before Columbus. He showed me a small tablet containing ancient cuneiform writing of the Babylonians. “This,” he said, “was found not long ago by a woman digging in her flower bed, here in Georgia.The inscription appears to be genuine. There is no reason not to believe it is authentic.”
Perplexing Mysteries
In “Quest of the White God”, Pierre Honore points out similarities between the ancient Minoan writing and the script of the ancient Mayas. Independently of him, other scholars have noted striking similarities between Aztec glyphs from Mexico, and Cretan glyphs on the Phaistos Disc from the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. More and more, scholars are coming to admit that peoples from the Middle East reached the New World long before Columbus or the Vikings. One stone, found at Fort Benning, Georgia, has unusual markings all over it. It is called the “Metcalf stone” in honour of its discoverer. In 1968 Manfred Metcalf was looking for slabs to build a barbeque pit. Several strange looking, flat rocks caught his eye; he picked up a large flat piece of sandstone about nine inches long, brushed it off, and noticed odd markings on it. I saw the stone myself, and took photographs of it. Professor Stanislav Segert, professor of Semitic languages at the University of Prague, has identified the markings on the stone as a script of the second millennium before Christ, from the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete!
The inscription on the stone, Dr. Cyrus Gordon asserts, is in the writing style of Canaan, the promised land of the Hebrews. Concludes Gordon, whom I interviewed at his old, New England style home in the suburbs of Boston:
“There is no doubt that these findings, and others, reflect Bronze Age transatlantic communication between the Mediterranean and the New World around the middle of the second millennium B.C.”
He said such discoveries prove beyond doubt ancient Jews came to the Americas long before Columbus!
Metcalf gave the stone to Dr. Joseph B. Mahan, Jr., Director of Education and Research at the nearby Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts at Columbus, Georgia. Mahan sent a copy of the stone to Cyrus Gordon. Gordon reported:
“after studying the inscription, it was apparent to me that the affinities of the script were with the Aegean syllabary, whose two best known forms are Minoan Linear A, and Mycenaean Linear B. The double-axe in the lower left corner is of course reminiscent of Minoan civilization.The single vertical lines remind us of the vertical lines standing each for the numeral ‘I’ in the Aegean syllabary; while the little circles stand for ‘100’.”
Concluded Gordon: “We therefore have American inscriptional contacts with the Aegean of the Bronze Age, near the south, west and north shores of the Gulf of Mexico. This can hardly be accidental; ancient Aegean writing near three different sectors of the Gulf reflects Bronze Age transatlantic communication between the Mediterranean and the New World around the middle of the second millennium B.C.”
The middle of the second millennium B.C. would have been around the time of Moses and the Exodus of Israel out of ancient Egypt!
Gordon offers the exciting thought, “The Aegean analogues to Mayan writing, to the Aztec glyphs, and to the Metcalf Stone, inspire the hope that the deciphered scripts of the Mediterranean may provide keys for unlocking the forgotten systems of writing in the New World. A generation capable of landing men on the moon, may also be able to place pre-Columbian Americas within the framework of world history” (Manuscripts, summer of 1969).
The Brazilian Paraiba Stone
Further proof that transatlantic travel and communication existed in the Bronze Age, in the middle of the second millennium B.C., during the time of David and Solomon, and before, comes to us from South America. In 1872 a slave belonging to Joaquim Alves de Costa, found a broken stone tablet in the tropical rain forests of Brazil’s Paraiba state. Baffled by the strange markings on the stone, Costa’s son, who was a draftsman, made a copy of it and sent it to the Brazilian Emperor’s Council of State. The stone came to the attention of Ladislau Netto, director of the national museum. He was convinced of the inscription’s authenticity and made a crude translation of it. Contemporary scholars scoffed. The very thought of Phoenicians reaching Brazil thousands of years before Columbus was viewed with disdain. Few scholars took the stone at all seriously. Ninety four years later, in 1966, Dr. Jules Piccus, professor of romance languages at the University of Massachusetts, bought an old scrapbook at a rummage sale containing a letter written by Netto in 1874, which contained his translations of the markings on the stone and a tracing of the original copy he had received from Costa’s son. Intrigued, Dr.Piccus brought the material to the attention of Cyrus H. Gordon. Dr. Gordon, the head of the Department of Mediterranean Studies at Brandeis and an expert in ancient Semitic languages, as well as author of some 13 books, was amazed. He compared the Paraiba inscription with the latest work on Phoenician writings. He discovered that it contained nuances and quirks of Phoenician style that could not have been known to a 19th century forger.The writings had to be genuine!
Gordon translated the inscription as follows:
“We are Sidonian Canaanites from the city of the Mercantile King.We were cast up on this distant shore, a land of mountains. We sacrificed a youth to the celestial gods and goddesses in the nineteenth year of our mighty King Hiram and embarked from Ezion-geber into the Red Sea. We voyaged with ten ships and were at sea together for two years around Africa. Then we were separated by the hand of Baal and were no longer with our companions. So we have come here, twelve men and three women, into New Shore. Am I, the Admiral, a man who would flee? Nay! May the celestial gods and goddesses favour us well!”
The Navy of King Solomon
Cyrus Gordon believes the king mentioned in the script can be identified as Hiram III who reigned 553-533 B.C. The inscription seems to verify an unusual statement found in the Old Testament. We read in the first book of Kings:
“And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon” (I Kings 9:26-28).
In the days of Solomon there was an alliance between Hiram, the king of Tyre and the Israelites under Solomon. They were not only allies, but very friendly toward one another (II Chronicles 2:2-12). Israelites and Phoenicians even worked together to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem (vs.13-18).This alliance included shipping together, although the Phoenicians were known to jealously guard the secrets of oceanic navigation from other nations.We read in II Chronicles 8, beginning verse 17:
“Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon” (v.I 7-18).
In the heyday of Solomon silver was “not any thing accounted of” (II Chronicles 9:20).We read,
“And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance”(v.27).
Solomon had his own personal fleets and dominated world trade.
“And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom” (v. 22).
There is archaeological evidence, in fact, that the fleets of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre circumnavigated the globe, sailing from Ezion-geber, a port at the terminus of the Red Sea, near modern Aqaba or Eliat! Hebrew customs, discovered by the early English settlers in the Americas,were found among some of the Indian tribes, including the wearing of phylacteries!
Minoan and Phoenician coins have been found, and inscriptions of ancient Phoenician and Minoan scripts, in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and the Star of David was even found in an ancient ruin of the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico! In the middle of the second millennium, B.C., and down to the time of Solomon, circa 1000 B.C., oceanic travel by maritime powers in the Middle East seems to have been fairly common.
Steve Collins points out that there were a number of remarkable developments that occurred in the Middle East around 1000 B.C.- the time of King Solomon. At that time Phoenicia suddenly developed new types of pottery that had no prototypes in the Late Bronze Age. At the time of king Solomon, the skills of the Phoenicians took a giant stride forward! Technology leaped forward during the time of Solomon. In fact, Solomon’s genius launched a “Golden Age” for Israel and her chief ally, Phoenicia! The Bible tells us that “all the earth consulted Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart” (I Kings 10:24). The fact that technology suddenly surged forward at that same time speaks volumes of the influence and effect of Solomon’s genius – he was a Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton, Robert Fulton and Albert Einstein all rolled into one!
Significantly, the modern alphabet – Greek, English and all European writing – can be traced back to the Phoenicians, who carried it wherever they travelled 3,000 years ago. The names of the Phoenician letters are Semitic – the Hebrew aleph, bet, gimel, dalet, etc., all correspond with the Greek alpha, beta, gama, delta, and the English A, B,C, D, and so forth. Phoenician has been shown to be nearly the same language as Hebrew! Declares Steve Collins,“It is significant that ‘in their earlier forms,’ the Phoenician, Hebrew, Moabite, and North Aramean alphabets are ‘practically identical.’ When the phonetic alphabet was invented in this region around 1000 B.C., King Solomon ruled the Hebrews, Moabites and North Arameans [Syrians], and King Hiram of Tyre was his loyal ally. It would be logical that, at the time of its implementation, the alphabet would be virtually identical because these territories were all ruled by Israelite kings. The phonetic alphabet ‘was developed and diffused’ by the Phoenicians (the Israelite alliance with Tyre, Sidon, etc.) when they were the world’s dominant alliance under Kings David and Solomon” (Origins and Empire of Ancient Israel, p.234).
This great explosion of knowledge, world exploration, and advancement occurred around 1000 B.C. – precisely at the time of the great Solomonic Empire in Israel, which extended its grasp and reach around the globe! The evidence is staggering – and phenomenal.
Amazing Discoveries in Mexico
Were Hebrews in the Americas long before Columbus? More evidence comes from the investigations of Dr. Alexander von Wuthenau, whom I interviewed at his home in Mexico City. His living room was filled to overflowing with terracotta pottery figures and objects d’art. In his book The Art of Terra Cotta Pottery in Pre-Columbian Central and South America, Dr. Von Wuthenau published scores of photographs of these art objects. He tells of his astonishment, when he first noted that in the earliest, lower levels of each excavation he encountered – not typical Indian heads – but heads of Mongolians, Chinese, Japanese, Tartars, Negroes, and “all kinds of white people, especially Semitic Types with and without beards” (p. 49).
At Acapulco, von Wuthenau found that early Semitic peoples lived in considerable numbers. “The curious points about these essentially primitive figures are that, first, there is an emphasis on markedly Semitic-Hebrew features,” he declared (p. 86). Female figures found in the region are also markedly Caucasian, with delicate eyebrows, small mouths and opulent coiffures.
Cyrus Gordon, who has studied the collection, points out:
“In the private collection of Alexander von Wuthenau is a Mayan head, larger than life-size, portraying a pensive, bearded Semite. The dolichocephalic (“long-headed”) type fits the Near East well. He resembles certain European Jews, but he is more like many Yemenite Jews.”
Near Tampico, the early Huastecan culture reveals portrait heads with a predominant Semitic, white element, but also Negroid features appear. At Veracruz,
meanwhile, a figurine of a female dancer possesses the features just like those of a Frenchwoman of Brittany! She wears a headdress reminiscent of Phoenician fashion. Also at Veracruz a figure with a false beard, styled like an Egyptian beard, had a snake-like protrusion on the forehead. Again and again, figures with definite Semitic features have been found. A sample of Maya ceramic painting shows a lady with a flower who has an undeniable Negroid character.
The figure has an affinity with Egyptian painting, says Wuthenau, yet it was not found along the Nile, but in Central America! On the Pacific coast of Ecuador, also, evidence for the presence of early Hebrews has been found. Also discovered was a figurine of a lovely girl who wore a headdress with a remarkable Phoenician affinity. Other Ecuadorian heads show definite Semitic features. Clearly, the Semites penetrated a large part of the American continent in “prehistoric” times!
Discoveries in South America
In the past century, several Brazilians have found inscriptions on rocks along the Amazon river. Over a period of 50 years, four men, including two who were scientists, uncovered inscriptions which they independently concluded were Phoenician in origin.The first man, Francisco Pinto, in 1872 found over 20 caves deep in the Brazilian jungle and uncovered about 250 strange inscriptions upon the rocks. He thought they were Phoenician, and Brazil’s Director of History and Geography corroborated his suspicions. A German philologist who studied the markings in 1911 felt they were genuine.
In the 1880s, Ernest Ronan, a French scientist, combed the jungles and found several more inscribed stones. In the 1920s a scholar by the name of Bernardo da Silva discovered many more inscriptions along the Amazon. It makes good sense. It explains why the Mayans, who considered Quetzalcoatl as the bringer of their arts and laws, depicted him as being unusually blond!
When the Spaniards discovered the New World in the early sixteenth century, perhaps fifty million inhabitants lived in the Western Hemisphere, speaking over 900 languages. Such linguistic diversity has long puzzled scholars, and logically attests to a diversity of origins. Carleton S. Coon reported that the conquistadores “commented on Montezuma’s light skin, but did not remark that this ruler rarely exposed himself to the bright sun.” Coon adds: “George Catlin, in his portraits of the Mandan Indians, depicted some of them as blond. . . . Another case of allegedly aberrant Indians is that of the Pomo, Hupa, and neighbouring tribes in north-central California whose beard growth seems to have been Caucasoid when they were first seen” (Coon, The Living Races of Man, p.154).
Another mystery to ethnologists is the existence of a white skinned, red-bearded tribe discovered by builders of Brazil’s Trans-Amazon Highway. Called the Lower Assurinis because they live south of the route of the highway, they have ear lobes (which is uncharacteristic of other tribes), and their language differs from traditional dialects in the region.
Sir Walter Raleigh in his History of the World mentioned that the Indians he encountered used many Welsh words long before the Welsh were known to have come to America. Linguistic studies prove that the Welsh language is very closely akin to ancient Hebrew!
The Mystery of New Zealand’s Maoris
There is evidence among the Maori and people of eastern Polynesia that the sun was deified as Tane and that Ra, the sun god, was the tutelary god of Borabora. The Maoris, also, made use of ancient solar observatories.
”At Keriken, in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, there is a miniature Stonehenge, the blocks standing about 7 feet out of the ground; and near Atiamuri, north of Taupo, there are other great monumental blocks – some fifty of these still standing erect” (Maori Symbolism, p. 137).
Interestingly, ancient Maori traditions relate that since antiquity the Maoris have observed ceremonial and dietary laws very similar to those of the ancient Hebrews. They even kept the seventh day “Sabbath” as a day of rest! Also, every 7 times 7 years – or 49 years – they observed a Jubilee Year similar to that of the ancient Hebrews. These similarities simply cannot be explained away as “mere coincidence”! The Maoris, like the Hebrews, even had a “sacred month” given over to Harvest thanksgiving, corresponding to the Hebrew month of Tishri and the Festival of Tabernacles.
How can these fascinating facts be explained? Such similarities must be more than mere coincidence. Like the Yuchi Indians of North America, the Maoris, at some very early stage of history, must have come in contact with ancient Hebrew mariners, roaming the seven seas, who taught them Hebrew customs and left behind signs of Hebraic influence!
How was this contact achieved? Was the ancient world covered by a global cultural continuity, indicating a globe-girdling civilization?
Ancient Maps of the “Sea Kings”
In his book Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, Charles H. Hapgood tells of the Piri Re’s map of 1513 A.D. Studies of this map show that it correctly gives latitudes and longitudes along the coasts of Africa and Europe, indicating that the original mapmaker must have found the correct relative longitude across Africa and across the Atlantic to Brazil. This amazing map gives an accurate profile of the coast of South America to the Amazon, provides an amazing outline of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico (supposedly not yet discovered!), and – incredibly enough – shows a part of the coast of the Antarctic Continent which was not discovered in modern times, until 1818!
This map does not stand alone. A world map drawn by Oronteus Finaeus in 1531 gives a truly authentic map of Antarctica, indicating the coasts were probably ice free when the original map was drawn (of which Oronteus Finaeus’ map was a later copy). The Oronteus Finaeus map was strikingly similar to modern maps of the Antarctic. How could this be?
Another fascinating map is the map of Hadji Ahmed of 1559. It is evident that the cartographer had some extraordinary source maps at his disposal. Says Hapgood:
“The shapes of North and South America have a surprisingly modern look, the western coasts are especially interesting. They seem to be about two centuries ahead of the cartography of the time. . . . The shape of what is now the United States is about perfect” (p.99).
Another map of the Middle Ages, the Reinel Chart of 1510 – a Portuguese map of the Indian Ocean – provides a striking example of the knowledge of the ancients. Studying the identifiable geographical localities and working out from them, Hapgood was astounded to find that “this map apparently shows the coast of Australia. . . The map also appeared to show some of the Caroline Islands of the Pacific. Latitudes and longitudes on this map are remarkably good, although Australia is shown too far north” (ibid., p.134).
How can such remarkable accuracy on these ancient maps be explained? Obviously, at an earlier period of earth’s history, seafaring nations must have travelled around the world and accurately mapped the major continents, and fragments and copies of their ancient maps survived into the Middle Ages and were copied again. Concludes Hapgood:
“The evidence presented by the ancient maps appears to suggest the existence in remote times. . . of a true civilization, of a comparatively advanced sort, which either was localized in one area but had worldwide commerce, or was, in a real sense, a worldwide culture” (p.193).
How advanced was this ancient culture? Says Hapgood,
“In astronomy, nautical science, mapmaking and possibly shipbuilding, it was perhaps more advanced than any state of culture before the 18th Century of the Christian Era.”
He continues: “It was in the 18th Century that we first developed a practical means of finding longitude. It was in the 18th Century that we first accurately measured the circumference of the earth. Not until the 19th Century did we begin to send out ships for purposes of whaling or exploration into the Arctic or Antarctic Seas. The maps indicate that some ancient people may have done all these things” (Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, p.193).
What Ancient Society Could Have Been Responsible?
The evidence is overwhelming. The Semitic features discovered in Mexico and South America, the Hebrew and Phoenicians inscriptions, the Hebrew religious customs found in the Americas, and similar customs in far off New Zealand among the Maoris of ancient times, all attest to the fact that worldwide oceanic travel, trade and commerce was occurring during the time of the Solomonic Empire!
Hapgood says such mapmaking would indicate economic motivations and vast economic resources. Further, organized government is indicated, since the mapping of a continent such as Antarctica implies much organization, many expeditions, and the compilation of many local observations and maps into a general map under central supervision. He adds that it is unlikely that navigation and mapmaking were the only sciences developed by this ancient people. Such a comprehensive enterprise could only have been achieved during a relative time of world peace, and by a very powerful and extremely wealthy kingdom! What ancient kingdom could have accomplished this?
Biblical Evidence Confirms It
Based on Biblical evidence, from the Scriptures, there can be no doubt. The ancient Israelite kingdom of king Solomon, noted for its wealth, peace, and power, and incredible trade empire, must have laid the foundation for a global commercial maritime culture extending its reach around the world. Traces of this ancient world – wide culture have been found almost everywhere – worldwide evidence in archaeology, inscriptions, monuments, Hebrew customs, language similarities, and religious practices.
God spoke of ancient Phoenicia to the prophet Ezekiel, about 600 B.C.,
“And say to Tyre, O you who dwell at entrance to the sea, who are merchants of the peoples of many islands and coastlands. . . The inhabitants of Sidon and [the island] of Arvad were your oarsmen; your skilled wise men, O Tyre, were in you, they were your pilots.The old men of Gebal [a city north of Sidon] and its skilled and wise men in you were your calkers; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you to deal in your merchandise and trading” (Ezekiel 27:3, 8-9).
“Your rowers brought you out into the great and deep waters; the east wind has broken and wrecked you in the heart of the seas. . .When your wares came forth from the seas, you met the desire, and the demand, and the necessity of many people; you enriched the KINGS OF THE EARTH with your abundant wealth and merchandise. Now you are shattered by the seas. . .” (vs.26, 33-34, Amplified Bible).
This sounds like the description of a globe-girdling nautical nation – one which brings its wealth from afar!- one which travels throughout the entire earth in its quest for material goods and trade!
During the time of Solomon, we also read in the Bible:
“For the king [Solomon] had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks” (I Kings 10:22).
It is significant that Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the globe, requiring three years – from 1519-1522. It is also meaningful that Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world, took three years to do so (1577-80). Their voyages required three years to complete – just like Solomon’s fleets!
“You Resemble a Sinner of Canaan!”
Mariano Edward Rivero and John James von Tschudi in Peruvian Antiquities (1857) point out that after the most thorough examination and minute comparison, the religious rites of the American Indians plainly present many points of agreement with those of the Hebrew people (p.9). Continue these authors:
“Like the Jews, the Indians offer their first fruits, they keep their new moons, and the feast of expiations at the end of September or in the beginning of October; they divide the year into four seasons, corresponding with the Jewish festivals. . . . In some parts of North America circumcision is practised. . .There is also much analogy between the Hebrews and Indians in that which concerns various rites and customs; such as the ceremonies of purification, the use of the bath… fasting, and the manner of prayer. The Indians likewise abstain from the blood of animals, as also from fish without scales; they consider divers quadrupeds unclean, also certain birds and reptiles, and they are accustomed to offer as a holocaust the firstlings of the flock” (ibid.).
Amazing – but true! All these parallels cannot be mere coincidence! Can anyone in their right mind consign these incredible “links” and “similarities” to be nothing more than mere “accident”?
Say Rivero and von Tschudi: “But that which most tends to fortify the opinion as to the Hebrew origin of the American tribes, is a species of ark, seemingly like that of the Old Testament; this the Indians take with them to war; it is never permitted to touch the ground, but rests upon stones or pieces of wood, it being deemed sacrilegious and unlawful to open it or look into it. The American priests scrupulously guard their sanctuary, and the High Priest carries on his breast a white shell adorned with precious stones, which recalls the Urim of the Jewish High Priest: of whom we are also reminded by a band of white plumes on his forehead” (p.9-10).
These two reputable scientists of the last century also point out,
“The use of Hebrew words was not uncommon in the religious performances of the North American Indians, and Adair assures us that they called an accused or guilty person haksit canaha, ‘a sinner of Canaan’; and to him who was inattentive to religious worship, they said, Tschihaksit canaha, ‘You resemble a sinner of Canaan'” (ibid.).
Why Should It Seem Strange?
Though such evidence does not prove that the Indians themselves were Jews or Israelites, it does show that long before Columbus, Hebrews had reached the New World and had left their imprint upon its inhabitants. There undoubtedly was intermarriage. Such incredible parallels are beyond the remotest possibility of being due to mere chance!
Why should it seem strange that peoples of the ancient world – in particular Phoenicians and Hebrews – reached the New World and travelled to South America, and even crossed the Pacific? Is it really so incredible? The trouble is, most of us of the present generation have been brainwashed to think that the ancients were merely superstitious savages, terrified of sailing out to sea lest they fall off the edge of the earth.
But the Phoenicians had already sailed out beyond the “Pillars of Hercules” (Straits of Gibraltar) by 1200 B.C. They developed the keel, streamlined their ships, covered the decks, and improved the sail. Their ships were from 80-100 feet long and used a single square sail besides oars. Their ships could average 100 miles in a day’s time (24 hours). They were busy traders. Commerce was their principal aim. Tyre and Sidon, their home ports, were cities of immense wealth. Did ancient Phoenicians reach the New World? The evidence is inescapable. Also interesting is the fact that the Quichua word for the sun, Inti, may very likely be derived from the Sanscrit root Indh, meaning “to shine, burn, or flame” and which corresponds to the East India word Indra, also meaning “the sun.” It is also significant that the pre-Incas worshipped the invisible, Creator God, the Supreme Being, by the appellative Con, very similar to the Hebrew Cohen, the word for “priest,” from the root Kahan meaning “to meditate in religious services, to officiate as a priest.”
When all is said and done, Rivero and von Tschudi declare:
“It cannot be denied, that the above tradition of the creation of the world, by the invisible and omnipotent Con, the primitive happy state of men, their corruption by sin, the destruction of the earth, and its regeneration, bears a distinct analogy to the Mosaic chronicle of the earliest epoch of the history of the human race …” (Peruvian Antiquities, p.149).
The Gold of “Ophir”
In the book of Isaiah we read the enigmatic statement:
“I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13:12).
Where was the legendary “Ophir”? What was this “golden wedge”?
..
The Hebrew word for “wedge” is leshonah and refers to a “tongue,” an instrument of some kind. The wedge of gold was, then, a bar or instrument of gold – literally, a “tongue of gold.” What could this “tongue” of gold have been? The gold of Ophir was not a scarce commodity since Solomon received 44 tons of it in a single year. Ophir was a place famous for its gold. Could it be that Isaiah was referring to a particular instrument of gold – something famous in Ophir?
The Inca Empire was famous for the quantity and quality of the gold it produced. The Incas of modern Peru have a tradition that their earliest king was Pirua Paccari Manco. In modern Quichua Pirua means a granary or storehouse. The first dynasty of kings, called the Pirua dynasty, included the first eighteen kings in the king list. One of the commonest titles of the early kings was Capac which means “Rich.” One of the first kings was Manco Capac who founded the city of Cuzco (“Navel” in the special language of the Incas). Manco Capac is generally regarded as the progenitor of the Incas.
Legends of the Incas tell us that he got rid of his three brothers and led the people of Cuzco. Says Markham,
“He took with him a golden staff. When the soil was so fertile that its whole length sank into the rich mould, there was to be the final resting place” (Markham, The Incas of Peru, p.50, 53).
Another story calls this golden staff a “sceptre of gold about a yard long and two fingers thick” (Markham, Royal Commentaries of the Incas, p.64). Could this have been the “golden wedge” or “tongue” of Ophir?
John Crow relates another tradition of the ancient Incas.
“It is the story of “the Golden Wedge”, according to which the Sun, wearied of the crude, barbaric ways of the uncivilized Indians, sent two of his children, a son and a daughter, to lift them from their primitive life. Placed on the earth near the banks of Lake Titicaca, these two children of the Sun were given a golden wedge which they were to carry with them wherever they wandered; and on the spot where this wedge sank without effort into the ground and disappeared they were told to found their mother city. When the divine pair reached the vicinity of Cuzco, their talisman slid into the earth and vanished from sight” (The Epic of Latin America, p.25).
Was this mysterious talisman – this “golden wedge” – the same thing mentioned by the prophet Isaiah – the “golden wedge of Ophir”? There is a close resemblance between the Pirua dynasty and the Hebrew word Ophir. In Hebrew, Ophir (“ph” can be pronounced either as an “f” or a “p”) was the name of a place rich in gold (I Kings 9:28); sometimes the term Ophir was used for gold (Job 22:24). Ancient Peru would certainly fit the Biblical description of Ophir. It was famous for its gold. In the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco was a fantastic display of wealth. The four inside walls were covered with paper-thin sheets of gold. A giant golden figure of the Sun hung suspended over the main altar.
A huge silver room was dedicated to the Moon. Surrounding the Temple of the Sun and several chapels was a huge stone wall, covered with a cornice or crest of gold a yard wide. Inside the Temple were decorations of gold and silver flowers, plants and animals. The Spaniards sacked the Temple and seized all the gold and silver ornaments.
From 1492 to 1600 about two billion pesos’ worth of gold and silver flowed out of Spain’s New World colonies – at least three times the entire European supply of these precious metals up to that time. The total production of gold and silver in the Spanish colonies between 1492 and 1800 has been estimated at six billion dollars.
Historian Fernando Montesinos visited Peru from 1629-1642, a century after the conquest by the Spaniards. He travelled fifteen years through the country collecting material for a history of Peru. Montesinos wrote Ophir de Espana, Memorias Historiales y Politicas del Peru. He believed Peru was the Ophir of Solomon. He contended that Peru was first settled by Ophir, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:29).
Montesinos has been ridiculed and derided by historians. But since the early settlers of Peru were white-skinned and red-bearded; since there was abundant gold in the region; since the name of the Pirua dynasty corresponds to the Hebrew Ophir; since the voyages of Solomon’s fleet took about three years to complete; and since the “golden wedge” of Ophir could very well correspond to the “golden wedge” of Manco Capac; and since there is so much overwhelming evidence of cultural contacts betweens the ancient Peruvians and the Israelites, with close affinities in cosmology; and since there is definite evidence of the presence of ancient Semitic peoples in Peru, Equador, and the Western Hemisphere – the evidence is very compelling that Montesinos was right on the mark! There is strong reason to believe that Peru was the ancient Ophir of the Bible! Why Such Ignorance?
When we examine all the evidence, the picture comes startlingly clear. Ancient Hebrews sailed to the Western Hemisphere 2,500 years before Columbus. Much of this knowledge has been lost to mankind. But now a great deal of it is being rediscovered. The ancient Israelites were here before us! They left signs of their presence everywhere – in customs, language, religious similarities, archaeological artefacts, and even the Ten Commandments inscribed on a remote stone in a dry creek bed in New Mexico!
Why is the modern world so intolerably ignorant of all these astonishing facts and discoveries? Why are modern scholars still hiding their eyes from the truth, and burying their heads in the sand of ignorance? Could it be because they don’t want to admit the incredible authenticity and reliability of the Scriptures, the Word of God?
Could it be because they are filled with pride and arrogance, and don’t want to admit that they have been wrong – so very wrong – all these years and decades? Could it be because of their human heart, of which Jeremiah states:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV).
Could it be – as the apostle Paul warned and wrote so plainly – because modern scholars and historians are afflicted by a terrible spiritual “virus”? As Paul declared, speaking of the world’s most eminent historians and scholars,
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all godlessness and wickedness of men WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are WITHOUT EXCUSE.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish heart was darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, THEY BECAME FOOLS and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen” (Romans 1:18-25, NIV).
God says of those who refuse to accept the hard evidence, the clear proof, of His Word and how true history and archaeology confirm and support His divine evelation in the Scriptures,
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:5-6).
It is a fact that it is probably ten times more difficult to unlearn an error than to simply learn the truth. When people have been steeped in error and false reasoning and erroneous concepts for decades, it is hard for them to get the cobwebs and blinders from their eyes, and to admit the plain, clear, convincing, compelling, and crystal pure truth!
Dr. Barry Fell has stated that some archaeologists are so deeply in denial about the realities of ancient America that they tried to dismiss ancient writing and inscriptions as being nothing but “accidental markings made by ploughshares and roots of trees” and “colonial stone cutting drills” (America B.C., p.50-51) Large boulders piled on top of one another as ancient dolmens or megalithic monuments – found throughout New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts, paralleling similar monuments found across the Atlantic in Europe – have been ridiculed as being nothing but glacial “erratics” (Fell, ibid., p. 130-131).
As Steve Collins says,
“It is unfortunate that some in modern academia have resorted to such unscholarly, fanciful extremes to maintain a state of denial regarding the evidence of Old World civilizations in ancient America. As a result, the exciting story of ancient America’s history has been largely withheld from the American public” (Collins, p.208).
He goes on,
“Unfortunately, the concept that ‘Columbus discovered America in 1492′ has become such a cherished dogma that it now commands an almost superstitious devotion from modern academics. Columbus was a very brave mariner, but he was clearly preceded by other discoverers and colonists from the Old World who settled the New World millennia before Columbus. Columbus’ voyage was a courageous effort re-establishing NewWorld links after the Dark Ages, but it is now known that such links commonly existed prior to the Dark Ages” (ibid.).
· Why does the world stand in denial of this awesome discovery?
· Why does modern academia ridicule this subject, or shove it under the rug and ignore it?
· Why, indeed!
Paul declares,
“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife,deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32, NIV).
There is a day of judgment coming – a day of reckoning – in which every human being will have to give account. Those who suppress the truth will be held accountable. Those who study it, accept it, and proclaim it, will be wonderfully rewarded. Speaking about the blindness of our modern age, the apostle Paul speaks of those who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (II Timothy 3:7). He warned that “evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (II Timothy 3:13). Many people will “turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (II Timothy .4:4)When God separates the lovers of truth from followers of lies – where will you stand?
The Oronte Finaeus Map of 1531
The Oronte Finaeus world map was drawn in 1531, just 49 years after Columbus discovered America! Obviously, nobody would have been able to draw a world map at that time – unless they had access to ancient maps of a long-forgotten age of mapmaking and world discovery and exploration. The map reveals an astonishing outline of the continent Antarctica, amazingly similar to modern maps. Where did this amazingly accurate knowledge come from?
Charles Hapgood, who discovered these ancient maps, says they were created by an ancient world-travelling kingdom or culture – a civilization that obviously spread its influence around the world and made the original maps showing the seas, oceans, and land masses of the earth at that period of time. What civilization or culture could it have been? Such travel and exploration requires not only an adventuresome spirit, and courage, but knowledge of shipbuilding, navigation,and immense treasures of wealth to support such ventures. Could it have been the immensely wealthy kingdom of Solomon, son of David, who reigned for forty years over Israel about 1,000 B.C., during a time of world peace? His allies of that time, solidified by marriage, were the kingdoms of Egypt and Phoenicia. This tripartite alliance circumnavigated the globe, and fostered a “golden age” of world peace, world trade, commerce, and cultural advancement.
The Piri Re’is Map of 1513
The Piri Re’is map correctly provides longitudes and latitudes along the coasts of Africa and Europe and an accurate profile of the coast of South America to the Amazon River and provides an astonishing outline of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, not yet “discovered” by contemporary explorers.
Ancient Buache Map of Antarctica and the Southern Polar Region
This ancient map dating from the Middle Ages shows cartographic knowledge far ahead of its time. Charles Hapgood, in “Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings”, demonstrates that maps similar to this one must have been created by ancient mariners who circumnavigated the globe of the earth in their exploration and quest for riches. This particular map is known as the Buache map. Notice that when this map was originally drawn, there was a water passageway through the middle of the continent of Antarctica!
Professor Charles Hapgood states,
“The evidence presented by the ancient maps appears to suggest the existence in remote times. . . of a true civilization, of a comparatively advanced sort, which either was localized in one area but had worldwide commerce, or was, in a real sense, a worldwide culture.”
Could this “true civilization” not have been the Solomonic empire of the kingdom of Israel, which ruled the world as the most advanced nation on earth about the beginning of the first millennium before Christ? Other spine-tingling evidence of archaeology supports this conclusion. Charles Hapgood was definitely onto something – something extraordinary!
Amazing Discoveries
The Davenport Stele, found in a mound near Davenport, Iowa in 1877, is similar to the Rosetta stone found in Egypt in that it contains three parallel languages from the Old World -Iberian-Punic, related to Hebrew, Egyptian and ancient Libyan.
The Long Island Inscription also contains Egypto-Libyan script and, according to Dr. Barry Fell, dates to about the ninth century B.C. Fell noted clear similarities between the written script of the Algonquin Indians and ancient Egyptian.
The Ten Commandments Engraved in Ancient Hebrew Script on the Las Lunas Stone, found in New Mexico
In a desolate region of New Mexico near Las Lunas, early explorers discovered a bizarre, unique stone engraved with peculiar script lying in an ancient riverbed. Dr. Cyrus Gordon of Brandeis University, an expert in ancient Middle Eastern languages, pronounced the script as being authentic ancient Hebrew! The script is an ancient rendition of the Ten Commandments, suggesting that early Hebrew explorers reached the interior of New Mexico in their explorations, and left this monument – as tell tale evidence of their passing through. The stone inscription most likely dates to circa 1,000 B.C., the time of king Solomon, who was the wealthiest monarch in the world and whose sailing fleets circumnavigated the globe, taking three years to complete a voyage. Solomon was a great genius, an avid explorer of the secrets of nature, and his ships brought back incredible treasures from around the world. Dr. Barry Fell states that the script on the Las Lunas Stone was written in script of Hebrew identical to that on the Moabite Stone which dates to about 1,000 B.C., the time of king Solomon. Nuances of the ancient Hebrew on the stone prove the script was not carved as a modern day hoax by practical jokesters. During the reign of Solomon ancient Israel was still a God-fearing and worshipping kingdom, and Levitical priests undoubtedly accompanied explorers on their far-flung expeditions of discovery and trade.
