Archaeologists in Jerusalem have unearthed a 2,700-year-old Assyrian inscription in clay Between King Hezekiah And King Sennacherib that could shine a light on the coming Antichrist
The world of biblical archaeology is on fire at the moment with this latest discovery of an exchange between King Hezekiah of Judah, and King Sennacherib of Assyria. We are as well, but for completely different reasons as I will soon show you. Yes, from an archaeological perspective, this is a home run for sure. But when you run it through the filter of end times Bible prophecy, it quickly becomes a walk-off Grand Slam. What does this fragment show us? Only ‘the Assyrian’ who is the biblical Antichrist, that’s all.
“Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” 2 Kings 18:13,14 (KJB)
As Bible believers, we know that we are at the end of the Church Age, and we are hard at work labouring in the Kingdom of God while we wait for the promised Pretribulation Rapture to occur. But the unsaved world we leave behind is waiting for the appearance of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who will rule over them for 7 short years. Antichrist. The Bible calls this coming political and religious figure the Assyrian, and he is mentioned in 13 verses in the Old Testament. Just as Sennacherib besieged Judah, the future Antichrist will besiege Jerusalem during the Tribulation.
On the other hand, we have King Hezekiah, one of the best and most-faithful kings that Judah ever had. When Sennacherib’s armies surrounded Jerusalem, the nation was terrified. Yet Hezekiah did not turn to Egypt or human strength — he turned to the LORD in prayer. Just as God delivered Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s day by sending the Angel of the LORD, He will deliver Israel again when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in power and glory at the Second Advent.
“And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.” 2 Kings 19:15,16 (KJB)
That kind of prayerful dependence pictures the future believing remnant of Israel who will trust God during the Great Tribulation. King Hezekiah is a wonderful type picture of the faithful Jewish remnant who are preserved at the red rock city of Selah Petra. The fact that this stunning piece of biblical archaeology is coming to light now tells you exactly where we are on the end times timeline.
Ancient Assyrian inscription unearthed in Jerusalem describes real events behind Bible story
FROM THE NY POST: “For me as a historian, this is somewhat of a flashlight in the fog of history,” Dr. Peter Zilberg, a Near Eastern Studies expert at Bar-Ilan University who studied the artifact, told The Times of Israel.
The 1-inch pottery fragment — part of a seal that was used to authenticate official documents — had reportedly been unearthed in a drainage canal at Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, marking the first time that evidence of relations between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah had been uncovered in the city. By analyzing the clay, researchers were able to trace the shard’s origin to the Tigris basin region, where several Assyrian hubs were located. It was reportedly inscribed with Akkadian cuneiform — the world’s oldest written Semitic language.
Scientists subsequently deciphered the ancient text, discovering what appears to be a complaint by the Assyrian brass over a delayed tax payment by Judah that had been due on the Av, the 11th month of the Hebrew calendar. From this, researchers deduced that the doc was an ancient tax notice from the Assyrian Emperor to a Judean King, which rang shockingly similar to a Biblical account of how the empire made the Kingdom of Judah their vassal state.
Per a passage in II Kings 18 and 19, during the reign of Judah’s King Hezekiah, “King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.”
“King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: ‘I have done wrong; withdraw from me; and I shall bear whatever you impose on me,’” the excerpt read. “So the king of Assyria imposed upon King Hezekiah of Judah a payment of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.”
Alas, the fragment “does not include the exact year of the inscription, as the part that would have carried it broke off,” per Zilberg. However, based on stylistic and linguistic considerations, experts were able to date the artifact to between the end of the 8th century and the middle of the 7th century BCE — which corresponded to the “period of turmoil” between Judah and Assyria, where tensions over tribute payments reached a breaking point.
“We have the Hezekiah revolt right against Assyrian King Sennacherib,” recalled Zilberg. “Hezekiah delayed paying taxes for a certain period, leading Sennacherib to march on Jerusalem.”
Coincidentally, this military campaign and its fiscal outcome are highlighted in both the Bible and Assyrian sources, according to the Times of Israel. Ultimately, the fragment literally helped illuminate political relations in the ancient world, illustrating how even small Kingdoms like Judah were engaged in tense relations with one of the preeminent superpowers of the period.
“While we cannot determine the background for this demand, whether it stemmed from a mere technical delay or carried political significance, the very existence of such an official appeal would seemingly attest to a certain point of friction between Judah and the imperial government,” said Zilberg, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society. “It is a wonderful addition to the history of the relations between Judah and Assyria.”
He said that the fragment’s discovery proves how even the tiniest artifacts can provide essential information. In this case, it was a missing puzzle piece on where history and the Bible intersect, demonstrating how these Biblical stories are rooted in the historical events of the era.
“This artifact is very, very important in connecting the history of the Land of Israel to the Bible and to the history of the ancient Near East as a whole,” said Zilberg. “There is so much that we do not know, and then these inscriptions come in and shine a very particular light on a very particular subject. It is very exciting.” READ MORE
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The post Ancient Assyrian Inscription Unearthed In Jerusalem Shows Stunning Exchange Between King Hezekiah And King Sennacherib In Prophetic Harbinger appeared first on Now The End Begins.