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The History of Israel
This is a summary of the history of Israel and the descendants of Abraham. The dates that are used up to 722 BCE are a result of our own chronology.

- Abraham (2147 BC). About 430 years after the flood, God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees (modern day Iraq). He was a Hebrew (Haibru) who was to be the father of a nation who would serve God. As the promise lingered and Abraham remained childless, he had a son, Ishmael, by the maid of his wife Sarah.
  Ishmael became the father of the Arab nations east of Israel.
  Abraham's nephew, Lot, became the father of the nation of Moab and Ammonites (Jordan).
- Isaac (2122 BC). Abraham and Sarah eventually had the promised child, Isaac, when he was 100 and she was 90.
- Jacob and Esau. Isaac had twin sons Esau and Jacob. Jacob tricked Esau into giving up the birthright and he became the heir of the promise.
  Esau became the father of the Edomites (Idumeans) who lived in the south east of Israel.
- The Twelve Tribes. Jacob had twelve sons by four women. He received the name, Israel before the last son was born.
- Joseph. The ten older boys sold their brother Joseph into slavery. He was carried away to Egypt where He became governor 13 years later.
- Slavery in Egypt (400-430 Years). Famine caused the sons to go to Egypt for food. When they finally recognized their brother and went back to their father, Israel migrated to Egypt with about 70 members of the tribe as honored guests because Joseph was the governor of Egypt. The Israelites lived in Egypt until a new Pharoah made them slaves.
- Exodus (1502-1462 BC). Moses led them from Egypt to Canaan on a journey that took 40 years and the lives of all the original people except two.
- Canaan: The Promised Land (1462 BC). Joshua led them across the Jordan into the Promised Land and helped them to conquer many of the nations.
- Jerusalem (1000 BC). David captured the city from the Jebusites and made it the capital of Israel. The city has been captured, destroyed and rebuilt about 27 times.
- The Temple.
  - Mishkan (1500 BC). 13 high priests served in this portable temple over 490 years. This temple actually existed in two phases according to the Jews.
    » Desert (Wooden Structure). It served for 39-40 years in the desert and 14 years in the Promised Land in Gilgal.
    » Shiloh (Stone Structure). A stone structure of the same dimensions replaced the wood, but it used the same furniture and roof for 369 years. After Eli died it was set up in Nov for 13 years. After Samuel's death it was set up in Giv'on for 44 years.
  - Solomon's Temple (950 BC). Solomon built the first permanent temple. 18 high priests served over 410 years. It was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC (587 BCE) on Tisha b'Av (9th of Av) by Nebuchadnezzar II (2 Kings 25). The Babylonians breached the walls of the city on Tammuz 17.
  - Second Temple (515-492 BC) (Herod's Temple). 300 high priests served over 420 years, most served less than a year. Tradition states that many died during the Yom Kippur services. This temple was built by Zerubabbel and Joshua the high priest after they returned from Babylon.
    Herod the Great remodeled the temple from 20 BC - 63 AD. Herod also built the town of Caesarea and the fortress of Masada, which included a palace. The second temple was destroyed by the Romans on 10 August 70 AD (9th of Av) three weeks after the walls of Jerusalem were breached by Titus on Tammuz 17.
  - Dome of The Rock (681-692) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (715). The Arabs build a temple compound on top of the ruined Jewish temple mount. It is supposed to be the spot where Muhammad made a night ride on a white stallion to heaven with the angel Gabriel.
  - Future. In 1967, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount returned to Jewish sovereignty after the six day war. The muslim buildings occupy the site.
- Leadership.
  - Priests. The priesthood belonged to the tribe of Levi and the children of Aaron.
  - Judges (440 years). After the exodus, the judges ruled until the people demanded a king.
  - Kings. King Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and then King David and the line of Judah became the rulers forever.
  - Hasmoneans. After the Maccabean revolt against the Greeks, the priests took over the office of kings.
  - Herodians. The Romans allowed the Idumeans to rule Israel.
- The Division of the Kingdom (922 BC). The kingdom was divided between Rehoboam (Judah) and Jeroboam (Israel) with the capital at Shechem.

  Exodus | David |  | Kingdom Divided (922 BC) |  | Assyria | Captivity of Israel and Samaria (Northern Tribes)
  --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
  | Babylon |  | Persia | Greece |  | Rome |  |  |  | Britain | State of Israel (1948)
  (Mishkan) | Captivity of Judah (Southern Tribes)
  13 High Priests (490 Years) | 18 High Priests (410 Years) (Solomon's Temple) | 300 High Priests (420 Years) (Second Temple) | Sanhedrin, Nasi and Geon Yaacov

- Assyrian Captivity of the Northern Kingdom (721 BC or 722 BCE).
  The ten northern tribes were conquered by Assyria and assimilated. The sad truth may be that the Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians and people in the northern region and western Jordan may be related to the Samaritans and the ten lost tribes.
- Foreign Occupation of the Southern Kingdom (597). The southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin were finally conquered.
  - Babylon (609-539). Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Judea.
  - Medo-Persia (539-334). Cyrus of Persia conquered Judea.
  - Greece (334-197). Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Judea.
  - Rome (197 BC-636 AD). Rome controlled or occupied the region.
- Roman Occupation (63 BC-636 AD). Rome occupied Judea.
  - Christian (27-311). The baptism of Jesus to the conversion of Emperor Constantine.
  - Jewish Revolts (70 AD-132 AD). There were two major revolts against Rome in Jerusalem.
    - First Revolt (66-73 AD) Emperors Vespasian and Titus. The second temple was completely destroyed after the first revolt (70 AD) by general Titus. The trees were cut down and the land was salted in 71 AD.
      In 66 AD the Romans robbed the temple treasury and the Jews revolted for 3.5 years. The first revolt ended 3.5 years later in 73 AD when the fortress of Masada was destroyed by the Romans who took the 10,000 soldiers of the tenth legion to build a huge siege ramp just to destroy 900 rebellious Jewish zealots.
      They committed suicide rather than be captured. Each man killed his family, then one killed the rest before killing himself.
    - Kitos War (115-117) Emperor Trajan. Hundreds of thousands were killed in the Jewish communities of Cyprus, Cyrene (Libya), Aegipta (Egypt) and Mesopotamia (Syria and Iraq) at war. Pagan temples and the tomb of Pompey were destroyed.
    - Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135 AD) Emperor Hadrian. The city of Jerusalem was destroyed after the second major revolt (132-135 AD). Then the people were exiled in 136 AD. Judea was renamed Palestine and the land was completely ploughed under.
  - Byzantine Rule (313-636). In 306, the capital was moved to Byzantium (Constantinople). Christianity became the official religion with the Edict of Milan (313). After this the Jews were under oppressive laws that restricted their growth.
- Islamic Rule (610-1920). The Roman and Parthian empires are exhausted from war and the Muslim Arabs take over. Islamic forces conquer Jerusalem under caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. 200 Jewish families return.
  » Crusades (1096-1291). Christian Europe attempts to take the Holy Land from Muslims and attacks Jews in the process.
  » Mamluk Rule (1291-1516). Turan Shah, an Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, is murdered and replaced by his Mamluk slave general Aibek, who founded the Mamluk dynasty.
  » Ottoman Rule (1500-1920). Selim the Cruel captured Jerusalem after the Ottoman army defeated the Mamluks at Marj-Dabik in northern Syria.
- European Jews.
  - Sephardim. Jews in Spain.
  - Ashkenaz (People from a Distant Land). In the ninth century Jews moved to France Germany, Britain by invitation.
  - Eastern Europe. After the eleventh century, following Anti-semitism that intensified with the crusades and expulsions in 1290, Ashkenazi Jews emigrated east to Poland, Lithuania and Russia between the fourteenth to sixteenth century at the invitation of the Polish rulers.
- British (1918-1948). The British conquered Egypt in 1882 and became a power in the region when they captured Jerusalem from the Turks under the command of General Allenby in 1917.
  - Uganda Scheme (1903). The British offer the Jews a homeland in Uganda.
  - McMahon-Hussein Correspondence (1915-16). The exchange of letters between the British high commissioner in Egypt and the Sharif of Mecca about the future political status of the lands under the Ottoman Empire. Since the Ottoman empire was aligned with Germany, it encouraged the Arabs to revolt in June 1916 and promised them independence and sovereign unity as a nation without an independent Jewish state.
  - Sykes-Picot Agreement (May 1916). While promising the Arabs independence, France and Britain were planning to place the region under their own jurisdiction. There was a secret agreement between Britain, France and Russia to divide the areas of the Ottoman Empire after the eventual defeat of the Turks. France controlled Syria and Lebanon. Great Britain controlled Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan. Russia controlled the Turkish Straits with guaranteed access for its Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean Sea.
  - The Balfour Declaration (1917). It favors a Jewish-Palestinian state.
  - Palestinian Mandate (1922). The League of Nations granted the British a mandate to establish the land of Israel in Palestine.
  - Arab Revolt (1936-39 AD). British and Jewish targets are attacked.
  - Two State Solution (1937). The Peel Committee recommends the partition of the country between Arabs and Jews with Jerusalem to be left under the permanent control of the British Mandate.
  - One State Solution (1939). British issue a White Paper that rejects the findings of the Peel Committee and recommends a one state solution. They severely restrict Jewish immigration and the land purchase. Between 1940-1944, it limited Jewish immigrants to 10,000 each year and 25,000 for any emergency. Obviously this would not address the genocidal crisis in Nazi Europe.
- Holocaust and World War 2 (1938-1945). Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party of Germany tried to exterminate the Jews during World War 2. One third of the global Jewish population was killed, 6 million people including 1.5 million children.
- State of Israel (1948). On May 14, a permanent homeland was arranged for the Jews and the modern state of Israel was born.
  On May 15, they were attacked by the combined Arab armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. The Arab states convince the Palestinians to leave temporarily so that they can annhilate the Jews. Their descendants still live in ghettos in these countries without any rights or opportunities.
  In the U.N. truce agreement in July, Jerusalem is divided between Israel in West Jerusalem, and Jordan in the Eastern part of the city including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
  » Jerusalem United (The Six Day War of 1967). Nasser of Egypt uses 100,000 troops to remove U.N. peacekeepers from the Sinai peninsula and then blockades the strait of Tiran. He then signs a military agreement with king Hussein of Jordan. In a preemptive strike, Israel captured Sinai, West Bank, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem after the six day war in 1967 and controls Jerusalem and the Temple mount.
  » Khartoum Conference (The Three No Response). Arabs decide not to negotiate peace. No negotiations, No reconciliation and No recognition of Israel.
  » Yom Kippur War (1973). Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on October 6.
  » Camp David (1977). On December 20, President Sadat of Egypt goes to Jerusalem to offer peace in exchange for withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula. He signs a peace treaty a year later at Camp David and is assassinated in 1981.
- Oslo Peace Accords (1993 AD). September 13. Israel and PLO sign the Oslo peace accords to negotiate the Palestinian statehood, withdrawal from West Bank and Gaza, but the status of Jerusalem will be determined later.
- New Jerusalem (Future). The nation of Israel is the model of the people of God who will live here forever. The city will be located on the Mount of Olives. The future temple will be the people, not a building. We will inherit houses that we did not build because God builds the homes for us.

Control | Jerusalem History
--- | ---
Israel | » Capital (1000 BCE). David captures Jerusalem. » First Temple (950 BCE). Solomon builds it. » Kingdom Divided (924 BCE). Capital of Judah.
Foreign | » Babylon (586 BCE). Temple destroyed, exiled. » Persia (539 BCE). Jews and temple treasures. » Second Temple (515-492 BCE). Zerubabbel. » Walls (445 BCE). Nehemiah rebuilds in 52 days.
Greek | Ptolemies and Seleucids fight over Jerusalem for 125 years after the death of Alexander in 323 BCE. » Greeks (333 BCE). Alexander conquers. » Ptolemy (323 BCE). Ptolemy takes Egypt. » Ptolemy (320 BCE). Ptolemy I takes Jerusalem. » Seleucid (198 BCE). Antiochus III takes over. » (167 BCE). Antiochus IV religious persecution. » Hasmonean Period (164 BCE). Maccabeans. Independence. After 500 years the Jews rule Jerusalem and Judea for the next 80 years.
Rome | » Roman (63 BCE). Pompey captures Jerusalem. » (40 BCE). The Persians (Parthians) help the Hasmonean king Antigonus to take Jerusalem back from the Romans. » (37 BCE). Herod the Great is appointed by Rome. » (26 AD). Herod rebuilds the temple. » (70 AD). Titus destroys the temple. » (135 AD). Hadrian exiles Jews from Jerusalem and renames it Aelia Capitolina. » (614 AD). Persians take Jerusalem from Byzantines. » (620 AD). Byzantine emperor Heraclius recaptures Jerusalem from Persians.
Islam | » Islamic Conquest (638 AD). Islam spreads across the region and occupies Palestine (Judea). » (692 AD). Dome of Rock is built by Caliph Abdel-Malik on the top of the ruins of the Jewish Temple. » (1070 AD). Seljuk Turks conquer Fatimids. » Crusades (1099-1291 AD). The Holy Roman empire orders crusades to liberate Jerusalem. » Battle of Hattin (1187 AD). Saladin defeats the Crusaders. Jews settle in Jerusalem. » (1229 AD). After the sixth crusade Muslims retained the Temple Mount and Christians have access to their holy sites. » (1244 AD). Jerusalem is sacked by Turks. » Mamluk Dynasty (1250 AD). Founded by a slave who murdered the sultan. » Damascus Rules (1310 AD). Jewish Quarter. » Spanish Inquisition (1492 AD). Spain defeats the Muslims and 200,000 Jews are expelled. » Ottoman (1517-1917 AD). Mamluks defeated. » (1831 AD). Egyptians conquer Jerusalem. » (1840 AD). Ottoman Empire takes Jerusalem back and has to maintain Egyptian reforms. » (1856 AD). The Crimean War. » (1873 AD). Jerusalem becomes an independent province reporting to Jerusalem.
Europe | » (1882 AD). British conquer Egypt and establish themselves as a political power in the region. » (1914 AD). World War 1. Turkey is with Germany. » Balfour Declaration (1917 AD). British general Allenby captures Jerusalem. » Arab Revolt (1936-39 AD). » Two State Solution (1937 AD). Partition. » One State Solution (1939 AD). Britain. » (1947 AD). November 29. United Nations adopts two state solution.
Israel | » Modern Israel (1948 AD). May 14. » Jerusalem Divided (1949). Israel and Jordan. » Jerusalem United (1967). June 5. Six day war. » Yom Kippur War (1973 AD). October 6. » Jerusalem Capital. On 30 July 1980. » Oslo Peace Accords (1993 AD). September 13. Israel and PLO on Palestinian statehood and future status of Jerusalem.

A Jewish Homeland
So the Jews have lived in the land since 1500 BC, occupying a region as far north as Lebanon and across the Jordan river over 40 miles within the border of Jordan down to the borders of Egypt in the south. A series of foreign occupation, attempts at genocide, exiles and expulsions have scattered them across the globe and their culture has survived assimilation despite the incredible odds against them. Throughout this they have always retained a presence in the land, until the were about one third of the population when the state of Israel was created.
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying, "To your descendants I will give this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates." (Genesis 15: 18)
The descendants of Abram were Isaac and Ishmael and sons of another concubine, Keturah. Isaac fathered Jacob (Israel) and Esau. Abraham gave all the children except Isaac, the land to the east of Israel (Genesis 16: 12 and Genesis 25: 5-6). Ishmael and Esau live east of Israel as far as the Euphrates (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq).
Israel's inheritance was from the Mediterranean to east of the Jordan including the Arnon valley, the Arabah and mount Hermon, north in Lebanon as far as Sidon and south to the river of Egypt (Joshua 12-13).

- Scattering (Diaspora). Many events caused the scattering of the Jews throughout the world.
  - Assyrian Invasion (722 BCE). Ten tribes were taken away and absorbed into the Assyrian empire. Since they were generally not obedient to the laws, their customs may be sightly different. At the time of Christ, descendants of these Israelites were called Samaritans and they hated the Jews. By today they may have lost their identity as Jews.
  - Roman Exile (136 AD). Rome exiled them from Judea, but the Jews remained the majority in the land until the fourth century. Jews were dispersed throughout the Roman empire after their land and temple were gone. They went to places like Babylon, Mespotamia, North Africa, Italy and Egypt. Rabbinic Judaism held them together through the study of the Torah and their oral history and traditions.
  - The Old World. Jews lived in the Pale of Settlement, an area between the Crimea and Poland on the western border lands of Russia. For centuries they were driven out of one place after another with their civil rights granted at the mercy of whoever ruled.
  - Jerusalem (1267). Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Nachmonidies) is exiled from Christian Spain and comes to Jerusalem and finds only two Jewish families in the entire city under Mamluk rule. By 1310, Jews are moved to the Jewish quarter under Mamluk rule. By 1873 Jews are 60% of the population of Jerusalem.
  - Spanish Inquisition. Many Jews were expelled from Spain and portugal.
  - The New World. Fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in the 1650's at a time when the Portuguese and Spanish were losing their territory to Britain and France the Jews fled to the new world. They hid their identity by calling themselves "Portuguese".
    Aside from the African slaves, they were the first to come to the new world for purposes other than enslaving others. Almost 200 years later Indians, Chinese would come to the new world as indentured servants and shop keepers. Later in the 1840's Lebanese and Arab Christians came as the Ottoman Empire was falling. They became shopkeepers and are part of the upper class in the West Indian countries.
    Jews reached Recife, Brazil in 1642, New Amsterdam (New York) in 1654 and Jamaica in 1655. Between 1880-1920, 2 to 3 million Jews moved to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Ellis Island, New York. After 1948 they migrated to France, Australia and Canada.
- Zionism. The quest to find a permanent Jewish home land came as a result of centuries of persecution and genocide. A few incidences escalated the urgency.
  - Dreyfus Affair. 15 October 1894. A Jew is falsely accused of treason in France, sent to Devil's Island while French mobs shouted "Kill the Jews" and some legislators knew that he was innocent. He was pardoned after five years and exonerated after eleven years. It prompted Theodore Herzl and some other Jewish leaders to look for a place to resettle because of fear of an impending catastrophe for the Jews of Europe.
  - Holocaust. During the Nazi holocaust, many countries refused to help the Jews and many took advantage of their situation and robbed them of their possessions. The long history of persecution demanded an answer to the question of providing a safe, permanent home for the Jews. Six million Jews were killed. This is two thirds of the European Jews and one third of the global Jews who were murdered by the Germans.
  » The Children of Israel Go Home. While Zionism prepared the Jewish heart for a homeland, it was antisemitism and colonialism that repatriated the Jews in Israel. Unwilling to take the Jews into their countries, the colonial overlords tried to dump the Jews into their least desirable colonies and finally settled on Palestine as the solution because they ruled the Middle East. So, ironically, hatred of the Jews returned them to their ancestral homeland of Israel after 2000 years of foreign occupation.
- The Gathering: Large Scale Immigration (Aliyah). By the time the state was created, Jews were one third the population of Palestine.
  - Rabbis (1211). A group of 300 rabbis from France and England settle in Palestine.
  - Sephardic Jews (1400's). They emigrated from Spain and Portugal when 200,000 were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition after the Alahambra decree in 1492. 37,000 were expelled frm Sicily in 1493, then from Portugal and Italy. Some are forced to convert to Christianity, some emigrate to Jerusalem and other countries and tens of thousands die.
  - Ashkenazic Jews (1800s). They emigrated from Germanic lands after the late 1800s.
  - Russia (1881-1903). The 1882 assassination of tsar Alexander II is followed by vicious physical attacks (Pogroms) against the Russian Jews. 2 million Russian Jews emigrated between 1881-1920. In 1891 Grand Duke Segai orders the expulsion of 14,000 Jewish families living in Moscow. Those who refuse to convert or become prostitutes are sent to the Pale of Settlement.
  - Yemen (1882 and 1908-1914). 35,000
  - Russia and Poland (1904-14). 40,000 emigrate to Israel. 500,000 Jews flee Russia in 1903-1907, 90% go to the United States.
  - Russia (1919-23). 250,000 emigrated after the first world war.
  - Poland and Hungary (1924-32). 82,000
  - Germany (1929-1945). 250,000 emigrated from Nazi Germany. Between 1933-48, 110,000 were smuggled in to Palestine when the British limited the immigration quota.
  - Arab Countries (1948-58). After the Arab-Israeli war in 1948 many of the 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries. Over 600,000 emigrated to Israel, some leaving communities that were 2500 years old. Thousands immigrate from Yemen with Operation Magic Carpet.
  - Iran (1979). 30,000 emigrated in the Iranian revolution.
  - Russia (1960s-1989). Jews emigrated after the collapse of the Soviet Union. 1 million emigrated to Israel, and 250,000 went to the United States and western Europe.
  - Others. Jews have emigrated from Ethiopia, Argentina and France.
  » The Revival of The Hebrew Language. By 1881, Ben Yehuda started bringing back Hebrew as the official language of the nation.
- The Palestinian Question. The creation of the state of Israel immediately provoked a war and a Palestinian exodus. They became refugees in the surrounding nations and their status has been unresolved since. Believing that the war against the Jews would be quick, the Arabs encouraged the Palestinians to leave despite the assurances of the Jews. Now they remain in refugee camps in the neighboring states without rights or opportunities or education for the past 60 years. In the 2003 war with Iraq the neighbouring states would not take Palestinian refugees who had been living in Iraq. They are hated by their own people who are very happy to pay them to be suicide bombers. Since Israel has no incentives to help them and cannot be expected to be anything but suspicious of them, they are in dire straits. Within Israel, the Palestinians are concentrated in east Jerusalem, the Gaza strip and the West Bank. Both nations claim Jerusalem as their capital.
  Several forces, born out of hatred, interacted to place Israel back in their land. European hatred almost wiped them out and also dumped them in Israel because no country wanted them. One wonders if the Europeans believed that the Palestinians and Arabs would provide the "final solution". Palestinian hatred and overconfidence made them leave the land to wait for a victory while the surrounding Arab nations wiped them out. That victory never came because God wanted them back in the land.
  » Original Owners. Before the Hebrews possessed the land around 1500 BC, it was occupied by seven nations who were driven out. They were Caananite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, Girgashites, Jebusites and Hittites. Some have been eliminated and the identity of the rest as a people have been lost.
  Standing on a mountain near the southern Dead Sea, God promised Abraham this land as his possession. A promise that is based on the oath of God, not on the behavior of Israel.
  The Land That You See. The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give it to you and to you forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth then your descendants can also be numbered.
  The Land Where You Walk. Arise, walk about the land through the length and breadth, for I will give it to you." (Genesis 13: 14-17)
  While There Are Heavens Above. So that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them as long as the heavens remain above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11: 21)
  So if there are still heavens above the earth, Israel owns the land no matter how many times God evicts them for disobedience. He will call them back.
  Abraham sent all his other children to live east of the land of Israel. So the Arab nations are probably descended from these children mixed with the seven nations who were driven out.
  » Land Purchases. Abraham and David also purchased some of the land.
  - Hebron (400 Shekels). Abraham bought this land as a burial site (Genesis 23: 15-20).
    The cave and the field of Machpelah were bought. The cave was used as a burying site (Genesis 23: 1-4, 9; 25:8-10; 49:33; 50:4-13).
  - Altar (50 Shekels). David bought the threshing floor to build an altar (2 Samuel 24: 24).
  - Temple Mount (600 Shekels). David bought the site to build an altar (1 Chronicles 21: 22-25; 22: 1-2).
  - Shechem (100 Pieces of Silver). Jacob bought land which was used to bury Joseph (Genesis 33: 19 and Joshua 24: 32).
  » Land Ownership. Under Ottoman rule and previous Arab empires, the land belonged to the state. Only a very small percentage of land was privately owned, while the rest was registered for private use if taxes (tithe) were paid and if it did not lay fallow for three years. When the question of distribution occurred, the land was designated as either Jewish or non-Jewish. However the non-Jewish portion was both Arab and a majority of government owned land.
  » Miri Land (Leased Government Land). This land was not acquired by purchase, but by squatting and registering a claim for use. When the land was no longer productive, it was simply abandoned and another land was registered for use. It could be passed to heirs and sublet as long as it did not lay fallow for three years.
  It is more likely that most of the non-Jewish land available for public use was leased in this fashion. At the time Israel was created, an attempt was being made to convert these registered or leased land to private ownership as long as users could prove that they paid taxes.
  » Jewish Land Ownership. Although the Jews produced double the tax revenues, by 1948, the assumption is that they had purchased less than 8% (6-10%) of the land of Palestine, while the Arabs "owned" about 45% and the rest was government land. At the same time, the British government was trying to stop the sale of land to the Jews it was giving away miri land to the Palestinians or sell it to them at very cheap prices.
- Jerusalem. This city has been the capital of Israel since David captured it from the Jebusites in 1000 BC and it will be a source of contention at the end of time.

Prophecy of Israel's Future

- The People. Israel will be separated from the Christian church then reunited at the end of time when they recognize the Messiah. After they are gathered back to their land, the nations of the world will try to destroy them. During this conflict, they recognize the Messiah whom they pierced, and after repenting they will become a great light to the whole world.
- Jerusalem. The land will be divided and the issue of its fate will ruin many nations (Zechariah 12: 1-9).

Assyria

Prophetic Footprints
Assyria is not mentioned in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation because they were not a power who threatened or will threaten Israel when the prophecies were given.
Map of the Assyrian Empire

The Assyrian empire extended from the mountains of Armenia to northern Mesopotamia with Nineveh as the capital. The empire developed in three phases.

- Old Kingdom ("2376-1770 BC"). The kingdom was a collection of merchant city-states until they were conquered by the Amorites. Then Hammurabi of Babylon conquered Ashur until they were conquered by the Kassites. Shamshi Adad I united all Assyrian city-states.
- Middle Kingdom ("1771 or 1379-910 BC"). Then the Hurrians of the Mitanni kingdom controlled Ashur until they were conquered by Adad Nirari I (1310-1281). Shalmaneser I expanded the kingdom into Hittite territory
- Neo-Assyrian Kingdom ("911-612 BC"). Ashur Uballit I gains Assyrian independence from Mittani and the kingdom grows to be a great power at the rule of Tiglath-Pileser III until it ended with the fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians in 612 BC.

  Assyrian Invasions of Israel
  Year | King | Tribes Deported | Bible Text
  --- | --- | --- | ---
  740 BC | Tilgathpilneser III | Reuben, Gad, Manasseh (east), Naphtali | I Chronicles 5:26, II Kings 15:29
  725 BC | Shalmaneser V | Siege | II Kings 17: 3-6; 18: 11
  722 BC | Sargon II | Samaria captured | Isaiah 20: 1
  700 BC | Sennacherib | Invaded southern Israel and tried to conquer Judah | II Kings 18: 3-5; 19

  These kings captured the northern tribes of Israel.
  Samaritans. The tribes exiled by Assyria are known as the ten lost tribes. The Assyrians repopulated the land with other people and intermarriage with the people produced the Samaritans whose religion was corrupted by this foreign influence.

Prophecy: Nineveh
Nineveh was the capital of Assyria which was founded by Nimrod (Genesis 10: 8-12). It was located near the city of Mosul, Iraq on the east bank of the Tigris at the junction of the Khosr river which runs through the city. By 668 BC it surpassed Thebes as the largest city in the world. According to Jonah, it took three days to walk across the city (Jonah 3: 3). The walled city was 3 by 8 miles, but it had suburbs which extended 14 miles north and 20 miles south.

- Siege. The Babylonians, Medes and Scythians laid siege for 2 years.
  Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln (Nahum 3: 13-14)
- Flood. In the third year of the siege the Khosr river flooded the city breaking down the flood gates and part of the walls allowing the enemies to enter in 612 BC.
  But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. (Nahum 1: 8)
  The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved. (Nahum 2: 6)
- Never Rebuilt. The flood so completely buried the city that 300 years later when Alexander the Great fought the battle of Arbela nearby in 331 BC he did not know that there was a city there.
  For centuries the Bible was the sole record of not only the city but the Assyrian empire. So Bible critics claimed that this was another imaginary city among the many myths of the Bible.
  Then Nineveh was rediscovered between 1842 and 1849. In 1842 the French Consul General, Paul-Emile Botta discovered the palace of Assyrian King Sargon II. In 1849, British Sir Austen Henry Layard found the lost palace of Sennacherib and the library of Ashurbanipal with 22,000 cunieform clay tablets.

Prophecy: Tyre
And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. (Ezekiel 26: 12)
Tyre was a rich Phoenician port city which angered God by the way they treated Israel (Joel 3: 4-6). So God prophesied their destruction in Ezekiel 26: 1-14.

- Nations. Although some of the armies were made up of a coalition of many nations, nevertheless it took two nations to complete the destruction prophesied.
  - Nebuchadnezzar II (586-573 BC). He besieged the city for 13 years, when it fell some inhabitants escaped to a rock island half mile in the sea and rebuilt another city.
  - Alexander The Great (332). Confident in the fortified city, the people of Tyre killed Alexander's ambassadors who came with an offer of peace. Alexander took the ruins of the old mainland city and threw them in the sea to build a road to the island and destroyed them after a seven month siege from January to July.
- Never Be Rebuilt. The island city sank into the sea, taking with it the new city and the rubble from the old. What remains are rocks jutting out of the ocean for the spreading of nets.

Babylon

Prophetic Footprints Visions 604-553 BC.
Swift conquest Superior to the other kingdoms No divisions Conquered by Medo-Persia 70 year captivity of Jews in Babylon Will be subdued for 2520 years
Map of the Babylonian Empire
Kings of Assyria and Babylon
King | Year | Dynasty
--- | --- | ---
Tudiya | 2376-2342 | Dynasty 1
Hammurabi | 1792-1750
Shamshi Adad I | 1810-1771 | Middle Assyrian
Ashur Uballit I | 1379-1341
Adad Nirari I | 1310-1281
Ashur-Rabi II | 1012-997
Ashur-Resh-Ishi II | 996-965
Tiglath-Pilasar II | 964-933
Ashur-Dan II | 932-910
Ashur Nirari II | 909-889 | Dynasty X (Assyria and Babylon)
Tukulti Ninurta II | 888-884
Ashur Nasirpal II | 883-859
Shalmaneser III | 858-824
Shamshi Adad V | 823-810
Shammuramat (Shamiram) | 809-792
Adad Nirari III | 791-782
Shalmaneser IV | 781-772
Ashur Dan III | 771-764
HadadNirari | 763-754
AshurNirari V | 753-746
Tiglath Pilesar III (Pul) | 745-727
Shalmaneser V | 726-722
Marduk-apal-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) | 722-710
Sargon II the Great (Sarrukin) | 722-705
Sennacherib (Sin-ahhe-eriba) | 705-681
Esarhaddon (Assur-ahha-iddina) | 680-669
Ashurbanipal (Osnappar) | 668-627
Ashur Etil Llani | 626-621
Sin-Sharishkun | 620-612
Ashur Uballit II | 611-605
612 BC. Nineveh falls to Babylon
Chaldou | 640-627 | Dynasty XI (Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean)
Nabopolassar | 626-605
Nebuchadnezzar II | 605-562
Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach) | 562-560
Nergal-Sharezer (Neriglissar) | 560-556
Labashi-Marduk | 556
Nabonidus and son Belshazzar (co-ruler) | 555-539 535-539
Cambyses | 538-522
539 - Cyrus the Great of Persia captured Babylon Mentioned in the Bible

Babylon, the current location of modern day Iraq, was located on the river Euphrates close to the site of the modern city of Baghdad in Iraq. It is located in a flat valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as "the land between the rivers". At its height, the empire ranged from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf and from Asia Minor to Egypt.
Nebuchadnezzar was the chief ruler of the empire, he succeeded his father Nabopolassar who died while Nebuchadnezzar was on a military campaign against Egypt in Palestine.

The Rise of Ancient Babylon. Babylon came to power by defeating the two superpowers of the day, Egypt and Assyria. After this the other nations in the region submitted to Babylon.
The Battle of Carchemish (605 BC). On three separate occasions the Assyrian army was defeated and had to move their capital. In 612 BC Nineveh was defeated and the capital moved to Harran which was captured by Babylon in 610 BC and the Assyrians moved the capital city to Carchemish. When the Babylonians attacked in 606BC, Egypt marched to help their Assyrian allies. However, Pharaoh Necho (Neco) and the Egyptian army was delayed by King Josiah in the battle of Megiddo. It was not until 605 BC that the Egyptian army met the Babylonian army. Egypt was defeated and never became a dominant power again. Assyria ceased to exist.
The Battle of Meggido (608 BC). While on his way to battle the king of Babylon at Carchemish, Egyptian pharoah Neco was delayed by Josiah, King of Judah in 608 BC. Josiah was killed and his army was defeated and he was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz who ruled for three months until he was deposed by Neco and died in exile. Neco placed his brother Eliakim on the throne and renamed him Jehoiakim. He reigned for eleven years, paying tribute to Pharoah Neco until Babylon defeated Egypt in 605 BC and Israel came under Babylonian control.
The Defeat of Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar made three attacks against Jerusalem.
1. Daniel Exiled (605 BC). The first attack against Jerusalem was in 605 BC during the reign of King Jehoiakim, he seized a selected group of captives which included Daniel and his three friends. He also confiscated some of the sacred vessels of God's temple. He trained these captives for government service. In ancient times, is was customary for a conquering nation to capture princes from the conquered lands. The prince would be trained and educated and when the throne of the conquered nation became available, the captured prince who was now friendly towards his conquerors would be installed as king. This practice ensured peace between the nations, first because the king would not want to see his captured heir harmed and second, because they made the next generation their friend.
2. More Exiles (597 BC). The second attack was in 597 BC when King Jehoiakim rebelled and was killed. In this invasion, Nebuchadnezzar took even more captives than before from the upper class of Judah including the new king Jehoiachin. He was exiled to Babylon and his uncle Mattaniah, another son of Josiah, was made king and his name was changed to Zedekiah. Ezekiel the prophet went into captivity during this invasion. He also seized a much larger portion of the Temple's treasures.
3. The Destruction of Solomon's Temple (586 BC). Nebuchadnezzar came for the last time again because after ruling for nine years King Zedekiah was rebellious and leaning towards an alliance with Egypt. Determined that rebellion would never rise again, this time Nebuchadnezzar decided to destroy Judah. At the end of an extended siege, he leveled the city of Jerusalem and completely destroyed the temple.

City of Babylon
Timeline of the Fall of Babylon
540 BC | Event
--- | ---
Winter | Nabonidus orders all cult statues of outlying cities to be brought to the capital
Winter | Cyrus captures Elam and Susa
September | Battle of Opis. Babylonians defeated
October 10 | City of Sippar siezed without battle. Nabonidus fled to the capital, Babylon
October | Euphrates diverted
October 12 Tishri 16 | Gubaru's troops enter Babylon and detained Nabonidus
October 29 | Cyrus entered Babylon and arrested Nabonidus

He led most of the survivors to Babylon to serve as slaves. Zedekiah was blinded and taken to Babylon where he died. Jehoiachin was released from prison by Evil-Merodach, the next king of Babylon.

The Fall of Ancient Babylon. In 539 BCE (540 BC), the kingdom of Babylon was invaded in one night when Cyrus dammed up the river Euphrates, this dried up the Euphrates river and the soldiers entered the city under the walls and conquered the empire. He placed Darius the Mede as the ruler.
» The Euphrates River. This river flowed north to south through the walled city of Babylon.

- The Impenetrable City. From the accounts of the historian Herodotus, we learned that the Babylonians built the city over the Euphrates by diverting the river from its natural channel which went around the city to a new path through the center of the city. Then they built walls (300 feet high (91 m), 50 feet wide) each side was 14 miles long (22.5 km). They carried the wall over the river on pillars protected with gates constructed with iron bars. There were also walls on each side of the river as it ran through the city. In these walls were 100 brass gates leading to the city. The Babylonians were confident in their preparations, their impenetrable city and their gods which had been safely brought in from the outlying cities to be stored in the city.
- Prepared for Siege. They had water running through the city. They calculated that their stored supplies would last them 20 years in addition to the crops that could be grown on arable land within the city walls. So they scoffed at Cyrus from the walls of their city.
- An Old Riverbed. When Cyrus came he found the city impenetrable. He discovered the old river bed and divided the troops in three groups. He sent thousands of men to dig out the old river bed and build a dam across the new river. And two other groups went to either, end at the entrance and exit of the river, of the city where the river passed through the walls.
- Siege. Then, on the night of an annual Babylonian festival, he suddenly withdrew, allowing the Babylonians to believe that they had given up. Belshazzar thought that they had abandoned the siege and held a party using the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem.
- Attack. It was on 16 Tishri, October 12th, 539 BCE. About midnight Cyrus closed the dam and changed the course of the Euphrates through the old riverbed around the city. The channel through the city dried up and the water levels dropped to "the height of a man's thigh". Then he marched to Babylon and found the gates in the river wide open and captured the city. Gobryas (Ugbaru) the governor of Gutium defected to Cyrus and came with the troops.
- Victory. Cyrus proclaimed himself "king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four corners of the world". He repatriated displaced peoples and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. His accomplishments were recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder which was deposited in the foundations of the Esagila temple.

Prophecy of Babylon's Future
Babylon will be destroyed and never rebuilt. This prophecy of Isaiah written about 100 years before Babylon became a super power is remarkable.
. . . The day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty . . . Look, I will stir up the Medes against them . . . And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans` pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited . . . neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. But wild beasts of the deserts shall lie there. (Isaiah 13: 6, 17,19-20)
100 years after Isaiah's prophecy, Jeremiah writes the following when Babylon was about to attack Jerusalem.
Look, I will raise up against Babylon a destroying wind . . . Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed . . . Prepare against (Babylon) the nations, with the kings of the Medes . . . Babylon shall become heaps (ruins), a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and an hissing, without inhabitant . . . The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire . . . O Lord, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, that none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but it shall be desolate for ever . . . (Jeremiah 51)
Great cities are rebuilt when they are destroyed. But not Babylon.

Current State.

The Fall of Babylon
So Babylon's fate is to be uninhabited by neither man nor beast (except for wild beasts). The fall of Babylon came in several stages over many centuries. Attacked by the Medes and Persians Attacked by the Greeks Attacked by the Romans 140 BC - the irrigation system was destroyed in the Parthian conquest. It slowly declined after this and was abandoned by the third century. Attacked by warlike tribes (Arabs, Turks) 2003 - Antiquities and site ruined by war and soldiers occupying site

The site of the ancient city of Babylon (196 square miles) is still uninhabited. The ground is infertile through impregnation with salt. The ancient city of Babylon lay in ruins for centuries, it is inhabited by wild creatures and is avoided by nomadic Arabs tribes after dark for fear of evil spirits. Scholars doubted that it existed until archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century found the city.
Its decline was sealed with the collapse of its infrastructure. Babylon depended on a complex irrigation system of dams and canals between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Its famous hanging gardens depended on this intricate system. But, in 140 BC, the irrigation system collapsed during the Parthian conquest. The results, according to the The Encyclopedia Americana was that

> The soil became saturated with mineral salts, and a crust of alkali formed over the surface, making agricultural use impossible.

200 years later, Babylon was still a populous city, but by the third century AD, the historian Dio Cassius described a visitor to Babylon as finding

> ... nothing but mounds and stones and ruins. (LXVIII, 30).

Its people survive today in another location as part of Iraq.
Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was busy with a grandiose and extravagant project to rebuild ancient Babylon, with his name engraved repeatedly in the bricks of its walls. He planned to remove the capital from Baghdad. His plans came to a halt when he ran out of money and became involved in the Iraqi War in 1990 with the United States helping Kuwait. The place was further destroyed when Polish soldiers made a base there in the 2003 war with the United States. During the war, depleted uranium has contaminated the site making it radioactive.
He was doomed to failure, like Napoleon, Hitler, Charlemagne and others who attempted to defy the prophecies of God by reviving kingdoms which were to remain destroyed.
See Map of the empire of Babylon. Map of the city of Babylon. Map of Iraq and the Holy Land.

Medo-Persia

Prophetic Footprints
Swift conquest Inferior to Babylon Two Divisions. The stronger would be the second Conquers three powers Conquered by a power from the East
Map of the Medo-Persian Empire
Kings of Persia (Achaemenid Dynasty)
King | Year | Decree
--- | --- | ---
1 | Cyrus II the Great | 559-530 | Ezra 1: 1-4
2 | Darius the Mede | 539-536 | None
Persian Rulers Only
1 | Cambyses II | 538-522 | None
2 | Gaumata (false Smerdis) | 522 | None
3 | Darius 1 (the great) | 522-486 | Ezra 6: 7-12
4 | Xerxes 1 (Ahasuerus) | 486-465 | Esther
He warred against the Greeks
5 | Artaxerxes 1 (Longimanus) | 465-425 | Ezra 7: 11-12 Nehemiah 2:1
6 | Xerxes 2 | 424 | None
7 | Sogdianus | 424 | None
8 | Darius 2 | 423-405 | None
9 | Artaxerxes 2 | 404-359 | None
10 | Artaxerxes 3 | 358-338 | None
11 | Arses | 337-336 | None
12 | Darius 3 | 335-330 | None
Alexander the Great | 330-323 | Greek Empire
Cyrus left Darius the Mede in charge as governor
Achaemenes, Teispes, Cyrus 1 and Cambyses ruled before the conquest of Babylon

The Medo-Persian empire was a combination of two empires, the older Median empire and the newer Persian. At its height it extended from India to Ethiopia.
» Astyages. Under his rule, the Medes conquered Anshan, Persia and all Assyrian kingdoms except Babylonia. He was the grandfather of Cyrus, who tried to kill the child at birth because of a dream.
» Birth of Cyrus. About 120 years before his birth the prophet Isaiah predicted that Cyrus would liberate the Jews from captivity (Isaiah 44: 28).
Legend states that after the birth of Cyrus, Astyages had a dream that his grandson would overthrow him. So he ordered his steward Harpagus to kill the infant. Instead Harpagus gave the child to a herdsman to dispose of and the man raised the boy. At the age of ten, his behavior was so noble that he was brought to the king. Astyages noticed that they resembled each other and questioned Harpagus. After confessing, the king forced him to eat his own son. Then he returned Cyrus to his biological parents, Cambyses and Mandane. Harpagus would seek revenge as advisor to Cyrus and convinced Cyrus to rally the Persian people to revolt and conquer the Median Empire.
» Cyrus II, The Great. In 553 BC or 550 BC, Cyrus, who had been king of Anshan as a vassal of the Median empire, defeated his grandfather Astyages of Media after encouraging the Persians to revolt against the Medes from 554 BCE and 553 BCE. Between 550 BCE to 549 BCE, Cyrus led his armies to capture Ecbatana, and effectively conquered the Median Empire.
So, the former subordinate Persians became the dominant power in the former Median empire.
By 546 he had assumed the title of king of Persia, dethroning Arsames, who had been the ruler of Persia under the Medes.
Three Powers Defeated. Cyrus overthrew the Medes in 550 BC. Astyages had been allied with Croesus of Lydia, Nabonidus of Babylon and Amasis II of Egypt. So in the rise to power, Medo-Persia conquered three great powers - Lydia, Egypt and Babylon.

1. Lydia. Moving west in 547 BC, Croesus of Lydia, brother-in-law of Astyages, was defeated in the battle of Thymbra when the Lydian horses were spooked by the smell of the Persian camels. Croesus was a wealthy king who had allied himself with Egypt and Babylon against Medo-Persia - but they were all defeated.
2. Babylon. It was defeated in 539 BCE.
3. Egypt. To the south Egypt and Nubia were conquered by 538 BC. The conquest continued north against the Scythians in 513 BC.

» Death. Cyrus died around December 530 BC and was succeeded by his son Cambyses II, who immediately killed his brother Smerdis (Bardiya). He then went to the eastern front and captured Egypt just before he died in 522 BC. He was succeeded by an imposter, Gaumata, calling himself Smerdis. After only seven months he was killed by Darius the Great, the grandson of Arsames.

The Persian and Greek Wars.

- Darius I (the Great). Darius the Great, Shahanshah of Persia, became ruler of Persia after the deaths of both of Cyrus' sons, Cambyses II and Smerdis. As leader of Persia, Babylon and Egypt, he extended the kingdom into India and Europe (Thrace) and used the great Egyptian wealth to finance building projects in Persepolis, Susa, and Ecbatana. He fought two disastrous wars with the Greeks. The Greco-Persian wars lasted from 499-479 BC.
  - Naval Fleet Lost (492 BC). After the Greek cities of Ionia in Asia Minor revolted in 499 BC and burned the capital city of Sardis in Lydia, Darius sent 600 ships to crush the revolt but half of them were lost in a sudden wind storm near Mount Athos.
  - Battle of Marathon (490 BC). In 490 he sent another 600 ships across the Aegean and landed on the plains of Marathon near Athens. 6400 Persians and 192 Greeks were killed in the battle.
    A messenger ran 26 miles and brought the good news to Athens. Then he collapsed and died. A foot race of 26 miles and 385 yards is called a marathon.
  For the next ten years the Greeks built their naval supremacy.
- Xerxes I. He was the son of Darius and a daughter of Cyrus the great and the husband of the Hebrew queen Esther. He stopped an Egyptian revolt in his first year. Around 484 BC, he also destroyed the Babylonian temples and took the statue of Marduk (Bel) and killed the priest that tried to stop him. Then he melted the solid gold statue of Marduk, ending the traditions at the Baylonian new year's festival in which the king had to hold the statue. He banned the name of Babylon and called them Chaldeans. His actions caused a rebellion in 484 and 479 BC.
  He gathered a huge army of 2,000,000 from 46 nations which included some of the smaller Greek states (Carthage, Thessaly, Thebes and Argos), 1200 ships from the Egyptians and Phoenicians and 180,000 Persian soldiers (half the Persian army).
  - Bridges Lost (480). To avoid the dangerous waters near Mount Athos, the Persians dug a canal and built a bridge of ships across the Hellespont, but it was destroyed by a storm.
  - Battle of Salamis (480 BC, September 28). He began his conquest in the spring of 480 BC with victories everywhere. They defeated a small group of soldiers led by king Leonidas of Sparta guarding the narrow pass of Thermopylae. They burnt Plataea, Thespiae and set fire to Athens, burning the Acropolis. They met the smaller Greek navy off the coast of Attica and the island of Salamis. Outnumbered three to one, the Greeks destroyed 200 Persian ships, but only lost 40. Xerxes executed the Phoenician captains, so the Egyptians and Phoenicians went home. Then the Greeks defeated the Persians at Plataea (479 BC) and at Mycale. A peace treaty was signed thirty years later in 449 BC and Xerxes tried bribery and diplomacy to influence the Greeks.
  - Battle of Eurymedon (466 BC). The Greeks from Athens formed the Delian league and liberated Thrace and most of Europe from Persian influence. In 466 BC, 200 Greek ships invaded Caria. Xerxes sent eighty ships which were captured after the battle of Eurymedon. Now the Greeks had influence over Asia Minor as the Persians lost power.
- Darius III. The empire ended when Darius III (Codomannus) was defeated by Alexander the Great in several battles (the battle of Granicus (334 BC), the battle of Issus (333 BC) and the battle of Arbela in 331 BC).

Decrees to Rebuild Jerusalem. When the Jews left Babylon, it took three decrees before the city was finally rebuilt. The first two had little effect, but the final decree provided financial aid in the rebuilding.

1. First Decree. 536 BC. Issued by Cyrus and recorded in Ezra 1: 1-7
2. Second Decree. 518 BC. Issued by Darius and recorded in Ezra 6: 1-12
3. Third Decree. 457 BC. Issued by Artaxerxes and recorded in Ezra 7: 12-26

Prophecy of the Future of Medo-Persia
Persia was to remain until the end of time. But it would never receive its former glory. The old nation of Persia now survives as Iran.
See Map

The Largest Army. Before the Greeks conquered Persia, Darius III assembled the largest army ever created to try and stop the progress of the Greeks (over 1,000,000 men from 40 different nations). He was still defeated by Alexander, who had no money and only 35,000 men, in the Battle of Arbela (also known as the battle of Gaugamela). Alexander was only 25 years old. The independent, warring Greek states allied themselves to fight for their freedom.

Greece

Prophetic Footprints
Swift conquest One strong ruler, who is 'broken' early Kingdom divided in four Kingdom became a dominant Northern and Southern kingdom
Map of the Greek Empire
Rulers of Greece
King | Year | Conqueror | Territory | Dynasty
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Philip II | 359-334 BC | - | Macedonia | Argead
Alexander III the Great | 334-323 BC | Liquor | Greece
Perdiccas | 323-321 BC | Diadochi (The Successors) | Greece | Perdiccas was Regent, then Antipater
Antipater | 321-319 BC | Greece
- | Arridaeus (Philip III) | 323-317 BC | Greece
- | Alexander IV | 323-310 BC | Greece
1 | Ptolemy | 323-30 BC | Octavian | Egypt, Palestine | Diadochi Wars 323-301
2 | Seleucus | 312-63 BC | Pompey | Syria, Persia, Babylon
3 | Lysimachus | 323-281 BC | Seleucus | Thrace, Asia Minor
4 | Antipater, Cassander | 321-168 BC | Aemilius Paullus | Greece, Macedonia

The Greek states were in constant civil wars. They had been fighting the Persians and even fought among themselves. The Athenians and Spartans were constantly at war. In 431, under the leadership of Pericles, they started the Peloponnesian War when the Spartans invaded the Athenians. They had different military strengths. The Spartans were good at land wars and Athens had a strong navy. After many years of fighting, the peace of Nicias was signed.
In 415 BC, Alicibiades convinced the Athenians to attack Sicily. Their navy was defeated. Then the Spartans attacked them in their weakened state and the Persians joined in. In 405 the rest of their navy was destroyed and they surrendered to the Spartans in 404 BC.
It took the threat of Persian domination and the strong leadership of Alexander to unite the warring states and form a great empire.

Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great 356-323 BC is respected as the most powerful and brilliant of all military leaders. He had defeated much of the known world in 13 years by the age of 33.
Succeeded to the throne in 336 BC as king of Macedon on the death of his father Philip II. He was tutored by Aristotle. Alexander first conquered the Greek states and then, as head of the Greek army, continued east in 334 BC to conquer the rest of the world in 8 short years. The battles of Alexander included:

- He started at home by putting down uprisings in Thrace and Illyria, and sacking Thebes - gaining power over all of Greece.
- He defeated the Persians at the battles of Granicus (334) and Issus (333 BC).
- Tyre and Gaza fell in a year
- He defeated Egypt (332 BC), and founded the city of Alexandria.
- In Mesopotamia, he overthrew the Persian Empire of Darius III at the battle of Arbela (or Gaugamela) (331 BC).
- He defeated the rest of eastern Persia (330-327 BC).
- He invaded northern India (326 BC) but there his forces would go no further and the great conquest ended.

No Heirs.

Heir | Relationship | Death
--- | --- | ---
Perdiccas | Regent by will | 321 BC
Philip III Arrideus | Retarded half brother | 317 BC
Olympias | Mother | 316 BC
Alexander IV | Son (Now 13) | Poisoned (311 BC)
Roxana | Wife
Heracles | Illegitimate son | Executed (309 BC)
Barsine | Heracles' mother

Alexander the Great conquered Babylon in October 331 BC and died on 11 June 323 BC of a fever at age 33 without a legitimate heir.
He had a four year old illegitimate son with Barsine, a Persian princess but his wife Roxana was still nine months pregnant. His mother, Olympias, murdered his half brother, Philip, so that her grandson could be king.
Cassander, the general who wanted to rule Greece, executed her and then proceeded to murder all relatives and lovers who might have a claim to the throne. He poisoned Alexander IV and his mother, Roxana.
Peridiccas, the regent named in his will to take care of the empire until the heirs were old enough, was killed by his own men in a failed invasion of Egypt.

Alexander the Great Meets the High Priest
The Talmud relates that when Alexander the Great and his conquering legions advanced upon Jerusalem, they were met by a delegation of elders, led by the High Priest Shimon Ha Tzaddik (Simon the Righteous). When Alexander saw Shimon approaching, he dismounted and prostrated himself before the Jewish Sage. To his astonished men, Alexander explained that each time he went into battle, he would see a vision in the likeness of this High Priest leading the Greek troops to victory. In gratitude, and out of profound respect for the spiritual power of the Jews, Alexander was a kind and generous ruler. He canceled the Jewish taxes during Sabbatical years, and even offered animals to be sacrificed on his behalf in the Temple. Unfortunately, history would prove that Alexander's heirs failed to sustain his benevolence.

Rulers of Greece (Diadochi)
Greece, Macedonia | Thrace, Asia Minor
--- | ---
Dynasty | King | Year | King | Year
Antipatrid | Antipater I | 321-319 | Lysimachus | 323-281
Polyperchon | 319-316
Cassander (son of Antipater) | 316-297
Philip IV | 297-297
Antipater II | 297-294
Alexander V | 297-294
Antigonid | Demetrius I Poliorcetes | 294-288
Lysimachus | 288-281
Seleucus 1 Nicantor | 281-281 | Seleucus 1 Nicantor | 281
Antigonid | Ptolemy Ceraunus (Keraunos) | 281-279 | Battle of Curopedium / Curupedium. 281 BC. Lysimachus is killed by Seleucus 1 Nicantor
Meleager | 279-279
Antipater Etesias | 279-279
Sosthenes | 279-277
Antigonus II Gonatas | 277-239
Demetrius II Aetolicus | 239-229
Antigonus III Doson | 229-221
Philip V | 221-179
Perseas (Perseus) | 179-168

A Kingdom Divided
After his death in 323 BC, the empire was divided among his generals - the Diadochi (successors). They included Antipater, Antigonus, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, Perdiccas, Eumenes and Craterus.

» Battle of Ipsus (301 BC). These successors struggled for the empire until the battle of Ipsus in 301 BC when Antigonus was defeated by a coalition of four leaders. Antigonus I Monophthalmus was the ruler of Asia Minor with his son Demetrius I Poliorcetes. In 306, Antigonus declared himself king of the Greek empire so the coalition moved against him. Antigonus and his forces of 70,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 horses were defeated by Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus and their elephants. Lysimachus took Asia Minor and the former Greek empire was divided among them:

1. Lysimachus (North). Asia Minor (Turkey).
2. Ptolemy 1 Soter (South). Egypt. It started the dynasty of Greeks as Egyptian kings (305 BC) known as the Ptolemies.
3. Seleucus 1 Nicantor (East). Syria to India
4. Cassander (West). Macedonia and Thrace (Greece) was the son of Antipater.

» Battle of Corupedion (281 BC). Finally, 20 years later, Lysimachus was defeated by Seleucus in the battle of Corupedion (281 BC) and gained the largest section of the old Persian empire in the north and east. Therefore the Greek kingdom was finally divided into two:

1. Northern kingdom. Seleucid empire (Syria).
2. Southern kingdom. Egypt

Although they were divided, the former Greek empire of diverse people were united by the Greek language and Greek civilization.

The Kingdoms of the North and South

Prophetic Footprints
The Greek empire was divided in four. Dominant Northern and Southern kingdom. An agreement by marriage between a woman from the south and the northern king. This would fail.
Map of the Divided Greek Empire
Rulers of the Greek Empire (Diadochi)
Egypt, Palestine | Syria, Babylon, Persia
--- | ---
King of the South | Year | King of the North | Year
Ptolemy 1 Soter | 323-285 | Laomedon | 319-314
Antipater, Antigonus | 319 301
Seleucus 1 Nicator | 312
Ptolemy II Philadelphus | 282-246 | Antiochus 1 Soter | 280
Antiochus II Theos | 261
Ptolemy III Euergetes | 246-222 | Seleucus II Callinicus | 246
Ptolemy IV Philopator | 222 | Seleucus III Soter | 226
Ptolemy V Epiphanes | 205 | Antiochus III, the Great | 223
Cleopatra 1 Syra | 180-178 | Seleucus V Philopator | 187
Ptolemy VI Philometor | 180-146 | Antiochus IV Epiphanes | 175
Cleopatra II | 170 | Antiochus V Eupator | 164
Demetrius 1 Soter | 162
Alexander Balas | 150
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator | 145-144 | Antiochus VI | 145
Demetrius II Nicator | 146-139 129-125
Ptolemy VIII Physcon | 145-116 | Trypho | 142
Cleopatra III | 116-101 | Antiochus VII Sidetes | 138
Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyrus) | 116-107 88-80 | Antiochus VIII Grypus | 125
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus | 116
Ptolemy X Alexander | 107-88 | Antiochus X Eusebes | 94
Ptolemy XI Alexander II | 80 | Demetrius III Eucerus | 92-87
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos Auletes | 80-58, 55-51 | Philip 1 Philadelphus | 92-83
Cleopatra Selene | 88-69
Berenice IV | 58-55 | Tigranes II of Armenia | 83-69
Cleopatra VII Thea (51-30BC) | Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator | 51-47 | Antiochus XIII Asiaticus | 88-64
Philip II Philoromaeus | 66-53
Ptolemy XIV Theos Philopator II | 47-44
Ptolemy XV Caesarion | 44-30
Cleopatra VII | 51-30BC
Augustus Caesar | 30-14AD | Pompey | 63-48
Battle of Actium (31 BC). Augustus Caesar defeats Cleopatra and Mark Anthony | Pompey (63 BC). Conquered Judaea and Syria
Titles. Soter = Savior. Theos = God. Epiphanes = Manifest or illustrious. Nicator = Conquerer. Callinicus = Victorious. Ceraunus = Thunderbolt.

The strongest kingdoms were Egypt in the South, ruled by Ptolemy I Soter and Syria, in the North, ruled by Seleucus I Nicator. In 316, Seleucus I Nicator was driven from Babylonia by Antigonus. He then placed himself under the leadership of Ptolemy and together they defeated Demetrius (son of Antigonus) in 312 BC. The Seleucid empire grew to be bigger and stronger than the Egyptian. By 280 it extended from Greece to India. Here is some history related to prophecy.

- Laodice: A woman scorned. 35 years after the death of Seleucus I, a crisis developed. To make peace between the two kingdoms, Antiochus II Theos (261-246 BC) grandson of Seleucus I married Berenice daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. He disposed of his former wife (and sister) Laodice and barred her children from succession to the throne.
- Laodice takes action. Antiochus II died suddenly. He was poisoned by Laodice. She also killed Berenice and her son by Antiochus. Many of Berenice's ladies in waiting also died. Then Seleucus II Callinicus (246-226 BC), son of Antiochus II and Laodice became the king.
- Egypt: A Brother's Revenge. Ptolemy III Euergetes, son of Ptolemy II and brother of Berenice, succeed his father in 246 BC. He invaded Syria in revenge for this sister's murder. He was victorious against Seleucus II. He reached as far as Mesopotamia and maybe as far as Bactria. He also retrieved sacred images taken from Egypt by the Persians and restored them to the Egyptian temples. He brought back great wealth from Syria. He also took Southern Syria and Palestine.
  After Ptolemy III returned to Egypt, Seleucus went against the country to retrieve his riches and his prestige, but he returned to Syria defeated and empty handed in 240 BC.
- A Failed Counter Attack. The two sons of Seleucus II, Seleucus III and then Antiochus III the great (219) rallied a campaign to take back Palestine and Southern Syria from Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-204 BC). Ptolemy IV met Antiochus III near the Palestine and Egyptian border. In the Battle of Raphia (217 BC). Antiochus was defeated. So he turned his energies into recovering the eastern territories as far as India.
- A Second Counter Attack. 16 years passed (217-201 BC) before Antiochus launched a more successful second attack in the south. The fenced cities of Gaza and Sidon fell in 201 BC.
- Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He ruled from 175-164 BC. He caused a crisis among the Jews in his policy to Hellenize them by forcing them to abandon their religion and culture for the Greek language, culture and religion.
  » The Hellenization Of Palestine (250 BC). Alexander began to unify his empire. The Greeks began a campaign of pushing their culture on to the conquered lands. The strategy was to affect the common culture, education and then to force religious changes on those who had not been compromized by the cultural changes.
  - Library of Alexandria (300 BC). Ptolemy 1 built the Great Library of Alexandria to house the knowledge of all the world.
  - Koine Greek. This version of Greek became the common language.
  - Septuagint (LXX) (270 BC). 70 or 72 Jewish scholars went to Alexandria to translate the 39 old testament books of the Hebrew bible to Greek.
  - Education and Culture. A high priority was placed on competitive sports, stadium and the olympics. The Greeks were often naked for these events. Soon it was an embarassment to be a circumcised Jewish male and cosmetic surgery was done to reverse the procedure.
  - Priest. The high priest was no longer a descendant of Aaron. The office was sold and distributed by the Pagan rulers and corrupt Jews by murder and bribery.
  - King. The monarchy would fall into the hands of another tribe and another nation.
  - Death. Capital punishment for circumcision and Sabbath keeping.
  - Idolatry. Pagan festival to Dionysius was forced on Jews. This might have been an attempt to replace Passover with a spring Pagan festival.
  » The Maccabean Revolt. The Greeks (the Seleucid dynasty) tried to impose Greek culture and universal religion on the conquered lands. The Hellenistic Jews requested the help of the Seleucid empire. They wanted to force their new Greek beliefs and practices on the pious Jews. Antiochus marched on Jerusalem in 169 BC.
  » Abomination In The Temple. The temple in Jerusalem was dedicated to Zeus. Antiochus stripped the sanctuary of all its treasures, killed thousands, plundered Jerusalem, exiled many as slaves. He outlaws the Sabbath and circumcision and desecrates the Temple. The Jews were forced to erect pagan altars, to offer swine's flesh on the altars, sprinkled swine's blood in the sanctuary, and ordered Jews to surrender every copy of their scriptures to be burned. Antiochus offered swines's flesh on the temple altar and suspended all Jewish sacrifices. Eventually the Macabbeans joined forces with the Hasidim and revolted and drove him out of Judea and returned to their religion.
  » Signs In The Sky. In 169 BC signs or visions appeared.
  And it happened that over all the city, for almost forty days, there appeared golden-clad horsemen charging through the air, in companies fully armed with lances and drawn swords -- troops of horsemen drawn up, attacks and counterattacks made on this side and on that, brandishing of shields, massing of spears, hurling of missiles, the flash of golden trappings, and armor of all sorts. Therefore all men prayed that the apparition might prove to have been a good omen. (2 Maccabees 5: 2-4)
  In 167 BC, a priest named Matthias and his sons (John, Simon, Judas, Eleazer, and Jonathan) revolted against this attack on their religion. and became known as the Maccabeans which means hammer in the Jewish language.
  The priest Matthias killed the officers of the king and the Jews who compromised with the requests of the Seleucids to defile the temple and the altar. He fled to the hills shouting "Let everyone who is zealous for the Law and who stands by the covenant follow me!" (I Maccabees 2:27). They organized into a military group and raided towns, killing all who participated in this false worship. At his death in 166 BC his son Judas led the rebel forces. He finally liberated Jerusalem on December 25, 165 BC (the first hannukah). Judas died in 160 BC.

  The Hasmonean Dynasty
  Jerusalem Occupied (164 BC)
  Judas Maccabee | Founder | 164-161
  Jonathan | Brother | 161-143
  Jerusalem Liberated from Seleucids
  Simon | Brother | 143-134
  John Hyrcanus 1 | Son | 134-104
  Aristobulus 1 | Son | 104-103
  Alexander Jannaeus | Brother | 103-76
  Salome Alexandra | Wife | 76-69
  Aristobulus 2 | Son | 69-63
  Pompey Captures Jerusalem | 63 BC
  --- | ---
  Hyrcanus 2 | Brother | 63-40
  Antigonus | Nephew | 40-37
  House of Herod (67 BC-100 AD)
  Herod Antipater | Idumean | 55-43BC
  Herod 1 The Great | Son | 37-4BC
  Birth of Christ | 4 BC
  Herod Archelaus | Son | 4BC-6AD
  Herod 2 Antipas | Brother | 4BC-39AD
  Crucifixion | 31 AD
  Herod Agrippa 1 | Nephew | 39-44
  Herod Agrippa 2 | Son | 50-100
  Temple Destroyed | 70 AD
  People Exiled | 136 AD

  » The Hasmoneans. The Maccabeans later formed the Hasmonean dynasty and became kings and priests despite the fact that they were not of the proper line to hold these offices. The group who participated in the revolt became the Pharisees afterwards. As a result of the success of this revolt, the Jews were able to live under their own civil laws.
  - Judas Maccabee (164-161 BC). He liberated Jerusalem, purified and rededicated the temple and established the festival of Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of the one day supply of sacred oil lasting for eight days when the temple was dedicated. He was killed in battle against the son of Antiochus Epiphanes.
  - Jonathan (161-143). He usurped the priesthood in 152 BC, making himself a king and high priest.
  - John Hyrcanus (135-105 BC). After the death of Antiochus in 130 BC, Johanan Hyrcanus, son of Simon and nephew of Judah Maccabee, went to the Judean cities under Syrian rule. He made himself both king and high priest. He annexed Idumea (descendants of the Edomites), Samaria and Perea and demolished the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. He circumcised the people and made them obey Jewish laws. The Saducees, Pharisees and Essenes were formed in this period.
  - Judas Aristobulus. After his death in 105 BC, he was succeeded by his son Aristobulus who immediately killed or imprisoned his family. He made himself the first king since the Jews were freed from Babylonian captivity and returned to their homeland after 481 years and 3 months. He fought the Ituraeans and annexed the territory of Galilee, placing the people under Jewish rule.
  - Jonathan (Alexander Janneus) (104-78). A brother of Judas who took control of Judea and expanded the borders and caused civil war to break out between the Pharisees and Saducees. The office of priest and king were combined in this family.
  - Salome (Alexandra). After his death his wife became ruler and their sons Hyrcanus became high priest and Aristobulus was supposed to be the next ruler. Civil war erupted.
    Antigonus and Alexander, sons of Aristobolus, opposed Pompey and Alexander and Aristobolus were put to death. This left Antigonus and his uncle Hyrcanus as rivals for power.
  - Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. By the time Pompey invaded, these two rivals were fighting over Israel. Pompey made Hyrcanus a high priest in 63 BC. and Aristobulus bit off his ears so that his body would be imperfect, making him ineligible as priest. Antipater, a supporter of Julius Caesar and the Idumean advisor to Hyrcanus, became the puppet of Rome. He eventually captured Jerusalem in 37 BC and defeated Antigonus who was beheaded in Rome.
- An Agreement with Rome. In 161 BC (160 BCE) the Jews made an agreement with Rome to break the control of the Greek empire. After the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, Juda Maccabee sent Eupolemius, son of Johanan ben Hazzoz and Jason ben Eleazar to establish friendship and a treaty with Rome. This alliance lasted until 66 AD. when the Romans invaded Palestine and expelled the Greeks from that area. Israel enjoyed independence until 63 BC when Pompey invaded Judea and the Romans took over. Pompey destroyed the walls of Jerusalem and made Hyrcanus the high priest.

  > For the Roman and the Jewish people: May things be well on sea and land forever! May sword and enmity keep far from them!
  > But if war is made on Rome first, or on any of its allies and their domains, the Jewish nation will be their wholehearted allies as the occasion requires ...
  > In the same way, if war is made on the Jewish people first, the Romans shall be their active allies as the occasion requires ..."
  > Septuagint, 1 Maccabees 8:1-27

Rulers of Egypt
King | Year | Dynasty
--- | --- | ---
Early Dynastic | 3050-2686 | 1-2
Old Kingdom | 2650-2184 | 3-6
First Intermediate | 2150-2060 | 7-10
Middle Kingdom | 2055-1759 | 11-12
Amenemhet 1 | 1991-1962 | 12th (Hebrew Slaves)
Senusret 1 (Senwosret 1) | 1956-1911
Amenemhet II | 1911-1877
Senusret II | 1877-1870
Senusret III | 1836-1817
Amenemhet III | 1817-1772
Amenemhet IV | 1772-1763
Sobekneferu (Female) | 1763-1759
Possibly the Exodus Amalekites (Hyksos) Invaded Helpless Egypt
Second Intermediate | 1783-1539 | 13-17 (Hyksos)
New Kingdom | 1539-1069 | 18-20
Ahmose | 1539-1514 | 18th (Exodus)
Amenhotep I | 1514-1493
Thutmose I | 1493-1481
Thutmose II | 1491-1479
Hatshepsut | 1473-1458
Thutmose III | 1504-1450
Amenhotep II | 1427-1392
Thutmose IV | 1419-1386
Amenhotep III | 1382-1344
Amenhotep IV | 1350-1334
Smenkhkare | 1336-1334
Tutankhamun | 1334-1325
Ay | 1325-1321
Horemheb | 1323-1295
Ramesses I | 1295-1294 | 19th (1295-1187)
Seti I | 1394-1279
Ramesses II | 1279-1213
Merenptah | 1213-1203
Third Intermediate | 1070-715 | 21-24
Shoshenq I (Shishak) | 945-924 | 22nd
Osorkon I | 924-909
Takelot | 909--?
Shoshenq II | ?--883
Osorkon II | 883-855
Takelot II | 860-835
Shoshenq III | 835-783
Pami | 783-773
Shoshenq IV | 773-735
Osorkon IV | 735-712
Pedubaste I | 828-803 | 23rd
Osorkon IV | 777-749
Peftjauwybast | 740-725
Shepsesre Tefnakht I | 725-720 | 24th
Wahkare Bakenranef | 720-715
Late Kingdom | 715-343 | 25-30
Piye | 747-716 | 25th Late Kingdom
Shebaka | 712-698
Shebitku | 698-690
Taharqa (Tirhakah) | 690-664
Tantamani | 664-657
Psammetichus I (Psam-tik) | 664-610 | 26th
Nekau (Necho) II | 610-595
Psammetichus II | 595-589
Apries | 589-570
Amasis | 570-526
Psammetichus III | 526-525
Cambyses II | 538-522 | 27th (Persians)
Darius I | 521-486
Xerxes I | 486-466
Artaxerxes I | 465-424
Darius II | 424-404
Amyrtaios | 404-399 | 28th
Nepherites I | 399-393 | 29th
Psammuthis | 393
Hakoris | 393-380
Nepherites II | 380
Nectanebo I | 380-362 | 30th
Teos | 365-360
Nectanebo II | 360-343
The 30th Dynasty was the last of the Egyptian born Pharaohs. These kings affected Israel.
Second Persian | 343-332 | 31
Macedonian | 332-323 | Greco Roman Period (332 BC-395 AD)
Ptolemaic Dynasty | 323-30
Roman Emperors | 30 BC - 324 AD
Byzantine Christian | 306-634
Abbasid ... Fatimid ... Ayubbide Mamlukes | 634-1516 | Islamic Period (750-1517)
Ottoman Rulers | 1517-1796
Napoleon Invaded
Map of the Egyptian Empire

Prophecy of the Future of Greece
Greece would exist until the end of time, but it would not be a significant empire anymore. The next empire would also accept the culture of Greece.

- Language. The Roman empire adopted the Greek language.
- Gods. The Romans accepted the entire Greek pantheon.
- Homosexuality and Bisexuality. In the Greek culture women were inferior citizens whose only useful purpose was to give birth. Prostitution was frowned upon as a risky behavior. Consequently, the Greek male preferred sex with young boys. They were virgins, disease free and could not become pregnant. All boys were expected to take on the submissive role in a relationship with an older male until he got married. Boys were expected to train in the military and men were discouraged from visiting their wives, but were instead expected to choose homosexual partners. After he became a young man it was considered disgraceful to be submissive so, in addition to a wife he could have young boys. While the males accepted all sorts of sexual deviation, lesbians were not allowed. This type of sexual behavior can be described as cultural phenomenon driven by a dominant male perspective rather than driven by genetic programming.
  As early as 200 BC Rome was being influenced by this Greek custom.
  Famous bisexual rulers included Macedonian kings Alexander the Great, Demetrius Poliorcetes, Antiochus I, Antigonus II Gonatas. Egyptian kings Ptolemy VII, Ptolemy IV. King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia.
  Roman emperors Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius I, Nero, Otho, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Commodus, Heliogabalus and Valetian III. Byzantine emperors Michael II, Basil II, Constantine VIII, Constantine IX.
- Incest. The nobility also married their relatives.

See Map of the Greek Empire.
See Map of four divisions of Greece after the death of Alexander

Egypt.

The Treasures of Egypt. The treasures, mummies and buildings of Egypt have been looted by Greece, Rome and France. These foreign invaders preyed on the pyramids and the structures at Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. Heliopolis is near the Cairo airport.

The Obelisks of Egypt and Rome
Constructed | Egypt | Collector | Current Location
--- | --- | --- | ---
1500 BC Thutmose III | Karnak | ? | Istanbul
Karnak | Constantius II Sixtus V | Lateran, Rome
Heliopolis Cleopatra's needle | ? | Embankment, London
? | Central Park, New York
1300 BC Ramses II | Luxor | ? | Paris
Heliopolis | Augustus | Flaminian, Rome. Piazza del Popolo
Heliopolis | Clement XI | Pantheon, Rome. Piazza della Rotonda
Heliopolis | ? | Villa Celimontana
Heliopolis | ? | Piazza de Termini Memorial to soliders killed at Dogali
Heliopolis | ? | Florence
600 BC Psametico II | Heliopolis | Augustus. Pius VI | Palazzo di Montecitorio
Apries | Sais | Alexander VII | Piazza di S. Maria Sopra Minerva
150 BC Ptolemy VII | Aswan | ? | Britain
10 AD Augustus | Alexandria | Caligula | St. Peter, Vatican
Mausoleum of Augustus | Sextus V | Esquiline, Rome
Pius VI | Quirinal, Rome
90 AD Domitian | Campus Martius | Innocent X | Piazza Navona, Rome
120 AD Hadrian | - | ? | Sallust, Rome
- | ? | Aurelian, Rome
Porta Maggiore | Hadrian | Piazzale del Pinico Memorial to Antinous

- Greeks. The Greeks used Heliopolis as a quarry taking its stones for the construction of the Pharos lighthouse.
- Romans. They used the obelisks to adorn Alexandria and Rome. Augustus carried off the obelisks in Heliopolis and dedicated them to the gods of Rome. Later, the pope rescued them and updated them with Christian symbols.
- French. Napoleon's soldiers vandalized the Sphinx and broke off its nose. They also carried away many treasures of Egypt to start an era of interest in the Egyptian arts and culture. The British confiscated the treasures captured during the 1798-1801 expedition as spoils of war. This included the Rosetta Stone. Later, the French took thousands of artifacts (obelisks, statues, mummies, bowls, jewels, papyrus, stone inscriptions). 9000 works were collected for a museum between 1824-27. The French archaeologist Mariette sent 5964 works to Paris between 1852-53. Other private collectors around the world hold hundreds of objects.

After Augustus defeated Cleopatra in 30 BC, he took the obelisks of Ramses II and Psammetichus II. Over the next 300 years Roman emperors moved about 13 obelisks from Egypt to Rome and merged the gods of Egypt with the gods of Rome, just as they had taken the gods of Greece. In adopting the Egyptian culture they also took their titles and started the dynasty of the Ptolemies.
» Isaeum-Serapeum Campense. The Obelisk of Domitian was built to honor the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis and placed in a large complex of temples dedicated to these Egyptian gods. This complex was located in an area between the Pantheon and the Via Flaminia and was filled with small obelisks from Egypt.
Most obelisks were broken into pieces in the sixteenth century until they were rescued by Pope Sixtus V, repaired, embelished with Christian symbols and moved to the center of a piazza or in front of a basilica.
Monuments to the gods of Egypt, Greece and Rome now became Christian monuments.

Prophecy of Egypt's Future
The former empire of Egypt was now the southern Greek empire. Egypt was the first great super power mentioned by the Bible. They enslaved Israel for 430 years after which God made an example of them by staging the most spectacular rescue of a people under the leadership of Moses during the exodus.
Thus says the Lord God: at the end of forty years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were scattered . . . and will cause them to return to the land of Pathros [in upper Egypt, the original seat of Egyptian power], into the land of their birth; and they shall be there a base kingdom (RSV, a lowly kingdom). It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations . . . Thus says the Lord God: I will also destroy the idols and will cause the images to cease out of Noph (Memphis); and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt ... (Ezekiel 29:13-15; 30:13).
Egypt as a kingdom was not to be destroyed. It was to survive, but with greatly reduced power - "a lowly kingdom", never presuming to exert power over the surrounding nations any more. It would also cease to have a monarchy. This probably was fulfilled when the Egyptians were removed from the throne and replaced by the Greeks with the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their dynasty would fall in the battle of Actium in 31 BC. It has remained a lowly kingdom for over 2500 years. It will never regain its former glory.

1. Attacked by the Babylonians
2. Attacked by the Medes and Persians
3. Attacked by the Greeks and its Egyptian kings were replaced with Greek kings (the Dynasty of Ptolemy). Now, there is no Egyptian monarchy from any dynasty.
4. Attacked by the Romans in the battle of Actium in 31 BC and has essentially lost its former glory ever since. Rome took the treasures of the Egyptian temples.
5. Napoleon invaded Egypt and took the treasures of Egypt to France.
6. British rule in the 19th century
7. Currently independent but is an impoverished nation.
8. Will turn to God with Assyria (Isaiah 19). The Kurds, Turkey and Syria are part of this region.

Rome - Pagan
In 197 BC when Carthage was no longer a rival, Rome defeated Macedonia and set up the Greek states under her own protection. Rome was dominant in the West and she was now pointing towards the nations of the east and the old Greek empire.

- South. Rome conquered Egypt, Carthage and north Africa in the Punic Wars (242-146 BC). By 30 BC, the Egyptian queen was removed with the defeat of Cleopatra. The Egytian dynasty were actually Greeks who had conquered Egypt.
- East. In the Macedonian Wars (214-148 BC), Rome went to Asia Minor and conquered the Babylonian and Greek empires.
  - Macedonia (Greece). In 168 BC, Macedonia was defeated and their kings removed in the battle of Pydna. He forbid the invasion of Egypt by Antiochhus IV, exhibiting its strong influence.
  - Seleucid Empire (Persia). In 190 BC, Antiochus III was defeated and the Seleucid territory as far east as the Taurus Mountains was theirs. By 63 BC, the kings of the Seleucid empire in Syria were removed and Judea was conquered.
- Israel. Under Pompey, Rome conquered Judea and Syria.

Conquering the three remaining divisions of the old Greek empire was a process. By 168 BC, only one was conquered but the other two could not make a move. By 30 BC, all three were formally conquered.
Rome was cruel. Sometimes whole cities were destroyed. Corinth was destroyed in 146 BC. People who were not destroyed or subjugated were used as slaves or sold into slavery.
Some of the Roman territory was obtained peacefully by inheritance. In 74 BC Nicomedes III gave his entire kingdom of Bithynia to Rome on his deathbed. King Attalus III left his kingdom of Pergamum to the Roman Empire in his will (133 BC) and it became the province of Asia in 129 BC.
The Caesars.

- Pompey (63 BC- 48BC). In 63 BC, Pompey invaded Judea to settle a dispute between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus were were rival heirs to the throne of Judea. 12,000 Jews were killed in the process, the Holy of Holies was desecrated when Pompey entered the sanctuary, destroyed the walls and the Jews had to pay taxes to the Romans. He also appointed Hyrcanus II as high priest.
  In 49 BC Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus by Julius Caesar in a struggle for the throne and he fled to Alexandria, the capital of Egypt. There he was assassinated by Ptolemy XIII in 48BC to gain the favor of Caesar. However, Caesar chose to align with his rival, Cleopatra who was his sister and wife. Rome defeated Ptolemy in 47 BC and Cleopatra ascended the throne.
  The city of Pompeii which was named after him was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
- Gaius Julius Caesar (100BC to 15 March 44 BC). Dictator of the Roman republic. Assassinated in Rome on the Ides of March by his closest friend Marcus Brutus on the orders of the senate. When Ptolemy XI Auletes died in 51 BC, he placed his two children Cleopatra and Ptolemy XII under the guardianship of Rome. Three years later, Cleopatra became the mistress of Julius Caesar who had invaded Egypt.
  After the death of Pompey Caesar went to war with Egypt but the war was doing badly until he received assistance from Herod Antipater. Antipater, chief of the Idumean tribe, was an Arab Sheikh who came to Caesar's assistance with several thousand horsemen. Caesar appointed him as governor of Judaea, Samaria and Galilee in gratitude.
  » The Triumvirate (Marc Anthony, Lepidus, Octavian). They ruled (44-31 BC). Civil war between Marc Anthony and Octavian occurred in this time.
- Cleopatra and Mark Anthony. The daughter of Ptolemy XI who was married to her younger brother Ptolemy XII. She revolted against him with the aid of Julius Caesar and obtained the kingdom. After Ptolemy XII died she married another brother Ptolemy XIII but remained the mistress of Caesar. She later had a son by Julius Caesar named Caesarion (who would become Ptolemy XIV). After Caesar was assassinated, she went back to Egypt and turned to Mark Anthony to support her in her attempt to make her son the next caesar. He was the brother-in-law and rival of Caesar's heir Octavian (Augustus Caesar). Cleopatra wanted her son to be Caesar instead of Octavian who was only an adopted son of Julius Caesar. Mark Anthony was married to Octavia (the sister of Augustus) when he abandoned her for Cleopatra.
  » The Battle of Actium (2 September 31 BC). Anthony and Cleopatra were married in 36 BC. Together they combined forces against Augustus on the Ionian sea next to the Roman colony of Actium. Several unfortunate events caused the defeat.
  - Staffing. The Egyptian fleet was the largest but they were understaffed and then malaria broke out and killed a lot of the oarsmen. With supply lines also cut the crew was demoralized. When Octavian arrived he had a smaller fleet with lighter ships which required less crew and could outmanouver the big ships of Mark Anthony.
  - Treason. Mark Anthonny's general, Delius, defected and took the battle plans, giving Octavian a huge advantage.
  - Mutiny. When Cleopatra saw that the war was being lost, she did not come with her fleet but turned back before she could reinforce Mark Anthony's navy and withdrew with her 60 ships. So Mark Anthony also escaped and abandoned his men.
  - Suicide. He committed suicide when he mistakenly believed that Cleopatra had been killed. Cleopatra also killed herself so that she would not be paraded around in shame as a victory trophy.
  With the death of Cleopatra VII, the dynasty of the Ptolemys ended and Egypt became a province of the new Roman empire, the global superpower.

  Prophetic Footprints
  Brutal kingdom Messiah born during its reign Divided into ten Gives power to a religious power
  Map of the Roman Empire
  Roman Conquest of Greece
  Year | Territory | Conqueror
  --- | --- | ---
  212BC | Syracuse | Claudius Marcellus
  168 BC | Macedonia | Aemilius Paulus
  168 BC | Epirus | Anicius Gallus
  133 BC | Pergamon | Attalus III wills the kingdom to Rome
  86 BC | Athens | Sulla
  63 BC | Syria | Pompey
  30 BC | Egypt | Octavian
  Rulers of Rome (Caesars)
  King | Year | Dynasty
  --- | --- | ---
  Julius Caesar, Pompey, Crassus | 60-48 | First Triumvir
  Julius Caesar | 47-44 | Dictator
  Octavian (Augustus), Marc Anthony, Lepidus | 43-27 | Second Triumvir
  Augustus (Octavian) | 27 BC-14 | Julio-Caludian
  Birth of Christ | 4 BC
  Tiberius | 14 AD
  Crucifixion | 31 AD
  Caligula (Gaius) | 37
  Claudius | 41
  Nero | 54
  Galba | 69 | Year of 4 Emperors
  Otho | 69
  Vitellius | 69
  Vespasian (69-79) | 69
  Temple Burnt | 70 AD | Flavian
  Titus | 79
  Domitian | 81-96
  Nerva | 96-98 | ?
  Trajan | 98-117
  Hadrian | 117-138

  Roman Persecutions (67-313 AD)

  # | Year | Emperor
  --- | --- | ---
  1 | 67 | Nero
  2 | 81 | Domitian
  3 | 108 | Trajan
  4 | 162 | Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
  5 | 192 | Severus
  6 | 235 | Maximus
  7 | 249 | Decius
  8 | 257 | Valerian
  9 | 274 | Aurelian
  10 | 303-313 | Diocletian

- Augustus Caesar - A Raiser of Taxes. (Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus). The first emperor, He reigned from 23 September 63 BC to 19 August 14 AD. Grandnephew of Julius Caesar and the brother-in-law of Marc Anthony, born Caius Octavius (Octavian), he was made heir without his knowledge. Augustus was a title of honor granted in 27 BC by the senate.
  » Pax Romana ("Peace of Rome"). After the naval victory at Actium in 31 BC he controlled all of the Roman territories. His rule began a long period of 200 years of Roman peace called the "Pax Romana" when roads, a postal service, and police force were established. He enacted many reforms in Rome and in the provinces, he built Roman Roads and beautified Rome. He raised taxes throughout all the provinces to pay for these civil works projects. He was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius when he died peacefully in 14 AD.
  » Co-Emperors. He became ill with uncontrollable diaharrea and died in his bed. In the year before his death he made Tiberius co-emperor with him.
  » An Heir. He had only one daughter, Julia, by his first wife. She had three sons. Gaius and Lucius, the two oldest died and a third (Agrippa Postumus) was exiled because of his violence and was executed by Tiberius. In 4AD, he reluctantly adopted his 44 year old stepson Tiberius and made him the heir. Tiberius was the son of his third wife, Livia. Because His death might trigger civil war again, He made Tiberius his coemperor in 13 AD to signify his choice for a successor since he had no blood heirs and this action set a precedent.
- Tiberius Caesar (13/14 AD - 37 AD) He ruled from 13/14 AD to 16 March 37 AD including a one year co-reign with Augustus. He was smothered to death with a pillow while dying from a terminal illness. In 14 AD, he succeeded Augustus peacefully as emperor and continued his policies. It is believed that his mother poisoned Augustus Caesar so that he would get the throne. It was also thought that he had an affair with his mother and later had her murdered.
  He led many successful campaigns in Germany and the East near Armenia and Parthia. He was not loved, possibly because he was a pedophile. He broke the legs of the young children who resisted him. At his death, it is said that his head was cut off and thrown into the Tiber river.
  During his reign and under the order of his procurator of Judea (Pontius Pilate) Jesus Christ was crucified.
- Caligula (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus). Reigned 37 to 24 January 41 AD. He was assassinated.
- Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus). Reigned from 41 to 13 October 54 AD. He died by poisoned mushrooms given by his wife who was Nero's mother. She had convinced him to name her son from a previous marriage as the heir, instead of his own son.
- Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Reigned 54 to 9 June 68 AD. He set Rome on fire in 64 AD. and blamed it on the Christians and confiscated one third of the burned out city as his own property. He martyred many Christians including Peter and Paul. The senate declared him an enemy of the state and pursued him to kill him. But he cut his own throat and committed suicide. His last words were, "What an artist dies in me". A power struggle erupted among the generals because there was no heir.
- Civil War. There were four emperors in 69 AD. (Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian) .
- Vespasian (69-79 AD).He was responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. Completed in 80 AD, in eight years, he built the Flavian ampitheatre (Coliseum) after draining the private, man-made lake built by Nero and financed with the treasures taken from the burned out Jewish temple and with the labor of Jewish slaves.
- Titus. When his father abandoned the seige of Jerusalem to fight for the throne in the civil wars, Titus was left in charge. He burned down the temple and took its treasures to Rome. He was ruling when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and the second fire destroyed Rome for 3 days and 3 nights in 80 AD and a plague broke out during the fire. The fire destroyed Agrippa's Pantheon, the Temple of Jupiter, the Diribitorium, parts of the Theatre of Pompey, and the Saepta Julia.

Roman Governors and Other Rulers.

- Gabinius (58 BC). Roman governor of Syria. He divided the Jewish people into five parts, establishing five councils (Sanhedrin) in Jerusalem, Gadara, Hammath, Jericho and Sepphoris.
- Governor Quintilius Varus (7 - 4 BC). He was an incompetent governor of Syria from about 7 to 4 BC.
- Governor Quirinius He was probably governor of Syria on two separate occasions. Once during the military action against the Homonadensians between 12 and 2 BC, and about 6-7 AD.
  The Romans conducted a census every 14 years and they took several years to complete.
- Pontius Pilate (26 - 36 AD). Procurator of Judea. Pilate butchered a group of Samaritans in a village named Tirathana, near Mount Gerizim. He was relieved of his position by the Syrian legate Vitellius for excessive cruelty and he committed suicide in Italy (Gaul) a year later. Vitellius also removed Caiaphas from office at the same time.
- Sanhedrin. The Great Sanhedrin was an assembly of 71 elders who served as the supreme court of Israel. Lesser Sanhedrins of 23 members convened in other places. This council may have begun when Moses assembled seventy elders who met with him (Numbers 11: 16). It may also have been established by Ezra to preserve the house of David under foreign occupation.
  » Nasi (191 BC). The high priest was head of this council until 191 BC when the council lost confidence in the high priest. The office of Nasi was created and was mostly headed by descendants of Hillel the Elder who was in office around 4 BC when Christ was born. The creation of the office was probably an attempt to preserve the true lineage of the high priest. It was during this period that the office of high priest was determined by political considerations and Greek interferance, not according to the Torah. The Jews maintained some autonomy in this period. They were ruled in their religious life by the high priests, appointed by the Roman governors, and in their civil life by the Sanhedrin under the Nasi.
  The Sanhedrin was abolished in 415 AD by the Byzantine rulers. They operated in secret after this. The remnants of the house of David continued to survive under the leadership of a group called the Geon Yaacov until about 1165.
  » The Hall of Hewn Stones. According to the Talmud the Sanhedrin met in this building in the north wall of the temple mount, located half inside the sanctuary and half outside with doors giving access.

One third of the Roman citizens were slaves.

The Kings and Priests of Israel During the Time of Jesus Christ
Born in Bethlehem, Judea about 4 BC while the Jews were under Roman occupation. He was born around the time Augustus Ceasar issued taxes and baptized in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar 29 AD. These are the rulers of Palestine at the time of Christ.

Julius Caesar | 27 BC | Augustus Caesar | 13 AD | Augustus and Tiberius | 14 AD | Tiberius Caesar | 37 AD | Caligula | 41 AD | Claudius
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Herod Antipater | 37 BC | Herod The Great | 1 BC | Herod Antipas | 39 AD | Herod Agrippa 1 | 44 AD | Herod Agrippa 2
4 BC | 30 Years | 27 AD | 3.5 Years | 31 AD
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Birth | 33 Years (Jesus Christ) | Death
| The Disciples Ministered
6 AD | Annas | --- | 18 AD | Caiaphas | 36 AD
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
| The High Priests

Herod.

Roman Emperors | The House of Herod
--- | ---
Judea | Idumea | Galilee
Julius Caesar (47-44) | Herod Antipater II (67-43 BC)
Phasael (47-40)
Augustus (Octavian) (27BC - 14AD) |  | Herod 1 the Great (39-4 BC)
Herod Archelaus (4 BC-6AD) | Herod Philip (4 BC-37 AD) | Herod 2 Antipas (4 BC-39 AD)
Coponius (6-9)
Ambivulus (9-12)
Annius Rufus (12-15)
Tiberius (13/14-37AD) | Valerius Gratus (15-26)
Pontius Pilate (26-36)
Caligula (37-41) | Marcellus (Marulus) (37)
Herennius Capito (37-41)
Herod Agrippa 1 (37-44)
Claudius (41-54) | Cuspius Fadus (44-46)
Tiberius Alexander (46-48)
Ventidius Cumanus (48-52)
Nero (54-68) | Antonius Felix (52-60) | Herod Agrippa II (50?-100)
Porcius Festus (60-62)
Clodius Albinus (62-64)
Gessius Florus (64-66)
Vespasian (69-79) | Titus besieged Jerusalem. Temple Falls (70 AD) First Jewish Revolt (66-73)
Titus (79-81) | Mount Vesuvius Eruption (24 August 79) Fire burns Rome for 3 days and nights (80 AD) Plague erupted during the fire in 80 AD
Hadrian (117-138) | Bar Kochba Jewish Revolt (132-135) Jews Exiled From Jerusalem (136 AD)
Roman Procurators: Procurators of Judaea (6-41). Procurators of Palestine (44-66)

The Herods were the non-Jewish ruling dynasty that descended from the Esau. After the Roman occupation of Palestine in 63BC, they ruled at the pleasure of Rome.

- Antipater. Ruled (55BC - 43BC). Edomite ruler of Palestine under Julius Caesar. His empire went to his four sons at his death.
- Herod the Great. Ruled (37BC to 1BC). He died during the spring between 4BC and 1BC at the time of a lunar eclipse. There are three possible lunar eclipses during that period. March 23, 5BC. March 13, 4BC and January 10, 1BC. He was an Idumean or Edomite (descendant of Esau) who inherited Galilee from his father. Appointed tetrarch of Judea by Marc Anthony and king of Judea by the senate. He remodeled the temple between 37 and 4 BC and persecuted the child Christ. He was a Jewish convert, not Jewish by blood so he was not a descendant of David or a legitimate king. He married a Hasmonian princess. He was married ten times and had three sons Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip.
  - Archelaus (4 BC-6AD). Ruled Judea, Samaria and Idumaea for 10 years until the Romans removed him.
  - Antipas. Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. He was the one who tried Jesus and had John the Baptist beheaded. He was deposed and banished.
    » Herodias. She was a cousin who married and divorced an uncle living in Rome, then married Philip, and then divorced Philip to marry Antipas.
  - Philip. Tetrarch of Iturea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Batanea and Auranitis from 4 BC to 34 AD.
  The historian Josephus states that Herod the Great ruled just over 34 years after he captured Jerusalem in September and for 37 years after the Romans made him king. He died in the winter after a lunar eclipse, after Yom Kippur and before Passover. According to Josephus:

  > Reign of Herod. At this time it was that the fight happened at Actium, between Octavius Caesar and Anthony in the seventh year of the reign of Herod; and then it was also that there was an earthquake in Judea, such a one as had not happened at any other time ... Page 320, Book XV, Chapter V, Section 2.

  The battle of Actium was September 2, 31 BC, so Herod's first year must have been 37 BC.

  Kings of Judah and Israel
  Year | Judah | Year | Israel
  --- | --- | --- | ---
  1098 | Saul (32)
  1066 | David (40)
  1026 | Solomon (40)
  985 | Rehoboam (17) | 985 | Jeroboam (22)
  967 | Abijam (Abijah) (3) | 967
  964 | Asa (41) | 962 | Nadab (2)
  961 | 961 | Baasha (24)
  939 | 939 | Elah (2)
  938 | 938 | Zimri (7 days)
  938 | 938 | Omri (6) (Tibni/Omri)
  926 | 926 | Ahab (22)
  922 | Jehoshaphat (25) | 905 | Ahaziah (2)
  896 | Jehoram (Joram) (8) | 902 | Jehoram (12)
  888 | Ahaziah (1) | 890 | Jehu (28)
  887 | Athaliah (6) | 862 | Jehoahaz (17)
  881 | Joash (Jehoash) (40) | 845 | Jehoash (16)
  840 | Amaziah (29) | 829 | Jeroboam (41)
  811 | Uzziah (Azariah) (52) | -
  758 | Jotham (16) | 773 773 772 762 | Zachariah (6 month) Shallum (1 month) Menahem (10) Pekahiah (2)
  742 | Ahaz (16) | 759 | Pekah (20)
  727 | Hezekiah (29) | 739 | Hoshea (9)
  697 | Manasseh (55) | 722 | Shalmaneser V (Assyrian Captivity) Exiled Israel
  642 | Amon (2) | -
  640 | Josiah (31) | Egyptian (Pharaoh Neco) Ruled Judah
  609 | Jehoahaz (Shallum) (3 months)
  608 | Jehoiakin (Eliakim) (11) | Nebuchadnezzar (Babylonian Captivity) Exiled Judah
  597 | Jehoiachin (3 months)
  597 | Zedekiah (Mattaniah) (11)

  > Death of Herod. ... When he had done those things, he died, the fifth day after he had caused Antipater to be slain; having reigned, since he procured Antigonus to be slain, thirty-four years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven. Book XVII, Chapter VIII, Section 1.

- Herod Agrippa 1 . Called Herod. King of Iturea (37-44AD). King of Judea, Galilee and Perea (41-44). Grandson of Herod the Great, son of Archelaus. Persecuted the church. Acts 12: 23 said he was eaten by worms after he claimed to be divine. Josephus says the following:

  > "did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery. A severe pain arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. And when he was quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and seventh of his reign."

  On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. The people kept crying out "the voice of a god and not of a man!" And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12: 21-23)
- Herod Agrippa 2. Ruled (50-100AD). Called Agrippa. Tetrarch of Philippi and Lysanias (Abilene). He is the Herod of Acts 25-26.

The High Priests
High priests were appointed for life by law as the scriptures suggest (Numbers 35: 25, 28). However, in this corrupt era the office of high priest was bought and sold and the priest could easily be deposed by the Roman leaders. Therefore, several men who had served as high priests could coexist as Luke reported (Luke 3: 2). Therefore, at the time of the crucifixion the gospel described two men as high priests, Annas and his son-in-law Caiaphas (John 18: 13). Annas was a Saducee who had five sons, a son-in-law and a grandson as high priest. Josephus comments in the (Jewish Antiquities XX, 9.1):

Sanhedrin | The High Priests | Year
--- | --- | ---
? | Ananelus Appointed by Herod the Great | 37-36 BC
Aristobulus III | 36 BC
Joshua ben Fabus | 30-23 BC
Hillel the Elder (20 BC-16AD) | Simon ben Boethus | 22-5 BC
Mattathias ben Theophilus |  | 5-4 BC
Joazar ben Boethus | 4 BC
Eleazar ben Boethus Appointed by Herod Archelaus | 4-1 BC
Joshua ben Sie | 3 BC-6AD
Annas (Ananus ben Seth) Appointed by Quirinius, the imperial governor of Syria |  | 6-15
Ishmael ben Fabus Appointed by Valerius Gratus | 15-16
Shimon haNasi | Eleazar ben Ananus | 16-17
Simon ben Camithus | 17-18
Joseph Caiaphas | 18-36
Gamliel 1 | Jonathan ben Ananus Appointed by Vitellius | 36-37
Theophilus ben Ananus | 37-41, 44
Simon Kantheras ben Boethus Appointed by Herod Agrippa 1 | 41-43
Matthias ben Ananus | 43-44
Elionaius (Aljoneus) son of Kantheras | 43-44
Josephus ben Camydus (Kami) Appointed by Herod of Chalcis | 44-46
Ananias ben Nebedeus | 46-52
Ishmael ben Fabus (Phiabi) Appointed by Herod Agrippa II | 56-62
Joseph Cabi ben Simon | 62-63
Ananus ben Ananus | 63
Joshua ben Damneus | 63
Joshua ben Gamaliel | 63-64
Mattathias ben Theophilus |  | 65-66
Shimon ben Gamliel | Phinnias, son of Samuel Appointed by The People | 67-70
Temple Destroyed | 70 AD
Relatives of Annas (Annanius). ("ben" means "son of") Son Grandson Son-in-Law
Josephus Flavius (Joseph ben Matthias), the Jewish historian, was born around 37-39 AD. He was the son of Matthias ben Theophilus, the grandson of Annas.

> It is said that the elder Ananus was extremely fortunate. For he'd five sons, all of whom, after he himself had previously enjoyed the office for a very long period, became high priests of God - a thing that had never happened to any other of our high priests.

Roman Persecution
The Romans conducted ten formal persecutions against the Christians and Jews, starting with Nero. When half of Rome was burned in a fire in 64 AD, Nero accused the Christians of starting it and began the first Roman persecution.

The Destruction Of The Temple
After the death of Nero, the seventeen year old son of Herod Agrippa was considered too young to ascend the throne, so Jerusalem fell under direct Roman rulers. This caused animosity and civil war and eventually a riot which killed 20,000 Jews.
Trouble broke out in Caesarea between the Jews and the Greeks (who tried to insult the Jews). This led to a siege of the Roman garrison Antonia and the assault on Masada.
The trouble intensified when two massacres occurred on the same day. The Jews in Jerusalem killed some Roman soldiers and the Greeks massacred 20,000 Jews in Caesarea. This caused all Jews to resort to retaliation and armed conflict. Many Roman soldiers were killed as they tried to maintain order. Judea was now in rebellion against Rome.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem and other cities, the country was plagued by civil wars against violent zealots who murdered and openly robbed homes and tried to maintain hostilities. The Romans offered no help because they hated the Jews. A leader of the Zealots, Phanias (Phinnias), managed to remove the high priest and set himself up in that office, increasing the civil war and causing the death of 85,000 people.
Nero died around this time and was succeeded by Vespasian who waited a year hoping that the Jews in Jerusalem would weary themselves with their internal struggles while he subdued rebellion in smaller cities. He then sent Titus to subdue Jerusalem.
Cestius. In 66 AD, before the final siege, Cestius came against the city and withdrew for some unknown reason. Some sources say that he was defeated by the Jews on August 8. Many Christians took that as a sign to flee the city.
Titus. Then the army returned with Titus in 70 AD to besiege the city for 143 days. He would become the next emperor from 79-81. His reign was filled with tragedy and national disasters which caused people to speculate that his reign was cursed because he destroyed the temple in Jerusalem.

The Siege and Fall of Jerusalem.

Map of Jerusalem
Map of Ancient Israel | Map of Modern Israel
--- | ---

The story continues with a direct account by Josephus in "The War of the Jews".

> Signs of Doom. "Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus [Nisan], and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it.
> Flavius Josephus, War of the Jews, Book VI, Chapter V, Sn 3

> The Fall of Jerusalem. Now, as Titus was on his march he chose out 600 select horsemen, and went to take a view of the city, when suddenly an immense multitude burst forth from the gate over against the monuments of Queen Helena and intercepted him and a few others. He had on neither helmet nor breastplate, yet though many darts were hurled at him, all missed him, as if by some purpose of Providence and, charging through the midst of his foes, he escaped unhurt. Part of the army now advanced to Scopos, within a mile of the city, while another occupied a station at the foot of the Mount of Olives.
> » Warring Factions Unite. Seeing this gathering of the Roman forces, the factions within Jerusalem for the first time felt the necessity for concord, as Eleazar from the summit of the Temple, John from the porticoes of the outer court, and Simon from the heights of Sion watched the Roman camps forming thus so near the walls. Making terms with each other, they agreed to make an attack at the same moment. Their followers, rushing suddenly forth along the valley of Jehoshaphat, fell on the 10th legion, encamped at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and working there unarmed at the entrenchments. The soldiers fell back, many being killed. Witnessing their peril, Titus, with picked troops, fell on the flank of the Jews and drove them into the city with great loss.
> The Roman commander now carefully pushed forward his approaches, and the army took up a position all along the northern and the western walls, the footmen being drawn up in seven lines, with the horsemen in three lines behind, and the archers between.
> Jerusalem was fortified by three walls. These were not one within the other, for each defended one of the quarters into which the city was divided. The first, or outermost, encompassed Bezetha, the next protected the citadel of the Antonia and the northern front of the Temple, and the third, or old, and innermost wall was that of Sion. Many towers, 35 feet high and 35 feet broad, each surmounted with lofty chambers and with great tanks for rain water, guarded the whole circuit of the walls, 90 being in the first wall, 14 in the second, and 60 in the third. The whole circuit of the city was about 33 stadia (four miles). From their penthouses of wicker the Romans, with great toil day and night, discharged arrows and stones, which slew many of the citizens.
> At three different places the battering rams began their thundering work, and at length a corner tower came down, yet the walls stood firm, for there was no breach. Suddenly the besieged sallied forth and set fire to the engines. Titus came up with his horsemen and slew twelve Jews with his own hands.
> » First Wall Falls. The Jews now retreated to the second wall, abandoning the defense of Bezetha, which the Romans entered. Titus instantly ordered the second wall to be attacked, and for five days the conflict raged more fiercely than ever. The Jews were entirely reckless of their own lives, sacrificing themselves readily if they could kill their foes. On the fifth day they retreated from the second wall, and Titus entered that part of the lower city which was within it with 1,000 picked men.
> But, being desirous of winning the people, he ordered that no houses should be set on fire and no massacres should be committed. The seditious, however, slew everyone who spoke of peace, and furiously assailed the Romans. Some fought from the walls, others from the houses, and such confusion prevailed that the Romans retired; then the Jews, elated, manned the breach, making a wall of their own bodies.
> Thus the fight continued for three days, till Titus a second time entered the wall. He threw down all the northern part and strongly garrisoned the towers of the south. The strong heights of Sion, the citadel of the Antonia, and the fortified temple still held out. Titus, eager to save so magnificent a place, resolved to refrain for a few days from the attack, in order that the minds of the besieged might be affected by their woes, and that the slow results of famine might operate. He reviewed his army in full armor, and they received their pay in view of the city, the battlements being thronged by spectators during this splendid defiling, who looked on in terror and dismay.
> Famine and Mass Crucifixions. The famine increased, and the misery of the weaker was aggravated by seeing the stronger obtaining food. All natural affection was extinguished, husbands and wives, parents and children snatching the last morsel from each other. Many wretched men were caught by the Romans prowling in the ravines by night to pick up food and these were scourged, tortured and crucified. This was done to terrify the rest, and it went on till there was not wood enough for crosses.
> Sanhedrin Massacred. Terrible crimes were committed in the city. Matthias, the aged high priest who was deposed in 66 AD, was accused of holding communication with the enemy. Three of his sons were killed in his presence, and he was executed in sight of the Romans, together with sixteen other members of the sanhedrin.
> Cannibalism. The famine grew so woeful that a woman devoured the body of her own child. At length, after fierce fighting, the Antonia was scaled, and Titus ordered its demolition.
> Destruction of the Temple, August 10. Titus now promised that the temple should be spared if the defenders would come forth and fight in any other place, but John and the Zealots refused to surrender it. For several days the outer cloisters and outer court were attacked with rams, but the immense and compact stones resisted the blows. As many soldiers were slain in seeking to storm the cloisters, Titus ordered the gates to be set on fire. Through that night and the next day the flames raged through the cloisters. Then, in order to save the temple itself, he ordered the fire to be quenched.
> » Fire In The Temple. On the tenth of August, the same day of the year on which Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple built by Solomon, the cry was heard that the temple was on fire. The Jews, with cries of grief and rage, grasped their swords and rushed to take revenge on their enemies or perish in the ruins.
> The slaughter was continued while the fire raged. Soon no part was left but a small portion of the outer cloisters, where 6,000 people had taken refuge, led by a false prophet who had there promised that God would deliver His people in His Temple. The soldiers set the building on fire and all perished. Titus next spent eighteen days in preparations for the attack on the upper city, which was then speedily captured. By this time the Romans did not want to show any mercy. It was night that put an end to the carnage. During the whole of this siege of Jerusalem, 1,100,000 were slain, and 97,000 taken as prisoners.

In 71 AD, the Romans cut down every tree and salted the land in Israel to punish the Jews. In 73 AD, 900 Jews were killed at the fortress Masada.

The Bar Kochba Revolt (132-135)
A second Jewish revolt occurred during the years 132 to 135 AD and was led by Bar Kochba (Kokaba, Cocheba). He was originally named Shimon bar Kosiba and it was changed to Kochba "son of the star" in fulfillment of the prophecy by Balaam (Numbers 24: 17) about a star out of Jacob. He proclaimed himself to be the Messiah and it was quickly affirmed by Rabbi Akiva. Christianity was still largely seen as a sect of Judaism at this time. These events would cause a rift between Christianity and its roots.
Jewish Christians had to choose between Christ or Bar Kochba as the Messiah. If they chose Bar Kochba they would have to support the revolt. They chose not to support the revolt and were seen as traitors. It caused permanent hostilities between the Jewish and Christian communities.
» Emperor Hadrian. The culture of the Roman empire was full of incest, homosexuals and pedophiles. This was the practice adopted from the Greeks where young boys were expected to take an older male lover until they got married. When the Greeks took over the Egyptian dynasty, this practice of incest, homosexuality, adultery and pedophelia continued among the Ptolemaic dynasty. Herod adopted these customs and came under the condemnation of John the Baptist.
Emperor Hadrian's favorite was a twelve year old Greek youth named Antinous. He toured the eastern empire between 129-130 with a homosexual entourage and began the process unifying religons.

- Touring Judea (130 AD). In March 130, around Passover, Hadrian and a group of his favorite male companions came to Jerusalem. The Greek boy had been his lover since the child was about 12 or 13 years old. On 28 October 130, near the fall feasts, Antinous drowned mysteriously in the Nile and Hadrian had him deified by March 131. By October 134 coins struck with his image as god and statues are distributed to spread the worship of Antinous. An obelisk erected outside Porta Maggiore by Hadrian in his memory still exists. In 1633 the obelisk was relocated to the palace of Urban VIII, then pope Pius VII moved it to the Piazzale del Pincio in 1822.
  » The Cult of Antinous. Hadrian made the young man a god and began a cult worship. The city of Antinopolis was built on the Nile in his honor. Statues, temples, coins, poems and games were made in his honor and an obelisk was built to mark the spot of his burial.
- Religious Reform. Between April and July 130 AD, Hadrian outlawed circumcision as a part of a strategy to reform the Jewish religion so that it complied with Rome.
- Aelia Capitolina. Quintus Tineius Rufus (Turnus Rufus) was appointed governor or procurator of Judea by Hadrian. In 131, the governor performed a ceremony at the foundation of the city to begin it building. A coin was struck to commemorate the event.
- War. Between 132 and 135 AD, the people revolted under the leadership of Shimon Bar Kochba. On Tisha B'Av in 135 the Romans captured the last stronghold of the leaders of the Bar Kochba revolt at the fortress city of Beitar. Bar Kochba and tens of thousands of Jews were massacred.
- Damnatio Memoriae. In response to the Jewish revolt, Hadrian speeded up the process of religious reform. He began the process of "damnation of memory" where all images, statues and name was removed from all public places. He intended to wipe out the Jews and their God and any memory of them in history.
  - Temple Mount. Temple to Jupiter and possibly to Minerva and Juno was built on the temple mount.
  - Signs. Jewish signs were eliminated. In 135 AD, Hadrian outlawed Sabbath keeping and circumcision under pain of death. Banners with pigs were placed in the city.
  - The Holy City of Jerusalem. Exactly a year later on Tisha B'Av 136 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian ordered the wicked Turnus Rufus to plow up the city of Jerusalem, so that there should be no memory of the holy city. He rebuilt it and renamed it "Aelia Capitolina" after himself (Publius Aelius Hadrianus) and the chief Roman god (Jupiter Capitolinus).
  - Land of Judea. The land was renamed Syria Palaestina (Palestine) after the Philistines.
  - People Exiled. The Jews were barred from Jerusalem until the fourth century and the land was settled with Greeks. 2000 years later, the world is still suffering from the damages caused by that exile as the Palestinians and Arabs battle with Jews over Jewish claims on the land,
- Building Projects. In 126 AD, he rebuilt the Pantheon, a building commissioned by Marcus Agrippa and dedicated to all the gods of Ancient Rome. It became a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the martyrs since the seventh century.
  He built Hadrian's wall in northern Britain to keep the Barbarians out of the empire.
- The Death of Hadrian (24 January 76AD - 10 July 138 AD). Hadrian sought death but could not find it. By 137 He was delirious with pain from a protracted illness and he seemed to go mad after the death of Antinous. He suffered a long painful illness in 135 from which he sought relief by stabbing himself and by ordering a physician to poison him. He survived the stabbing and the doctor committed suicide instead. He also became mentally insane and paranoid and ordered several executions so that the people began to hate him at the end of his reign of terror. He finally died after deliberately overdosing on medication in 138 AD. He was deified in 139 AD and given a temple on the Campus Martius.
- Restoration Begins. But by the middle of the third century (222-235) Emperor Alexander Severus gave permission to go to the Mount of Olives to mourn the Temple from afar. The Arabs allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem in 636 and in 1187 Saladin invited the Jews to return after he had conquered the crusaders.
  Jewish calendar reform occurred during this period and the Jewish year was established.

Rebuilding the Temple
The Bar Kokaba revolt happened because emperor Hadrian supported a plan to rebuild the temple and dedicate it to the Pagan God Jupiter. The Jews revolted.
» . Emperor Constantine also tried to rebuild between 313-324 it but was unsuccessful. He built Christian churches instead.
» Not One Stone Remains. Finally, in 363 emperor Julian (the apostate) tried to rebuild it. For this project, the Jews had to remove the remaining foundation stones, fulfilling Jesus' Prophecy. Now, there were no stones left of the original temple. Only parts of a wall that surrounded the complex remained. This still exists as the wailing wall.
» Earthquake And Fires. After the demolition, and before, the rebuilding could begin a series of natural disasters and unusual events prevented the efforts. An earthquake, followed by many explosions and balls of fire from the ground stopped the project.
Finally, the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock mosque in 691 and the Al-Aksa mosque in 715 on the temple mount. The political tensions prevent the destruction of the mosqe and the rebuilding of the temple.

Europe: The Division and Decline of Pagan Rome

Tribe | Leader | Location and History
--- | --- | ---
1 | Visigoths | Alaric | Spain
2 | Franks | Clovis | France
Gained control of the empire for the Papacy
3 | Allemani | Leuthari | Germany
4 | Anglo-Saxon | Many | England
5 | Lombards | Cassiodorus | Italy
6 | Suevi | Hermeric | Portugal
7 | Burgundians | Gundobad | Switzerland
8 | Heruli | Odoacer | Germanic tribe from Sweden. Assimilated
9 | Vandals | Gaiseric | German tribe
Moved to North Africa, controlled western Mediterranean then disappeared in 534 after they were overthrown by the Romans
10 | Ostrogoths | Theodoric | German tribe
Conquered by the Romans
Map of the Divided Roman Empire
Tribe | Origin | Location and History
A | Bastarnae | German | Disappeared by the second century
Marcomanni | German | Disappeared after the fourth century
Slavs | Slav | North Carpathian
From the North Carpathian. Settled in the peninsula
Costoboci | Slav | Disappeared by 3 AD
Carpi | Slav | Disappeared by 273
Bulgars | Turks, Huns | Emerged in seventh century
Huns | Atilla (Asiatic) | Disappeared by the fifth century
Roxolani | Iranian | Disappeared by 68 AD
Sarmatians | Iranian | Defeated by the Goths and Huns in the third and fourth centuries
Scythians Saka | Central Asia, Iranian | 800BC-600BC-300 AD
Umman-Manda (Scythians) drove the Cimmerians out of Europe to the region above the Black Sea
Cimmerians | Iranian | 800-600 BC
The region above the Black Sea
B | Goths | German | Moved to Italy by 488
Adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Split into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths and moved to Italy
C | Basques | Unknown | From northern Spain
D | Quadi | German | Disappeared with the Vandals
E | Gepidae | German | Disappeared by 567
Defeated by the Huns and Avars
Cumans | Turkish | Appeared around the twelfth century and later assimilated into the population
Tartars | Turkish | Bulgaria and Romania
Appeared around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the region of Bulgaria and Romania
Pechenegs | Turkish | Volga and Ural rivers
Emerged 8-9th century. Assimilated by the twelfth century
Avars | Turkish | Ukraine
Settled in the Ukraine by the sixth century. Defeated by the Franks in 827
F | Alani | Iranian | Western Rome
Disappeared by the fifth century and settled in the northern Persian region. They had migrated to western Rome by 451
Berber | Unknown | From North Africa. Not part of the empire.
Celts (Gauls) | Indo-European | Conquered by 52 BC, assimilated by the native populations
Celts | Indo-Aryan | Future British empire
(Celts, Irish, Scots, Picts, Britons, Jutes) Part of the future British empire. Not part of the Roman empire

Rome broke up into ten dominant groups after constant invasion from the Barbarian hordes from the north and east. As a result, Rome had to divide the empire into two halves in an attempt to survive. Both halves would fall because of invaders from the east. The Barbarians conquered western Rome, while the Persians conquered Byzantine Rome.
Barbarian Invasion of Western Rome
By the end of its dominance, Western Rome was constantly invaded by the Mongol and Germanic tribes (Barbarians) from the north and east. Eventually, the divisions were roughly according to ten nations: Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Allemanni, Anglo-Saxons, Heruli, Lombards and Burgundians.

- Vandal Invasion from the Sea. The Vandals were a Germanic tribe of Jutland (now in Denmark) who migrated to the valley of the Oder river in the fifth century. Their most famous leader, Gaiseric, was the crippled son of a slave. They invaded Spain (411), North Africa (429) and Rome. After conquering North Africa, he went on to a career of piracy on the Mediterranean sea for 35 years.
  » The Burning of Rome (455 AD). He built a great fleet which eventually invaded and burned Rome to the ground in two weeks during the year 455 AD. Gaiseric was met by Pope Leo on June 2, 455. In this meeting he was asked not to murder or destroy by fire, but to be satisfied with pillaging. (Catholic Encyclopedia)
- Visigoth Invasion (396-410). Emperor Valens allowed the Visigoths to settle within the empire in 376 AD and treated them like slaves. By 378 they defeated the Roman army at Hadrianopolis.
  In 410 AD, Rome was sacked by Alaric, the leader of the Visigoths and again in 546 by Visigoth rebels led by Totila.
  Alaric made two notable invasions. The first was the invasion of the eastern empire - Thrace, Macedonia, Attica and Peloponesus. In the second, he attacked the western empire and Rome fell in 410.
  » The Burning of Rome (468 AD)
  Alaric was also known for conquering the African portion of the Roman empire in 428-468.
  After the death of Constantine, the empire was divided among his three sons:
  1. Constantinus - Constantinople and the eastern empire
  2. Constantine II - Britain, Gaul and Spain
  3. Constans - Illyricum, Africa and Italy
  It was the division controlled by Constans that was attacked by Alaric. In 468 a fleet of 1113 ships with 100,000 men was attacked and burned in one night. While the Romans slept, Alaric rammed the ships with burning logs. The fire spread quickly between the ships that were anchored close together.
  The Visigoths eventually settled in Aquitaine (Atlantic coast of France) in 418 and between 614-620 they reconquered spain from the empire.
- Invasion of the Huns (451-453). In the middle of the 5th century, the Huns terrorized the West. Their leader, Attila, is still remembered as a fearsome warrior and conqueror. He called himself "the scourge of God". The rivers of Gaul and northern Italy were bloodied by the destruction that he caused and by the wars made against him. He ultimately made peace with Pope Leo I, and Rome was spared. The Huns were ultimately defeated and their Empire was dissolved after Attila's sudden death.
- Heruli Invasion of Western Rome. Until the year 4 September 476, Rome had managed to resist subjugation. But in that year Odoacer, leader of the Heruli, subdued the former capital of the world. He deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last Roman emperor of the western Roman empire and became the first Barbarian king of the empire. The eastern Roman empire fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
- Ostrogoth Invasion of Western Rome. Later, the Ostrogoths, led by Theodoric, occupied the Italian peninsula and it became the most prominent among the new kingdoms. He would rule from 403-526. The Emperor Justinian would free the Italian peninsula and establish the Bishop of Rome as the ruler in the west.
- The Slavic Migration (493). A mass migration of the Slavs began as the Germanic (Vandals, Visigoths and Ostrogoths) deserted their land to attack the Romans and nomadic Asian tribes (Huns) pushed them out in 370 AD. The first Slavic mass migration was in the year 493 AD and continued until the seventh century. As the Hun empire fell in 453 AD, there was a rush of Slavic migration to the south towards the Black Sea and the mouth of the river Danube in the outer regions of the Byzantine Empire reaching to the Balkans.
- Lombard Invasion (568). Lombards under Alboin invade northern Italy and remained.

Other Barbarians. There were other tribes who appeared before or after this period. Some were absorbed into the ten dominant tribes while others were destroyed. These are the reasons why these are not considered part of the final ten powers of the western Roman empire.

1. Before Rome. Some tribes disappeared before the division of Rome in 476 AD or were defeated by the Romans or others. (Celts (Gauls), Costoboci, Roxolani, Bastarnae, Carpi, Sarmatians, Marcomanni, Huns, Alani, Slavs, Cimmerians, Scythians)
2. Split. They became part of the empire but split up into multiple tribes. (Goths)
3. Weak Nations. They were located within the borders of the Roman empire but never became powerful enough to be a kingdom. (Basques)
4. Assimilated. They were absorbed by a more dominant tribe and so they lost their identity and any claim to be called a power. (Quadi)
5. After Rome. They appeared or organized themselves long after the papacy was in power, and were not within the borders of the empire. (Avars, Gepidae, Cumans, Tartars, Pechenegs)
6. Outside Rome. Their physical location was not within the borders of the Roman empire and they never conquered any of the empire. (Alani, Berber, Bulgars, Celts)

Byzantine (Eastern Rome). During this time, Rome decided to abandon Italy and to abolish imperial succession in Rome.

Rome Removed Political Structure. They also dismantled the rest of the roman political structure:

- Capital. The capital moved from Rome to Constantinople in 329. The transfer of the capital drained all the resources and opened up the land for invasion. By 554 AD Rome was reduced to a camp of about 30,000 people, while Constantinople had about one million people. But in 602 AD the Persians (Sassanids) attacked the eastern Roman empire in Asia Minor and captured Jerusalem in 614 AD.
- Emperor. Roman emperor was replaced by Barbarian Ostrogoth ruler Theodoric in 493.
- Senate. The senate was dissolved after the Ostrogoths were removed from Rome by General Belisarius in 536. He also conquered the Vandals in North Africa and Southern Spain in 534.
- Consul. Justinian removed the Consuls in 541.

The Turkic Migration. The Turks migrated from Central Asia into Europe and the Middle East between the sixth and twelfth centuries. Turks also founded states between Mongolia and Transoxiana and were converted to Islam. A great migration of Oghuz Turks (Turkomen) in the eleventh and twelfth centuries came into Asia Minor (Anatolia).
While eastern Rome eventually fell under the invading Turks and the religion of Islam, the papacy controlled western Rome.

Prophetic Footprints
Ten Divisions Will be ruled by a small power Attempts to unite by marriage will fail Other attempts to unite will fail Will remain divided Will help to setup the last religious power

The Rise of Papal Rome
Under the old Roman empire, the popes had no powers, but when the empire had disintegrated, the church became independent of the states and dominated religious and secular affairs.
In its rise to power in Rome, several important events happened.

- Constantine (Christian Emperor). The fortunes of the church changed with the conversion of emperor Constantine. Christianity was no longer a persecuted church but was the favored religion of the empire.
- New Capital (330 AD). Constantinople became the capital of the eastern section of the Roman Empire when Constantine moved the capital of the empire from the city of Rome to Constantinople (Istanbul) to take advantage of the trade routes. He essentially divided the empire into an eastern and western section. The emperor remained in the eastern portion with its new capital was eventually called the Byzantine empire.
  The western empire was left to the bishop of Rome. The Pope was given many gifts including the old capital in Rome and became the head of the western empire. He was given great authority and power and the seat of the old Roman empire. But he could not use his power because of the Barbarian tribes occupying or threatening Rome. This threat would be removed in 538 when the siege of Rome ended and the Ostrogoths fled.
- King Clovis: French Champions (496/497). He converted to Christianity in 508. Then the Franks were the first of the invaders to convert to Orthodox/Catholic ("no heretical") Christianity under their leader Clovis in 497.
  » Arianism Defeated by King Clovis (508)
  Two forms of Christianity had struggled for supremacy in Europe before 508 AD. The people of Gaul (France) and Germany were united under a Catholic Monarch who recognized the religious authority of Rome in 508 AD. In this fusion of Roman and German civilizations, Catholicism was put in and Arianiam pushed out. A monopoly of religion was imposed on Europe as a result.
  The Visigoth army was routed in 507 AD by Clovis.
  By 508, the Franks championed the cause of Catholicism and Clovis defeated the Ostrogoths and vowed to use his power to advance the papacy. In that year he received the title the eldest son of the church.
- Emperor Justinian: Established as Head of Churches by the State (533). Justinian recognized the pope as the head of all holy churches and head the priests of God and later as the corrector of heretics in the East and West.
  » Head by Law (529). Justinian's Imperial Code of Laws officially incorporated his beliefs about the supremacy of the Roman pontiff. Code of Justinian, book 1, title i, stating that the See of Rome is the supreme authority regarding spiritual issues.
- Rivals Eliminated. The state actively promoted the church by law, and by force and eliminated all its rivals.
  » Religious Rivals Suppressed. The government then suppressed all rival beliefs. It closed or took over Pagan schools and banned all non-Christian teachings and symbols and actively stopped all other religions.
  » Religious Political Rivals Eliminated. Three barbarian kingdoms occupying or threatening Rome were a threat to the Pope because of their Aryan beliefs. But it was Justinian and his general Belisarius who finally made the empire safe. They defeated three barbarian tribes threatening Rome.
  - Heruli. The Heruli first occupied Rome by defeating the last emperor of the west Romulus Augustus in 476. Under the leadership of Odovacar (Odoacer) was killed when Theodoric (leader of the Ostrogoths invaded in 489. By 493 Odovacar surrendered and was killed.
  - Vandals (534). Belisarius was sent by Justinian to defeat the Vandals who were under the leadership of Gaiseric (Genseric). They were hostile to Catholicism and posed a threat to the leadership of the pope.
  - Ostrogoths (536). Belisarius turned his attention to the Ostrogoths in Rome and came with 5000 troops. He takes Naples by violence after a month long siege ended when they entered under the city walls through an aqueduct. Other cities gave up peacefully. 2000 stayed to protect these cities and 3,000 went on to Rome.
    On December 9, 536 Belisarius and 3,000 troops entered Rome and the Ostrogoths left. Theodatus was killed when he tried to escape to Ravenna with 4000 Goths. They were driven from Rome but returned with 50,000 troops on March 2, 537 to lay siege to the city for a year with a 50,000 man force that outnumbered Belisarius 17 to 1. They set up six camps east of the Tiber river and later, they set up a seventh camp in the Vatican field.
    Vittigis, return to besiege Rome and attacked on March 21. 30,000 were killed. During the war pope Silverius tried to betray the city to the Goths, but his offer was intercepted and he was exiled.
    In 538, Justinian sent another army and the Ostrogoths abandoned the siege in March of that year due to problems with malaria. The Goths cut aqueducts to prevent the taking of Rome like they did Naples. So Belisarius blocked them in March when he captured the city. When they cut off the water supply to the city, they created a breeding ground for mosquitos and inadvertently engineered their own defeat.
    The siege ended on 12 March 538 in one year and 9 days because the Goths were weakened by hunger and plague. Their power ended that year. Belisarius continued his campaign against them until 554 because he never has enough troops to take and keep the city and the region.
    The Romans relied on mercenaries, and a commander usually had his own private army. Justinian was jealous of Belisarious and never quite supported him with enough men because he was afraid that he would be overthrown.
- Power Achieved (538). By now, Rome was free from all Arian domination and the pope was now the undisputed head of the church. The French kingdom was the first orthodox Catholic kingdom, the others eventually followed.
- King Makers (755). The powerful French kings helped to install the papacy in the sixth century. In 755, Pepin III, the Short, defeated the Lombards and gave civil power to Pope Stephen III by giving him their property, the Exarchate of Ravenna, Pentopolis and twenty one cities and castles. Prior to this, the church had absolute religious power and it had civil power through its control of the king. Pepin III was appointed king of the Franks by pope Stephen in a meeting in which Stephen asked for help. Ironically, it was the French who brought down the church during the Napoleonic wars in 1798.

The Holy Roman Empire. With the empire divided into two and the Bishop of Rome the head of the western empire, the church quickly established itself as the power behind all powers. They approved, coronated, threatened and punished kings. They had the power to ask governments to use their armies to execute the desires of the church.
The Visigoths converted to Orthodoxy/Catholicism in 589, but were later destroyed by the Muslims. After some fluctuations in their power, and periods of division, the Franks eventually, but briefly, created a vast empire, which was considered to be the continuation of the Western Roman Empire, comprising most of the then civilized lands of Central and Western Europe (with the exception of a large part of the Iberian peninsula, now belonging to the Muslims).
In the year 800, the Frankish King Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by the Pope, thus becoming a successor to the Roman Emperors of the past, only now it was felt that such a title could only be granted by the Church. Historians traditionally regard this event as the birth of the Holy Roman Empire Under the auspices of the Catholic Franks, the Papal States were created in central Italy, comprising Rome and the areas around her. The Frankish Empire was divided into a French and a German half a few decades after its formation. The Papal States would survive until 1871. In November 1793, all Christian churches in Paris, the center of the Revolution, closed down, and the Christian religion was officially banned.

During its reign, the states were separate powers often times at war with each other. But the church was a unifying force in that it installed and dethroned kings and could call the states at anytime to use its military power to enforce church laws and policy.

The Church under the Papacy

Prophetic Footprints
Religious power Removes three of the ten divisions Lasts 1260 years Persecutes the church Captured Rises to power again Allies with the United States Controls world religion Defeated by God (future)

The reign of the papacy was marked by these events:

1. Power. Helped to power by the French king Clovis and later Justinian.
2. Defeat of three Nations. Three rulers and nations were exterminated (Vandals, Heruli, Ostrogoths) before the church could take over control of Rome.
3. Persecutes. The church persecuted and killed between 50-100 million martyrs as heretics in a series of organized campaigns.
   The Crusades against Muslims and Protestant heretics.
   The Inquisition against Protestant heretics.
4. Captured. Removed from power in 1798 during the Napoleonic wars, when General Berthier imprisoned Pope Pius II and created the Papal States.
5. 1260 Year Reign. The reign would last from 538 with the defeat of the Ostrogoths to 1798 with the imprisonment of Pope Pius.
6. Restoration. Sovereign power was restored after World War II when Italy and the Pope signed the Lateran Treaty and created the Vatican City.

The Decline of Papal Rome
The political and religious decline of the church came in several stages, the most influential was the Reformation.

1. The Invention of Printing. Before this time, only a few copies of the Bible existed, mostly in Latin and in monasteries. Printing made is available in more languages and more widely circulated. Education was followed by unrest.
2. The Protestant Reformation. It caused many to question the doctrines of the church and broke the religious dominance of the church. With new information from the Bible and in reaction to centuries of persecution many broke away from the church.
3. The French Revolution. It changed the political dominance of the church. With new ideas of government, the resulting Napoleonic wars spread the new political ideas. With their hatred of the church, they succeeded in taking away the land and government of the church in Rome.

The church used many tactics to combat the rising tide of independence. They began with force.

Spain and the Inquisition
The nation of Spain is discussed because of the Spanish Inquisition. In 1478 Pope Sixtus IV issued a papal bull for the creation of the Spanish Inquisition, at the request of the Spanish rulers Ferdinand and Isabella. They used this system to unify the nation of Spain which was divided into various groups after Spain was retaken by the Christians in the Crusades.
The king and queen chose Catholicism to unite the nation. They drove out Jews, Muslims and other nonbelievers. In 1483, Tomas de Torquemada became the inquisitor general for most of Spain. He was responsible for establishing the rules of inquisitorial procedure and creating branches of the Inquisition in various cities.
The Spanish Inquisition was officially abolished in 1834.

Jesuits
One of the tasks assigned to the Jesuits at the Council of Trent was to fight the reformation by inquisition, torture and theology.
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was founded by Saint Ignatius Loyola in 1534 and was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. Loyola was a devotee of the virgin Mary whom he credited with giving him the spiritual exercises that is practiced among the group. They are bound by a vow of obedience to the pope and are governed by a general in Rome who is elected for life. This general is sometimes referred to as the "Black Pope". In this case "black" means hidden or evil activities. He is thought to be the most powerful in the Roman Catholic Church.
Their work mainly centered on foreign missions, education and working with outsiders. As such they became spiritual advisors to kings and taught the sons of leading families. These activities (education and political influence) are two of their primary means of promoting Catholicism.

- Counter-Reformation. The Jesuits were instrumental in combating the reformation. They acted as the theologians at the council of Trent (1545 - 1564) which was convened to deal with the emerging problem of Protestantism. The council rejected the Protestant ideas of righteousness by faith and "sola scriptura" (the Bible only).
- Persecution. The Jesuits have been linked to major involvement in the fight to regain Catholic dominance over the world.
  - The Jesuits became judges in the inquisition in which the vast majority of the 100 - 200 million Protestant martyrs in the dark ages were murdered..
  - On August 24, 1572, Roman Catholics in France, by pre-arranged plan, murdered 70,000 Protestants within two months
  - Political assassinations
  - Stirring up the Thirty years war.
- Jesuit Futurism Theology. Martin Luther and other reformers became convinced that the pope was the Antichrist. And he used this message in addition to the doctrine of faith alone to fuel the reformation.
  In 1590, the Jesuit scholar Francisco Ribera developed the futurist interpretation of prophecy. He stated that Antichrist was a future evil person who would rebuild Jerusalem. He also introduced the "Gap Theory" which stated that when Rome fell, prophecy stopped and no prophecies were being fulfilled in the dark ages. The theories were popularized by Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, another Jesuit.
  The theories remained within Catholicism for about 300 years until the Jesuit writings were discovered in England by Dr. Samuel Roffey Maitland, a librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury. From his writings it would spread by several others.
  1. James H. Todd, a professor of Hebrew at the University of Dublin.
  2. John Henry Newman - a member of the Church of England and a leader of the famous Oxford Movement whose goal was to "absorb the various English denominations and parties back into the Church of Rome.". He eventually became a Roman Catholic cardinal.
  3. Scottish Presbyterian minister, Edward Irving
  4. John Nelson Darby, The Father of Modern Dispensationalism. He visited the United States and spread futurism here.
  5. Cyrus Ingerson Scofield - incorporated the theory into his reference Bible.
- Expulsion. Because of their political activities, the society was expelled from Asia, America and Europe in 1767 and was suppressed in 1773 by Clement XIV. They continued to survive in Prussia and Russia. They were restored by Pius VII in 1814. In that year the church was still suffering from the loss of power received in the French Revolution. So it probably called on the order of the Jesuits to use their successful tactics in building up the church again.

The Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648)
The Protestant Reformation (1517) and the printing of the Bible in the common language brought religious chaos to Europe. It eventually helped to start the Thirty Years war which was basically a war of religion involving several nations. It eventually became a political war as other Catholic countries (France) became fearful of the growing Spanish power.
The Spanish Hapsburgs joined the Austrians to form the Catholic League. They would be at war with several nations for the next thirty years.

- Bohemian Revolt (1618-1620). By 1618, Bohemia (a province of Austria) became Protestant (Calvinists) and they rejected the Catholic king imposed on them by the Austrian Hapsburg rulers. The Bohemians chose the German Frederick of the Palatine instead of Ferdinand of Styria as their king. The Hapsburgs attempted to eradicate Protestantism and war broke out. After the Spanish joined the war, Bohemia was defeated in the Battle of White Mountain and convinced other Protestant states (in the Treaty of Ulm) to abandon them by giving a promise of safety.
- Germany (1619-1623). The Catholic League combated not only religious threats but other political ideologies in this region and Germany suffered the most in this war.
- Denmark (1624-1629). Christian IV of the Lutheran state of Denmark felt threatened by the victory of the Catholic league and entered the war. He formed an alliance with England and France in the Treaty of Hague. But Denmark was devastated by the war and withdrew in the Peace of Lubeck (1629) and had to give up all claims to the northern German territories (Baltic regions).
  Ferdinand II imposed the Edict of Restitution in 1629 - reestablishing Catholic authority on all church lands. This stirred up more resentment.
- Sweden (1630-1635). With the conquest of the Hapsburgs in the Baltic regions, Sweden entered the war. The Swedish campaign was mostly successful as they slowly won back the German lands. But the death of their leader caused a reversal and France joined the war at this time in the Treaty of Barwalde. Although France was a Catholic state, they were concerned about the growth of their enemy - Spain.
- France and Sweden (1635-1648). With French involvement, the Spanish forces were ultimately defeated.
- The Peace of Westphalia (1648). It did not resolve any religious issues but caused the decentralization of power and the rise of Prussia.

Prophetic Footprints
Against God Lasts 3 ½ years

The French Revolution
The final demise of the church came during the French Revolution. By 1789, the French treasury was bankrupt. The problem precipitated a political upheaval that eventually affected the whole world.
France was politically and socially divided between three groups. The clergy (First Estate), the nobles (Second Estate), and the common people (Third Estate). The Estates-General met from 5 May-June 1789 for the first time since 1614, to discuss their financial problems caused by debts incurred for Americans who were fighting their old enemies - the British.
The discontent with the French government was due to the financial crisis, disaffection with the privileged clergy and nobility fuelled the rebellion of the underprivileged classes against feudal oppression. Louis XVI convened the States-general at Versailles on May 5, 1789, for the first time since 1614 to deal with the financial problems. This forum was used by some deputies to press for sweeping political and social reforms that far exceeded the assembly's powers.

French Revolution Timeline
1787 | February 22 | Assembly of Notables installed by the king
- | The Assembly revives the estates-general
1789 | July 14 | Storming of the Bastille. Revolution began
August 14 | Nationalization of Church property
August 26 | Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
1791 | - | Academy of scientists asked to rationalize weights and measurements
1792 | August 10 | Monarchy overthrown
September 2-7 | September Massacres. 1500 prisoners killed
Republic: (21 September 1792 to 26 October 1795)
September 21 | The "Convention" abolishes monarchy, sets up republic
September 28 | Danton declares that the revolution is a revolution against all kings
November 19 | The Convention declares its willingness to help all subjected peoples to achieve their liberty
December 26 | King Louis XVI was brought to trial
1793 | January 15 | Louis XVI condemned by 351 out of 700
January 21 | Louis XVI executed on the guillotine
February | War declared on Britain and Holland (February 1). Spain (March 7)
March 10 | Revolutionary Tribunal to judge "enemies of the republic"
April 6 | Committee of Public Safety, the official terror organization of the state
July 13 | Charlotte Corday stabbed Jean-Paul Marat
September 5 | Reign of Terror begins
October 5 | New Republican calendar with new time (year, month, week, hours) retroactive to 22 September 1792
- | Press censored
October 16 | Queen Marie Antoinette guillotined
November 10 | The Festival of Reason in Notre Dame
Religion Banned for about 3.5 Years
November 22 | Roman Catholicism banned and churches closed. Bibles burned
1794 | February 5 | The Great Terror. Mass executions. 250,000 killed. Some sources say 500,000 to a million
June 8 | The Festival of the Supreme Being worshipping Bacchus and nature. Robespierre starts the cult of the supreme being and is called "the prophet of the new dawn" and the "Messiah who would renew the earth". This festival resembles Mardi Gras
June 10 | Law of 22 Prairial. Great Terror
June 27-28 | Robespierre is accused, condemned and executed after a failed suicide attempt
July 28 | Reign of Terror ends
September 18 | State no longer pays expenses and salaries of the church
1795 | April 1 | Food shortages and riots
February 21 | Freedom of worship and separation of church and state is official
May 20-23 | Bread riots and white terror in Paris
Directory: (27 October 1795 to 10 November 1799)
November 3 | The Directory begins, 1795-1799
1796 | April 11 | Italy invaded
1797 | April 18 | Electors turn against the Directory
Religion Returns after 3.5 Years
August 24 | Repeal of laws against the clergy
1798 | The Fall of the Papacy and The Fall of Egypt
--- | ---
February 10 | France captures Rome and declared a republic
February 15 | Pope flees
February 20 | Pope imprisoned and taken to Siena then to Florence
April 3 | Mandatory 10 day week
July 1 | French land in Egypt
July 21 | French victory of the Pyramids against the Mamelukes
August 1 | Battle of the Nile. Admiral Nelson defeats the French fleet at Aboukir Bay
1799 | April 16 | Napoleon, with 600 men reinforcing 1500 soldiers of general Kleber, defeats 25,000 Turks at the Battle of Mt. Tabor on the plains of Megiddo
August 22 | Napoleon deserts his army
August 29 | Pope Pius VI dies in Valence, France
October 9 | Napoleon returns secretly to France
Consulate: (November 1799 to ?)
November 9-10 | Coup d'etat. Napoleon overthrows directory
December 12 | Napoleon becomes first consul
1800 | July 26 | Free to worship on any day
1801 | July 15 | Concordat signed with the Papacy
1803 | April 30 - December 20 | Louisiana Purchase. France sells 530 million acres to the USA for $15 million
1804 | - | Napoleon crowned himself emperor, taking title from the pope
1805 | September 9 | Sunday was the official rest day
1806 | January 1 | France returns to Gregorian calendar
1812 | June-December | Invaded Russia with 600,000 men. Retreated in winter with less then 100,000 survivors
1814 | January 11 | British hire Rothschilds to finance the war with war bonds
1814 | April 11 | Forced to abdicate, exiled to Elba. Escaped
1815 | June 12-18 | Napoleon defeated at Waterloo
1815 | June 22 | Surrenders. Exiled to St. Helena. Died at age 51

They proclaimed themselves the National Assembly (June 17) and took an oath not to separate until a constitution had been drawn up. Acting on rumors, on October 5 a mob marched to Versailles and forcibly moved the royal family and the Assembly to Paris. There the Assembly drafted a constitution (1791) that created a limited monarchy. the preamble was the famous Declaration Of The Rights Of Man And Citizen. Influenced by the United States Declaration Of Independence and the Enlightenment, it asserted the equality of all men, the sovereignty of the people, and the inalienable rights of the individual to liberty, property and security.
On September 21 the Convention (revolutionary government) abolished the monarchy, set up the first Republic, tried and executed the king for treason in January 1793. This led to a royalist uprising and the September massacres (September 2-7, 1792) in which hundreds of royal prisoners were killed. This was followed by the Reign Of Terror in 1792-1794 led by Maximilien Robespierre.
On 22 November 1793, Robespierre reports on the principles of political morality, declaring that the revolutionary government is based on both virtue and terror

> "... virtue without which terror is evil, terror without which virtue is powerless"

Robespierre was executed after a coup d'etat of 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), and the Directory came into existence under the new constitution of 1795. Their reign was plagued with corruption and was finally ended by Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire and the establishment of the Consulate. Thus ended the French Revolutionary Wars, the beginning of the Napoleonic empire (1804) and the Napoleonic wars in which the French tried to spread their revolutionary ideas and liberalism and communism across Europe. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and exiled.
The Death Of God In France. During the revolution, the people revolted against the Catholic church and the monarchy. The people had been tortured and repressed for so long, that when they revolted they rejected all of Christianity and the word of God.
For 3 and ½ years beginning November 24, 1793 to April 1797 religion was banned and a substitute put in place. They even changed the calendar to show their new found love for natural law and hatred of Sunday.
Beginning with that period (November 24, 1793 or 3rd Frimaire in Year II), the churches of Paris were closed and the public reading of the Bible forbidden. Immediately, almost all parts of the town renounced religion, closed parish churches and reopened them as temples of reason. In these temples, a prostitute, Désirée Candéille, was installed as the Goddess of Reason after she paraded naked through the streets of Paris.

> The goddess, after being embraced by the president, was mounted on a magnificent car, and conducted, amid an immense crowd, to the cathedral Notre Dame, to take the place of Deity. There she was elevated on a high altar, and received the adoration of all present.

At the end of the period, the churches of Paris were reopened and the public reading of the Bible was encouraged among the Protestants. All non-Catholic groups (Protestants and Jews) were granted freedom of religion. The French Protestants had been subjected to millions of deaths in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the slaughter of Protestant Huguenots at the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV, Albigensian Inquisition and Crusade, and the persecution of the Huguenots.

In their animosity towards the Catholic church, the members of the government appealed to Napoleon to destroy the papacy. Christianity and the French Revolution page 151 quotes a letter written to Napoleon from the Directory of France who appealed to him with these words:

> The Roman religion would always be the irreconcilable enemy of the Republic. It must be struck in France. It must be struck in Rome ... that is to destroy, if possible, the center of the unity of the Roman church; and it is for you, who unite in your person the most distinguished qualities of the general ... to realize this aim.

The Demise of the Papacy. By 1798, General Berthier entered Rome and seized Pope Pius VI and placed him in prison on February 15, 1798. He made his entrance into Rome, abolished the Papal government and established a secular one. This temporarily ended 1260 years of Papal rule and their loss of prestige around the world. They were brought to power by the French General Belisarius and removed from power by the French - Napoleon and General Berthier.

The Loss of Power in Italy. In 1870, the new government of Italy seized the Papal states, including Rome. On 13 May 1871, it passed the "Law of Papal Guarantees" granting the pope a salary, religious freedom and the right to receive ambassadors.
Civic Isolationism. Pius IX refused to acknowledge this law and in May 1873, the state seized all Catholic schools, hospitals and religious orders. During this period, Leo XIII developed an official position on religious liberties and church-state relations, which demanded that states must not only care for religion but must "recognize the true religion professed by the Catholic church." These policies would be implemented by Vatican II.

The Papacy Rises Again.
The Lateran Treaty (11 February 1929). It was not until the Lateran Treaty, when Mussolini gave the Vatican City to the Church that the secular power began to be restored. The Lateran treaty had three sections.

- Treaty of Conciliation. It established Vatican City as an independent church-state and restored the civil sovereignty of the Pope as a monarch.
- Financial Convention. It compensated the Holy See for loss of the papal states.
- Concordat. It addressed the Roman Catholic Church's ecclesiastical relations with the Italian State. Catholicism was the state religion.

Concordat (3 June 1985). This treaty with Italy replaced the Lateran treaty. It gave the papacy more international power, but the church was no longer the official state religion.
The church has signed concordats with many governments. These agreements guarantee certain rights of the Catholics within the country.

International Power. The international power of the church grew. By 1989, the world would learn that the church was instrumental in cooperating with the United States to bring an end to communism since 1981.

- The Holy See (1957). The church and the Secretary-General of the United Nations agreed to refer to the Papal delegation at the United Nations as the 'Holy See'.
  The Holy See has been registered as a "Non-member State Permanent Observer" of the United Nations (U.N.) giving it the right to speak and vote at all U.N. conferences. All other religions are registered as NGO (non-governmental organizations) and do not have this privilege.
- United Nations Permanent Observer Status (21 March 1964). Paul VI established the first Holy See permanent observer mission at the United Nations. As a permanent observer, it cannot cast a vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations. It can participate in General Assembly discussions and decisions and can address the General Assembly.
- Protestant Political Action Groups (1973). The church began to openly form political organizations to influence legislation supported by the church. By 1979, they began to recruit fundamental ministers in this struggle to "save Christianity". Many Protestant political groups sprung up after this with the financial backing of Catholics. In some cases, organizations with a Protestant foundation are fully staffed by Catholics.
- United States (1981). After the failed assassination attempts on Ronald Reagan and John Paul II, both leaders agreed to cooperate. By December 1983, the United States appointed an ambassador and openly established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See after repealing a 1868 law denying funds for any embassy to the Vatican or formal relations. Since Franklin Roosevelt, the government had an unofficial relationship with the church by having a non-salaried position as the president's personal representative to the Holy See. Then the country began to implement Vatican policy on birth control around the world by cutting off funds to the United Nations agencies that distribute this aid. The policy does not target abortion only, it targets the concept of artificial birth control.
- Christian Churches Together in the USA (2004). For the first time, the Catholic church officially joined one of these groups with Protestants. Previously, they were merely supporters.

Attempts to unite Europe
Several peaceful and violent methods have been used in an attempt to unite the divided kingdom of Europe into one political entity under one ruler.

Prophetic Footprints
The old Roman empire will be divided into ten powers They will attempt to unite by marriage They will be ruled by a 'little' power They will not unite as one political body like the old Roman empire

These include marriages between members of the royal family, by war and now we see an attempt to partially join Europe by an economic union. Under the economic union, there may be an attempt to get full political union. By itself this too will fail. Even though prophecy says that there may not be another long political union, there is a coming spiritual union under one leader, the Roman Catholic Church.

1. European Unity by Marriage
The European monarchies attempted to bring peace and unity by marriage. This type of activity picked up around the eleventh century and was the norm by the 1800's. All these intermarriages eventually failed to bring about one political union similar to the days of the Roman Empire under the caesars. During the middle ages, the church brought about a religious union, and the pope was able to influence the monarchs on the basis of religious action as if he were the head of all those states. But still this was not a complete political union. The kingdom remained divided.
Many attempts were made to unite by war or marriage. The most significant was the reign of Queen Victoria, the 'grandmother of Europe', she married a German prince and they had 9 children whose marriages were made to strengthen their ties with the other royal houses. Many times this caused brother and sister to be at odds with the British position and with each other. Despite all the relationships, there was always enmity or war between Britain and France, Prussia and Denmark and between Hungary and Prussia. Following are just a few examples of some primary unions. Relationships of the spouses to other royal houses were not considered.

Queen Victoria Grandmother Of Europe
*Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (German). They had 9 children. Victoria empress of Germany - Prince Frederick of Prussia King Edward VII of Great Britain - Princess Alexandria of Denmark *Alice Grand Duchess of Hesse - Louis of Austria Alfred Duke of Edinburgh - Marie of Russia Their son became King Carol II of Romania Helena Princess of Schleswig-Holstein - Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein Louise Duchess of Agryll - Sir John Alexander McDonald of Scotland. He became prime minister of Canada. Arthur Duke of Connaught - Princess Louise Margarte of Prussia *Leopold Duke of Albany - Helene of Waldeck *Beatrice Princess of Battenburg - Prince Henry of Battenburg (Prussia) Daughter *Victoria Eugenia married King Alfonso XIII of Spain. * These carried the genetic disease of Hemophelia

1. British Royal. House under Queen Victoria (1819-1901). She married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha (German) and their 9 children and some grand children married into the royal families of Denmark, Austria, Russia, Scotland, Prussia, Darmstatt. The grandchildren married in the royal families of Spain, Romania, Germany (Battenberg), Netherlands and Denmark.
2. Spanish Royal House. Starting with King Carols I whose parents were from Austria and Aragon he married a princess from Portugal. Their son Filipe II had three marriages to princesses from Portugal, France and Austria. Each successive heir married in the royal families from Portugal, France, Austria, Bavaria, Orleans, Savoy, Saxony, Parma, Sicily, Greece and Denmark.
   The two generations of Carlos I and his son Fillipe II represented the union of five different nations by marriage.
3. Kings Of The Hellenes (Greece). This royal line married into families from Bavaria, Saxe-Hildburghausen, Hesse-Cassel, Russia, Prussia, Romania, Hohenzollern, Hannover and Denmark.
4. Kings Of Yugoslavia. Married into the royal families of Montenegro, Serbia, Romania, Greece and Denmark.
5. Kings Of Romania. Married into the royal families of Hohenzollern, Great Britain and Ireland, Greece and Denmark.
6. Kings Of Bulgaria. Married into the royal families of Hesse-Darmstadt, Orléans, Saxe-Coburt and Gotha, Bourbon-Parma and Savoy.
7. Grand Dukes Of Luxenburg. Married into the royal families of Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, Belgium, Saxe-Altenburg, Portugal and Bourbon-Parma.
8. Kings Of Norway. Married into the royal families of Denmark, Poland, Normandy, England, Sweden, Pomerania, Bavaria, Germany, Hesse-Cassel and Prussia.
9. Kings Of Denmark. Married into the royal families of Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Flanders, Pommerania, Portugal, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saxony, Hohenzollern, Brunswick, Hesse-Cassel, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Iceland.
10. Kings Of Belgium. Married into the royal families of Wales, Habsburg-Lothringen, Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Flanders, Bavaria and Sweden.
11. Kings Of The Netherlands (Dutch). Married into the royal families of Prussia, Russia, Würtemberg, Waldeck and Pyrmont, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Lippe-Biesterfeld.
12. Kings Of France. Married into the royal families of England, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Denmark, Greece, Belgium and Bavaria. In 1770 King Louis XVI of France married Marie Antoinette of Austria to strengthen ties between the two countries. They were killed in the French Revolution.
13. Tsars Of Russia. Romanov dynasty (1613 - 1917). Married into the royal houses of Germany, Denmark, Prussia, Greece, Sweden, Britain and Spain.

Father-In-Law Of Europe: Denmark
King Christian IX (1818-1906) and Queen Louise (1817-1898) of Denmark
The six children and 4 grandchildren married into 5 nations.

1. King Frederick VIII of Denmark (1843--912).
2. Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (1844-1925). Queen consort of King Edward VII (1841-1910)
   » King George V of the United Kingdom. He was the second son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), and the grandson of the reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria.
   » Queen Maud of Norway. The youngest daughter of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Queen Alexandra;
3. King George I of Greece. Formerly Prince Wilhelm of Denmark (1845-1913)
   » King Constantine I of Greece. Constantine was the eldest son of King George I and Queen Olga of Greece.
4. Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (1847-1928). Formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark; empress consort of Tsar Alexander III
   » Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. The last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and titular King of Poland.
5. Thyra of Denmark (1853-1933). Married Ernest Augustus, Crown Prince of Hanover
6. King Haakon VII of Norway. He was the first king of Norway, formerly Prince Carl of Denmark and Iceland married Queen Maud.

Father-In-Law Of Europe: Nicholas I of Montenegro (1841-1921).
The five children married into 4 nations.

1. Elena of Montenegro. Married King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy
2. Zorka of Montenegro. Married King Peter I of Serbia
3. Anna of Montenegro. Married Prince Francis Joseph of Battenberg
4. Anastasia of Montenegro. Married Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia after divorcing George, Duke of Leuchtenberg
5. Milica of Montenegro. Married Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia, brother of Duke Nicholas.

The Ruling Classes. Four major families dominated the old Roman empires and their reigns ended in 1917 at the end of World War I.

1. Habsburgs. Princes of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary. The Republic of Austria declined after World War I when its territory was split into Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria
2. Hohenzollerns. German and Prussian princes
3. Romanovs. Russia. They were conquered in the Bolshevik revolution.
4. Ottomans. Turkey and the Middle East (Approximately 1444-1917)

See Map of Old Europe.

The Decline of Monarchies

Country | Type of Monarchy | Year Ended
--- | --- | ---
Egypt | Empire | 31 BC
Belgium | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Denmark | Kingdom | Ceremonial
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Liechtenstein | Principality | Ceremonial
Luxembourg | Grand Duchy | Ceremonial
Monaco | Principality | Ceremonial
Netherlands | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Norway | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Spain | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Sweden | Kingdom | Ceremonial
Albania | Principality | 1918/ 1939
Austria-Hungary | Empire, Kingdom | 1918
Baden | Grand Duchy | 1918
Bavaria | Kingdom | 1918
Brunswick | Duchy | 1918
Bulgaria | Kingdom | 1946
Germany | Empire | 1918
Greece | Kingdom | 1973
Hesse and by Rhine | Grand Duchy | 1918
Italy | Kingdom | 1946
Lippe | Principality | 1918
Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Grand Duchy | 1918
Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Grand Duchy | 1918
Montenegro | Kingdom | 1918
Oldenburg | Grand Duchy | 1918
Portugal | Kingdom | 1910
Prussia | Kingdom | 1918
Reuss | Principality | 1918
Romania | Kingdom | 1947
Russia | Empire | 1917
Saxe-Altenburg | Duchy | 1918
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | Duchy | 1918
Saxe-Meiningen | Duchy | 1918
Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach | Grand Duchy | 1918
Saxony | Kingdom | 1918
Schaumburg-Lippe | Principality | 1918
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Principality | 1918
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Principality | 1918
Serbia | Kingdom | 1918
Waldeck and Pyrmont | Principality | 1918
Württemberg | Kingdom | 1918
Yugoslavia | Kingdom | 1945

At the end of World War I (1918) most monarchies were abolished or replaced with republics or other forms of government, leaving the old families with only ceremonial duties. There are only ten surviving monarchies and these have no real power.

2. European Unity by War
All these attempts to unite Europe eventually failed to annex an area equal to the area of the old Roman empire under any conditions (war or peace).

1. Charlemagne or Charles the Great . (768-814) A French king of German descent - Unified the areas of Northern and central Italy, France and Germany He assumed the role of protector of the church. He started 53 campaigns to enlarge his territory and Christianize the region. When he conquered the Saxons, he gave them a choice between baptism and death. At the height of his rule his territory included most of Italy and the Balkans, the region between the Pyrenees and the Baltic and the region between the Atlantic and the Vistula.
2. Otto I the Great. (936-973) He subdued the duchies of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia and Lorraine. He later tried to extend his territory to France, Burgundy and Italy. At one point he was declared the defacto head of the west. By 955 he allied with the church to achieve some of his political goals and eventually ended up controlling who was elected to the papacy. The Ottonian system and the union of church and state caused the spread of Christianity into Slav territory.
3. Henry III. (1039-1056) a German emperor. He wanted to be ruler of the Universal state through the church. He fought for the idea of the supremacy of the church. Under his rulership, the Holy Roman Empire achieved its greatest power.
4. Charles IV. (1294-1328), King of France (1322-1328). He invaded British territory in 1324 and tried to become emperor of France with the help of Pope John XXII who has deposed Louis IV
5. Louis XIV. The Sun King (1643-1715). He was the champion of absolute monarchy and fought the other European countries in 4 wars.
   He started the War of Devolution (1667-1668) against Spain claiming the Spanish Netherlands. In 1672-1678 he fought against the Dutch in the third English - Dutch war. He captured territory from Italy, Spain, Germany and Flanders.
6. Napoleon Bonaparte. The French emperor whose military successes are memorialized by the Arc de Triomphe. Most of the Holy Roman Empire and Britain escaped. The Russian army and an unusual winter storm in the summer ended his dreams. In June 18, 1815 he was defeated at Waterloo by the allied forces of England, Russia, Prussia and Austria when an unusually heavy rain trapped his artillery in the mud. It is claimed that Napoleon said:

   > God Almighty has been too much for me.

7. Kaiser Wilhelm. Leader of Germany in World War I (1914)
8. Adolph Hitler. Leader of Germany in World War II (1942) - Forcibly captured France, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Austria and made allies in Italy, Greece and part of North Africa. But Spain, Sweden, North West Africa and Switzerland was officially neutral and Great Britain was against her.

See Map of unification areas.

3. European Unity by Religion
After the year 538, the Western European nations were successfully united by the Church of Rome. The nations still remained sovereign nations and many times were fighting against each other. They never achieved the political unity of the old Roman empire - but they did achieve a false religious unity. This unity of the people under religion was maintained by the church and state under the threat of death, persecution and torture. Although there was still national and political strife, Europe was united in maintaining their Catholic Christian identity until the reformation.
To maintain this purity of religion, the popes were able to influence the governments to declare internal wars against Protestants, or to go on crusades against Muslims and Jews. The ability to influence the states decreased after the capture of the Pope by General Berthier in 1798. Consequently, there are no more overt declaration of wars against heretics that are legally enforced by the state.
At least not yet.

4. The European Union - an Economic Union
The European Union formed as a more integrated trade group. Each nation remains sovereign, but attempts to standardize, trade, standards and eliminate export tariffs are just a part of the economic goals. By the year 2001, the official currency of the participating nations changed to the Euro dollar.
Others see an attempt to integrate more deeply into the political lives by standardizing criminal law and elevating the leadership of the union to a more political one. They are now attempting to go beyond the original goal of economic unity to form a military alliance.

> The leaders of 15 European countries decided Thursday to make the European Union a military power for the first time in it's 42 year history. Sacramento Bee, June 4, 1999

- European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)(18 April 1951). Europe of the Six formed by Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The concept of a united Europe, at first based on economic interests, was started by Catholic leaders, supposedly with the support of the church. Jean Monnet, Robert Schumann, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide de Gasperi, Joseph Retinger were instrumental in founding this organization.
- European Economic Community (25 March 1957). The "Treaties of Rome" creates the European Economic Community (EEC) with the goal of forming a common market by 1968. The name was changed to the European Union (EU) in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.
- European Communities (1 July 1967).
- Customs Union (1 July 1968). Items are duty free between members of the community.
- European Currency Snake (21 March 1972). Ideas of a monetary union.
- Europe of the Nine (1 January 1973). Denmark, United Kingdom and Ireland join the union.
- Europe of the Ten (1 January 1981). Greece joins the union.
- Europe of the Twelve (1 January 1986). Spain and Portugal join the union. Amendments to the treaty in the Single European Act. It aims for a single market by 1 January 1993.
- Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) (1 November 1993). Reforms to assist the cooperation in many areas of policy.
- Europe of the Fifteen (1 January 1995). Finland, Sweden and Austria join the union.
- Central Bank (1 January 1994). The European Monetary Institute (EMI) makes preparations for the European Central Bank.
- Amsterdam Treaty (2 October 1997). Further reforms in the areas of justice, home affairs, foreign policy and security policy.
- Luxembourg Group (31 March 1998). Negotiations begin to include Hungary, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus in the union. They joined the union on 1 January 2004.
- Monetary Union (1 January 1999). Eleven member countries have the same currency.
- Helsinki Group (15 February 2000). Negotiations begin to include Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia in the union. Bulgaria and Romania joined the union on 1 January 2007. The rest joined the union on 1 January 2004.
- European Constitution (29 October 2004). The constitution was signed and must be ratified by all the member countries.
- Constitution Rejected (May 2005). French and Dutch voters rejected the constitution by a popular vote, creating a constitutional crisis.
- Lisbon Treaty (19 October 2007). It bypasses the national referendum to accept the constitution and relies on parliamentary votes. It also appoints a single head of the European Union especially in areas of foreign affairs instead of the six month rotating presidency. Before January 2007, the presidency rotated between each member country every six months. After this, the presidency rotated among three members on an 18 month schedule as long as three smaller countries in a row do not control the office.

The European Union - A Prophecy
The prophecies of Daniel 2 state that after the Roman empire is divided it will never unite as one political entity until the Second Coming of the Messiah. A certain level of unity has been achieved under religion and this may also happen under the current economic plans. But prophecy states that no political union under one ruler will be achieved in the Old Roman empire.
What will happen in the future, is that we will see a revival of the religious union like the one that influenced Europe during the years 538-1798. The Bible states that they would attempt to unite by marriage but they will not stay together. There will never be one Europe (from the old Roman Empire) under one real leader - but there will again be a Europe dominated by the church. The current economic union is said to have been a brain child of the church. It was a long term strategy to once again regain religious control - at the right moment.
Already, influential people in the United Nations are calling for this type of church control of Europe and the West, to avoid Muslim take over of the world.
Muslims will not take over the world. The Catholic church will. But as you see the Muslim threat you will fall under the control of the church and the United States by accepting their plans. That is the message of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.

See Map of the Roman Empire. Map of the ten divisions of Rome. Map of the breakup of the empire by religion.

The Byzantine Church In The East
While Rome had their problems in the west, the Byzantine church (Orthodox and Coptic) were being overrun by Islam. The church of Rome and the kings of the Holy Roman Empire made frequent assaults through formal crusades on Palestine to save Jerusalem from infidels, but eventually Islam won.

Islamic Conquest.
By the seventh century, eastern Rome came under the attack by the followers of Mohammed. They conquered Syria and Egypt and all the Persian territories but not Byzantium. In 670 and 717, they tried, unsuccessfully, to conquer Byzantium with a large fleet. By the ninth century, the Byzantine empire began to reconquer their territory and were once again powerful in the region of Greece to Arabia.
The worst assault on the Greek division of the empire lasted from July 27, 1299 to 1449 when the Turks were at war with the Greek empire.
Crusades. However, in 1071, the Turks conquered the Byzantine army and quickly took all of the empire. The Byzantine empire turned to the western empire for help, and this brought the crusades. The crusaders even attacked the city of Constantinople in 1204, but the empire continued to function in Greece until 1261 when they retook the city.
The Byzantine empire finally fell in 1453, when the Ottoman Turks conquered the city and renamed it Istanbul. Constantinople was captured after a siege lasting from April 6, 1453 and May 16. Crusades were launched against the empire in 1366, 1396 and 1444 - without success.

The Religion of Islam
» Prophets. Islam recognizes the prophets of Judaism. » Promised Son. Ishmael is the son, not Isaac. » Holy Book (Qu'ran). It is not a combination of the Old Testament and the new writings of Muhammad. The stories have been changed and merged with Zoroastrianism, Arab paganism and the prophets from Muhammad and his successors. » Jesus Christ (Isa). He is a prophet, not God. » God (Allah). He is one of the gods from the pagan religions, a moon god. He is not YHWH.

The Expansion Of Islam
In 100 years after the death of Muhammad, Islam had conquered the region by force of arms. They conquered the Pagan Arabs and attacked the two superpowers, Byzantine Rome and the Sassanids (Persians). They were stopped short of counquering western Rome by Charles Martel, "the hammerer".

- Arab Paganism Before Islam.
  - Mecca. This city was a major stop along the trade routes. Along these routes, merchants were exposed to the products, ideas and teachings of other cultures, including the major religions of Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. This was the birthplace of Islam.
  - Kaaba. Mecca was the shrine to the moon god, the chief of all gods. In Mecca, there was a sacred temple known as the Kaaba which contained a black stone. The Kaaba is a black cuboid building where the Pagan Arabs deposited their idols. In pre-islamic times it was a pagan temple, full of 360 idols, where worshippers made pilgrimage to honor the gods there. They worshipped the Moon-god and his daughters al-Uzza, al-Lat and Manat. After they accepted Islam, the revised legends stated that Abraham and Ishamael built this structure. The legends also state that the Kaaba existed from the time of Adam.
  - Allah. Muslim's claim that Allah is the newly revealed name of the God of the Bible and that Islam arose from the religion of the prophets and apostles. Islam and its god Allah did not come from the Bible but from the paganism of the Sabeans.
    Modern historians are now claiming that Allah simply means "god" and was not the name of any deity. However, an analysis of the customs and pagan religions of the region show that Islam is a revival of the ancient moon god cult. Allah was worshipped there as the creator god. He was the moon god Sin, chief of all the gods and his symbol was the crescent moon. This is still the symbol of Islam. Sin's title was al-ilah (Allah), meaning "the deity". The Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Akkadians took the word Suen and transformed it into the word Sin as their favorite name for the moon god who was the greatest of all gods. Other names and titles of the moon god were Nanna, Asimbabbar, Suen (Sin), Hubul, Ilumquh and Al-ilah.
    The name Allah was already in use by the pagan Arabs before Islam and such usage can be seen in the names of people before Islam.
  - Muhammad (26 April 570 - 8 June 632). He was an Arabian merchant from the city of Mecca who managed caravans. He was from the prestigious Quraysh tribe in Mecca who were the guardians of the Kaaba. On this busy trade route he learned about Judaism and Christianity. At the age of 40 he claimed that the angel Gabriel visited him. He subsequently denounced the traditional religion and set about converting the people.
    » Hijra (The Flight). He migrated to Yatrib in 622 to escape persecution. The city was later renamed Medina (Medinat al-Nabi), the city of the prophet. Once he was established in Medina, he set out to capture Mecca between 624-630.
    The Conquest Of Arabia. After eight years of fighting, he had united the Arab tribes and converted parts of the Arabian peninsula to Islam by force.
    Battle Of Badra (13 March 624 AD). This was an important turning point in the struggle for Arabia. Quraishi tribesmen of Mecca were defeated. Mecca was totally subdued by 11 January 630. Then Muhammad removed the idols from the Kaaba.
- Rashidun Caliphate (632-661). They are also known as the Patriarchal Caliphate and the "rightly guided caliphate". Under the leadership of Abu Bakr, the Muslims stop the rebellion after death of Muhammad. After his death, many arabs rejected Islam. So his father-in-law, Abu-Bakr, launched a series of wars to force the apostate Arabs back to Islam.
  Wars Of Apostasy (Ridda Wars) (633-634 AD). All of the Arabian peninsula was now under the control of Islam by the Caliph at Medina, Abu Bakr.
  Wars (637-654 AD). Syria (637), Armenia (39), Egypt (639), North Africa (652) and Cyprus (654).
- Umayyad Caliphate (661-750). They conquered North Africa (665), besieged Constantinople (674-678 and 717-718), Hispania (711-718), Georgia (736), Crete (820), Southern Italy (827).
  - Byzantine And Sassanid Empires (Persia) (640 AD).
    Battle Of Ajnadayn (634 AD, July 30). 20,000 Muslims march from Bosra to Ajnadayn to defeat Byzantine army of 60,000 men. They conquered Palestine and most of Syria.
    Battle Of Yarmouk (636 AD). Rome retaliated, sending an imperial army but were defeated and Palestine and Syria were totally conquered.
    Battle Of Qadisiyyah (636 AD). Sassanids defeated. Iraq and Persia annexed.
    Battle Of Navahand (642 AD). Muslim conquest of Persia.
  - Central Asia. The rest of the eastern Persian empire was taken.
    Khorashan (647 AD). Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikstan.
    Conquest Of Transoxiana (662-709 AD). Afghanistan and Turkestan.
    Conquest Of Sindh (664-712 AD). India (Pakistan).
    Conquest Of China (751 AD). Defeated the Tang dynasty in the battle of Talas. Islam spread to the TUrkish people.
  - Conquest Of Egypt (661 AD). Egypt and parts of North Africa near Tripoli.
  - Maghreb (North West Africa) (670 AD). Fierce Berber resistance kept them out of the land of the Moors in North West Africa. So they advanced only from Tripoli to just short of Carthage. In the east, they also advanced as far as Kabul in Afghanistan.
    Battle Of Karbala (680 AD). Umayyads defeat Husayn Ibn Ali, the founder of the Shia movement.
  - North Africa (710 AD).
    Battle Of Carthage (698 AD). Carthage is destroyed after a long siege.
    Battle Of Tabarka (702 AD). The Arabs defeat the Berber queen Kahina, who had led a successful North African resistance.
  - Invasion Of Europe (733 AD).
    Conquest Of The Iberian Peninsula (Spain) (711-720 AD).
    Battle Of Covadonga (722 AD). Christians defeat the Arabs in Spain.
    Battle Of Tours (October 732/733 AD). Charles Martel of France defeats the Arabs and stops Islam from advancing into Europe.
    Battle of Akroinon (740 AD). Byzantines defeated the 3 divisions of Umayyad forces in Antolia. 13,200 were killed
  Abbasid Revolt. The Abbasids temporarily converted to Shia and won their support in their claim as true successors of Muhammad. Like the Shia, they claimed more direct lineage to Muhammad and gained the support of Yemen and Persia in their war against the Umayyads.
  Battle Of The Zab (25 January 750). It took place on the banks of the Great Zab river in what is now Iraq. It caused the end of the Umayyad Caliphate and the rise of the Abbasids.
  » Caliphate of Cordoba. The remnants of the defeated Umayyads fled to Spain and established the Caliphate of Cordoba and Al-Andalus.
- Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258/1261-1517). They moved the capital from Damascus to Baghdad and began the Golden Age by stressing knowledge over war. They established the "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad where scholars gathered all the knowledge of the world and translated it into several languages.
  Once in power, they returned to the Sunni traditions and rejected the Shia beliefs. They executed the Shia leaders and the direct descendants of Muhammad.
  This and other internal struggles led to the deteoriation of Abbasid authority and the fracturing of the empire as different groups formed their own caliphates.
  - Fatimid Dynasty (909-1171). Shia empire located in Egypt and Tunisia
  - Ayyubid Dynasty (1171-1341). Centered in Egypt, they controlled Yemen, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Hejaz (West Saudi Arabia) and the North African coast up to Tunisia.
    Battle of Hattin (4 July 1187). Saladin defeated the crusaders and recaptured Jerusalem.
    Mongol Invasion (1258). Baghdad was sacked and the Abbasid caliphate was destroyed.
    Mongol Invasion (1 March 1260). Damascus was taken
  - Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1570). They were the private army of the Ayyubid sultans who conquered their masters and ruled Egypt, Israel Syria and the Hejaz.
    Cursader Invasions. After failed attempts to capture Jerusalem from the Muslims, the Franks joined forces with the Mongols but were still unsuccessful. Christian rule in the Holy Land ended after they were killed or enslaved after the fall of Antioch (1268), Tripoli (1289), and Acre (1291).
    - First Crusade (27 November 1096-1099). Knights and peasants joined forces to recapture the Holy Land, free the eastern Christians from Islamic rule and to respond to the call from the Byzantine emperor who was being attacked by the Seljuq Turks. They travelled by land to Constantinople and then to the Holy Land, captured Jerusalem in July 1099 and massacred Muslims and Jews and established the crusader states in Jerusalem, Antioch, Tripoli and Edessa.
    - Sixth Crusade (1228-1229). Frederick II made peace and the treaty allowed Christians to rule over most of Jerusalem and a strip of territory from Acre to Jerusalem, while the Muslims were given control of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In 1244 the Muslims besieged and regained control of Jerusalem.
    - Seventh Crusade (1248-1254).
      Battle of Al Mansurah (11 February 1250). The seventh crusade forces were annhilated.
      Battle of Fariskur (6 April 1250). Louis IX captured and ransomed for 400,000 dinars. He was killed by disease in the next crusade.
    » Mongol Invasions. After capturing the Abbasid centers of government in Baghdad and Damascus, the Mongold headed south towards Palestine and Egypt with the help of the Armenians, Franks and Georgians. The Mongols repeatedly tried to take Syria in four major invasions but civil wars between competing western Mongol empires (Golden Horde and Il-Khanate) caused alliances with the Mamluks against the Il-Khans.
    1. Battle of Ayn Jalut (September 1260). Mamluks united with the crusaders in Acre.
    First Battle of Horns (December 1260). Mongols defeated.
    2. Mongol Invasion (October 1271). Distracted by war with the Golden horde, they could not defeat the Mamluks.
    3. Second Battle of Horns (October 1281). They were beaten back to the Euphrates.
    4. Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar (December 1299 - April 1303). After initial success, they were defeated.
    » Treaty Of Aleppo (1322/1323). The Il-Khanate Mongols ceased hostilities because they were being converted to Islam.
  - Almoravid Dynasty (1040-1147). A Berber dynasty in Morocco ruling over the western Maghreb in NW Africa and southern Spain. The capital was in Marrakesh (1062).
  - Almohad Dynasty (1121-1269). A Berber dynasty in the Almoravid territory from Grenada in southern Spain up to Tripoli.
- Seljuk Empire (1037-1194). The Seljuk tribe became dominant in the tenth century and instituted orthodox Islam in their region. A massive army of Seljuk Turks conquered Khwarazm, Iran and entered Baghdad in 1055. They later conquered Georgia, Armenia, much of Asia Minor and Syria. In 1071 Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes tried to retake Armenia and was defeated in the field of Manzikert. With the Byzantine army devastated they invaded Anatolia and occupied large parts of the Byzantine Empire, except Constantinople. They formed the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and played a major role in defending the Islamic world against the Crusaders,
  In 1192 the borders of the quarreling and fractured Seljuk governments were under constant pressure from the Crusaders in the west, the Arabs in the south and the Mongols in the east. The empire fragmented into rival states which were defeated by the invading Mongols on 26 June 1243. When the Mongols withdrew suddenly, one man, Osman, rose from the weakened chieftans to form the powerful Ottoman empire.
- Ottoman Empire (1299-1923). The Ottoman Turks converted to Islam in the eighth and ninth century. They controlled territory in southeast Europe, western Asia, and North Africa.
  By the fourteenth century, the Ottomans were expanding into the Byzantine empire which was surrounded on all sides by Muslims.
  » Gallipoli was conquered in 1354.
  » In 1394, the Ottomans defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Nicopolis and captured many European leaders.
  » In 1444, they defeated an Hungarian - Polish army.
  » In 1453, Constantinople fell to Mehmet II who used a new weapon, a large 19 ton cannon called the bombard. It could hurl stones over a mile. Constantinople fell in 8 weeks. By 1492, Jews fleeing persecution in Spain moved to Constantinople.
  » In 1480, they were in Italy for a short time.
  » Fall of the Ottoman Empire. By August 11, 1840 the empire had lost its power. In 1918 the empire came to an end after they sided with Germany in World War I and lost the rest of their empire. Their empire was largely taken over by Britain. The former empire is now confined to the country of Turkey.
- Timurid Dynasty (1370-1526). The central Asian Turks and Mongols had adopted Islam and the Persian culture. He conquered the Golden Horde. The empire founded by Timur included Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, large parts of Pakistan, North India, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus.
- Safavid (1501-1736). A Persian dynasty which established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam and made Shis. Their territory covered Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, Caucasus, parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.
  In 1722 Afghan invaders captured Esfahan and in 1723 the Ottomans took advantage and invaded from the west. Then the Russians seized territories around the Caspian Sea. In June 1724 the Russia and the Ottomans agreed to partition Iran's northwestern provinces
- Mughal (1526-1858). The Timurid prince Babur invaded invaded northern India and founded the Mughul empire until the British Raj conquered.

History of Major Wars and Disasters
World War 1 (The Great War).
This war settled the fate of both the eastern and western empires. After this war, all monarchies lost their power as new forms of government took over. The Western monarchies were now figureheads. In the east, the Ottomans kings had lost their political power.

Although much of the European rulers were united by marriage, they were still constantly at war. France, Britain and Germany would remain dominant powers because of their colonization of distant lands. The ruin of Europe in the two World Wars was a direct cause of the emergence of the new super power - The United States of America.

Year | War | End of War | Issues
--- | --- | --- | ---
431-404 BC | Peloponnesian | Peace of Nicias | Greeks. Sparta against Athens. 90,000 died in a plague
331 BC | Battle of Arabela (Gaugemela) | 331 BC | Greeks under Alexander the Great defeated the Persians (Darius III) on October 1. With only 35,000 men Alexander defeated an army of one million.
168 BC | Battle of Pydna | 168 BC | Romans defeated the Greeks (Macedonia) ending a four year war that started in 171 BC
31 BC | Battle of Actium | 31 BC | Augustus Caesar defeated Mark Anthony and the Egyptian fleet of Cleopatra
1095-1272 | Crusades | 1272 | Christians against the Turks, Wars authorized by the pope to fight against non-Christians (Muslims and Jews), heretics and Protestants
1311-1340 | Genocide | - | 35 million Chinese killed by the Mongols
1337-1453 | Hundred Years' War | 1453 | England and France
1394 | Battle of Nicopolis | - | Ottomans defeated the crusaders and captured many European leaders
1455-1485 | War of the Roses | 1485 | British civil war
1562-1598 | French Wars of Religion | 1598 | Huguenots and Catholics to suppress Calvinism
1618-1648 | 30 Years War | Treaty of Westphalia | An attempt to convert Protestant Europe to Catholicism by force. War between the French and the Hapsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.
1688-1697 | War of the League of Augsburg | Treaty of Rijswijk | Louis XIV against the alliance of England, Netherlands and Austria
1700-1721 | Great Northern War | Treaty of Nystad | Russia, Denmark and Poland reduced Sweden's power. It led to Russia's rise as a major power.
1701-1714 | War of Spanish Succession | Treaty of Utrecht | Louis XIV of France against the alliance of England, Dutch and the Austrians. The death of the childless Charles II of Spain started a war about who would inherit the throne.
1739-1743 | War of Jenkin's Ear | 1743 | Britain and Spain
1740-1748 | War of Austrian Succession | Treaty of Aiz-la-Chapelle | Prussia and Austria over the German states
1756-1763 | Seven Years' War | Treaty of Paris, Treaty of Hubertusburg | Between Austria and Prussia and Britain, France
1775-1783 | United States War of Independence | 1783 Treaty of Paris | France, Spain and the Netherlands helped the 13 colonies to defeat Britain
1792-1802 | French Revolutionary War | 1802 | France and neighboring states
1800-1815 | Napoleonic Wars | 1815 | Napoleon's war to dominate Europe ended in the Battle of Waterloo June 18, 1815
1812-1814 | War of 1812 | Treaty of Ghent | United States and Britain over fair trade
1821-1828 | Greek War of Independence | 1828 | Greek and Turkey. Britain, Russia and France later helped
1853-1856 | Crimean War | 1856 | The Crimean War breaks out as a result of a quarrel between the Russian Orthodox monks and the French Catholics over who had precedence over the Holy Places in Jerusalem and Nazareth. England and France defeat Russians at the battle of Sevastopol and win more concessions from the Ottomans. They prevent Russian expansion after the Russians defeat the Turks in the Black Sea.
1861-1865 | American Civil War | 1865 | 23 northern and 11 Confederate South states about slavery and the Federal Union. 970,000 dead (620,000 soldiers)
1866 | Austro - Prussian War | Unknown | Unknown
1880-1881 1899-1902 | Boer Wars | 1881 | Britain's mastery of South Africa
1914-1918 | World War I (the Great War) | Treaty of Versailles | Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy against Britain, France, Russia and the rest of the world. 37,000,000 dead
1915 | Genocide | 1918 | Ismail Enver (Ottoman Turks) massacre 1,500,000 Armenian Christians (1915-20), 350,000 Greek Pontians, 480,000 Anatolian Greeks (1916-22), 500,000 Assyrians (1915-20)
1936-1939 | Spanish civil War | Nationalist victory | Republicans (with the aid of Russia) against the Nationalists (with fascist Italy and Nazi Germany).
1937 | Genocide | 1954 | Japanese massacre 200-300,000 Chinese in Nanking
1939-1945 | World War II | 1945 | Germany, Italy and Japan against the allies (Britain, France, China, Russia, United States). 79,530,00 dead. War ended with the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki August 6 and August 9 1945.
Genocide | 1939-1945 | Nazi Holocaust kill 12 million people. 6 million were Jews
1941-1944 | Genocide | 1944 | 1 million Yugoslavians killed by Nazis, Chetniks, Ustashi after the Tito regime
1941-1945 | Genocide | 1945 | Ante Pavelic (Croatia facist and Ustase movement) 359,000 (30,000 Jews, 29,000 Gypsies, 300,000 Serbs)
1946-1954 | Indochinese War | 1954 | Vietnam and France
1950-1953 | Korean War | 1953 | Communists and those who are not communists
1956 | Suez War | 1956 | Britain, France, Israel against Egypt to regain control of the Suez canal
1956-1973 | Vietnam War | 1973 | Communist North Vietnam against and South Vietnam. The United States became involved in 1961. 1-2 million dead
1966-1976 | Indochinese War | 1976 | 1 million Tibetans killed in Mao's cultural revolution
1967 | Six Day War | 1967 | Israel against Egypt, Jordan and Syria with the support of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Sudan and Algeria
1970-1975 | Cambodian War | 1975 | Cambodia, South Vietnam and United states against North Vietnam. 4 million killed (1970-80), 1.7 million between 1975-79 by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge
October 6-22, 1973 | Yom Kippur War | 1973 | Israel against Egypt and Syria with the support of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan
1980-1988 | Iran - Iraq War | 1988 | Iran accused Iraq of trying to break up its country by supporting independence in some provinces
1982 | Falklands Island War | 1982 | Britain against Argentina when it invaded the Falkland Islands
1988 | Genocide | 1988 | Saddam Hussein used gas to kill 50-100,000 Kurds in the Anfal campaign
1991 | Gulf War | 1992 | Iraq against the United States and 29 allies after Iraq invaded Kuwait. 100,000 Iraqis and 143 USA killed. 1 million more may have died in the sanctions afterwards
1991-1995 | Genocide | 1995 | 200-300,000 Bosnian Muslims and Croats killed by Serbs led by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic
1995 | 8,000 men and boys (12-60 years) killed in Srebrenica
1994 | Genocide | 1994 | 1,000,000 most Tutsis killed by Hutus in 100 days
September 2001 | Afghanistan War | Present | United States against terrorist organization supported by the clerics of Afghanistan. It was precipitated by the September 11, 2001 suicide attacks by hijacked commercial planes against key United States buildings.
March 2003 | Iraq War | Present | The United States against Iraq searching for nonexistent weapons of mass destruction

Disasters. Natural disasters include many sudden or slow processes that destroy lives and property. They include earthquake, hurricane, flood, tsunami, tornado, volcano, drought, famine, disease and fires.
In addition, some disasters are caused by human activity. Industrial accidents, wars and environmental changes. Global warming and deforestation are the major human activity that contributes to the problem.
The Plague killed about one third of the population of Europe.
Disasters are caused by plague, famine and flood. Some of these are caused by human behavior such as war, environmental changes, immorality and greed. The fourteenth century experienced the worst period of wars, plagues and disasters.

Disasters - Diseases.

Disease | Carrier | Year | Location | Effect
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Infectious diseases | Air, water | Before 1929 | Worldwide | Killed 25% of children
Diphtheria | Air | .: | Africa | Killed many children in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
Typhus | Air | 430 BC | Athens | The unknown plague of Athens might have been typhus. 90,000 died in Athens. 20% mortality, in 7 days, gangrene of the fingers tips and toes, fever, vomiting, thirst
Measles | Air | 1850-2000 | Worldwide | 200,000,000
Cholera | Water | 1800's | Europe | Millions killed
1991 | Indonesia | New type of cholera
1991 | Latin America | 600,000 infected and 5,000 killed
1994 | Rwanda | 10,000 killed. The civil war killed 1,000,000
Smallpox | Air | Middle ages | Europe | Kills 30% of its victims. Officially eradicated in 1979. Some estimate the total number of victims to be 500,000,000
Smallpox | Air | 1900-2000 | Worldwide | 300,000,000
Bubonic Plague | Rats and fleas | Third Century | Rome | Killed 5,000 each day
165-180 | Roman Empire | 5,000,000 (Antonine Plague)
542-662 | Constantinople | At its peak, 10,000 people died each week. 70,000 in the city were killed. Also called Justinian's plague
540-590 | Asia, Europe, Africa | 40,000,000 (Justinian's Plague)
1324 | Europe and Asia | 25 million were killed in 1347 - 1351. During the crusades, killing 30 - 40% of the population
1300-1720 | Asia, Europe, Africa | 100,000,000
1665 | London | Killed 17,440
1850-1950 | Worldwide | 12,000,000
1890 | Asia | 12.5 million killed 6 million were in India
1924 | Los Angeles | San Francisco in 1900
Leprosy | Contact | Middle ages | Europe | Epidemic in Europe in the Middle Ages. India, Brazil and Myanmar continue to have major problems
Tuberculosis | Air | 1900-2000 | Worldwide | 40-100,000,000
Typhus | Air | 1918 | World War 1 | 150,000 soldiers died
Influenza (Spanish flu) | Air | 1917-1918 | Worldwide | Killed more people than the war. 50-100 million worldwide including 500,000 Americans. 40% of the United states population were infected
Asian Flu | Air | 1957 | Worldwide | 4,000,000 pandemic
Hong Kong Flu | Air | 1968 | Worldwide | 750,000 pandemic
Ebola | Contact | 1977 | Africa | Hemorrhagic fever. Also found in a research laboratory in Virginia in 1989. Causes death within 5 days. Currently isolated
Malaria | Mosquito | 1900-2000 | Worldwide | 80-250,000,000
Yellow Fever | Mosquito | .: |  | Hemorrhagic fever
Dengue Fever | Mosquito | .: |  | Hemorrhagic fever, not fatal, occurs in southern United States, the Caribbean, and subtropical regions of Asia, the Pacific, and Africa
Lassa Fever | Rodents | .: |  | Hemorrhagic fever
Hantavirus | Air | .: |  | Hemorrhagic fever
Anthrax | Contact | .: | Farming communities | Disease of animals transmitted to humans
Mad cow disease | Contact | 2000 | Europe | Many farm animals had to be destroyed
AIDS | Sexually transmitted | 1981-2010 | Worldwide | 12 million died and 40 million infected by year 2001. 25,250,000 by 2010
MRSA | Contact | 1990 | Worldwide | Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Drug resistant. It kills more people than AIDS in the USA
MRSA | Contact | 2000 | United States | Flesh eating disease. Drug resistant
PVL | Contact | 2000 | USA, Australia, England, France | Panton-Valentine Leukocidin. Drug resistant. 75% Fatal. Associated with MRSA
C-Diff | Contact | 2008 | United States | Clostridium Difficile. Drug resistant hospital bacteria
CRE | Contact | 2001 | United States | Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Hospital bacteria. 50% fatal
Tubercolosis | Air | 2009 | World | Drug resistant strain
Escherichia Coli | Food | 200 | World | 80% of antibiotics in the USA are given to animals not humans, creating drug resistant strain in foods. Europe banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed in 2005
Salmonella | Food | 200 | World
Gonorrhea | STD/STI | 200 | World | Drug resistant strain
Chlamydia | STD/STI | 200 | World | Drug resistant strain
ESKAPE | Contact | Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter. They are a group of six bacteria that are becoming drug resistant
AIDS Pandemic | Sexually transmitted | 1981-2003 | World | 20 million dead. 60 million infected (6 million children)
Tubercolosis | Air | 2003 | World | 1.7 million died. 33% of the world is infected
Bird Flu | Air | 2003 | World | Pandemic warnings issued in 2004. Waiting for the event
Influenza | Air | Annual | USA | Normally kills 30,000

Problem: Superbugs. A growing number of deadly pathogens are becoming resistant to all antibiotics because of insufficient course of treatment or the proliferation of antibacterial products. Benzochlonium chloride sanitizers create superbugs. Studies show that alchohol-based hand sanitizers do not cause bug resistance but the chemical in antibacterial soaps are making antibiotics ineffective.
In 2010 a deadly new class of superbugs was reported in patients who had surgery in India. These superbugs are able to make any bugs deadly by giving them the genes that will change them into superbugs.
Disease: Acquired Immune Deficiency Disease. There are many deadly diseases that still exist today. Of these, the HIV virus, that produces AIDs is the most troublesome. As of 2001, forty million people were infected, none are cured.
In the sub Saharan section of Africa alone 3.8 million new infections were reported in the year 2000 and 2.4 million deaths occurred. A total of 25.3 million people in that region are living with AIDS in that year 1.1 million of these are children. 55% of the women are HIV positive and 25% of women between age 20-29 are infected!
So far, AIDs has orphaned 12.1 million children under the age of 14 in Africa.
What started out as a disease in gay men in western countries in the early 1980's is quickly becoming a disease of the minority and underprivileged populations.

While there is still no cure for AIDS and it is largely a sexually transmitted disease, people can live with the disease for years. But there are other diseases that strike suddenly and kill within days. Ebola is the most feared of all. It is transmitted through contact with an infected person. No one is safe. There is no cure.

Disasters - Famine. Famine caused 20 to 25 million deaths in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and about two million in the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Famine | Year | Location | Effect
--- | --- | --- | ---
Famine | 536 - 551 | Europe | Unknown global disaster that cooled the planet
The Great Famine | 1315-17 | Europe | Millions died during the little ice age
Russian Famine | 1601-03 | Russia | 2,000,000
Bengali Famine | 1769-71 | India | 15,000,000
Irish Potato Famine | 1846-49 | Ireland | 1-1.5 million died of hunger or disease
Great Persian Famine | 1870-1871 | Persia | 2,000,000
Northern Chinese Famine | 1876-79 | China | 13,000,000
Southern and Central Indian Famine | 1876-79 | India | 10,000,000
Finnish Famine | 1866-68 | Finland | 150,000
Horn of Africa Famine | 1888 | Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia | 1,000,000
Indian Famine | 1896-1902 | India | 19,000,000
Chinese Famine of 1907 | 1907 | China | 24,000,000
Ukrainian Famine | 1921-23 | Russia, Ukraine | 7 to 10 million killed by a man made famine
Chinese Famine of 1928-30 | 1928-30 | China | 3,000,000
Soviet Famine of 1932-33 | 1932-34 | Soviet Union | 5,000,000 as Stalin stopped the Ukraine independence movement
1936 Chinese Famine | 1936 | China | 5,000,000
Chinese Drought of 1941 | 1941 | China | 3,000,000
Bengali Famine of 1943 | 1943 | India | 4,000,000
Vietnamese war famine | 1943-45 | Vietnam | 2,000,000
Dutch Famine of 1944 | 1944 | The Netherlands | 18,000
Great Chinese Famine | 1958-61 | China | 4.9 - 43 million died
Civil war Famine | 1967-69 | China | 1 million died. 3.5 million starved
Bangladesh Famine | 1974 | Bangladesh | 26,000 to 1,000,000
Famine in Ethiopia | 1984 | Ethiopia | 1,000,000
North Korean Famine | 1996-98 | North Korea | 1,200,000
Famine | Current | Africa | Caused by weather and war

Natural and Accidental Disasters List.

Disaster | Year | Location | Deaths
--- | --- | --- | ---
Typhus | 430 BC | Athens | 90,000
Fire | 47 BC | Egypt | Books
Great Library of Alexandria, all knowledge destroyed
Volcano | 79 AD | Pompeii and Herculenium | 20000, August 24, Mt. Vesuvius
Earthquake | 526, May 20 | Antioch | 250,000
Volcano | 535 AD | Global | 25-50%
Global darkness and cooling effect for about 15 years causing famine. Possibly caused by a comet or a volcano in Indonesia
Justinian's plague | 542 | Constantinople | 70,000
Earthquake | 856 | Damghan, Iran | 200,000
Earthquake | 893 | Ardabil, Iran | 150,000
Earthquake 8 | 1138 | Syria, Aleppo | 230,000 August 9
St. Lucia Flood | 1212 | Netherlands | 60,000
Earthquake | 1268 | Asia Minor, Silicia | 60,000
North sea Flood | 1287 | Netherlands | 50-80,000
Famine | 1315 - 17 | Europe | millions died
Bubonic plague | 1346-52 | Europe, Asia | 25 million
Started in Asia and then Italy. Jews blamed
St Felix's Flood | 1530 | Netherlands | 100,000+
Earthquake 8.2 | 1556 | China, Shaanxi | 830,000 January 23
Tsunami | 1605 | Japan | 5,000
Yellow fever | 1648 | Havana |
Plague | 1649 | Spain | 80,000
Plague | 1666 | London | 70,000
Stopped by the great fire
Fire | 1666 | London | 80% of city
80% of city destroyed September 2
Earthquake | 1667 | Caucasia, Shemakha | 80,000 November
Earthquake | 1693 | Italy, Sicily | 60,000 January 11
Tsunami | 1703 | Japan | 5,233
Tsunami | 1707 | Japan | 30,000
Earthquake | 1727 | Iran, Tabriz | 77,000 November 18
Cyclone | 1737 | India, Calcutta | 300,000 November 11
Earthquake 8.7-9, tsunami | 1755 | Lisbon, Portugal | 70-100,000+
Smallpox | 1775-82 | North America | 130,000
Tsunami | 1771 | Ryukyu Trench | 13,486
Earthquake | 1776 July 27 | China, Tangshan | 255,000 - 655,000
Earthquake 7.4 | 1780 | Iran | 200,000
Tsunami | 1782 | South China Sea | 40,000
Earthquake | 1783 | Italy, Calabria | 50,000 February 4
Tsunami | 1792 | Japan | 15,030
Yellow fever | 1793 | Philadelphia | 5,000
Earthquake 8.8 | 1811-12 | Missouri (New Madrid Fault)
(September 16 - February 7). Five major earthquakes out of 2000. 12 new lakes. Mississippi flowed backwards. February 7
Volcano | 1815 | Indonesia, Tambora | 92,000-177,000 April 10-15
Cholera Pandemic | 1816-1826 | Bengal, India, China | Unknown
Cholera Pandemic | 1829-1851 | Europe, United States | Unknown
Cholera | 1831 | Cairo - London | Unknown
Cholera | 1832 | New York 3000, New Orleans | 7,340
Cyclone | 1839 | India | 300,000 November 25
Famine | 1846 - 50 | Ireland | 1 million
Cholera | 1848 | New York | 5,000
Cholera Pandemic | 1852-1860 | Russia | 1,000,000+
Yellow Fever | 1853 | New Orleans | 7,790
Cyclone | 1864 | Calcutta, India | 60,000
Ship Wreck | 1865 | Sultana | 1547
Riverboat boiler explosion carried soldiers from the war
Cholera Pandemic | 1863-1875 | Europe and Africa | Unknown
Yellow Fever | 1867 | New Orleans | 3,093
Tsunami | 1868 | Chile | 25,674
Smallpox | 1870-71 | France | 500,000
Cyclone | 1876 | Backerganj, Bangladesh | 200,000
Yellow Fever | 1878 | Mississippi Valley | 13,000
Typhoon | 1881 | Haiphong, Vietnam | 300,000
Cyclone | 1882 | Bombay, India | 100,000 (June 6)
Volcano, Tsunami | 1883 | Indonesia, Krakatoa | 36,500 August 27
Flood | 1887 | China, Yellow river September-October | 900,000-2,000,000 killed
Flood Johnstown | 1889 | Pennsylvania | 2,209
Tsunami | 1896 | Japan | 27,000
Cholera Pandemic | 1899-1923 | Europe, Russia | Unknown
Hurricane | 1900 | Galveston, Texas | 8,000 September 8
Ship Wreck | 1904 | General Slocum | 1021
Long Island steam ship. June 15
Earthquake 8.6 | 1905 | India | 19,000
Earthquake 8.2 | 1906 | Chile | 20,000
Earthquake, fire | 1906 | San Francisco | 3000
225,000 homeless (April 18). Magnitude (7.8-8.25)
Meteor | 1908 | Siberia, Tunguska (June 30)
Flattened an area 2000 square Km
Earthquake 7.2 | 1908 | Italy, Messina | 70,000 December 28. Tsunami
Earthquake | 1911 | Mexico City |
Flood | 1911 | China, Yangtze river | 100,000
Ship Wreck | 1912 | Titanic | 2224
Collides with an iceberg April 15
Ship Wreck | 1914 | Empress of Ireland | 1012
On the St. Lawrence river after a collision May 19
Ship Wreck | 1915 | Lusitania | 1198
Passenger ship hit by a German torpedo May 17
Ship Wreck | 1915 | Eastland | 800
July 24, sunk while docked in Chicago
Earthquake 7.5 | 1915 | Italy | 29,980
Polio | 1916 | USA (27,363 cases) | 7,000 dead
Ship Wreck | 1917 | Mont Blanc | 1963
December 6 Halifax harbor explosion. Three ships involved
Influenza | 1918 | Worldwide | 25 million
Earthquake 8.2 | 1920 | China, Gansu | 240,000 December 26
Typhoon | 1922 | China, Swatow | 60,000
Earthquake 8.3 | 1923 | Japan, Kwanto | 143,000
September 1. Great Tokyo fire
Tornado | 1925 | United States | 689
3 states of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, $16 million damage
Earthquake 7.9 | 1927 | China, Xining | 200,000 May 22
Okeechobee Hurricane | 1928 | Florida | 1,800
Dam Break | 1928 | Los Angeles (St. Francis Dam) | 450 (March 12)
Flood | 1931 | China, Yellow river | 3,700,000 July-Nov
China's sorrow. 80 million homeless
Earthquake 7.6 | 1932 | China | 70,000
Earthquake 7.5 | 1935 May 30 | Pakistan, Quetta | 30,000- 60,000
Flood | 1935 | China, Yangtze river | 145,000
Air Ship | 1937 | Hindenburg | 35
Lakehurst New Jersey. May 6
Flood | 1938 | China, Yellow river | 500-700,000
Rain | 1938 | New York | 600
Earthquake 8.3 | 1939 | Chile | 28,000
Earthquake 7.8 | 1939 | Turkey | 30,000
Disaster | Year | Location | Deaths
--- | --- | --- | ---
Ship Wreck | 1944 | Junyo Maru | 5620
September 16. Japanese prisoner of war ship torpedoed near Sumatra by a British submarine
Ship Wreck | 1945 | Wilhelm Gustloff | 7000-8000
January 30. Civilians and wounded German soldiers torpedoed by a Russian submarine in the Baltic sea
Nuclear bomb | 1945 | Japan | 220,000
Hiroshima (140,000) and Nagasaki (80,000) ended World War 2
Earthquake 7.3 | 1948 | Turkmenistan | 110,000 October 5
Polio | 1949 | USA (42,173 cases) | 2,720 dead
Polio | 1952 | USA (57,628 cases) | 3,300 dead
Hurricane | 1957 | Louisiana | 400
Famine | 1959 - 61 | China | 30 million died
Cholera Pandemic (El Tor) | 1961-1966 | Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, USSR | Unknown
Earthquake 9.5 Tsunami | 1960 | Chile | 2,000 died
2 million homeless. Largest earthquake
Earthquake 9.2 and Tsunami | 1964 | Alaska | 100
$350 million damage, March 27. Felt in Houston TX. Anchorage dropped 20 feet
Avalanche | 1970 | Peru | 20,000
May 30, 100 miles per hour flow started by earthquake in the sea
Earthquake 7.9 | 1970 | Peru | 66,000 May 31
Typhoon | 1970 | Bhola, Bangladesh | 500,000 killed, November 13
Flood | 1971 | North Vietnam, Hanoi and Red river delta | 100,000
Dam Break | 1972 | West Virginia (Buffalo Creek Dam) | 125 (February 26)
Flood | 1974 | Bangladesh | 28,000
Banqiao Dam Break (Typhoon Nina) | 1975 | Shimantan Dam, China | 231,000 (August 7)
Deaths. 86,000 flood, 145,000 disease
Earthquake 7.5 | 1976 | Guatemala | 23,000
Earthquake 7.5 | 1976 July 28 | China, Tangshan | 255,000-655,000
Tsunami | 1976 | Philippines | 8,000
Cyclone | 1977 | India | 10,000
Earthquake 7.8 | 1978 | Iran | 15,000
Nuclear | 1979 | Three Mile Island | First in United States
Nuclear Dam Break | 1979 | New Mexico (Church Rock) | Nuclear waste water
Heatwave | 1980 | USA | 1,250-10,000
Volcano | 1982 | Mexico | 1,800
Chemical Accident | 1984 | India, Bohpal | 8,000 injured 50,000
Earthquake | 1985 | Mexico | 8,000
Nuclear | 1986 | Chernobyl | 30
April 25-26. 135,000 people evacuated, contaminated an area 20 miles wide
Heatwave | 1987 | Mediterranean | 1000-1500
Earthquake 6.8 | 1988 | Armenia | 25,000
Geomagnetic Storm | 1989 | Quebec | No electricity
Tornado | 1989 | Manikganj, Bangladesh | 13,000
Earthquake 7.7 | 1990 | Iran | 50,000 June 20
Deforestation | 1990 | Ethiopia | -
90% of forest has been cut down since 1990. 20,000 square kilometers no longer support crops
Volcano | 1991 | Philippines (Mt. Pinatubo) | June 15, most violent eruption
Cyclone, Tsunami | 1991 | Bangladesh | 138,866
Hurricane Andrew | 1992 | Florida | -
250,000 homeless, $26 billion damage
Earthquake 6.2 | 1993 | India | 9,748
Famine | 1994 | Korea | 100,000
Forest Fires | 1994 | Mongolia | Burned 1.75 million hectares
Earthquake 7.1 | 1995 | Japan, Kobe | 5,502
Forest Fires | 1995 | Brazil | Burned 1.75 million hectares
Forest Fires | 1995 | Indonesia | Affected 70 million people in 6 countries
Heatwave | 1995 | Chicago | 739
Flood | 1996 | China, Yellow river | 3000 killed, 4 million homeless
Meningitis | 1996 | West Africa | 25,000
Tsunami | 1998 | New Guinea | 3,000
Floods | 1998 | China | 3,600
Heatwave | 1998 | India | 2,541
Hurricane Mitch | 1998 | Central America Honduras(14,600 dead) | 19,325 killed in 9 countries on October 24
Earthquake 7.6 | 1999 | Turkey | 17,118 August 17
Earthquake 7.7 | 1999 | Taiwan | 2,297
Rain, mudslide | 1999 | Venezuela | 15,100
Cyclone | 1999 | India | 7,600
Flood | 1999 | Venezuela | 15,000
Forest Fires | 2000 | Western United States | 1.75 million hectares burnt
Earthquake 7.7 | 2001 | India | 20,023 January 26
Bombing | 2001 | New York | 3,200
Wind | 2002 | France | 300 million trees
Earthquake 6.1 | 2002 | Afghanistan | 1,000
Earthquake 6.6 | 2003 | Algeria | 2,266 May 21
Heatwave | 2003 | Europe | 37,451
Heatwave | 2003 | India | 1,900
Earthquake 6.7 | 2003 | Iran, Bam | 41,000
December 26. 90% of city destroyed
Earthquake 9.3, and Tsunamis | 2004 | South East Asia | 443,929
December 26. South East Asia, Indian Ocean, Sumatra. Millions displaced in 11 countries. Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Maldives
Earthquake 8.7 | 2005 | Sumatra | 500
March 28. South East Asia, Indian Ocean, Sumatra. 500+ died on Nias island. 80% of buildings destroyed
Hurricane Katrina (5-3) | 2005 | New Orleans | 1,836+ /3000
August 29. 1 million homeless. Cost $81.2 billion Worst USA disaster
Earthquake 7.6 | 2005 | South Asia, Pakistan, India | 80,240+
October 8. 79,000 dead in Pakistan
Earthquake 6.3 | 2006 | Java | May 27. 5800
Heatwave | 2006 | Europe | 3,418
Cyclone Nargis (3) | 2008 | Myanmar | 146,000+
May 3. 1 million homeless
Earthquake 7.9 | 2008 | Sichuan, China | 87,652+
May 12. 5 million homeless
Earthquake 6.4 | 2008 | Pakistan | 300+ dead
October 29. 15,000 homeless
Earthquake 7.0 | 2010 | Haiti | 316,000+ dead
January 12. 2 million homeless. 250,000 injured. 200,000+ amputees. 80% buildings destroyed in Port-au-Prince. Damage estimate is $8 to 14 billion
Earthquake 8.8 Tsunami | 2010 | Chile, Concepcion | February 27 521 dead
2 million homeless 500,000 homes destroyed. Tsunami. 6-10 feet (1.8-3.0 m), 1.2 miles (1.8 km). Earth's axis shifted 3 inches (7.62 cm)
Earthquake 6.9 | 2010 | Quinghai, China | April 14 2698 dead
Earthquake 6.3 | 2011 | Christchurch, NZ | February 21 145 dead. 200+ missing
Earthquake 9.0 | 2011 | Sendai, Japan | March 11 18,000+ dead.
23ft-77ft (7m-23m) tsunami. Partial nuclear meltdown at 4 reactors. Core breached in #3 March 25. $235+ billion damages
Cigarette (Annual Deaths) | Current | United States | 420,000
Plus 70,000 from second hand contact
Current | World | 5,016,000
Plus 600,000 from second hand contact
Every 8 seconds someone dies from tobacco. In 2005, 10% of Adults die, it will be 17% by 2030. 100,000 children start smoking every day

This does not include many disasters that destroyed property but not many lives.
Increasing Deadly Disasters

Disaster | Period (AD) | Events by Magnitude | Deaths
--- | --- | --- | ---
Earthquake | Years | Dates | 6-6.9 | 7-7.9 | 8-9.9 | -
500 Years | 526-999 | 4 | 2 | 745,000
1000-1499 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1,707,024
100 Years | 1500-1599 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 870,000
1600-1699 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 163,350
1700-1799 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 515,161
1800-1899 | 20 | 22 | 15 | 146,111
50 | 1900-1949 | 61 | 84 | 26 | 979,574
10 Years | 1950-1959 | - | - | - | -
1960-1969 | - | - | - | -
1970-1979 | 1029 | 150 | 6 | 815,956
10 Years | 1980-1989 | 980 | 101 | 4 | 58,880
1990-1999 | 1339 | 147 | 6 | 114,646
2000-2009 | 1443 | 131 | 13 | 465,364
2010-2012 | 442 | 54 | 4 | 341,524
Deaths ( 526-1949): USGS and Wiki combined data Deaths (1950-1989): Still Validating data Deaths (1990-2009): USGS earthquake statistics by decade
The first earthquake might have occurred during the exodus between 1500-1460 BC. Moses called it a "new thing" (Numbers 16: 28-35)
Disaster | Years | Period (AD) | Events | Deaths
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Flood | 100 | 1200-1300 | 1 | 100,000
400 | 1301-1700 | 1 | 300,000
200 | 1701-1900 | 4 | 943,000
30 | 1901-1930 | 6 | 104,000
10 | 1931-1940 | 3 | 3,900,250
20 | 1941-1960 | 10 | 22,500
10 | 1961-1970 | 14 | 8,600
5 | 1971-1975 | 17 | 6,500
Storms | - | -1900 AD | 1 | 400
50 | 1901-1950 | 14 | 64,000
10 | 1951-1960 | 2 | 10,000
10 | 1961-1970 | 18 | 389,000
10 | 1971-1980 | 13 | 4,200
10 | 1981-1990 | 10 | 14,100
10 | 1991-2000 | 37 | 177,000
Volcano | - | -100 AD | 1 | 16,000
100 | 1401-1500 | 1 | 10,000
200 | 1501-1700 | 1 | 4,000
100 | 1701-1800 | 3 | 26,850
100 | 1801-1900 | 2 | 128,000
50 | 1901-1950 | 5 | 38,400
40 | 1951-1991 | 6 | 30,500

Scientists claim that there is no increase in earthquakes. Since the western hemisphere has just been recently occupied and since global records have not been kept we cannot prove how frequent or deadly past earthquakes have been. However, we can demonstrate that the number of deadly earthquakes have increased within the past forty years and the number of other natural disasters have increased rapidly since 1991. As population increases the number of deaths increase from natural disasters. However, new technology, early warning systems and building codes have limited the deaths.

- Flood. These are deadlier because of increasing population in poor delta and coastal regions.
- Hurricanes and Cyclones. These have increased since 1991, mostly affecting poor Asian countries along the coast.
- Tornadoes. They occur mostly in the United States where there are about 750 tornadoes each year with 100 deaths. The number of tornadoes have increased since 2004.
- Volcanoes. The number reported has increased since 1700, probably because of colonial empires expanding into new territories and documenting the events.
- Earthquakes. Building technology has reduced the disaster and more seismic instruments have recorded more earthquakes, but there is an increase since 1900. However, it seems as if the south Pacific region near Vanuatu is prone to frequent great earthquakes. Japan and Indonesia are also plagued with large earthquakes.

Atheist Genocide
Although atheists love to disparage religion as being the cause of wars and bloodshed, in their brief history atheists in power have been the cause of unspeakable carnage in a rate that exceeds that of religion for the purpose of wiping out non-believers.
Atheism on a societal scale began with the French Revolution.

Genocide Event | Total Death Estimates
--- | ---
Atheist | Campaign | Year | Low | High | Estimate | Daily
French Revolution | Reign of Terror | 1792-94 | 250,000 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | 400
Lenin | Russian Civil War, famine | 1917-22 | - | - | 9,000,000 | 5,000
Josef Stalin (Communist Russia) | All deaths | 1930-53 | 9,800,000 | 49,000,000 | 20,000,000 | 2,500
» | Forced famine in Ukraine | 1932-33 | - | - | 7,000,000 | 19,500
Leonid Brezhnev | Afghanistan | 1979-1982 | - | - | 900,000 | 833
Mussolini | World War II | 1933-45 | - | - | 300,000 | 70
Adolph Hitler | World War II - All deaths | 1939-45 | 50,000,000 | - | 79,000,000 | 37,000
» | 6 million Jews, 6 million others | 1940-45 | - | - | 12,000,000 | 6,500
» | 3 million Russian POWs | 1941-43 | - | - | 3,000,000 | 2,000
Pol Pot | Khmer Rouge purge of religion | 1975-79 | 1,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 14,000
Mao Zedong (Mas Tse-Tung) Communist China | All deaths (excluding abortions) | 1958-79 | 49,000,000 | 78,000,000 | 70,000,000 | 6,500
» | China's Great Leap Forward | 1958-61 | 20,000,000 | 46,000,000 | 36,000,000 | 33,300
» | Cultural Revolution | 1966-69 | 750,000 | 30,000,000 | 1,500,000 | 1,500
» | Labor camps (Laogai) | 1950-60 | 15,000,000 | 27,000,000 | 27,000,000 | 7,500
» | Tibetan Genocide | 1949-79 | 600,000 | 1,200,000 | 1,200,000 | 111
13,000,000 forced abortions /year | 1971-2009 | - | - | 336,000,000 | 24,560
Ho Chi Min | Vietnam | 1953-56 | - | - | 200,000 | 185
North Korea | Invasion of South Korea | 1950-53 | - | - | 3,000,000 | 35,000
Kim Il Sung | Purges and concentration camps | 1948-94 | - | - | 1,600,000 | 100
Josip Tito | Yugoslavia | 1941-45 | - | - | 570,000 | 400

Inventions and Discoveries: An Increase of knowledge

5800 Years | 1790 | 1798 | 1800 | Time of the End (200 Years) | End of Time
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Walk | Lamp, wood | Bow, arrow, sword | Pigeon |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Today

But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12: 4)
Prophecy describes a period known as "the time of the end". It can be positively identified by several converging trends including an increase in knowledge, escalating natural disasters, the fall of the church and people "running to and fro". Here we summarize the revolution of knowledge.

Prophetic Footprints
Knowledge increases Disasters increase

The number of inventions increased drastically after the printing of the Bible. The late nineteenth century introduced many inventions that helped the technological age. It is impossible to list all the inventions made since 1800, but compared to previous centuries there are hundreds of times more.
Prior to 1000 BC there were about three significant events in 3000 years.
Then there were approximately eight during the next 2000 years and ten during the next 800 years.
After 1800 there were about 45 significant inventions and discoveries in 200 years and thousands of others in the medical, information and electronic fields.

5800 Years of Inventions (4000 BC - 1790 AD)
Invention | Inventor/Discovery | Year
--- | --- | ---
Needle, thread | - | 13000BC
Fire | - | 8000 BC
Bricks | - | 8000 BC
Domesticated plants, animals | - | 8000 BC
Pottery | West Asia | 6500 BC
Weaving, loom | - | 6000 BC
No Events Should be Older than ˜4000 BC
Earth, Universe | God (YHWH) | 4004 BC
Wheel | Mesopotamia | 4000 BC
Chariot (2 wheel) | Sumeria | 3500 BC
Abacus | Chinese | 3000 BC
Homing pigeon | Egyptians, Persians | 3000 BC
Flood | Noah | 2600 BC
Papyrus | Egypt | 2400 BC
Rubber, ball | Mayans | 1600 BC
DNA | DNA from Jacob's sheep story. Moses' model of the sanctuary in the Torah is a model of modern science | 2020 BC
Particle Physics | 1500 BC
Periodic Table | 1500 BC
Theory of Everything | 1500 BC
Steel, iron smelting | Hittites | 1400 BC
Transportation. Feet, horse, wheel, chariot, cart, elephant, camel, boat, sail
Babylonian Inventions. Metal working (copper), glass making, lamp making, textile weaving Agriculture. Flood control, water storage, irrigation, three field rotation
Flush toilet | Crete. King Minos | 800 BC
Ancient Olympics | Greeks | 776BC
Sundial | - | 700 BC
Coins | Greeks | 650 BC
Cast iron | Chinese | 512 BC
Catapult | Greeks | 400 BC
Appian Way | First Roman road | 312 BC
Aqua Appia | First Roman aqueduct | 312 BC
Archimedes screw and lever | Archimedes | 210 BC
Latitude and Longitude grid | Eratosthenes | 200 BC
Communication. Clay tablets, stele, papyrus (2600 BC), ink (2000 BC), scrolls, palm leaf manuscript, leather, velum, drums, smoke signals, bells, ram's horn, carrier pigeon (3000 BC), book binding (21 BC), books, wood block printing (400), printing (1450), electronic media
Weapons. Stone, club, axe, sling, blowgun, dart, knife, spear, flail, catapult, battering ram, Greek fire
Lead glazing | Chinese | 206 BC
Astrolabe | Hipparchus | 150s BC
Monsoon Winds | Hippalus | 150 BC
Glass blowing | Syria, Babylon | 100 BC
Lime plaster | Etruscans | 8 BC
Electrotherapy pain relief (Torpedo eel) | Romans | 100 AD
Ancient Chemistry. Only seven metals are known by the ancients: Gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, mercury.
Paper | Tsai Lun (China) | 105 AD
Horseshoes | Germany | 200s
Life Insurance | Romans | 230
Stirrups | Avars, China | 300 AD
Saddle | Avars, Sarmatians | 365 AD
Carbonized iron | Vikings | 500's AD
Zero | India | 500's AD
Positional Notation | India (Hindu Numerals) | 500's AD
Porcelain | Chinese | 600's AD
Windmill | Persia. Europe (1180) | 644 AD
Greek fire | Greece | 674 AD
Quadrant | Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi | 800-850
Anaesthesia | Abu al-Qasim | 1000
Gunpowder | China (weak formula) | 1000
Damascus steel | India (wootz steel) | 1100's
Arabic numerals in western finance | Fibonacci | 1200
Gunpowder | Roger Bacon (European) | 1249
Spinning Wheel | Europe | 1300
Mechanical clock | Italy | 1335
Credit | Venice, Italy. Medici Bank | 1390
Middle Age Inventions. Silk, spectacles, clock, hourglass, paper, sun dial, compass, astrolabe, oar, rudder, mill, wind mill, wheelbarrow, horse shoes, stirrups, bit and bridle. Agriculture. Manure, oxen and horses, hand sowing, hoe, sickle, flail, wooden plow Sanitation. Out house, chamber pots, open sewers, rotting garbage, flies, vermin Weapons. Phalanx, gladius (197 BC), trebuchet, perrier, mangon, mangonel, ballista, hedgehog, gunpowder (800), lance, longbow (1450), crossbow, flail, chain mail, armor.
Weapons: Hand grenade (1044), cannon (1128), land mine (1277), matchlock musket (1500), revolver (1835), minuet bullet (1840s), flintlock musket (1850), repeating rifle (1860), riflrd musket (1862), trenches, Gatling gun (1862), Maxim machine gun (1885)
Important Discoveries
Printing press | Johannes Gutenberg | 1450
Solar System | Nicholas Copernicus | 1450
Bible printed | 200 copies of the Bible printed by August 15, 1456 | 1456
Bonds | Florence, Italy | 1464
Trade Winds | Christopher Columbus? | 1480's
America | Christopher Columbus | 1492
Stock Market | Amsterdam | 1602
Refracting Telescope | Hans Lippershey | 1608
Trading Shares | Amsterdam | 1610
Circulatory System | William Harvey | 1616
Steam turbine | Giovanni Branca | 1629
Adding machine | Blaise Pascal | 1642
Barometer | Evangelista Torricelli | 1644
Calculus | Isaac Newton | 1666
Reflecting Telescope | Isaac Newton | 1668
Light Composition | Isaac Newton | 1670-72
Microscope | Netherlands | 1674
Mechanics, Gravity, Light, Calculus | Isaac Newton "Principia Mathematica" | 1687
Piano | Bartolomeo Cristofori | 1700
Iron Smelting | Abraham Darby | 1709
Chemistry (Before 1800). H, Be, B, C, N, O, F, Mg, Al, P, S, Cl, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, Te, Ba, W, Pt, Au, Hg, Pb, Bi, U
Thermometer | Gabriel Fahrenheit | 1714
Public Bank Notes, trading | John Law, France. Mississippi Company | 1716
Marine Chronometer (H1) | John Harrison | 1735
Longitude measurement
Golf | Edinburgh, Scotland | 1744
Sewing machine | Charles T. Wiesenthal | 1755
Steam engine | James Watt | 1769
Photosynthesis | Priestley and Ingenhousz | 1772
Tobacco snuff linked to cancer of the nasal passage | 1781
Cricket | England | 1788
*** The French Revolution (1789) ***
Knowledge Increases 100 Years of Inventions (1790 - 1899)
Invention | Inventor/Discovery | Year
--- | --- | ---
Agriculture. Cradle and scythe, cotton gin (1793), cast iron plow (1797), mechanical harvester (1831), reaper (1834), steel plow (1837), grain elevator (1842), mower (1844), irrigation (1847), chemical fertilizer (1849), horse power (1862-75), barbed wire (1874), milking machine (1879), plant hybridization, selective breeding, four field crop rotation, chemical fertilizer and pesticides Food. Salt, smoking, drying, ferment, canning (1810), pasteurization (1862), baby formula (1867), saccharine (1879), coca cola (1886), corn flakes (1894)
Religious Knowledge (1800's). Interest and knowledge in the prophecies increased causing the great advent awakening. Manuel de Lacunza in South America, Dr. Joseph Wolfe in Europe and Asia, Edward Irving of England, Johann Bengel of Germany and William Miller in the United States. Children in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. 300 ministers in the Church of England and 600 nonconformist ministers preached the Second Coming in England. 2001. Information about Christ in the Old Testament 2008. Evidence of modern science in the Old Testament
Transportation, Construction, Energy and Communication Discoveries
Vaccination | Edward Jenner | 1796
Smallpox Vaccine | Edward Jenner | 1798
Vaccines. Smallpox (1798), Rabies (1885), Plague (1897), Cholera, Typhoid (1917), Diphtheria (1923), Pertussis (1926), Tuberculosis, Tetanus (1927), Yellow Fever (1935), influenza (1945), DTP (1949), polio (1955), measles (1963), Mumps (1967), Rubella (1969), Anthrax (1970), MMR (1971), Swine Flu (1976), Fluzone (1978)
Chemistry (1800-1849). Li, Na, Si, K, V, Se, Br, Nb, Ru, Rh, Pd, Cd, I, Ta, Os, Ir, La, Ce, Nd, Tb, Er, Th
Battery | Alessandro Volta | 1800
Locomotive Train | Richard Trevithick | 1804
Refrigerator | Oliver Evans | 1805
Base ball. In 1806, the Nez Perce taught the Lewis and Clark group a stick and ball game called "base"
Steam Boat | Robert Fulton | 1807
Locomotive Steam Engine | George Stephenson | 1814
Stethoscope | Theophile Laennec | 1816
Stock exchange | Wall Street, New York | 1817
Portland cement | Joseph Aspdin | 1820
Waterproofing | Charles Mackintosh | 1821
Thermodynamics | Sadi Carnot | 1824
Matches | John Walker | 1827
Steam Locomotive Train | George Stephenson | 1829
Transportation. Astrolabe (150BC), quadrant (800), Trade winds discovered (1400's), longitude (1737), submarine (1775), hot air balloon (1783), train (1804), steam boat (1809), Stockton-Darlington railway (25), steam locomotive (29), bus (57), pedal bicycle (61), London subway (63), motorcycle (69), transcontinental railroad (69), Suez canal (69), air brake (69), lubrication system (72), internal combustion engine (76), pneumatic tire (87), car (89), Panama Canal (89), diesel engine (1892)
Typewriter | William Austin Burt | 1829
Electromagnetic induction | Michael Faraday | 1831
Steel plow | John Deere | 1837
Telegraph | Samuel Morse | 1837
Communication. Telegraph (1837), shorthand (37), fax (43), Atlantic cable (58), pony express (60), transcontinental telegraph line (61), telephone (1876), switchboard (1877), quill pen and ink
Vulcanization | Goodyear | 1839
Type-revolving press | Robert Hoe | 1840
Paper (wood pulp) | F. G. Keller | 1840
Morse code | Samuel Morse | 1840
Fax Machine | Alexander Bain | 1843
Baseball | Alexander Cartwright | 1845
Department store | Marble Palace, New York | 1846
Ether, surgical anesthetic | Massachusetts General Hospital | 1846
Blue Jeans | Levi Strauss | 1848
Chewing gum | John Curtis | 1848
Chemistry (1850-1899). He, Ne, Ar, Sc, Ga, Ge, Kr, Rb, In, Xe, Cs, Tl, Po, Ra, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb, Ac discovered
Nursing | Florence Nightingale | 1852
Elevator | Elisha Graves Otis | 1852
Bessemer furnace | Henry Bessemer | 1852
Bus | George Pullman | 1857
Can opener | Ezra Warner | 1858
Fossil Fuel | Titusville Pennsylvania well | 1859
Evolution Theory | Charles Darwin | 1859
Atomic Weights | First International Congress of Chemistry | 1860
Pedal bicycle | Ernest Michaux | 1861
Pasteurization | Louis Pasteur (April 20) | 1862
Morril Land Grant Act | Jonathan Baldwin Turner Justin Smith Morril | 1862 July 7
76 colleges and universities are funded by this law
Rugby | Britain | 1863
Genetics | Gregor Mendel | 1863
Antiseptic | Joseph Lister | 1865
Bacteria (cholera, tubercolosis) | Robert Koch | 1865
Sanitation. Tooth paste (300), toilet paper (589), toothbrush (610), under arm deodorant (857), cotton clothes (washable), flushing toilet (1596), sewer systems (1800's), indoor plumbing (1829-40), packaged toilet paper (1857), hand washing (1865), modern toilet (1910)
Medical. Four humors, blood letting (<460 BC-1875), barbers, doctors, leeches (1025), ambulance (1792), vaccination (1796), anesthetic (1842, 46), nursing (1852), pasteurization and germ theory (1862), antiseptic (1865), hand washing (1865), EKG (1887), X-Ray (1895), Aspirin (1897)
Textiles and Materials. Clay, metal, wax, leather, skins, wool, cotton, waterproofing (1821), vulcanization (1839), thermoplastic (1869), Viscose (1892)
Baby formula | Henry Nestlé | 1867
Dynamite | Alfred Nobel | 1867
QWERTY keyboard | Christopher Sholes | 1868
Football | America | 1869
Celluloid plastic | John Hyatt | 1869
Periodic Table | Dmitri Mendeleev | 1869
Chemistry. Alchemy (?-1778), Lavoisier's Table of Simple Substances (1789), Dalton's Elements (1808) (36 elements), Johann Dobereiner's Triads (1780-1849), Telluric Helix or Screw (1862), Newlands' Octaves 1864 (First "Periodic table"), Mendeleev's Tables 1869, Meyer's Periodic Table 1870, Moseley's Periodic Law, Modern periodic table (1914)
Transcontinental railroad | Union and Central Pacific | 1869
"Weekly" magazine promotes free love | Victoria Woodhull | 1870
Mitosis | Anton Schneider | 1873
DDT | Othmar Zeider | 1874
Fertilization | Oscar Hertwig | 1875
Linotype | Ottmar Mergenthaler | 1875
The director of the patent office resigned saying "there is nothing else to invent". | 1875
Telephone | Alexander Graham Bell | 1876
Professional Tennis | Wimbledon | 1877
Sound recording | Thomas Alva Edison | 1877
Light bulb | Thomas Alva Edison | 1879
Electrical Power | Edison (Menlo Park) | 1879
Light and Energy. Sun, moon, wood, dried dung, coal, wax, whale oil, camphene, coke, kerosene (1853), lantern. Electromagnetic induction (1831), Demonstration at Menlo Park (1879), power station (82), AC electricity (88), Electromagnetic theory of light (89), hydroelectric dam (90)
Forensic. Polarizing light microscope (1828), blood test (1863), fingerprinting (1880), bullet comparison (1898)
United States. In 1879 the United States was a third rate power. Then the inventions and new consumer products and the collapse of European monarchies after World War 1 in 1918, catapulted it to super power status
Saccharine | Constantin Fahlberg | 1879
Internal combustion engine | Gottleb Daimler Karl Benz, cars (1885) | 1880
Professional Tennis | US Open | 1881
Hebrew Restored | Ben Yehuda | 1881
American Red Cross | Clara Barton | 1881
Hydroelectric power plant | Appleton, Wisconsin | 1882
Machine gun | Hiram Maxim | 1883
Histones | Albrecht Kossel | 1884
Cash register | James Ritty | 1884
Film | George Eastman | 1884
Coca Cola | Dr. John S. Pemberton | 1885
10 story building | Chicago (Iron frame) | 1885
Dishwasher | Josephine Cochrane | 1886
Meiosis | August Weismann | 1887
Camera | George Eastman | 1888
Electric AC Motor | Nikola Tesla | 1888
Automobile | Karl Benz | 1889
Theory of Light, Electromagnetic | Heinrich Hertz | 1889
Hydroelectric dam | Great Falls, Montana | 1890
Antibodies | Emil von Behring | 1890
Punched card machine | Herman Hollerith | 1890
Professional Tennis | French Open | 1891
Basketball | James Naismith | 1891
Escalator | Jesse Reno | 1891
Fingerprints | Sir Francis Galton | 1892
Ferris wheel | George Ferris | 1893
Hormone | George Oliver and Eduard Albert Sharpey-Schaeffer | 1894
Rigid air ship | David Schwarz | 1895
X-rays | Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen | 1895
Wireless telegraph | Guglielmo Marconi | 1895
Modern Olympics | World | 1896

100 Years of Inventions (1900 - 2008)
Invention | Inventor/Discovery | Year
--- | --- | ---
Ground Pollution! 120,000 horses produce 2.4 million pounds (1,088,633 kg) of manure every day in New York. Automobiles stop pollution! | 1900
There is more to invent! 16,000 patents were filed in 1901 | 1901
Peanuts, pecans, sweet potatoes, soy | George Washington Carver | 1900-10
325 uses for peanuts and hundreds of uses for other crops: Paint, dye, stains, linoleum, glue, rubber, glycerine, insecticide, hand lotion, gasoline, diesel, nitroglycerine
Food. Refrigerator (11), frozen foods (30), tupperware (42), saran wrap (54), milk carton (54), TV dinners (54), McDonald's (55), food processor (71), HFC (70?), freeze drying (76), push through tab (80), veggie patty (81), olestra (96) Agriculture. Haber process (1908), hybrid corn (33), automatic hay baler (36), tractor replaces horse (45), hydroponics (19??), genetic engineering (1994), cloning Processes. Assembly line, Haber (08), robotics (56)
Chemistry (1900-1949). Tc, Hf, Re, At, Rn, Fr, Pm, Lu, Pa, Np, Pu, Am, Cm discovered
Consumer Products and Business Systems
Zeppelin | Ferdinand Zeppelin | 1900
Blood Groups | Karl Landsteiner | 1900
Forensic. Blood groups and type stain (1900), bullet identification (1910), polygraph (21), luminol (37), Rh blood group (40), voiceprint identification (41), superglue fuming latent print (77), RFLP DNA finger printing (84), PCR (86), IBIS (91), STR DNA (92), AFIS (96), NIDIS (98), laser lights, SKP latent printing (2000)
Fingerprint card and magnifying glass method examines 10 fingerprints in 8 hours. While AFIS can examine millions of prints in 15 minutes by long distance
Radio signals | Marconi (December 12) | 1901
Air conditioner | Willis Carrier | 1902
Airplane | Wilbur and Orville Wright | 1903
Electric plug, socket | Harvey Hubbell | 1903
Tractor | Benjamin Holt | 1904
Vacuum tube | John Ambrose Fleming, Lee de Forest | 1904-06
Professional Tennis | Australian Open | 1905
Physics Theories | Albert Einstein | 1905
Physics. Gravity (1666), Newtonian laws of motion (1687), leyden jar (1745), thermodynamics, electromagnetism, electromagnetic induction (1831), Einstein's theories miracle year (E=MC2, special relativity, photon, Brownian motion, quantum mechanics, mass-energy) (1905), Absolute zero (1911), super conductors (11), protons and electrons (12), atom (13), de Broglie waves (23), neutron (35), super conductors, quark (62),
Color photography | Auguste and Louis Lumiere | 1907
Plastic (bakelite) | Leo Baekeland | 1907
Textiles and Materials. Safety glass (1903), rayon (04), bakelite (07), superconductors (11), Pyrex (15), stainless steel (16), zipper (17), cellophane (26), neoprene (1930), nylon (35), lucite (37), plexiglass (37), teflon (38), synthetic rubber, PVC and polyethylene (20-45), saran (42), dacron (48), velcro (48), fiberglass (50), styrofoam (51), super glue (51), non-stick pan (54), optic fiber (55), synthetic diamonds (55), lycra (58), acrylic paint (64), permanent press fabric (64), nitinol (65), astroturf (65), fiber optics (66), corlan (69), sialon (72), kevlar (73), nanotechnology (74), integrated photoreceiver [fiberoptics] (80), fullerenes (85), ceramic super conductors (86), shape memory polymer (95), metallic hydrogen (96), sound proofing
Haber process | Fritz Haber | 1908
Greenhouse Effect | Svante Arrhenius | 1908
Talking motion picture | Thomas Edison | 1910
Refrigerator, modern | French monk | 1911
Atomic Nucleus, electrons | Ernest Rutherford | 1911
Periodic Table by Atomic Number | Henry Moseley | 1913
Solar System Model of Atom | Niels Bohr | 1913
Bra | Mary Phelps Jacob | 1913
Mass production | Henry Ford | 1913
Transportation. Chariot (2600 BC), zeppelin (1900), escalator (1900), windshield wipers (03), New York subway (04), tractor (04), Ford Model-T (08), robot (21), traffic signal (23), liquid-fueled rocket (26), jet engine (30), parking meter (32), radar (35), helicopter (39), Transatlantic air service (39), jeep (40), Pasadena freeway (40), power steering (51), radial tires (53), snowmobile (59), spacecraft (61), telstar (62), bullet train (64), electronic fuel injection (66), concorde (69), space shuttle (81), doppler radar (88), Chunnel (94), maglev train (99), Segway (2001)
National Birth Control League | Margaret Sanger | 1916
United States Population (1920). 60,000 homes had radios. 80% had no indoor plumbing. Most had no electricity and were below a 6th grade education by 1933
Hockey | NHL Season | 1917
Lie Detector | John Larson | 1921
Cellophane | Dupont | 1926
Television | Philo Farnsworth | 1927
Penicillin | Alexander Fleming | 1928
In 1900, 30.4% of all deaths occurred among children under 5 years old. Pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea, enteritis and diphtheria caused one third of all deaths. Mass immunization programs began in the 1920s
Medical. Band-aid (1920), insulin (22), iron lung (27), antibiotics penicillin (28), EEG (29), synthetic cortisone (44), blood bank (44), kidney dialysis (44), vaccination programs (48), oral contraceptives (54), tetracycline (55), pacemaker (57), valium (61), polio vaccine (57), birth control pill (60), gene splicing (73), CT scanner (73), liposuction (74), MRI (77), cochlear implant (78), ultrasound (79), hepatitis-B vaccine (80), RU-486 (80), human growth hormone (82), artificial heart (82), synthetic skin (86), disposable contact lenses (87), RU-486 (88), prozac (88), intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) (89), viagra (97), stem cell tissue generation (2004), BCI (2005), artificial pancreas (2008), MEG (2010), OCT (optical coherence tomography)
Jet Engine | Frank Whittle, Dr Hans von Ohain | 1930
Scotch tape | 3M | 1930
Frozen food | Clarence Birdseye | 1930
Radios are in two of five U.S. homes (40%) | 1931
Radio telescope | Karl Jansky | 1932
Hybrid corn | United States | 1933
Abortion (Instillation) | Eugen Aburel | 1934
Magnetic tape | BASF, AEG | 1935
Radar | Robert Watson-Watt | 1935
Chocolate Chip Cookie | Ruth Wakefield | 1939
Soy Bean Commercial uses | Henry Ford | 1930s
Percy Lavon Julian | 1936
Steroid Chemistry | 1940s
Consumer Products. Vacuum cleaner (01), air conditioner (02), color photography (07), flashlight (10), radio (16), short wave radio (19), pop-up toaster (19), hair dryer (20), polygraph machine (21), bubble gum, sliced bread (28), polystyrene (30), fm radio (33), nylon (35), disposable diapers, microwave oven (46), velcro (48), video tape recorder (51), remote control (55), smoke alarm (74), satellite radio (2001)
Television broadcast | Germany (35), Britain (36), United States (39) | 1935-39
Ball point pen | Ladislo Biro | 1938
Helicopter | Igor Sikorsky | 1939
Computers and Electronic Systems
Turing Machine | Alan Mathison Turing | 1940
Nuclear reaction | Enrico Fermi | 1942
Programmable Computer (Mark 1) | Howard H. Aiken | 1944
Electronic Computer (ENIAC) | John Mauchley and J. Presper Eckert | 1945
Atomic Bomb | United States | 1945
Weapons: Parachute (1913), tank (14), cruise missile (17), sonar (06, 17), barbed wire, RADAR (35), bazooka rocket gun (42), radio proximity fuse, nuclear weapon (45), fusion bomb (52), Atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, neutron bomb, salted bomb, fighter jets, B-52, helicopter, GPS, C4, rockets (50's), AK-47 (1947), assault rifles (M4, M16), satellites, X-Band radar, razor wire, kevlar body armor (1965), boron carbide ceramic plate armor, ICBM, aircraft carriers, jeep, hummer, nuclear submarines, star wars missile defense, armor-piercing bullets, land mines, grenade, tank, chemical weapons, night vision (1991), biological weapons, radiological weapons, JDAM, Tomahawk cruise missile (91), daisy cutter bomb, bunker buster bomb, unmanned drone, cyber warfare, exoskeleton, armed remote control robot
Microwave oven | Percy Spencer | 1945
Genetic recombination | Lederberg and Tatum | 1946
Disposable diaper | Marion Donovan | 1946
Strange Quark (Lambda Particle) | 1947
Transistor | Bardeen, Brattain and William Shockley | 1947
Cell phones | AT&T | 1947,79
Hologram | Dennis Gabor | 1947
Copy machines | Chester Carlson | 1948
RFID | Harry Stockman | 1948
Fertilizes human egg in a test tube | John Rock | 1948
(DTP). Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis vaccine | 1949
NASCAR | Bill France Sr | 1949
Chemistry (1950-1999). Rf, Db, Sg, Bh, Hs, Mt, Ds, Rg, Bk, Cf, Es, Fm, Md, No, Lr discovered
Credit card (Diner's club) | - Ralph Schneider | 1920's 1950
Finance. Barter, shells (1200 BC), salt, precious metals, coins (650 BC), bread, paper money (806), piggy banks, Arabic numerals (1200), currency trading, banks and credit (1390), bonds (1460+), rum, checks (1500), Stocks and Stock Market (1602-05), trading shares (1610), bank notes (1716), printed check (1762), traveller's check (1891), credit union (1909), consumer credit (1921), world bank and IMF (45), credit card (1950), bar code (52), computer (60's), ATM (69), consumer debt financing (84), overdraft fees (89), debit card, Internet, paypal (98)
Influence and create values | Television | 1950's
Color television | Peter Carl Goldmark | 1950
Sperm bank | University of Iowa | 1950
Hydrogen Bomb | Edward Teller and team | 1952
Computer Compiler | Grace Hopper | 1952
Sex change | George Jorgenson | 1952
DNA structure | Watson and Crick | 1953
Playboy magazine | Hugh Hefner | 1953
Sperm bank baby | Scientists | 1953
RAM (memory) | UNIVAC 1103 by Remington Rand | 1953
Nuclear Power Plant | Obninsk, Russia | 1954
Polio vaccine | Jonas Salk (April 12) | 1955
Music. Piano (1700), saxophone (1841), phonautograph (1860), phonograph (1875), Microphone (1877), Gramophone (1887), Hi-Fi Sound Recording (1924), Magnetic Tape (1927), Tape Recorder (1935), Video Tape Recorder (1956), Long Playing Record (1948), dolby (1965), CD (1976), Sony Walkman (1979), VOIP (1998), MP3 (1998), iPod (2001), Auto-Tune
Telecommunications
Semi conductor transistors replace vacuum tubes
Silicon Transistor (TRADIC) | J. H. Felker (Bell Lab) | 1955
Transatlantic cable | USA to Europe | 1956
DNA Replication | Meselson and Stahl | 1957
Hydrogen bomb | USA at Bikini Atoll | 1956
Satellite (Sputnik 1) | Soviet Union | 1957
FORTRAN | Jim Backus (IBM) | 1958
Abortion (Vacuum Aspiration) | Dr Yuantai Wu, Dr Xianzhen Wu in China | 1958
Abortion: D&C (late 19c), Instillation (1934), Vacuum Aspiration (1958), D&E (1970s), Menstrual Extraction (1971), Intact D&E (1983), RU-486 (1988), Misoprostol
Laser | Gordon Gould | 1958
Integrated circuit | Jack Kilby, Robert Noyce | 1959
Laser | Theodore Maiman | 1960
Communications satellite (Echo 1) | United States | 1960
Birth control pill | Gregory Pincus | 1960
Robot (UNIMATE) | General Motors | 1961
Quark Model | Gell-Mann, Ne'eman, Seber | 1961-63
Book: Sex and the single girl | Helen Gurley Brown | 1962
Telecommunications satellite (Telstar) | United States | 1962
Operating System (OS/360) | IBM | 1964
Nutrasweet | James Schlatter | 1965
Summer of Love | San Francisco hippies | 1966
Up, Down Quark | SLAC | 1967
RAM memory | Robert Dennard | 1968
Oil | Prudhoe Bay, Alaska | 1968
Energy (Oil Discoveries): Pennsylvania (1859), oil tanker (1886), Texas (1901), Gas Station (1905), Iran (08), Iraq (25), Saudi Arabia (38), Gulf of Mexico (47), Alaska (68). Equipment. Oil rigs, Pumpherston retort (1894), horizontal drill (72), hydraulic fracturing, Blow Out Preventer, drilling mud. Light (Electricity): Hydroelectric power plant (1882), plug and socket (1904), nuclear power (51), solar cell (54), solar power plant (2005), Bloom Box Generator (2010)
200 million TVs in the world. 78 million in USA | 1968
Operating System (Unix) | United States | 1969
Arpanet (Internet) | United States (DARPA) | 1969
ATM | USA | 1969
Gay liberation movement | Sylvia Rivera (New York) | 1969
Woodstock festival | 300,000 youth | 1969
Moon Landing | America | 1969
Relational database | Dr. Edgar Frank Codd | 1970
(MMR). Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine | 1971
Abortion (Menstrual Extraction) | Downer and Rothman | 1971
GPS | United States military | 1972
Biotechnology
Gene splicing | Paul Berg, Herbert Boyer, Stanley Cohen | 1972
Operating System (CP/M) | Dr. Gary Kindall | 1973
Internet | Vinton Cerf (USA) | 1973
Abortion (USA) | Abortion is legalized | 1973
Charm Quark (Psi/J Particle) | Stanford, Brookhaven | 1974
Gene Splicing with agrobacterium tumefaciens | Jozef Schell, Marc Van Montagu (Ghent) | 1974
Mary-Dell Chilton | 1976
Granite Radio Halos | Dr. Robert Gentry | 1976
Personal computer | Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak | 1976
Bottom Quark | Leon Lederman | 1977
Upsilion particle | Fermilab | 1977
Modem | Dennis C. Hayes | 1977
Rapid DNA sequencing | Allan Maxam, Walter Gilbert, Frederik Sanger | 1977
Test tube baby | Britain | 1978
Compact Disk (CD) | Joop Sinjou and Toshi tada Doi | 1979
Scanning Tunneling Microscope | Ernst Ruska, Gerd Binnig, Heinrich Rohrer | 1981
Atomic Force Microscope | Gerd Binnig, Christoph Gerber, Calvin Quate | 1981
Space shuttle | United States | 1981
Hardware: Rock, clay, skins, paper (105), quill pen and ink (700), pencil (1565), slide rule (1622), chalk and blackboard, typewriter (1829), census records, microfiche, Kodachrome (1935-2010), photocopier (1937), Computer (1945), CD (65), microprocessor, mouse (68), RS-232 (69), bar code scanner (69), VCR (71), daisy wheel (70), dot-matrix (71), laser (75), ink jet (76), modem (77), camera, Cray super computer (79), cellular phone (79), IBM PC (81), Apple Macintosh, DVD (95), USB (96), blogs (97), MP3, iPod (2001), iPhone (2007), G1 (2008), iPad (2010), diamond electronics Software: Fortran (58), FTP (71), UNIX (71), Word processor (72), e-mail (72), ethernet (73), TCP/IP (74), spreadsheet (78), Telnet (80), Bitnet (81), GIF (87), Apple Lisa (83), GUI interface, domain name server (84), HDTV (89), Windows (85), HTTP world wide web (91), JPEG (91), MPEG, PDF (92), Mosaic Web browser (93), Netscape, Yahoo (94), Google (98), Bluetooth (99), WiFi, iTunes (2001), Wikipedia (2001)
Operating System (MS-DOS) | Microsoft | 1981
GE vaccine | ARS | 1981
GE Insulin | Genentech | 1982
W and Z Bosons | Weinberg,Salam,Glashow | 1983
Abortion (Intact D&E) | Dr. James McMahon | 1983
Consumer debt traps | Shailesh Mertha (Providian Financials) | 1984
RFLP DNA Test | Alec Jeffreys | 1984
GE pig (SMGT), chicken, goat, sheep | - | 1984
GE Tobacco | EPA approved | 1986
Nanotechnology | Eric Drexler | 1986
Gene Gun | John Sanford (Cornell) | 1987
Chromosome transplant | ARS | 1987
Polymerase Chain Reaction | Kary Mullis | 1988
RU-486 | Roussel Uclaf, France | 1988
Overdraft loans | Bill Strunk | 1989
HDTV | - | 1989
2,500,000 cell phones in the USA | 1990
HTTP and HTML | Tim Berners-Lee | 1990
Genome Project | NIH and DOE | 1990
STR DNA Test | Thomas Caskey | 1992
Flavr Savr tomato | Calgene Inc | 1994
GE corn, cotton | EPA approved | 1995
Top Quark | Fermilab, Tevatron | 1995
Cloned sheep | Ian Wilmut | 1997
Viagra | Pfizer, Inc | 1998
Terminator Seed | Delta and Pine Land Co. | 1998
Traitor Seed | - | 199?
Internet Porn | Internet globalized | 1998
PayPal | Levchin and Thiel | 1998
700+ new Messianic Prophecies | Laverna Patterson | 2001-10
Brain Computer Interface (BCI) | Wadsworth Center, Jonathan R. Wolpaw | 2005
BCI Implant | Andy Schwartz | 200?
e-reader (Kindle) | Amazon.com | 2007
iPhone | Apple | 2007
Large Hadron Collider (17 miles) | International group | 2008
Periodic Table | Laverna Patterson Modern revelation of Moses' model of modern science in the Torah | 2008
Particle Physics | 2008
Tefillin | 2008-
7 Creation Days | 2008
Theory /Everything | 2008
DNA Replication | 2008
Flibanserin | Boehringer Ingelheim | 2009
Bionic Fingers | Touch Bionics | 2009
3D-HD TV | Panasonic | 2010
iPad | Apple | 2010
2,500,000,000 cell phones in the USA | 2010
Products of the sexual revolution and the value of life
Communication. Rotary dial (1876), radio (1902), stereo (33), comic books (33), radar (35), television broadcast (35-39), ballpoint pen (38), color television (51), Europe-USA telephone cable (56), telex (58), fountain pen refill cartridge (60), touch tone or push-button (63), postal zip codes (63), cable TV (64), packet switching (60s), satellite (65), magnetic stripe credit card (68), e-mail (72), GPS (72), OCR (74), text-to-speech (76), fiberoptics (80), cell phone (83), fiberoptics long distance (88), digital answering machine (91), Internet (98), microprocessor, Brain Computer Interface (99), social networking: Myspace (2003), Facebook (2003), YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), ebook (2007), SETI's Allen Telescope Array (2007)

Revolutionary Discoveries, Networks and Infrastructure
Public Service | Infrastructure | Year
--- | --- | ---
| Water and Sewer | Health | 1829
| Oil | Energy |  | 1859
| Science | Basic Science | 1860
| Universities | Education | 1862
| Agriculture | Health, food production | 1862
| Medicine | Health and hygiene | 1865
| Telephone | Communication | 1876
| Electrical Grid | Energy | 1879
| Automobile | Transportation | 1889
| Banking | Finance (Public) | 1891
| Wireless | Communication | 1895
Radio | Communication |  | 1902
Television | Communication | 1935
| Roads, Highways | Transportation | 1940
| Computer | Information | 1944
| Satellite | Communication, global | 1965
GPS | Communication, global | 1972
Internet | Information, global | 1998
| Bible Science | Proof of YHWH (God) |  | 2008
Early Technology. Notice that all the critical inventions are due to unrelated technologies which were "discovered" within 30 - 35 years. They must have been inspired by God. Late Technology. Communications to spread Gospel

Progress depends on a wide distribution of:
» Energy. A cheap, versatile, reliable source.
» Infrastructure. Dispersion system.
» Transportation. Mobility, infrastructure.
» Communication. Long distance, wireless, instant.
» Information Systems. Data storage and retrieval.
» Medicine. A healthy work force
» Education. Relevant knowledge. Public schools.
» Financing. Money or supporters
» Market. A need must exist or be made for the product.
Over 100,000 patents are required for the modern car Genetic Engineering (GE)
Simply by listing the major types of inventions, I have demonstrated that knowledge has suddenly increased exponentially since the 1800's.
After the flood, God confounded speech and disrupted communications and scattered tribes for over 3700 years. Now, at the end of time, the ultimate goal for all technology seems to be to restore global communications as He gathers all the tribes of the Earth for one final showdown.

| Navigation (Stars)
--- | ---
Measuring Altitude. The astrolabe and quadrant were used to measure the altitude of Polaris or the sun in relation to the horizon. Measuring the altitude in degrees was the same as the degrees of latitude above the equator.
| » Polaris (North Star). It marks the north pole. » Other Stars. The altitude of a star of known declination was measured when it was on the meridian at night.
| » Noon Day Sun. It marks the meridian which identifies due north and south. Near the equator, navigators rely on the sun to determine latitude because Polaris is below the horizon. They measured the angle of the sun at its zenith
Measuring Declination (Almanac). A chart was used to find the declination for a particular date.
Latitude = 90º - altitude + declination

Old World Technology: The Evolution of Travel
Although technology allowed travel and exploration to expand greatly, yet other knowledge had to be acquired first so that the fear of the unknown would no longer prevent exploration.

- Navigation Technology. Sailing ships used the north star, noon day sun, the quadrant, astrolable, star lists and an almanac to guide them by calculating latitude. When they were at the correct latitude they would sail due east or west to reach their destination. They would basically travel in 90º squares like Pac man because they could not measure longitude.
  » Solar Navigation. Sun dial, bearing circle, sun shadow board, sun stone (works on cloudy days), semi wheel, sun compass are other navigational devices based on the position of the sun which were used for sailing and agriculture. A bearing dial was based on knowing the position of the sun at sunrise and sunset and looking at the shadow made by a vertical pin.
  » Other Stellar Clocks. Megaliths or gnomons mapped the cycles and positions of the sun, moon and the solstices. Sometimes entire building complexes were used to capture these changes.
- The Flat Earth. Before 1450, nearly everyone thought that the earth was flat and the sun, stars and the moon were on wheels. They believed that the earth was the center of all stars which were stuck in a giant awning that covered the earth. Then astronomer Nicholas Copernicus proved that the sun was the center of the solar system and that the sun, earth and the moon were all shaped like round balls.
  » Myths and Misconceptions. Many of these beliefs can be traced to Bible symbols.
  - Earth is the Center of the Universe. The Sun is the center of our galaxy and earth is one of the planets that orbit the Sun. Actually, because of sin, earth has become the central focus of the universe. When sin is eradicated God will move His physical headquarters to the earth. There will no longer be any darkness or night and the light of the sun will be unable to outshine His brightness, so the earth itself will be like a sun. Earth lost its central place but that will be restored. So there is more correct with their beliefs than there is error. Perhaps, within all galaxies earth is the physical center as well as the administrative and emotional center of everything.
  - Stars Hung on a Canopy. God does describe the heavens as a tent curtain. Astronomers are now finding magnetic forces that look like braided rope and they believe that space is supported by something they call plasma.

    | Navigation (Quadrant)
    --- | ---
    A metal plate in the shape of a quarter circle with a string and a weight that was used to measure Polaris' altitude or angle above the horizon. A quadrant, octant or sextant measures latitude.

  - Dragons in the Sea. Bible symbols describe the wicked as a "raging sea" and that Satan is like a serpent who lives in the sea and was confined there after he was cast down to the earth. It suggests that if Satan must have a physical place to live like any other created being, that God has confined him to the bottom of the sea. However, since he can visit and influence humans, he has an invisible physical form to which he is temporarily confined. This explains why we know more about space than we do about our oceans. Evil may lurk there, unseen.
  - Other Realities. They explained other unknowns according to these symbols.
  So these symbols are neither inaccurate or unscientific. They are God's way of explaining the structure of the universe by analogy to minds that are the equivalent of children about concepts bigger than our image of the universe.

  | Navigation (Astrolabe)
  --- | ---
  Astrolabes were used up to 1650. They are circular devices with three concentric rings divided into twelve pie shaped sections. It allowed certain stars to be associated with each month and could be used for a guide to latitude. » North. Cancer, Leo and Ursa major. » Center. Pisces, Aries, Taurus and the Pleiades. » South. Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Aquarius.
  The measurement of longitude was not discovered until 1737.

- Infrastructure and Trade Routes. Venice was the global center of commerce and the gateway to Asia around 1298 due to the efforts of Marco Polo, but exploration opened up other land and sea trade routes. The Portuguese discovery of the trade route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope in 1486 opened up another route to India from Europe. The Suez Canal connected the Red Sea to the Mediterranean in 1869 and opened a more direct route from Europe to south east Asia. The Panama canal officially opened on 12 July 1920, joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
- Maps. Cartographers needed an accurate map of the world. In the early sixteenth century the view of the world was a combination of stories and myths. The Arabians thought that the Indian Ocean extended back to the western coast of the continent. Spanish and Portuguese thought that the Atlantic extended all the way to China.
- Wind Systems and Ocean Currents. Sailors began to understand the cycles of the wind systems and no longer hugged coast lines, allowing the winds to blow them across the sea from one shore to the other. When propulsion graduated from foot power and wind power, then progress was made. Speed increased exponentially and there was no longer the fear of being stranded far from a source of food supply.

The Evolution of Speed: Running "To and Fro".

5800 Years | 1790 | 1798 | 1800 | Time of the End (200 Years) | End of Time
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Walking | Rafts, Dugouts, Canoes |  | Sailing Ships |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Today

For 5800 years we were limited to a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (16 kph) on land and sea. In the 200+ year period known as "the time of the end" the prophecy of Daniel 12, written 2600 years ago, describes an increase in knowledge, and people "running to and fro". Here we summarize the evidence of the revolution of speed.

Comparison of Speed by Method of Travel
Vehicle | Mph | Kph
--- | --- | ---
Foot Power (4000 BC-Present)
» | Walking | 4 | 6
» | Camel (with 400 lbs) | 3 | 5
» | Dog sled | 4-9 | 6-14
» | Bicycle | 10 | 16
Horse | 6 | 10
» | Pony Express | 10 | 16
» | Stagecoach | 15 | 24
» | Iron horse (early car) | 4.3-2.1 | 6.4-3.2
Wind and Steam Power (1769-Present)
Sailing Ship | 5-9 | 8-15
» | Merchant Ship | 6 | 10
» | Paddlewheel boat (1783) | 7-3.5 | 11-5.5
» | Clipper Ship (1833) | 10-23 | 16-37
» | Steam Ship (1898) | 14-26 | 23-42
» | Nuclear powered (1958) | 35 | 53
» | Submarine | 23 | 35
Steam Locomotive | 5 | 8
» | Passenger Train (1825) | 16 | 25
Electro-Chemical Power (1900-Present)
» | Diesel Train (1925) | 147 | 273
» | Maglev Trains (1999) | 311-345 | 500-552
Car | 60-120 | 97-193
Air ship (1895) | 78 | 135
» | Early passenger plane | 100 | 161
» | Jet Plane (1952) | 570 | 917
Speed of Sound | 761 | 1225
» | Concorde SST (1969) | 1674 | 2693
» | Space Shuttle (launch) | 4,973 | 8,002
» | Space Shuttle (orbit) | 17,580 | 28,287
» | Rocket | 10,000 | 16,090
Solar Power (Future)
Speed of Light | 11 x 106 | 18 x 106

In 500 BC it took over four months to travel about 700 miles (1125 km) from Babylon to Israel. By 1800 people and information were still travelling at about the same speed as they were since Noah, 4 to 10 miles per hour (6 to 16 kph).

- Transportation (Horse Power). Walking, the donkey and the camel were the most common form of transportation for thousands of years.
  Indian armies used elephants but most ancient armies and kings used horses which were the fastest means to travel over land. The stagecoach was their commercial passenger transport and a regular stagecoach route was established in 1785 between Albany, New York City and Philadelphia.
  Transcontinental (Wagon Train). The major foot paths to the west were old Indian trails such as the Oregon Trail. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1804, congress sent Lewis and Clark to explore the west. They traveled 4162 miles from Missouri to the west coast in 16 months by foot, horse and canoe. It took 7 months for the return trip because they were mostly going down stream. By 1841, pioneers traveled to the west in four to six months. The first emigrant wagon train with 47 people left Independence, Missouri on 1 May 1841 and reached California November 4 to settle in the west.
  Transcontinental Trade. The Romans began the first true global trade around 70AD, swapping gold for silk, rice and spices (pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon), gems, cotton and peacocks. The Indians would take raw silk from China and weave it into beautiful textile which the Romans craved. They also craved spices to improve the taste of their rotting food.
  » The Spice Route (Sea Route). During the Greek era Arab and Indian sailors used the Monsoons to cross the Indian Ocean. In 150 BC Hippalus (Hypalus) discovered the value of the Monsoons. Large western ships were able to cross the Indian ocean from ports like Berenice in the Roman province of Aegyptus on the Red Sea to the string of 40-50 ports on the western shores of India. He assumed that the Indian continent ran north to south instead of east to west, as geographers thought. So crossing the ocean should be faster than following the coastline because the wind would blow him into the land. That assumption made him attempt the crossing.
  He discovered that the south west Monsoons could blow them from the Persian Gulf and the north east African coasts to India in June. Then in November the north east monsoons would blow them back to the Arabian coast.
  » The Silk Road (Land Route). It connected trade routes over 5000 miles (8047 km) through the Khyber pass with horses and two-humped camels caravans carrying up to 400 lbs (181 kg) of merchandise at a rate of 3 mph (5 kph) from the Mediterranean coast, east Africa, Iran, Central Asia, Russia, India and China. Beginning in Xi'an China, The route linked cities such as Bam, Tehran, Mashhad, New Delhi, Lahore, Antioch, Baghdad, Ankara, Venice, and Alexandria to sea ports in Sidon, Tyre and Acre. Chinese silk from Xi'an and porcelain, Indian spices, perfumes, medicine, African and Arabian slaves, gems from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kasmir and Persian silver were exported to the Roman empire. Buddhism was transported from India to China by the Buddhist merchants.
  Train. In 1825 Britain opened the first public railway in the world (Stockton-Darlington). By 1844 the USA had over 5,000 km of railway, Britain (3,000 km), Germany (2,000 km) and France (500 km).
  On 10 May 1869, the Union and Central Pacific railroads met in Ogden, Utah, to create the first transcontinental railroad. It cost $120 for a trip across the American continent but travel time was reduced from over 4 months to 7 days.
  By 1893 trains could travel at 100 mph and by 1900 a trip from Washington to Ohio was completed in 8 hours. But people still reached the railroad by slow means - horse or foot.
  Automobile. The first self propelled car was a steam powered 6 km/hour road vehicle built in 1769. The first successful internal combustion engine was a two stroke engine built in 1860. It travelled at 3 km/hour. The first four stroke engine was built in 1876.
  » Locomotives on Highways Act (Red Flag Act). In the beginning, cars could not travel faster than horses or people by law. In 1865 the car could only travel 6.4 km/hour (4 mph) in the country and 3.2 km (2 mph) in the city. The law required that a man must walk 50 metres (55 yards) ahead of the vehicle with a red flag, that signaled the driver when to stop because of an approaching horse. In 1878 a new law eliminated the use of the flag.
  It took three people to operate a car. One to drive, one to warn and one to stroke the engine.
  The internal combustion engine, mass production of cars and the investment in paved roads finally replaced the horse. In 312 BC, the paved road allowed the Roman empire to expand. In 1908 the first concrete road was made allowing the automobile industry to expand. By 1920 most major roads in Europe and the United States were paved. Then freeways appeared in the 1930's and the Federal Interstate Highway System (1940-1980) built freeways around the country.
  Intercontinental Transportation. In the first century the Greeks and Romans discovered the monsoon winds and were able to travel by sea directly to India without hugging the continent. Later, Christopher Columbus "accidentally" discovered the trade winds in the 1480's and ran into a new continent thinking that he had found a new route to India. In 1492 Columbus took 45 days to travel 6100 miles to America with sailing ships. Sailing ships still took months to cross the oceans, so their voyage was limited by the amount of supplies they could carry. Fortunately, Columbus made a mistake in calculating the circumference of the earth and he thought that the trip was shorter.
  » Steam Ship. On 22 May 1819 a steam ship traveled about 5000 miles (8047 km) from Savannah Georgia to Liverpool England arriving thirty days later on June 20. By 1838 steamships were crossing the Atlantic in 13 days. In 1936 the "Queen Mary" traveled across the Atlantic from Southampton to New York in four days. On 3 July 1952, the SS United States made its maiden transatlantic crossing in 3.5 days, travelling at 39 knots (47.66 mph). It is still the fastest ocean liner.
  The Nautilus was the first atomic powered submarine. It was launched in Groton, Connecticut 21 January 1954 and made the first undersea crossing of the North Pole on 5 August 1958.
  Intercontinental Air Service. The airplane was invented in 1903 and planes traveled at 100 miles per hour when they began passenger service. In May 8-27, 1919 the US Navy's NC-4 and a crew of six made the first successful transatlantic flight 4,000 miles from Long Island to Lisbon. Two weeks later on June 14-15, British pilots Alcock and Whitten-Brown completed the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland in 16 hours 27 minutes. In 1927, Charles Lingbergh flew solo from New York to Paris across the Atlantic in 33.5 hours. The jet engine allowed airplanes to replace the railroad with speeds of over 600 mph in 1952. Today, we can cross the Atlantic in three hours or less in the Concorde (1674 mph).
  Interplanetary and Intragalactic. On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite in space. On 12 April 1961 the Russians launched the first manned vehicle, Vostok 1, in space followed by the Americans on May 5 in Freedom 7. The Americans landed on the moon in 1969 in Apollo 11. In 1981, NASA launched the first reusable space shuttle, Columbia. In 1976, Viking 1 landed on Mars and the Mars Pathfinder landed in 1997. In October 2009, testing was done on a space elevator that will be powered by a laser and run on thin carbon filament tracks that will be installed between the space station and earth.
  » Space Tourism. In 2011, Virgin Galactic may begin 2.5 hour flights into outer space from a base in Texas for a price of $200,000.
- Information Transportation (Mail Delivery). In 1841, a wagon train traveled from Missouri to California in 188 days. Compare that to the pony express which transported mail 200 miles per day at a speed of 10 miles per hour in 1860. By switching horses and riders they traveled 1966 miles from Missouri to California in ten days.
  On October 24, 1861, the transcontinental telegraph line was completed, allowing people to send messages in minutes rather than days. By 1999, people could send large text and image files by the Internet in seconds and by package delivery overnight across the globe. With instant message, e-mail, twitter and all types of electronic mail services, electronic messaging has reached its practical limits on the planet. The only hurdle is to make streaming video on personal devices as ubiquitous as voice and text. That challenge is now a marketing rather than a technology hurdle. Convince everyone that they need a videophone that transmits television.
  » The Star Trek Frontier (Beam Me Up!) The next frontier is to send objects such as people and packages instantly by disassembling their molecules and reassembling them at a distant place in seconds or folding space or other futuristic technology.

The Next Frontier

One Language (2474 BC) | 1790 | 1945 | No Language or Geographical Barriers | End of Time
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Technology |  | Tower of Babel | Knowledge | Bomb | Phone | Travel | Space | Genetics

Already, our new inventions are little more than repackaging, renaming and marketing old systems as new products. Cheaper and global may be the route that telecommunications needs to take, but faster now seems superfluous. Faster data will not add much more to our ability to take in what we see and hear. Faster travel has reached its practical limits on rail and road. Faster air travel is the only really practical innovation.
We need better advances in energy, medicine and agriculture, but the research seems to be centered on cornering market share perpetually, not on finding cures and solutions. Language is no longer the barrier to advances in technology as it was in the days after the flood. Now, corporate profit and competition are. This same combination is also the impetus that drives research. The next frontiers seem to be related to discoveries in sub-atomic physics and biology. But we may be approaching the limits of what God will allow.

The History of Money

Barter and Trade | Money | Electronic Credit
--- | --- | ---
Labor | Property | 476 | 1290-1390 | 1464 | 1610 | 1716 | 1744 | 1920s | Now | End of Time
Slave |  | Land | Feudal | Currency Trade | Bond | Stock | Paper Notes | Insurance | Consumer Credit | Predatory

Economies could never be globalized if we did not learn how to convert the value of goods and services into a system whose value was standardized. Then this symbol of value had to become portable, first by becoming small and light and then being virtually transferrable.
Then a market was set up for trading goods and the middle men rigged the system to guarantee flow of wealth through their hands.
We present this global financial history so that you can understand the powerful financial forces behind every major fulfillment of prophecy as the wrath of God executed justice. Most of the information from 1290 to 2008 is from the PBS documentary by Niall Ferguson.

- Ancient Financing (Bartering). In ancient cultures confidence was placed in the value of precious metals, physical labor and the right to use land to obtain the basic needs of life: food, clothing and shelter. Certain basic pillars of financing still exist at this time.
  - Goods and Services (Asset Valuation). People traded food, art and craft and labor. Bartering was the major method used to swap goods and services, but it had limitations.
  - Precious Metals (Transferrable Assets). They became the most convenient method of trading. Eventually, precious metals were used as the standard of value to set prices. And portable money became the most efficient way to exchange goods.
    Definition: Money. The confidence that a thing will maintain its value creates money. At first, money was made from precious metals and had intrinsic value. But when paper money was issued the confidence was placed in the system that issued the money.
  - Property (Fixed Assets). Land ownership was not a concept held by nomadic people. But as civilizations became rooted in one place, land became a valuable asset that was owned by the king or by the rich. It gave men the right to vote. The poor never had land. They could lease it and work on it as slaves.
  - Slavery (Labor). It was an integral part of all ancient economies. Slaves were captured in war or kidnapped or voluntarily traded a fixed period of their labor for debt.
  - Saving Trust Banking. Many cultures have a system that provides immediate financing. A limited group forms and contributes a certain amount every week for a specific period of time. Using an agreed schedule based on need and history, every member of the group takes their turn to take the entire contents of the bank. So, if twelve people contribute ten dollars a week for twelve weeks, each week someone will get $120. In the end, no interest accumulates and one trusts that each member will continue to make their payments after they receive the weekly bank. These systems still exist today as the poor find it difficult to obtain banking services because they do not have enough money or the fees deplete their funds.
- Hebrew Financing. God set up an ingenious system of financing in which every generation had a chance to start over and no one person could manipulate the financial system to keep others at a perpetual disadvantage. He also arranged for the care of the priests, poor, fatherless, widows and strangers.
  - Property. When the nation came to their land, land was evenly distributed to all families except the priests. By law, this property must remain within each family forever. But people could use the property for economic purposes. It could be leased or used as collateral.
  - Exploitation. The laws said that one must not hold as collateral any object that a person needs for survival. It must be returned when he needs it.
  - Hoarding Wealth. The Bible warns against hoarding wealth.
  - Desperate People. You are not supposed to loot the assets of unfortunate people in the day of their distress.
  - Tithe, Sacrifices and Gifts to the Temple. These belonged to the priests.
  - Welfare. The law required that certain classes of people must be helped. In fact, when God's wrath or judgment fell on a nation, one of the charges that God makes is their treatment of the poor and helpless.
    - Food for The Poor. Every property owner must leave some of their food for the poor and give the poor and the stranger the right to eat a meal from their trees. The law also requires that the people must redeem or rescue those who are so poor that they must sell themselves into slavery.
    - Widows and Orphans. The family of a deceased husband must take care of his wife and children.
    - Elderly Parents. Children were required to take care of their parents.
      » "Corban" or "Korban". It is any offering given to the Lord. Yet, a practice emerged which allowed a child to give the amount he would use to take care of his parents as a gift to the temple and they were exempted from the obligation because the priests did not condemn the practice.
    - Strangers. Hospitality must be shown to strangers.
    The care of the helpless depended on a large and committed family unit. Yet, our culture has destroyed this system. Small families, high prices, industrial farms, heavy long-term debt requiring two income families and distributed families undermine this support.
  - Slavery. People could also trade their labor to discharge a debt. People worked for a maximum of six years to pay off their debts. Every seven years, all slaves must be freed.
    Involuntary slavery and slavery by kidnapping were forbidden on the pain of death. However, like the rest of the world, the Hebrews could use slavery as a way to swap goods and services and to pay for debt. So limited debt bondage was the only type of slavery allowed and it was a practice that survived until colonial times and still exists today.
    » Paycheck Slavery. Today we swap labor for money which is used to pay debt.
    » Share Cropping. It is a modern form of bartering and trading. People traded with their neighbours for the crops each grew. So a chicken can be traded for corn.
    I met a family whose father never saw money until they moved from Alabama to Florida in the 1960's.
  - Jubilee (Discharging Debt). Every fifty years, all property must be returned to the original owners, slaves must be freed and all debt must be forgiven no matter how large they were or when they were made. This made all people debt free at the same time so that the whole land had a new beginning.
    » Limited Debt. The system limited debt to the value that could be extracted from the production of the land until the next jubilee. Every year the land lost one fiftieth of its value. So borrowers could not overextend themselves and lenders could not offer loans that could not be paid back. Mercantilism suggests that the ruling government should advance the goal of acquiring capital through a positive balance of trade by playing a protectionist role in the economy; by encouraging exports and discouraging imports, notably through the use of tariffs and subsidies Near the bottom of the social pyramid were the agricultural laborers, or villeins, and beneath them, the serfs.
    » Generational Debt Bondage. However, other cultures had a practice of perpetual slavery based on the debt of ancestors hundreds of years before. This type of slavery still exists. And those who own them guarantee that families will not get out of debt by rigging the economic environment. The cost of housing and goods are too high to discharge any debt.
  - Credit and Collateral. Credit was based on how much the land could produce until the next jubilee. Those who could lend were required to do so for a legitimate need even if they would lose money. God became the guarantor of loans to the poor and needy. He would pay back.
  - Usury (Charging Interest). The Torah forbids the Jews from charging interest to each other. However, one could charge interest to a stranger. In the fourteenth century, charging interest was a mortal sin and a crime, so Christians tolerated the Jews in the Venice ghetto who would lend for interest. This is why Jews became bankers and money lenders. It was not because they were greedy exploiters. They were locked up in the ghettos at night and only allowed to emerge by day to perform activities which would guarantee them a place in hell. Who cared if a Jew was damned to hell for charging interest. But Venice still became a center of financing because the Italian bankers charged exhorbitant interest by calling it something else.
  Security is land-based because this guarantees that a person has the opportunity to plant food and build a shelter. Debt was discouraged.
- Feudalism (476-1918). A Middle ages agrarian economic system that was introduced to France around 735 by Charles Martel and to England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. It allowed a weak monarchy to control the lands of the realm through reciprocal agreements with regional leaders. The system grants the use of land (fief) by the Lord to the vassal in exchange for military service, a percentage of his farm's output to his lord and may be required to use the mills and ovens which are owned and taxed by the lord to grind wheat and bake bread. Each vassal can subdivide his fief and become the Lord with the agreements he makes to other vassals. At the bottom of the system were the villeins who worked the land and below them were the peasants or serfs. They had a small plot of land to grow food for their families and they had the right to gather firewood from the forest.
- Modern Banking (1200-1390). Modern banking emerged in Italy in the thirteenth century. Banking flourished in the Arab cultures because of their numeric system. But the Roman based cultures found it difficult to calculate interest with Roman numerals. In the year 1200, Fibonacci convinced the Italians to switch to Arabic numerals for financing. These Italian bankers invented the global credit market.
  » Bardi, Perruzi and Acciaiuoli International Banks of Florence (1290-1345). Eventually, the Bardi and Peruzzi and the Medici families of Venice (1390) became the bankers of Europe.
  » Deregulation. One barrier to the issuance of credit was the laws against interest. Charging interest was a sin and crime in Christian Europe. First, they obtained an exemption by convincing the pope to change usury from a mortal sin to a venial sin and to allow trade with the Saracen infidels from the east. Pope John XXII granted Venice alone the license to trade with the infidel Mamluk sultans of Egypt in the 1330s.
  » Mongols. This was an unusual alliance. The Mongol conquests in the thirteenth century were responsible for the death of 35 to 40 million people. Beginning with Genghis Khan in 1206, they ruled almost all of Asia from the Pacific ocean to Asia Minor by 1280. They were expelled from China in 1368.

  The Federal Reserve (Central Banks)
  These agreements sounds like the central banking system of many countries. The "Federal" in the name makes it appear that it is a government agency but these are in fact private organizations managing public funds.

  » Usury by Another Name. So the banks got around this by the compensation they were paid for managing money. In exchange for loans, they were paid fees, perpetual rents, gifts and compensations and the right to manage all revenues from a kingdom. By managing all revenues from taxes and industries they held a monopoly on these goods and commodities. In addition, they controlled all currency trading and minting.
  » Monopolies. They were able to create monopolies in the east and west through strategic alliances. Venice was the banker, slave market and intelligence for the Mongol Khans. An alliance with the Mongols gave them a monopoly on trade as the Mongols eliminated all their competition. Venice provided the ship and the capital to finance the crusades and told them which cities to capture. They gained control of the cities of commerce of the "Silk Road" (Constantinople, Lajazzo, Tyre, Sidon and Acre). The Venetians captured Constantinople in 1204 in the fourth crusade. It was the most important port city between Europe and Asia.
  - Precious Metals. From the 1183 "Peace of Constance" to 1290 the Italians minted their own coins and then established a monopoly in the trading of gold and silver. They looted all the gold from the east and replaced it with silver currency from Venice. With Venetian silver being the standard global currency, they were able to set unfair exchange rates for currency. They made huge profits in global currency speculation. If a nation decided to mint its own currency, they soon discovered that it was useless for trade.
    Gold was looted from China and India and mined in Sudan and Mali. Silver mined in Germany, Hungary and Bohemia was sent to the Byzantine empire in exchange for gold. Soon coin from Venice had replaced currency in the Byzantine empire, Mongol empire and Europe between the twelfth and fourteenth century, and affecting trade and the circulation of money.
    By changing the prices of these two metals which they distributed, they enslaved the world economies.
  - Trade Fairs. By 1310, the Venetian and Florentine bankers took over the trade fairs in the six cities around Champagne, France which had been operating successfully since 1180 with an average of 34% profit. By offering credit and opening several bank branches they raised 810% annual profits! This eventually killed the real market with debt.
    They became so powerful that they forced the owners to come to Venice to sell their wares, further increasing the cost of doing business for the producers and decreasing theirs. Now the sellers had to pay for travel, hotel, transportation and wharehousing while the bankers sat at home like kings while the markets were brought to them.
  - Other Commodities. They monopolized cloth, woodwork, food and grain.
    » Textiles. They monopolized wool from England and Spain.
    » Iron. They monopolized iron and iron tools from Germany.
  » The End. The currency market collapsed and England defaulted on their loans in 1342, and Florence defaulted on their bonds in 1345 triggering a market crash. After 1400, Spain, Britain and France expelled these Italian bankers and strong, centralized sovereign nations emerged which controlled their own currency and economies.
  Economic policies led to these major tragedies.
  - Famine. Banking policies led to the man made famines of 1314-17, 1328-9, and 1338-9. In 1315 taxes were abolished in the city and increased in the country. In addition, the farmers were given loans in the value of perpetual rent or the value of their land if rented for their life. So with higher taxes and their lands being owned by the banks, farmers moved to the city and food production dwindled and the banks could not make any revenue from their commodities monopoly.
  - Plague. In 1346, the Mongol horses destroyed farm lands and spread the plague to the Black Sea where it was picked up by Venetian trading ships. These plague-laden ships arrived in Italy where the population was now concentrated in cities where the infrastructure was crumbling and food production had declined.
  In an unregulated market the rich monopolized everything, wringing out more and more profits while finding ways to spend less for their responsibilities. They loaned money for the purpose of acquiring the land of the owners, knowing that they eventually could not repay. They stopped paying taxes, shifting the burden on the poor. Decreasing tax revenues allowed the infrastructure of the city to collapse.
  » Medici Family (1390). In Venice, the Medici family dominated banking after 1390, financing the infamous merchants of Venice.
- Bond Market (1464). The city of Florence financed wars through bonds, or borrowing from the public with a promise to pay principal and interest at a future date when the bonds matured.
  Wars are impossible if there is nothing to finance them. So they raised money to hire mercenaries to conduct wars to loot the treasures and assets of other countries. Eventually, the people were shielded from the atrocities of war but they were drowning in debt by borrowing from themselves. Bond markets are used to finance wars because the bond holders usually have decades in which to pay back the value.
  - Battle of Waterloo (1814). They helped the British to defeat the French and created the Rothschild empire. On 11 January 1814, the Rothschild brothers officially became British war financiers who financed the war by issuing bonds backed by gold. But the war ended more quickly than they expected on 20 July 1815. Because they received the news before the general public and speculators were still driving up the price of bonds in anticipation of a long war, the Rothschilds waited until bond prices rose 40% in July 1817 and then sold, generating a huge profits before the bond market fell.
    » The Rothschilds. They helped the British beat the French by financing the war with bonds.
  - American Civil War (1863). Cotton backed bonds helped to defeat the south in the American civil war. During the war 80% of cotton came from the United States mainly through the port in New Orleans.
    » The Rothschilds. The confederacy looked to Europe to help them beat the north. The Rothschilds decided not to help. So they issued cotton backed bonds sold to Europe at 6 pennies per pound. In 1862 cotton was the collateral used to issue bonds which financed the war, printing $1.7 billion in confederate paper money. The south drove up the price of cotton and created a "cotton famine" by starting a cotton embargo against Britain. By 1862 a quarter of the workers were on welfare and half the cotton workers in Britain were laid off. Then the Union army captured New Orleans on 28 April 1862 and formed a naval embargo and cotton prices plummeted. At the end of the war, the confederate money was worth 1 cent on the dollar and inflation was 90 times higher by January 1865.
  » Prophecy. The Rothschilds were Jewish financiers who helped to reshape the world at a critical time in prophecy. By refusing to help the south, they broke the back of slavery in America and by helping the British they caused the downfall of the French. This helped the rise of America as a superpower by eliminating or weakening strong rivals and creating, in theory, a nation that could be used by God.
- Mercantilism (1500-1750). This is an economic activity which benefited greatly from the enforced monopolies, bans on foreign competition, and the poverty of the workers. Governments benefited from the high tariffs and payments from the merchants. It seemed to be the perfect economic system which could take advantage of the new markets and the slave trade. Although coins were in general use since 650 BC, mercantilism put money into circulation and virtually ended the system of bartering.
- The Colonial Era (1500-1900). Having learned from the Italian bankers and their Mongol partners that guaranteeing monopolies can create wealth, these strong European economies proceeded to conquer the world through colonialism and slavery. They extracted the wealth and labor from subjugated peoples under the mercantilism theory. So the race to conquer new nations and open new markets began with the Dutch financiers leading the pack. In the end, the Europeans created colonies in the American continent, Africa and Asia.
  » American Continent Discovered (1492). Christopher Columbus discovered the new world and opened up whole new markets and opportunities for the emerging strong sovereign nations of Europe and their developing financial markets.
  » The New World. They invaded the new world like sixteenth century Borgs, taking everything of value. At first they tried to make slaves out of the native peoples, but they were dying of European diseases. Indentured servants and prisoners were used but they fell to tropical diseases. Finally they discovered that the African slaves were immune to tropical diseases and were hard working people who were accustomed to agricultural life. Voila! A match made in hell!
  » Dum Diversas: The Role Of The Church In The Slave Trade. Long forgotten from the historical record is the role that the church played in giving these scoundrels the green light to enslave others. Dum Diversas is the Papal bull authorizing slavery. It was issued on 18 June 1452 by Pope Nicholas V, and is credited by some with "ushering in the West African slave trade."

  > "We grant you [Kings of Spain and Portugal] by these present documents, with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be, as well as their kingdoms, duchies, counties, principalities, and other property [...] and to reduce their persons into perpetual slavery.

  It was followed on 8 January 1455 by "Romanus Pontifex", a papal bull reaffirming the right to enslave and telling other nations that Spain and Portugal had the right of patronage "jus patronatus" to trade and colonize the nations granted to them. Several other popes reaffirmed the right to enslave. Pope Calixtus III (1456), Sixtus IV (1481) and Pope Leo X (1514). So, armed with god's blessing and moral authority they made perpetual slaves of unbelievers. Finally, in 1537 pope Paul III condemned unjust enslavement of non-Christians although he sanctioned slavery in subsequent actions.
  » Tordesillas Line (4 May 1493). In the papal bull "Inter caetera", Pope Alexander VI extended this concept of "Ius patronatus" rights to property and spheres of influence and divided the world between Spain in the western hemisphere and Portugal in the eastern hemisphere.
  » The Triangle Slave Trade. From 1440-1640, Portugal had a monopoly on the African slave trade, transporting over 4.5 million Africans or about 40% of the estimated 10,240,200 to 11,328,000 slaves. England shipped 20% of the slaves. In 1510 Spain was shipping slaves from Africa via Spain until direct shipments were made in 1532. Slave trade peaked in 1780 and began to be outlawed between 1800-1873. But slave ownership took longer to outlaw. The slave trips carried certain products on each leg of their journey.
  1. African Imports. The export of trade goods from Europe to Africa forms the first side of the triangular trade. African kings and merchants traded slaves for beads, cowrie shells (used as money), textiles, brandy, horses, and guns.
     » Slavery Economics. In Cape Town a slave could be purchased for two ox and one cart in 1766. In the records of one ship, a cargo of 356 slaves were valued at £22,000 pounds, or £61 pounds each. Each was insured at £30 pounds.
     Slaves were so cheap that it was more economical to work them to death from sunrise to sunset and then buy new slaves. So the average life expectancy of a slave in the field was seven years before he or she dropped dead. Poorer owners would buy more female slaves and then breed new slaves.
  2. Middle Passage (Slaves). They transported slaves from Africa to the American continent and the Caribbean islands.
     The average age of a slave was 16 because children survived better than adults. The slaves were packed into the ships like cordwood for the month long voyage. A ship 30 meters long would officially carry 200 slaves in its cargo hold. However, the crew would carry extra slaves and keep the profits. So by the end of the journey, the stench of urine, feces and vomit in the overcrowded ship was so bad that the smell reached the land from five miles away.
  3. European Imports. They returned to Europe with the produce from the slave plantations: cotton, sugar, tobacco, molasses and rum. Brown sugar was like gold in that era. The great banking and insurance companies made their fortune from the slave trade.
  » Taxation Without Representation: Boston Tea Party (16 December 1773). American colonists disguised as Mohawk indians dump 342 containers of tea into the Boston harbour, protesting taxes imposed by Britain.
  » Gun Boat Diplomacy: The Opium Wars (November 1839-1842). Governments protected the overseas investments in their colonies by private businesses with their navy.
  In 1773, Warren Hastings, governor of Bengal (India), established a monopoly on the sale of opium. In 1836 China made opium illegal and closed opium dens because of the rempant problem of heroin addiction. They asked England to stop the drug trade. On 10 March 1839 the Chinese attempted to suppress the illicit British trade in opium by confiscating and throwing out 2 million pounds of opium. The British sent their navy to force the Chinese to buy opium starting the opium wars. The British won and the Chinese had to resume imports and cede Hong Kong in the Treaty of Nanjing.
- Stock Market and Securities (1602-1610). The "Company" (United Dutch East India Charter Company) or "VOC" was a Joint Stock and Limited Liability Company started in Amsterdam as the first securities company. Investors capatilized these companies and shared the profits from their shipping ventures in the new colonies. The company went bankrupt in 1798.
  By 1598 Asian spice trade around the Cape of Good Hope to the east was very profitable, but risky. Six companies joined together and issued the first share in 1606, allowing owners to sell or trade their shares but not to redeem them from the company. They had armed ships and 10,000 soldiers to protect their ships by 1610. By 1610, investors were allowed to trade shares. By 1620 they established a monopoly on spice trading. At that time the Dutch were establishing colonies in the new world and were the first to colonize New Amsterdam (1625) near Wall Street. It was renamed New York when the British took over the Dutch holdings in 1664.
  » Bank Notes (1716). John law, the finance minister, merged the functions of a public bank and a trading company and began issuing paper bank notes. The bank was modeled after the Dutch company and would issue bank notes.
- Insurance (1744). The Scottish Minister's Widows Fund was the first true insurance started by two ministers: Robert Wallace and Alexander Webster from Scotland. It popularized the idea of insurance to take care of widows and orphans and soon all respectable people carried insurance to manage their personal and business risk.
- Personal Retirement Account (1979). Private pension plans were introduced in Chile by some men from Chicago. It became popular because it shifted the risk of retirement to the individual and it provided a pool of money that could be gambled in the market but not accessible by the owners.

The Money Empire Falls: Market Panics, Bubbles, Booms and Busts
The history of banking shows that the powerful elite always ignored or changed the rules to perpetrate their fraud. Such disasters are often preceeded by a change in regulation that benefits the bankers at the expense of the population. When they operate by ignoring the law and all other sense of fair play, their wealth and apparent success are so powerful that it trumps any criticism and they are allowed to operate freely while we beg them to share their wisdom and give us a chance at Nirvana.
Bubbles appear to be created with new opportunities that are created through deregulation or new markets. Vultures take advantage of deregulation to build up speculation, lure the common people and the novices.

- Bardi, Perruzi and Acciaiuoli International Banks of Florence (1345). Free enterprise banks with no government controls collapsed all the economies of Europe. In 1342, King Edward III defaulted on his loans and the city of Florence defaluted on their bonds in 1345, triggering a banking collapse which shattered the Mediterranean and all of Europe, except Germany. The Vatican bankers, Acciaiuoli and the Buonacorsi went bankrupt in 1342 and Peruzzi and Bardi fell in 1345.
  The merchants of Venice and the bankers in other city states conspired to keep other nations in debt. These banks worked by procuring monopolies for buying and selling goods and taking unbelievable rates of profit. As goods declined because of famine and war and a population shift from the country to the city and competition from the eastern nations, the banks could not maintain their obligations and the nations could not survive under this debt.
  » League of Cambrai (1508). The major Christian powers of Europe (France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary) have allied together against Venice into the League of Cambrai to end the Venetian thirst for domination. Peace of Cambrai or Peace of Brussels was signed in 1516 and Venice lost all her territories.
  » Bloated Middle Men. The irony was that they owned and produced nothing nor added value. They simply inserted themselves in the middle to create systems and reasons to extract profits. Yet, in their greed they ignored the fact that the enormous profits that they squeezed from the economy, were extracting more value than the economy produced in reality, leaving nothing but debt and inflation for the actual owner and producers and workers and consumers.
  Prophecy: Dividing the Land for Gain (Daniel 11: 39). The Italian bankers divided the world between the east and the west in a scheme to monopolize the bullion trade so that they can fix prices to maximize profits. By rigging the currency standard they engineered their own demise. The east, abundant in gold, was on a silver standard while the west, abundant in silver, was on a gold standard.
  » Tordesillas Line (1493). Pope Alexander VI divided the world between Spain and Portugal at about 38º W in a settlement and signed the Treaty of Tordesillas on 7 June 1494 which changed the line slightly 46º 37'W to include some of Brazil. This line did not encircle the earth.
  » Treaty of Saragossa or Zaragoza (22 April 1529). The first treaty covered only one side of the world, but this treaty established the antimeridian or the division on the other side of the globe 17º east of the Moluccas or 147º E longitude.
  - Spanish Territories (Western Hemisphere). Spain received almost the entire territory west of the Tordesillas line which included the new world (America and Australia), Canary Islands, Spanish Sahara, Spanish Guinea, Spanish Morocco, Easter Island, Philippines, Galapagos, Mariana, Caroline and Marshall Islands, Japan and eastern Asia.
  - Portuguese Territories (Eastern Hemisphere). Portugal received the east of the line which included the old world, Brazil and western Australia, Madeira Islands, Azores, Portuguese Guinea, Portuguese India, Portuguese China, Ceylon, Java, Mozambique, Bahrain, Angola, Muscat, Cape Verde Islands.
  - Other Powers. The English, French and Dutch were treated like pirates because they had no right to have their ships in these territories. The Dutch and English started taking over Portuguese colonies in the early 1600s and Spanish colonies after.
  The church exercised unilateral power in determining ownership of parts of the globe without regard to the rights of sovereign nations which were unknown to them.
- Mississippi Company Bubble (1720).

  Timeline
  Year | Event
  --- | ---
  1879 | USA third rate power
  1898 | USA expands into Spanish territory
  1914-18 | World War 1
  1918 | Monarchies end
  1918 | Strong USA
  1920s | Fast money schemes
  1926 | Florida land boom and bust
  1927 | Mississippi River flood. 900,000 refugees
  1929 | Mosque of Omar bombed. Arab-Jewish conflict
  1929 | Lateran Treaty
  1929 | Stock Market Crash
  1929-39 | Great Depression
  1931-40 | Dust Bowl
  1939-45 | World War 2
  1945 | USA as superpower
  1946 | Communism (Iron Curtain)
  1948 | State of Israel
  1951 | European Union

  Jean Law (John Law) of Edinburgh was a convicted murderer (1694) from Scotland who indirectly caused the French Revolution. He escaped from prison and went to Amsterdam and became a gambler. While observing the phenomenon of stock trading, he thought that he could do it better by merging a public bank with trading shares by printing bank issued paper notes for share holders. Soon he was in charge of the French economy and all the public debt was being financed through him. He owned a quarter of the United States and 100 million shares.
  He created the Mississippi Company in Louisiana which had the monopoly on tobacco trade. He engineered a Ponzi scheme simply by issuing more stocks and printing the paper money to sell more shares in this Utopian paradise. He financed dividends by selling shares (printing more paper money), not from company profits. Unfortunately the new stock was not based on any real value and he created a bubble. Then some investors decided to live there and found that it was a bug infested swamp with alligators and tropical diseases in Louisiana. 80% of the settlers died and the first stock market crash occurred. Shares lost over 90% of their value and John Law fled to Venice. The French monarcy was bankrupt. This financial debt helped to create the economic conditions which led to the French Revolution and Europe was mired in war between 1792-1815.
- The South Sea Bubble (1719-1720). The War of the Spanish Succession with Spain (1701-1713), left Britain 10 million pounds in debt. In 1711, the British government made a deal with the South Sea company to finance this debt in return for 6% interest. The government also granted the company exclusive rights with Spain's colonies in middle America and the South Seas (South America) through which they could potentially trade in gold and silver and have a monopoly on slave trade.
  Management lied about the deals with Spain, claiming that they had exclusive rights to send a ship to each of Spain's colonies. Impressed by the lavish corporate offices and evidence of wealth, investors bought the stock, peaking during 1719-1720, even though business was drying up by 1718.
  In reality, Britain and Spain were at war again in 1718, and the Treaty of Utrecht in March 1713, which ended the war, only granted Britain the rights to send one 500 ton cargo ship per year to all of Spains South American colonies and high import fees made the slave trade unprofitable.
  So by 1720 management secretly started selling off their own stock, when investors learned of this panic selling began. The British economy did not recover for a century.
- Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company (1858). During a recession, more than 5000 American businesses failed and the stock market declined 66% between 1852 and 1857. The New York branch of the Ohio life insurance and trust company failed on August 24 because of embezzlement and it triggered the panic. The USA stock market crashed, triggering an international market crash.
- Ponzi Scheme (1920). Charles Ponzi was an Italian immigrant to the United States. He was a check forger and scam artist who sold swampland and notes from a phony Securities Exchange Company. In 1920, he collected $9.8 million from 10,550 people (including 75% of the Boston police force) by offering profits of 50% every 45 days based on selling foreign postal reply coupons which he bought at a discount in depressed foreign economies. He served four years and began a Florida "swampland" sales fraud on 9 November 1925, collecting $7,000 from investors before mail fraud charges were filed. He was deported from the USA to Italy in 1934 where he embezzled money while working for Mussolini's treasury.
- Wall Street Collapse (1929). The infamous Wall Street stock market crash began 24 October 1929 (Black Thursday) and stocks fell 89% by June 1932 losing $26 billion. It sparked the Great Depression from 1929-1939 in which there was 25% unemployment.
  » History and Causes. In 50 years America had skyrocketed from a third rate power to a super power by 1929, leading a global economic upswing. The crash followed a decade of prosperity and a eight year period in which stocks rose. It was celebrated as a new era of optimism and permanent prosperity. During this time bankers, brokers and speculators were very rich and were treated as celebraties. It was a brand new way to amass a fortune that anyone could try. This caused the general public to begin to invest in the market and the stock industry began marketing to the public, opening up hundreds of brokerage offices in many places, including aboard steam ships.
  - Consumer Revolution and Consumer Credit. The average person could not borrow money before 1920. As new inventions during the past 50 years and mass marketing fuelled the global economy, credit became generally available to the public for the first time.
  - Debt (Buying on Margin). Stocks were also sold on margin or with borrowed money. Purchasers only needed to pay 10% down to acquire stocks. With the market skyrocketing, people borrowed more money to buy stocks.
  - Fraud (Insider Trading, Price Manipulation and Rigged Insider Pools). A few wealthy investors pooled money under secret agreements to buy stocks at low prices. Then they traded among themselves to inflate the price and generate excitement, and bribed newspapers to hype a stock. By the time they sold to the unsuspecting public prices were high and the small investor was still pumping money into the stock. Then the original investors sold their shares before it the stock price collapsed. For example, the price of RCA went from $20 to $400. In one week ending on March 8-18, a pool led by Michael Meehan made $100 million by insider trading. When the market collapsed, it was valued at 20 cents.
  - Bad Advice. Many people were giving advice including Evangeline Adams, an astrologer who advised J. P. Morgan and calculated stock variations by the stars and gave stock advice and had a newsletter with 100,000 subscribers. Her advice for the summer of 1929 was to buy because the Dow Jones could climb to heaven.
  - Unrealistic Expectations. The value of a stock was no longer based on the state of the economy or the health of a company. Stock prices still soared to record heights under the speculative boom. Sales dropped, industries declined, people were in debt because of easy credit, poor getting poorer.
  - No Regulation. There was no government involvement. By March 22, the Federal Reserve was uneasy about stocks bought on margin. They knew that it was wreckless. They had the power to control the borrowing, but they said nothing.
  » The Crash.
  - March Panic (March 25-26). Selling triggered a plunge and margin calls were made as stocks dropped more than 10%. Millions of investors were in trouble by March 26.
    » Credit Crunch. When stocks fell below their value it caused a credit crunch when the margin call was triggered. Stocks fell below the value and owners could not pay off the debt and this immedidately dried up credit. The credit crunch caused interest rates soared to 20%. The National City Bank, under the leadership of Charles Mitchell, stepped in to provide $25 million credit, rates fell to 8% and ended the panic in March.
  - High (September 3). Stocks rose 52% in July and 55% in August. Stocks prices reached a high of 381.17.
  - Babson Break (September 5). Stocks took a severe dip after economist Roger Babson predicted a crash. For two years he had been saying "sooner or later a crash is coming".
  - Wild Fluctuations (September). The market fluctuated wildly, losing 17% in the weeks to follow, even on the global market. Prices rallied on September 25. Five days before the crash every banker and business leader was assuring the president and the public that everything was optimistic.
  - October Crash (October 24-29). The crash happened over four business days.
    » Black Thursday (October 24). The market was uneasy on Wednesday and opened in a free fall on Thursday, causing a panic. People looked to the House of Morgan because J. P. Morgan had stopped a panic in 1907. At noon, a pool of bankers met to discuss how to stop the slide announcing at 12: 30 that they would put in money to help the market. At 1:30 PM, Richard Witney moved in to end the panic and stabilize the market by buying key stocks at a high price. He ordered 10,000 shares of N.Y. Steel. It stabilized for that day.
    » Black Friday (October 25). Over the weekend people had time to whip up their fears and on Monday they decided to sell.
    » Black Monday (October 28). The market lost 12.82% of its value. Passengers aboard the Berengaria liner tried to sell their stocks at the on board brokerage office. They left England as wealthy men and docked in New York six days later, penniless.
    » Black Tuesday (October 29). The real crash occurred on October 29, going down 11.73% Everyone wanted to sell after thinking about it over the weekend. William Durant poured his money into it to try to stop the panic. RCA dropped from $110 to 20 cents per share. Prices did not regain those levels until 23 November 1954.
  » The Great Depression (1929-39). The 1929 stock market crash and the long depression afterwards, affected the entire world. It caused civil wars in some countries and caused Nazism and facism to arise. In the United States the stock market was down 90%, banks were closed, credit froze, mortgages were foreclosed, farm prices fell 50%, the hungry lined up at soup kitchens and the unemployment rate was officially 25%.
  » Dust Bowl (1931-40). Accompanying this mysery was a drought on the Great Plains during 1931-40 which affected 65% of the United States (97 million acres). The drought accompanied over 150 years of soil erosion and depletion by cotton and destructive farming techniques, forest depletion and land misuse that eventually converged and caused great dust storms one mile high between 1934-37.
  » New Deal Reforms. In the United States, facing 25% unemployment and massive bank failures. Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) was elected in 1933 and he instituted a series of reforms called "the New Deal" which created a middle class and encouraged property ownership and social security for the elderly. Prior to this most people thought that the government had no role in helping the people. This was the responsibility of families, churches and charities.
  - Bank Reforms (1933). He instituted reforms designed to bring stability and confidence to the banking system. There was a bank holiday to stop the run on banks. He separated regular banks from investment banks and formed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) which insured up to $2500 deposits.
  - Financial Regulations (1933). The Securities Act formed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which regulated the stock market.
  - Labor Reforms (1933). He created the Fair Labor Standards Act which established 40 hours work week and a minimum wage of 33 cents/hour and outlawed most forms of child labor.
  - Work Programs (1933). Federally funded back to work movements.
    » Civilian Conservaton Corp (CCC). "Roosevelt's Tree Army" put 3 million young men to work at $1 per day for 6 months in camps run by the army to improve and conserve the environment. They replanted 2.3 billion trees, fought forest fires, reclaimed soil and abandoned farm land, contoured land, water conservation and built fire trails. They cut hiking trails and ski trails, improved national parks and 800 state parks.
    » Education. It taught the men to read and write because most were illiterate or had only a sixth grade education. It gave them three meals per day, vocational training (typing, electrical, plumbing) giving them pride and a sense of national service and conservation. Fortunately, it prepared men whom the army could quickly train and mobilize for World War II. It probably prepared the nation to be an educated superpower and might have made the difference between winning and losing the war.
    » Work Projects Administration (WPA). Constructed roads and buildings. Other work was created for artists and writers.
  - Banking (1934). Federal Credit Union Act (June 26). US Federal Savings and Loan Association (June 27).
  - Social Security Act (1935). The Social Security System gives financial assistance to the elderly and handicapped and began paying out in 1942.
  - Housing Opportunities (1938). Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) expanded the flow of money to mortgage lenders. It gave affordable thirty year mortgages to an emerging middle class in the suburbs. It created in theory a credit rating system based on a prime and subprime market which determined who got mortgages, but was in reality divided along racial lines. The negative credit rating were applied to certain people and neighborhoods and kept them out of the market until the housing boom of 2006-2008 lured them in and squeezed all the assets out of them.
  Prophecy: Wrath. These events and the two world wars show the classic signs of upheaval at the end of a cycle of divine judgment. It frees the people of God and establishes the new powers in one generation. But one can also see God preparing a country to deal with the evil threat of the Nazi party. They were prepared because they dared to help their poor and needy.
- Black Monday (1987). Stock market crash began in Hong Kong and spread around the world. On October 19, the USA stock market dropped 508 points or 22.61% of its value in one day (36.7% from a August 25 high of 2722.44), erasing half a trillion dollars in wealth and taking two years to regain those points.
- Savings and Loan Crisis (1989). Deregulation in 1982 allowed savings and loans to offer more interest on savings accounts. This created more cash for lending and fraudulent mortgage deals bloomed. About 500 S&L's collapsed losing $153 billion. Resolution Trust Group (RTG), a new government agency was created to buy back all bad debt.
- Long Term Capital Management (1998). The hedge fund disintegrated on 17 August 1998 when the Russian financial system collapsed and Russia defaulted on their debt. LTCM lost $550 million or 15% on that day and lost 45% by the end of the month when the impossible happened and all their financial models failed miserably.
  LTCM sold unregulated over the counter stock options (betting on the price of stocks in the future). It was founded by two men who developed a complex mathematical formula that calculated risk. They appeared so successful that they were rewarded with the most prestigious academic prize, receiving the nobel prize for finance.

  Blessings From God? (High Interest Returns)
  A thoughtful Christian needs to consider the source of high interest investments and the types of companies in which they invest. Are your high rates of return based on usury, immorality, slavery, robbery and oppression? Are desperate people being goughed? WWJD? Would God make the same investments if He knew how the money was being made? The highest interest rates are not a commandment.

  Their models assumed that in the worst case, they could not lose more than $35 million per day, but during the crisis $300-500 million per day were being lost. Their theories which were based on five years of data seemed to be right as they got wealthy. They had leveraged $5 billion into $1 trillion in derivatives, churning out 46% profits. They managed 15 banks which each thought they had an exclusive deal. So the hype was based on fraud, selling the same item in hidden black box deals.
  The New York Federal reserve bailed them out by convincing 14 banks to contribute up to $400 million each ($3.5 billion total) so that their collapse would not affect the financial markets. Just six weeks before, Brooksley Born, the chairwoman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had tried unsuccessfully to regulate the secret blackbox market and was shutdown by all the other powerful financial chairmen and congress.
  » Money on Crack. Amazingly, like whores on crack the bankers did not learn from the near disaster but went on with business as usual at a more frenzied pace. At the urging of Alan Greenspan, Congress did not heed the warning but spent the next ten years deregulating everything possible believing in the Greenspan financial Model that "the market will take care of itself" if left to the financial experts because government is a destructive force that just gets in the way. Instead they undid all the regulatory safeguards developed from the 1929 collapse and they punished Brooksley Born for being right.
  By 2007 derivatives were worth $595 trillion, sucking up savings, mortgages and retirements. Ten years after the LTCM debacle, unregulated over the counter (OTC) derivatives would blow up the entire global market.
  » Free Market, Unregulated Capitalism. The deregulation doctrine was so prevalent that he believed we should not police fraudulent activity. Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve from the Ford Administration until 2008, thought that fraud should not be regulated or enforced, that "the market would take care of itself" and "the market will protect people". He did not learn that the love of money is the root of all evil.
  So lies, cooked books, fraudulent financial statements, crimes done to pump up market share and inflate stock value and Ponzi schemes were all allowed to fluorish. The average citizen counts on the fact that "AAA+ securities" meant secure and that the Securities and Exchange Committee was policing financial fraud and that their gambling was safe. Instead, many top accounts and lawyers at the SEC were busy watching and downloading pornography as the ship was burning.
  The market made sure that high rates of return, an atmosphere of wealth, success and speculation kept the bubble expanding. In the end the market "takes care of itself" by wiping out the future, college funds, retirement accounts and the assets of the little guy.
  » Case Study: Banker's Trust. 1993 Banker's Trust sold complex derivatives to Proctor & Gamble. Employees took advantage of the fact that derivatives were too complex to understand and set out to defraud the company. There was no record keeping or reporting and contracts were secret.
  » Case Study: Bernard L. Madoff. He engineered the largest stock fraud in history which took the fortunes of charities, retirement accounts, and investment management funds in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe, European royalty and banks such as UBS in Geneva.
  - Madoff Securities. The company began in the 1960's was advertised as having high ethical standards and never seemed to fluctuate with bad markets. Bernie always made money. At one point Madoff Securities was estimated to have managed 9% of all trades. He was even chairman of NASDAQ. Yet he apparently never bought or traded stocks and kept his money in a regular bank!
  - Feeder Funds. Bernie worked in an atmosphere of secrecy through many feeder funds whose managers were too greedy and incompetent to take the minimum efforts of risk management or "due diligence". The fund managers concentrated on marketing efforts to lure in new investors and never once did anything more than visiting the Madoff offices to see if it was a legitimate firm. They relied on Madoff's reputation and were attracted to the 15% to 20% guaranteed interest and the lucrative management fee kickbacks which kind Bernie generously offered them. Feeder funds such as the Fairfield Greenwich Group lost fourteen billion dollars while they issued beautiful reports about the risk management efforts for their Fairfield Sentry fund which fed money exclusively to Madoff. One manager of the Broward Investment Firm, which had 441 million in investments in 1992, thought that he was so lucky because "God wanted him to have this money".
    Any greedy, incompetent fool can hang up a shingle declaring themselves to be "investors". All they need is the look of wealth and you are hooked. You want a piece of the pie that they are eating.
  - SEC Complaints. In 2000, while trying to duplicate Madoff's success for his company, it took Harry Marcopolis only four hours to realize that Bernie was operating a Ponzi scheme. He warned the SEC in 2000 and in a detailed 21 page memo in 2005 which outlined over 24 points. The 2005 accusation launched a two year investigation beginning in January 2006. It cleared Madoff.
  - Many Happy Returns. One investor (Picower) received over $7 billion, which was 950% interest during 35 years while the average return on investment in the stock market was 9%. At some point people are either greedy, immoral or incredibly naive. There is no way one can receive such returns unless a variety of illegal or immoral activity is occurring. In fact, the spectre of morality does not appear to concern the investment business.
    The excess returns may rest on slave labor, under-compensated employees, exploitation, bribe, unfair deals, theft, fraud or taking profit from the future. Sadly, in the list above, few people care about anything except fraud. You cannot deny responsibility by insulating yourself from knowledge of how this amazing result is achieved no matter how many "professionals" you hire to assure you that this is "legal".
  - The Collapse. Unbelievably, as the market was down by 40% in September 2008, people took their money out of failing funds to invest with Madoff Securities. The Fairfield Greenwich Group tried to launch another fund called Fairfield Emerald, but could not raise any money. But by December 2008, a failing market could not hide his fraud as institutions needed money. By then he had lost over $65 billion and was arrested on 10 December 2008.
  In March 2009 he received 150 years in prison. His unfortunate family is feeling the brunt of the retaliation of people who lost everything, but who should probably have known better. They also did not ask questions.
  » Case Study: Sir Robert Allen Stanford (The Stanford Financial Group). On February 17 and 27 2009, he was charged with operating a massive ongoing fraud and Ponzi scheme involving $8 billion in certificates of deposits (CDs) from an offshore bank in Antigua. He widened his popularity by being the patron of many charities and being associated with famous people. He was even knighted in 2006. However, his financial empire was just another giant Ponzi scheme which collapsed in the economic downturn. He was arrested June on 18.
- Dot Com Bubble (2000). The U.S. stock market for high technology (NASDAQ) rose sharply between 1998-2001 through speculations by venture capitalists and day traders on overvalued internet based companies. It climaxed at 5132.52 on 10 March 2000 and dropped 45.9% between September 1 and January 2, wiping out eight trillion dollars in wealth. It declined as much as 78.4% to 1108.49 by October 2002.
- Enron (2001). On December 2001, Enron filed for the largest bankruptcy in American history after a fraud scandal was revealed in October. It was an natural gas energy company formed in 1985 and run by Ken Lay that became the fifth largest company in the USA. The energy industry was deregulated and privatized after the election of George W. Bush. With the deregulation of natural gas, Enron was allowed to trade gas at higher prices and control the price of electricity. Enron stock price rose 500% from $20 to over $90 in 2000 and Enron was rated the most innovative large company in America in a list of the most admired companies. In 2000, Enron's board of executives was rated among the top five. Enron pioneered illicit business practices that still plague us.
  - Stocks. Their traders manipulated the power market to inflate the value of their stocks.
  - Price Manipulation. It closed power stations to restrict supply and raised the price of energy causing massive power outages in California. Enron traders can be heard laughing about grandmothers and the plight of the residents of California who were plagued with "brown outs".
  - Cooked Books. They overstated earnings and equity and hid $25 billion in losses and debts by creating "special purpose entities", declaring only $13 billion in debt when they had $38 billion on debt. They were even able to mislead the board of directors and pressure the external auditing firm Arthur Andersen to ignore some issues. Arthur Andersen, one of the top five accounting firms, was shut down in the wake of the scandal and 85,000 employees lost their jobs.
  - Deceptive Accounting. It developed accounting practices designed to fool investors and meet wall street projections by applying expected future profits to the present and keeping two sets of books.
    » Hyperthetical Future Value (HFV). The geniuses took huge bonuses based on future profits not yet realized. They believed that it was wrong for some future person to take the profits from their new ideas. So they raped and pillaged the future.
    » Mark to Market. They booked future profits on the current balance sheets. So as the company was losing money, these fictitious profits from ventures that were already failing were added to the bottom line and the losses were ignored.
- United States Mortgage Bubble (2007- 14 September 2008).
  Derivatives are bets about the future price of a product. Reckless trade in risky derivatives tied to the future value of subprime mortgages held by owners with poor credit caused a financial catastrophe. Property value and stock prices fell as homeowners defaulted on risky mortgages which were repackaged as A+ securities and sold to investors.
  The Chinese entered the markets in 2000 causing boom years with cheap capital. Subprime mortgage lending began in Detroit in 2006 when mortgage lenders offered interest-only subprime loans and other creative NINJA loans (no income, no job, no asset verification) on the theory that property value can only rise. They ignored the fact that when these adjustable mortgages reset that the owners could not afford the payments. In addition homeowners were encouraged to use the inflated appreciated value of their homes as an ATM and borrow against this. Unscrupulous bankers targeted old people.
  Between June-July 2007 we were optimistic and awash in money and within four months we were in a panic. Defaults on subprime mortgage began the first run on British banks since 1866 with the nationalization of many banks around the world. Some markets had fallen up to 50% by 2009.
  » Deregulation. This followed a 2005 financial regulation that limited bankruptcy and allowed banks to charge usury rates and change rules in their favor. The crash exposed many giant Ponzi schemes and frauds costing hundreds of billions of dollars. The giant company, Lehman Brothers defaulted.
  » Risky Mortgage Securities (Abacus 2007-AC1). An employee of Goldman Sachs investment company developed securities based on questionable high risk mortgages which they knew would fail, causing a global financial crisis when the $400 trillion derivatives market blew up. He sold them as highly rated AAA securities to their clients, then bet that the securities will fail, making $3.7 billion profit from both the sale and failure of this worthless asset. They did not raise capital nor provide good advice for the clients. They took their client's money and sold them something worthless and then bet that they would fail. The scheme crippled AIG. Visions of wealth froze the hearts of the employees of Goldman Sachs who cheered as the housing market fell and poor people lost everything, just as Enron traders giggled at Grandma being unable to pay for electricity and people stuck in elevators because of the power outages deliberately created to drive up the price of energy.
  » Securities Rating. This highlights the incompetence of the independent rating agencies (Moodys Investments, Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poors). In addition, the top banks pay premium dollars to hire away employees of the ratings agency so that they can get the highest ratings. There is a conflict of interest because these agencies are paid fees by the same companies that they rated. So they inflated the value of the ratings. The securities were too complicated for them to understand so they relied on the crooks to set the value. This is the same level of expertise and oversight given by the Managers of the Madoff feeder funds. They sit as middle men taking a piece of the pie without doing any real work of evaluating risk and value.
  » Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The total USA government bailout totalled $1553.8 billion dollars and the Federal Reserves secretly poured additional 7.7 trillion dollars into the financial companies. By October 2008, the total bailout in billions were: AIG ($122.8), Bear-Sterns ($29), Washington Mutual ($1.9), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ($200), and other major companies and banks had to be bailed out ($400). Hundreds of banks failed or are on the brink of failure. $102 billion were set aside for loans to help the beleagured homeowners but the banks have used the money to fix their own bottom line. Every six months they promise to implement better programs to help homeowners, but they were all stalling tactics. By April 2010, very few people were helped and the banks have begun to complain that it is unfair. However, they and many businesses are sitting on a mountain of money gained through the government programs. They never intended to invest in the people who loaned them the money by hiring or giving relief on their predatory financing. God curse them and their money.
  » Precious Metals Investment. As a result of the unpredictable stockmarket, investors have been buying gold and silver. This event or another like it in the future will cause the rich to hoard precious metals in preparation for the final global financial collapse.

Financial Exploitation
Prior to 1984 it was difficult to obtain a credit card, but officials at Providian Financials counted on the fact that there are people who are desperate or naive enough who will take their products. These desperate souls will always carry a balance which can be misused to earn billions.

- The Hook. By luring people in with a promise of no annual fees and low interest rate, they hoped to make billions with low minimum monthly payments which extended the loan to over 20 years.
- The Lies. Sahilesh Mertha of Providian Financials introduced these innovations in bad financial practices by inventing many credit traps.
  - Stealth Pricing and Credit Traps. They hoped to increase the loan balance by counting on a number of stealth pricing practices such as, hidden big penalty fee traps (late, over limit) which trigger huge increases in interest rate. They reserve the right to change contracts at will for any reason and they have no limit on interest charged. Interest rates can jump from 6% to 35% overnight and minimum payments and credit limits can change and suddenly bring you into a financial crisis. Ahead of pending regulations in 2010 which regulate fees but not interest rates, a credit card company charged 79.9% in December 2009.
  - Overdraft Fees and Debit Financing. Bill Strunk introduced overdraft fees in 1989 and lured customers with "free checking" and courtesy services which pile on huge fees which trigger more overdrafts. Banks also changed the way they process transactions to maximize these fees.
    » The Victims. The elderly are discovering that banks first process their payments before applying their automatic social security deposits. In addition, banks process the larger checks first so that they can deplete the accounts faster so that more smaller checks bounce. This particular innovation has been invented since around the early 1990's.
    Debit cards work the same as checks without having the instant ability to check balance before a transaction. Users are finding out that they cannot turn off this "courtesy".
  - Short Term Financing. Predatory financing lures unsuspecting investors in risky deals dressed as securities. It categorizes people as subprime, forbidding the very poor to open bank accounts and charging excessive fees for using their own money. Those driven outside the banking system have a network of vultures in the form of pawn shops, pay day loans and check cashing operations which extract large fees and high interest up to 460% for two week loans. The sky is the limit for the rates they can charge.
- The Sinker. By 2000s people were heavily in debt and were convinced to use their home equity to pay off high interest credit cards. The bankers conspired to keep people in debt by enacting laws in 2005 that made it legal for them to exploit the people. Bankruptcy was virtually stopped, blamed on irresponsible users although they were mostly based on skyrocketing medical bills. Usury rates could be charged and the terms of credit could be manipulated so that people were kept in debt by using or creating an excuse to raise interest. Even under all these conditions of total financial advantage and record profits the banks failed spectacularly in 2008 and had to be bailed out by the same poor citizens whom they robbed.
  The financial experts and the market did not take care of themselves, the downtrodden people did.

What is God thinking? We have violated all the rules that will trigger His wrath. While the bankers hear the clink of money when they see the desperate poor, He will hear the cries of these people. As corruption and greed seem to triump untouched and rewarded, the poor and middle class strain under the burden and they begin to respond to greed and short cuts to achieve more and more.

Prophecy: Global Economic Collapse
We spent a lot of time explaining the roots of an attitude towards people and finance that will be punished by God. Prophecy condemns evil people, clergy, wicked rulers and evil nations, but it only condemns one private system: bad businessmen, calling their trade violence.
The pursuit of money, capitalism and the free market will create conditions that will be just as evil as perpetual slavery, perpetual poverty and communism. In the end a flourishing, free-market economy will exploit the people. Whereas communism can reward laziness and suppress individual ambition, capital without regulation will reward a system of debt financing that will collapse, leading to global revolution and conflict that has never been seen.

- Worthless Precious Metals (Revelation 18: 13. Ezekiel 7: 19). A prophecy about the final global collapse talks about the wealthy who have hoarded gold and silver.
- Financial Collapse (Revelation 18: 11). Another prophecy reveals that a global financial collapse will start in the United States. At the end they will be at the mercy of their creditors.
- Slavery and Labor Exploitation (Revelation 18: 13; James 5: 1-5). Slavery will exist at the end of time. Human trafficking of women and children as sex slaves has become a scourge in our time. The prophecy condemns the rich and employers from exploiting the poor employees. Wild capitalism is a form of colonialism of the underclass that cannibalizes their labor, assets and future.
- Mark Of The Beast (Revelation 13: 16). The final global financial system will be so integrated and sophisticated that they can instantly boycott individuals and exclude them from economic activity because of religious beliefs. Amazing as it seems, the world will cling to religions for some reason.
- Corrupt Global Trade (Revelation 18: 12-15). In the final collapse, the prophecy condemns the business world as if they were operating like "The merchants of Venice".

» Self Destruction. The classic method for the vengeance of God is to let the enemy destroy themselves by their own schemes. A system based on greed, lies, crumbling infrastructure, tax burden on the mass, inflation, unbridled usury, lack of accountability and exploitation will collapse when the masses become a burden when they can no longer carry the burden. So the final collapse must include unbridled greed and a Ponzi scheme so huge and unexpected that it will send central banks into a panic and we will be talking about it for millions of years. After looking at the history of frauds I must conclude that the prestige of the church will probably be at the center of this massive fraud.
In His mercy, God sends repeated warnings as we are being herded down a path of no return and no useful options. Hearing the siren song of quick riches and "blessings of the Lord" we will not listen. We never learn.

The Accidental Discovery Of The American Continent
Christopher Columbus had a hair-brained scheme to reach the east by sailing west, thinking that he could sail to Japan (Cipangu) and India from the Canary Islands in search of spices, not knowing that an entire continent lay in between. He did not know where he was going and when he got there he did not know where he was and for decades after he still did not know where he had been.
» The Trade Winds. He discovered the great clockwise Atlantic ocean wind system during the early 1480s and tried to gain support for his trip in late 1483. He felt the west wind along the Portuguese coasts and in the Madeira Islands. He felt the trade winds in Africa, the Canary and Cape Verde Islands. He reasoned that he could make an Atlantic round trip using the circular winds by going down south to catch the trade winds "easterlies" which would blow him west, and return east with the westerlies at a higher latitude (35-65 degrees). The Romans have used the Monsoon winds in June and November to cross the Indian Ocean on the spice route since the first century AD. So Columbus knew that he could depend on the wind systems.

» Fifteenth Century Science And Technology. While most people believed that the earth was flat, some people believed the world was round, but they were not sure how big it was.

Map of the Old World

Sailing ships generally hugged the land and would sail only if they could see land. The sea beyond the western end of Europe was known as "the Sea of Darkness" where monsters roamed, cannibals waited, violent winds, frequent storms, high waves and rough seas abounded and a hapless sailor might fall off the edge of the earth. They also believed in the imaginary islands of Antilia, St. Brendan's and Brazil. The people of Europe and Asia were unaware of the existance of the American and Australian continents. Terra Australis Incognita (unknown southern land) was discovered in 1606.
» The Size Of The Earth. He believed that the earth was encircled by 24 hours, of 15 degrees, and each degree was 56 and 2/3 Roman miles. There was 225 degrees of land and 135 degrees covered by sea. So the circumference of the earth was estimated to be 20,400 miles (25,255 km) and only a small sea lay between the eastern and western end of the continent. His calculations assumed that there was only 2300 miles (3700 km) between the Canary Islands and Cipangu (Japan) and that there was nothing in between. The circumference is actually 32364 miles (40,066 km) and the distance between the Canary Islands and Japan was actually 12200 miles (15103 km).
Fortunately he was correct about the importance of the circular winds. He was wrong about everything else, but that was also fortunate. Since he believed the circumference of the earth was so small, he found the courage to attempt the voyage, otherwise he would not have attempted a long distance voyage nor been able to find investors or convince a crew to join him because they would have believed that they would have starved to death.
» The Mission. Columbus was on a mission from God. He believed that the earth would end in 1631 and he had been given the gift of knowledge by God making his voyage prophetic. So it was his duty to bring the godless multitude into the Catholic fold and to take back Jerusalem from the Muslims.
» The Voyage To America. The fleet sailed from Palos, Spain on 3 August 1492 with 90 men in 3 ships (Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria) with the aid of the Pinzon brothers who were experienced sailors. In 9 days he sailed 700 miles from Spain to the Canary Islands. On 6 September 1492, he sailed west 5400 miles (8678 km) from there to the Bahamas in 36 days using the trade winds. On October 12, at 2:00 AM, under the light of the moon, the Pinta saw land in the Bahamas (San Salvador). He found the Arawaks and named the people Indians, thinking that he had reached India. Within 50 years the Arawaks would be virtually extinct by infection and exploitation.
On October 28 he reached Cuba thinking that he was sailing along the coast of Asia, believing that it must be China. He sailed to Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) on December 5 and saw gold and resorted to slavery to mine it. So Haiti became the first place where African slaves were brought and the first Spanish colony after the population of 250,000 Arawaks died. He resorted to forced conversions, even burning people alive at the stake for the faith.
On November 22 the Pinta sailed off on her own, searching for gold. On December 25, the Santa Maria went aground and sank. January 6, 1493 he saw the Pinta returning with gold which was used to gild the Santa Maria Majore church ceiling.
Nine months after their departure, Columbus returned to Spain with the Nina and Pinta under the power of the westerlies, bringing back gold, tall tales and syphillis. He had symbolically given birth to a new continent.
He would make four more voyages to the continent, but continued to believe that it was Asia.

1. American Continent (3 August - 6 September 1492 - 15 March 1493). Sailing with three ships, he discovered the American continent after 39 weeks, landing in the Bahamas. He was titled Admiral of the ocean seas and Viceroy of all the lands.
2. Islands (24 September 1493). He had seventeen ships and 1,200 men. He named almost all the islands and instituted a policy of terror and genocide on Hispaniola to obtain gold.
3. Arrested (30 May 1498). He was recalled for governing like a tyrant and torture by disgruntled Spanish settlers and he was brought back in chains to Spain.
4. Jamaica (11 May 1502 - 7 November 1504). He lost four ships and was stranded on Jamaica for one year.

» A New Continent!!. It was not until 1502-04 that Amerigo Vespucci published journals in which he reasoned that Columbus had discovered a new continent, not India. The continent was named after him. However, the mistake was immortalized because the native Americans are still called "Indians" and the Caribbean Islands are called the "West Indies".
It was the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, who reached the east by sailing west in 1519-1522. He set sail aboard the Trinidad on 10 August 1519 with five ships and 251 men and returned on 6 September 1522 with only 18 men aboard the Victoria.
The British explorer Sir Francis Drake was the second to circumnavigate the globe in the years 13 December 1577 to 26 September 1580 and was knighted on 4 April 1581. He set sail aboard the Pelican (renamed The Golden Hind) with 164 men and 4 other ships.

Prophecy: The Discovery Of America.
The treatment of the native Americans and Columbus' belief in forced slavery and forced conversions leave no doubt that his voyage was not the will of God. Yet, Daniel predicted that a new land would be opened up for the people fleeing persecution in the old world. The formerly persecuted even continued this legacy of entitlement, slavery and mistreatment.
And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12: 15-17)
The events are the classic method of biblical wrath. The people upon whom wrath will fall are the architects of their own destruction. It is the serpent who sends the flood. However, in the middle of this catastrophe God carves a way out for His people but the destructive flood still reaches the new world. The Jews and Protestants made the new land their new home.
» The Church Is Helped. The native Americans helped the European strangers and they were even greeted as gods in South America.

The United States Of America

Prophetic Footprints
Christian country Helps persecuted church Powerful abilities Last super power Economic power Will unite with the church Will make worldwide religious laws Will persecute the people of God with the help of the church Will act like ancient Babylon Will be defeated from the east by God.
Columbus discovered the new world in 1492. Although persecution and genocide abounded, North America became a refuge for fleeing Jews (1654) and Protestants (1620).

The United States of America came about as a direct result of European colonialism in the fifteenth century. Starting with the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the New World was opened to the strong European monarchies of Britain, France and Spain. In 1620, it became a haven for Protestants fleeing Catholic persecution in Europe when the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
Having fled persecution, the Protestants in New England were guilty of such activity to a lesser extent. They were intolerant of immoral and non-Christian behavior.
By 1776, the nation became independent after it waged a war of independence against Britain because of the high taxes paid to the British government. They were assisted by the French, who were rivals and enemies of the British. As a British colony, it participated in the slave trade through the kidnapping and forced slavery of Africans. This was condoned by the mostly Christian, agricultural South because the slave labor was an important part of their economy and because they justified their activity from the Bible, maintaining that slavery was condoned in the Bible. The northern states were based more on an industrial economy. Enmity between the North and south finally broke out into the civil war. Initially, slavery was not the issue, only unity of the country and free trade along the rivers. But the North eventually made slavery a moral issue in the war, to the objections of many in the north.
So the United States became a Protestant nation that was anti-Catholic or highly suspicious of the Catholic political and religious agenda until the election of the first Catholic President - John F. Kennedy. Several groups still believe that a church-state Catholic global domination will emerge at the end of time in fulfillment of a prediction in Bible prophecy and this will be accompanied by a United States global domination.

Economic Power. The country did not achieve real dominance until after World War II, with the European countries devastated by the war and the American economy booming because of the war. They quickly became an economic giant.

Cold War. With the threat to peace posed by Russia after World War II, both countries entered into a period of Cold War with the Soviet Union trying to establish communism and the United states trying to promote democracy around the world. During this period, both sides created powerful military weapons and became political super powers. America won the cold war by also becoming a powerful economic force.

Becoming a Super Power

Event Lessons Learned or Significant Activity
(1776) War of Independence Became a sovereign nation
The Constitution (1776)Drafted a legal document that would become the basis for democracy and human rights
Civil War Moved the country out of the agricultural economy
World War I International military action. No longer isolationist. Industrial economy
World War II Became a global political and economic force while Europe declined
Cold War The arms race built up military strength, technology and external espionage and surveillance
Vietnam war Learned the importance of managing the propaganda war at home
Fall of Soviet Union (1989)Cooperated with the church to achieve political gain
Persian Gulf War (1991)Symbolically overthrew the first Babylon and became the undisputed only superpower
Terrorist attack on New York and Washington D.C.Instituted persecution laws and the systems to shift focus to internal surveillance
Afghanistan War (2001) Expected to be quick, it is the longest war
Iraq War (2003)Unjust war. Started acting like a dragon. Became Babylon the Great

Gulf War. Eventually, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 and after the clear superiority and advanced technology exhibited by the American troops in the Gulf War against Iraq (the old nation of Babylon) - the United States was declared the only remaining Super power in the world.
The new Babylon symbolically defeated the old Babylon.
It was both a military, political and economic force and it intends to remain the only power. The South Bend Tribune reported that

> In a broad new policy statement that is in its final drafting state, the Defense Department asserts that America's political and military mission in the era after the Cold War will be to ensure that no rival super power is allowed to emerge in Western Europe, Asia, or the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The Terrorist Attack of September 11, 2001
On the morning of September 11, 2001 two hijacked passenger planes from Boston were flown directly into each of the North and South twin towers of the World Trade Center at 8:45 AM and 9:03 AM. Within an hour both 110 story buildings collapsed killing about 3000 people.
At 9:43 AM, another hijacked plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. collapsing one side of its structure and killing about 100 people. A fourth hijacked plane bound for either the White House, Camp David or the Senate, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania at 10:00 AM after brave passengers heard about the other three doomed flights and decided to take over.
Within a month, a war was launched against the country of Afghanistan for its support of the terrorists and Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi millionaire who sponsored these attacks. Simultaneously, a war on terrorism began in the country, with the creation of a new government office directly responsible to the President - Homeland security and the passage of the U.S.A. Patriot Freedom Act of 2001 which gives enormous power (contrary to the United States Constitution) to the police to eavesdrop on all communication, conduct secret searches and detain anyone suspected of terrorism.
By March 2003, another war was launched against Iraq, unjustly blaming them for planning to attack the United States with weapons of mass destruction.

Romancing the Pope. We are at the point of prophetic history where the final powers are courting each other. The American politicians currently do this for ideology or for political survival. The Catholic church does this for world domination.
At least since 1989, this is the known involvement of the government with Catholic goals.

- 1989. Joined forces under Ronald Reagan and Pope Paul II to end communism.
- 2001. Religious education assistance (School Voucher Bill) which was stated in the language of Catholic canon law on education.
- 2001. Religious charity assistance (Faith-Based Initiative).
- George W. Bush publicly seeks the approval and advice of the Catholic Bishops. In the months after his inauguration he did the following.
  - Proposed the two religious laws on the day of his inauguration.
  - That Friday he had dinner at the home of the Archbishop Theodore McCarrick.
  - Met twice with the pope (once while campaigning for president).
  - March 1, 2001 spoke at the opening of the John Paul II Cultural Center
  - Met with Miami Archbishop John Favalora
  - Met with Donald W. Wuerl, Roman Catholic Bishop of Pittsburgh
  - Met with Archbishop Justin Rigali of St. Louis
  - Met with Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Archbishop of Philadelphia
  - July 2001, Awards the congressional medal of honor (the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress) to the late Cardinal Cardinal O'Connor.
  - Met with 120 Catholic bishops where he was overheard telling the bishops in an open microphone that not even the republicans want the school voucher bill.
  - January 2001, - meeting with Archbishop Egan and thirty other Catholic leaders to discuss the new faith based initiative.
  - Appointed John J. DiIulio, a Catholic as head of the new office of Faith-Based Initiatives
  - He has weekly conferences between his administration and Roman Catholic advisers. He reportedly tries to meet with any Catholic leaders he can when he visits other cities. Protestants, are you sleeping! Read Revelation 13.
    Rumors abound that he is a closet Catholic, like the British prime minister, Tony Blair. Blair admitted that he was secretly a Catholic in the week before he left office.

Speaking of the growing power of the church in the top layers of government, "The Central Intelligence Agency", page 271 Jim Marrs.

> Politically, she looms ever larger in the White House, in the Senate and in the Congress. She is a force in the Pentagon, a secret agent in the FBI and the most subtly intangible prime mover of the S.S. wheel within a wheel.

If I were a betting person, I would say that we will soon have talk about making Sunday a national day of rest, if Bush has not already passed a secret executive order or signing statement.

Babylon II - The Final Super Power
The Muslim world may already recognize the Catholic church as the only legitimate spokesperson for the West that they trust, giving legitimacy to the global political aspirations of the church as a peace broker and force for moral influence. So the final superpower will be a combination of the United States and the Roman Catholic Church and at a later point, the nations of Europe against the people of God. The growth and development of these two powers is close to their peak, and the establishment of laws within the United States that could be used to enact persecution is seen as the final nail in the coffin as this final power embraces brutality as a legitimate tool of control.

Historical Dates
Dating a Document. In ancient times most calendars were based on the month beginning with the new moon. But the designation of the year was a problem. Before the designation of the birth of Christ as year 0 for the modern era, each culture designated the year by a significant event. So all documents were dated relative to that significant year. Usually, the event was the reign of a king.

- Accession Year. The year a new king came to power until the day before New Year's Day.

  Accession Year (465 BC) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Year 7 | 8
  --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
  December | Hebrew (Tishri) | October 464 | 463 | 462 | 461 | 460 | 459 | October 458 | 458 | 457 | October
  August | Babylon | 14 April 464 | 463 | 462 | 461 | 460 | 459 | April 458 | 458 | 457 | April 457
  Hebrew (Nisan) | April 464 | 463 | 462 | 461 | 460 | 459 | April 458 | 458 | 457 | April 457
  Hebrew (Tishri) | 17 October 465 | 464 | 463 | 462 | 461 | 460 | October 459 | 459 | 458 | October
  Egypt | 17 December 465 | 464 | 463 | 462 | 461 | 460 | December 459 | 459 | 458 | December

  Establishing the reign of Artaxerxes I is important in biblical prophecy. According to some sources Xerxes died in August and others claim it was in December, 465 BC. This difference changes the accession year for a fall calendar.
  The best that I can determine is that the seventh year of Artaxerxes is from April 458 BC to October 457 BC.
- New Year's Day. Each year was counted at the beginning of the new year. The new year was different in each culture, but the new year usually began at the spring equinox.
  - Babylon. Their new year occurred in spring in Nisanu. Persians used the Babylonian dating system.
  - Egypt. Their new year occurred at the beginning of winter in the month Thoth.
  - Hebrews. They had two months to begin the new year.
    - Nisan (Spring). This is the beginning of the year established by God and is known as the beginning of the religious year. It is also the month to start counting the reign of kings.
    - Tishri (Fall). This also became the beginning of the civil year. It was a practise that began with Solomon at the dedication of the temple.

      Spring | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
      --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
      Autumn | Nisan | 8 | 9 | Chislev | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | Tishri | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

      Fall calendars have the unusual phenomenon of the month numbers out of order. So the first month comes after the twelfth month in a single year.
      » Nehemiah. Nehemiah used a fall calendar. In the ninth month of Artaxerxes' twentieth year Nehemiah received the news that the city was in danger 1:1-4. Then he approached the king in Nisan of the twentieth year (Nehemiah 2: 1). Since it was still the twentieth year at the beginning of spring, he was using a fall calendar.
    » Divided Kingdom. The fall calendar predominated in the south, in the kingdom of Judah, while the spring calendar was used in the northern kingdom of Israel.
    A calendar reform in 359 AD, imposed other rules on the Jewish calendar that did not exist in ancient times.
- Relative Year. So each event was dated relative to the total number of years since the initial important event. The Greek Olympiads, the current BC and AD system, kings lists and the Julian calendar are relative dating systems. King lists recorded consecutive rulers and the total years of their reigns. So they all began with year one for each new king. As simple as this seems, this method can get us into the right ball park when it comes to determining what year an event occurred.
- Scientific Year. Since new moons can be calculated, historians calculate back in time to see when a new moon occurs. This is the basis for many of the modern dates assigned to historically dated documents such as the Elephantine Papyri. I used to accept this "scientific" calculation until I discovered that the formula is based on a "constant" that is not constant. While the solar year seems to be more accurate, the lunar cycle is affected by gravity and other forces that can change the cycle. Therefore, no one can claim definitively that a certain historical date occurred exactly on a particular date according to the modern cycle. It would take an ancient listing of dates and exact new moon sightings for several hundred years to accurately synchronize the scientific and historical dates.

Parker and Dubberstein
Event | Year (BC)
--- | ---
Nebuchadnezzar (Accession year) | August or December 605
Jerusalem destroyed | 587
Cyrus conquered | 539
Persian Empire ends | 331

The chronology of Parker and Dubberstein has been almost universally accepted as the standard for over fifty years. But one historian, Crowley, consistently dates events one year earlier than them. And there seems to be an effort to push back historical dates about three years.

- Ptolemy's Canon. Claudius Ptolemy (90 - 168 AD) was an astronomer and geographer who worked at the Great Library of Alexandria before it burned down in 391 AD. He compiled a list of kings in Babylon and Egypt supposedly from information available at the library. He began his list with Nabonassar's reign (747 BC), who conquered Egypt. He made only three entries. These were the name of the ruler, the number of years reigned and the number of years from Nabonassar.
- Elephantine Papyri. Babylonian astronomical texts and papyrus documents written in Aramaic and found on the island of Elephantine (Yeb or Aswan), Egypt and written by Jews who fled there around 650 BC during the reign of Manasseh. Some sources say (495-399 BC). The Jews set up a military installation with an alliance with Egypt. The dates were recorded with both the Persian-Babylonian lunar calendar and the Egyptian solar calendar dates.

  Elephantine Papyri
  Document | Egyptian Date | King | Year | Hebrew | Modern Date (BC)
  --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
  AP 1 | Agreement | Epiphi 2 | Darius | 27 | - | 17 October 494
  AP 2 AP 3 | Contract for corn supplied to the garrison | Phaophi 28 | Xerxes | ? | - | ?
  AP 5 | Grant of building rights | Pachons 28 | Xerxes | 15 | Elul 18 | September 8, 470
  AP 6 | A Conveyance | Thoth 7 | Artaxerxes 1 Xerxes | 1 21 | 18 Chisleu | 30 December 464
  Text: On the seventeenth day of Thoth, that is the eighteenth day of Kislev, year 21, the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes I, the king. Comments. This document was written in the ascension year of Artaxerxes, but year 21 of Xerxes
  AP 7 | A case of Burglary | Phaophi 18 | Artaxerxes ? | 4 | - | ?
  AP 8 | A Conveyance | Mesore 1 | Artaxerxes 1 | 5-6 | Kislev 21 | 27 January 459/8
  AP 9 | Deed relating to the reversion of property | Mesore 1 | Artaxerxes 1 | 6 | Chisleu 21 | ?
  AP 10 | Loan contract | Thoth 4 | Artaxerxes 1 | 9 | Chisleu 7 | 13 December 455
  AP 13 | Loan contract | Mesore 11 | Artaxerxes 1 | 19 | Kislev 2 | 14 December 445
  AP 14 | Settlement of claim | Pahons 19 | Artaxerxes 1 | 25 | Ab 14 | 21 August 439
  AP 15 | Marriage contract | Epiphi 6 | Artaxerxes 1 | ? | Tishri 25 | 464 - 423 BC
  AP 17 | Supplies for the garrison | Marcheswan 19 | Artaxerxes 1 | 37 | - | 12 November 326
  KP6 | Kraeling Papyrus 6 | Pharmuthi 8 | Darius II | 3 | Tammuz 8 | July 420 BC
  KP7 | Kraeling Papyrus 7 | Epiphi | Darius II | 4 | Tishri 1 | October 420 BC
  AP 20 | Settlement of a claim | Payni | Darius II | 4 | Elul | 420 BC
  30 | Petition to Governor of Judea | 20 Marcheswan | Darius | 17 | - | 21 November 406
  This document mentions Johanan, Sanballat, Delaiah and Shelemiah all from the book of Nehemiah and governor Bigvai of Judea mentioned by Josephus.

  AP 8, AP 10 and the Cairo Sandstone stele are assumed to have errors.
  » Fall Calendar. The two papyri, Kraeling 6 and 7, written in Darius' reign show that a fall calendar was used. Since his third year was in the fourth month and his fourth year began in the seventh month, they were using a fall calendar.
- Olympiad Dates. The Greeks started dating their calendar with the first olympics in 776 BC in groups of four years called an olympiad. Darius I and Xerxes invaded Greece and Greek historians dated their reigns in terms of the Olympiad dating system.

  Jerome Chronicles
  Olympiad | Persian King | Year | Event | Modern Date
  --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
  72.1 | Darius | 30 | The war that was waged in Marathon, and those things that are written about Miltiades and Aristides who was surnamed the Just | 492 BC
  73.1 | Xerxes | 1 | Fifth of the Persians, Xerxes son of Darius, for 20 years | 485 BC
  74.4 | Xerxes | 5 | Xerxes, when he had come to Athens, burned down the city, at the time of the leadership of Callias | 481 BC
  75.1 | Xerxes | 6 | The war that was waged in Thermopylae and the naval battle off Salamis | 480 BC
  78.4 | Artaxerxes | 20 | Sixth of the Persians, Artabanus, for 7 months, after whom, seventh, Artaxerxes, who was surnamed Long-Hand, for 40 years | 465 BC

- Cuneiform Text. Babylonian Cuneiform texts with a catalog of dates for kings who ruled there from 626 BC to 75 AD. The Uruk king list and the Babylonian king list are the two most useful.

Empire | Modern Date | Olympiad Date | Ptolemy's Canon | Cuneiform Kings List
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Ruler | Reign | Years | Uruk Reign | Babylon
Assyria | 747-734 | 8.1-11.3 | Nabonassar | 14 | 14 | - | -
734-732 | 11.3-12.1 | Nabu-nadin-zeri (Nadinu) | 2 | 16
732-727 | 12.1-13.2 | Mukin-zeri and Pul | 5 | 21
727-722 | 13.2-14.3 | Ululayu | 5 | 26
722-710 | 14.3- | Merodach-baladan | 12 | 38
710-705 | 17.3 | Sargon II | 5 | 43
705-703 | 18.4 | No King | 2 | 45
703-700 | 19.2 | Bel-ibni | 3 | 48
700-694 | 20.1 | Ashur-nadin-shumi | 6 | 54
694-693 | 21.3 | Nergal-ushezib | 1 | 55
693-689 | 21.4 | Mushezib-Marduk | 4 | 59
689-681 | 23.2 | No King | 8 | 67
681-668 | 25.2 | Esarhaddon | 13 | 100 | -
668-631 | 28.1 | Assurbanipal | Not listed | 21
Assyrian rulers of Babylon | 668-648 | 28.1 | Shamash-shuma-ukin | 20 | 100 | Same
648-626 | 33.1 | Kandalanu | 22 | 122 | 21
626 | 38.3 | Sin-sumlisir and Sin-sariskun | Not listed | 1 (governors)
Babylon | 626-605 | 38.3 | Nabopolassar | 21 | 143 | 21 | - | -
605-562 | 43.4 | Nebuchadnezzar | 43 | 186 | 43 | - | -
562-560 | 54.3 | Amel-Marduk | 2 | 188 | 2 | - | -
560-556 | 55.1 | Neriglissar | 4 | 192 | 3 years, 8 months | - | -
556 | 56.1 | Labasi-Marduk | Not listed | 3 months | - | -
556-539 | 56.1-60.2 | Nabonidus | 17 | 209 | 17 | - | -
Persia | 559-530 | 55.2-62.3 | Cyrus | 9 | 218 | ? | - | -
538-522 | 60.3-64.3 | Cambyses | 8 | 226 | ? | - | -
522-486 | 64.3 | Darius I | 36 | 262 | ? | - | -
486-465 | 73.3 | Xerxes I (Ahazarus) | 21 | 283 | Lacuna (missing) | - | -
465 | 78.4 | Artabanus (7 months) | Not listed | - | -
465-425 | 78.4 | Artaxerxes I | 41 | 324 | - | -
423-405 | 89.2-93.4 | Darius II | 19 | 343 | - | -
404-359 | 94.1-105.2 | Artaxerxes II | 46 | 389 | - | -
358-338 | 105.3- | Artaxerxes III | 21 | 410 | -
337-336 | 111.1 | Arses | 2 | 412
335 | 111.2 | Nidin-Bel | Not listed | ?
335-330 | 111.2 | Darius III | 4 | 416 | 5
Greece (Argead Dynasty) | 334-323 | 111.3 | Alexander the Great | 8 | 424 | 7 | ? | ?
323-317 | 114.2 | Philip Arrhidaeus | 7 | 431 | 6 | ? | ?
323-310 | 114.2 | Alexander IV | 12 | 443 |  | 6 | ?
Greece (Diadochi) | 317-311 | 115.4 | Antigonus [the one-eyed] | Not listed in Ptolemy's Canon | 6 | ? | ?
311-281 | 117.2 | Seleucus I Nicantor | 31 | 25 | 7
281-261 | 124.4 | Antiochus I Soter | 22 | 20 | 32
261-246 | 129.4 | Antiochus II Theos | 15 | 15 | 52
246-225 | 133.3 | Seleucus II Callinicus | ? | 20 | 67
Greek rulers of Babylon | 226-223 | 138.3 | Seleucus III | Not listed in Ptolemy's Canon | Not listed in the Uruk Kings List | 3 | 87
223-187 | 139.2 | Antiochus III | 35 | 90
187-175 | 148.2 | Seleucus IV Philopator | 12 | 125
175-164 | 151.2 | Antiochus IV Epiphanes | 11 | 137
Greek rulers of Egypt Ptolemaic | 323-285 | 114.2 | Ptolemy I Soter | 20 | 463 | - | -
282-246 | 124.3 | Ptolemy II Philadelphus | 38 | 501
246-222 | 133.3 | Ptolemy III Euergetes | 25 | 526
222-205 | 139.3 | Ptolemy IV Philopator | 17 | 543
205-180 | 143.4 | Ptolemy V Epiphanes | 24 | 567
180-146 | 150.1 | Ptolemy VI Philometor | 35 | 602
145-116 | 158.4 | Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II | 29 | 631
116-80 | 166.1 | Ptolemy IX Soter II | 36 | 667
80-51 | 175.1 | Ptolemy XII Nero Dionysus | 29 | 696
51-30 | 182.2 | Cleopatra VII Philopator | 22 | 718
Rome | 30-14AD | 187.3-198.1 | Augustus Caesar | 43 | 761
Assurbanipal appointed his brothers, Samas-suma-ukin and Kandalanu, to rule Babylon.
The Greek records have Xerxes ruling for 20 years and Artabanus for 7 months before Artaxerxes ruled 40 years

God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. Romans 8: 28 | Time: 600 minutes Print: 101 pages
Copyright Updated : April 2010 Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (May 2008) Images were created by Laverna Patterson and are the property of teachinghearts. Credits: • Assyria. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyria • Babylon. URL: http://www.livius.org/ba-bd/babylon/babylonian_empire.html • Medo-Persia. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire • Greece. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece • Rome. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome • Europe. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Europe • Dating of the Kings of Judah was from my own calculations in reading the Bible. • Verse by Verse Commentary on Daniel and Revelation from the SDA Bible Commentary. • Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith. • Epidemic information from Medic-Planet epidemics • High Priests of Israel. URL: http://pursiful.com/chronology/kohanim.html • What was the story with Shimon the Tzadik and Alexander the Great? URL: http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=591&o=541 • List of Jewish leaders in the Land of Israel. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_leaders_in_the_Land_of_Israel • Sanhedrin. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanhedrin • The Tribe: The Cohen-Levi Family Heritage. URL: http://www.cohen-levi.org/the_tribe/timeline_of_kohanim_and_levites.htm • Jerusalem on My Mind (Jerusalem History Timeline). URL: http://www.jerusalemonmymind.com/history.html • The Land Question in Palestine. URL: www.zionism-israel.com • Lateran Pacts of 1929. URL: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/treaty.htm • Lateran Treaty Changed - Endtime Issues April 2003. URL: http://www.endtimeissues.com/articles/60/ • Milestones on the road to European unification. Presse und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung • Allah - The Moon God. URL: http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm • Muslim Conquests. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests Disasters. • Historic Worldwide Earthquakes. URL: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/historical.php • Historical earthquakes. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_earthquakes • Earthquake Facts and Statistics. URL: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html » Earthquake Information for the 1990s, 2000s • Most Destructive Known Earthquakes on Record in the World. URL: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqsmosde.html • Death Toll Disasters-War. URL: http://www.geocities.com/dtmcbride/hist/disasters-war.html • Pandemics. URL: http://www.apocalypse-soon.com/pandemics.htm • Climate changes of 535-536. URL: wikipedia.com • List of natural disasters by death toll. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll • Historic tsunamis. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_tsunamis Inventions. • Chemical engineering timeline. URL: http://www.pafko.com/history/h_time.html • Twentieth Century Inventions. URL: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventions/ • Materials Science Timeline. URL: http://matse101.mse.uiuc.edu/timeline.htm • Timeline of Historic Inventions: URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_historic_inventions • Car History - Early Cars. URL: http://www.cybersteering.com/trimain/history/ecars.html • A Brief History of Transportation. Dr. Robert Scott Seitz, III. University of Alabama, Huntsville. • History Of Agriculture. URL: iPedia.net copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History Of Agriculture • Cultural Astronomy: Navigational Tools. URL: http://cuip.uchicago.edu/~christie/adler/templates.htm • A Timeline of Britain. URL: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/british.html • A Timeline of the USA. URL: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/american.html History of Money. • Ascent of Money. Niall Ferguson. PBS documentary. 10-17 September 2009 • Frontline: The Warning. October 20, 2009. PBS television broadcast on the collapse of LTCM. • Frontline: The Card Game. November 25, 2009. PBS television broadcast. Lowell Bergman, producer. • Frontline: The Madoff Affair. May 12, 2009. Martin Smith, producer. • Crash of 1929: American Experience. Aired on PBS. 26 October 2009. • Civilian Conservaton Corp: Aired on PBS. 2 November 2009. • List of stock market crashes. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_market_crashes • How Venice Rigged the First, and Worst, Global Financial Crash. Paul Gallagher, The New Federalist, and The American Almanac. URL: http://members.tripod.com/~american_almanac/pbgbardi.htm • Ponzi. URL: http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/InPerson/MajorPerson/ponzi.htm • Mercantilism. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercantilism • Feudalism. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism • Christopher Columbus. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus • The MAAFA (enslavement of Africans) Timeline. URL: http://www.swagga.com/maafatimetable.htm • The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. URL: http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm?rd=1 Historical Dates. • The Chronology of Ezra 7. Siegfried H. Horn, Ph.D. URL: www.thebibleproject.com • Ptolemy's Canon of Kings URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_of_Kings • URL: http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronology/canon.html • Elephantine papyri URL: http://www.harvardhouse.com/prophetictech/new/index.htm • Egyptian Kings (Pharaohs), Governors and Rulers. URL: http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm • Olympiad Dates. Jerome Chronicles (2005) pp.188-332 • Dum Diversas. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dum_Diversas