Biblically Compatible Archaeology and Geography

      by   Damien F. Mackey         “Ninth-century chroniclers, who interpreted the outcome of the battle as divine judgment in his favour, gave Charles the nickname Martellus  (“The Hammer”), possibly recalling Judas Maccabeus (“The Hammerer”) of Maccabean revolt”.   Wikispeedia         Introduction   Just as he was surrounded by adversity on all sides, according to what has been recounted of his exploits, so does the Frankish king, Charles Martel, need to face most rigorous scrutiny from history, chronology and archaeology.   He (c. 688-741 AD) is supposed to have lived during that most dubious of centuries, the C7th AD (and on into the C8th):       Scrutinising the C7th AD for its conundrums and anachronisms   (4) Scrutinising the C7th AD for its conundrums and anachronisms   It is in that century, presumably, that w...

    by   Damien F. Mackey       “[Otto] Betz rightly concludes that the Herodians mentioned in Mark are the Essene Scrolls authors”.   Marvin Vining       I:       “Herodians”   Marvin Vining, author of the controversial book, Jesus the Wicked Priest. How Christianity was born of an Essene Schism (2008), considered an insight into the subject by Otto Betz to have been crucial for his own biblical identification of the enigmatic Essenes. And I, in similar fashion, owe it entirely to Marvin Vining for his having fully identified the Essenes, who would probably otherwise have continued to remain a complete mystery to me.   Vining’s important chapter 2, “Identifying the Essenes in the New Testament”, will break completely new ground as far as I am concerned. In # 13 of that chapter, “Herodians”: A Minor New Testament Name for the Essenes”, he writes, leading up to Betz (p. 28):  ...