Biblically Compatible Archaeology and Geography

by Damien F. Mackey Part One: Still a Republic at time of Herod ‘the Great’ “[The Romans] conquered kings near and far, and everyone who heard of their reputation was afraid of them. They helped some men to become kings, while they deposed others; they had become a world power. In spite of all this, no Roman ever tried to advance his own position by wearing a crown or putting on royal robes. They created a senate, and each day 320 senators came together to deliberate about the affairs of the people and their well-being. Each year they entrusted to one man the responsibility of governing them and controlling their whole territory”. I Maccabees 8:12-16 Introduction If I am correct in my merging of the Maccabean era of Judas “the Hammer” with the Nativity era of Jesus Christ, in articles such as: Judas the Galilean vitally links Maccabean era to Daniel 2’s “rock cut out of a mountain” (3) Judas the Galilean vitally links Maccabean era to Daniel 2's "ro...

by Damien F. Mackey “And of the battle that they had fought against the Galatians, in Babylonia; how they, being in all but six thousand, when it came to the point, and the Macedonians, their companions, were at a stand, slew a hundred and twenty thousand, because of the help they had from heaven, and for this they received many favours”. 2 Maccabees 8:20 Judas Maccabeus was wont to stir up courage in his troops before a battle by recalling heroic past deeds by the likes of fellow-Israelites, David, Jonathan, Saul, and so on (e.g. I Maccabees 4:30). His father, Mattathias, had employed the very same tactic (2 Maccabees 2:51-64). Now Judas, just prior to an encounter with his nemesis, Nicanor, recalled two mighty victories by outnumbered Jews. The first (8:19) “when, under Sennacherib, 185,000 men had perished” at the hands of their Jewish “forbears”. Whilst that incident is a most famous one, the details of it have become completely obscured over time. Hopefully I ...

by Damien F. Mackey “While in Tyre, Hadrian probably spent time with the public. He was a very popular Emperor and was usually embraced by the majority of the people”. A. R. Birley It is most important for what follows that emperor Hadrian, the Grecophile, be recognised as being the very same evil entity as the Seleucid, Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ (“God Manifest”), as according to e.g. my series: Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ and Emperor Hadrian. Part One: “… a mirror image” (4) Hadrian's Reflection on Antiochus IV Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ and Emperor Hadrian. Part Two: “Hadrian … a second Antiochus” (4) Hadrian as a Second Antiochus Epiphanes Like Hadrian, Antiochus had significant association with the important city of Tyre. In the case of king Antiochus, for instance, we read: 2 Maccabees 4:18-20: When the quadrennial games were being held at Tyre and the king [Antiochus] was present, the vile Jason sent envoys, chosen as being Antiochian citizens from Jerusalem, to c...

by Damien F. Mackey “The port was called Sebastos, meaning Augustus and Caesarea for Caesar. The entire project was funded by the King. Herod had been in Rome in 40 B.C.E. when the city was experiencing a vibrant building programme which may have inspired his imagination. Here, he met Marcus Agrippa who had dedicated both his organizational talent and his fortune to the rebuilding of the imperial city”. Barbara Mary Denis Bergin Wait a minute: “Herod Agrippa built the port city of Caesarea Maritima”? But wasn’t it Herod ‘the Great’, at the time of Augustus Caesar, who had built it? Yes to both, according to my recent re-arrangement of the Herods, which has Herod ‘the Great’ as both Agrippa I and Agrippa II: Let us not over multiply the Herods and Agrippas (3) Revising the Herodian Narrative in Context Hence the King Herod who turned to worms whilst hoping to attain to deity: The cruel wages of apotheosis (3) The cruel wages of apotheosis was not Herod Agrippa so-...