Ezekiel is known as one of Israel’s greatest prophets, but how good was he really? His prophecies against Israel’s enemies were specific, so how did Ezekiel do? How many did he get right and how many did he get wrong? In recent studies we have looked at archaeological discoveries that support claims that Ezekiel prophesied in Babylon while in exile during the early part of … [Read more...]

In past studies we saw that archaeologists have discovered records of three ancient deportations of people from Judah to Babylon: 605 BC, 597 BC, and 586 BC. Daniel was taken during the first captivity in 605 BC (Daniel 1:1-7). Many scholars believe Ezekiel was taken during the second captivity in 597 BC. One thing the Books of Daniel and Ezekiel have in common among critics … [Read more...]

Darius or Cyrus? “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” Daniel 5:30-31 Daniel wrote that Darius the Mede received the Kingdom of Babylon, but Herodotus wrote that Cyrus received it. Who is right? In the last part of our series we looked at how archaeological discoveries from … [Read more...]

“The handwriting is on the wall.” The next time you hear someone use that phrase, ask them where it comes from. Many people have no idea it comes from the Book of Daniel. “In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote … Then the fingers of … [Read more...]

The Book of Daniel is one of the most contested writings in the Bible. Atheists understand the significance of Daniel and attack it with regularity. Here’s a note on the Secular Web about Daniel: “The prophecies of the Book of Daniel have fascinated readers and created controversy for the past two thousand years. Evangelical Christians believe that the prophet Daniel, an … [Read more...]

Dr. Richard Carrier is a well-known atheist who does not believe Jesus of Nazareth was a real person. Carrier is a leading proponent of the ‘origin of Christianity without a historical Jesus’ (richardcarrier.info). Carrier also believes that many of the most important biblical figures were also fictional. “The patriarchs are safely assumed now to be nonhistorical, and thus … [Read more...]

We are looking at what archaeological evidence was available in 1971 to support the writings of the Hebrew prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible. That’s when I was conducting an investigation, as an atheist, into the truth claims of theism and Christianity. We’ve seen evidence for the men who prophesied during the years of the kings of Israel and Judah and the evidence … [Read more...]

When a theist presents ‘evidence’ to an atheist for the existence of God, the atheist will often challenge the theist with whether the supernatural is ‘falsifiable.’ In other words, is a belief in God ‘testable?’ Atheists say that ‘religious beliefs,’ beliefs in the existence of a supernatural God, are not falsifiable because they cannot be verified or denied. That was one … [Read more...]

“And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them … [Read more...]