March 2006 Newsletter
Exciting things are happening here at Anchor Stone International. You will read about some of them in this newsletter. God is definitely on the move in the world today and his angels are releasing the four winds of Revelation.
Jerry Bowen, the director of ASI has another great article that you want to be sure to read. I thought you might be interested in the coordinates of the discoveries so you can use Google Earth to see where they are. You can actually visit them anytime you want, because I have included them in this newsletter. I get a kick out of looking at them from different angles and seeing what the areas look like today. You can almost picture yourself walking with Noah or with Moses at the Red Sea crossing, etc. I only wish there was better resolution for some of the locations.
Well, enough of the intro. Let’s get to the newsletter.
Dennis G. McKeever
Editor
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–DIRECTOR’S CORNER–
The Stones Are Crying Out!
As noted from last months Director’s corner, I believe the Stones, (i.e. Discoveries), are crying out. The question is, just what are they saying?
The Lord has miraculously preserved these things (now in stone), for this generation to consider. They bring you face to face with the validity of Scripture, and are quite a witnessing tool as well. Before Christ returns He must get the attention of a very deceived and distracted world. With all of the sites gaining notoriety within the last 28 years, these Stones will do their appointed work. Nothing could be truer than our first Stone, the remains of Noah’s Ark. For centuries now folks have been looking for the remains of the Ark. Almost all efforts, however, were directed toward Mount Ararat, notably the highest peak in the area. With thousands of expeditions up the mountain to date, no definitive evidence has ever been produced, just some supposed sightings, lots of stories, lots of speculation. Along the journey there have also been doctored photos, fraudulent samples, and unscrupulous treasure hunters and glory seekers. Mt. Ararat became the traditional site not only because of its size, but due to a misinterpretation of the Bible. Genesis 8:4 indicates a general region, that of Urartu, not a specific peak. Tradition is a difficult thing to get past, though, throw in some human emotions such as ego, pride and arrogance and you have a recipe for the impossible.
One of the real benefits of all the hype and misunderstanding concerning Mount Ararat is that it has preserved the real location. God knew that the petrified remains would play an important role for the last generation, so it was out of sight and inaccessible until 1948. After making landfall further up the ridge, at some point, mud or lava swept the ship down to its present location. It was covered, petrified, and through a series of seismic events, was eventually pushed up on the slopes of Mashur, near the village of Uzengili. The location is often referred too as the Durupinar site, approximately 12 miles southeast of Mt. Ararat. It was in 1959 that Ariel photos taken by captain Durupinar gained world attention as the possible landing site. A U.S team traveled to the site in 1960, but failed to conduct significant testing to determine whether this was indeed a man-made structure. After just 1 1/2 days on site they departed, concluding it to be a freak natural phenomena. Some on the tour hoped further examination would be done. Seventeen years later that process began, with startling results. Despite the attempt of some to explain away the abundance of physical evidence that has surfaced over the last 28 years, more and more folks are seeing clearly what God has preserved. There are those who are, “willingly ignorant”, looking the other way on purpose, because such a find would become an embarrassment to them. As individuals we are free to choose what to believe, even if it means our own demise.
The story behind Noah’s Ark is really one of Mercy. The Scriptures confirm the incredible world God had created and what impact the entrance of sin had on it. After just 1500 years the commentary is quite tragic, (Gen. 6:11), “The Earth was also corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the Earth and that every imagination of the heart was only evil continually. It was a different world before the great flood, environmental conditions were such that people lived to much greater age, (aver. before the flood was 912 years), and as you might expect people grew to much greater stature and weight as well. The author of the Genesis account calls them giants, (Gen. 6:4). With the Earth resembling a large hyperbaric chamber, due to the water canopy put in place at creation, with greater atmospheric pressure, 30% oxygen, the absence of ultra-violet light and perfect soil composition, and a greater electro-magnetic field, it should not be surprising at all to find people weighting in at over 5,000 lbs and towering to heights of perhaps 16′. So, because of this incredible vital force and power, mixed with the poison of sin, the devastation is more them we could ever imagine. God in His mercy brought it to an end.
Rebellious and disobedient as they were, these were still God’s children, made in His image after His likeness. The pain of what they had become and what they were doing to one another grieved God so that He had to cut short their agony. As a true heavenly parent He had the ability to bring the pain and suffering to an end. He baptized the world He had created, washing away the corruption, leaving just the few faithful survivors to start anew. As a result of this action, Noah and his family began again in a very changed world. Life span was cut dramatically, size and weight diminished rapidly as well. The perfect balance was gone. Noah lived an additional 350 years after the flood, his healthy pre-flood constitution allowed for such, even in a shipwrecked world. However, his son Shem lived only to be 600 years old, being around 97 when the flood occurred. Abram (later Abraham) was 41 when Noah died, he would live only to be 175. Sin impacted God’s wonderful world dramatically and now those elements that prolonged life, much to our own demise, He had stripped away through the flood, but His infinite Mercy gave us all, another chance.
With the world today becoming more and more like the days of Noah, we again need to be reminded of the rich blessing of God’s mercy. He truly provides every breath, every beat of our hearts. If it were not for His mercy we would simply be consumed. It is His compassion that fails not, and we are informed that this is new to us every morning, (Lam. 3:22,23). God’s mercy has truly provided the time for us all to make the decisions we need to make. We got into this mess by making one wrong choice, and we will get out by making one right choice. No matter what life has thrown your way, the right choice is still there waiting for any takers. God promises a new world to come, all things will be made new, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away, (Rev. 21:4) and that’s worth the price! Consider what you could do for the one who gave His all for you!
Jerry Bowen
The Director’s corner
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–NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBER’S SPECIAL OFFER —
Now you can share the whole story of Noah’s Ark with a relative or friend. For the next 50 days order 2 of Henri Nissen’s books and get a 20% discount. That’s 2 for 47.92 plus S/H The author includes some of Ron Wyatt’s research and introduces you to all the major players over the last 30 years. Keep one for yourself and use the other as a gift. So, for the rest of March and all of April spread the Truth that Validates God’s Word.
Visit our online shop
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–BIBLE TRIVIA
Our research has revealed how Noah provided lighting in the ark. What do you think it was? Answer can be found at the end of the newsletter.
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MAP LOCATIONS FOR DISCOVERIES
AND RELATED AREAS
DISCOVERY
LATTITUDE, LONGITUDE
NOAH’S ARK 39 26 26 N, 44 14 5.3 E
RED SEA CROSSING SITE 29 0 5.14 N, 34 39 53 E
MT. SINAI (JABAL AL-LAWZ /JABAL AL-MAKLA)
Rephidim(Split Rock)
Golden Calf Altar
Sacrifice Altar Area(L shape)
Saudi Guard Shack in Holy Precinct Area
Possible Grave site of 23,000 bodies(Ex. 32:28,35,1Cor 10:8)
Elijah Cave area(1 Kgs. 19)/Single Almond tree(Ex25:31)
28 35 6.38N, 35 21 12 .15 E
28 43 35.44N, 35 14 10.46E
28 34 52.7N, 35 23 46.22E
28 35 3.87N, 35 22 43.3E
28 35 12.5N, 35 23 8.37E
28 47 3.41N, 35 09 46.3E
28 35 17.3N, 35 22 22.97E
SODOM 31 4 53 N, 35 22 1 E
GOMORRAH 31 18 30.03N, 35 22 20.69E
JERUSALEM
GARDEN TOMB
GOLGOTHA
JEREMIAH’S GROTTO
GETHSEMANE
MT. OF OLIVES
31 46 46 N, 35 13 11 E
31 47 O3.76N, 35 13 48.28E
31 47 01.29N, 35 13 15.02E
31 47 02.07N, 35 13 50.53E
31 46 46.69N, 35 14 27.14E
31 46 30.20N, 35 14 33.91E
PYRAMIDS (GIZA) 29 58 33 N, 31 7 49.1 E
ZAQQARA(JOSEPH’S GRAIN BINS) 29 52 9.2 N, 31 12 59.54 E
NEMRUT DA (NIMROD’S MOUNTAIN NEAR TOWER OF BABEL) 38 02 11.8 N, 38 45 49.3 E
GAZIANTEP (NEAR TOWER OF BABEL) 37 4 8 N, 37 23 26.96 E
CALTEPE (CINAR. ANCIENT SHINAR) 39 56 58.11 N, 37 27 39.66 E
URFA(UR OF THE CHALDEES) 37 10 12.3N, 38 47 23.24E
HARRAN 36 51 00.81N, 39 00 00.7E
NAKHICHEVAN(NAMED AFTER NOAH) 39 12 43.1N, 45 24 49.3E
NOTE: The latitude and longitude coordinates can be copied and pasted “as is” into Google Earth search.
NOTE: Certain areas of the world have low resolution images making it almost impossible to see the object. For example, Noah’s Ark. You can just make out where the Uzengili village is and the top of the visitor’s center but I could not make out the shape of the ark. There does appear to be a black object that is in the right place and that may be it. Jerusalem is also a low resolution image.
NOTE: In Genesis we read of the selection of Abram (Abraham) to be the father of the chosen people, and we discover that he is living in Ur of the Chaldees (called “Urfa” today), which is within 100 miles of Babel. Given the call to go to Canaan, he and his family set out, stopping in Haran (Harran) about 35 miles south of Ur, where Terah dies. There is another Ur south of Baghdad but we believe Urfa is the biblical one.
The evidence shows conclusively that Abraham’s family settled in the region a little south of the Babel site, in the area of the Euphrates “loop” and the tributary, the Balikh River.
Sarugi (Serug, Abraham’s great grandfather’s name), is located halfway between the Euphrates and Haran. A town called Nahuru located in the Balikh Valley below Haran (Nahor, the name of Abraham’s grandfather as well as a brother, which was Rebekah’s home (Gen. 24:10) which Abraham sent his servant to bring her for his son Isaac’s wife) is known from both the Cappadocian tablets and the Mari tablets (discovered in 1935 and belonging to the eighteenth century B.C.) to be in the same region.
In the region of Haran there is unmistakable evidence of the extended Hebrew residence in the vicinity of the Balikh and Habur Rivers, two tributaries of the Euphrates east of the great bend south of ancient Carchemish.
The town of Haran (Gen. 11:31; 12:5) is still in existence on the Balikh River sixty miles west of Tell Halaf. It was flourishing in the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries B.C., as is known from in its cuneiform sources. The name appears in Assyrian documents as Harranu (“road”) because of the trade route (Damascus-Nineveh-Carchemish).
The name of Abraham’s father, Terah, is preserved at Til-sa-Turah, the “ruin of Terah” in the Balikh Valley. What is remarkable is that all these geographical names are found in the district of Harran- according to the Biblical traditions it is precisely in this region that Abraham’s family stayed.
Others listed in Genesis 11:10-30 have left traces in this territory, called Paddan-Aram (Aramaic paddana, “field or plain” of Aram) in Genesis (25:20; 26:6, 7; etc.). Reu corresponds to later names of towns in the Middle-Euphrates valley. Peleg recalls later Paliga on the Euphrates just above the mouth of the Habur.
Near the eastern end of the Mount Ararat valley on the Aras River is a town called Nakhichevan (just east of the Iranian border in Azerbaijan.) Numerous Armenian traditions ascribe the founding of the city of Nakhichevan to Noah.
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June 19th thru June 27
With Optional 4 days Climbing Mt. Ararat
Our 2006 Noah’s Ark Tour looks to be the most informative and exciting ever. Our tour guide will be Zafer Onay.
This will be the first time ASI will pick up all expenses with the exception of personal souvenirs and domestic flights within the U.S. going and returning. We will cover everything from your international flights until you return. This means you won’t need to change any funds once arriving in Istanbul unless you want to.
You have until June 5th to make your reservations. People are signing up and get your registration in soon. See our website for details.
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Anchor Stones Partner Program
Please consider supporting Anchor Stone International with a donation. See our web site under DONATIONS. Without your help this work will not be able to go forward.
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The Exodus Case
A scientific examination of the Exodus story: In this remarkable “textbook” you will follow a chain of events that has affected our culture far more than we have previously believed. You must decide for yourself if there is any reason to accept these stories as truth. To help you there are 565 color illustrations. This book is based on the discoveries made by Ronald E. Wyatt. Hard Bound 317 pages
Visit our online shop
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Bible Humor
Q: Why was Adam a famous runner?
Q: Did all the animals on the ark come in pairs?
Answers at end of newsletter..
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Anchor Stone International Monthly Wisdom
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me,
I must live so that no one will believe it.
I’ve learned that you can make some one’s day by simply
sending them a little note.
I’ve learned that the greater a person’s sense of guilt,
the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today,
life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
I’ve learned that motel mattresses are better on
the side away from the phone.
I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person
by the way he/she handles these three things:
a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents,
you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.
I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing
as making a “life”.
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands.
You need to be able to throw something back.
I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you.
But if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others,
your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart,
I usually make the right decision.
I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.
I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone.
People love that human touch – holding hands, a warm hug,
or just a friendly pat on the back.
I’ve also learned that I still have a lot to learn.
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EVOLUTION WATCH
500 doctoral scientists skeptical of Darwin
Growing list of signatories challenges claims about support for theory More than 500 scientists with doctoral degrees have signed a statement expressing skepticism about Darwin’s theory of evolution.
The statement, which includes endorsement by members of the prestigious U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Sciences, was first published by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute in 2001 to challenge statements about Darwinian evolution made in promoting PBS’s “Evolution” series.
The PBS promotion claimed “virtually every scientist in the world believes the theory to be true.”
“Darwinists continue to claim that no serious scientists doubt the theory and yet here are 500 scientists who are willing to make public their skepticism about the theory,” said John G. West, associate director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture.
The institute is the leading promoter of the theory of Intelligent Design, which has been at the center of challenges in federal court over the teaching of evolution in public school classes. Advocates say it draws on recent discoveries in physics, biochemistry and related disciplines that indicate some features of the natural world are best explained as the product of an intelligent cause rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.
West said Darwinist “efforts to use the courts, the media and academic tenure committees to suppress dissent and stifle discussion are in fact fueling even more dissent and inspiring more scientists to ask to be added to the list.”
The statement, signed by 514 scientists, reads:
“We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged.”
West said the Discovery Institute was encouraged to launch a website for the list because of the growing number of scientific dissenters.
“Darwin’s theory of evolution is the great white elephant of contemporary thought,” said David Berlinski, a signatory and mathematician and philosopher of science with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. “It is large, almost completely useless, and the object of superstitious awe.”
Other prominent signatories include U.S. National Academy of Sciences member Philip Skell, American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow Lyle Jensen, evolutionary biologist and textbook author Stanley Salthe; Smithsonian Institution evolutionary biologist and researcher at the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information Richard von Sternberg, editor of Rivista di Biologia/Biology Forum – the oldest still published biology journal in the world – Giuseppe Sermonti and Russian Academy of Natural Sciences embryologist Lev Beloussov.
The list includes 154 biologists, 76 chemists and 63 physicists. They hold doctorates in biological sciences, physics, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, computer science and related disciplines.
Many are professors or researchers at major universities and research institutions such as MIT, The Smithsonian, Cambridge University, UCLA, University of California at Berkeley, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, University of Georgia and University of Washington.
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ASI Answers Questions about the Discoveries
Question: Doesn’t Revelation 11:15-19 prove that the Ark of the Covenant was taken to heaven? So how could it be in a cave on earth?
Answer: According to Hebrews 8:1-5 and 9:23-24, there is a heavenly original and an earthly copy. There has always been a heavenly ark so there is no need for the earthly ark to be there.
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Trivia Answer: Flood Lights.
Bible Humor Answers:
Q: Why was Adam a famous runner?
A: Because he was first in the human race.
Q: Did all the animals on the ark come in pairs?
A: No the worms came in apples.
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