Over the last couple of months I have published a number of articles in regard to finding the Old Testament accounts in real-world history, and I intend to continue to publish more of this content in the days to come. Because of the overwhelming amount of evidence being presented, and the claims being made, it is likely some folks are concluding that, here at Truth in Time, what we are communicating is just sensational and probably even misleading. And I do understand why folks might have concerns, so I thought I would venture into a brief, but crucial article on this topic.
What we are all about here at Truth in Time is demonstrating the truth of Christianity, (apologetics) through historicity based upon chronology. Now this may sound boring, but I encourage you to take this in, as it is of utmost importance if you really want to get to the truth. And getting to the real Truth in real Time is what we are all about.
The content that is being put forth in these articles is not intended to be sensational— the type where there are dramatics and loud fanfare, yet celebrating little to no actual content and facts. We have all seen this kind of thing— individuals and groups who have hurt the cause of Christ and damaged the faith of some by being sensational and misleading about “archaeological finds” that “prove the Bible stories to be true.” These individuals often run to and fro around the world, acting like a modern day, Christian Indiana Jones of sorts, coming up with all sorts of wild and fascinating “finds” that “prove” certain biblical accounts. And, as is often the case, these folks gather large followings of Christians who are hungry for a defense of their faith in this area (and who enjoy the entertainment value), and therefore seem to hang on every word they say. Then somewhere down the road, it is found out that these claims were completely off-base and wrong. Or, those who are experts in these fields know from the start that this is misguided at best and charlatanism at worst. Either way, good people end up confused and hurt. The cause of Christ– the Truth– is not advanced.
“Getting to the real truth in real time is what we are all about.”
It is possible that at least the motivations for the wild claims of some of these folks’ may be noble, as they see the vital importance of biblical historicity in Christian apologetics. In this, they would be correct. The defense of the truth of Christianity is entirely dependent upon the truth of Biblical history. In other words, if the Bible is not even basically reliable in the real world, why should we believe its claims to be inspired and infallible? There are numerous holy books that make these same claims. Christianity is set apart and found to be true at the most basic level because it is rooted in God’s real-world history. It is important to remember that apologetics is built upon a foundation of Biblical historicity.
But there is a second thing to remember, and this is the criterion that all claims must meet– that of correct chronology. There is a close connection between history and chronology. It has been stated, “chronology is the backbone of history.” Chronology holds history together and makes sense of it. You cannot truly defend biblical historicity without a true and accurate biblical chronology. Biblical chronology is foundational to Christian apologetics. As Dr. Gerald Aardsma states,
I cannot emphasize too strongly that it is imperative to get the chronology of history right if one hopes to understand history correctly. This is tacitly shown by the Bible’s own careful provision of chronological data accompanying its narrative of the earth’s earliest ages. The only way we can hope to understand the Bible’s history of these early ages correctly is by adhering to the Bible’s own chronology of that history. Furthermore, the only way we can hope to correctly understand extra-Biblical data bearing on the Biblical account of earth history is by getting their chronology right. And all of this demands that chronological data of all types be held in high esteem, and that they be given precedence over all other factors in our attempts to reconstruct and comprehend history.[1]Gerald E. Aardsma, “Pharaohs and Kings; A Biblical Quest?” The Biblical Chronologist 2.5, September/October 1996
We are presenting a “new approach” to the chronology of the biblical history of the early Old Testament. The information we are presenting is not based on wild, isolated “finds” someone dug up in ancient Egypt, or strange renderings of hieroglyphics on a cave wall somewhere. The thing to begin with is not the archaeology, but with the chronology. And our simple, but weighty message is that when you get the biblical chronology corrected, suddenly the enormous wealth of archaeological finds over the last century overwhelmingly corroborate the biblical accounts. The biblical accounts line up with historical finds, and as a result we have a very strong apologetic for our Christian claims. (And we didn’t even have to grab our brown fedora hat and take one single trip to the middle east to “find” the evidence. Although that would be a lot of fun.)
Articles such as I have been putting forth, based upon the extensive work and research of physicist and chronologist Dr. Gerald Aardsma over the last three decades, making claims that the true Mount Sinai has been located (our forthcoming post), that the route of the Exodus is now known, that we have ample evidence of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and so on, will certainly come across to some at first glance as just another sensationalist group making claims they have no real evidence for, trying to make a name for themselves. (In the words of Indiana Jones himself, “Fortune and glory kid, fortune and glory.”) But nothing could be further from the truth. If this at all seems “sensational” it is only due to the large amounts of real data that can now be corroborated due to this one single chronological correction. It is like a key that opens a whole host of doors, all in one single turn. And this is something that God’s people really need to begin to grasp, and really thank the Lord for.
Others will have a hard time with this simply because it is a radically new idea. And we humans, (even those highly educated ones), have difficulty accepting radical new ideas, even when the evidence in support of it is quite overwhelming. It is simply “safe” to not depart from ideas that have been traditionally accepted. History bears this out. We must have the courage to look past tradition, to the factual evidence alone, and take our stand.
This single biblical chronological correction, found by the correction of an early copy error of a single numerical digit in I Kings 6:1, suddenly presents to us a great swath of evidence for the early Old Testament biblical accounts. Again, I need to stress that we are not talking about making numerous adjustments, trying to make some sense out of numerous events— a change over here that makes sense of one biblical account over there, meanwhile ignoring other scientific disciplines, and on and on— we are talking about one adjustment (and a big one) to biblical chronology that brings overall harmony to these early biblical accounts.
“It is like a key that opens a whole host of doors, all in one single turn. And this is something that God’s people really need to begin to grasp, and really thank the Lord for.”
As we have argued, inserting one thousand years into the biblical timeline should do anything but bring harmony between secular and biblical history, if it is a mistaken idea. Reasonable thinking would tell us that this will just add confusion to confusion, unless it actually is missing. What would be the odds that even one or two biblical events would match up with secular history by inserting a full thousand years into the timeline? Yet we have seen, and will continue to see, that the early Old Testament biblical accounts are repeatedly corroborated by secular history and archaeology in the third millennium B.C., where this adjusted biblical chronology tells us these events should be found.
The work being communicated here is data rich, and has been done with a high regard and appreciation for the many skilled, dedicated men and women, experts in fields such as archaeology, radiocarbon dating, chronology, and more. We are thankful to God for these disciplines, and desire to build upon the expertise and labors of others.
So, in more articles and videos to come, we will— with nary a single airplane ticket to the Middle East, from the comfort of our arm chairs, and with much appreciation for the work of the good archaeologists that have gone before us— continue to follow the archaeological records, within the third millennium B.C. Certainly not every question will be answered immediately, as much more work and expertise is needed in continuing to substantiate this new discovery. I am simply presenting the big picture, the starting point. I hope you will continue to join me as we hurdle some chasms of traditional ideas, and gratefully watch the Bible (God’s real Word) and history (God’s real world) continue to wonderfully harmonize. I hope you will help us in this endeavor to spread the word, or even get involved in researching this new approach to ancient biblical history and chronology if you are so inclined and equipped. May the true and living God be glorified for all of His mighty deeds, and may many be brought into the Kingdom of His dear Son.
This news needs to be made known to others. Will you help us in spreading the word? You can do this by sharing our content on social media, or subscribing on our email list and asking others to do the same. I am also available to come and speak on these subjects in churches, Christian colleges, home school seminars, etc.
References
| ↑1 | Gerald E. Aardsma, “Pharaohs and Kings; A Biblical Quest?” The Biblical Chronologist 2.5, September/October 1996 |
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