Reverse Reading?

Overnight we lost 3380 hits. Long ago I put a simple counter, supplied by WordPress, on this page. There is also a stats chart that I can see when I login. The chart was based on some time zone other than the one in which I live. So, each morning when I am home I write down my own daily stats. When I opened the page to do that this morning I noted that I had 3380 hits less than yesterday morning.

What happened to all of my readers? Maybe you had been reading and decided to take it back! I don’t know what happened, but I see that WordPress has changed the stats chart to match my time zone. I don’t know how that could have messed up the total number. Anyway, deep in my heart I know you have been here. The count this morning should have been about 170,685 +/-. I was looking forward to a big 200,000-hit party and inviting each of you to come read and see. Don’t know what I will do now.

More importantly, my ranking at Alexa has continued to improve significantly. Thanks for coming my way.

Visiting the Ptolemaic Temple at Edfu

At Edfu, 64 miles south of Luxor, we visited the temple of the sun god Horus who is represented by the falcon. Begun by Ptolemy III in 237 B.C. and completed by 57 B.C., it is the finest example of the ancient Egyptian temples that I have seen. At Luxor we saw Alexander the Great represented as a Pharaoh. His successors, the Ptolemies, brought this practice to an extreme in the temple at Edfu. Ptolemy is pictured repeatedly on the limestone walls standing before Horus; Horus is always the taller figure. Idolatry was not something new to the Greeks, of course (Acts 17; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

There is a scene inside the temple showing 12 priests carrying an ark on poles. This box on a boat contained the important books pertaining to the temple and the religion of Horus. I think it dates to the time of Pharaoh Neco (late seventh century BC). Neco was the Pharaoh who killed Josiah, the king of Judah, at Megiddo. He continued to Carchemish where he met defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. A replica of the ark is on display in the most holy place in the temple.

The ark at Edfu. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

A visit to Edfu demonstrates that, in the Ptolemaic period, we are no longer observing an Egypt ruled by Egyptians but one ruled by foreigners. The prophecy of Ezekiel had been fulfilled.

Thus says the Lord GOD, “I will also destroy the idols And make the images cease from Memphis. And there will no longer be a prince in the land of Egypt; And I will put fear in the land of Egypt. (Ezekiel 30:13).

Descendants of Ham no longer controlled the land, but it was dominated by foreigners who were descendants of Japheth. In the 7th century A.D. the country came under the control of Arab rulers who were descendants of Shem. This same rule by foreigners now continues in the present Egyptian government headed in recent time by presidents Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak. The modern Egyptians are simply caretakers of the ruins of ancient Egypt.

We do a lot of studying and learning on the tour, but we also have fun. Of our 42 person on the tour, about 15 have attended Florida College. Two board members are among the group. The college mascot for the sport teams is the Falcon. We posed with Horus, the falcon god, for a photo.

Note: I left the boat at Aswan to come to a nice Internet Cafe. It seems that I failed to include the photo referenced above on my flash drive. I will try to get it on later.

Note: We are back in Cairo. Here is the photo.

Florida College Falcon fans at Edfu, Egypt. Photo by Sharon Cobb.

Travel is fun

One of the perils of travel is dealing with the hawkers. There is the guy who approaches a person with a Nikon Digital SLR trying to sell him postcards of the monument he just photographed. I remember a boy in Damascus in 1967 hawking those little inlaid boxes for “Just one lousy American dollar.” We were on a boat taking the canal tour in Bangkok when suddenly a boy comes up out of the dirty water into the moving boat.

Egypt is probably the worst place for hawkers. One thing is for sure. If you ever take an item in your hand it will be difficult to get rid of it. You may say, “I don’t need that.” He say, “Why you no need this?”

I like this refreshing sign in a shop at Ephesus. No doubt here!

Genuine fake watches in a shop at Ephesus. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Ask in the next village

Once while visiting the site of Lystra our group enjoyed some time with local farmers who were working the fields below the tell (huyuk, in Turkey). I asked our guide to ask the men if they had heard of the apostle Paul. When he asked them, a puzzled look came over the face of the farmer who was doing most of the talking. He said, “No, but you might ask in the next village.”

The farmer said, "Ask in the next village." Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Paul visited Lystra on his first journey (Acts 14). On the second journey he came through Lystra where Timothy lived. From that point on Timothy remained a faithful companion and co-worker with Paul in the spread of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,  2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.  3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.  (Acts 16:1-3 NASB)

Is the Apostle Paul known in your village? I mean, is the teaching of Christ and Him crucified known there? (1 Corinthians 2:2).

An archaeology joke

Claude Mariottini calls attention to a funny archaeology joke. At least he thinks it is funny, and I agree.

An archaeologist was digging in the Negev desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy. After examining it, he called the curator of a prestigious natural history museum.

“I’ve just discovered a 3,000 year old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!” the excited explorer exclaimed.

The curator replied, “Bring him in. We will check it out and see if your calculations are correct.”

A week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. “I don’t know how you guessed so accurately, but you were right on target about the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?”

Like Dr. Mariottini did, I will send you here for the punch line.

Athens – Intellectual capital of the ancient world

We arrived at the port of Athens early yesterday morning and was met by our tour operator and guide. Morning sightseeing included highlight of the ancient and modern capital of Greece. This included the Royal Palace, the Stadium and Temple of Zeus, the Theater of Dionysius, Mars Hill (the Areopagus), the Acropolis with the famous Parthenon, the Agora (mar­ket place) and Socrates’ prison (Acts 17:15-34).

Both Athens and Corinth are in biblical Achaia.

I always find the visit to the National Archaeological Museum enjoyable. I have prepared several photos to upload, but have decided to so with the one below.

When speaking about archaeology, I am asked often about how people in the ancient world built those marvelous structures that now amaze us. I think I have finally figured out the answer for the Parthenon which was constructed about 2500 years ago. This photo might help you to understand. You have heard the saying, “Pictures don’t lie.” This photo is not retouched.

Titus was left in Crete

Paul left Titus in Crete to set in order what was lacking in the churches, and appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5). This indicates that Paul visited Crete with Titus and left Titus there. It is difficult to fit this into the information we know about Paul’s life, but likely came after the first Roman imprisonment. Tradition has it that Titus was the first bishop of Gortyn. There we saw the ruins of the Basilica of St. Titus (4th to 8th centuries). Here is one of the photos from this site was was on the main road from Heraklion to Fair Havens.

This photo shows the back of the basilica because the front was in the shadows. One of our tour members was looking at the photo. I said, “We could say that this Roman statue is of Titus.” She said, “It looks as if he has a splitting headache.”

Landing amid snipper fire!

About the time we were ready for landing the pilot began what seemed link some diversionary tactics, first turning to the left, and then to the right. We knew that this was an area that had seen conflict for several millennial.

When the pilot had the plane safely on the tarmac we all jumped out and hunkered down to avoid the sniper fire from all sides. The greeting that had been planned for us had to be cancelled.

So much for April fool’s day! (I haven’t heard anything about the presidential campaigns since leaving the USA.)

We made the trip safely, but several pieces of luggage were missing. Once these reports had been filed we left the airport and went to Joppa.

Joppa is located on the Mediterranean Sea. Joppa is now part of Tel Aviv-Yaffo. The site is associated with several important evens from biblical times. Solomon traded wheat, barley, oil, and wine to Hiram of Tyre for the timber of Lebanon to be used in Solomon’s building projects, including the temple.

“Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of which he has spoken. We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may carry it up to Jerusalem.” (2 Chroinicles 2:15-16).

Jonah took a ship from Joppa toward Tarshish in a feeble attempt disobey the Lord (Johan 1:3). Peter raised Dorcas (Tabitha) at Joppa (Acts 9:36-43). While in the city, Peter received messengers from Cornelius of Caesarea (Acts 10-11). Part of the account in Acts reads this way:

“And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” (Acts 11:13-14).

Our photo today is made from the site of Joppa, looking toward the modern city of Tel Aviv. We plan to see Caesarea tomorrow.

How Much Is My Blog Worth?

The value keeps going up, because so many of you find this blog of interest.

My blog is worth $5,645.40.
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That is up from $564 last June.

How much is my blog worth?

My blog is worth $3,951.78.
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