At the scholarly proven site of ancient
Nineveh in today's Iraq, renowned Assyriologist Austen Layard in 1845 discovered the incomparable
Lachish relief( stone documentary) in the almost miraculously preserved 2700 year old(
from Isaiah's time) palace of King Sennacherib of Assyria.
Assyria was the
superpower of the world in Isaiah's time. Their weapons of war were technologically 400 years ahead of even Greece and Rome.
-Austen Layard said that the Lachish relief :
" was the actual picture of the taking of Lachish, as we know as the Biblical city, besieged by Sennacherib," as stated in Isaiah 36:1-2 .-
So we have an actual picture of the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 declares that " So then faith comes by hearing and by hearing by the Word of God."" Proving the Bible" does not get any easier than this. Dr. David Jeremiah said that he goes to the book of Isaiah when he has doubts. Protestant scholars have said that the book of Isaiah is the most important book of the Old Testament because it so vividly describes Christ's suffering in Isaiah 53 and his birth and Godhead in Isaiah 9. Jesus as you all know read from Isaiah when he was asked to speak in his hometown Nazareth's synagogue. After Jesus stood up and read from Isaiah, his hometown frenemies tried to throw him off a cliff to kill him. Archaeologists have located both Nazareth and the infamous cliff.
1500 evangelical churches closed in 2019 in the US - even before the pandemic. A net loss for the first time.(Lifeway Evangelical Research -google it please) In my aunt's mom's country, England, most Christians have de-converted and are practically all druids today. An English friend of mine- a rare Christian- actually said the UK are mostly "druids."
What happened in England does not have to happen here if every Christian pitches in a bit at their local churches or some other way. So I'm begging with all my heart those who are peeking in from the Web for the first time to share the free photo of a panel of the Lachish relief from the world-famous British Museum. A New Zealand family spent the money and time for us to edify our Sunday School kids, youth groups, adult Christians and even pastors. A Missouri evangelical pastor said even the adults in his church are leaving. But I have tested the photo-proof of the Bible with Christian youth -it really works to keep them in church and in Christ as per
Romans 10:17.
Much higher resolution famous Lachish relief pics are at websites that sell photos on the internet. The below photo is from 2002 when digital cameras weren't as hi res.(You should get them from the pro photo websites between 20$ or more if you want to greatly enlarge the pic for a 16 inch by 24 inch or larger photo etc.)
I wrote a caption below the free-to-use-without any-licence "Spearmen Attacks" Lachish relief single panel photo of Isaiah 36:2 that you may use in a pamplet or other way for whatever purpose you think will edify our fellow Christians.(I have no affiliation to the www.windowintothebible.com site or owners. I received the photo by email simply -it took 3 months though.)
Isaiah 37 Miracle Proven by Stone Artifacts in London Says Renowned Professor Alan Millard. Texas high schooler cries because she's told Bible is Myth
These statistics come Dr. Paul Elliot, the Barna Research Group, Bible Literacy Center, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion(from about 2011):
- of adults in Evangelical churches do not believe the Bible is totally accurate
- 45% of Evangelicals do not believe Jesus Christ was sinless
- 52% of Evangelicals do not believe Satan is real
- 57% of Evangelicals do not believe that Jesus is the only way to eternal life
- 57% of Evangelicals believe that good works play a part in gaining eternal life
- Less than 10% of adults in Evangelical churches cite the Bible as the primary basis of their worldview and behavior.
- 19% of those who are living with a partner outside of marriage are members of Evangelical churches.
- Over 50% of adults in Evangelical churches think other religions are valid.
- Nearly 75% of Evangelical young people leave the church when they reach adulthood. Their main stated reason is that they no longer believe the Bible is true, and the church has done little or nothing to answer their doubts.
- The fastest growing "religious group" in America is the "no religion" category. Today it represents 16% of the adult population - a 300% increase since the 1980s. The major growth of the "no religion" segment is among young adults ages 18 to 29 - the ones who are leaving churches in droves.
- Despite the mega-church movement, overall Evangelical church attendance is down nearly 15% since the 1990s. Fewer than 17% of Evangelical churches are growing today, and only 2.2% are growing through conversions. This is from 2011- as Lifeway Evang. Research showed these stats are probably worse now.
We can't all be pastors , or biblical scholars; but we can all edify our fellow Christians, because the NT says all believers in Christ are priests.
2 Peter 2:
9 But you
are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Jesus said that there will be those who are least in the Kingdom of Heaven and those per Revelation 3:21 that he will allow to sit on his throne. The Kingdom of Heaven is not a socialist paradise. We are only saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone-yes- but our eternal position in heaven will be determined on how hard we work for the Kingdom of God/Christ here in this earthly life. And never has it been simpler to edify so many Christians who will leave Christ, unless we share. "Feed the sheep" Jesus implores us to do 3 times at the end of the Gospel of John and glorify Christ unto our Great Father's glory.
I've spoken to close a dozen Protestant evangelical pastors across America. Not a single one knew how to quickly-and some not even at all- prove that the the Bible was "really true." I really admire our incredibly hardworking pastors(they have to be both the Managing Director and the COO-Chief Operating Officer and even guidance counselor-toughest job if done well!) But we , the flock, are the Royal Priesthood and must chip in greatly! Or what happened in complacent England will happen over here.
I'm working with 2 pastors of Protestant evangelical churches of different denominations to implement the photo proofs. It is working in our churches to keep both adults and youth in church and in Christ.
It's up to you and I. Don't underestimate what you can do. Sharing, after prayer of course, something you think will help the Church -no matter how small- will have a wave-effect: as when you throw a stone into a pond/lake. Someone will eventually-maybe years later-run with it or remember what you shared. Thanks for reading my 2 cents. Merry/happy Christmas to all and Diamond7.
The Siege of Lachish - Window into the Bible
The free to share/use photo(s) of the single panel of the Lachish relief below , a real pic Isaiah 36:1-2, is in fact a slightly higher res photo than the ones on the window into the bible site. But you have to ask them for the higher res. photos by requesting it on a page on their WITbible. Better resolution copies can be bought for $20 bucks on the internet photographic stores -but then there are licensing fees/issues that might end up costing between $120 to $1000 per photo.
These photos have no licensing issues. They are absolutely free but the owners closed their small Bible museum a few years ago and the website might be gone tomorrow so save the photos to your hard drive asap if you want-thanks for helping the Church.
View attachment 340251"Lachish relief [Spearman panel ] British Museum, London:
The Lachish relief is a 80 feet long and 8 feet high intricate stone carving created in 700 BC by superpower Assyria and found at the ancient ruins of THE greatest city in the world of its time, Nineveh in 1845 by the British.
The Lachish relief is undisputed archaeologically. Its authentic stone panels pictorially documents from 701 BC an event recorded in Isaiah 36:1-2.
The renowned Assyriologist Austen Henry Layard said that the Lachish relief :" was the actual picture of the taking of Lachish, as we know as the Biblical city, besieged by Sennacherib." An true picture of the Word of God - Isaiah 36:1-2!
It was found at the archaeologically proven 2700 year- old world famous Southwest Palace of King Sennacherib of Assyria in 1845 by Layard. Assyria was the greatest nation on earth in the time of the Prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah.
In fact Assyria was the economic and military superpower of the entire world.
The Lachish relief commemorates Sennacherib's destruction of the Kingdom of Judah's second largest fortified city Lachish. The fact that there was no relief of Jerusalem in his palace shows that the most powerful nation on earth did not achieve its goal to destroy Jerusalem and capture King Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a ringleader of the Near East's rebellion against their Assyrian Empire master. and it was so imperative for Assyria to destroy King Hezekiah and Jerusalem that, as both the Bible and Sennacherib's own word's state, the Assyrian king went personally with his superpower army to vanquish King Hezekiah and Jerusalem. But King Sennacherib failed when the Omnipotent God of the Bible intervened to save Jerusalem.
This like the USA not being able to conquer tiny Iceland.
Note: Assyria destroyed the entire northern Kingdom of Israel only 20 years earlier.
Clearly the miracle of the destruction of the Assyrian army told in Isaiah 37 verse 36 by the Angel of the Lord is given absolute credible support by the Lachish relief. The renowned evangelical scholar Professor Alan Millard of the University of Liverpool has stated this in his books/writings.
[The Taylor Prism , another stone artifact from the time of Isaiah was also found at the ancient site of Nineveh but about a decade earlier . The Taylor Prism proves the Gospel of Matthew 1:10, namely Christ's ancestor King Hezekiah was a real historical person. It also further proves the Isaiah 37:36 miracle of the Angel of the Lord.]
