Show C4 — The Herald Journal Logan Utah Thursday April 24 2003 Danes UdDsD® By Richard N Ostllng AP Religion Writer Did you know that Iraq is destined to become the world's future financial center supplanting die United States? Sounds like something from a Saddam Hussein speech But Mark Hitchcock of Faith Bible Church in Edmond Okla says Iraq’s rise is forecast in the Bible and will begin with war reconstruction and resumption of full oil production Hitchcock a former lawyer studied for the ministry at Dallas Theological Seminary which teaches Dispensationalism This style of Bible interpretation popularized in the “Left Behind" novels finds many literal depictions of future events in the Bible Israel is the focus of typical End Tunes thinking but some Dispensationalists add an Iraq scenario Hitchcock presents his version in “The Second Coming of Babylon” (Multnomah) Another proponent is Charles Dyer No 2 official at Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute in last year’s update of “The Rise of Babylon” (Moody) People often suppose foat End Times literalism and resulting predictions are taught by all evangelical Protestants In fact many evangelicals disagree (So do most other Christians w and Jews) W II It The Iraq theory for instance is assailed $ on biblical grounds in “Iraq: Babylon of the (Baker) by C Marvin Pate and J Daniel Hays of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas In ancient times present-da- y Iraq was AP photo named Babylon for its capital which is three recent books that mentioned!hundreds of times in die megalo-maniac- al tllMI MI i ttl?SPfOM(KSi’ & & ll WIBW 4 r £t&4 'r j Bible-believin- r 11 PMIMI I) g SF End-Times- ?” MUM is one of Iraq: Babylon of the discuss what the Bible has to say about the future End-Times- ?" i of Iraq Bible antusft wSOO piredlDCfi Dcaag The Book of Revelation (Chapters 17- 18) envisions the rise and &11 of evil Babylon Hitchcock finds a forecast of massive economic power there in the rich wares and human slaves d sells The late FF Bruce of England perhaps the post distinguished evangelical Bible scholar of the past generation said Babylon in Revelation symbolized the evil Roman Empire Pate and Hays agree For instance Revelation 17:9 says Babylon has “seven hills” a telltale slogan for Rome that would have been unmistakable to any reader' Hitchcock and others also say an invasion of Israel by Russia and Muslim nations was predicted by the prophet Ezekiel more than 200 years ago They get that claim from the Old Testament Israel saying from God —in the translation selected by Hitchcock— “set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog the prince of Rosh Meshech and Dibal” (38:2) In this perplexing passage God provided “specific geographical locations” Hitchcock asserts and “Rosh” is Russia The Hebrew word “rosh” means “chief” so the King James Version and most modern translations say “chief prince” here Pate and Hays note (The evangelical New International Version lists the title “prince of Rosh” as an alternate reading in a footnote) Here’s what some major evangelical reference works say about identifying “rosh” with Russia: “Not a place name” (International Bible Commentary) “this can hardly be tftfe case” (Evangelical Commentary on the Bible) “Highly unlikely” (New Illustrated Bible Commentary) “Unsupport- first-centu- ry : OJ able” (New Bible Commentary: Revised) Here and elsewhere Hitchcock makes ' no attempt to discuss opposing opinions j from fellow conservative Protestants or ' anyone else And he never notes the conventional 66 Israel is the focus of typical End Times thinking but some Dispensationalists add an Iraq scenario translation of “rosh” So his scriptural scholarship can hardly be taken seriously Like many similar treatments “Second Coming” hopscotches around Various biblical books to construct End Times events choosing verses not only from Revelation and Ezekiel but from Daniel Isaiah Jeremiah Matthew Zechariah and several New Testament epistles If Iraq is in the Bible why isn’t the United States? The nation’s total absence “has always puzzled students of Bible prophecy” Hitchcock says Other interpreters aren't puzzled since the only modem nations specified in the Bible are ones that existed in biblical 21st-centu- ry rimee Hitchcock does find sin implied reference to America however Following the usual Dispensational framework he says true believers in Jesus will instantly leave Earth during the “Rapture’’ The believers’ departure will allegedly wreck the American economy and that will clear die way for Iraq’s hegemony Armageddon and Christ’s return Religion in the Americas began prior to 2250 BC By The Monitor - Christian Science Archaeologists combing-nibbl- ‘ m an arid river valley that spills put onto the central coast of Peru have uncovered a gourd frag- ment that may represent the oldest religious object ever found in the Western Hemi4000-year-ol- d sphere It bears an etched or burned image of what has come to be known as the “staff god” — a deity whose squat half-hum-an visage adorns urns and temple walls from Andean cultures spanning thousands of years The find “pushes back the emergence of the oldest known Andean religion by more than 1 000 years” says Winifred Creamer an anthropologist at Northern Illinois University and a member of the team that discovered the half-anim- al inary" In the figure he calls “our little man” Haas says “you’re seeing mythology archaeology ami iconography coming together to open a window on the emergence of religion which goes hand in hand with the emergence of centralized societies” The researchers discovered the fragment last July when they were sorting through a looted burial site in the Pativilca River Valiev If the fragment had been clay the condition of the site would have made it difficult to associate the fragment with a particular time But the teams’ fragment came from a plant in this case a softball-size- d gourd so it provided its own time reference for radiocarbon dating The fragment one of two decorated gourd frag ments the team found dated to 2250 BC The team which includes Alvaro Ruiz codirector of the Norte Chico Archaeology Project reported its find in a brief notice in the current issue of Archaeology magazine which hit the streets this week The staff-go- d image is a “motif with a long and broad history throughout several Andean cultures” says Ruiz Typically die deity is shown face-o-n with fangsjn its'"' mouth and clawed feet Snakes often appear as part of die deity’s headgear or clothes “Most commonly the deity is depicted holding a staff in one or both hands hence its name” Last year’s find has proved to be an auspicious kick-ofor the project which aims to explore the Norte Chico region as thoroughly as possible Although archaeologists have known about the region for roughly a century it didn’t draw persistent atten- s tion until the when Peruvian archaeologist Ruth Shady Solis began exploring the nearby Supe ValleyTwo years ago Solis collaborated with Haas and Creamer his wife on a site called Caral At ff 12-ye- ar mid-90- the time Caral emerged as the oldest urban site in die Americas dating back to 2670 BC The valley held at least 17 other sites two potentially as large as Caral This find prompted Hass and others to wonder what was on the other side of the valley ridges “We wanted to see what foe whole system looked like” he says So far the team has identified sites in three 26 Caral-lik- e other valleys including Pativilca: Thirteen have been dated to periods ranging from 2700 B£ to 2200 BCThe team is heading back to determine dates for seven more Protect your loved ones with help from American Family Life Insurance Company: knowledgeable agent works with you to personalize a plan that fits your budget and the changing needs of your family No wonder our policyholders feel so secure under the roof For the American Family agent nearest you see the White or Yellow Pages or visit our Web site at amfamcom A friendly I V I N (J TH IPVi ' Si v- - ' object ' and fishing villages” throughout today's Peru says Jonathan Haas curator of North American anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago and a member of the research team “Then you find this giant monster in Norte Chico — cities with large circular plazas monumental architecture and now a divinity figure That’s extraord- AMERICAN FAMILY The region's myths assign the staff god the role of cre- ator Yet the find also may help tell a larger story archae- -' ologists say — one that points to the Norte Chico region as the cradle of Andean civiliza- tions that culminated in the Inca empire At their height in the early 500s Incas ruled iWiETOri fogiinfffrfi I UEai'ijjaaa wwwamfamcom 000234 All Your W ‘f j 1 W Protection Under One Roof i'i Renaissance Village 1451 N 200 E StelSO Logan Ut 84341 the largest empire on Earth By contrast during the third millennium BC “you have bands small hunter-gather- Cindy Gibbons Derek Llndley 435-750-01- 08 435-750-01- 07 er Q C2MIVirtBFoWlhMlHMMCwantWQlnHDM0ll "'i Q 1 w II B1MSH Qi300iQEinnEnD HOCSE (3333SSMH!B 0350H) szcmivEDEsmiEmm QWiUEm QHDQi ITT WWSOMEDUDESPLAYGROUNDTCOM v i 0 ‘ |