All posts tagged: Balaam

Did Balaam prophesy about the Star of Bethlehem?

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Balaam was an interesting Old Testament character. He was some type of diviner, perhaps soothsayer or sorcerer, whom King Balak of Moab hired to curse Israel before an upcoming battle. During the several prophecies that Balaam delivered, there was one that many believe referred to the star that showed up announcing Christ’s birth. Now obviously Balaam had a reputation as a seer, for Balak to be willing to purchase his services. And Balaam’s international fame was confirmed by Dutch archaeologists who found a text written about Balaam on a plastered wall dated to around 1200 BC in the ancient town of Deir Alla located in Jordan. The text was actually written by the Canaanites and spoke Balaam, son of Beor three times in the first four lines, exactly as the Bible describes him (Numbers 22:5). In this inscription, Balaam is referred to as a seer of the gods indicating he was well known and revered among the gentiles. The text also provides several of Balaam’s curses that suggests this was his specialty and apparently, these …

Balaam confronted by Angel of God by Gustav Jager (1808-1871): Wikipedia

La arqueología confirma la existencia de Balaam

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ENGLISH: Archaeology confirms the existence of Balaam A pesar de los mejores esfuerzos de los secularistas para desacreditar a la Biblia, la arqueología sigue confirmando que es de hecho un registro exacto de los acontecimientos históricos que tuvieron lugar en el antiguo Israel. Tal vez lo más curioso implica una excavación arqueológica que tuvo lugar en 1967, cuando los arqueólogos Holandeses descubrieron un texto antiguo en una pared en la ciudad Jordana de Deir Alla confirmando la existencia de un vidente llamado Balaam. Para aquellos no familiarizados con la historia, Balaam, un profeta pagano, quien fue contratado por el rey Balac de Moab para maldecir a Israel como nación. Balac estaba sentado en el otro lado del río Jordán preparado para realizar su primer intento fallido de entrar en la Tierra Prometida bajo Moisés ( Números 22 – 24 ). Sin embargo, cuando fue Balaam fue a maldecir a Israel, en lugar les bendijo diciendoles que sólo podía entregar el mensaje que se le habia dado. Aunque dispuesto a maldecir a Israel, Balaam finalmente dio al …

Balaam confronted by Angel of God by Gustav Jager (1808-1871): Wikipedia

Archaeology confirms the existence of Balaam

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ESPAÑOL: La arqueología confirma la existencia de Balaam Despite the best efforts by secularists to discredit the Bible, archaeology continues to confirm that it is in fact an accurate record of historical events that took place in ancient Israel. Perhaps the most curious involves an archaeological dig that took place in 1967, when Dutch archaeologists discovered an ancient text on a wall in the Jordanian town Deir Alla confirming the existence of a seer called Balaam. For those unfamiliar with the story, Balaam, a pagan seer, was hired by King Balak of Moab to curse Israel as the nation sat on the other side of the Jordan river preparing to make its first unsuccessful attempt to enter the Promised Land under Moses (Numbers 22 – 24). However, when Balaam went to curse Israel, he instead blessed them saying he could only deliver the message he was given. Though unwilling to curse Israel, Balaam eventually gave the Moabite king the necessary information to defeat Israel. He told Balak to send women to entice the Israeli men …

The Euphrates River in the Mesopotamia valley home to Melchizedek and Balaam. Credit: United States Navy

The Spirit of Balaam, social media and the end of the age?

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If the Book of Revelation is a vision of the end times, then the Apostle John’s message to the seven churches of Asia in the first three chapters is a prophetic snapshot of what the end-times church will face. In his letter to the church at Pergamum, John warns about the spirit of Balaam, suggesting it will be a rising force just before Christ’s return: 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14 NASV) Balaam was a prophet mentioned in the Book of Numbers and, using the vernacular from the 1960s, he was one “strange” cat. Balaam was from Petheor, in Amah near the Euphrates River, a country actually mentioned in Egyptian records. This puts Balaam in Mesopotamia where Abraham originated (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). But his unfamiliarity with Israel tells us he was a gentile. He may have been associated with …

Balaam's donkey could count. Credit: JohnBWilson/Flickr/Creative Commons

Can horses count and does it matter?

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I have always wondered what is going on in my dog’s mind other than the obvious – did I leave the cupboard door open to the garbage can? In 2008, Dr Claudia Uller from the University of Essex in Essex, England was speaking at the British Psychological Society conference in Dublin, Ireland when she announced that horses can count. She came to this conclusion based on a study she conducted along with Jennifer Lewis on 13 horses from Colchester, England. In the study, they had several buckets in which they placed either three apples or two apples. They only used plastic apples to eliminate the possibility that smell affected the results. They found in their testing that 11 of the 13 horses consistently chose the buckets with the most apples. In a second test they had buckets containing either two equally sized small apples or one large apple that was double the size of the two smaller apples, making them equal in amount. Ten of the 12 horses consistently chose the two apple containers over …

Balaam, the donkey and the incredible dog rescue

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On March 31, 2013 (Easter Sunday), Adam Shaw, his family and their dog Rocky —  a Labrador retriever-Husky cross — were walking along the banks of the Saskatchewan River in Edmonton Canada when they noticed two young girls in trouble. The ice was starting to break up and Krymzen, 10, had broken through the weakened ice and her younger sister Samara, 9, was trying to pull her out. Adam and Rocky charged down the bank to help. By the time they arrived, Samara had also fallen into the river. Adam was able to pull Krymzen out, but Samara was now floating downstream, being pulled along by the current. Adam and Rocky raced along the ice after her, but the thinning ice kept breaking and finally they broke through as well.