The following articles are compiled by:

Rick Allinson

Rick@WatchmenWatching.com

  

 

Herod’s Quarry
Source: Israel Today
 

06 December 2007 – Israeli archaeologists believe they have found the quarry that provided the biblical King Herod with the huge stone blocks used to renovate the Second Temple compound. It was discovered in Ramat Shlomo, a relatively new suburb of Jerusalem about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) north of the Old City.

The municipality planned to build a school at the site, but archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) went in first to make sure that construction did not harm artifacts that could be buried there. In the wake of the find, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski halted construction of the school and provided $90,000 for continuing the excavations.

The quarry covers an area of some 5,000 square meters (54,000 square feet) and consists of massive stone blocks from 9 to 24 feet (3 to 8 meters) long. This is the same size as the stones seen today on the foundations of the Temple Mount and parts of the Western Wall. The 20-ton stones were hewn out of bedrock.

Rabbi Haim Richman of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem sees this as a confirmation of the presence of God, saying the quarry was found at a time when Moslem authorities are trying to destroy any proof of the existence of two ancient Temples on the Temple Mount.

“God is sending a kiss to the Jewish people, as if He wants to say: ‘Do not fear, I did not forget you. There are those who want to give the Temple Mount away, and there are those who want to take it away from you, but I have great plans for you and the holy Temple. The Temple will be the center of the world again,’” Rabbi Richman said.

IAA archaeologist Yuval Baruch said the stone blocks were cut in steps: First, deep and narrow crevices were hewn around the projected piece of stone. Then dozens of iron stakes were driven into the bottom side of the stone block, a few inches apart, until the stone could be broken out of the bedrock. Archaeologists found one of these iron stakes, about 6 inches (15 cm.) in length, which was lodged in the stone for the past 2,000 years.

Members of the upper class at that time used this white limestone, called malcha (royal), for public buildings and palaces. But while many quarries have been found in and around Jerusalem, stones with these gigantic measurements could not have been hewn from them.

“This is the first time stones which were used to build the Temple Mount walls were found,” Baruch said.

The quarry sits on Mount Shuafat, about 240 feet (75 meters) higher than the Temple Mount. A road was built next to it and oxen in pairs pulled the giant stones downhill to the temple area.

Archaeologists also found coins and pottery shards dating back to the time of Herod, who was the Jewish proxy ruler of the Holy Land under Roman occupation from 37 BC until his death around 4 BC. Known as the master builder, his most famous construction project was the renovation of the Second Temple, replacing a smaller structure built after the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Archaeologist Ehud Nesher said the quarry was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves. “This is the work of Herod,” he said. “This is a sign of him.”  

 

Comments: Here again is another discovery pointing to a Jewish presence in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount. Rabbi Richman is telling us that these discoveries are happening at this time because God is showing the Jewish people that they are not forgotten and that great plans are forthcoming. After seeing all these discoveries and recent events in Israel and I would have to say that Rabbi Richman is absolutely correct in his observation. The Temple will be the focal point of the world again because this is where the throne of the Lord will be located. The facts on the ground are also telling the world that the Jews have a right to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount because of their history there. As I said before, “keep an eye on any new discoveries, they could be playing an important end time role”.  

 

Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
 

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Russian Navy Returns to the High Seas
Source: MN Weekly
 

06 December 2007 – Russia's navy has resumed military presence in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov reported at a Wednesday meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The minister, quoted by the RIA-Novosti press agency, reported that a naval fleet was heading to the northeast Atlantic and the Mediterra­nean Sea, where they will remain till early February of next year. The expedition is aimed at bolstering Russia's naval presence and increasing the security of Russian navigation.

The minister said an aircraft-carrying heavy cruiser, two anti-submarine ships and a tanker departed for the Mediterranean on Wednesday, where they will be joined by a Black Sea Fleet missile cruiser and a tanker.

Serdyukov said a total of four warships and seven other vessels of Russia's Northern, Black Sea and Baltic fleets, as well as 47 planes and 10 helicopters, have been dispatched for the mission. Three exercises, involving the vessels and aircraft, are being planned.

Earlier this year, naval chief Admiral Vladimir Masorin called for restoring a permanent Russian presence in the Mediterranean, saying it was a vital zone for the Black Sea Fleet.

In the Soviet era, navy ships were based at Syria's Mediterranean port of Tartus, and Russia still maintains a technical base there.

The naval expedition represents the latest effort by Putin - bolstered by a torrent of oil revenues pouring into government coffers - to breathe new life into Russia's armed forces.

Earlier this year, he ordered the military to resume regular long-range flights of strategic bombers. In recent years, Russia's bombers have resumed flights to areas off Norway and Iceland, as well as Russia's northeast corner, across the Bering Strait from Alaska several years ago.

 

 

 

Russian Mediterranean Naval Build-Up Challenges NATO Sixth Fleet Domination
Source: Defense Update
 

06 December 2007 – This week witnessed a great thrust by Russia to demonstrate its military strength, when Russian President Vladimir Putin alarmed Europe by finally declaring Russia's official rejection of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), (the treaty entered into force on July 17, 1992 limiting the number of combat elements that Russia could deploy along its borders with Europe). Immediately following this declaration, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced sending a sortie of six Russian warships to the Mediterranean, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. Other vessels escorting the carrier as part of the task force are Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko anti-submarine ships, and the Sergei Osipov and Nikolai Chiker support ships. The group is expected to be joined by the flagship Moskva a guided missile cruiser and four additional ships as it arrives in the Mediterranean.

This will be the first prolonged stay of a Russian carrier to the eastern Mediterranean in waters dominated with regular patrolled by the US Sixth Fleet and in vicinity of Israel’s shores. On its decks Admiral Kuznetsov carries 47 warplanes (mostly Su-33) and 10 helicopters. The Russian Black Sea Fleet contingent, which has already set out for its new mission from Sevastopol, will rely on the naval facilities at Syria’s Tartous port. Its presence for several months will be a complication for the Israel navy’s operations opposite the Lebanese and Syrian coasts, especially if the Russians could be joined at Tartous by Iranian extended Kilo class submarines armed with the Russian-made "Sizzler" Klub-S (3M54) missile, as some unofficial Israeli sources reported. The Rusian Kuznetsov carrier group will conduct three tactical exercises, including real and simulated launch of missiles, said Serdyukov, adding 11 port visits are expected to be made.

Sending such powerful Russian warships onto the Mediterranean, for any amount of time, is no small matter. With the Mediterranean having been a "NATO lake" for the past 15 years, since the demise of the Soviet Union, the simple presence of a naval Russian force will require reviewed strategy and tactics of many of western and Israeli navies.

…

Israeli analysts believe that the present and rather unprecedented Russian strategic decision - sending such an impressive naval sortie into the eastern Mediterranean - could have resulted from Israel's still mysterious foray into Syrian air defense, during the air strike on an alleged nuclear development or weapon assembly site.

…

Whatever the latest Russian foray might signal, one thing is clear, the Mediterranean will soon become a new 'Cold War' type contest between Western and Russian navies, which will heat up substantially once the new Russian fourth generation Project 955 Borey class submarines, armed with Bulava missiles also enter into the fray.  

 

Comments: This may be the first concrete evidence and the first step in a planned Russian military build up in the Middle East. Russia is not only building up their military but they are flexing their military might once again. The oil revenues are overflowing the cash registers and the Banks in Russia and Putin has had plenty of money to spend on the once decrepit Russian military. As we can see the Middle East is a priority location and the Mediterranean Sea is a very strategic area next to Israel. Israel is concerned and so they should be. The last article is reporting that this build up may be in response to the Israeli air strike in Syria on 6 September. Because this build up is possibly taking place in response to that strike, I wonder what would happen if Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear installations which Russia helped to build. This could all be a shadow of things to come and a “signal” that the Gog and Magog war may not be too far off. Yes, end time events are sure heating up.

 

Eze 38:15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:

 16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.  

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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