They Shall Curse by Molech ISAIAH REPEATEDLY condemned the practice of summoning spirits from the netherworld. It’s not always apparent because translators often didn’t have an understanding of the cult of the dead that surrounded ancient Israel, and the impact it had on the Israelites. After prophesying the imminent destructionContinue Reading
THE PASSING of the mantle from Elijah to Elisha was spectacular: A fiery chariot pulled by horses of fire in a whirlwind carried the elder prophet to heaven.Continue Reading
THE NORTHERN KINGDOM of Israel changed hands twice in a week. And more often than not, succession in Israel involved a sword.Continue Reading
The origin of the term for “king” or “ruler” in languages from Western Europe to East Asia is a word used by our distant ancestors for the pre-Flood god-kings, the Rephaim.Continue Reading
In Ugaritic texts, the Rephaim were summoned through a necromancy ritual to the “threshing-floor” of the Canaanite creator-god El–the summit of Mount Hermon.Continue Reading
The people of the ancient Near East never really said goodbye to their ancestors. The dead hung around, and they required the care and attention of their descendants.Continue Reading