Volume 7 Issue 20

‘Mind-Blowing’ Discovery? Researchers Claim They Found Moses’ Exodus Route

Bible scholars trying to retrace the route Moses took when he led the Israelites out of Egypt say they have found evidence that Mount Sinai is actually in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Ryan Mauro, of the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF), told Daily Star Online that his team traveled to Saudi Arabia three times to gather evidence. 

“What I found there was simply mind-blowing,” Mauro said. “I couldn’t believe that there was all this evidence for the Exodus and hardly anyone outside this region was aware of it.”

Although they are still piecing together a map and timeline, the researcher believes his theory is the most “plausible" route. It starts with the Israelites leaving Egypt through Cairo and crossing into the Sinai Peninsula.

Mauro said there is evidence that Moses split the sea at the Gulf of Aqaba, at a spot now known as Nuweiba beach. There, the crossing would be just eight miles wide and 33 meters (108 feet) deep. He believes they crossed into ancient Midian and stopped at Mount Sinai, which he claims is the peak of Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. It was at Mount Sinai where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on stone tablets.

"I'm fully convinced that the Israelites went into the ancient land of Midian when they fled slavery in Egypt," he told the British newspaper.

The theory that Jabal al-Lawz is the biblical Mount Sinai is not new and has been challenged by traditional academics, many of whom question the entire Exodus account and some go as far as to dismiss the existence of Moses. In its reporting of the DTRFfindings, CBN News reported that Mount Sinai is traditionally associated with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and that St. Catherine Monastery was built over what is believed to be the site where God spoke to Moses in the burning bush.

”There is no credible historical, geographical, archaeological or biblical evidence for the thesis that Mount Sinai is at Jabal al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia,” said Creationist researcher Gordon Franz. James Karl Hoffmeier, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, described “monumental blunders” as leading to the conclusion of the mountain being the one mentioned in the Bible.

Mauro, however, encourages skeptics to "keep an open mind," adding that "all the pieces fit." His team outlines their discoveries in a 25-minute documentary, “Finding the Mountain of Moses: The Real Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia.” 

“Perhaps these skeptics have doubted the historical account of the Exodus story because of a lack of evidence at the traditional site at St. Catherine’s, but what we have found appears to fit the ancient accounts,” the researcher said. 

Among the evidence, he claims are inscriptions of what appear to be cows on Jabal al-Lawz, which matches up with the biblical story of the idol of the Golden Calf. The researcher said that ancient rock structures at the foot of the mountain could be the remains of the altars built by the Israelites.

He also points to Jabal al-Lawz’s blackened peak, which would match the story of Moses meeting God as he descended upon the mountain in a fire. The Daily Star Online reported, however, that its unclear if this blackening of the peak is a natural phenomenon or the result of the rocks being scorched by holy fire. 

Additionally, Mauro said there is evidence of a large, ancient graveyard, which appears to match the massacre of the worshippers of the Golden Calf. The graveyard is part of a camp he believes to have been at the base of the mountain.

Near that site, Mauro believes his team has discovered the Rock of Horeb—which is said to be the Israelites’ final camp before moving onto Mount Sinai. The Old Testament chronicles how Moses struck a rock, causing it to split, spilling out water to quench the thirst of the Israelites. Mauro says they have found a large, seemingly water-eroded rock, sitting on a hill and split in two. 

“The golden calf, the split rock, Moses’ altar, the Red Sea crossing site; all of these pieces need to fit, and they fit at this site in a way that no other site does,” he said. “These events really did happen. It doesn’t require belief in one of these faiths to accept the evidence.”

Christian Falsely Imprisoned in India for Over 10 Years Is Let Out on Bail

India’s Supreme Court has granted bail to a man falsely accused of murdering a Hindu leader some ten years ago. Gornath Chalenseth was finally released from prison May 9 after spending over a decade behind bars. 

Chalenseth, along with Bhaskar Sunamajhi, Bijay Kumar Sanseth, Budhadeb Nayak, Durjo Sunamajhi, Munda Badamajhi and Sanathan Badamajhi was jailed after being convicted of murdering Hindu monk Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four others in August 2008. 

Saraswati’s death sparked a massive backlash of anti-Christian violence, resulting in the deaths of several believers and the burning down of around 8,400 homes and 360 churches. As is often seen in these types of religiously-charged criminal cases across India, the men were convicted on the basis of fabricated evidence. 

Unfortunately, despite being released on bail, Chalenseth is still not out of danger. He will now face an appeal that will determine whether or not he spends the rest of their life in prison, or worse.

Still, according to a lawyer representing the men, bail is still a welcome reprieve.

“It is a huge victory for these hapless men who don’t have the resources or knowledge to fight for their freedom in India’s complicated judicial system,” said attorney Dibakar Parichha, according to ucanews.com.

A journalist who has been relentlessly campaigning for the release of the men described the bail order has a “landmark and huge victory in the fight for justice for Kandhamal’s seven innocents,” according to Matters India.

Anto Akkara hopes that the granting of bail “will be the first step towards acquittal of the innocent Christians languishing in jail for a decade for a crime they never committed.”

Alliance Defending Freedom have also been assisting in the case, with an official from the group saying that they were encouraged by granting of bail.

The court “does not seem to be taking up the appeal anytime soon,” the official added. “Although it is quite late, justice is still prevailing.”

Oil Wars: Iran Threatens Oil Exports From The Persian Gulf

Recent developments in the Persian Gulf demonstrate that Iran has taken a strategic decision to respond to escalating U.S. financial and diplomatic pressure against it by threatening the ability of Arab Sunni states—bitter rivals of Iran and allies of America—to export oil to the world. The message from the Islamic Republic to the Trump administration is clear: If Iran won’t be able to export its oil, neither will its Arab Sunni neighbors—and so the entire global market is at risk of disruption and destabilization. This is a direct response to the ever-tightening sanctions being placed on Tehran by Washington. Recent U.S. steps include Trump’s decision in April to cancel sanction waivers to eight countries that purchase Iranian oil. In recent days, the United States imposed new sanctions on Iranian industrial metals. 

Last month, the State Department classified its Islamic Republican Guards Corps (IRGC)—a major player in Iran’s regional power projection, terrorism network and inside Iran’s economy—as a terrorist organization. The latter move is one that some in the American defense establishment assessed could result in retribution.

The decision by Iran to retaliate and extract “a price” for these moves must have been approved by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. It has already been translated into action on the ground, with two attacks on oil sites in recent days. The first occurred the UAE, in which four commercial ships were damaged in sabotage attacks by an oil-tanker hub near the Straits of Hormuz—a major international oil-shipping artery that Iran has threatened in the past. The second attack took place in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, targeting oil facilities near the Saudi capital of Riyadh with explosive drones. It is safe to assume that the IRGC is behind both attacks, even if its role in the second incident was limited to passing on instructions to the Iranian-backed Houthi organization in Yemen to launch the drones.

Iran maintains a large network of terrorist, heavily armed proxies throughout the region, giving it the ability of hitting targets while maintaining a facade of plausible deniability. Its targeting of these sites is no coincidence, as Tehran is particularly enraged by statements from Saudi Arabia pledging to keep the oil-production market steady to make up for the drastic reduction in Iran’s oil exports.

On April 24, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “owed their existence to Iran” because the Iranians had refused to help former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invade the two countries. The speech was part of a rebuke of those Gulf states for their willingness to assist the American sanctions. It appears as if the rebuke did not end at the rhetorical level. Tehran pushes back in calculated approach Iran’s actions are not limited to escalating the security situation in the Gulf.

It has also imposed an ultimatum on the European Union, giving it 60 days to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran is demanding that Europe come through on financial mechanisms that would allow it to bypass American oil and banking sanctions.  To make it clear that it is serious, the Islamic Republic declared that it would stop observing limits for stockpiling low-enriched uranium, which the nuclear deal limits to 300 kilograms, and its heavy water (which can be used to produce plutonium). Tehran said the nuclear agreement allows it to take these steps if other members of the deal exit it, as the United States had done in May 2018.

Iran is threatening, in essence, to walk away from the nuclear deal if the Europeans cannot shield it from Trump’s sanctions. So far, the E.U.’s leaders have made due with calling on Iran to refrain from any dangerous steps. Ultimately, Iran is so far telling the United States that it will not succumb to pressure tactics designed to get it back to the negotiating table, which is Trump’s openly stated goal. Washington wants to drag Iran back to talks in order to come up with a better nuclear deal, as well as address Iran’s destructive, aggressive conduct throughout the Middle East.

This approach was summed up last year by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his 12 demands of Iran, which include ending support for its network of terrorist proxies and an end to its ballistic-missile program. The Iranians are signaling that they have no intention of going down that route, even if Pompeo’s demands represent an “opening position” in Trump’s bargaining tactics.

Meanwhile, America is flexing its own military muscle, both through the mobilization of a carrier strike group to the region and through media reports. This includes Monday’s New York Times report, describing how Trump’s security team are weighing the sending of a massive U.S. force of 120,000 soldiers, backed by air and naval firepower assets, should Iran resume its nuclear program or attack U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria or at sea. At this stage, Iran appears to be pursuing a calculated and phased approach, which is limited to sending warnings. But it is a dangerous new development in the standoff with Iran, which is prone to miscalculations and rapid escalations, even if they are unintended.

With no one blinking at this stage, Israel will need to be on high alert for Iranian proxy attacks on it. Whether from Syria or Lebanon—where Iran has built an armed force that has more firepower than most militaries in the world—or in Gaza, Iran has the ability to drag Israel into the fray should the situation escalate further.