The dates and locations are imprecise but very close in proximity to the Biblical legend of the spectacular destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and two other cities near the Dead Sea
And yet, science will continue to search for a 'Godless' reason for the incredible, instant destruction
‘Cosmic airburst’: Tunguska-like blast destroyed part of Middle East 3,700 years ago
© NASA / Wikimedia Commons
A Tunguska-like ‘cosmic airburst’ may have annihilated an ancient Middle Eastern civilization in a split-second in a terrifying example of the fragility of life on Earth, according to new research.
The Tunguska event was a large explosion that occurred near the Stony Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate (now Krasnoyarsk Krai), Russia, on the morning of 30 June 1908 (NS). The explosion over the sparsely populated Eastern Siberian Taiga flattened 2,000 square kilometres (770 square miles) of forest, yet caused no known human casualties. The explosion is generally attributed to the air burst of a meteor. It is classified as an impact event, even though no impact crater has been found; the object is thought to have disintegrated at an altitude of 5 to 10 kilometres (3 to 6 miles) rather than to have hit the surface of the Earth. - Wikipedia
Analysis of 3,700-year-old archaeological evidence from Jordan’s Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project indicates that a “high-heat” explosive event “devastated approximately 500km2” of land to the north of the Dead Sea, wiping out a thriving civilisation that had existed for millennia almost instantaneously.
Given the absence of an impact crater, the team believes the destruction was caused by a low-altitude airburst not more than 3,280 feet (1km) above the ground.
The explosion was so awe-inspiringly powerful that the Zircon contained within the civilization’s pottery sublimed into a gas thanks to temperatures of up to 7,230 degrees Fahrenheit (4,000 degrees Celsius). For comparison, the temperature at the surface of the Sun is about 10,000 Fahrenheit (5,600 Celsius). The pottery itself was reportedly vitrified (turned to glass).
Radiocarbon dating at the site indicated that mud-brick walls “suddenly disappeared around 3,700 years ago, leaving only stone foundations.”
Unlike the 1908 Tunguska event, this explosion occurred in a highly populated area, for the time, and may have killed between 40,000 and 65,000 people who inhabited Middle Ghor, the 25-kilometer-wide circular plain in Jordan. The blast radius of the Tunguska event was over four times the size: almost 2,000 square kilometers of taiga forest was flattened, indicating the explosion must have occurred at a higher altitude.
The highly fertile soil of the Middle Ghor was left barren by the heat and was then salted by the briny anhydride waters of the Dead Sea that washed over the plains from the resulting tsunami after the airburst. It took almost 600 years for the area to recover.
“That the most productive agricultural land in the region, which had supported flourishing civilizations continuously for at least 3,000 years, should suddenly relinquish, then resist, human habitation for such a long period of time has begged investigation,” states the project’s website.
Some have theorized that this event may have been the biblical destruction of the ancient city of Sodom as the Tall el-Hammam site has long been a strong candidate for the ancient 'Sin City', though no definitive conclusion has been reached as of yet.
Biblical dating puts the destruction of the plains cities at about 2000-1900 AD, or 3900-4000 years ago, ie, within 200-300 years of the estimated date of the destruction revealed above. That's actually a pretty good fit since neither are precise measurements.
The location of the plains cities has never been pin-pointed. Many theories have been advanced from south of the Dead Sea to north of it. Some may have existed under the current location of the Dead Sea. So, to be in the vicinity of the Dead Sea is also a pretty good fit.
Genesis 18 & 19 tell the story of the destruction of the plain's cities. Genesis 13:12, 13 tell us of Abraham's nephew Lot settling in the Sodom area, and also that the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinned against the Lord.
Ezekiel 16:49 explains, "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy."
This scripture has led many to claim that God destroyed the four cities because they were inhospitable. Such fail to see the bigger picture. A lack of hospitality hardly qualifies as 'exceedingly wicked' and 'sinning against God'.
They also fail to recognize that sin is progressive. As Paul explains in the New Testament, Romans 1:26-32:
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, the sins of the men progressed to where they were clearly 'haters of God'. They knew in their hearts that the angels in Lot's house were of God, and the evil that consumed them wanted nothing more than to violate those men and thereby, violate God Himself.
This is the very nature of paedophilia today. It is less sexual in nature than acts of hatred toward God. It is the destruction of innocence and the violation of the sacred. It is spitting in the Face of God!
There is good reason to believe that antisemitism is of the same nature - spiritual enmity toward God. In Jesus' day, demons recognized Him as the Son of God, while the religious leaders didn't. God's enemies recognize Him, see His hand on Israel, and are jealous, and, or enraged. The spectacular increase in antisemitism that is currently sweeping the world is spiritually driven and is a very good indication the we are in The Last Days before the return of Christ.
Many will reject these notions, because they reject God. But you do so at your own peril. Your primary reason for being on this planet at this time is to have the opportunity to determine whether you are suitable for Eternity with God, or without God. There is no place in God's Eternity for those who rebel against Him.
