Biblical King Hezekiah Official Seal Found in Ancient Trash Dump - 2,700-year-old... (video)

[Ann O'Maly]

On 1/25/2017 at 1:38 AM, Susan Ramirez said:

In the meantime, we can only rely on the information that the governing body has provided for us.

Why?

 ^"The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction." - Par. 12, https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-february-2017/who-is-leading-gods-people-today/

Different thread, I guess.

On 1/25/2017 at 1:38 AM, Susan Ramirez said:

W 10 7/15 pp. 12-15 

"...  Rabshakeh’s accusation was false, for Hezekiah had not made an alliance with Egypt.

 

On 1/25/2017 at 2:59 AM, Bonny Sanders said:

To the person who suggests Hezekiah could have compromised with Egypt, this is what the 2005 Watchtower says on the subject:

18:19-21, 25—Had Hezekiah made an alliance with Egypt? No. Rabshakeh’s accusation was false, ...

These are merely assertions. On what scriptural or archaeological evidence were these assertions based?

On 1/25/2017 at 1:38 AM, Susan Ramirez said:

W 10 7/15 pp. 12-15 

"... Also, remember that Eliakim, Shebna and Joah were told not to reply to the Rabshekah at all. "But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for the order of the king was, “You must not answer him.” ... So perhaps that is why his claims were not refuted."

The writer(s) of Kings and Isaiah didn't refute it either - and he/they could have done. Perhaps the claims were true. And we have the seals that are suggestive of an alliance.

On 1/25/2017 at 1:38 AM, Susan Ramirez said:

it-2 893-895 Sennacherib

[...]

This area was in a state of general rebellion against the Assyrian yoke. Among those who had rejected such domination was King Hezekiah of Judah (2Ki 18:7), though there is no evidence to show that he was in coalition with the other kingdoms in revolt. 

[...]

An Assyrian inscription accuses the people and nobles of the Philistine city of Ekron of having handed their king Padi over to Hezekiah, who, according to Sennacherib, “held him in prison, unlawfully.” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 287; compare 2Ki 18:8.) The inhabitants of Ekron are described as having petitioned Egypt and Ethiopia for help to stave off or thwart the Assyrian attack." 

Well, if Hezekiah was keeping pro-Assyrian king Padi locked up in a Jerusalem prison, then Hezekiah must have been "in coalition with other kingdoms in revolt"! Why was Assyria punishing Judah if Hezekiah had been meekly submitting to the Assyrian yoke all that time? 

[Ann O'Maly]

On 1/25/2017 at 4:40 AM, Fmadriaga said:

 it may be a seal for a gift to King Hezekiah from Egypt.  who knows, will it matter?

Who knows, someone might find that's its a fraud or whatever. 

A seal was to authenticate the identity of the sender. If it was a gift from Egypt to Hezekiah, it would have the Egyptian sender's name on it - not Hezekiah's. 

"The seal of the king was so important. It could have been a matter of life or death, so it's hard to believe that anyone else had the permission to use the seal," Eilat Mazar, who directs excavations at the City of David's summit, told CNN.

"Therefore, it's very reasonable to assume we are talking about an impression made by the King himself, using his own ring."

... Other bullas bearing the name of King Hezekiah have been seen on the antiquities market. However, the others are not as important because they were not found by archaeologists and therefore may not be genuine, according to Mazar. - http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/03/middleeast/king-hezekiah-royal-seal/

So it looks like this seal's the real deal.

 

[Susan Ramirez]

It may be, but like I said before, we will just have to ask King Hezekiah when he is resurrected, provided WE are resurrected. I did not mean to offend any one with my comments. I only wanted to suggest caution when referring to outside information. The website of the OP Video has links that deal with the occult and other god-dishonoring subjects. That was my main concern when I joined the discussion. 

So my final comment on this will be, “Let us pursue the things making for peace.”—ROM. 14:19. 

[Arauna]

I am not an expert on this but I would like to stipulate that it most probably sealed a message that was never sent out as it was found in the rubbish dump.  It could have been a diplomatic letter to Egypt and we are not sure if it was the particular seal for a diplomatic mission to this specific country - letters would have had different seals to identify letters going out to different parts of the world. So it would not be the ONLY seal of the king - it would designate it to be official diplomatic business.

Just as the international diplomatic language originally was Akkadian, then Aramaic, then Greek and then Latin - there were also certain international symbols that had universal meaning.  The horn came to symbolize suzerainty (power) and wings symbolized the extent of the power.  As I said I am not an expert on this but it gives one something to investigate and follow up on.

Consequently - one must not be quick to jump to conclusions about the unfaithfulness of Hezekiah.  Remember that he was not a perfect servant of Jehovah and he was definitely not living in a vacuum. Most probably he regularly had diplomats from countries around him (even from afar for trade agreements and security for the transport of goods to his country etc) and sent diplomats to countries around him to maintain good relations.  

The world was a complicated place and international relations just as difficult to maintain as today.  Wars could suddenly come from unforeseen places, especially those empires with imperialistic tendencies and Sennacherib was terrifying (he was exceptionally cruel to the subjected peoples (cutting off body parts and flaying) and also cut off all the fruit trees and stopped up wells wherever he prevailed.  He ruled with terror - leaving the conquered areas with no food resources.

One could even speculate that this was a letter asking Egypt to assist Hezekiah - because the surrounding countries and cities had already been invaded long before Sennacherib came to Jerusalem.......   Hezekiah could have planned to sent out a secret message but decided to trash it and to trust only in Jehovah instead.  He had already paid tribute to Sennacherib but this king wanted total humiliation and most probably would have expected him to bow to his gods.  His name indicates moon worship.

 A few years back I read a translation of a tablet wherein it was written that the Assyrian army suddenly died out from 'pestilence'.  That was their explanation for what happened to their soldiers.  It also was faith strengthening to realize that this really happened.

The Insight book under 'Sennacherib' gives a fascinating insight into the history of this battle.  It must have been a nightmare for king Hezekiah and one can understand his fear and humility when he went before Jehovah to pray for help.  I love this prayer he made.

 

The seal would be indicating that the message came from a peaceful king.

 

[Evacuated]

On 1/22/2017 at 7:26 PM, Ann O'Maly said:

Is it a case of only believing archaeological finds that harmonize with our interpretations/ understandings of Bible accounts while rejecting those finds that don't?

Good question but a Yes/No answer would simply be too simple.

 Firstly, archaelogical findings will aways require some level of interpretation. Even the Bibles we possess today are copies of archaelogical findings and some view the writings simply as that. 

For those who have accepted the current Bible Canon to be the "All Scripture" (literally writing) that Paul (2Tim 3:16) referred to as "inspired of God", and therefore a principal authority, then the answer would be that interpretations of other archaelogical findings not harmonizing with one's  "interpretations/ understandings of Bible accounts" would need careful scrutiny and possible rejection. There is always the possibility of revising one's understanding of Scriptural detail of course.

On 1/22/2017 at 7:26 PM, Ann O'Maly said:

Also, if our confidence in the Bible isn't backed up by historical evidences, then couldn't it be argued that we might as well have faith in Aesop's fables?

It certainly could, but not successfully. As has been pointed out by others, confidence based solely on the human interpretation of crumbling artifacts would be eroding as they did. And indeed, such a confidence would seem to be solely an intellectual conviction that the Bible was a true record, like an attested historical document, it's authority based only on a human judgement of it's authenticity.

The acceptance of the Thessalonian Christians described at 1Thess.2:13 was not based on archaeological findings and interpretations but other factors as Paul listed in 1Thess.1:5. (Notwithstanding a lack of noble-mindedness amongst some in that city).

Just musings as stated. Further discussion is better placed in the Biblical Archaeology section on this forum I realise.

[Arauna]

Regarding my post yesterday: If you want to check out the meanings of the symbols on this find you can read parts of the book:  The Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop.

Regarding dating in Archeology:  It is definitely not a good measuring stick of the truth.  However, it can enhance our understanding of ancient traditions and living.

First of all, there is much controversy about the Carbon dating of artifacts.  Scholars usually have to "indicate' from "which layer" they have removed the artifact when they send it for analysis of the time frame... There are numerous examples on internet - of samples (from the same specimen) that were sent to  different labs and wildly different dating results being obtained!

The most controversial aspect of inconsistency in archeology can be illustrated by the ongoing controversy about the chronology in Egyptology.  Champolion, the father of Egyptology, decided that one king Shishak (mentioned in the Bible) is the same as one king mentioned in hieroglyphics of a certain dynasty - and since then this dating has been set in stone while being faulty.  Since then all doctoral degrees and research were done with this chronology in mind and therefore it may not be changed.  The head archeologist in Egypt (one sees the Arab in many archeological TV shows) does not allow any archeologists to dig or investigate on 'his/Egypt's' sites if these scholars disagree with the current accepted chronology and dates! So much for honesty in science! 

There are many dissenting voices regarding chronology and these agree, or are closer to, the dates given by the organization.

http://www.knowledge.co.uk/velikovsky/ages-in-chaos.htm  Dr Velikovsky's books were some of the first that created a furore!  ... and there are more scholars who agree with Velikovsky!  The problem is exacerbated when the surrounding countries' ancient history has been coordinated with that of Egypt (such as that of the Hittites) to coincide with what happened in Egypt!  So many other dating of histories has been affected by this wrong dating of Egypt's kings!  There is more than enough evidence of Israel's history when one searches for it in the right time period!

There are not many chronologists but one of the modern authors which is not allowed in Egypt any more is David Rohl:  Watch this short excerpt!

 

[Ann O'Maly]

On 2/5/2017 at 7:30 AM, Arauna said:

there were also certain international symbols that had universal meaning.

...  Consequently - one must not be quick to jump to conclusions about the unfaithfulness of Hezekiah.  Remember that he was not a perfect servant of Jehovah and he was definitely not living in a vacuum.

Exactly! The ankh was simply an ideogram that meant 'life' in Egyptian writing. It's like a  ❤️️ - a universal ideogram for 'love.' It doesn't mean Hezekiah attached any idolatrous significance to it. Of interest, an Israeli news site wrote:

"The symbols on the seal impression from the Ophel suggest that they were made late in Hezekiah’s life, after he had recovered from the life-threatening illness of shehin (boils), when the life-symbol became especially significant for him (ca. 704 BCE)."
Read more at https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/55293/jerusalem-excavation-reveals-2700-year-old-seal-israelite-king-jerusalem/#fOUaVM5mU1LcVpeM.99

But we don't know to what kind of letter the bulla was attached. Maybe it was thrown away like an envelope is. Maybe the letter, complete with seal, was thrown away after the recipient had finished with it or in a clear out. We can only speculate. What we do know is that it is from King Hezekiah's time and has his name on it.

On 2/5/2017 at 7:30 AM, Arauna said:

A few years back I read a translation of a tablet wherein it was written that the Assyrian army suddenly died out from 'pestilence'.  That was their explanation for what happened to their soldiers.  It also was faith strengthening to realize that this really happened.

You're perhaps thinking of Josephus, Antiquities X. 20-21, where he quotes from Berossus. Unfortunately, this extract from Berossus' work is otherwise lost. Herodotus, Histories II.142 says it was a plague of mice that gnawed through their weapons to render them useless, but in this account the event took place at Pelusium.

3 hours ago, Arauna said:

there is much controversy about the Carbon dating of artifacts.

Carbon dating works well for the era under discussion here. The method works up to about 50,000 ya.

3 hours ago, Arauna said:

If you want to check out the meanings of the symbols on this find you can read parts of the book:  The Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop.

...  Dr Velikovsky's books were some of the first that created a furore!  ... and there are more scholars who agree with Velikovsky! 

Both of these authors books have been debunked. Pseudo-history. Pseudo-science. And not even the Organization quotes Hislop any more - not for decades now. I checked Hislop's claims about different kinds of cross signs and their origins in detail and found that he'd just cobbled together some similar-looking symbols from across several civilizations' artifacts and imagined a Babylonian connection. Complete nonsense.

Regarding David Rohl, his departure from conventional dating is much further back in time than Hezekiah's and is often dealing with patchier timelines. Chronology from particularly 8th century BCE onwards is pretty well established.

 

[Arauna]

A lot of people debunk things when it does not agree with their vision.  It is like the "science" offered these days which proves that humans have a hand in the climate change and other studies which give proof that it is bunk - and in the meantime there are countries and whole areas that is going under water while the scientific "debate" and scientific proofs are still being offered to prove it is not happening.... Russia is using new sea lanes in seas that previously were covered in ice - there is also a race for territory under the sea to explore for oil.... in new territories where they never thought they would explore.

So I must offer the thought that I do not really put my trust in science - or the humans behind it.  I do not put blind faith in humans and their so-called knowledge because one does not know when it has been tainted with an agenda.  Really too much misinformation these days.... conflicting studies all over the place and many have been caught out as manipulating their results.

One does not have to throw everything away though - and neither do I throw all away that Hyslop wrote - that would not be smart - even if it is just to get an idea what the universal thoughts behind some of the signs were. He was smart enough to tie ancient Babylon and Sumerian culture to many of the ideas in modern Babylon - which is agreed upon by the author of the bible, Jehovah,  because he himself calls the empire: Babylon the Great. Many of the spiritistic ideas in many modern religions on earth today came from that area.

There are many scientists who agree with the new chronology in Egyptology.  But unfortunately they are not allowed into the country any more.  If you do not agree with the' prevailing consensus' then you are marked as a pseudo-scientist.  Champollion was not a good scientist either because he was an archeologist when the science was in it infancy and yet his ideas are accepted as laid in stone/ concrete.... and other scientists have built on it.  The problem lies right at the foundation of Egyptology....and when one builds on a wrong foundation then one gets the mess we are sitting with at present.

Two people who come to mind who did not agree with the new ideas offered by younger scientists were Einstein (later in his life he rejected some excellent new ideas); and Hawkins -  but we still view them as icons for the work they did do. There are still some very good thoughts in Hyslop's book.... but of course there were religions that did not like it and set out to discredit him - so they wrote their own pseudo-science.

I am glad you agree with me on one thing - that there were universal symbols for many things which was accepted by many countries.  A good example today is the wedding ring - originally pagan - but we still use it as a symbol to show that we are married.  Some countries they wear it on the left hand and in other on the right....This does not mean that we are pagans.  Since it does not involve pagan  rituals or participation in pagan rituals it has evolved as a universal symbol -  we accept it as a sign of marriage. Same with the days of the month.   We cannot throw absolutely everything out of the window - we are still in this world and we share it with people who do not believe in God. But we can remain clean by not participating in pagan rituals and stay away from inter-faith.

I do appreciate chatting with you though but I do not like debates - it does not serve an edifying purpose. 

 

 

  

I would just like to add: I do not need science to prove that the Bible is a message from the creator.  There are too many prophesies going into fulfillment at present which give proof that the writings of the bible has a higher source....

[Ann O'Maly]

1 hour ago, Arauna said:

A lot of people debunk things when it does not agree with their vision.

And a lot of people debunk things when they are unsubstantiated or based on false premises - like with many of Hislop's and Velikovsky's 'things.' It's a good exercise tracing their sources to see how much they've misused, misunderstood, or manipulated them to form an argument, or just simply made things up. 

Quote

He was smart enough to tie ancient Babylon and Sumerian culture to many of the ideas in modern Babylon

He may have been 'smart,' but his 'study' was colored by his utter hatred of the Catholic church and his 'Babylonian connections' were specious or plain fictional.

1 hour ago, Arauna said:

I am glad you agree with me on one thing - that there were universal symbols for many things which was accepted by many countries.  A good example today is the wedding ring - originally pagan - but we still use it as a symbol to show that we are married.  Some countries they wear it on the left hand and in other on the right....This does not mean that we are pagans.  Since it does not involve pagan  rituals or participation in pagan rituals it has evolved as a universal symbol -  we accept it as a sign of marriage. Same with the days of the month.   We cannot throw absolutely everything out of the window - we are still in this world and we share it with people who do not believe in God.

Yes, happily we are on the same page here. 

[Susan Ramirez]

Exactly! The ankh was simply an ideogram that meant 'life' in Egyptian writing. It's like a  ❤️️ - a universal ideogram for 'love.' It doesn't mean Hezekiah attached any idolatrous significance to it. 

Dear Sisters,

At the risk of starting another firestorm, (which is not my intention), I would like to include some information about the crux ansata in this discussion. 

rs p. 89- p.93

Cross

Definition: The device on which Jesus Christ was executed is referred to by most of Christendom as a cross. The expression is drawn from the Latin crux.

Why do Watch Tower publications show Jesus on a stake with hands over his head instead of on the traditional cross?

The Greek word rendered “cross” in many modern Bible versions (“torture stake” in NW) is stau·rosʹ. In classical Greek, this word meant merely an upright stake, or pale. Later it also came to be used for an execution stake having a crosspiece. The Imperial Bible-Dictionary acknowledges this, saying: “The Greek word for cross, [stau·rosʹ], properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.”—Edited by P. Fairbairn (London, 1874), Vol. I, p. 376.

Was that the case in connection with the execution of God’s Son? It is noteworthy that the Bible also uses the word xyʹlon to identify the device used. A Greek-English Lexicon, by Liddell and Scott, defines this as meaning: “Wood cut and ready for use, firewood, timber, etc. . . . piece of wood, log, beam, post . . . cudgel, club . . . stake on which criminals were impaled . . . of live wood, tree.” It also says “in NT, of the cross,” and cites Acts 5:30 and 10:39 as examples. (Oxford, 1968, pp. 1191, 1192) However, in those verses KJ, RS, JB, and Dy translate xyʹlon as “tree.” (Compare this rendering with Galatians 3:13;Deuteronomy 21:22, 23.)

The book The Non-Christian Cross, by J. D. Parsons (London, 1896), says: “There is not a single sentence in any of the numerous writings forming the New Testament, which, in the original Greek, bears even indirect evidence to the effect that the stauros used in the case of Jesus was other than an ordinary stauros; much less to the effect that it consisted, not of one piece of timber, but of two pieces nailed together in the form of a cross. . . . It is not a little misleading upon the part of our teachers to translate the word stauros as ‘cross’ when rendering the Greek documents of the Church into our native tongue, and to support that action by putting ‘cross’ in our lexicons as the meaning of stauros without carefully explaining that that was at any rate not the primary meaning of the word in the days of the Apostles, did not become its primary signification till long afterwards, and became so then, if at all, only because, despite the absence of corroborative evidence, it was for some reason or other assumed that the particular stauros upon which Jesus was executed had that particular shape.”—Pp. 23, 24; see also The Companion Bible (London, 1885), Appendix No. 162.

Thus the weight of the evidence indicates that Jesus died on an upright stake and not on the traditional cross.

What were the historical origins of Christendom’s cross?

“Various objects, dating from periods long anterior to the Christian era, have been found, marked with crosses of different designs, in almost every part of the old world. India, Syria, Persia and Egypt have all yielded numberless examples . . . The use of the cross as a religious symbol in pre-Christian times and among non-Christian peoples may probably be regarded as almost universal, and in very many cases it was connected with some form of nature worship.”—Encyclopædia Britannica (1946), Vol. 6, p. 753.

“The shape of the [two-beamed cross] had its origin in ancient Chaldea, and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name) in that country and in adjacent lands, including Egypt. By the middle of the 3rd cent. A.D. the churches had either departed from, or had travestied, certain doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.”—An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (London, 1962), W. E. Vine, p. 256.

“It is strange, yet unquestionably a fact, that in ages long before the birth of Christ, and since then in lands untouched by the teaching of the Church, the Cross has been used as a sacred symbol. . . . The Greek Bacchus, the Tyrian Tammuz, the Chaldean Bel, and the Norse Odin, were all symbolised to their votaries by a cruciform device.”—The Cross in Ritual, Architecture, and Art (London, 1900), G. S. Tyack, p. 1.

“The cross in the form of the ‘Crux Ansata’ . . . was carried in the hands of the Egyptian priests and Pontiff kings as the symbol of their authority as priests of the Sun god and was called ‘the Sign of Life.’”—The Worship of the Dead (London, 1904), Colonel J. Garnier, p. 226.

“Various figures of crosses are found everywhere on Egyptian monuments and tombs, and are considered by many authorities as symbolical either of the phallus [a representation of the male sex organ] or of coition. . . . In Egyptian tombs the cruxansata [cross with a circle or handle on top] is found side by side with the phallus.”—A Short History of Sex-Worship (London, 1940), H. Cutner, pp. 16, 17; see also The Non-Christian Cross, p. 183.

“These crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian sun-god, [See book], and are first seen on a coin of Julius Cæsar, 100-44 B.C., and then on a coin struck by Cæsar’s heir (Augustus), 20 B.C. On the coins of Constantine the most frequent symbol is [See book]; but the same symbol is used without the surrounding circle, and with the four equal arms vertical and horizontal; and this was the symbol specially venerated as the ‘Solar Wheel’. It should be stated that Constantine was a sun-god worshipper, and would not enter the ‘Church’ till some quarter of a century after the legend of his having seen such a cross in the heavens.”—The Companion Bible, Appendix No. 162; see also The Non-Christian Cross, pp. 133-141.

Is veneration of the cross a Scriptural practice?

1 Cor. 10:14: “My beloved ones, flee from idolatry.” (An idol is an image or symbol that is an object of intense devotion, veneration, or worship.)

Ex. 20:4, 5, JB: “You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.” (Notice that God commanded that his people not even make an image before which people would bow down.)

Of interest is this comment in the New Catholic Encyclopedia: “The representation of Christ’s redemptive death on Golgotha does not occur in the symbolic art of the first Christian centuries. The early Christians, influenced by the Old Testament prohibition of graven images, were reluctant to depict even the instrument of the Lord’s Passion.”—(1967), Vol. IV, p. 486.

Concerning first-century Christians, History of the Christian Church says: “There was no use of the crucifix and no material representation of the cross.”—(New York, 1897), J. F. Hurst, Vol. I, p. 366.

Does it really make any difference if a person cherishes a cross, as long as he does not worship it?

How would you feel if one of your dearest friends was executed on the basis of false charges? Would you make a replica of the instrument of execution? Would you cherish it, or would you rather shun it?

In ancient Israel, unfaithful Jews wept over the death of the false god Tammuz. Jehovah spoke of what they were doing as being a ‘detestable thing.’ (Ezek. 8:13, 14) According to history, Tammuz was a Babylonian god, and the cross was used as his symbol. From its beginning in the days of Nimrod, Babylon was against Jehovah and an enemy of true worship. (Gen. 10:8-10; Jer. 50:29) So by cherishing the cross, a person is honoring a symbol of worship that is opposed to the true God.

As stated at Ezekiel 8:17, apostate Jews also ‘thrust out the shoot to Jehovah’s nose.’ He viewed this as “detestable” and ‘offensive.’ Why? This “shoot,” some commentators explain, was a representation of the male sex organ, used in phallic worship. How, then, must Jehovah view the use of the cross, which, as we have seen, was anciently used as a symbol in phallic worship?" End of quotation.

 

So dear sisters, let's be careful to keep our worship to Jehovah clean and free from any influence of pagan worship that is detestable to him. I hope you all agree. 

 

"One could even speculate that this was a letter asking Egypt to assist Hezekiah - because the surrounding countries and cities had already been invaded long before Sennacherib came to Jerusalem.......   Hezekiah could have planned to sent out a secret message but decided to trash it and to trust only in Jehovah instead." 

Interesting argument. Very possible. Shall we go together to ask King Hezekiah, when he is resurrected? If you agree, its a date!

I often wonder how much time will be spent on answering the questions of the resurrected ones vs answering the questions of those who have survived the battle of Armageddon??? 

[Queen Esther]

@Susan Ramirez  I agree with your comment ! Many things we first will know in the NW or in paradise ! We still need alot more patence, oh yes. 

[Susan Ramirez]

Thanks for the note. I could go on and on and on, ... well, you know what I mean, about the questions I have about the past. But I am sure that they will just have to wait, as we will have much to do to prepare for our future in the paradise! We can do much now to get ready for that day. Thanks again!