The Mysteries of Ancient Architecture: What We Can Learn
By Elizabeth Prata
There are curious mysteries in the world that have had me intrigued for years. In my travels I’ve seen fabuous architecture like the Roman Colosseum and Aqueducts. Paving stones still in use on the old Appian Way. Cathedrals like Notre Dame in France and Milan’s Duomo. Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence which features an ingenious double dome that allows it to be so cavernous and not collapse. Those are all genius wonders, but minor compared to the hugely magnificent yet mysterious items we, to this day, cannot figure out how they were built.
Thus, even MORE intriguing are the The Easter Island statues, Stonehenge, Nazco Lines, the Sphinx, Gobekli Tepe, and the PYRAMIDS of course!
I wrote about Gobekli Tepe in 2011, the pictures are amazing.
AI said of Gobekli Tepe, “Göbekli Tepe is special because it’s the oldest known monumental, megalithic structure, dating back to the 10th-9th millennium BCE, predating both agriculture and settled civilization, and is believed to have been a religious center for hunter-gatherers.”
Some people have proposed that it was at or near the Garden of Eden, or somehow associated with it.
Something one of the cited articles said about this amazing series of structures, was that “Bewilderingly, the people at Göbekli Tepe got steadily worse at temple building. The earliest rings are the biggest and most sophisticated, technically and artistically.“
Atheists and skeptics dismiss the Bible as having been written ‘by a bunch of illiterate, ignorant shepherds.’ It is a common rejoinder. They look at the past and all they see are unskilled populations and ignorant societies, and believe we are at the pinnacle of sophistication. We aren’t. We are actually dumber now. As one example, our concrete piers fail in salt water very quickly. Roman piers only get stronger and are still in use 2000 years later.
This thought about the intelligence and sophistication of past civilizations is picked up by Answers in Genesis author Dr. Jack Hughes. @DrJackHughes wrote on Twitter/X the other day the following interesting essay.
Dr. Hughes: “Having a thought about the pyramids. Because of the advanced technology apparent in the pyramids, I have wondered if they are pre-flood structures as some claim. The Bible, contrary to common evolutionary myth, teaches that mankind used to be smarter, not dumber. We haven’t evolved, we have devolved because of the curse. This is why some of the oldest structures evidence the most advanced construction techniques e.g., Malta temples, Göbekli Tepe, Stonehenge, Newgrange, Baalbek, etc. Man’s lifespan before the flood was nearly 1,000 years (see Gen. 5). The human genome was not as decayed by sin and the curse then as it is today. People weren’t poisoned by bad food and the contaminates like we are today. People surely used most of their brain capacity.”
“Imagine having a photographic memory and living for 900 years! When you look at the early, pre-flood account in the Word of God you discover that mankind, before the flood, though exceedingly wicked (see Gen. 6:5), were innovators, figured out music, metallurgy, farming, building, etc. So, what if the pyramids were built pre-flood as huge obelisks (for whatever purpose), the flood came, encased them in mud, which over time has turned to sedimentary rock?”
“There are reasons to think the pyramids were at one time submerged in water at the flood. Yet, one of the arguments against the pyramids being pre-flood is that “they are built on sedimentary rock.” Well, it appears they may be built on bedrock, 680 meters (2,231 ft) below the surface. Either shafts were dug deep into the post-flood sedimentary rock, or very tall structures were built, that were later encased in mud at the flood and turned into stone.”
“When I consider the latter, and the weight of the pyramids, it seems unlikely that a structure 2,231 tall could be built to support its weight, even if it was made out of granite blocks. Yet another idea is that the pyramids were built into the pre-flood bedrock, and were obelisk type structures, partly built into the ground and built above the ground, and the flood covered most of the part of what sticks above ground in mud, that turned to sedimentary rock after the flood. Crazy discoveries are happening around the world and some, like Göbekli Tepe, are purposefully being covered up (e.g., tomb of Gilgamesh). What are governments afraid we might discover? Could it be evidence that confirms the Bible is true and that evolution is a lie? I think so. Fascinating stuff.”
Justin Peters concurred that this was his thought as well:
Justin Peters: “I agree completely. Humans thousands of years ago were far more intelligent than are we. I once saw a documentary on the Sphinx and it made a compelling case that it shows distinct signs of water erosion.“
When Dr. Hughes says Gobekli Tepe is being covered up, he is not kidding. It literally is being covered up. The Istanbul Chronicle reports, “Since 2016, all excavation work at Göbeklitepe, a site of extreme historical significance, has reportedly been stopped. Instead, a roof has been constructed over the site, and areas that needed to be excavated have been covered with trees.” They are also building roads over it.
Whether or not we discover the truth about these things in heaven, it is still an interesting notion that the secular world sees, and deep-down knows, that, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We are made to worship.
