02 March 2010

An angel killed 185,000 sleeping soldiers, "and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead."

Well, the title pretty much says it all, since it all happens place in a single verse (that is repeated twice in the Bible).

185,000 sleeping Assyrian soldiers were killed by an angel of the Lord. And when they woke up the next morning "behold, they were all dead."
The angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 2 Kings 19.35, Isaiah 37.36
They probably all woke up and said in unison (as is customary in the Bible), "Shucks, I'm dead."

God's next killing: God caused King Sennacherib to be killed by his sons

26 comments:

Daniel Clements said...

Technically, that would make them zombies, wouldn't it?

twillight said...

Have yoiu ever thought how angles look like?
Their face shines with divine glory, but their wings are tipped with blood...

skanksta said...

cool !

Anonymous said...

This is why the Bible is an interesting book.

Incest, murder, war, plagues, explosions, acid trip prophesies, pointless ramblings, dung eating, baby dashing, and on top of all that, zombies!

Steve Wells said...

Yeah, you're right, Marcus. The Bible is an interesting book. I wonder why few believers have actually read it.

Maybe that's because it's hard to believe in the Bible once you've read it.

Matthew Blanchette said...

This makes me think of the bit in Scary Movie 3, where two guys talk about the whole concept of "waking up dead":

Mahalik: I heard Jamal from 90th street watched that tape last week, and this mornin', he woke up dead!
CJ: How the hell do you wake up dead?
Mahalik: 'Cause you're alive when you go to sleep.
CJ: So you're telling me you can go to bed dead, and wake up alive?
Mahalik: You can't go to bed dead! That shit would've been redundant.
CJ: No, it wouldn't, 'cause you can go to bed and not be dead, and you can die and not be in the bed.
Mahalik: But you are in the bed; that's how you wake up dead in the first place, fool!
CJ: Damn! That's some quantum shit right there, man! You should be teaching classes!

Christian Henry said...

Hmm, my translation says "When the people got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies!"

That the Assyrian army was cut down there is not just written in the Bible, but recorded by the Greeks also- although they give no details.

Mr. Page said...

Well...it's obvious to the world that Steve Wells is not born-again.

I Corinthians 1:8, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."

Just saying.

Dr.GohstMac said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr.GohstMac said...

Y'know the whole atheistic argument, on the evil of God, is pretty simple to defeat.

In the form of a question. One which largely makes this argument as well as this book, moot and a waste of time.

The difference between God and You, is the difference between A painting and the painter.

If you want to change the painting, you paint over a few lines here, add a few new ones there, and you got an improved painting.

if you don't like it, you paint over the whole thing and start again, or scrap it and start with a fresh canvas.

Are you then a murderer? should you be held accountable for all the doodles you threw away, drawings you erased?

Not to mention, you're arguing based on your perception of evil. which is an inside biased view. not to mention when compared to a being that knows all, can do all and is everywhere, is all.. would that be a suffcient perception on which to judge? I mean even by our own standards it's flawed and incomplete.
We need things to help us define it, like religion and politics, our judicial system, logic and philosophy.


It's a major fallacy inherent in all arguments like this.

for people who brand themselves free thinkers, they're ironically still chained and held captive in a dualistic mindset. they just changed jailers.

point is, God is not a man, or human for that matter. Thus he cannot be judged as one. Any attempt to do so, would result in a reduction of His Being in either whole or part, toward that of a man, making any judgement, and the arguments it is based in, moot.

His assertion that believers ignore these verses, is invalid, and a gross generalization.

you learn of some of these killings in sunday school. I remember hearing the story of the killing of every first born son, in egypt at somewhere between ages 6 and 10.

a lot of the ones I learned about I learned before I was of legal age.

some, like the one where the guy grabs The Ark of the Covenant to stop it from falling off the cart into the mud, when the oxen stumble, (God smites him for touching The Ark of The Covenant)

seemed kinda sucky. But Y'know I'm not God so in the end no matter how long one wrestles, in the end, you gotta submit to that realization, and that speculating, while good mental exercise, is just speculation in the end.

As a funny aside,
I remember in a forum once when someone had a large rant displaying the supposed "evils" of God, and asking "Why?", and "How can He do this?",

A regular who was known for being a follower of Judaism replied,

"Why,because Our God is a Rockstar of course."

Big O said...

Even a moron knows not everyone in a military encampment is a soldier.
There are many support personnel who do not engage in combat. Therefore it is completely accurate to say that when the people (Non-military) personnel got up the soldiers were all dead.

Big O said...

Even a moron would know not everyone in a military camp is a soldier so it is entirely accurate to say when the people (aka-non combat support personnel) got up the soldiers were all dead.

Unknown said...

The Bible did not say they all were sleeping. An army always has guards that watch as they others sleep. If you don't believe me, try sneaking around on a military base at night. I bet you'll find yourself at the business end of an assault rifle.

Paradoctor said...

@ Dr. GohstMac: the atheist argument isn't that God is evil, but that God is nonexistent; the evil is in taking the fiction as real. If God is a fictional character, then wicked deeds attributed to God certainly do reflect badly upon the writers who wrote the tale, and the readers who believe it.

Paradoctor said...

"When they woke up, they were all dead"?!

Who edits this stuff?

Brad Watson, Miami said...

Steve Wells (DwindlingInUnbelief.blogspot.com) ,

You're guilty of a really poor edit. Why? So as to use false information to promote your false belief that their is no GOD(7_4), that there was no appearance of God-incarnate (Jesus[74=J10+E5+S19+U21+S19] son of Joseph), and that the Christ doesn't return to "judge everyone according(74) to their actions". Atheists believe in randomness, although chaos theory states, "There is only an appearance of randomness, everything is connect(74)ed, and there are underlying patterns." Atheists believe that there is no afterlife although, science has now proven reincarnation. The law of karma is as real as the law of gravity. Therefore... By the power(77) vested in me by GOD as His Christ(77=C3+H8+R18+I9+S19+T20), I hereby rule that 12/27/13 is your Judgment Day: you FAIL F. Sentence: bad luck for the rest of your life, then 74 years reincarnated as non-human just for your sins on this post (you have many more). When you are born-again as human, it will be under hellish circumstances. Note: you can repent, take this post down and any others like it, do many hours of verifiable community service, and then petition this court for a retrial. GOD & His Christ are just & forgiving. However, 7.4 years of your sentence is non-commutable and any contempt-of-court will receive an increased sentence. I strongly recommend that you respect this judgment. - Brad(25) Watson(77), Miami - GOD's Judge of All(25) Humanity. c.c. http://7seals.yuku.com

Big O said...

Have you ever seen an army without civilian, non combat personnel? Ignore the obvious to your own peril. The soldiers were all slain but the non combat support personel woke up to find them all dead.

Unknown said...

When the army of Israel got up the next day their enemies were slain before them. Very simple passage and in context easily understood.

Unknown said...

When the Bible stated "When they arose in the morning, they were all dead" it was NOT referring to the soldiers that were dead. It was referring to King Hezekiah and his men or servants. When they arose in the morning THEY saw that King Sennacherib and his soldiers were dead. Pray for an understanding. The Bible is like a loaded fire arm; it is only to be handle in the hands of skillful users. When kids like yourself get a hold of it, they commit suicide like you just clearly did with your erroneous misunderstanding.

Anonymous said...

The Bible is nothing like a firearm. It is a book of arcane practices, esoteric rambling, improbable miracles and very little truth.
If one misinterprets or misunderstands the Bible it is quite inconsequential; nothing at all like suicide.

Anonymous said...

what was the name of the angel that did all that?

Unknown said...

Dr. D.

This is what happens when an alleged "smart" kid quotes Scripture out of context and imposes his own twisted but amateur understanding of Scripture as the official interpretation of the passage and makes it a "proof" that the Bible erred and he is correct. The whole narrative in 2 Kings 19 and its equivalent account in Isaiah 37 are written from the perspective of the Jewish people not from the perspective of the Assyrians. The narrative centers on God's people being besieged by the world's most powerful emperor. King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were praying to God for deliverance from Sennacherib and his Assyrian army (2 Kings 19:17-19). So the statement in 2 Kings 19:35, "That night the Angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people [that is, when the Jewish people being besieged who prayed to God for deliverance] got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies!" Nice try to twist Scripture though bro, to prove that you are smarter than the Person who made your brain, which of course you would discount as not true because nobody made your brain, it just happened by accident, gradual development. The problem with that, is when you go to the specific details, evolution becomes unprovable despite the fact that Dawkins has this flagrant evolution delusion that evolution is a fact. But a more candid evolutionist Sir Arthur Keith admits in his foreword to Darwin’s 100th edition of the Origin of the Species: “Evolution is unproved and unprovable.” Take for example the mitochondria (plural) in your brain cell or any cell in any living thing from a lion to a dandelion. They are the power house of every living thing because they manufacture ATP (adenosine-triphosphate)to make any living thing alive and functioning. But guess what do the mitochondria need in order to produce ATPs? Yeah, you guessed it right, they need ATP! So in the process of evolution, which came first,the ATP or the mitochondrion (singular)? The ATP? What would produce the ATP if it came first because it is the mitochondrion alone that produces it. So it must be the mitochondrion that came first huh? But how could a mitochondrion produce ATP when the only way it could produce ATP is to have a source of energy called ATP. The truth is both came first. God created them both at the same time just as God created both your muscles and your tendons and your bones at the same time along with your brain because the brain cannot come first and evolve into something else because it cannot function without the heart pumping oxygen into it and the heart cannot function without the brain regulating its function. So enough with the smart evolution delusion. Be happy that your God did not put your nose next to your butt otherwise you would be in constant agony if you farted, and was caring enough to put your mother's breast in the chest so that when she carries you by her arms she could feed you conveniently. Otherwise, if God put your mother's breasts in her back, it would be kind of awkward holding you up as a baby upside down with your mouth towards her back so that she could breast-feed you.

Richard Dawkins, the great atheist/evolution advocate says that evolution is a fact. Nothing could be more deluded than that. It's his great evolution delusion. Dr. T.N. Tahmisian of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission rightly says, “Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever. In explaining evolution, we do not have one iota of fact.” Professor Louis Bounoure, Director of Research, National Center of Scientific Research rightly concludes: “Evolution is a fairy tale for grown-ups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless.” G.K. Chesterton was so right when he said, “Evolutionists seem to know everything about the missing link except the fact that it is missing.”

Unknown said...

Mia Grace that's a good question, who is "the Angel of the Lord" who came down slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers who were ready to wipe out the people of Judah where the future Messiah, Jesus, was supposed to come from 700 years later. First we will clarify what the word angel means. The primary meaning of the word "angel" in both the Hebrew (malak)language which is used in the Old Testament and the Greek (angelos) language which is used in the New Testament, is "messenger." While the word often refers to God's creatures called by that name, "angels," the Hebrew word malak itself in the Old Testament,as we will find out from biblical evidence also refers to God or to the pre-incarnate Christ Himself.


Malachi calls the Messiah (Christ) "the angel [malak] of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). Manoah identifies the Angel of the Lord that appeared to his wife and to him (Judges 13:3) as God (Judges 13:22). And that Angel of the Lord who he identified as God revealed His name to Manoah as "Wonderful [pili]" (Judges 13:18). And Isaiah in fact tells us that one of the names of the Messiah was Pili (Wonderful, Isa. 9:6). The Angel of the Lord in the OT, therefore, was one of the pre-incarnate titles of Jesus. Jesus told His Jewish listeners that Abraham rejoiced when he met Him; "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56). This actual encounter between Jesus and Abraham is recorded in Genesis 18, and Jesus' name in this encounter with Abraham was YHWH (Gen. 18:1).


In Zechariah 3:1, Zechariah is shown the vision of "the Angel [Malak] of the Lord [YHWH]" being Joshua the high priest's advocate while Satan stands as the accuser of Joshua. In verse 2, the Angel of YHWH identifies Himself, Zechariah says, "And YHWH said to Satan, YHWH rebuke you, Satan!" The Angel of YHWH also appeared to Balaam and He instructed Balaam to speak only the words that He told Balaam to say (Numbers 22:35), in reality the Angel of the Lord who put His words in Balaam's mouth was identified as YHWH Himself (Numbers 23:5). When Jacob was on his deathbed blessing Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he addressed God both as God and Angel interchangeably (Gen. 48:15,16). It is therefore clear that the word "Angel" does not always mean created angels, it may refer to God or to the pre-incarnate Christ Himself particularly. So the Angel of the Lord who slaughtered all the Assyrian soldiers who were threatening to annihilate Jesus' ancestors, the Jews, was none other than the pre-incarnate Christ Himself.

Unknown said...

In the last 10 years the research in SADOM and GAMORE shows that golf size hail came down in those city's made of 70% phosphors with only exist in nature at 30% proofe , it show that the balls went true the stone walls killing everyone , ANGELS ? I think the 180000 die from same method

Survivor#26 said...

Its interesting to know that no where else on the planet shows evidence of the fire & brimstone that destroyed Sadom & Gamorrah. The investigated facts led by independent scientists and physical evidence supports the writings in the Bible about what happened to Sadom & Gamorrah. Kind of scary when you think about it. Makes you wonder if everything else in the bible is without a doubt based on facts. The book of Revelation is enough to scare the bejeezus out of anyone. But you need not be afraid of what you don't understand. That's why a Bible study with people who study the Bible will help you to understand and answer all of your questions. Bring your own bible & Just ask a JW.

Rob said...

The precise identity of the “angel of the Lord” is not given in the Bible. However, there are many important “clues” to his identity. There are Old and New Testament references to “angels of the Lord,” “an angel of the Lord,” and “the angel of the Lord.” It seems when the definite article “the” is used, it is specifying a unique being, separate from the other angels. The angel of the Lord speaks as God, identifies Himself with God, and exercises the responsibilities of God (Genesis 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exodus 3:2; Judges 2:1-4; 5:23; 6:11-24; 13:3-22; 2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12; 3:1; 12:8). In several of these appearances, those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for their lives because they had “seen the Lord.” Therefore, it is clear that in at least some instances, the angel of the Lord is a theophany, an appearance of God in physical form.

The appearances of the angel of the Lord cease after the incarnation of Christ. Angels are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but “the angel of the Lord” is never mentioned in the New Testament after the birth of Christ. There is some confusion regarding Matthew 28:2, where the KJV says “the angel of the Lord” descended from heaven and rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb. It is important to note that the original Greek has no article in front of angel; it could be “the angel” or “an angel,” but the article must be supplied by the translators. Other translations besides the KJV say it was “an angel,” which is the better wording.

It is possible that appearances of the angel of the Lord were manifestations of Jesus before His incarnation. Jesus declared Himself to be existent “before Abraham” (John 8:58), so it is logical that He would be active and manifest in the world. Whatever the case, whether the angel of the Lord was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Christophany) or an appearance of God the Father (theophany), it is highly likely that the phrase “the angel of the Lord” usually identifies a physical appearance of God.

http://www.gotquestions.org/angel-of-the-Lord.html

Personally, I think the Angel was Michael the Archangel. Yeah baby! Kick some bad guy rump. In anykindofway, if you believe in God, just remember the infamous words of Hillary Clinton when she bellows... "What difference does it make?"

In this case regarding God, whatever God and however God decided to kick these soldiers butt; he just did it. Shoot, theirs even some evidence in the archives of some Hebrew and Greek tabloids that this happened somewhere sitting in print from what I've gleaned off the interweb.

It's your choice guys whether you're willing to accept the maker, creator, manifesting Great I Am or not. I choose too 'cause He's bigger than me, smarter than me, more forgiving, more generous, has more mercy and favor than I do, and He's willing to love and forgive a total misfit screw up like me.

Cheers.