DECEPTION: The Years Before Columbus...not just 500 years prior but America 325 B.C

Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was NOT the first European to discover North America. Almost 500 years before Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, the Norsemen had already established settlements on Iceland, Greenland, and even North America itself. Although the settlements did not last for long, their memory reminds us of the indefatigable spirit of the Norsemen who braved uncertainty and cold to discover a New World. How different world history could have been if their settlements had survived!

The Norsemen (or Vikings) were a seafaring Scandinavian people who rose to power in Europe between the 9th and 11th centuries (and DID NOT wear helmets with horns). They were an extremely mobile and usually worked as pirates, mercenaries, or traders. No port from Ireland to Russia from Scandinavia to North Africa was safe from their raids. For many years, the Viking longboat was perhaps the most dreaded sight a European could have seen.

The Norsemen were more than just pirates, however. They often settled and farmed the territory they encountered. This was especially true in the North Atlantic where they were the first and only Europeans to colonize. They began colonizing the North Atlantic in 894 AD when Ingólfur Arnarson became the first person (with the possible exception of a few Irish monks) to take up permanent residence on Iceland. Iceland soon became a flourishing colony and has been populated ever since.

Beginning in 984AD, some Vikings, including Erik the Red, established settlements on Greenland. This land was a little harder to tame than was Iceland. In addition to being further away from European civilization, it was already populated by Inuit natives. Although the Vikings and the Inuit got along well for many years, conflict was inevitable. The settlements managed to survive the threat of Inuit attacks, famine, disease, the great distance from European civilization, and the bitter cold for almost 500 years. The "Little Ice Age" which began in the 13th century made life in Greenland almost impossible, however. Close to the time that Columbus reached the New World, the Greenland colony failed and was abandoned for over two hundred years.

In a time before accurate maps and when much of the world was unknown exploration was a dangerous business. Further, the Vikings had little incentive to take risks. They were not, for example, interested in finding a new route to China like the Portuguese would be many years later. Therefore, most of their discoveries were actually accidents. They did not have access to modern navigational equipment, or even the compass. Understandably, they often got lost at sea. In the process of trying to find their way home, they sometimes encountered new territory. If they did make it back to civilization, they told others what they had seen. This, in turn, motivated adventurous Norsemen to try to find this new land. It was the search for known landmasses, not the charting of the unknown, which motivated most of the Nordic exploration efforts.

This is how Leif Erikson discovered Newfoundland. About 985AD, a merchant named Bjarni Herjólfsson got lost while sailing from Iceland to Greenland. While trying to find his way to Greenland, he accidentally discovered North America. Realizing that this was not his destination and hoping to get to Greenland before the winter, he did not land. A few years later, he told his story to Leif Erikson. Erikson bought Herjólfsson's ship and set out in search of this new land.

Leif Erikson (also Ericson & Erikkson) was born about 970AD. He was the son of the famous "Erik the Red" who had founded two settlements on Greenland. Little is certain about Leif Erricson's life, but is generally believed that he grew up in Greenland and visited Norway where he converted to Christianity about 999AD. Soon after returning home, Leif set out to find the land Bjarni had claimed to see. The land was reputed to be well forested and Leif knew that it would probably make valuable farm land.

After making two landfalls along the North American coast, Leif Erikson arrived at a place he called "Vinland". It's exact location is now known. Archaeologists have found the remains of a Norse settlement in Newfoundland, but some still maintain that Vinland was further south, perhaps around Massachusetts. According to this view, the Newfoundland settlement was the result of an undocumented expedition, which is certainly possible. Perhaps we have simply lost the records of the northern expedition. On the other hand, there is no evidence to believe that the northern settlement is NOT the Vinland of the Nordic sagas.

It is not known how many expeditions were made to Vinland. There were apparently at least two or three including as least one made by Leif's brother Thorvald. The colony seems to have prospered for a time with the inhabitants importing animals and even families to live there. The natives, however, were a problem. They were hostile and in the 11th century, the Vikings would not have had much of a technological advantage of them. The Vikings had iron weapons, but flint weapons killed just as easily as do iron ones. In fact, Thorvald himself died during a skirmish with the locals. The Vikings also had large animals. As North America has no native beasts of burden, the natives were unfamiliar with cattle and were even frightened by them. Lastly, the Vikings had the advantage of being skilled seafarers. If a battle went against them, they could just get in their longboats and go home or try to recruit some reinforcements.

These advantages were not enough for the Vikings to defeat the natives of Vinland, however. Ultimately, any settlers who were not killed were forced to return to Greenland. In time, even the settlers of Greenland were forced to retreat to Iceland or even Scandinavia itself. Without a steady stream of inhabitants to populate the areas the Norse tried to settle, the colonies were doomed to failure.

For many years, Leif Erikson and Vinland were thought to be legends, nothing more. Their stories were recorded in conflicting sagas during the 13th century, but scholars did not take these sagas seriously until recently when archaeological evidence of the Norse colonization of North America was uncovered in Newfoundland. Archaeologists have also found evidence of Viking coins and writing as far inland as the Great Lakes and as far south as Massachusetts. While some believe this is a sign that Vikings actually explored this far, others say it is only a sign that they were in North America. Their coins could have been traded south by the Indians they traded with or scavengers who searched the ruins of the Vinland settlement after it was abandoned.

However it happened, there can be little doubt that Vikings lived in North America for at least a brief time. They were not, however, there long enough to have much of a significant impact on the cultures they encountered. North America remained essentially unchanged until Columbus found it in 1492. Still, it is worth noting that the Norsemen, not the Spanish were the first to reach the New World. But to understand a bit more of exactly what was taking place in 1492 and The Spanish rule, a reference to Queen Isabella is necessary.

Isabella of Castile was a powerful queen as Europe passed from the Late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. When she was eighteen she already favored jewels and beautiful gowns which she wore throughout her life. Isabella was queen of Castile from 1474 to 1505, and she had to fight a civil war to secure her throne. Her marriage to Ferdinand II of Aragon began a thirty five year joint rule of a unified Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. Ferdinand and Isabella succeeded as joint sovereigns to the throne of Castile on the death of Isabella's half brother Henry IV in December of 1474. From 1481 the "Catholic Kings," as Ferdinand and Isabella were known, ruled both kingdoms jointly, but it was a union of crowns not countries. The two kingdoms maintained their separate laws, institutions and governments. In 1478, they established the Spanish Inquisition as a royal council under royal control. In 1492 The Inquisition persuaded the Catholic Kings to expel the Jews whose conversion to Christianity was doubtful.

It was typical of Isabella's political vision that she agreed to finance the expedition of Christopher Columbus which brought the New World and wealth to Spain. If it weren't for Queen Isabella of Spain, Christopher Columbus would never been able to set sail. Isabella took an interest in the Native Americans of the new lands and when some of them were brought back to Spain as slaves she had them returned and freed, she wanted the Indians to be treated fairly.

So, the question remains that as a young child in public school being taught American History and the whole" Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue~ Columbus discovered America in 1492 that I asked and no-one could answer me THEN. If there were people ALREADY here in America, where did "they" come from and how did "they" travel here? As "they" didn't have "their" voyage "financed" like Columbus by a Queen seeing new land and wealth to add to her treasury. Men and women of Amerindian descent, either of dual descent or full-blooded Native American Indians know the teachings of their grandparents of the ancient tribal traditions of how their ancestors crossed the great ocean that lies to the east of America, to reach this continent; of how they are bewildered and confused by the conflict between tribal traditions and what they were obliged to learn in public school-namely of an "alleged" ancestry back to the Bering Strait to Asia.

So theres a bit more to America's past than appears upon the surface, a bit more than George III losing his domain with the birth of the 13 original Colonies. How would you ascribe inscriptions strewn across The United States, Canada, and Latin America written in various European and Mediterranean languages in alphabets that date from 2500 YEARS AGO which give testimony not just about ancients ships visiting these shores, but also PERMANENT COLONIES OF CELTS, BASQUES, LIBYANS, and yes...even EGYPTIANS. Celtic Ogam, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Iberian-Punic script, Libyan script, Basque script circa 800BC (Before Christ and yes that means Before Columbus too) are written on gravestones, and on cliff faces which bear witness that the colonists intermarried with the Amerindians, and so their descendants still live here today!

These remarkable facts just recently coming to light in the late 70's while the world's attention was on Watergate scandal, and all the while discoveries of over 3000 years ago bands of roving Celtic mariners crossed the North Atlantic to discover, and then colonize, North America. They came from Spain and Portugal, by way of the Canary Islands, sailing the trade winds as Columbus also was to do LONG AFTERWARD. As one historian Professor Norman Totten, has pointed out, it means that 2500 YEARS of American pre-history must now be transferred to history; for if history begins when "writing" begins, and there have been unearthed the oldest written documents of our nation and the names thereof is on record. As a matter of fact, right here my own home state of Georgia about 1 hour north from me in Rising Fawn, Georgia was discovered similar ancient Ogam writings on the Chimney of an old home where the bricks of the chimney had been cut from the cliff faces.

I would like to pay homage to the late Dr. Barry Fell for his work on ancient languages which shines the light of America's TRUE HISTORY as well as Gloria Farley cliff explorer whose discoveries showed that Celts had followed a southern route and that Libyans and Punic speaking Iberians, and even on Basque King had ventured into the Heartland of America.

Yes, God scattered His Sheep the 10 tribes of Israel...but He didn't lose them...we lost themselves, our heritage, our identity for we the people in deception believing fairy-tales sold us in public school spoon fed by the government as to our History, and "traditions of men" sold us in most churches today such as Eve ate an apple hogwash, Easter (Ishtar) instead of Passover, False Rapture Doctrines instead of preparing America and The Church for the Hour of Temptation all but at the door. Can't blame anyone but yourself...for each of you "bought"it...so take personal responsibility for your OWN WOEFUL IGNORANCE...and start today and study. Pastor Arnold Murray at www.shepherdschapel.com is a great place to begin with live daily teachings line by line in the Bible. Currently at this writing (Oct 11th, 2010) we are currently studying the book of Ezekiel chapter by chapter and line on line so that God can tell The Truth and you can hear it!

Did you know that our Heavenly Father first came to this Earth in what most call UFOs and spoke with Ezekiel face to face to warn us what would be taking place especially in these end-times? Did you know this book tells everything abut Gods People, their captivity, their deliverance, Satan's high "office" he once held with The Father, and his "demotion" to the "office" of Antichrist? Did you know America has A DESTINY AND A PURPOSE? Ever wonder why it seems there is so much untruth in the political arena, the education system, and how it is almost impossible to get to the REAL TRUTH about anything?

Ever wonder exactly what is DECEPTION? We breathe "in" misinformation and untruths-not because we are "bad" people;rather it's like the air...just there and we are EXPOSED to "it"-and we simply breathe "it". In the search for Truth, it is necessary to have been once lied to, "deceived"- or else one can not "KNOW" The Truth, for in EXPERIENCE only can one KNOW a things as "Fact" or else the the thing is " is not a fact" - thus "BEING" and "UNTRUTH". Event he Truth when moved slightly to the left or ever so slightly to the right BECOMES a lie.The TRUTH MUST BE TOLD!! There are powerful special interests who spend millions of dollars to keep the truth and keep hidden from us just so 'they' can make more money. FACE IT! That is a cold hard fact. That is "the system" and how it works, and it works because the average person doesn't know any better. Most believe the so-called "experts", the TV ads, the media (who is that actually owns the media?), and self-serving institutions like the Federal Reserve who through Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have bundled our mortgages and sold "them" to our enemy and in all EFFECT have sold us into "slavery" to foreigners who HATE and despise The United States and the freedoms we possess.

Want to know where America fits into all this? America B.C. and Saga America by Dr. Barry Fell are 2 excellent works which break down in much deeper details what I have barely scratched the surface on here. Dr. Arnold Murray will break down God's Word and not "traditions passed down which in the end are alot of untruths.

While Titus in 70 A.D was destroying Jerusalem, there were Jews who had escaped taking refuge in America settling Kentucky and Tennessee...and then a second wave of Hebrew refugees came about 132 B.C. And in the very near future, God Himself is going to destroy Jerusalem in His wrath AFTER Satan "defacto" sits there "pretending to be Christ" and everybody runs up to him as if he is Jesus. It is getting very late in the season...please begin a serious study of Truth...let this note be the poker which nudges you into a better understanding of America, her Destiny...and YOURS!

I would like to thank Dr. Arnold Murray for his love and faith and scholarship in the original manuscripts of The Bible which shine the light of God's Word brightly for those who seek The Truth of God's word and provides a proper HISTORY...for America or any other country, that ignores God is NOT TRUE HISTORY. He is sovereign over His creation and "His Story". Therefore a proper understanding of Gods plan and purpose for man from the beginning of creation is a must or you will not be able to understand how America fits into His overall plan.

The question I should end with...What is going to be YOUR-Story?