1. Apologia!
Every word of God is tested…
Proverbs 30:5

2. Amazing Bible Prophecy
We continue to look at specific prophecies made in the Old Testament that found their ultimate fulfillment centuries after the prophecies were made.
Also centuries after the oldest copies of the prophecies which are extant.

3. Concerning Ashkelon and Gaza
Ashkelon and Gaza were two of the five leading cities of the Philistines. The others were Ashdod, Ekron and Gath.
Several prophecies were made during the time of the divided Israelite kingdom which have great bearing on the accuracy of the Bible and the existence of all-knowing God.

4. Archaeology And Philistines
Archaeologists continue to doubt the accuracy of historical references in Scripture to the existence of Philistines during the OT times.
They struggle with dating the Bible records with histories of other nations.
They don’t know where Philistines came from or how they got there. Name thought to mean, simply, “Sea Peoples”.

5. Evidence In Egypt
Listed in the mortuary temple of Ramses III as the PELESET, or PLISHTIM in Hebrew, the Philistines.
Encyclopedia Britannica lists them as “Aegean origin who settled on the southern coast of Palestine in the 12th century BCE about the time of the arrival of the Israelites.”
Found in the annals of Assyrian king Adad-nirari III who boasted of collecting tribute from Philistia. (800s BC)

6. Bichrome Pottery
A particular type of pottery has been found in abundance in the five cities, known as bichrome pottery.
Findings of the same type of pottery in sites in southern Turkey have led one journal, Jewish World, to speculate that the Philistines did not come from the sea, but were already intermingled with the Hittite people.

7. Known For Sure
What is known for sure is there was a Philistine people.
They did establish a thriving culture in five great cities on the Aegean Sea.
They did war against other peoples in the area and left their mark on the land.
They may have originated on the isle of Crete.
They were settled in Canaan after being defeated by Egypt. They were enemies of the Hebrews.

8. Bible Prophecies
Amos 1:8 – “I will also cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; I will even unleash My power upon Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord God.”
Jeremiah 47:5 – “Baldness has come upon Gaza; Ashkelon has been ruined. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?”

9. Zephaniah 2:4-7
“For Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon and Ekron will be uprooted….The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant. So the seacoast will be pastures, with caves for shepherds and folds for flocks, and the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will pasture on it…for the Lord God will care for them and restore their fortune.

10. Major Predictions Philistines will cease to exist
Baldness will come to Gaza
Desolation shall come on Ashkelon
Shepherds and sheep will abide in the vicinity of Ashkelon.
The remnant of Judah will eventually populate Ashkelon.

11. Brief History Of Ashkelon
Dates back to the Neolithic period.
Ruled by the ancient Egyptians.
Then by the Philistines.
Then by the Israelites beginning with David.
Then by the Assyrians
Babylonians
Greeks Arabs
Phoenicians Crusaders
Hasmoneans Mamluks 1270 AD
Romans
Persians

12. Partial Fulfilment
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Ashkelon was one of the last Philistine cities to stand.
Fell in 604 B.C., was burned and her people taken into exile to Babylon.
Considered the end of the Philistines as a civilization. Scholars agree that the Philistines are no more.

13. Destruction of Ancient City
The Mamluk Sultanate arose in Egypt between 1250 and 1517 A.D.
In 1270, Mamluk Sultan Baibars (Baybars, etc.) ordered that the citadel at Ashkelon be destroyed and the harbor put out of commission.
Stones from the city were poured into harbor, leaving it a desolation for more than 700 years.

14. Baibars (Baybars) was one of the commanders of forces which inflicted defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX.
In 1260 won victory that substantially defeated the Mongol army.
Led the way in ending Crusader presence in Syria and united Egypt and Syria to fend off Crusaders and Mongols.

15. A Place For Shepherds
For a long period of time Bedouin shepherds grazed flocks in the area.
During recent centuries, ownership of Ashkelon has been passed around between Palestine and Israel.
With ownership of Israel, the area has become a green and luscious park area/ garden city – inhabited by Israel, the remnant of Judah.

16. Gaza
Gaza, on the other hand, was to become “bald”.
Still a city of Gaza to this day, and until recently it was believed it was the original city.
Therefore prophecy was thought to be wrong.
In “Illustrations Of Fulfilled Prophecy”, John Robinson Gregory mentions, “Dr. Keith and Dr. Kitto”, who held the view that the newer Gaza was not the same site as the old.

17. If their view is correct, and it has considerable evidence, then where the old city stood is covered in sand dunes with no above ground evidence of its existence.
Alexander Keith was a Scottish minister in the late 1700 and early 1800s. Wrote extensively on Bible prophecy. Best known for Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion Derived from the Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy”, still in print today.

18. John Kitto was an English biblical scholar in the early 1800s.
“Identifying Gaza and Gath has proven more complicated. The large tell site at modern-day Gaza City is generally believed to be the ancient city by that name….” (Ancient Canaan and Israel, An Introduction” by Jonathan M. Golden

19. Either Way… Ashkelon met its end in 1270 A.D.
The Philistine people were relocated and lost amongst the nations and are no more.
Sheep and shepherds populated the area around Ashkelon for centuries.
Eventually, Ashkelon passed into Israelite hands, fulfilling the prophecy of the remnant of Judah.
Gaza is potentially a heap of sand dunes, needing more modern archaeology to verify for sure.