Watch Jerusalem

Hosted by Brent Nagtegaal

Watch Jerusalem brings you news and archaeology from a biblical perspective. Host Brent Nagtegaal is on location in Jerusalem to give you the most important developments happening on the ground—and emerging from beneath it. Nagtegaal is a contributor for watchJerusalem.co.il.

#157: Scotland and Wales: The ‘Lost’ Tribes of Simeon and Levi?

Aired Sunday, July 5, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   57 minutes

In his seminal work The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong established that the United States and British Commonwealth represent the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, respectively—one tribe prophesied to become a great nation, and the other, a company, or commonwealth, of nations. While his book focused primarily on those two birthright tribes, Mr. Armstrong identified several other nations of western Europe, Scandinavia and the British Isles as descending from the ‘lost’ tribes of Israel. We have covered these nations one by one throughout this “Modern Identity of the 12 Tribes” podcast series.

But the final two tribes of this series, Simeon and Levi, are somewhat different—these were prophesied to be “scattered” within Israel. On today’s program, host Christopher Eames examines the evidence for where these tribes went—including, in particular, a significant connection to Scotland, Wales and Cornwall.

#156: The New Yorker’s Attempt to Topple King David

Aired Tuesday, June 30, 2020   ·   04:57 AM CDT   ·   52 minutes

As statues of eminent historical figures fall around the world, another effort is underway to "topple" the biblical "image" of David. Did the king exist? And if so, was he really ruler over a kingdom of any significance? That's the premise of the recent New Yorker exposé by Ruth Margalit. Spoiler alert: The article concludes that there is little, if any, evidence--and even if David existed, he certainly didn't rule a significant kingdom.

The conclusion was not surprising from the New Yorker. What was surprising was that the article content was not about archaeology. In fact, the article was hardly about King David himself!

On today's program, host Christopher Eames examines the "evidence" presented against King David (or rather, the lack thereof) and the primary focus of the article: a fawning biography of the "generous, witty, courtly, overwhelmingly charming," anti-David theorist Prof. Israel Finkelstein.

#155: Obama’s Hatred for Israel Exposed in Second Planned UN Resolution

Aired Sunday, June 21, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   38 minutes

On December 23, 2016, the United States failed to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution that called Israel’s control of the Old City of Jerusalem illegal. The decision to let the anti-Israel resolution pass was largely seen as a parting shot against the state of Israel by the outgoing Obama administration.

Reporting on the event at the time, we asked if President Obama was planning on pushing another anti-Israel resolution in his final weeks. While no resolution came forward, reporting this past week revealed for the first time that Obama was indeed preparing another anti-Israel resolution at the UN. It was withdrawn after Russian officials told the Obama administration that Moscow would not let it pass.

On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal details the proof of President Obama’s plan at the UN as well as the deeper motivations behind his hatred for the State of Israel.

#154: Norway: The ‘Lost’ Tribe of Benjamin?

Aired Sunday, June 14, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   48 minutes

On today’s program, host Christopher Eames examines the evidence for identifying modern-day Norway and Iceland with the “wolf” tribe of Benjamin.

#153: The Missing Connection Between the Arad Cannabis Altar and the Bible

Aired Sunday, June 7, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   38 minutes

Judahite worshipers in a temple at Tel Arad burned cannabis as part of their ritual worship some 2,700 years ago, new research has revealed. In light of the discovery, some are now questing whether such a practice was endorsed by God.

On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal talks with archaeologist Christopher Eames about the discovery, as well as the largely unreported link to the Bible.

#152: Denmark: The ‘Lost’ Tribe of Dan?

Aired Sunday, May 31, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   49 minutes

In an earlier podcast, we identified the Irish as the modern-day descendants of the tribe of Dan. But anciently, Dan was split into two distinct parts: A western tribe, that migrated to Ireland c. 3,000 years ago; and a northern tribe, that was taken captive by the Assyrians and migrated into the European continent with the other Israelite tribes. These northern Danites are represented by the modern-day nation of Denmark (Danish: Danmark).

On today’s program, host Christopher Eames examines the evidence for identifying modern-day Denmark with the tribe of Dan. He also examines some of the evidence for the modern identity of the tribe of Issachar.

#151: Why Did Obama Seek to Empower Israel’s Enemy?

Aired Sunday, May 24, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   29 minutes

President Donald Trump’s first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, only lasted a couple of weeks in office before he was brought down by former President Barack Obama’s administration through unlawful spying and leaking to the media of classified discussions. The question of why Obama targeted Flynn was answered on Thursday in an article titled “How Russiagate Began with Obama’s Iran Deal Domestic Spying Campaign,” written by Lee Smith in Tablet Magazine.

Smith showed how Flynn threatened to dismantle Obama’s legacy move in the Middle East: empowering Iran. He also showed how Obama’s policy of spying on U.S. citizens on Trump’s team during the transition also took place for years on those who opposed the Iran nuclear deal.

On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal reveals the deeper reason why Obama sought to empower Iran at the expense of America’s ally Israel.

#150: Sweden: The ‘Lost’ Tribe of Naphtali?

Aired Sunday, May 17, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   51 minutes

The identity of the “Lost 10 Tribes” of Israel has intrigued people for millennia. While the identity of the Jews—those of the southern Kingdom of Judah—remains known, what about those 10 tribes of the northern Kingdom of Israel, conquered and deported long before by the Assyrian Empire?

In his seminal work The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong established that the United States and British Commonwealth represent the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, respectively. While his book focused primarily on those two birthright tribes, Mr. Armstrong identified the Swedish as descendants of these ancient Israelites.

On today’s program, host Christopher Eames examines the evidence for identifying modern-day Sweden with the Tribe of Naphtali.

#149: Switzerland: The ‘Lost’ Tribe of Gad?

Aired Sunday, May 3, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   55 minutes

The identity of the “lost 10 tribes” of Israel has intrigued people for millennia. While the identity of the Jews—those of the southern kingdom of Judah—remains known, what about those 10 tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel, conquered and deported long before by the Assyrian Empire?

In his seminal work The United States and Britain in Prophecy, Herbert W. Armstrong established that the United States and British Commonwealth represent the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, respectively. While his book focused primarily on those two birthright tribes, Mr. Armstrong identified the Swiss as descendants of these ancient Israelites.

On today’s program, host Christopher Eames examines the evidence for identifying modern-day Switzerland with the tribe of Gad.

#148: San Remo Accords: Israel’s Legitimate Right to Palestine Is Unanimous

Aired Sunday, April 26, 2020   ·   10:00 AM CDT   ·   36 minutes

JERUSALEM - One hundred years ago, world powers assembled at San Remo, Italy to discuss how to divide the Ottoman Empire. In respect to the Jewish people, the so-called San Remo Declaration charged the British with implementing the Balfour Declaration, which three years earlier had endorsed “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

The decision was unanimous by the allied powers at San Remo, and was later confirmed by all 59 members of the League of Nations. There was to be a Jewish Homeland, overseen by the British until statehood could be affirmed.

On today’s program, host Brent Nagtegaal looks back at the San Remo declaration and shows how it received complete support throughout the world. This included, significantly, the Arab leadership in the region. He also shows why recent retelling of Israel’s birth seeks to downplay the history of San Remo, and focus more on the post-holocaust establishment of the Jewish State.