Miracles and Faith go hand in hand. God smote many in defense of the righteous. This article is about how one of His angels saved Jerusalem under the reign of Hezekiah. The event is recorded on the Bible Timeline Poster around 700 BC.
Hezekiah’s reign (726-697 BC) overlapped the reigns of Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, and Sennacherib. He also served as coregent with his father king Ahaz who placed Judah under the rule of Assyria during his reign.
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In 722 BC, Shalmaneser besieged Samaria and three years later the city fell to his brother Sargon II. He had the citizens of Samaria deported to other Assyrian territories (2 Kings 18:10-11). Judah, meanwhile, experienced religious and political reformation during Hezekiah’s reign. In 713-711 BC, Hezekiah joined in planning a rebellion along with the rulers of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab against Sargon. This rebellion may have been stirred up by king Merodach-Baladan of Babylon who was removed from his throne years ago by Sargon. The allied kings decided not to pay tribute to Assyria, but Hezekiah later withdrew from the plan and Azuri, the ruler of Ashdod, was removed from his throne (Isaiah 20).
Sennacherib came to power after the death of his father Sargon II during the battle of Tabal in 705 BC. He wasted no time in defeating his father’s old enemy, king Merodach-Baladan of Babylon. Sennacherib also invaded the kingdom of Judah and captured the town of Lachish. Upon hearing this, Hezekiah offered to pay tribute to Sennacherib if only he would withdraw his armies from Judah (2 Kings 18:13-). The king of Assyria received Hezekiah’s tribute but continued to Jerusalem to besiege it.
The king of Judah sent his ambassadors after Sennacherib summoned him but Sennacherib’s chief of staff insulted the king of Judah and belittled his army. His ambassadors asked the Assyrian chief of staff to speak to them in Aramaic instead of Hebrew because they did not want to frighten the people. But Sennacherib’s chief of staff refused because he wanted the people to hear about what the Assyrian army will do to them if they will not surrender and made an example out of the people of Samaria.
Hezekiah relayed the Assyrian chief of staff’s message to the prophet Isaiah. But the prophet told the king not to worry about Sennacherib’s threats and foretold the Assyrian king’s death by the sword. Sennacherib besieged the town of Libnah and left to meet the attack of Taharqa, king of Egypt. Sennacherib sent a message to Hezekiah demanding for his surrender before leaving. Hezekiah despaired and Isaiah, once again, sent him a prophecy reassuring him of Judah’s safety and Assyria’s defeat.
2 Kings 19:35 tells that 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were killed by an angel that night and Sennacherib returned to Nineveh. He was later killed by his own sons. His youngest son, Esarhaddon, succeeded him as king of Assyria.
Miller, J. Maxwell, and John H. Hayes. A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986
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Who were the 185,000? Were they just soldiers or were they the best of a larger army because not all of the army was killed.
Thank you
Tim
But I read where the Bible said in the morning they were ALL DEAD
Well actually it says there are survivors that woke up in the morning, here’s what the passage actually says: from 2 Kings 19:35 That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his land.”
This is why you should read the king James version… it says and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses… it really just depends how the reader wants to interpret it, because 1) obviously dead people don’t wake up, yet 2) it clearly says they were ALL dead corpses… I think this is just the best they could translate these ancient tongues, maybe the really wasn’t a better way to translate it…
The angel put them all to sleep. It wasn’t bloody. He will do the same regarding wicked in the near future. Psalms 37:10 11 29
They were the Assyrians, Nephilim. Giants. The strongest enemy in the world at the time. The Angel of the Lord that killed them was/is Jesus Christ. There is a lot of scripture that supports this specific individual being the Son of Man. Angel can mean messenger. Jesus dealt with the Nephilim in the Old Testament as the Angel of the Lord and again in the New Testament as Jesus Christ. However in the New Testament He was dealing with them in their spirit form of demons. These demons knew who He was and that He was the Son of God because He is the one who killed them when they were Nephilim.
I have been trying to find the answer to this. I know Christ is of the Father, and the God of Moses is the deity Jesus calls the first ruler, evil one, we call Lucifer, the bible calls God, the archons. so with that framework, did the Angel of Yaldoboath/God of Moses/Demi-urge/creator of the material world, did he smite the 185k army, or did the light come into this world to smote them, maybe so the Christ could come in a Jewish body from the seed of Abraham? So in other words, who killed the army, God of our world, physical beasts and animals, or the Light, the Father of the All, Christ?
Get any good English translation of the Bible and invite Jehovah’s witnesses to study with you . Confusion over names will diminish.
Wrong about Lucifer being a god he is a fallen Angel trying to rise up. He is like the morning light that rises and falls back. Lucifer rises up then God banished him. in Isaiah 14:12: “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”
The apostle Paul calls Hassatan the god of this system. S(he) was cast to the vicinity of the Earth 1914. He will soon be abyssed & Yeshua will reign 1000 years Almighty Yah purpose
Christ Yeshua Meshiach is the 1st born son not YHWH
Jesus, aka the 2nd person of the Triune God, aka The Word, The Logos is and always has been an integral part of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Any implications that Jesus is a created being are wrong (as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are when they assert this total falsehood). The angels (including satan) are created beings. Those denying who Jesus is and always was are standing at the edge of a terrible abyss.
Very powerful & thought provoking
Hi, Your response is really interesting. You say that it was Jesus that killed the forces and that there is a lot of scripture that supports this. As a student, could you tell me where in the Bible I will find these scriptures? Preferably the verse and chapter as well as the name of the Book. Thanks in advance.
Very Wrong….that is your opinion only.
God flooded the world to get rid of the giants. Because angles and people were have sex. So he got rid of them at that time. But low and behold more giants appeared later. Sounds like a bunch of made up stories.
Only Noah was supposedly “pure blood”. His wife and kids were partially hybrid most likely. There are theories that it was the human bloodline that God was saving as only a pure human could die and save the human race after the fall of Adam.
Dont visit Sardinia
Gods word is all true generations and generations of facts. From the beginning of time to our very own reality. In translation and in wars many of the the scriptures have been lost. Archeologist keep finding trace of humanity footprints before the ice ages. We are created in the image of god banished from heaven for our sins. Our disobedience caused our lack of faith. Every prophet in their time proved it to the people who didn’t believe. Many over time have died being ignorant of our creation. Loving God and Humanity having faith in God and humanity. Respecting each other
do not kill each other do not lie to each other do not steal from each other. Believing in god is believing in yourself. The more you deny the word of god the more you deny your creation.
Bible’s story was disapproved by Israeli archiologists.
I used to blindly follow the book, then I woke up!!
Long live science, down with ignorance!
True objective science supports intelligent design. In fact, the probability of the universe and everything in it coming from nothing is incalculably smaller than the possibility of it all coming from a creator. The deeper science goes, the more complex things get, revealing just how great and powerful God is. His existence and power are apparent from the thing created, from the beginning of the universe onward so they he is undeniable.
I feel sorry for you, one day You will to stand before God .Unfortunately but that time it will be too late to realize. you been brain wash. If you’re really serious about God existian and his words. call to Jesuschrist.and give him a chance. and with a humble heart on faith ask Him to reveal his true to you. I assure you HI will. God bless you
its not confirmed : but the supper power of its time were present there with their full war machine , luggage, and belonging. and estimatedly 400,000 all in numbers. stewards, washermen, cooks, ironsmiths, and noble women were also include in this multitude.
mainly notable chief of 10000s n 1000 were the worriers whom were slain by MIGHTY ANGEL OF THE LORD. most probably. SCA… SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST. IMMEDIATELY DIED WITH OUT ANY SYMPTOMS AND CRYING . WREST OF THEM WENT BACK TO BE WITNESS.
They were every living person. Not just soldiers. This is when Jerusalem was divided in 2 parts. The South survived because they are the only ones who kept gods Laws.This the Angel (a warrior) came down and demolished everything because they were not keeping the Laws of God.
a movie by JWs shows that the king his wife and one soldier are the only survivors to tell the story of what Jehovah did that night.
They had been around for some time. The invading Assyrians had been wronging the people for some time. God and the angel had been summoned to clear the field and grounds
I’m trying to figure out HOW did this 1 angel kill 185,000 men? Did he multiply himself into spiritual clones to equal the amount of men present that night, with all the clones returning back inside the body of that angel after the killings were completed (i.e. like Nicloas Cage in NEXT multiplying himself in that warehouse towards the end of that movie)? Did this angel have superfast teleportation abilities like Nightcrawler from Xmen, swiftly but quietly slaying each man one-by-one? I love thinking about stuff like this.
Brother Parker If God can create the Universe and everything in it, when he made Angels do you think that He would not have given them powers far beyond our imagination?
One thinks thou art taking the xxxx.
im agree with it: and like to just add enough:
as universe came into being just through one saying of HIM….
WITH the same power he had just said , a KALAMA…. word, LOGOS, and the job done.
this is super natural power of YAHWEH.
and finally he may take this assignment by any one, either AN ANGEL or a man.
God is limitless in power and ability, and can bestow a measure of that power onto his creations as he sees fit. There are a number of examples in the Bible of angels performing feats that our human minds struggle to comprehend. What this lesson boils down to, though, is that the angel did not stop because he ran out of time. He stopped because he ran out of Assyrians.
Maybe he did an all-at-once shockwave (e.g., Tabuu from Super Smash Bros. Brawl).
Perhaps the Angel could control or influence nature the way Jesus Christ calmed the Sea of Galilee when His disciples feared their boat would sink and they would drown. If this was the case all the Angel would have to have done would be temporarily remove all the oxygen from the place where the Assyrian army was encamped causing them to suffocate and die in their sleep. However this is purely speculation on my part as the Scriptures don’t say what caused the Assyrian army to die.
Read Throughout the Bible and You Will See MANY, NUMEROUS SITUATIONS WHEREAS “THE ANGEL OF THE LORD”
KILLED- DESTROYED WHATEVER GOD COMMANDED. GOD’S GREAT GREAT POWER IN ACTION!
Therefore this is what Jehovah says about the king of As·syrʹi·a:“He will not come into this city Or shoot an arrow there Or confront it with a shield Or cast up a siege rampart against it. 33 By the way he came he will return;He will not come into this city,” declares Jehovah. 34 “I will defend this city and save it for my own sake And for the sake of my servant David.”’”
11 Kings 19. On that very night the angel of Jehovah went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the As·syrʹi·ans. When people rose up early in the morning, they saw all the dead bodies.
The 185,000 were the most brutal of the forces. They were the most blasphemous to God. After that killing, the rest of the forces retreated and in the end King Sen·nachʹer·ib of As·syrʹi·a was killed by his own family.
To think “How Did the Angel Kill” the 185,000; Might be missing the point; All powerful God did it; How is not important
They where spiritually rip away from their bodies while they slept. Sounds like a coward to me.
Dan.
Did you listen to what you said?
It is Unwise to mock one who is able to, as you say, “spiritually rip away from their bodies”… You dare call One with that kind of power a coward?
Have you lost all sense of reason!
Every WORD in the Bible is true. Many will not believe. Many think they are so inteligent that they somehow have the answers to Scripture. I agree it is not important how this Angel of the Lord Killed the 185,000 men. The first four words in the Bible are what most people have a problem understanding. “In the Beguinnig God”.
The Lord Jesus Christ and God The Father are ones and Love that I saw in heaven realms is very powerful and I fear God everydays . 185,000 men who deliberately doing evils all the times killed instantly by the Angel is a mind blowing to me because God is higher than all names and we must worship God and live in His Love towards all people forever !!
I live for God and worship God and serve God people with Love dignity and no evil forever
I would ask who gives and takes life, only one can do that Jesus. And remember the Lord Our God is One.
Why doesn’t he send an angel down to stop child cancer. Been to at jude lately. Not a happy site dear God stop answering small silly prayers stop cancer please I pray amen
The time is coming. Revelation 21: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them. 4 And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”
God is almighty but without prayer there are no dreams and without dreams there is nothing, we need to learn the art of prayer for this one I’m afraid, god can’t stop such thing if one does not pray, the power of prayer is everything if you pray hard enough and believe with mind body and soul then you will receive, there was a lady a few yrs back whom had cancer she was in the last stages with lesions All over her body blisters and sores she only had a few hours left to live, with what her family thought was her last breath she went to heaven and came back with a message that god really does exist this lady wasn’t a believer but her family was this lady is still living today because god gave her a second chance she was not ready to die her mission wasn’t over. 2 weeks later she was out of hospital cancer free, this lady is now a well known speaker of Jesus Christ our lord. Please remember if god wants to take 1 of his children he will the power of prayer is vital, you must remember this world is not of god unless you believe. This world is of the devil we need to cast out the devil and we can’t do that without the power of prayer, God cast the devil out of heaven please remember he also cast out Adam and Eve to and we are now the result of their mistakes. Cancer and all other illnesses come from the devil, if you know of gods children that is ill please pray and let as many people know as you can that can pray with you, the more that do pray the more god will hear you, as we are all one. Hope you understand.
In 2 Samuel 24:15-16, the destroying angel kills the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In I Chronicles 21:15, the same “Angel of the Lord” is seen by David to stand “between the earth and the heaven, with a drawn sword in his hand stretched out against Hebrews’s enemies”. Later, in II Kings 19:35, the angel kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.
Archangel Michael killed the Assyrian Soldiers.
this is the angel of death: Azrael: in fact a fallen angel : but subdued to lord later……and still in control by almighty : God use him often when the cause of sorrow and grief tobe Accrued.
he was used before in the streets of Egypt.
he was called off brought destruction to Assyrians
and he will be remembered at the time of war with islamic nation under headship of king of NORTH. Russia soon at the wattle of God Maggog.
as long as Archangel Michael is concerned he appointed mainly fight against satan himself. and call of by name. noted.
Doris Lessing [“I am so afraid of religion, its
capacity for murder is terrifying”]!!!! man is susceptible
to much and will believe almost anything. We must show compassion to all the misguided, zealous, arrogant, ignorant, self-righteous religious fanatics, for they know not what they do!
Murder? God said thou shall not kill… The 10 Commandments were given by God to show us His Holy nature and character. He is His own standard for mankind. Man (as the first Adam did) chose to disobey God who warned him in love not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His Father told him eating of it would bring death to him and it did just as He said. God created Adam in His image and likeness to mature in His image and likeness to be like Him as heir to His Eternal Kingdom, not to die. Death is the penalty for sin according to God’s Law because He has no fellowship with it. This is not religion, this is the way of the true and living God who is absolutely good, just and fair in all He does.
Adam chose death by his disobedience bringing it upon all mankind as sin nature was passed to all the generations of man throughout the ages through his seed until God has completed His plan for the ages.
God took a body and called Himself the Son of Man so He could legally pay the penalty for our sin-Himself. In His human body as Jesus Christ (who called Himself the Son of Man) was made to be sin that we might His righteousness. [2Co 5:17]. Read St John 3:16-19
Interesting to note that if the night was 12 hours, the angel had to kill an average of 4.28 solders per second to accomplish 185,000 dead. wow that is some angel.
I think that we are all struggling to see the forest through the trees here. The question of who and how are not really important in the story. If they had been important, the Lord would have inspired the prophets to include that information in the Bible.
I think that the point that the Lord is trying to make is that He, and He alone, has authority over life and death. However the deaths were administered, it was at His command and under His authority, and by His power.
Whether the destroyiing angel was a real angel, a legion of angels, or just a metaphor doesn’t matter. God promised, through his prophet, that He would stop the Assyrians from attacking Judah. No matter how it was accomplished, it is still a miraculous deliverance from destruction.
In other words, no matter who actually did it, and no matter how they did it, the power, praise, and glory all belong to God.
It’s comforting to know GOD has a way when dealing with blasphemous people.I bet God struck them Asserians down with a super power laser wealding
Sword that shot out flames given to Michael Arc angel . After all this ris the Angel thT slayed Lucifer and banishes him To the lake of fire.
Isn’t it strange how each of us is sure in our minds of truths, yet we differ so much. Would it be reasonable to assume that we all have some right and some wrong ideas? Would it then be logical to be humble (God hears us banter and must snicker at our own assurances), to be generous (since grudges and anger and greed cause more suffering than the ‘gains’ are worth), and to live as well and as kind as we can be (without being run over by those who are aggressive).
I know we all fear that if we ‘do not believe the right thing’ we might go to hell, but is it not more reasonable to assume that God looks at our intent, and if we follow to the best of our ‘knowledge’ (whether taught by our parents, or found on our own, or infused by our culture), what we assume is His will, he will have mercy on our flaws. I imagine Him setting us straight on some things as we enter ‘heaven’ or the next step in our existence. Does it not make sense that a Creator God would keep what is TRYING to be good, and only throws away that which does not care or is actively attempting to be destructive?
I think there is a lot of hope for all of the people yielding the above comments, including the hard-core science people. If that is their current honest belief, then that’s fine. (And if God wants them up there, he will put something into their life to make them see things differently). I myself have come to God with huge doubt; questioning His existence (but hoping I was wrong). But God was kind and made me experience things that changed my mind. God is much kinder than any of us can imagine. But it is not a good idea to actively ridicule Him. He is kind but not weak. But if you are sincere in your approach, I think God will meet you where you are at.
God bless.