The Eric Metaxas Show - Doug Hershey

Episode Date: July 21, 2021

Doug Hershey is in the studio sharing his newest book of photos and history, "Jerusalem Rising," that is both educational and fascinating, illustrating a wide scope of Israel's history.

Texas show with your host, Eric Mettaxas. Hey there, folks, Israel, Jerusalem. Have you heard of those places? So have I. But the more I look into them, the more fascinated I become. I have as my guest today the author of a new book called Jerusalem Rising, the City of Peace reawakens. Doug Hershey, welcome the program. Thanks for having me.

Okay, you were here, I don't know, a year ago or something to talk about Israel rising. That's right. You're an author, but you work with a photographer to do, how do you call it? It's like time travel. Yeah, it's then and now photography, but it's... It's what? It's then and now photography. Then and now photography.

But it's even a little bit more than that, just simply because the series is called Ancient Prophecy Modern Lens. So we're documenting a, we're providing visual documentation of ancient prophecy. from the Bible as they're coming to pass and getting some photographic evidence of those things unfolding. Now, I've become really fascinated with Israel and Jerusalem in the last year because I just finished writing my new book, Is Atheism Dead, which you can pre-order right now. And is Atheism Dead deals with a lot of biblical archaeology. And in the course of doing the research, I just had to dig in, no pun intended, to Jerusalem and the history of Jerusalem.

And I was so fascinated. I thought the more people know about this, you know, it's the old cliche, the Bible comes to life. It really, really does. And I feel like I know the city, even though I was doing it virtually and studying maps and photos and things. So what was it that led you originally into this fascination with Israel? and Jerusalem, and where do you live now? Currently, well, I split my time between living in Israel, about half the year pre-COVID, and also in Portland, Maine. And so between those two, a lot of the, I travel a lot between those two, but a lot of the

fascination with Jerusalem, not only was something from a childhood connection with the Bible and the scriptures, but it was really during the photo shoot of the first book, Israel Rising, we chartered a helicopter and did some recreations of some aerial shots. And just flying over the old city of Jerusalem, flying over the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley. Everything is, you know, as you know, well packed right in there. And it just really ignited my heart to come back. So what is the narrative arc? In other words, talk about Zechari.

Talk about the ancient prophecies about Jerusalem and what led you to this kind of comparative photography, 19th century photographs of the bleak nothingness and then today. Yeah, a lot of these old photos that are captured of Jerusalem just show these, just as you described, desolate landscape. Mark Twain comes through in 1867, and he says it's dreary and desolate and I wouldn't want to live here, but yet it's very much vibrant and alive today. And in the scriptures in Zachariah 8, Zachariah talks about a time where God says he's going to return to the city, which is quite a statement, but also it'll be a,

be a time when old men and old women will dwell safely there, that children will be playing in the streets, that the nations will flood to Jerusalem like never before. And so through the course of history in, really the last couple thousand years, the window of time since 1967, since Israel has now reclaimed Jerusalem for the first time, really since biblical time, to have the entire city, it's really been that time where old men and old women have been, you know, it's in a time of peace and security. When I take groups there, you know, we point, we read Zachariah eight and the gates while the kids run by. It's just a really unique time in history and I wanted to be able to blend that to show the growth and the restoration of the city. So what you do in the book, and I'm looking at the book here,

it's a gorgeous coffee table photo book called Jerusalem Rising, ancient prophecy, modern lens is the subtitle. So you, what I, what I love is that your age, able to find old photos and then recreate the angle for today. So it's not just like a general photo, but you're basically going to exactly where the photo was taken in the 1840s, 50s, whatever, and say, okay, and what does it look like today? Bang. That's right. And it's almost unbelievable what has happened in the last, you know, whatever, 70 or so years. Yeah, absolutely. And even just with that photography, I thought, you know, if we're going to do the, recreation of Jerusalem, I've got to find the oldest photos. So we, the oldest photos known are from

1844 taken by a French painter. He wasn't even a photographer who just learned this new style of photography at the time, Degera. Well, DeGera type, look, let's be honest, photography was basically invented a couple of years before this. So can we even imagine what it would be like suddenly to have the ability to take photographs? I mean, you know, in 1825 and 1835, they They could do some things that were sort of like photography, but after about 1840, you could take what we would call photographs. Well, and that was the fascinating thing about this guy. This guy didn't even think of himself as a photographer.

He was a painter, and he enjoyed landscape and architecture. So he takes this new medium to throughout the Middle East, and he goes to Jerusalem and Egypt and all through the region, comes back a few years later with the intention of taking these photographic plates and then, you know, drawing things from them. and ends up putting these over 900 plates of these photography in a box and just basically hides them away, thinking like, well, you know, what good are they? I just use them for painting. You're kidding. And so...

Wait a minute. I didn't get that. So when were they rediscovered? Well, that's really sort of the treasure because the fact that he wasn't a photographer thinking that way is probably the reason that these plates have been preserved so long. So he literally, I've got photos of it in the book, that he literally takes these plates. puts them in a box and then just sticks them away somewhere. Where? In France? Yeah, like in his house. And so, and it's said that he would pull them out occasionally to show for like dinner parties or whatever, but they were never as an exhibition or anything like that.

They were just- 1844. I mean, come on. And so they don't resurface again until one of his neighbors, like 30 years after his death, buys his dilapidated estates, find these boxes, open them up and go, like, what are these? And so that's like the 1920s. nothing happens again until 2003 where they come up for auction on some place where a Saudi prince buys one for over $900,000 and they're like, who is this photographer and where did they come from? So from 2003 to 2014, I mean, this is, it really is like a time capsule.

You mentioned that earlier, and that's exactly what this is. In 2014, the Smithsonian gets a hold of them and digitizes them. and basically publishes them for the first time ever. But what was amazing about that is that with a DeGare-type style photography, it's a reverse image. So, you know, when you put a plate in and you let the light into it burn the little plate, and you pull it out and you look at it, you know, if you're taking a picture of me waving my right hand, you're looking at the plate and it's my left hand. So it's a reverse image.

So the Smithsonian printed the actual plates, but it's not the real actual view. And so for me, as someone who spends a lot of time in Israel, I know Jerusalem very well, I know the Temple Mount and the Jaffa Gate. And I would look at these old photos going like, I know the Jaffa Gate, but I have no idea where this angle is at until a friend of mine mentions, you know, in Israel, and we turned those things around and it was like, I know exactly where that's at. Oh, yeah, you didn't know 170 years ago. They did it differently.

So you are, or 180 years ago, I mean, this is crazy. Yeah, it is amazing. This is like, you know, 20 years after Jefferson died. So basically, you can look at this stuff and obviously in the book, I want to see it myself. So you have what it was like in 1844 and then you have what it's like now. Yeah. And your main thesis is that this is a dramatic fulfillment of 3,000-year-old prophecy. Yeah, I mean, there's no other city on earth that's had its prophecy or had its history foretold.

from its destruction to its desolation to its restoration as a major player on a world stage. And so where in the Old Testament, maybe it's not quite 3,000 years, but where in the Old Testament are some of these more specific dramatic prophecies made? Well, one in particular is Zachari 8, which is the ancient prophecy in the book. And so it's really following the history of Jerusalem, you know, one can see that it's been conquered and reconquered, you know, 70 times. it's been changed hands 40 times, been devastated, you know, a couple other times. I mean, it's just, it's never become a capital city or a significant city for really any other nation or any other people other than the Jewish people.

We'll be right back talking to Doug Hershey. The book is Jerusalem Rising. Hey there, folks. How many years have I been telling you about relief factor? What, like four? The truth is, I know there are millions of people. In fact, some say over 100 million people struggle. with some kind of pain, maybe from exercise, just getting older.

That could do it, getting older, which is why I am so impressed with Pete and Seth Talbot. They are on a mission. You rarely see this kind of focus and commitment. Seriously, they recently shared with me that they are doubling down and want to literally double their total number of happy customers in the next year, and I believe they'll do it. So here's the deal. If you're struggling with back, neck, shoulder, hip, or knee pain, even general muscle,

aches and pains, then I'm suggesting you order their three-week quick start, still discounted to only 1995, about a dollar a day to see if we can get you out of pain too. And then after that, less than the cost of a cup of coffee a day to stay at a pain. Go to relieffactor.com, relief factor.com or call 800, 500, 8384. Relieffactor.com, 800, 500, 8384. I use it. It works. Check it out. Hey, their friends. Eric Metaxis here. Joe Biden and the Democrats have laid out the most socialist agenda our country has ever seen. Instead of following President Trump's blueprint that had the economy booming. The Dems are going to raise taxes, increase regulations, and skyrocket and already outrageous national debt. If your retirement is in traditional investments, it is in jeopardy.

Americans should be diversifying their investments with gold and precious metals. Gold gives you control over your wealth and protects you from market volatility, inflation, and a weakening dollar. When investing in gold, I turn to legacy precious metals. Legacy precious metals has over 40 years of experience in helping Americans protect their finances, And this team is prepared to patiently consider your own personal financial needs. If you're looking to invest in gold, call the good folks at Legacy Precious Metals today at 866 473-6204 or visit them online at Legacy PM Investments.com. Don't leave your retirement to chance friends. Contact Legacy, precious metals today.

That's 866473-6204. They're going to put me in the mood. They're going to make the big... And we're back with Jerusalem Rising... actually, I'm back with Jerusalem Rising. This is the book, and the author is right here. Here I am. Doug Hershey, I got to tell you, I was just flipping through this on the break.

Yeah. This is so beautiful, and it's one of these things. I wish I could hand it to my viewers and listeners because it is so gorgeous. But it really is, when you see photos as old as the ones that are in here, this beautifully produced, First of all, just the technology that literally 180 years ago, we were able to take gorgeous, detailed photos. I mean, that's not something that I really, you know, you expect them to be sort of primitive, and they're not. I mean, we're looking at the Lions Gate here. It's unbelievable that this is a nearly 200-year-old photograph.

That's right. And now, you know, it's just so beautiful. What for you is the most dramatic? I'm looking at the pool of Hezekiah. When is this photograph from 1856? Yeah, yeah. Some of these old photos from Francis Frith, by the time we hit the 1850s, photography has again changed again. So that deriotype or that DeGere type style photography is already outdated by the 1950s.

Yes. You mean 1850s? 1850s. 1850s. Right. The temple mount as viewed from the Garden of Gethsemini, it's just, it is absolutely the Mount of Olives. Yeah, this is, this is just, it's crazy stuff. Now, now we turn to the American Colony Collection.

This is something I learned about again. My book is Atheism Dead when I was writing about archaeology. I just discovered things. You know this stuff very well, but I've only discovered this recently, so I'm particularly excited. But the American colony in Jerusalem, founded by the, the man, oh my gosh, Horatio Spafford. That's right. Who wrote the hymn, it is well with my soul.

This is one of the most tragic stories. And if you ever want to know why some people hate the church, you read his story and how the church treated him after his children drowned. It's like one of these incredible stories. But he was so broken that he goes with his wife and the new kids, the remaining kids who didn't die. And they say, we're going to leave Chicago where he's. lost, you know, three fortunes and, and helped found Moody Church and all this, amazing.

Yeah. And he goes to Jerusalem in the 1880s to found an American colony. And are you familiar with his adopted son who discovered Hezekiah's tunnel? Bits and pieces, yes. Yeah, I'm familiar with the story. Well, we don't need to go into that. But it's just that this is the kind of stuff that I've been discovering. and I'm just thinking I cannot wait to go back to Jerusalem because I want to explore these places now that I know more about it.

I just, I love it. Yeah, and I have a special place in my heart for the American colony because through their work, they've actually had one of the largest documented photo archives of Jerusalem, again, dating back to 1880s when they started, 1880s up to the 1840s and even after the establishment of Israel. But in Jerusalem Rising, we've got these photos that are even older. I mean, we're talking like almost 20 plus years before Mark Twain comes through 1844, 1850s, 1860s. And what's really, to me, what's really special about that is that the first wave of Jewish immigration starts in the 1880s. And so when we read these pioneering stories, some of what I wrote about in my first photo book, Israel Rising, is a lot of the eyewitness accounts of...

of the, of what the, the early pioneers were experiencing was, and so now you can look and you can see that interesting. Why were people, why were people, I mean, we've got to go through the history. And again, I know that, you know, the history of Jerusalem, it's so, it's so impossible, really, to sum up. But, I mean, one thing I learned in writing my book is that all of these ancient places are settled for very simple reasons. There's water. Yeah. So a city gets established like thousands of years ago, way before biblical times practically.

And then a city is built up and built up and built up. So obviously the heyday of Jerusalem, we would think, is when David was there and then as Solomon builds the temple. But obviously there's rising and falling. So there's the horror of the destruction of the first temple. And then the building of the second temple. than the destruction, you know, like it's got these ups and downs. You know, there's a really fascinating quote by author Simon Montefiore in his book, Jerusalem,

that he talks about Jerusalem being the desire and the prize of empires with no strategic value. Okay, now that's interesting. Talk about that. Well, it's because, you know, from a very physical standpoint, there's really no reason that someone would want Jerusalem. It's a small mountain city with sort of a meager water source. It's not on any trade route. It's not any type of port city. There's no, in fact, I write about it in the book. There's no earthly reason why someone would want Jerusalem.

But a spiritual reason, that's another matter. There's no other city on earth that has God in the scriptures saying he's placed his name there forever. There's two places in the Bible, and one of them is Jerusalem. He says that in Zechariah 8, that he's returning to Jerusalem, Psalms, he says that he's chosen it to dwell there, and it's the only city on earth that we're to pray for the peace of. So there's all of these dramatic spiritual reasons where God has chosen it, and suddenly now everybody wants it. One of the things that fascinated me, again, in getting the sweep of the history of this place, is that, you know, you have, you have

the time of David and the time of Solomon, and obviously the Jewish people always wanted to return to this time of glory, the time of this temple and whatever. And when I was reading about Herod's temple, the time of Jesus, I was really amazed by the idea that Herod, who is a bum would be really, really nice if he described him as a bum. He was an evil horror, a monster. But in order to curry favor with the people, he built Jerusalem to a level that is, it was really never more glorious than under Herod 2,000 years ago. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, you can go to Jerusalem now and you can see the Herodian-style stone where he would, in the building of what's called the Temple Mount,

which was really just a retaining platform to build his massive temple on, at the very basis, I'm sure you've seen it or been there, that at the very basis there are these huge rocks that have this little one-inch border around that are chiseled out perfectly, and it's Herodian stone. So his thought was even 2,000 years. ago, even if some of the stuff crumbles, I want somebody to know that I was the one that put all of this together. So it's like, I mean, and that stone is found, that style of, of architecture is found all over Israel. Yeah, so you know, you could be eaten by worms at a young age. And yet,

look, there's the stone with my name on it. Behold, Ozimandias, king of kings. It's kind of sad, right? These people think they're going to have immortality. But I was amazed to think that Herod, who is a wicked figure, nonetheless, taxes. the people heavily to build up Jerusalem as a world capital. Yeah. And he makes it, you know, one of the glories of the age. I mean, it was undeniable so that anybody coming from anywhere to Jerusalem would be astonished. And, of course, would try, you know, give him the credit theoretically.

But the idea that all of that was built up just before Jesus comes on the scene, almost as though God had a allowed this, which it seems clear when you study it, that in the rising and falling of Jerusalem, there was never more amazing time than the very time that Jesus was there. Yeah, it was most definitely the height of its ancient fame and popularity for sure. And even 70 AD after the Romans then destroy the temple, Josephus in the first century writes about that if a traveler had come through and had seen Jerusalem beforehand with all the gardens and all the forest and how glorious and how beautiful it was that, you know, they wouldn't recognize it because of just what the devastation happened during the, during the siege of Jerusalem and those types of

things. But it spoke a lot about how amazing and how beautiful it was before that time. Well, again, that's why this is such a, it's such a sacred place for so many reasons. But it's it, even if you don't think of it as sacred, you think of it as, there's, there are very few places that could compare to the history of it. And Titus's siege, I mean, it's hard for us in the modern era to imagine the slaughter, the horror of what the Romans did. It's so horrible, I mean, that a million people were slaughtered. And not just slaughtered, crucified. Like, you know, sometimes we think that Jesus was the only one that was crucified.

But again, Josephus writes about that siege that the Romans for either their siege works or for crucifixion cut down trees. It's either 11 or 12 miles in every direction from Jerusalem. They leveled everything. And at one point they had to stop crucifying people because they were running out of wood. I mean, it was just a complete desolation of the city. People, you know, it's hard for us in this thin age to really, really fathom the idea of evil. But when you read what the Romans did, there's no other description. It is a level of cruelty that seems clearly satanic, horrifying.

And of course, the most astounding thing, which we'll get to on the other side of the break, is the idea that this city, which was one of the most magnificent cities ever created in the history of the world, Jesus prophesies its destruction. And 40 years later, exactly what he said happens. Unthinkable. We'll be right back, folks. The book is Jerusalem Rising. Hey, folks, are you concerned about memory loss for you or a loved one? Viva Lord's founder prayed that God would show her the solution to memory loss because her mother, had dementia. After many divine encounters combining faith and her background as a pharmacist,

Susan Gibson created Vivalore memory support. Vivalor is a premium quality all natural supplement with five to 20 times more nutrients than any other memory supplement. It won awards and has three books independently written about it. Visit Vivalor.com for testimonials about the life-changing improvements people have experienced. Vivalor is for those with normal memory, mild or severe memory loss. Don't wait until your memory slips. The pathology starts 20 years before you. your first memory loss symptom. That's Vivalore. Vivalore.com.

Check it out. Remember, Vivalore is a premium quality, all natural supplement with five to 20 times more nutrients than any other memory supplement. Vivalore is V-I-V-O-L-R at V-V-V-L-O-R.com. Enter promo code 20 for 20% off. V-V-V-O-R.com. And we're back, folks. I'm talking to the author of Jerusalem Rising, Doug Hershey.

Doug, we were just talking about just the sweep of the history, and you've documented it in these photographs, but where I was going was that Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem. And the only way you can really appreciate the lunacy of that, in other words, how that would have sounded to ears, you're looking at the most glorious city imaginable. The temple was just unspeakably beautiful. Yeah.

So when he said, not won stone, this is all going to be destroyed, all these buildings are going to be destroyed. Right. Anybody would think that man is insane. That is the craziest thing anybody could ever say because, look, and 40 years later, exactly that happened. Yeah, I mean, that's the amazing thing is that, you know, again, we keep referencing Josephus, the first century historian. He's Jewish, but he's writing, you know, for the Romans, writing the history. He talks about that that's the very order that the Roman generals give after the destruction of the temples, go through, push every stone off of another, make it look like there wasn't even a city here. So, you know, in terms of prophecy, you know, sometimes we think of prophecy as being sort of abstract or pie in the sky, whatever.

Jesus wasn't talking about, you know, abstract ideas. He's telling them exactly what's about to come. And that's, again, pointing back to the ancient prophecy modern lens series with the book. And in Zachariah 8, there are some very specific prophecies that are very specific prophecies that are very. very tangible, very practical, and are starting to unfold in our day. And that's part of the aspect of that then and now to photography is this is what it used to look like. This is what according to eyewitness accounts, this is what the cities look like for 15, 16, 1700 years. Desolate, empty, destroyed. There was a census that was done by the Ottoman Empire in

1844 at the exact same time that this French painter is doing photography. It's like these two men completely worlds apart, but the Ottoman Empire is in decline. The Sultan wants to kind of revitalize things and modernize some things, and so he orders a census of the Ottoman Empire, which at the time includes Jerusalem. And so it becomes what's probably the first modern census of the city since, really probably since biblical times. And so in Jerusalem Rising, we have these photos of the cities from 1844. And so we can point to those and say, this is the exact year, the Ottomans say that there's only 15,000 people living in Jerusalem with the majority of people, 7,000 of them being Jewish.

So there's a Jewish majority in Jerusalem already in 1844. And so it's like God in his world sovereignty using some French painter in this Ottoman Sultan, who clearly are two different worlds apart, focusing on Jerusalem to almost give us like a documented baseline of, this is what it looks like right before I'm, you know, God's saying right before, I'm going to fulfill the things that I promised in a very tangible and practical way. Right. And so here we are having a chance to document the only city on earth that's had its history foretold from the beginning to the end.

And so it's following a very tangible, very practical thing. And that's part of what we're documenting in the book. Well, so that's the reason I wanted to go through that history is because you realize in 70 AD, the destruction was so utter that it's unimaginable. And that essentially, essentially lasts until our lifetimes almost. That's right. We were talking 2000 years. Now, obviously, the Ottomans built the Dome of the Rock.

And, you know, there was something going on there. But basically, it was wiped out. Or let's even go further, the Romans and the Romans. and the Ottoman Turks, the Muslims, wanted to destroy any trace of Jewish Israel. Yeah. So it was just wiped from the map by two empires over millennia. And then suddenly, 1947, 48, and Bob's your uncle. Yeah, well, Bob actually isn't my uncle.

But when in 1940, Well, whatever, close enough. Maybe, it could be. But in 1948, when there's the War of Independence, then the city is divided and the Jordanians are in charge of what has been traditionally the Jewish quarter. And during that time, they are really defacing and destroying a lot of the synagogues that were in the area. A lot of the, actually on the Western Wall, we have some old photos prior to 1948 that showed Jewish graffiti on the wall,

like where Jews would pray, has been praying for centuries, after 1967, meaning from 1948 to 1967, those, that Jewish graffiti on the walls of like names and prayer names and different Hebrew words were all defaced and erased and destroyed. So the Jordanians, even at that time, were removing any type of Jewish identity from that. So by the time then Israel is in full control of the old city of Jerusalem and Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives and everything around that, they are basically re-finding, re-digging out the ancient history, as much like we've been talking about,

of what the true heritage has been for the last 3,000 years. It really is just, if anybody's interested in history, history alone, you would have to marvel, as you were saying, at what has happened at the history of this place, and it's at least astonishing, even if you're not, convinced that it's God, you would have to say, well, it certainly is weird. It certainly is strange that this place would be marked in this way. We just got 20 seconds, but when we come back, I want to talk about why Jews have been returning to the land over the centuries and how it was

a special place for them. And obviously now, my goodness, it is, it's a special place for them. And obviously, now, my goodness, it's just an amazing restoration. We'll be right back talking to Doug Hershey, the book, Jerusalem Rising. I'm so tired. We are talking to the author of Jerusalem Rising. Doug Hershey, there's a couple of things. You were saying to me in the break that there have never been photographs recreated after 175 years because photography was essentially invented 175 or so years ago, we have photographs of Jerusalem from exactly then. That's right.

And then right now, you have recreated these photos. There's just nothing to compare to that, really. Yeah, and I didn't even realize that when we were doing the photos, doing the actual photo shoot in the city. And like we had mentioned earlier with these Degger types, on the actual plate, it's a reverse image. So it wasn't until we had them digitized by the Smithsonian in 2014 that I then was able to flip.

them around and go, I know exactly where those locations are from as far as like where, what to get the exact angle. And so I don't, as far as I know, those photos from 1844 have never been recreated ever before. And from 1844 to 2019, when we reshot those photos, that's a, that's a span of 175 years. And as far as I know, with any photography anywhere, it very well could be the longest period of time from the old photo to the new photo comparison, and from the exact same spot. So for me, I had some really sort of special heartwarming moments for me because I'm, there was a couple times we found the literal actual rock outcropping where I'm thinking

about this guy setting up his trunks and trunks worth of camera gear, getting it all ready and making everything perfect. And we, you know, have a handheld camera and like hit a couple shots and we're done, thinking that there was a, not even a photographer, a French painter documenting the city in 1844. and he set his gear up 175 years right here. Right here on this rock out. And you look down on the rock and you see a pack of cigarettes that he had left behind 175 years ago. He said, hi, Mom.

He scribbled it into the rock. Isn't that incredible? No, but it is just, it's like spooky. But the way I see it, this is historic. In other words, you're doing something to document, as you and I would see it, is what God has done. Yeah. Because it is amazing. And here it is.

And the fact that these photographs from 1844 weren't really available until seven years ago. That's right. Makes it feel like God's hand is in this. He's trying to show us, you know, if we're in the end times, look what is happening. Do you see I'm fulfilling my word? Yeah. And like we, again, like we talked earlier, these DeGare-type photo plates were just put in a box for literally like 150 years. And no one even knew they existed until, like, 2000.

2003. And so, again, to find those were just, it was like just a God's time capsule until this time and season. What is the population, roughly, of Jerusalem today? Today, with all of the extra suburbs, it's well over a million. So from 1844, again, the Ottoman sultans document 15,000 people. And today... 7,000 Jews. Yeah, and 7,000 Jews with a Jewish population. Why were those Jews there? In other words, did they have a sense historically that this is their homeland? Is that why they were there or did they just happen to be there? Yeah, actually in my first photo book, Israel Rising, I have a quote from the 10th century from a Muslim writer by the name of Mukadasi. So the Arab rule starts around the 700s.

And so this is 300 years into Arab rule. And Mukadasi is writing in the 10th century that there's no worshippers in the mosque and the majority population in Jerusalem is Jewish. And that's in the 10th century. So you can, from the 10th century up until 1844, there's clearly been a Jewish majority that has been very quiet. I mean, it's still, Mark Twain describes it as more of like a pauper village that had lost its previous grandeur. So what are the 10th century Muslims have in common with the author of Huckleberry Finn? They both don't think of Jerusalem as a great place to live.

And they're both right. But if you have a spiritual connection, as the Jews did, it's a different story. Yeah. And so there's just been this profound Jewish presence that has. have been there for for years and years and years and of course at the western wall it's a it's a location that has been prayed at for for centuries and praying that god would uh not only weeping over the destruction of the temple back in 70 ad but praying for the arrival of the messiah the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of jerusalem i mean that's something that's been

prayed about for centuries and here we are in this time frame where really since since 1967, there has never been a much more, there's never been a more dramatic rise and restoration of the city in Jerusalem since 1967 until now in the last 2,000 years. Now, you're the head of Ezra Adventures, which is the tour company. That's correct. And how long have you been doing? What led you to do that? We've just got a couple of minutes, but it's fascinating that as somebody living in Maine,

you know, you go to Israel and you give tours and you have a company there. When did that begin for you? That was about five or six years ago, and so it was just a way to connect people to the land, and really much like your work and mine, like I wanted to be able to draw a connection between the Bible, that not being Bible stories, but to connect it with very real tangible realities of truth, whether it be through photo documentation or biblical archaeology, which has just simply proven a biblical narrative in just the most dramatic ways in the last 50 years. And so we specialize with Ezra Adventures in taking small, personalized, customized tours of, you know, eight, ten people.

So it's a very personalized experience. And we rebuild it just to not just do a tour, but to take people to places that are really connected to their heart and in the scriptures. Have you ever crawled into Hezekiah's Tunnel? I have. No. Several times. Really? But now you don't go all the way through, though.

Oh, yeah. Hezokai's tunnel? Yeah, absolutely. But that's like a – There's a water channel. Right. But it's really far. Yeah.

And how do you light it up? Do you have torches? What do you? Well, you can probably, I don't know if they'll let you have a torch in there, but they give you a little flashlights, but you walk through, you know, shin deep to knee-deep water for about 30 minutes. In some places, you're, like, crouching down because it's a low, low-ton. Yeah, that's why I'm not doing it.

So it's not, if you're claustrophobic, it's a little. Yeah, it's crazy. Well, I just. It's great fun. It's just an amazing thing that this was carved by Hezekiah. I was just reading the scripture yesterday. There's two places, obviously, in the Old Testament, that mentions this. And then they discover it in the 1880s, and boom, now we know.

I mean, all of this stuff is coming to light now. That's what's amazing. 2014, these photographs come out of nowhere. All kinds of things are being discovered. And it's just very, very exciting. When are you going back to Israel next? Hopefully within the next year as some of the restrictions lighten up. But we're ready to get back to work.

I have some other projects that I'm working on. But it's the whole history of Israel and documenting this whole process and really, again, talking about biblical archaeology, it just speaks so clear to the narrative of the Bible. It's just not Bible stories. It's not abstract theology. These are real people, real tangible places. are really being restored as the way the Bible said.

People can find you at Doughershy.com. Dot co. Dot co. Doughersey. Doug Hershey. Thank you. This is terrific. You know what, Alvin and I decided we should do another fun segment right now.

We did ask Metaxus. Okay. We should now do a Mr. Postman. What's that song, Mr. Mr. President? Let's just call it, let's just call it a listener writes. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, and now a segment of. A listener writes.

A listener writes. You know what, Albin? I just got a letter from a listener. Really? Could I give his name? No. Well, it rhymes with Jack Conley. I'm not going to, I'm not going to, I wouldn't say it.

Okay. It's, I'll just say the initials are J.C. Okay, Jack, can we use your name on the air? But it says, this is incredible. You know, I get stuff in sometimes that's very funny. The next letter is very funny. This letter is really serious, and it really moved me to tears. It says, dear Eric, I just completed your biography of Bonhoeffer.

Thank you for such a provocative, inspiring, challenging read. I'm a Catholic priest and so deeply appreciative of your work. I assure you writing and preaching will be different now. You have opened my eyes. Thanks. John, I'm not going to say the last name, but it's a C. I want to tell you, folks, when I get something like this, you know, you write books. I prayed so hard when I was writing the Bonhofer book that God would use the book for his purposes.

But 11 years later to get a letter like this, this is a priest saying that his writing and his preaching will be different as a result of reading this book. Now, I know it's not my book. It's the life of Bonhofer, but the idea that I had the privilege of writing the book. So if you're looking for a good book, let me recommend my biography of Bonhofer. Not because I wrote it, but because it's kind of the best summation book. If you're going to read a book, you want his whole life. And just to be clear, you don't have to be a priest or a minister to read it. It helps, but, okay, here's a letter.

Now, this letter is serious, but I found it so funny, I said I've got to read this on the air. I'm not going to mention the guy's name, but let's just say it's Joe L. This is a real letter. The title in the email was, your selection of only men is, short-sighted and then it says, Dear Eric, after enjoying your seven men book, graduates edition, I had misgivings about approving, recommending, or gifting it, and wondered why your picks lacked diversity as the number of women is zero. It's unlikely seven men will inspire female graduates. Your selection of only men is short-sighted.

man that hurts so I had to respond to Joe L and I wrote this I'm not joking that's the letter I got and this is my response dear sir perhaps you will find

my seven women book more diverse here is a link for you to purchase that book but I must warn you up front that seven women does not include any men.

I'm not sure what can be done at this point, but I thought you should know. Thanks for your email, sincerely, Eric Metaxus, author. That's a real letter. Somebody was upset that my book, Seven Men, Graduates Edition, didn't include

women. And I really don't know how to respond to that because it hurts. It stings because seven men, it's a fact, folks. I'm not going to deny it. You know? When you're wrong, you're wrong. Seven men has no women in it. I'm guilty.

You are. And seven women, to double down on my non-diversity, seven women has no men in it. Oh, what are you going to do? The books are printed, they're published. People are buying and reading them and being blessed by them. I'm sorry. But you're a big man to admit all this. I must say.

Thank you. You're welcome. My next book's coming out, seven drag icons. Joan Collins. We got Share. It's unbelievable. All right, let me be clear. Nutrametics.com, 30% off if you use the code, Eric.

That's this week only. They extended it this week. Not joking. Jump on it. Nutrametics.com, 30%. Use the code, Eric. And we're done.