INTRODUCTION
No one knows when it came about that God’s will was to appoint a vicegerent on earth. It may seem that Angles would have been the appro• private vicegerent, but Angels Jack the freedom of action because they rep· resent the holy and pure side of Creation. They flinch not the commands they receive from God and precisely do what they are commanded.
Through evolution, life on earth had progressed from the most simple unicellular amoeba to the more complicated Iroms, and through millions of years, the body of the Apeman had reached “perfection”, standing firm•
Jy on the feet to have the hands free to do all sorts of work. However, this was not a sufficient qualification to .act as vicegerent of God, as the Apeman is nothing more than a “higher animal”, and like all animals, is to• tally governed in behaviour by his instincts, as an example, bees make the hexagonal honeycomb cells, but are not free to change its shape to a rec• triangular or triangular form. God willed that His vicegerent on earth would have a certain kind of autonomy and a free will so that he may steer his bark. This is the meaning of Gen. I :26: Then God said: “Let Us make a man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”, i.e. having a free will like God, not a likeness in the body as some misinterpreted the verse, because one cannot imagine that God would have a mouth like ours, or eats and drinks … etc. To grant man this freedom of will, God-breathed of His “Spirit” through the perfect body that lay at the top of the evolution scale, thence the first Human being was created, having a free will, and in addition “morales”, the power of discerning right from wrong, and good from evil. Adam, as named by God, was told that he and his progeny would
live on earth for a fixed tenn of time, with the conviction that it is a place to test this granted free will and full liberty of action, and was informed about the way of Rectitude: to worship God and none else, and to do all that is in the welfare of Mankind. The righteous will be prized in the Here• after aboding eternally in the Gardens of Eden, whereas an eternal abode will punish the wicked in Hell.
Though Adam taught his offspring these basic facts, succeeding
generations swerved from the Way of Rectitude and invented different kinds of religions by mixing up all sorts of superstitions, wrong theories and false philosophies. added to these, the inborn tendency of the human
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mind to believe only in objective things perceived by senses. A myriad of deities was invented and worshipped in all countries of the Old World: animals (hawk, cow. bull, ram, snake … etc.), planets (the sun= Re, moon
= Sin. Venus …. etc.). Nature (gods of wind, thunderbolt, fire, rivers and springs) is the higher God of heaven. Earth, netherworld, plus gods of war, Truth, wisdom … etc.
God did not force the people to follow the Right Way and worship.
Him, because this would be against the freedom of will granted by Him to man. Therefore, God chose some persons, upon whom he bestowed the knowledge of the Truth, to lead the people to the Way of Rectitude, which is Prophets. Prophets are divinely inspired to tell people about the Unseen God, Lord of Heavens and Earth, and that He is the only one to be worshipped and to remind them of the accountability
in the Hereafter.
While still, the communities were few, not exceeding one or two thousand, and when they committed grave sins, it was God’s will to destroy them. To be an example for succeeding generations and a warning against disobedience of God’s commandments, e.g. the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord rained on because of their wickedness and loathsome impurities them brimstone and fire out of heaven. He over• threw those cities, all the valley, and the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground (Gen. 19:24).
Afterwards, with the progress of human civilization, and when the people transgressed and worshipped other deities, God, out of mercy, de• stroyed only a few, of the most wicked, perhaps the others may repent, and this will be most manifest as one review the behaviour of the sons of Israel, in the pages of this book.
This book describes the biography of Moses, the prophet who was
charged to lead the sons of Israel out of Egypt to the “Promised Land”. It was imperative to define who was the contemporary Pharaoh. Arriving at the conviction that he is Ramesses II, it became necessary to study his biography through the inscriptions on the monuments he constructed in nearly all towns of Ancient Egypt. Many maps and illustrations were included, to the extent that the chapters dealing with the constructive works of Rarnesses II simulate an “atlas” and can act as a “guide”, indispensable
to the tourist visiting Egypt.
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It is impossible to write such a book, on Moses and Rameses, without quoting and commenting on passages from others’ works, a list of which is given in the “bibliography”. The cover design and most of the maps arc
made by the author himself.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to those who have offered invaluable help by advice and support.
R.B.
January 2000.