THE BIBLE’S BURIED SECRETS - Just as the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls substantiated the accuracy of Old Testament writings, such as the book of Isaiah, other archaeological discoveries like the clay shard in Khirbet Qeiyafa are adding to the compelling case for the reliability of the Old Testament. And although a few scholars question Jesus’ existence, no great historian, Christian or non-Christian has drawn that conclusion. Yet as the evidence is discovered, the reliability of the New Testament continues to confound its skeptics - Has the discovery of an ancient pottery shard in excavations near Jerusalem, undone the sensational claims of a PBS documentary entitled, “The Bible’s Buried Secrets”? In that documentary, PBS shockingly concludes that the Hebrew Bible was written hundreds of years after Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and David. It cites scholars who state that the Bible couldn’t have been written until the 6th century BC because the Hebrew language hadn’t been developed until then. According to PBS, the late writing of the Bible means that the entire Old Testament is based on centuries of oral tradition that changed over time. Therefore, according to the documentary, the Bible’s stories are simply myths. As examples, it concludes: Abraham, Sarah and their offspring didn’t exist. There is no archaeological evidence of the Exodus. Monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years. But have the PBS documentary’s conclusions about the Bible been exposed as faulty by this new archaeological discovery? According to Hebrew expert, Professor, Gershon Galil of the Haifa University, the answer appears to be yes.

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The Bible’s Buried Secrets

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Just as the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls substantiated the accuracy of Old Testament writings, such as the book of Isaiah, other archaeological discoveries like the clay shard in Khirbet Qeiyafa are adding to the compelling case for the reliability of the Old Testament. 

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A host of scholars have also attacked the reliability of the New Testament accounts. Some go so far as to state that Jesus himself was a mythical person. And although a few scholars question Jesus’ existence, no great historian, Christian or non-Christian has drawn that conclusion. Yet as the evidence is discovered, the reliability of the New Testament continues to confound its skeptics

jesusonline.com

 

Has the discovery of an ancient pottery shard in excavations near Jerusalem, undone the sensational claims of a PBS documentary entitled, “The Bible’s Buried Secrets”?

In that documentary, PBS shockingly concludes that the Hebrew Bible was written hundreds of years after Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and David.

It cites scholars who state that the Bible couldn’t have been written until the 6th century BC because the Hebrew language hadn’t been developed until then.

So, what’s the big deal about that, you might ask?

According to PBS, the late writing of the Bible means that the entire Old Testament is based on centuries of oral tradition that changed over time.

Therefore, according to the documentary, the Bible’s stories are simply myths. As examples, it concludes:

• Abraham, Sarah and their offspring didn’t exist.

• There is no archaeological evidence of the Exodus.

• Monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years.

But have the PBS documentary’s conclusions about the Bible been exposed as faulty by this new archaeological discovery?

According to Hebrew expert, Professor, Gershon Galil of the Haifa University, the answer appears to be yes.

On January 7th, 2009, Professor Galil publicly announced that he had deciphered a Hebrew inscription from a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard carbon-dated to the 10th century BC, the time of King David.

The shard had been discovered earlier at an excavation in Khirbet Qeiyafa, 18 miles from Jerusalem.

Galil discovered that the inscription on the 3,000-year-old piece of pottery was inked in Hebrew, the language of the Bible.

As a result, he has since concluded that parts of the Bible were written hundreds of years earlier than suspected by the PBS documentary.

Galil writes,

“It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century BCE, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel.”

Just as the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls substantiated the accuracy of Old Testament writings, such as the book of Isaiah, other archaeological discoveries like the clay shard in Khirbet Qeiyafa are adding to the compelling case for the reliability of the Old Testament.

Is The New Testament Reliable?

A host of scholars have also attacked the reliability of the New Testament accounts. Some go so far as to state that Jesus himself was a mythical person.

And although a few scholars question Jesus’ existence, no great historian, Christian or non-Christian has drawn that conclusion.

As with the Old Testament, attacks on the historical reliability of the New Testament have been rampant.

Yet as the evidence is discovered, the reliability of the New Testament continues to confound its skeptics:

• Jesus’ Family Tomb: A Discovery Channel documentary entitled, “The Jesus Family Tomb” speculated that the bones of Jesus had been discovered in a Jerusalem family tomb. If true, it would undermine the entire Christian message of Jesus’ resurrection. But the documentary distorted the evidence to the disdain of scholars.

(see “Jesus Family Tomb”)

• Nazareth: Several New Testament critics argued that the town of Nazareth didn’t exist at the time of Jesus. This assertion was argued in a book published by American Atheist Publishing. However, a 2009 archaeological discovery confirms that Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth did exist in the first century.

(see “Was Jesus Really From Nazareth?”)

• New Testament Documents: German higher critics of the New Testament and other liberal scholars have argued that its books weren’t written during the apostles’ lifetimes. If true, they couldn’t have been eyewitness accounts. However, textual critics have a wealth of manuscripts that support its early writing.

(see, “Are the Gospels Reliable?” )

• Archaeological Confirmation: Several skeptics pointed out that the names of key New Testament people hadn’t been discovered in archaeological excavations. They cited the lack of such facts as evidence that the New Testament accounts were invented. However, in 1962 archaeologists discovered an ancient stone inscribed with the name of “Pilate”, the governor of Judea who tried Jesus. And in 1990, the name of the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, was discovered on an ossuary.

Criticism of both the Old and New Testaments will certainly continue. Part of the reason for that is because there is so much at stake; the Bible speaks about our origin and our purpose.

However, both sides of the historicity of the Bible should listen to what the evidence says.

The discovery at Khirbet Qeiyafa is just one more piece of evidence supporting the case for biblical reliability.

Who was the real Jesus Christ?

Is it possible to view Jesus as simply a great moral teacher?

Oxford scholar, C.S. Lewis originally thought Jesus was a myth.

Then he investigated the evidence, and was astounded by Jesus’ radical claims.

Lewis believed that Jesus claimed to be God in the flesh.

Who did this great scholar decide Jesus Christ really was?

Devotionals

These insightful online devotionals will help make your daily Bible study more effective and meaningful. Read daily, these devotionals will challenge and encourage you to experience God and fully live the life He has planned for you.

Find an inspirational devotion for today from authors like Charles Stanley, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, and many others.

See online devotional series

http://jesusonline.com/discover-evidence/bible/the-bibles-buried-secrets/

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Ancient  Words

Michael W. Smith  

Songwriters:  RONNIE C. FREEMAN, JR. & TONY W. WOOD

CLICK HERE . . . to view complete playlist . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2018/08/ancient-words-michael-w-smith-holy.html

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The Mysteries of God 

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-mysteries-of-god-god-combines.html

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Treasure In Unexpected Places

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https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2018/05/your-bible-is-gold-mine-we-often-find.html

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Our Book Of Destiny

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https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2019/06/our-book-of-destiny-claim-all-that-god.html

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A Word, The Word

More Than A Storybook

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-bible-more-than-storybook.html

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Take Time to Listen

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2019/05/take-time-to-listen-gods-wisdom-is-key.html

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Bible Prophecy Explained

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/02/bible-prophecy-explained-jesus-christ.html

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God Speaks to Us Every Day

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/11/god-speaks-to-us-every-day-god-speaks.html

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Discerning The Voice Of God

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2019/09/discerning-voice-of-god-god-spoke.html

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Signs and Wonders

CLICK HERE . . . to view . . . 

https://puricarechronicles.blogspot.com/2020/06/signs-and-wonders-signs-and-wonders.html 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR PROPHET ISAIAH - According to the Bible, the prophet Isaiah served during Hezekiah’s reign and interacted directly with the king. The archaeological layer containing both the Hezekiah bulla and now the Isaiah clay seal occurs below Byzantine and early Roman debris. This matches the biblical time of Hezekiah’s reign, which lasted from 729 to 687 BC. Thus, these two artifacts found together confirm the fact that those Old Testament figures really lived at the time the Bible says they did. Recently, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar and her team made a stunning discovery during excavations in Jerusalem. It provides strong support for the reality of Isaiah and his Old Testament world. Digging at the base of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the team found a clay seal bearing Isaiah’s name. Mazar provided a transliteration of this Isaiah bulla in Biblical Archaeology Review as “Yesha‘yah[u] Nvy[?],” where brackets indicate unknown letters from damage to the clay. “Yesha‛yahu” is “Isaiah.” If the Hebrew letter aleph stood in place of the missing letter “[?],” then the word after “Isaiah” would spell “prophet.” Possibly the hand of Isaiah himself formed this seal. In 2015, only ten feet away, the team had found a clay impression called a bulla bearing King Hezekiah’s seal. According to the Bible, the prophet Isaiah served during Hezekiah’s reign and interacted directly with the king. The archaeological layer containing both the Hezekiah bulla and now the Isaiah clay seal occurs below Byzantine and early Roman debris. This matches the biblical time of Hezekiah’s reign, which lasted from 729 to 687 BC.

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Archaeological Evidence for Prophet Isaiah

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According to the Bible, the prophet Isaiah served during Hezekiah’s reign and interacted directly with the king. The archaeological layer containing both the Hezekiah bulla and now the Isaiah clay seal occurs below Byzantine and early Roman debris. This matches the biblical time of Hezekiah’s reign, which lasted from 729 to 687 BC. Thus, these two artifacts found together confirm the fact that those Old Testament figures really lived at the time the Bible says they did.

BY BRIAN THOMAS, PH.D.

 

Recently, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar and her team made a stunning discovery during excavations in Jerusalem.

It provides strong support for the reality of Isaiah and his Old Testament world.

Digging at the base of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, the team found a clay seal bearing Isaiah’s name.

Mazar provided a transliteration of this Isaiah bulla in Biblical Archaeology Review as “Yesha‘yah[u] Nvy[?],” where brackets indicate unknown letters from damage to the clay.

“Yesha‛yahu” is “Isaiah.”

If the Hebrew letter aleph stood in place of the missing letter “[?],” then the word after “Isaiah” would spell “prophet.”

Possibly the hand of Isaiah himself formed this seal. 

In 2015, only ten feet away, the team had found a clay impression called a bulla bearing King Hezekiah’s seal.

According to the Bible, the prophet Isaiah served during Hezekiah’s reign and interacted directly with the king.

The archaeological layer containing both the Hezekiah bulla and now the Isaiah clay seal occurs below Byzantine and early Roman debris.

This matches the biblical time of Hezekiah’s reign, which lasted from 729 to 687 BC.

Thus, these two artifacts found together confirm the fact that those Old Testament figures really lived at the time the Bible says they did.

These two bullae wreck decades of Bible-doubting scholarship.

For example, skeptics have long claimed that unknown authors compiled the book of Isaiah sometime during the Babylonian captivity — centuries after the biblical time of Hezekiah’s life and reign.

Supposedly, collections of scribes somehow borrowed from Babylonian myths to fabricate biblical events from the beginning of the world through the time of Kings.

But poor scholarship underlies these speculations.

Perhaps the unbiblical, and now archaeologically-inaccurate, assertion that Isaiah did not exist conveys a desire to thwart precise prophecies of Jesus.

One way to try to erase the miracle of fulfilled prophecy is to deny that Scripture was written long before the foretold events.

Similar attempts to delete other miracles — like Creation, the Flood, and the Exodus — abound, just as Peter forewarned.

A handful of Isaiah prophecies strikingly confirm details of Jesus’ life as recorded in the New Testament and confirmed by many eyewitnesses:

Detail of Jesus' Life Prophecy Fulfilment Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:18 Remained silent at execution Isaiah 53:7 Matthew 26:63 Died like a sinner Isaiah 53:8 Matthew 27:50 Buried in a rich man's grave Isaiah 53:9 Matthew 27:57 Rose from the dead Isaiah 53:10 Matthew 28:6 Saves sinners Isaiah 53:11 Acts 5:31

Before these tandem discoveries, those who accepted Isaiah as a real prophet had the New Testament to verify Isaiah’s prophetic words. Now, they have the New Testament plus a couple of profound pieces of archaeology.

Brian Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) wants people to know that God’s Word can be trusted in everything it speaks about—from how and why we were made, to how the universe was formed, to how we can know God and receive all He has planned for us.

After 50 years of ministry, ICR remains a leader in scientific research within the context of biblical creation. Founded by Dr. Henry Morris in 1970, ICR exists to conduct scientific research within the realms of origins and Earth history, and then to educate the public both formally and informally through professional training programs, through conferences and seminars around the country, and through books, magazines, and media presentations.

https://www.icr.org/article/archaeological-evidence-for-prophet-isaiah/

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Hope Blossoms 

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Book of Isaiah

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The 'Two' Books of Isaiah

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THE STONES CRY OUT: ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE JEWISH CONNECTION TO THE LAND - God placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant. Those footsteps on the land 4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil. There the Jewish people bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods when they were forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion. The historic attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers — and in Israel’s ancient stones. Strong archaeological evidence continues to agree with the historical and biblical record - the ancient stones seem to have a voice of their own. Israel belongs to the Jewish people. - The Jewish connection to the Land has ancient roots, first birthed when Abraham came to the place where God led him, and then thoroughly established the moment Joshua and the Children of Israel set foot on Canaan’s soil. God placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant. Those footsteps on the land 4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil. There the Jewish people bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods when they were forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion. The historic attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers — and in Israel’s ancient stones.

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The Stones Cry Out: Archaeology and the Jewish Connection to the Land

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God placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant. Those footsteps on the land 4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil. There the Jewish people bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods when they were forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion. The historic attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers — and in Israel’s ancient stones. Strong archaeological evidence continues to agree with the historical and biblical record - the ancient stones seem to have a voice of their own. Israel belongs to the Jewish people.

by: Kathy DeGagne, BFP Staff Writer

 

The Jewish connection to the Land has ancient roots, first birthed when Abraham came to the place where God led him, and then thoroughly established the moment Joshua and the Children of Israel set foot on Canaan’s soil.

God placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant.

Those footsteps on the land 4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil.

There the Jewish people bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods when they were forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion.

The historic attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers — and in Israel’s ancient stones. 

Archaeological Evidence

The Palestinians have spent decades trying to erase Israel’s historic connection to the Land and attempting to assert their sovereignty with war and acts of terror.

Israel is the illegitimate “occupier” of the land and the Jews were never there, they say.

Though the international community has swallowed the false Palestinian narrative — hook, line and sinker — the archaeological evidence of its Jewish ownership is being unearthed in every corner of Israel.

Jews were here for 4,000 years; they settled from the Negev in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, and from the Golan to the Mediterranean.

They built their homes and their synagogues and left their indelible mark in the ground.

Maybe a desire to affirm the Jewish right to the land explains why so many Israelis are eager to participate in Israel’s archaeology digs.

Ordinary citizens, school-age children and Israel’s young soldiers get involved in the process of excavating sites with the encouragement and oversight of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

Ordinary Israelis just out for their daily walk have uncovered many significant finds — not so surprising when you consider the remains of ancient civilizations lie just beneath their feet.

Under Jerusalem

Nowhere in Israel is that wealth of archaeological evidence more pronounced than in Jerusalem.

Recently, archaeologists working in the City of David uncovered an ancient thoroughfare called the Pilgrimage Road, a wide-stepped limestone staircase ascending to the Temple Mount from the Pool of Siloam.

Thousands of Jewish pilgrims from the first century AD flocking to Jerusalem for the three great pilgrimage feasts ritually washed in the pool at the base of the City of David, then made their way up the road to worship at the Temple.

Beneath the Pilgrimage Road is a massive drainage channel, discovered after the Pool of Siloam was unearthed.

Rebels of the Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70) went underground and hid in this drainage channel as Roman soldiers sacked Jerusalem.

From the drainage channel and the road, archaeologists unearthed an oil lamp, a ring inlaid with a blue stone, a decorative table in fragments, a golden bell that had fallen from the hemline of a priestly garment, cooking pots, stone vessels, a table used to measure liquids and a child’s drawing of a menorah (seven-branched candelabra).

Thousands of coins inscribed with the words “For the freedom of Zion” were also discovered, a moving testimony that the inhabitants of Jerusalem still hoped beyond hope that they would be victorious in defending their homeland against the Roman legions.

Ze’ev Orenstein, director of International Affairs at the City of David Foundation, said, “These findings show that the connection between the Jewish people and the ancient City of Jerusalem is a matter of fact and not a matter of faith.”

Sealing the Deal

Other discoveries in the City of David are rather smaller but no less impressive.

An extensive collection of tiny clay bullae (seal impressions) that seal official documents have been found in the excavations.

In the spring of 2019, a 2,600-year-old bulla inscribed with the name “Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was discovered in the excavations of the old Givati parking lot in the City of David.

Nathan-Melech was an official who served King Josiah, and his name is found in the Bible in 2 Kings 23:11.

It is just one of the many bullae from the First Temple period (1000–587 BC) that have been unearthed in the vicinity and are inscribed with the Hebrew names of court administrators from the kingdom of Judah.

The fact that the personal seal of a court official to King Josiah has been brought to light is of immense importance to the truth of the historic Jewish narrative in the Land.

Sifting the Soil

A Second Temple coin from the Jewish revolt against the Roman legions

One of the most absurd fictions that Palestinian leaders present to the world is that there was never a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, a story easily refuted by archaeology alone.

Although archaeologists aren’t allowed to dig on the Temple Mount,

the Muslim Waqf (religious authority) illegally removed massive amounts of earth from the Mount and dumped it in the Kidron Valley.

Archaeologists believed the discarded soil contained too many important artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods to just let it lay in a heap.

They were right. Volunteers and archaeologists of the Temple Mount Sifting Project have recovered over half a million artifacts to date.

Some notable finds include a 2,700-year-old First Temple clay seal inscribed with the name of a priestly family mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, 6,000 coins from the Second Temple period and stunning geometric stone floor tiles that paved King Herod’s Temple Mount.

Though many archaeologists are leery of promoting a national narrative with their work, the ancient stones seem to have a voice of their own.

Who owns the Holy Land?

Strong archaeological evidence continues to agree with the historical and biblical record. Israel belongs to the Jewish people.

Bridges For Peace: Christians supporting Israel and building relationships

between Christians and Jews in Israel and around the world

https://www.bridgesforpeace.com/article/the-stones-cry-out-archaeology-and-the-jewish-connection-to-the-land/