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Biblical Archaeology

Biblical Archaeologists In Israel Uncover City Gate Dating To The Time Of King David In Ancient City Of Bethsaida In The Golan Heights

A city gate from the time of King David was discovered after 32 years of excavation in the ancient city of Bethsaida in the Golan Heights’ Jordan Park.

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ARCHAEOLOGISTS IDENTIFY CITY GATE FROM TIME OF KING DAVID
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A city gate from the time of King David was discovered after 32 years of excavation in the ancient city of Bethsaida in the Golan Heights’ Jordan Park, opening up a world of new of opinions and theories about the ancient landscape of the Land of Israel.

The ruins of the New Testament city of Bethsaida is turning out to be a goldmine of amazing discoveries for biblical archaeologists because it has remained nearly completely untouched for almost 2,000 years. We told you last year about the discoveries in the lost city of Zer, and today’s article is a follow-up-to that.

“And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.” Luke 9:10,11 (KJV)

Do you realize that with all these new finds, that there has never once been anything that has contradicted or gone against what is laid out in the Bible? In fact, these incredible finds only add more light to the Bible passages that mention them. Compare that to the Book of Mormon, for example, that talks about dozens of people and places Joseph Smith said existed, and yet not one scrap of archaeological evidence has ever surfaced to support those claims. Hmm, I wonder why that is?  I thank God that He gave me a Book that is true and trustworthy.

Bethsaida is an almost untouched archaeological heaven for getting the real story about what happened during the times of the Hebrew Bible and the Second Temple period.

FROM THE JPOST: According to Professor Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska, chief archaeologist overseeing the excavations, told the Jerusalem Post that the gate and further findings found within the ancient city give the notion that it was possible that Solomon and David might not have been the sole kings of the Israelite kingdom at their respective times, but instead chieftains of large tribes of Israelites.

“And the fenced cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth,” Joshua 19:35 (KJV)

The previously uncovered gate found in the area last year was cautiously identified to be a part of the biblical city of Zer, a name used during the First Temple period. However, the newly found gate dates back to the time and rule of King David, which is purportedly from the 11th to 10th centuries BCE.

“There are not many gates from capital cities in this country from this period,” said Arav. “Bethsaida was the name of the city during the Second Temple period, but during the First Temple period it was the city of Zer.” Arav cited Joshua 19:35, which says: “The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinneret.”

The excavation and research, sponsored by the Hebrew Union College of Jerusalem, has brought together archaeologists from all over the world to help.

Findings presented by the researchers point to the possibility that Bethsaida was not an Israelite kingdom but instead an Aramaic one. Within the city limits of Bethsaida, there was a stone stele bearing the image of their bull-shaped moon god, which dates back to the 11th century BCE. This monument is one of seven other similar tombstones found from the ancient world, from southern Turkey to Egypt. Two have been found in Bethsaida alone.

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Some of these monuments have been found in cities dating to later periods, such as the 9th-8th century BCE. The rare stone stele dating back to the kingdom of Geshur was unearthed in the archaeological excavation.

“But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day.” 2 Samuel 13:37 (KJV)

The kingdom of Geshur is mentioned in the Bible as having co-existed alongside the Kingdom of David. It was eventually annexed by King Hazael, who ruled what is today modern Syria. The biblical kingdom of Geshur existed in parts of what is now the Golan Heights.

Although the area of the Golan Heights is not thought to be an Israelite kingdom, the archaeologists on the dig presume that Jerusalem and David’s capital in Bethsaida were actually quite similar to one another.

Seven kingdoms are believed to have ruled the ancient Land of Israel. However, according to Arav, the researchers know little about the archaeology of these capitals since they have been destroyed and rebuilt many times over.

Arav said that these types of excavations are difficult in places like Jerusalem, because researchers need to get permission from landowners as well as the government to excavate these sites. In addition, other ancient cities, such as Damascus, have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times in the past, making it difficult to connect inferences in what actually happened there during these time periods. Bethsaida is an almost untouched archaeological heaven for getting the real story about what happened during the times of the Hebrew Bible and the Second Temple period.

“Bethsaida is a unique example of a capital city from the 11th-8th century BCE that is available for archaeological research, as there has been no disturbance to this site,” said Arav. Excavations will continue on site as archaeologists attempt to discover everything dating from the 11th century BCE to the period of Roman rule following the end of the Common Era. READ MORE

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Biblical Archaeology

Biblical Archaeologists Making Stunning Discovery Under The Treasury Building At Selah Petra In Harbinger Of The Coming Time Of Jacob’s Trouble

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Archeologists found an untouched tomb containing 12 human skeletons and various treasures under the Treasury room at Selah Petra in Jordan

If you believe your King James Bible, then you know that this planet we live on, and even the universe in which it sits, is very much alive and active. Some great examples of this are stones that can talk, trees that can clap their hands, the sun and the stars turning out their own lights, and the list goes on and on. A stunning new discovery at Selah Petra, the place where God will keep the remnant of Israel safe from Antichrist for three and a half years, has recently started to ‘wake up’ and begin to reveal its secrets. Why now? Great question.

“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” Matthew 24:16 (KJB)

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Revelation 12:6 (KJB)

The Church Age is now nearly at an end, and it will formally conclude in an event we call the Pretribulation Rapture of the Church. From there there time of Jacob’s trouble begins, a 7-year time period that includes the 3.5 year great Tribulation. God will supernaturally preserve a remnant of the Jews, Isaiah 1:9, safe inside the red rock walls of Selah Petra, a place that Daniel 11:41 says Antichrist will not be able to enter. The Church is about to fly, and the Jews and the nation of Israel are about to be ‘the next man up’ on the end times roster. So it makes perfect sense that the ground at Selah Petra is starting to reveal its secrets and it gets itself ready for what’s coming next.

Archeologists find 12 hidden tombs with intact skeletons beneath the Treasury building at Selah Petra in Jordan

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: Known locally in Jordan as Al Khazneh, the discovery of an untouched tomb under Petra’s famous Treasury room – which was featured in Spielberg’s 1989 movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” as the location of the Holy Grail – comes after over 20 years of finding numerous hidden tombs throughout the Treasury.

Dr. Richard Bates, a geophysicist from the University of St. Andrews, led the recent excavation after receiving permission to use advanced ground-penetrating radar at the site. “We were quite shocked that they did give us permission to go in and survey,” the NYT cited Bates.

Bates emphasized that “this was stunning data,” as the radar showed clear signs of voids and structures beneath the Treasury, prompting a joint excavation effort between Jordanian and American teams.

The newly found tombs are believed to be older than the Treasury itself and feature walls that haven’t been seen in the region before. “People think they know Petra. They recognize the Treasury,” said Dr. Pearce Paul Creasman, an archaeologist involved in the dig. “But all these people walk by, and there’s so much more under our feet.”

The skeletal remains found under the Treasury room date from 400 B.C. to A.D. 106 and offer some clues about the Nabatean civilization, which made Petra its capital around the fourth century B.C., according to the NYT. The intact dozen skeletons were within a hidden tomb and were discovered within a chamber divided by a set of walls, something that had not been seen before in the ancient city of Al Khazneh. READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Biblical Archaeology

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas Is An Egyptian Forgery And Is Once Again Back In The Headlines With An ‘Amazing Discovery’ Designed To Deceive You

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The unbiblical Infancy Gospel of Thomas (IGT) describes Jesus’ life from the ages of five to 12 and was written during the 2nd century in Egypt

Back in 2021, I wrote an article that was purely speculative, just a feeling I had at the time, that we should prepare ourselves for the day when they would ‘discover the bones of Jesus’, thus rendering the entire New Testament impotent. While that still has not happened, yet, still plenty of deception abounds to try and get you to lose your faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of these pieces of fakery is known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and they just discovered ‘exciting news’ about a lost manuscript recently discovered that you need to know. (insert eye-roll here)

“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Corinthians 15:18,19 (KJB)

There is an excellent book called ‘Did The Catholic Church Give Us The Bible?’ from Chick Publications we sell at the Bookstore, and I highly recommend you get yourself a copy. It shows that there are two lines of manuscripts that produces two lines of Bibles. The first is the line of the preserved text, the Textus Receptus, where our King James Bible comes from. The second line comes from Alexandria in Egypt, and this is where the NIV, ESV, NLT, LSB and the Douay-Rheims used by the Roman Catholic Church comes from. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas comes from Egypt, is not scripture, does not belong in the Bible, and is not to be trusted with its silly stories like having the young Jesus making clay pigeons and then turning them into real birds. Don’t fall for it, that’s the memo.

Experts discover earliest record of Jesus’ childhood after deciphering 2,000-year-old Egyptian manuscript

FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: The earliest known copy of an incredible story about Jesus performing a miracle as a child has been discovered scrawled on an ancient Egyptian manuscript. The 2,000-year-old papyrus – a material that predates paper – tells the lesser-known story of the ‘vivification of the sparrows,’ when the five-year-old Messiah is said to have turned clay pigeons into live birds, a tale also referred to as the ‘second miracle’.

The clumsiness of the handwriting led the researchers to believe it was likely written as part of a class exercise in a school or religious community in 4th or 5th Century Egypt, which was a Christian society in those times. The original story of Jesus’ miracle is thought to have been written around the 2nd Century as part of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a book detailing Jesus of Nazareth’s youth that was ultimately excluded from the Bible.

But until this discovery, the earliest written example of the gospel was from the 11th Century.

Until now, the papyrus had lay unnoticed at the Hamburg State and University Library in Hamburg, Germany.  Experts told DailyMail.com they stumbled upon the papyri while analyzing manuscripts and noticed Jesus’ name in the text.

‘It was thought to be part of an everyday document, such as a private letter or a shopping list, because the handwriting seems so clumsy,’ Dr Lajos Berkes, a co-researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Theology at Humboldt-Universität said in a press release.

‘We first noticed the word “Jesus” in the text. Then, by comparing it with numerous other digitized papyri, we deciphered it letter by letter and quickly realized that it could not be an everyday document,’ he added.

But this gospel was omitted from the Bible because it was thought to be inauthentic. The Bible was also intended to focus solely on Jesus’ ministry, miracles and what led up to his dying on the cross. In the IGT story, Jesus is just five years old playing in a stream while molding 12 sparrows out of soft clay in the riverbed mud.

The papyrus fragment measured four by two inches and contained a total of 13 lines of a popular religious story from the IGT. Researchers said the story was likely written as part of a writing exercise in a school or monastery because of the clumsy handwriting, irregular lines and other signifiers.

‘Apart from what can be deduced from the general history of the collection, there is no evidence of how or when the papyrus was discovered,’ the researchers wrote in their article. READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

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But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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Biblical Archaeology

Biblical Archaeologists Uncover The Astonishing Remains Of The Roman VIth Iron Legion Military Base At The Bottom Of Tel Megiddo

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The VIth Legion Roman legionary base at Tel Megiddo is a 2,000-year old Roman military base that was created where Revelation says Armageddon will take place

In recent years, we have brought you some amazing stories about the discoveries of biblical archaeology in the land of Israel. The past seems intent on bubbling up to the surface almost like it knows that things are getting ready to repeat. The discovery we bring you today takes place in Tel Megiddo, a location that you just may recognize as Armageddon in your King James Bible.

“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16:16 (KJB)

Armageddon is one of those things that the majority of the Greek and Hebrew scholars consign to the realm of fantasy, and not seen as the location for the last battle of Antichrist at the Second Advent. So the fact that as construction is being done in Israel for Road 66, they find remains of the Roman VIth Legion at Megiddo, and Revelation 16:16 the only place in the Bible that mentions Armageddon, what does that make you think of? To me, that’s a lot of 6’s! Even the reference for Armageddon in the Strong’s Concordance is G717 which adds up to 6. Do you think the Lord is telling us something? I sure do.

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1,800-year-old Roman Legionary Base discovered at Tel Megiddo

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: Architectural remains of the 1,800-year-old Roman VIth ‘Ferrata’ Iron Legion military base have been uncovered in a recent excavation carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) at the foot of Tel Megiddo, near the ancient Kfar Othnay village (Capercotnai in Greek).

The excavation was funded by the Netivei Israel National Infrastructure Company, said the IAA, which called it “a unique opportunity to uncover part of the full-scale Roman legionary base.”

Directed by Dr. Yotam Tepper and Barak Tzin, the dig is part of the major infrastructure project to expand and upgrade Road 66 from the Megiddo Junction to the Hatishbi Junction at Yokneam. In the course of the excavation, extensive and impressive architectural remains of the Via Pretoria (the main road of the camp) were uncovered, as well as a semicircular-shaped podium and stone-paved areas that were part of a large, monumental public building.

“The Roman Legion camp at Legio was the permanent military base for over 5,000 Roman soldiers for more than 180 years, from 117-120 BCE to about 300 CE,” said Tepper. “Two main roads intersected at the center of the 550-meter- long and 350-m-wide camp, and its headquarters were erected here. It was from this base point that all the distances along the Roman Imperial roads to the main cities in the north of the country were measured and marked with milestones. The ancient building remains were not preserved to a height, as most of the building stones were removed over the years for reuse in building projects carried out during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.”

“In the course of the excavation seasons, the upper part of the commanders’ courtyard (principia) was exposed southwest of Road No. 66, and in the present excavation, carried out on behalf of the IAA. We are uncovering the northeastern part of the camp that extends alongside Road No. 66.”

Coins, parts of weapons, pottery sherds, and glass fragments were uncovered, but the most predominant finds are the roof tiles that were found in extremely large quantities. “The roof tiles, some of which were stamped with the VIth Legion stamps, were used for various purposes, for roofing buildings, paving floors, and even coating walls. The technology and know-how, the building techniques, and the weapons that the Legion brought with it from the home country, are unique to the Roman army, reflecting specific Roman Imperial military footprints,” the IAA said.

Engineer Dima Pritsker, director of the northern branch of the Engineering and Development Unit in the Netivei Israel Company: “We are talking about an extremely important road project 15 kilometers long for reducing traffic congestion along the road and to improve the safety of drivers and passengers. The project incorporates the construction of the Megiddo Interchange at the junction of Roads 65 and 66. The Transport Ministry is investing 1.5 billion shekels in the project carried out by Netivei Israel. READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORTTO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

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