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Items Posted In December, 2021

Dead Sea Scrolls
The historicity of Christ is supported by secular writers.

Posted on August 21, 2021 by

Categories: Archaeology, Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

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The Dead Sea Scrolls represent one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the last century.  The noted American archaeologist William F. Albright called it “the greatest manuscript discovery of all times.” But, on the other hand, the French scholar Dupont-Sommer felt, It is not a single revolution in the study of biblical exegesis … [it is] a whole cascade of revolutions.” The Dead Sea Scrolls have also produced no end of controversy.  For example, William LaSor noted, In the August, 1966 issue of Harper’s Magazine, Allegro spun a story of falsification, distortions, and innuendoes, the total effect of which was… Read More »

Ancient Earthquake

Posted on August 15, 2021 by

Categories: Archaeology, Biblical History, Historical Evidence

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There have been many ancient earthquakes described in the Scriptures.  Probably the most well-known is the one that occurred during the crucifixion of Christ.  However, another earthquake described in Scripture is less well-known but strong enough to have altered history.  This earthquake disrupted history during the eighth century BC and is mentioned in the Biblical Texts of Amos and Zechariah and with colorful detail by Josephus. The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Ir David Foundation found evidence of this earthquake when they evaluated the ruins of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.  (Silwan (also known as Siloam) is mentioned in… Read More »

The Destruction of Gath

Posted on August 14, 2021 by

Categories: Archaeology, Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

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The recent discovery of the destruction of Gath confirms the Biblical historicity of the period.  It is important because it is yet demonstration of how modern archaeology is confirming the Biblical narrative. Gath, Goliath, and David The mighty warrior Gath was one of five brothers who had come out to defeat the overwhelmed Israeli army.  Saul, the King of Israel, was despondent because it appeared all hope was lost as there was clearly nobody in his army who stood a chance in defeating Goliath in the natural.  Goliath yells curses at David and God, but the young shepherd boy is… Read More »

Herod the Great’s Death Date
The Herodium was the burial place of Herod the Great.

Posted on August 13, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

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When Did Herod the Great Die – The Eclipse and The Eagle The death date of Herod the Great is important because we know Herod was alive when Christ was born. Therefore, knowing Herod the Great’s death date will help determine the birth year of Christ. Ultimately, the death date depends upon understanding astronomy because it provides the data necessary to pinpoint the dates ascribed by Josephus.  Modern astronomy can determine the exact dates of many astronomical events such as lunar eclipses due to the orderly m movement of planets and their moons.  There is a historical event described by… Read More »

Herod The Great
Herodium

Posted on July 29, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

There are many villains in world history but few as despicable as Herod the Great.   Herod played a pivotal role in the early life of Christ as Herod desperately tried – but ultimately failed – to kill the newborn King of the Jews. Scriptures depict King Herod as conniving and ruthless, struggling to maintain his power while ruthlessly subduing the Jewish population of Israel.  He would stop at nothing to ensure his power, including killing his own children. Herod killed children less than two years old living in Bethlehem when he heard that the Messiah had been born there from… Read More »

Date of the Crucifixion
The resurrection of Christ is the central feature of Christianity.

Posted on July 21, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Historical Evidence

The exact date of the Crucifixion has been debated for many years, and even today, many theologians get it wrong.  That is a bold statement, to be sure, but it is one that I am willing to back up. We now have many more resources to establish the date of the Crucifixion than ever before.  We can attack the problem from multiple directions, including the various eclipses that occurred over Jerusalem during the time in question, the year of Paul’s conversion, the date various Roman Emperors were in charge, recollections from the Church Fathers as to the exact date, consideration… Read More »

Three Days and Nights
A one year old male lamb was sacrificed for every family during Passover as an image of the coming Messiah who would become the Lamb of God.

Posted on July 18, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Historical Evidence

Most Christians believe Christ was crucified on a Friday and rose from the dead after three days and nights.  Other believers put forth other crucifixion days including Thursday and Wednesday.  There is consensus that Christ arose on a Sunday morning based on Matthew 28:1 which notes, Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. The problem arises concerning the amount of time Christ spent in the grave.  How could he have spent three days and nights in the grave if he were crucified… Read More »

Ancient Rabbinical References to Jesus
The Torah is the first five books of the Old Testament representing the Law.

Posted on July 15, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

Quick Facts: Ancient rabbinical literature confirms the historicity of Christ This literature is supplemented by other secular sources There is no reason to doubt the existence of Christ in ancient Israel. Ancient rabbinical references to Jesus confirm the historicity of Christ in addition to secular sources.  Another blog referenced some secular references to Christ, while this blog evaluates extra-Biblical rabbinical references. Rabbis often comment critically on Scripture passages in the Old and New Testaments.  These comments provide a historical evaluation of Jewish thought on various issues for the past several millennia.  This is not a particularly easy field to study,… Read More »

Ancient Secular References to Jesus
The historicity of Christ is supported by secular writers.

Posted on July 9, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Biblical Names, Historical Evidence

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I have discussed several ancient secular references to Jesus in another post evaluating the historicity of Scripture from a broad perspective.  In this article, I am going to concentrate on the evidence substantiating the historicity of Christ. The historicity of Christ is after all the most important question that must be answered regarding all of Scripture for as Paul said, if the Resurrection of Christ did not happen, then Christians are deluded and above all to be pitied.  If Christ did not exist, then neither did the Resurrection. I am only going to evaluate secular, extra-Biblical sources for the historicity… Read More »

Hardening Your Heart
Hardening of the heart is an expression going back to the ancient Egyptians. A heavy heart when weighed against a feather could mean a dismal future in the afterlife.

Posted on July 4, 2021 by

Categories: Biblical History, Historical Evidence, Philosophical

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One of the most common colloquialisms is about hardening your heart.  According to Merriam-Webster, it means to stop having kind or friendly feelings for someone or caring about something. It would probably surprise most people that the expression derived from ancient Egypt and is important in the Biblical narrative. Hardening Your Heart Ancient Egypt was a place of customs that seem very strange to us today.  Many of these ancient customs are related to religious rituals the Egyptians followed concerning the afterlife. The Weight of the Heart ceremony was a procedure that the Egyptians believed occurred after death when you… Read More »

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