ARCHAEOLOGY DISCOVERIES CONFIRM THE BIBLE’S HISTORY

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Secular archaeologists have spent 200 years attempting to establish that the Bible is a collection of mythology and Jewish/Christian propaganda, yet archaeological evidence is more consistent with the Bible as an accurate historical document. In Unearthing the Bible, Dr. Titus Kennedy isolates and illuminates 101 archaeological discoveries that buttress the thesis that the Bible is a reliable historical record by the traditionally recognized authors at the traditionally accepted times they lived.

Kennedy’s book should be in the hands of everyone serious about the historical study of the Bible. Sketching 101 intersections between God’s Word and archeological evidence, Kennedy crafts a sturdy structure of information and argument that makes clear that belief in the truth, accuracy, and reliability of the biblical narrative is not merely possible, but it is sensible and rational. Indeed, it takes a full dose of willful blindness and/or intellectual dishonesty to refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy and implications of some of these artifacts. Complete with photographs and translations of ancient inscriptions, a helpful principle of organization, and explanations that are clear and coherent, the book is a genuinely useful tool. No fair-minded reader can deny the book’s success in demonstrating that ancient events left behind extensive evidence that the biblical narrative is accurate.

As Kennedy notes on page 9, “The Bible has been routinely attacked and disregarded based on history or archeology.” Unearthing the Bible challenges those attacks and dismissals head-on. The book cites the biblical passages related to each artifact, anchoring the archaeological context with the date and location of each piece’s discovery, a note on the biblical period in question, keywords, and citations of related biblical passages. The reader’s sense and understanding of the relevance of each artifact to the scriptural record grows as the array of archaeological discoveries increases in number and characteristic. In the end, a reader hostile to a biblical worldview may still ‘attack’, but ‘disregarded’ is no longer an option.

In some cases, Kennedy cites a piece of archaeological evidence not as demonstrably connected to a specific biblical character, but as proof that a particular name was, in fact, in use at a particular time. On pages 38–39, Kennedy points out that

“27 scarab seals bearing the name ‘Yaqob’ (Jacob) and the element ‘El’ (perhaps meaning ‘protected by God’) have been discovered in Egypt, Canaan, and Nubia, dating to around 1800–1600 BC.”

sumerian-king-list
Sumerian King List dating back to about 2000 BC

He notes that this period is in line with the time of Jacob’s migration to Egypt, but that the name was not used either before or after this time. Without trying to make more of the evidence than the evidence allows, Kennedy points out that it is significant that the archeological evidence of the name’s use corresponds dramatically with the biblical account.

Altogether, Kennedy cites 19 cases of names used at a time in the Bible that corresponds with the time that a particular name was in common use. This list contains both Old and New Testament names. Some of these cases have made the popular press, such as the ‘James Ossuary’ described on pages 224–225. This may, or may not, be the same “son of Joseph and brother of Jesus” that we know in the Bible, but, because all three names are in their proper timeframe and could be common, it certainly is possible.

Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries that Bring the Bible to Life is a valuable Bible study tool, but, beyond that, Kennedy’s book is a collection of convincing illustrations that scientific evidence does not contradict God’s Word. Just as biology, geology, chemistry, and physics are consistent with the Bible, the evidence found in archaeology is consistent with the Bible. Moreover, fulfilled Bible prophecies demonstrate its authors were divinely guided by the Holy Spirit.

101 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES THAT PROVE THE BIBLE IS AN ACCURATE HISTORICAL RECORD

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Secular archaeologists have spent 200 years attempting to establish that the Bible is a collection of mythology and Jewish/Christian propaganda, yet archaeological evidence is more consistent with the Bible as an accurate historical document. In Unearthing the Bible, Dr Titus Kennedy isolates and illuminates 101 archaeological discoveries that buttress the thesis that the Bible is a reliable historical record by the traditionally recognized authors at the traditionally accepted times they lived.

Kennedy’s book should be in the hands of everyone serious about a historical study of the Bible. Sketching 101 intersections between God’s Word and archeological evidence, Kennedy crafts a sturdy structure of information and argument that makes clear that belief in the truth, accuracy, and reliability of the biblical narrative is not merely possible, but it is sensible and rational. Indeed, it takes a full dose of willful blindness and/or intellectual dishonesty to refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy and implications of some of these artifacts. Complete with photographs and translations of ancient inscriptions, a helpful principle of organization, and explanations that are clear and coherent, the book is a genuinely useful tool. No fair-minded reader can deny the book’s success in demonstrating that ancient events left behind extensive evidence that the biblical narrative is accurate.

As Kennedy notes on page 9, “the Bible has been routinely attacked and disregarded on the basis of history or archeology.” Unearthing the Bible challenges those attacks and dismissals head-on. The book cites the biblical passages related to each artifact, anchoring the archaeological context with the date and location of each piece’s discovery, a note on the biblical period in question, keywords, and citations of related biblical passages. The reader’s sense and understanding of the relevance of each artifact to the scriptural record grows as the array of archaeological discoveries increases in number and characteristic. In the end, a reader hostile to a biblical worldview may still ‘attack’, but ‘disregarded’ is no longer an option.

 Kennedy’s book is a collection of convincing illustrations that scientific evidence does not contradict God’s Word. Just as biology, geology, chemistry, and physics are consistent with the Bible, the evidence found in archaeology is consistent with the Bible.

ARCHAEOLOGY CONFIRMS THE BIBLICAL DATE OF THE EXODUS

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SUBMERGED RUINS OF 3,400-YEAR-OLD MITANNI CITY REVEALED BY DROUGHT

One reason this location is of great interest is that Mitanni is mentioned in the Bible’s book of Judges. In standard dating, the Mitanni kingdom ruled the northern Tigris-Euphrates region from before 1600 BC until about 1350 BC when it was overtaken by the Assyrian Empire. It became a weakened province of Assyria for about a century before fading from the historical record.

Mitanni’s history makes a strong argument against a late Exodus date (also known as the Rameses Exodus date) in the 1200s BC since there is good evidence that Othniel, one of Israel’s first judges, was fighting against a Mitanni invasion in Judges 3. A Rameses Exodus date would put the judge Othniel in the 1100s BC and about two centuries after Mitanni ceased to be a strong kingdom, thus showing that the Exodus must have been much earlier.

The following video produced by Creation Ministries is helpful in understanding the Bible and the archaeological discoveries that support Biblical events and dates. Can I suggest you go to http://www.creation.com and search “Bible and archaeology” where you will find that many archaeologists have found the Bible to be an accurate historical document.

Were the Bible’s stories made up long after the fact, or do the accounts preserve eyewitness testimony? See how archaeology supports the Bible.

NEW ARCHAEOLOGY DISCOVERY CONFIRMS BIBLE’S ACCOUNT OF JESUS MINISTRY

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Second Temple-era synagogue unearthed in northern Israel

Jesus archaeological discovery

The recently discovered ruins of a first century synagogue in Israel confirm historic accounts of Jesus’ life found in the New Testament.

Located near Mount Tabor in the Nahal Tavor Nature Reserve in the lower Galilee at a site called Tel Rechesh, the synagogue ruins date back to the time of the Second Temple period, which ended in AD 79 when the Romans attacked Jerusalem.

Motti Aviam, a senior researcher at the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at the Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee, explained in a statement the significance of the Tel Rechesh excavation find.

“This is the first synagogue discovered in the rural part of the Galilee and it confirms historical information we have about the New Testament, which says that Jesus preached at synagogues in Galilean villages,” explained Aviam, as reported by JNS.

Haaretz noted that while there have been seven other synagogues from the Second Temple period discovered before, the one at Tel Rechesh is the first to be found in a rural instead of urban setting.

“Inscriptions and historical sources show that the synagogues of the period were used for meetings, Torah readings and study, rather than worship. They had neither Torah ark nor regular prayer services,” reported Haaretz.

“One source mentioning synagogues is the New Testament, which states that Jesus ‘went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues.'”

In an interview with YNet News, Aviam explained why the findings at the Tel Rechesh site “makes the place very important for Christians.”

“During the same period Jesus was still a Jew who observed Jewish rituals and requirements and like many rabbis, he delivered sermons in synagogues. Christianity which developed after his (sic) placed an emphasis on his sermons at synagogues in the Galilee.”

Aviam added that he hoped “that when the work is completed the place will constitute a tourist attraction for Jews and Christians alike.”

This is not the first major find in Israel this year connected to the times of Jesus. In March it was reported that several artefacts from the first century Near East were located in an orphanage in Jerusalem.

As Jesus Himself claimed the Bible is inerrant. It is God’s Word to us, it can be trusted from Genesis to Revelation.

 

2500 year old Judah soldiers handwriting discovery confirms Gods word is true

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Israeli archaeologist Prof. Ehud Netzer displays the shard from a 2,000-year-old amphora bearing the name of “Herod the Great, King of Judea” July 9. The unique ceramic shard, found during a recent archaeological dig on the ancient desert fortress of Masada, came from a large amphora used for shipping Italian wine to the king who ruled the holy land at the time of Jesus’ birth.

2500 years old pottery
The discovery in question refers to findings posted in April by Israel’s Tel Aviv University, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which demonstrates that it was not only the elites who could read.

“We’re dealing with really low-level soldiers in a remote place who can write,” said Israel Finkelstein, an archaeologist and biblical scholar at Tel Aviv University. “So there must have been some sort of educational system in Judah at that time.”

Finkelstein suggested that what this discovery means is that people in the kingdom had the capacity to write and put together parts of the Old Testament even earlier than it was believed.

“There’s a heated discussion regarding the timing of the composition of a critical mass of biblical texts, but to answer this, one must ask a broader question: What were the literacy rates in Judah at the end of the First Temple period? And what were the literacy rates later on?” the researcher elaborated.

The Bible states in Genesis 5:1, that Adam, the first man in the Bible, had the ability to speak and write.

The Israelites were commanded to write the commands of the Lord on their door posts and bind them on their hands and foreheads (Deuteronomy 6:4–9, 11:18–20), if they could not read or write, what would be the point of these commands?

Most conservative biblical scholars who start with God’s Word believe the Old Testament record that the books were written by the persons associated with them or those who claim to have written them. They also accept that these books were written during the time period they claim to have been written in (e.g., the prophet Isaiah during the reigns of the pre-exilic kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah). If these books were not written until decades or even centuries after the events happened, the historicity, accuracy, and infallibility of the texts are called into question since they claim to have been written much earlier.

The pottery shards discovery in Judah, supports the accuracy of God’s Word, because it shows that Israelites were more literate than many scholars believe.

“If history has taught anything, it’s that eventually research and science will confirm Scripture. We have an imperfect and incomplete understanding of history and science, but God’s Word was ultimately written by the God who was there and who never lies (Titus 1:2),” the article added.

 

Compelling Historical Evidence for the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ

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Here is some compelling evidence of Christ's birth.

  1. Documented by a physician & world-class historian.

The virgin birth of Jesus Christ was documented by a physician and world-class historian who interviewed eyewitnesses, probably including Mary herself, for his account of this world-changing event. Luke gives the most detailed account of the Nativity and mentions Mary 12 times, more than any other biblical writer.

The accuracy of Luke as a historian was confirmed by the famous historian, A.N. Sherwin-White, who carefully examined his references in Luke/Acts to 32 countries, 54 cities, and nine islands, finding not a single mistake. Sir William Ramsay, who spent years in Asia Minor following and examining Luke’s account of Paul’s travels, wrote in The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, “You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian’s and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment.”

  1. Affirmed by modern archaeology.

Luke’s status as a world-class historian, accurate in even the smallest details, was brought to light by modern archaeology. For example, Sir William Ramsay, considered one of the greatest archaeologists of all time, originally thought he would scientifically discredit Luke’s accounts by visiting and examining the places mentioned in his Gospel and Acts.

Ramsay was a student of the sceptical, German higher criticism of the 19th century and was taught that the New Testament was an unreliable religious treatise written in the mid-second century by individuals far removed from the events described. But after years of retracing Luke’s account of Paul’s travels and doing archaeological digs along the way, Ramsay completely reversed his view of the Bible and first-century history.

Ramsay became convinced that Acts was written in the first century by the traditional author, and he acquired a very high regard for Luke as a historian. He wrote, “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense; in short, this author should be placed along with the greatest of historians.”

William F. Albright, archaeologist and late professor of Semitic languages at John Hopkins University, is considered by many to be the greatest of archaeologists. Like Ramsay, he began as an agnostic, sceptical of the Bible as a reliable book of history. But, like Ramsay, his views were also completely changed by doing the hard work of an archaeologist in the field.

Albright discovered that not only was Luke reliable, but that the entire Bible was a reliable source of history. According to The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Albright wrote, “Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and brought increased recognition to the Bible as a source of history.”

   3.  An agnostic professor of mythology is convinced. 

C S Lewis was the agnostic professor of Renaissance literature at Oxford University, a prolific author and a recognized expert of mythological texts. He too had bought into the idea that the Bible was not a book of reliable history and that the New Testament was filled with all sorts of mythical stories, created by individuals far removed from the events described.

But through the influence of his childhood and friends who challenged his atheism, Lewis began to read the Bible. He was astounded at what he encountered in the Gospels, for it was obviously a different genre from the ancient mythologies with which he was so familiar. His surprised response was, “This is not myth!” Lewis went on to become a dedicated follower of Christ and perhaps the most significant Christian apologist of the 20th century.

  1. Predicted centuries in advance by OT prophets.

Genesis 3:15 said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

These words were spoken by God to the serpent after the fall of our first parents. The “seed of the woman” in this passage is an allusion to a future descendant of Eve who will defeat the serpent and reverse the curse brought on by his deception.

The Bible normally speaks of the seed of men, but in this case it is the “seed of the woman.” This is a prophecy that clearly anticipates the future virgin birth of Christ—a birth in which the seed of a man is not involved. The beloved Methodist theologian, Adam Clarke, wrote in The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments with a Commentary and Critical Notes, “The seed of the woman is to come by the woman, and her alone without the concurrence of man.”

According to this prophecy, the “seed of the woman” will receive a temporary wound from Satan—”you will bruise His heel”—but the “seed of woman” shall inflict on Satan a final and mortal wound—”He will bruise your head.” This Messianic promise was fulfilled through the virgin birth of Jesus and through His death and resurrection.

Isaiah 7:14 said, “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: The virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Hebrew word translated “virgin” in this passage is almah and refers to a young woman of marriageable age, but would usually include the idea of virginity, since that was expected of a young Jewish woman being married for the first time.

That “virgin” is an accurate English translation is confirmed by the Septuagint, which uses the Greek word parthinos to translate almah. Parthinos specifically means a young woman who has never had sex with a man. Parthinos is the word used by both Matthew and Luke in their description of Mary, affirming that she was a young woman who had never had sex with a man when Jesus was born.

Further evidence that this Son born of a virgin is a Messianic prophecy referring to Jesus is indicated by Isaiah’s statement that he shall be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” This is a clear statement concerning the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, and reminds us of the words of Gabriel to Mary that the Son she will bear “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32).

  1. Believed universally by the earliest Christians.

That the virgin birth was universally believed by the earliest Christians is verified by “The Apostle’s Creed,” an early confession of faith that dates from the second century and was used throughout the church. By including the virgin birth in their creedal statement, these early believers made clear that they considered it an essential doctrine of the Faith. The Creed reads in part:

“I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary” (emphasis added).

This belief in the virgin birth was confirmed by the Nicene Creed of A.D. 325 and has continued to be the belief of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant Christians.

Note the words of the 18th century hymn, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” written by Charles Wesley, an Oxford graduate and Anglican minister, and with his brother John, the leader of the great Methodist revival. Because of the references to the virgin birth, this hymn became a popular carol sung at Christmas:

“Christ by highest heaven adored/Christ the everlasting Lord! /Late in time behold Him come/Offspring of a Virgin’s womb! /Veiled in flesh the Godhead see/Hail the incarnate Deity! /Pleased as man with man to dwell/Jesus, our Emanuel/Hark the herald angels sing/Glory to the newborn king!”

Extract from article by Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt. He is an author, historian and biblical scholar.

Multi-award-winning documentary showcases clear evidence for the events of Exodus

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Some events described in the Bible were so momentous that they reshaped entire nations, changing the course of history.

Like the 10 plagues that literally destroyed the land of Egypt… Like well over a million people leaving Egypt overnight… Like the conquest of Canaan.

Yet most archaeologists today have concluded that there is no evidence that the events described in Exodus ever happened. In Patterns of Evidence: Exodus, filmmaker Timothy Mahoney sets out to answer the question, “Is this foundational event of the Bible really just a myth?”

The answer is a resounding “No!” The evidence is there all right—but archaeologists have consistently assigned it to the wrong time period, breaking the connection between the evidence and its biblical causes. 

This film showcases amazing evidence of the arrival, multiplication, and then descent into slavery of a Semitic people in Egypt; evidence for the collapse of Egypt, along with the mass exodus of the Semitic slaves; evidence for the conquest of Canaan, with sites like Jericho lining up perfectly with the biblical text.

A compelling watch, featuring interviews with leading archaeologists and biblical scholars against a backdrop of stunning video and animation, it is no wonder Patterns of Evidence: Exodus has already picked up a slew of awards!

DEFEND THE BIBLE – GO ON THE OFFENSIVE

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Looking for Answers pic

There is now so much evidence which proves the Bible is trustworthy that Christians properly equipped can go on the offensive rather than go on the defensive as so many do when challenged as to the veracity of Scripture’s claims.

The many fulfilled Bible prophesies, such as Isaiah’s prophesy that a Persian king would arise with the name Cyrus – around 150 years before the event occurred. Three hundred prophesies in the Old Testament (OT) of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus that all occurred exactly as prophesied.

In the field of archaeology, the Bible has been confirmed accurate by numerous archaeological discoveries. The Hittites were presumed to be a mythical tribe because no physical evidence had been found. That was until a huge ‘City of the Hittites was uncovered.  The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls as late as 1947 with an almost complete copy of Isaiah in which there are so many of the prophesies of Jesus life, death by crucifixion and resurrection. As a result, the Bible is regarded as “the most accurate history book in the world”(The Archaeology of the New Testament by E.M.Blaiklock). Considering this fact alone, one can logically assume that its other historical claims in Genesis such as a real Adam and Eve and a global Flood are also true.

In the New Testament (NT), scholars used to be skeptical about John’s description of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, but archaeology showed that John’s description was accurate (which also proved that the gospel of John was authored by someone who had been in Jerusalem before the AD 70 destruction, which fits very well with the Apostle John being the author). John and all the NT authors – and even Jesus himself – believed and quoted from Genesis more than any other book in the Bible.

It is in the area of Genesis Creation where the rubber really hits the road, and where Creation Ministries has truly shone with evidence that recent discoveries particularly on DNA (Information Theory) and the function of cells have demonstrated the futility of evolution with its proposed mechanisms of natural selection and mutation. On their website http://www.creation.com there are almost 8,500 fully searchable articles you can access to equip you with answers to provide real seekers of the truth about God and Creation.

The Bible is trustworthy, including its claims about sin and salvation. Jesus is who he said He is. He is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus believed Genesis was true history then I suggest so should we.

WORLDWIDE FLOOD (Genesis) AUTHENTICATED IN CLAY

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Nippur-tablet

Fig. 3. The Nippur tablet (c. 2100 BC) translated by Hilprecht.

During the last decade of the nineteenth century, the University of Pennsylvania conducted a number of archaeological digs in the ancient Babylonian city of Nippur. Among the remains of the temple library, they found a tiny tablet fragment containing another account of the Flood.

It was translated by Hermann Hilprecht, an expert Assyriologist, and was found to agree with Genesis remarkably in its details. It speaks of a deluge that would destroy all life, and how God commanded the building of a great ship in which the builder, his family and animals were to be preserved.

The tablet could be dated quite precisely for a number of reasons, foremost of which is that the library in which it was found was known to be destroyed around 2100 BC, when the Elamites invaded Nippur. Hilprecht believed it was written sometime between 2137 and 2005 BC.

Also of significance is that the language of the Nippur tablet is quite different from that of most of the other tablets recovered alongside it. It is very close to biblical Hebrew, again indicating that the Genesis account was not derived from Babylonian myths. It also lacks the gross polytheism of the Gilgamesh account.

The account of a global flood, in which God judged the wickedness of man, must be one of the most ridiculed passages of the Bible. At the same time, it is attested to by some of our most ancient historic records, numerous documents and legends from all over the world, the fossil record, and many facts of geology.  We ignore it at our peril.

The Genesis account of THE FALL and NOAH’S FLOOD give us an explanation for a world full of death and suffering. Death and suffering were not there in the original creation, and with Christ’s resurrection, we know it will one day be done away with forever.

Extracted from an article by Dominic Statham, Genesis Authenticated in Clay refer http://www.creation.com

DEFEND GOD’S WORD – GET EQUIPPED

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In the famous tale from Homer’s “Odyssey” the fortress of Troy was defeated by the Greek army leaving a large wooden horse (secretly filled with soldiers) behind as a supposed gift. The Trojans willingly took it into their city leading to their defeat.

This video retraces how ‘deep time’ infiltrated the church in a similar way, and led to the lack of biblical authority we see today.