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Biblical Archaeology

2,000 Year Old Ancient Seal Found at Jerusalem Western Wall

A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem’s Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday. The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning “pure for God.”

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JERUSALEM (AP) — A rare clay seal found under Jerusalem’s Old City appears to be linked to religious rituals practiced at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago, Israeli archaeologists said Sunday.

The coin-sized seal found near the Jewish holy site at the Western Wall bears two Aramaic words meaning “pure for God.”

A rare clay seal is displayed during a news conference at the archaeological site known as the City of David in east Jerusalem, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Israeli archaeologists say they have unearthed a rare clay seal that appears to be linked to religious rituals that took place at the Jewish Temple 2,000 years ago. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Archaeologist Ronny Reich of Haifa University said it dates from between the 1st century B.C. to 70 A.D. — the year Roman forces put down a Jewish revolt and destroyed the second of the two biblical temples in Jerusalem.

The find marks the first discovery of a written seal from that period of Jerusalem’s history, and appeared to be a unique physical artifact from ritual practice in the Temple, said Reich, co-director of the excavation.

Very few artifacts linked to the Temples have been discovered so far. The site of the Temple itself — the enclosure known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary — remains off-limits to archaeologists because of its religious and political sensitivity.

Archaeologists say the seal was likely used by Temple officials approving an object for ritual use — oil, perhaps, or an animal intended for sacrifice. Materials used by Temple priests had to meet stringent purity guidelines stipulated in detail in the Jewish legal text known as the Mishna, which also mention the use of seals as tokens by pilgrims.

The find, Reich said, is “the first time an indication was brought by archaeology about activities in the Temple Mount — the religious activities of buying and offering and giving to the Temple itself.”

The site where the seal was found is on the route of a main street that ran through ancient Jerusalem just outside the Temple compound.

Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, a biblical archaeologist not connected to the dig, said the seal was special because it “was found right next to the Temple and is similar to what we see described in the Mishna.”

“It’s nice when we can connect an activity recorded in ancient sources with archaeological finds,” he said.

The seal was found in an excavation run by archaeologists from the government’s Israel Antiquities Authority. The dig is under the auspices of a broader dig nearby known as the City of David, where archaeologists are investigating the oldest part of Jerusalem.

The City of David dig, located inside the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan and funded by a Jewish group affiliated with the settlement movement, is the Holy Land’s highest-profile and most politically controversial excavation. source – Yahoo News

Biblical Archaeology

Ancient Assyrian Inscription Unearthed In Jerusalem Shows Stunning Exchange Between King Hezekiah And King Sennacherib In Prophetic Harbinger

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Archaeologists in Jerusalem have unearthed a 2,700-year-old Assyrian inscription in clay Between King Hezekiah And King Sennacherib that could shine a light on the coming Antichrist

The world of biblical archaeology is on fire at the moment with this latest discovery of an exchange between King Hezekiah of Judah, and King Sennacherib of Assyria. We are as well, but for completely different reasons as I will soon show you. Yes, from an archaeological perspective, this is a home run for sure. But when you run it through the filter of end times Bible prophecy, it quickly becomes a walk-off Grand Slam. What does this fragment show us? Only ‘the Assyrian’ who is the biblical Antichrist, that’s all.

“Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.” 2 Kings 18:13,14 (KJB)

As Bible believers, we know that we are at the end of the Church Age, and we are hard at work labouring in the Kingdom of God while we wait for the promised Pretribulation Rapture to occur. But the unsaved world we leave behind is waiting for the appearance of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who will rule over them for 7 short years. Antichrist. The Bible calls this coming political and religious figure the Assyrian, and he is mentioned in 13 verses in the Old Testament. Just as Sennacherib besieged Judah, the future Antichrist will besiege Jerusalem during the Tribulation.

On the other hand, we have King Hezekiah, one of the best and most-faithful kings that Judah ever had. When Sennacherib’s armies surrounded Jerusalem, the nation was terrified. Yet Hezekiah did not turn to Egypt or human strength — he turned to the LORD in prayer. Just as God delivered Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s day by sending the Angel of the LORD, He will deliver Israel again when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in power and glory at the Second Advent.

And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.” 2 Kings 19:15,16 (KJB)

That kind of prayerful dependence pictures the future believing remnant of Israel who will trust God during the Great Tribulation. King Hezekiah is a wonderful type picture of the faithful Jewish remnant who are preserved at the red rock city of Selah Petra. The fact that this stunning piece of biblical archaeology is coming to light now tells you exactly where we are on the end times timeline.

Ancient Assyrian inscription unearthed in Jerusalem describes real events behind Bible story

FROM THE NY POST: “For me as a historian, this is somewhat of a flashlight in the fog of history,” Dr. Peter Zilberg, a Near Eastern Studies expert at Bar-Ilan University who studied the artifact, told The Times of Israel.

The 1-inch pottery fragment — part of a seal that was used to authenticate official documents — had reportedly been unearthed in a drainage canal at Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, marking the first time that evidence of relations between the Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah had been uncovered in the city. By analyzing the clay, researchers were able to trace the shard’s origin to the Tigris basin region, where several Assyrian hubs were located. It was reportedly inscribed with Akkadian cuneiform — the world’s oldest written Semitic language.

Scientists subsequently deciphered the ancient text, discovering what appears to be a complaint by the Assyrian brass over a delayed tax payment by Judah that had been due on the Av, the 11th month of the Hebrew calendar. From this, researchers deduced that the doc was an ancient tax notice from the Assyrian Emperor to a Judean King, which rang shockingly similar to a Biblical account of how the empire made the Kingdom of Judah their vassal state.

Per a passage in II Kings 18 and 19, during the reign of Judah’s King Hezekiah, “King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them.”

“King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: ‘I have done wrong; withdraw from me; and I shall bear whatever you impose on me,’” the excerpt read. “So the king of Assyria imposed upon King Hezekiah of Judah a payment of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.”

Alas, the fragment “does not include the exact year of the inscription, as the part that would have carried it broke off,” per Zilberg. However, based on stylistic and linguistic considerations, experts were able to date the artifact to between the end of the 8th century and the middle of the 7th century BCE — which corresponded to the “period of turmoil” between Judah and Assyria, where tensions over tribute payments reached a breaking point.

“We have the Hezekiah revolt right against Assyrian King Sennacherib,” recalled Zilberg. “Hezekiah delayed paying taxes for a certain period, leading Sennacherib to march on Jerusalem.”

Coincidentally, this military campaign and its fiscal outcome are highlighted in both the Bible and Assyrian sources, according to the Times of Israel. Ultimately, the fragment literally helped illuminate political relations in the ancient world, illustrating how even small Kingdoms like Judah were engaged in tense relations with one of the preeminent superpowers of the period.

“While we cannot determine the background for this demand, whether it stemmed from a mere technical delay or carried political significance, the very existence of such an official appeal would seemingly attest to a certain point of friction between Judah and the imperial government,” said Zilberg, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society. “It is a wonderful addition to the history of the relations between Judah and Assyria.”

He said that the fragment’s discovery proves how even the tiniest artifacts can provide essential information. In this case, it was a missing puzzle piece on where history and the Bible intersect, demonstrating how these Biblical stories are rooted in the historical events of the era.

“This artifact is very, very important in connecting the history of the Land of Israel to the Bible and to the history of the ancient Near East as a whole,” said Zilberg. “There is so much that we do not know, and then these inscriptions come in and shine a very particular light on a very particular subject. It is very exciting.” 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 Archaeology Researchers Say Recent Discovery Of Lost Underwater City In Lake Van In Turkey Challenges Timeline For Noah’s Ark Account

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Researchers say an ancient underwater city beneath Lake Van in Turkey could potentially reveal secrets that challenge the origins of Noah’s Ark

A number of years ago, we published an article against the day that researchers would discover the ‘bones of Jesus’ and what your response as a Bible believer should be. The article you are reading right now is a confirmation that that day is indeed coming. Biblical archaeologists have found the remains of an underwater city in Lake Van in Turkey, not too far from Mt. Ararat where Noah’s Ark is believed to have landed. Those researchers are very excited to get you to doubt the biblical account of what happened back in Genesis 6, and you need to make sure you don’t fall for it.

“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.” Genesis 6:13,17 (KJB)

One thing I have learned about the King James Bible over the last 34+ years of reading it, is that it is never wrong, not even once. Beginning all the way back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 launched by Roman Catholics to stop the King James Bible, all the way up to the present day, the KJV 1611 has withstood and beaten back all comers, up to and including every one of the 450 ‘modern versions’ created to supplant it. The King James Bible is always right and will always be many steps ahead of you. So when it talks about the timeline of Noah’s Ark, you can rest assured it’s right, no matter what 21st century researchers want you to believe. All that said, there’s some good stuff below about the underwater city of Lake Van that lies of the shadow of Mt. Ararat. Eat the meat, spit out the bones.

Vast underwater city discovered near ‘resting place of Noah’s Ark’ rewrites Bible story known to millions

FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: The sprawling ruins lie 85 feet below the surface near the town of Gevaş, just 150 miles from Mount Ararat, the mountain traditionally believed to be the final resting place of the biblical boat. Geological evidence suggests that the ruins were submerged 12,000 to 14,500 years ago, when a Mount Nemrut eruption blocked the Mirat River, and caused massive flooding during the Younger Dryas, a period of extreme climate upheaval.

While mainstream scholars dismiss the theory, many independent researchers believe this disaster wiped out an advanced civilization, one so ancient that it may have inspired the earliest versions of the Great Flood story.

‘As far as I’m aware, any civilizations in the last 6,000 years did not have the technological means to create the type of stonework we’re seeing here,’ said independent researcher Matt LaCroix, who spoke about the discovery on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast.

LaCroix and an international dive team are preparing to explore the site in September using advanced imaging tools to map the ruins, which he believes could help rewrite humanity’s timeline. The underwater complex spans more than half a mile, featuring a stone fortress flanked by circular temples with precisely carved masonry. There is also a capstone engraved with a six-spoked ‘Flower of Life’ symbol, an ancient motif also found at sacred sites in Peru and Bolivia. Discovered in 1997 by Turkish underwater filmmaker Tossen Salin while studying Lake Van’s unusual micro-invertebrates, the ruins have remained largely unknown to the public.

While archaeologists confirm the structures exist, many attribute them to the Urartian period around 3,000 years ago, or even to the medieval era. But they have admitted that the site has yet to be fully studied or definitively dated. LaCroix, however, said in a July episode of the podcast that geological data told a different story. He explained how soil sampling and analysis of Mount Nemrut show clear evidence of a massive eruption around 12,000 years ago. As a result, Lake Van’s water level rose dramatically, over 100 feet, according to some estimates.

Because stone cannot be carbon-dated, researchers hope to find organic material, such as sediment layers or artifacts, which could confirm the age of the ruins. But collecting such evidence underwater poses major challenges. The site’s sophisticated stonework, with tightly interlocking blocks, angular joints, and no visible binding agents, appears to rival the engineering seen in megalithic sites like Sacsayhuamán in Peru.

Scholars have long acknowledged that the biblical flood story likely evolved from earlier Mesopotamian texts. Ancient cuneiform tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian cultures, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Atrahasis, and the Eridu Genesis, describe a massive flood sent to destroy early civilization, and a chosen man who builds a vessel to save life on Earth. In these tales, the survivor is called Ziusudra or Utnapishtim, names predating Noah by thousands of years. READ MORE

The mysterious lost underwater city of Lake Van in Turkey

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.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

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

A Hymn Dedicated To Ancient Babylon And Sung To The God Marduk Has Been Discovered After 2,100 Years Using AI In Stunning Revelation 17 Harbinger

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A hymn dedicated to the ancient city of Babylon and sung to the god Marduk has been discovered after 2,100 years with the help of AI

The Bible doesn’t mention a Babylonian god named ‘Marduk’, but it does talk a lot about the gods of Babylon especially in the book of Daniel. But we know from this song ‘Hymn of Babylon’ that the god Marduk is referred to as the ‘architect of the universe’, so that would make him the main god. In Jeremiah 50:2 we read about the fall of the gods of Babylon, Bel and Merodach. In all likelihood, Merodach is Marduk, and the Strong’s reference H4781 says that Merodach is Marduk in ancient Assyrian.

“Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.” Jeremiah 50:2 (KJB)

“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2 (KJB)

Christian, we are living at the very tail end of the Church Age, and we will soon be removed in the Rapture. After we leave, the time of Jacob’s trouble will commence and Babylon as described in Revelation 17 and 18 will take center stage. News reports like this only strengthens my faith in the unfolding end times happening all around us. Babylon will rise, as we see in Revelation 17 and 18, and a hymn dedicated to its most-powerful god, lost for 2,100 years, and now brought back to us through AI is some crazy stuff. Think God is trying to show us something? I do.

Hymn of Babylon is pieced together after 2,100 YEARS: Scientists use AI to reconstruct ancient song

FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: Sung to the god Marduk, patron deity of the great city, the poem describes Babylon’s flowing rivers, jeweled gates, and ‘bathed priests’ in stunning detail. Although the song was lost to time after Alexander the Great captured the city, fragments of clay tablets survived in the ruins of Sippar, a city 40 miles to the North.

In a process that would have taken ‘decades’ to complete by hand, researchers used AI to piece together 30 different tablet pieces and recover the lost hymn. Originally 250 lines long, scientists have been able to translate a third of the original cuneiform text. These lines reveal a uniquely rich and detailed description of aspects of Babylonian life that had never been recorded before.

Lead researcher Professor Enrique Jiménez, of Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), told MailOnline that the hymn’s literary quality is ‘exceptional’.

‘It’s meticulously structured, with each section flowing seamlessly into the next,’ he said.

The hymn begins with grand praise to the god Marduk, calling him the ‘architect of the universe’. The poem’s author then turns to the city of Babylon, describing it as a rich paradise of abundance.

The hymn writes: ‘Like the sea, Babylon proffers her yield, like a garden of fruit, she flourishes in her charms, like a wave, her swell brings her bounties rolling in.’ There are also descriptions of the river Euphrates, which still runs through modern-day Iraq, and its floodplains upon which ‘herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures’. 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.

nteb-free-king-james-bible-program-750-550

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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