The Bible & ArchaeologyGroup 56

www.allaboutgod.com/archaeology.htm

Old Testament Time Line

Adam & Eve 4004 BC

The Flood 2348 BC

The Patriarchs 1996-1690 BC

The Exodus 1491 BC

The Promised Land 1451 BC

The Judges 1410 - 1050 BC

Israel’s First Kings 1050-930 BC

Solomon’s Temple 960 BC

Israel-Judah Divide 928 BC

Fall of Israel 721 BC

Jerusalem’s Temple Rebuilt 515 BC

Herod The Great Ruler of Judea 37 BC

Michael The Archangel Jude 9 - The leader of the army of God during the Lucifer uprising. Considered the guardian angel of Israel, and the guardian and protector of the Church

Where is the Garden of Eden?

Eden had four headstreams: The Pishon, The Gihon, The Tigris and The Euphrates." (Genesis 2:8-14)

The land of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers is today in Iraq - a land rich in places related to events of Bible History.

Time and the Great Flood that occurred during the time of Noah that obliterated the entire region, including the garden. The flood is also the likely reason that the Pishon and Gihon Rivers that also flowed out of Eden are no longer existent - only the Tigris and Euphrates were apparently wide and deep enough to take the great amount of flood sediment without being filled and lost.

Noah’s Ark1/75 Scale Model

…and the Ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth

month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

...

Genesis 8:4-5

Noah’s Ark?

What archaeological discovery has had the all-time greatest Biblical impact?

Clay Jars

Cave at Qumran

"Probably the Dead Sea Scrolls have had the greatest Biblical impact. They have demonstrated that the Old Testament was accurately transmitted. In addition, they provide a wealth of information on the times leading up to, and during, the life of Christ.

—Dr. Bryant Wood, archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scroll Facts

n 40,000 scroll fragments were found in jars in eleven differentcaves

n 35,000 scroll fragments from 400 manuscripts were found inCave #4

n All scrolls were produced prior to 67-73 AD (time of first Jewish-Roman war)

n Literary remains of a Community that lived at Qumran from ~135BC to ~67 AD

n Scrolls contain samples of all OT books except Esther

The Ten Commandments

GOD

1. You shall not worship other gods

2. You shall not make idols

3. You shall not use the name of God in vain.

4. You shall not break the Sabbath.

MANKIND

5. You shall not dishonor your parents

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not lie

10. You shall not covet.

Crossing the Red SeaRound chariot wheel as well as human and horse bones found off the Gulf of Aqaba coast of Saudi Arabia, opposite of Nuweiba, Egypt. (photo Viveka Ponten and The Exodus Revealed)

Samson

Two stone pillar bases in the Philistine temple at Tel Qasile, Israel

Samson

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis. The land she came from was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing. The king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens.

WHY DIG MEGIDDO?

BECAUSE: MEGIDDO IS AN ARCHAEO-LOGICALLY UNPARALLELED SITE WHERE ONE CAN LITERALLY SEE AND TOUCH AND BE INSPIRED BY MONUMENTS FROM BIBLICAL TIMES

BECAUSE: MEGIDDO APPEARS IN BOTH THE OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT (AS ARMAGEDDON)

“And this is the account of the forced labour which King Solomon levied to build … Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer” (1 Kings 9:15)

“…they assembled them at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon”

(Revelations 16:16)

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO IS THE ONLY SITE IN THE LEVANT MENTIONED IN ALL GREAT RECORDS OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST: THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS ON THE ONE HAND, AND EGYPTIAN, ASSYRIAN AND HITTITE SOURCES ON THE OTHER

Letter sent by the king of Megiddo to the Pharaoh, 14th century BCE

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO IS LINKED TO GREAT FIGURES IN WORLD HISTORY

King Solomon

Pharaoh Thutmose III, founder of the Egyptian empire

Seal of Jeroboam II King of Israel, discovered at

Megiddo. The earliest such seal ever found

Tiglath-pileser III, founder of

the Assyrian empire

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO’S STORMY HISTORY COVERS OVER SIX MILLENNIA, FROM THE PRE-POTTERY NEOLITHIC PERIOD TO THE PERSIAN PERIOD

Early Bronze temples Late Bronze tomb

Late Bronze gate Assyrian palace

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO IS THE ONLY SITE IN THE LAND OF THE BIBLE WITH REMAINS OF THIRTY CITIES BUILT ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER

The great trench: a series of settlements from the seventh millennium to the fifth century BCE

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO WAS THE SCENE OF MANY BATTLES THAT DECIDED THE FATE OF NATIONS AND EMPIRES

Pharaoh Thutmose III defeated a coalition of Canaanite kings at Megiddo in the 15th century BCE and established the Egyptian empire in Asia. The first recorded battle in history

The victory of Field Marshal Allenby near Megiddo in 1918 opened the route to Damascus and to the end of WWI. When knighted after the war, he chose the title “Lord Allenby of Megiddo”

BECAUSE:

MEGIDDO GUARDS THE MOST IMPORTANT HIGHWAY OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, THE VIA MARIS THAT CONNECTED EGYPT WITH MESOPOTAMIA

The Aruna Pass near Megiddo, early 20th century

BECAUSE:

MEGIDDO HAS BEEN EXCAVATED FOR OVER A CENTURY, STARTING ON APRIL 1ST, 2003

The University of Chicago’s Expedition

Gottlieb Schumacher at Megiddo, early 20th century

Yadin at Megiddo, 1960s

The Megiddo Expedition, 2002

The President of the State of Israel and other dignitaries at the Megiddo Centennial, April 1st, 2003

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO HAS BECOME THE CRADLE OF THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF ISRAEL, THE SOURCE AND ANSWER TO ALMOST EVERY PROBLEM RELATED TO THE BRONZE AND IRON AGES IN THE HOLY LAND

The first urbanization (fourth millennium BCE Egyptianized vessels)

The end of the Late Bronze Age (Ramses VI at Megiddo)

Stables or storehouses?

Solomonic gates?

The Great Debate on the chronology of the

Iron Age strata and the nature of the

United Monarchy focuses on Megiddo

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO EXHIBITS AN UNPARALLELED NUMBER OF MONUMENTS: FORTIFICATIONS TEMPLES, PALACES, WATER SYSTEMS AND OTHER PUBLIC EDIFICES

Iron Age water system

Early Bronze Temples

Iron Age palace (left) and stables

(right)

BECAUSE:

MEGIDDO FEATURES MONUMENTS FROM MANY PERIODS AND RELATES TO DIFFERENT PROBLEMS IN THE HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Area K: Late Bronze/Iron I

Area H: Iron II

Area F: Middle Bronze and Late Bronze

Area L: Iron II palace and stables

Area J: Early Bronze temples

Area M: monumental Late Bronze tomb; Iron I palace (?)

BECAUSE:

MEGIDDO HAS YIELDED AN EXCEPTIONAL NUMBER OF RICH FINDS

1

2

34

5

1. Late Bronze Ivory box

2. Late Bronze statuette

3. Late Bronze cuneiform tablet

4. Iron Age Babylonian bottle

5. Iron Age cult stand

BECAUSE:

MEGIDDO IS UNIQUE IN PROVIDING INTENSIVE INFORMATION ON CITY PLANNING IN ANTIQUITY

The Assyrian city

The Israelite cities

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO WAS CHOSEN AS THE SCENE OF THE HISTORIC MEETING BETWEEN POPE PAUL VI AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN 1964, IN THE FIRST VISIT EVER OF A POPE TO THE HOLY LAND

BECAUSE:MEGIDDO IS THE ONLY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN ISRAEL TO HAVE BECOME A SYMBOL IN POPULAR CULTURE

BECAUSE:

IT’S FUN TO BE THERE!

Why was Saul chosen as King?

The Jews wanted a king like the other nations (now)

They were looking for someone big and strong

His downfall was his pride, anger and jealousy

King DavidAncient Israel's most important kingHis story is told in 1& 2 Samuel,, 1 & 2 Kings and 1 Chronicles. The eighth and youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem,David is appointed to be court musician and armor-bearer for Israel's first king, Saul.He kills a giant enemy soldier, GoliathEventually succeeds Saul as king. Under David's rule 1010 to 970 BC), Israel's regions unite and win battles with surrounding enemies.Jerusalem comes to be known as the "City of David" and the center of government and worship. David has a turbulent personal lifeDavid's lineage holds an honored place in two religions: Judaism, which awaits the coming of the "Messiah, son of David," and Christianity, whose scriptures trace Jesus's Davidic ancestry.

Who was Ezra?Book of Ezra written in 440 BC

He was a Jewish scribe who led the people of israel out of Babylon back to their homeland to rebuild the temple

Ezra 7:6 "This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he [was] a readyscribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given:and the king granted him all his requesst, according to the hand of theLORD his God upon him."

The Twelve Apostles

Simon Peter

James Son of Zebedee

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Thaddaeus

Mattthew

Thomas

Andrew

James Son of Alphaeus

Simon the Zealot

Judas iscariot

“The Twelve" were chosen by Jesus Christ Himself and actually lived and worked with Him during His Ministry.

Jesus Walks…On The WATER!

How long was Peter’s walk on the water?

How loooooooooooong was Peter’s walk on the water?

The Bible

• Unmatched reliability and accuracy

• Confirmation of the events, places, nations, and people of the Bible by archaeology

• It is unique in many ways (written over 1,600 year span, over 40 authors maintaining harmony and continuity, survival through time, influence on society, unique teachings, etc.)

So…

Many Biblical archaeological finds support what the Bible tells us

Bible prophesy is true and unfolding every today

Jesus is alive!

The Bible & ArchaeologyGroup 56

www.allaboutgod.com/archaeology.htm