Can you believe the Bible? And does it really matter? How can you be sure that the Bible is all it's cracked up to be? Join David Curry, a pastor, author and worldwide traveler, as he shares his knowledge of many biblical places throughout the Middle East. He will take you on a journey through numerous archaeological finds that prove the validity of the biblical narrative, showing that you can believe what many have rejected. Welcome to the biblical wonders in the Middle East.
Here is your host, Pastor David Curry. Thank you for tuning into our program. Today we'll take you to the land of Israel, where in fact we're going to be for the next few weeks.
There's so much to share with you from this land where Jesus lived and died, and then he arose from the dead on the third day after his death. This is the land of the prophets and this is the land where most of the holy scriptures were written. Last week we visited the Dead Sea caves and the findings of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Back in 1947, just 73 years ago, hundreds of fragments of scrolls were found coming from all the books of the Old Testament. With the exceptions of the books of Esther and Nehemiah. The scrolls found were made of papyrus vellum, which is animal skins and copper.
As mentioned last week, the Copper Scrolls are in the Citadel Museum at Aman, Jordan. The cave that the boys threw their stone into is known as Cave Number four. Over 30 caves have been discovered in the Kumram area.
Not all produce scrolls or in fact any artifacts, but a number did contain some historical and valuable materials and more scrolls. All the caves that were found to have some things in them included ceramics. It's ceramics by which archaeologists were able to very accurately give a date, that is both the ceramics and other objects hidden in the caves.
By dating ceramics, archaeologists can get within 50 years, the time that the ceramics were created. And for any other objects found nearby, ceramic dating can go back accurately at least 2000 years before Christ. Just imagine that bits of pottery going back and can accurately be dated up to 2000 years before our savior.
So with the Dead Sea Scrolls, not only were the scrolls dated with carbon dating techniques, but also the ceramic jars that the scrolls were in prove how old the scrolls are within a 50 year timescale accuracy. I believe this is truly amazing and very helpful for dating objects in the Middle East while we travel further on the road around the Dead Sea and come to another very important site known as Masada. Masada is an isolated, flat top misa very close to the Dead Sea, and where Herod the Great built a fortress for his family and nobles should they need it.
The top of the misa like plateau is flat, and Herod built a four meter high casemate wall around the plateau totaling 1300 meters in length. Just imagine doing this in those days. Well, this wall was reinforced by many towers.
The fortress contained storehouses, barracks, an armory, a palace and many systems that were filled by rainwater. You know, it was in 1977 that cable cars were built to take the many tourists up to the top of the Misa. This made it so much easier for people who previously had to walk up the 300 meters height by going on the snake track.
That's where I did it first, and it was a very hot day. Sometimes the snake track was closed because it was too hot for tourists to go through. Well, what did they see when they got to the top? Let's notice a few items that they found.
They found storerooms, of which there were 29 altogether that held the food and weapons that sustained Masada's inhabitants. They found a tall palace on the northern edge built by Herod. This had several rooms, a central hall and a semicircular terrace with a stunning view of the desert valley and the Dead Sea below.
It literally hangs on the edge of three rock terraces. They also found a western palace with several rooms surrounding a courtyard with a water system. They found many dwellings from the Great Revolt from 66 Ad.
To 73 Ad. That, of course, is when the Romans came in and conquered Israel. There were Roman bathhouses with fresco adorned walls and immersion pool, as well as a larger public immersion pool and a swimming pool also built by Herod.
And believe it or not, they had heating apparatus to make sure that the water wasn't too cold. There was a sophisticated water system which channeled water from the gate to systems that could hold more than 40,000 water. The runoff collected from a single day's rain could allegedly sustain over a thousand people for two or three years.
That's amazing, isn't it, what they did for water in those days? A synagogue built during Herod's time is there. And they found sections of scrolls and papyrus from the time of the revolt, along with a well preserved woman's braid of hair. They also found a Byzantine church.
Of course, this is much later than the Roman revolt. This had walls and floors decorated in colorful pottery and also stone mosaics moving down the northern slopes of the Misa by way of hundreds of stairs, might I say, are the homes for the women folk here. They had their own storerooms with walls decorated with very fine prescot.
Well, you know, there's so much of interest here at Masada. Let's look at some of the history of this place. Well, as we've already indicated, it was virtually destroyed in 73 to 74 Ad.
When the Romans brought 8000 soldiers here, along with slaves captured in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 Ad. Because of the cliffs surrounding the Messa, it was very difficult for the soldiers to take this almost impregnable fortress. They decided that the only way to take the fortress was to build a ramp of soil up to the walls.
So they took the highest place where they began and they built up with water, dirt and rocks. As they were doing this, the people inside Masada were showering arrows and rocks upon them. Well, how could they handle this? The Romans then resorted to building a canopy over the workers.
After months of strenuous toil, the ramp was almost up to the walls at this time. Those outside the walls saw huge fires and smoke ascending from within. A day or so later, the Romans were able to breach the walls with battering rams.
The Romans then discovered a devastating scene of dead bodies and burned storehouses. Eventually, they found two women and children who'd been hiding underground while the mass suicide had taken place among the almost 1000 rebels inside, the capture of Masada ended the war of the Romans against the Jews. You know, it's very interesting that Jesus predicted that this would happen.
Let me share with you Matthew 20 416 to 20. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days and pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. This prophecy was fulfilled in the years 66 to 70 Ad.
Well, as you think of it, this is about 40 years after Jesus died on the cross. And about the same time after he had made this prediction, the Roman armies had surrounded Jerusalem under the leadership of Vespasian. All of a sudden, the Roman armies withdrew from around the city.
This is probably due to Vespasian's recall to Rome to be the Caesar over the Roman Empire, you know, as the armies withdrew from Jerusalem, the Israeli armies came out of the city and pursued them. And as the Romans went down a gorge, the Israeli armies sent tons of rocks down upon them and killed hundreds of the soldiers. While this was going on, the Christians in Jerusalem fled from the city.
As far as we know, this happened during the autumn and on a Wednesday. The Christians had very little time before the gates of the city were closed. This is why Jesus said they should not go to their houses to collect any belongings.
They shouldn't go from the fields back to the homes. They had to flee in haste. They went down to the River Jordan and crossed over.
And as the text records, they were to pray that their flight would not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. As I said earlier, this was in the autumn time and on a Wednesday. It all happened exactly as Jesus had predicted.
The Christians then settled at a place called Pella, and in the meantime, they were in relative safety from the Roman armies. Vespasian's son, Titus, who was leading the armies in Egypt, was asked to take over Vespasian's place in Israel. He started his campaign against the Jews in the Galilee area and burned all the villages away down to Jerusalem, and then conducted the second siege of the city.
Jews from all over the country fled in front of the armies, and they filled the city to overcrowding. Before the Romans arrived, there was no way that Jews could now leave the city. The siege lasted for eight months.
People inside ran out of food, and hundreds of them threw themselves from the city walls into the Roman soldiers arms. They were then placed on crosses, and when the Romans ran out of wood for crosses, they put them back to back. It's almost impossible for us to think about how terrible this scene really must have been.
Finally, the walls around the city were battered down with battering rams, and the Romans invaded the city. They took thousands of Jews to the Egyptian slave markets, which became gluttered with slaves. By this time, the Jewish slaves were virtually given away.
There were so many of them. But some of the slaves were taken by the soldiers to help in the capture of Masada that we've just been talking about. In Matthew 24, Jesus made a wonderful statement to his disciples.
This is what it says. His disciples came to show him the buildings of the temple, and Jesus said to them, do you see these things assuredly? I say to you, not 1 st shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down. Well, did this happen? Titus had asked his men to keep intact the holy places of the Jews.
However, one soldier threw his torch into the temple, and the great gorgeous curtains were immediately caught on fire, and the whole place was burnt up. Years before, King Herod would have liked to have built a new temple in order to please the Jews, but they didn't trust him to do this. As we said on another occasion, he was half Jew and half Nabitean.
However, he did refurbish the temple and place gold in the water, which really glistened in the sunlight. The fire that commenced by the soldier throwing his torch inside was so hot that it melted this gold. When the fire died down and Jerusalem was calm, the soldiers literally took the stones apart to get the gold and fulfill Jesus'prediction that not 1 st would be left upon another.
Surely this is another prophecy that has been accurately fulfilled. There are so many that give the Bible and its prophecies credibility. You know, I'm at a loss to know why so many people want to reject the Bible when it's so credible.
For centuries, Jerusalem had been attacked by various nations which surrounded the land of Israel. But this attack by the Romans was the most severe. The Jews do not control Jerusalem.
From 70 Ad until 1948, almost 1900 years. In Matthew 23, verses 37 and 38, jesus himself had exclaimed o Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones, those who are sent to her. How often I want to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.
But you are not willing. See, your house is left unto you. Desolate.
The Jews had finally sealed their end as the children of God. No more would God call them back to Himself as a nation. So many times you read in the Old Testament how God revealed his grace and mercy and forgave them their backsliding.
But at the cross they crucified Jesus and said, let his blood be upon us and our children. They not only killed the prophets and went against their messages direct from God, but now Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified. If Jesus and God rejected the Jews as their special people, are there any people that God recognizes today? Those who are God's nation today, those who are called the children of God, are those who accept Jesus as their Savior and live according to his commandments.
This, of course, could include many Jews who accept Jesus. Even John in the Book of Revelation wrote about this people of God. Let's notice it in Revelation 14 and verse twelve.
Here's the patience of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. Indeed, these faithful people are God's children and the true Israel.
Today let's give another little bit of history. When Constantine's mother, Queen Helena, converted to Christianity, she came to Jerusalem, and it's believed that she found the cross on which Christ was crucified. Under Constantine's permission, she began to build the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Today this is a huge building that has been added to over the centuries. A number of denominations, such as the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, Ethiopic Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox all have some control over the Holy Sepulchre Church. Inside the church can be seen the place of the cross and the tomb that Christ was placed in after his death.
These places, according to archaeologists, are more authentic than most other places. At the time of Christ, this area was outside the walls of Jerusalem. Queen Helena came here 300 years after cross, and the places, according to her, were still identified at that time.
About one and a half kilometers away is another place called Gordon's Calvary. It's also called the place the Skull. It was called by this time in the 19th century.
At first glance, it does look like a skull. However, it's very doubtful that it looked that way 2000 years ago. Nearby is the Garden tomb, which is beautifully kept and appears to fit in with the biblical descriptions.
I've been to this garden a number of times and have particularly enjoyed being there on a Sunday morning for a few minutes of meditation. You can't do this at the tomb of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as there are huge crowds of people there all the time. The garden tomb is operated by volunteer Protestant people who are happy to give a guided tour and explain the scripture passages dealing with the death, the burial and resurrection of Jesus.
It's a lovely place to visit at any time. However, most archaeologists favor the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as being the more probable location for the death and burial of our Saviour. Leaving the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we move through some of the narrow streets of Jerusalem.
There are hundreds of small shops generally occupied by Arabs who are selling anything from fruits and nuts, clothing and furniture, electrical goods and other household goods. It's an amazing area to visit and purchase items to take home, but it's very important to barter for the prices as they are always inflated. And, you know, the Arabs and the Jews just love to barter.
Our journey takes us to the Whaling Wall. During the day, and also late in the evening, you'll find Jews praying at the wall. Jewish ladies have a section for their ladies to pray, and their section is separated by a fence which is too high for people on either side to look over.
The welling wall is made up of large stones which were a part of the foundations of the temple area. Many Jews write out prayers and stuff them in the cracks between the great stones as they pray. Their prayers may include the restoration of the Temple and for Israeli peace.
Visitors can move among the praying people as long as the skull, cap or yamaluka is worn. Women folks generally wear a scarf over their head in their section. The Whaling Wall is called by that name for when the Jews are praying, they're often weeping over the destruction of the temples that existed and were destroyed on the Mount, which is above the Whaling Wall.
They'd love to see a new temple built on that site today on the Mount above the Whaling Wall is the Dome of the Rock. An inscription in the Dome of the Rock establishes its date of completion as between 69, 691 and 692. So that's about 1400 years ago, and this was some 55 years after Muslim armies captured Jerusalem, which was a predominantly Christian city at that time.
The Dome of the Rock is built over the site where two main things happen. One, it's believed that this is the place where Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac. Two, it is also believed to be the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven.
Visitors can go inside, but you must first take off your shoes and leave them outside, along with all the hundreds of shoes left by the Islamic believers. Even though it was built 1400 years ago. It's a very fine building today and stands out due to its huge golden dome and the blue tile sides.
King Solomon built his temple very close to where the Dome of the Rock was built, but that was about 1400 years earlier. It's amazing that this site has been used for nearly 3000 years. 100 meters or so from the Dome of the Rock is the Alaska Mosque, which is a very sacred mosque to the Islamic peoples.
In fact, it's the third sacred place in Islamic institutions. Hundreds of Muslims can be seen worshipping there every day. But particularly on Friday, the audience has doubled because Friday, of course, is the Zagnic holy day.
Well, from the Dome of the Rock, we walk about 400 meters to St. Stephen's Gate and then down to the Garden of Gethsemane. This gate is where quite a lot of modern traffic goes into the old Jerusalem area that is largely operated by Arabs.
As we move out of the gate, we look to our right along the great wall that has been built up, and we see and get an excellent view of the Golden Gate or the eastern gate. The difference with this gate from all the others around the walls of the city is that it is closed. It's completely blocked up.
When Jesus was taken from the Garden of Gethsemane by the Roman soldiers and Jewish priests, he was taken into the city through this gate. Notice a very interesting prophecy about this gate in Ezekiel 44, verses one and two. Then he brought me back to the outer gate by the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut.
And the Lord said to me, this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it, therefore it shall be shut. This was the gate that was nearest to the sanctuary or the temple, and as the text says, it was the east gate. This was the gate that Jesus went through on his way to his trial and crucifixion.
As we mentioned earlier, the Babylonians destroyed the city and its walls about 530 years BC. They were rebuilt again with the blessings of the Persian rulers, then destroyed again by the Romans in 70 Ad. It took some centuries to rebuild them.
Suleiman the Magnificent accomplished the final building in the early part of the 16th century, the eastern, or golden Gate was rebuilt and was planned once again to be the main entrance to the Dome of the Rock, as had been the entrance to the temple years before. However, Solomon closed it up and it has never been used. Did somebody direct his attention to this prophecy in Ezekiel? We don't know, but this gate is closed and has been for the last 500 years.
Ezekiel's prophecy has been amazingly fulfilled. Even though destroyed several times, it was rebuilt and never to be opened. The Arabs believe that when Christ returns, then it will be that the gate will be reopened.
Below the gate is the valley of Kidron. And as you go up the banks towards the Mount of Olives is the garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus was with his disciples, praying earnestly.
The garden is very well kept and the most prominent plants are the very old olive trees. These go back almost 2000 years. Some of them may have been seedlings at the time of Christ, but all the bigger trees were taken and used for crosses by the Romans at the time of their destruction of Jerusalem.
As we mentioned earlier, next to the current garden is the church of all nations. Inside is a stone where tradition says Christ prayed to his Father asking that if possible, the cup of bearing the world'sins would be taken away. But that wasn't to be.
Jesus went through to the cross and to his death. Many people come into this church to pray. Next week we will continue here and take you up the Mount of Olives and to other places in Israel.
You know, there is so much more on our website where you'll get my presentations and many more. When you get to your computer, just punch in the keys three Abnostralia.org Au.
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Tune in next week. The biblical wonders in the Middle East. In the meantime, God bless you for listening.
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