Tag: Bible
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
As we approach Easter it is only fitting to review the sites associated with the last week of Jesus’ life (Holy Week). First I will discuss the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Revered as the holiest site by all orthodox Christian religions (i.e. Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Coptic, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac, and Ethiopian… Read more
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Pool of Bethesda at Jerusalem
“Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called … Bethesda, having five porches.” John 5:2. Formerly, many scholars felt that a pool having 5 porches, or porticoes, must have been inaccurate. However, archaeological excavations in 1964 revealed the the Pool of Bethesda consisted of two pools separated by a… Read more
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Sodom or Gomorrah, Located at Tall el-Hammam in Jordan
Sodom Read more
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“Abraham’s Gate” at Tel Dan and the Battle Account in Genesis 14
Above is the mud-brick gate, flanked by two mud-brick towers of the Canaanite city of Dan. To keep the gate from collapsing, it has been bricked up. This gate and towers date to the time of Abraham (Dan was called Laish during the time of the Patriarchs, Judges 18:27, 29). This town was the northernmost… Read more
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Magdala, Mary Magdalene’s Home Town
Magdala, Migdal in Hebrew and Taricheae in Greek, lies on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee just north of Tiberias. It is possibly the same town called Dalmanutha in Mark chapter 8. During the time of Christ, Magdala was the center for drying, salting, and exporting to the Roman empire fish caught in… Read more
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Masada, a Fortress and Palace in the Desert
Masada, a Fortress and Palace in the Desert Introduction. Masada is a plateau in the Judean desert near the Dead Sea (seen in upper left corner of photo). The plateau is 1,476 feet (450 meters) above the Dead Sea and is a little over 48 acres in size (2,097,388 square feet or 144,900 square meters).… Read more
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Gideon Chooses 300 Warriors to Defeat the Midianite Hordes
The Spring of Gideon, called the Spring of Herod in the Old Testament, still flows out of a cave at the foot of the Gilboa Mountains as it did in Gideon’s time (around 1400-1300 BC). As recounted in the Judges chapter 7 (Gideon’s full story is in Judges 6:11-8:35). Gideon had previously sent emissaries throughout… Read more
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Mount of Beatitudes
The traditional site for the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is a good place to commemorate the most famous sermon ever given. The sermon certainly took place somewhere close to here. The Mount of Beatitudes is marked by a church set in a tranquil garden and is a good setting to review the sermon… Read more
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The City Where Jesus and His Family Worked. Plus the Mona Lisa of the Galilee
In the Galilean city of Zippori is an exquisite mosaic of a beautiful woman. The mosaic artist was a person of rare talent deploying more colored mosaics than normal to a woman in an artistically pleasing pose. The mosaic dates to the Roman or Byzantine period. The city of Zippori, called Diocaesarea by the Romans… Read more
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The 3 Temptations of Christ
The three temptations of Christ that occurred at the beginning of His ministry are described in Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; and Luke 4:1-13. The word ‘tempt’ means to try, test, or prove. To seduce or lead toward evil. And to provoke to anger. I personally believe the the Lord was continually tempted in a covert… Read more