Sermons and Biblical Studies

David E. Graves Relevance of Local References Within the message to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, there are several “local references” to geographical, historical or cultural items. Evidence from archaeology, museum artifacts, inscriptions and numismatics (coins) helps illuminate the Biblical text and provides a basic historical context in which to understand the passages (Ramsay … Continue reading “LOCAL
REFERENCES IN THE LETTER TO SMYRNA (RV 2:8–11), PART 1: ARCHAEOLOGICAL
BACKGROUND”

Bruce R. Crew Introduction One of the most important geo-political powers in the Ancient Near East during New Testament times was a group of people called the Nabateans. The Nabateans comprised an ancient nomadic tribe whose capital lay at Petra, a red sandstone city situated within the mountains of Edom in southern Transjordan. The geo-political … Continue reading “WHICH
WAY DID THEY GO?
THE MAGI’S ESCAPE FROM KING HEROD”

Brian Janeway This story is one that has been repeated time and again throughout more than a century of excavations in the Holy Land. It involves a tendency to make claims based upon incomplete evidence and fails to account for the principle that absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence. ABR members are … Continue reading “RELEARNING
OLD LESSONS:
ARCHAEOLOGISTS FAIL TO USE SOUND REASONING”

Bryant G. Wood One of the challenges facing those who hold to a historical Conquest as presented in the book of Joshua is that there is alleged to be no other documentation for this event outside the Bible. Critics are quick to point out that the Bible is a religious book, so the Conquest account … Continue reading “EXTRA-BIBLICAL
EVIDENCE FOR THE CONQUEST”

John Thavis A Vatican archaeologist believes he has rediscovered the tomb of St. Paul, buried deep beneath the main altar of the Rome basilica dedicated to the apostle. The sarcophagus, which lay hidden for centuries, had a hole into which the faithful could stick pieces of cloth to make secondary relics, said Giorgio Filippi, the … Continue reading “ARCHAEOLOGIST
SAYS HE HAS FOUND ST. PAUL’S TOMB”

Gordon Franz Introduction Sefar Ya’akov (book of James), written by Ya’akov Ben-Zavdai (James son of Zebedee), was addressed to Messianic Jews residing in the Diaspora, outside of Eretz Yis-rael (Land of Israel). This small epistle, only five chapters long, has a distinct Jewish flavor based on the teachings of Yeshua ha-Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah). I … Continue reading “THE
SYNAGOGUE ON THE ISLAND OF DELOS
AND THE EPISTLE OF JAMES”

Bryant G. Wood One of the most important discoveries in Biblical archaeology is that of the Merenptah,2 or “Israel,” Stela. It was discovered in 1896 by W. M. Flinders Petrie in the first court of the mortuary temple of Merenptah in western Thebes (Petrie 1897: 13). Now on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, … Continue reading “PHARAOH
MERENPTAH MEETS ISRAEL1”

Lisette Brody The story of David and Goliath in First Samuel, chapter 17, is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Even so, many people don’t think this is a true story, but I will show you how archaeology has uncovered evidence that explains to us how the account of David and Goliath … Continue reading “FOR
YOUNG ARCHAEOLOGISTS
DAVID & GOOLIATH”

Gary A. Byers The title of this article is a take-off on the book The Cave of John the Baptist: The Stunning Archaeological Discovery that has Redefined Christian History, by archaeologist Shimon Gibson (Byers 2004a). I am sure his title will sell a lot more books, but I am also certain my title is more … Continue reading “THE
CAVE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST: THE STUNNING ARCHAEOLOGICAL
DISCOVERY THAT HAS REDEFINED RABBINIC JUDAISM
AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE SAID!”

Gordon Franz Introduction The headline of the Science Section of the New York Times for Tuesday, September 28, 2004, read, “Solving a Riddle Written in Silver.” I recognized the picture underneath the headline right away. It was a portion of a silver amulet that was one of two discovered in Jerusalem in 1979. The article … Continue reading ““REMEMBER,
ARCHAEOLOGY IS NOT A TREASURE HUNT!””