All posts tagged: Melchizedek

Has an altar of Melchizedek, the man of mystery, been discovered in Jerusalem?

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El Shukron is an archaeologist working with Israel Antiquities Authority and over the years he has made some significant discoveries. Working with fellow archaeologist Ronny Reich, the two discovered the pool of Siloam in 2004 that is mentioned in the New Testament as the spot where Christ healed a blind man (John 9:11). He has also had a hand in discovering the Jerusalem Pilgrim Road and a bulla that referenced Bethlehem which at the time of its discovery in 2012 was the only mention of Bethlehem found outside the Bible. But recently in an interview with CBN, Shukron shared what he considered to be his greatest discovery found while working in the old Jerusalem that includes the Temple Mount. Shukron found a stone pillar that he believes was part of an altar used by Melchizedek. It included a channel used to funnel off the blood during sacrifices. He believes it was similar to the altar that Jacob set up after having a dream where he saw angels descending and ascending to heaven on a ladder. …

A main street in Jerusalem Credit: lab604/Flickr/Creative Commons

Archaeologists find earliest full Hebrew spelling of Jerusalem

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Archaeologists have discovered the earliest full inscription of the name Jerusalem dating from the first century BC. Typically most inscriptions use the abbreviated form of Jerusalem “Yerushalem or Shalem” instead of its full name “Yerushalayim.” The shortened versions of Jerusalem are clearly the most popular spellings. Even the Bible prefers abbreviated forms over the full name. Jerusalem is mentioned 660 times in the Old Testament, but only five are the full spelling including 2 Chronicles 25:1, 2 Chronicles 32:9, 2 Chronicles 25:1, Esther 2:6, 1 Chronicles 3:5 and Jeremiah 26:18: 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus the Lord of hosts has said, “Zion will be plowed as a field, And Jerusalem will become ruins, And the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.”’ The inscription discovered during a road construction project was found carved on the foundation support for a column of a Roman building in a village on the outskirts of ancient Jerusalem. …

The Euphrates River in the Mesopotamia valley home to Melchizedek and Balaam. Credit: United States Navy

The Spirit of Balaam, social media and the end of the age?

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If the Book of Revelation is a vision of the end times, then the Apostle John’s message to the seven churches of Asia in the first three chapters is a prophetic snapshot of what the end-times church will face. In his letter to the church at Pergamum, John warns about the spirit of Balaam, suggesting it will be a rising force just before Christ’s return: 14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14 NASV) Balaam was a prophet mentioned in the Book of Numbers and, using the vernacular from the 1960s, he was one “strange” cat. Balaam was from Petheor, in Amah near the Euphrates River, a country actually mentioned in Egyptian records. This puts Balaam in Mesopotamia where Abraham originated (Deuteronomy 23:3-6). But his unfamiliarity with Israel tells us he was a gentile. He may have been associated with …