The Lost Tomb Of Jesus
TheLost Tomb of Jesus.
"But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men
will be lovers of self, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips … holdingto a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men asthese." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Mea Shearim (Hundred Gates), which was established in 1874, is one ofoldest Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
As we approach the "latter days" spoken of in Scripture, deceptions and lies
that put stumbling blocks in front of Jewish people seeking the truth of Yeshua
(Jesus) are bound to increase in frequency and intensity.
Examples of this deception are everywhere, including in the field of archaeologyand in the Church.
Examples are particularly abundant in the field of Biblical Archaeology, wherea century's old debate continues to rage between those who esteem the Bibleas a highly accurate historical document and others who proclaim that theBook of Books is at best, a series of fairy tales based loosely on actual historic events.
Archaeologists in both schools say they have much evidence that proves their case.
Many are committed to their ideological viewpoint for emotional, religious oreven financial reasons, and will aggressively seek to present "evidence" whileunapologetically ignoring or even suppressing evidence that actually provesthem wrong.
East Talpiot: The Talpiot Tomb in the East Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalemis home to the archaeological site inspiring the latest errant claims about theburial of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus the Christ).
Simcha Jacobovici: Dramatic, Errant Claims about Yeshua
One such archaeologist is Simcha Jacobovici, who has made sensationalist claimsto have found archaeological evidence demolishing the narrative of Yeshua(Jesus) as presented in the Gospels.
He produced the Emmy-winning series "The Naked Archaeologist," which has beenwatched by millions of people and is shown on Israeli television.
He claims to have discovered an ossuary (a box to store the bones of a deadperson) in the Jerusalem neighborhood of East Talpiot (Armon Hanatziv) that hedubbed the "Jesus Family Tomb."
This tomb, he says, contained the mortal remains of Yeshua, as well as theremains of His wife and children (that no one ever knew He had).
The Talpiot Tomb was discovered in 1980 by construction workerslaying foundation for an apartment complex. The tomb, carved fromsolid limestone bedrock, likely belonged to a wealthy Jewish family. Thearchaeologists that excavated it determined that its ossuaries were of little note.
In 2011, he produced a pair of metal spikes he found in another burial cave in
Jerusalem and said they were the nails pounded through Yeshua's wrists into thecross on which He was crucified.
Jacobovici has been thoroughly discredited by Biblical scholars and his fellowarchaeologists. His methods have been denounced as unscientific and, basedon the evidence he's presented, his conclusions totally unjustifiable.
Undeterred by all of this, last week he made the latest in a series of headlinegrabbing announcements in Jewish and Israeli newspapers, claiming that he hasdiscovered a Second Temple-era burial cave containing evidence that the caveserved as a burial chamber for some of Jesus’ disciples.
This cave, which is about two hundred feet away from what he says is the familytomb of Jesus of Nazareth, was discovered in the spring of 1981 while theconstruction of modern buildings was underway. The tomb was left unexcavatedfor religious reasons, among others, and the buildings were erected over the site.
The “Talpiot Tomb” in the Jerusalem neighborhoodof Talpiot, is now covered by a concrete slab. Jacoboviciand his film crew opened the tomb in 2004 withoutobtaining permission from the Israel Antiquities Authority,and their footage was included in the 2007 documentaryTheLost Tomb of Jesus. The tomb was afterward resealedby the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
Jacobovici, who examined the site for a few days in 2010 with a robotic arm
sent into the tomb through a hole drilled in the basement of one of thebuildings, claims that this current find supports his earlier assertions about"The Jesus Ossuary."
Of course, an ossuary holding the bones of Yeshua (Jesus) would mean thatYeshua was just a man, and did not ascend to heaven, contrary to the Bookof Acts. And this seems to be at the heart of his claims.
His latest claim is based upon a four-line inscription that supposedly confirmsthe belief in resurrection, and an ornament that Jacobovici alleges is a fish,although it may actually be a tomb faÔö£┬║ade or nephesh tower common to the era.
Furthermore, even if the inscription is eventually found to provide evidenceof a belief in the resurrection, this belief was not uncommon among Jewsof that era.
The James Ossuary is a 2,000-year-old box that was used for containing thebones of the dead. Cut into the side of the box is the inscription James,son of Joseph, brother of Jesus (Ya’akov bar-Yosef akhui diYeshua), whichif genuine, provides archaeological evidence of Yeshua of Nazareth. Eventhough the soil on the box places its origins in the Silwan area of theKidronValley, Jacobovici has proposed that this box comes from the Talpiot Tomb.
The evidence Jacobovici presents is unconvincing, even to the untrained eye;it's neither decisive nor dramatic, even though that would be the type ofevidence required to support his dramatic claim.
There is little doubt that this latest "documentary," which is being supportedby the Discovery Channel, (a company that knows a cash-cow when it seesone), will join the already long list of debunked nonsense thatthis archaeologist has produced.
But Jacobovici and his patently self-aggrandizing falsified theories are just asymptom of the kind of deception peddled today in an attempt tomisdirect and misinform.
Father and son at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem
John, click here to help us bring the Truth about YESHUA to the Jewish People
Misdirection in the Christian Church
The Prophet Jeremiah writes:
"Have you not noticed that these people are saying, 'The Lord has rejected thetwo kingdoms He chose'? So they despise my people and no longer regardthem as a nation.
"This is what the Lord says: 'If I have not established my covenant with dayand night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject thedescendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of hissons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I willrestore their fortunes and have compassion on them.'" (Jeremiah 33: 24-26)
This problem of deception and misinformation is also highly visible inside theChristian Church.
An example was on display this week at the Christ at the Checkpoint 2012conference at a Palestinian Christian college in Bethlehem called BethlehemBibleCollege.
The college leadership has appeared in numerous forums around the worlddenouncing the State of Israel and Christians who support it.
They categorically reject the idea that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob(Israel), who created the earth and gave us His Word, could really have meantwhat He said about giving the Land of Israel to the People of Israel "as aneverlasting possession."
“I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will makeyou a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlastingpossession to your descendants after you.” (Genesis 48:4)
One of the many people speaking at the conference was Anglican Vicar SteveSizer, who has proudly met with the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah (terroristorganizations) and the clerical regime in Iran, all in an unapologetic effortto defame and delegitimize Israel.
Jewish man at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem
Christ at the Checkpoint Goals: Noble or Ignoble?
According to the conference website, the goal of the conference, which is aimedat "evangelical Christians who take the Bible seriously," is to provide anopportunity for these Christians to "seek a proper awareness of issues ofpeace, justice, and reconciliation."
The goals also include the following:
While these goals seem lofty, at the heart of the conference are objectionable
ideas about Israel and the Jewish people.
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a majortourist attraction and a magnet for Christian pilgrims.
When it comes to this, yet another statement on the website is illuminating:
Visitors to the Holy Land are welcome to visit BethlehemBibleCollegeto meet and share with Christian Arabs who are dedicated to the LordJesus Christ. We also welcome the support and prayers of our brothersand sisters around the world, who are committed to preserving thewitness of Christ through the indigenous people of the Land of the Bible.
Two things stand out here. First, the statement refers to Israel as "The HolyLand," which is a nice sounding way to avoid using the "I" word (Israel).
And second, it refers to Christian Arabs as "the indigenous people of the Landof the Bible," which necessarily implies that Jews are aliens in the Land of the Bible.
City of Bethlehem, which is under the Palestinian Authority.
If BethlehemBibleCollege were anywhere else on earth, its tiny enrollment ofonly 135 students would guarantee profound obscurity.
But because it's in Bethlehem, and because it's an "Evangelical" school thatrejects Biblically based support for the State of Israel, it has the attentionof many heavyweights in the Evangelical world.
Also objectionable is the stance on Zionism:
Modern Zionism is a political movement created to meet the aspirationsof Jews around the world who longed for a homeland. It has becomeethnocentric, privileging one people at the expense of others. Christianitycalls believers in Jesus to focus on building God's kingdom on earth.
Like so much else the conference organizers say, this sounds nice, even reasonable.
There's just one problem, it's not Scriptural.
Replacement Theology and Signs of the Time
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptivephilosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of thisworld rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
Conferences like this shouldn't surprise anyone. The Bible is filled withwarnings about the problem of basing our beliefs on hollow philosophy,human tradition, and basic worldly principles.
We already know that large segments of those who call themselves "TheChristian Church" have fallen in deception, and are falling deeper and deeperinto that deception every day. 
Jerusalem: photo taken from inside an Orthodox Church, showing the Crossof Christianity and the Islamic, Dome of the Dome of the Rock.
This deception includes Replacement Theology, which teaches that the Church'replaced' the Jews in God's plan because most of them rejected Yeshua (Jesus).
It also includes the equally wrong Dual Covenant Theology, which teaches thatthere is one way to salvation for Jews and another way for Gentiles. Sadly,some of Israel's strongest supporters in the Evangelical church espouse this idea.
All of this having been said, the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference does makean excellent point when it calls on the carpet those who support Israel onlybecause they believe it will help speed the Apocalypse, Rapture and Second Coming.
That is also a deception, and we're sorry to say it's a widespread one.
Prayer at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem
The truth-simple, plain and easy to find in the Word of God-is that God hasa plan for this nation that He intends to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.
The truth is that God has not revoked His covenant with Israel.
But with all the deceptions and false teachings flying around these days byboth Christians and Orthodox Jews, the Jewish people here in Israel and aroundthe world, have a difficult time finding the truth of who Yeshua is ÔÇô theSuffering Messiah of 2000 years ago, and the soon-to-return Reigning King Messiah.
John, you can help educate the Church and help us get the MessianicProphecy Bible into the hands of the Israeli people and Jews everywhere.