Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW017135S
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00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:20 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:22 Today I'm at the Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum 00:26 on the campus of Southern Adventist University, 00:28 and I'm joined by the director of the archaeological institute, 00:32 Dr. Michael Hasel. Dr. Hasel, thanks for joining me today. 00:34 >>Michael Hasel: Great to be with you. 00:35 >>John: As we've talked before about archaeology, 00:37 we've gone back in time. 00:39 We've talked about David, and we've talked about Solomon, 00:42 other great luminaries of the Bible. We've talked about 00:45 everyday life in the Bible looking through the lens 00:48 of archaeology. But I wonder if today we could bring it a little 00:51 closer to where we are and speak about Jesus. What does 00:56 archaeology teach us, reveal to us about Jesus Christ? 01:00 >>Michael: Well, it teaches us a great deal about the time 01:02 of Jesus, and that's often what archaeology can do for us. 01:06 Sometimes it doesn't give us specific information 01:08 about events. Sometimes it may not give us specific information 01:12 about people. But in the case of Jesus, we're going to look at 01:16 the people surrounding Jesus in the New Testament era, the time 01:19 of Christ, and some of the artifacts that will illuminate 01:22 that period and the stories that Jesus told, which, uh, 01:26 played on everyday circumstances and everyday lessons 01:29 that people could relate to. 01:31 >>John: My understanding is that it's true that there are 01:33 certain individuals in the New Testament account 01:36 that archaeology does refer to and does shine 01:40 quite a bit of light on. Now, now who would they be? 01:43 >>Michael: Well, one of them is Caiaphas the high priest. 01:48 We find both in the book of John and also in the book of Matthew. 01:51 Caiaphas is referred to as the high priest. He is the one that, 01:55 uh, initiates, if you will, the plot against Jesus 01:58 in terms of seeking His life. 02:01 He was also referred to by the Jewish historian 02:04 working on behalf of the Romans, Josephus, who is 02:06 our biggest source for the New Testament era, by the way. 02:10 Josephus refers to Joseph, the son of Caiaphas, uh, as being 02:14 the high priest during this time period. And it was 02:17 a few years ago in the 1990s that excavations took place 02:22 in preparation for a new garden and park south of Jerusalem. 02:26 It's known as the Promenade Park today. And there a tomb complex, 02:31 a family tomb complex, was found dating back to the 02:33 first century A.D. And in that tomb complex there were several 02:38 ossuaries, or bone boxes, which is the typical way that Jews 02:44 were burying the dead at that time. They would allow 02:45 the body to decay. Then they would gather up the bones 02:48 and place the bones in limestone boxes that were carved. One of 02:54 the ossuaries had the Hebrew or Aramaic inscription "Joseph 02:59 son of Caiapha," or Caiaphas. And many scholars today believe 03:03 that this was, in fact, the tomb and, in fact, the bone box 03:07 of Caiaphas himself. It's in the Israel Museum now. 03:10 >>John: Okay. These things are found, uh--tombs, ossuaries, 03:15 bone boxes. How does an archaeologist go about 03:18 establishing who this might be or what period it might be from? 03:20 >>Michael: In this particular case, we have coins that were 03:23 found in the tomb that dated to the middle of the, middle 03:26 of the, um, first century. So the coins are the best source 03:31 that we have in the New Testament period to date things, 03:34 because they give precise, uh, years on them in relationship 03:38 to kings. That was a very good evidence. And then, of course, 03:41 the name itself, which was mirrored in Josephus, 03:44 and we also have in the Bible. This was a very elaborate 03:47 bone box. It was beautifully carved, intricately carved. 03:52 And it came from a very, very prominent, um, individual 03:56 and seems to fit that kind of person. 03:59 >>John: Now, when an archaeologist makes this 04:00 kind of discovery, how excited does that archaeologist get? 04:03 I mean, help me put this in perspective. An athlete 04:06 wants to win a gold medal or break a world record. 04:09 And I'm not talking about silly pride here, 04:12 but, but for an archaeologist to find something like this, 04:15 is this significant? Is it career-defining? 04:18 Is it a mountaintop experience? Or is it just another one 04:21 of those things you come across as an archaeologist? 04:23 >>Michael: I think it's a mountaintop experience. 04:25 I mean, to find a name, not just any name, 04:28 but a name of a very prominent individual who's mentioned 04:30 in the Bible, who's mentioned in ancient sources, 04:33 and then to locate that person's tomb is an incredible thing. 04:37 Let me share with you another story of one of those 04:39 mountaintop experiences. >>John: Sure, please do. 04:41 >>Michael: Ehud Netzer was a professor at 04:42 the Hebrew University for many, many years. I worked with him 04:45 at Masada back in the '90s. And Ehud Netzer was an expert 04:49 on Herod the Great. He spent his entire career excavating 04:54 Herod's fortresses and buildings at Masada, at Caesaria Maritima, 04:59 the port city that Herod built from scratch. And also he worked 05:04 at Herodium. And as he was excavating there for years, 05:07 he was looking for the tomb of Herod the Great. 05:10 Josephus describes his burial in quite some detail. And it took 05:15 Ehud Netzer, Professor Netzer, 38 years to find that tomb. 05:19 He wasn't looking all the time; he was working at other sites. 05:21 But eventually, in his 70s, he went back to Herodium. 05:25 He began to excavate; he'd already excavated 05:27 the lower palace. He had excavated the fortress itself, 05:29 which is, which is this cone-shaped, almost looks like 05:32 a volcano type of fortress, a huge fortress of the Roman era. 05:37 And Josephus had reported that Herod was buried at Herodium. 05:41 And he had looked everywhere else. So what he did, 05:42 he took apart the entire, um, side of this mountain 05:48 on which Herodium was built. And there he found 05:51 a monumental staircase leading up to a tomb. And there inside 05:54 the tomb, destroyed completely, was a sarcophagus, probably 05:59 destroyed by the Zealots after Herod's death, a sarcophagus 06:02 that was even more elaborate than the one found 06:05 at Caiaphas's tomb, uh, a huge full-size sarcophagus 06:10 that was later pieced back together. 06:12 And while it didn't have the name Herod the Great on it, 06:16 based on the description of Josephus, based 06:18 on the monumental staircase, based on the ornateness 06:22 of this sarcophagus, of this coffin, um, 06:26 we can very likely say that it is the tomb of Herod the Great. 06:29 >>John: That's the same Herod who ordered that 06:31 all of the baby boys in Bethlehem be put to death. 06:33 >>Michael: Exactly. That was the same Herod that died 06:36 just shortly after the birth of Christ. 06:39 And, you know, going back to some of the other people 06:42 surrounding Jesus, what do we know? Well, we not only have 06:46 Caiaphas, who pops up right at the end of Christ's life, 06:50 just before His death, part of the plot to kill Jesus, 06:53 and we have Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate was the prefect 06:58 of Judea, and in 1961, in Caesaria Maritima, the city 07:04 that Herod the Great had built, reused as a stone in one 07:07 of the great, um, theaters there is an inscription that 07:11 basically mentions the name of the emperor, Tiberius, and then 07:15 mentions Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea. Part of it is broken, 07:22 but the letters are all there. We're able to piece that 07:25 together. So we have the major characters, the major leaders 07:29 around Jesus mentioned; we have--or found 07:32 in archaeological record-- we have Caiaphas. 07:35 We have Herod the Great. We have Pontius Pilate. 07:38 These were the major figures surrounding the life of Christ. 07:42 >>John: If ever you got to the place in your experience 07:44 where you were wondering if the Bible can ever be trusted, 07:47 here are many great reasons why you can lean on the Word of God 07:50 and believe that what it says is valid and relevant 07:55 and important and true, inspired by God Himself. 07:59 We'll be back with more in just a moment. 08:01 ♪[Middle Eastern instrumental music]♪ 08:09 >>John: A lot of people are tired of having an up-and-down 08:12 Christian experience. It doesn't need to be you. You can have 08:15 a consistent experience in your faith in God. And I wanna 08:18 show you how. Get this week's free offer, a resource called 08:22 "The War Is Over." To get it--and it's free--call 08:26 800-253-3000, 800-253-3000. 08:30 Or visit us online at ItIsWritten.com. 08:34 ItIsWritten.com. If you'd like to write, our address is 08:38 P.O. Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401. 08:42 You can enjoy consistency in your experience 08:44 and faith in God. Get this week's free resource, 08:48 "The War Is Over." 800-253-3000 08:51 or visit us online at ItIsWritten.com. 08:56 >>John: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 08:58 Thanks for joining me today 08:59 at the Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum 09:03 on the campus of Southern Adventist University 09:05 in Collegedale, Tennessee. My guest today is archaeologist 09:09 and museum director Dr. Michael Hasel. Dr. Hasel, 09:13 so far we've spoken about Jesus in archaeology, although we've 09:18 spoken around Him a little bit, speaking of the supporting cast, 09:22 some of the prominent figures in the life and times 09:25 and story of Jesus. But what does archaeology 09:28 teach us about Jesus Himself? Where do we find references 09:32 to Christ in the archaeological or the historical record? 09:35 >>Michael: We find references in several important sources. 09:38 Josephus, who we've mentioned before, the Roman historian 09:41 who is actually Jewish, writing for the Romans. He is living 09:45 in the first century, and he mentions Jesus by name. 09:49 He mentions Him in reference to events that took place in, 09:54 in that part of the world at that time. Uh, he's Jewish, 09:58 and he has no reason, he's not Christian, he has no reason 10:00 really to, so he's a kind of an independent person who's 10:03 looking from the outside. We have Tacitus, the senator 10:06 from Rome, who's well known as a Roman historian. And Tacitus, 10:10 in his annals, also refers to several events. He kind of lists 10:16 a string of events that are quite interesting. He mentions 10:20 Jesus Christ, actually Christ, he says "Christos," and he says 10:24 "who was put to death by Pontius Pilate." And then he continues 10:29 to refer to the Christians, uh, who are in Rome at that time. 10:34 >>John: For me this is really significant 10:35 because I've noticed today there's an increasing tendency 10:38 for people to say, "Oh, Jesus was a good man, probably. 10:41 I have no problem with Jesus. I don't know that I would identify 10:44 as a Christian or claim to be a Christian, but, sure, 10:47 I can accept that Jesus was this good guy who lived." 10:50 But here you've got essentially contemporary historians 10:54 speaking about Him, talking about aspects 10:56 of His life. Uh, fascinating that Tacitus referred to Him 11:00 as Christos and that He was crucified by Pontius Pilate. 11:03 What this suggests strongly is that the Bible narrative 11:06 is for real. It's true. This Jesus as Son of God 11:09 was nailed to a cross. And I imagine that what this should do 11:14 is confront people and say, no, this isn't a theory. 11:17 Jesus wasn't simply a good man, but perhaps--not perhaps 11:20 from my point of view-- definitely was everything 11:22 the Bible claimed that He was. And archaeology, 11:25 the historical record, helps us to see that, doesn't it? 11:28 >>Michael: It helps us to see that. You know, 11:30 the primary sources, though, that we really have 11:32 for Jesus' life are the gospels, the four gospels 11:35 in the New Testament. When you look at, uh, 11:38 the articles that we have that are closest to Christ in terms 11:42 of time, the latest gospel was written about A.D. 80 by John. 11:47 These were written within the lifetime of individuals 11:51 who could have witnessed Christ's death, who were there, 11:54 who could check the, the record, if you will, to see, 11:59 was Jesus actually born in Bethlehem? Uh, were, 12:02 were these prophecies that the Old Testament talked about, 12:05 were they really fulfilled in this one Man? 12:07 When you have that kind of evidence and you look 12:09 and you compare, and you see the, the pattern of events that, 12:13 that they consistently bring out that Jesus lived, 12:17 that He died, that He was resurrected, that He was seen 12:20 after His resurrection by all of these different witnesses, 12:23 I think that's very significant. 12:27 >>John: We know from the Bible account 12:28 how Jesus died-- nailed to a cross. 12:32 Now, thousands of people were crucified. What does archaeology 12:38 bring to us with regards to the crucifixion of Jesus, or 12:42 with regards to crucifixion as a phenomenon in and of itself? 12:45 >>Michael: In Jerusalem in 1968, a new, a new development, uh, 12:49 building development was taking place, and a tomb, 12:52 a family tomb was discovered with a number of these ossuaries 12:55 that we've talked about before. And one of these ossuaries 12:58 contained the name of Jehohanan. Well, that's a good name, 13:02 but what the ossuary contained was even more important. 13:06 Inside this ossuary were the remains 13:08 of a crucified individual. And we have a replica 13:12 of what today is in the Israel Museum. 13:16 It is a part of an ankle bone that you see here with a nail. 13:21 This is the head of the nail here 13:23 piercing through that ankle bone and extending to the other side 13:27 of the ankle bone, and then the end of the nail is curved up. 13:29 Maybe it hit a knot in the, in the wood. Uh, we don't know 13:34 exactly what caused that, but that might very well be. 13:37 At any rate, Jehohanan died as a young man, crucified. 13:43 Uh, it dates back to the first century. So the death of Christ 13:48 on the cross is not a unique event. But we have evidence 13:54 for it in the archaeological record. 13:56 And the only forensic evidence, really, we have of crucifixion 13:59 in the archaeological record comes from Jerusalem, 14:01 from this, from this tomb complex. 14:05 >>John: Crucifixion was an especially terrible way to die. 14:09 Who devised that method? 14:11 How did, how did that method of crucifixion come about? 14:15 >>Michael: Well, we have references already back 14:17 in Deuteronomy, um, which is part of the five books of Moses, 14:22 the Torah, the Pentateuch, referring to, um, 14:26 impaled individuals. Uh, that was a little bit different than 14:29 crucifixion. It was impaling a body onto a stake of some type. 14:34 We know that the Assyrians practiced that. We have, 14:37 we have reliefs from their palaces--the palace at Nineveh, 14:40 for example, in Assyria, where they boast about their conquests 14:44 of these cities in the ancient Near East. And one of the cities 14:47 that they mention there is the site of Lachish, which we're 14:50 currently excavating. And, and in the British Museum you have 14:53 the series of reliefs, and it shows a number of prisoners 14:58 or captives that were taken from that city, or perhaps from other 15:01 surrounding cities, and were impaled on the stakes. 15:03 So the Assyrians are doing this early on. And then later on 15:06 we have a, a continuation of this practice as, 15:10 as the Romans are using crucifixion, 15:13 which is a slightly different way of death. 15:14 You're not impaling somebody, but you're hanging someone 15:16 on a cross. And the method of death is different. 15:20 You're basically hanging on a cross. Every time you breathe, 15:23 you have to push yourself up on those nails that are nailing 15:27 your feet to the cross. In order to breathe, in order 15:29 for your diaphragm to expand, you're pushing yourself up. 15:32 And when you lose strength after several days, you finally, 15:35 you finally can't take a breath anymore, and you asphyxiate. 15:38 You, you're, you die that way. It was a very painful, 15:42 very humiliating, and a very long process. 15:45 >>John: And Jesus, knowing that that was what was 15:47 before Him, chose that route and laid down His life for us. 15:52 >>Michael: Yeah, it was quite amazing. 15:54 >>John: Amazing and powerful. The life of Jesus 15:58 through the lens or through the prism of archaeology, 16:02 the life and times of Jesus, 16:04 back with more fascinating insights in just a moment. 16:07 ♪[Middle Eastern instrumental music]♪ 16:16 ♪[Music]♪ 16:18 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says 16:21 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 16:24 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 16:27 "Every Word" is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 16:31 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 16:34 especially for busy people like you. 16:36 Look for "Every Word" on selected networks 16:39 or watch it online every day on our website, 16:41 ItIsWritten.com. 16:43 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 16:45 Watch "Every Word." 16:47 You'll be glad you did. 16:48 Here's a sample. 16:52 ♪[Music]♪ 16:57 >>John: Prophecies are often found in places 16:59 you might not expect them. Psalm 22 deals a lot 17:02 with the death of Jesus. And we read this in Psalm 22:14. 17:06 "I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; 17:10 My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me." 17:14 Now, what does that sound like to you? 17:16 Yes, you read about this being fulfilled in John 19. 17:19 This is a picture of Jesus going to the cross. 17:22 Now, this says something remarkable about the inspiration 17:25 of the Bible and about the love of God. Jesus knew full well 17:31 what this Psalm said, and yet He still came to the earth, 17:35 and He still went through the plan of salvation. 17:37 This Old Testament prophecy demonstrates to the world 17:41 that prophecy can be trusted and that God is love. 17:45 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 17:47 Let's live today by every word. 17:49 ♪[Music]♪ 17:52 >>John: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. 17:54 My guest is Dr. Michael Hasel, an archaeologist who has 17:58 spent considerable amount of time digging in Israel 18:02 and unearthing, well, Dr. Hasel, some remarkable things 18:05 that shine a light on--would you say more Old Testament 18:08 or New Testament? 18:09 >>Michael: Well, I've dug at both period sites. 18:11 I've dug in New Testament period sites like Masada 18:14 and also up at Dor, which was a New Testament era city 18:18 that went all the way back to Old Testament times. 18:20 But I, I consider myself more of an expert 18:22 in the ancient Near East and the time of the Old Testament. 18:25 >>John: Well, right now we're speaking about archaeology 18:27 and the life of Jesus. 18:28 Now, I'm going to read from Matthew 25 and verse 1: 18:31 "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened 18:33 unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, 18:37 and went forth to meet the bridegroom"-- 18:39 this is Jesus speaking here-- 18:41 "and five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 18:44 They that were foolish took their lamps, 18:47 and took no oil with them. 18:49 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps." 18:55 Now, as a layman, reading this story 18:59 for the first or the 101st time, I can't really have 19:03 an appreciation for what Jesus was describing, 19:06 but through the lens of archaeology we get to see 19:09 what Jesus was talking about. Help us understand. 19:11 >>Michael: Well, exactly. When I was growing up as a kid, 19:14 you know, I loved going camping with my family. 19:16 And we would have these Coleman lanterns, 19:18 these--with kerosene-- 19:20 they would be about this big, and I would just be, as I read 19:23 the story, thinking about, you know, those kinds of big lamps. 19:26 The concept is somewhat similar. You put kerosene in the lamp. 19:29 It lights up. The ancient lamp, though, was much smaller, 19:33 and everybody who Jesus is telling the story to would have 19:36 immediately identified with these lamps because they were 19:39 around during His time. Everybody had many of these 19:42 in their home. This is the kind of lamp that Jesus 19:45 was referring to. This is the typical Herodian lamp, that is, 19:49 the time of Herod, where the Herods, which goes all the way 19:52 to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, 19:54 the destruction of Jerusalem. 19:55 >>John: And this here is an original? 19:57 >>Michael: This is an original. This is an original. 19:59 This is a simple Herodian lamp. This is not very complex. 20:03 You can tell it's a Herodian lamp 20:04 because of this flange spout here. 20:06 So you put the oil inside this opening here, and the wick 20:10 would extend out of this opening here and produce the flame. 20:14 And, uh, this was made out of two halves of a bowl, 20:19 and then the spout was added to it, and people would have these 20:24 in their homes in the evenings to provide light. 20:27 >>John: Has this one here been used? Can we know that? 20:29 >>Michael: This one has been used. You can see 20:30 the discoloration around here. You can see the soot that's 20:33 still there after all of these years. I have another lamp here 20:37 that is contemporaneous, the same, from the same time period. 20:40 This is a much more elaborate lamp. You can see that it, 20:44 unlike that lamp, which was possibly formed by hand, or not, 20:49 maybe not done on a wheel. But this one was mold made, 20:53 and a mold would have been placed over this. 20:56 Again, two halves, but you can see 20:58 the very intricate design here, and you can see 21:01 the very beautiful two clusters of grapes. This is a vineyard 21:05 with two clusters of grapes on either side. 21:07 >>John: Now, I can understand this being used in a home. 21:09 But here were some people who went out, 21:10 that these young ladies went to a place and took, 21:14 took this lamp with them. Was that practical? I mean.. 21:18 >>Michael: Uh, this is, uh, this is a very practical thing. 21:22 You know, what is fascinating to me, too, is, in the story, 21:25 people would have known exactly how long these lamps 21:29 would have lasted. Because they're all about the same size. 21:32 The content of oil would have been about the same. 21:34 We've tested these out--not the originals, but the replicas that 21:38 we've made, and we can say that the oil would have lasted 21:41 between an hour and a half to two hours. So we can get an idea 21:45 of how long the bridegroom in the story that Jesus is telling 21:48 and this wedding feast, how long the bridegroom 21:50 would've been delayed in that particular account. And again, 21:54 they would've really understood the context. They've gone 21:57 to weddings. They've seen these lamps. They've used them. 22:00 They would've understood all of that. 22:02 >>John: Now, they took lamps, but the wise ones took oil 22:04 with them. And they took that oil in something like what? 22:08 >>Michael: Well, we have this little jar or juglet here, 22:12 small jar, and with a nice handle. This would've been 22:16 something that they might have used to take. 22:18 This is a little large. There are smaller ones as well. 22:21 But this would've provided the extra oil, perhaps, 22:24 that they would've needed for any kind of delay. 22:27 >>John: Now, in considering crucifixion again for a moment, 22:31 the Bible speaks in several places about how at funerals, 22:36 at funeral gatherings, there were many mourners. 22:39 Sometimes these were hired mourners to come. 22:42 What has archaeology turned up for us today that helps us 22:46 understand, perhaps, some of idiosyncrasies about, uh, 22:49 funerals in that time? 22:50 >>Michael: We have found archaeologically 22:52 some very interesting things that come from that period. 22:56 Mourners were often hired, actually, at funerals to cry. 23:00 And their tears were often gathered in tear bottles 23:03 that were then buried with the deceased. 23:05 And this is a tear bottle that comes from the Middle East. 23:08 And you can just imagine these mourners collecting their tears 23:13 and then placing this in the tomb. Uh, at the time of Christ, 23:18 we have the ladies coming to the tomb, uh, 23:22 after the Sabbath has finished. They're coming to the tomb 23:26 on Sunday morning. And, um, Mary, of course, 23:29 is the first one that comes. And it's interesting. They're coming 23:33 to, to see, to mourn, to process what had taken place. 23:37 And, of course, what do they find? 23:39 >>John: An empty tomb. >>Michael: An empty tomb. 23:42 So here we've talked about Caiaphas, for example, 23:45 whose bone box is there. We find Jehohanan's bone 23:49 still stuck onto a nail that was used for crucifixion. 23:55 And yet the tomb of Jesus is empty today. And that's 23:59 the hope that Christianity has through the centuries. 24:02 >>John: The one thing archaeologists will never find. 24:05 >>Michael: That's right. >>John: Archaeology helps us 24:08 understand that the Bible is a real book, that what we read 24:11 in there are accounts of real people, real figures, 24:14 real events, and a real Christ. Today, among other things, 24:19 we've looked at the reality, the awful, the brutal reality 24:22 of crucifixion. And we see that Jesus, the Maker of the world, 24:27 was nailed to a cross made from wood which He Himself 24:31 as Creator had originated in the first place. 24:35 He was suspended between the earth and the heavens to die, 24:38 to die so that we can live. That's an encouraging thought. 24:43 Jesus died for the whole world. 24:45 That best-known verse of the Bible says, 24:48 "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, 24:52 that whosoever believes in Him 24:54 should not perish, but have everlasting life." 24:56 And you're in that "whosoever." You can write your name there. 25:01 And if today you believe in Jesus, the real Jesus, 25:04 the Jesus spoken of by the Bible and supported by archaeology, 25:08 if you can believe in that Jesus, 25:12 then you can look forward to everlasting life coming soon. 25:16 Let that be your hope today. 25:18 >>John: A lot of people are tired of having an up-and-down 25:21 Christian experience. It doesn't need to be you. You can have 25:24 a consistent experience in your faith in God. 25:27 And I wanna show you how. 25:29 Get this week's free offer, a resource called 25:31 "The War Is Over." To get it--and it's free--call 25:35 800-253-3000, 800-253-3000. 25:40 Or visit us online at ItIsWritten.com. 25:43 ItIsWritten.com. 25:45 If you'd like to write, our address is 25:47 P.O. Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401. 25:51 You can enjoy consistency in your experience 25:54 and faith in God. Get this week's free resource, 25:57 "The War Is Over." 800-253-3000 26:01 or visit us online at ItIsWritten.com. 26:04 Thanks for remembering that It Is Written is 26:07 a faith-based ministry. And your support makes it possible 26:10 for us to share God's good news with the entire world. 26:14 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent to the address 26:17 on your screen or through our website at 26:19 ItIsWritten.com. 26:22 Thank you for your continued prayerful support. Again, 26:25 our toll-free number is 800-253-3000, 26:29 and our web address is www.ItIsWritten.com. 26:36 >>John: Dr. Michael Hasel, thank you very much. 26:38 I appreciate you taking the time. 26:39 >>Michael: It's a privilege to have been here. 26:41 >>John: This has been terrific. Let's pray together; 26:42 let's do that right now. 26:44 Our Father in heaven, we are thankful today for a Jesus 26:47 in whom we can believe. We thank You for a Bible that is built 26:52 on solid evidence. Now, without the archeological evidence, 26:56 we would believe anyway because our experience with You 26:59 testifies that Your Word is true. We thank You 27:03 that along with the witness of Your Spirit, You have provided 27:06 ample evidence, many reasons to believe, 27:09 yes, this is Your book, that the things contained in it are true, 27:13 and that the hope offered is real. Give us grace to rejoice 27:18 in that hope, in the hope that Jesus died for every one of us, 27:25 and that one day soon we will be enjoying the reality of eternity 27:28 with You at Your home. 27:31 We pray with thanks, 27:33 and we pray in Jesus' name, amen. 27:37 Thank you so much for joining me today. 27:39 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:41 Until then, remember: 27:43 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:46 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 27:49 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2022-10-05