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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ007104S
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00:27 A priceless treasure trove was found right here in this
00:31 ancient burial tomb. I met Ketef Hinnom just outside 00:36 the walls of Old Jerusalem the ancient road from Jerusalem 00:40 to Bethlehem passed nearby. And this marked the boundary 00:45 between the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. 00:48 And up here on the hillside overlooking Jerusalem 00:52 are seven ancient burial caves that have been hewn into the 00:58 limestone and meticulously designed. 01:01 The caves were intended for family burials over a number of 01:05 generations. The ceilings have long since collapsed 01:10 but these burial caves had benches cut into the rock 01:15 on which the dead had been laid to rest. 01:18 The headrests that were cut into the stone can still be seen 01:22 today and show where the bodies of the deceased were laid out 01:27 side by side. The bodies were left here until they decomposed 01:32 and just the skeleton remained. The bones were then gathered up 01:37 and places in an ossuary or bone box and kept in the cave. 01:41 Spaces were hewn under some of the benches to serve as 01:46 repositories for the bones in order to make way 01:50 for newly deceased so in affect the caves here 01:54 were a type of cemetery. 01:56 Archeologist Gabriel Barkay had a hunch that this 02:02 rocky knoll, this cave cemetery held some hidden secrets 02:07 and so he organized a small excavation on the site. 02:10 As he examined the tombs, he realized that they dated back 02:16 to the first temple period, the time of Solomon's Temple 02:20 and so were over 2,600 years old. 02:23 All of the tombs were looted a long time ago by grave robbers 02:28 and so all of the grave gift and keepsake and funeral mementos 02:33 were gone. 02:34 There were no jewelry, oil lamps, or perfume jars left. 02:37 When Barkay and his young team started work 02:41 on the last cave here, they noticed that one of the 02:45 stone burial benches had collapsed. 02:48 When they removed the rubble here, this small dark chamber 02:54 was exposed, when they took a closer look they discovered 02:59 that it contained a literal treasure trove, 03:02 more than 1,000 objects from antiquity. 03:05 Among the treasure were two small pure silver scrolls 03:11 they'd been rolled up worn as amulets to protect and bring 03:15 good fortune to the wearer. 03:17 When they were unraveled, they were both found to have the 03:21 ancient priestly benediction inscribed on them from 03:24 the Bible Book of Numbers chapter 6, verses 24 to 26. 03:40 It was clear that they were extremely old Bible Inscriptions 03:44 When the ancient craftsman inscribed these scrolls 03:49 2,600 years ago, Solomon's Temple was still standing, 03:54 the prophet Jeremiah was alive, the heirs of King David 03:58 were still on the throne. 04:00 And what was of particular interest was that even though 04:04 that was so old the wording was exactly the same 04:09 as we have in our Bibles today. 04:11 The scrolls were priceless and what made these scrolls 04:16 of particular interest and value is the fact that they contained 04:20 Bible inscriptions that were very old. 04:23 In fact, they were the oldest Bible text ever found, 04:28 they were genuine Bible treasure but they aren't the only 04:33 treasure associated with the Bible, there's more, 04:37 much more. Join me as we dig deeper and discover 04:42 even greater treasure from the Bible. 05:00 I read the story of a rich farmer who on his death bed 05:04 said to his sons, my treasure is buried in my fields. 05:09 If you want to be rich then dig for it. 05:12 Well, when the old man died the two sons presuming 05:17 that their father has hidden his money in a treasure chest 05:20 somewhere on his farm, set out eagerly to find it. 05:24 Equipped with spades and picks they dug with great 05:28 enthusiasm and perseverance. 05:30 They dug and searched for long hours but seemingly 05:34 without success. Carefully they turned over the soil 05:38 in every field digging to a depth no plow had ever reached. 05:43 But there was no sign of a treasure chest buried anywhere. 05:48 When spring came, the sons abandoned their search 05:52 in order to sow a crop then came summer and harvest 05:57 and what a harvest is was they never seen anything 06:01 like it before, it was a bumper crop. 06:04 In digging the land so thoroughly the boys had found 06:08 the riches they were searching for. 06:10 The wise old father's plan had succeeded by persevering 06:16 and continual digging the sons got the most out of their 06:20 inheritance. 06:22 Now, you too have inherited a precious heirloom. 06:26 A gift that has come down to you for many generations 06:30 and too, it is buried, not in a field, but in a book. 06:35 And He who bequeathed it to you says, if you want to be rich 06:39 in all the best and most beautiful things 06:42 that life has to offer, then search this book. 06:46 Dig into it with all the spiritual tools at your disposal. 06:50 Read it, study it, meditate upon it, pray over it, 06:54 invest time in it and within it, you'll find the richest 06:59 of treasures. 07:00 This Book is of course the Bible, your Bible, 07:05 Now admittedly in some respects it is much like other books. 07:10 From its appearance no one would suspect that it might be 07:15 any more valuable than the rest but open it, began to search 07:20 and you'll soon see the first hint of treasure, 07:23 in fact everyone who reads it sincerely and reverently 07:28 will reap a rich harvest of spiritual blessings, inner peace, 07:32 happiness, strength, courage, wisdom, inspiration, 07:37 all the things you have longed for but thought impossible 07:41 to attain. So here's a treasure worth digging for and 07:47 the more you dig, the more you'll find every turn 07:50 of the spade will reveal fresh gems. 07:53 For example he will discover the secret of lasting happiness 07:58 and fulfillment and you'll find the reason there's 08:01 good and evil in the world. 08:03 You'll understand what happens when you die, 08:06 the mysteries of life and death, you'll know what 08:09 the future has in store for you and your family 08:11 and above all, he'll discover the best news ever 08:16 and find true inner peace. 08:18 And here's what's amazing, this treasure is available to 08:22 everyone, no one is barred from searching for it 08:26 on grounds of caste, color or creed, this Book will speak to 08:31 anybody regardless of their religion, nationality, career, 08:36 or the size of their bank account. 08:38 Believe me when I say that this treasure is worth considering. 08:44 Dig into it, you've got nothing to lose, lots of people are 08:49 and they're finding it a real winner. 08:52 The Guinness book of records estimates that over 08:56 five billion copies of the Bible have been printed 08:59 over the years. Now perhaps you've had a look at 09:02 one of those five billion Bibles and found it different from 09:06 any other book you've read and given up on it. 09:09 But don't get too hasty to set it aside, instead, 09:15 let's have a closer look at it together. 09:17 And I've got to admit that right here in the beginning 09:21 the Bible is different, at fist glance it doesn't seem to have 09:26 any continued story to it whether it's short chapters 09:30 and it's numbered verses, it doesn't look too inviting 09:33 either and it certainly isn't light reading. 09:36 And if your Bible happens to be a King James Version 09:40 you'll notice that the language seems just a little antique. 09:44 And you may have other questions "Why is the Bible divided into 09:48 two sections called The Old Testament, and New Testament? 09:52 Perhaps you've wondered about who wrote your Bible? 09:56 and when and where? Is it an original work or copy? 10:01 But there is a more important question still. 10:04 Many people look upon the Bible as a Sacred Book 10:08 They call it God's Book or God's Word, why? 10:13 Is there a reason? and is it a good reason? 10:16 These are all good and important questions. 10:20 And so, to begin with, let's take a look at the book as a 10:27 whole, actually it isn't a single book, 10:31 but rather a collection of books, it's often been called 10:36 a library and it is in a sense. 10:39 Now in most Bibles there is a list of all these books 10:43 usually on one of the opening pages, if you'll glance at this 10:47 you'll see that there are 39 books grouped under the section 10:51 marked Old Testament and 27 under New Testament 10:56 making 66 books in all. 10:58 Now some of the books are not really books at all 11:02 but letters, some of them so short they could be typed 11:07 on a single page. 11:08 And as the differences between The Old Testament and 11:12 The New Testament, the old was written before Christ 11:16 and the new after Christ. 11:18 Approximately 400 years elapsed between the writing of 11:23 the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, 11:26 and the writing of Matthew, the first book in 11:29 The New Testament. 11:30 Now the word testament is a Latin word that means covenant 11:36 or agreement. The Old Testament is the covenant God made 11:40 with people before the time of Christ. 11:43 The New Testament is the agreement God made with 11:46 people after Christ had come. 11:48 The word old means ancient, having greater age, 11:54 not superseded or obsolete. Both the Old and New Testaments 12:00 are still important today. 12:01 The Bible was 1,600 years in preparation, 12:05 the earliest book was written probably about 1500 BC 12:10 and the last book was written in the last decade of the 12:14 first century after Christ, so around 100 AD. 12:18 The 66 books, pamphlets, letters, messages, 12:23 whatever you wish to call them were the work of about 12:26 40 authors. The two most prolific being Moses in the 12:30 Old Testament and Paul in the New. 12:33 The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses 12:37 these books were called The Law. 12:40 Then came the Prophets The Early Prophets who recorded 12:44 the dealings of God with His people. 12:47 and The Later Prophets who blended council with warning 12:51 and prediction. 12:53 And then there were The Writings 12:55 The books of poetry and wisdom such as the Psalms and Proverbs. 13:00 The Law, The Prophets, and The Writings. 13:03 These were the scriptures that Jesus used, we call them 13:08 The Old Testament today, The New Testament of course 13:12 hadn't yet been written in the time of Jesus. 13:14 Now, after Jesus left this earth four accounts of His life 13:19 were written down by those best qualified. 13:22 These books were called The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, 13:27 Luke, and John. 13:29 The word Gospel simply means Good News. 13:32 So, these four books tell the good news about Jesus. 13:37 Then comes the book of Acts which records the story of the 13:41 growth and expansion of the early Christian church. 13:45 Later came The Letters written by Paul and other Apostles 13:49 to the early churches. 13:51 And of course finally there was the Revelation 13:54 written by the Apostle John. 13:56 So, as we seen about 40 people were involved in writing 14:02 the Bible and it's interesting to notice the variety of 14:06 backgrounds they came from. 14:07 There was Moses who led one of the first freedom movements 14:11 of all time. David the sheep herder who became a king, 14:15 Daniel, Prime Minister of Babylon, 14:17 Matthew a tax collector, Luke a doctor, 14:21 Peter the fisherman, Paul the Pharisee 14:24 and many others. 14:25 And the amazing thing about it is that every one of these 14:29 writers is in surprising agreement with every other 14:33 even though some were separated by 1,600 years 14:37 and very few were acquainted with one another. 14:40 The amazing thing is that the words they wrote blended together 14:46 so perfectly that they stayed together for more than 14:50 two thousand years. 14:51 Consider now where your Bible was written, little if any of it 14:57 was produced in a warm comfortable study 14:59 such as a modern author might require for his or her work. 15:03 Parts of the Bible were written in the wilderness of Sinai 15:08 others in Jerusalem, and some in Babylon, 15:11 other Jews were in captivity there, a few books were composed 15:15 in a prison cell in Rome and one was written on 15:19 the island of Patmos, a Penal Colony in the Mediterranean. 15:23 Most of your Bible was written under very difficult 15:27 circumstances and conditions. 15:29 So, it's quite remarkable that the work of so many diverse 15:34 individuals living in such widely scattered places 15:38 working under such elementary conditions and separated by 15:42 hundreds of years of time should when gathered together 15:46 become the greatest, the best known and the best loved book 15:50 in all the world. 15:52 Now, the question is often asked "Do any of the original 15:56 writings exist today?" 15:58 Well the answer is simple "No, not one." 16:02 All those priceless documents were lost ages ago. 16:07 But fortunately way back when manuscripts or autographs 16:12 were still in existence, good men sensed their importance 16:17 and copied that. In fact as centuries rolled by they were 16:22 copied so often that today there are many of these 16:25 early documents, whole or in part in the great museums 16:29 and libraries of the world. 16:31 Almost always the copying were done with such precise care 16:36 that when the work is examined today, the difference is due to 16:40 faulty workmanship are found to be so slight as to have 16:44 no essential effect upon the overall meaning of the document. 16:48 Now because of the eagerness of scholars to find the 16:52 perfect text, the one most nearly like the original 16:56 autograph. Every Biblical Manuscript discovered today 17:00 is studied with patient skill. 17:03 Can you imagine then the extraordinary excitement in 1948 17:08 when it became known that a considerable number of 17:12 very ancient manuscripts had been discovered by 17:15 Bedouin Shepherds in a cave at Qumran near the Dead Sea 17:19 in the Middle East. 17:21 This interest increased greatly when scholars revealed that 17:25 these scrolls of Isaiah and other Old Testament writers 17:28 were hundreds of years older than any yet found 17:33 dating back possibly to the second century BC. 17:37 It was one of the greatest archeological studies 17:41 of all time. 17:42 The Dead Sea Scrolls are 1,000 years older than any complete 17:48 Biblical Hebrew Manuscript in existence, 17:51 it's the age of the scrolls that makes them so valuable. 17:55 In one stroke, we are brought 1,000 years nearer 18:00 to the original writings of the Prophets. 18:02 Years of intensive study by the greatest Hebrew scholars 18:07 have revealed that there are no real significant differences 18:11 between our Bible text today and that of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 18:16 When the words of the ancient scrolls were compared with 18:20 our Bibles they were found to be virtually identical 18:24 a marvelous tributary to our accuracy of the copies. 18:29 Then came the discovery of the silver scrolls here at 18:35 Ketef Hinnom 30 years later. 18:37 These scrolls were 400 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls 18:43 but again, the Bible text on the scrolls was identical to 18:49 our Bibles today. Do you see what this mean? 18:53 It means that we could know that our Bible today 18:57 is the same as when it came from the hands of the writers 19:02 but the original Hebrew was not only copied, 19:05 it was also translated. One of the earliest and most 19:09 important translations was into Greek. 19:12 This is called the Septuagint because of the 70 Jewish scholars 19:18 that prepared it, the work was done in Alexandria, Egypt 19:22 during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. 19:25 Now because the Septuagint was in Greek, 19:28 the early Christian Church which was for the most part 19:32 a Greek speaking church adopted it as its Old Testament. 19:36 The New Testament was written in a form of Greek known as 19:41 Koine which was the common speech of the masses 19:44 at the time of the apostles. 19:46 Large numbers of recently discovered letters, 19:49 business records, and public inscriptions proved this 19:53 to be true. It was most likely that the apostles and 19:57 and Jesus Himself spoke in Aramaic, but when the time came 20:02 for their words to be recorded it was done in the 20:05 common language of the people of that day in Greek. 20:09 As in the case of the Old Testament, not a single 20:13 original document exists, but many copies of the 20:16 New Testament Books when they by devoted Christians 20:20 soon after the originals were written in later and of these 20:24 some 4,500 are treasured in New Zealand's Libraries 20:29 around the world. 20:31 Now the oldest copy of the New Testament ever found 20:34 is a papyrus portion found of John's Gospel 20:37 that was found in Egypt in 1920 by Bernard Grenfell 20:42 a scholar from Oxford University it dates from 100 A.D 20:47 or soon after. From this Papyrus we know that the book of John 20:52 was written is the second half of the first century 20:55 or early in the second century. 20:57 The other gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, were written 21:02 earlier than John so we are now getting right back 21:05 to the time of the Apostles and writers of the New Testament. 21:09 So because this papyrus has such an early date 21:13 and is exactly the same as in our Bibles today 21:17 it gives us good reason to be confident that the New Testament 21:22 we read today accurately reflects what was in the 21:26 original manuscripts. Now this papyrus is just a fragment 21:32 of one of the Books of the Bible, hundreds of others smaller 21:35 but vitally important fragments of the New Testament have 21:39 also but preserved, many have been discovered in recent years. 21:44 When each one is found it is critically studied by 21:48 scholars whose prime objective is to prepare a Greek text 21:53 that will bear the closed possible resemblance to the true 21:58 but lost original. But what about complete Bibles 22:02 what's the oldest complete Bible we have today? 22:06 Well, the codex Bernarad Grenfell is probably the oldest complete 22:14 copy of the Bible in existence today. 22:15 It gets its name from the fact that in 1481 it was already 22:19 in the library of the Vatican in Rome and is still a part of it. 22:23 Little is known of its history before that date 22:26 but scholars have declared that it belongs to the 22:29 first half of the fourth century A.D. 22:32 Now what does all you and your Bible? 22:36 Just this. You can be absolutely certain about the essential 22:42 accuracy of the original text. 22:45 In the words of the late Sir Frederic Kenyon 22:48 one-time director of the British Museum and an 22:51 Authority on Biblical Manuscripts... 23:10 I read recently the story of a man who when he was young 23:16 and getting ready to graduate from college had been admiring 23:20 a beautiful sports car in a dealers showroom, 23:23 and knowing that his father could well afford it 23:26 he told him that was all that he wanted. 23:29 As graduation day approached awaited signs that his father 23:35 had purchased the car for him, finally on the day 23:39 he was to graduate, his father had called him into his 23:42 private study told him how proud he was to have 23:46 such a fine son and how much he loved him 23:48 he then handed him a beautifully wrapped gift box. 23:50 Curious but somewhat disappointed 23:55 the young man opened the box and found a lovely 24:00 leather-bound with his name embossed on it in gold. 24:04 Well, he was disappointed to say the least 24:08 and became somewhat angry, raised his voice to his father 24:11 and said, with all your money you give me a Bible? 24:15 rather than the sports car that I really wanted. 24:18 He then stormed out of the house 24:21 leaving his father and the Bible behind. 24:24 Many years passed and the young man was very successful 24:29 in the business he went into. 24:30 He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family 24:33 but realized that when he thought about his father 24:36 that he was very old now. 24:39 He then decided that perhaps he should go to see him 24:43 because he had not seen him since that graduation day. 24:46 However, before he could make arrangements to go 24:50 he received a phone call from the funeral home director 24:53 telling him that his father had passed away 24:56 and had willed all his possessions to him. 24:59 He was told that he needed to come home immediately 25:03 and take care of things. 25:05 When the son had arrived at his father's house, 25:08 sadness and regret filled his heart. 25:11 He began to search through his father's important documents 25:15 and saw the Bible his father had given him for graduation. 25:19 The Bible looked brand new just as it was years ago 25:24 when he was given it. 25:25 With tears in his eyes, he opened the Bible 25:29 and began to turn through the pages, 25:31 his father had carefully underlined a verse 25:35 which was Matthew Chapter seven and verse 11 which reads... 25:49 As the son read those words, a car key dropped from 25:54 the back of the Bible, it had a tag on it with the 25:57 car dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car 26:02 that he wanted so badly for his college graduation. 26:06 On the tag was the date of his graduation and the words 26:10 written in large print. "Paid in full". 26:13 Many times during our lifetime we miss God's treasure 26:18 and blessings because they are not packaged as we expected 26:22 them to be or because we are not willing to dig for it. 26:26 If you want real treasure, if you want to rich in all the 26:30 best and beautiful things life has to offer, 26:32 then search this book, this is where you will find 26:37 real and lasting treasure. 26:39 If you would like to find this treasure 26:41 and experience inner peace and lasting happiness 26:44 in your life, then I'd like to recommend the free gift 26:48 we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:52 We would like you to have your own personal copy 26:56 of the Bible. This Bible is our gift to you and is 26:59 absolutely free, I guarantee there are no costs 27:03 or obligations whatsoever. 27:05 So, make sure you take this opportunity to get your free 27:10 Bible today. 27:12 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia, or 020.422.2042 27:22 in New Zealand, or 770.800.0266 in the United States. 27:28 Or visit our website tij.tv or simply scan the QR code 27:35 on your screen and we'll send you today's free offer 27:38 totally free of charge and with no obligation. 27:41 You can also write to us at the addresses on your screen 27:45 or email us at info@tij.tv. Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:52 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for the Bible 27:57 and the treasures of life that it contains. 28:00 It's so easy to discard or neglect Your Word 28:03 and the wisdom, good news and salvation that it contains. 28:07 Lord, we want to invest time in the Bible and in our 28:11 relationship with you. May we put this into practice 28:15 in our lives? And we ask these things in Jesus' name. 28:18 Amen! |
Revised 2024-10-01