DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, THE APPIAN WAY

ACTS 28:15

And from there, when the brethren
heard about us, they came to meet
us as far as Appii Forum and Three
Inns.
When Paul saw them, he thanked
God and took courage.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The name Appii Forum is also known
as Via Appia and The Appian Way. This
was a popular road which Paul traveled 
on his way to Rome. The road is named
after Appius Claudius Caecus who was
Roman officer. This road was also used
by the Roman military. 


PICTURE, REMAINS OF APPIAN WAY, ROME

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, POOL OF SILOAM

^{JOHN 9:6-7}

6 When He had said these things, He 
spat on the ground and made clay with
the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of
the blind man with the clay.
7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the
pool of Siloam.” So he went and washed, 
and came back seeing.

JOHN 9:11

He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus
made clay and anointed my eyes and said
to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash
so I went and washed, and I received sight.”

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

This is a rock pool located in Jerusalem.
It's water was provided the Gihon Spring. 
The pool is surrounded  by stone walls 
and there are steps leading to the platform
of the pool. 

 
 POOL OF SILOAM IN JERUSALEM

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, CEDARS OF LEBANON

PSALM 92;12
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

ISAIAH 41;19
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and 
the acacia tree...

EZEKIEL 31: 3

Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.

1 KINGS 6: 2-3
2 He also built the House of the Forest of Lebanon;
its length was one hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams on the pillars.
3 And it was paneled with cedar above the beams that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row.


HISTORICAL CONTEXT 

The scriptures confirm that the Cedars of Lebanon were tall and stately shade trees. These trees grow
in the mountains of Lebanon. The cedar wood is red, very durable, and has a pleasant fragrance.  King Solomon used it in the construction of his temple.
The Egyptians used this cedar to build ships.

The Cedars of Lebanon are also called the Cedars of God.  Lebanon is still known for their beautiful cedar trees. The number of trees in the forests of Lebanon have decreased due to deforestation.

PICTURE OF CEDAR TREES IN LEBANON

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, JOSHUA'S ALTAR

JOSHUA 8:30-31

³⁰ Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, 
³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.


JOSHUA'S ALTAR
 

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 

A archaeologist named Adam Zertal was doing a
survey in Manasseh at Mt Ebal on 4/6/80.  He discovered a Hebrew altar. The altar was dated
around 1250 B. C.  He used pottery for dating 
the altar.  He also discovered  6.5 ft circular
stones with burnt kosher bones inside it. This
altar may have been built by Joshua.  



 MAP OF EXCAVATION SITES BY ZERTAL

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, ANIMALS, PART II

GENESIS 22:3
So Abraham rose early in the morning and 
saddled his donkey, and took two of his
young men with him, and Isaac his son;

NUMBERS 22:23, 27-31

23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the
Lord standing in the way with His drawn
sword in His hand, and the donkey turned
aside out of the way and went into the field.

 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel
of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam;
so Balaam’s anger was aroused,and he
struck the donkey with his staff.

28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of 
the donkey, and she  said to Balaam,
“What have I done to you, that you 
have struck me these three times?”

29 And Balaam said to the donkey,
“Because you have abused me.
I wish there were a sword in my 
hand, for now I would kill you!”

30 So the donkey said to Balaam,
“Am I not your donkey on which
you have ridden, ever since I 
became yours, to this day? 
Was I ever disposed to do this 
to you?” And he said, “No.”

31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s 
eyes, and he saw the Angel of the 
Lord standing in the way with His 
drawn sword in His hand; and he
bowed his head and fell flat on 
his face.


MATTHEW 22:1-2
 
1 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, 
and came to Bethphage, at the Mount
of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go into the village
opposite you, and immediately you will 
find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.
Loose them and bring them to Me.


HISTORICAL CONTEXT

This animal was very important during 
Bible days. The donkey is mentioned 
multiple times in the Old Testament.
My Bible research showed that they
are mentioned in  Genesis, Judges,
Deuteronomy, Judges, Numbers, 
and Job.

The donkey has also been called beast 
of burden and ass. They were used as 
a means of transportation, used to ploy
fields, and used  to carry bales of grain
and other supplies. They can withstand
the heat of the desert. Most donkeys are
domesticated; but there are some ones
roaming in fields.  Donkeys are still used
for transportation by some people in the
Holy Land.   


DONKEY IN EGYPTIAN PAINTING
1298-1235 B.C. 

  

PICTURE OF DONKEY IN HOLY LAND

Some people think that donkeys are dumb 
animals. They have a reputation of being 
stubborn.  Studies show that they behave
favorably when they trust their owner. 
  
The Lord even allowed a donkey to speak in
the Bible book of Numbers 22. This animal 
was smart enough not to approach the angel.
the donkey's owner became abusive. The 
donkey began to speak when the Lord gave 

him utterance.

PAINTING OF BALAAM, THE ANGEL, & DONKEY
DATED 1493

ITALIAN PAINTING OF JESUS ON DONKEY
DATED 1303

A donkey was an important part of prophesy.
The Bible book of Zechariah 9 and 14 states
that , "the King will come sitting upon a ass".
Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. 
The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is recorded
in the Bible books of Matthew 22, Luke 19, 
Mark 11, and John 12. This happened in the 
Bible just before the Last Supper. The people
rejoiced when they saw Jesus entering the 
Jerusalem. They glorified Jesus by going to
meet Him carrying palm branches.

ANT

PROVERBS 6:6

Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,

PROVERBS 30:25

The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Ants have been studied by scientists because they
form organized colonies. Ant can be found in every continent except Anartica.  There have been twelve types of ants found in Israel.


LIFE LESSON FOR TODAY

I used to sit and watch ants go in and out of 
their ant hills when I was young.  I even saw 
them carrying pieces of food two times larger
than they were. I didn't know much about fire
ants until last summer.  I was standing at my
fence talking to my neighbor.  I suddenly felt 
a terrible burning on my ankle. My neighbor 
noticed  that I was standing close to a ant hill.
She said the ants must have bitten me. I rushed
in the house to pour cold water on my ankle.
I still got a terrible allergic reaction to those fire
ants. I continued to have burning sensations
2 weeks after my encounter with those fire ants. 
I avoid going near my fence to talk to my neighbor.  Those fire ants are a deadly bunch.

FISH

MATTHEW  4:18-20

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.
They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you
out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

MATTHEW 14: 18-20

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.
 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave
 the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

JOHN  21:9-12

9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and
although there were so many, the net was not broken.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT 
 
The Bible book of Matthew and John confirms that
fish was part of the people's diet during Bible days.
Fish is still a popular food source in Israel today.

One of the people's occupation was fisherman. Most of Jesus' twelve disciples were fishermen.  There are over 40 kinds of fish in the lakes and rivers in the 
Middle East today. The Sea of Galilee was the largest freshwater lake in Israel and was a popular fishing location during Bible days. There were restrictions
enforced after 2010 due a decrease the fish stock.

PICTURE OF FISH FROM SEA OF GALILEE

RAPHAEL SANTI (1483-1520)  PAINTING, JESUS AND FISHERMEN

 

SEA OF GALILEE TODAY

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, BETHLEHEM

The town of Bethlehem is mentioned in the
Bible book of Genesis 35 and 48. Rachel,
the wife of Jacob, died there.  They were
traveling from Bethel to Bethlehem. She 
went into labor and died in childbirth. The
town of Bethlehem is also called Ephrath 
and The City of David in the Bible. Rachel's
tomb is located at the entrance to Bethlehem.  Genesis 35 also tells us that Jacob placed a  
pillar on the grave but it is no longer there. 
Tourist on Holy Land tours today see a domed
building which has been built on the burial site.  


SITE OF RACHEL'S TOMB

  
In 2012  an archaeological project  at the 
Temple Mount unearthed a " First Temple
Period" bulla in the City of David. This is
the first known bulla to mention the town
of Bethlehem.  A bulla is a clay seal used
on documents and containers during the
Bible days.         


BULLA FOUND IN 2012

The Bible book of 2 Samuel 23 tells us that David 
was in a cave.  He told some of men to get him a
drink of water from a well in Bethlehem. Three cisterns (wells) were excavated in 1895 in
Bethlehem.  They are located in the area David
mentioned in 2 Samuel.  

 CISTERNS (WELLS) IN BETHLEHEM

The Bible book of Luke and Matthew 2 tells us
that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, town
of David. They had to be counted there for the census.  Jesus was also born there.The Church
of the Nativity in Bethlehem has a star over the
site of Jesus' birth.

 
STAR IN THE CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
IN BETHLEHEM 

    

 

 CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH, AIN KAREM

The Bible book of Luke 1: 39-45 tells that
Mary went to the hill county. She  visited
the house of Elizabeth and Zachariah.
Luke  also tell us that Elizabeth told Mary 
that she was blessed and that her child
was blessed.  She called Mary, " the 
mother of her Lord".  The hill country 
where Elizabeth and Zechariah lived is
called Ain Karem (also spelled Ein Karem).  

This village is important because this

is the location where the birth of Jesus

was prophesied by Elizabeth.  Elizabeth 

and Zechariah, the parents of John the

Baptist lived there. It is mentioned 

in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This 

village is in the municipal district of

Jerusalem. There is a spring there
that used to provide water to the 
village.  The spring is called “Mary’s
Spring” because it is the located in 
village where Mary and Elizabeth met. 
This village and the spring are visited 
by tourists who come to the Holy Land.

EXCAVATION @ VILLAGE OF AIN KAREM 
HOUSE OF ELIZABETH & ZACHARIAH

COMPLETE VIEW OF MARY'S SPRING
AIN KAREM

NOTE:

Ain Karem was once an Arab village, so an 
abandoned mosque is now built on top of 
the spring.