Leviticus 25 ~ sow, prune and gather - skip the repeat

Leviticus 25

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, 7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.



8 “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

13 “In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14 And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. 15 You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. 16 If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. 17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.

18 “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. 19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. 20 And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ 21 I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. 22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.
Redemption of Property

23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, 27 let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. 28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.

29 “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. 30 If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee. 32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. 33 And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. 34 But the fields of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.
Kindness for Poor Brothers

35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. 45 You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
Redeeming a Poor Man

47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker. 51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. 52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. 53 He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. 55 For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Lately, I've been thinking about the generations. And what we except.

Jesus moved to Capernaum. Matthew's 8th Chapter writes about Jesus encountering faith.

Matthew 8

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him

10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

I barely watched the last Presidential debates. Maybe as a nation we were tired. But it was too predictable and too phoney. War! War! War! Do you actually know someone who wants more war? We made a laughingstock of our first Mr. Bush over his awe at grocery check out. And Dan Quail misspelled potaoeuesque. Surely this is more pleasant than gruesome death. What are we fighting about? Our paramedic friend says the hospital on the bases are mostly suicide attempts and alcoholism. It must be fascinatingly busy in Japan for them.

How many of our population have kids? So - do we care we are slipping in education, jobs, life expectancy. We are drowning in the belief if we work harder - the solution is There. Are we arriving at a better off work force yet? 

What is the Ancient Idea of Jubilee?

Are you happy with your kids unhappiness at the size of public school after 5th grade? Now that we cut out recess are we better in engineering and job opportunities?

The schools teach cog - ability. Our second Mr. Bush had that right about alternative educations where the atmosphere is smaller and more caring. And I want to thank our Schools. My kids are still grateful to their really great teachers, and Principals - the new buildings are phenomenal. What, literally, will we do if we get tired officials?

Do you fake to your friends that you pay for your childrens' college education? Bill Gates says this is absolute enslavement to something We the People want for our kids - Education with Low Costs.

Have you noticed Third World countries do not provide health care, good education, opportunities for financial advancement, and good housing? But their governments and religious institutions ask for WAR. This isn't just the Middle East.

Have you noticed every politician says they are for tax reform?

Have you noticed your grandparents paid cash for their houses. Oh central heat and air - um - cmon - our grandparents had electricity and indoor plumbing mostly. The Amish consider this possible today - 30 year mortgages or 60? Did you know Austin, Texas increased their housing costs - when - the Silicon Valley started moving in. A few crafty sales people took the housing market up 50% in practically no time.

We can redeem this. We need people willing to step up and provide solutions. It is a financial fact - Thomas Jefferson said we need change and people need to OWN their own homes for Financial Stability. It is a financial fact that all commodities like housing rise and fall. What we need is a reset - instead of big business bail out. We need a seven year - own this house mortgage.

Did you know UPS is one of our finest employers - they offer the employees to earn a permanent place in their earnings. We need more investment for companies who would include their employees in profits. We need fewer serfs in our castles - the ones with elevators.

We need people willing to truly do like Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and give us patriots who wanta better life for the Nation.

Open this Country back up and see if we don't again shine a Light to the Nations.

Save a politician - redo the requirements - Education, Housing, Peace and Financial Careers tied to Performance. Real Health Care, look at Taiwan - that almost works. Maybe Congress needs t-shirts with the Goals for the Nation. Send your Congress person a polite t-shirt, they might like that. What people can see and touch, they tend to focus on.

Let's do like the Centurion - expect God to help us and expect more from what we really want this country to have. This really is not a case of them versus the people. I'm almost sure politicians are people too. The People need to refocus.

The people of the United States would ask the Government to allow the citizens to see the Government act as we would have them act. We would not want to be regulated unwisely from cradle to grave, simply to engage in transactions deemed traditional.

In God we trust. Help us Lord Jesus and we shall be helped. Amen. 

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Exodus 27 ~ it is to be square

Acacia tree and Acacia wood



The Table - made and shown today in Israel by the Temple Institute
The Lampstand made by Temple Institute. Today in Jerusalem Museum for Temple Institute
The Altar of Incense - Temple Institute

Relief of King Darius of Babylon and slaves (Link to Scripture of the Day)
Gate of Ishtar in Ancient Babylon (Link Scripture for Today)
Rebuilding of the Second Temple went on for centuries, this is a model (Link Scripture for Today). Although the Second Temple was given the listed Temple Treasures back, the Babylonian king could not return the Ark of the Covenant, because it has already been hidden and never was in the Second Temple. It's interesting the First Temple, built by Solomon, simply stood while the Ark was there, but the Second Temple was always being destroyed by war, or remodeled.


 Jerusalem falls in 70 A.D. to Titus, this would have been about the end of Jesus' natural life on earth.
Model of the Coliseum, built from the money taken out of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus.
The Arch of Titus in Rome today.
Relief carved on the Arch of Titus showing the Truimph after the destruction of Jerusalem, these are the Temple Tools, but not the Ark of the Covenant. After 1,935 years, Roman Jews proudly walked under the Titus Arch, for the first time, because Israel was again a nation, May 14, 1948.
About the 3rd to 4th century AD, the Jews collected enough money to rebuild the Temple, but the building was destroyed by earthquake while still in construction. Then war.

How the relief appears today - 2,000 years later.

Exodus 27

“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

9 “Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 “The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. 13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. 19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

20 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.



According to talk radio tonight, the "people who would believe an aramaic papyrus of doubtful origins and authorship - translated through ten languages or more - centuries old - have" issues.

I'm thinking... the talk radio speaker, tonight, on Free Talk Live, might accept what is put in front of him, without finding what wind stirs the soul, invigorates the mind, tickles the sense of mystery and serves to advance an honest mind.

For instance - J.I. Packer - James Innell Packer (born 22 July 1926) is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian in the low church Anglican and Reformed traditions. He currently serves as the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North America.

Sounds hep up.
However.

J.I. Packer has fought for the New Testament with the courage of those willing to face the lions and sing. He was defrocked in his eighties, (striped of his rights and retirement after six decades) from a major denomination, for proclaiming his belief in the Word of God.

Perhaps Free Talk Live might be intrigued by this C.S. Lewis (Narnia) student, who was willing to kick the lawgivers enough to bring such anger to an old 'Don'. Raise your hand if you're in favor of firing someone in their eighties publicly.

And J.I. Packer has a knack of reading ancient aramaic and bringing us the English Standard Version of the Bible. Well worth the investigation before the rush to judgment. And Oh. The Follow UP Potential.

What these ol' things? Pure gold. 
From where? Oh, Egypt. The gold the Egyptians gave the slave as recorded in the Ipuwer Papyrus housed in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden.
Documentation found on the Exodus? A few items not covered over like Mao. 
The Exodus. Circa 1447-1446 B.C. connects when the words Joseph, Israel, Goshen, Yahweh appear in tax records and official Egyptian documents. 

[1. In Ramses II's topographical list (ca.1275 BC) the place-name "Jacob-El" (#9) appears again (ANET 1969, 242; Simons 1937). The first appearance was in Thutmose III's list. This means that this city of Jacob has been around for two hundred years. Another interesting name that was found is yhw which is "Yahweh" in Hebrew (Horn 1953, 201; Giveon 1964, 244). 

2. It seems abundantly clear from all these topographical lists concerning Canaan that the Hebrews were in Canaan at this time, but they did not use the name "Israel" until there league of tribes was well formed by the time of Merneptah.

3. On a statue-base of Amenhotep III at Kom el Hetan which is the funerary temple of Amenhotep III there is a topographical list with the place-name Yspir (Series a:1; Kitchen 1965, 2). This is the same name translated "Joseph-El" in Thutmose III's Topographical list (ANET 1969, 242). After Yspir in both lists the place-name Rkd appears (Series a:2 in Amenhotep III's list, and #79 in Thutmose III's list; Simons 1937, 112). Rkd is the same place-name as Ruhizzi in the El Amarna letters (EA 53:36, 56; EA 5426; EA 56:26; EA 191:2; Rainey 1982, 354). The ruler of Ruhizzi is Arsawuya who seems to be located in northern Palestine or southern Syria (EA 53:36, 56; Moran, 125)]



Temple Tools are recorded again in 500 B.C. being carried out by King Nebuchadnezzar. Sustainable facts for reporting? Try the Museums. Complete Documentation of the Babylonian Exile as paralleled in - Scripture. Israel driven down into total annihilation and brought back to life by a character almost from the movie "The 300." That particular king was completely covered up and discredited by bureaucrats. Check this out as well. Except we took a historical leap there of a few feet. (Hollywood style.)

The Temple Tools? Returned by Emperor Darius. He took a shine to the God of the Hebrews and wanted that Good God to be restored. His funeral etching in the side of cliff is an ancient shape - recognizable today...

So the next time we hear about the Temple Tools - Arch of Titus - which is - very visible today in Rome. Matter of fact,Benjamin Netanyahu, got a tip from one of the finest espionage sources in the world - and went to see Pope John Paul II - asking for the Vatican Archive return of an unnamed Temple Tool - still intact from Moses.

So Free Talk Live - you are a reporter - find out.

P.S. The author of the Bible probably never went on Caribbean holiday - and tells us about Jesus during the Big Bangs of Genesis 1. Paul spoke about this in the first century. (The illiterate fisherman - ha.) Saying a day to God is - thousands of years.

Proverbs 8:27
When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep

Father God -
Give us the day! The wonders of Your eternal Word in Jesus. Amen! 

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Matthew 16:18 ~ Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church

Matthew 16:18 

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Jesus just did NOT kid around with prophetic Word.  

 Jesus took His Disciples to the city, the Herod brown nose built city of Caesarea for this day of Peter being named a rock.

  Jesus and His Disciples, James Tissot

Recently, it was pointed out to me that the word for rock here is the aramaic for pebble. That's right. God using what is weak and fallible to become strong for 2 millenniums. And 80 feet below the altar was an amazing find.


Imagine:

Indiana Jones style. A Pope dies. Long live the new Pope. He begins to realize that we need a new place to bury the Popes in a row, like display. Perfect place... under the Vatican. And voila the city of Rome appears during Emperor Constantine. Even the wooden doors appear.

In 1939, Pius XII began an underground excavation to organize the space into a proper underground chapel for the bones of the popes. By 1941, it had become clear that a major area of archaeological importance had been discovered. A whole street of tombs came to light, some 300 feet long, with tombs on both sides.

After more that 25 years of research, Paul VI shared his knowledge and his joy with the world on 26th June 1968: the bones of St. Peter, the rock, had been found. On the evening of the 27th, at a ceremony before the aedicula attended by the Pope, Professors Guarducci and Correnti, the bones were restored to the loculus in the Graffiti Wall. A short prayer was said and the shrine to Peter was closed off from the street of tombs by a heavy wrought iron gate.

The Graffiti Wall was very similar to the wall found in Peter's house in Capernaum ~ it declared: "Petr[os] en[i]", "Peter is here within". Alpha and omega combinations were present, as references to Christ, but they were also found in reverse order, signifying Christ's role as the gateway to eternal life. Alpha and omega might also be separated from each other and connected by a thin line. Other letters signified other mysteries: tau indicated the cross, epsilon stood for Eden and nu for "nika", victory. But most important of all, curious combinations of rho and pi were references to the apostle Peter. Not only did Guarducci uncover the spiritual richness and hunger of those who visited the Graffiti Wall, she revealed that there were no fewer than twenty references to Peter on it.

Most important of all, the remains of an elderly man, aged between 60 and 70 of robust stature with the feet missing. Peter was crucified upside down and removed from the cross without his feet. The bones also had traces of earth clinging to them, showing that they had once been interred in the ground. When Correnti carried out tests on the soil beneath the aedicula it provided a perfect match. And finally, mingling with the bones from the loculus were the slightest traces of a distinctive garment: purple in colour and containing fine strands of gold thread. Under Constantine, early in the fourth century, the bones were taken out, wrapped in an expensive purple and gold cloth as a sign of their revered status.

Sceptics do not agree that these are the bones of Peter, but faith is of substance unseen.

Basilica of Saint Peter today.

Altar of the Vatican, where Peter's bones are 80" underneath, The Vatican was built upon Peter's grave.

What does a relatively large house in ancient Capernaum have in common with the Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano? They are both the homes of Peter, who loved and followed Jesus Christ. Both the house in Capernaum and the 2nd century grave site have the same graffiti proclaiming this is Peter, follower of Jesus. Where is the 2nd century grave located?

Important Dirt analysis agree and decades of archaeological studies and historical documents of Emperor Constantine - this is Peter's remains 80 feet below the altar.


Basilica of St. Peter from 331 until 17th century A.D. It was destroyed by a fire.

G is the representation of the foundation of the 4th century Church, the rest is beneath the foundation - as it would have appeared in the 4th century.

Overview of Peter's area. The undisturbed 4th century shrine for Paul's remains, built by Constantine.

Several excavated streets under the Vatican. Surrounded by tombs of the 2nd and 3rd century.

Peter's grave is 80 feet down, it took 10 years of amazing discoveries before they reached the Peter's area; most bodies clearly identified by name, art, poetry, mosaics, statuary. Pius knew they had rediscovered Peter's bones in the 2nd century grave, surrounded by the 4th century shrine built by Constantine.
Peter's bones were kept in a box. His bones were different than the others because they contained one man, wrapped in remains of purple cloth with gold thread, a tile saying "Peter is here" in Greek, was found in the box.

How the 4th century shrine appeared in 1949.

Compared to the descriptions of Constantine in  the 300s A.D.

c. 1966 the remains of Peter's house in Capernaum, Israel. Similar graffiti as Paul's tomb.

Here is the actual  'rock' slab ceiling that kept these particular bones - intact.

The slab 'rock' that kept out moisture, thieves. Slab (a rock) helping to preserve Peter's body when the others around him were already dust.

The red wall with graffiti saying this is Peter, follower of Jesus Christ. Identical art found to Peter's home in Capernaum.

Original 2nd century tomb the 4th century tomb surrounded.

The discovered bones were found in the repository wall and later returned.

Caravaggio, Peter on the cross

1 Peter 3:14-16a
But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience

Darker bones are the remaining bones of Peter.
Photos of Peter's bones.


Peter's tomb today, located under the altar in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Italy.

Glory to God the Father for times we need more assurances. Glory to Jesus, the friend, the Savior of Peter and the world. Glory to the Holy Spirit, helping Peter to follow God's plan.

We begin our story with Jesus

Matthew 4:19
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

We still agree in the end of the Gospels and this post - this is still about Jesus.

John 21:19
19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus knew where Peter would be buried, He knew where His Church would grow therefore He took Peter to Caesarea to give him the prophesy:

Matthew 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.



Peter's final resting place was rediscovered in the 1939 dig; began when Pope Pius XI died and there wasn't a good place to bury him. The workmen of Pope Pius XII discovered it wasn't going to just be pagan people underneath the floors of the Basilica. After 10 years of amazing discoveries, most bodies clearly identified by name, art, poetry, mosaics, statuary, Pius knew they had probably rediscover Peter's bones in the 2nd century grave surrounded by the 4th century shrine built by Constantine. Pius decided they would wait until the evidence looked completely irrefutable, they waited until December 23, 1950, when Pius told the world.

From 1939 to 1964, conclusions the scientists decided were:

- An"elderly man" between sixty and seventy years, about five feet seven inches tall, of heavy build, a man of robust constitution. Missing the feet bones. The bones had lain - and for a considerable period of time - in a bare earth grave. (Peter had been martyred, buried as a criminal). All these bones, it appeared, at some time after dissolution of the flesh, had been taken from the earth and wrapped in a purplish, gold-threaded cloth. Enclosed was a plaque /tile with two Greek words "Petros Eni." Peter is here.

- Many, many of the tombs had bodies that had already turned to dust, the bones of Peter were amazing in their completion. There was even water in the area, which had been a problem to the Basilica for centuries. A single, huge outcropping of rock had preserved the carefully cared for remains.

- Sumptuous marble housing erected by Constantine, in the 4th century, over the 2nd century tomb, was intended to preserve forever both the true original grave of Peter's remains. It has never been tampered or violated.

- Soil adhering to the bones in the repository proved they had originally been interred in the earth. Chemical analysis proved that this soil exactly matched the soil in the original grave under the monument.

- The bones, where as others in the vicinity contained a lot of different types of bones thrown together, these were the carefully preserved bones of one man, missing the feet. In the repository, they had been wrapped in cloth of royal purple, an indication of the unusually high dignity accorded. Threads of gold in the cloth reinforced this impression, since the combination of purple and gold was a fact well attested from antiquity as indicating imperial honors. The robe was older than 4th century.

- An inscription within the repository, in Greek, declared "Peter is buried in here." Other inscriptions on the outside the repository, in Latin invoked his name in prayer.

- 2nd century Graffiti on the tomb's red wall was very similar to the graffiti in Peter's Capernaum house.

- Pope Damasus, in the fourth century, seriously encountered the problem of cemetery vandalism growing out of religious bigotry, it was a violent age. The repository in the sturdy little wall guarded against intrusions by permanently enclosing the precious remains on all sides.





One of the main scientists working on the archaeological dig:
http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/MG/TheTombofStPeter-1.htm
THE TOMB OF ST. PETER
by Margherita Guarducci
© 1960, Hawthorn Books


The Bones of St. Peter. The First Full Account of the Search for the Apostle's Body by John Evangelist Walsh. © 1982. http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/JW/TheBonesofStPeter-1.htm

It's interesting to see Peter's house (photograph above) is just the remains of a house. The Church - the Bride of Jesus Christ has amazing depth and splendor.

1 Peter 5 

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive!

10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.


12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

So many amazing archaeological discoveries in the last 100 years. To name just a few: Dead Sea Scrolls, Lazarus' tomb in Spain, the entire Hittite Nation, the cities of Nineveh, Ur, Sodom and Gomorrah. Tile piece in Goliath's hometown with his name and David's name. The walls of Jericho. The walls of Babylon. The Capernaum Synagogue with Zebedee's name (father of disciples James and John) on a pillar. Written record of King David. King David's Palace found by description in the Bible for location. Many steeles ( antiquity plaques) found to confirm biblical fact written by other nations. Many, many artifacts in the Museum of Israel.

Blessed are You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ. We pray Your blessings upon Your Churches honoring You and upon Your followers. The blessing each and every day of Guidance, Grace and Your Governing, in Jesus, Amen.

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Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, said Mark scribed Peter’s teachings. The Gospel of Mark were Peter's memories.

Bishop Papias of Hierapolis (60-130AD) repeated the testimony of the disciples of the Apostles who claimed Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome as he scribed the preaching of Peter (Ecclesiastical History Book 2 Chapter 15, Book 3 Chapter 30 and Book 6 Chapter 14). Papias wrote a five volume work entitled, “Interpretation of the Oracles of the Lord”. In this treatise (which no longer exists), he quoted someone he identified as John the elder:

“And the elder used to say this, Mark became Peter’s interpreter and wrote accurately all that he remembered, not, indeed, in order, of the things said and done by the Lord. For he had not heard the Lord, nor had followed him, but later on, followed Peter, who used to give teaching as necessity demanded but not making, as it were, an arrangement of the Lord’s oracles, so that Mark did nothing wrong in thus writing down single points as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave attention, to leave out nothing of what he had heard and to make no false statements in them.”

Irenaeus said Mark wrote his Gospel from Peter’s teaching
In his book, “Against Heresies” (Book 3 Chapter 1), Irenaeus (130-200AD) also reported Mark penned his Gospel as a scribe for Peter, adding the following detail:

“Matthew composed His Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, while Peter and Paul proclaimed the Gospel in Rome and founded the community. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, handed on his preaching to us in written form”

Justin identified Mark’s Gospel with Peter
Early Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, wrote “Dialogue with Trypho” (approximately 150AD) and included this interesting passage:

“It is said that He [Jesus] changed the name of one of the apostles to Peter; and it is written in his memoirs that He changed the names of others, two brothers, the sons of Zebedee, to Boanerges, which means ‘sons of thunder’….”

Justin, therefore, identified a particular Gospel as the ‘memoir’ of Peter and said this memoir described the sons of Zebedee as the ‘sons of thunder’. Only Mark’s Gospel describes John and James in this way, so it is reasonable to assume that the Gospel of Mark is the memoir of Peter.

Clement said Mark recorded Peter’s Roman preaching
Clement of Alexandria (150-215AD) wrote a book entitled “Hypotyposeis” (Ecclesiastical History Book 2 Chapter 15). In this ancient book, Clement refers to a tradition handed down from the “elders from the beginning”:

“And so great a joy of light shone upon the minds of the hearers of Peter that they were not satisfied with merely a single hearing or with the unwritten teaching of the divine gospel, but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, who was a follower of Peter and whose gospel is extant, to leave behind with them in writing a record of the teaching passed on to them orally; and they did not cease until they had prevailed upon the man and so became responsible for the Scripture for reading in the churches.”

Eusebius also wrote an additional detail (Ecclesiastical History Book 6 Chapter 14) related to Mark’s work with Peter:

“The Gospel according to Mark had this occasion. As Peter had preached the Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who were present requested that Mark, who had followed him for a long time and remembered his sayings, should write them out. And having composed the Gospel he gave it to those who had requested it. When Peter learned of this, he neither directly forbade nor encouraged it.”

This additional piece of information related to Peter’s reaction to Mark’s work is important, because it demonstrates that Clement is not simply repeating the information first established by Papias, but seems to have an additional source that provided him with something more, and something slightly different than Papias.

Tertullian affirmed Peter’s influence on the Gospel of Mark
Early Christian theologian and apologist, Tertullian (160-225AD), wrote a book that refuted the theology and authority of Marcion. The book was appropriately called, “Against Marcion” (Marcion was a Jew-hater, who rejected the Old Testament, and any bits of the New Testament, books or passages, which disagreed with him.) and in Book 4 Chapter 5, he described the Gospel of Mark:

“While that [gospel] which Mark published may be affirmed to be Peter’s whose interpreter Mark was.”

The Muratorian Fragment confirmed Mark’s relationship to Peter. Commonly dated to approximately 170AD, the first line reads:

“But he was present among them, and so he put [the facts down in his Gospel]”

This appears to be a reference to Mark’s presence at Peter’s talks and sermons in Rome, and the fact that he then recorded these messages then became the Gospel of Mark.

Origen attributed Mark’s Gospel to Peter
Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History Book 6 Chapter 25) quoted a Gospel Commentary written by Origen (an early church father and theologian who lived 185-254AD) that explains the origin of the Gospels. This commentary also attributes the Gospel of Mark to Peter:

“In his first book on Matthew’s Gospel, maintaining the Canon of the Church, he testifies that he knows only four Gospels, writing as follows: Among the four Gospels, which are the only indisputable ones in the Church of God under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the first was written by Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published in the Hebrew language. The second is by Mark, who composed it according to the instructions of Peter, who in his Catholic epistle acknowledges him as a son, saying, ‘The church that is at Babylon elected together with you, salutes you, and so does Marcus, my son.’ 1 Peter 5:13 And the third by Luke, the Gospel commended by Paul, and composed for Gentile converts. Last of all that by John.”

An Anti-Marcionite Prologue affirmed Peter’s connection to Mark
There are three Gospel ‘prologues’ that appear in many Latin Bibles from antiquity. Known as the “Anti-Marcionite Prologues”, they date to the 4th century or earlier. The prologue for the Gospel of Mark is particularly interesting:

“Mark declared, who is called ‘stump-fingered,’ because he had rather small fingers in comparison with the stature of the rest of his body. He was the interpreter of Peter. After the death of Peter himself he wrote down this same gospel in the regions of Italy.”

Now, it can be argued that Papias’ description of Mark’s collaboration with Peter in Rome is the earliest description available to us. In fact, skeptics have tried to argue that later Church sources are simply parroting Papias when they connect Mark to Peter. But there is no evidence to suggest that Papias is the sole source of information related to Peter and Mark, particularly when considering the slight variations in the subsequent attributions (such as Clement’s version). The subtle differences suggest that the claims came from different original sources. In addition, Justin Martyr’s tangential reference to the ‘sons of thunder’ strengthens the support for Peter’s involvement coming from a source other than Papias (who never makes this connection). In essence, a claim of dependency on Papias lacks specific evidence, and even if this were the case, there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Papias’ original claim in the first place. The consistent record of history identifies Mark’s Gospel as a memoir of Peter’s life with Jesus.

J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker, and the author of Cold-Case Christianity
- See more at: http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/is-marks-gospel-an-early-memoir-of-the-apostle-peter/#sthash.NgyiQIOC.dpuf

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